Tag: Ryan Brasier

Dave Dombrowski Threw a Tantrum Because Nobody Likes His Bullpen “Additions”

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So Dave Dombrowski threw a temper tantrum over the weekend because nobody lauded his ingenious “additions” to the bullpen. I mean, by all accounts, he’s not wrong. Nathan Eovaldi can be a very effective reliever when healthy. We saw him do just that in the playoffs last year so why aren’t people falling all over themselves to pat Dombrowski on the back?

Oh yea, thats right because this isn’t an addition you disingenuous dummy. This is a guy the Sox paid big bucks to anchor their rotation down who was IMMEDIATELY injured and has missed all but 4 games this season. So forgive me if I’m not super excited for an injured starter coming back being hailed as the savior of the bullpen.

For Dombrowski to get all pissy because “people seem to, not, like grasp” this is hilarious. This is exactly what I said would happen last year after the Sox won the World Series too. I know this will come off as peak whiny Boston fan, but that doesn’t mean its not true. Last year Dombrowksi punted on making real additions to the bullpen and pulled Nathan Eovaldi and Ryan Brasier out of his ass while David Price pitched out of the pen, and Joe Kelly went on an all-time postseason run.

All that did was embolden Dombrowski to again make no real additions to the bullpen, let Joe Kelly go to the Dodgers, AND let their closer walk all in one offseason. “Hey I did it last year, why can’t I patch this thing together on the fly again?” Because thats not how baseball usually works. Thats why they call it lightning in a bottle.

If Nathan Eovaldi goes on to record 20 saves in the second half of the season then please disregard this blog.

Red Sox Find Redemption With Sweep of Rays

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All last week I was thinking about writing an article about how bad this Red Sox team has been playing so far. I kept putting it off because most of my attention is on the Celtics and Bruins, and honestly, it’s still April. No need to panic just yet, right? A 6-13 start, a run differential of -42 (barf), and the second worst pitching staff in all of baseball. In the words of Dennis Eckersley, YUCK! Going into the weekend, they were taking on a Tampa team that was an AL East leading 14-5 and had allowed the second least amount of runs in baseball. Well, just when you think the season can’t get any worse, they go and do something like this……AND TOTALLY REDEEM THEMSELVES.

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Now I know the Sox still have a long way to go, but a road sweep of the best team in the division goes a long way this early in this season. It’s great for clubhouse morale, especially considering how awful this pitching staff has been so far. Statistically, only the Orioles pitching staff is worse, allowing 149 runs to our 131. Aside from David Price, all of our starters have ERA’s over 6. Sale and Porcello have both allowed more runs than strikeouts and have ERA’s at 8.5! That’s atrocious coming from a former Cy Young winner and a guy who just signed a $145 million extension. Our bullpen hasn’t been much better, but at least a few guys in the pen have been reliable enough.

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Email Red@The300s.com to buy your YUCK sticker!

Then this weekend happened. Not that they were dominant by any means, but they did what they needed to do to eke out three wins against a tough team. All three wins came together late in the game, when good teams find ways to win. First on Friday, Mookie and Big Mitch went back to back in the eighth to put the team ahead for good. Then on Saturday, Benintendi hits a grand slam and a 9th inning sac fly to put the team up one, and Vazquez finishes off the Rays with this walk off pick off, resulting in our first series win of the season. Then the icing on the cake came on Sunday after the Celtics completed their sweep of the Pacers and the Bruins held off the Leafs to force game 7. To make for an amazing Boston Easter, the Sox won with a Vazquez sac fly in the top of the 11th, while Brasier shut the door for the third time in three nights. Man, what a day.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news this weekend. Nathan Eovaldi was placed on the 10-day IL, with all signs pointing to a much longer stint on the injured list. You can read more about it here, but the short of it is Nathan has loose bodies in his throwing elbow that are more than likely going to need to be removed with arthroscopic surgery. The recovery period on this would be about 6 weeks, with range of motion coming back in about 2 weeks. This is the same surgery he had last spring, when he was out the first two months of the season. Bobby Poyner has been called up in his place.

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Dallas Keuchel to the Red Sox rumors are heating up.

