HomeRunBaker said:At this point I'd settle for him to simply thaw.
For all the talk about how bad JBJ's hitting has been this year, Middlebrooks has been even worse - 57 v. 50 wRC+ (Granted, in fewer PA).
HomeRunBaker said:At this point I'd settle for him to simply thaw.
HomeRunBaker said:Are you implying that the Reds starting pitcher is also injured?
mabrowndog said:
That's nothing.alwyn96 said:
For all the talk about how bad JBJ's hitting has been this year, Middlebrooks has been even worse - 57 v. 50 wRC+ (Granted, in fewer PA).
Or in the BidetSavin Hillbilly said:The killer is, you just know that as soon as we release him, it's a matter of 2 or 3 years max before he's hitting 30 HR in Oakland.
...Savin Hillbilly said:The killer is, you just know that as soon as we release him, it's a matter of 2 or 3 years max before he's hitting 30 HR in Oakland.
gammoseditor said:According to soxprospects he has another option left. I think it makes sense to start him in AAA next year. But yeah, probably never going to be an average major leaguer.
doubtful.Savin Hillbilly said:The killer is, you just know that as soon as we release him, it's a matter of 2 or 3 years max before he's hitting 30 HR in Oakland.
benhogan said:WMB should get eyeglasses, go to Pawtucket next season till he gets use to the glasses and starts producing.
Where will we play him? I don't think we have room for him at AAA. Garin Cecchini should probably still be playing third base next year, and will need regular playing time.nvalvo said:
He should start wearing the glasses daily in the offseason, and then start hitting with them a month before Spring Training. It was unrealistic to think that this could be an in-season adjustment.
I agree that he can't be plan A for anything next season. But he has an option left, so we shouldn't cut ties with him yet.
Not to mention Sean Coyle .. While primarily a 2b , as with Betts, that path is completely blocked. Coyle played quite a bit of 3b this year and he will be in AAA next year. Coyle may play 2b at Pawtucket .. He seems an excellent B- prospect trade chip.EricFeczko said:Where will we play him? I don't think we have room for him at AAA. Garin Cecchini should probably still be playing third base next year, and will need regular playing time.
BCsMightyJoeYoung said:Which reminds me .. We have had three promising rookies play for the Sox this year and all three have struggled mightily .. Four if you count Vazquez. How much of this on Colbrun?
It's remarkable how quick people are to write off players in this day and age, when there's significant data staring us in the face that OFFENSIVE ROOKIES / YOUNG PLAYERS IN THEIR FIRST YEAR OR TWO WILL STRUGGLE.mabrowndog said:None of it[/url]
Is Holt one of your promising rookies? Or are we only counting highly touted rookies and not other guys who probably just figured it out on their own?BCsMightyJoeYoung said:Which reminds me .. We have had three promising rookies play for the Sox this year and all three have struggled mightily .. Four if you count Vazquez. How much of this on Colbrun? I understand that rookies can struggle but it seems that when they start to struggle it just gets worse and worse and worse. Even the veterans .. Nava is an excellent example. It took him three months before he got his stroke back.
Betts is the only one of the lot who has looked promising .. Let's hope he never slumps cause the odds are good he stays slumped.
At the same time here are Holt's second half numbers: 227/292/262 (and that doesnt include last night's 0 for 6). You can now say hes struggling (for a while now), and hasn't made his next adjustment yet.Lose Remerswaal said:Is Holt one of your promising rookies? Or are we only counting highly touted rookies and not other guys who probably just figured it out on their own?
He can already realistically be asked to play 1B, 3B, or DH. The club was talking about having him take time in the OF during his lat AAA assignment. Cecchini has continued to take reps in the OF even after WMB's call up too, so lets not go assuming the club is 100% sure Cecchini can stick at 3B long term himself.EricFeczko said:Where will we play him? I don't think we have room for him at AAA. Garin Cecchini should probably still be playing third base next year, and will need regular playing time.
Lose Remerswaal said:Is Holt one of your promising rookies? Or are we only counting highly touted rookies and not other guys who probably just figured it out on their own?
Garin Cecchini still needs to prove he can consistently hit AAA pitching. He's had one good month after 3 straight terrible ones. Why are people calling for him to be promoted already?EricFeczko said:Where will we play him? I don't think we have room for him at AAA. Garin Cecchini should probably still be playing third base next year, and will need regular playing time.
JakeRae said:Garin Cecchini still needs to prove he can consistently hit AAA pitching. He's had one good month after 3 straight terrible ones. Why are people calling for him to be promoted already?
mabrowndog said:
That's what the Angels thought about Brandon Wood. They were wrong.Savin Hillbilly said:The killer is, you just know that as soon as we release him, it's a matter of 2 or 3 years max before he's hitting 30 HR in Oakland.
Doctor G said:That's what the Angels thought about Brandon Wood. They were wrong.
