Red Sox 2018...WORLD SERIES...CHAMPIONS!!!

[TB_Helmet]

No I’m making a judgement off the fact he is a mistake hitter and thats about it. If you can execute you can get him out. That means off speed away and down, mixed in with plus FB on the black. He is reticent to go with the pitch, and as I pointed out before is manifested with how teams align defensively.

In the post season pitchers more often can execute that gameplan. Make a mistake inside and its gone. Thats not good enough in the post season. Fix that and I will change my opinion. That and the talk is a 250-300 million contract. No thanks.

Why are you wasting your time on PatsFans??You should call all the managers in baseball who didn’t do that this year and tell them about your clever strategy to get out the MVP 30/30 batting champ.

 

[supafly]

Let’s hope that Eovaldi brings it. I wondered if they’d swap him out with Porcello for the game 3/4 roles.

Eovaldi not only brought it, but he was absolutely fantastic.

 

[ViperGTS]

Why are you wasting your time on PatsFans??You should call all the managers in baseball who didn’t do that this year and tell them about your clever strategy to get out the MVP 30/30 batting champ.

Its near impossible to have a serious discussion here. It really is. Here’s another final attempt.

Jim Rice on the post game said about Mookie’s night “he had one at bat he wish he had back. He had runners on the left side and he hit it to the left side. I bet he wishes he had hit it to the right”.

Thats him pulling the ball. Think about what he could be if he did that consistently, going oppo. .400 hitter. Easy. Thats why I don’t care about the MVP. Dude could be a legit all timer. Up there with Ruth, DiMiaggio, Williams, Aaron etc. All he needs to do is look outside and ambush mistakes with his out of this world natural ability. People get so wrapped up in settling. His ceiling is much, much higher than just an MVP award.

 

[TB_Helmet]

Its near impossible to have a serious discussion here. It really is. Here’s another final attempt.

Jim Rice on the post game said about Mookie’s night “he had one at bat he wish he had back. He had runners on the left side and he hit it to the left side. I bet he wishes he had hit it to the right”.

Thats him pulling the ball. Think about what he could be if he did that consistently, going oppo. .400 hitter. Easy. Thats why I don’t care about the MVP. Dude could be a legit all timer. Up there with Ruth, DiMiaggio, Williams, Aaron etc. All he needs to do is look outside and ambush mistakes with his out of this world natural ability. People get so wrapped up in settling. His ceiling is much, much higher than just an MVP award.

I think we all get what you're saying, but you are pointing out one weakness that many players have, even the elite ones, and using it against him and trying to argue that he's not worth a long-term contract. But here are the facts:

1. Mookie had one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history, if not all time. He's the first player ever to hit 30/30 and win the batting title, and he's one of the best defensive players in the league. His ceiling is already higher than an MVP award regardless of whether he pulls the ball too much on outside pitches when the shift is on.

2. If this is his weakness, then it's not being consistently exploited, because of the results he had this year. And something tells me it's not all of a sudden going to start being exploited, which means that he's worth the contract. If people were going to get him out that way they'd already be doing it.

3. Mookie's also a sparkplug, great clubhouse personality, incredible baserunner (loved how he took third tonight back when the game was still not in doubt, gave us a great boost when we looked pretty tight), and the definition of the guy you want to build your team around.

4. Your criticism of him is like when people say that "The way to beat Brady is to get to him consistently with a four man rush." Sure, that's the way to beat him, that's the way to beat any QB in the NFL, and despite this not being a secret, somehow the vast majority of defenses can't do this consistently and Brady is the GOAT. So I'll take Betts and his huge weakness as a pull hitter on offspeed pitches and take my chances, since he is the best player in baseball right now.

 

[Joker]

Betts HR chart through the middle of September....

 

[Danger Zone]

No I’m making a judgement off the fact he is a mistake hitter and thats about it. If you can execute you can get him out. That means off speed away and down, mixed in with plus FB on the black. He is reticent to go with the pitch, and as I pointed out before is manifested with how teams align defensively.

In the post season pitchers more often can execute that gameplan. Make a mistake inside and its gone. Thats not good enough in the post season. Fix that and I will change my opinion. That and the talk is a 250-300 million contract. No thanks.

 

[ViperGTS]

Awww did your shrink have you draw out a self assement? Thats progress at least.

 

[ViperGTS]

Betts HR chart through the middle of September....

Case rested.

 

[ViperGTS]

I think we all get what you're saying, but you are pointing out one weakness that many players have, even the elite ones, and using it against him and trying to argue that he's not worth a long-term contract. But here are the facts:

1. Mookie had one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history, if not all time. He's the first player ever to hit 30/30 and win the batting title, and he's one of the best defensive players in the league. His ceiling is already higher than an MVP award regardless of whether he pulls the ball too much on outside pitches when the shift is on.

2. If this is his weakness, then it's not being consistently exploited, because of the results he had this year. And something tells me it's not all of a sudden going to start being exploited, which means that he's worth the contract. If people were going to get him out that way they'd already be doing it.

3. Mookie's also a sparkplug, great clubhouse personality, incredible baserunner (loved how he took third tonight back when the game was still not in doubt, gave us a great boost when we looked pretty tight), and the definition of the guy you want to build your team around.

