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.
Monday, August 5, 2013
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.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Not Waiting 'Til The Last Minute...
It's Silly Season, folks! The trade deadline is tomorrow at 4 PM EDT and the Twitterverse is in a tizzy over who got pulled from a game, pinch hit for, subbed in the field, or was on the receiving end of a goodbye hug in the dugout. As the Red Sox were defeating the Mariners 8-2 this evening, the trade whirlwind surrounding the team was spinning faster than Aroldis Chapman's triple-digit heater. As Brandon Workman was striking out 9 batters en route to earning his first major league win, his presumed replacement in the rotation was the subject of a 3-team deal involving the Red Sox, White Sox, and Tigers.
Jake Peavy is the newest member of the Red Sox. With Matt Garza dealt to the Rangers and Cliff Lee's price tag prohibitively high (think Xander Bogaerts), Peavy represented the best pitcher available on the trade market. His ERA for this season is on the high side, but part of that is due to poor defense behind him on the White Sox. He's said to be a solid #3 starter who could slot in after Lester and Lackey, pushing Doubront and Dempster to the back of the rotation. Peavy makes the rotation deeper and that is needed coming down the stretch.
The price for Peavy (and Tigers reliever Brayan Villareal, who will be assigned to Pawtucket as a depth option) was Jose Iglesias and a few low-level minor leaguers. Prized prospects Bogaerts, Bradley, Cecchini, Webster, De La Rosa, and Workman stay put, as does Middlebrooks. Iglesias goes to the Tigers, who have enough offense in their lineup to carry the questionable bat that goes along with Iggy's fabulous glove. That glove will be missed, but the Red Sox offense needs a little more production out of the left side of the infield, particularly a power position like third base.
So who's on third now that Iggy's in the Motor City? Middlebrooks is a possibility and so is Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts is only 20, but he can give the Red Sox lineup a spark not unlike Jacoby Ellsbury did six years ago (was it really that long?) or Manny Machado last year in Baltimore. Middlebrooks has the major league experience, but very recently, John Farrell voiced some concern about the young third baseman's lack of consistency in his AAA plate appearances. If he's still struggling to hit AAA pitching, how can he be ready to contribute at the major league level? That is why I think Bogaerts might be the better choice, even if his natural position is shortstop. The only caveat is that if Bogaerts nails down third base, who plays short next season? Would it really be fair to ask him to change positions only to have to change back next year? That said, I would prefer either Middlebrooks or Bogaerts to trading for Michael Young, who doesn't have enough power to compensate for a lack of glove.
Jake Peavy is the newest member of the Red Sox. With Matt Garza dealt to the Rangers and Cliff Lee's price tag prohibitively high (think Xander Bogaerts), Peavy represented the best pitcher available on the trade market. His ERA for this season is on the high side, but part of that is due to poor defense behind him on the White Sox. He's said to be a solid #3 starter who could slot in after Lester and Lackey, pushing Doubront and Dempster to the back of the rotation. Peavy makes the rotation deeper and that is needed coming down the stretch.
The price for Peavy (and Tigers reliever Brayan Villareal, who will be assigned to Pawtucket as a depth option) was Jose Iglesias and a few low-level minor leaguers. Prized prospects Bogaerts, Bradley, Cecchini, Webster, De La Rosa, and Workman stay put, as does Middlebrooks. Iglesias goes to the Tigers, who have enough offense in their lineup to carry the questionable bat that goes along with Iggy's fabulous glove. That glove will be missed, but the Red Sox offense needs a little more production out of the left side of the infield, particularly a power position like third base.
