This sounds simple enough. A healthy team equals a better overall team. Middlebrooks and Victorino have spent the majority of this young season on the disabled list. Once they returned to the line-up, the Red Sox seemed to play with more grit, with better defense, and with more heart. This would seem to equate that the Red Sox needed Middlebrooks and Victorino in the line-up to play better baseball.
When the Red Sox called up Victorino on Thursday, it would seem that the Red Sox would get the much needed spark that they seemed to be lacking this season. Victorino provides the team with energy, on the base paths and in the outfield. Despite going 1-for-5 in his return, the Red Sox lost to the Yankees in a 14-5 massacre that saw Mike Carp, the pitcher.
However, Middlebrooks returned to the line-up for Friday's 8-1 win against the Blue Jays. Middlebrooks went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Victorino went 1-for-6 with a double. To make room for Middlebrooks, Daniel Nava was demoted to Triple-A. The Red Sox would go on take 2 of the 3 games against the Blue Jays, which would indicate that having Middlebrooks and Victorino in the line-up is more beneficial to the Red Sox.
As mentioned before, the Red Sox demoted Daniel Nava to Triple-A. Nava has struggled this season, hitting .149 with 2 home runs, 3 RBIs, and 1 stolen base. Yes, it doesn't look good for Nava, and maybe he does need to go back to Triple-A for a bit. But, if there's one thing we know about Daniel Nava is that he's a fighter. By now, all of Red Sox Nation knows Daniel Nava's story of being his college team's manager, hitting a grand slam in his first at bat in the majors, and becoming a key member of the 2014 Red Sox World Series Championship team.
In 2013, in 134 games, Nava hit .303 with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs. He was a big reason the Red Sox played as well as they did last season. I understand that the fact that Nava had options that played a major role into sending him down to Triple-A, but let's say he didn't. Would the Red Sox have released him to make room for Victorino?
The Red Sox seemed to think pretty highly of Grady Sizemore, a player who hasn't played in the major's since 2011; that season, he hit .224 in 71 games. In 2010, he hit .211 in 33 games. In 2009, he played 106 games and hit .248. He hit .268 and played 157 games in 2008. Sizemore is currently hitting .221 in 19 games with 2 homes runs, 1 triple, 7 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases. Yes, small sample size, I know.
I guess what I'm trying to point out is the Red Sox were considered to have gotten "healthier" with the addition of Victorino and Middlebrooks and sending Nava down to Triple-A. These moves may be important and necessary at this time, but they also have a player on their team who hasn't been considered "healthy" since 2008. The Red Sox took a chance on Sizemore; and hopefully, that chance pans out for them. With about a month into the season, I'm still uncertain about this move the Red Sox made.
It's been awhile since I have last posted. I admit, this off season I haven't felt as "into the blog" as I would have liked. Not that I didn't still love writing the blog because I do. Things changed drastically over the winter, and I'm learning that things are constantly in motion. I won't get into every detail, but here are a few of the things that went on that helped contribute to me not writing for months:
Most important, my brother's diagnosis with leukemia. When I first moved to Connecticut, my youngest brother was diagnosed with leukemia (I mentioned it here and how I bought the #GetBeard shirt in honor of him). I'm happy to report that my brother is officially in remission and will be getting married in about five and a half weeks.
I started a new job. I started working at a law firm in Hartford in December. With working, I no longer had my days to write the blog. This is no excuse, I know, since I wrote the blog while I was living in Iowa. But, this was a huge adjustment to me. I had been at my job in Iowa for years before I started the blog, and I was comfortable with the pace and then writing. Working in Hartford is a much faster pace, and the type of working I'm doing is different. It was a huge adjustment for me, and I'm still adjusting to it months later.
My original plan was to start blogging again once a week when the season started. Unfortunately, the Friday before Opening Day, I received devastating news that my cousin had passed away. It hit me very hard, especially since I was not with my family and would not be able to attend the funeral. I won't get into all the details, but my cousin suffered from addiction. His brother set up A Go Fund Me Account in my cousin's honor, and I highly recommend everyone to check it out, especially if you've ever known anyone who has suffered from addiction.
I wanted to start writing this past Sunday, but I've been fighting a sinus infection. I'm actually home from work today with it, so I thought I'd do a little blogging. But, we're not here about what's going on in my life; we're here about the Red Sox.
For my birthday, my wonderful boyfriend got me a Fenway Four-Pack; tickets to four Red Sox games. There were tickets for a game in April, May, June, and September. My parents are coming to visit in July, and we got tickets for a game when they're back. We also got tickets for a Yankees game in August. That works out to a game a month for six months. Not bad.
A beer in honor of my cousin
We went to our first game April 5th against the Brewers. It was a bitterly cold night (seriously, the temperature was around 35*, and it was windy). I hate to admit it, but we didn't last past the 6th inning. I blame Buchholz. Everyone around us left, which made the wind hitting us that much worse. There was no coffee and little hot chocolate available. The Red Sox ended up losing 7-6 in 11 innings.
Since we're a few weeks into the season, I thought I'd just do some random thoughts on the season so far:
I am not in panic mode... yet. There's been a lot of talk on the radio and television about whether people should be panicking about the Red Sox, since they are currently in last place and have a 9-11 record. Season is still early. The past two games have showed the Red Sox still have fight in them. Victorino and Middlebrooks coming back from the DL will make a huge difference.
Buchholz needs to get his act together. Every year, it's the same thing. He shows these flashes of brilliance then falls down the wormhole again. My guess is if he has another bad outing in his next few starts, he'll be making a trip to the DL and Workman will be brought up.
Not impressed with AJ Pierzynski. I don't think I'm being biased here. He's batting .235 with a HR and 6 RBIs. I don't think his defense has been stellar either; I'd rather Ross be back there. I know it's still early, but I don't know how this move will benefit the Sox.
