What does 2023 look like?

tims4wins

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I get what you mean by this, but it’s pretty strange to describe a player leading the AL in HR and slugging well over .500 as slumping.
Why is it strange? You can be a league leader and still slumping. He’s 3 for 25 over the last week. That’s a slump.
 

8slim

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Dont get me started on this.
I will go to my grave believing they should base seeding via best records in AL and the NL. And with the balanced schedule, the “divisional rivalry” argument means a whole lot less than it used to.

if you based your playoffs on the top records in the AL and NL and that resulted in the entire AL East making the playoffs then oh well.
Because we know whats going to happen if the AL East continues to be a powerhouse especially with the balanced schedule.

There will be a 90+ win team in the AL East that misses the playoffs because there were 2+ other teams that also had 90+ wins in the AL East. But then we will have a team in the AL central or west that makes the playoffs with 80 wins because the rest of that division was dogshit.
I'm with you, and I've been on this train for years. Scrap divisions, play a balanced schedule, and playoff qualifiers come from the full league standings. Top 2 get byes, next 4 are the wildcards. The divisions are ornamental at this point, and I think they've become an impediment to some franchises devoting resources to competing. No one can convince me that teams in the Central of both leagues only spend 'so much' to win because the competition there is historically weak.
 

Daniel_Son

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For in-season pickups of 2024 free agents, I don't see a potential Castillo. Julio Urias is the prize, IMO, being so young, but the Dodgers won't be sellers. The White Sox will, but I'm not sure Lucas Giolito quite fits the bill here. Lots of decent dudes but not the types you'd plan around for the long term due to age. Well, Otani too, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Stroman's been pretty good this year if the Cubs are looking to make a deal at the deadline. Aaron Nola, too, if you're not concerned about the velocity dip.
 

Daniel_Son

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There are other threads for this, but you don't have to squint too much to see what Bloom may have been thinking with this year, at least with the lineup.
100%. Among AL teams, here's where we rank:

BA: #2
OBP: #4
wOBA: #2
wRC+: #4
BB%: #6
K%: 14th (tied with Cleveland for lowest)
ISO: #2
Runs: #3
HR: #2

A lot of contact, a lot of power. We get on base often and hit the ball hard. If the starting pitching improves, these guys could be poised for a real run.*

*Of course, NY, Tampa, and Baltimore are right up there with us. God, I hate this division.
 
Mar 30, 2023
177
Dont get me started on this.
I will go to my grave believing they should base seeding via best records in AL and the NL. And with the balanced schedule, the “divisional rivalry” argument means a whole lot less than it used to.

if you based your playoffs on the top records in the AL and NL and that resulted in the entire AL East making the playoffs then oh well.
Because we know whats going to happen if the AL East continues to be a powerhouse especially with the balanced schedule.

There will be a 90+ win team in the AL East that misses the playoffs because there were 2+ other teams that also had 90+ wins in the AL East. But then we will have a team in the AL central or west that makes the playoffs with 80 wins because the rest of that division was dogshit.
No, there won't. With three wild cards, it's now almost impossible for a team that wins 90 games to miss the playoffs. In order for that to happen, we would need two conditions met: (1) at least 5 teams in the league would need to win 90 games (which only happens about 50% of the time as is), and (2) all 5 of those teams would have to play in the same division. It probably will happen at some point, because just about everything happens in baseball eventually, but it will be a pretty rare thing.

And frankly, who cares if a 90-win team that finishes no better than 6th out of 15 in its league doesn't make the playoffs? That's not some travesty like the 93 Giants missing out with 103 wins.
 

TFisNEXT

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No, there won't. With three wild cards, it's now almost impossible for a team that wins 90 games to miss the playoffs. In order for that to happen, we would need two conditions met: (1) at least 5 teams in the league would need to win 90 games (which only happens about 50% of the time as is), and (2) all 5 of those teams would have to play in the same division. It probably will happen at some point, because just about everything happens in baseball eventually, but it will be a pretty rare thing.

