NBC Sports Boston – Blake Swihart has spent all season in a virtually non-existent role, one that Alex Cora and Dave Dombrowski both indicated on Tuesday will not change barring injury to Sandy Leon or Christian Vazquez. Swihart’s agent, Brodie Scoffield of The Legacy Agency, sees a situation that’s been unproductive for both the player and the team, and has asked the Red Sox to trade Swihart…Swihart earlier in May said he would leave the trade topic to Scoffield. Scoffield declined to comment at the time. Now, with more than a quarter of the season completed and Swihart still serving no purpose other than “protection for us as a third catcher,” as Dombrowski put it Tuesday, Scoffield is pushing for change.
“With Dustin Pedroia returning, it seems now would be the time to make a move with Blake,” Scoffield said.
I can’t say I’m surprised and I absolutely don’t blame the guy. He was once the top rated catching prospect in all of baseball and then the Red Sox stuck him in left field where he jacked up his ankle and derailed his career.
“Catcher Blake Swihart, who continues to impress with his consistent approach at the plate and his skills on the defensive side, is ranked No. 18. Though he didn’t become a regular catcher until 2010, Swihart is now the game’s top prospect at the position, reminding many of a young Buster Posey.”
Now he’s the 3rd catcher and the 25th man on a Red Sox team that rarely even plays him. Since he’s out of options the Sox can’t send him down to Pawtucket without the risk of another team claiming him and the Sox aren’t going to risk losing him for nothing so here we are. Blake is stuck in no man’s land. A trade is probably the best result for both sides. As much as I’d like to just see the team start playing him, Christian Vazquez is dynamite defensively and Sandy Leone seems to have settled in as Chris Sale’s personal catcher so there’s not a lot of playing time to go around. Those two have been positively radioactive offensively though so why Swihart hasn’t gotten really any playing time is beyond me.
You would think playing outfield is completely out of the question after what happened last time and with Dustin Pedroia coming back from the DL soon there will be even less room in the infield. He could DH but he’s definitely third in line behind mashers like JD Martinez and Hanley Ramirez for that role.
So we may be seeing the final days of Blake Swihart in Boston. I hope he goes somewhere and gets the opportunity to play because the Red Sox have royally fucked up his career to this point. Who knows if he goes the way of other former top catching prospects like Jared Saltalamacchia (spelled that right on the first try, NBD) and sucks or if he goes on to be an excellent catcher for the next decade. But lets see the guy play somewhere else if not here. Because a 3rd string catcher who doesn’t really play any other position well is not a great depth option on a major league roster. The 25th man on a roster should be a super utility player who can play basically anywhere on any night. Maybe the Sox get a decent reliever in return for Swihart and kill two birds with one stone. Either way, it seems like its probably time to cut bait. We hardly knew ye, Blake.
It took yearrs, but the Red Sox Yankees rivalry is officially back after last night. That game had everything. A ton of hits, a few four baggers, wild momentum swings, oh and Joe Kelly inciting a legitimate benches clearing brawl after nailing that dickhead Tyler Austin. The benches cleared once earlier in the game after Austin spiked Brock Holt on a takeout slide at second. That was really more guys arguing than anything else.
But, Joe Kelly don’t play that shit. After nearly hitting Austin in the top of the 7th, Kelly went right back to it and nailed him two pitches later. Austin smashed his bat in his rage and after taking a few steps towards Kelly he charged the mound. But Kelly, this man goes into the GIF Hall of Fame with an all-time reaction.
Before we move on, I have to just touch on this guy Tyler Austin. A motherfucking star was born last night. Just look at this guy.
Incredibly hatable. This guy is destined to be the next great dickhead Yankee that we all love to hate. In the same roid rage filled vein as Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield. The dude clearly and deliberately spikes Holt breaking up a double play and then flips out when Holt calls him out for it.
Then rather than taking his medicine like a man after getting beaned, he smashes his bat and charges the mound before getting body bagged by Joe Kelly. This kid may only be a career .239 hitter, but if he can stay in the lineup I will take great joy in booing him all year long.
Back to the actual game!
