Author Archives: Thomas Howland

The Celtics Are Just Getting Started

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The Celtics are not finished. Everyone and their Podcast partner is writing them off. Boston sports radio is dancing over their graves. The team is at rock bottom, down 3-1 to the Greek Freak and a band of also-rans playing over their heads. But just like last year’s Patriots, rock bottom is where they strip out all the noise and bring it back to team basketball.

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving hasn’t forgotten how to play basketball. His talk isn’t for everyone, but it’s just talk. Between the lines this guy is a certified basketball genius, he’s just been a little sidetracked.

On Basketball Reference there is a stat called Game Score (GmSc). Like WAR in baseball, it’s a stat that tries to take everything into context. It’s not the be all end all, but it’s a nice umbrella of everything a basketball player is doing on the court. Over the 2016 playoffs Kyrie averaged 18.2 per game. Over the 2017 playoffs Kyrie averaged 18.1 per game. That is consistency over 39 games like you read about.

Right now Kyrie is averaging 15.8 in the 8 playoff games for the Celtics. That is not Kyrie Irving. But he had a similar eight game stretch in 2017, averaging 15.9 over the first eight games. Yes, Cleveland lost in the finals that year, but Kyrie went on to average 19.8 over the remaining 10 games.

Even the great Steph Curry looks less than sometimes. For example, he went 4-14 from 3 in his last playoff game. But people aren’t shoveling dirt on his playoffs. Forget the body language and ‘effort’ police. Kyrie Irving is not perfect, but he’s one of the best players in the NBA and a noted playoff performer. Count on a dominating performance in Game 5 and going forward.

Brad Stevens

Remember when Brad Stevens was the next great coach in the NBA? It wasn’t that long ago. And it wasn’t a flash in the pan. He grew to that level over years, not one great year.

Somewhere along the way he lost his voice this year. The team did not give an all out level all the time like they have in past years. This team did not meet the lofty expectations placed in them at the beginning of the year. Hey, they went to the Eastern Conference Finals without their best player. Of course there were high expectations. But ego, it seems, has gotten the better of them to this point.

But what can cut through all the noise of ego? Getting thumped on your home floor in the playoffs, pushing you to the brink of elimination, getting called out nation wide. When the players are reeling and wondering how they got here who can they turn to? Brad Stevens, the man with a plan. And when the players follow the plan of Brad Stevens, great things happen.

Stevens is being bashed for not throwing his players under the bus right now. That is building trust. Look for the players to start playing the Stevens game, team basketball, the best of the Celtics, in Game 5 and moving forward.

Bucks Over Their Heads

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a certified NBA Super Star. He’s so great his same now rolls off the tongue. But he is one man. Khris Middleton is pretty good.

But 33 year old George Hill averaged a 6.6 Game Score for the Cavs in the playoff last year. Verse the Celtics in the last two games? 15.75. Overall for this playoffs? 10. George Hill’s cameo as bad Kyrie is just that, a two game cameo.

Pat Connaughton turned into current George Hill the last two games with an 11.2 average Game Score. His total playoff average is 4.4. Give the 26 year old the benefit of the doubt and this year his average is 8.5 in the playoffs. He’s played the last two 30% better than that. It won’t last.

Some would say these Bucks are on a roll. From here it’s an aberration with a current expiration date.

Poking Marcus Smart

It is advisable to rile up Marcus Smart? Antetokounmpo thinks not.

A motivated Marcus Smart is almost as important as a healthy Marcus Smart. Expect good things from Marcus Smart in Game 5 and going forward.

The Bucks are playing over their heads, the Celtics are playing poorly. Getting humiliated was just what the Celtics needed to turn things around. Get ready for a different series starting tomorrow night.

Photo via AP/Charles Krupa

Red Sox Demise Vastly Overstated

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The Red Sox aren’t exactly Arya Stark, and the AL East isn’t exactly the Night King. But yesterday the Red Sox won, the Rays got swept in a double header by the Royals, and the Yankees lost against the Diamondbacks. That’s a game to a game and a half gain in the standings in one day. The end result is the Sox are a respectable 5.5 games out in the AL East today. Here’s what’s going right.

Playing Cora Ball

Last year the Red Sox pulled off a .667 winning percentage all year, resulting in 108 wins. The last 12 games the Sox have quietly gone 8-4. That’s, you guessed it, a .667 winning percentage. Turns out Cora can still manage.