And frankly, who cares if a 90-win team that finishes no better than 6th out of 15 in its league doesn't make the playoffs? That's not some travesty like the 93 Giants missing out with 103 wins.
It actually would have happened in 2021.

TOR missed with 91 wins (would've made it under current rules)
SEA missed with 90 wins (would've also missed under current rules)
 
Mar 30, 2023
177
It actually would have happened in 2021.

TOR missed with 91 wins (would've made it under current rules)
SEA missed with 90 wins (would've also missed under current rules)
Fair enough! Though in that case, divisional imbalance didn't have anything to do with it, and there weren't any teams worse than Seattle who made the playoffs in their stead. They only had the 7th-best record in the AL that year. Doesn't seem like a problem to me if the 7th-best team doesn't make the playoffs.
 

koufax32

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There are other threads for this, but you don't have to squint too much to see what Bloom may have been thinking with this year, at least with the lineup.
I’ve been thinking about the “problem” we’ll have in July or so when both Story, Mondesi, and Duvall are back. Assuming Story is the 2B, where does that leave Hernandez? Is he back to his intended super-utility role?

RF Verdugo
LF Yoshida
DH. Turner
3B Devers
CF. Duvall
1B. Casas (hopefully)
2B. Story
C Wongers/McGuire
SS. Mondesi

This doesn’t even take Epiphany Duran into account. That lineup can be an absolute beast.
 

BaseballJones

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This lineup changes if Casas really begins mashing. He's got that potential, but clearly he isn't there yet. If/when he figures it out....holy smokes.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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I’ve been thinking about the “problem” we’ll have in July or so when both Story, Mondesi, and Duvall are back. Assuming Story is the 2B, where does that leave Hernandez? Is he back to his intended super-utility role?

RF Verdugo
LF Yoshida
DH. Turner
3B Devers
CF. Duvall
1B. Casas (hopefully)
2B. Story
C Wongers/McGuire
SS. Mondesi

This doesn’t even take Epiphany Duran into account. That lineup can be an absolute beast.
This seems like the prototypical "these things tend to sort themselves out on their own" situation. Someone will be hurt or slumping just in time for the team not to have to make a hard decision.

And if they do find themselves with too many good players healthy and available, it will probably be around the trade deadline. They can make a deal to shore up another spot (which might just be the farm system).
 

Daniel_Son

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This lineup changes if Casas really begins mashing. He's got that potential, but clearly he isn't there yet. If/when he figures it out....holy smokes.
It's really a testament to the team that Bloom's constructed, isn't it? Casas has the leeway to figure it out. We have the depth to allow him to take his lumps and learn without hurting the game results too much.
 

TapeAndPosts

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Red Sox on May 4th with more 2023 wins against the Blue Jays than in all of 2022. That really sucked, really nice to turn it around.

Obviously catching this team on a hot streak, but currently the 4th best team in the AL. Exciting to have so many players exceeding expectations; as soon as a Duvall goes down, there's Jarren Duran rising from the dead and mashing. Team is fun, and that's all you can ask for.
 

grimshaw

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The AL East is 42 games over .500. If you swapped the A's and Rays from the division they'd still be over .500.
 
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Rovin Romine

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Red Sox on May 4th with more 2023 wins against the Blue Jays than in all of 2022. That really sucked, really nice to turn it around.

Obviously catching this team on a hot streak, but currently the 4th best team in the AL. Exciting to have so many players exceeding expectations; as soon as a Duvall goes down, there's Jarren Duran rising from the dead and mashing. Team is fun, and that's all you can ask for.
2022 was decimated by injuries, and the replacement pieces were not so ready/lucky at all.

This year actually looks normal-ish. Some guys don't seem to take the next step (Dalbec/Chang) and some do (Duran/Valdez/Winckowski/Crawford.)
 

