Looks like Hanley is starting to heat up which should be a huge lift for the Sox offense. Lin continues to look competent as well.
That jump from .250 to .615 is insane. Boston has the lowest winning percentage behind 3 runs of any of the presumptive playoff/WC contenders, and the Yanks, Cleveland, Astros, Nats, Cubs & Rockies are all above .400 there.Run scoring breakdown
26 games where the sox scored 2 or fewer runs.....
https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/inning_summary.cgi?request=1&year=2017&team_id=BOS
The Red Sox have seen the fifth most pitches per plate appearance in the Major Leagues. They're behind the Yankess by .03 pitches per PA. I don't think that is their major problem on offense.What's frustrating to me is the at-bats they put up, because that's something relatively in their control as hitters.
Today, for example, in 33 plate appearances they faced 106 pitches - 3.2 per PA. The opposite of the "grind it out" approach that they use when they're going well. Just to document...
1st inning: Betts: pop foul to first on 0-1; Benintendi: strikes out swinging on 1-2 (4th); Bradley: grounds out on 0-0. 2 at-bats of <= 3 pitches
2nd inning: HRam: lines out on 1-1; Moreland flies out on 0-1; Bogaerts grounds out on 1-2 (5th). 2 at-bats of <= 3 pitches
3rd inning: Leon: pops out on 1-2; Holt pops out on 1-1; Marrero grounds out on 1-2. 1 at-bat of <= 3 pitches
4th inning: Betts: grounds out on 0-0; Benintendi: walks on 3-0; Bradley: strikes out swinging on 2-2 (7th); HRam: pops out on 0-0. 2 at-bats of <= 3 pitches
5th inning: Moreland: grounds out on 0-0; Bogaerts: grounds out on 2-2 (6th); Leon: singles on 2-1; Holt: infield single on 0-0; Marrero: rbi single on 2-1; Betts: grounds out on 0-1. 3 at-bats of <= 3 pitches
6th inning: Benintendi: grounds out on 0-0; Bradley: flies out on 2-1; HRam: homers on 0-0; Moreland: grounds out on 0-1. 3 at-bats of <= 3 pitches
7th inning: Bogaerts: grounds out on 0-0; Leon: flies out on 0-1; Holt: singles on 1-1; Marrero: strikes out swinging on 2-2. 3 at-bats of <= 3 pitches
8th inning (Blake Parker in): Betts: grounds out on 3-2 (7th); Benintendi: pops out on 2-2 (7th); Bradley: flies out on 0-0. 1 at-bat of <= 3 pitches
9th inning (Bud Norris in): HRam: singles on 3-1; Moreland: strikes out swinging on 1-2 (5th); Bogaerts: grounds into double play on 1-1. 1 at-bat of <= 3 pitches
They set the tone in the first inning, going down on 7 pitches. They put the first pitch in play 9 times, going 2-9 with a homer and infield single. They had 18 at-bats of <= 3 pitches, going 3-18. (Granted, they weren't much better when seeing more pitches, going 3-14 with a walk in 15 at-bats seeing 4 or more pitches.) Just a lackluster offensive effort, for the second game in a row.
5-33 when they score 3 runs or fewer. That's .132 for those not wanting to pull out a calculator. And that's roughly 40% of their games.Run scoring breakdown
26 games where the sox scored 2 or fewer runs.....
https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/inning_summary.cgi?request=1&year=2017&team_id=BOS
ProbablyI wonder if that is a symptom of a flaw in the team or a function of bad luck which may or may not continue in the future.
Also, 47 of 100 games they have scored in 1 or 2 innings.Run scoring breakdown
26 games where the sox scored 2 or fewer runs.....
https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/inning_summary.cgi?request=1&year=2017&team_id=BOS
Why? They are 50-11 when they score 4 or more runs - the pitching ain't the problem. Scoring <4 over 40% of the time is the problem.OTOH, looking at that chart would make me think that this team has pitching woes, not hitting woes.
Why wouldn't they just call up Bryce Brentz who actually has power and a good walk rate, with no crappy contract to deal with if they wanted to call up an infielder to play LF?Old friend Rusney Castillo has come back from his short stint on the DL and continued to hit in a decidedly useful manner (5 for 12 with a HR and 2BB). His season in Pawtucket has been consistent (305/343/481/824 in 303 PAs) and trending upwards (355/390/516/906 in last 100 PAs) after tearing it up (albeit without power)this Winter in the PR League (392/431/451/882 in 58 PAs).
So my question is this: He's been given no chance to make the club because the Sox desperately want to stay under the salary cap, but if he were to be called up, he would only contribute a pro-rated portion of his $10.3m AAV, correct? For a month and a half he would add ~$2.6m - anyone have the figures on how much space is left under the $195 after the Nunez acquisition?
It seems that he could be quite useful to the club as a platoon partner to Benintendi at the very least. Chris Young is simply not getting it done in that capacity (219/324/297/621) which is indistinguishable from Benny's performance against lefties (232/306/268/574). Rusney has hit lefties at 377/407/610/1018 in AAA this year and even in last year's suckfest he posted 301/321/431/752 against southpaws.
