IF the Red Sox lose...would they have been better with Manny?

MeteoriteGuy

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are. IF the Red Sox lose...would they have been better with Manny? Not really a baseball fan enough myself to answer this question.

edmundfitzgerald

This answer is easily no. Bay's numbers are pretty close to what Manny would have given us. Our losing would be more attributed
to what Ortiz, Varitek, Ellsbury and Beckett did not give us, then what Manny would have given us.

You can't say that Manny would have enabled David to have a better series, because David's problems are due to his ailing wrist,
not who is hitting behind him.

joestalin

yeah, agreed, Does Manny do what Bay did against the Angles? Maybe maybe not. Man Ram will show his ugly head soon!

JS

bman90278

My opinion here....It looks like the Sox have a team that isn't dependant on having a Manny as Bay has made a heck of a contribution to his team. When everyone was playing normal the Sox have a great team with good depth Of course the Sox have some key players struggling now but that's part of the game and that's why we have playoffs and a World Series.

If and when the Rays win it, that means the Sox played a better team at the time. And it just happens to be the team that has maintained their level of play throughout the year as a better team. Props to the Rays for a great year.

StopYurWhining

huh, I didnt realize Manny was a pitcher; which is the most glaring weakness for the sox in the Rays series. A good starting pitcher lol.

TomGshotput

hitting is only 50% of what it takes to win, and each spot in the lineup is only 11% of that, so the Red Sox replacing Ramirez with a mediocre hitter would only be losing like 5%. Bay has been doing far better than mediocre

It would take an aweful lot of twisted logic to believe Ramirez in place of Bay would be making much of a difference

grote15

hitting is only 50% of what it takes to win, and each spot in the lineup is only 11% of that,

That may make sense if each hitter in the order batted in a vacum without any effect to the player hitting ahead or behind him, but that is not the case. Also, are you saying, for instance, that the cleanup spot is the equivalent to the 8-hole?

TomGshotput

Yes. Mostly

The Red Sox would have had a better chance of winning game two if they had an extra hit from the number eight hitter as opposed to the number four hitter
The Rays would have had a better chace of winning game five if they had an extra hit from the number four hitter spot as opposed to the number eight hitter
The number four and eight hitter had nearly an identical chance of changing the outcome of game one with more production

In the other games it would have taken a lot more than one spot in the lineup to change the outcome. The higher place in the order does carry slight premiums, but it only changes the equation very slightly. Of course Bay does a better job than Ramirez at preventing runs

TomGshotput

Looking at the box score from game two, it shows how devestating lack of production from any spot can be. Kotsay went 0-6 and three of those times, had he reached base, he would have been on base for either a Crisp double or a Pedroia homerun (or both, if he reached base in the fourth inning)

jdip9

Manny isn't going to reduce the 7.5 runs/game that Tampa is scoring, so his presence doesn't matter. Bay has put up Manny-type numbers this postseason.

Their pitching is what has gotten them into this hole. I'm trying to be optimistic, but unless Beckett's oblique is healed by some miracle, tonight won't be much different.