I sure wish John Lackey had been on the mound for the kind of once-in-a-decade offensive explosion the Red Sox unleashed on Tigers pitching last night. They put up three touchdowns worth of runs (minus an extra point). They hit a dinger, then a long ball, then a tater, then a salami, a jack, a four-bagger, a round-tripper, and went bridge for good measure. The last time the Red Sox touched 'em all eight times in one game, Big Papi was a year and a half old, Koji and new Red Sox John McDonald were two, last night's starter Ryan Dempster was two months old and David Ross was three months old. The rest of the team wasn't even born yet.
The last time the Red Sox scored at least 20 runs in a game was in 2003, when they bludgeoned the Marlins for 25. In the middle of all the run-scoring chaos, Papi reached a milestone 2000 career hits by sandwiching a double between two home runs for 1999 and 2001. He was the only one to go yard twice last night, with Drew, Ells, Middlebrooks (grand slam), Lavarnway, Nava, and Napoli joining him. That's seven guys hitting eight bombs! The Red Sox are a team better known for their on-base percentage than their power, but when they do leave the yard, they do it in bunches (recall the 6-homer barrage in Toronto on April 7 of this year). This time, they did it at Fenway in front of the home crowd.
Last night's game was a whole lot of fun to watch, especially since they were doing it against their rivals for best team in the AL. However, as the story often goes with all teams, after such a bountiful feast at the plate, there is often a famine the next night. It's as if the batters are all exhausted from all that hitting and baserunning. Fortunately for hard-luck starter Lackey, he won't be the one at the likely short end of the stick tonight, with Jake Peavy toeing the rubber for the series opener against the why-couldn't-they-just-stay-in-fourth-place Yankees. In order to keep them and the Rays and O's at a distance, the Red Sox need to at least split the series, but it's always better to get the series win. They made a statement by taking two of three from the Tigers and now it's time to keep the momentum going.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Take Back September
In 2011 and 2012, September and the Red Sox have mixed like oil and water, the Hatfields and the McCoys and prime rib and Pinot Grigio. In other words, not well. Not well at all. Will things be different for the 2013 Red Sox? Chances are, they will, just by virtue of the fact that it's hard to do worse. The 2011 Red Sox may have had the talent, but not the heart (or the rotation depth, for that matter). The 2012 Red Sox were a AAA team if they were even that after the loss of Papi and the Sox-Dodgers Megatrade, relying on the likes of Pedro Ciriaco, Ryan Lavarnway, and an overmatched Jose Iglesias. James Loney looked nothing like the rejuvenated Tampa Bay Rays version and the rotation was grotesque, with Dice-K, an inconsistent Buchholz, a Lester who has having the worst season of his career, Aaron Cook, a fatigued Doubront, and a few other forgettable characters.
The 2013 Red Sox have had their ups and downs, and on paper, don't have the same gravitas as the likes of the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, or the Atlanta Braves. However, it has been a remarkable turnaround for the Red Sox, who were expected to finish in the middle of the pack at best at the outset of the season. As the season progressed and the team remained on or near the top of the AL East, however, expectations understandably rose. This team that is greater than the sum of its parts appears to be the antithesis of the 2011 team who saw Terry Francona as a lame duck manager and the 2012 team who saw Bobby Valentine as an odious interloper. GM Ben Cherington went after solid MLB players with a team-first mentality as opposed to sexy high-priced free agents and so far his strategy seems to have paid off.
What does all this mean as the Red Sox enter the home stretch of the season? One thing that gives them an edge is that they have some Monday off-days that other teams don't have due to the fact that they already have played more games than most of the rest of MLB. This allows them to set their rotation so that they can skip the guys that aren't performing as well. Another important factor in September is the return of Clay Buchholz, provided he returns on schedule and pitches at least somewhat close to how he did before he went down in early June. Most of the Red Sox' September schedule pits them against their division rivals. They have two more series with the Orioles left, as well as two more Yankees series, one more Blue Jays series and one more Rays series. Throw in a Tigers series at Fenway and a trip to Denver to face the Rockies and you have the balance of the schedule.