I gotta give the Sox credit for not only physically assaulting the Yankees, but for fighting back from an early 8-1 hole to make a game out of it.
Andddd David Price might be hurt. He got hammered for 4 runs in the first inning, getting slapped around like he was Fredo going against the family. After getting out of the inning he immediately walked down the tunnel and the Sox trainers raced after him. Still no idea what actually happened, but he left the game apparently after experiencing “sensation in his left hand.”
So what was supposed to be another pitching duel was yet again derailed in Game 2 of this series. After Price left the game the Sox trotted out basically everyone in the pen: Bobby Poyner, Heath Hembree, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly (my man), Brian Johnson, and Carson Smith.
(This is what I wrote during the game BEFORE Kelly beaned Austin): For the first time in what seems like years there appears to be some genuine dislike between these two teams and that is awesome to see. It was bound to happen as both teams have been up and down, but now both are starting to get really good at the same time with a core of young players that came up in each team’s farm system. This is what this rivalry needs. Both teams being good helps, but both teams legitimately disliking each other is what will ultimately light the fuse.
After the Austin/Holt slide you could tell Pedroia was just itching to get out there and scrap it up as cameras caught him giving an absolute death stare to the entire Yankees bench since ya know his knee is still fucked after being on the receiving end of a very similar play last year.
Dustin Pedroia giving a death stare to the entire #Yankees bench after that dirty slide as he recovers from a knee injury caused by a dirty slide. #RedSoxpic.twitter.com/3SiWPN22cE
El Gary was beating the Sox brains in all night with 2 dingers including a 2-run HR in the first and another 2-run HR in the 4th to put the Sox in an 8-1 hole, but luckily for us Masahiro Tanaka imploded in the 5th giving up 5 runs.
How about JD Just Dingers Martinez breaking out in a big way too? 24 hours after missing his first grand slam as a member of the Sox by the length of a hotdog, he crushed one to center field to claim what was rightfully his.
The Sox then proceeded to throw the ball around like a bunch of assholes though. Vazquez chucked a ball into CF on a steal attempt and then a pass ball that smoked the ump in the facemask trickled away, which gave the Yankees a free pass to third base twice. Those immediately came back to bite the Sox in the ass for 2 easy runs, and that 10-6 lead was ultimately what put the nail in their coffin.
I know its early, but if the first two games of this series are any indication this year of Red Sox vs Yankees is going to be a lot more fun than its been in a long time. And for that I am thankful.
NESN – “There certainly seemed to be something of a leadership void, and Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia admitted Monday that former Boston manager John Farrell was part of the reason the club didn’t seem to enjoy itself in 2017. “The overall approach, every day, would wear on guys. It wasn’t people not liking each other. We all love each other. Trust me,” Pedroia said Monday morning on WEEI’s “OMF.” “There’s the mindset of, ‘You show up to the yard, you put your work in, you have your approach that day, and you try to execute it. If you don’t, guess what? You’re going to show up tomorrow and still be in the lineup. We’re all going to have confidence in you. We’re all going to show up and try to win and accomplish the same thing.’ That’s what wore on guys and made the season that much more grueling — when everything that day was more magnified. It put a lot of pressure on our young guys, it put a lot of pressure on our veteran guys. That’s the part, when you hear Mookie (Betts) or (Xander Bogaerts) say they weren’t having much fun, you don’t ever have a chance to enjoy yourself if you don’t go 4-for-4, throw a complete game shutout, or we don’t win by 10. You don’t look ahead to the end of what we were trying to build for.”
Color me shocked. Dustin Pedroia came out and admitted on WEEI that last year sucked because John Farrell just beat guys down. It seems like his approach was just a grind on guys mentally. As much as we like to rail on players for whining and complaining, Boston may be the toughest city to play in the entire league so its important to manage that level of stress. This is where I’ve always been kind of disapointed though considering John Farrell came up in the Terry Francona school of management. Pedroia said guys were stressing because they were hyper focused on day to day success rather than building towards something bigger. If a guy didn’t hit the cover off the ball one day he’d be worried about getting moved down in the batting order or getting bumped from the lineup entirely. Farrell never really seemed as comfortable managing the Sox as we all thought he would be when Boston traded for him with Toronto.