Anyone else get really annoyed with the ESPN commentators Sunday night during the game talking about how much the Red Sox missed Ellsbury? Wow! I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I'm not a big fan of ESPN; and I try not to watch things on ESPN, if I can help. Sunday night, ESPN could not let up on their admiration for Ellsbury. Honestly, I think once Victorino returns from the DL, the Red Sox will be more of a threat on the base paths. Sure, Victorino doesn't steal bases like Ellsbury, but he has confidence running the bases. The Red Sox just need some confidence.
I'm hoping to post again this coming Sunday. Make sure to follow me on Twitter at BornIntoItInIA. You can also check the side of the blog for Tweets.
I wasn't going to write a post after last night's game; it was too painful. If you watched the Cardinals win game 3 of the World Series last night, you know what I'm talking about. A great game by both teams was tarnished by a controversial umpiring decision to end the game in the bottom of the 9th inning.
I won't go into the details of the play, but you can watch it here (without commentary for your viewing pleasure):
Personally, I think it was a bad call. I understand where the "obstruction" came from, but I don't buy it. The official definition of an "obstruction" in MLB is:
When obstruction occurs, the umpire shall call or signal “Obstruction.”
(a) If a play is being made on the obstructed runner, or if the batter-runner is obstructed before he touches first base, the ball is dead and all runners shall advance, without liability to be put out, to the bases they would have reached, in the umpire’s judgment, if there had been no obstruction. The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction. Any preceding runners, forced to advance by the award of bases as the penalty for obstruction, shall advance without liability to be put out.
Rule 7.06(a) Comment: When a play is being made on an obstructed runner, the umpire shall signal obstruction in the same manner that he calls “Time,” with both hands overhead. The ball is immediately dead when this signal is given; however, should a thrown ball be in flight before the obstruction is called by the umpire, the runners are to be awarded such bases on wild throws as they would have been awarded had not obstruction occurred. On a play where a runner was trapped between second and third and obstructed by the third baseman going into third base while the throw is in flight from the shortstop, if such throw goes into the dugout the obstructed runner is to be awarded home base. Any other runners on base in this situation would also be awarded two bases from the base they last legally touched before obstruction was called.
Okay, fine, Will Middlebrooks unintentionally impeded Allen Craig's run to home plate, but Middlebrooks wasn't in the direct base path to home plate. If you watch, the video, Craig has already slid into third base when Middlebrooks dives for the ball. Most runners take the outside of the foul line to run the "base path," but Craig uses the inside line for some reason, which causes him to "trip" over Middlebrooks, causing the obstruction. Here's a photo below:
If the umpires were going to call this play an obstruction, what about the interference that Craig caused when he pushed Middlebrooks, who was only trying to get up and out of the way to make a play, back down to the ground? Here's a closer look:
Here's some reactions from the Red Sox players themselves after the game:
Middlebrooks:
I had to dive for that ball. I was pretty inside the base line. I dive for the ball there [and] there’s really nowhere for me to go. I’ve got to get up and he’s on top of me. There was nowhere for me to go there, so I don’t know. It’s a tough one.
[The umpire] said it didn’t matter. [Craig] ran into me. I’m just trying to process it. My mind is still — I don’t know. I don’t agree with [the call].
I just know I have to dive for that ball. I’m on the ground and there’s nowhere for me to go.
Saltalamacchia:
Home plate umpire] Dana [DeMuth] said he called him safe at first and I didn’t see how because I tagged him and he said, ‘No, it was on obstruction, obstruction.’ Like I said, I didn’t see that happen. I didn’t get too far into because I was watching the ball trying to see if Nava was going to be able to get him out at home. But after watching it on the TV, I just don’t see how it was.
I was real shocked to end the game like that. At the end of the day, if it was obstruction, yeah, you’ve got to call it. It’s part of the game. But like I said, looking at the replay, I don’t know the rule book in and out, but to me, it didn’t look like it was obstruction.
Jake Peavy
It’s just a crying shame, like I said, when two teams play as hard as you can possibly play, a hard-fought game, and the second time in three games that a call be made, it just doesn’t seem right.
Yeah, I’m absolutely shocked that a game of this magnitude can be decided like that when, don’t you have to be in the base line to — it just doesn’t seem right. Like I said, we don’t know the rule book hand and foot, but it just didn’t seem right there. That’s all I can do to just say that. I’ll leave it at that. … It’s just unbelievable that that happens in the World Series.
Daniel Nava
I turned around, I think [left field umpire] John Hirschbeck was behind me, and I asked him because I saw that the throw beat him and obviously if a throw beats a guy, he’s out. … Obviously, I was in no position to argue [with the call]. It’s not a play that you can overturn, unfortunately. It’s hard to end a game like that, on a call like that. It happened. You can’t go back. We’ve got tomorrow, thank God, but still for the three hours or whatever we played, that was rough.
As Nava stated, hopefully a game of this magnitude is not decided by a play like this again. It makes me wonder how this game would've been decided next year when replay is extended beyond home runs. You would hope that the umpires would make the right call; and according to them, they did. However, there are other factors to consider.
It was hard not to react to such a disappointing finish to a great game. I was upset with the umpires, with the reactions to some of the analysts, and with the general way FOX had been handling the postseason. (For you who didn't see the ALCS, FOX loved the Tigers players and would interview them frequently during the games and didn't put too much emphasis on the Red Sox.) I was tired of seeing the MLB analysts (who I have been missing since I no longer have MLB Network) prior to the games never seem to show the Red Sox any support, which is why I'd been watching more of NESN for the pre-game shows.
I admit, I went into a mini-rant on my personal Facebook account about the play, mostly because of some of the posts I was seeing on Facebook. I quickly deleted my post because I didn't want to get into arguments with my "friends." My future sister-in-law's sister put the perfect message to me "I like you too much to argue with you." (Thank you, Julie) Living so far away from these people, I didn't want this to be the "last" interaction I had with some of them.
