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Post by jmei on May 25, 2013 14:14:32 GMT -5
Nice piece of hitting by Iglesias. Takes a fastball away and grounds it hard the other way. He's definitely improved this year, even though I don't think he has enough to make him any more than a dark horse candidate for the starting shortspot role next year.
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danr
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Post by danr on May 25, 2013 14:16:54 GMT -5
Well, Drew has been very unimpressive. Unless they can accelerate the X-man, Iglesias has to be the guy next year.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on May 25, 2013 14:32:22 GMT -5
Well, Drew has been very unimpressive. Unless they can accelerate the X-man, Iglesias has to be the guy next year. Drew actually looks fine if you dig into his numbers a bit more. If you take his current line and just regress his BABIP to his career average, he's something like a .250/.340/.400 hitter, which is pretty damn good for a shortstop these days. His K% is up a bit, but his swinging strike rate and contact % are basically right at his career averages. I don't see anything particularly alarming in his batted ball numbers, either. His walk rate is actually up a bit, his isolated slugging is fine... basically you've got a low average hitter who's average is a bit lower than normal right now, but the secondary skills that make him valuable are still intact. He's not the sexiest player in the world but if I had to choose between him and Iglesias for the 2014 squad right now, based on the available information, I'd take Drew and it wouldn't be a hard decision.
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Post by godot on May 25, 2013 14:56:54 GMT -5
I usually preach patience, but starting to get more concerned about Ellsbury. He has picked it up a little of late, but mostly seeing eye single stuff and he is still showing little drive or power. Starting to wonder whether he may also have also lost a step. Yeah, he is stealing bases, but seems he gets thrown out a lot at first on slow stuff to the infield that he may have legged out in the past. Then again, this is just my perception, and I do not have a stop watch
Also too early to call, but is Jose one of those who may just hit better in the majors. Of course, that is not saying much considering the bar he set at AAA.
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Post by rangoon82 on May 25, 2013 14:57:11 GMT -5
Jose Iglesias: The only person on the Sox playing like they want to be there
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danr
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Post by danr on May 25, 2013 15:47:25 GMT -5
Ciriaco and Iglesias both are playing like they want to stay in the majors. Carp is not doing bad, either...or Nava.
I don't see Drew as any real asset. A .250 with little power is no benefit. I'd rather have a super fielding shortstop who hit .220. Iglesias would win more games with his glove than Drew would with his bat.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on May 25, 2013 15:53:23 GMT -5
Jose acting like he is extremely motivated. Playing like he is out to prove something and it is helping him. Keep doing it Jose. Swinging with authority and playing with the confidence and determination only moral indignation can sometimes create.
Is it in part latin pride issues? Even Clemente had major such issues. Sometimes a sort of unapealing hubris even ( I read his biography years ago ). Inappropriate hubris sometimes as great as he was. Some of the "I'm a black man in a white man's world...to the extreme. Of course it was tough not to feel that way in baseball in the 60s. Curt Flood era. And he was truly a great man. No doubt. But his self image was off the charts. In his mind he was on another planet in terms of ability and performance and of course to a large degree he was. But to Roberto, no one else was even close. Maybe Jose feels that way some, especially defensively.
I sometimes wonder exactly what the dynamic is for a Cuban player in general going from making $10-$20 per month in Cuba to an $8 mil signing bonus. Cuban players were subjected to all sorts of anti American propaganda growing up. They were Fidel's personal team to a degree. Almost hand picked sometimes I bet. Politically connected to a degree. Jose probably had some benefits from his Dad's involvement with the Cuban national team historically. He was the chosen one. The golden boy everyone expected to quickly rise to the top. And the one who bought into that the most was probably Jose.
Is Jose concerned about disapointing his family? Is that part of the pouting? I have hispanic children and they were raised in a way where they did not deal well with any sort of adversity. It can be a tremendous motivator to have your entire family rooting for you enthusiastically, being extremely supportive no matter what happens. Children raised that way sometimes feel like all they should be getting is praise. Dealing with failure in the outside world is a major issue that we all have to learn to deal with and for some people it is a huge transition. I bet that is true for Jose, who has been the golden boy his entire life.
Any sort of criticism at all is a problem. He expects nothing but supportive language. That is what he is used to, to the extreme.