Max Power

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It's really a testament to the team that Bloom's constructed, isn't it? Casas has the leeway to figure it out. We have the depth to allow him to take his lumps and learn without hurting the game results too much.
Swapping Turner for JD was a great decision. After watching the revolving door the last couple of years, finding someone who can competently play first base and hit right handed was much more difficult a task that you'd think.
 

simplicio

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One of the wild things about this team is how we keep having to make emergency moves and how extraordinarily well those keep working out. Duran going from punchline to superstar. Bernardino from "shit we need someone with a left arm" waiver pickup to 0 ERA. Valdez, the plan D 2B with an .833 OPS. They're so much fun to watch right now.
 

chrisfont9

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2022 was decimated by injuries, and the replacement pieces were not so ready/lucky at all.

This year actually looks normal-ish. Some guys don't seem to take the next step (Dalbec/Chang) and some do (Duran/Valdez/Winckowski/Crawford.)
I'm fully on board with the assessment that 2022 was all about injuries, but they've also made a lot of progress in turning over the roster from the outgoing guys (miss ya Nate) since 2022 and also having more support from below. I won't go thru every change but it's just little talent upgrades in a lot of places, young guys coming up one year closer to readiness, and the injury luck -- while still annoying -- not being enough to tank the entire project. There seems to be an element of cultural change too, maybe replacing guys from 2018 (not loving the reloading process) with guys taking a fresh-start approach?
 

chrisfont9

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One of the wild things about this team is how we keep having to make emergency moves and how extraordinarily well those keep working out. Duran going from punchline to superstar. Bernardino from "shit we need someone with a left arm" waiver pickup to 0 ERA. Valdez, the plan D 2B with an .833 OPS. They're so much fun to watch right now.
Last year got pretty extreme with guys just playing positions in the field where they didn't belong. It's been a little rough up the middle but otherwise not nearly as disrupted as 2022 was.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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One of the wild things about this team is how we keep having to make emergency moves and how extraordinarily well those keep working out. Duran going from punchline to superstar. Bernardino from "shit we need someone with a left arm" waiver pickup to 0 ERA. Valdez, the plan D 2B with an .833 OPS. They're so much fun to watch right now.

I clearly agree about them being a fun team to watch. I just sincerely hope these guys were more like "Plan B" from the start, and no matter what, we commit to the youth movement. If they lead to a playoff race, awesome. If they don't, keep rolling with them.


I can only speak for myself, but I'm more than on board with the full on youth movement. Yes, I wanted us to do things like re-sign Bogaerts (or go after a Bassitt type), but short of actual commitment (dollars and years) to players in the big leagues, it's the one year stop gap deals and then not jettisoning those players for whatever you can get (even if that is just appearances for minor leaguers) which have colored my opinion on the recent seasons of the Red Sox.

I don't say this just because Duran and Valdez are doing well - its the idea I like. No matter what, keep playing Casas every day. If it comes to it at any point (say Nick Yorke forces the issue) Casas and Valdez get at bats instead of Turner or Hernandez in my opinion. Even with his struggles, let Hock pitch every 5th day. Go a step further and give chances to Crawford, Mata, Drohan or pick your personal favorite MILB player over the likes of Kluber and Paxton. (I personally feel this way on Sale too, but I don't expect others to, nor do I think the organization does so I'm just saying this to be consistent and understand and accept that others strongly disagree).

Doubly true for the bullpen. I have no idea whom Matt Dermody is, but give him and his 7 to 1 k to bb ratio a shot over Brasier. I'd say the same for Sheriff over Bleier.

The less I see of Rob Refsynder and Yu Chang and the more I see of Wilyer Abreu and David Hamilton (Nick Yorke IF an injury occurs and you're talking daily at-bats) the better.



None of us really know where in the "pecking order" these plans were, I suppose, but I really hope the youth movement was higher than "Plan D". The entire season should be about finding out whom can be part of the core - and if those players lead to run to post-season contention, awesome. But find out about as many young pieces with multiple years of control as possible.
 

nvalvo

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Valdez, the plan D 2B with an .833 OPS.
This is what comes of Bloom's much-maligned trades for so-called "mediocre prospects."