Compare that to a manager like Francona who was infamous for sticking with his guys, almost to a fault. Anyone remember Mark Bellhorn? That guy was a goddamn enigma. In theory, a pretty solid player, but holy hell was he frustrating. Half the time he straight up SUCKED. He was a disaster in 2004 with his double ear flapped softball batting helmet.
He hit .264 with 177 strikeouts, which was 1st in the American League and 2nd in all of baseball. He did have a .373 OBP though! But Francona knew the guy could hit so he kept going with him day in and day out. Guess what? In the long run it paid off as Bellhorn had a HUGE 3-run HR in Game 6 of the ALCS to force Game 7 against the Yankees. Don’t remember? It was the one that smoked a guy sitting front row in the chest, but he was wearing all black so Matsui and those dirty Yankees tried to play it off like it hit the wall.
So theres definitely something to be said for consistency.
Everybody remembers Game 6 of the 04 ALCS for the legend that was Schilling’s bloody sock, but people forget that was also this game:
But, I digress.
As a manager you could also go the other way and tell these professional athletes to sack up. I mean if I have a few non-productive shitty days at my job, my employer is most likely going to chew me out. If you’re not performing the manager is well within his rights to sit you down. But, and I think this is what John Farrell’s biggest weakness was, if you’re going to do that you have to communicate why to the player. Build them up. Co-mmu-ni-cate. And that is where Farrell dropped the ball. The guy just did not have the social skills or the management skills or whatever you want to call it to relate to his players on a day to day basis. Not to beat a dead horse, but again Francona could call Pedroia in to play a game of cribbage and while the two are having a friendly competition Tito could tell him that he has sucked lately and is giving him a day off. Whether that was good news or whether that was bad news, Tito could communicate.
One of my favorite stories about Francona was how he would go out during batting practice every day and if he had to have a talk with someone he would bring them behind the backstop to chat. It was in the middle of everyone and completely public, but nobody could hear what they were saying except Tito and the player. So he was a master class in dealing with the players and their fragile egos and getting the best out of guys. Hell Francona could call a guy into his office while he was taking a dump and have a chat. I don’t really see that kind of comfort level existing between John Farrell and any of these Red Sox players. So the hope here is that Alex Cora is able to bring back that warm and fuzzy feeling back to the players. Maybe Cora won’t be sitting on the porcelain throne when he’s calling in Rafael Devers, but hey its only his first year on the job.
JD Martinez has officially been introduced by the Red Sox so everyone can safely remove their finger from the panic button.
I fully admit I was starting to get a little nervous about the Red Sox shiny new toy, despite all the Boston sports writers rushing to their keyboards to defend the honor of the Sox and say this was totally normal.
Its definitely not out of the ordinary for any team to work in a clause in a contract to protect both sides. Think of when the Sox signed John Lackey and specifically put a clause in the deal saying if he missed any significant amount of time due to Tommy John Surgery, the Red Sox would automatically get an additional year added onto Lackey’s contract at the league minimum salary.
Now that ended poorly of course as Lackey blew his elbow out, activated the clause, and then bitched and moaned about said clause, and forced his way out of town via trade. So I honestly don’t know if those types of deals are still kosher in the MLB, but working language in that can activate opt outs is nothing new. However, announcing a deal is done and then not introducing the player for 7 full days is far from normal.
Whatever, either way the deal is done. It might not ever come out what the actual language was that caused the delay, but I think its safe to say, barring a very specific injury, JD Martinez is here for the long run.
Martinez does have an opt out clause of his own after the 2nd and 3rd year of the contract, but this is a guy thats already 30 years old and couldn’t find the deal he wanted after a 45 Home Run season. So you’re telling me that guy is going to opt out when he’s 32 or 33 in hopes of that mythical $200 Million deal? Sorry my friend, the days of guys on the wrong side of 30 getting that type of money are over. You can thank A-Rod, Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera for sucking that well dry.
