Category: Red Sox

Don’t Panic, But Don’t Not Panic Either

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After Chris Sale got roughed up on Thursday night, I wrote that it was not the time to panic. After the Red Sox got swept by the Orioles I considered panicking, but remembered that the Orioles always play the Sox tough. The Red Sox are just 59-75 against the Orioles since Buck Showalter took over as O’s manager in 2010.

Monday night, Drew Pomeranz left the mound after the sixth inning with the Red Sox trailing the Blue Jays 3-2 and I started to dust off the old Bob Lobel panic button. But then the Red Sox offense sent nine men to the plate in the seventh and put four runs on the board to give Pomeranz a lead and a shot at a win. Everything looked good.

The bullpen got it to Craig Kimbrel who got the job done, but not before giving up a two-run blast to Justin Smoak to make things a lot more interesting. Instead of talking about the Red Sox come-from-behind win today, we’re talking about how they barely hung on to beat the last place Jays.

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Because they found a way to hang on and snap their four-game skid, I won’t plug in the panic button just yet. But I’m not putting it away either. Doug Fister has been solid in place of David Price over the last month, and the Sox have won 10 out of Pomeranz’s last 12 starts. But Eduardo Rodriguez is just 3-5 with a 5.08 ERA since coming off the DL and Rick Porcello’s up and down season hit a new low Friday night. It seems like Porcello just can’t catch a break some nights.

I focus on the pitching because it will likely be the pitching that has to carry this team. This offense is like the tide, as Johnny Drama would say. It comes and goes as it pleases.

This team doesn’t have a single hitter with more than 19 home runs and is still dead last in the American League in home runs with just 139. The next closest teams to the Sox in home runs in the AL (Angels, White Sox) have 147 each.

Chris Sale will look to get back on track tonight and Porcello will have a chance to close out his August on a better note tomorrow. Strong performances from those two would position this team well heading into September. The Sox start September in New York with a four-game set against the Yankees this weekend.

Last Night the Umpires Had a Moment of Silence for Angel Hernandez (Who is Very Much Alive)

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So this was the scene right before the Red Sox Blue Jays game last night. All the umpires getting together for a brief moment of silence for their boy Angel Hernandez….who is very much alive.

I was wondering what that whole gathering was about and even Red Sox broadcaster Dave O’Brien said on NESN that this showing was for Hernandez. So this all stemmed from the Ian Kinsler Angel Hernandez showdown last week.

“Last Saturday, MLB umpires banded together to wear white wristbands in protest of players’ treatment of them, and a perceived lack of enforcement on the part of the league. The protest was in response to the MLB fining Ian Kinsler $10,000 for declaring that controversial umpire Angel Hernandez should pursue a different occupation, as well as a more general concern with “escalating verbal attacks” levied on them by players and managers.“

Cry me a river dude. I will gladly take Ian Kinsler being mean to me if it means I get to make SIX FIGURES to work 6 months a year and watch baseball every day. Hernandez also filed a lawsuit this summer against MLB for racial discrimination and alleges that a grudge from Joe Torre is holding him back from any promotions.

As I’ve always said about umpires and refs, if the fans know you’re name, you’re not doing your job. 99/100 times the only reason a fan knows an ump’s name is because he is doing a shit job or inserting himself into the game like our old friend Cowboy Joe West.

So maybe stop getting into public pissing contests with players on a routine basis and you’ll get a promotion. Just a thought.

Again, he is still alive. So pump the breaks on your umpire Livestrong bracelets out there.

 

PS – The one official who’s name I know for any other reason is Ed Hochuli and thats because of those goddamn bazookas he carries onto the field each week.

Sox Take 2-of-4 in Cleveland, and I’ll Take That, Too

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It’s never a good thing when your ace gets shellacked like Chris Sale did in Cleveland last night. Sale gave up seven runs on seven hits and three walks in just three innings as the Red Sox fell to the Indians  13-6. But now is not the time to panic.

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The Red Sox still took two out of four games against the Indians in Cleveland, a team that has played them tough over the past two seasons. It could have easily been three out of four, if not for a bullpen implosion on Monday night. Those happen every once in a while, even to good teams. But Doug Fister and Drew Pomeranz both pitched very well, and Eduardo Rodriguez pitched more than respectably.

Again, it sucks to see Sale get knocked around but we know he’ll bounce back. Sale is not something the Red Sox need to concerned about going forward. David Price’s elbow and Dustin Pedroia’s knee are things they need to be concerned about.

