April 13, 2015

Red Sox Rundown - For Openers, A Road Recap






Yeah, it was all that was advertised in tiny, teasing snippets during the Spring Training games. The foreshadowing of that vaunted offense was realized in two of the games in Philadelphia, and if not for the damning winds of a very unpleasant Wednesday night, a third would have also materialized. 

Good vibrations were being felt off the bats as well as on the field and in the dugouts of this "Brotherly Love" beatdown in Philly. David Ortiz was not only doling out hugs to the opposition, but was cutting a rug in the dugout with Hanley Ramirez. Dustin Pedroia didn't have a dance partner, but it didn't matter as he was eager to show everyone he was healthy. Pedey literally drove that point home with two ropes over the left field fence off Philadelphia's Cole Hamels in the Opening Day 8-0 trouncing. Dustin's trademark "dirtdog" defense was also on display as Pedroia looks as good as I've ever seen him. Boston pounded five homers in the first game which tied an Opening Day record set back in 1965 against the Washington Senators.

 The beginning of the new season took the focus off Ortiz's Achilles' Heel - talking to the press. Gone now is his cantankerous stance on the pace of play rules and his pleas to the public, and more accurately, the Baseball Writers Association of America that he did not "knowingly" take any illegal substance to enhance his performance. Ortiz needs to worry less about how he is perceived and probably more so on how Ryan Howard is feeling and focus on finding his groove. Not only does he hug Howard but fetches his goddamn batting gear for him. Jerry Remy was quick to pick this out on the broadcast which brought a chuckle from Don Orsillo when Don said, "Well Jerry, didn't you hug Willie Randolph when he doubled against you?" Remy shot back that when he acknowledged Mickey Rivers, who was a teammate of his with the Angels, in a game against the Yankees, Carlton Fisk took him aside and flat out told him "You don't talk to them." That was the end of it. At this early stage of the campaign, Papi was 1-7 barely getting a ball out of the infield in the finale in Philly as it was knocked down by Chase Utley. As long as David mails in that 30 HR 100 RBI, I'll just avoid and forgive the media misgivings. Even though he has been slow out of the gate, leading the team in strikeouts after Saturdays contest in New York with nine, he did uncork his first homer in the game 1 marathon Friday night (or more accurately Saturday morning).

 Hanley Ramirez, another member of Papi's merry band, has been mashing the ball, making solid contact consistently. HanRam clubbed two homers and drove in 5 while batting .308. He almost had a second grand slam against former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who seems to be longing for his old team as he says his roots belong with the Red Sox. when Uehara went down, it almost seemed like Jonathan was politicking for a reunion as he said he wouldn't balk at a return to Boston. Papelbon seems to be a shadow of what he once was with a fastball that just inches past 91 mph and a lame duck slider that would have left the park off Ramirez's bat any other pleasant evening. His once prominent split finger fastball was only offered once and was not tempting.

However, as I alluded to in my last post before the boys broke camp, my foreshadowing of Hanley's suspect defense didn't take long to resurface. Ramirez couldn't track down a very playable ball in the opening game of the Yankees series which cost Boston their third lead of the game. Fortunately, the Red Sox persevered. I have no doubts that Hanley's production will overshadow his fielding shortcomings

 Another vocal member of Ortiz's "Three Amigos" posse, Pablo Sandoval, also demonstrated that he can be quite an interesting interview. He came out flailing in the spring, saying he had no intention of returning to the Giants, and the only people he would miss from the defending world champs was Bruce Bochy and Hunter Pence. Much of his discontent could be aligned to the fact that San Francisco was worried about his weight and wanted stipulations in place to monitor that which he resented. The Panda opened with a 2-12 series effort in Philly and committed a throwing error by drilling an earth mover past Mike Napoli which led to a run. Pablo is beginning to catch fire going 4-9 in that opus in New York, but he looks simply awful from the right side. Nice to see him heating up sooner than later as there may have been a few people he would have liked to get away from upon returning to Boston -  namely the "Hounds from Hell" that comprise the media circus associated with the Red Sox.

