Thursday, December 15, 2016

Junichi Tazawa signs with Miami Marlins (12/15/16)

Its official, the Orient Express is now no more. With Koji Uehara going to the Cubs and now Junichi Tazawa is headed to Miami. This brings the end of an impressive tag-team that terrorized American League batters from 2013-2016.
                                                              So long Orient Express

Tazawa was undrafted out of high school in Japan before joining an independent league over there. At the end of the 2008 season he decided to try his luck in the USA. He signed with the Boston Red Sox and made his pro debut in 2009 with the Portland Sea Dogs.
                                              Portland's best pitcher in the first half of 09

Tazawa was quickly brought up to Pawtucket and then on August 7, he was sent to the majors to replace the ineffective John Smoltz....yeah, remember that? Tazawa had a very eventful rookie season. He was pressed into emergency service that night in extra innings against the eventual world champion New York Yankees. Alex Rodriguez hit a walkoff two run bomb against him. Welcome to the big leagues. 4 days later he got his first major league start against Detroit and it ignited a very famous brawl. Tazawa hit Miguel Cabrera on the hand and Tigers starter Rick Porcello started headhunting Kevin Youkilis, causing him to charge the mound and get both of them thrown out. Tazawa got his first pro win. He ended the season with a 2-3 record and a hideous 7.46 ERA in 4 starts and 2 relief appearances.
                                                    Giving up walkoffs and starting fights

It turns out Tazawa's arm was hanging at the end of the 2009 season and he ended up having Tommy John surgery in early 2010, wiping out not only his 2010 season but most of his 2011 season as well. He appeared in just 3 games at the end of 2011.  During the embarassing 2012 season, Tazawa came back to be one of the team's best relief pitchers, giving up just 7 runs and striking out 45 in 44 innings. This display of effectiveness led Taz to become a primary set up man for the next 4 seasons. His shining moments came in the 2013 playoffs where he absolutely dominated Miguel Cabrera, setting up the 6 game series win over the Detroit Tigers. He allowed just 1 run the entire post-season in 7 1/3 innings as the Sox won the World Series.

Tazawa had an even better 2014 season for a declining Red Sox team posting a 2.86 ERA. Then his arm started to fall off again. So many innings took their toll on Tazawa as he fatigued down the stretch in 2015 and parts of 2016. With the addition of Tyler Thornburg and the impending return of Carson Smith, the Sox felt that Tazawa was all washed up and let him go. Its a shame it had to end like this but that's the nature of the game. Hopefully he'll do well with Miami in 2017. Thanks for the memories Taz.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Anthony Vavaro joins police force (12/10/16)

Anthony Varvaro only pitched in 9 games for the Boston Red Sox and was primarily one of Pawtucket's primary relief pitchers from 2015-16, but he has retired from baseball to focus on a career in law enforcement.
                                                           So long Vavaro
He graduated from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday and was one of 79 graduates at the ceremony.
                                                      Congratulations
He spent years keeping enemy batters off base and now he'll try to keep the streets safe in an era where there's a lot of divided Americans.

Good luck and thank you for the last two years.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Koji Uehara leaves for Cubs (12/8/16)

The trade of Tyler Thornburg and the rise of Joe Kelly in the second half of the season signaled the end of Koji Uehara's time in Boston. One of the most popular players the last four years, Koji took the set-up job for the world champion Chicago Cubs.
                                                                    So long Koji
Apart from injuries, Koji had one of the most dominant 4 year stretches as a reliever since Jonathan Papelbon was borderline unhittable from 2006-09. His 2013 season was as good as ANY reliever in history including Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. Apart from one hiccup against Tampa Bay, he was automatic as it got, winning the 2013 ALCS MVP for saving the Sox bacon in Game's 3, 5 and 6 as well as keeping them in it in Game 2. He also closed out Game's 4, 5 and 6 of the World Series and one of the most iconic images of that season was him jumping into David Ross' arms and pointing his finger sky high. We're number 1!


He almost equaled his 2013 season a year later but the team fell apart so bad that his effort was wasted and probably will be forgotten

His 2015 season was cut short when he fractured his arm on a line drive, and his injury cost the Red Sox a playoff spot. The 2015 Red Sox went on a tear in August and September but blew about 7 games during that stretch because both Uehara and later Tazawa were out. For a team that went 78-84, add at least 5 more wins against certain teams and they win 83 games to salvage the season.

This year once again injuries crept up on the now 41 year old but when he was healthy, he was positively dominant in the set up role and as closer when Craig Kimbrel went down due to injury. He may have won only 1 ring in his four years here, but he put them in position to win almost every game he was in.

Not only his on field production but his bubbly, enthusiastic personality will be missed too. Him and the retiring David Ortiz made post-game celebrations hilarious comedy. The 2017 Red Sox won't be the same without either of them.

He joins the world champions as set-up to new closer Wade Davis. Hope he has another good year for the champs and if the Cubs are the dynasty in the making Theo built (without Larry Lucchino to ruin it) then hopefully we could see a Cubs/Sox world series (provided Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello are the real deal in 2017).