I'm originally from Iowa, and about half of my friends are Cardinals fans. To see people calling Middlebrooks a "cheater" was uncalled for. How exactly was he "cheating?" He was trying to make a play then get off the ground. Yes, I have stated that I believe Craig should've been called for "interference" for pushing Middlebrooks to the ground, but I have not call Craig a "cheater." It's ridiculous.
Most of my frustration comes down to the way the game ended. As stated previously, no game, especially a championship game, should be decided by a controversial call. I hope that with the expansion of replay, a call like that can be reviewed, much like it is in the NFL.
The Red Sox need to come out swinging tonight (no pun intended). Buchholz needs to be on his game and show the world that he's not "soft." He needs to fight, especially since the bullpen was taxed last night. The offense needs to score some runs. I kept yelling at the television last night when Ellsbury was up that he needs to earn that huge contract Boras wants him to earn this offseason. Farrell needs to make better decisions (Napoli should have pinch-hit for Workman in the 9th inning).
This Red Sox team as the heart and talent to win the World Series. They need to show themselves, their fans, the FOX and MLB analysts, and rest of the world that they are truly champions. I know, I think they are.
If you ever get the chance to go to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, DO IT! Baltimore was not only beautiful (the gorgeous 72 degree weather also helped), but there seemed to be a lot to do around the ballpark. Even though the Red Sox lost Saturday night when we were at the game, the experience was spectacular. I'm really hoping to go back for a series next season.
When we arrived in Baltimore, we had about 5 hours before the game, and we thought we'd check out the Inner Harbor. If you do go to a game in Baltimore, here's a tip: PARK AT THE STADIUM! We were able to park our car for $10 five hours before the game started and walk about 1/2 a mile to the Inner Harbor. Otherwise, the parking garages around the Inner Harbor were about $13 an hour.
After parking the car, we walked around the ballpark for a little bit. There's a sort of atmosphere surrounding that park that reminds me of Fenway. There were tons of people there hours before the game, and there were bars, shops, food, etc. open and buzzing. People are able to view batting practice from outside the stands (there's a gate, but you can see everything as the ballpark is set down from street level). While the street is open before the game, they do shut it down when admission is let in (much like Yawkey Way during Red Sox games).
There are plaques on this street area of balls that have "left the park" and landed on this street. I took pictures of a few of these plaques. I really enjoyed the fact that the Orioles honored all baseball players who hit the ball out of the ballpark, not just Orioles players.
We had a couple drinks and an appetizer when we got to the Inner Harbor, which was beautiful. There were tons of shopping, attractions, restaurants, and people at the Inner Harbor. We went to J Paul's Dining Saloon, which overlooked the water. I had an "Oriole Magic" cocktail (when in Rome), which was delicious!
Word of advice, they shoot a canon off a replica ship at noon, between 3-4, and 6-7 every day. We were not expecting that!
Before we went into the park, we had a couple drinks at a tavern across the street. There, we had a conversation with an older gentleman who was from Virginia and was a Red Sox fan. I think Cole and I talked to him for about an hour, and he was great company. We also ran into a Iowa Hawkeyes fan (he was wearing a Hawks shirt) who informed us the Hawkeyes game was on the television inside the tavern.
The game was great too. The seating reminded me of Target Field, as I didn't see any seats that would have a bad view. A friend of mine worked grounds crew for Oriole Park a few years ago, and he told me how wonderful the stadium is, I agree. The Red Sox put up a good showing for a 6-5 loss, but the experience was wonderful. Check out the pictures I took below:
David Ortiz Plaque
Mo Vaughn plaque
View of Inner Harbor from J Paul's Dining Saloon
These shirts shocked me! Really? Crawford and Okajima?!
View of the field from our seats
Pedroia before the game started
Me and Cole before the game
Wearing my #GetBeard shirt in honor of my brother, Jacob, and his fight against Leukemia
First batter, Shane Victorino
Lester pitching
Pedroia at Second Base and Lester pitching
Middlebrooks at Third Base, Drew at Shortstop, and Pedroia at Second Base
Last night, the Red Sox beat the Rockies 11-4.Ryan Dempster had one of his better outings, in my opinion, with his line being: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, and 1 HR.Ellsbury, Pedroia, Nava, and Iglesias collected 3 hits a piece, and the Red Sox combined for a total of 20 hits, their most in a game this season.Also, Kevin Millar manned the Red Sox Twitter feed throughout the game, so there were some interesting postings on Twitter.
The Red Sox needed this win, and I think it’s great that it came behind Dempster.Dempster’s record is 5-8, but it doesn’t really reflect the way he’s been pitching.I can recall numerous games where he’s pitched into the 6th inning and given up 3 or less runs, but he either gets the loss or a no decision. Yes, he gives up a lot of home runs; but luckily, they seem to be single shots mostly (like last night). Dempster didn’t just need this win for his record; he needed this win for his moral.
I do find it interesting how the Red Sox's offense seems to rally when some pitchers are on the mound while they don’t with others.Lester seems to get a lot of offense when he pitches. I know it’s nothing they can control, as sometimes pitchers/teams luck changes from game to game.I mean, Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young award a couple years ago with a losing record.Wins and losses don’t mean as much anymore, but it is an interesting thing to note.
The Red Sox scored all their runs without a home run being hit, which is intriguing for an organization known for power bats.Well, there was a home run that was hit (in my opinion), but it was counted as a Triple (get to that in a moment).Ellsbury, Victorino, Pedroia, Ortiz, and Iglesias all had doubles, and Drew was scored with a Triple.Pedroia went 3-for-5 and had 4 RBIs.He seems to pound the Rockies (remember a few years ago when he went 5-for-5 against them with 3 home runs?And don't forget what happened in the next game.)
