Since the NL games are now over, I'd go (2nd half triple-slash):
I don't understand how Shaw is anywhere but 8th or 9th until he strings it together for 10 games. He's had two good games against awful pitching.
This. He admitted feeling gassed at one point during the season, maybe around the ASB, and he didn't even get the ASB off this year.
I think perhaps mentally fatigued as well which often goes hand in hand. With the recent west coast swing I've missed a few games so I'm not sure if it still holds, but in the past couple of weeks he's had some horrible body language at the plate. Shaking his head after at bats and just looking lost at times. I wish I could phrase it better, but I'm guessing some here have noticed and get what I'm saying. Not sure if it's how he's wired or if he seeks out help in a different way, but I would love to see him in the dugout picking the brains of the coaching staff a la Mookie.
That's what I see. Around the ALL Star break I noticed a distinct cut back in pregame activities (fewer players out for early BP) and when I asked about it I was told that players are gassed, they are utilizing the indoor cages more in the heat, working on specific drills and trying to preserve their energy for the game and October! Even Pedroia has cut back.
I guess you could try Brock Holt for a day or 2 (with Holt playing SS in X's place). Don't love that, but as you suggest, hard to see who else would bat 2nd. But seems worth it to give X at least a short break.
Brock Holt has a .310 OBP since the all star break. He has hit for a bit more power than Xander since August, but has been pretty terrible himself. The obvious choice would be JBJ, but he isn't so obvious because he has been mired in a slump as bad as Xander. If and when Benny comes back, you could try him in the 2 slot. It's really Xander or bust at this point though.
yeah, I don't love Holt there--just don't see who else--as you say JBJ is in a slump of his own. I think it might be worth giving X a day or two off--assuming fatigue is an issue. But I have no way to know if it is--that's something Farrell would of course have to sort out (whether rest might help X).
This is true, but playing while exhausted can lead to bad habits that create slumps in the first place. You definitely want to let him hit his way out of it, but I think you have to give him a chance to recharge his batteries first.
While the sample sizes for Young are slender (just 40 PA over 13 games), I think this analysis masks how good he's been since he's been back by combining his numbers with Shaw's July/August suck.
