Is "small ball" KW's concept with this team?

[BlizzardOfOzzie]

Tell me if I understand "small ball" correctly:

 

Small ball basically means you play for one run at a time rather than wait for the three run homer. You do this by bunting and stealing bases. It can work in the AL. I believe the Sox are doing this because they have a limited payroll. They have invested much of their payroll into the pitching staff, and not spending as much on the hitters. Kenny Williams thinks (and I agree) that you can be much more consistent with good pitching and defense. With that said they still have Thomas and Konerko to drive in runs. I think the AL version of small ball can work very well. You will see Posdenik hit 1st, another fast guy hit 2nd, and then work the batting order to put guys on the basepath. They all need to hit in order because by the time Konerko and Thomas come up they will clog the bases.

 

Well, unless I'm mistaken, this is the formula the Marlins used to win it in 2003 and Guillen wants to implement it here.

[JUGGERNAUT]

Yes. Small ball means giving up less runs & scoring less runs but preventing droughts of runs. It's all about manufacturing runs with base hits, moving runners over, hit & runs, stolen bases, hit by pitch, sacrifice hits, & walks.

 

Oddly enough in the revamping of the Sox to small ball, the Sox are only giving up 21r, 18rbi from the 04 team. They still have an 8 cylinder engine but have added some nitrous oxide for the quick burst

 

Quoting the Sun-Times, the Sox are probably the fastest team in the majors now. With power nearly equal to that of last year's team.

[qwerty]

Quoting the Sun-Times, the Sox are probably the fastest team in the majors now.  With power nearly equal to that of last year's team.

 

Do you think they are the fastest team in the majors?

[Rex Kickass]

Small ball is never a bad idea.

[Gene Honda Civic]

Yes.  Small ball means giving up less runs & scoring less runs but preventing droughts of runs.  It's all about manufacturing runs with base hits, moving runners over, hit & runs, stolen bases, hit by pitch, sacrifice hits, & walks.

 

Oddly enough in the revamping of the Sox to small ball, the Sox are only giving up 21r, 18rbi from the 04 team. They still have an 8 cylinder engine but have added some nitrous oxide for the quick burst

 

Quoting the Sun-Times, the Sox are probably the fastest team in the majors now.  With power nearly equal to that of last year's team.

R and RBI are products of what your teammates do around you. I don't think it's at all an accurate way to describe how this team compares to last.

 

The 2002 and 2003 were largely the same team offensively. One scored 65 more runs than the other(probably not the team you're thinking). I can guarantee you that if you use the 2001 team's R+RBI to try and predict the the 2002 teams Runs Scored, and the 2002 team's R+RBI to predict the 2003 teams RBI you will be surprised by how wildly inaccurate your predictions are.

[JUGGERNAUT]

I disagree. When I do the 04 vs 05 comparison I do with a bias to 04.

What that means is that for new players I take their 3 yr avg's. That gives you a better picture of what to expect in 05. Of course their are no guarantees. Dye might wind up hating AJP & that could affect 1 or both of their numbers but it makes no sense to think negative like that.

 

The 05 Sox have a deficit of 21r, & 18rbi based on a conservative estimation of what the new & old player mix will do in 05. Not an optimistic one & not a pessimistic one but somewhere in the middle. Optimistically with the adding team speed & a team potential of 150+ SB's (it boggles the mind) this team could break the Sox all-time record for runs.

 

Do I think the Sox are the fastest team in the majors?

4 of the 10 guys have great/good speed (Pods, Iggy, Rowand, Uribe)

2 of the 10 guys have above avg speed (Dye, Everett)

2 of the 10 guys have avg speed (Crede, Thomas)

2 of the 10 guys are slow (Koney, AJP)

 

I don't think any team compares with that.

Great/good guys can score from 3B on an IF hit or a shallow OF fly.

They can advance to 3B on a solid SF, a wild pitch, a stolen base, or a sac hit. They can score from 2B on any non fly hit in the OF.

 

Above avg guys can score from 2B on a weak OF hit. They can advance to 3B on SF, or SH. They need a solid OF fly to score from 3B.

 

But you can't do anything unless you get on so that's why we all remain cautiously optimistic. We need to first be convinced this team will be one of the highest in OBP.

