chitownsportsfan

olson basically has the engel swing except he's a power hitter...that's really the only guys it works for in MLB imo. if you're going to use that complicated of a load you better f***ing hit the ball far when you hit it.

This team f***ing sucks right now.

really feels like the sox are tanking again this year at this point with migo, engel and some of the pen choices early.

Nice play by Moncada from a position on the diamond he's probably not very used to fielding the ball at.

great advice from stone there "you can't give up two and three run homers".

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 10:18 PM) What about since game 1? according to the Oakland crew last night I believe it was 3-67 entering last night, was there a hit with RISP after I turned it off last night in the 7th? I believe it was 3-71 when I left.

CAN ANYBODY ON THIS f***ING TEAM HIT A ROLLING BREAKING BALL 3-2????????????????????????????????????????

He has no clue where the ball is going. Don't help him out.

So uh what's that now 3-70 with RISP? Tiring.

Collins is going to fall well out of the top 10 by midseason at this rate.

Basabe wants some of that Robert hype.

QUOTE (KnightsOnMintSt @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 07:19 PM) Blake Rutherford with a double in the 1st inning. Now batting .353 on the season. the average is nice but is this "untapped power" ever going to show up?

so how bad is the sewage going to be in the visitor's clubhouse tonight? with 65k expected this is gonna be a s*** show. literally.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 06:56 PM) You are unbelievable. not a statnik but has no problem removing the three homeruns on opening day because it doesn't fit his "eye test". unbelievable is right.

I'm getting really excited about all these outfield prospects. Basabe starting the year off on a tear after a solid spring is excellent news.

how cathartic would a 12-3 win be? Quite.

collar bones heal pretty fast but at best he's back on the field in early July.

so uh, where we at here? can you launch a splash page for Soxtalk.com with a link to the new software for testing and leave this DB up for now?

QUOTE (Tony @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 01:15 PM) Saw this on Twitter today. But, we shouldn't use stats in this thread and instead blame the manager for batting him in a place in the order that has no barring on performance. Carry on. Not sure how much it matters as he's beating the ball right into the ground. He's 58% of his batted balls are grounders. That is not going to work. Also hasn't taken a single walk all year. That is also not going to work. He's a 270/320/420 hitter that lucked into a great year. Is what it is. I just hope his value doesn't completely crater before they can deal him at the deadline for a B- level prospect, maybe a toolsy IF type.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 02:27 PM) I couldn’t disagree more. Yoan has a the hard part down: he understands the strike zone. Many prospects, and many current Sox players, for that matter, do not understand the strike zone/see pitches nearly as well. Secondly, when he does make contact, he’s crushing balls. Clearly he has some swing and miss to his game, and that is always going to be the case. However, I think the funk he’s in is just one where he’s trying to stay true to his approach a bit too much, in the face of the League making adjustments to that approach. He’s getting behind in the count far too often, because he has a tendency to look at the first pitch. From there, he just struggles because he’s so often 0-2, 1-2. I think yesterday’s first PA was perfect. He needs to be ready to jump on that first pitch if its grooved right in the zone until the League stops doing that. Just that adjustment alone I think would have major positive consequences. For sure. I think the leadoff spot has put some added pressure on him to see pitches as well. But, if that's his long term spot in the order than it's better to get these teething issues out of the way ASAP. one thing so far is that for the most part, he has not taken his problems at the plate into the field. He's made some really nice plays and has limited his boneheaded mistakes.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 01:02 PM) I hope we can be done with the "Awarding the CF position based on spring training play" era. I am having bad flashbacks to Jimmy Rollins. It seems the Sox love to give starting spots to over the hill guys and "never will be" guys based on spring training.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 11:52 AM) Anytime you play an infielder in the outfield (L. Garcia) you are looking for trouble. Leury has almost 700 innings in CF now and almost 1000 overall in the OF. He has his brain farts mostly related to throwing but he can go and get the ball well enough. I'm not really happy with how he's being used early on by Ricky. He seems to be almost exclusively a LF defensive replacement for Delmonico. That's wasting the roster spot and wasting his talents imo.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 11:41 AM) Yeah this looks correct, though I'll say I'd be fine with Leury back in CF full time. just watching last night Engel was completely overwhelmed at the plate by very mediocre fastballs (to be fair that was most of the lineup as well). that said, with that swing I'm not sure how he'll ever hit above 200. Probably the longest swing I've seen at the MLB level from a non slugger.

The numbers (and the eye test) speak volumes about his play: In 375 MLB PA Engel is slashing 168/243/276 for a wRC of 40. This year he's improved his slash line to 188/308/219 for a wRC+ of 60. In addition to his well know struggles at the plate Engel has struggled in CF with bad routes, weak throws and lapses in concentration. He's -1.8 runs according to Fangraphs so far in CF. All in all he's been worth -1 fWAR in a little over half a season of MLB play. If you squint maybe you can see a productive 4th OF but at what point does the org pull the plug on the Engel as starting CF experiment? It would be one thing if he was a guy with a history of success in MilB but that is not the case either. In his last AAA stint Engel hit .218, his overall line buoyed by a flukey .256 iso. His hit tool makes Yoan look like Ted Williams. With the presumed 3-4 month injury to Cordell perhaps Adam was granted a temporary reprieve last night. That said, those that have followed him closer -- is Tilson ready? [from a quick glance at the AAA stats, no, he's not.] How about Leury as starting CF? Do the Sox have someone ready to come up into a utility IF role, or do you simply make Tyler the primary backup at 3B, SS and 2B with Yolmer providing emergency cover? Personally I'm more than ready to move on. I don't see any upside to giving Engel more PA and I'd much rather see them go to Leury.

Reasonable responses. I think I had 79 wins, which looks way too optimistic. If Avi really goes back to being below replacement that is three wins right there and he sure looks like he is back in that mode. The losses don't bother me so much as how they are losing. Had to turn the game off after TAs error last night. Looks like a 70 win team right now. At least Lopez is off to a great start.