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A.J. Pierzynski hit a grand slam for the Red Sox on Saturday, and on Sunday served as the Red Sox’ designated hitter, batting cleanup. He is not a popular player and many Red Sox fans did not like the move. I’m fairly sure they’re overreacting, but let’s sort through the tweets.
Oh, and the Sox lost, 7-1.
Let's go with the first question: How could this happen?
@PeteAbe Pierzynski at DH is ok, but batting cleanup? What are his #s against Dickey?
— Eroths711 (@Eroths711) April 27, 2014
Coming into the game, Pierzynski was 5-12 against Dickey with one home run and a .417/.462/.750 slash line. That's good! But it's a wee, wee sample size. Patrick wants us to look at the bigger picture:
What's rarer; Halley's comet or A.J. Pierzynski walking?
— Patrick Green (@PatrickGreenMLB) April 27, 2014
Great question! Pierzynski has 272 walks in 6,831 career plate appearances, or one every 25 at-bats. Halley's Comet has been in its current orbit for 16,000 to 200,000 years and passes by the Earth roughly every 75 years, which means it has passed by somewhere between 213 and nearly 2,667 times. So it's impossible to know for sure, but the smart money is on Pierzynski walking. Science! Gotta love it!
AJ Pierzynski is the DH today? THE BLIND SQUIRREL FOUND THE NUT YESTERDAY, JOHN FARRELL.
— janice (@chestnuthell) April 27, 2014
Okay, that was a good one. He went hungry on Sunday, going 0-4, helping drop the Red Sox to 12-14 and assuring that they won't finish April above .500. So after all this, can the Red Sox recover, with a mere 136 games remaining? Let's ask friend of the program Jared Carrabis:
Pierzynski is gonna hit. He's a guy who thrives in a market like Boston. He's been pressing too much, but he'll settle in nicely.
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) April 26, 2014
Boo! I mean, I agree with Jared, but he's totally killing the vibe. The Red Sox lost a game! We need blood! Take us home, Jack:
On principle any team that DH’s Pierzynski and puts him in the cleanup spot deserves to lose by a minimum of 6 runs. #RedSox
— Jack Keller (@JK7_) April 27, 2014
Noted! Though by this logic, the Sox did the absolute best they could do on Sunday. Hooray for us?
Hooray for us. Papi's back Tuesday.