Month: July 2015

Red Sox Complete Mission From Baseball Gods

Posted on July 31, 2015 in Game Recap
Strange Sky, Strange Results (Photo Credit: Me)

Strange Sky, Strange Results (Photo Credit: Me)

Once in a while the baseball gods like to throw everyone a knuckleball to keep us on our toes. Heading into the fourth and final game of the series with the White Sox last night, the Red Sox had lost all three games by a combined score of 28-14. The White Sox offense looked like the ’27 Yankees on steroids. The finale pitted Chris Sale, one of the best pitchers on the planet, against Merloni Express Veteran knuckleballer Steven Wright. All logic would point to a dominant performance by Sale, the White Sox bats eating Wright alive, and a sweep for the south side Sox.

Sure enough, like every game so far this series, the Red Sox were down before they even got to the plate, as Wright surrendered two in the first. But those were the only two he allowed over seven innings and he stuck eight men out (White Sox joke!), while Sale surrendered seven earned runs on twelve hits and didn’t record an out in the 6th, because baseball.

Highlights from the 8-run offensive attack:

–Xander was 3 for 4 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base. He’s now hitting .316.

–Papi was 3 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs.

–Rusney Castillo was 2 for 4, including this home run that he absolutely bundled to centerfield off of our old friend Fat Albers.

–Swihart was 2 for 4 and did a great job handling Wright behind the dish.

–Jackie Bradley Jr. was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch and a bases loaded RBI single. He did a great job sitting back on a slider from Sale, hitting it on the screws and taking it to just left of center.

Notes:

–Sandoval had to leave the game in the bottom of the 4th, after getting hit by a pitch that he stuck out on. Hit him right in the forearm, and the way he was holding his arm didn’t look promising. Hopefully it’s not serious.

–Wakefield was giving Wright pointers in the bullpen yesterday. Coincidence? I think not.

-Everyone’s favorite thumb-faced idiot, Daniel Nava was designated for assignment to make room for more arms on the roster. This makes me sad. Hopefully he clears waivers and we can outright him to Pawtucket like we did with Sandy Leon.

-We’ll try to keep you updated on any moves the Sox make before today’s trade deadline, but I don’t expect anything significant to go down.

 

Rick Porcello Is Basically the Bane of My Existence

Posted on July 30, 2015 in Game Recap

I'd say this is pretty representative of the season. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Before I get to last night’s game, I’m gonna run you through the moves the Red Sox are making as they come up to the trade deadline:

1. Clay Buchholz was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, meaning a. both Righty and I are optimistic fools (I thought he’d start 12 more times this year, Righty thought 10) and b. the Sox are officially OFFICIALLY giving up on the season. As well they should, I guess.

2. Boston claimed righty reliever Jean Machi off waivers from the Giants (he’s a proven winner!). He’s 33 years old, having bounced around various minor league systems from 2002-2011. He made it count when he finally got a real promotion in 2013, pitching 53 innings with a 2.38 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 8.7 K/9. He was similarly good in 2014, but it fell apart for Machi this year, with a 5.41 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP, and 5.7 K/9 through 35 innings, plus a walk rate that’s climbed all the way up to 3.6 per 9 innings. Some might say he’s completely lost it, and it’s expected because hey, he’s old. But on the other hand, it’s the outlier in his career so far. Who knows? For now, he’s just another Red Sox pitcher with an ERA above 5.00. He belongs here.

3. Infielder Josh Rutledge was added to the major league roster. Like Machi, he’d have to have a throwback year to justify a continued presence in the lineup: in 2012, he hit .274/.306/.469, but hasn’t touched those numbers since.

4. Jemile Weeks was sent down to make room for Rutledge. Weeks has nothing to apologize for, having played solid defense and gone 3 for 9 in 3 games with Boston.

