Sox can't get clutch hit on Opening Day (3/31/14)

Opening Day started on an ominous note for the Boston Red Sox when Shane Victorino was placed on the 15 day DL before the season started with a bad hamstring. Jackie Bradley Jr was called up to replace him which is good news for Jackie. He lost the spring training battle to Grady Sizemore but gets a roster spot anyway.

                                                                OUT

                                                                      IN

As for the game, the Sox didn't start out the 2014 season a high note. The Sox offense that wore out starting pitching last year, went 0-10 with runners in scoring position and leaving 12 total men on base. Jon Lester (0-1, 2.57 ERA) pitched great in defeat but was let down by his offense against the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Tillman and a host of Baltimore relievers held the Sox to just 1 run as the Orioles won their home opener 2-1 at Camden Yards.

Daniel Nava opened the 2014 season by grounding out to Tillman but took 7 pitches to do it. Dustin Pedroia got the first hit of the season on a line drive to right field. Tillman recovered to whiff both David Ortiz and Mike Napoli to end the top of the first. Jon Lester was greeted by Nick Markakis in the bottom of the first who grounded out to third. JJ Hardy got the O's first hit of the season with a single to left field but Lester recovered to get Adam Jones to pop up to short. Lester struck out last year's home run champion Chris Davis swinging to end the inning.

Mike Carp led off the top of the second inning with a base hit over the head of the second basemen. Spring training hero Grady Sizemore hadn't played a game since September 2011 and greeted Tillman with a base hit to right. Xander Bogaerts hit a shot that was caught at the warning track by Nelson Cruz. Former White Sox villain AJ Pierzynski jacked one to deep center but Jones ran it down, allowing Carp to reach third. Will Middlebrooks then literally looked at 3 pitches and sat down to end the inning. So much for that rally. Nelson Cruz walked to begin the bottom of the second and Matt Wieters singled him to third. Delmon Young banged into a double play but Cruz came home to give the O's a 1-0 lead. Ryan Flaherty grounded out but the damage was done.

Nava led off the top of the third with another ground-out to Tillman. Pedroia then grounded out softly to Davis. The Sox tried to rally when Ortiz singled into the shift and Napoli doubled him to third. Unfortunately, Carp whiffed to end the inning but the silver lining was Tillman was up to 61 pitches. Jonathan Schoop led off the bottom of the third with a single to left but Lester got Markakis to pop up to short. Hardy then banged into a double play to end the inning.

Sizemore got the Sox on the board in the top of the fourth with a home run off the top of the right field scoreboard to tie the game. Bogaerts popped up to right but Pierzynski got his first hit of the season with a bloop single to center. Middlebrooks popped up to right on a 2-0 count and Nava flied out to left but the game was tied 1-1 and Tillman had already thrown 79 pitches.

                                           Welcome to Boston Grady Sizemore

The O's got ANOTHER leadoff baserunner, this time on a single by Jones to begin the bottom of the fourth. Lester got Davis to hit a ground ball to short but he beat out the double play. Cruz popped up to second and Wieters struck out looking to end the inning.

In the top of the 5th, Pedroia hit a 400 foot out to center field and also took 12 pitches to do it. Ortiz then hit one to the track in left center but it was ran down. Napoli bucked the tread of long outs by walking. Carp grounded out to third but Tillman was finished for the day after 104 pitches in just 5 innings. Young led off the bottom of the 5th with a ground out to Middlebrooks. Flaherty flied out to left and Schoop struck out swinging to end the inning.

Lefty Zach Britton took over for Tillman in the top of the 6th. Sizemore grounded out to short but Bogaerts got his first hit of the season on a double to right field. Pierzynski grounded out to third but Bogaerts moved to third base. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away, Middlebrooks grounded out to third to end the inning.