 Ah, the media. That fickle mistress that woos you when your hot and brushes you aside when you are the least bit vunerable. Let's check out one headline in The Globe above by Alex Speier which has been now appropriately edited. I will qualify that I really enjoy Alex's work and if your not getting his newsletter, "108 Stitches", you should. He penned his thoughts in regards to Bogaerts struggles and why Boston should be wary of his slow start. At the same time, he offered backup options should Xander not rise to the occasion. Not long after the article, Bogie proceeds to catch fire with a huge game in the Philly finale with 3 RBI and is 8 for his last 16 heading into Sunday night's game. And as far as all that hooey about his lack of range at short, Bogie made two sparkling defensive plays in extra innings during the Yankee series opener - a backhanded play behind third to get the force out at third and this one below to begin a double play to mercifully put the 19 inning affair to bed. 

I worry a little too about John Farrell's thought process, especially with young or non established players. He dropped Bogaerts in the batting order behind Ryan Hanigan after only one game talking about quality at bats. Jesus, John!  You and Ben screwed around with this kid enough last year with the Stephen Drew fiasco (who still can't hit a lick BTW). JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE!  Farrell should be more concerned about in-game strategy as he had two chances to pinch hit for "Mendoza Line Leon" in the Yankee opener but failed to see the logic with a Allen Craig's bat on the bench. Leon certainly has the defensive chops, but Boston will have to be judicious in his use if the bat doesn't come around. Third time was a charm as John finally woke up and made the obvious move.

Taking the theme of trios one step further, another threesome that was front and center in the Philadelphia series was the three pronged pitching attack of Buchholz, Porcello, and Masterson. All men accorded themselves well with Porcello making only one mistake that cost him in Boston's only loss in game two. With a combined 19 IP, the Red Sox starters have a 2.37 ERA with 20 strikeouts. Buchholz silenced naysayers with a brilliant opening day effort as his changeup was a thing of beauty. Here's a clip below of it in action. Clay tossed 7 scoreless frames with 9 Ks in that season opening 8-0 win.
The biggest news coming out of the pitching ranks was the announced four year 82 million dollar extension agreed on by Porcello. A surprising development based on the fact that both sides said they would not discuss a new contract during the season. It seems to me that signing ballplayers is a lot like shopping at the grocery store these days: you are paying more for items and getting less in return. Case in point was Rick's "quality" start which consisted of 6 IP,2 BB, 4 Ks and a 4.50 ERA. I'm not saying I'm opposed to the signing as I think it adds to a cohesive feel on the staff with Miley extended and Buchholz having options for the future. Porcello could be the front man for the group, but I'm thinking the investment was more about youth, durability and consistency. I still see Boston going after someone like Johnny Cueto to round out the top part of the rotation with a supporting cast of left handed arms on the farm, ready and waiting. Masterson looked as if he was auditioning to spell Big Papi at DH going 2-3 with an RBI in his 6 inning effort. Velocity was a concern in the spring and he only touched 91 mph a few times, but his ball had plenty of movement, striking out 7 Phillies. Justin also towed the company line keeping the ball on the ground which is key for his success.
So, what about future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts? Well, all Mookie didn in his first big league Opening Day was go over and out against Hamels, who he was mentioned with in trade speculation in the off season. Mookie is keeping good company as he was the first rookie since 1965 to homer in the team's first game since "Tony C" hit one of five dingers back in that 1965 game mentioned earlier against Washington. Conigliaro was two years younger than Mookie when he did it. However, Mookie joins an elite group of 22 year old rookies homering in Opening Day which includes Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Ruben Amaro Jr. desperately tried to leverage Hamels by drawing a line in the sand saying talks would begin and end with Betts and/or Swihart and who could blame him? After seeing Betts lashing tracers to left in the opening series, it got me thinking of the last sweet swinging center fielder to win Rookie of the Year honors in Boston. Ironically, NESN is celebrating the 40th anniversary of that 1975 Red Sox team that had one of the best outfields in the history of the game. There are certainly similarities ability-wise with Hanley and Mookie, and as soon as right field is finally sorted out, we'll better be able to make a more accurate comparison.

Mookie opened up the series in New York in a memorable manner as well. The boxscore wasn't a sexy read for Betts as he looked bad on three of his four strikeouts and was only 1-8 watching his batting average drop to .190. Still, Mookie will be remembered for the game winning RBI in the longest Red Sox game ever played as he strategically placed a sac fly in the vicinity of noodle-armed Jacoby Ellsbury scoring Bogaerts in the 6-5 win. The game lasted 6 hours and 49 minutes, and despite my valiant efforts, I could only last 15 innings. My heart said yes, but my body denied its plea. My resolve builds throughout the season and culminates to a 2004 playoff level by October. After all, it is only April.

