Blog for Drugs Delaney: SB Nation

Sox, Wakefield Agree to 2-year/$5 Million Contract

by Drugs Delaney on Nov 9, 2009 3:42 PM EST Comment 6 comments

According to Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Sox will not pick up Wake's perpetual $4 million option.

Rosenthal says the Angels may run wild. A review of the season series.

by Drugs Delaney on Oct 5, 2009 7:51 PM EDT Comment 37 comments

Randy posted a link to a Ken Rosenthal article predicting an LA victory in the ALDS. The two teams played 9 times this year, with the Angels winning 5 games. During the season, Angels base-runners stole 15 bases and were only caught twice. However, looking at the game-by-game results, I'm not sure LA's running game had much impact in the regular season. Here's a recap of the season series:

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37 comments | 3 recs

Is it important to go into the playoffs "hot"?

by Drugs Delaney on Sep 30, 2009 10:22 PM EDT Comment 38 comments

You always hear how important it for teams to peak at the right time. But when is the right time? When teams play well down the stretch and continue to play well late into October, you often hear how they got hot when it mattered. When a team plays well in August or September but fall short in the post-season, many will say that team peaked too soon. Let's look at every AL playoff year since 2000 to see whether "hot" teams have an advantage in October.

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38 comments | 6 recs

What to do with Jason Varitek?

by Drugs Delaney on Sep 22, 2009 12:34 PM EDT Comment 35 comments

The playoffs are coming and the Sox will have to set their roster soon. The two biggest decision will involve Jason Varitek and Manny Delcarmen. Both players have struggled. But since Tek is more likely to get meaningful post-season playing time, we'll leave the MDC discussion for another time.

Poll

How should the Sox use Tek in the playoffs?

He should be benched. The team is much better with VMart catching.

49 votes

He should catch Beckett and Dice-K.

44 votes

He should only catch Beckett

16 votes

He should only catch Dice-K

10 votes

119 votes | Poll has closed

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35 comments | 0 recs

The Julio Lugo Era is Over

by Drugs Delaney on Jul 17, 2009 12:34 PM EDT Comment 31 comments

Rob Bradford od WEEI is reporting that the Sox have DFA'd Julio Lugo.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Red Sox have designated Julio Lugo for assignment. The Red Sox will have 10 days to assign Lugo's contract to another major or minor league club, whether it be via trade or through waivers.

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31 comments | 0 recs

A Simple Line-up Comparison: Sox, Yanks, Rays

by Drugs Delaney on May 15, 2009 7:28 PM EDT Comment 50 comments

The Red Sox are currently second in the AL in runs and team OPS. They've done this despite a poor lead-off hitter and no production from the #3 spot in their batting order (the #8 spot is a black hole too).

Let's take a moment and back away from bashing David Ortiz, Julio Lugo, or (insert player's name). All teams have holes. I find it hard to believe that one line-up spot or player can drag a whole team down.

Here's a comparison of the Sox, MFY, and Rays based on how each spot in their line-up has done to date. By line-up spot, I am looking at the batting order position and not the player. In most cases more than one player has hit in a particular spot. For example, four players have manned the cleanup spot for the Sox: Youkilis (89 AB), Bay (37 AB), Lowell (3 AB), and Bailey (3 AB). I am counting the combined hitting totals of those four players when hitting fourth and not each player's individual stats. The stats are listed by AVG/OBP/SLG.

             Red Sox              Yankees             Rays

#1 .294/.329/.356       .267/.335/.407    .211/.313/.289

#2 .315/.407/.413       .318/.382/.601    .336/.400/.461

#3 .215/.321/.313       .206/.342/.466    .327/.382/.660

#4 .333/.439/.644       .237/.329/.407    .250/.358/.610

#5 .294/.374/.493      .255/.303/.461     .259/.346/.333

#6 .289/.431/.579      .298/.399/.500     .254/.338/.448

#7 .254/.329/.470      .328/.421/.576    .232/.284/.362

#8 .208/.313/.360      .238/.298/.400     .308/.347/.446

#9 .295/.345/.462      .280/.321/.352     .287/.331/.426

The Rays have the best 2-3-4 combination. The MFY are getting almost nothing from the 3-4-5 spots in their line-up. Yet the MFY are scoring at a slightly better rate than the Rays: 5.41 runs per game v. 5.25 runs per game. The Sox are averaging 5.63 runs per game.

It seems to me that order of the hitters means less than the aggregate. While the #3 and #8 spots are pretty dead on the Sox (none of the three teams listed has a good lead-off hitter), the Sox other six hitting spots are better than the top six on the Rays or MFY.

Food for thought?

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Dice-K on 15-day DL

by Drugs Delaney on Apr 15, 2009 2:50 PM EDT Comment 18 comments

Thank you Bud Selig!

The Sox placed Dice-K on the 15-day DL and called up Hunter Jones, a lefty reliever, from Pawtucket. I think it's hard to argue that the WBC isn't responsible for Matsuzaka's "arm fatigue," which is what the Sox are calling Dice-K's injury.

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18 comments | 0 recs

Sox place Lowrie on DL

by Drugs Delaney on Apr 13, 2009 8:02 PM EDT Comment 6 comments

According to Boston.com, Jed Lowrie will be placed on the 15-day DL with a left wrist injury. Gil Velazquez was called up to take Lowrie's spot.

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What should the Sox do with Ellsbury?

by Drugs Delaney on Apr 7, 2009 9:26 PM EDT Comment 42 comments

Is anyone else worried about Ellsbury as the Sox' lead-off hitter? In 670 career AB (including today's game), Jacoby's OBP is just .346. That's barely adequate for a tablesetter. Last year his OBP was a putrid .336

Many here at OTM have questioned the wisdom of hitting Ellsbury first. Speed doesn't matter if you can't get on base. But, it's more than that. Taco Boy just isn't a patient hitter. He doesn't work counts and, too often, he tries to hit the long ball. I'm beginning to think Ellsbury just doesn't get it. He doesn't understand his role on the team.

Poll