Thanks for the four years of service.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Sox Make Blockbuster Trades, get Thornburg, Sale, Moreland (12/6/16)

Say what you will about Dave Dombrowski, he certainly isn't taking the Boston Red Sox miserable postseason performance lying down. Today he dropped a bomb on Major League Baseball by wheeling and dealing to acquire all-star pitcher Chris Sale, top relief pitcher Tyler Thornburg and first baseman Mitch Moreland. The Sox parted with Travis Shaw along with top prospects Mauricio Dubon, Josh Pennington, Luis Basabe, Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech and Victor Diaz. This leaves the farm system gutted, but the point isn't to win Minor League championships, its to win the World Series. Just ask the Chicago Cubs who broke an 108 year curse to win the 2016 World Series.
                                                                           OUT
                                                                 IN

With the injury to Carson Smith and the overuse of The Orient Express, the Sox were a little thin in the bullpen until Dombrowski went and traded for Brad Ziegler. Ziegler stablized the bullpen and was a key element down the stretch as the Sox made their march to the American League East Division title. Ziegler was just a rental as he expressed his desire to close somewhere else. Thornburg was the Milwaukee Brewers' best pitcher which isn't saying much, but its a good start. The bullpen came together in September apart from Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly's meltdown in the Bronx but they're going to need help if Junichi Tazawa joins Ziegler in free agency and Koji Uehara retires. Carson Smith may never be the same again so Thornburg stabilizes the bullpen on paper with Heath Hembree, Kimbrel, Robbie Ross Jr, Kelly and Robbie Scott in the mix.

With David Ortiz riding off into the sunset, the addition of Moreland pretty much solififies Hanley Ramirez as the DH next year, which was the idea two years ago. The shocking solid play at first place was a bonus for Ramirez who now only has to concentrate on hitting without getting beat up in the field. Moreland has never been a spectacular hitter but his numbers are on par with the now departed Travis Shaw. Unfortunately, with Shaw and Moncada gone, that means the third base slot will now be a free for all between the 500 pound Pablo Sandoval, super utility man Brock "Hitman" Holt and the rehabbing prospect Sam Travis, who was headed for a breakout season last year before tearing a knee. If nothing else, Moreland could be a Doug Mientkiewicz type because he's a solid glove at first place.

Last and certainly not least was the gem of the trade, All-Star White Sox starter Chris Sale. It would be unfair to expect Rick Porcello to have another year like he had last year and David Price is another year older. We have no idea if Drew Pomeranz will be any good or if Steven Wright can stay healthy. The addition of Sale to an already formidble rotation could put the Sox back in front of the American League East.

As it stands now, check out this team (not counting free agents).

Sp - Chris Sale
Sp - David Price
Sp - Rick Porcello
Sp - Clay Buchholz
Sp - Steven Wright/Eduardo Rodriguez//Drew Pomeranz

Rp - Craig Kimbrel
Rp - Tyler Thornburg
Rp - Robbie Ross Jr
Rp - Heath Hembree
Rp - Joe Kelly
Rp - Robbie Scott

2B - Dustin Pedroia
LF - Andrew Benintendi
SS - Xander Bogaerts
RF - Mookie Betts
DH - Hanley Ramirez
3B - Pablo Sandoval
C - Christian Vazquez
1B - Mitch Moreland
CF - Jackie Bradley Jr

C- Sandy Leon
3B - Brock Holt
OF - Chris Young
OF - Blake Swihart
INF - Devin Marrero

Unless the Red Sox outbid everyone for Edwin Encarnarcion or Jose Bautista, the offense is going to have a definite dropoff with Travis Shaw and David Ortiz gone. Still, the name of the game is pitching and guys like Thornburg and Sale are going to help limit runs to aid the limited offense.

How does this effect the AL East? The other teams need to make some big moves to keep up. The Toronto Blue Jays can't expect JA Happ to have another year like he had last year where he damn near beat out Rick Porcello for the Cy Young award. They also have to contend with both Edwin Encarnarcion and Jose Bautista hitting free agency. The Red Sox are very interested in Encarnarcion which is going drive his price-tag up. The New York Yankees signed Matt Holiday but he can't carry an offense by himself. If either one of those two sluggers leave, that's a huge blow to Toronto's offense. The Baltimore Orioles had one of the most incredible seasons by having one of the worst rotations in baseball but had one of the best offenses and bullpens. Their offense can pound the ball but what if Mark Trumbo or Chris Davis has a down year? Unless they make a trade or outbid people, they're not gonna have the firepower to match Boston or Toronto for that matter. The Tampa Bay Rays...pfft, forget them. With Joe Maddon out the door this team lost the spark that kept them relevent from 2008-14. They don't have the money to sign guys like Encarnarcion and they aren't churning out prospects like they did in that timeframe.  That just leaves the Yankees...oh the Yankees. General Manager Brian Cashman is already shitting bricks as he's been quoting as saying Chris Sale going to Boston is like Kevin Durant going to Golden State. The Yankees refused to part with the prospects they got for Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran so they're going to gamble on a youth movement. They have a boatload of young talent but they need time to develop, which isn't going to be fun to suffer through.

Free agency hasn't kicked into high gear quite yet so there could still be some wheeling and dealing, but as it is right now having Sale, Price and Porcello is downright scary. Maybe David Ortiz should reconsider retirement.