Sox Bomb the Phillies on Opening Day (4/6/15)

Well that was fun to watch. The Boston Sox loaded up on offense this off-season and it paid off as the Sox bashed 5 home runs, two from the returning Hanley Ramirez, to destroy the Philadelphia Phillies. The loudest message was sent by Dustin Pedroia. Critics questioned his health, age and ability all season long and Pedroia was the emotional leader in this one. Clay Buchholz (1-0, 0.00 ERA) tossed 7 innings of shutout ball and the Sox plastered the Phillies 8-0 at Citizens Bank Park.

                                                 Peter Lorre approves of the win

The Sox wasted no time in getting on the board. Mookie Betts led off the game against Cole Hamels with a second pitch pop up to 3rd, but Pedroia silenced critics with a home run to left field to put Boston up 1-0. Hamels bounced back to strike out David Ortiz. Hanley Ramirez posted his first at-bat in a Red Sox uniform in ten years with a fly out to right field to end the inning. The Sox had struck first to take a 1-0 lead.

                                                  Pedroia jacks one out

Buchholz began the bottom of the first by getting Ben Revere to fly out to centerfield. Odubel Herrera also flied out to Betts in center. The Sox should have been out of the inning when Chase Utley hit a squibber to Buchholz but he flubbed it and Utley reached on the error. :Luckily Ryan Howard hit a ground out into the shift to end the inning with the Sox still up 1-0.

Pablo Sandoval grounded out to second to lead off the second inning after sending his bat flying to short-stop the previous pitch. Shane Victorino made his return to Philadelphia where he led the Phills to the 2008 World Series championship and got a standing O. Shane drew a walk and advanced to second on a balk. Umpire Kirk Cousins felt that Hamels took his step too far to home plate before firing to first. Xander Bogaerts popped up to first and Victorino swiped third. Ryan Hanigan worked a walk to put runners at the corners....for Buchholz. Pitchers gotta hit in the National League I'm afraid. Clay worked the count full (a miracle in itself) and hit a hard liner, but it was right to Hamels who tossed to first for the out. At least he made contact. Buchholz struck out Carlos Ruiz to begin the bottom of the second, The shift was on for old friend Grady Sizemore and he grounded out to second. Cody Asche froze on a 3-2 curveball to end the inning with the Sox still ahead.

Mr. Mookie greeted Hamels with a bomb to left field to increase the lead to begin the top of the third. Pedroia grounded out to third and Ortiz popped up. Ramirez worked a walk but Sandoval looked at strike 3. Good news was Hamels was up to 64 pitches to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                      Betts hits his first homer

Fred Galvis grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the third. Buchholz punched out Hamels (not literally though) and Revere lined out to Pedroia to end the inning.

Victorino whiffed to begin the top of the 4th before Bogaerts popped up to Sizemore. Hanigan ripped a single to left to extend the inning but the momentum stopped when Buchholz grounded out to end the inning but Hamels was up to 80 pitches. Buchholz whiffed Herrera to begin the bottom of the fourth and badly fooled Utley on a change-up for his 5th strikeout of the year. Sox broadcaster Don Orsillo called Clay "the man on a mission" and it jinxed him. Ryan Howard ended the no-hitter with a double to center and Ruiz walked. Luckily, Sizemore grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Sox offense woke up in the top of the 5th. Mr. Mookie led off with a strikeout but Pedroia clocked his second home run of the day to add to the lead. Ortiz whiffed but Ramirez joined the home run parade with his first solo shot of the year to ice the game. Sandoval whiffed badly but it was 4-0. Hamels had thrown 100 pitches in 5 innings, struck out six and gave up four home runs. Either they hit it out or not at all it seemed.

                                                        Welcome back Hanley

Staked to a four run lead in the bottom of the fifth, Buchholz struck out Asche and got Galvis to ground out to second. Pinch hitter Cesar Hernandez hit a rocket to right but Victorino made a leaping catch at the scoreboard to preserve the shut out.

