Tag Archives: Big Papi

Alex Cora, Right Again

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Alex Cora’s world.  We’re all just living in it.

Cora continues to absolutely dunk on his managerial opponents, including in the 2018 World Series.

This game is a prime example of his managerial domination.  By the time the 7th inning was over, Dave Roberts had used all of his bench players and the game was effectively over.

Dave Roberts Makes Mistakes

Let’s get one thing straight.  I love Dave Roberts.  I was part of the Fenway crowd giving him all kinds of love last night during introductions.

But he seemed befuddled when his team couldn’t quite take the lead.  This caused him to completely empty his bench in the top of the 7th to try and score some runs.

Greg Amsinger of the MLB Network did a piece on how Roberts was too humanized to manage well.   Nonsense arguments like this happen when things don’t work for a team.  Things that used to work just last week in the NLCS.

Those things don’t work anymore because you are facing Alex Cora’s Red Sox.

Alex Cora Is A Clairvoyant Genius

In this game, he started little brother Rafael Devers at third base over Eduardo Nunez.  That’s interesting because Nunez has started all year when the Red Sox face a left handed pitcher like Clayton Kershaw.  It’s match-up based.

But Cora decided to buck the match-up, and Devers rewarded him.  Of course, he did.  He went 1-2 with a walk and RBI.

But then something happened.

Roberts brought in a lefty, Alex Woods, to face Devers.  Instead of going with Devers, Cora brought in Eduardo Nunez.

What?  Devers had already faced on of the most dangerous lefties in the game and done well in that game.  Why Nunez now? Let’s let Nunez tell us:

At the 1:30 mark tells Big Papi that Alex Cora prepped him the night before.  He told him to be ready in the 7th or 8th when a lefty would be in to face Devers.  (By the way, how great is it to see Big Papi living it up in the media this postseason?)

That means Alex Cora foresaw what would happen and then made it happen.  That’s like being Yoda, but only on Yoda’s best day.  No mistake Yoda.  He puts his players in a position to be successful.  Every day.  All the time.

Alex Cora is calm.  Alex Cora is in control.  And Alex Cora will destroy you, inning by inning until he is the winner and you are the loser.

Jackie Bradley Jr. A Better Option

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(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The Mookie debate about where he should play in Dodger stadium is so obviously over.   But that means someone else in the outfield has to sit.  It’s a grudge match between Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi.  Let’s get ready to rumble!

By The Stats

I’m not going to flood you with statistics.  Suffice to say, JBJ was close to 20% better than Benny in September against left handed pitching.  That’s important, because the bulk of the best pitching on the Dodgers is left handed.

In the playoffs against all pitching, JBJ is a full 50% better than Benny.  I’ve made light of Jackie’s three swings bringing him the MVP of the ALCS, but they were pretty big swings.  Remember Papi in 2013 off Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit?

https://youtu.be/CYosReytpcM

Papi only hit .248 in that ALCS.  But that one swing in game 2 changed everything.

Now from Jackie we have this in the 2018 ALCS:

https://youtu.be/NH18WpVfCgE

Sure, Jackie hit just .200, but that was no slap hitter .200.  That was a Herculean .200.  Can you remember any Benintendi at bats like that in the past month?  Much fewer and farther between than from JBJ.

Almost Clear Cut

The fact remains these are small sample sizes we’re talking about.  Jackie’s streaky hitting is legendary around here.  How many times have we seen him hot as a pistol for a few weeks, only to fall back to mediocrity?  Benny is steadier metronome of productivity.

It might come down to how these two perform in the first two games of the World Series against The Dodgers dual lefties of Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu.  Cora’s lineups might even give us a clue in these two games.  If Benny or JBJ sits it will be a telltale of what’s to come.

Let’s Go Boys!

Meantime let’s treat The Dodgers like the Boltons treated the Kingslayer and sever their best weapon tonight.  If the Sox can conquer Kershaw in Game One it will shatter their confidence and lay a clear path to another World Series Title.

Comparing the 2018 Red Sox to the 88 Teams Before Them

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The 2018 Red Sox are not only the team with the best record in baseball, they are the winningest team in franchise history. They have the chance to become the first team to reach 110+ wins since the 2001 Seattle Mariners. That is incredibly special, but many people want to ask: How special is it really?

