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Post by Ross White Sox on May 6, 2016 4:37:28 GMT -5
Things change so quickly, Buchholz pitches well and Owens is the one that should be sent down when Rodriguez is ready.
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Post by m on May 7, 2016 0:52:29 GMT -5
Yeah, Buchholz was a mess early in that game but then pulled it together. Here's hoping he keeps it together!
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Post by m on May 16, 2016 15:04:17 GMT -5
"Hey Michael. The Red Sox are in first place." "Yeah." "And it's almost June." "Yeah." "And they've been breaking records for runs scored." "That's true. "I thought you said they weren't all that good." "I did say that, while under the influence of a little thing called "reality." But I'm better now. World Series here we come!" Okey, okey, time to get serious. Starting Rotation: 1] Price: I was wrong in thinking that Price was slacking to start the season--he apparently has wrestled with some alignment tweaks, going back to the end of last season. Has he fixed them? We'll see. We'll also see if a slight drop in velocity is related to them--he's certainly much more hittable when he's only reaching 93 MPH with his fastball. 2] Buchholtz: There's something about Buchholtz that reminds me of The Cure. It's not his hair obviously--maybe it's the tragic feeling I get every time it's his turn in the rotation. He has barely pitched well enough to remain in the Majors for the second year in a row, and with Rodriguez due back soon, some tough choices need to be made. Speaking of tough choices... 3] Kelly: Kelly is on his way back as well. He really belongs in the bullpen at this stage in my opinion, but the Red Sox bullpen is stacked at the moment. If I was making the calls, I'd have Kelly in AAA developing his offspeed stuff. We'll see if that happens. 4] Porcello: Have you watched Porcello pitch when he's on? He's really fucking good--a ridiculous sinker and somewhere along the line he developed a rising fastball. The combination is resulting in a ton of Ks, making him less of a "pitch to contact" guy, and more of a guy that you invest a lot of money in to keep around. He looks nothing like the pitcher from 2015 so far--let's hope he keeps things that way. 5] Wright: Wright continues to be absolutely off-the-charts (apart from a start in the pouring rain, where the knuckleball refused to dance). It would be great if any of the catchers could actually catch his pitches--but that's more on them than Wright. Here's to hoping the ride keeps on going through this fall and beyond (Tim Wakefield also arrived late in Boston with his knuckleball, and pitched into his late 40s, wouldn't that be glorious?). Relievers: Kimbrel has his act together now. The guy gets more generous calls than any reliever who isn't named Andrew Miller, but I'll take them. The bullpen is turning out to be better than I had thought they would be--even with Carson Smith hurt, they've done a great job covering for mediocre starting pitching. Position Players (offensively): C: This position continues to be a disaster. John Farrell says that he doesn't ever look at the batting average of his catchers--and I know this seems to be a league-wide trend these days, judging from the paltry choices on the All-Star ballot--but Red Sox catchers aren't good defensively either. This remains one of the team's more glaring weak spots, with no real hope in sight. 1B: Hanley has turned it up a notch in the past few weeks, running hard and playing with enthusiasm. He's even made a few plays at 1B. I don't understand why opposing teams don't pitch around D. Ortiz every single time he picks up a bat, but I'm glad they haven't. So far anyway. 2B: Pedroia is healthy and playing as well as I have ever seen him play. It's nice to be reminded of how good he is when he's really healthy. Hopefully he stays that way. SS: Bogaerts is kicking ass offensively and doing a very competent job at SS. 3B: Shaw continues to play way over his head, hitting over .300 and getting on base and playing adequate defense. Every time I see him, I think of Will Middlebrooks, but lightning can't strike Red Sox 3B in the same way twice in 4 years, can it? >.> RF: Betts has been scuffing a bit--he's not walking and his average is down some. These are likely the growing pains that everyone goes through at the age of 23, but as he goes through them it might be good to drop him in the order some. That's made a little easier because... CF: The moment I officially declared Bradley Jr. dead in the water, he began to tear the covers off of baseballs again, and hasn't stopped. He generates so much power with his swing that sometimes I watch his at bats a few times in a row, to try to figure out how he does it. I'll let you know if I work it out--in the meantime, I'm enjoying his streak. Kudos to Farrell for moving him up in the order, esp. given his impressive OBP. LF: Holt continues to unimpress, hitting .260 with no power or speed. "But Michael, he plays the Green Monster well" you might say, and yes--he plays it better than Hanley did (though it would be more accurate to say the Green Monster played Hanley on a daily basis). So yes--if we set the bar of expectation at "Plays better defense in LF than Hanley, with a league average Batting Average and no power or speed," then Holt has it covered. This isn't as big a weakness as the Catching situation, but it could certainly stand some improvement. DH: Ortiz is a monster. He's slugging almost .700. And he's not usually a first-half-of-the-season player. Think about what that might mean. As a Red Sox fan, I do every day. Overall: This has been a ridiculously fun run to watch, and yeah, there may be room to dream about a possible berth, provided the starting rotation gets into shape. That has been the team's greatest weakness, and it remains so. I was fairly certain Farrell was going to be gone by the All Star break, and that's clearly not going to happen, nor should it. He's done a good job. It's almost June and I'm still looking forward to seeing how things develop--which is more than I would have dared dream at the start of the season. So yeah. So far, so fairly unbelievable!