The Bullpen

Sure, there are leaky parts of the 2019 pen. But the Red Sox enjoy, by design, a flexible stable of lock down options. Without Kimbrel, or an ordained closer, Cora is free to do what Tito Francona wanted to do with Pabelbon back in the day: Use his best relievers for the most important outs, no matter the inning. Matt Barnes has picked up where he left off last season: 2-0, with 2 Saves, a 2.25 ERA, a .83 WHIP, and 17.3 K/9. But the key number is 4. That is the number of Holds he has. That means Barnes is facing the toughest part of the lineup in the 7th or 8th inning when the game is on the line. Ryan Brasier has great numbers as well (1-0, 6 Saves, 1.32 ERA, .80 WHIP), but he strikes out significantly less than Barnes (7.9 K/9). So while Brasier is racking up more saves, Barnes is the true fireman of the 2019 Red Sox bullpen.

Another standout is Marcus Walden, seemingly coming out of nowhere to accumulate a 1.65 ERA with 10.5 K/9 in the early going. And while Workman has walked a few (12 Walks in 13.1 Innings), he’s also striking out 13.2 K/9.

The bottom line is, what Theo and the boys wanted in 2003 with Bullpen By Committee, Dombrowski and Cora are pulling off.

The Offense

J.D. Martinez has been hitting all season, but now the MVP is starting to turn it around. Mookie has raised his batting average 89 points over this 12 game stretch, from .200 to .289. He is spearheading an offense that’s scored 5.33 runs a game in this stretch, almost a full run ahead of their season average of 4.51. Also, a lot closer to the 5.45 of 2018.

This stretch has also seen the arrival of the young and dynamic Michael Chavis. He’s hitting .314 with 3 Home Runs and a 1.042 OPS. Not bad for a rookie.

The Starting Pitching

No one personalizes the starting pitcher turnaround like the steady Rick Porcello. After a drubbing by the Baltimore Orioles left his season ERA at 11.12 on April 13th, he has gone 3-0 and lowered his ERA by half, to 5.52. His last start in particular was a thing of beauty: 8 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 8 strikeouts.

And he’s far from alone. The Sox have won Eduardo Rodriguez‘s last four starts, David Price‘s ERA is down to 3.60, and Chris Sale has only allowed four earned runs total over his last two games. This is starting to look like the rotation everyone envisioned at the beginning of the year.

The bulk of the 2018 roster is still here. They were looking like all of James Holzhauer‘s Jeopardy opponents for the first few weeks. As it turns out, it really was early all along.

Featured Photo via HBO screenshot

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The Patriots Should Trade For Josh Rosen

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With the NFL draft only hours away, the rumors of a Josh Rosen trade continue to percolate. The Arizona Cardinals will trade Rosen if they take Kyler Murray first overall tonight. The Patriots should strike if that happens. Here are some reasons why he would be worth it, what has gone wrong, and what it would take.

Josh Rosen The Prospect

What made Rosen a top 10 pick last year? Here are his college stats from Sports Reference:

Keep in mind, Tom Brady never threw more than 16 TDs in any year, and finished with a 134.9 career rating at Michigan. This is the kind of performance that can get you in the upper tier of NFL prospects.

Josh Rosen stepped into a Pro Style offense at UCLA and performed right away as a Freshman. After some injuries his Sophomore year, he got right back to it as a Junior. The guy is a tremendous talent. Here is what an anonymous coach told NJ Advanced Media:

“He’s polished,” the coach said. “He stayed healthy when he was just getting killed out there. He’s a natural passer and he’s athletic.”

All looked good for a transition to the NFL, so what happened?

A Lost Year With The Cardinals

Josh Rosen had a terrible year. That goes without saying. 11 TDs, 14 Ints, and a 66.7 rating. The Cardinals wouldn’t have the #1 pick in this year’s draft without Rosen having a terrible year.

When things go wrong like this, explanations must be given. Here’s one talking about him being ‘too smart for his own good‘. But there’s also this quote within the story from an anonymous Cardinals player:

The player said that Rosen is a good guy despite persistent murmurs that he’s a bad teammate. The player said that Rosen is a different guy, however, with a “f*** it” attitude when he makes a mistake.

That sounds like a player who could go wrong in a bad situation, like the 2018 Arizona Cardinals. It also sounds like someone who has a hard edge that would fit right in with Belichick and Brady.