Martinez is a good fit here though and more importantly he’s a veteran guy who’s completely reworked his game to get to where he is now. Seriously. He got cut by the Astros in 2013 and I mean the shit-bum Astros that lost 111 games that year, not the sexy 2017 World Series winning Astros. Then he signs with Detroit, reworks his entire swing and breaks out in 2015 with 38 Home Runs making his first All-Star team. Then in the midst of his career year, the Tigers ship him off to Arizona where he puts on a hitting clinic and finishes the year with 45 dingers.
So while he may not have that playoff/big market experience, he definitely has the adversity thing down pat. (Does that concern me in terms of consistency? 100%) My point is, a rough stretch should be no big deal to this guy. That could be very valuable in a club house that was filled with more dickhead diva types than blue collar types that willed their way to success. There were too many instances of guys like Mookie or Xander hitting a cold streak and instead of working it out, they went into the tank and had massive slumps en route to hugely disappointing years.
Hopefully another 9 figure contract walking into the clubhouse has the balls and really just the gravitas to tell some of these guys whats up rather than letting David Price run the joint all by himself. Think about it, theres not a lot of guys on that team that are 1.) good enough and 2.) paid enough to demand that immediate respect. Thats why this role has seemingly defaulted to David Price once David Ortiz was no longer around. Sure you could say Chris Sale, but I honestly think he’d rather be a lead by example type of guy. Pedroia threw his teammates under the bus last year with the whole Adam Jones scenario. Hanley Ramirez isn’t engaged enough to be a leader. Bogaerts seems to want no part of it and the rest of the team is full of young guys or part-timers. Your best bet is either Mookie taking on the role like he’s said he wants to or JD Martinez coming in and being THE guy. Only time will tell, but I am fired up to see this team on the field together.
So Dustin Pedroia decided to undergo the surgery he’s been publicly hesitant to get because by his own admission its a long road to recovery. If all goes well with his knee surgery and rehab then, according to the Red Sox, Pedroia should be out 7 months, which puts him back on the field by May. But, how often does everything go according to plan with this team and injuries? There’s always some misdiagnosis or they rush guys back or second and third opinions derail everything because the players don’t trust the team doctors. So if all that goes off without a hitch then he’ll be back in May. But, thats back to being a functioning, walking human, not an everyday Major League Baseball player. Pedroia won’t be able to do any of his offseason conditioning and will miss all of spring training. So while the team is saying May, this could easily be a situation where we don’t see Pedey back on the field at Fenway until July. Thats a scary proposition.
So the Red Sox are most definitely going to need another guy that can play 50-100 games at second base next year. Is that Brock Holt? I’d prefer to keep Holt as a super utility player and not an every day infielder as he tends to get exposed the longer he plays plus he has his own injury concerns with the concussion and the vertigo from this past season.
Is that Eduardo Nunez? That would probably be the ideal fill-in, but after being picked up by the Sox in the second half where he crushed the ball to a BA of .321, Nunez is a free agent and is probably 1.) looking for big dough and 2.) looking for assured playing time. Not to say Nunez will immediately ride the bench upon Pedroia’s return, but I could easily see him going somewhere else where he knows exactly what position he’ll be playing every day.
Deven Marrero’s not exactly a sexy option having hit .211 this year in the big leagues, but he’s the only guy you’ve got on the roster right now. I simply cannot see Dave Dombrowski punting on second base to start the year and hoping a 34-year-old Pedroia returns to form after major knee surgery. The Sox are still tight up against the Luxury Tax and everyone will lose their shit if Dombrowski starts dishing more prospects, so while there is a move to be made they may have to get creative with this one.
Alex Cora is the new manager of the Boston Red Sox and once the Houston Astros win or lose the World Series he’ll walk into a talented, underachieving, promising, and fractured clubhouse. This team could easily make strides and be in the World Series next year or they could just as easily compound their current issues and be fighting for a Wild Card berth. So what can the new skipper do to get this team going in the right direction?
Cora and Dustin Pedroia were of course teammates on the Red Sox from 2006-2008 under Terry Francona. If Cora can get Pedroia on board out of the gate, which it would seem he should have no problem doing, then he’s off to a good start. For whatever reason Pedroia never seemed to be tight with John Farrell and then of course he hated Bobby V.