Everyone can state that 106 wins is a rare feat, and they’re right. However, the numbers pertaining to how good this team is may shock you. Here, the 2018 Red Sox will be analyzed and compared to every single Red Sox team since 1930.

Offense

The 2018 Red Sox have two players who will likely eat up most of this season’s MVP votes in Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. This team is an offensive catalyst that leads all of baseball in almost every single category. After a power absent offensive season in 2017, this team has transformed itself. One can almost call it mature or seasoned, at this point. Xander Bogaerts will more than likely reach the 100 RBI mark, Mookie will have a 30/30 year and Andrew Benintendi reached his career high in hits. They hit well against everyone, in any venue, and their record proves it.

Credit: Fangraphs (2018)

How Clutch Are They?

The Sox rank 25th in OPS (.787), 16th in wRC+ (109), 50th in batting average (.267), and 25th in runs scored (833). These are not mind-blowing numbers by any means. However, delving deeper into the numbers can show that the team is extremely clutch. In fact, they rank 3rd in a factor that Fangraphs literally calls “Clutch“. Granted, a Red Sox team without David Ortiz will never be as clutch as it could be. This 2018 team is different, and it can finally be said that they no longer need Big Papi in order to find success. On the season, the Red Sox rank first in RBIs which shows how efficient they have been. Not only do they get on base, but they also deliver when there is a chance to bring guys home.

The Red Sox currently have 199 home runs (12th) and will more than likely break the top 10 in franchise history. On the contrary, they walk at a rate of only 8.9, which lands them at the 59th spot. As far as strikeouts go, they rank 3rd highest at a 19.8% rate (which is still good for 5th lowest among teams in 2018). This trend can be attributed to a few things, such as the evolution of baseball or the aggressive hitting style Alex Cora has introduced. Another important asset of this team is the way they steal bases. They steal bases as efficiently as anyone has seen in recent years, even while lacking a true speedster. A 79.47 SB% ranks them first in all of baseball in 2018. The team has finally ditched the “Lead Sox” cliché.

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Pitching

The 2018 Red Sox are known to have many public opinions about their pitching staff. It seems that one day, the pitchers can do no wrong and the next day, they are the worst pitching staff ever. Many pitchers have had moments of brilliance in this historic season. One could say that the Sox are having a decent season especially when compared to better pitching staffs like the Astros or the Dodgers. Comparing the 2018 Sox to those of season’s past show where this team’s true strength is.

Credit: Fangraphs (2018)

Dominant Outings

A simple comparison to those teams of the last 88 years will reveal that the 2018 Red Sox rank 12th in ERA (3.67), 2nd in strikeouts (1499), 1st in batting average against (.234), 3rd in WHIP (1.24), and 7th in saves (46). The average fan may think that the hitting has been the main reason for success this season, but the pitching is just as important. Having a good pitching staff that limits the opposition is very important. On the contrary, runs win games and having a great offense is key to making a deep playoff push. Having both on the same team in the same season is a deadly combination.

A more analytical viewpoint will show that the Slider has been the most effective pitch for the 2018 Red Sox. They posted a wSL figure of 27.1 and a wFB of 32.1 which is 4th best in the last two decades, for fastballs. They attained an xFIP of 3.92, which coincides with their team ERA and alludes to their defense being a good source of help for the year. Finally, when it comes to SIERA (my favorite pitching stat), the Red Sox have amounted to a figure of 3.73. This basically means that the pitching staff does an above average job at limiting hits and runs scored (they rank 5th out of all teams in 2018).

(Copyright ©2018 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.)

In The End

This team will be looked at as one of the best in Red Sox history. Regardless of if they win a World Series title or not, this shows how far they have come and how much more these kids have to give. Boston is stuck with this core for a while and that should be celebrated for the fact that many teams go decades without witnessing something like this.

