O's Shut Down Lifeless Sox (4/3/21)

So much for the "great Spring Training" the Boston Red Sox had. After hitting home runs left and right in the 75 degree weather, the Sox have come home to under 40 degree weather and have gone cold. Once again the Sox got shut down by the Baltimore Orioles. Matt Harvey held the Sox to 2 runs in 4 2/3 innings and the O's bullpen shut them out the rest of the way. Tanner Houck (0-1, 3.60 ERA) was game for 5 innings but allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on some more bad defense. Rafael Devers made a huge error and Franchy Cordero struck out in a huge spot in the bottom of the ninth. It all added up to a 4-2 defeat by the Orioles at Fenway Park.

Houck got the ball in the top of the first and Cedric Mullins greeted him with a base hit to center. Kike Hernandez made a heads up play to allow a pop up from Trey Mancini to drop, forcing the faster Mullins at second. Mancini moved to second on a wild pitch but Houck struck out Anthony Santander swinging. Ryan Mountcastle lined out to center to end the inning. Matt Harvey got the ball in the bottom of the first and Hernandez grounded out to third to start. Alex Verdugo lined out to center and JD Martinez hit a routine fly to Austin Hays....who lost it in the sun for a "double". Xander Bogaerts popped up to short to end the inning.

Houck turned up the heat in the top of the second as he blew away Rio Ruiz swinging to start. Hays and Mikael Franco also went down hacking to end the inning. Rafael Devers went down hacking to start the bottom of the second but Marwin Gonzalez lined a base hit to left. Bobby Dalbec went down hacking but Gonzalez stole second. Franchy Cordero made his Sox debut by grounding out to second to end the inning.

Houck froze Freddy Galvis for strike three to start the top of the third but Pedro Severino blooped a single to center. Mullins lined out to left and Mancini went down swinging to end the inning. Kevin Plawecki went down swinging to start the bottom of the third before Hernandez grounded out to second. Verdugo flied out to center to end the inning.

Santander grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fourth inning and Mountcastle flied out to center. Ruiz walked and Devers threw a ball away hit by Hays for an error to put runners at the corners. A passed ball moved Hays to second and both scored on the roller up the middle by Franco to put the O's up for good. Houck froze Galvis strike three to end the inning but the O's were up 2-0.

                                                      Nice throw Devers

Martinez tried to start a rally with a base hit passed the diving Galvis to start the bottom of the fourth. Bogaerts lined a base hit to right and both runners moved over on the grounder to first by Devers. Gonzalez scored Martinez with a sac fly for the first run of the season and Bogaerts moved to third on the out. Dalbec whiffed on a straight 94 mph fastball right down the middle to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                            "Can you guys score for me?" - Houck

Naturally the O's came right back as Severino doubled over the head of Devers into the left field corner to start the top of the fifth. Mullins moved Severino over to third with a grounder to second but Mancini grounded out to short. Bogaerts then booted a routine grounder by Santander for an rbi "single" to ice the game. Houck blew away Mountcastle to end the inning but the O's were up 3-1. That was it for Houck who allowed 3 runs in 5 innings in just 85 pitches.

                                              "I got it...I got it....I don't got it" - Bogaerts

The Sox responded in the bottom of the fifth although Cordero popped up to third to start. Plawecki singled up the middle and Hernandez walked, but Verdugo flied out to left. Martinez lined one off Harvey into no man's land that scored Plawecki from second. That was it for Harvey as Adam Plutko came in and got Bogaerts to ground out to third to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.

                                                       Martinez drives in a run

Austin Brice came in for the top of the sixth and Ruiz popped up to third to start. Hays flied out to the left field wall and Franco grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox failed to score in the bottom of the sixth as Devers popped up to first to start. Gonzalez singled to center and moved over on a grounder by Dalbec, but Cordero whiffed to end the inning.

