This is the sub-.600 OPS squad on the Sox.

 

Adam Dunn 96 331 30 54 13 0 11 39 100 58 142 0 1 .163 .294 .302 .596

 

Brent Morel 79 255 22 66 10 0 1 19 79 4 29 2 4 .259 .278 .310 .587

 

Omar Vizquel 48 142 14 36 5 1 0 8 43 6 17 1 2 .254 .280 .303 .583

 

Mark Teahen† 51 118 11 24 3 0 3 11 36 12 28 0 1 .203 .277 .305 .582

 

Alex Rios 105 386 45 83 17 0 7 26 121 22 45 9 5 .215 .259 .313.572

 

Dunn and Rios have received well-deserved criticisms. Their bloated contracts make it impossible to move them, so we will have to hope they break out.

 

But why is Brent Morel getting a pass? Is he ever going to hit well enough to be a legitimate ML 3rd baseman? Of all the ML 3B listed this year, he ranks 45th. A few others as bad or worse have gotten around his 255 ABs -- Miguel Tejada, Juan Uribe, Chone Figgins, Brandon Inge -- but this doesn't seem a worthy reason to keep trotting Morel out there. And clearly Vizquel is no better.

 

My own view would be to bring up Dayan Viciedo to play 3B. He could also play some OF and DH, but the one place he'd make the most difference offensively would be 3B. We'd lose a little defensively, but we still need more offense, and Viciedo would be a significant upgrade.

Edited August 7, 201114 yr by VAfan

You may as well just release Dayan if you're thinking of moving him back to 3b. At least that wouldn't screw with the kid's positioning any more than it already has been.

This is the sub-.600 OPS squad on the Sox.

 

Adam Dunn 96 331 30 54 13 0 11 39 100 58 142 0 1 .163 .294 .302 .596

 

Brent Morel 79 255 22 66 10 0 1 19 79 4 29 2 4 .259 .278 .310 .587

 

Omar Vizquel 48 142 14 36 5 1 0 8 43 6 17 1 2 .254 .280 .303 .583

 

Mark Teahen† 51 118 11 24 3 0 3 11 36 12 28 0 1 .203 .277 .305 .582

 

Alex Rios 105 386 45 83 17 0 7 26 121 22 45 9 5 .215 .259 .313.572

 

Dunn and Rios have received well-deserved criticisms. Their bloated contracts make it impossible to move them, so we will have to hope they break out.

 

But why is Brent Morel getting a pass? Is he ever going to hit well enough to be a legitimate ML 3rd baseman? Of all the ML 3B listed this year, he ranks 45th. A few others as bad or worse have gotten around his 255 ABs -- Miguel Tejada, Juan Uribe, Chone Figgins, Brandon Inge -- but this doesn't seem a worthy reason to keep trotting Morel out there. And clearly Vizquel is no better.

 

My own view would be to bring up Dayan Viciedo to play 3B. He could also play some OF and DH, but the one place he'd make the most difference offensively would be 3B. We'd lose a little defensively, but we still need more offense, and Viciedo would be a significant upgrade.

 

Dayan Viciedo is no longer a third baseman. This decision was made because he wasn't very good at playing third base.

Morel's not gotten a pass as far as I'm concerned. He's been unbearable from an offensive standpoint.

Morel has gotten more of a pass because he's a rookie, he's good defensively, he's worked his ass off, and because he's not getting paid 8 digits a year. Simple, no?

Yes, let's pull the plug on a rookie who is one of the better defensive 3B in baseball.

 

Smart.

Is Morel going to be the same as Josh Fields? A lot of hype and struggles

Is Morel going to be the same as Josh Fields? A lot of hype and struggles

I'd say Morel has had considerably less hype than Fields. If nothing else, 3rd round pick versus first round pick.

 

Morel's also hitting .290 since early May. Yes, it's an empty .290, so don't waste my time pointing that out, but his numbers are dragged down by his bad start.

I'd say Morel has had considerably less hype than Fields. If nothing else, 3rd round pick versus first round pick.

 

Morel's also hitting .290 since early May. Yes, it's an empty .290, so don't waste my time pointing that out, but his numbers are dragged down by his bad start.

If he is hitting an empty .290, what's the point of even using that statistic in an argument? I mean he could be hitting .310 with the same secondary statistics, and he would still be an awful player. Batting average is a pretty poor indicator of really anything anymore in baseball.

 

Morel has been awful this year offensively, but I still feel part of the blame has to be Ozzie's usage of him. Defensively he has been great. But he still has A LOT to improve upon if he is going to be a major league starter, including any semblance of power (11 XBH is putrid), his ability to walk (he would't walk 10 times this year with 600 ABs at his current rate, again deplorable) his base running (beyond his 2-for-6 in SBs, he always seems to make horrible choices on the paths) and bunting. We knew he was going to take some lumps as a hitter in his first year in the Major Leagues, but not this bad.

 

He probably should have been sent down at some point this year, but alas he was the tallest midget at third base in the organization.