5. Mookie Betts was placed on the 7-day disabled list in the aftermath of this play, which I’m sure everyone’s seen by now:

6. Jackie Bradley, Jr. was called up to take Mookie’s spot, and was in the lineup last night. It’s a good idea both in terms of bringing up the Sox’ next best option for center field and showcasing Bradley in advance of the trade deadline.

And that’s it. Now let’s get to the bad part.

Rick Porcello started this game, and honestly, maybe it’s all my fault. Maybe my level of dislike for him and my apprehension for each of his starts is putting some sort of bad juju on him and that’s the reason he’s so terrible. But whatever the cause, 2015 Rick Porcello is a BUM. He’s an absolute BUM, and if things keep going this way, it will go down as one of the worst contracts in Red Sox history because Cherington gave $80 million to a BUM OFF THE STREET. And Cherington’s a bum too for looking at the same goddamn stats I’m looking at for Porcello’s 2009-2014 and concluding that this would work out. I’m not gonna hold anything against 2016 Rick Porcello when the time comes. But this version? You stink Rick. You stink bad.

In any case, he gave up an Adam Eaton leadoff home run around the Pesky Pole. He left a slider up and in. The guy’s such a headcase that the game was probably over right then and there.

I do want to be clear that I don’t actually hate Rick Porcello, the person. The guy clearly wants to win. He dove headlong into first base to get the first out of the game last night. But he just doesn’t have it on the mound. Another run scored when a wall-ball single led to a substandard throw in by Hanley Ramirez and an even worse job of securing the ball by Brock Holt. Melky Cabrera came around on Holt’s error to make it 2-0.

The Sox went down in order.

In the second inning, Porcello gave up three two-out singles, a walk, and finally hit Adam LaRoche to drive in the 5th White Sox run of the game. This series of events included an infield single by Tyler Saladino on which Pablo Sandoval faked a throw to first before spinning around quickly to pick an overeager Adam Eaton off third base. But, of course, he was the only one with this thought, and neither Porcello nor Xander Bogaerts was covering third for him, so Eaton made it safely back. Two more runs would score in the inning.

The Sox went down in order again.

In the third inning, in defiance of logic and reason, Porcello was still in the game. He promptly gave up another leadoff home run to Alexei Ramirez, a true power threat (5 HRs on the year – Eaton has 9). He then gave up a double and a single before finally being removed in favor of Craig Breslow.

I’ll just leave this here:

PITCHERS IP  H  R ER BB SO HR ERA
Porcello 2.0 10 6 5 1 2 2 5.81

Mostly, I’m impressed that he managed to have a worse outing than Joe Kelly on Monday.

In any case, Breslow had probably his best outing of the year, stranding Porcello’s runners in the 3rd and going 1-2-3-4-5-6 in the 4th and 5th innings. Proud of you Craig.

In the bottom half of the third, Pablo Sandoval drew a rare Jose Quintana walk, and then Ryan Hanigan hit a gapper double to right-center. For some unknown reason, Brian Butterfield decided to send Panda home on what would undoubtedly be a close play, and he was thrown out. Honestly, what the hell is Butterfield doing out there right now? This is at least his third terrible decision since the All-Star Break. You’re looking at men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs in a 6-0 game! So unnecessary, so silly. Just terrible stuff.

Mike Napoli, basically the only Boston player who had a good game (including an excellent toss on that diving Porcello play in the 1st inning), drove Bogaerts in on a double off the Green Monster in the 4th. Nap also hit a solo home run in the 7th inning. Righty thinks that Napoli’s recent performance has a chance to drive up his trade value, and he’s probably right.

Tommy Layne came in and gave up an unsurprising two runs. In June and July, his WHIP is somewhere above 1.62. Alexi Ogando relieved Layne after two innings and gave up a run himself, but worse, showed once again that he has no idea how to flip to second base to start a double play.

Really, it’s pathetic. And it’s not an isolated incident! Remarkable stuff.