Pedroia’s like a scorned lover, never letting himself get close to another manager again after the way Francona was ripped away from him. So maybe Pedroia and Cora can bond over how badly the Sox management sandbagged Tito on his way out of town.
In addition to Pedroia, Cora should be well equipped to better connect with the Latino players because he, ya know, is from Puerto Rico and is obviously fluent in Spanish. That alone should do wonders for Latino players that Farrell may not have been able to connect with. Even if Farrell spoke some Spanish, there’s no substitute for a guy that can *conversate* in both languages.
Being just 42 years old, Cora will be the second youngest manager in the MLB and should be in a much better position to connect with the younger Sox players than his predecessor. Cora played in the era of social media and constant media attention in Boston so he understands how to handle it. Plus he was revered in his playing days as a veteran leader that helped mentor younger players. Including ones that would ultimately take his job in guys like Pedroia. So while he may not have managerial experience, he checks all the boxes that would seemingly make for a good manager.
After that all he has to do is get serial malcontent David Price on board. Other than that, jobs a piece of cake. Maybe some sessions on the manager’s couch to do nothing other than vent will help Price release a little steam before he blows another gasket on guys like Dennis Eckersley. I have no idea what Price’s relationship was with Farrell, but the whole “Manager John” thing sure didn’t make it seem like they were buddies. And Price knows that, he’s not stupid. So whether Cora walks in Day 1 and tells Price to sit down and shut up, or he massages the ego of a $217 Million enigma, I leave up to him. But, get a handle on those social circles within the roster and the rest will fall into place.
There is A LOT to unpack here less than 24 hours after the Red Sox bowed out in the ALDS for the second year in a row. Granted they didn’t get swept again this year, the Sox lost in 4 games after they started off poorly as it was too little too late against a stacked Astros squad. Where do they go from here? We’ve got the future of Manager John in question, Dustin Pedroia’s health, the absolute enigma that is our starting rotation, as well as questions around Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts, Craig Kimbrel and more. Lets get it.
Has the John Farrell Era Come to an End?
If so it finally does so in a fitting way; getting ejected defending a player who never really seemed to be all-in on him.
I’m never the guy clamoring for a manager to be fired because I think with the few exceptions, an MLB manager isn’t going to make or break a team. Just don’t screw it up, put players in a position to succeed, and most of all be the clubhouse therapist. And while Farrell certainly has his limitations with in-game adjustments, and even filling out the scorecard (honestly how do you bench arguably your best hitter in Hanley Ramirez for Game 1 in favor of a guy with a shitty knee?), but I think his ultimate downfall is his inability to be that armchair psychologist.
Manager John is not the guy that will call someone into his office to lay down on his couch and just talk things through. One of my favorite stories of a manager excelling at this was one about how Terry Francona used to call players over to talk with him right behind home plate as the team took BP. So everyone in the world could see them, but no one could hear them. This is an area where Manager John is sorely lacking, which became painfully obvious on multiple occasions this year, none more so than David Price blowing up on Dennis Eckersley and then essentially defending Price and the situation was never really resolved. In a market like Boston, managing the clubhouse and all its personalities is the No. 1 job requirement, which is why I think Farrell is ultimately shown the door this offseason.
What Should We Expect Out of Dustin Pedroia Moving Forward?
I don’t want to immediately overreact less than 24 hours after their season came to an end, but I am very, very concerned about Dustin Pedroia. Similar to old friend Kevin Youkilis, as he continues to get older, Pedroia’s balls out playing style is starting to catch up to him as he is routinely dealing with nagging injuries. This year it was the knee, which limited Pedroia to 105 games this year, and Dave Dombrowski sent me in to full blown panic earlier this year when he said that Pedroia’s knee would be something he’d have to deal with for the rest of his career. At 34 years old, that is a terrifying thing to hear. Now facing a number of options on what to do about his balky knee, Pedroia himself intimated that going the surgery route could put him out for a long time.