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Post by m on May 20, 2016 12:36:44 GMT -5
This just in, from Tristan H. Cockcroft: "Not sure it's long term and I doubt it is, but if Blake Swihart was recalled to be at least the lefty half of a left field platoon, it's great for those needing a short term No. 2 fantasy catcher."
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Post by Ross White Sox on May 24, 2016 14:57:31 GMT -5
It was a promising first start back for Joe Kelly and after his run at the end of last season hopefully he's starting to figure things out, his stuff is so good but he just has bouts of not knowing where the ball is going.
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Post by m on May 27, 2016 20:38:34 GMT -5
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Post by m on May 31, 2016 20:41:53 GMT -5
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Post by m on Jun 2, 2016 1:59:41 GMT -5
Joe Kelly has been sent back to AAA--hopefully to work on his off-speed stuff away from major league batters, as I suggested might be a good idea at the start of the season. Yes, this does mean that 40% of the Red Sox starting rotation has been either sent to AAA or the bullpen in the past week. HOWEVER, Mookie has hit 5 HRs in the past 2 games so just keep watching his at bats and remember that he's only 23 and everything will be fine (that's what I'm telling myself anyway). espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15891370/boston-red-sox-send-joe-kelly-triple-7-run-start
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Post by m on Jun 13, 2016 0:33:09 GMT -5
It was impossible to see this incoming--if you had your eyes closed and had never watched a baseball game before. >< The kid didn't play 3rd in the minors or hit particularly well, so of course, it makes sense to have him learn in the majors. With Hanley doing his best imitation of Billy Butler without the average and the starters continuing to destroy the bullpen every other game, things are primed in the AL East for Toronto to kick everyone to the curb. espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/49567/travis-shaw-hits-new-low-in-red-soxs-loss
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Post by m on Jun 26, 2016 18:27:42 GMT -5
Hey everyone! We're blazing toward mid-season so I thought I'd do an update on the Red Sox, reflecting on my original projections--because I hate it when people make predictions and then cherry pick the ones they were right on (happens ALL the time on certain sports networks). --------------------------------------------- Starting Rotation: 1] Price: Anyone who seriously thinks Price will win the Cy Young is likely either his agent or his mom. He'll get double digit wins and at best have an ERA around 3.50 when the dust settles. Mid-Season: Price sure hasn't been worth the money in his first regular season so far, and he's not a young pitcher, either. Speaking of young things, discussions of Cy Youngs have given way to discussions of whether he can keep his ERA below 5.00. At least he won't have to worry about struggling in the playoffs if he continues at this rate.2] Buchholtz: This guy cannot be your #2. His stuff is ridiculous--I remember watching him go pitch-for-pitch vs. Scherzer 3 years ago, it was breath-taking--but he will not stay healthy the entire season, and when he's not healthy he's batting practice for AA. Mid-season: Buchholtz has been a complete disaster. After being demoted to the bullpen, his return to the starting rotation has been even more nightmarish--today, his pitching line versus Texas was 5.1 IP, 7 hits, 5 walks, 4 earned runs. I'm sure you can dig up some impressive stats by googling "worst starter pitcher stats in baseball history" but I can't bring myself to do it, because I like Buchholtz as a person and he's amazing when he's 1] healthy, and 2] has his shit figured out. It's been years since that's been the case, though, and I think his time with the Red Sox is fast drawing to a close--which might be merciful for all involved at this point. 3] Kelly: Another "if only" guy. "If only" Kelly had a pitch to complement his fastball. "If only" his fastball wasn't so hittable despite causing radar guns to burst into flame. In another universe, Kelly is a #1 and has statues dedicated to him--in this one, he should be pitching in the bullpen, and will at best have BBQ subs "The Heater!" named after him. Mid-season: Injured and not consistently effective when he's been healthy. 