And that was pretty much it. Rusney Castillo should’ve walked in the bottom of the 9th, because Daniel Webb had already walked Ortiz and Napoli. But instead, he swung at pitch that was way inside, and the next two batters went down too. Game, blouses.

Notes:

  • Farrell basically blamed Sandoval for not scoring when Butterfield sent him because he’s fat.

Pedro Martinez Number Retired, Sox Give Up a Boatload of Runs (Again)

Posted on July 29, 2015 in Game Recap

The above video is the entirety of Pedro’s retirement ceremony before last night’s game. It is so choice. If you have the time, I highly recommend watching it, or at least having it on in the background while you work.

It’s pretty cool to see one of your favorite players growing up have his number retired. It definitely makes me feel old, but it is also somehow validating, like I have more ownership of the team’s history now. Before last night looking up at those retired numbers every home game was great; I certainly knew my Red Sox history, and I felt proud of those guys, that they were “our guys,” but obviously they didn’t make me feel the same kind of way that they made my dad’s generation feel. When I was a kid I always hoped that my childhood favorites would be up there some day (Mo Vaughn, Nomar, Manny), but it only works out for an extremely select few.

Coming of age during Pedro’s prime was such a blessing (#blessed) that it was only really possible to appreciate it in retrospect. When you’re a 7-17 year old sports fan there is almost literally nothing more important to you than the success of the teams you root for, and I got to see the greatest pitcher of all time in his prime. Not only that, but he helped end an 86 year World Series drought, and Pedro’s number 45 hanging above Fenway will forever symbolize not only his individual dominance, but also the new winning era of Red Sox baseball that he ushered in. I’m sure one day my kids will ask me who #45 was, and I’ll try and fail to explain what it was like to be in the ballpark for a Pedro start or how it felt when the curse was finally broken; they’ll love Pedro like I love Yaz and Ted Williams.

The Game:

Pedro Martinez Day at Fenway started eerily similar to the game on Monday a.k.a. We’re Officially Selling Day. Wade Miley bottomed Joe Kelly‘s start yesterday and surrendered 5 runs before the Red Sox came to bat.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Pablo Sandoval had an oppo taco, bringing the score to 5-2.

In the top of the sixth, one of the strangest plays I can remember took place. Mookie Betts made a terrific running catch on the warning track, took two steps, and then sort of jumped up on the right field wall to break his momentum. Unfortunately he wasn’t successful in this, and he flipped over the wall and into the bullpen. He landed awkwardly on his back/neck and the ball popped out while he was on the ground in the bullpen. First and foremost, I hope Mookie is okay. He had to come of out of the game after this happened and was being evaluated for a concussion. Second, after a lengthy review, this was ruled a two-run homerun for Jose Abreu. Apparently the rule is that the player must maintain control of the ball until his momentum stops, or he voluntarily takes it out of his glove. Watching that play live, I think everyone agrees that that’s a catch. He maintains control all the way up until he hits the ground in the bullpen. He takes two steps, and definitely makes a “football move.” But it seems like the umps ruled correctly.

Lefty said he should’ve just run into the wall, but I think as Carlos Beltran, Torii Hunter, Shane Victorino, and countless other outfielders can attest, that doesn’t always end the way you want to, either.

So what certainly looked like and felt like a great catch by Mookie to end the inning, ended up being a two-run homer and an exclamation point on a poor outing my Miley. To be fair, Miley had settled down after the five-run first and looked like he was going to end the 6th having surrendered nothing further and give his team a chance to win the game. But these are the 2015 Red Sox, and luck never seems to be on their side.

Justin Masterson relieved Miley and didn’t fare too much better, surrendering two runs of his own. Jeff Samardzija shut down the Sox lineup from the 2nd to the 8th, but ran into some trouble in the 9th. The Red Sox had the bases loaded with nobody out and down 6 runs, but Napoli grounded into a double play, cutting the lead to 9-4, but killing the rally.