@ELJGON

Red Sox Best Free Agent Signings

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Free agency this winter has been colder than the temperatures outside. Those baseball fans among us are starving for action and something to talk about. Hopefully the team is drawing near, as Spring Training is just around the corner. But, with free agency currently lulling us all to sleep, I decided to take a look at some of the best free agent signings the Red Sox have ever made.

David Ortiz

Big Papi is in a class all by himself. The Red Sox picked up Ortiz cheap after the Twins mistakenly dumped him. I remember thinking it was odd the Twins let him go and was happy to see the Sox bring him aboard, but obviously no one knew what would come of it. Ortiz had homered twenty times the year before in a part-time role and eighteen times the year before that. The Red Sox signed Ortiz for just 1.25 million dollars. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ortiz blossomed in Fenway and turned into maybe the most popular and beloved Red Sox of all-time. There are too many instances to cite; all the game-winning hits, the postseason heroics, David Ortiz is a living legend. He hit 483 home runs with the Red Sox. In several decades, people will tell of his heroic feats and some will wonder if half of them really happened. All he did was that unbelievable, that legendary. In several years Cooperstown should be opening its doors to him. When they do, the entire city of Boston and a large portion of the states in New England will try to get tickets and descend upon the tiny town, trying to watch the lovable Papi become enshrined.

In 2013, Ortiz came to the forefront, not for his baseball heroics, but for a motivational speech he gave following the Boston Marathon bombing. This speech can still give chills nearly five years later. David Ortiz was, is, and will forever remain, a Boston hero.

Ortiz rallied the entire city behind him after the tragic marathon bombing in 2013.

The Big Money Signings

Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez could be a headache, and was put on the trade block multiple times, but all in all the signing paid off. He was given an eight year contract worth 160 million dollars by the Red Sox before the 2001 season. Despite the problems he could cause, and “Manny being Manny”, Ramirez helped the Red Sox win two World Series and was the MVP of the curse breaker in 2004. That series he batted .412 to win the award. In four postseasons with the Red Sox he batted .321 with eleven home runs. In regular season play, Manny hit .312 with 274 home runs and a .999 OPS.

Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox celebrates after connecting for a three-run home run to defeat the Angels, 6-3 in Game 2 of the ALDS. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Johnny Damon

The Red Sox signed Johnny Damon to a four year deal worth 31 million dollars before the 2002 season. Damon batted .295 in his four seasons with Boston, making two All-Star Games. He stole 30 bases in each of his first two seasons, then hit 20 homers in his third season. Damon helped the Red Sox break the curse in 2004, helping the band of “idiots” overcome the “evil empire.” Damon hit two huge home runs in game seven of the ALCS that season to defeat the Yankees en route to the World Series. He may have cut off all his hair and gone to the Yankees, transforming from Jesus into the Antichrist, but during his deal he was certainly worth the money.

Keith Foulke

After the bullpen struggled in 2003, the Red Sox went out and signed closer Keith Foulke to a three year deal worth 18.75 million. He earned every penny of the entire deal in 2004 and embedded himself into Red Sox lore. After pitching to a 2.17 ERA and saving 32 games that season, Foulke became a postseason hero. With the team down 0-3 to the Yankees in the ALCS, needing a win to avoid the sweep, Foulke pitched 2.2 shutout innings to keep the game alive. He then pitched each of the next two days to help the Red Sox force a game seven. After winning the series, Foulke pitched in all four World Series games and recorded the unforgettable final out.

Bargain Contracts

Bill Mueller

Bill Mueller was a cheap signing heading into the 2003 season to handle the hot corner. Signed to a three year deal worth only 6.7 million dollars in total, Mueller was worth more than that in just the first season. He led the American League in hitting that year, batting .326 with 19 home runs, 45 doubles and a .938 OPS. That was a career year for Mueller, but he still batted .290 over the next two seasons. Mueller of course also had the base hit to score Dave Roberts, sending game four of the ALCS in 2004 to extra innings. Mueller batted .321 that postseason as the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.