4] P orcello: He pitches to contact in a tiny park with a mundane defense behind him, doesn't strike people out, and is sort of an idiot. Good thing he's wrapped up for years to come. Mid-season: Quietly one of the biggest surprises on the roster, his sinker has been amazing this year, he's been striking people out (81ks in 94 IP), and is one of the reasons the Sox are still above .500.5] Wright: Stephen Wright has better delivery. I love watching knuckleballers when they're on (because I grew up with Bugs Bunny) but Wright is no R.A. Dickey, or Tim Wakefield even. Mid-season: Wright is--by magnitudes--where I was the most off in my predictions. The guy should be an All-Star: his ERA leads the league currently (at 2.01) and he's pitched deeper into games that any other starter, giving the bullpen desperately (DESPERATELY) needed rest. He looks a lot like Dickey when Dickey was in his prime, using his knuckle early in the count and a mid-80s fastball when needed. A closer look at his stats shows that he's been effective going back the into 2015 season, so will he be able to keep pitching like this? Maybe. As long as that knuckleball keeps dancing, he's almost impossible to hit and easily the Red Sox best starter. Even the best knuckleballers tend to pitch in cycles, though, so it's possible that this magic ride will come to an end at any time. Hopefully, if it does, he finds the magic again quickly. Mid-season: Eduardo Rodriguez: I didn't talk about Rodriguez in my initial evaluation, as he was injured at the time. I've never been a big fan--yes, he was a bright spot during the pathetic 2015 season, and yes, he's a young LHP that was "stolen" from a close rival (the media and fans like to point this out all the time), but the truth is: he reminds me a little of Felix Doubront. He doesn't have particularly great stuff, so if his location is even slightly off, he's REAL easy to hit. And this year, his location has been more than slightly off, to the tune of a 6.41 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. If those stats reminds you of another Red Sox starter, they should--they're almost identical to Clay Buchholtz. The only thing worse than having one Clay Buchholtz in your starting rotation is having TWO Clay Buchholtzezessesezessz.
Mid-season Starting Pitching summary: With the exceptions of Wright and Porcello, the starting rotation has been an unqualified disaster (note: because of Wright and Porcello, I really should say "qualified" disaster, but whatever, unqualified is closer to how reality feels) and is going to keep the Red Sox out of the playoffs unless something changes soon.Relievers: There are some good pitchers here: Kimbrel, 41-year-old Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, and Carson Smith. The rest are unremarkable at best and junk at worst. Mid-season update: The bullpen has been surprisingly good outside of the pitchers I noted originally, with Heath Hembree in particular stepping things up. Smith has been injured all year, and the others are exhausted (due to the starters often failing to make it to the 5th inning), so I wouldn't be surprised if injuries start to pile up here, as there's no relief in sight for the relievers (see what I did there? ).Position Players (offensively): C: Swihart may be an above average catcher some day, but he's not there yet. Mid-season: Swihart played some LF and didn't do much before getting hurt. Catching has been a disaster to date--no one can hit, no one can catch Wright, and no one plays good Major League level defense. Vazquez is a ML backup, barely hits above. 200, and has the most at bats so far, a good indication of where this position is at.1B: Experiment #2 in two years with Hanley Ramirez. At least this year he won't be able to crash into the Green Monster. Mid-season: Hanley started out with a new attitude, playing better defense at 1B than anyone expected and running really hard, giving his all. He's been plucky!! Boston fans love that and it's been nice to see. The thing is--he hasn't really hit for average (.271) or power. Have you heard of backup 3B Josh Rutledge? Of course you haven't, because he's absolutely non-noteworthy. EXCEPT THAT I'M GOING TO NOTE THAT HIS SLUGGING IS CLOSE TO HANLEY'S. Rutledge doesn't get huge money to not-hit-for-power, though. He might consider investing in Hanley's agent. 2B: Pedroia is beloved because he's a "plucky little guy" (see Brock Holt), but in reality he's got almost no power or speed and gets hurt all the time. Mid-season: Pedroia is having a great year--he's been healthy, hitting, and playing great defense. And slugging higher than Hanley! Imagine that. I feel like I owe that plucky little guy an apology--when the stars align and he's healthy, he's pretty decent. SS: Bogaerts is the real deal and still a kid. Mid-season: The kid is KILLING it this year, adding power to his .344 average. He's 23 and projecting to be a 20/20 SS who hits almost .350. Woah. He's winning the universe--even dark matter is a fan.3B: Starting Shaw over Sandoval is a joke. Do the Red Sox seriously want to win this year? The answer is no, they do not want to win this year, because if they did they wouldn't start a mediocre talent at a completely new position in the majors and sit Sandoval. Mid-season: Shaw started off hot but strikes out a TON (71 SOs in 270s ABs), plays crap defense at 3B, and can't hit