In the new playoff format, winning the division takes on much greater meaning. Avoiding a one-game wild-card playoff is key for the Red Sox, as it is for any team with aspirations of making it to the "real playoffs" starting with the Division Series. A one-game playoff is such a crapshoot and it could throw a monkey wrench into the playoff rotation, should they win that one game. As of this evening, with a Red Sox win and a Rays loss, the division lead stands at 5.5, the largest it has been in a long while. As long as the Red Sox keep winning series, they should hold on to that division lead and take their first AL East crown since 2007. After struggling earlier in the month, the Red Sox ended August on a high note and started September off in the W column. The series with Detroit is a big one; it could be an ALDS preview. Taking 2 of 3 would make a strong statement that the team short on superstars but long on character can go toe-to-toe with the star-studded Tigers lineup and rotation. After that, it's mostly taking care of business in their own division.
The 2013 Red Sox took back April this season with an 18-8 record. It would be wonderful if they could do the same in September, even if it isn't quite at that lofty clip. A .500 record for the rest of the month gets them 94 wins. Whether that would be enough to win the division remains to be seen. It looks to be an exciting month and the team has something to prove as it tries to erase the godawful memories of the two most recent Septembers.
The 2013 Red Sox have had their ups and downs, and on paper, don't have the same gravitas as the likes of the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, or the Atlanta Braves. However, it has been a remarkable turnaround for the Red Sox, who were expected to finish in the middle of the pack at best at the outset of the season. As the season progressed and the team remained on or near the top of the AL East, however, expectations understandably rose. This team that is greater than the sum of its parts appears to be the antithesis of the 2011 team who saw Terry Francona as a lame duck manager and the 2012 team who saw Bobby Valentine as an odious interloper. GM Ben Cherington went after solid MLB players with a team-first mentality as opposed to sexy high-priced free agents and so far his strategy seems to have paid off.
What does all this mean as the Red Sox enter the home stretch of the season? One thing that gives them an edge is that they have some Monday off-days that other teams don't have due to the fact that they already have played more games than most of the rest of MLB. This allows them to set their rotation so that they can skip the guys that aren't performing as well. Another important factor in September is the return of Clay Buchholz, provided he returns on schedule and pitches at least somewhat close to how he did before he went down in early June. Most of the Red Sox' September schedule pits them against their division rivals. They have two more series with the Orioles left, as well as two more Yankees series, one more Blue Jays series and one more Rays series. Throw in a Tigers series at Fenway and a trip to Denver to face the Rockies and you have the balance of the schedule.
In the new playoff format, winning the division takes on much greater meaning. Avoiding a one-game wild-card playoff is key for the Red Sox, as it is for any team with aspirations of making it to the "real playoffs" starting with the Division Series. A one-game playoff is such a crapshoot and it could throw a monkey wrench into the playoff rotation, should they win that one game. As of this evening, with a Red Sox win and a Rays loss, the division lead stands at 5.5, the largest it has been in a long while. As long as the Red Sox keep winning series, they should hold on to that division lead and take their first AL East crown since 2007. After struggling earlier in the month, the Red Sox ended August on a high note and started September off in the W column. The series with Detroit is a big one; it could be an ALDS preview. Taking 2 of 3 would make a strong statement that the team short on superstars but long on character can go toe-to-toe with the star-studded Tigers lineup and rotation. After that, it's mostly taking care of business in their own division.
The 2013 Red Sox took back April this season with an 18-8 record. It would be wonderful if they could do the same in September, even if it isn't quite at that lofty clip. A .500 record for the rest of the month gets them 94 wins. Whether that would be enough to win the division remains to be seen. It looks to be an exciting month and the team has something to prove as it tries to erase the godawful memories of the two most recent Septembers.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
How NOT to manage a bullpen (and a lineup).
John Farrell is a lot better than Bobby Valentine at managing the clubhouse, but when it comes to in-game management, especially with the bullpen, he is sorely lacking. It doesn't help that the halfway decent options in the bullpen are severely limited, but how do you justify relieving a pitcher with no control in Morales with a pitcher with even WORSE control in Villareal? And WHOSE brilliant idea was it to call this guy up to the majors in the first place?
Had the offense did its job in knocking around a guy with an ERA approaching 7, they probably wouldn't have been in a situation to have non-strike-thrower Morales in a one-run game. Had they scored more than one measly run in the first inning, Peavy wouldn't have had to throw so many "stress pitches" as Eck was calling them and could have gone longer than a mere 5.2 innings. Having a rookie making his major-league debut, a guy coming back from 3 months on the DL, and the pitcher batting 7-8-9 in a Papi-less lineup is not the best way to take pressure off of said rookie. The poor guy had this only 3 at-bats coming with two outs, being relied upon to make something happen. That's just unfair. Had either Salty or Papi been in that lineup, it might have alleviated some of the pressure. Having both Salty and Papi in the lineup would likely have put Bogaerts in a better position to stick to the plate approach that has worked for him all through the minors and moved him down a spot in the lineup.