Trade & Salary Cap

No less an authority than Peter King has weighed in on this topic:

Suppose my mock is correct, and Washington and the Giants use the draft to take young quarterbacks, and Miami and the Chargers are the only teams with even some interest in Rosen, and GM Chris Grier tells Arizona GM Steve Keim on draft night: “We’ll give you our third-round pick—78 overall—for Rosen. That’s it.” Tough call for Keim, but knowing Rosen would be an unhappy camper behind Kyler Murray, and figuring this is a good depth draft in the first three rounds … well, that’s a lot to think about right there.

That’s a lot of moving parts, but he posits that a third round pick would do it. The Patriots have 12 draft picks in this year’s draft. Every Pats’ fan knows the Patriots are not going to make 12 picks. Within those, there is a first rounder (#32), two second rounders (#56 and #64), and a third rounder (#73). More than enough ammunition to get this done.

As for the cap, Overthecap.com shows how affordable he is. $17 Million total through 2022. That comes out to around $4.4 Million per year. Gotta love first contracts in the NFL. If he is what many think he is, worthy of a first round pick and on a cheap contract, the potential successor to Tom Brady, it’s a no-brainer.

And Brady will be 45 in August of 2022, just in time for Rosen to get paid. Hmm.

Rumors

There are a lot of ping pong rumors going around. There’s this:

But news out of Arizona is the Patriots are still considered in on Rosen. It’s fairly certain that a move like this would not leak out, so of course it’s all speculation. The Patriots keep player transactions close to the vest. Think about the Garoppolo trade, the Collins trade, the Moss trade, the Gilmore contract, it goes on and on.

Rosen is reportedly tough, smart, and not willing to sit behind a 2019 rookie. But would he sit and learn from the GOAT? If the answer is yes, the Patriots should do this.

Plus, they might get to stick it to the Giants. Bill loves that kind of thing.

Featured picture via USA Today/SI.

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Red Sox – Rays Series Preview

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Right now the Red Sox are poor Ned Umber. Nailed to a wall of poor performances, turned by the Night King of a 6-13 record, and set on fire by Red Sox Nation.

This is not a melodramatic assessment. Check out what David Price, the only starter who has thrown 7 shutout innings this year, has to say:

With that in mind they start a three game series with the division leading Tampa Bay Rays tonight.

They have guys performing like this all over their roster:

Pitching Matchups/Schedule (TV)

4/19 – Eduardo Rodriguez vs Ryan Stanek (NESN)

4/20 – Rick Porcello vs Charlie Morton (NESN)

4/21 – David Price vs Tyler Glasnow (NESN)

Notable Numbers

.1835 This is the career batting average of current Rays regulars against Rodriguez (.184) and Price (.183). This is just another reminder of what the Red Sox starters are capable of if they can get their heads screwed on straight.

The Red Sox have very few at bats against Stanek, but have hit .381 against him. They have a little more history against Charlie Morton, who they’ve hit to a .333 clip.

What To Watch For

Xander Bogaerts will have a lot to do with any success the Sox have this weekend. He’s hitting .500 against Morton in 12 at bats, including a home run, and .381 against Stanek with a triple.

This is a big weekend for the Red Sox, but even more so for Rick Porcello. He’s completely out of sorts, and the Rays have a lot of success against him. He could either spin off into oblivion, or turn his season around.

Sunday’s game could be a great pitching duel. Glasnow comes in with a 4-0 record, 1.13 ERA, and .88 WHIP. Price went 7 innings and allowed no runs his last time out against Baltimore.

Expectations

Another series, another ‘Who can say?‘ History says this is a series win for the Sox. But the reality is the Sox are 6-13, while the Rays are 14-5.

The Red Sox have to snap out of it at some point. Right now they have a 10 game stretch where they play the Rays six times. That’s a real opportunity to change the narrative. It’s also a massive risk where the Night King takes over and the whole team gets traded.

We’ve gone from watching glory, to a Shakespearean tragedy. At least it’s interesting.

Featured image via HBO screen grab.

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Blake Swihart DFA’d

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Why? Why? Sandy Leon is hitting .120 in Pawtucket, after hitting .177 last year. Christian Vazquez is hitting .195, and has let too many balls get past him this year. Blake Swihart was only hitting .231, but the Sox went 3-3 in his starts at catcher. Blake Swihart was not the problem with this team.