Next outfielder who gets hurt, we'll see Wilyer Abreu come up. He's posting a .367 OBP in Worcester; he'd probably be pretty decent as a fill in. Next infielder who gets hurt, we'll see David Hamilton, who also has a .367 OBP in Worcester. Less of a finished product than Abreu, but a guy you could totally start up the middle for two weeks during an IL stint. A catcher injury would bring up Jorge Alfaro, of course, who only has a .365 OBP in Worcester. (That one might need some 40-man machinations.)

Some of the depth we've been leaning on has been produced by our autochthonous prospect pipeline (e.g. Duran), but a ton of it has been assembled by Bloom in trades, waiver claims and low-level signings (Chang, Refsnyder, Alfaro, Valdez, Abreu, Hamilton, etc.).
 

chrisfont9

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This is what comes of Bloom's much-maligned trades for so-called "mediocre prospects."

Next outfielder who gets hurt, we'll see Wilyer Abreu come up. He's posting a .367 OBP in Worcester; he'd probably be pretty decent as a fill in. Next infielder who gets hurt, we'll see David Hamilton, who also has a .367 OBP in Worcester. Less of a finished product than Abreu, but a guy you could totally start up the middle for two weeks during an IL stint. A catcher injury would bring up Jorge Alfaro, of course, who only has a .365 OBP in Worcester. (That one might need some 40-man machinations.)

Some of the depth we've been leaning on has been produced by our autochthonous prospect pipeline (e.g. Duran), but a ton of it has been assembled by Bloom in trades, waiver claims and low-level signings (Chang, Refsnyder, Alfaro, Valdez, Abreu, Hamilton, etc.).
Yep, and when they didn't address it last year, at least some of that was not acquiring guys to get in the way of guys who would be ready this year to be the depth? Maybe? Or just money since they were up against the LT. [Which is an actual thing to complain about, but I guess they're resetting now, barring some massive in-season acquisition.]
 

doctorogres

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Aug 27, 2010
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This is what comes of Bloom's much-maligned trades for so-called "mediocre prospects."

Next outfielder who gets hurt, we'll see Wilyer Abreu come up. He's posting a .367 OBP in Worcester; he'd probably be pretty decent as a fill in. Next infielder who gets hurt, we'll see David Hamilton, who also has a .367 OBP in Worcester. Less of a finished product than Abreu, but a guy you could totally start up the middle for two weeks during an IL stint. A catcher injury would bring up Jorge Alfaro, of course, who only has a .365 OBP in Worcester. (That one might need some 40-man machinations.)

Some of the depth we've been leaning on has been produced by our autochthonous prospect pipeline (e.g. Duran), but a ton of it has been assembled by Bloom in trades, waiver claims and low-level signings (Chang, Refsnyder, Alfaro, Valdez, Abreu, Hamilton, etc.).
I'm in agreement with the spirit of this post, but the newest Sox Prospects podcast was just discussing how rough Alfaro is behind the dish. They've started breaking down starts by catcher so they can separate out the games he catches when looking at pitcher stats.
 

manny

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Jul 24, 2005
266
I clearly agree about them being a fun team to watch. I just sincerely hope these guys were more like "Plan B" from the start, and no matter what, we commit to the youth movement. If they lead to a playoff race, awesome. If they don't, keep rolling with them.


I can only speak for myself, but I'm more than on board with the full on youth movement. Yes, I wanted us to do things like re-sign Bogaerts (or go after a Bassitt type), but short of actual commitment (dollars and years) to players in the big leagues, it's the one year stop gap deals and then not jettisoning those players for whatever you can get (even if that is just appearances for minor leaguers) which have colored my opinion on the recent seasons of the Red Sox.

I don't say this just because Duran and Valdez are doing well - its the idea I like. No matter what, keep playing Casas every day. If it comes to it at any point (say Nick Yorke forces the issue) Casas and Valdez get at bats instead of Turner or Hernandez in my opinion. Even with his struggles, let Hock pitch every 5th day. Go a step further and give chances to Crawford, Mata, Drohan or pick your personal favorite MILB player over the likes of Kluber and Paxton. (I personally feel this way on Sale too, but I don't expect others to, nor do I think the organization does so I'm just saying this to be consistent and understand and accept that others strongly disagree).