That was it for Hamels as Luis Garcia took over for the top of the 6th. The hero Victorino greeted him with a full count walk. Bogaerts flied out to center but Hanigan advanced Victorino with a ground out. Buchholz did manage to hit it sharply on the ground but a nice pick by Galvis saved a run and that ended the inning. At least Clay was making contact, Jon Lester was an automatic strikeout. Ortiz flashed the leather with a line drive snare off the bat of Revere to begin the bottom of the 6th. Herrera and Utley both whiffed badly to end the inning. 6 innings, 1 hit, 8 strikeouts for Buchholz....shades of 2013.

Jeanmar Gomez relieved Garcia and Mr. Mookie led off the top of the 7th with a base hit in the hole at short. Pedroia followed with one in the same spot but Ortiz whiffed badly and Ramirez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Mike Napoli took over for Ortiz at first who had a miserable day at the plate. Napoli pitched in right away in the bottom of the 7th with a ground out off the bat of Howard. Ruiz got Philly's second hit of the day and Sizemore followed with a hit. Junichi Tazawa began warming up in the bullpen. Pedroia made an amazing play to snare a ground ball off the bat of Asche to get Sizemore at second, but the relay throw to first was too late. The Phills had runners at the corners and Robbie Ross Jr joined Taz in the bullpen. Buchholz ended his day with his 9th strikeout to end the inning. 7 innings, 3 hits, 9 K's, 0 runs....I'll take that every day.

                                                        The "ace" dominates

Justin De Fratus replaced Gomez for the top of the 8th and got Sandoval to ground out to second. Victorino grounded out to third but Bogaerts worked a walk. Hanigan grounded out to short to end the inning. Juinichi Tazawa came on for the bottom of the 8th and got pinch hitter Andres Blanco to ground out to second. Revere popped up to left and Sandoval picked a line drive from Herrera to preserve the lead to end the inning. Allen Craig pinch hit for Tazawa as Jake Diekman took over for De Fratus. Craig singled through the hole at short and Mr. Mookie worked a four pitch walk. Pedroia whiffed but Napoli walked. Hanley Ramirez then cleared them all with a grand slam for his second home run of the day off the foul pole. That was it for Diekman as Cesar Jimenez replaced him. Sandoval struck out for the third time today and Victorino flied out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-0.

                                                   Ramirez with the grand slam

Tommy Layne came on for mop up duty in bottom of the 9th and got Utley to ground out to first to start. Howard lined out but Ruiz worked a walk. Jeff Francoeur pinch hit for Sizemore but grounded out to Sandoval to end the game. The Red Sox win opening day 8-0!

                                                       Sox win the first game


The Good:

Hero of the day is Hanley Ramirez. He was 2 for 4 with two runs scored, a walk and two homers, one of which was a grand slam.

                                                       Hanley The Hero


Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 runs scored and a solo home run.

Dustin Pedroia saved a few runs in the field and went 3 for 5 at the plate with 2 solo home runs.

Clay Buchholz was outstanding. He tossed 7 innings of shut out ball, struck out 9 and allowed just three hits.

Mike Napoli worked a walk in his only at bat.

Allen Craig singled and scored in his only at bat.

Ryan Hanigan was 1 for 3 with a walk and helped Buchholz spin a beauty.

Junichi Tazawa worked a perfect 8th inning.

Tommy Layne pitched a scoreless 9th inning.




The Bad:

David Ortiz was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.




The Ugly:

Shane Victorino was 0 for 3 but walked twice, stole a base and made a running catch at the wall.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but walked.





Final Thoughts:

That was a good start. Great pitching and great hitting led to the win. Buchholz looked sharp and the offense was as formidable as it looked on paper in the off-season. Ortiz and Sandoval will have better days, that's for sure. Betts has no problem hitting inside balls, now let's see if he can have success when they start pitching him away. With Koji Uehara on the DL, it'll be interesting to see Edward Mujica as the closer when the situation comes up. After overcoming an April injury, he pitched very well the rest of the season in 2014. The Phillies rotation after this begins to go downhill, but then again so does Boston's. The next game will be Wednesday with Rick Porcello taking on Aaron Harang. So far the Sox are undefeated.

