On 9/18/2020 at 9:53 AM, Yearnin' for Yermin said:

Is that an invitation?

It’s an invitation to make a reservation

1 hour ago, Madrigal Mystery Tour said:

It’s an invitation to make a reservation

at an undisclosed destination. 

I think it is great to have madrigal for the playoffs because he will scrap out some hits against elite pitching. The sox can hit homers against anyone but they will also strike out a lot and not get on base a ton so madrigal can get some knocks and make the solo shot a 2 run homer. That adds another dimension to the low on base high K power offense of the sox.

13 hours ago, ptatc said:

at an undisclosed destination. 

Ptatc the invitation to make a reservation is the lyrics from Magical Mystery Tour and while at an undisclosed destination fits in with the the rhythm of the words it is not part of the song . ?

 

5 hours ago, Dominikk85 said:

I think it is great to have madrigal for the playoffs because he will scrap out some hits against elite pitching. The sox can hit homers against anyone but they will also strike out a lot and not get on base a ton so madrigal can get some knocks and make the solo shot a 2 run homer. That adds another dimension to the low on base high K power offense of the sox.

Have you not heard the Sox are 1st in OBP in the AL ?

Time for all to get on board for the new Sox. The old Sox have been thrown in the garbage.

Edited September 20, 20205 yr by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

26 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Have you not heard the Sox are 1st in OBP in the AL ?

Time for all to get on board for the new Sox. The old Sox have been thrown in the garbage.

Yeah but they also have a super high babip. I .think the sox Power is real but they are 4th highest in K rate and 4th lowest in walk rate in the AL so that OBP part could go down quickly.

The sox will have to rely on power a lot which they can do but some table setters like madrigal will help to make them multi run shots.

On 9/20/2020 at 9:04 AM, Dominikk85 said:

Yeah but they also have a super high babip. I .think the sox Power is real but they are 4th highest in K rate and 4th lowest in walk rate in the AL so that OBP part could go down quickly.

The sox will have to rely on power a lot which they can do but some table setters like madrigal will help to make them multi run shots.

You did say low OBP and we all know OBP  includes walks and batting average HBP and whatever else.

Sox also lead the AL in team batting average so I'm more inclined to think we probably already hit our fair share of home runs with men on base. 

I dont know if there is a stat that will break that down by percent. I'm sure by shear numbers alone we are very high up in the solo HR category but that is just a result of hitting a lot of HRs. I would guess if broken down by percent that the Sox might actually have a better HR with a man+ on base percentage than most teams.

4.3 runs below replacement on the bases so far.  That's hard to do in 23 games.  Konerko's worst was -10.7 in 149 games.  He's not this bad but I've seen zero evidence he has the speed or instincts needed to be a plus baserunner.  I'd think at best he could be run neutral.

34 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

4.3 runs below replacement on the bases so far.  That's hard to do in 23 games.  Konerko's worst was -10.7 in 149 games.  He's not this bad but I've seen zero evidence he has the speed or instincts needed to be a plus baserunner.  I'd think at best he could be run neutral.

He had a couple really bad mistakes on the bases early on that accounts for much of that. Dude will be fine but certainly isn’t the burner with a 70 grade we were promised.

Should be in the 2-spot with Moncada out of the lineup/moved down due to struggling. 

The other day when Anderson was wired for sound on the field he referred to Madrigal as Magical.  That should end all discussion on the nickname issue.

I am very skeptical of the value of Nick Madrigal ever being more than an average 2nd baseman. 

Here are the things that worry me. 

28 hits- Only 3 Extra Base Hits.

1 Stolen Base- If you only hit singles. You would like the player to be a stolen base threat. 

3 Walks- Yes, he works deep into counts so I do believe this is one area of improvement we could see in the near future. But, if you are not going to hit for power- you better be able to walk. 

378 BABIP- He will probably carry a higher than normal BABIP because of his speed but he doesn't hit the ball with much authority which makes me believe this will go down as well. 

-1.1 UZR- This is such a small sample size so its hard to take field metrics seriously without a whole season. But, you would like to see this in the positive given the other limitations of his game. 

Now I am not saying that he will not improve. I do believe he will need to change his approach at some point to hit the ball with some authority. He could become more of a stolen base threat and maybe the metrics through a whole season will make him a positive defender. Some of this is not fair because he is in the majors when all of his draft peers are in the minors. But, He was the number 3 pick in the draft- you would like to at least see star potential. Right now, I see everyday regular. 

 

1 hour ago, kwill said:

I am very skeptical of the value of Nick Madrigal ever being more than an average 2nd baseman. 

Here are the things that worry me. 

28 hits- Only 3 Extra Base Hits.

1 Stolen Base- If you only hit singles. You would like the player to be a stolen base threat. 

3 Walks- Yes, he works deep into counts so I do believe this is one area of improvement we could see in the near future. But, if you are not going to hit for power- you better be able to walk. 

378 BABIP- He will probably carry a higher than normal BABIP because of his speed but he doesn't hit the ball with much authority which makes me believe this will go down as well. 

-1.1 UZR- This is such a small sample size so its hard to take field metrics seriously without a whole season. But, you would like to see this in the positive given the other limitations of his game. 

Now I am not saying that he will not improve. I do believe he will need to change his approach at some point to hit the ball with some authority. He could become more of a stolen base threat and maybe the metrics through a whole season will make him a positive defender. Some of this is not fair because he is in the majors when all of his draft peers are in the minors. But, He was the number 3 pick in the draft- you would like to at least see star potential. Right now, I see everyday regular. 

 

He will always carry a high BABIP because he doesn’t hit the ball hard every time. There has been extensive research that actually shows soft contact hitters can carry a higher BABIP if they are in Madrigal’s mold. The history actually suggests their batting average closely mirrors a slightly higher BABIP.

It makes sense too when you think of how many weak ground balls they leg out.

With his defense, it’s only going to improve.

Pencil him in for 2 to 3 WAR every year for 6 years. 12 to 18 WAR for a number 3 pick considering his peers is great.

Madrigal has a good eye but he won't walk a ton since pitchers will challenge him. I don't think he will stay super low either, probably more like 7-8% for his career which is fine.

On 9/20/2020 at 4:46 AM, Dominikk85 said:

I think it is great to have madrigal for the playoffs because he will scrap out some hits against elite pitching. The sox can hit homers against anyone but they will also strike out a lot and not get on base a ton so madrigal can get some knocks and make the solo shot a 2 run homer. That adds another dimension to the low on base high K power offense of the sox.

Engel Magic and TA on the bases might scrape up some runs for us.

He also doesn't walk a lot because he doesn't swing and miss. He puts the ball in play and uses he whole field.  

Madrigal is hitting .346 and people still say he will only be an average 2nd baseman.  Doesn't walk enough and needs more power yada yada.  Soxtalk is a tough crowd to please.

2 minutes ago, poppysox said:

Madrigal is hitting .346 and people still say he will only be an average 2nd baseman.  Doesn't walk enough and needs more power yada yada.  Soxtalk is a tough crowd to please.

All of the things he is doing well are flukes, and all of the things he is doing badly he will keep doing.  Such is the Soxtalk.

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

All of the things he is doing well are flukes, and all of the things he is doing badly he will keep doing.  Such is the Soxtalk.

This text is red.

10 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

All of the things he is doing well are flukes, and all of the things he is doing badly he will keep doing.  Such is the Soxtalk.

NOW you're getting it.