This loss brings the Red Sox even with the Rays in the AL East and with the Yankees on a roll thanks to Dempster gift-wrapping them some momentum (that alone should merit a suspension!), the Red Sox are headed in the wrong direction. Would it kill them to have a manager who can manage a bullpen?
Had the offense did its job in knocking around a guy with an ERA approaching 7, they probably wouldn't have been in a situation to have non-strike-thrower Morales in a one-run game. Had they scored more than one measly run in the first inning, Peavy wouldn't have had to throw so many "stress pitches" as Eck was calling them and could have gone longer than a mere 5.2 innings. Having a rookie making his major-league debut, a guy coming back from 3 months on the DL, and the pitcher batting 7-8-9 in a Papi-less lineup is not the best way to take pressure off of said rookie. The poor guy had this only 3 at-bats coming with two outs, being relied upon to make something happen. That's just unfair. Had either Salty or Papi been in that lineup, it might have alleviated some of the pressure. Having both Salty and Papi in the lineup would likely have put Bogaerts in a better position to stick to the plate approach that has worked for him all through the minors and moved him down a spot in the lineup.
This loss brings the Red Sox even with the Rays in the AL East and with the Yankees on a roll thanks to Dempster gift-wrapping them some momentum (that alone should merit a suspension!), the Red Sox are headed in the wrong direction. Would it kill them to have a manager who can manage a bullpen?
Friday, August 16, 2013
Return To The Land of Epic Fail
Thank you, Big Papi, for summing up exactly how I feel about the Red Sox right now. They can't pitch. They can't hit. They can't field. They can't run the bases. They can't friggin' play baseball! Sadly, this tank job seems to be an annual tradition for the Red Sox, whether it begins in August or September. First place is slipping away fast and the Sox are on thin ice. They mailed in tonight's game against the Yankees plain and simple. Signed, sealed, delivered to Steinbrenner, Cashman, Girardi, and company.
Maybe it's time to trim those overgrown lumberjack beards that seem to be weighing them down. Or give them each a stress-relief toy phone to smash to bits. This is a team that has lost their mojo and wasn't built to last an entire six-month 162-game season. The World Series isn't played in June, Red Sox. There are no awards handed out after only 81 games. 2011 is not as long ago as you would like us to think. Please don't repeat that humiliating collapse. Late season heartbreak isn't mandatory, you know.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Dudes, Where's My Run Support?
If John Lackey is pissed at his teammates for not having his back, I wouldn't blame him one bit. He pitched 6 innings, four on a sore ankle, allowed 2 runs (one which was painted on by suicide squeeze while Tazawa was on the mound), and got not a shred of run support. When your ERA is in the low 3s, you deserve a way better record than 7-9. When that big fat goose egg the Red Sox lineup gave him tonight comes at the hands of the team with the worst record in baseball in the Houston Astros, it makes it all the more exasperating.
Besides the field day the Astros were having on the bases tonight, the lack of offense highlighted some pretty sizable holes in the Red Sox lineup. Napoli is striking out at a record pace, often in key situations (batting a woeful .219 with RISP) and we have a pair of lightweights platooning at third. The high runs scored count is likely skewed by some blowouts because a team with this little home run power which is reluctant to sac bunt and gets easily shut down by halfway decent lefties shouldn't be so high up in the run-scoring column. Not to mention that there are a lot of easy Ks in the lineup, with Napoli, Salty, Drew, whoever is in the outfield on any given day, and Holt/Snyder.
It's exceedingly easy to pitch around Big Papi because Napoli will most likely whiff. With Middlebrooks looking like more of the same from earlier in the season, Xander Bogaerts looks to be the better choice. Even without any major league experience, X-man has more advanced plate discipline than Middlebrooks. They can't do much about Napoli and any substitute for him at first will strike out almost as easily as he will. However, they can drop the AAA-level platoon at third. Keep Holt around to be a utility guy, but swap Snyder out for Bogaerts. At least upgrade ONE of the corner infield positions. It's to the point where I'm actually more concerned about the Red Sox offense than I am the pitching.