Red Sox trade for Jon Lester (4/1/15)

In a stunning turn of events, the Boston Red Sox have reunited with Jon Lester. The Red Sox traded prospects Mookie Betts, Henry Owens and Blake Swihart to the Chicago Cubs to bring back their ace left hander that departed last July. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherrington was ecstatic. "We tried very hard to get Jon back in the off-season and I'm pleased that we were able to do it now." Red Sox owner John Henry was equally pleased. "Jon is a great pitcher and we need great pitchers."

The only one who didn't seem to be amused was co-owner Larry Lucchino. The drawback of getting Lester was sacrificing the three prospects that would have made Pawtucket the top farm team in baseball. Lucchino was quoted to saying "I'm not sure sacrificing is our future for a 30+ year old pitcher is the best idea. We have to be thinking about the Provid....err I mean Pawtucket Red Sox don't we?"

Chicago Cubs general manager Theo Epstein was also all smiles. The Cubs haven't won a World Series in 107 years but he's confident that drought is about to end. "It was the right move to make. Lester by himself wouldn't have been able to take us to the promised land but Owens along with Swihart and Betts will get the job done." Swihart will be mentored by former Red Sox catcher David Ross. "I saw Blake in Pawtucket and now I'm honored to be working with him again. He'll be a star for years." Swihart will join Betts, Anthony Rizzo and a host of other young players that will impact the Cubs for years.

For the Red Sox, the loss of Betts means the outfield picture is a little more clear. It looks like Hanley Ramirez in left field, Rusney Castillo in center and Shane Victorino in right with Daniel Nava and Allen Craig on the bench. The loss of Swihart means the catching job is safely in Ryan Hanigan's hands. Henry Owens will be missed in Pawtucket (not Providence Larry) but the Pawsox have other left handers ready to roll.

The Sox rotation has instantly improved, now Lester takes the ball opening day with Clay Buchholz and Rick Porcello right behind. Joe Kelly and Wade Miley round out the rotation leaving Justin Masterson in the bullpen. The bullpen is now strengthed with Koji Uehara out. Edward Mujica is the closer with Junichi Tazawa and Craig Breslow the set up men with Robbie Ross, Masterson and possibly Brandon Workman the middle to long relievers.

The queston is who got the better end of the deal? The Sox will say they did because now they have their ace to go with their devastating lineup. The Cubs will counter saying they got the better end since they ended up with 3 blue chip prospects. A future ace, the top catcher and a dynamic player than can play both infield and out.

All in all it looks like the tonic both teams needed to contend. Maybe we'll see the long awaited Cubs/Red Sox world series. By the way.....April Fools.

Spring Training Report #3: Sox Post Amazing Comeback....that doesn't count (3/31/15)

For 8 innings, the Boston Red Sox appeared headed to a normal spring training loss. Most of the crowd had gone home and Sox manager John Farrell had the Pawtucket Red Sox in the game to play out the string. Then something interesting happened.

Quentin Berry (remember him?) led off the top of the 9th with a walk. Devin Marrero the Pawsox shortstop followed with a walk. Blake Swihart then tripled home the two runners. Brock Holt singled home Swihart to make it 8-5 and was replaced by pinch runner Alejandro Rodriguez. Rusney Castillo singled Rodriguez to third and Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash (08 Sox) brought in Colton Reavis. Reavis pitched like Beavis and Daniel Nava singled home Rodriguez as Castillo made a mad dash to third. Suddenly the tying runs were aboard with nobody out. Portland Sea Dogs first baseman/DH David Chester singled home Castillo as Nava went to third. Strikeout machine Jackie Bradley Jr walked to load the bases. Jemile Weeks then lashed a grounder to third basemen Jake Elmore who fired a desperation throw home, but Daniel Nava chugged and chugged and slid.....safe! Tie game! 

