chitownsportsfan

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 17, 2017 -> 12:50 PM) Avi's batting average is not his weakness, it's been his bizarre lack of power numbers despite hitting the ball hard. Hard to hit doubles on ground balls, there's not much space between the corners. That's why this increase in lifted balls is important. He can hit .245 if it means 35 doubles instead of 15, 20 home runs instead of 13-14. But, he'll also need to prove it on defense and I still have no confidence there, though I do think LF with his arm could be more helpful. If he hits 245 he's going to have a 285 OBP. That's not acceptable even if he's hitting 30 HR. He needs to hit 280 or higher in order to have an acceptable OBP. His defense is a lost cause imo. If he can slash 280/320/480 he's a 2-3 WAR player however.

If he keeps hitting the ball in the air and swinging at less junk outside the zone his turnaround will continue. He's not going to BABIB over 400 all year but if he keeps hitting this many line shots he'll have one around 320-350. That should allow him to hit 280 or higher. Keep it up Avi. I'll update the stats at the end of this week and see if we can spot some more trends.

it's f***ing pouring rain.

wow unhitch the trailer todd.

TA BB ALERT!

check this guy for PEDs

QUOTE (Scoots @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 08:26 PM) That umpire got rocked it f***ing nailed him. wow.

QUOTE (Tannerfan @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 08:24 PM) So he's not part of the 2019 plan right? Right??? yea for the independent league though.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 08:22 PM) If Covey is a sinker ball pitcher he might want to get the ball down he's just a guy, that has to pitch for a month or so.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 08:20 PM) You would have agreed with me if he was safe it was stupid, don't gain much with 2 outs being at 3rd.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 08:15 PM) Then I have some bad news for you yea i'm too stoned. I missed that the sox batted before the rain delay.

looked like a tie but ball beat him.

I love Renteria batting Avi leadoff, he hit it hard.

This is going to be a train wreck.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 08:00 PM) Probably will be bad dadgumit.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 02:23 PM) He has a .565 BABIP Fair enough, but that's the result of good contact. It's not sustainable obviously, but if he keeps hitting the ball hard his BABIP should be around 330 at the end of the year. It's SSS to be sure, but it's also fun to speculate on message boards.

First, here is what is usually accepted as "stabilized" sample sizes for various metrics. The only stat we can say with any degree of confidence soon (next 7 or so games) that has "stabilized" will be K rate. So let's start with that. Avi's K rate is down to 20.6%. This is by far the lowest rate of his career and is a good, positive sign for him. It's down over 5% from last year. Avi has currently only about 40 balls in play, so in another two weeks or so of games we can talk more assuredly about his GB/FB tendencies but since this is SSS theater let's talk about them anyways: he's again moved in a positive direction. His GB% is down to 37.5%, that's a whopping decrease from his 55% last year. His pulled ball rate is up to 41.7%, and lord knows all of us have been wanting to see him for years to start pulling the ball with more authority. His walk rate is down a bit to 5.9% but Avi will never be a guy that relies on walks for value, he needs to crush baseballs and make pitchers throw him strikes. On that path, he's doing well. His outside zone swinging is down to 33.3%. When they do throw him stirkes, he's swinging at more of them, at 77.6% and he's making better contact overall, at 75.4% of swings. Defensively, he's basically same old same old. But, he's still been worth .5 WAR because of his hot start with the bat. I don't think there's any doubt that most Sox fans would be content if Avi just turned into a 2 WAR regular. That would mean a slash line of 280/330/460 or so over 140+ games. Can he do it? Not sure. From watching the games he certainly appears to be swinging a quicker bat, and his approach has been better as well. I'll keep this thread updated throughout the next couple months when he reaches the sample sizes for more "stabilization". For now, mostly what we can do is just hope this isn't a fluke. Here's his fangraphs page where I got all the data.

QUOTE (mataipaepae @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 01:53 PM) What does white have anything to do with it? yea not going to bother answering this. Figure out the demographics of SP in MLB yourself. Then look up the meaning of generic.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 01:03 PM) I'd like to see Omar play as much as he can. He calls an interesting game and I think he just needs lots of reps. Only complain with him is the framing but if he hits like this I'll live with it.

I saw Covey in spring. He is literally the generic right handed AAAA SP. He's Caucasian, about 6'2, maybe 200 lbs wet. He throws his heater about 89-92. He has a mediocre curve and a mediocre at best changeup. His control is mediocre to poor and his command is mediocre. He has no out pitch at the MLB level and will rely quite a bit on defense and ground balls if he's to have any success tonight. Good luck dude. It might be a very long night. Hopefully in a month he's replaced either by Rodon or Lopez. I believe the super 2 deadline is May 13th this year.

Without going into Jason verse Hawk, I just want to point out that Hawk can't see the ball anymore. On Anderson's HR stone practically had to remind Hawk to call it. I don't think Hawk had any clue where that ball was. On the play Garcia made the baserunning blooper it was obviously a sinking line drive that would probably fall (we couldn't see the OF positioning on TV) but Hawk, in his grumpy voice calls it as "and there's a ball out to LF...it falls!" No s*** it fell. It's really no wonder he doesn't want to talk about the game in front of him, he can't f***ing see it.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 13, 2017 -> 04:00 PM) AJ made too much money to make 40 flights and stay in hotels 90-100 days a year just to be a color guy. He's a network guy, and he'll be great. Yup, and AJ is very good on TV.

damn renteria and joe coaching the s*** out of Garcia and TA on the replay I'm watching. Nice! Not yelling but teaching. Such a f***ing nice change of pace from the limp Ventura.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Apr 13, 2017 -> 09:45 PM) Far more enjoyable than Bennetti comedy hour(s). I can tolerate Benetti, at least he lets Stone talk.

Good job boys.