Very interesting comments on this subject from Bradley and especially Betts:
http://nesn.com/2017/08/red-sox-notes-mookie-betts-has-message-for-doubters-after-walk-off-win/
They seem to be hearing the criticism (!) and pushing back that this is who they are. Quantitatively you can analyze these situations and decide that the risk is generally not worth it relative to the odds of scoring without the aggressive approach, but these guys still have to play the game, and it sounds like what they're saying is that this is part of their collective personality. If a few outs on the bases is the cost of seeing a team that plays this hard all the way through to the end, and puts opponents under pressure, then a) it sounds like it might be worth the risk after all, and b) they're going to keep playing this way no matter what we conclude.
http://nesn.com/2017/08/red-sox-notes-mookie-betts-has-message-for-doubters-after-walk-off-win/
They seem to be hearing the criticism (!) and pushing back that this is who they are. Quantitatively you can analyze these situations and decide that the risk is generally not worth it relative to the odds of scoring without the aggressive approach, but these guys still have to play the game, and it sounds like what they're saying is that this is part of their collective personality. If a few outs on the bases is the cost of seeing a team that plays this hard all the way through to the end, and puts opponents under pressure, then a) it sounds like it might be worth the risk after all, and b) they're going to keep playing this way no matter what we conclude.