Is Bogaerts getting a pass?

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
That's still just a tiny step. Should he just be benched? Dropped from the roster if we go to the ALCS? Waived? Taken out back and shot?

I mean is he through? Or do you think he can be helped and return to his prior form? Just saying "he stinks" isn't adding anything to the conversation. My mother knows he's stunk the past few weeks. Everyone knows that.
 

Byrdbrain

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
8,588
What's to analyze? He can't hit. He needs to sit. If that's self-evident, it reflects on Farrell, not me.
So your plan would be to play Marrero who while a better fielder has proven over his career that he can't hit.
I could see moving him down in the order but he was hitting quite well at the end of the regular season, benching him over 3 bad games isn't going to happen especially with no good replacement.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2007
6,348
As much as he's struggled he should stay put at the lead off spot. Devers and JBJ looked equally lost the first 2 games.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
What's to analyze? He can't hit. He needs to sit. If that's self-evident, it reflects on Farrell, not me.
He hit .284/.393/.411/.803 in September. He can hit just fine. He just hasn't done so in the first three games of the series.

If Nunez was healthy, maybe you consider sitting Bogaerts for him, or at the very least putting him in the lead off spot if he's playing somewhere else (2B?). Without him around, there is no better option than continuing to play Bogaerts and let him break out of the mini-slump.
 

BestGameEvah

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 21, 2012
1,089
Last 4 series of the season, Bogie was looking much better.
Some say he took to the leadoff spot.
Bogie: 15-46, Betts: 9-30 and JBJ: 3-42

Today, I hope Farrell DOES tweak the lineup.
Get top producers the most at bats.
Maybe slide Bogie and Pedey down below Benny, Betts, Moreland & Hanley
<although Benny hasn't hit well in the series, I trust him>
 

smallball

New Member
May 11, 2016
87
Kailua, HI
That's still just a tiny step. Should he just be benched? Dropped from the roster if we go to the ALCS? Waived? Taken out back and shot?

I mean is he through? Or do you think he can be helped and return to his prior form? Just saying "he stinks" isn't adding anything to the conversation. My mother knows he's stunk the past few weeks. Everyone knows that.
Daylight in the swamp! Instead of fucking around in Aruba all winter he needs to chop some wood up in northern NH. Learn to drive that outside pitch instead of slapping at it. His D is in no way good enough to justify a sub .300 singles approach at the plate. For Christ sake we've gotta watch Derek Jeter all over again? This should be an organizational mandate.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
Daylight in the swamp! Instead of fucking around in Aruba all winter he needs to chop some wood up in northern NH. Learn to drive that outside pitch instead of slapping at it. His D is in no way good enough to justify a sub .300 singles approach at the plate. For Christ sake we've gotta watch Derek Jeter all over again? This should be an organizational mandate.
Yeah, it would be terrible if Xander Bogaerts ended up having a career like Derek Jeter. I get the frustration given he hasn't matched the power profile he showed in the minors, but he also profiled as a .300 hitter and he's shown the ability to do so in the majors. From 2015-2017, he hit .298 in 2008 PA. He was worse this year, but I don't think that's a sign of things to come. I think it was an off year and he'll bounce back to the .300 range.

We also have a habit as fans to get sucked into the hype. If you look at Xander's minor league career, outside of 2011, he's never really been a huge HR guy. While his lack of power has been disappointing, I think some of us were expecting too much because of 2011. It was unrealistic to expect ISO's in the .200+ range. I think .150-.175 is fair, but he's put up a .128 over the last 3 years. Not encouraging, but he's still young enough where we can hope.

Luckily, his walk rate continues to improve and he's surprised us with his base stealing. The latter might be a system wide thing, as pretty much every recent prospect other than Mookie Betts has stolen bases at a far better % than in the minors, and outside of JBJ, in far more attempts. If Xander continues to improve his walk rate and his base stealing, the lead off spot isn't a bad idea long term. If he can get on base at .360-370 clip while slugging .420-430 and stealing 20 bases, I don't see the problem. If he hit .300 instead of .273 this year, he's basically there. While he's never stolen 20 bases in a season, he was 15/16 this year and 38/45 over the last 3 seasons so I don't think it's a stretch. He's also not going to clog the bases for anyone hitting after him as he's plenty fast enough. On top of that, the only other real choice is Mookie Betts and Mookie seems better slotted for the 2-3.

On another note, Xander was better against LHP than RHP this year, but for some reason was absolutely brutal on days where a LHP started a game. He slashed .294/.373/.404 in 126 PA vs LHP this season, but when a LHP started, he hit .214/.266/.282 in 143 PA. When a RHP started, he hit .291/.366/.439 in 492 PA. It's a total fluke stat, but man that is terrible. I wonder what his numbers were vs RHP that came into a game after a LHP started were, they have to be absolutely atrocious.
 

charlieoscar

Member
Sep 28, 2014
1,339
The biggest problem I've had is this stubbornness to keep him in the leadoff spot. Everyone keeps using the "all hands on deck" for the pitching staff, I don't understand why this isn't applied to the lineup. Regardless if you're in the "he's just not that good" camp or "its due to the injury," he's in a slump. If its in the middle of the season sure let him work through it, but with the hook that JF has for his pitching it baffles me he seems to apply the opposite logic to the lineup
Bogaerts hit best out of the lead-off spot this season, in AVG, OBP, and OPS, by a wide margin. What I find interesting is BB/K ratios that he had while batting out of these spots:
1st -- 16 BB / 15 K in 128 PA's
3rd -- 19 BB / 60 K in 271 PA's
6th -- 16 BB / 31 K in 173 PA's.

This was his first season of batting out of the lead-off spot and based on his BB/K ratio in that spot it appears he may have changed his batting approach. Of course, an injury might have slowed him down but during the final 17 regular-season games he batted lead-off and produced at a better rate, except for SLG, than his overall yearly rates.

What put a drain on his season were 63 PA's (57 AB's) while batting in the 2/5/7/8 spots in which he hit .158 with a .246 SLG and only 5 walks while striking out 10 times.
 

HangingW/ScottCooper

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 10, 2006
2,493
Scituate, MA
At the end of the season I identified Bogaerts as a potential area for upgrade, but if you look around the league, he's probably a top 10 shortstop, still. The only guys ahead of him on that list that may be available would be Machado (FA after 2018), Zack Cozart (FA now), and Elvis Andrus (owed a lot of money through 2022).