So who's on third now that Iggy's in the Motor City? Middlebrooks is a possibility and so is Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts is only 20, but he can give the Red Sox lineup a spark not unlike Jacoby Ellsbury did six years ago (was it really that long?) or Manny Machado last year in Baltimore. Middlebrooks has the major league experience, but very recently, John Farrell voiced some concern about the young third baseman's lack of consistency in his AAA plate appearances. If he's still struggling to hit AAA pitching, how can he be ready to contribute at the major league level? That is why I think Bogaerts might be the better choice, even if his natural position is shortstop. The only caveat is that if Bogaerts nails down third base, who plays short next season? Would it really be fair to ask him to change positions only to have to change back next year? That said, I would prefer either Middlebrooks or Bogaerts to trading for Michael Young, who doesn't have enough power to compensate for a lack of glove.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
No Phones Were Harmed In The Winning Of This Game
Today, instead of the dugout phone, Big Papi took his frustrations out on a more appropriate object: the baseball! He went 4 for 4 with a home run in the Red Sox' win over the O's, their first series win over them this season. Lester hurled 7 shutout innings and came up big for the second game in a row. The Yankees helped out for a change by beating the Rays, which puts the Red Sox back on top of the division. Have the Red Sox gotten that O's monkey off their backs? Let's hope so.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
When Papis Attack Dugout Phones
In case you were wondering why dugout phones, in all their retro 20th century appeal, are protected by plastic cases, Big Papi provided Exhibit A:
What got the Large Father all fired up? He felt he was dissed by home plate ump Tim Timmons, who called two egregious strike calls on Ortiz in the top of the 7th. After Timmons tossed him, Papi exchanged words with the ump, then had to be led back to the dugout, where he proceeded to beat the living crap out of the press box phone, right-handed to boot! Papi attacks baseballs from the left side, outdated communication technology from the right. Fortunately, no humans were hurt during Papi's rampage. Pedey was sitting not too far from the scene of the crime, hoping he wouldn't have to dodge phone parts or shrapnel from either the bat or the plastic case covering the phone.
It would not surprise me in the least to see a suspension coming out of this incident--a suspension which would significantly weaken the Red Sox lineup, with their biggest power threat riding pine for a game or two. Not cool, Papi! Not cool!
Oh, and by the way, the Sox beat the Birdies 7-3. Funny how that's almost an afterthought. Drew clubbed two homers and drove in 5 runs. The first dinger was a no-doubter, but the second resulted in a rather bizarre sequence of events where Drew got caught in a rundown between third and home, escaped the rundown and scored, confused as to why his hit was not called a home run when bounced off the rail in right center. The umps reviewed the call, then overturned it, awarding Drew with the homer.
Let's take 2 of 3, boys! Get the "can't beat the O's" demons out of your heads.
What got the Large Father all fired up? He felt he was dissed by home plate ump Tim Timmons, who called two egregious strike calls on Ortiz in the top of the 7th. After Timmons tossed him, Papi exchanged words with the ump, then had to be led back to the dugout, where he proceeded to beat the living crap out of the press box phone, right-handed to boot! Papi attacks baseballs from the left side, outdated communication technology from the right. Fortunately, no humans were hurt during Papi's rampage. Pedey was sitting not too far from the scene of the crime, hoping he wouldn't have to dodge phone parts or shrapnel from either the bat or the plastic case covering the phone.
It would not surprise me in the least to see a suspension coming out of this incident--a suspension which would significantly weaken the Red Sox lineup, with their biggest power threat riding pine for a game or two. Not cool, Papi! Not cool!
Oh, and by the way, the Sox beat the Birdies 7-3. Funny how that's almost an afterthought. Drew clubbed two homers and drove in 5 runs. The first dinger was a no-doubter, but the second resulted in a rather bizarre sequence of events where Drew got caught in a rundown between third and home, escaped the rundown and scored, confused as to why his hit was not called a home run when bounced off the rail in right center. The umps reviewed the call, then overturned it, awarding Drew with the homer.
Let's take 2 of 3, boys! Get the "can't beat the O's" demons out of your heads.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Red Sox, Y U No Hit So Good?
Lest you wonder what happened to my command of the English language: http://memegenerator.co/Y-U-No
Now that you're familiar with that particular Internet meme, get a load of these sobering statistics, courtesy of Peter Abraham of Boston.com's Extra Bases blog: In the last 8 games, the Red Sox are hitting a frosty .225 with a .617 OPS, which translates to a couple of widely-spaced nickel-and-dime singles that don't add up to many crooked numbers on the scoreboard. As a matter of fact, they are averaging only 2.87 runs per game. The All-Star break did little to rejuvenate the Red Sox bats and some of the early season heroes have gone into the dreaded second-half fade. Iggy's bat has predictably crashed down to earth and Nava has found himself grabbing more pine as Gomes and his wacky glove are roaming left field on a more regular basis. Even stalwarts such as Pedey and Papi are putting up plenty of O-fers at the plate over this stretch. Ironically, Napoli, who had been in a prolonged slump, has come around of late and rediscovered his power stroke.