Besides the field day the Astros were having on the bases tonight, the lack of offense highlighted some pretty sizable holes in the Red Sox lineup. Napoli is striking out at a record pace, often in key situations (batting a woeful .219 with RISP) and we have a pair of lightweights platooning at third. The high runs scored count is likely skewed by some blowouts because a team with this little home run power which is reluctant to sac bunt and gets easily shut down by halfway decent lefties shouldn't be so high up in the run-scoring column. Not to mention that there are a lot of easy Ks in the lineup, with Napoli, Salty, Drew, whoever is in the outfield on any given day, and Holt/Snyder.
It's exceedingly easy to pitch around Big Papi because Napoli will most likely whiff. With Middlebrooks looking like more of the same from earlier in the season, Xander Bogaerts looks to be the better choice. Even without any major league experience, X-man has more advanced plate discipline than Middlebrooks. They can't do much about Napoli and any substitute for him at first will strike out almost as easily as he will. However, they can drop the AAA-level platoon at third. Keep Holt around to be a utility guy, but swap Snyder out for Bogaerts. At least upgrade ONE of the corner infield positions. It's to the point where I'm actually more concerned about the Red Sox offense than I am the pitching.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Snakes Bite, but Sox Bite Back
After Thursday night's sequel to the 2007 Mother's Day Miracle, there was no 9th inning magic Friday night against the Diamondbacks, where Cody Ross made his discontent with his offseason negotiations with the Red Sox known with his bat (going 4 for 5 with a dinger that turned out to be the difference in the game). Lester, who was Jekyll against the division rival Rays and Orioles, returned to Hyde form against the D-Backs.
The night in the loss column would be followed by a return to the Land of Winning on Saturday night, with Jake Peavy's Red Sox debut. Peavy was impressive and, while I missed most of the game because of work, I caught his exit from the mound in the top of the 8th, when he raised his cap to the fans giving him a rousing standing ovation. Peavy pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 runs (one was painted on by Tazawa, via Breslow, who couldn't record an out and advanced the runner to third). Gomes had Peavy's back and preserved the W for his new teammate by throwing a bullet to Salty to keep the second, game-tying run from scoring. Salty added a 2-run shot into the Red Sox bullpen (caught by Koji!) to make the score 5-2. Koji did his thing and the Sox evened the series. Peavy was impressive in his debut and endeared himself to Red Sox Nation via not only his performance, but some touching tweets thanking the fans for helping him through a difficult day (his recently-deceased grandmother's birthday).
Sunday's game had Felix Doubront continuing his run of quality pitching by shutting out Arizona for 7 innings. Doubront now sports a very respectable 3.56 ERA on the season and is second in ERA behind Lackey in the starting rotation. The offense was stymied early in the game, but broke through in the fifth on a sac fly by Ellsbury. Pedey's RBI double later in the inning made it 2-0. Ells and Victorino knocked in runs in the sixth to double the lead. A nice Sunday afternoon shutout win (the second such in a row after Lester blanked the O's a week ago) capped off a 5-2 homestand, with the Sox preparing for a 10-game roadie that will take them to Houston, Kansas City, and Toronto.
The night in the loss column would be followed by a return to the Land of Winning on Saturday night, with Jake Peavy's Red Sox debut. Peavy was impressive and, while I missed most of the game because of work, I caught his exit from the mound in the top of the 8th, when he raised his cap to the fans giving him a rousing standing ovation. Peavy pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 runs (one was painted on by Tazawa, via Breslow, who couldn't record an out and advanced the runner to third). Gomes had Peavy's back and preserved the W for his new teammate by throwing a bullet to Salty to keep the second, game-tying run from scoring. Salty added a 2-run shot into the Red Sox bullpen (caught by Koji!) to make the score 5-2. Koji did his thing and the Sox evened the series. Peavy was impressive in his debut and endeared himself to Red Sox Nation via not only his performance, but some touching tweets thanking the fans for helping him through a difficult day (his recently-deceased grandmother's birthday).