So while I know its the health thats affecting his play more than anything else, Pedroia just batted .125 in the ALDS this year, .167 in the ALDS last year, .238 in the 2013 playoffs, .167 in 2009, .233 in 2008, and .283 in 2007. Overall, he’s hitting just .204 in his last 26 playoff games. That my friends, is a bad trend. Maybe the Red Sox can do what the Yankees should have done with Jeter years before he retired and either limit his games in an effort to keep him healthy or perhaps move him to a less demanding position. While he’s not an ideal height or power profile, perhaps mixing in some games at first base would help lessen the demand on Pedroia’s body. Rotate him in at DH, where Pedroia has actually thrived in his career, to keep him fresh. Limit the number of games he’s throwing his body around at second base and maybe you get a healthy (and productive) Pedroia in the playoffs. But with four years left on his current deal, the Red Sox don’t really have much of a choice. While I’ve heard a lot of people slamming Pedroia’s leadership this season, I think the reality of an aging body that isn’t bouncing back the way it used to, coupled with the scrutiny of having to police his own locker room to keep dickheads like David Price in check, is mentally draining the guy. Keep him healthy and you’ll have a more energetic, engaged and productive Pedroia. He did hit .293 this season when he was on the field so he’s still a very strong hitter when he’s upright. But, he’s not 25 anymore, so maybe a revived role for the longterm second baseman gets him back to his hey day of shit talking Jeff Francis and Brady Quinn. Can’t ask the guy to do everything, so while I don’t want to defend his poor playoff performance, I think its something the Sox can mitigate by taking a few steps. Again, put the players in a position to succeed.
What the Hell Do the Red Sox Do About Their Pitching
Chris Sale had his worst start of the year at the worst possible time in the playoffs. Sound familiar? Now that we’ve got that out of the way, its important to note how he bounced back and was downright dominant out of the bullpen (on short rest) to give the Red Sox a lifeline in Game 4. Despite the fact he gave up that solo HR to cough up the lead, its important to note that he was lights out. Given the fact that it was his first career postseason start, I’m willing to give Sale the benefit of the doubt. Combined with the fact that Sale seemingly ran out of gas down the stretch, I think the Sox would benefit by working in some rest throughout the year for him, similar to how they used to do for Pedro Martinez. Sale was incredible this year where he was the hands down Cy Young winner before a shaky final 2 months. And while it was exciting to watch him chase that single season strikeout record that Pedro set, whats the point? If it left the guy gassed in October then its doing the team a disservice. So I think he’ll be back and better than ever next season.
As for David Price its hard what to make of him. He was downright dominant out of the bullpen for the Red Sox, which was encouraging to see, especially to see a pissed off emotional David Price. Seriously, the guy was screaming coming off the mound at opposing batters. That David Price I need to see more of. But again the Red Sox aren’t paying $217 Million for a bullpen guy. Price needs to replicate that, or at least come close to that as a starter in 2018 or the team’s cooked again. Most big free agents seem to struggle in Boston in Year 1 and Year 2 was a bit of a wash for Price due to his elbow injury. So maybe Year 3 he’s finally got that comfort level and makes a John Lackey type redemption with a bounce back year. That elbow is still a concern though so its tough to predict.
Rick Porcello followed up his 2016 Cy Young season with a terrible 2017 season going 11-17 with a 4.65 ERA and once again failing to go very far in the playoffs. He went 3 innings yesterday and only 4 1/3 in his ALDS start last year. Not a great trend. Maybe its a mechanical issue he can fix over the winter, but the back to back playoff shellackings are less than ideal.
Steven Wright, remember him? The knuckleballer who was an All-Star that John Farrell broke by having him run the fucking bases. He should be back next year, as well as Eduardo Rodriguez unless he has another knee injury doing nothing before the season starts. Drew Pomeranz had a really solid year going 17-6 with a 3.32 ERA, but another guy who got shelled in the playoffs. Doug Fister pitched admirabily in the regular season after being a guy Dombrowski picked up off the scrap heap in July, but he also shit the bed in the playoffs getting yanked in the second inning of Game 3 and finishing with an ERA over 20! He’s probably the odd man out next year assuming everyone else is healthy. So there’s not really a lot the Sox can do other than have the starting rotation get their shit together. Barring a huge trade, this is going to be the 2018 starting rotation.