Doubly true for the bullpen. I have no idea whom Matt Dermody is, but give him and his 7 to 1 k to bb ratio a shot over Brasier. I'd say the same for Sheriff over Bleier.

The less I see of Rob Refsynder and Yu Chang and the more I see of Wilyer Abreu and David Hamilton (Nick Yorke IF an injury occurs and you're talking daily at-bats) the better.



None of us really know where in the "pecking order" these plans were, I suppose, but I really hope the youth movement was higher than "Plan D". The entire season should be about finding out whom can be part of the core - and if those players lead to run to post-season contention, awesome. But find out about as many young pieces with multiple years of control as possible.
I somewhat agree this should have been the philosophy going into the season but I think it needs to be readjusted if standing/potential warrants. If Sox look like legit contenders in July, I don't think you automatically start Casas/Valdez over Turner/Hernandez. You start whoever gives you the best chance to win at that point. I get the idea of building for the future and developing the core, but seasons where you are a true contender are not predictable or as common as we may think and when you have the chance, you have to put your best foot forward. Not saying to trade away the farm, but when you are a real contender you start the best team possible over seeing what you have in the youth.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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This is what comes of Bloom's much-maligned trades for so-called "mediocre prospects."

Next outfielder who gets hurt, we'll see Wilyer Abreu come up. He's posting a .367 OBP in Worcester; he'd probably be pretty decent as a fill in. Next infielder who gets hurt, we'll see David Hamilton, who also has a .367 OBP in Worcester. Less of a finished product than Abreu, but a guy you could totally start up the middle for two weeks during an IL stint. A catcher injury would bring up Jorge Alfaro, of course, who only has a .365 OBP in Worcester. (That one might need some 40-man machinations.)

Some of the depth we've been leaning on has been produced by our autochthonous prospect pipeline (e.g. Duran), but a ton of it has been assembled by Bloom in trades, waiver claims and low-level signings (Chang, Refsnyder, Alfaro, Valdez, Abreu, Hamilton, etc.).

For what it's worth a lot of us - at least during the off-season discussions - weren't necessarily maligning making trades for mediocre prospects.

The biggest gripe - at least from me - was that with players under control for simply the remainder of the season, the team didn't do nearly enough of it. Getting whatever you could for Vazquez = good (that it happened to be a productive player to this point is GREAT). Not getting whatever you could for everyone else = bad.

I stand by that 1,000%.
 

Benj4ever

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Nov 21, 2022
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I somewhat agree this should have been the philosophy going into the season but I think it needs to be readjusted if standing/potential warrants. If Sox look like legit contenders in July, I don't think you automatically start Casas/Valdez over Turner/Hernandez. You start whoever gives you the best chance to win at that point. I get the idea of building for the future and developing the core, but seasons where you are a true contender are not predictable or as common as we may think and when you have the chance, you have to put your best foot forward. Not saying to trade away the farm, but when you are a real contender you start the best team possible over seeing what you have in the youth.
But do you automatically go with the experienced guy? I say, "No." Sometimes the rookie really gives you the best chance to win. So, it's definitely a balancing act, and not one where you put your hand on the scale.
 

soxhop411

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The clubhouse culture is completely different compared to last year
The Red Sox have held daily hitters’ meetings since 2018. That year, the gatherings served as the foundation of a remarkable hitting culture for a team that had one of the great offenses in recent franchise history. In subsequent years, the meetings have had varying degrees of value. This year, however, the level of input has again been exceptional.

The meetings are at least 15 minutes, and typically feature video of standout performances by players in the preceding game.

“It’s almost like a rally every day,” said hitting coach Pete Fatse. “We’re having a lot of fun with it.”
The dynamics of the meetings have changed since last year. While advance scouting reports are prepared and offered by the analytics and coaching staffs, several players then go into detail about their experiences with opposing pitchers.

Turner is the most prominent voice, particularly for righthander hitters. Kiké Hernández also contributes frequently. Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers regularly share their lefthanded perspective.
But the participants go beyond those four. Across the team, players have felt empowered to share notes on topics such as first-pitch tendencies, movement patterns of specific pitches, the “trap pitches” of their opponents.

