Twitter Mania Friday

Happy Friday, Everyone!  If you read my blog post on Wednesday, you'll know my feelings on the Red Sox needing to find a new closer.  After the Red Sox loss last night because of Bailey's blown save and ultimate loss, the need is becoming more prevalent.

With that said, here are this week's tweets:

6/14

6/15

6/16- Father's Day

6/18

(I love that hashtag!  May have to start using it!)

6/19

6/20

And this week's Tweet of the Week:

6/20

Is the Search on for a New Closer?

 Joel Hanrahan was obtained from the Pittsburgh Pirates this past offseason to become the Red Sox closer.  On May 7^th, he was placed on the disabled list to undergo Tommy John surgery; and more than likely, his career with the Red Sox is over.  He was 0-1 with 4 saves and a 9.82 ERA in 9 games.

The Red Sox then decided that Andrew Bailey would be the closer, as he was obtained from the Oakland Athletics the previous season for that purpose.  Unfortunately, Bailey has struggled mightily with the Red Sox for the past two seasons.  Last year, he couldn’t stay healthy enough to build a rhythm in the closer roll, and Alfredo Aceves spent much the season as the Red Sox’s closer.  This season, he’s struggled to in the closer role.

While Bailey has 8 saves this season, he’s been struggling as of late.  In last night’s game Bailey came in after for the save Doubront pitched a tremendous 8 innings of shutout ball (and, in my opinion, should have closed out the game since he was still only at 93 pitches and had retired 17 in a row).  It was a 1-0 ballgame, and Bailey gave up a home run to Kelly Johnson.  The Red Sox won 3-1 thanks to a 2-run home run by Jonny Gomes in the bottom of the 9^th inning.  Bailey earned the blown save and the win.

The last week, Bailey has given up 2 of his 5 home runs.  If you recall Saturday’s game against the Orioles, the Red Sox had a 5-2 lead heading into the 9^th inning.  Bailey gave up 3 hits, 2 earned runs, and 1 home run in his outing, having the Red Sox win 5-4.  I don’t know if this is a mechanics issue, an injury issue, or a confidence issue for Bailey, but the Red Sox need an effective closer.  Someone needs to figure it out though, and decisions need to be made.

The AL East is a tight race.  The Red Sox are 2.5 games up on the Orioles, but only 8.5 games separate the first place Red Sox from the last place Blue Jays. 

Pitching has been an issue for the Red Sox (Lester’s ineffectiveness, Buchholz’s injuries, hit-and-miss starts from Dempster and Doubront).  When a pitcher like Doubront has the pitching game of his career thus far (like last night), you would hope your closer could come in and get the save without issues.  Bailey has not been doing this.

So, back to the title of this post: Is the search on for a new closer?  There have been some rumblings that the Red Sox are looking for a closer before the trade deadline, which is about a month and a half away.  If the Red Sox were to acquire a new closer, Bailey could be moved back to set-up or middle-relief, where he was pitching before Hanrahan’s injury.  Or, Bailey could be included in a trade.

There are rumors that the Phillies will make Papelbon available, but will the Red Sox bite at this?  Papelbon ran his mouth a little too much for my liking last season, but he attempted to redeem himself this year by saying how much he enjoys pitching from the mound at Fenway.  There are reports that three teams may be interested in Papelbon- the Red Sox, Tigers, and Cardinals, and the Phillies are supposedly scouting the three teams. 

If Papelbon is made available, it would make sense that the Red Sox would at least show interest in him.  He has 271 saves in his career, and 219 of those saves are with the Red Sox.  He is the all-time saves leader for the Red Sox.  He had a 2.33 ERA for the Red Sox (and currently has a 1.69 ERA this season).

Would Papelbon return?  I’m not sure.  Like I mentioned before, he did have some negative comments about the Red Sox before, but he’s recently said good things about pitching in Boston .  Papelbon’s a confusing guy, we all know this.  But, maybe reuniting with John Farrell and the Red Sox would be a good thing.

The Red Sox have other options besides making a trade for Papelbon.  They could use someone internally, like Tazawa, Uehara, or Aceves in the closer role.  They could also go after another, lesser known trade candidate.  Teams aren’t lining up at the moment saying they’re out of the playoff running at the moment, so trade targets aren’t prominent.

The Red Sox are currently 44-29, not a bad record to have at this point in the season.  They have the best record in the American League.  All I’m saying is if the Red Sox want to continue to play well, an effective closer is needed.  Farrell has options for now in his bullpen, but a professional closer might be on the Red Sox’s wish list by the trade deadline.

Random Thoughts

If you noticed, I didn’t post on Monday.  I’ve been trying to stick to posting three times a week (mostly Monday, Wednesdays, and Twitter-Mania Fridays).  Monday was Memorial Day- a day to enjoy our freedom in this great country of the United States of America and reflect on those who serve and have given the ultimate sacrifice for this freedom.  I hope all you followers enjoyed your Memorial Day; I know I did.