                                            James' reaction to Middlebrooks' inning ender

Lester was unaffected by the lack of clutch hitting as he struck out Markakis looking to begin the bottom of the 6th. Hardy grounded out to Middlebrooks but Jones singled to center to keep the inning alive. Lester whiffed Davis to end the inning. That 5 strikeouts for Lester in 6 innings who looked sharp so far.

The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the seventh inning. Nava grounded out to third, Pedroia was retired on a swinging bunt in front of the plate and Ortiz grounded out to first to end the inning.. Cruz then put the O's on top with a solo shot off Lester to start the bottom of the seventh, shades of the 2011 Sox opener. Lester recovered to punch out Wieters, Young and Flaherty to finish his day with a flourish. On any other day, 7 innings, 2 runs and 8 strikeouts would be a gem. Today he leaves trailing 2-1 going to the 8th.

                                                  Cruz puts Baltimore on top

Evan Meek replaced Britton for the top of the 8th. Napoli worked a lead-off walk and Carp advanced him to second on a ground out....and he would have been have safe at first when Davis AND Meek bobbled the ball but he ran with a load in his pants. Jackie Bradley Jr made his season debut by pinch running for Napoli at second. Sizemore struck out swinging but Bogaerts walked. Baltimore O's manager Buck Showalter pulled Meek for Brian Matusz. With the tying run at second, Pierzynski hit it back to the mound to end the inning. Sox are now 0-8 with runners in scoring position....BAWFUL! Carp moved to first base, Nava moved to left field and Bradley Jr in right as Junichi Tazawa replaced Lester for the bottom of the 8th as Schoop grounded out to short to start. Markakis grounded out to second and Hardy struck out swinging to end the inning. If the Sox were to make a comeback, it would have to be against new closer Tommy Hunter.

Middlebrooks homered off Hunter twice in spring training but got drilled to begin the 9th. That's one way to get the leadoff man on. Nava then won jackass award by popping up to third, capping off his 0 for 5 afternoon. Pedroia did his job by singling to left to put the tying run at second. Ortiz flied out to left without advancing either runner. With the game on the line, Jackie Bradley Jr looked at strike 3 to end it. The Orioles had held on to win Opening Day 2-1.

                                                               Dammit


Jackass of the Night is an easy one. Daniel Nava was 0 for 5, leaving baserunners on in the 4th and the 9th with the game on the line.

                                                    Opening day Jackass: Daniel Nava


The Good:

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5

Mike Napoli was 1 for 2 with 2 walks

Grady Sizemore was 2 for 4 including a solo home run

Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but Jon Lester was the hard luck loser. He tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball while striking out 8. Usually that's enough to win.

Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth inning.



The Bad:

Jackie Bradley Jr struck out to end the ballgame.



The Ugly:

David Ortiz was just 1 for 5.

Mike Carp was just 1 for 4.

AJ Pierzsynski was just 1 for 4.

Will Middlebrooks was 0 for 3 but was drilled in the 9th.





Final Thoughts:

Not the best way to start the season. One of the problems that plagued the Sox in spring training was lack of hitting. Scoring just 1 run on Opening Day after chasing the starter after 5 innings doesn't help. They wasted a great pitching performance by Lester who looked sharp. Not having Jacoby Ellsbury is going to suck if Daniel Nava and Grady Sizemore can't replace him adequately. Its only one game so no sense squawking about it for too long. After an off-day, the Sox are back in action Wednesday night in Baltimore. John Lackey makes his season debut against Ubaldo Jimenez at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.

Final Spring Training Report (3/28/14)

Well spring training is all but over. Thankfully nobody got hurt and some of the final battles were decided.

The 6 way dance between Rich Hill, Jose Mijares, Dalier Hinojosa, Chris Capuano, Fransisco Cordero and John Ely is over. The final bullpen arm is....*drumroll*...CHRIS CAPUANO. Ely, Hinojosa and Hill were opted to Triple A, Mijares was released and Cordero was offered a spot in Pawtucket but he'll have to think about it.