And back to that “Triple.”So, in the fourth inning, Stephen Drew hit a shot to center field that hit on top of the wall and bounced back onto the field.He ended up at third base, and the umpiring crew went to review.They scored the hit a Triple, which I don’t understand.You could clearly see in replays that the ball hit the top of the wall, right where the cameras are located, and it hit “debris” that was lying on the ground.To me, that’s a home run; it went above the wall, hit something, and then bounced back in.Drew ended up scoring when Iglesias hit a double.
Some other notes from the game:
Will Middlebrooks was sent down to Triple-A to hopefully get his swing and defense back to the caliber it was at this point last year.He’s hit .192 with 9 home runs (3 in one game, if you recall), and 25 RBIs this season.His demotion comes a year (on Monday) after Youkilis’s trade to the White Sox.Kind of ironic.Brandon Snyder, a thrid baseman, had his contract purchased.Haven’t heard too much about him except that his average isn’t exceptional, but he brings some power.
David Ross was placed on the 60-day disabled list.He’s had two concussions his season, and he suffered with concussion-like symptoms between.A concussion specialist examined Ross and recommended that he leave the team and return to his home in Florida to recover.He’ll be eligible to return August 18th.
Franklin Morales was also placed on the disabled list with his sore pectoral muscle, which I brought up on Monday.
Finally, Victorino ran into the wall again and hit his head last night.He hit it pretty hard, but he stayed in the game.Victorino’s fun to watch and plays with a lot of energy, but I feel like he should be wearing bubble-wrap when he plays.The man runs into more walls than any player I’ve seen.
I touched on the topic of surprises and disappointments in an earlier post, but I thought I needed to address the topic again. This season has been a bit schizophrenic thus far, with some players over-achieving, and others falling below their potential and what we've seen in the past.
Surprises
Clay Buchholz
I think Buchholz has been the biggest surprise of the team so far. He's 6-0 with a 1.78 ERA. His WHIP is standing at 1.036, and he's been really impressive in his starts. Even his last couple starts, where he's gotten no decisions, he's only giving up 2-3 runs. This Red Sox team SHOULD be able to score enough runs in Buchholz's starts to win ballgames. He's also averaging 9.5 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Bullpen
Honestly, I couldn’t pick just one reliever to be the surprise. I knew the bullpen would be better than last year (I don’t know if they could’ve done much worse), but I didn’t know it’s be this good. Granted, I’m only considering the relievers who are still in the bullpen (not Bard, Hanrahan, Webster, Wright, or De La Torre who all have ERAs of at least 9.00). Miller (3.77) and Mortensen (3.68) have the highest ERAs, and Breslow (1.17) has the lowest. Bailey’s WHIP is at0.811.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Last year, when Salty his .222 with 25 home runs and 59 RBIs, the Sox and fans were satisfied with those totals. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest stats to have, but a catcher has a lot more responsibility than offense. He’s calling the games for the pitchers. This year, Salty is hitting .265 with 5 home runs and 13 RBIs. Yes, the power has gone down slightly, but his average has gone up. He’s making more contact. In less than a quarter of a season, Salty has a third of the hits (30) he had all of last year (90). Plus, the pitching is a vast improvement this year compared to last year, which means Salty’s calling a better game.
David Ortiz
In 27 games this season, Ortiz his hitting .349 with 7 home runs, 9 doubles, and 29 RBIs. The only person who has more RBIs than Ortiz is Napoli, who has 35 in 45 games. His on base percentage is at .397. By comparison, Ellsbury’s is at .307, and he’s the leadoff batter.
Disappointments
Jacoby Ellsbury
As already stated (in this post and others), Ellsbury is not getting on base. He has a .307 OBP and is only batting .242. While his defense has been great, his offense is greatly diminished. Ellsbury’s power is down as well. He only has 1 home run this season. The only other player currently on the roster to only have 1 home run, and is not a pitcher, is Pedro Ciriaco.
Joel Hanrahan
Hanrahan is injured beyond repair and will not play another game for the Red Sox this season… and maybe ever again; his contract is up at the end of the year. He had Tommy John and flexor muscle repair surgery last week, and won’t pitch again for 12-15 months, at least. I call Hanrahan a disappointment in the sense that he never really got to try and pitch for the Sox. He was injured, which is disappointing (see what I did there?). He’s an Iowa guy though, and he’s tough. He’ll be back, just don’t know with what team and when.
Will Middlebrooks
Yes, Middlebrooks is hitting better lately, but he’s still only batting .208 for the season. After the 3-home run massacre he gave the Blue Jays back in April, he’s faltered heavily. He has 50 strikeouts, compared to 7 walks, this season. He does have 20 RBIs for the season, and 8 home runs. Hopefully, he comes out of this slump… fast.
Daniel Bard
Daniel Bard made two appearances for the Red Sox this season, because he was the only pitcher available on the 40-man roster. He pitched 1.0 inning, walked 2, gave up 1 hit, 1 earned run, and has a 9.0 ERA. He was sent back to Double-A, where he’s spent most of the season. Things are so bad in Double-A for Bard (12.2 IP, 13 hits, 11 runs, 9 earned runs, 1 home run, 17 walks, 6 strikeouts, 6.39 ERA, and 2.368 WHIP), that he’s been shut down since May 15th.
This is getting repetitive; the Sox lost again last night. This time, it was a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox are now in 3rd place, 3 games out of first, and only a game and a half up on the 4th place Rays. The Red Sox started the game great. Ortiz hit a 3-run home run in the 1st inning, and Lackey was working efficiently through the first three innings. But, of course, things didn’t end well for Lackey.
In the fourth inning, Lackey gave up a single to Longoria, followed by a single to Loney, and a double to Luke Scott. The score was now 3-1. He struck out Kelly Johnson, but Jose Molina singled to score Loney and Scott. It was now 3-3 in the fourth. Two more runs would come in on a Matt Joyce single, making it 5-3, before Lackey would get out of the inning. He lasted only 4.1 innings before being pulled in favor of the rested bullpen.
