I hope Febles can figure it out. He's been a coach or manager in the Red Sox organization for over a decade. Here's a chance for him to make a step in the direction of MLB manager, if he is inclined toward that one day. He's not yet 42 years old.
But all evidence in 2018 (which shouldn't be much, but shockingly it is) shows that he has no aptitude for coaching third. Tonight's game in Toronto (4/25) had at least two egregious blunders, maybe three.
1. Brock Holt hits a gapper that isn't getting caught, even if the left fielder (Pearce) doesn't trip. The left fielder DOES trip, but somehow, someway, Febles tells JBJ to slam the breaks and head back to second. This nearly results in Vazquez passing JBJ between 2nd and 3rd. Vazquez would have scored too. The play was in front of him, but it was also in front of Febles because he's a 3rd base coach and can position himself wherever the heck he wants.
2. Which would have helped Benintendi on that easy sac fly deep down the right field line. I guess Benintendi's view was impeded by the 2nd base ump, so he left the bag early and had to retreat. There's a guy standing nearby who could have helped. I remember from my brief playing days, it goes something like: "TAG! Wait... Wait... WAIT... GO!"
3. This one is debatable, but I think Vazquez could have scored on that fly ball in the 5th (to right field by Betts) on the play following the Holt gapper. If the philosophy is to put pressure on opposing defenses, this was the perfect scenario. It certainly wouldn't have been like the Nuñez send last night in the 9th inning. This would have been close, and I believe scores more than half the time. [Serious Analysis]
I'm not saying fire the guy. It's not an easy job. I guess he's done it before at Portland?
Febles is on my radar, and like others have said, it's probably best if you don't know the name of the 3rd base coach.
I hope this thread is dead in a week.
But all evidence in 2018 (which shouldn't be much, but shockingly it is) shows that he has no aptitude for coaching third. Tonight's game in Toronto (4/25) had at least two egregious blunders, maybe three.
1. Brock Holt hits a gapper that isn't getting caught, even if the left fielder (Pearce) doesn't trip. The left fielder DOES trip, but somehow, someway, Febles tells JBJ to slam the breaks and head back to second. This nearly results in Vazquez passing JBJ between 2nd and 3rd. Vazquez would have scored too. The play was in front of him, but it was also in front of Febles because he's a 3rd base coach and can position himself wherever the heck he wants.
2. Which would have helped Benintendi on that easy sac fly deep down the right field line. I guess Benintendi's view was impeded by the 2nd base ump, so he left the bag early and had to retreat. There's a guy standing nearby who could have helped. I remember from my brief playing days, it goes something like: "TAG! Wait... Wait... WAIT... GO!"
3. This one is debatable, but I think Vazquez could have scored on that fly ball in the 5th (to right field by Betts) on the play following the Holt gapper. If the philosophy is to put pressure on opposing defenses, this was the perfect scenario. It certainly wouldn't have been like the Nuñez send last night in the 9th inning. This would have been close, and I believe scores more than half the time. [Serious Analysis]
I'm not saying fire the guy. It's not an easy job. I guess he's done it before at Portland?
Febles is on my radar, and like others have said, it's probably best if you don't know the name of the 3rd base coach.
I hope this thread is dead in a week.
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