That was it for "Beavis" Reavis as Kyle "Flipping the" Bird replaced him with the impossible task of keeping the game tied. It didn't happen as the man who started the inning, Berry, grounded out to first but the runners all advanced, giving the Sox an improbably 9-8 lead. Marrero singled home Bradley Jr and Weeks advanced to third. Swihart put the icing on the cake with a single that scored Weeks and made the score 11-8. Nine runs scored with only one out in between. Rodriguez whiffed but Castillo got his second hit of the inning to re-load the bases. Unfortunately Nava grounded out but that was a heck of a comeback, even if it was against the Durham Bulls at this point.

Now could the Sox actually win the game? Pawtucket post-season hero Keith Couch had actually gone in the clubhouse expecting the game to be over. He had thrown the last three innings and gave up 4 runs (3 earned). Rather than sprint out of the dugout in his skivvies, Sox manager John Farrell actually had Keith warm him up in the bullpen again. Finally, he came on to close out the game. Couch got the final three outs without a sweat and the Sox had won it.

Yes, the Sox were down 6 runs in the ninth and won.....only problem is it's still spring training and it doesn't officially count. It makes a good one day story and its nice to see the guys getting hits, especially the prospects such as Castillo, Swihart and Marrero.

Bad news was Junichi Tazawa got lit up for 3 runs in one inning and the Sox committed four errors on the day.

Good news was Anthony Varvaro and Tommy Layne each pitched shutout frames.

Ugly news was Ed Mujica gave up a run but it was unearned.

What does this mean? Once again, absolutely nothing. Although the same exact players most likely won't be on the club, the same exact situation may pop up with a similar result. The Sox pitching staff is attrocious and the offense is going to have to carry them until help arrives from Pawtucket or elsewhere.

Spring Training Report #2 (3/30/15)

Christian Vazquez has been placed on the 60 day disabled list due to a "right elbow sprain"........oh s**t.

Not what the Sox needed. Vazquez wasn't going to be the second coming of Yadier Molina but he had a cannon arm that apparently has given out. Right now they're saying its just a sprain, but if there's a tear in his UCl, that means Tommy John surgery and adios muchachos. Now they can't possibly trade top catching prospect Blake Swihart now. Right?

Wrong! Apparently rather than promote Swihart to the big boys to take Christian's place, they named backup Ryan Hanigan the opening day starter and gave an autographed picture of John Henry to the Washington Nationals in exchange for another light hitting catcher, Sandy Leon. Even though Leon's strength is defense, he doesn't have the rocket arm. While that may not mean much, speedsters around the league would have to think twice with Vazquez behind the plate. Now they have carte blanche to steal at will. John Dillinger would be licking his lips right about now.

Does this mean the Sox are doomed? Not at all. Maybe Vazquez will be back in the future and maybe they DON'T deal Swihart and he turns out to be the real deal. Another overlooked aspect about Swihart is he has two minor league rings to his credit, one for leading the Salem Red Sox to the Mills Cup in 2013 and the other for helping Pawtucket to win the Governor's Cup last year. Not that minor league rings make much difference, but it does show an ability to hit in the clutch in pressure situations, no matter what level.

Besides, the Sox still have more headaches to worry about. Koji Uehara will start the season on the disabled list with his hamstring still bothering him, and the rotation is as bad as feared. Henry Owens is getting knocked around and so is Justin Masterson and Wade Miley. The Sox went into the season with a lineup and bench that's as good as anyone in the American League, but their pitching staff is one giant question mark. The good news is the Sox have until the trade deadline to get it right. Barring any other injuries, the lineup will keep them in games. Whether or not they'll make the moves at the deadline, or someone like Owens, Brian Johnson or Eduardo Rodriguez comes up from the minors tossing bullets....that remains to be seen.  Still, if the Sox went into the post-season with David Ortiz and Pablo Sandoval with six world series rings between them, I'll take our chances.

It also looks like Shane Victorino will be the opening day starter in right over Mookie Betts. When healthy Victorino was a great table setter on the 2013 Red Sox and hit the grand slam to pretty much clinch the pennant. If he's healthy, he deserves to start. If he falters, the Sox have their ace in the hole Mookie Betts chomping at the bit....provided the Sox don't trade him for Cole Hamels.