Let’s face it- everyone is getting frustrated with this team at the moment. They’re teasing us. Lester pitches a masterful game Friday night, and the team wins handedly. Buchholz follows up that performance with an 8-inning great pitched game, only the Sox lose that game in the 9th inning on a home run given up by Tazawa. Dempster gets lit up in Sunday's game. Last night, Papi seems to be getting out of his slump by hitting his home run in the first inning, Lackey was cruising, but things became unravled by mid-game.
Things have to start gelling like they were the first month of this season. The Red Sox had momentum that first month, and they’ve obviously lost it now. Even the great attitudes seem to be waning (anyone check out some of the stupid Tweets Hanrahan was getting after it was disclosed he was having season-ending surgery? Yikes!).
So, what does this team need? A great pitching performance (Lester’s) doesn’t seem to get the team going, and even when the team is getting hits (Sunday, they had 10), they keep leaving runners in scoring position. Things have to fall in line at some point, right?
I also think that the line-up needs a bit of a shake-up. For years, we have become accustomed to Pedroia hitting No. 2 in the line-up, and when he does it No. 3, he usually brings a big game. Keeping Pedroia, who is hitting .338 this season without much power, in the No. 3 spot isn’t helping. Move him back to No. 2. Another thing Pedroia has going for him is he has more walks (24) than strikeouts (22) this season, and he has 8 stolen bases and has been caught only once.
Ellsbury, batting only .256 with a .321 OBP needs to be moved from the top of the line-up. I understand the feeling that Ellsbury has to stay at the top of the order because of his speed (12 stolen bases this season and caught twice), but if he’s not getting on base, there’s no one for the hitters behind him to score. I think Victorino could lead-off. He’s hitting .297 with a .358 OBP. While he only has 3 steals, and has been caught twice, he’s getting on base. That’s what the lead-off hitter needs to do.
Middlebrooks is the other issue in the line-up, though he’s starting to find his swing again. He’s batting .200, with 44 strikeouts to 5 walks. That is NOT GOOD! Greg Colbrunn, the Red Sox hitting coach, needs to try and get Middlebrooks timing down and his confidence up. It would be one thing if Middlebrooks was hitting .200 with a bunch of popouts, groundouts, and sac flies, but he has struck out 44 times! The only Red Sox player who has struck out more is Napoli (53 times), but he’s still hitting .261 with a .523 slugging percentage to Middlebrooks’ .393.
Nava and Saltalamacchia have been the good surprises this season. So far, Nava is hitting .288 with a .391 OBP and a .500 SLG. He has 24 RBIs, which is second most RBIs on the team behind Napoli’s 33. Salty is hitting .263 with a .333 OBP and a .495 SLG. Last year, Salty hit .222 with a .288 OBP and a .454 SLG, which the Sox seemed fine with his performance.
Really, this team needs to wake up and realize that they have the potential to be a good, maybe even great, team. They seemed to have that attitude in April, and it worked for them. They wanted to be the underdogs that proved everyone wrong. Now, it seems that as soon as they started to change critics’ minds, they’ve fallen back into pre-season expectations. I know this team can do better, and I hope they realize they can too.
I’ll be heading to Minneapolis on Friday, and I will be attending the Red Sox-Twins game Saturday night at Target Field. It looks like it’ll be Dempster starting for the Sox and Diamond for the Twins. It’ll be my first time seeing Dempster pitch live, and it’ll also be my first time at Target Field.
I’ve already started working on my Twitter-Mania Friday post, so I’m hoping I’ll get it posted before I leave. Make sure to check back next week for pictures of the game. Hopefully, the Red Sox remember how to win by then!
- The weekend series against the Blue Jays started off great for the Red Sox with Jon Lester throwing a 1-hit shutout game. He only gave up one double, and the Sox won 5-0. Middlebrooks started to find his swing again and cranked out 2 doubles. Every player had at least one hit except for Ortiz, Napoli, and Drew.
- Buchholz tried to follow-up Lester’s performance with a great outing himself, but the Sox lost 3-2 on Saturday. Lester’s line was 8.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO. The game was tied 2-2 going into the top of the 9th when newly appointed closer, Tazawa gave up a home run to Adam Lind. Middlebrooks had another double and a single this game, and Ellsbury hit a triple, his 4th of the season.
- Sunday’s game was a blowout for the Jays, and the Sox lost 12-4. Dempster gave up 6 earned runs in 5 innings, Miller gave up 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning, Mortensen gave up 1 run in an inning and a third, and recent call-up De La Torre gave up 2 runs in the 9th inning. Napoli and Ciriaco each had home runs, but Middlebrooks stopped hitting and committed another error. Victorino crashed into the fence (he's said to be okay after a trip to the hospital to be checked out). The Sox lost the series, their third in a row.
- Not only did the Red Sox lose the series, they lost closer Joel Hanrahan for the year. He’s going to have season-ending surgery performed by Dr. Andrews to repair his muscle flexor in his right arm. He was calling out the nay-sayers on Twitter this weekend.
- The Red Sox also lost catcher David Ross to the 7-day concussion disabled list and called-up Ryan Lavarnway.
- I can’t remember the last time David Ortiz got a hit, let alone a home run. It’s almost painful to see him bat. When he does make contact, he just doesn’t have the type of speed to beat out plays. Here’s hoping Papi finds his power again.
- The Red Sox are no longer in first place. They currently sit in third place. They are 2 games back from the Yankees, and one game back from the Orioles.
- On Friday, Daniel Nava had 23 RBIs, the same as Adrian Gonzalez. Kind of interesting that a guy (Nava) who was originally signed for $1 had the same number of RBIs as MVP-hopeful Adrian Gonzalez. (Currently, Nava has 24 RBIs and Gonzalez 26).
- Felix Doubront’s next start, scheduled for Tuesday, is going to be skipped. According to The Boston Globe’sschedule, he’s going to pitch Thursday against the Rays.
-Lastly, this is my 200th post of the blog. When I started over a year ago, I honestly didn’t know if I’d continue it this long. I am very happy I have, and I’m looking for ways to improve the blog and get the name out there more. Look for more things to come in the future.