lefties. THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT THOUGH BECAUSE IT WOULD INVOLVE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE STATS AND IF YOU WANT TO JOIN DON ORSILLO IN SAN DIEGO THEN KEEP POINTING STUFF LIKE THIS OUT.RF: Betts is a demi-god and still a kid. Mid-season: Betts isn't a demi-god--he's a full-blooded god: hitting close to .300, projecting to a 30/25 season, and 23 years old. Maybe he'll start talking walks some day, but you know? If he doesn't, that's still ok--he could not take another walk in his life and anyone who objects to that really just needs to watch him play, as all objections will go the way of the dodo. CF: Bradley Jr. has 3 months to decide whether he joins the team permanently as an interstellar defensive CF who is a streaky hitter or spends his career as a ML backup. Mid-season: Bradley Jr. was about 15 minutes from being considered prospect that was never really going to reach his potential. I called it a little early--he was officially never going to get there. AND THEN OMG HE STARTED TO HIT and really hasn't stopped: he's at .300, heading toward 25/10 with a ridiculous .573 slugging AND playing amazing defense in CF. I like to think it was my calling him officially done that inspired him, because, well, I like to think nice things sometimes. You're welcome Jackie! Keep up the good work. LF: Starting Holt in LF is fucking ridiculous. Like Pedroia, people cheer for him because he's a "plucky little guy," but he averages .280 with 3 HRs and 10 SBs in 450 ABs a year, ie He. Is. Painfully. Powerfully. Boring. I guess he's a role player? Is that a thing? It's a boring thing if it is. Mid-season: I don't wish injuries on anyone, so I'm not going say that Holt getting injured (leading to more ABs for Chris Young and his .508 slugging) made the team more exciting. I'm not going to do that. No. Stop trying to taunt me into it. I mean it. I'm not going to. Holt is coming back shortly and I can't wait for his powerfully mediocre presence to be on the field once again, I'm sure it will add to the clubhouse and people who like challenges (like figuring out why Holt has a roster spot on a competitive team) will really appreciate his return.DH: Ortiz is awesome and will be right on it this year from the start (unlike most years, where he treats the first 2 months of the season as spring training). Mid-season: Yeah, I got this one right. He's hitting .337 with a .430 OBP, projecting to 35 HRs and currently at .683 slugging. Talk about leaving on a good note. Yeesh. He's not just dropping the mic--he's pushing that thing all the way through to Middle Earth.Position Players (defensively): Strong up the middle, ridiculously weak at the corners, the Red Sox will aspire to be middle-of-the-pack defensively and very possibly fail. Mid-season: Yup. Final Notes 1.0: It wouldn't surprise me if John Farrell doesn't make it through the season. And he shouldn't--he's supposed to be a huge "pitching" mastermind but the Boston pitching staff has sucked for years now. Mid-season: Farrell is going to at least finish the year--provided that one of the bullpen pitchers THAT HE KILLS FROM OVERUSE doesn't return from the dead and devour his brain. I can't say that he's done a terrible job overall, given how wretched the starting pitching is, and the team HAS been exciting to watch. So, yeah. Shrug. Congrats to you, John Farrell. I guess. Final Notes 2.0: Dombrowski is well on his way to destroying a minor league system that took a decade to get into place. Mid-season: No massive disasters yet BUT there's still time. And I worry. Daily. To be honest, hourly. I sense a disaster looming. "Our best prospects for your grandma? Sure, she can't be worse than the Buchholtzesseeseszzs." Final Notes 3.0: I still miss Don Orsillo. Fuck NESN. Right in the ear. Mid-season: I tried watching a San Diego game, just for olde time's sake. And it sort of resembled baseball! But only sort of, so I've been watching Red Sox games with the sound off. OMG Maybe what I should do is watch the Red Sox games with the audio of the SD games!!!!! This sounds a little like a Lovecraft story I once read where the main character goes insane and only mumbles about peanut butter by the end of it, but I'll let you know how it works. Conclusion: I'll wade through some ugly games early this year, switch over to some Orsillo/Padre broadcasts when I feel like listening to good announcers, and cheer for the Cubs come the playoffs. We should have worked so much harder to keep Theo Epstein. Mid-season: I'm still wading! Honestly, I didn't expect to be in the playoff hunt at mid-season, so things could be worse. I suspect that playoff hopes will fade within a month or so, though, and that will be that. The Cubs sure look good. PS: Still ahead of the Yankees.
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Post by m on Jul 8, 2016 18:45:04 GMT -5
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