“We’re a lot more engaged than we were last year,” said outfielder Rob Refsnyder. “It’s just healthy dialogue, a lot more interaction, guys saying how they felt against whoever we’re facing all the way up to the bullpen arms.”

The effort to get a number of players involved in the conversation is not an accident.

“When you get everyone participating and talking, it creates a little bit of accountability towards every guy individually,” said Turner. “Getting guys to speak up and vocalize what they’re trying to do, what they want to do, what their plans are, that creates accountability.”

In the pregame exchanges, a sense of collective purpose forms — one not limited to what a member of the lineup might do individually, but on how a sustained, relentless approach can smother an opposing pitcher and staff. The quality of the conversations has been tremendous in its own right, but the translation to games has been remarkable.
“The execution has been unbelievable. What it takes is a nine-on-one approach,” said Fatse. “I think of it as a machine, every one of nine pieces working together, and you just keep churning through. I think our guys have been a great job embracing that. They watch the guy ahead of them. They watch the guy behind them. When you have an offense where every guy’s feeding off of each other, that’s when special things happen.”

That’s certainly been the case through 33 games. The Sox have scored 195 runs, their most to this point since 2003. Despite an inconsistent rotation, the team has slugged its way to a 19-14 record.

The Sox had him on the defensive from the first inning on Thursday. Certainly, that effort was aided by Gausman lacking his top-end stuff. But the Sox proved capable of taking advantage in a way that proved noteworthy.

“When you get guys like that on their B day or maybe even C day, you’ve got to capitalize on it,” said Verdugo, who watched the game from the bench. “Last year, we didn’t do that.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/04/sports/red-sox-arent-just-playing-good-game-theyre-talking-good-one-too-hitters-meetings-before-game/?event=event25
 

manny

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Jul 24, 2005
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But do you automatically go with the experienced guy? I say, "No." Sometimes the rookie really gives you the best chance to win. So, it's definitely a balancing act, and not one where you put your hand on the scale.
Yeah definitely agree--start who gives you the best chance to win, don't weigh veterans/youngsters aside from who puts you in the best position to contend this year.
 

mauidano

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Sin Duda

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The Red Sox endeavored to shift their approach to hitting and scoring this offseason with the acquisition of Justin Turner, Masataka Yoshida, sticking with Wong and McGuire at catcher, and a full year of Tristan Casas. I saw somewhere that Sox hitters have knocked out the other team's starter earlier than any other team in MLB. Chris Cotillo calls this the death-by-paper-cuts approach. So far (SSS), the rankings in some key offense categories bear that out:

AL Rank​
Runs​
BBs​
Ks​
OBP​
SB​
2022​
4​
7​
9​
3​
13​
2023​
2​
3​
12​
2​
9​


What are your thoughts; does what you've seen bear this out?
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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Yeah definitely agree--start who gives you the best chance to win, don't weigh veterans/youngsters aside from who puts you in the best position to contend this year.

Yes, I should have said that better. I meant using where they're at now as a barometer, and their recent trend lines (because first week of May is still a small sample size).

Hernandez is at an OPS+ of 80 (if I understand the metric correct, that means he's 20% worse than the average at his position) and has been 87, 81, 108, 75 and 80 the past 5 seasons (up to this point).

Turner is still a bit better than average at DH right now (109 OPS+) but has been trending down (133 to 120 to 118 to 109 now).

Sale's ERA is 6.75, Kluber's is 6.44, Paxton's is 7.02 (in Worcester).

Don't let guys keep the role just because they're veterans. If someone is producing, of course you keep them in there. If you have two players "not producing", and one is 25 and the other is 35, see what the 25 year old can do instead, because they're the future of the team Or see what another prospect can do that is producing at AA or above.
 
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manny

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Jul 24, 2005
266
Yes, I should have said that better. I meant using where they're at now as a barometer, and their recent trend lines (because first week of May is still a small sample size).