The Rest of the Rest
Craig Kimbrel drives me fucking bananas. A two-pitch flamethrower with questionable control is a prescription for Tums. Kimbrel was incredible this season going 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 35 saves plus 126 Ks in just 69 innings. But like a lot of other guys with the ball in their hands, he shit the bed when it counted most. Kimbrel had a 4.50 ERA in the playoffs this year, more than triple his regular season ERA. And for a guy who is completely lights out with 3 outs to go in the game, he craters when asked to get a couple of extra outs.
Kimbrel came into yesterday’s game in the 8th inning with a man on first and two outs. Just get the final out of the 8th and the Sox are still tied heading into the bottom of the frame. Kimbrel proceeds to go: Wild Pitch (advancing runner to second) Walk, and RBI Single to give the Astros a 1-run lead before getting the third out. He then hits a guy in the 9th before giving up an RBI Double to put the Sox in a 2-run hole before getting yanked for Closer B Addison Russell. Can’t have that from a guy that everyone praises all year long for his dominance.
If we can get Playoff Hanley Ramirez and not store brand Manny Ramirez, then the Red Sox are golden. But as we all know, Hanley is off more often than he is on, which is a problem. Maybe he had a “Come to Jesus” moment in the ALDS this year. Maybe Big Papi got in his ear. I don’t know, but if he can actually give a shit for an entire season then the Sox are cooking with gas. But, it would be fool’s gold to bank on that for 2018.
Xander Bogaerts needs to start drinking his protein shakes or something after struggling badly down the stretch for the second consecutive season and then hitting .059 in the playoffs this year. Before the All-Star break this year X hit .303 and after the All-Star break X hit .235. Last year his splits were .329/.253. Granted two years ago he actually hit 30 points higher in the second half, but Xander needs to figure out how to stay fresh or he could quickly find himself on the way out of town.
2018 Silver Linings
Despite some hit or miss defense, Rafael Devers looks like the real fucking deal. Devers was called up on July 24th and was the youngest player in the league at 20 years old. Ya know, after a whole NINE GAMES in Triple-A. All he did was proceed to hit .284 with 10 HR’s and 30 RBIs. Then he became the youngest player in Red Sox history to hit a postseason HR and then he hit another one; and inside the park job in the 9th inning of Game 4 as he nearly kept the Red Sox alive singlehandedly. Unreal. After the disaster that was Pablo Sandoval and trading away Travis Shaw, who hit 30 dingers himself this season, it seems like the Sox have found another young budding star. Thank god Dombrowski didn’t trade him too.
Not a ton else to look forward to as I don’t see a team thats already pressed up against the Luxury Tax making too many additions. Barring a huge trade, this will be the same squad trotting out there in 2018. So maybe another year of playoff experience, a new manager, and maybe a new bench player acting as the glue guy (i.e. Kevin Millar, David Ross, Jonny Gomes) gets this team over the hump next year. Thats it.
NESN – For the second time this month, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with left knee inflammation. Pedroia had surgery on the knee last October, but it has been problematic for much of this season. The move back to the DL on Saturday comes just four days after Pedroia was activated. Pedroia served as the designated hitter on Tuesday at Tropicana Field and was out of the lineup on Wednesday and again on Friday following an off-day for the Red Sox.
I feel like this is a story line thats flown under the radar because the Red Sox have been killing it lately. Particularly the guys that have been shuffling around to fill in for Dustin Pedroia like Eduardo Nunez and Rafael Devers have been playing especially well. So people haven’t really seemed too concerned with Pedroia as of late. Except he just went back on the DL with the same knee injury, less than a week after coming off the DL. Four days after being activated to be exact. I am officially spooked.
This all goes back to the first time Pedroia went on the DL and Dave Dombrowski dropped a quote that made me do a double take. He said Pedroia’s knee injury is something that Dustin will have to monitor for “the rest of his career”
After just thinking the injury was related to that dickhead Manny Machado spiking him at second base earlier this year, Dombrowski basically turned me into a frantic soccer mom with one sentence. Whether Dombrowski intentionally revealed that or if it was just a slip of the tongue, you’ve got to seriously wonder what is going on with Pedroia’s knee.