Adrian Beltre

Beltre was a big name, but came to Boston on a relatively cheap deal. After a down season in 2009, Beltre bet on himself to rebound and cash in with a larger contract the following season. The Red Sox were able to procure his services for 9 million dollars in 2010. Beltre proceeded to have the second best season of his career; he hasn’t stopped hitting since. Beltre to that point had been a decent third baseman, but somewhat disappointing. His season with the Red Sox started him on an epic second half of his career journey which is leading him to the baseball Hall of Fame. In his one season in Boston, Beltre batted .321 with 28 homers and led the league with 49 doubles.

Koji Uehara

Koji had always put up good numbers prior to coming to Boston, but had troubles staying healthy. The Red Sox initially gave him a two year deal worth 9.25 million dollars. Uehara stayed healthy and had an insanely dominant first season in Boston. In 2013, Uehara was 4-1 with a microscopic 1.09 ERA, 0.56 WHIP and saved 21 games. He then allowed one run in 13.2 innings pitched during the postseason as the Red Sox won the World Series. Koji was the MVP of the ALCS that year. Uehara ended up spending four seasons in Boston, posting a 2.19 ERA and 79 saves.

Off the Scrap Heap

Tim Wakefield

Wakefield burst onto the scene in 1992 with the Pirates, going 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA. The fall was quick though and Wakefield was back in the minor leagues for part of the next season and the entire 1994 season. The Pirates released him before the 1995 season started. Just under a week later, the Red Sox decided to nab Wakefield off the scrap heap and give his knuckleball a try. One thing Dan Duquette was good at was picking up players no one else wanted and getting success out of them.

Wakefield stayed in Boston for 17 years, pitching in every role imaginable. He won 186 games, good for third on the franchise’s all-time list. He was a fan favorite and still works with the team today, showing up on NESN often throughout the year to do studio work. Not a bad pickup.

Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox starts against the New York Yankees March 13, 2009 at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Luis Tiant

Tiant had been a successful pitcher in Cleveland in the sixties, even leading the league with a 1.60 ERA while winning 21 games in 1968. His career had fallen on hard times before coming to Boston however. Tiant missed half the season in 1970 and had yet to pitch when the Braves released him in May 1971. With Tiant a free agent, the Red Sox decided to take a chance on him and his injured arm. The move didn’t pay off immediately, as he was 1-7 the rest of that season. However, the dividends down the road were immense.

Tiant went on to have an excellent career with the Red Sox and become a borderline Hall of Fame candidate. I listed Tiant as one of the Red Sox five greatest right-handed pitchers ever a few months ago. By 1972, Tiant led the American League with a 1.91 ERA. He’d win 20 games as a member of the Red Sox three times, winning 122 total in parts of eight seasons. He also went 3-0 in the 1975 postseason with a 2.65 ERA.

Rich Garces

The lovable “El Guapo” is the third “scrap heap” free agent signing. Listed at a generous 250 pounds, (it was probably closer to 300), Garces looked like he belonged anywhere but playing professional sports. Garces pitched seven seasons for the Red Sox and developed into one of their more reliable relief pitchers. Between 1990 and 1995, Garces had only appeared in 26 Major League outings, a number he eclipsed in 1996 alone with the Sox. Garces’ best season came in 1999 when he put up a 1.55 ERA. Starting with that season, Garces won 19 games against just 3 losses over a three year stretch.

Rich Garces of the Red Sox pitches during a Spring Training game against the Rangers in Fort Myers, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport

The Greatest Designated Hitters in Red Sox History

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Designated hitter is the final position to cover for Red Sox all-time greats. This is a spot that has had a lot of turnover since it came into existence, aside from a certain lovable Papi. The DH did not come into existence until 1973. Many guys have only played for two to three years as the primary DH on the Sox as Big Papi took up about one-fourth of that time. Keeping with the theme of these articles, here are the five greatest in Red Sox history.

David Ortiz

We can thank the Twins for one of the greatest players in franchise history, and maybe the most influential. Ortiz had shown promise with the Twins, posting an .818 OPS over his last three seasons. He hit 20 home runs in 2002 while posting a .500 slugging percentage. I remember thinking it was strange when they let him go and I wanted the Red Sox to sign him. Of course, nobody could have predicted the levels of success yet to come.

