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| Matt Davidson |
Yes, that's correct.
Davidson went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and his team-best fourth home run of the season Monday, leading the Sox (9-9) to a 12-1 win over the Kansas City Royals (7-12).
The 26-year-old has 14 RBIs, which is tied for the team lead with Avisail Garcia, but Davidson has posted that total in only 40 plate appearances, while Garcia has 72 plate appearances.
Davidson has been the source of much consternation among Sox fans because he hasn't been playing every day. Before Monday's rout, Davidson had not started any of the previous four games.
I can at least understand manager Rick Renteria's logic. In those four games, the Sox faced a strong contingent of right-handed pitchers -- Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees, and then Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar of the Cleveland Indians.
None of those pitchers is a good matchup for Davidson, who has struck out 12 times in his 24 plate appearances against right-handers this season. The flip side to that argument? Davidson also has three home runs against righties, so perhaps he's hot enough right now that "handedness" doesn't matter so much.
Davidson was in there Monday against Kansas City left-hander Jason Vargas (3-1), and he laced an opposite field homer in his first at-bat. But perhaps his best swing came in the bottom of the sixth inning, when he delivered an RBI double on the ninth pitch of an at-bat against Royals reliever Peter Moylan, who is a side-winding right-hander. Davidson fought off a couple tough 3-2 pitches, then found one that he could shoot into the right-center gap for a hit.
Later in the sixth inning, during which the Sox scored eight runs, Davidson hit a two-run single off the left-field wall that had an exit velocity of 110 mph. He hit the ball so hard that he couldn't make a double out of it. That one was off a left-handed pitcher, reliever Travis Wood.
The question for Renteria is this: Does he continue to spot Davidson in matchups that are favorable for him? Or does he take the training wheels off, throw Davidson in there against everybody -- even tough right-handers -- and find out whether this hot start is for real?
When I look at Davidson's slash line of .368/.375/.789, I can't help but think "small sample size." But the longer this goes on, the more calls we are going to hear for more playing time for Davidson. That especially will be the case if the left-handed side of the DH platoon, Cody Asche, continues to struggle. Asche is 2 for 35 and has yet to record an extra-base hit in 38 plate appearances.
We won't know Tuesday whether Renteria is going to change course. The Royals are starting their best pitcher, left-hander Danny Duffy, so that means Davidson is going to play. We'll see what the Sox manager does the next time the team faces a less-than-elite right-hander.
Speaking of right-handers, Miguel Gonzalez (3-0) continues to roll for the Sox. He went eight innings Monday, allowing only one unearned run on two hits. He struck out five and walked one, and lowered his ERA to 2.00 over four starts and 27 innings. He's been the Sox's best pitcher this month. Who would have thought that?
The logic goes both ways: Davidson is producing perhaps BECAUSE of the way Renteria is managing him.
ReplyDeleteRight now Davidson's attitude is good and getting confidence from part-time play is way more important than seeing how he reacts to a slump while playing full-time. Let him get his at bats against right-handed relievers who generally have one fewer pitch than a starter which means Davidson would have to make fewer adjustments during this learning phase.
Also, from a strategic point of view, having Davidson on the bench - especially against a manager like Francona - affects how the opposing manager uses his relievers. Ventura NEVER gave the opposing managers anything extra to think about - being so afraid of going against "the book" made him the stupidest manager since Bevington. It's like he didn't even know the most unconventional manager in the game was managing successfully on the other side of town!
Oh yeah, I absolutely understand why Renteria is handling Davidson the way he is. Davidson has had favorable matchups and has produced results. I think this manager has done a fine job with a limited roster through the first 20 games. I just think it's an interesting debate with Davidson -- at what point do you see whether he can do more than what he's doing right now? If Asche were doing anything at all, we probably wouldn't be having the discussion. But he's been terrible, while Davidson is off to a hot start, so that raises the question.
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