Its one thing to struggle, its another thing to perform as perhaps the worst offensive player in baseball as JBJ did and as Xander has for much of the season. Of course many players struggle adjusting to the minors, but with JBJ the struggle has been so large as to indicate that he simply may not be able to hit at this level. And he's not so young that you can shrug it off as due to age. Xander at least has the excuse of still be unusually young to be in the majors.knucklecup said:It's remarkable how quick people are to write off players in this day and age, when there's significant data staring us in the face that OFFENSIVE ROOKIES / YOUNG PLAYERS IN THEIR FIRST YEAR OR TWO WILL STRUGGLE.
With my Chicago buddies, I literally can't listen to them when it comes to Javier Baez. It's insufferable. Same thing goes here.
foulkehampshire said:
Who had MUCH more success than WMB in the minor leagues, btw.
djhb20 said:
To be fair, WMB has had MUCH more success than Wood in the majors.
After the sizzling start, he's now at .175/.208/.383 in 120 AB while striking out 42% of the time.BCsMightyJoeYoung said:
My complaint isn't with slumps - it's with the fact that X (before last week - the week off seems to have made a world of difference), WMB and JBJ basically went into Death Spirals. JBJ can't even hit in AAA now. I doubt if Middlebrooks could even hit decent college pitching.
When a team goes from the best offense in the league to the worst don't you think coaching should shoulder some of the blame? Particularly with the youngsters who need it the most.
So what's the solution ? Put all these guys back in Pawtucket next year? If the gulf between AAA and MLB is so large what's to be gained by learning how to hit AAA pitching.
That Gammons piece is a typical overreaction to observed random phenomenon. Several highly touted rookies struggle - so there must be a global cause for these struggles. Is the AAA/MLB "gulf" vastly different than it was last year? Does this gulf only apply to hitters? Don't teams shift in AAA? If advanced scouting techniques quickly illuminate a rookie's flaws shouldn't those same techniques apply to illuminating the pitcher's flaws?
In point of fact, of that list - of the really hot shot guys - only X and Taveras could be said to have truly struggled - Springer is doing just fine as has Baez. None of the rest were supposed to set the world on fire anyways.
I'm sure that's going to go over well .. "Jenny .. about that honeymoon trip to Venice .. "Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN 1m
The Red Sox would like Will Middlebrooks to play in winter ball, to get turned around. They have told other teams they won't give him away.
https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/507207755518996481
The last story I heard was that he didn't like wearing contact lenses. For astigmatism you do need hard lenses which can be uncomfortable. The other thing about astigmatism is that contacts often result in a better correction than from glasses.Otis Foster said:Each game, it gets worse. I can only imagine what's going on in his head right now. I don't see a trace of improvement that would suggest he can get out of this rut in 2014.
I'd shut him down completely, BTW, what's the back story on glasses? Did he have a vision test, then refuse to wear the prescribed glasses? I missed it completely.
Watching him the last few games it seems he can't even see the ball in the first place. He's been taking all kinds of grooved pitches for called strikes. It's like he has completely lost his confidence and is afraid to swing.The last story I heard was that he didn't like wearing contact lenses. For astigmatism you do need hard lenses which can be uncomfortable. The other thing about astigmatism is that contacts often result in a better correction than from glasses.
Poor eyesight could explain his failures at the plate but it brings up the question as to whether there's been a deterioration in his vision since 2012.
BCsMightyJoeYoung said:I'm sure that's going to go over well .. "Jenny .. about that honeymoon trip to Venice .. "
Right, which is why you try to stash him in AAA one more year and see what happens. I don't see why we should collectively expect that every player is exactly who he is/will be in the first 2-3 years of his career. Of course, WMB may never amount to much at the major league level, but if there's a way to wait a little longer (and at this point it's probably not major league at-bats), then it's worth trying.Savin Hillbilly said:The killer is, you just know that as soon as we release him, it's a matter of 2 or 3 years max before he's hitting 30 HR in Oakland.
chrisfont9 said:Right, which is why you try to stash him in AAA one more year and see what happens. I don't see why we should collectively expect that every player is exactly who he is/will be in the first 2-3 years of his career. Of course, WMB may never amount to much at the major league level, but if there's a way to wait a little longer (and at this point it's probably not major league at-bats), then it's worth trying.
I wish we had a system of loaning players like they do in soccer. We could send him to San Diego to get ML at-bats while retaining the right to him once he figures it out.
Yeah, well, it's a little odd, but in Italy at least they will loan out the guy to a squad they don't fear. Or overseas, preferably.BCsMightyJoeYoung said:
Except the concept of loaning players to teams in the same league (with interleague play they're all the same league) is .. well .. nuts.
Maybe to Japan - with a sell on fee of course.
They do the same in England. Chelsea supposedly has over 100 million pounds worth of players out on loan :Yeah, well, it's a little odd, but in Italy at least they will loan out the guy to a squad they don't fear. Or overseas, preferably.