Notes:

-Pedro is the first Red Sox pitcher to have his number retired. Think about that. The Sox had a guy named Cy Young pitch for them once upon a time. (The Sox clubhouse staff still hasn’t given out Roger Clemens’ #21 since he left, but it’s not officially retired).

-That thing Hanley does when he fields the ball and watches the runners for 10 seconds before throwing it in is really getting old.

-Why the hell does Geovany Soto throw the ball back to the pitcher like this?

A Back and Forth Game in a Backwards Season

Posted on July 28, 2015 in Game Recap

Shane! Shane! Come back! (Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports)

It’s been a frustrating year, and last night the Red Sox played yet another frustrating game. The pitching was bad, the offense fought back again and again, and even had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the 9th. But they fell short, as is custom.

The first inning was pretty rough for Joe Kelly, who please God cannot be long for this rotation. I’ll let my very clever tweet paint a picture for you.

David Ortiz made sure, however, that the game didn’t turn into a blowout with a two-out, two-run home run off White Sox starter John Danks (according to Righty, “a weird guy”) in the bottom half of the inning. So pretty much immediately, this was a weird game.

Even weirder, Mike Napoli was tossed one batter later when his angry helmet toss ended up rolling into the home plate umpire.

This was serious horseradish, and home plate umpire Toby Basner is clearly a soft piece of garbage.

So a lineup that was already wonky (with Hanley batting second and Napoli batting 5th) was made even wonkier by Daniel Nava’s slotting into the 5 hole in his 2nd appearance since May. In any case, the Sox got two more runs in the bottom of the 2nd to tie the game thanks to doubles by both Ryan Hanigan and Mookie Betts. 4-4.

Kelly, of course, immediately gave that run right back in the top of the 3rd on a double-single combo. Craig Breslow would come in to relieve Kelly in the 4th, leaving Joe with an unmemorable line.

PITCHERS IP  H  R ER BB SO HR ERA
Kelly 3.1 7 5 4 0 2 0 5.94

No walks! Well done buddy.

The Sox took the lead back on a barrage of single-baggers in the bottom half of the 4th, including two of the infield variety by Jemile Weeks and Betts. There was also an error by third baseman Tyler Saladino, his first of the game (and season) to bring across the go-ahead run. 6-5, Sox.

But Breslow loaded the bases in the top of the 5th, and even though Alexi Ogando successfully came in to get the next two batters out to escape the inning, Hanigan tried to backhand a ball in the dirt instead of blocking it (Righty’s new pet peeve) and a run scored to tie the game.

The Sox took the lead back again in the bottom half of the same inning. Sandoval doubled with 1 out, and with Fat Albers on the mound, Rusney Castillo (recently called back up) grounded out to advance Sandoval to third, and Panda scored on Tyler Saladino’s second error of the game (and season).

Unfortunately, the White Sox got three runs off Robbie Ross, Jr. over the course of 2 innings, and another off Tommy Layne in the top of the 9th to get the Chicago lead to 10-7 going into the bottom of the 9th. David Robertson got Xander Bogaerts and Ortiz out to start the inning, but Nava drew a five-pitch walk, advanced to second on defensive indifference, and scored on a Sandoval single to cut the lead to two runs. Panda also advanced to second on defensive indifference, and Alejandro De Aza (who’d come in for Castillo in the 8th) drew a very tough ten-pitch walk. But Hanigan grounded out to third, and the game ended. 10-8, Chicago.

Notes:

  • The Sox traded Shane Victorino and cash considerations to the Angels for infielder Josh Rutledge. I expect Rutledge to be sent down to AAA, where he’s spent 2015 so far in the Angels’ system, but I’ve heard differing opinions. I read somewhere that Farrell took this move as an indication that the team is officially building for the future. Which is a bummer, though not unexpected. Also, the fact that Victorino won’t use “Three Little Birds” as his walkup song anymore out of respect for Boston…he’s just a classy, classy guy. I’ll miss him.