Red Sox Spring Training 2019: "It's Our Turn Now"

uncannymanny

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Yeah but those are less “best shape of his life” and more coaching assessments on guys improving their biggest career or prior season weaknesses. I chuckle at the former every spring but damn if those reports don’t have me counting days on the calendar. Players showing that they’ve made offseason progress on really important aspects of their game is not fluff, it’s important and legitimately exciting.
 

DeadlySplitter

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well, JBJ had a monster swing today.


Chavis has also had a pair of 3-R HRs, to RF and LF. would be nice to have legit 1B depth and ready to start next year, or used as a blue chip in a deal of real value.
 

soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
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Swihart could be the one traded going by this article.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In the eyes of Alex Cora, the Red Sox’ catching competition is wide open as Grapefruit League play begins this weekend.

The Sox won’t break camp with Sandy Leon, Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez all on the roster, meaning one of the three will either be traded or released before Opening Day. The trio has been shopped in trade talks all winter but no deal has materalized.

Cora is viewing the race holistically instead of putting too much stock in day-to-day performance. It’s an understandable approach for a manager who watched all three catchers in the majors for the entirety of last season.
While a variety of factors will play into the final decision, Cora does believe familiarity with the pitching staff will carry significant weight. He mentioned how both Leon and Vazquez were impressive with their handling of pitchers last year, with the team winning 25 out of 26 Leon starts during one stretch and Vazquez taking over in the postseason.

“Our pitchers, they trust them,” Cora said. “Obviously, yeah, Sandy has caught a lot the last two years and it seems like he’s caught the same guys a lot. It gets to a point sometimes where you have to make decisions based on that. With the offense that we have, it’s not that we’d like them to hit .200 or not get on base, but we feel that we’re still going to score enough runs.”
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2019/02/boston-red-sox-catching-competition-wide-open-as-grapefruit-league-play-begins.html
 

Al Zarilla

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Did JBJ put on a little weight? To me he looks more solid and muscular.
I don’t know. He’s always looked to me, build-wise, as much like an NFL running back or DB as an elite outfielder. If he could run like Jonathan Jones, he’d undoubtedly be the best fielding outfielder in the history of the game. Looking forward to a solid offensive season, wire to wire, from JBJ.
 

bluefenderstrat

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I don’t know. He’s always looked to me, build-wise, as much like an NFL running back or DB as an elite outfielder. If he could run like Jonathan Jones, he’d undoubtedly be the best fielding outfielder in the history of the game. Looking forward to a solid offensive season, wire to wire, from JBJ.
I'd be thrilled with a 100 OPS+, but hope springs eternal where JBJ's bat is concerned.
 

barbed wire Bob

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I don’t know. He’s always looked to me, build-wise, as much like an NFL running back or DB as an elite outfielder. If he could run like Jonathan Jones, he’d undoubtedly be the best fielding outfielder in the history of the game. Looking forward to a solid offensive season, wire to wire, from JBJ.
IMO he is one of the best fielding outfielders in the game. He may not be as fast as Jones but he’s intelligent, reads the ball well and is never out of position. He’s one of my favorite players and I really hope he does well.

Plus, whenever I see him I think of the lyric from Centerfield: “A-roundin' third, and headed for home, It's a brown-eyed handsome man,” :)
 

nvalvo

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I'd be thrilled with a 100 OPS+, but hope springs eternal where JBJ's bat is concerned.
Knock on wood, but 2018 OPS+ splits by month:

69, 69, 82, 122, 129, 130.

My favorite one is this.

JBJ, before Cora sat him on May 8: .173/.264/.264/.528 on a .218 BABIP, just looking like garbage. 125 PA.
JBJ, after he returned to the lineup on May 12: .253/.329/.445/.774 on a .324 BABIP, looking like a legitimate two-way ballplayer. 410 PA.

You might think BABIP is the culprit, and it might be. But a quick look over to fangraphs sees him add a bunch of hard contact at the expense of soft and medium contact from around that same early May point.

That's two different guys.
 

reggiecleveland

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Knock on wood, but 2018 OPS+ splits by month:

69, 69, 82, 122, 129, 130.

My favorite one is this.

JBJ, before Cora sat him on May 8: .173/.264/.264/.528 on a .218 BABIP, just looking like garbage. 125 PA.
JBJ, after he returned to the lineup on May 12: .253/.329/.445/.774 on a .324 BABIP, looking like a legitimate two-way ballplayer. 410 PA.

You might think BABIP is the culprit, and it might be. But a quick look over to fangraphs sees him add a bunch of hard contact at the expense of soft and medium contact from around that same early May point.

That's two different guys.
In the old baseball abstract books Bill James used half seasons as predictive.
 

