When the season started, all you heard from the Wizard of Oz was that the Sox would be playing "small/smart" ball. I understand that they aren't necessarily swinging for the fences with every At Bat but the stats they have accumulated don't really reflect "small/smart" ball.

 

As a team, they have hit the 5th most homeruns for the season. They are tied at 9th with 354 RBI's. I love that if they aren't swinging for the fences and are still winning ball games, they still manage to hit HR's. I believe as a team, they lead the majors with the most players with double digit HR's as well (currently 5 players with Frank coming up very quickly on that two digit number).

Winning with great pitching, great defense, and homeruns.

We're not a smallball team. End of story.

We're not a smallball team.  End of story.

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It seems like they were manufacturing a lot more runs earlier in the season. Now it seems like they are just winning with homeruns.

 

But you are right. We aren't really a smallball team. Frank, Konerko, Dye, Crede, Uribe, AJ, and Everett all swing for the fences.

Edited July 1, 200520 yr by Jabroni

But the home runs are smaller.

Yeah, this is a very distrubing trend IMO. It seems like now, offesnsively, we are at the same point we have been at the last 5 years, except now instead of maggs and lee hitting bombs its dye and everett, with frank and paulie being the common factors.

Yeah, this is a very distrubing trend IMO.  It seems like now, offesnsively, we are at the same point we have been at the last 5 years, except now instead of maggs and lee hitting bombs its dye and everett, with frank and paulie being the common factors.

 

I'm with you....I'm starting to get concerned that we are still too 'homer-centric'...we need to get more basehits....this swinging for homeruns is starting to get ridiculous...

Yeah, this is a very distrubing trend IMO.  It seems like now, offesnsively, we are at the same point we have been at the last 5 years, except now instead of maggs and lee hitting bombs its dye and everett, with frank and paulie being the common factors.

 

 

I think thats how we are different, are main support of offense is still supplied by the longball but unlike in years past if the HR isnt working we can still manufacture runs the smallball way and have great pitching to win us low run games, not 2 mention the best top of the order lineup for awhile.

Possibly, but I dont know the facts for sure, but I am pretty sure for this series and the scrubs series our % of runs by home runs would have to be quite high.

No one believed people who said that the Sox were going to hit a lot of HRs this year, and now everyone seems shocked that they are. Why? All you had to do was look at the line up to know that at least half the starters weren't going to be bunting.

No one believed people who said that the Sox were going to hit a lot of HRs this year, and now everyone seems shocked that they are.  Why?  All you had to do was look at the line up to know that at least half the starters weren't going to be bunting.

 

I wasn't shocked...I said look at how many we hit last year without Maggs and Frank for most of the year...

No one believed people who said that the Sox were going to hit a lot of HRs this year, and now everyone seems shocked that they are.  Why?  All you had to do was look at the line up to know that at least half the starters weren't going to be bunting.

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True, we knew they would hit homers. But it's disappointing when they get no hit for inning after inning instead of manufacturing runs like they did earlier in the season.

A small ball team gets the man on, gets him over, and gets him in. They don't swing for the fences, but they go the other direction. They beat you with speed, pitching, and defense. We do that, but i think we depend more on speed, pitching and defense than on the situational hitting.

Edited July 1, 200520 yr by Ozzie Montana

Every season ebbs and flows.

 

We were thisclose each of the last few seasons. I didn't think this was a major retooling, just a minor tweaking. It wasn't like we dumped every guy who could hit a 400 foot fly ball. What I was worried about was, I didn't see much in the way of batting average coming on board.

 

Small/Smart ball is as much about marketing as anything. Remember the team got rid of a few fan favorites. They needed to sell the change, sell tickets, etc.

Who needs a label or definition of what it is...you want to call it something...Call it Winning Ball. Cause that's what we're doing...We win games any way we have to.

 

 

We have 20 wins by 3 or more runs...10 wins by 2 and 22 by 1. That adds up to 52 wins any way you cut it and with any label you want to put on it. Winning Ball sounds good to me!!

Edited July 1, 200520 yr by Controlled Chaos

Who needs a label or definition of what it is...you want to call it something...Call it Winning Ball.  Cause that's what we're doing...We win games any way we have to.

We have 20 wins by 3 or more runs...10 wins by 2 and 22 by 1.  That adds up to 52 wins any way you cut it and with any label you want to put on it.  Winning Ball sounds good to me!!

 

The Sox are always going to hit a great deal of homeruns, the Cell is a long ball park. This year we are playing "smarter" ball. Small/Smart ball has to do with a number of things: Good baserunning, speed, good defense, situational hitting, to name a few. I said early in the season that the Lee - Pods deal was good and could very well be the key to a good season and even with Lees HR totals I still think we are a much better team w/o him. Lee was not a good outfielder, every once in a great while he would make a great diving catch of a ball that 85% of the other outfielders in the game would have made a routine play on. He was one of the worst baserunners in the game, I can recall numerous times seeing him getting thrown out at a base that he shouldn't have gone for anyway. He would also never change his swing, never trying to hit to the right side w/ a runner on. I also don't think his second half will compare to his first, teams are going to start pitching around him a bit and he will start chasing. Also remember that money saved from dealing him also landed us AJ, who has handled the staff well and is the kind of player I love.

True, we knew they would hit homers.  But it's disappointing when they get no hit for inning after inning instead of manufacturing runs like they did earlier in the season.

 

Do you know how often teams get ''no hit for inning after inning'' over the course of a game. It happens every single day against both good and bad pitchers It's not just the sox... and if you do not believe me check some box scores/inning play by play.

 

That arguement is getting veryold.

smallball (n.) -- jose canseco's testicles after years of steroid use.

smallball (n.) -- jose canseco's testicles after years of steroid use.

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Best... post... EVAR!!!

Edited July 1, 200520 yr by Jabroni