Was Xander Bogaerts out of line in saying the Red Sox miss David Ortiz?
Debate the answer with Chad Finn and Boston sports fans at The Sports Q.
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Here we go. The Sox get shutout by the Yankees, and afterward Xander Bogaerts is the first to make the excuse that Papi isn’t around. Seems like an excuse for them not hitting to expectations as a team, and he’s going to get roasted for bringing it up, but does he actually have a fair point? – Jon W.
Here’s what Bogaerts actually said, if you didn’t see it or haven’t turned your radio on yet this morning:
Bogaerts on offense: “What’s the difference [from last year]? David’s not in the lineup.”
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) April 28, 2017
My reaction? I don’t have a problem with him saying it, because A) it’s freakin’ true, and B) I try not to react to athletes matter-of-factly telling the truth, even if it’s something we don’t want to hear or can be portrayed as an excuse.
I wrote a couple of times over the winter and spring that the potential impact of Ortiz’s absence in the lineup was being wildly underestimated. I’m still not sure why that was the case — he was pretty good at hitting if I recall correctly. While the Red Sox had a fearsome offense last year, they were also enormously lucky with injuries. Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez stayed healthy and productive all season. The Sox also got a breathtaking season out of Mookie Betts, who can be an MVP candidate again and still regress from what he was last year. It seemed to me the entire offense was due for a slight regression, even with the addition of Andrew Benintendi.
So, yes, Bogaerts is right. They miss Ortiz. They also miss Pedroia being in the lineup, and Ramirez hitting for power, and Betts seeming to account for 8 total bases per game, and some of this is on the currently ping-hitting Bogaerts too. (He had a .311 batting average and a.328 slugging percentage entering last night’s game, which is hard to do even if you’re Jose Iglesias.)
But you know what? They’re gonna hit, and they’re gonna hit soon. If they have their varsity lineup for most of the season, they’ll end up as one of if not the best offense in the league. Pablo Sandoval won’t lead them in homers forever. (But they still will miss Ortiz, because you will always miss Ortiz in some way, right?)
What do you say? Was Bogaerts out of line? Or was he merely observing a simple fact.
I threw the meatball. Now take your hacks in the comments.
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