4. Your criticism of him is like when people say that "The way to beat Brady is to get to him consistently with a four man rush." Sure, that's the way to beat him, that's the way to beat any QB in the NFL, and despite this not being a secret, somehow the vast majority of defenses can't do this consistently and Brady is the GOAT. So I'll take Betts and his huge weakness as a pull hitter on offspeed pitches and take my chances, since he is the best player in baseball right now.

I can agree with most of that. I paid attention to how catchers were setting up against him later in the season and it was and usually is outside. His average started to drop and people were wondering why. It took him about 2 weeks to finally go the other way, but it didn’t last. Then they started shifting which shocked me. They worked with Bogie when he got pull happy. I heard Cora tonight talking about a couple guys who did a nice job going away tonight.

As he gets older having the ability to go away will be very important. Might as well start learning now.

 

[TB_Helmet]

Case rested.

This article says the exact same thing you do but also shows why it's not a problem:

How Mookie Betts Has Been Baseball’s Best Hitter | FanGraphs Baseball

It was written in April but the conclusions are all the same.

Unsurprisingly, last year’s Betts wasn’t often able to pull outside pitches. Trying to pull outside pitches is exactly how hitters get themselves in ground-ball trouble. So, in theory, as a pitcher, you just try to work Betts away, but this is where his eye comes in handy. In terms of swinging at pitches over the outer third or beyond, Betts is running one of the very lowest swing rates in the league. He knows his zone and he knows his strengths almost perfectly. Every hitter is capable of occasionally being fooled, but, generally speaking, Betts won’t swing at an outside pitch unless he has to. Until there are two strikes, or unless the situation demands a particular approach, Betts seems happy to look for something to drive to left or left-center. I didn’t plan to pad this post with a comparison between Mookie Betts and Jose Bautista, but this approach is reminiscent of that one. J.D. Martinez is proof of the power of being able to hit the ball hard to all fields, but Betts is proof you don’t have to be able to do it. Not if you know every nook and cranny of the zone.

Extend the Beast!!!

 

[ViperGTS]

This article says the exact same thing you do but also shows why it's not a problem:

How Mookie Betts Has Been Baseball’s Best Hitter | FanGraphs Baseball

It was written in April but the conclusions are all the same.



Extend the Beast!!!

Yes, but they weren’t shifting on him until mid season. Teams only shift for a reason. Thats a good article but I think it needs to be revisited.

 

[Danger Zone]

EDITED: Not worth the time.

 

[Deus Irae]

No I’m making a judgement off the fact he is a mistake hitter and thats about it. If you can execute you can get him out. That means off speed away and down, mixed in with plus FB on the black. He is reticent to go with the pitch, and as I pointed out before is manifested with how teams align defensively.

In the post season pitchers more often can execute that gameplan. Make a mistake inside and its gone. Thats not good enough in the post season. Fix that and I will change my opinion. That and the talk is a 250-300 million contract. No thanks.

What an embarrassing post.

 

[ViperGTS]

EDITED: Not worth the time.

Progress at least. Maybe your dosages will be able to be reduced.

 

[ViperGTS]

What an embarrassing post.

Nothing I said there is false. JD Martinez is type of hitter Betts needs to be to justify a massive contract. Not powerwise obviously, but an all fields approach. If thats embarassing, thats fine.

 

[Deus Irae]

Nothing I said there is false. JD Martinez is type of hitter Betts needs to be to justify a massive contract. Not powerwise obviously, but an all fields approach. If thats embarassing, thats fine.

What's embarrassing is your take. It's beyond asinine. It's as if you've never even heard of baseball.

 

[ViperGTS]

What's embarrassing is your take. It's beyond asinine. It's as if you've never even heard of baseball.

So I quoted several instances of HoF players saying players who go oppo is a nice thing to see. A manager, Cora, say the same tonight about a couple of players.

Why then, is it not okay to ask Betts to try it when they are now shifting?

 

[Deus Irae]

So I quoted several instances of HoF players saying players who go oppo is a nice thing to see. A manager, Cora, say the same tonight about a couple of players.

Why then, is it not okay to ask Betts to try it when they are now shifting?

Now you're moving the goalposts. Your posts on this subject are "Tom Brady's not the G.O.A.T. because I want him to run more" level ridiculous.

You can ask Betts to do whatever the hell you want. Your preference doesn't invalidate what he's already doing, though, and you seem to have decided to ignore that. Betts is a career .303 hitter, with power and speed, and he's a multi-time Gold Glove winner who can play all 3 outfield positions and second base. And he's that when he's only 26 years old. The idea that he hasn't already justified "a massive contract", even assuming he just plays at his current levels rather than improving, is about as ignorant as it gets.

You're better than that.

 

[Danger Zone]

Progress at least. Maybe your dosages will be able to be reduced.

Maybe I'm regressing because now I'm responding to an about to be invisible man.

 

[RobertWeathers]

If they eliminate the Yankees tomorrow (or even if they don’t) someone should walk by the Yankees clubhouse with a boom box and crank up Tessie or another classic. Maybe even ask Judge what Boston classic he wants to hear.

Agree. Judge is a punk