Red Sox 2016: The Lard of Pablo, or No More Papis in MA

Something I never knew: Ortiz was first signed by Seattle in 1992--Edgar Martinez's breakout year (he'd been good in '90 and '91, but not yet the dominant hitter he'd become).

Bradley batted .469 (15-for-32) with six runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI over seven games to earn his first career AL Player of the Week Award.

killer b's baby

i was at saturday's game and it was SO MUCH FUN. ortiz had to be at his daughter's quincañera that night and i have a feeling he was just like 'ok, if nobody else does this, i will.' 600th double was the cherry on top

simmons said yesterday that Ortiz is now m/l as big a boston icon as ted williams

my 7-year-old agrees

unless the PED thing is a bigger deal for him than I think it will be, Ortiz is definitely getting into the HOF at this point. the DH thing and the WAR thing are pretty good counterarguments but i think the postseason performances and his iconic status will push him over the top.

even if he falls off considerably in the second half he'll probably end up with a wRC+ around 140-150 by the end of the season, pretty incredible. wonder what the record is for a final season?

wonder if Bradley will play both games of the doubleheader w his streak

imagine if Papi was a complete baseball player

he'll probably end up with a wRC+ around 140-150 by the end of the season, pretty incredible. wonder what the record is for a final season?

without looking, i'm going to guess it belongs to Bonds.

turns out there's a fangraphs post about it from yesterday: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/best-final-seasons-part-two/

although that one uses WAR, not wRC+

let's see, here's final season wRC+ for some of the players listed in the article with the highest WARs

Williams 184: (in 113 games)
Joe Jackson: 167
Bonds: 157
Will Clark: 146
Mantle: 145
Clemente: 135

papi is huger than ever (pardon the pun?). it helps that the sox are pulling out all the stops for his last year. kevin millar announced his first at-bat the other day, and his daughter sang the anthem at the opener (as a surprise), etc. 'we want papi' chants definitely cropped up during sunday's long-ass back-and-forth with the astros.

lol had to be juan friggin uribe to break up the no no huh

you didn't want kelly going any longer anyway

JBJ streakwatch: 27 straight

so fukin awesome

just got a notification to tune in because papi needs a triple fot the cycle

got stupidly close to one, but the hit ended up a ground rule double

will totally take 4 for 4 with a homer and 3 RBIs tho

Interesting seeing Mantle on that list of greatest last seasons. You'd always hear about how broken-down he was at the end, but indeed, in 1968, 18 homers and 106 walks was pretty damn productive.

i just got tix for bos-ari at fenway in august :D

JBJ's improved approach

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/what-jackie-bradley-jr-figured-out/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjVAY6XWYAADaBZ.jpg

Fun Fact from my FB feed: "DiMaggio faced 55 pitchers during his 56 game hitting streak. As of yesterday, Jackie Bradley Jr had faced 63 different pitchers during his."

when you get this deep into a streak is when it dawns on you how fucking monumental it was what dimaggio did. just insane. it's like .400, it simply will not be done again.

somewhat more likely than .400, not that i expect it.

dimaggio struck out 13 times in 621 plate appearances in 1941; jbj has fanned 20 times during his streak. which is not a knock on the latter, it's just a completely different world

btw the X-man has an 18-game streak going too

both require excellence and luck sustained over a very long stretch... and nobody micromanaged pitching matchups back then the way they do now. it would be interesting to see how many of the great joe d's hits during that streak came against arguable gassed starters in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings..

papi with another dong and another double today (game still ongoing), 35 XBHs in 43 games.

obviously farrell's fault for moving him to leadoff

p. much

idk if there's a new orioles thread but in any event, I'll use this space to thank them for being themselves and striking out at a 15-batters-a-game clip against the stros

in three straight games

worst to first to worst to worst to first has a nice cadence to it

This picture is like in a horror movie when they pan around and you realize the priest is wearing a pentagram ring.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjWzCaDUgAcVPAA.jpg

buchholz to the bullpen

oh good he can give up grand slams in the eighth inning instead of the fourth

I think he'll be passable in the pen, which is all that he needs to be - it's clear he can't hold it together multiple innings but I can see him as a one/two innings per outing middle relief dude

feels like Ortiz has a homer and a double every single game lately.

@theaceofspaeder
#RedSox David Ortiz is batting .296/.381/.618 with 54 2B, 1 3B, 45 HR, & 141 RBI over his last 162 games played.

@theaceofspaeder
Only one player in history had both as many doubles and homers in a season as David Ortiz has over his last 162 games: Todd Helton, 2001.

buchholz survives his first relief outing!

papi's last 7 games: 7 2b, 4 hr

it's such a great story. i really hope he doesn't change his mind.

Ortiz's HR tonight gives him 38 XBH in his (not the team's) first 45 games. Here's where the all-time single-season leaders were after 45 games and their final total:

Ruth (1921): 34/119
Gehrig (1927): 37/117
Bonds (2001): 35/107
Chuck Klein (1930): 34/107
Helton (2001): 29/105

That's the top 5--good chance Ortiz's pace is the fastest ever.

moooooooooooookie

(betts)

This team!

gonna sound corny af but i was at the game where mookie scored his mlb first homer - which didn't help the game much bc it ended up being a 16-9 massacre by the cubs (also the game where jerry remy's tooth fell out in the broadcast booth!) - and was like, "that's legit, please don't be a flash in the pan," so him showing out like this and the numbers he's on pace for are v nice to see

like...O_O

Jeremy Lundblad ‏@JLundbladESPN
Mookie Betts' current pace: 37 HR, 124 RBI, 24 SB, 84 XBH

A-Rod in 2007 is only AL player to do that in last 90 years