Tag Archives: Andrew Benintendi

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS XANDER BOGAERTS ?!

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Kansas City Royals v Boston Red Sox

By: Bill Murphy

Twitter: @B_Murph1021

Where is the X-Man?

As our Red Sox start to gain momentum and head into the last leg of the season with a full head of steam we have one important thing missing.   And that thing isn’t A THING at all — our starting short stop, Xander Bogaerts.

To say that Xander is struggling recently would be a complete understatement, as one of our most talented players has COMPLETELY fallen off the face of the earth. Let’s take a look at what Xander hasn’t done recently and why he needs to take a turn for the better in these coming weeks.

Take a look at the photo above (which I took from my fantasy baseball site) and you will see Xander has not exactly had great success since the All-Star break. Not only has he gone missing but it’s almost as if he is going to the plate with an imaginary bat in his hands! We are not talking about just some guy plugging a hole in our lineup and in the field.  We are talking about an All-Star short stop projected to hit 20 to 30 HRs and about 80-90 RBI per season.

New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox

 

Why it matters

At this point in the season, ALL the games truly do matter for this Red Sox team.   Momentum can be key when it comes to heading into the post season and more importantly, making a run in the post season. As previously stated, this Red Sox lineup has had its struggles this year and currently ranks LAST in Home Runs out of ALL TEAMS in the Major Leagues.

Xander remains one of my favorite guys to watch on this ball club offensively and defensively.  The guy is a dirt-dog and leaves it on the field every night, no matter how poorly he may be playing.  With that said, this offense will need him to step it up in a BIG WAY. Xander is one of the most important players for this team.  So his continued struggles truly do hurt this lineup. If X-Man can figure it out and turn it around in these next few weeks, then this team could be deadly in the post season.

 

Inside the Numbers (or Lack Thereof)

To break down this past month for X, lets go a bit deeper inside the numbers and see what he has done (or hasn’t done) at the dish since around the break. In the last month X-MAN has hit .174 (which is below his weight).  He has two RBI, ZERO HOME RUNS, two stolen bases, eight runs scored and a putrid .240 on base percentage.

Want another example of how bad it’s been? In his first 60 at-bats of his career, Rafael Devers has six HRs, the same HR total that Xander currently has, but in 417 at-bats! That stat alone is staggering and should leave most of Red Sox Nation scratching their heads and asking themselves, “Whats wrong with X?”

 

Time for Everyone to Pick Up X

Whether Xander is nursing an injury, or his hand is still bothering him from the HPB he took earlier in the season, we need Xander back and we need him back now! Luckily for the Red Sox we have had some unexpected heroes as of late in the form of Benny Biceps, Devers, and Eduardo Nunez.   Nunez stands out as one of the best pickups made at the deadline due to his knack for making contact and his versatility in playing multiple positions in the field. Either way we look at it one thing is certain, the bigger names need to pick up X and get this offense rolling. Yes, I am calling out guys like Mookie, JBJ, Hanley, and Peddy to step it up and lead this offense into the post-season

Finally…

All I have left is one question and one question only and if anyone knows the answer please feel free to hit my twitter and let me know the answer…

WHERE HAS XANDER BOGAERTS GONE?

Sox Rookies Lead the Way in New York

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The Red Sox bounced back after possibly the toughest loss of the year Friday night to take both games over the weekend. The Sox, now 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the East, were led by the play of rookies Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers.  Benintendi homered three times and drove in nine runners over the weekend series. His two three-run shots during Saturday’s win propelled the team to their 10-5 victory. Not only that, all of his home runs were rockets, making it out of the stadium in the blink of an eye. In Sunday’s game, Benintendi came up with the bases loaded in the 10th and delivered with the game winning hit to right field.

Devers, the 20-year-old- baby faced third baseman, collected the biggest hit of the weekend. With two strikes, facing a fellow lefty and the hardest thrower in the game, Aroldis Chapman, Devers connected for a home run to the opposite field. The pitch was clocked at 102.8 MPH, the fastest recorded pitch hit for a home run.

http://<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Rafael Devers home run was off a 102.8 MPH pitch…. Hardest pitch hit for a HR… Welp ever in the tracked velocity era. (2008)</p>&mdash; Daren Willman (@darenw) <a href=”https://twitter.com/darenw/status/896929237545832449″>August 14, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Impressive only begins to describe the game-tying home run on the biggest stage. Up again in the 10th with the bases full, Devers hit a missile to left field that turned Brett Gardner around. Gardner was able to hang with it and make the catch, but it was another illustration of Devers’ ability to hit the ball hard to all fields. The day before, Devers connected on a lined shot that hit off the center field wall for a double. In New York, Devers picked up four hits and is now batting .328 after having spent only nine games in Pawtucket.

With these two rookies, at 23 and 20 years old, I am excited to see what the future holds for them in Boston. Benintendi has been getting Fred Lynn comparisons all year long. Lynn was on a Hall of Fame path before leaving the Red Sox in free agency.  If Benintendi can play like Freddy did in Boston, this should be fun. As for Devers, at 20 years old and having hit at every level of the minors despite being young at each stop, the Major Leagues has not slowed him down. I hope he doesn’t get too much pressure put on him at such a young age and can stay within himself. His future in the big leagues looks like a potential perennial all-star at third base.