Being a guy thats played through a multitude of injuries over the years, I think people take that for granted. People just expect him to come back and play through injuries regardless of what they are. He is a smaller guy who takes a beating playing his position very aggressively and those little nagging injuries eventually catch up with you and turn into larger debilitating injuries and spawn trips to the DL.
Hopefully its just an instance of one injury flaring up on him and not the beginning of the decline. Especially for a guy who prides himself on being out there (he’s played 135+ games 5 out of the last 6 years) the Red Sox could be forced to more carefully monitor Pedroia’s innings. Remember when Pedey busted his foot, the guy was out at second taking BP ground balls on his knees? He’s signed for 4 more years through 2021 so the Red Sox are going to want to make sure he’s good to go rather than just running him into the ground. In the meantime, doesn’t hurt to have your replacement batting a cool .400
So in whats become one of the most lengthy Red Sox dramas that I can remember in a long time, David Price and the boys are morphing into a group of unlikeable assholes right before our eyes. It started of course with Shaugnessy’s story detailing how Price was berating Hall of Famer and NESN analyst Dennis Eckersley on the team plane in front of everyone, supposedly because of Eck’s “Yuck” comment about a recent E-Rod rehab start. Not because Eck was criticizing Price, not because Price also recently flipped the fuck out on Evan Drellich (also in front of a crowd of reporters), but because he’s a good teammate. If you think thats a pretty convenient excuse for Price to rip into a member of the media merely to defend a teammate, then you’re right – its bullshit.
All speculation and 2nd hand from Shaugnessy, but if I’m Eck I am open palm SLAPPING Price in the face after this. #RedSoxpic.twitter.com/YibvM6yBtC
While you’re still an asshole for the way you went about it, you can rip into Evan Drellich and no one will care. But when you start talking shit to a national treasure like Eck and do it on the plane surrounded by your teammates like a schoolyard bully? Then thats where the problem starts. If there’s one thing fans in Boston do not like its entitlement. Now obviously thats a sliding scale with all professional athletes because they’re all entitled to some degree, but when the $30M per year pitcher starts grandstanding and bitching about every little slight because he can’t handle his Twitter notifications, then its a BIG problem.
To make matters worse, rather than suspend, fine or ya know TALK to Price about the incident and ask him “uhh you good big guy?” Instead of doing any of those things, the Red Sox ignored the problem and literally changed the plane boarding procedure. Rather than address the issue, lets just bury our heads in the sand and separate the kids like its recess.
Rather than address the issue the #RedSox apparently changed the team flight boarding policy. Thats a real bad look. pic.twitter.com/8xt3bBU3zO
Now we hear that other Red Sox players and even Pedroia (Bradfo disagrees) were cheering Price on while he was berating Eck? Like a bunch of assholes. Thats a goddamn shame. Talk about poisoning the fucking well.
If this galvanizes the team and they f-bomb everyone around them all the way to a World Series title then thats one thing. That’ll be their thing. 2013 was Boston Strong, 2004 was the Idiots, 2017 can be the miserable assholes who rail against the world. But if they don’t? If they stumble down the stretch and get bounced in the first round or somehow miss the playoffs? I wouldn’t put it past John Henry to say FUCK THIS and send a drastically different looking team to Fort Myers in 2018.
Now after weeks of this incident lingering, sports radio eviscerating the players, and just general fan backlash, the Red Sox return home from a long west coast road trip and send none other than David Price to the mound Friday night. This guy better take the hill and strike out the side right out of the gate because if he doesn’t he very well may get his balls booed off. There’s a lot of pressure on Price tonight, about as much as there can be for a game in the dead of July, but holy shit, if this guy comes out and takes a beating tonight? Forget it, the Fenway faithful might literally break this guy’s psyche. And I for one am excited as all hell to see this unfold.
Want to vocalize your distaste for all this bullshit going on with the Red Sox? Maybe get in David Price’s brain from the stands to rattle his cage a little bit? Buy a Yuck shirt.
The 300s 