                                                     Winner and opening day reliever

Rich Hill had a very stressful spring training. First he had to deal with the death of his infant child then had to run through a roadblock of relief pitchers to earn a spot, only to fall short. The double edged sword as every bullpen every year on every team goes through a period of injuries and ineffectiveness. Last year the Red Sox lost Joel Hanrahan, Andrew Bailey, Andrew Miller and Alex Wilson for the season while Matt Thornton pitched so badly he was left off the post-season roster (and he was signed by the Yankees in the off-season, ironic). What that means is that with Hill in Pawtucket, if and when someone gets hurt you could see him get his shot.  Take away the infant child death and the same story goes for Cordero, only he had to overcome frightening injuries to get his shot. Cordero may either call it quits, accept the AAA job or sign somewhere else. Still, to have both Rich Hill and Fransisco Cordero in the Pawtucket bullpen with Matt Barnes, Allen Webster and Anthony Raunado the starters would make for a devastating, deep pitching staff.

                            Rich Hill fighting and clawing his way back to the Red Sox

Also, the other semi-final matchup between Grady Sizemore and Jackie Bradley Jr has been decided. In what was an ironic turnaround from last year, the unknown Sizemore blew past Bradley to earn the spot quite like Bradley did the previous season. After not having played a major league game since September 2011, Grady Sizemore will be your starting centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox. Jackie Bradley heads down to Pawtucket, hopefully to fine tune his hitting after posting a paltry .157 batting average this spring.

                                             Get used to seeing that name, barring injury

David Ortiz signed a contract extension to keep him around for at least 2 more years. He's 69 home runs away from 500 and is unlikely to get them, but he'll be a sure bet for the hall of fame (if he wasn't already) if he could reach that by 2016 or so.

Now onto a more serious subject. The ongoing saga on whether or not Jerry Remy should be in the broadcast booth this season following the murder of his daughter in law by his own son Jared. Some harsh language will be used shortly so if you have children reading this with you, turn their heads immediately.

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Are they gone? Ok....to all the people protesting Jerry, FUCK YOU! Fuck each and every last one of you. He has given his heart and soul to the team both as a player and as a broadcaster since 1978. That's 36 years not counting a few years of retirement as a player before becoming a broadcaster. He has personally never committed a crime and had to beat cancer in order to regain his job a few seasons ago. He didn't kill that woman so why does he have to go? The politically correct morons that say he needs to go because it "sends a bad message" to the Martel family can go piss up a rope. This could be his only escape and as long as he doesn't get caught with drugs, or given a DUI then he has no reason to leave the broadcast booth. If there is justice in this world, Jared goes to jail for life and Jerry comes back to enjoy the World Series champion Boston Red Sox he missed last season. So to all those protesting, get off his back.

                                                       Welcome back Jerry (hopefully)

That about wraps it up. The roster is all but set and the season begins Monday in Baltimore. Jon Lester has been tapped as the starter and its time to let Basebawful begin again.

Spring Training Report 3 (3/21/14)

As we approach Opening Day the roster is taking shape. Rubby De La Rosa and Brandon Snyder were sent down to Pawtucket for obvious reasons. Snyder will resume his role he had last year which was dominate Triple A pitching and get called up if somebody gets hurt. De La Rosa just can't seem to locate his pitches effectively, same as Allen Webster actually. What is it with LA Dodger pitching prospects that have great stuff but don't know where the ball's going? If the two of them can put it together then there's a starter/closer combo that would be deadly for years.

                                                    See you when someone gets hurt fellas.

In other news, a deadly grudge match between Brock Holt and Jonathan Herrera has been decided. Holt was the "other" guy in the Joel Hanrahan trade who helped the Pawtucket Red Sox fall 2 wins short of a second straight Governor's Cup. Herrera was the utility infielder the Sox got from Colorado for Franklin Morales. After a fierce battle, the winner....and...NEWWWWWWW utility infielder for the Boston Red Sox, JONATHAN HERRERAAAAAAAA!!!!