What do I think the Sox should do to address their pitching staff? Easy. Sign Dallas Keuchel. He’s said he’ll sign a one-year deal where he can compete for about $18 mil a year, or a longer deal for less money. We already have a ridiculous payroll of $236 mil, including 18 million/year we’re still paying that fat panda Pablo Sandoval, so what’s another $18 for another dominant starter? Now it may take Keuchel a month or so before he’s ready to pitch to live hitters, but reports are that he’s been on a throwing schedule where he’s throwing 95-pitch simulated games every 5 days. This way, when Eovaldi comes back, he can be our closer and we can cut it out with this closer-by-committee trash. Not to knock on Brasier, who’s been great so far, but I just can’t see him being an effective closer for the whole season. The guys been in the majors for less than a year, only strikes out 5.5 batters per 9 innings, and looks more like the dudes I used to sell beer to 4 times a week than a professional athlete. Plus, imagine having to face a 101mph Eovaldi fastball in the 9th inning? Fuck that. This could be exactly the signing the Sox need to put them back in the drivers seat.

Red Sox Going With Closer by Committee to Start the Season

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WEEI – Matt Barnes. Ryan Brasier. Heath Hembree. Brandon Workman. Brian Johnson, Colten Brewer. Hector Velazquez. Tyler Thornburg.

Thornburg is the highest-paid member of the group at $1.7 million despite not proving to be an effective big leaguer since 2016. Two guys the mix to close games — Barnes and Brasier — have a combined two career saves to their credit. Hembree has never been relied on as a consistent late-inning guy. Workman has never seen a full season in the majors. Johnson and Velazquez are more perceived as long men/spot starters than high-leverage options. And Brewer’s major league debut last season with San Diego resulted in 11 appearances in which he gave up 10 runs on 15 hits and seven walks.

And you know what? Alex Cora genuinely remains really optimistic about what he has to work with.

Closer. By. Committee. The three most feared words in all of baseball. Seriously, it’s NEVER a good idea and I am still scarred by the mere mention of it after the disaster that was the 2003 Red Sox. Byung-Hyun Kim, anyone? Kim, Brandon Lyon, Chad Fox, Mike Timlin, Tim Wakefield, Casey Fossum, Alan Embree, Jason Shiell (who?), Bronson Arroyo, and Robert Person all had saves for the Boston Red Sox in 2003. Thats TEN dudes that got the ball in the 9th inning. There’s a reason they went out and paid boatloads of money for Keith Foulke that offseason and then actually won the World Series the following season.

Lets just take a look at the Red Sox recent championship history as it relates to the closer position.

  • In 2018, there were four guys that recorded a save, with Craig Kimbrel racking up 42/46.
  • In 2013, there were three guys that recorded a save, with Koji Uehara racking up 21/33.
  • In 2007, there were five guys that recorded a save, with Jonathan Papelbon racking up 37/45.
  • In 2004, there were four guys that recorded a save, with Keith Foulke racking up 32/36.

Have I made my point clear enough?

Don’t get it twisted, I am not the guy campaigning to give Kimbrel and his wildly inconsistent performances $100M, but I do prefer to give the job to one guy until he proves he cannot handle the job. None of this closer by committee junk that 100,000% will fail spectacularly.

The manager added, “One thing we found out towards the end, that although the people outside our world think we’re short on pitching, we’re not, and we’re going to be fine.”

I understand that there isn’t a young stud closer waiting the wings. There isn’t a Papelbon pushing Foulke out the door on this roster, but what worries me about the Sox is how they went about this. And I knew they would the second they won the World Series too. All summer we railed against the team for not making any big trades to shore up the bullpen and how it would be the end of them. Naturally they fell ass backwards into Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly turned into 2003 Eric Gagne for a month and the Sox cruised to another title. Now Dave Dombrowski is pointing to what the team did last year and their philosophy on the position and the results they got. Except the only problem is that shit ain’t normal. Joe Kelly will never pitch that well for that long again. Ryan Brasier could be an absolute diamond in the rough, but he could also revert to the guy that was pitching in Japan before the Sox signed him last year.

So to not only double down on that devil may care attitude with the bullpen, but then to also make no moves while guys like Kelly and (probably) Kimbrel walked is not ideal.

But hey did you hear that Tyler Thornburg is close to returning from injury for the third consecutive year??

Oh man, I hope this Durbin Feltman kid really does fly through the minor leagues this year and is ready for prime time because this could get ugly quick. Hopefully he’s more Papelbon than Craig Hansen though.

It’s not that I’m down on all of the individual relievers themselves because they’ve all proved they can be more than effective…in certain roles. If we are looking to go the 2003 route where the Sox had 10 guys vying for saves, then I think this team is in big trouble.