For the past two seasons, the Red Sox were plagued by injuries. Dustin Pedroia, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, David Ortiz, Will Middlebrooks, Jacoby Ellsbury, and numerous other players have spent considerable time on the disabled list the past two seasons. This season was supposed to be different. This season started off different. And now, this season is starting to resemble the past seasons.
The season started with David Ortiz and Stephen Drew on the disabled list. Ortiz was recovering from heel issues that sprouted up after he had recovered from the Achilles injury from last season; he has been remarkable since then though. Stephen Drew also started the season on the disabled list, having suffered a concussion in Spring Training. He has also started to come around and been a force on this team, especially Monday night when he hit a game-tying home run and a game-winning double in extra innings.
The Sox were winning without Ortiz or Drew; we know that. When the two of them came back to the team, I know I felt like this team had a fighting chance. Keep everyone healthy. Keep the starters on the right track. Keep the bullpen fresh. It was going to line-up right, this season.
Not looking so bright now.
Joel Hanrahan, who just came off the disabled list last week from a hamstring injury, ended up back on the DL; an MRI revealed inflammation in his forearm. Andrew Bailey is having a bicep issue and was also placed on the disabled list. The Red Sox called up Allen Webster to make the start tonight, sent Doubront to the bullpen, and Tazawa is now the closer.
So, the Red Sox’s abundance of closers has been reduced to Tazawa, who Farrell claims is perfectly capable of handling the closer role. This may be, and it may be the best for the team as Doubront has shown his velocity is down so far this season. Webster, who pitched 6.0 innings and struck out 5 against the Royals in April, may be the best option for a starter the Red Sox have right now.
Then, last night happened.
As I stated in the last post, I am not able to watch the games when the Red Sox play the White Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Royals, or Twins. It doesn’t make any sense, since I live in IOWA, not Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, or Wisconsin. Seriously, the closest Major League team is 3 hours away.
Anyway, I’m getting my information purely from tweets and sports writings today. Evidently, Middlebrooks and Ross collided in foul territory. Middlebrooks hurt his right side of his body, and Ross hurt his knee and/or thigh. This was in the fifth inning. Ross left the game in the fifth inning when his knee swelled up so bad it prevented him from squatting, and Middlebrooks left the game in the seventh inning.
The hope is Middlebrooks didn’t hurt his ribs. As Red Sox fans, we know how long it can take to fully recover from rib injuries (see Jacoby Ellsbury 2010 and 2012).Middlebrooks is scheduled for a CT Scan, and we should know more later today. The Sox’s depth at third base is scarce, and Ciriaco committed 2 errors in an inning last night after being put in for Middlebrooks.
Ross, according to him, should be okay after some rest. He thinks he just jammed the top of his knee. The Red Sox are hoping both player are day-to-day, but they really won’t know anything until later today.
I’m really hoping this round of bad luck (and bad playing) is short-lived. This is a talented Red Sox team, and it would be a shame to see them slide backwards due to injuries. Right now, it’s just a waiting game. Hopefully, the wait pays off.
The Red Sox started the weekend 20-8, with the best record in the Majors.The ended the weekend 20-11, tied with Texas and St. Louis for the best record in the Majors.The Sox were swept in the 3-game series against the Rangers.It was the first time this season the Sox had lost 3 games in a row.Bad, yes.Horrible, maybe not.
I think this weekend proved to be a wake-up call to the Red Sox.The Sox have been cruising through the first month of the season, and they’ve relied pretty heavily on their pitching for that.Yes, the team had been producing (most notably Napoli and Ortiz), but the pitching is really what has made this team the force it’s been this season.
But, this weekend proved that pitching is fragile. Last week, when Joel Hanrahan came off the disabled list, the question was who would close?It never became an issue though, as Andrew Bailey is having problems with his biceps.He’s scheduled for an MRI today.
The Red Sox have used Uehara and Tazawa a total of something like 30 times (sorry, I’m trying to recall what they had said during the game yesterday.I believe it was 15 times for Uehara and 14 times for Tazawa, before they were used yesterday).That’s about every other game, which isn’t the smartest thing to do this early in the season.The Sox, in past seasons, have worn their bullpen down.It always seems like the teams with well-rested bullpens are the teams that survive into the playoffs.
Middlebrooks needs to get his bat going.I thought for sure this series against the Rangers would be the series to get him to hit consistently, since he’s from Texas and had many friends and family members show up for the game.Middlebrooks was 1 for 7 with 3 errors and was benched for Sunday’s game.I don’t know if it’s the sophomore slump, mental, or mechanical issues.Middlebrooks needs to get going though.
David Ortiz, however, has continued to keep it rolling.He is now carrying a 25-game (10 month) hit-streak.He is hitting .438 with 10 doubles, 6 home runs, and 23 RBIs.He has reached safely 33-consecutive games, the longest such streak for a Red Sox player since Dustin Pedroia had a 37-consecutive game streak in 2011.
The Sox play the Twins next, at FenwayPark.As a disclaimer, since I live in the lovely Midwest where all games played against/by the White Sox, Cubs, Royals, Cardinals, Brewers, and Twins are blocked out (figure that one out), I will not be able to actually watch the Twins-Red Sox game tonight.I will be following on GameDay, however, and hope to see the Sox get out of this slump.
With all the speculation of Clay Buchholz having some foreign substance on himself that he rubs off on the ball when he pitches, it’ll be interesting to see how well he pitches tonight.Buchholz has been phenomenal this season (6-0, 1.01 ERA); but it’s always appeared in the past that his issues were more mental.Are these cheating allegations going to get inside his head, or will he continue to cruise?
The Red Sox currently have an 18-7 record, after sweeping the four-game series against the Astros. They currently have a 5-game winning streak, an off day today, and will start a 3-game series against the Jays tomorrow.