Hernandez is at an OPS+ of 80 (if I understand the metric correct, that means he's 20% worse than the average at his position) and has been 87, 81, 108, 75 and 80 the past 5 seasons (up to this point).

Turner is still a bit better than average at DH right now (109 OPS+) but has been trending down (133 to 120 to 118 to 109 now).

Sale's ERA is 6.75, Kluber's is 6.44, Paxton's is 7.02 (in Worcester).

Don't let guys keep the role just because they're veterans. If someone is producing, of course you keep them in there. If you have two players "not producing", and one is 25 and the other is 35, see what the 25 year old can do instead, because they're the future of the team Or see what another prospect can do that is producing at AA or above.
Thanks for clarifying, I agree with you.
 

JM3

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Yes, I should have said that better. I meant using where they're at now as a barometer, and their recent trend lines (because first week of May is still a small sample size).

Hernandez is at an OPS+ of 80 (if I understand the metric correct, that means he's 20% worse than the average at his position) and has been 87, 81, 108, 75 and 80 the past 5 seasons (up to this point).

Turner is still a bit better than average at DH right now (109 OPS+) but has been trending down (133 to 120 to 118 to 109 now).

Sale's ERA is 6.75, Kluber's is 6.44, Paxton's is 7.02 (in Worcester).

Don't let guys keep the role just because they're veterans. If someone is producing, of course you keep them in there. If you have two players "not producing", and one is 25 and the other is 35, see what the 25 year old can do instead, because they're the future of the team Or see what another prospect can do that is producing at AA or above.
I mean, it's fine to say tiebreakers should go to younger players, but who do you want to replace Turner with that is not already in the lineup & is going to come close to his production & importance to the way the Red Sox are hitting?

& it's fine to not want Hernandez in the lineup so much, but with Mondesi/Story/Chang out there aren't exactly a lot of guys with a higher upside than Hernandez right now ready to step in at SS.

There's also a human element & 40-man roster complications.

I'm fine with moving on from Kluber if we ever ever have any healthy pitchers. Or Pivetta. But moving on from Sale (by what, releasing him?) when he still has good stuff & has a 3.83 xFIP despite his SSS struggles seems crazy.

But there aren't any pitchers pitching well in Worcester right now unfortunately anyway. Drohan has been great, but you're much more likely to stunt his growth (& mess up your 40-man roster) by calling him up to the majors rather than let him progress at a normal trajectory.
 

jteders1

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Dec 5, 2022
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A lot of victory laps regarding Bloom being taken a month into the season. I’m pleasantly surprised with the results and hope they stick, but a little early to declare victory. Still lots of question marks with the starting rotation, and bottom of the lineup.
 

chrisfont9

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A lot of victory laps regarding Bloom being taken a month into the season. I’m pleasantly surprised with the results and hope they stick, but a little early to declare victory. Still lots of question marks with the starting rotation, and bottom of the lineup.
Yeah, as a pro-Bloom guy, I think it's fair to push back on the "he has no plan" commenters -- he clearly has a plan and we can see it working at the moment. How well it ends up working in the next 5 months or 5 years, we'll see.
 

Daniel_Son

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May 25, 2021
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A lot of victory laps regarding Bloom being taken a month into the season. I’m pleasantly surprised with the results and hope they stick, but a little early to declare victory. Still lots of question marks with the starting rotation, and bottom of the lineup.
Agreed on the starting rotation, but the bottom of the lineup has actually been pretty damn solid. Our 7-8-9 hitters are currently leading the AL in RBIs (57). Fleming also mentioned them being one of the better bottom-of-the-lineups by some other statistical categories in last night's broadcast. I don't disagree that it's a bit too early to start hanging banners, but credit where credit is due: this year's offense is much more complete than last year.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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I mean, it's fine to say tiebreakers should go to younger players, but who do you want to replace Turner with that is not already in the lineup & is going to come close to his production & importance to the way the Red Sox are hitting?

& it's fine to not want Hernandez in the lineup so much, but with Mondesi/Story/Chang out there aren't exactly a lot of guys with a higher upside than Hernandez right now ready to step in at SS.

