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| Summary of 2015 season. Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox |
That post summarized some of the analysis I had seen in the previous 24 hours where fans tried to extrapolate a whole season's worth of forecasting based on a single data point. Let's review these tongue-in-cheek one liners that I reposted:
We were lucky to have avoided signing Jon Lester
Well sure, he's 0-25 with 13 Ks on the season. Even Allen Craig hit better than that for us.
Unless, this was referring to his pitching. Since 4/5 of our opening day rotation has an ERA north of 5, I think it's safe to say having Lester may have been beneficial.
We were lucky to not have traded for Cole Hamels
Unlike Lester, Hamels HAS outhit our OD #4 and #5 outfielders (Nava .159, Craig .135) with his .167 average. So anything he has done on the mound would be a bonus. And in spite of giving up 4 home runs in only 5 innings of work on that opening day, he is currently sporting a 2.88 ERA. With all apologies to Eduardo Rodriguez, Hamels would definitely be our #1.
We have an ace better than the above two options in Clay Buchholz
Well, if his last four starts are any indication, then this may be a true statement. Buch has pitched into the 8th inning in all of them, only giving up 5 earned runs in total (1.47 ERA) and a 27K/5BB ratio. Unfortunately he has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, only to seemingly lose it overnight. The other two guys have a much longer track record of consistency.
Dustin Pedroia is going to have a huge year
Well, yeah, but we all knew that even prior to Opening Day. He's been one of the few bright lights in an otherwise disappointing start to the season.
Hanley Ramirez is going to be a monster
If "monster" was used as an adjective, and followed by "fuck-up", then this is pretty darn accurate. Although he did hit like a monster in April, slugging 10 home runs, but that seems like ancient history now. And even his power can't overcome his fielding "challenges" and lack of baserunning acumen.
Mookie Betts IS a Hall of Famer
I took a look at the Cooperstown inductees, and was surprised to find that there were several members who had career on base percentages below .300. Guys named Young, Martinez, Ryan, Niekro.... So unless Betts is throwing no-hitters and winning ERA titles on a regular basis, he ain't getting in based on what he's done so far with the bat.
David Ortiz is cooked
From the left side he may very well be: .129 with no power does not strike a lot of fear into opponents (although Sandoval would kill to have numbers like that). But he's still a force to be reckoned with vs. righties. Don't start his farewell tour just yet.
Nobody can remember why we wanted to sign Pablo Sandoval
We still can't.
Our pitching is going to be just fine
Once the rest of Pawtucket's pitchers get to Fenway then it might be. I shudder to think what our pitching would have looked like without the injections of Steven Wright, Matt Barnes and Eduardo Rodriguez to stabilize things a bit. Now anxiously awaiting the arrival of Brian Johnson, Henry Owens, Heath Hembree and the rest. No, our pitching is not fine, it is the exact opposite of fine, whatever that is. (Google tells me ill, thick and blunt - but I think shitty is a much better descriptor).
We’re going to hit the shit out of the ball
We haven't. 13th out of 15 teams in runs scored. You remember 2012 when at times our starting outfilders were Scott Podsednik, Darnell McDonald and Ryan Sweeney? Yeah, I think they scored more runs.
I hope my next Red Sox related post is more upbeat. But the MLB draft is coming up and my next post will focus on that. There is some local talent right here from Calgary expected to be drafted very high and I will give a brief overview of him as well as other Albertans.
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