April 23, 2006
Boston Bullpen
The Red Sox relievers continue to do an excellent job. The combined for another 3 2/3 scoreless innings today to lower their ERA to 3.54. They allowed just 3 hits while striking out six. Most impressively, as a unit they're walking a batter just once every four innings. They kept Toronto at bay as Boston goes on for a 6-3 win.
Posted by David Pinto at
05:02 PM
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Pitchers
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I wonder how often David Ortiz has been practicing the bunt lately. He really laid down a beauty from what I heard on XM.
This raises an interesting question (to THIS Red Sox fan, anyway): how often SHOULD Ortiz bunt in reaction to that overshift teams are doing to him? Was it luck today, or is he really developing skill?
The bunt was a good one, but it really doesn't have to be great for him to get on against the shift. I'd rather him do a little check swing grounder instead. It'd be an easy double.
I think Ortiz should do the bunt anytime he's leading off an inning. It's almost going to be an automatic base unless he bunts it right back to the pitcher. I think having him on first with no outs and Manny up is a good trade-off against the potential solo HR.
With some practice, he should be able to bunt or slap the ball for a hit 9 times out of 10. Seriously, he's got a lot of room to work with there!
He shouldn't make a career out of it, but every once and a while, if there's that much space open, laying down a good bunt is a good way to a) get on base and b) lessen the shift a little bit the next time around. He should have done it against the insane Tampa Bay Devil Rays shift, where, as he pointed out, he could have bunted on a double.
I think it was a good idea today, based on what I know about the score and pitcher, and because a runner was on first. That being said, I don't think he should necessarily bunt for a hit every single time he leads off an inning...I think it should be a judgment call, and it should be left up to him. He's a smart enough hitter and good enough teammate to know when he should lay it down, and I think a lot depends on who is on the mound. As for whether it was luck...apparently the Twins are big on bunting, and an MSNBC article about today's game mentions that he's known to be a good bunter. He's also got the green light to do it whenever he wants, and Tito says he's never going to force him to do it. That sounds fine to me.
Ortiz should bunt when he's leading off an inning and Boston needs baserunners, behind by 2 runs or more. Giambi did this last year in a similar situation.
David has to adjust to this shift just like Yaz did (poked singles to left) and Williams (screw them I'll still hit pull it). In other words, do what works for David.
I'd guess it's almost always a good idea for him to bunt. Even if he only succeeds 75% of the time (seems reasonable to me), he'll have an OBP of .750 and an OPS of 1.500. That makes him the best player in baseball, by far.
Realistically, if there's a chance for him to really alter the game with a home run (late and close game, one or two bases occupied, or whatever), he's probably getting an intentional walk. So, as a rule, I'd have him bunt pretty much any time they shift and actually throw him strikes.