Even though this series was just a split, the positives that come out of it – Rodriguez, Fister and Pomeranz pitching well – far outweigh the negatives – Sale’s bad night.

Baltimore comes to Fenway tonight and Rick Porcello takes the mound for the Sox. It’s been a strange season for Porcello, but he’s 4-0 with a 4.07 ERA in August. It’d be nice to seem him keep that trend going against the O’s.

Friday Morning Randomness

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Losing a a perfect game or a no-hitter in the 10th inning of a scoreless game has to be the most heartbreaking experience for a pitcher. I’d rather give up a walk-off grand slam in a three-run game than lose like Rich Hill did on Wednesday night. There can’t be anything worse than being almost perfect, and still losing.

Obviously, it reminded me of Pedro’s night in San Diego in 1995. Though at least Pedro got some run support in the top of the 10th inning and still got the win.

Three Years Ago Today the Red Sox Signed Colossal Bust Rusney Castillo

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Man time flies. Three years since the Red Sox dumped a 7-year $72.5 million contract in Rusney Castillo’s lap on a whim. And this is why you do not get hyped about a player over a goddamn YouTube video.

Did we learn nothing from Yi Jianlian AKA “The Chairman“? Rusney Castillo looked like he was gonna be a 5-tool stud that the Sox plucked out of Cuba. We’d pair him with Yoenis Cespedes, Hanley Ramirez (and maybe even Giancarlo Stanton?) to form the Cuban Missile Crisis. Right? Well actually not a single one of those guys plays OF for the Red Sox today. Rusney turned out to be a complete bum and has taken up residence as the highest paid player in Minor League Baseball (I chose not to fact check this).

Over parts of 3 seasons in the big leagues Castillo is a career .262 hitter in 317 at bats with 7 HR, 35 RBI and 7 Stolen Bases with a .301 OBP. As a potential 5-tool player, Castillo proved to actually not have a single one of those tools.

Baseball Reference pegs his 162 game average season at .262/.301/.379 with 11 HR 57 RBI 74 Runs and 11 SB. All of that for the cool price of $72.5 Million. And he’s still got THREE YEARS left on his contract at $11M, $11M and $14M. At least Pablo Sandoval made a few DL trips as an excuse. What. A. Disaster.

PS – Rusney Castillo has a .286 career batting average in the minors over 800+ at bats. The $72 Million player can’t even hit .300 playing against kids in Rhode Island.

Meanwhile in Cleveland…

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While Trader Danny and the Celtics grabbed most of the attention in Boston (and across the nation) last night, Doug Fister was doing his best Billy Chapel impression in Cleveland.

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After giving up a home run to Indians leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor on just his third pitch, Fister did not allow another hit the rest of the night. For the game, Fister faced just two batters more than the minimum and retired the last 14 batters in order. It was his eighth career complete game, and his first since 2014.

Fister has now started four games in place of David Price since Price went on the disabled list on July 28. In those four starts, Fister is 3-1 with a 3.62 ERA.

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It’s also worth noting that three of those four starts have come against the Cleveland Indians. Two have been very good, while one was less than stellar. But even in his less than stellar start against Cleveland, Fister got into the fifth inning. David Price couldn’t say that about his loss against Cleveland in the playoffs last year.

I bring this up because it is very likely that the Red Sox and Indians will meet in the first round of the playoffs again this season. I won’t go as far to say that the Red Sox are better without Price, but I don’t hate my chances with Doug Fister against the Tribe in October.

CC Sabathia is Upset the Red Sox Had the Nerve to Bunt On Him

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NY Post – CC Sabathia didn’t like the Red Sox game plan in the first inning of Saturday night’s 4-3 Yankees win at Fenway Park. So, when he fielded Andrew Benintendi’s bunt toward the third base line and fired a hard strike to first base for the final out, the veteran lefty waved his pitching hand at the Red Sox dugout in a dismissive way. “To come out and that’s your strategy, that got me going a little bit,’’ Sabathia told The Post at his locker Sunday morning. “Literally, two of the hottest hitters in baseball bunting. If that was their strategy, I [handled] it.’’

CC, my man, you are infamous for losing weight because you made the slight change to your diet of not eating a BOX of Captain Crunch every day. And now you’re on a bum knee? Forgive the Red Sox if they think making the fat guy move around a bit might throw him off his game. More than 10 years later every single Red Sox fan still asks why DIDN’T the Yankees do the same thing in the 2004 ALCS against Curt Schilling. The guy was pitching on an ankle held together by bubble gum and blood magic in Game 6 and was DOMINATING. Yet, the Yanks never tested his mobility by bunting, which has always seemed odd. Some guys just aren’t capable of thinking outside of the box I guess.

