Alex Cora and Christian Vazquez Disagree on Why Boston's Opponents Crush High Pitches in the Zone

Baseball is all-in on the analytics movement across the sport. The shift is more prevalent than ever, there are scouting reports on everything, and new stats pop up every day to zero in even further on just how wins are created on the finest margins.

Well, the Red Sox organization seems to be split on why exactly their pitchers are being curiously shelled when throwing high strikes. It's a matter of analytics versus performance, and you'll hear different explanations depending on when you ask.

Manager Alex Cora believes the lack of success with balls up in the zone is due to an inability of his pitchers to execute, plain and simple. Pitches at the top of the strike zone need to be thrown with a purpose, and Cora feels his staff has failed to do just that.

Meanwhile, catcher Christian Vasquez believes quite the opposite. You can only do so well when the other team knows exactly what's coming next; with extensive data on every player, teams accumulate every advantage they can with analytics and film. Vasquez claims that all the info available on Boston's pitchers is setting the staff up for failure when players step to the plate, as they already know what's coming.

Where Vasquez's argument does not add up is the fact that every team has information, yet some pitchers are still dominating the game. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and the like are having great seasons; you won't hear them or their managers or catchers complaining about opponents doing a little data-mining.

The Red Sox are coming up with excuses for their poor performance this season, but this one just doesn't add up. Back to the drawing board.