Blake Swihart will be a starting catcher in the majors, and the Red Sox will rue the day they ever let him go for the sad sack current stable of catchers.

Red Sox-Yankees Series Preview

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When the Red Sox and Yankees usually meet it is a contest of an immovable object vs an unstoppable force. In this case the immovable object is a losing record for both teams, the unstoppable force injury on one side and mediocrity on the other.

The Yankee injuries include Stanton, Severino, Gregroious, Betances, Sanchez, Hicks and Andujar. That’s an All Star team. Not for nothing, but Aaron Judge seems like the only important piece not injured. They’re record is 6-9 and there’s a very good reason for it.

And then there is the 6-11 Red Sox. If I have to hear ‘It’s early’ one more time I might just burn one of my many Red Sox towels. The ravens have flown, it is officially spring. This team is sleep walking right now and it has to stop. On to the preview:

Image per Larry Brown Sports

Pitching Matchups/Schedule (TV)

4/16 Chris Sale vs James Paxton 6:35 NESN

417 Nathan Eovaldi vs J.A. Happ 6:35 ESPN

Notable Numbers

1.93: That is the ERA for both Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi against the Yankees in the last three years. They’re certified Yankee killers. Could this be just what the doctor ordered to get these guys on track? Who can say?

Against Paxton, J.D. Martinez should continue his hot start to the season. He’s hit .500 against Paxton in his career. Both Brock Holt and JBJ have gone 3-7 against him as well. That short porch in right at Yankee Stadium might be beneficial to the Sox slumbering bats.

The Sox may hit Happ to a measly .212 as a team, but Steve Pearce has shined: .344 lifetime with 6 home runs.

What To Watch For

How about a little life from the boys? How about a glimmer of hope that the team is here to play this year? If you listened to Cora after Patriots Day he seemed to sense that maybe it’s not so early. On paper the Sox should sweep the two game series.

Expectations

It’s anyone’s guess right now. Even if the Sox sweep these two games it will be against half the Yankees. Look for signs of life. If we see grind it out at bats and pitchers hitting locations early we’ll know the Sox are waking up. But Nathan Eovaldi has a 8.40 ERA, Chris Sale a 9.0 ERA. The team is hitting around .230 overall right now.

Again, on paper, this is a Red Sox sweep. But the flesh and blood Sox are teetering on the precipice of irrelevancy. The fact the Yankees are reeling is the only light in our collective Sox universe.

I’m hoping for Cora to put on his cape and cowl and give us another super hero managerial performance. To save this team from themselves. But it sure looks like the Night King has set up residence in the clubhouse.

Featured Image via HBO screen grab

Via google image search for Chris Sale

Stop It: Chris Sale Will Be Fine

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All over the airwaves I’m hearing concern about Chris Sale. His velocity was the lowest of his career last start. You can’t pay Frank Tanana or Jamie Moyer or Koji Uehara $30 Million a year. He’s got to be injured.

Would the Red Sox let Chris Sale pitch if he were injured? Not a chance. They shut him down the whole second half last year because of shoulder discomfort. Every single pitcher in baseball has shoulder discomfort. Cora and his merry men would not risk Sale’s health.

Here is Sale’s career broken down by month from Baseball Reference:

The first thing you notice is he usually starts out slightly slow. Yes, his record is sterling, but his ERA and strikeout ability are down.

The second thing you notice is the sweet spot for Sale’s performance in terms of pure stuff is June and July. Best ERAs, best SO/W.

The third thing you notice is he has a losing record in September and October. He still strikes guys out, but he also walks a few more, which leads to more runs and a higher ERA. By the time he reaches the playoffs, Sale’s ERA balloons to 5.76.

Cora is trying to convince Sale to change June and July to September and October and the playoffs. This is a big change for Chris Sale, so they’re figuring it out.

We’ll find out if Sale is still on board, if he is in control, today. With all the pomp and circumstance, the feel of the Fenway mound on opening day, the smell of Buffalo Chicken Totchos in air, rings, bunting, and Super Bowl trophies, it’s a tall task.

But if he is throwing in the low 90’s, even 89, it’s all according to plan. It’s that simple.

Alex Cora Solved The Red Sox Puzzle Yesterday. He Should Keep It Up

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This is one of those times as a Red Sox fan and follower that feels so familiar and foreign all at once. It’s like a long lost thought from limbo in Inception. When one win seems like the glorious sound of God, coming down like a lightning rod. This Red Sox puzzle seems to make no sense. The team won 108 last year, it’s the same team, what is happening?