Edited August 7, 201114 yr by maggsmaggs

If he is hitting an empty .290, what's the point of even using that statistic in an argument? Morel has been awful this year offensively, but I still feel part of the blame has to be Ozzie's usage of him. Defensively he has been great. But he still has A LOT to improve upon if he is going to be a major league starter, including any semblance of power (11 XBH is putrid), his base running (beyond his 2-for-6 in SBs, he always seems to make horrible choices on the paths) and bunting. We knew he was going to take some lumps as a hitter in his first year in the Major Leagues, but not this bad.

 

He probably should have been sent down at some point this year, but alas he was the tallest midget at third base in the organization.

 

1 HR, 9 2B and 1.5 BB%=replacement level. No amount of defense can mask that. Hopefully we see a substantial improvement next year.

Edited August 7, 201114 yr by Jordan4life

UGH, WHY IS THIS ROOKIE STRUGGLING? I DEMAND SATISFACTION NOW, NOW, NOW.

 

Christ, give it a rest. Morel had a .464 SLG% in the minors and walked at a better (although still meh) clip as well.

 

Give him another year.

I'll gladly take a guy that would hit .310 with only singles. I'd be just fine with that. OPS be damned. Average is becoming a very underrated stat, imo. And no, I would not have that guy in the middle of my order, but in the 9 spot or in the 2 hole that average would work out quite nicely. Especially when you factor in his defense.

Morel has gotten more of a pass because he's a rookie, he's good defensively, he's worked his ass off, and because he's not getting paid 8 digits a year. Simple, no?

I read on another site that he's hitting .345 since the All Star break or something like that.

i think a huge portion of Morel's bad numbers are due to Ozzie batting him second for a long period of time. Ozzieball really takes the bat out of the 2 hitters hands, he was constantly having Morel bunt and try to hit behind runners and take pitches to allow the leadoff hitter to try and take a base.

 

Morel never got a chance to be comfortable and get in a groove

Morel has gotten more of a pass because he's a rookie, he's good defensively, he's worked his ass off, and because he's not getting paid 8 digits a year. Simple, no?

 

 

Yes, let's pull the plug on a rookie who is one of the better defensive 3B in baseball.

 

Smart.

 

Sorry boys. Logic is slowly leaving this site.

I blame Walker and Ozzie.

 

Morel (and Beckham) both we're confident and had pop when they first came up. Now they looked scared.

 

And Ozzie sits Morel everytime he has a good day.

Can anybody find out what robin ventura's ops was in 1990?

Robin's ops was .643 in 1990... Damn we sould have given up on him after that year...

every team, other than the Yankees, needs a few guys who play for MLB minimum, especially a team wasting $30 million on Dunn and Rios.

 

Morel D has been outstanding.

 

I'm willing to be patient and see if he can improve.

I like Morel. He seems to be taking better cuts lately. He's getting hits and looks less defensive at the plate. Before the season is over I'm predicting Morel will have 5 HR's.

UGH, WHY IS THIS ROOKIE STRUGGLING? I DEMAND SATISFACTION NOW, NOW, NOW.

 

Christ, give it a rest. Morel had a .464 SLG% in the minors and walked at a better (although still meh) clip as well.

 

Give him another year.

Absolutely. We showed Zero patience with Daniel Hidson and look how great that turned out. Recall that Joe Crede didn't exactly set the world on fire either. .

Or Rowand.

 

It took both those guys 2-3 years to break into the Sox line-up as full-time starters.

 

Then Aaron had his motorcycle accident, KW got REALLY pissed at him and deliberately tried to replace him in the Sox's long-term plans but Rowand fought his way back with excellent play for a couple of seasons.

If he is hitting an empty .290, what's the point of even using that statistic in an argument? I mean he could be hitting .310 with the same secondary statistics, and he would still be an awful player. Batting average is a pretty poor indicator of really anything anymore in baseball.

Because that tells you a lot about how he's developing. The dude makes a ton of contact, doesn't strike out much, and has good enough bat control that you don't have to worry about him flailing uncontrollably at things.

 

The issues he's missing...patience and power...those are things that he can develop. His strong point is the thing you want to be strong for a rookie with his pedigree.

Because that tells you a lot about how he's developing. The dude makes a ton of contact, doesn't strike out much, and has good enough bat control that you don't have to worry about him flailing uncontrollably at things.

 

The issues he's missing...patience and power...those are things that he can develop. His strong point is the thing you want to be strong for a rookie with his pedigree.

Thank you. That's exactly why batting average means something. I'd take a team of .290 hitters because there will be plenty of guys on base and guys knocking them in even if it was a whole team of Juan Pierres and Brent Morels.

Thank you. That's exactly why batting average means something. I'd take a team of .290 hitters because there will be plenty of guys on base and guys knocking them in even if it was a whole team of Juan Pierres and Brent Morels.

Well, let me edit this slightly...I'd take a team of .290 hitters if they were all 24-25 year old rookies/2nd year players, because 2 years down the road, a lot of those guys would be putting up big numbers.