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Thread: Farrell

  1. #1
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    Farrell

    Maybe it's time he had a thread of his own. I started one last year primarily to defend his in-game decisions but also to encourage discussion. I did say--several times--that the only sensible criteria for managers are their won-lost record and whether the team was performing to its potential.

    2012-2016, the Arizona Diamondbacks, did not have single winning season even though twice they broke even at 81-81. This year they are playing winning ball with a new guy named Lovullo at the helm. For now, anyway, it's probably fair to say that Lovullo is doing a good job.

    I'm not so sure Farrell is. It's still early in the season, of course, and the Sox are two games above .500 and 3 games out of 1st place in the AL East. If the season ends right now, the Sox would not be in the playoffs, however. That to me is under performance even though it's still early in the season.

    Last year the pitching was barely adequate. But right now the pitching is 3d best (ERA) in MLB, which is better than it's been in years. Sale is a real ace, and Porcello, Pomeranz, and ERod are doing fine if not great. Price's return--hopefully before this decade is over--will help even more. The bullpen, especially Kimbrel, is good. So to me DD has done his job and given Farrell a pretty good pitching staff.

    Not so the hitting--which is a big surprise to me. I definitely did not think the absence of Ortiz would have this effect. The Sox right now are 26th in MLB in runs scored and tied with the giants for dead last in dingers. Last year the Sox were 1st in runs scored and 9th in home runs. Oh, and right now we have the second highest GIDP rate in MLB--only Houston is worse. I'm not sure any of the weak hitting is Farrell's fault, however.

    The Sox are top of the heap in errors with 26, and that doesn't include bonehead plays--like a pitcher not covering 1B on a grounder to the right--when no error is charged. Our outfield has pretty good range, I think, but not the infield. Our DER (whatever that means) is .687, ranked 20th in MLB.

    And our baserunning is atrocious. 60 or so years ago when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, they had an outfielder named Babe Herman, renowned for his zaniness. One time he hit a gapper with men on first and second, and all three of them ended up on third base together. The story goes that a month or so later a Dodger fan is leaving Ebbets field in the 7th inning and catching a cab to an appointment. The cabbie asks how the "Bums" are doing, to which the fan replies, "great. When I left they had three guys on." To which the cabbie asked, "oh, yeah, which base?" Right now our guys are capable of plays like that.

    I blame those last two on Farrell because I think it's his job to ensure our guys are good at the fundamentals of fielding the ball, throwing the ball, and running the bases.

    For those who believe the Sox have been temporarily screwed by a brutal early schedule, let me remind you that right now only 5 teams in the AL have losing records, and 3 of them are out West. We have played two NL teams, the Cubs with a winning record and the Pirates with a losing record. Oh, and the Sox so far have played 18 home games and just 10 on the road. If anything, we have had a soft schedule.
    Last edited by Maxbialystock; 05-05-2017 at 02:29 PM.

  2. #2
    TalkSox Ascended Master mvp 78's Avatar
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    Farrell teams never run the bases well.

    I'm not sure Butterfield has done a very good job prepping the guys lately. Maybe his offseason surgery is taking a toll?

    I give a huge amount of blame to Amaro at 1st for Pedroia standing on the bag and JBJ not running through it on that triple play.

    I'd get rid of those three guys for sure.
    Quote Originally Posted by moonslav59 View Post
    ( I won't say the "C word.")

  3. #3
    Deity Bellhorn04's Avatar
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    Who knows? He's the manager until he's not.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by mvp 78 View Post
    Farrell teams never run the bases well.

    I'm not sure Butterfield has done a very good job prepping the guys lately. Maybe his offseason surgery is taking a toll?

    I give a huge amount of blame to Amaro at 1st for Pedroia standing on the bag and JBJ not running through it on that triple play.

    I'd get rid of those three guys for sure.
    There wasn't a darn thing either Moreland or Pedroia could do on that play. If they go halfway and the ball is caught, one of them is going to get doubled off. If they hang near the base and the ball drops, well, you saw what happened. I think everyone though an infield fly had been called. The triple play is on JBJ, who despite everything could have avoided the whole thing simply by stepping on first base instead of peeling to the dugout. That was just a weird play that sometimes happens.

    What the team lacks is overall baserunning instincts. Some players have them and some don't. Lowell, Napoli and Ortiz had them. Even though they weren't fast, they could read a ball and knew when they could try for the extra base and when they shouldn't. When to draw a throw and allow a runner to score. Most of the time they were right. Hanley is still faster than those guys ever were, but he runs into an awful lot of dumb outs. His instincts are lacking. Daniel Nava was a terrible baserunner. I'm not sure Benintendi is a good one, he's at least cautious though. When he gets on, JBJ should be able to steal a lot more bases than he does; he just doesn't seem to be able to read a pitcher.