There's also a human element & 40-man roster complications.

I'm fine with moving on from Kluber if we ever ever have any healthy pitchers. Or Pivetta. But moving on from Sale (by what, releasing him?) when he still has good stuff & has a 3.83 xFIP despite his SSS struggles seems crazy.

But there aren't any pitchers pitching well in Worcester right now unfortunately anyway. Drohan has been great, but you're much more likely to stunt his growth (& mess up your 40-man roster) by calling him up to the majors rather than let him progress at a normal trajectory.

Not a call they have to make now, obviously, (re Hernandez and Turner), I said that if / when it comes to it, if the question is a struggling vet vs a struggling young player (or a player surging in the high minors), the tie goes to the youth.

So, ostensibly, say the day Mondessi is back (or Story is ready, even better) and things are going as they are now, Hernandez rides the pine and Valdez keeps playing. Or Adam Duvall is ready to come back, you make him and Turner split at bats and keep playing Duran. That kind of thing.
 

pk1627

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A lot of victory laps regarding Bloom being taken a month into the season. I’m pleasantly surprised with the results and hope they stick, but a little early to declare victory. Still lots of question marks with the starting rotation, and bottom of the lineup.
This is Red Sox baseball. We’ve been to the promised land 4 times starting in 2004. No one is taking a victory lap. I do believe there’s a number of us enjoying the way they are competing and realize there will be a roller coaster season.
 

moondog80

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Sep 20, 2005
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Sox 10th in run differential (+27), on pace for +129. Last year 10th in MLB was +62. Much smaller middle class this year.
 

JimD

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A lot of victory laps regarding Bloom being taken a month into the season. I’m pleasantly surprised with the results and hope they stick, but a little early to declare victory. Still lots of question marks with the starting rotation, and bottom of the lineup.
I wouldn't call it a 'victory lap', probably more like a necessary (and satisfying) corrective to the legions of doomsayers who were piling onto Bloom this winter and writing off this team not just for 2023 but for the foreseeable future.
 

joe dokes

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I'm in agreement with the spirit of this post, but the newest Sox Prospects podcast was just discussing how rough Alfaro is behind the dish. They've started breaking down starts by catcher so they can separate out the games he catches when looking at pitcher stats.
I'm sure he is, but the minors are filled with imperfect players. For example, Valdez can hit but he's got Offerhands. I suspect that if one of Wong or McGuire goes down for 2 weeks, other will play 80% of the games. If its a long-term thing, and they're in contention, I suspect they'll get another, defense-first, catcher.
 

Benj4ever

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Nov 21, 2022
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I'm sure he is, but the minors are filled with imperfect players. For example, Valdez can hit but he's got Offerhands. I suspect that if one of Wong or McGuire goes down for 2 weeks, other will play 80% of the games. If its a long-term thing, and they're in contention, I suspect they'll get another, defense-first, catcher.
And...Alfaro could be the DH/2nd catcher of the future, which isn't a bad thing, either.
 

grimshaw

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May 16, 2007
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I'm sure he is, but the minors are filled with imperfect players. For example, Valdez can hit but he's got Offerhands. I suspect that if one of Wong or McGuire goes down for 2 weeks, other will play 80% of the games. If its a long-term thing, and they're in contention, I suspect they'll get another, defense-first, catcher.
But he replaces Arroyo's on base capabilities.
 

scottyno

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Dec 7, 2008
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Pretty funny that you only have to look back a few weeks in this thread to see a bunch of people ready to fire Cora and Bloom
 

soxhop411

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Pretty funny that you only have to look back a few weeks in this thread to see a bunch of people ready to fire Cora and Bloom
The AL east has been (for like 9 straight years) and continues to be the toughest division in baseball
View: https://twitter.com/soxnotes/status/1655041286078976001?s=46

The Red Sox are 21-14 (.600).

Only 1 of the 25 teams outside of the AL East has a winning percentage of .600 or better (Atlanta, .676, 23-11).
Which again. Is why i will go to my grave arguing to kill divisions entirely