That's been the big scuttlebutt all off-season, will the Sox trade for Cole Hamels? They're going to have to give up Owens, Swihart and possibly Betts to get that done and I say to heck with that. Don't morgatge your future for a guy who hasn't been really relevent in 7 years.

In other news, old friend Ivan DeJesus Jr will be starting the year in Cincinnati's minor league camp, most likely ending up in Louisville.

Right now the lineup looks like Rusney Castillo leading off in center, Victorino in right, Dustin Pedroia at second, David Ortiz at DH, Hanley Ramirez in left, Mike Napoli at first, Pablo Sandoval at third, Xander Bogaerts at short and Hanigan catching. The bench appears to be Betts, Leon, Allen Craig (unless traded) and 6th man Brock Holt. Clay Buchholz takes the ball opening day followed by Rick Porcello, Joe Kelly, Wade Miley and Justin Masterson. The bullpen battle is ongoing but with Uehara out, Edward Mujica will be the closer. Junichi Tazawa and Craig Breslow will be the holdovers joined by Robbie Ross. With Uehara out, Anthony Vavaro may not get cut after all. Matt Barnes is in the mix as well. We'll find out in a few days what the final roster will be when the team breaks camp.  Unfortunately, they'll break camp without their starting catcher and their closer, calling Dr. Pierce!

Juan Pena: The Might-Have-Been (3/29/15)

There are countless tales of prospects and players that got hurt and robbed of their prime. Some careers are ended before they start like Len Bias and others end right in the middle like Reggie Lewis. There are others who have it then lose it in a blink of an eye like Daniel Bard and Dave Ferris, and then you have the players that show promise but never deliver like a Walt Dropo. Then....there's Juan Pena.

The tale of Juan Pena is a sad one, not just for himself but for Red Sox fans as well. For those who don't remember, Juan Pena was drafted as an 18 year old kid in 1995. After putting up impressive numbers for the Rookie League Red Sox in 1995, he graduated to the Class A Michigan Battle Cats for the 1996 season. Pena went 12-10 with a 2.97 ERA in 26 starts. He tossed 187 innings with 156 strikeouts. It was obvious the kid's fastball was going places. He hit a wall as a 20 year old in 1997 when he shuffled between A and Double-A (Trenton Thunder). He was 4-6 in single A and went 5-6 with a 4.73 ERA in Trenton. Still, he was just 20 years old and seemed to be on his way to the big leagues. In 1998 at age 20-21, he struggled for the Pawtucket Red Sox going 8-10 with a  4.43 ERA. Still, he had 146 strikeouts in 139 innings. Know who else struggled in AAA at age 21? Current Sox top prospect Henry Owens,who got hit hard after being called up to Pawtucket last year. A rash of injuries and ineffectiveness in 1999 led to Pena being called up to Boston.

On May 8, 1999, the Red Sox were 14-14 after a Pedro Martinez shut-out the game before brought them to .500. It would be Juan's major league debut against Mo Vaughn and the Anaheim Angels at Fenway Park. Pena got Darren Erstad and Andy Sheets (00 Sox) before striking out Big Mo to end the top of the first. Juan got Garrett Anderson to pop up then struck out Troy Glaus and Todd Greene in the top of the second. Staked to a 1-0 lead, Tim Unroe struck out to begin the top of the third. Matt Walbeck bunted back to the mound for the second out but Jeff Huson walked. Darren Erstad tied the game with a double but Pena struck Sheets out again to retire the side. That's 5 strikeouts in 3 innings and only gave up the one hit to Erstad. The Sox offense got Pena another run in the bottom of the third and Juan capitalized on the break in the top of the fourth. Facing three very good players of the era, Pena got Vaughn to ground out, Anderson to strike out and Glaus to ground out. Still leading 2-1 in the 5th, Pena got Greene to pop out and struck out Unroe before allowing a single to Walbeck. Juan got Huson to line out to end the inning. In the top of the 6th, Erstad flew out, Sheets struck out for the third time but Vaughn singled. Pena dug in and got Anderson to ground out to end the threat. Pena finished with 6 innings pitched allowing three hits, one run and struck out seven. The Sox offense put four runs on the board in the bottom of the 6th and Pena gave way to Derek Lowe, yes, the same post-season hero from 2004. Lowe pitched three scoreless innings and preserved the save for Pena.