Is Dave Dombrowski the Smartest Man Alive or Did He Kinda Sorta Get Lucky?

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This will be one of the most fiercely debated questions when we look back at the 2018 World Series. Is Dave Dombrowski the smartest man alive for the way he built this team or is he just lucky?

Before the playoffs started everyone, myself included, ripped Dombrowski for not making the “big name” move and getting an arm for the bullpen at the trade deadline. And it was a completely justifiable question as this team’s relievers were struggling bad down the stretch. The only guy that you could trust was essentially Craig Kimbrel, who ironically enough you could not trust in the playoffs. Then the playoffs come and they turned into the ’98 Yankees. Some real Freaky Friday shit.

Ryan Brasier, formerly of the Japanese League, became a dominant 7th/8th inning guy out of absolutely nowhere. Joe Kelly went from blowing the first game of the year to excellent to benches clearing brawl spark plug back to awful during the season and almost didn’t even make the postseason roster. Kelly morphed into a triple digit hurling shutdown setup man. And Nathan Eovaldi, who was coming off his SECOND Tommy John Surgery and who the Sox acquired for the immortal Jalen Beeks(!), became “The Rover.” The ultimate weapon out of the bullpen. I honestly don’t know if the Sox win the Series without Eovaldi. For my money (literally) he should have been World Series MVP, which he probably would have won if the Sox took the 18 inning affair in Game 3.

Now my main point is whether we’ll look back at this championship and praise Dombrowski for being a genius with moves like adding Eovaldi and World Series MVP Steve Pearce. Incredible moves. Or will we look back and say wow I can’t believe that actually worked out.

I can’t help but imagine Dealer Dave as Happy Gilmore after this championship run though. Looootta luck involved.

Dave Dombrowksi:

Plus I would argue most, if not all, of the credit should go to Alex Cora. The way he managed that bullpen was absolutely flawless, if not dangerous. I heard Cora use the phrase “All in, all the time” and it just perfectly captures what this team was doing. From the very first game in the ALDS, Cora was bringing out starters rather than trust it to a traditional bullpen guy. He had David Price starting, relieving, or warming up in just about every single World Series game, then brought in their ace in Chris Sale to close it out. You just don’t see that.

So yes ultimately Dombrowski’s moves paid off in the end, but without Alex Cora and all the shrewd managerial moves he made, I think this team falters much earlier on and Dombrowski is on the hottest of hot seats.

PS – Jon Wallach made a great point on Toucher and Rich this morning. It looks like Cora may have established the new norm for how to manage a bullpen in the playoffs. You never see this habitual usage of starters in the playoffs outside of Game 7 scenarios. Now, as Wallach said, you could very easily wreck your staff by the sheer amount of usage, but hey it worked.

Top 5 Takeaways from Game 1 of the World Series

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The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the World Series after a thrilling Game 1 last night. After jumping on Clayton Kershaw early it seemed like the Sox were going to throttle the guy who had never pitched in a game below 50 degrees before. With 1 out and 2 runs already in, JD Martinez got picked off at first and Xander Bogaerts popped out to end the inning though and Kershaw settled in. The Sox were able to pull out the W with contributions from pretty much everyone, so lets look at the Top 5 Takeaways from Game 1 of the World Series.

1.) Alex Cora Practices the Dark Arts

Big Z and I joked on The 300s Podcast preview of the World Series that Alex Cora has a horseshoe firmly shoved where the sun doesn’t shine. This guy can do no wrong. It seems every move he makes, despite all evidence to the contrary, is the right one and he proved it again last night. Like most of Red Sox Nation I groaned at my TV when I saw Cora pinch hit for Rafael Devers with Eduardo Nunez. Devers was second on the team in batting average this postseason heading into last night, already had an RBI on the night, and Nunez had been struggling mightily. What does Nunez do? Proceeds to SMOKE a three run home run to put the Red Sox up 8-4. Incredible.

2.) Chris Sale Still Isn’t Right 

Don’t get me wrong, the guy was throwing gas to start the game and actually ended up with 7 K’s in 4 innings. But it took him 91 pitches, only 54 of which were strikes, to get through 4. His K/9 IP remain elite, but he doesn’t have the stamina or the health or whatever you want to call it to go deep into games. Perhaps the Sox can use Sale out of the bullpen in this series and just squeeze whatever magic they can out of him, but I am still concerned about his ability to bounce back considering everything he’s dealing with.

