Rob Neyer was a guest on WEEI’s Dale and Neumy show on Monday. Aside from plugging his new book, he provided “expert analysis” on why the Sox aren’t scoring runs at the prolific pace they were last year.
The quotes;
Rob Neyer: “not hitting as well as they can”
Rob Neyer: “aren’t getting on base like last year”
Dale: “offense is woefully behind last year”
The facts;
The 2004 Red Sox are not hitting like they were last year (.267 vs .289 batting average and .436 vs .491 slugging percentage).
They are, however, getting on base much like they were last year. Last year’s OBP was .360, this year .348. Last year there were 620 base-on-balls, this year they are on pace for 672.
So, the problem isn’t getting on base, its getting home. Why? Here’s a few reasons;
Last year the team had 943 strike-outs, this year they are on pace for 1165.
Last year the team had 65 sacrifice flies, this year on pace for 29.
Last year the team had 24 sacrifices, this year on pace for 16.
Last year the team had 88 stolen bases, this year on pace for 78.
Add these numbers up and what do you get? A good argument in favor of playing some small ball.