I suspect the above is potentially what is happening with Jose. Of course this is speculation on my part and some of you will crap on it as usual but you know what ...it might just have some merit in looking at his situation.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on May 25, 2013 15:55:42 GMT -5
Is Cleveland on the take or what. 3 major outfield faux paus today. An infield pop which drops. It's really ugly if you are a Cleveland fan today.
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Post by sarasoxer on May 25, 2013 16:12:03 GMT -5
Isn't it time to give Carp a bit more playing time? Gomes can't be in there because of his range and glove and he is mashing lefties at a .178 clip. Boo....hiss
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Post by fdrnewdeal on May 25, 2013 16:12:33 GMT -5
Ciriaco and Iglesias both are playing like they want to stay in the majors. Carp is not doing bad, either...or Nava. I don't see Drew as any real asset. A .250 with little power is no benefit. I'd rather have a super fielding shortstop who hit .220. Iglesias would win more games with his glove than Drew would with his bat. I'm an Iggy guy (Ultimately, I think he's our SS while Xander replaces Middlebrooks) but Drew's power has been fine. His iso would rank 7th among short stops if he qualified. The guys a good player, he was just awful initially.
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danr
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Post by danr on May 25, 2013 16:13:22 GMT -5
Lester threw 124 pitches in not one of his better games. Did he really need to pitch that 7th inning?
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Post by sarasoxer on May 25, 2013 16:17:22 GMT -5
Lester threw 124 pitches in not one of his better games. Did he really need to pitch that 7th inning? Agree with you. He had a great 6th and then obviously struggled in the 7th. We were lucky. Swisher could easily have had a hit. As it was, we let Lester stay in and give up the lead. I was ready for the headline..... TITO BESTS FARRELL 2 OUT OF 3
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danr
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Post by danr on May 25, 2013 16:18:25 GMT -5
Isn't it time to give Carp a bit more playing time? Gomes can't be in there because of his range and glove and he is mashing lefties at a .178 clip. Boo....hiss Especially batting Gomes second. I never liked the Gomes acquisition and he has done nothing to change my mind, although he is a great team player and everyone likes him. However, Bradley probably will be back soon and he and Nava will get most of the playing time if he hits at all and Nava continues to hit.
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Post by sarasoxer on May 25, 2013 16:19:31 GMT -5
It appears that Iggy can only hit in the majors this year. How great if he could just bang out a .250.
I don't think the cobwebs have cleared for Ross....5 Ks.
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Post by mainesox on May 25, 2013 16:24:28 GMT -5
Lester threw 124 pitches in not one of his better games. Did he really need to pitch that 7th inning? I don't mind sending Lester back out for the 7th, especially since he looked like he had come around the previous couple innings, but I don't understand how Farrell doesn't send Tazawa in after Lester got a couple runners on.
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Post by marrcus on May 25, 2013 18:21:41 GMT -5
Two nice wins in the last 15 hours or so (though not for Lester). 3/4 would be a great way to say goodbye to Francona.
Iglesias is spraying the ball and he's finding holes. There's no reason to believe it's motivation. Even though he's PO'd to be in Pawtucket. He's a .215 hitter - .230 hitter whether it's aaa or AL.
Third and OF are not going to be strengths this year as expected. It's just a matter of how much it's going to cost the team. Ellsbury seems stuck at this level, Victorino may miss significant time, Gomes isn't effective as an expensive platoon rhh.
WMB I think will come out of the funk but I can't say any good signs are there given the DL setback.
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Post by sarasoxer on May 25, 2013 20:34:36 GMT -5
I would gladly take Masterson and his innate stuff over Dempster, Lackey or Doubront . . . Talk to me about Masterson in late September. My guess is that humble pie will be in order. Are you sure? Lackey's recent performances, his improved arm strength (hit 95 yesterday) and his excellent control following TJ has me hedging. If he continues to pitch this way, it will be a career year. Given his obvious dedication in losing weight and conditioning himself, he seems very motivated.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on May 25, 2013 23:32:10 GMT -5
Ciriaco and Iglesias both are playing like they want to stay in the majors. Carp is not doing bad, either...or Nava. I don't see Drew as any real asset. A .250 with little power is no benefit. I'd rather have a super fielding shortstop who hit .220. Iglesias would win more games with his glove than Drew would with his bat.Uhh... show your work, please.
