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Post by julyanmorley on May 25, 2024 12:03:24 GMT -5
I dunno, you play Rafaela, Duran, Abreu and O'Neil every day with Abreu/O'Neil splitting DH. Refsnyder is probably about tied with Rafaela if you needed to win a game tomorrow, but Rafaela is young and needs at bats and is going to be on the roster for many more years so you play Rafaela without thinking twice. Hamilton and Romy split SS.
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Post by scottysmalls on May 25, 2024 12:05:13 GMT -5
He's on +9 runs/150 games pace in CF by Statcast for his major league career. I was referring to this season and his +1 OAA and 0 DRS, and drawing on my memory of his mistake-prone tendencies. And even +9 would arguably put him just outside the top tier of defensive CFers (e.g., in 2023 seven guys had +10 or better). Happy to grant that he probably will be a great centerfielder, though, which is why I did mention the stellar defense in the first place.
Anyways, I don't mean to be quibbly. The main point is that, to the extent he can provide value with CF defense and speed, Duran can do that as well while also being able to hit the ball. So functionally his contribution to the team is to push Duran to LF where they can get a defensive upgrade on O'Neill or Refsnyder, which is a benefit that is more than cancelled out by the floppiness of his bat. In fact he'd have to hit quite a lot better for that not to be the case.
In short, he'd probably have to be about a league average hitter to actually help the team, given his redundancy with Duran. And he's pretty far from that now.
Just playing it all the way out, you put Rafaela in center which upgrades the LF defense, forces O’Neill to DH bumping presumably Cooper out of the lineup were he healthy. So it’s the defensive upgrade from O’Neill to Duran and the offensive downgrade from Cooper (or Refsnyder) to Rafaela. I think probably from purely a winning the game perspective they are slightly better off sitting Rafaela, but if they think Rafaela’s development is better served playing every day it’s not a big enough difference that it’s worth it. Whether or not his development actually is better served that way, I’m not sure. I could definitely see the logic of taking some of the tougher offensive matchups off his plate until he heats up.
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Post by incandenza on May 25, 2024 12:39:53 GMT -5
I agree with the points that Rafaela's development should be a factor here that might outweigh the fractional WAR differences we're talking about. Though the vibe I get from afar is that it might do Rafaela some good to get some more days off just to slow things down and work with the coaches and whatnot. (Youkilis, for one, has pointed out a number of times how long his swing has been, in contrast to how it looked in spring training; seems like the sort of thing where taking a day or two off to work on it, mechanically and/or psychologically, would help.)
Who knows; these things are hard to judge from afar. But he's appeared in all but one game this season, and it seems unlikely to me that that's the optimal proportion of games for him to be appearing in.
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gerry
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Post by gerry on May 25, 2024 12:43:22 GMT -5
Listening to what David Hamilton said about his using his off days in the cages to improve at bats (which seems to be a fact) was inspiring. This could be beneficial to little rafffy as well.
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asm18
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Post by asm18 on May 25, 2024 12:57:31 GMT -5
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Post by julyanmorley on May 25, 2024 13:20:55 GMT -5
Brewers gonna keep picking up free money on the ground by using a lefty opener until we adjust
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cdj
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Posts: 14,637
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Post by cdj on May 25, 2024 14:34:19 GMT -5
Pablo Reyes sent to the Mets for cash
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Post by cheers on May 25, 2024 14:38:43 GMT -5
Pablo Reyes sent to the Mets for cash Hopefully he is able to reacquire his 2023 spark. Likable player, and I wish him well.
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Post by dirtdog on May 25, 2024 15:00:15 GMT -5
A little surprised they are trotting O'Neil back out there today. I guess the logic is nowhere to go but up.
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Post by soxfansince67 on May 25, 2024 15:11:36 GMT -5
Bye Pablo and thanks. And so sorry no Whit any more this season - hope the surgery goes well...some point back in 2025?
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Post by soxfansince67 on May 25, 2024 15:23:48 GMT -5
Ugly half inning
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Post by julyanmorley on May 25, 2024 15:28:13 GMT -5
Good god can we please get rid of these challenges
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Post by dirtdog on May 25, 2024 15:32:00 GMT -5
Eight in a row gotta be in his head at this point.
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cdj
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Posts: 14,637
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Post by cdj on May 25, 2024 15:40:33 GMT -5
Nice play in left by TON, saved some runs
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Post by dirtdog on May 25, 2024 15:40:50 GMT -5
Lucky to get of that clean. We'll take it though.
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asm18
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Posts: 1,227
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Post by asm18 on May 25, 2024 15:41:55 GMT -5
NESN showed a graphic that Pivetta has (recently at least) dropped his cutter and slider. Nick has to be able to land the curve and sweeper for strikes, or hitters are going to just sit on his fastball early like Milwaukee did that inning
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Post by julyanmorley on May 25, 2024 15:52:50 GMT -5
NESN showed a graphic that Pivetta has (recently at least) dropped his cutter and slider. Nick has to be able to land the curve and sweeper for strikes, or hitters are going to just sit on his fastball early like Milwaukee did that inning I am wondering if he is not responding so well to the coaching, and to continue the speculation perhaps he thinks the coaching is not good for his arm as he approaches free agency.
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Post by dirtdog on May 25, 2024 15:59:48 GMT -5
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Post by kevfc89 on May 25, 2024 16:00:06 GMT -5
another rally with 2 outs and nobody on
and now we're just getting BABIP'd
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Post by soxfansince67 on May 25, 2024 16:01:54 GMT -5
Death from lots of tiny wounds
And one big one
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radiohix
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'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
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Post by radiohix on May 25, 2024 16:02:49 GMT -5
Did you guys knew that Sal Frelick is a local kid and he played for BC?
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Post by dirtdog on May 25, 2024 16:03:10 GMT -5
Starting to look like last nights game and like a lot of familiar home losses this season. 3 runs down seem like a big ask some days.
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asm18
Veteran
Posts: 1,227
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Post by asm18 on May 25, 2024 16:04:11 GMT -5
NESN showed a graphic that Pivetta has (recently at least) dropped his cutter and slider. Nick has to be able to land the curve and sweeper for strikes, or hitters are going to just sit on his fastball early like Milwaukee did that inning I am wondering if he is not responding so well to the coaching, and to continue the speculation perhaps he thinks the coaching is not good for his arm as he approaches free agency. Yeah that’s a good point - he gets a flexor strain and now he’s throwing fastballs two/thirds of the time…
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Post by soxfanatic on May 25, 2024 16:04:29 GMT -5
Boy, that escalated quickly
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Post by cheers on May 25, 2024 16:05:07 GMT -5
Did you guys knew that Sal Frelick is a local kid and he played for BC? I simply don't believe it. I am hopeful I will be told 26 more times to quell my disbelief.
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