There is trouble. There’s the World Series hangover effect, there’s concern about contracts. And Alex Cora and his staff have their plans that they want to stick to for long term success. What to do when the team isn’t winning?

Play every game like it’s Game 7 of the World Series.

Pitchers

Five pitchers. In one sense it was a bullpen game. In another it was no different than many games this year when the starter only goes three innings. The difference was Velazquez put up zeroes.

Cora needs to do more of this. Keep the pitchers accountable. Every win is important right now or there won’t be a playoffs. Motivate the pitchers to get over their malaise and focus on every pitch in any way possible. Once these guys get on track the bullpen can rest. Most of the starters have their money. Take innings away from them before they blow up, not after.

Little did we know the bullpen would be the strength of the team. Lean on them.

The Everyday Lineup

One of the pillars of Cora’s plan is resting players. He especially loves to give players a day off before scheduled days off. But there is rest, then there is overkill.

It seems insignificant, but that small note, “Betts in right field”, speaks volumes. Betts was scheduled for the double rest, but Cora put him in the field to protect a one run lead in the 9th.

This is a big change for Cora and the staff that should continue. In the past, Cora has refused to pinch hit resting players, much less put them in the field. It signals to the players that these games matter.

It seems like Cora has found an answer to the puzzle of resting players, but not being afraid to use them if needed. We’ll see how Chris Sale does tomorrow to see if he’s still in on Cora’s plan for a slow buildup. And if Sale falters early if Cora will pull him. That will show the pitchers that every win is important.

These are subtle but important changes that the team should stick to to get the ball rolling in 2019. Before yesterday, the team would have to play .600 ball the rest of the way to reach 93 wins. They might miss the playoffs with 93 wins, so they have to pick it up. They played .667 ball last year, we know they’re capable.

But time’s wasting.

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Red Sox Confused, Worried, Anxious

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Have you ever been in a workplace where one person was promoted while another was passed over? Have you ever lost out to someone else when pursuing the same romantic connection? Have you ever worried about your future? The impending deadline for many Red Sox contracts is the elephant in the room. Here are the dynamics.

Chris Sale

Chris Sale got a hefty 5 year $150 Million extension. In the abstract this is a great deal. Sale is an all time pitcher for many reasons, and it’s only the 37th ranked deal in major league history. Considering how good Sale has been, and how most of the top deals are happening now, it was a nice job by Dombrowski.

If everything was going well, if the team was even .500, Sale’s slow start would be no big deal. He’s taking it slow. He’s really just had his third spring training start. He’ll be throwing 99 in September and October.

But things are not going well. Which opens the door for 2nd guessing. And not just by the media and fans.

Xander Bogaerts

Again, in a vacuum, a great deal. He’s only tied for #62 on the all time list. And he’s four years younger than Sale, and repped by Scott Boras. He’s a two time champ playing a premium position and one of the top Shortstops in the game. Record contracts are being handed out, and Dombrowski got him for 6 years, $120 Million. That’s actually a bargain.

He’s playing fine. He’s hitting .280 with an .899 OPS. That’s more than fine. But if he’s not worried about living up to his (underpaid but life changing) contract, does he run on Roman Laureano the second time?

Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts

Bradley and Betts both have one year of arbitration left. But beyond Bogaerts and Sale, players all over baseball are getting contracts, including buying out the last year of arbitration. A lot of those players don’t have World Series rings on their resume.

Both of them are stubborn in their own way. Last year Jackie would brush away changing his swing due to shifts, and Mookie is turning down $200 Million deals because he thinks he’s worth more. Xander $120, Mookie $200 looks about right from here. But Mookie is looking at Mike Trout’s $426 Million.

Are they thinking about their contracts when they are not once, but twice, not communicating in the outfield? Were they questioning turning down contracts or how they deserve more? The first time they banged into each other, but the ball was caught. The second time it bounced between them for a two run double while they stood there. Somewhere in the Statcast universe there was a machine screaming that there was an 89% chance that ball would be caught.

And did Betts have his head on straight when he challenged the clearly greatest outfield defender of our generation Roman Laureno in the 9th inning?

Either way, now we’re here:

Rick Porcello

Porcello has been the perfect #3 starter for this team. Yes, he won a Cy Young when everything went perfectly, but he’s the steady guy who’s going to make 30 plus starts and never go on the Injured List.