[qwerty]

I disagree.  When I do the 04 vs 05 comparison I do with a bias to 04.

What that means is that for new players I take their 3 yr avg's.  That gives you a better picture of what to expect in 05.  Of course their are no guarantees.  Dye might wind up hating AJP & that could affect 1 or both of their numbers but it makes no sense to think negative like that.

 

The 05 Sox have a deficit of 21r, & 18rbi based on a conservative estimation of what the new & old player mix will do in 05.  Not an optimistic one & not a pessimistic one but somewhere in the middle.  Optimistically with the adding team speed & a team potential of 150+ SB's (it boggles the mind) this team could break the Sox all-time record for runs. 

 

Do I think the Sox are the fastest team in the majors? 

4 of the 10 guys have great/good speed (Pods, Iggy, Rowand, Uribe)

2 of the 10 guys have above avg speed (Dye, Everett)

2 of the 10 guys have avg speed (Crede, Thomas)

2 of the 10 guys are slow (Koney, AJP)

 

I don't think any team compares with that. 

Great/good guys can score from 3B on an IF hit or a shallow OF fly.

They can advance to 3B on a solid SF, a wild pitch, a stolen base, or a sac hit.  They can score from 2B on any non fly hit in the OF.

 

Above avg guys can score from 2B on a weak OF hit.  They can advance to 3B on SF, or SH.  They need a solid OF fly to score from 3B.

 

But you can't do anything unless you get on so that's why we all remain cautiously optimistic.  We need to first be convinced this team will be one of the highest in OBP.

 

I would sure like to know who you are comparing them to speed wise. Devil rays blow the sox out of the water when it comes to speed.

[LosMediasBlancas]

Thomas was slow last year, probably because of the foot. Let's see how he bounces back, I expect slow.

[mreye]

Yes.  Small ball means giving up less runs & scoring less runs but preventing droughts of runs.  It's all about manufacturing runs with base hits, moving runners over, hit & runs, stolen bases, hit by pitch, sacrifice hits, & walks.

 

What about catcher interference?

[JUGGERNAUT]

I would sure like to know who you are comparing them to speed wise. Devil rays blow the sox out of the water when it comes to speed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Show some names & numbers & I might be inclined to agree with you.

But until you do I stil contend that Pods, Iggy, Rowand, Uribe, Dye, & Everett

are faster that any other group of 6 expected starters on any other team.

[qwerty]

Show some names & numbers & I might be inclined to agree with you. 

But until you do I stil contend that Pods, Iggy, Rowand, Uribe, Dye, & Everett

are faster that any other group of 6 expected starters on any other team.

 

Cheat already mentioned them in another thread but gathright, baldelli, crawford, lugo, cruz, alomar/huff. What numbers do you want? Those six are faster than the six you mentioned. Also dye and everett you are overating speed wise. Dye has slowed down significantly and everett is eh.

 

 

Just waiting for some stat you can twist to make your point.

[BlizzardOfOzzie]

Well, until I see Jermaine Dye make it past one full month without getting injured, I'm not exactly banking on him just yet. I think he was a great pickup to replace Maggs in the field (they could have signed someone who's not as good as Dye is), and I think he'll fit in well. But, I'm skeptical about his staying healthy - he just seems to have had a rash of bad luck.

 

But, for the price he came at and his statistical credentials, I think he was arguably the best KW could get without sacrificing more cash towards inproving the team in other areas. Good move.

[mmmmmbeeer]

Cheat already mentioned them in another thread but gathright, baldelli, crawford, lugo, cruz, alomar/huff. What numbers do you want? Those six are faster than the six you mentioned. Also dye and everett you are overating speed wise. Dye has slowed down significantly and everett is eh.

Just waiting for some stat you can twist to make your point.

 

Is the 2nd fastest team in MLB really that much worse? Hell, I'd take 4th fastest and be ecstatic about it.

[AnthraxFan93]

I have been a big fan of small ball for years, I think this was a huge step in the right direction for this team.. In the prevous year we relied to much on the 3 run HR with no one on base, now we have the table setters, guy who can move another guy along..aka productive outs, something that IMO was lacking on this team.