I also thought I’d do a “Random Thoughts” post this second-to-last post of May.  May’s been an interesting month for the Red Sox.  They started out in a quasi-slump and seem to be ending strong, minus their loss to the Phillies last night.  So, without further delay, here are some things I’ve been thinking about in terms of the Red Sox.

∙  The Red Sox are currently in first place in the division, sitting at 32-21 with the Yankees a game back.  At the beginning of the season with the Red Sox uncertainties and the Yankees injuries, who would’ve thought the Red Sox and Yankees would be leading the division at this point?  Well… I thought the Red Sox would be contenders.  This team seemed to click from the start.

∙  Speaking of the Yankees, Mark Texeira and Kevin Youkilis are rumored to be coming off the disabled list for this weekend’s Yankees-Red Sox series. 

∙  I think it was great that the Red Sox had Boston Bombing heroes Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arredondo throw out the first pitches of the game last night.  The picture of Carlos Arredondo helping Jeff Bauman in the wheelchair is iconic.  Both of these men were heroes during that tragic incident, each in their own way, and I think it speaks volumes that the Red Sox have honored them.  I saw Jeff Bauman at the Bruins game a couple weeks ago, and it literally sent chills down my spine.

∙  I knew there would be some boos for Papelbon when he returned to Fenway, but I couldn’t believe the boos outweighed the cheers last night.  Papelbon is a very polarizing person, I get that, but he did great things for the Red Sox team and organization.  Who is ever going to forget his celebratory jigs after clinching the 2007 ALCS and World Series?

∙  Despite the loss last night, Dempster had a great night pitching.  In 7 innings, he gave up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 home run, walked 3, and struck out 4.  That’s a good night for any pitcher, but especially one who has been struggling as of late.

∙  In 34 games, David Ortiz is hitting .336 with 11 doubles, 8 home runs, 2 stolen bases (he stole 3^rd base twice last week), and 34 RBIs.  In 53 games, Dustin Pedroia is hitting .332 with 14 doubles, 3 home runs, 8 stolen bases, and 28 RBIs.  Even on an impressive team thus far, these two are who I am most impressed with.

∙  Clay Buchholz, who skipped his last start due to irritation in his AC joint, is slated to start on Friday versus the Yankees.  When Buchholz was skipped on Monday, I made the comment that the Red Sox were holding him so he would start against the Yankees, and that’s what happened.  Not sure what the pitching match-ups are at the moment, but it should be an interesting weekend.

∙  Have to say it, but it’s a little sad that the subway series isn’t getting more people at the games.  Monday night, the Red Sox had 33,627 people at the game versus the Phillies, and the Yankees-Mets game drew in under 33,000. 

Thank Goodness Pap Was Never One of My Favorites

It seems that the theme today is going to be former Red Sox players who were once very popular with the team. I took the above photo of former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon during a Red Sox game I went to in 2010, and I never thought I would use it in a post on this website. However, Papelbon is always full of surprises.

While perusing the internet today, I came across an article from Philadelphia’s local CBS news station regarding an interview Papelbon gave to a local radio station (if you must, here’s the link: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/03/08/jonathan-papelbon-phillies- fans-more-knowledgeable-than-red-sox-fans/ ) In the interview, Papelbon made some interesting comments:

The difference between Boston and Philadelphia, the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball. The Philly fans, I think they tend to know the game a little better, being in the National League, you know, the way the game is played. I’ve had a guy take of his prosthetic leg and throw it in the bullpen in Boston...

You hate ‘em [Yankees] when you play in between the lines. But there's a fine line here. That hate and that passion to beat them was in between the lines, and that was it. I would have definitely entertained the decision to go to the Yankees if that was there, but obviously it wasn't.

Really, Papelbon? Philly fans are better than Boston fans? I’ve heard from many outside sources that Boston and Philly fans are about the same in intensity… they are as intense as they come. There are reports of Philly’s fans overtaking Nationals home games, and it wasn’t too long ago that a Philly’s fan was tasered when he went onto the field during a game.  Also, wasn't it a Phillies fan who barfed on a young girl last year?

Papelbon was always a character (anyone remember this exchange two years ago when Papelbon was preparing for his second child? Papelbon's wife, Ashley, is pregnant with the couple's second child, a brother for toddler daughter Parker. The child is due in April. "Got a name picked out,'' Papelbon says. "Gunner Roberts." The significance? "Nothing, man. Just a badass name, so we went with it.'' ) (Here’s the link, if you want to go down memory lane: http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/columns/story?
columnist=edes_gordon&id=4803511 ).

As the title of this post eludes, Papelbon was never one of my favorite players. I liked him when he was on a hot streak, I found him entertaining at times, but he also caused a lot of frustration for me as a Red Sox fan, as I’m sure he did for many others.

When my family went on that trip to Boston in 2010, my relatives and I went to Yawkey Way and bought some things before a game. This game happened to be the game on August 3, 2010, which was voted the number one game of 2010 by NESN viewers, by the way. I bought a blue, Mike Lowell shirt and a red, Dustin Pedroia shirt that day. One of my cousins bought a Papelbon shirt and asked why I didn’t. I explained to her that I wasn’t expecting Papelbon on the team after the 2011 season. I guess I was right.