The Yankees are 2.5 games back, and the Orioles 3 games back. The first month of the season is almost over, and the standings seem to be flip-flopped from the way they were projected.
So much good happened with this team this weekend. Middlebrooks was 6 for 15 with 2 doubles, a home run, and 2 RBIs. He raised his batting average to .202; it had stood at .169.
In the 8 games he’s played in this season, Ortiz is hitting .516 (16 for 31) with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, and 11 RBIs.
Doubront had a shaky first inning on Saturday, but he recovered nicely. It took him 31 pitches to get out of the first inning; he gave up a lead off single, hit a batter, walked three, had a wild pitch, and gave up 2 runs. After that, he settled down nicely, and only threw 64 pitches the next 5 2/3 innings and allowed one more run.
David Ross uncorked 2 monster home runs over the Green Monster Friday night. He had a career-high 4 hits that night, and 10 total-bases, also a career-high.
Dempster also notched his first win on Friday night, and not for lack of trying. In five game starts, he’s 1-3 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.133 WHIP. More importantly, he’s pitched 30.0 innings, struck out 43, and walked 14. He has 12.9 strikeouts per 9 innings average.
Lackey was activated from the disabled list yesterday and made the start. In his second start of the season, he went 6.0 innings (81 pitches), and gave up 5 hits, 1 run, walked 2, and struck out 4. It’s also worth noting that the crowd cheered for him at the start of the game; Lackey was consistently being booed when he pitched two seasons ago.
There were a couple negative things that came out of this weekends’ performances. Victorino sat out all weekend with a tight back, and he may be placed on the disabled list. Daniel Bard, who was called up from Double-A Portland earlier last week, was optioned 18-7 back to Double-A after a shaky performance. In two games, he gave up 1 run on 1 hit with 2 walks and 1 strikeout.
I’m excited about this team; they’re fun to watch. I think getting John Farrell back made a world of difference for the players, especially the pitching staff. So what comes first? Having team chemistry or winning games? For this team, it seems to go hand-in-hand.
- The Red Sox are currently in first place in the American League East. Granted, it’s only 7 games in, but that’s reassuring for a team that many predicted to be in 4th or 5th place. Plus, the Sox have played the Yankees (3 games), the Blue Jays (3 games), and the Orioles (1 game). The play the Orioles and Rays this week, so it should be interesting to see where everyone ends up by Sunday. The standings so far:
Red Sox 5-2 Orioles 3-4 Yankees 3-4 Rays 3-4 Blue Jays 2-4
- Middlebrooks’ 3 Home Run game on Sunday versus the Blue Jays was a lot of fun to watch. For one, this is a guy who hit 15 home runs in 75 games last year before getting hurt. Who knows what he’ll do in a complete season. He also showed great defensive ability on the field. As great as all that is, I had an uneasy feeling in the back of my mind because of what happened to the last Red Sox to hit 3 home runs in 1 game. That was Dustin Pedroia in 2010. The next day, Pedroia was injured and out pretty much the rest of the season.
- How great have Buchholz and Lester been so far? Buchholz is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in 14.0 innings, giving up 9 hits, 1 run, 6 walks, and striking out 12. Lester is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 12.00 innings, giving up 10 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and striking out 13.
- I unfortunately didn’t watch Lackey’s start the other day, but I did see the replay when he injured his arm. Hopefully, it’s minor. The guy worked hard to return, and everyone likes a comeback story. However, if Lackey does go on the DL, who do the Sox get to start? Aceves is one name that’s floating around, but I’m hoping they pull someone up from Triple-A. Aceves has already given up 5 runs in 4.1 innings, including 2 home runs.
- The Sox team ERA is 2.95. That’s good enough for 3rd best in the American League.
- How about Daniel Nava? Most people think of Daniel Nava as that rare player who makes a huge impact once (Nava’s first-pitch Grand Slam from 2010). Yesterday, Nava, in place of JBJ in left field, hit a MONSTER game-winning 3-run home run. Farrell had said he felt Nava, a switch-hitter, was seeing the ball well. His instincts paid off.
- Shane Victorino, the “Flyin Hawaiian,” has safely made it on base every game so far this season. He’s hitting .345 for the season with 1 double, 4 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases (he’s also been caught stealing twice).
- Speaking of stolen bases, the Sox currently have stolen 8 bases total while being caught twice (again, Victorino). Ellsbury leads the team with 4, then Victorino with 2, and Ciriaco and JBJ both have 1. By comparison, Ellsbury had 14 stolen bases in 74 games last year. If my math works correctly (may be a big IF) and the Sox keep stealing bases at this clip, they could have approximately 185 stolen bases by the end of the season. They had 97 last year. (My math: 8 stolen bases/ 7 games multiplied by X stolen bases/ 162 games).
Well, that’s about it for me today. I originally tried posting this last night without much success, so hopefully it works now. I hope everyone is enjoying this season so far. I know I am!
* It pretty much goes without saying that the Red Sox are out of contention for the year. Yes, there is still a slight possibility. According to Baseball Prospectus Playoff Odds Report, the Sox have a 6.7% chance to make the playoffs. The Yankees have a 99.2 % chance; the Rangers 99.9%.
* Will Middlebrooks is likely out for the rest of the season with a broken wrist. I watched the video of the pitch hitting his wrist, and it’s painful to even watch. It’s a shame that a rookie having such a great season has to go out this way, but as mentioned before, there’s only a slight chance the Sox will make the playoffs. Might as well let Middlebrooks fully heal from the injury and come back stronger next year.
* Speaking of injured wrists, Crawford came out of yesterday’s game in the bottom of the 5th inning due to his surgically repaired wrist being sore though he’s expected to possibly getting a cortisone shot and staying off the DL. He went 3-for-5 yesterday with 3 doubles, 3 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. He is currently hitting .280 for the season (25 games). Even in the limited sample sizes, the fans have to be happy with the way he’s playing.