                                                     The winner and new champion

Holt goes back to Triple A and other than Jonathan Diaz, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Pedro Beato and Jose De La Torre, the band will be getting back together to make a run at the Govenor's Cup again.

As for the Red Sox, the final roster is taking shape. Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront are the locked in starters. Mike Napoli, David Ortiz, Jonny Gomes, Shane Victorino, Dustin Pedroia Daniel Nava, Will Middlebrooks, David Ross, AJ Pierzynski, Jonathan Herrera, Xander Bogaerts and Mike Carp the locked in position players. Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, Edward Mujica, Burke Badenhop, Brandon Workman and Andrew Miller are the locked in relief pitchers. The remaining battles are Jackie Bradley Jr vs Grazy Sizemore for the centerfield spot. If Sizemore wins, Bradley joins Holt in Triple A. If Bradley wins, Sizemore rides off into the sunset. Craig Breslow would normally be on this list but he'll most likely start the season on the disabled list, quite like he did last season. With Breslow out, Chris Capuano takes on Fransisco Cordero for the final relief spot which looks like its going to be Capuano after he blinded the Yankees for 3 innings yesterday.

Other than Breslow who's not technically injured, the Sox have been relatively injury free which is a miracle. Jarrod Parker of the A's and Kris Medlen of the Atlanta Braves both needed Tommy John surgery and will be lost for the year. Jose Iglesias of the Tigers may be out for the year with stress fractures in his shins. Derek Holland of the Texas Rangers is gone with knee surgery and there have been other ailments with various teams. Last year the Sox had a lot of injuries through the year but thankfully only a few relief pitchers suffered season ending ones (Andrew Bailey, Joel Hanrahan, Alex Wilson and Andrew Miller). Anytime you have an injury free spring, you already are a step ahead of most other teams.

                                          Thankfully Dr. Pierce hasn't been needed so far

All in all, the Spring training record stands at 8-13 but other than Yankee fans that have absolutely nothing else to brag about, nobody cares. As long as everyone is healthy and in shape for the season then standings don't matter at all. The semi-finals between Jackie Bradley/Grady Sizemore and Capuano/Cordero should be settled shortly.

Spring Training Report 2 (3/17/14)

Big news today. First it was learned that Jose Iglesias (remember him?) has really bad shin splints to the point he may miss THE ENTIRE YEAR.

                                           Out for the year with shin splints most likely

The official word is that he's gone until the All-Star break but this is a major development that goes much deeper than Jose. John Farrell came out and said he had to ice down both shins after he played, at least with the Red Sox. Jim Leyland the former Tigers manager could not be reached for comment as he's probably off in the Cayman Islands enjoying his retirement.

                    If you look closely you can see Jim Leyland not giving a damn about Erin Andrews

Back to Jose now, its a shame he's being cut down by injury but now look at what happened. A lot of people were angry when the Sox traded Jose (me included) last summer but it looks like a rape now. They got Jake Peavy for him who solidified the rotation down the stretch until Clay Buchholz came back and even ate a few innings for the Sox in the post-season. Meanwhile the usually slick fielding Iglesias made the key error which led to Shane Victorino's grand slam in Game 6 of the ALCS that effectively won the pennant for Boston. Now, it goes even deeper than that. The Tigers need a short-stop and who better than Stephen "PU" Drew who refused to sign his offer sheet which means if the Tigers sign him, they forfeit their first round pick to to the Red Sox. Since the Red Sox didn't sign any big name free agents, they would own two first round picks in the draft. While that's not as nearly important as the NBA or NFL draft, it does mean some extra talent will be appearing for the Lowell Spinners and Gulf Coast Red Sox this season, so you fans in those respective areas may want to check them out.