One secret to his success is control. When do we loose control? When we are worried and anxious and unsure of our future. When things are uncertain. Porcello is up after 2019. He’s practically begged to be signed, saying he would give a hometown discount. And couldn’t Porcello say to himself that he’s never had to go on the Injured List. He’s actually won a Cy Young. Couldn’t he be looking sideways at Chris Sale and saying to himself “This guy gets paid but I don’t?” Don’t quote me on this, but I believe Porcello was one of the few pitchers not in the room when Sale’s extension was announced.

Yesterday was the first time since he was a young pup of 23 in 2012 that Porcello has walked at least 3 batters in back to back games. That’s one way of loosing control. Here’s another:

Some say this is a 2018 World Series hangover. From here this is a mass of confusion, worrying and anxiety about contracts.

It can be fixed. These guys have to have some pride right? It’s a 4.5 game deficit to first in the AL East right now. That’s not insurmountable, and so far the guys are healthy. But they better wake up soon.

Photo by Kim Klement – USA Today Sports

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Red Sox Opening Day – A Wake Up Call

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Well that was a dud. Chris Sale was bad, the bullpen was bad, the bats only managed 4 runs in a 12-4 loss. But this isn’t about injury, and it’s not about punching holes in the teams’ talent. This was a wake up call for a team coming off arguably the most historic season in it’s 117 year history.

Chris Sale

Yesterday we pointed to Chris Sale’s velocity to see if he was on board with the plan to take it easy. Thanks to Brooks Baseball we can see that his average four seam fastball traveled at 92.9 MPH. That is exactly where he needs to be in order to both last the season without breaking down, and be effective. Tony Massarotti points out that Sale averaged 94 MPH on his four seamer last April, and he went 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA then.

This is a new world for Sale. His whole life he has given 100% all the time. The Red Sox are asking him to dial it back so he’s in peak form for the playoffs. He’s being asked to be the Ace of the Boston Red Sox. He has a new contract. There is a lot on his shoulders. We know he gets it, he’s accountable, he’s passionate.

The Bullpen

The bullpen went 5 innings and gave up 4 earned runs. That’s not good. They’re not world beaters, but they’re also not a wheel of gutless bums. Coming into a Chris Sale game in the fourth inning down 7-2 is not normal.

Tyler Thornburg has a long way to go to receive Red Sox fans’ confidence, but despite what Dave Dombrowski says, he’s not being depended on to be a lock down guy. Alex Cora has sung Hector Velazquez’s praises, but he’s a mop up guy. He gave up 2 or more earned runs 10 times last year.

The only guy who was looked at as dependable in any way last year that pitched last night was Heath Hembree. He threw 17 pitches and got 2 outs, with a strike out and walk thrown in there. That’s an acceptable 7th inning guy, which is what he is being asked to be in the long run.

The Lineup

These guys can fall out of bed and score four runs against the Mariners’ pitching staff. That’s exactly what they did. They tested out a double steal, neat. Mookie went 3-4 and J.D. went 2-5, fabulous.

But where were the grind out at bats? The offense was listless.

The Outfield Defense

Good execution on throwing out Haniger at home by the team. But that was more routine and execution by Vazquez at home, that anything amazing on Mookie’s part.

And then there was the Mookie – Jackie almost debacle. Mookie called for the ball, and Jackie almost knocked it out of his glove by bumping into him in the outfield.

Wake Up Calls

This was all a lack of focus.

Chris Sale is human. His location was off. That falls into execution. Last season he decided to dial it up in June and July. He’s going to need to find that 2018 April for the full season.

It’s the major leagues. Batters can’t just roll out of bed and show up to win games. They need to focus on every pitch.

We haven’t seen the real bullpen weapons yet. We’ll have to wait and see how Barnes and Brasier and Brewer do. If they perform like Thorburg and Velazquez it will be a problem.

Outfielders need to be engaged. That means in every way, including communication. What happened with Bradley and Betts should not happen, no matter what stadium they’re in.

From here it feels like they all needed a wake up call to focus on the new season and leave 2018 behind. It’s a new world. They’re defending Champs coming off a historic season. A 12-4 lashing by the Seattle Mariners hopefully did the trick. Let’s see if Alex Cora and the team can come to the park with a renewed sense of the here and now tonight.

Image via NBCSN