AL EAST 2017 Thread

[DirtDirtDirt]

Houston brings Verlander in for the final 2 outs of the 5th. First batter for the Sox was Bientendi who hit a towering home run to right. Sox up 3-2. Come on Sox

Maybe next year

 

[Pastafazul]

Houston brings Verlander in for the final 2 outs of the 5th. First batter for the Sox was Bientendi who hit a towering home run to right. Sox up 3-2. Come on Sox

retarrdeeitis, its very contagious

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Maybe next year

Yep. Left Sale in too long. Reminds me of the Pedro game.
Devers tried to spark them in 9th.
Oh well. Young team that needs to find a power hitter. I had high hopes to start the year. They had 1/2 the roster batting .290 or better. Then the pitching went south. Fixed the pitching and they couldn't get any timely hitting. Like today, bases loaded and didn't score.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

retarrdeeitis, its very contagious

That and what's up with closers not being able to get more tgan three outs. It happens way too often.

 

[bksballer89]

That and what's up with closers not being able to get more tgan three outs. It happens way too often.

Arolis Chapman doesn't know what you're talking about

 

[navamind]

 

[Pastafazul]

is it me, the TV, or do the players from the AL, particularly the astros/indians seem more meaty then the NL players? is it the knockworst

 

[idseer]

to all crying yankee fans:

why do you ASSUME that call would have been reversed? i don't believe the replay would have show it didn't hit the batters hand before the bat and therefore the call would have stood anyway. meaning you wouldn't have already won the series!
girardi should leave if for nothing else than to give the finger to yankee fans.

 

[navamind]

not much I'd change about this Sox roster. 1B and a caddy for Pedroia (he struggled to stay on the field and is only getting older) seem like the only obvious needs. It would be nice to get a better bat behind the plate, but why mess with the position (and pitching) by getting rid of two of the better pitch framers in MLB? Rotation's fine and while the bullpen was inconsistent, it was still solid. Having a potentially healthy Carson Smith for 2018 could be considered an upgrade.

1B is the most pressing IMO. The Red Sox had a 96 wRC+ from their 1B combined this year, 25th among MLB teams. How do you go about improving that? Maybe a platoon? Adam Lind and Lucas Duda hit righties pretty well and would bring some needed pop to Fenway. As for a 2B caddy, Nunez probably makes the most sense, plus he can fill out at SS and 3B (even if he's a bad defender).

 

[tducey]

Well there go the Red Sox. Going to be some changes there this winter. Think they let Farrell go and make a push to get Stanton as well.

 

[navamind]

Hanley has a $22M option that will vest if he has 1070 PA combined between 2017 and 2018. He had 553 PA this year. Carlos Santana is an intriguing DH/1B option, especially if the Sox want to limit Hanley's at bats so that option doesn't get picked up. Of course, the Sox are also probably going to be giving Pedroia more action at DH. Given how he looked yesterday getting out of the box, I feel like he could be done soon.

 

[navamind]

not much I'd change about this Sox roster. 1B and a caddy for Pedroia (he struggled to stay on the field and is only getting older) seem like the only obvious needs. It would be nice to get a better bat behind the plate, but why mess with the position (and pitching) by getting rid of two of the better pitch framers in MLB? Rotation's fine and while the bullpen was inconsistent, it was still solid. Having a potentially healthy Carson Smith for 2018 could be considered an upgrade.

1B is the most pressing IMO. The Red Sox had a 96 wRC+ from their 1B combined this year, 25th among MLB teams. How do you go about improving that? Maybe a platoon? Adam Lind and Lucas Duda hit righties pretty well and would bring some needed pop to Fenway. As for a 2B caddy, Nunez probably makes the most sense, plus he can fill out at SS and 3B (even if he's a bad defender).

Sox could also use a 4th OF. Young was a nice player in 2016, but he looked pretty toasty this year. You'd think Brentz could be a solution, but he didn't get a callup at all this year despite hitting 31 home runs and slugging .529 in AAA.

 

[bksballer89]

to all crying yankee fans:

why do you ASSUME that call would have been reversed? i don't believe the replay would have show it didn't hit the batters hand before the bat and therefore the call would have stood anyway. meaning you wouldn't have already won the series!
girardi should leave if for nothing else than to give the finger to yankee fans.

He won't be missed

 

[Pastafazul]

to all crying yankee fans:

why do you ASSUME that call would have been reversed? i don't believe the replay would have show it didn't hit the batters hand before the bat and therefore the call would have stood anyway. meaning you wouldn't have already won the series!
girardi should leave if for nothing else than to give the finger to yankee fans.

shut up joe

 

[navamind]

BBTF's Sox Therapy Discussion :: UnZiPSing the Hitters

as I've said before, a good chunk of their position players under-performed their projections and the Sox still won the division. That alone gives me optimism for next year. Worth noting Betts had a BABIP 40+ points below 2015 and 2016. I'd expect his BA to bounce back next year. The only real change I see in his batted ball profile is he hit fewer line drives and more fly balls this year. His plate discipline numbers haven't really changed much, though he swung less this year and saw a pretty big bump in his walk rate (6.7% to 10.8%). His K% in 2017 was identical to 2016. If 2017 is Mookie's floor (and he was still a 5+ WAR outfielder), then we are pretty damn lucky to have him.

I like Benintendi a lot still. I think the BA and OBP will only improve, though whether he becomes a star or not depends on how power output IMO. Even if he doesn't put up a lot of power, he looks like Nick Markakis with a better glove. Mike Greenwell might be a good comp as well.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Congrats Yankees

 

[navamind]

Who the Boston Red Sox should hire as their next manager

Bob Nightengale is an idiot, not that this is anything new.

 

[navamind]

congrats Yanks fans on the trip to the ALCS, that was a great comeback. Going to be a hell of a series between you guys and the Astros.

 

[bksballer89]

congrats Yanks fans on the trip to the ALCS, that was a great comeback. Going to be a hell of a series between you guys and the Astros.

Thanks bud

 

[Pastafazul]

after watching the way the astros played the sox, esp in game 4, nobody will beat them. those scrappy little suckers desire to win, going all out. dam "they" good..