Sunday's game had Felix Doubront continuing his run of quality pitching by shutting out Arizona for 7 innings. Doubront now sports a very respectable 3.56 ERA on the season and is second in ERA behind Lackey in the starting rotation. The offense was stymied early in the game, but broke through in the fifth on a sac fly by Ellsbury. Pedey's RBI double later in the inning made it 2-0. Ells and Victorino knocked in runs in the sixth to double the lead. A nice Sunday afternoon shutout win (the second such in a row after Lester blanked the O's a week ago) capped off a 5-2 homestand, with the Sox preparing for a 10-game roadie that will take them to Houston, Kansas City, and Toronto.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
A Tale of Two Walkoffs
How often does a team have two walkoff wins in one day? I'm not talking about a doubleheader, but a wee-hours walkoff in the 15th inning followed by an amazing 6-run walkoff comeback win in the 9th less than 24 hours later. After playing their longest game (by innings) of the season last night and into the midnight hour of this morning--a game that will be known as the 2-month game because it started in July and ended in August--the Red Sox were showing signs of fatigue in the early innings of tonight's game. A pair of defensive gaffes in the third, one in which Brock Holt faceplanted in the grass between third and home, lead to a Mariners run and the Sox were, as expected, having trouble scoring against Felix Hernandez. Then, Dempster, who is pitching with a groin injury, allowed sub .200, released-by-the-Blue Jays Henry Blanco to take him deep for a grand slam, breaking open the game for the M's. The Red Sox looked done for in a game where the pitching matchup was heavily in Seattle's favor.
The rally started in the 8th, with Hernandez out of the game. Charlie Furbush served up a gopher to Victorino and cut the lead to 7-2. Steven Wright, looking like the heir apparent to vintage Tim Wakefield, held the M's scoreless through the final 3 innings, making what happened in the bottom of the ninth possible. The M's had their closer, Tom Wilhelmsen in for a non-save situation and he clearly did not have his stuff tonight. Nava walked to lead off the inning. Then, Lavarnway singled and Nava advanced to second. Brock Holt doubled and Nava scored. 7-3. Ells walked. Wilhelmsen was pulled for Medina--no--Perez. Seattle's substitute skipper got confused and initially signaled for the righty Medina when he wanted to bring in the lefty Perez. The confusion only helped fuel the Mariners' bullpen meltdown as Perez promptly surrendered a base hit by Victorino that plated two more runs. 7-5. Pedey followed Victorino with another single, bringing the Sox to within a run. 7-6. Papi struck out, which might have killed the rally, but Medina came in to face the king of late inning dramatics in Jonny Gomes. Gomes didn't disappoint, singling in the tying run in Victorino. 7-7. Stephen Drew walked to load the bases for Daniel Nava. Nava comes within 2 feet of a grand slam, but settles for a walkoff single to complete what has to be the most dramatic regular season comeback since the Mother's Day Miracle in 2007. The Red Sox win 8-7.
What makes this win even more remarkable is that it followed that exhilarating, but exhausting 15-inning walkoff win, after which they could have been forgiven for lacking some energy. They found their second wind in that ninth inning and pulled off their major league-leading 11th walkoff this season. After the game, #WalkoffCity was trending on Twitter, reflecting Red Sox Nation's excitement with this year's team and just how scrappy and resilient they are.
The rally started in the 8th, with Hernandez out of the game. Charlie Furbush served up a gopher to Victorino and cut the lead to 7-2. Steven Wright, looking like the heir apparent to vintage Tim Wakefield, held the M's scoreless through the final 3 innings, making what happened in the bottom of the ninth possible. The M's had their closer, Tom Wilhelmsen in for a non-save situation and he clearly did not have his stuff tonight. Nava walked to lead off the inning. Then, Lavarnway singled and Nava advanced to second. Brock Holt doubled and Nava scored. 7-3. Ells walked. Wilhelmsen was pulled for Medina--no--Perez. Seattle's substitute skipper got confused and initially signaled for the righty Medina when he wanted to bring in the lefty Perez. The confusion only helped fuel the Mariners' bullpen meltdown as Perez promptly surrendered a base hit by Victorino that plated two more runs. 7-5. Pedey followed Victorino with another single, bringing the Sox to within a run. 7-6. Papi struck out, which might have killed the rally, but Medina came in to face the king of late inning dramatics in Jonny Gomes. Gomes didn't disappoint, singling in the tying run in Victorino. 7-7. Stephen Drew walked to load the bases for Daniel Nava. Nava comes within 2 feet of a grand slam, but settles for a walkoff single to complete what has to be the most dramatic regular season comeback since the Mother's Day Miracle in 2007. The Red Sox win 8-7.
What makes this win even more remarkable is that it followed that exhilarating, but exhausting 15-inning walkoff win, after which they could have been forgiven for lacking some energy. They found their second wind in that ninth inning and pulled off their major league-leading 11th walkoff this season. After the game, #WalkoffCity was trending on Twitter, reflecting Red Sox Nation's excitement with this year's team and just how scrappy and resilient they are.
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