They're shutting him down due to lingering hand and wrist issues in his surgically repaired hand. He's potentially headed for another surgery. He says it's been bothering him the whole yr. Hands and wrists are vitally important to hitters and injuries there can lead to long lasting declines in the player. Tex is one example and now Pedroia is the other. There's a chance he's never the same
Hal sucks
These hand problems are becoming a chronic issue. Management need to plan for the possibility that he will never be the same hitter. On top of getting 2 top of the rotation starting pitchers, they will need to get a big IF Bat -- a catalyst or a big thumper. An IF of a diminished Pedroia, Bogaerts, and Middlestinks or Holt is not going to cut it when we are carrying a glove man behind the plate (Vasquez) and an unknown quantity in CF (Castillo). That is more than half a lineup of dead weight. Our offense will be on par with the Padres again.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
Originally Posted by a700hitter
So you think that an IF with power should be acquired? Because if not, the Sox have a decent 2nd baseman in the wings. Betts. Or Holt.
I like the idea of finding either a big stick 3rd baseman or SS.
Who will be available?
Hanley is a FA after this season. Also, there have been rumors that Tulo wants out of Colorado. If no solid offensive IF option is availabe, I'd rather go with Betts at 3rd than either Middlestinks or Holt. We need to add some offense to the IF, not necessarily a power hitter. We may have enough power with Ortiz, Cespedes, and Naps.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
He is not dependable.It sucks too! He got a big contract.
It makes sense to shut Pedroia down. This also gives the youngsters a chance to prove themselves. I'd like to see Holt and Betts get regular playing time and see who wins that 2B position in the meantime.
It makes sense unless he is on your fantasy team. Lol!
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
I say 'nay' to Tulo. When is the last time he finished a season? Last time he played 150 games was 2009.... We don't the need middle of the IF to be injury-prone. And I'm not a big Ramirez fan. I think he's a little too inconsistent with his play and attitude. Now JJ Hardy, that might be okay. But I'd rather see Xander there. For 3B, how about the Panda? He's only 28 and certainly has the power profile for a 3Bman...
If you go with pitching and defense, you need pitching and defense. If you go with offense, you need offense. It seems like your team is full of one or the other, but not both. At the beginning of the yr, you had a 3b (Bogaerts) at SS, a 1B (Middlebrooks) at 3B, and a corner OFer (Sizemore) in CF. You had the pitching in the top 2 spots, but your 3, 4, and 5 shit the bed completely in Doubront, Peavy, and Buchholz. By the time Drew and JBJ were regulars, you were out of it and Lester, Lackey and Peavy were gone. It seems like this yr was not well planned out. That being said, the sox have a unique opportunity coming up. You have a lot of talent, although not a full team. You can either cave to the masses and burn your cash this yr or you can add slowly and develop your kids. The former will have you rebuilding again in 3-4 yrs. The latter will have you building for another 2 before a goo 5-8 yrs of success.
Hal sucks
Pedroia has to rebound next year after being just an average major league hitter this year. (His ops plus was 101). While his ops will be on the lower side because of his lack of hrs, a sub .280 batting average and an obp in the 330's isn't acceptable. His hand should be healed up fine by the time april comes around so we will see if being healthy can turn around the ops decline he has had the last 3 seasons.
We look at Pedrioa as a number three hitter and when he is not producing it effects the Sox ability to consistently score runs. If you improve the lineup then you could drop him in the order. His numbers don't look that bad if he was hitting 7th. Pedrioa's glove would allow you to do that. Despite two years with hand injuries that robbed his power he still played gold glove D-Fense. How many runs does he save with his glove?
there is no luxury in the game to treat players as sacred cows. If he can't do the job like he used to do, they have to move him in the order.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
Obviously a lot depends on his ability to use his repaired hand to follow through in his swing and drive the ball.
One way or another, assuming that his surgery is "successful", Pedroia will start 2015 as the #3 hitter because of who he is. If he fails to produce at least as well a in 2014 then I see him moved down in the order.
The Sox brass won't want the PR nightmare of bruising his ego in the fans eyes.
He is a tremendous second basemen. However, the sox didn't give him that contract just so he could be an average hitter who could field. As a 2/3 hitter, if he can give the sox what he did in 2013 again, thats fine. He doesn't have to have an ops up and over 800. If he can have an ops in the high 700's, an obp up around .370, a .290 ba and 35 doubles, I'll have no complaints. As for moving him down in the lineup to 6th or 7th if he doesn't produce, I am okay with that.
Let's not consign Pedroia to the trash heap just yet. He was hurt in the first game of the year this season and in affected him somewhat. Healthy he is still young enough to make a strong comeback. I'd be more concerned about Cherington and Farrell going stubborn and try and shoehorn Bradley someway into the lineup again next season or believe that Bogaerts is going to be their savior or that Middlebrooks will finally hit 30 homers. Come to think of it, didn't Dustin hit third almost all of the 2013 season and hit 301 with 84 RBI's. He was hurt all year then too and in the first game of that season at YS. Pedey will be just fine.
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