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.
The search continues for the next manager of the Boston Red Sox, one of the most coveted, high profile, and stressful positions in baseball. The Sox would be wise to take their time and do their due diligence before making an emotional hire a la the disaster that was Bobby Valentine. They need a guy who can communicate effectively with players whether they’re rookies, verterans, white guys or hispanic. This team needs a guy players can talk to, someone who is respected in the game, a solid in-game tactician, and is a name that will resonate with fans. With all that being said, lets get to the top candidates we’ve heard about thus far.
Alex Cora – The current bench coach for the Houston Astros is a former Red Sox player and seems to be the early favorite as he was the first guy the Sox interviewed. He’s got former teammates coming out of the woodwork to give glowing reviews, can communicate well with players, and a Puerto Rico outlet is reporting that Cora has a “99.9% chance” of landing the job. Apparently there’s heavy competition for Cora as the Mets want him too, but who the fuck would want to manage the Mets right now?
Brad Ausmus -The recently canned Tigers manager, this was a popular name because Dave Dombrowski gave Ausmus his first job when he hired him back in Detroit. Ausmus is currently unemployed and we all know how much Dave loves his own guys. But, maybe he doesn’t want to double down on a guy who didn’t make it very far for his former employer. The Mets were also rumored to be in on Ausmus, but as I mentioned who would want that job? Not Ausmus, who reportedly removed his name from consideration.
Ron Gardenhire – Yawn. I’m not dying to see the guy who managed the Twins to middling records for years take the reigns of one of the most pressure packed job in sports. Okay, middling records is probably not totally fair. He did win 6 division titles with Minnesota, but they never went very deep and the last division title came in 2010 when Gardenhire was named AL Manager of the Year. But, he hasn’t managed since 2014 and seems like more of the same so I don’t think its a great fit. Gardenhire is also, ironically, the bench coach for Torey Lovullo, the John Farrell successor in waiting the Red Sox had on their staff last year, then let walk in favor of Farrell, who they ended up firing anyways a year later. Solid planning over on Yawkey Way.
Other names that have been mentioned in the media:
Gabe Kapler – Sign me UP for Gabe the Babe. One of my favorite former players because he played his balls off every day. He’s currently the Director of Player Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has previously managed in the minor leagues for the Red Sox actually. I don’t think Tanyon Sturtze would appreciate Gabe becoming the next Red Sox manager though. Ya know, because he kicked his ass.
After all the bullshit we were fed about John Farrell being this tough guy John Wayne type, we could use an actual badass managing this team.
He was also in the running for the Dodgers manager position before Dave Roberts became a candidate and Kapler stepped down. So he’s clearly got a lot of behind the scenes experience and is a well rounded baseball guy with experience in both the dugout and the front office. Hell, he’s even got a health and fitness blog that I would highly recommend. WEEI’s John Tomase is all in as well and has some great insights on Kapler’s success in his current role with the Dodgers building up their farm system.
Jim Leyland – The longtime baseball manager who also has big Dombrowski ties, having worked as his manager in Florida as well as with the Tigers. But, Tony Massaroti mentioned on 98.5 the other day that he texted the 72 year old Leyland, who straight up told Mazz that he’s done managing. So we can cross this one off the list.
I think Cora is a solid option, a breath of fresh air that the Red Sox could use. He’s a guy that speaks both Spanish and English fluently, he’s young, and he’s been climbing the ranks working his way up to this opportunity. I think with an older baseball guy as his bench coach Cora is probably the best option. But I certainly would not be disappointed with my dude Gabe managing the Sox. Time for Dave Dombrowski to hitch his wagon to the next manager; we’re in this together now boys.
When the Red Sox first acquired Eduardo Rodriguez in 2014 from the Orioles in the Andrew Miller trade it was deemed a steal for a half season rental of Miller. (Side note: the Red Sox do not get ANY credit for legitimately rebuilding Andrew Miller from the Florida Marlins/Detroit Tigers castoff failed starter that he was to the dominant, lights out bullpen weapon that he is.) E-Rod started off his career lights out going 10-6 with a 3.85 ERA at just 22 years old, but has been routinely derailed by injuries since then.
Rodriguez, of course, has lost months to knee injuries in 3 of the last 4 years.
Seriously, take a look at the number of starts he’s made each season since the Red Sox acquired him.