Darwinzon Hernandez made his season debut in the top of the seventh and Galvis singled to left to start. Galvis whiffed but Galvis moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a Mullins single to left. Sox pitching coach Dave Bush sprinted to the mound to tell Darwinzon that Chutes & Ladders was a good board game and naturally Galvis scored on a sac fly by Mancini. Santander took strike three to end the inning but it was 4-2 O's.

                                                    "Pitch better Darwinzon" - DB

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the seventh as Plawecki hit a broken bat ground out to short to start. Hernandez popped up to right and Verdugo looked at strike three at the knees to end the inning.

Phillips Valdez came in for the top of the eighth and Mountcastle grounded out to first to start. Ruiz grounded out to short and Hays grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Dillon Tate came in for the bottom of the eighth and Martinez whiffed to start. Bogaerts popped up to first and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning.

Valdez returned for the top of the ninth and Franco grounded out to third to start. Galvis flied out to center and Severino whiffed to end the inning. Ramon Urias came in for Franco and Cesar Valdez came in to close out the bottom of the ninth. Gonzalez took a ball off the foot to start and Dalbec drew a walk to put the tying runs on. Naturally Cordero whiffed on a 3-2 pitch down and in to kill the momentum. Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Plawecki and lined out to left. Hernandez grounded out to second to end the game. The lifeless Sox dropped another one 4-2.

                                                           O's win

Jackass of the Night is Rafael Devers. He went 0 for 4 at the plate and made a critical error to put Baltimore up for good.

                                                    Devers the Jackass

The Good:

JD Martinez was 3 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.

Marwin Gonzalez was 2 for 2 with a hit by pitch, stolen base and an rbi.

Kevin Plawecki was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

Austin Brice pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

Phillips Valdez tossed 2 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Alex Verdugo was 0 for 1 with a strikeout.

Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4.

Franchy Cordero was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Darwinzon Hernandez allowed a run in the top of the seventh.

The Ugly:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 but walked.

Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts and a walk.

Tanner Houck took the loss by allowing 3 runs in 5 innings but only 2 were earned and he struck out 8 batters.

Final Thoughts:

This is going to be a long year for the Boston Red Sox if they can't beat the Baltimore Orioles. If they can't beat these bums, how are they going to beat the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays or any of the good National League teams in interleague? The O's bullpen have tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings the last two games and that would be laughable last year. One thing is for sure, this isn't Spring Training anymore. All the good the Sox did down in sunny Florida didn't translate to frozen Boston. They're not hitting in the clutch, they're not playing good defense and the bullpen has allowed 3 runs in two games. Houck pitched good but some defensive miscues and Dr. Quick Hook made his day short. If Franchy Cordero is really the second coming of Wily Mo Pena, this is gonna be a long year. There's no need to panic after just two games but if this trend of bad hitting and bad defense continues, what's going to happen when Nathan Eovaldi gets hurt and MLB figures out Houck? Tomorrow the Sox look to avoid the sweep when Garrett Richards makes his Sox debut against Bruce Zimmermann. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.

O's Shut Out Sox on Opening Day (4/2/21)

Opening Day did not go as planned for the Boston Red Sox. With a game time temperature of 36 degrees, the Sox played like they did not want to be out there against the Baltimore Orioles. John Means of the O's dazzled the Sox allowing 1 hit in 7 innings of work. Nathan Eovaldi (0-1, 1.69 ERA) was game but lifted in the sixth inning. The O's pounced on the Sox bullpen for 3 runs and it was more than enough for Means and the Orioles. Bad defense and bad offense led to a bad 3-0 loss on Opening Day at Fenway Park. How many runs did the Red Sox score Dean Wormer?

Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first inning and Cedric Mullins hit an accidental swinging bunt single to third to start. Trey Mancini returned from beating cancer to hit into a double play. Anthony Santander popped up to left to end the inning. John Means got the ball for the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez made his Red Sox debut by slapping a single to right. Alex Verdugo popped up to right and Hernandez damn near rolled his ankle on a pickoff throw. Baltimore challenged the call and sure enough, Hernandez was called out. Martinez lined out to the left field warning track to end the inning.

