Analytics play a more important role in preparation and game planning now in Major League Baseball than ever before. We all know that.
But sometimes you have to go with feel rather than what the numbers might say.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted for the former when he put together Boston’s lineup for Monday’s game against the Miami Marlins. Cora expressed as much while explaining why Christian Arroyo was tabbed as the leadoff man for the make-up game.
“How can I put it? There’s no numbers. There’s nothing…. There’s other guys that are scuffling right now, they’re trying to find their swings, we’ve just gotta find somebody that goes up there and puts good at-bats and sets the table — or hits a home run,” Cora told reporters before the game, per The Boston Globe.
Cora’s decision paid off. Arroyo went 2-for-3 with a two-RBI single and two runs scored in the Sox’s 5-3 win over the Fish. Given the limited production the Red Sox have seen from the lead-off spot thus far this season, Cora probably shouldn’t see any harm in slotting Arroyo there any time he’s in the lineup.