2015: 21
2016: 20
2017: 24
Not exactly workhorse type stuff. I mean E-Rod is still only making $500K a year so its not a huge financial burden, but in the same vein as Clay Buchholz you need to be able to rely on a guy to make the majority of his starts. Especially when that guy has the ability to be your No. 3 starter. Hopefully this horrific sounding “knee ligament reconstruction” that the Red Sox are describing it as helps get his knee back to where it needs to be. Otherwise break out the duct tape and bubblegum.
Seriously, someone better take away Henry Owens’ shoelaces and bedsheets.
“CONTROL REMAINS ISSUE FOR OWENS IN AFL Henry Owens made his first start for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League on Thursday, walking five and allowing four runs on two hits in just an inning of work. The left-hander issued 115 free passes in 126 innings in the minors this year.”
This guy just cannot get the ball over the plate. Every time I hear a story about him its about how many batters he walked. Honestly feel bad for the guy who clearly has some sort of mental block. Someone please get this guy to a sports psychologist before he just burns the ballpark down.
For a player that was once an untouchable prospect its crazy that now he can’t get through two innings of fall ball without walking a half dozen guys. He does seem to be trying out some new mechanics though dropping down to more of a sidearm release point, so maybe that helps, maybe not, but the guy has to try anything and everything to just get the ball over the plate at this point.
In his last 3 seasons in the minors (leaving his MLB experience out because its limited) his walks have gone from 56 in 122 IP, to 81 in 137 IP, to 115 in 126 IP. Meanwhile the League average in 2017 for Walks per 9 IP (BB9) was 3.2. Owens comes in at a cool 4.9 BB9 career average, but has only gotten worse over the past 3 years with his BB9 going from 4.1 in 2015 to 5.3 in 2016 and 8.2 in 2017 (minor league stats).
The Red Sox got their dicks kicked in by the Astros in the ALDS, but take a quick look at these pics below to put that into perspective. It sucks the Sox lost, but at least we still have feel good stories like Joe Kelley making a sick kid’s day dressing up as Green Lantern. Bravo, Joe.
Boston Herald – After five years of near constant scrutiny, which never went away despite three division titles and a World Series, John Farrell is out as Red Sox manager. He was fired on Wednesday, two days after the Red Sox lost in the division for the second year in a row.
Yesterday in our Red Sox post mortem I asked the question has the John Farrell era had finally come to an end? John Henry answered that resoundingly this morning, firing Manager John less than 48 hours after the season came to an end. Here’s what I said yesterday on the likelihood of Farrell losing his job.
“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.“
For a guy the Red Sox literally had to trade draft picks to the Blue Jays to acquire, he never seemed to be the John Wayne character we were all led to believe he was. I don’t know if it was a matter of not adjusting to the additional media responsibilities as a manager or if he just doesn’t present well, but Farrell always seemed to be playing catch up. Whether it was defending players that never seemed to have his back or making questionable in-game decisions, the guy always had people second guessing him.
Lets not forget that he did manage the team to a World Series in 2013 though. That may have been a matter of Farrell being along for the ride with a talented and motivated team, but he was still a part of history.
So while I am never the guy clamoring for a manager to lose his job, I think a change was needed. Lets just not trash this guy on the way out the door like we’ve seen with this ownership group so many times before.
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.
Get it? Because Carl Crawford bitched and moaned about the Red Sox for years like the team forced him to sign a $142 million contract. Poor guy. Bleacher Report just smoked him with that headline. By the way, Crawford is STILL on that original contract the Red Sox signed him to back when I was still in college.
“Now in the final weeks of the monster seven-year, $142 million deal he signed before the 2011 season, Crawford is being paid nearly $22 million by the Dodgers this summer to not play baseball.”
And guess what? I alllllmost started feeling bad for the guy with quotes like this:
“It just seems like my hamstrings started hurting one day and never stopped,” Crawford shrugs, shaking his head. “Then you compensate, and something else hurts.”
As a guy rapidly nearing 30 I can totally relate to my body just falling apart. My knees randomly hurt and I never played past high school.
And this:
“Lonely? Nah,” Crawford, who turned 36 last month, says from behind that wall. He gets that question a lot, and it’s easy to see why…It’s so funny, man,” he says. “I’d really like to get it on record: Everybody thinks I’m sad and lonely, and it’s just not the case. It’s not the case at all.”
I really was turning a corner on Carl Crawford. I was almost there. But then he starts up with THIS shit all over again. Even in retirement, collecting $22 million to do nothing, he still talks shit about Boston.