                                                            Yerrrrr out!

Ryan Mountcastle led off the top of the second by grounding out to second to begin. Rio Ruiz worked a walk on a questionable call on the corner so Eovaldi punched out Austin Hays on a high fast ball. Maikel Franco hit a little roller to short but Devers walked in front of Bogaerts only to drop the ball for a "single". Freddy Galvis flied out to a running Verdugo to end the inning. Franco booted a grounder by Xander Bogaerts for an error to start the bottom of the second. Bogaerts hugged Mancini as a welcome back but Devers popped up to a sliding Ruiz. Hunter Renfroe made his Sox debut by striking out swinging and Marwin Gonzalez made his Sox debut by grounding out to short to end the inning.

                                                        Welcome back Mancini

Pedro Severino singled to right to start the top of the third but Mullins flied out to right. Mancini banged into a double play to end the inning. Christian Vazquez began the bottom of the third by popping up to first. Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging and Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning.

Santander grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth and Eovaldi blew away Mountcastle with a high fastball. Ruiz hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.  The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Verdugo popped up to third in foul territory to start. Martinez popped up to left and Bogaerts took strike three on the outside corner to end the inning.

Hays whiffed on a high fastball to start the top of the fifth and Franco popped up to a running Hernandez. Galvis grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Means cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Devers grounded out to first to start. Renfroe whiffed again and Gonzalez popped up to a running Ruiz to end the inning. 

The O's struck first in the top of the sixth as Severino beat out an infield single to short to start. Eovaldi blew away Mullins and Sox manager Alex Cora decided to pull him. Eovaldi threw 89 pitches and allowed 4 hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings.

                                                        Eovaldi does a good job

Matt Andriese came in and walked Mancini and Hernandez bobbled a double play ball by Santander for an error to load the bases.. Mountcastle doubled off the Monster to score Severino and Mancini to ice the game. Ruiz took strike three and Hays flied out to right to end the inning but the O's were up 2-0.

                                                  Mountcastle puts Baltimore on top 

Means continued his dominance in the bottom of the sixth as Vazquez popped up to right to start. Dalbec flied out to the left field wall and Hernandez popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox hadnt had a hit since the first batter of the game.

Andriese returned for the top of the seventh and Franco grounded out to short to start. Galvis lined out to a running Gonzalez and Severino went down hacking to end the inning. Ruiz robbed Verdugo of a base hit to start the bottom of the seventh and Means blew away Martinez with a straight 93 mph fastball down the middle. Bogaerts popped up to center to end the inning. Means had retired 18 in a row.

Josh Taylor came in to get pounded in the top of the eighth and Mullins effortlessly singled to right. Mancini singled off the box seats along the left field and Santander singled to right to score Mullins. Renfroe threw to Devers who caught Mancini in a rundown but ended up tagging out Santander instead. That was it for Taylor as Austin Brice came in and got Mountcastle to ground out to third. Ruiz grounded out to third to end the inning with the O's up 3-0.

                                                        Yerrrrr out!

Tanner Scott came in for the bottom of the eighth and immediately walked Devers to start. Renfroe earned the hat trick with a swinging strikeout and Gonzalez lined out out to center. Vazquez drew a walk but Dalbec watched strike three right down the middle to end the inning. 

Hiro Sawamura made his ML debut in the top of the ninth and struck out Hays swinging to start. Franco grounded out to third but Verdugo badly mishandled a "double" by Galvis. Severino grounded out to first to end the inning. Nice debut by Sawamura.

