Look at Ray Ray Run

Lineup would be OK imo with Engel in there. Move Pollock up to 2nd: Tim SS Pollock RF Abreu 1B Eloy DH Vaughn LF Engel CF Leury 2B Burger 3B Reese C It's right handed, but this team is heavily right handed. You just can't put two first baseman in the outfield with an aging CF'er. It's just not smart.

He's fine in center but he's old and has lost a step. Engel is better in CF and should start there and Pollock should be in right field. Also, why is our worst defensive player in right field again? Does Tony understand that LF is much easier than RF?

Also, why does Adam Engel not play?

which in modern analytic terms is where you should actually put your best hitter. this shit is so goddamn funny.

Stretches, both good and bad, at the beginning and end of a season are often times magnified much greater than they should be. They're not different than a sweep in July or August but because fans are more invested and watching more diligently early and late, the bad stretch is magnified. Bad series will always happen. The most concerning thing for me is that La Russa learned nothing from last year and is still obsessed with garcia, distrusting in Vaughn, and oblivious to optimal lineups - instead content with going with his stubborn, illogical and ignorant gut. Strategically this team will have to overcome his incompetence again which is disheartening.

Gavin Sheets has 3 fewer PA's than Vaughn. Someone needs to tell TLR that Vaughn needs to be playing everyday.

Not concerned at all.

Good thing they rest all these guys to keep them fresh and safe from injury.

What an awful call by the umpires. You can't truck a guy in the process of playing the ball. No idea how the umpires didn't call Naylor out immediately there.

La russa knew that would happen when he left him in to hit. Brilliant.

I mean... it hit off the top of his glove.

because he should be tagging up... what are you guys talking about. Robert did exactly what he should do there.

LOL What are you talking about? He has to tag and get to third base if the ball was caught. Man on 3rd with 1 out. He can't be going half way. He has to hug the base.

He needed to tag if it was caught so he couldn't wander far from the base at all.

LOL what is Leury doing?

It's not the hitting coach with the Giants, it's the managers/front office decisions on who plays against who. The Giants have gone another layer and matched up bat paths with pitch paths; not R/L pairings, but actually swing plane matches with pitch angle's/paths. They've actually allowed people to do what they're best at; they haven't really changed anyone as a hitter.

Menechino is a good hitting coach. Also... MLB hitting coaches just really don't mean all that much. This is on Eloy.

I'm not really worried about approach in the long term. Yaz is just too smart a hitter. He'll figure it out. He's being attacked a bit differently this year and he's trying to attack the pitches early in the count to counter. Think he'll figure it out and this is juts a slow start for Yaz.

No one jumps ship faster than Sox fans in gamechats. The talent is still there. That said, I had been souring on Eloy last year and I'm at the point where I just don't see it with him going forward. Too many ground balls. Bad pitch recognition. His hit tool had to carry him because the rest of his tools are bad. Yoan, Robert, Tim, Yaz, Vaughn... not worried about. Eloy, I'm very worried.

Take the 89 mph fastball down the dick; swing at the slider out of the zone lol. Eloy is something.

When the Sox pitching gets healthy, it's going to cover up for a lot of the offensive/defensive woes.

Do you really think playing the field (LF) is physically taxing for a professional athlete? I'd argue DHing is actually more taxing mentally than playing the field and hitting.

Produce? They're not even given the chance too. The best players should be playing 92-93% of the games. This isn't complicated. You talking about guys needing a mental break on April 21st is just hilarious.

What experience? Giving guy 25-30 games off a year is not an experience that jives with any historical strategy or implementation. The best players consistently played 150+ games a year - and STILL DO for most teams.

At 39 years old, 6'5 240 pound Frank Thomas played 155 of 162 games. This idea that players need a day off per week in addition to the days off in most weeks for mental rest is just complete BS.