It's 10:30am On A Monday, And John Farrell Has Already Pissed Me Off
Honestly, John Farrell hasn’t even re-pissed me off.
I’m kind of still pissed off from his decision to put Chris Young in the lineup against a righty yesterday, and then not pinch hit for him in the bottom of the ninth against a righty closer when the Red Sox were mounting a comeback, only to give the explanation that he’s trying to give him some at-bats because the Red Sox are facing two lefty starters Monday and Tuesday. So, Farrell wanted to get Young prepared to face two lefties by having him face a righty? Makes sense. He also said that he took some good swings, when in reality he went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts, all looking. And, I mean, I can see how getting Young at-bats so that he’s ready for Monday and Tuesday is more important than winning the game on Sunday. Flawless logic you’ve got there, John.
But then the lineup comes out today — no David Ortiz, and no Brock Holt. I’m not going to rip Farrell for not having Ortiz in there, because apparently it was mutually agreed upon before the series that this would be the game Ortiz would sit in this series, given the start time and the fact that Ortiz hits J.A. Happ at a .231/.333/.308 clip in 15 career plate appearances. In regards to Holt not being in the lineup, we already have an explanation and it’s fucking stupid.
John, I’m about to change your world right now, buddy. I want you to grab a pen and some note paper and write this down. Baseball-reference.com. It’s fucking WILD, my man. They’ve got all kinds of baseball statistics on there, and it’s going to make your job SO much easier. Watch, I’ll show you how to use it. Type in “Brock Holt”, okay? I want you to hover over “splits” and then click on “career”. Still with me? Awesome. You’re doing great. Now I want you to scroll down to his splits against righties and lefties. See that there? Yeah, Holt hits .271 with a .697 OPS against right-handed pitching, and .289 with a .750 OPS against left-handed pitching.
Now, I’m going to ask you one more time. Why isn’t Brock Holt in the lineup against a left-handed pitcher? Yes, the Red Sox brought Young here specifically to be in the lineup against left-handed pitching. I’m not saying to start him in left field over Young, but he should be at third base over Josh Rutledge, albeit that’s not Holt’s greatest defensive position, it still gives the Red Sox a better chance to win the game.
John Farrell bats right-handed hitters against right-handed pitching to get ready for left-handed pitching, and benches left-handed hitting that can hit left-handed pitching in games that a left-handed pitcher is starting. He also pinch hits Young for Travis Shaw against left-handed pitching in the sixth inning, when Shaw hit .329 with a .975 OPS against lefties last year. K.