A naturally shy, private person, Crawford was no match for the high-volume baseball experience of Fenway Park. Former outfielder Torii Hunter was with the Los Angeles Angels at the time and attempted to recruit Crawford there, but the Boston money spoke louder. “I should have listened, man. They say, ‘Don’t go chasing waterfalls,”
He hated Boston. The feeling was mutual. And after the Dodgers acquired him…he was more than happy to sling public arrows at Boston every chance he got. “I carried hate for that city for a long time,” Crawford says. “But now, I’m over that. I feel much better, because I learned that you can’t hate something or you never get over it. It definitely was a learning experience, definitely that. I got that out of it, if nothing else.”
Like we ruined his life. You were massively overpaid and massively underperformed and the city let you know about it. For better or for worse, thats Boston. We shit you not.
So last night the Sox went into extra innings AGAIN, which I believe Dave O’Brien said was their 5th game with bonus cantos of this road trip. With last nights W, the Sox are now 15-3 in extra innings games, which is tied for the most wins in extra innings in franchise history. 18 extra innings games is insane. Thats gotta be at the top of the league if not the league leader for extra innings games played this season. For some reason this is not an easy stat to find so I’m gonna need the baseball nerds to hammer out that research for me.
But to go 15-3 in all those extra innings games is downright impressive. Resilience like you read about. Thats the kind of identity this team has been looking for all season. Seriously, look at this shit:
The Red Sox lead the majors with 16 wins when tied or trailing after 8 innings.
Still not sold on this team going very far in the playoffs unless they put Chris Sale on the Game 1, Game 3, and Game 7 Randy Johnson schedule, but this team battles can’t deny that.
UPDATE: It would appear the Red Sox are second in extra innings games played this season in the AL, according to Boston Sports Info, but LOOK AT THAT BULLPEN!
NY Times – For decades, spying on another team has been as much a part of the gamesmanship of baseball as brushback pitches and hard slides. The Red Sox have apparently added a modern — and illicit — twist: They used an Apple Watch to gain an advantage against the Yankees and other teams..The commissioner’s office then confronted the Red Sox, who admitted that their trainers had received signals from video replay personnel and then relayed that information to some players — an operation that had been in place for at least several weeks.
Oh for christ’s sake. Steve Jobs would be rolling over in his goddamn grave. Now for the record I do not think stealing signs in baseball is a big deal, I believe every team is doing it in some form or another. But leave it to the Red Sox to get caught up in another big embarrassing storyline to make the whole organization look bad.
As retarded as this whole scenario is, I do respect the Red Sox for just getting petty with it.
“The Red Sox responded in kind on Tuesday, filing a complaint against the Yankees, claiming that the team uses a camera from its television network, YES, exclusively to steal signs during games.”
Basically responding to the allegations by saying “well, yea..but fuck you” and filing a complaint of their own.
Also, I want to call bullshit on John Farrell not being aware of this whole thing, but the guy is a goddamn space case so I actually don’t doubt it. Not exactly a players manager either so I doubt Pedroia, the guy who threw his whole team under the bus with the Manny Machado incident, is casually chatting with Manager John over stuff like this.
I did hear Curt Schilling on WEEI this morning though and when asked about the situation he said you’re a moron if you think this isn’t going on everywhere. Basically said it happened in every game of his career, on both sides, all the way from A-ball to the major leagues.
“I never looked at it as cheating. I looked at it as I throw harder than you and if I catch you I’ll hurt you way worse than you can hurt me.”
According to Schilling the Yankees are far from innocent of doing this shit too.
“Alex [Rodriguez] used to do it in New York at second base. And he wasn’t good at it.”
Fucking A-Rod man. Guy can’t even steal signs without getting made fun of by his peers. In full transparency though, Schilling said his teams did the same thing.
“Game 6 of the 2001 World Series (Yankees lost 16-2) we knew every single pitch Andy Pettitte threw.”
It’s just part of the game. But, this is just what we need in Boston, another cheating scandal. Sure, every rational person will say eh its just stealing signs, legitimately every other team does it in some form or another. But fans aren’t rational. Most fans, especially dickhead New Yorkers, will tie it all neatly together with Spygate and just make me want to put a bullet in my brain as I’ll now have to debate this incident for the rest of my life too.
This team is fucked anyways, steal as many signs as you want. Won’t help Rick Porcello not serve up batting practice to last place teams.
The 300s 