3.) The Red Sox Bullpen Continues to Feel Its Way Through the Dark 

As we all know, the Boston bullpen was a huge concern heading into the playoffs and Cora has made it work relying primarily on Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, and Craig Kimbrel. Last night it was those four guys once again leading the way. Joe Kelly was throwing freakin wiffleballs last night as he had arguably his best outing since he’s been in Boston. Oh and Craig Kimbrel was absolutely filthy with 2 K’s to shut it down (thanks Eric Gagne).

4.) We Officially Have a Name for the Swingman Starter/Reliever

Before Game 1, Cora officially gave a name to what I had been referring to as a swingman/super utility bullpen arm all month. The Rover. For guys like Nathan Eovaldi and Rick Porcello who have started games, pitched in long relief, emergency relief, as setup men; basically doing whatever it takes despite the role. Henceforth, this shall be known as The Rover.

5.) The Red Sox Remain Undefeated Against Instant Replay

Steve Pearce grounded into an inning ending double play and it was a real rally killer. Bummer. Only to come back from the commercial break to find out that Cora was challenging the play at first. And wouldn’t you know it, Pearce beat the throw by a hair and was safe at first to extend the inning. What happens next? JD Martinez absolutely smokes a ball to center field to score Pearce and put the Sox back on top 3-2.

Looking Ahead to Game 2

Tonight we get David Price back on the mound for his first start since his excellent outing in the ALCS. Has he truly exorcised those playoff demons and is he ready to give the Sox a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series? Or will he revert back to the shaky guy we’ve seen all too much?

Either way, jump on the train now and buy a YUCK sticker before they’re all gone.

The Dodgers will counter with Hyun-Jin Ryu who is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA this postseason. First pitch is tonight at 8:09 pm. Make sure to grab a coffee on your way home after work because it’s gonna be another long night!

PS – Don’t forget about your free lunch today.

#BaseballGuy: Joey B Reviews the Red Sox Postseason Thus Far

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New York Times – In arguably the best game of his life, Price led the Red Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the A.L.C.S., to clinch the series, four games to one, and capture the team’s 14th American League pennant.

As a renowned #baseball fan (I usually start watching in August), I can tell you this is one of the most exciting postseasons in recent memory. We played the Yankees, who still suck I should add, for the 1st time in over a decade and sent 30,000 guidos home crying while Ol’ Blue Eyes sang to us while we celebrated. Next, we went up against the vaunted and absolutely CRUISING Houston Astros. Two fantastic staffs of pitchers and two line ups filled with dangerous bats and what did we do? Put them away in a gentlemanly five games. JBJ got hot, the whole outfield was flying around the field like ferrari, and when it mattered most and we had to put them away J.D Martinez got on base three times as part of an excellent offensive effort that also included the kid Raffy Devers going yard on Justin Verlander.

It was David Price’s night, however. According to a Friend of the Blog, the legendary and prolific Patty B, this was David Price’s first post season victory. That doesn’t sound quiiiiite right (Editor’s note: It was his first postseason win as a starter.) but he certainly cannot be described as “clutch”. I can’t lie, I hated signing Price from day one. He never seemed to be as good as billed and I never like to join forces with the enemy, as he was to us while in Tampa, I want to beat them. He has pitched well this year however, and yesterday he went deep into the game, pitching six scoreless and striking out NINE, leaving Houston’s offense absolutely befuddled.

I know our bullpen is a cause for concern; just saying that is a bit of a paradox as currently our bullpen rotation is mostly made up of our starters that didn’t start on a given day (sup Frederick Porcello?). You know what though? They’ve been good enough. They’ve gotten us this far into the post-season. Kimbrel, and Barnes, and Kelly, and the guy whose name whose name Red’s phone auto-corrected to “Brazzers” in a group chat have been nothing short of effective so far and have been a huge part in earning us a chance to win another championship. So hat fucking tip to those guys.

Seriously though, this has been some truly exciting and memorable #baseball. It reminds me of the absolute dogfights the Garnett/Pierce/Allen Celtics got in for what seemed like 10 years. So let’s buckle up and get ready for what should be a gem of a World Series.

-Joey B

P.S – I hate to rag on the guy because I am nothing if not a champion of the working man, but how excruciating was the camera man last night? There were two or three times the Astros got a solid piece and sent one to the warning track but the cameraman panned from the outfield to the upper deck, giving me and the aforementioned Mr. Blackouts a fucking heart attack. Like hey man, can we not overreact this badly. Geesh.