Sprowl

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Right? I almost want to return my "Damage Done" sweatshirt--they're not done.
Happy Truck Day everyone!!! Time for back to back WS wins. Damage remains to be done.
Mischief remains to be managed.

IMO he is one of the best fielding outfielders in the game. He may not be as fast as Jones but he’s intelligent, reads the ball well and is never out of position. He’s one of my favorite players and I really hope he does well.

Plus, whenever I see him I think of the lyric from Centerfield: “A-roundin' third, and headed for home, It's a brown-eyed handsome man,” :)
Chuck Berry got home first.


Bring on the high fly into the stand!
 

Rice4HOF

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"Per source, Red Sox players kids aren’t involved in the news from today."
That’s a relief. Nothing worse than a parent outliving one of their children.

Blake Swihart’s mom posted something on Facebook. Have to think it’s related to this but the post was vague “our hearts are broken”. Maybe his dad or a sibling?
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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@Sean_McAdam: Red Sox announce that the younger, adopted brother of catcher Blake Swihart, 23-year-old Romell Jordan, passed away earlier today. The Swihart family has asked for privacy at this time.
 

luckysox

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Ah man. 23. This is just awful.
Edit: a little googling shows the story of a young man who had a seriously troubled family-life until he moved in with the Swiharts in his junior year of high school. He got a football scholarship to the University of New Mexico after a stellar football and overall career in HS - student council, good grades. He red-shirted, played a season, then blew his knee out in the spring before his sophomore (redshirt) season. His mother, who lived in La Vegas and with whom he was close, died that fall. The kid had a really rough go of it. Blake apparently went back out to NM when that happened to be with the kid; they were close. I believe the family adopted him, or that at the least, they were his legal guardians, as he had lived with them since 2011.
 
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nvalvo

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Ah man. 23. This is just awful.
Edit: a little googling shows the story of a young man who had a seriously troubled family-life until he moved in with the Swiharts in his junior year of high school. He got a football scholarship to the University of New Mexico after a stellar football and overall career in HS - student council, good grades. He red-shirted, played a season, then blew his knee out in the spring before his sophomore (redshirt) season. His mother, who lived in La Vegas and with whom he was close, died that fall. The kid had a really rough go of it. Blake apparently went back out to NM when that happened to be with the kid; they were close. I believe the family adopted him, or that at the least, they were his legal guardians, as he had lived with them since 2011.
What an incredibly sad story.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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I'm going to guess it's that E-Rod wasn't pitch efficient. Also that he's trying to mold E-Rod into an efficient pitcher in general as he has often been guilty of nibbling.

I can't find a pitch count for yesterday's game, but that might be a place to start.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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I love EdRo to death, but it can’t be denied he’s no friend of the bullpen. I’m on the can now (go on, tell me you never post from the can) so I’m not going to look it up, but the guy never seems to get to the 7th inning. So inefficient, reminiscent of Daisuke.

I believe could be a strong #3/borderline #2 with his pitch mix and quality, if he could be something more than a five-inning guy. Looks like Cora does too.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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In 2018 he had 23 starts

In April he did have back to back to back 6.0, 6.0, 6.2 inning starts
6 starts in May were all a min of 5.0, with one 6.0 and one 6.2 inning start
5 June starts, 1 of 4.0, 2 of 5.2, 2 of 6.0
7 starts in July and Sept (0 in Aug), 2 starts made it to 6.0
 

santadevil

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Wow. Off "old friend" Matt Clement (one of the most painful pitchers to watch on the mound).
I don't remember him being painful to watch on the mound, but we're 14 years ago now

For whatever reason, I used to love Matt Clement and was excited when the Red Sox signed him.
He was having a fairly good season until he took a rocket off the side of the head on July 26
First and only time All-Star that year.

Definitely not the same pitcher when he came back
SplitWLW-L%ERAGGSGFCGSHOSVIPHRERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPBFWHIPSO9SO/W
1st Half102.8333.8518180100117.011352509350977064951.2657.52.77
2nd Half34.4295.721414000074.07950479331499073351.5146.01.48

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2019.

edit: I can't paste a damn table to save my life...but you get the idea and has nothing to do with Spring Training
edit 2: I figured how to fix the damn code...stupid [th] things that needed to be instead. Self-Five
 
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Red(s)HawksFan

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To me the most incredible thing about that Cora at bat was that the count never got to full despite all those pitches. Two balls, one called strike, fourteen fouls and the HR.

And I also don't remember Clement being all that painful to watch until it was obvious his shoulder was totally shredded, which was probably more the cause of his second half decline in 2005 than getting hit in the head in St Pete. In his four starts preceding the beaning, he threw 23 innings to the tune of an 8.61 ERA and a .911 OPS (post beaning: 11 starts, 63 IP, 4.86 ERA, .764 OPS).
 

Plympton91

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Even though none of this matters, it’s still getting annoying. Hit the ball people.