                                              If the Tigers sign Drew, Sox get a first draft pick

Bottom line is that the Sox traded Iglesias because they had Xander Bogaerts ready (who actually did contribute to the World Series effort) to get Peavy (who also contributed) and now with Iglesias gone they could possibly get a future contributor for the departed Drew. Sox GM Ben Cherrington has to be salivating over that.

In other news, the Sox made 3 more cuts by sending pitcher Allen Webster and catcher Christian Vazquez to the Pawtucket Red Sox camp and short-stop Deven Marrero to the Portland Sea Dogs camp. Webster still needs some work but he's made a huge improvement over last year, Vazquez is the heir apparent to the catching position once David Ross departs and Marrero is ready defensively but has to learn how to hit. Unfortunately for him, Xander Bogaerts is in his way and one of them may have to move to third to get them both in the lineup. If that's the case, Will Middlebrooks must go....or move to first or DH in which case David Ortiz or Mike Napoli have to go......wow, that's a mouthful. In any case, those 3 are gone and the final 25 man roster is beginning to take shape. We'll see where they go from here.

Spring Training Report (3/14/14)

Spring Training has been successful so far. Nobody is hurt, nobody is crying about their contracts and best of all nobody is arrested for murder. Felix Doubront is in shape and it shows, Grady Sizemore is back from a 2 year absence and looks decent so far. He may never be an all-star again but if he's got anything left in the tank, its a plus. Clay Buchholz has no ill effects from his bad shoulder he had last year. Today they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 and Rich Hill is back in town, tossing a scoreless 5th inning while notching a strike out. The only bawful was Rubby De La Rosa giving up Toronto's only run on 3 hits in 2 innings.

I said that nobody has been arrested for murder, but that doesn't mean people aren't getting arrested. 19 year old catcher Jon Denney of the Gulf Coast Red Sox was arrested after becoming drunk and belligerent with Lee Country police. He claimed he's making more money than the cops will ever see and is currently making 3 million dollars. He's actually making only $1,000 a month which is less than what most police officers are making, but never let the truth get in the way of making an ass out of yourself!

                                          He's not making 3 million a year and probably never will now

Jake Peavy is ok by the way. For those that don't know, he missed two weeks because he deeply lacerated his finger while showing his sons how to fish and cut bait. Thankfully he's ok but why he had to have a damn machete to cut fish is anyone's guess.

                                            Luckily Peavy avoided this kind of fate

In other news Jon Lester and the gang has been working with Allen Webster on his mechanics and already they've made a difference. In his March 6th start he retired 9 of the 10  batters he faced.

                                              Back in business? Sure hope so

That's good news because if Webster can turn into the star that many said he would be, he'd be a perfect shot in the arm for a rotation that's getting older every year. Also, a lot of people were down on him for his sub-par 2013 season but they're forgetting something. Webster was 1-2 with a hideous 8.60 ERA last year at the age of 23. In 2008, at the age of 23-24 a right-handed starter was 2-9 with a miserable 6.75 ERA for the Red Sox. That starter was this man:

                                                  From 2-9 in 2008 to 17-7 in 2010

Bottom line is that don't give up on Webster just yet. It took Clay Buchholz years to develop and had to be dropped to the minors in order for that to happen. Speaking of minors, the Sox recently cut 12 of their minor leaguers down to their respective minor league camps. Lefty starter Henry Owens, right handed starter Matt Barnes, third basemen Garin Cecchini, catcher Blake Swihart, right handed starter Anthony Ranaudo, outfielder Bryce Brentz, right handed reliever Alex Wilson, outfielder Alex Hassan, right handed relievers Noe Ramirez and Miguel Celestino, shortstop Heiker Meneses along with first basemen Travis Shaw. The good news is that most of these guys will or should make the majors at some point, they're highly regarded prospects. Owens in particular is a clone of Jon Lester and Cecchini is plan B in case Will Middlebrooks falters.

                                  6'7 21 year old Henry Owens could be the next Jon Lester

That about wraps it up for now, we'll see how things progress from here.