Is it time to push that big, glowing, red PANIC button yet? With a series with the team of their recurring nightmares coming up in Baltimore, one can hope the Red Sox have a firm hold on their lunch money, lest those schoolyard bullies dressed in black, white, and orange snatch it over the weekend. Funny how, until recently, it was the other way around, with the Red Sox smacking the O's around. It was much more fun that way.
How can the Red Sox get their run-scoring mojo back? Do they give Will Middlebrooks another shot, or do they go off-book and call up uberprospect Xander Bogaerts? Bogaerts could provide a spark to snap the Sox out of their doldrums or he could struggle mightily like Jackie Bradley, Jr. did at the beginning of the season. The X-man is only 20, but so was Manny Machado when the O's called him up last year. Do they find a reason to put Nava on the DL and bring Bradley back up as a left-handed bat to platoon with Gomes? Fortunately for the Sox, their best options for improving the offense are in-house and no trades need to be made.
As far as pitching goes, with Buchholz's rehab going at a glacial pace, there is still a sizable hole in the rotation. Webster showed he was far from ready to pitch at the major league level, but Brandon Workman has looked solid in his first two starts. If the Red Sox were only fringe contenders this season, they could afford to keep Workman in that spot or rotate other arms from AAA there. However, since they are in a position, albeit a very tenuous one, to win the division, they'll probably need a proven major league starter holding down that spot to insure them against Buchholz missing the rest of the season or another key starter hitting the DL. Trouble is, the pickings are slim since Cliff Lee doesn't appear to be available. Jake Peavy is the best starter on the market right now and he's sporting an ERA over 4 and has an injury history to rival Buchholz's. Hurry up, Clay!
Now that you're familiar with that particular Internet meme, get a load of these sobering statistics, courtesy of Peter Abraham of Boston.com's Extra Bases blog: In the last 8 games, the Red Sox are hitting a frosty .225 with a .617 OPS, which translates to a couple of widely-spaced nickel-and-dime singles that don't add up to many crooked numbers on the scoreboard. As a matter of fact, they are averaging only 2.87 runs per game. The All-Star break did little to rejuvenate the Red Sox bats and some of the early season heroes have gone into the dreaded second-half fade. Iggy's bat has predictably crashed down to earth and Nava has found himself grabbing more pine as Gomes and his wacky glove are roaming left field on a more regular basis. Even stalwarts such as Pedey and Papi are putting up plenty of O-fers at the plate over this stretch. Ironically, Napoli, who had been in a prolonged slump, has come around of late and rediscovered his power stroke.
Is it time to push that big, glowing, red PANIC button yet? With a series with the team of their recurring nightmares coming up in Baltimore, one can hope the Red Sox have a firm hold on their lunch money, lest those schoolyard bullies dressed in black, white, and orange snatch it over the weekend. Funny how, until recently, it was the other way around, with the Red Sox smacking the O's around. It was much more fun that way.
How can the Red Sox get their run-scoring mojo back? Do they give Will Middlebrooks another shot, or do they go off-book and call up uberprospect Xander Bogaerts? Bogaerts could provide a spark to snap the Sox out of their doldrums or he could struggle mightily like Jackie Bradley, Jr. did at the beginning of the season. The X-man is only 20, but so was Manny Machado when the O's called him up last year. Do they find a reason to put Nava on the DL and bring Bradley back up as a left-handed bat to platoon with Gomes? Fortunately for the Sox, their best options for improving the offense are in-house and no trades need to be made.
As far as pitching goes, with Buchholz's rehab going at a glacial pace, there is still a sizable hole in the rotation. Webster showed he was far from ready to pitch at the major league level, but Brandon Workman has looked solid in his first two starts. If the Red Sox were only fringe contenders this season, they could afford to keep Workman in that spot or rotate other arms from AAA there. However, since they are in a position, albeit a very tenuous one, to win the division, they'll probably need a proven major league starter holding down that spot to insure them against Buchholz missing the rest of the season or another key starter hitting the DL. Trouble is, the pickings are slim since Cliff Lee doesn't appear to be available. Jake Peavy is the best starter on the market right now and he's sporting an ERA over 4 and has an injury history to rival Buchholz's. Hurry up, Clay!
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