Six days later Pena was matched up against Toronto Blue Jays ace David Wells (05 Sox) in Toronto. In the bottom of the first, Pena got Shannon Stewart to ground out before Craig Grebeck (01 Sox) singled. Shawn Greene struck out but Carlos Delgado singled. Tony Fernandez lined out to end the threat. Pena breezed through the second in a flourish by striking out Willie Greene and Jose Cruz before getting Pat Kelly to ground out. Future St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny led off the bottom of the third with a ground-out but Stewart singled. Stewart was erased when Jason Varitek gunned him down trying to steal and Grebeck walked. Green lined out to end it as Pena had now pitched 8 scoreless innings out of 9. Pena continued to impress by striking out the side in the bottom of the 4th wrapped around a single. The Sox offense finally got to Wells by putting up 2 runs in the top of the 5th. Pena got into trouble when Kelly bunted his way on and Matheny reached on a slow roller, but a line shot by Stewart was snatched by Nomar Garciaparra who stepped on second to double off Kelly. Grebeck grounded out to end the inning. Keeping his hot streak, Juan worked around a walk to retire the side with no damage in the bottom of the 6th. A Jason Varitek homer gave the Sox a 3-0 lead and Pena came on for the bottom of the 7th. Cruz grounded out, Kelly popped up and Matheny struck out to end the inning. That was it for Pena as Derek Lowe and lefty Rheal Cormier got the last 6 outs to preserve the win. Pena pitched 7 innings of shut out ball, walking two, giving up six hits and striking out seven batters.

Pena had won both his starts, pitching 13 innings with only one run allowed on nine hits and 14 strikeouts. Injuries derailed him from making any further contributions in 1999, a shame since they really could have used him in the 99 playoffs. Still, the Red Sox made it to the American League Championship series where they lost in 5 to the New York Yankees. Sox manager Jimy Williams made very questionable decisions by releasing two starters and leaving both Tim Wakefield and Reggie Jefferson off the post-season roster. Imagine if the Sox had Tim Wakefield or Pena against the Yankees instead of Kent Mercker? Going into the 2000 season, Bret Saberhagen would be lost for the season and the Sox signed Jeff Fassero to replace him. The rotation looked like Pedro Martinez, Pedro's brother Ramon, Pete Schourek, Fassero and most likely Juan Pena. Pedro was clearly the ace of the time, but Pena was going to be the ace of the future it seemed.

                                  The sky was the limit for Pena heading into the 2000 season.

It never happened. Juan started spring training with a flourish, but a line drive during one start shattered his elbow. Pena would miss the entire season and most of 2001. The 2000 Sox finished 3 games behind the Yankees as the Sox were forced to hand the ball to rookies like Tomo Ohka, spot starter Dan Smith and a washed up Steve Ontiveros when they could have gone with a healthy Pena. Fans were hoping Pena could come back for the 2001 stretch run after showing amazing promise in 1999. It didn't happen, the Sox plummeted out of contention and Pena struggled in Single A with his rebuilt arm, going 0-3 with a hideous 5.18 ERA. Still, most pitchers take two years to heal from surgery and fans looked for him to rebound in 2002. The rotation was improved from the previous two seasons with Pedro, converted reliever Lowe, John Burkett, Dustin Hermanson and junkballer Casey Fossum. If Pena could dominate hitters again, he could step into replace Hermanson or Fossum by season's end. The opportunity to replace Hermanson came the first week of the season when Dustin got hurt and missed the next 3 months. Unfortunately, Pena wasn't the same. Losing the ability to blow away hitters, his junk was worthless and he got lit up in Pawtucket. He was just 4-11 with a 5.33 ERA with just 59 strikeouts in 82 innings. Sox management knew that he was never going to be the phenom with his arm permanently damaged and they cut him loose after the 2002 season. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2003 season but was lit up in Double and Triple A before being released. His big league career was over at the age of 26.