Farrell needs to do something to spark the offense and giving him platoon and pinch hitting options as well as useful speed on the bases and decent defense seems like a pretty decent package.
I'm curious on this as well, but would be guessing it as incorrect since pro-rated in this case didn't involve somebody else paying X amount of his salary.So my question is this: He's been given no chance to make the club because the Sox desperately want to stay under the salary cap, but if he were to be called up, he would only contribute a pro-rated portion of his $10.3m AAV, correct?
Yes, Castillo's salary this year would be pro-rated, but it would also put it on the books for next year as well unless they want to DFA him back to the minors again. That might be the stumbling block for Castillo...next year's salary as opposed to this year's.But my point/question stands on the pro-rated nature of the salary, right? If they bring him up only the portion remaining for the year hits the tax books not the full $10.3m? And what's the deal with Panda's salary? He's off the 40-man so does his salary stop counting towards the tax now like Rusney's did?
So why not DFA him after the season? If someone picks him up and pays his salary, great! If not, same situation.Yes, Castillo's salary this year would be pro-rated, but it would also put it on the books for next year as well unless they want to DFA him back to the minors again. That might be the stumbling block for Castillo...next year's salary as opposed to this year's.
Sorry for being thick but why is it a different case? All 3 are off the 40-man. What condition does Craig and Castillo meet that Panda doesn't?Sandoval's salary remains on the books and counts against the tax until his contract expires (after 2019). His is an entirely different case compared to Castillo or Craig.
Sandoval had the service time to refuse a minor league assignment. Craig and Castillo did not.So why not DFA him after the season? If someone picks him up and pays his salary, great! If not, same situation.
Sorry for being thick but why is it a different case? All 3 are off the 40-man. What condition does Craig and Castillo meet that Panda doesn't?
I have seen several references in the Red Sox blogosphere that the team will no longer be able to exclude Castiilo's AAV salary from luxury tax computations beginning in 2018 per new CBA but I cannot find a copy of the new CBA online yet to corroborate.Yes, Castillo's salary this year would be pro-rated, but it would also put it on the books for next year as well unless they want to DFA him back to the minors again. That might be the stumbling block for Castillo...next year's salary as opposed to this year's.
Sandoval's salary remains on the books and counts against the tax until his contract expires (after 2019). His is an entirely different case compared to Castillo or Craig.
Craig and Castillo didn't have the service time to refuse outright assignment to the minors, so their contracts effectively became minor league deals (expensive ones, but minor league ones) when they were outrighted off the 40-man. Minor league deals don't count against the luxury tax.Sorry for being thick but why is it a different case? All 3 are off the 40-man. What condition does Craig and Castillo meet that Panda doesn't?
Under the old CBA, I don't think Sandoval would have been any different than Craig or Castillo had he elected to accept an outright assignment. His remaining salary would no longer count against the team for luxury tax purposes (they'd still be on the hook for the pro-rated portion of his salary earned while on the 40-man).So basically Castillo may be the Kei Igawa of the Red Sox, earning his full pay while playing in the minors.
Question: If Sandoval had accepted to stay in AAA would his salary still count against the cap (my guess is yes under the new CBA but I am not sure).
76 qualified players have an ops over .800. One of them is a Red Sox.
You're both aware that MLB has expanded to 30 teams, right?109 qualified players have an OPS over .756. Five of them are Red Sox.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2017-advanced-batting.shtml
To expand on this cherry pick, it's actually 6 over on FG. Although not including Pedroia's even .800 above was a cheapy too.109 qualified players have an OPS over .756. Five of them are Red Sox.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2017-advanced-batting.shtml
Pedey is at .792 now.To expand on this cherry pick, it's actually 6 over on FG. Although not including Pedroia's even .800 above was a cheapy too.
It seems like SOSH is losing its collective mind with the teams recent struggles at the plate. It happens and is frustrating to be sure. Better to be cold now, etcTo expand on this cherry pick, it's actually 6 over on FG. Although not including Pedroia's even .800 above was a cheapy too.
This is the part that is the most amazing about this season. When HRs are way up, this team cannot hit them despite having a lineup of guys who have a history of hitting for at least some power.
A year in which everyone is hitting home runs. The Red Sox can't hit any.
52 players on pace to hit 30 bombs. Zero Red Sox.
Yeah, the fact that it's team-wide really makes me wonder if there's something wrong with their hitting program as a whole. It seems crazy that they'd all just randomly underperform individually at the same time.This is the part that is the most amazing about this season. When HRs are way up, this team cannot hit them despite having a lineup of guys who have a history of hitting for at least some power.
Is the implication here that Benintendi (or Young) were taking their spot for granted? Was anyone promised anything other than a platoon from the get-go?Pete AbrahamVerified account @PeteAbe 55m55 minutes ago
Brock Holt starts in LF. Gets on base three times, throws a runner out. Good wake-up call that nobody can take their spot for granted.