 

Time to Make the Donuts: Red Sox Take 2 Out of 3 from the Yankees

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Taking 2 out of 3 from the Yankees in late August is always going to be huge, especially when it extends the Red Sox lead in the AL East to 5 games. This series may have put the division out of reach for the Baby Bombers. As a friend of mine, a diehard Yankees fan said over the weekend, “We still have the Wild Card.” Indeed. A few highlights from the weekend series below:

  • The Red Sox have broken Aroldis Chapman. In a span of two weeks they’ve taken him from a dominant All-Star closer throwing triple digits to a middle relief guy coming into a game in the 6th inning.
  • Aaron Judge continues to strike out a prolific clip, extending his MLB record for consecutive games with a K to 37. The Red Sox also seem to have the rookie’s number as he’s only 9-58 against Boston this year and was just 1-12 this weekend.
  • The Sox seemingly dodged a bullet with Drew Pomeranz, who left the game due to back spasms on Friday night. Luckily for the Sox reports say Pomeranz is responding well to treatment and is in line to make his next start.
  • Rafael Devers continues to rake and looks like a budding superstar. The 20 year old third baseman homered in three straight games against the NYY and you can tell the Yankees pitchers are approaching him much more carefully lately.

The two teams are back at it Labor Day weekend for a 4 game series where the Sox will look to put the final nail in the Yankees coffin if they’re still within punching distance.

 

I Think the Sox Are Back

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The Red Sox have won 12 out of their last 14 games and are 11-2 in August. They are now a season-high 18 games over .500, and four games ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East. Almost more important, though, is the fact that this team has had three walk-off wins during this hot stretch (four walk-off wins if you go back 17 games and include the Kansas City Royals series).

A couple of walk-off wins and walk-off home runs really do help turn an unlikable group of overpaid whiners into a plucky band dirt dogs.

Tom Werner must be pumped to see these “more exciting” wins, especially when he’s watching NESN at Morty Seinfeld’s condo in Del Boca Vista.

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Of course it doesn’t hurt to have your #1 prospect come up, fill a giant panda sized hole in your lineup and still exceed everyone’s expectations. And it doesn’t hurt that your “underwhelming” trade-deadline pickup has hit .372 with four home runs since coming to town.

Throw in a viral pregame ceremony, and you’ve really got some buzz going for this team. Finally.

This weekend’s Yankees series has a chance to be the biggest Red Sox – Yankees series in years. The Red Sox and Yankees haven’t finished in some combination of first and second place in the AL East since 2009. With Drew Pomeranz going for the Sox on Friday and Chris Sale going on Saturday, the Red Sox have their best two pitchers going this weekend and have a real good chance to put more distance between themselves and the Yankees.

Putting more distance between themselves and the Yankees this weekend is very important. After this series, the Red Sox travel to Cleveland for four games against the Indians. The Indians are a likely first-round playoff opponent for the Red Sox, again, and Francona’s squad always play the Red Sox tough. That series could actually be a tougher test for the Sox than the Yankees series.

 

 

Time to Make the Donuts: Red Sox Get a Walk Off Win Over the Cardinals

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Mookie Betts doing Mookie Betts things last night in a walkoff win over the Cardinals. Just battling and grinding with 2 outs in the 9th before smoking a 3-2 pitch off the wall to knock in 2 runs and get the walk off win.

What made this all the sweeter was witnessing the Cardinals have an absolute meltdown in the 9th inning over some pretty minor shit. Just wilting under the pressure of the Sox mounting a comeback in the bottom of the 9th.

Molina snapped in the 9th when the home plate umpire called time after reliever John Brebbia held onto the ball for what felt like 10 seconds. Literally yelling in the ump’s face, all while the Cardinals are still up by 1 in the 9th inning. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny comes out to argue and ends up getting ejected. Less than 5 minutes later the Sox complete the comeback and walk off with the win. Thanks St. Louis!

PS – Nothing beats a walk off win, but don’t think I didn’t notice Jackie Bradley Jr. getting gunned down at the plate. Except Yadier Molina couldn’t handle the throw and JBJ was safe. If Molina handles that cleanly then JBJ is out by a MILE and we’re all yet again roasting the Red Sox for their abysmal base running. Just something to keep an eye on and remember when a gigantic base running error totally fucks them in the playoffs.