                                                 Scoreless inning for Sawamura

Ramon Urias took over for Franco with Cesar Valdez on the mound to close out the bottom of the ninth. Hernandez whiffed and Verdugo grounded out to first, but Martinez got the first hit since the first batter of the game with a double to left. Martinez took third on a passed ball but Santander made a running grab off a Bogaerts line drive to end the game. The O's had won it 3-0

                                                           O's win

Jackass of the Night is Kike Hernandez. Not only did he get picked off in the first inning but his error in the sixth led the way for the O's to take command of the game.

                                                           Make the play, Jackass!

The Good:

One of the rare times the losing pitcher is on the Good list but Nathan Eovaldi pitched well in his debut. He went 5 1/3 innings and was charged with a run. He allowed just 4 hits and a walk.

Austin Brice got the final two outs of the eighth inning.

Hiro Sawamura pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Marwin Gonzalez was 0 for 3.

Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Matt Andriese allowed an inherited runner to score and one of his own in 1 2/3 innings.

Josh Taylor allowed a run in 1/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 2 with bad plays on defense, but walked.

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 2 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

New year, same old Red Sox. They couldn't do anything on offense when they fell behind and returning manager Alex Cora pulled Eovaldi way too early. Eovaldi threw 89 pitched and the bullpen faltered. Meanwhile the O's let Means go a full 7, pitch count be damned. It was a bad day all around as Devers, Verdugo and Hernandez all made errors or boneheaded plays, Hunter Renfroe couldn't hit a ball off a tee and Bobby Dalbec choked with the game on the line. Apart from Eovaldi and Sawamura, there was absolutely nothing to like about the Sox today. With Matt Barnes out with Covid, Cora is going to have to go to his bullpen often to see who can get guys out. Sawamura looked pretty good but everyone else including Adam Ottavino is a crap shot. Then there's the offense that probably wasn't help by the cold temperature. It was actually colder today than it was for the New England Patriots game against the Buffalo Bills on December 28th. The Sox played like it as Hernandez and Martinez were the only ones to get hits and not a single player reached third base. Now this is no time to panic since its only the first game of the year, but the bullpen was always going to be an issue. The good news is after Means, the O's don't have much else pitching wise so more than likely the Sox are going to be able to score the next few games. Tanner Houck makes his season debut tomorrow against Matt Harvey of the Orioles. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Get Bryant in Osich Trade (2/27/21)

Back on August 31st of last season, the Boston Red Sox sent relief pitcher Josh Osich to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. That player was finally named and it was 22 year old pitcher Zach Bryant. Bryant was a 15th round pick out of Jacksonville U by the Cubs in 2019 and he struck out 24 batters in 21 innings bouncing between rookie ball and Low A. As with every minor leaguer, he lost last season due to COVID so development has been delayed. Whether or not he is traded, flames out or develops is anyone's guess but the fact that Sox GM Chaim Bloom was able to get something for Osich is a miracle in itself. Welcome aboard Zach, see you in Salem.....if there is a season.

                                                              He looks happy....for now.

Sox Make Trade With Rays, Get Hernandez & Sogard (2/17/21)

In what goes down as one of the biggest "huh?" trades in recent memory, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays made a peculiar trade today. The Red Sox sent cash, Jeffrey Springs and Chris Mazza to the Rays in exchange for 23 year old infield prospect Nick Sogard and 23 year old catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez.

                                                                 OUT

                                                              IN

Obviously Tampa's thinking.......I don't know WHAT the hell they're thinking! Mazza and Springs were apart of the most ridiculous pitching staff since the days of Bill Veeck and for some reason Tampa thinks they can get something out of them. Anyone who suffered through the Sox last year knows Springs gave them nothing and Mazza every now and then could go a few innings. Other than that, this trade makes no sense for the Rays at all.