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danr
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Post by danr on May 26, 2013 0:22:52 GMT -5
Ciriaco and Iglesias both are playing like they want to stay in the majors. Carp is not doing bad, either...or Nava. I don't see Drew as any real asset. A .250 with little power is no benefit. I'd rather have a super fielding shortstop who hit .220. Iglesias would win more games with his glove than Drew would with his bat.Uhh... show your work, please. I was just guessing, but you prompted me to do a little homework. 2013 is not a good measure yet because of Iglesias' SSS with the Sox. However, in 2012 Drew has a .4 WAR as a batter, and was -.3 as a defender. Iglesias had a .3 WAR as a batter and a .9 as a defender. So far this year Drew has a .5 WAR as a batter and a .4 as a defender. Source: BaseballReference.
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Post by sdiaz1 on May 26, 2013 0:32:00 GMT -5
If we look pass his surface stats this season in AAA we see that Iglesias’ has made gradual improvement in regards to his walk and k rates (following a trend started last season – granted his k rate is slightly higher this season). Additionaly this season he was sporting a respectable .120 ISO. The odd thing is that despite showing improved patience and power with above average speed he only had a minuscule BABIP of .210. I know that without accurate batted ball data that it is hard to speculate why his BABIP was so low, but I honestly see that with any regression he should see at least a .020 to .040 spike in batting average that would push his OBP over that magical .300 mark, which would make him a good everday shortstop (based of course primarily on his glove)
Though it is funny that the opposite is the case with his MLB line (SSS of course). His current MLB BAPIP is .556 with a .087 ISO and no walks, but again in 24 plate appearances funny things happen.
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Post by Don Caballero on May 26, 2013 1:19:28 GMT -5
I was just guessing, but you prompted me to do a little homework. 2013 is not a good measure yet because of Iglesias' SSS with the Sox. However, in 2012 Drew has a .4 WAR as a batter, and was -.3 as a defender. Iglesias had a .3 WAR as a batter and a .9 as a defender. So far this year Drew has a .5 WAR as a batter and a .4 as a defender. I'm just replying because Drew is my homie: You could have picked any other year other than 2012 for Drew and your logic would be not logical. Iglesias had a hot start this year with the bad while Stephen has not. Wanna bet who has the higher WAR by the year's end? Nothing againt Iglesias, but when healthy Drew is a better baseball player.
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Post by Guidas on May 26, 2013 10:22:58 GMT -5
Being reported that Morales set to be activated Tues. Dempster to DL could be a possibility. Of course so could Aceves/Wilson back to Pawtucket.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on May 26, 2013 11:59:58 GMT -5
I was just guessing, but you prompted me to do a little homework. 2013 is not a good measure yet because of Iglesias' SSS with the Sox. However, in 2012 Drew has a .4 WAR as a batter, and was -.3 as a defender. Iglesias had a .3 WAR as a batter and a .9 as a defender. So far this year Drew has a .5 WAR as a batter and a .4 as a defender.Source: BaseballReference. Pretty sure you're reading those numbers wrong. BR says Iglesias had .3 wins OVERALL last year. His bat was well below replacement level. And, honestly, we're talking about a guy who hit .118/.200/.191. If you're using some kind of stat that says a .118/.200/.191 hitter is above replacement level, there's something seriously wrong with that stat. Not to mention that .9 defensive rating was in all of 23 games started at the position, a wildly inadequate sample size. That projects to close to six wins above replacement over a full season, and that isn't happening. And by the way, Iglesias in 2013 has a .556 BABIP, and in 24 PAs, he has five Ks, no walks, and a 11/4/1 grounder/fly/line mix. He hasn't been hitting at Pawtucket at all. There's no breakout here. He's still got all the potential in the world to hit .200/.230/.250. Drew is hitting .205/.305/.352 in a bad month and his defense has been fine. Iglesias has a long way to go before he can even match what Drew gives you in a bad month.
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Post by sdiaz1 on May 26, 2013 12:59:53 GMT -5
Come on Fenway, it is silly to rightfully bring up the fact he has a .556 BABIP in his 24 PA MLB line and then just dismisively state that he has not hit at all in AAA while not mentioning anything about his .211 BABIP, .120 ISO or solid K and BB rates in a much larger sample in Pawtucket.
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Post by station13 on May 26, 2013 13:11:39 GMT -5
Ellsbury makes me angry.
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