    Part of that may be on the current coaching staff but a lot of it is on every coach these guys have had since they started little league.
    The Yankees could go 0-162 and it wouldn't be enough

  5. #5
    BTW, Bogaerts did exactly what he was supposed to do on his RBI single last night. It was a play you will see a couple dozen or more times this season; he forced the cutoff and allowed the second run to score. The Oriole's screwed up the run down, but Bogaerts (and the coaches) did nothing wrong on that play.
    The Yankees could go 0-162 and it wouldn't be enough

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    Quote Originally Posted by illinoisredsox View Post
    There wasn't a darn thing either Moreland or Pedroia could do on that play. If they go halfway and the ball is caught, one of them is going to get doubled off. If they hang near the base and the ball drops, well, you saw what happened. I think everyone though an infield fly had been called. The triple play is on JBJ, who despite everything could have avoided the whole thing simply by stepping on first base instead of peeling to the dugout. That was just a weird play that sometimes happens.

    What the team lacks is overall baserunning instincts. Some players have them and some don't. Lowell, Napoli and Ortiz had them. Even though they weren't fast, they could read a ball and knew when they could try for the extra base and when they shouldn't. When to draw a throw and allow a runner to score. Most of the time they were right. Hanley is still faster than those guys ever were, but he runs into an awful lot of dumb outs. His instincts are lacking. Daniel Nava was a terrible baserunner. I'm not sure Benintendi is a good one, he's at least cautious though. When he gets on, JBJ should be able to steal a lot more bases than he does; he just doesn't seem to be able to read a pitcher.

    Part of that may be on the current coaching staff but a lot of it is on every coach these guys have had since they started little league.
    There is no way under any circumstances at all that Moreland gets tagged out 3' from second after watching the ball fall to the grass whether or not an infield fly was called. Pedroia just standing on the bag really isn't acceptable and I really don't know what to say to anybody who wants to give Bradley any kind of break for not running to first on that ball. Those are simply stupid mistakes that very good teams just don't seem to make. These types of situations probably aren't points of emphasis everyday for these guys but it does kind of make me wonder exactly what baseball activities they do before games other than repetitive hitting and fielding. It's safe say that at some point in time they were taught everything that every kid who has ever played this game in America has been taught. It is also safe to say that just like the rest of us, saying you learned something ten years ago doesn't mean that you can be expected to remember exactly what it was that you learned. Sad!

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by cp176 View Post
    There is no way under any circumstances at all that Moreland gets tagged out 3' from second after watching the ball fall to the grass whether or not an infield fly was called. Pedroia just standing on the bag really isn't acceptable and I really don't know what to say to anybody who wants to give Bradley any kind of break for not running to first on that ball. Those are simply stupid mistakes that very good teams just don't seem to make. These types of situations probably aren't points of emphasis everyday for these guys but it does kind of make me wonder exactly what baseball activities they do before games other than repetitive hitting and fielding. It's safe say that at some point in time they were taught everything that every kid who has ever played this game in America has been taught. It is also safe to say that just like the rest of us, saying you learned something ten years ago doesn't mean that you can be expected to remember exactly what it was that you learned. Sad!
    So on the triple play, please expound on what they (Moreland and Pderoia) should have done. How many times have you not seen a ball like that NOT called the infield fly. And even if it wasn't, how were they supposed to guess that one Hardy or the left fielder wasn't going to catch it? Once the IF wasn't called, the O's were going to get 2 out of that no matter what.

    It was just one of those weird plays that happen. Of all the baserunning issues this year, this one is way, way down the list.
    Last edited by illinoisredsox; 05-05-2017 at 05:20 PM.
    The Yankees could go 0-162 and it wouldn't be enough

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by illinoisredsox View Post
    So on the triple play, please expound on what they (Moreland and Pderoia) should have done. How many times have you not seen a ball like that NOT called the infield fly. And even if it wasn't, how were they supposed to guess that one Hardy or the left fielder wasn't going to catch it? Once the IF wasn't called, the O's were going to get 2 out of that no matter what.

    It was just one of those weird plays that happen. Of all the baserunning issues this year, this one is way, way down the list.
    Yep. IMHO the umpires failed to enforce a rule that was established specifically to keep what happened from happening.
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  9. #9
    Super Moderator Jasonbay44's Avatar
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    This team doesn't run the bases or field at a major league level and to me that is on Farrell. The players do deserve some blame, but this team makes way too many dumb ass decisions. Our 3B can't go a game without an error and it seems like once a game someone is being thrown out on the base paths.

  10. #10
    TalkSox Ascended Master mvp 78's Avatar
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    How about: IF THE INFIELD FLY RULE IS NOT CALLED, RUN IF THE BALL HITS THE GROUND.

    Definitely don't meander around and get tagged out. Definitely don't stand directly on 1b like a dope. Don't fail to run out the hit to 1b.
    Quote Originally Posted by moonslav59 View Post
    ( I won't say the "C word.")

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by mvp 78 View Post
    How about: IF THE INFIELD FLY RULE IS NOT CALLED, RUN IF THE BALL HITS THE GROUND.