Now what did the Sox get? Sogard is the cousin of MLB infielder Eric Sogard. He graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2019 and had a good showing for the Hudson Valley Renegades at the end of that year. Like with everyone else, his 2020 season was wiped out by Covid. The Rays don't think too highly of him but if nothing else, he'll fill out the roster in A ball. Hernandez seems to be the centerpiece of the trade. The catching prospect had a breakout year for the Single A Bowling Green Hot Rods by slamming 21 home runs and knocking in 79 runs at the age of 20 in 2018. He regressed in 2019 as he made the jump to High A, hitting only 9 home runs while driving in 60. Just like everyone else, his 2020 season was cancelled by Covid. The Sox already have Connor Wong to start the season in Worcester so it looks like Hernandez will be catching down in Portland to start the season.

All in all it looks like yet another player for prospects dump by Sox general manager Chaim Bloom. Unlike the other trades where they gave up the careers of Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi, this time they were the ones that look to have won the trade. Just the fact Bloom got anything for Springs and Mazza after how bad 2020 was is a miracle in itself. If nothing else at least Worcester, Portland, Salem and Greenville will at least have respectable rosters in 2021....if there is a season that is.

Andrew Benintendi Traded To Royals (2/10/21)

In 2017 the Boston Red Sox boasted the best young outfield in baseball. Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr were all home grown by the Sox system and were perennial favorites. Andrew Benintendi finished second in Rookie of The Year voting in 2017 while Mookie Betts took home AL MVP honors in 2018. Also in 2018, Jackie Bradley won ALCS MVP as the Sox took out the defending 103 win Houston Astros on their way to the World Series. 4 years later all three of them are gone. Thank's a lot Chaim Bloom. Betts was traded a year ago, JBJ is currently a free agent and Andrew Benintendi was traded to the Kansas City Royals tonight. Goodbye Killer' B's

                                                       Sox found a way to screw this up

Benintendi was sent packing in exchange for often injured, all or nothing outfielder Franchy Cordero, 22 year old pitching prospect Josh Winckowski and 3 players to be named later. Benintendi is coming off two declining years so the Sox weren't going to get much for him, but they traded him anyway.

                                                                        OUT

                                                                             IN

So who are these guys? Cordero has battled injuries and ineffectiveness his whole career. He's another one of these "launch angle" guys that can hit the ball a mile once every five days while striking out more often than not...and that's if he's healthy. Winckowski was drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays and has no control.

You can look at it two ways, with pessimism or optism. For most of us who want to throw banana peels at Bloom for trading Benintendi, they essentially gave up on a 26 year old because he had a below average year and a half. If he turns out to be more like Dwight Evans than we think, this will turn out to be a bad, BAD trade given the low return. The optimistic route focuses on what they will get in the future more than what they gave up. The centerpiece of the deal was the 3 players to be named, 2 from the Royals and 1 from the New York Mets. Since there were no minor league games last years, scouts and talent evaluators had nothing to work with and therefore, it would be unwise to deal for unproven commodities. If the season starts on time and with minor leagues unchanged, Bloom now can watch the Royals and Mets systems like a hawk and pick who he likes. This is a huge risk because the only time a PTBNL turned out to be anything was when the Sox shipped Felix Doubront to the Cubs for Marco Hernandez. If someone like Hernandez is all you're going to get from the Royals and Mets, the Sox are screwed.

Time will tell if the Sox can fix Winckowski's control or pick someone out of the Mets and Royals hats that can be good, but if Benintendi turns his career back into what it was from 2016-18, the Sox essentially lost this trade no matter what happens on their side. After all, as good as Alex Verdugo was in 2020, this was the last image of that season burned into the minds of Red Sox fans and personnel alike:

                                               Thanks a lot Bloom, you're welcome LA

Dustin Pedroia Retires (2/1/21)

Not to anyone's surprise, star Red Sox second basement Dustin Pedroia called it a career today. The baseball equivalent of Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics hung up the spikes when his problematic knee wouldn't allow him to be Dustin Pedroia anymore. He was the ultimate underdog from 2006 to his last game in 2019. He missed a good portion of 2017 and nearly all of 2018 and 2019. It was time for him to step away before he did any permanent damage to his knee. We'll miss Dustin for sure and hopefully see him in Cooperstown.