Its a shame things ended the way they did. For two weeks in May of 1999, the heir apparent to Pedro Martinez seemed to be right around the corner. Even if Pena was a 13-12 or a 11-10 pitcher, it still would have been better than some of the crap that preceded Curt Schilling, Pedro and Lowe in 2004. Again, the Sox fought for first place much of 2000 and 2001 and a healthy Juan Pena would have given the Sox a better chance to win both seasons. To be fair, what doomed the 2000 Sox was a lack of offense. Still, if Pena pitched for at least 10 years, he still would have been around in 2009 long after Martinez and Schilling were gone. Still, Sox fans can't complain too much, the Sox did manage to win the World Series with great pitching in 2004, 2007 and 2013 (Pena would have been 36 years old in 2013). On the other hand, could they have made the playoffs in 2000, 2001 or 2002 when they really could have used Juan? We'll never know.

Spring Training Report #1 (3/15/15)

Spring training is upon us and so far its been as expected. The Sox have to outslug everyone in order to win. Koji Uehara looks rusty as hell but better be rusty now than in April.

Blake Swihart appears to be a serious challenger for Christian Vazquez' starting catching spot. He'll start the year in Pawtucket but if Ryan Hannigan sucks, gets hurt or if Vazquez sucks or gets hurt, you'll see Swihart sooner than later.

The oblique injury to Rusney Castillo gave Mookie Betts the inside track on the starting centerfield job and he's been outstanding so far.

Clay Buchholz has pitched outstanding so far, but, its only spring. He won't stay healthy all year so the hope is he'll go 10-1 like he did in 2013 before he goes down.

Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval have lived up to their billing, swatting home runs and getting along great. If these two can stay healthy and David Ortiz has one good year left in him, this may be a lineup for the ages.

Justin Masterson has been up and down, which is normal for a 5th starter, but they hoped he'd be a number 3. He either gets the ground ball or someone hits it out, that's not a good thing.

Wade Miley has been all smiles so far, we'll see how that changes when he faces American League pitching.i

Matt Barnes could be their late inning pitching help if Craig Breslow, Uehara or Junichi Tazawa falter.


Today's highlight was Ryan Howard completely airmailing the second basemen on a routine double play ball. Don Orsillo was caught by surprise, "Howard will go to second base..NO, he'll go to left field!"

Winter Report: Sox trade Ranaudo (1/28/15)

There are trades that make a lot of sense, there are trades that make you jump for joy, there are trades that benefit both teams......and then there's this one.

The Red Sox traded up and coming 25 year old Anthony Ranaudo to the Texas Rangers for floundering 25 year old relief pitcher Robbie Ross.  WHAT???

                                                     Outraged Sox fan

Ranaudo set the Portland Sea Dogs record for strikeouts in 2013 and won the Triple A version of the Cy Young last year. He also won a few games for one of the worst offensive teams in the majors last year....but apparently that wasn't good enough.

              35 minor league wins and 4 major league wins down the drain....

So who is Robbie Ross and why did the Sox give Ranaudo away for him? Ross came up as a 22 year old rookie in 2012 and had two good seasons (2.62 ERA combined) before American League batters started to figure him out. He pitched miserably out of the bullpen before being demoted to Round Rock, and then he came back up as a starter and floundered in the rotation as well. If that's not bad enough, he's not a prototypical lefty as he struggles against lefty batters.   So basically the Red Sox just traded a potential ace for a below average reliever who may not even make the opening day roster. As with any trade, its too early to tell whether or not it was a bad one....but giving the credentials of both men involved, this looks like a rape for Texas.

                                            Welcome to Boston...you better produce

Now with Ranaudo gone, Pawtucket's rotation looks like Henry Owens, Edwin Escobar, Brian Johnson, Keith Couch and Eduardo Rodriguez.  Potentially devastating but if Ross flops in Boston, they won't need him in AAA with Drake Britton their top lefty.