    Definitely don't meander around and get tagged out. Definitely don't stand directly on 1b like a dope. Don't fail to run out the hit to 1b.
    i might have been what some people thought of as a reasonably tough coach although I always thought of myself as a fun-loving kind of guy but in this case I would have been fairly upset.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mvp 78 View Post
    How about: IF THE INFIELD FLY RULE IS NOT CALLED, RUN IF THE BALL HITS THE GROUND.

    Definitely don't meander around and get tagged out. Definitely don't stand directly on 1b like a dope. Don't fail to run out the hit to 1b.
    if Hardy catches that routine pop up then it would have been even easier triple play

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maxbialystock View Post
    Maybe it's time he had a thread of his own. I started one last year primarily to defend his in-game decisions but also to encourage discussion. I did say--several times--that the only sensible criteria for managers are their won-lost record and whether the team was performing to its potential.

    2012-2016, the Arizona Diamondbacks, did not have single winning season even though twice they broke even at 81-81. This year they are playing winning ball with a new guy named Lovullo at the helm. For now, anyway, it's probably fair to say that Lovullo is doing a good job.

    I'm not so sure Farrell is. It's still early in the season, of course, and the Sox are two games above .500 and 3 games out of 1st place in the AL East. If the season ends right now, the Sox would not be in the playoffs, however. That to me is under performance even though it's still early in the season.

    Last year the pitching was barely adequate. But right now the pitching is 3d best (ERA) in MLB, which is better than it's been in years. Sale is a real ace, and Porcello, Pomeranz, and ERod are doing fine if not great. Price's return--hopefully before this decade is over--will help even more. The bullpen, especially Kimbrel, is good. So to me DD has done his job and given Farrell a pretty good pitching staff.

    Not so the hitting--which is a big surprise to me. I definitely did not think the absence of Ortiz would have this effect. The Sox right now are 26th in MLB in runs scored and tied with the giants for dead last in dingers. Last year the Sox were 1st in runs scored and 9th in home runs. Oh, and right now we have the second highest GIDP rate in MLB--only Houston is worse. I'm not sure any of the weak hitting is Farrell's fault, however.

    The Sox are top of the heap in errors with 26, and that doesn't include bonehead plays--like a pitcher not covering 1B on a grounder to the right--when no error is charged. Our outfield has pretty good range, I think, but not the infield. Our DER (whatever that means) is .687, ranked 20th in MLB.

    And our baserunning is atrocious. 60 or so years ago when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, they had an outfielder named Babe Herman, renowned for his zaniness. One time he hit a gapper with men on first and second, and all three of them ended up on third base together. The story goes that a month or so later a Dodger fan is leaving Ebbets field in the 7th inning and catching a cab to an appointment. The cabbie asks how the "Bums" are doing, to which the fan replies, "great. When I left they had three guys on." To which the cabbie asked, "oh, yeah, which base?" Right now our guys are capable of plays like that.

    I blame those last two on Farrell because I think it's his job to ensure our guys are good at the fundamentals of fielding the ball, throwing the ball, and running the bases.

    For those who believe the Sox have been temporarily screwed by a brutal early schedule, let me remind you that right now only 5 teams in the AL have losing records, and 3 of them are out West. We have played two NL teams, the Cubs with a winning record and the Pirates with a losing record. Oh, and the Sox so far have played 18 home games and just 10 on the road. If anything, we have had a soft schedule.
    I have been saying for weeks that David Ortiz should be managing this club. Noone has taken that seriously, and I don't know why. Farrell is a waste. He has yet to discover that JBJ can't hit. Most of the hans have known that for two years (even with a spurt or two). The fact remains he is a .170 hitter, and does not belong in CF for the Red Sox.ive the 3rd outfield job to Young, and trade JBJ (who to, I can't say). One other thing: is Farrell afraid to run? Afraid the guy will thrown out and the next guy hits a HR?

    These guys would play their balls off for Big Papi. Ny God, even his little critiques might turn this pathetic offense around.

  14. #14
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    By the time these guys are playing for the Red Sox, they have already had about a decade of coaching on how to run the bases. And some of that coaching at high level.

    If Farrell is teaching them the basics of how to run and field at this level, then the last decade of coaching has been a total failure. At this level Farrell and team would be fine tuning a players game. Making them top of the notch players, not little league crap.

    This is on the players. This is rookie league crap we are seeing. Maybe some of these players are over their head and panicking.
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  15. #15
    Super Moderator Jasonbay44's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bosoxmal View Post
    I have been saying for weeks that David Ortiz should be managing this club. Noone has taken that seriously, and I don't know why. Farrell is a waste. He has yet to discover that JBJ can't hit. Most of the hans have known that for two years (even with a spurt or two). The fact remains he is a .170 hitter, and does not belong in CF for the Red Sox.ive the 3rd outfield job to Young, and trade JBJ (who to, I can't say). One other thing: is Farrell afraid to run? Afraid the guy will thrown out and the next guy hits a HR?

    These guys would play their balls off for Big Papi. Ny God, even his little critiques might turn this pathetic offense around.
    Really? You wanna give up on JBJ because he is hitting .170 in 50-some AB's? Jesus.

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