* Valentine thought it was a good idea to have one of the relievers, Mortensen, bat yesterday. Mortensen struck out. I know the 14-1 win was a blow out, but with all the injuries this team has endured, is it really smart to have a pitcher bat in a non-need situation?
* On a related note, Saltalamacchia played first base yesterday. Okay…
* There’s a chance Bailey might be joining the Sox sometime this week. Would he be a reliever or closer? My guess is he’ll start in a set-up role and possibly get to closing out games sooner (if Aceves completely melts down) or later (last couple weeks of the season to get his feel back).
The Red Sox won last night 11-5 against the Kansas City Royals. This ended their nightmare 5-game skid, gave some confidence to a team that seems to be lacking, and rejuvenated a worn down fan-base.
Will Middlebrooks was again the star. He hit a 3-run home run in the 1st inning out past right field, a double to center in the 7th inning, and a two-run home run off the left field foul pole in the 8th inning, combining for 5 RBIs. It’s hard to think that Sunday morning, Middlebrooks had 0 home runs in the Majors. He now has 3. Just for reference, Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis have 2.
In his four games in the Majors, Middlebrooks is 8 for 21 (.381) with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, and 9 RBIs. Youkilis, who Middlebrooks is replacing at 3rd base, was 14 for 64 (.219) with 2 double, 2 home runs, and 9 RBIs. Granted, Middlebrooks has only played in four games, but he’s made a big difference in those four games. In fact, his 9 RBIs in his first four games ties an MLB-record.
The rest of the offense also did pretty well; all of the starters had at least one hit. Pedroia went 2 for 3 with a home run, double, 2 RBIs, and 3 walks. (Ryan Sweeney’s cousin caught Pedroia’s home run ball.) Ortiz had another big night, going 3 for 4 with a home run, 1 RBI, and 3 walks- 2 of his walks were intentional. Kelly Shoppach hit a triple. Yes, that is not a mis-type; he hit a triple. So far this year, Kelly Shoppach has his first Major-league steal and triple. Unbelievable!
Doubront didn’t do terrible either. He went into the 7th inning, which was much needed after Sunday’s marathon game. He game up 5 runs, 4 earned, 7 hits, 3 walks, while striking out 2 and giving up 0 home runs. Vincente Padilla came in with one out in the 7th and pitched the rest of the game, not giving up a run.
It’s only one win, but it was a much needed win. It was around this point last year that the Red Sox started to get hot, and I’m hoping it’ll happen this year as well. They are currently 12-16, 6.5 games out of first, and in last place in the AL East.
Will Middlebrooks made his Major League debut last night, filling in for DL-bound Kevin Youkilis. While his debut may not have been the most exciting for a Red Sox rookie in recent memory (Daniel Nava’s grand slam, anyone?), it was a boost for the Red Sox as a whole. Middlebrooks went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a steal. Not to shabby.
There’s been a lot of talk about the Red Sox bringing up Middlebrooks this season, especially with Youkilis struggling so much. In 24 games with Pawtucket this season, Middlebrooks hit .333 with a .380 OBP and .677 SLG. He had 9 home runs, 1 Triple, 3 Doubles, drove in 27 runs, and walked 7 times. He was successively in 3 out of 4 stolen base attempts. With numbers like those, it’s a wonder why the Red Sox called up Jose Iglesias a game before Middlebrooks (Middlebrooks reportedly had a “minor” thumb injury).
With the arrival of Middlebrooks, there’s been some speculation that Youkilis will be traded this season. The Red Sox hold a $13 million team option or a $1 million buyout on Youkilis’ contract for 2013. I’ve heard most predictions, if Youkilis is traded, is for Youk to be traded to the Reds (for Arroyo, is what my brother predicted).
Personally, I don’t think Youkilis will be traded. Besides the fact that Youk is Boston Royalty (he recently married Tom Brady’s sister), I don’t think an agreement could be made for Youkilis. He’s had a few injury-ridden seasons in a row, and he started off slow this year. He hasn’t played more than 136 games since 2008. And before that, the most games Youkilis played in a season is 147, in 2006.
I like Youkilis; I honestly do. I think he’s got a fight in him that the Red Sox need, but I also think that it may be time to pass the reigns on to someone younger, like Middlebrooks. Granted, Middlebrooks has a lot to prove, and he’s not going to do that in one game (though some comments I’ve read on The Boston Globe’s website seem to think that he’s already done that). If anything, I think Middlebrooks should remain on the Major League roster this year, play when he can, watch Youkilis, and next year, if he proves himself, third base belongs to Middlebrooks.
It’ll be interesting to see how much time Valentine allows Middlebrooks to play third base while Youkilis is on the DL since Nick Punto is also on the roster and is being paid more. A player’s salary really shouldn’t determine the amount of playing time a player gets; but unfortunately, I think it does (see Ryan Sweeney). So, we’ll have to wait and see how much time Middlebrooks plays while he’s up and how well he does.
A few other tidbits:
* Speaking of Ryan Sweeney, he leads the Majors in Doubles with 12. Ortiz is second with 11. Last year, Sweeney’s season total for Doubles was 11.
* The Red Sox signed Mark Prior to a minor-league deal. Living in the Midwest in “Cubs Territory,” I’ve heard a lot about Prior over the years. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2006, and he’s been with the Rangers and Yankees organizations since then.
* Josh Beckett will be missing his next scheduled start, which is Saturday. The Red Sox are bringing up Aaron Cook to start this game.
* If you watch the NESN broadcast of the games, you may notice that Jerry Remy’s been gone. He is recovering from a sinus infection and will be out for at least the next week. Dennis Eckersley and Peter Gammons are filling in for those games.
* I’m already tired of the Bryce Harper hype. I watched an interview he did with Harold Reynolds, and Harper actually said that baseball players need to be cocky (or something to that effect). I’m sorry, but I can name plenty of players who don’t appear cocky on the field. There’s a difference between cockiness and confidence.
