Introduction Part Deux

Greetings Sox fans…

My name is Alastair Ingram, and much like Tyler, I grew up in the Boston area and have been a diehard Sox fan for as long as I can remember (and possibly even a little bit before that as well).

Believe it or not, I was born on October 25th, 1986. For those scoring at home, that night was Game 6 of the World Series at Shea Stadium when a certain first baseman famously showcased how not to use the alligator technique for scooping ground balls.

For that reason, I feel as though I was brought onto the Earth to be a Sox fan. I’m not the oldest Red Sox fan in the world, but I experienced the anguish of ’03 and the jubilation of ’04, and wouldn’t change a second of either season. While two championships in the span of 4 years may have spoiled us New Englanders to a certain extent, we still crave success on a daily basis throughout the summer and into the fall.

My job on this site will be to provide commentary about anything that could possibly be running through your mind about this team at any point in time. While that may sound like a lofty goal, it is one that fits a fanbase which demands answers and analysis 365 days a year.

A few quick things to know about me as a Sox fan, and baseball fan in general…

- I’m a bit of a stat geek, but I don’t get too crazy (I will use actual full length words for the most part)

- I host a Fantasy Baseball radio show, and spend an unhealthy amount of time on box scores and roster updates

- A healthy Josh Beckett in 2008, and the Sox repeat that year

- Best single game Sox performance of all-time: Nomar’s 2 Grand Slam, 3 HR, 10 RBI game against Seattle at Fenway in 1999

- Odds of Daniel Bard becoming the closer this season: 1 in a million

- Until 2 weeks ago, I thought Jon Rish (of the WEEI Red Sox radio network) was a robot… Turns out he’s a real person

I am extremely excited to team up with Tyler and provide the best Red Sox coverage on the web. Whether you agree with us or not, our writing will convey the same passion with which you watch for 162 games a year.

Sox fans, we want to hear from you… COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT! (Especially if you agree about the Jon Rish thing)

Nava: Hey, Listen!

By now we are all aware of the meteoric rise of Daniel Nava. All of the heartwarming stories would have you believe that he came from nowhere. Cut from his college team, traded for a bag of balls, all the cliches. Of course it is a great story. But when this guy hit the Sox system, he was anything but under the radar. Most were ready for Josh Reddick to get the call (remembering him from last year), or perhaps one of the mega-prospects (Kalish). But after looking at his numbers as compared to them, there really was no choice.

Here are some quick stats for you on Nava:

1. He posted an OPS over 1.000 in his minor league career.

That being said, his power is to the gaps. He has never been a home run hitter, totaling 27 over 3 years. Thus making his welcome to the bigs grand slam even more unexpected. This year in the bigs (as we will discuss in a second) his averages across the line are down. What is really missing are his singles. He has power to the gaps, but he needs to put the bat on the ball more often. Right now he has as many singles as he does extra base hits, and while its nice to see the power is there, he has always been someone who hits for average and sprays the singles and doubles. When he gets back to that, his average and on base percentage will rise back to where he is used to having them .350/.450. Realistically we can expect .310/.410. After all, these are major league pitchers he is facing now.

2. His .291 average is more than 60 points lower that his MILB average.

The one thing that is slightly alarming is the luck he is using to achieve his 291 average (yes, you read that correctly) His BABIP is .385. Roughly 90 points above the league average. For those unfamiliar with BABIP its “Batting Average for Balls In Play”. Loosely translated it is the percentage of hits that fall in for a hit among fair balls put into play. His balls are finding gaps right now. That being said, his line drive percentage is very good (20.5%, good for 4th among everyday players on the Sox) so he is getting solid contact and earning that good luck. Not many seeing eye singles.

3. You can count the errors he has committed in his professional career on your fingers. Nine.

Perhaps the biggest difference between him and the usual patrolmen of the monster is here. He is defensively great. He fits in with the plan for the season (run prevention) but is contributing to what has apparently become the new mantra (hit the s*** out of the ball and hope our pitching shows up) as well. UZR men will point to his -.8 UZR rating, but compared to the likes of Hermida and Van Every he is about equal. Jacoby would be nice to have back out there, but all things considered, Mr. Nava is a competent replacement. (.2 WAR)

And yes, I threw the Navi from Zelda reference into the title. You’re welcome.

So What If We Are 2/3 Of The Way To A Sea Dogs Game?

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Tyler Norton and I was born and raised in New England watching Boston sports. For more information on me you can click here and shoot me an email. Also feel free to write in with questions or comments possibly for a mailbag (if we get enough quality responses). You can expect in depth baseball talk as well as pop culture references galore. I’ll try to keep up with the tagging and categories, but forgive me if I am more interested in the content. My advice: Check back often.

I am a heavy believer of off the field chemistry and basically everything but statistics changing the outcomes of the game as much as hard stats do. I’ll dive deep into sabermetrics later. For now, I’ll keep it light.

It has been the perfect storm of an under the radar few weeks of resurgence for the Sox. While they have been surging, the rest of the nation has been preoccupied with the world cup, wimbledon, LeBron, the NBA finals (with a Boston team facing their biggest rivals no less), and every other thing going on in the world. If you couple that with the low expectations of fielding a AA team at the major league level and the underachieving (to that point) pitching staff, you’ve got a lot of built in excuses for a slide further into the depths of the AL East.

With all of the pressure off, the Sox began to surge. Now they are on a tear with the following changes in the lineup:

Jacoby to Hermedia to Reddick to Nava
Cameron to MacDonald to Hall back to Cameron
Pedroia to Hall to Patterson
V Mart to V Tek

The first lesson: Do not cross Adrian Beltre. Sure he is putting up good numbers, but he also destroys left fielders. He ran into and broke ribs of two so far. Don’t think it was a coincidence that V Mart was hurt after touching his head after a home run a few times. The man knows people. I say we keep him happy.

Couple that with the recent struggles of Pap and you have the makings of a .400 team with excuses. Somehow, someway, the Sox are surging. In the coming days we will discuss the secrets to their success.

Welcome to the revamped Fenway Faithful Report. Also keep your eye out for a Fantasy Baseball Project to be released very soon from the Rant Sports Group.