                                                             Thanks for the memories

Pedroia came up at the end of 2006 and hit .191 as a backup to Mark Loretta and fill-in for Alex Gonzalez. Fans at the time didn't see him doing much despite his reputation for spraying base hits all over the field in the minors. 

                                                                Pedroia in 06

At the beginning of 2007, Pedroia was struggling to hit as the starting second basemen. Fans and radio personalities were calling for him to be demoted in favor of backup second basemen Alex Cora....yes, THAT Alex Cora. Dustin then suddenly transformed into Bobby Doerr as he captured AL Rookie of the Year honors with .317 batting average, 8 homers and 50 runs batted in. He teamed with fellow rookie Jacoby Ellsbury as a 1-2 punch in the post-season that helped the Red Sox win the World Series.

                                                         World champs

Pedroia looked like the next great second basemen when he bettered his stats in 2008. He led the league in runs, hits and doubles and captured American League MVP Honors. Injuries to Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell derailed the Red Sox in their quest to repeat as World Series champs although it was Pedroia's leadoff home run in Game 7 that accounted for Boston's only run of that game.

                                                           Pedroia's Game 7 homer

Pedroia led the league in runs scored in 2009 for another Sox team that made the playoffs but his injury woes started in 2010 when he tore a knee that ended up limiting him to just 75 games. Pedroia had a good bounceback season in 2011, taking a backseat to his partner Ellsbury's MVP runner up season. After Bobby Valentine stunk up the 2012 Red Sox, Pedroia was an integral part of the 2013 World Series run. A bad wrist sapped him of his power but he still managed to hit .301 out of the three spot for the eventual world champs.

                                                    Pedroia's last real hurrah in the World Series

As with the rest of the team, Pedroia had a down year in 2014 (for him that is) as he hit "only" .278 as the Sox plummeted into last place. The bad knee once again limited him to just 93 games in 2015 but had one last good season in 2016. He hit .318 with 15 homers including a go-ahead shot against the Angels in Anaheim. Dustin also made a Spiderman-esque romp to home plate in Tampa to secure Boston's 11th win in a row in September of that season. If fans want to remember Dustin as the player he was before he retired, that's the season they should think of.

                                                            Mr. Mookie approves

The knee clearly bothered him in 2017 as he appeared in 105 games for the AL East champs and he was never the same. He appeared in just 3 games for the 108 win World Series champs in 2018 and just 6 in 2019. He didn't play at all in 2020 and finally called it a career on the eve of the 2021 season. Its a shame things ended how they did but rarely does a player go out on top like David Ortiz. Someday Dustin may be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, he may not. He was always fun to watch for the last 14 years. Goodbye Dustin, and thank you.

Sox Get Ottavino, German From Yankees (1/25/21)

As the hot stove heats up this winter, the Boston Red Sox made a shocking trade with none other than their rival New York Yankees. Sox GM Chaim Bloom acquired relief pitcher Adam Ottavino and 23 year old pitching prospect Frank German for either cash or a player to be named later. This is a bizarre move for the Yankees to essentially give something away and the Sox are in desperate need of bullpen arms. 

Ottavino is 35 and past his prime, posting a hideous 5.89 ERA last year for the Yankees but the real steal was German. The 23 year old was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 draft and was a starter for their high A Tampa Tarpons team in 2019. As with every minor leaguer, he lost a year of development due to COVID but he didn't pitch too bad in A ball in 2019. So far Sox GM Chaim Bloom has been accumulating prospects going all the way back to last year's Mookie Betts trade. He's trying to repair the farm system destroyed by previous GM Dave Dombrowski piece by piece. German may get traded, flame out or develop but essentially the Yankees gave him and Ottavino away for nothing of value yet. Unless Ottavino and German completely suck, this is a win for the Sox.

                                                                 IN