 To round out the first trip through the rotation these were pretty nice numbers to see on Twitter. Let's take a peek at the last two members of the starting staff.
Wade Miley took the ball in game one in New York and pitched like he was double parked in what I believed was to be one of the quickest Red Sox/ Yankee games ever played. However, in a cruel twist of fate authored by that dink below, the game turned into a test of wills not only both teams, but for their supporters with each side attempting to fight off the Sandman in this ultimate test of fandom endurance. 

 Aside of that shitty moment, the Red Sox bullpen has been solid but not really pressed too much as of yet with regards to high leverage scenarios. Tommy Layne was once again a revelation until getting bounced around in New York. I really liked what I've seen from Anthony Varvaro as Farrell finally got around to using him in New York. The performance that impressed me the most, though, was the gutty 5 inning outing in the New York opener by Steven Wright. His effort harkened back to the days of Wakefield's rubber arm, and even though he surrendered the lead twice (only one being his fault) he still gave the team a chance.

Miley was lights out for 5.1 inning, but he seemed to hit the wall after he sat waiting in the dugout for close to a half and hour as Boston put three runs on the board in the top of the sixth inning. He missed a "quality start" by two outs as the Yankees pick up two runs in the home half of the sixth chasing him from the game. Even though his effort was fleeting, I saw plenty of quality offerings in his outing. I love the quick pace he offers, along with that killer move to first, and I am eager to continue watching his progress this year. 

 Joe Kelly was the last man in the rotation to pitch in game two and, boy, did he bring it! Declaring himself healthy after it was thought he would make a rehab start in Greenville, he baffled New York batters and, at one point, had retired 17 straight, striking out 8 while allowing only 1 ER. The "B" squad outfield that was put in place after Friday's marathon led the way with center fielder Brock Holt going 4-5 with a bases clearing double. These runs were huge and a gift from A-Rod who was manning first base for the first time. Really, it was Chase Headley's error, but who doesn't love sticking it to Rodriguez? His foot came off the bag in what should have been the third out of the eighth inning. Video replay confirmed this, and an error was given to Headley. Sawx baserunner Daniel Nava was returned to first, and Boston loaded the bases for Holt definitive shot in the 8-4 victory. Speaking of Nava, the Boston left fielder remained hot, picking up 2 more RBI in this one after hitting a 2 run single in the first game.  

 Joe Kelly and Mike Napoli are reaffirming the notion that spring training stats are simply nothing more than barstool fodder. In the "Tale of Two Stat Packs" both men are going in two different directions since Spring Training. On one hand, you have Kelly who was brutal in Grapefruit League action, and then you have Nap who belted 6 homers and batted .400. The other shoe has dropped for Napoli as can be attested by his current 0-17 to begin 2015. He is streaky and will eventually get hot, but in the meantime, giving Nava some more starts at first looks mighty inviting right now.

The above gif accurately depicts Clay's transformation from his opening day masterpiece to the insidious display in the New York finale. Buchholz never got out of the fourth inning in his "I told you so" outing, and was the first Red Sox pitcher since Boo Ferriss back in 1945 to allow 10 runs to the Yankees. ESPN analyst Curt Schilling was almost giddy as his pre-apocalyptic predictions of Clay's inability to lead were manifested in this 14-4 drubbing. Not only was Clay brutal on the bump, he failed to back up bases on at least three occasions as his head seemed to be elsewhere. Curt said at least three times he feels Joe Kelly will end up as the number guy on staff and unsheathed his sword with this quip: "I think Kelly has the stuff (to be a number 1), and he has the head for it." Schilling was slicing and dicing indeed. I'm sure the "trade for Cole Hamels" tweets were trending last night as Clay really had a chance to reaffirm his status as the "go to guy" on staff with a sweep in New York.  I in no way think Cole Hamels is the answer though. Let's look at the bright side, its early and it is all about winning series. Boston has done that in both its opportunities.Time to get back to the Fens and get some of that home cooking going.
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