cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 18:36:16 GMT -5
Back to back crush jobs, damn
Devers is so ridiculously strong
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Post by incandenza on Jun 15, 2021 18:36:45 GMT -5
Sweet - 4-0 and Dalbec hasn't even hit either of his dingers yet.
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Post by patford on Jun 15, 2021 18:39:58 GMT -5
Note to MLB. Devers murders fastballs. Give him nothing but off-speed stuff.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 15, 2021 18:40:46 GMT -5
This seems counterintuitive for a team that is predicated on three true outcomes on the offense. Then again, Hernández in the one spot despite a low lifetime OBP and a season-long declining 0BP is the ultimate counterintuitive move. There is zero data to support it, and the only thing I can think of is that Cora is trying to will him into being a .350 OBP hitter. Because magical thinking with great clubhouse guys produces hits and walks or something⦠In the first few weeks of the season Eric Van whipped up some stats showing Kiké Hernandez was an adequate leadoff hitter in the first inning leading off the ballgame. I pushed back saying that with a bigger sample size, his Kiké-ness would take over meaning with enough ABs in that situation his abject mediocrity would take over, which I think it has. Even if it hasn't completely, the leadoff hitter gets more plate appearances than anybody else in the lineup, so why would you want such a thoroughly mediocre player with a long track record of being mediocre and impatient at the plate as your leadoff hitter? The Sox don't have any great leadoff options. Benintendi actually would have fit the bill. But in this lineup Verdugo would be the best option but for some weird reason Cora wouldn't do that so I'd advocate for Arroyo, although he's hardly an ideal guy either. I hope Duran can come up and be that guy. Also hope Arroyo hits enough to warrant more playing time. I figure if both happens that would cut into Hernandez's time and perhaps get him out of the leadoff spot. I hope Cora doesn't remain obstinate about this. It is true that a leadoff hitter's overall OBP doesn't matter if he's good leading off the game and is followed by the guys you would ordinarily bat 1 through 4. The guy has to be as good in that first PA as the team is in general, so he's not actually taking a PA away from someone better, on average. And of course he has to be better than the average MLB leadoff man in that first PA of teh game.
Kiké did this for a good while. The idea was still working the last time I checked. But their current numbers are now terrible. Let's start with yesterday and go back in time:
P3 Kiké SO Kiké SO Kiké SO Kiké SO Kiké BB Santana 43 Arroyo 63 Arroyo 8 Santana P4 Santana P5 Santana 63 Santana 63 Kiké 8 Kiké =month divide 9 Kiké 9 Kile Kc Kiké 53 Kiké 1B, GB Kiké (5/25) 1B, FB, RF Kiké
So this scheme was working until May 25, when the first batter of the game had a .297 / .327 / .447; that OPS would rank 10th in MLB right now. The team as a whole was .261 / .320 / .446, so the leadoff PA was taking one away from a team average hitter, a wash.
Since then, the first batter of the game is 0/17, BB, and they've gotten the ball out of the infield just once in the last 13 games, and they've made contact just once in the last 5 games. And it's mostly Kiké.
It worked for 49 games and then has been as bad as possible for 18, and trending donward. You can understand why they haven't given up it yet. But they let Kiké chill from this role, and he's been worse since he got the job again. And he's going to need to rock the crap out of it to get the numbers back to the point where it turns out to have been a good idea. Maybe by this time next year ...
It's a real problem.
Benny, BTW, was incredibly awful as the first batter of the game in 2019, while being the vintage Benny (in fact, even better) in his subsequent PA's in that role. Everyone missed that because the overall numbers were down. But it was when he was demoted from the leadoff position, having failed at it, that his numbers in his other PA's shrunk. I thought that Roenicke reinstalling him at leadoiff the next year was malpractice.
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 18:49:25 GMT -5
ROBOT UMPS!!!
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Post by soxfansince67 on Jun 15, 2021 18:50:37 GMT -5
the team typically scores lots for ERod. Good start for continuing that trend
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 18:51:39 GMT -5
Nice opening inning for E-Rod
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 19:10:28 GMT -5
JD with a triple to left! Don’t see that every game
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Post by jerrygarciaparra on Jun 15, 2021 19:18:22 GMT -5
hoping this is the game that gets E Rod back on track. He is a good pitcher and we need him to be that.
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 19:21:35 GMT -5
NO ROBOT UMPS!!
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 19:24:34 GMT -5
The hell we swinging at Bobby?
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Post by semperfisox on Jun 15, 2021 19:25:08 GMT -5
The hell we swinging at Bobby? His plate discipline is bad
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 19:29:48 GMT -5
Feel really badly for Davidson having left forearm tightness
No bueno
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Post by marrcus on Jun 15, 2021 19:31:32 GMT -5
It seems like a week since RS led this early. In a bases loaded situation, the way Bobby is rolling, I would just like to see him stick his bat out and shoot something to RF.
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Post by incandenza on Jun 15, 2021 19:39:27 GMT -5
xBAs on the 3 hits this inning: .150, .120, .300. Just incredible the run of bad luck Rodriguez has faced. Of course he's only given up 1 run so far but with 6 Ks nd 0 BBs in 2.1 innings it should really, really be 0 runs.
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Post by scottysmalls on Jun 15, 2021 19:40:28 GMT -5
Eck is not wrong calling out the swinging strikes today, E-Rod's rate (25.45% on the night) would rank as the best in the majors by 4 percentage points. Of course I'm sure DeGrom (the MLB leader) has nights where he's done better than this, but still interesting.
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Post by kevfc89 on Jun 15, 2021 20:02:51 GMT -5
gosh, just a nightmare season results-wise for eddy.
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Post by julyanmorley on Jun 15, 2021 20:04:41 GMT -5
I don't care how many times this happens, I'm going to continue to feel good about the guy with the 8-1 strikeout to walk ratio on the night.
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Post by scottysmalls on Jun 15, 2021 20:05:21 GMT -5
Missed the Adrianza at bat, on game day it looks like balls 4 and 5 were both in the zone, is that right?
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Post by patford on Jun 15, 2021 20:09:59 GMT -5
Another horrible outing for Rodriguez. 80 pitches in four innings. It's not just that he hasn't been good. He's been so inefficient that he can barely make it through four innings.
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Post by incandenza on Jun 15, 2021 20:17:33 GMT -5
Guys, Rodriguez had a 9.00 ERA in this game and a FIP of -0.10. xFIP of 1.21.
I mean...
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Post by kevfc89 on Jun 15, 2021 20:19:52 GMT -5
Guys, Rodriguez had a 9.00 ERA in this game and a FIP of -0.10. xFIP of 1.21. I mean... yep, and DOB is getting annoying ranting about his performance tonight.
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jun 15, 2021 20:20:46 GMT -5
I thought he looked fine, tons of whiffs. It seems like the velo is creeping up and he’s getting 94 with more regularity. Some missed spots today but some bad luck too. I’m confident he will be fine
Whitlock is a 3 pitch god
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Post by julyanmorley on Jun 15, 2021 20:22:37 GMT -5
So does Whitlock enter spring training as the #3 starter next year or what
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Post by incandenza on Jun 15, 2021 20:22:54 GMT -5
And once again O'Brien can't stop dumping on the guy. It legitimately makes me kind of angry. Is it really too much trouble for a major league broadcaster to try to understand the role of luck in outcomes? To understand that an 8 K/1 BB performance over 4 innings is generally pretty good? I know a couple balls were smoked off of him in his last inning; no one has to say he was perfect. But this world-historical bad luck is obviously part of the story and they're not talking about it at all.
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