There are too many feats to list them all, but Big Papi helped the Red Sox to their first three World Series Championships in 86 years. When finally elevated into the lineup in 2003 over the terrible Jeremy Giambi, (took you long enough Grady Little!) Ortiz raked, hitting .293 with 29 homers and a 1.010 OPS from June 1st on. With his clutch hitting he managed to enter the MVP race, ultimately finishing 5th. It was the first of five consecutive seasons in which Ortiz would place in the top five for the MVP. Ortiz finished in 2nd and 3rd place once and in 4th place twice. In 2006 he set the franchise single-season record by hitting 54 home runs.

Of course there was all the timely hitting. Ortiz had walk-off hits in both game 4 and game 5 of the 2004 ALCS. This came after Ortiz took Jarrod Washburn over the green monster to walk-off the Angels and complete the ALDS sweep. For a stretch there it seemed like whenever he came up with a chance to win the game, he would. I remember watching one game in particular against the Indians; my brother called for Ortiz to hit a home run for the walk-off. My response was, “come on, he’s not going to continue to hit a home run every time, it isn’t possible.” Ortiz promptly took Fausto Carmona over the center field wall to win the game. He was simply unreal, the most clutch player I have ever watched.

Ortiz batted .290 and hit 483 home runs as a member of the Red Sox. He drove in 1530 runs, bashed 524 doubles and had a .386/.570/.956 slash line. Ortiz made 10 All-Star Games and won seven Silver Sluggers. Of course, he went out on top of his game still, batting .315 with 38 home runs and a league leading 48 doubles at the age of 41. In the playoffs, Ortiz hit 17 home runs and had a .947 OPS. They say good pitching beats good hitting in the playoffs, but Ortiz’ postseason numbers are right in line with his regular season ones. He then stepped it up even further in the World Series, batting .455 with a 1.372 OPS over three separate World Series.

Reggie Jefferson

Jefferson came to the Red Sox without a true role. The Sox already had Mo Vaughn at first base and Jose Canseco at DH. Jefferson ended up forcing his way into the lineup by hitting line drives all over the yard. His emergence may have played a role in Canseco being shipped out-of-town after the 1996 season. That year, Jefferson batted .347 with 19 home runs and a .981 OPS! He had the 2nd highest batting average in the American League and the highest OPS on the Red Sox that season.

Jefferson batted .319 as the primary DH in 1997, hitting .352 against right-handers. He again batted over .300 in 1998 before a back injury shelved him for the remainder of the season in mid-July. In five seasons with the Red Sox, Jefferson batted .316 with a .363/.505/.868 slash line. He was even better in front of the home crowd, hitting .345 with a .928 OPS at Fenway Park. You can read more about him here.

Reggie Jefferson #18 of the Boston Red Sox bats during a game against the White Sox on July 1, 1997 at New Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Jose Canseco

Canseco was a beast at the plate during his two years with the Red Sox; when healthy. Canseco only played in 102 and 96 games in his two seasons, battling injuries. In his time on the field, Canseco managed to bat .298 with 52 home runs and a .960 OPS. Of course, he had some added help, but those are some monster numbers. If he could have stayed healthy he would have threatened 40 home runs both years.

Canseco batted behind Mo Vaughn in the order, providing him with some lineup protection. Teams still walked Big Mo to get to Canseco occasionally, and it seemed like whenever they did Canseco hit one onto Landsdowne Street. I used to think he would get angry in the on-deck circle at the disrespect. He ultimately slots in third on this list since he was only with the team for two years, but they were two very good offensive seasons.

Jose Canseco of the Red Sox drives in a run in the first inning of Boston’s game against the Yankees at Fenway Park. Canseco also had a home run and a tie-breaking two-run double as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 7-4. (JOHN MOTTERN /AFP/Getty Images)

Mike Easler

Easler is another guy who only spent two seasons with the Red Sox. There really aren’t many primary designated hitters who lasted for a while with the team. Easler’s 337 base hits actually rank 5th among Red Sox designated hitters. He batted .288 with 43 home runs and 165 runs batted in on the strength of his first season with the team. In 1984 he was great, hitting .313 with 27 homers and 91 RBI. And that, oddly enough for a position dedicated to guys who can hit, is good enough to make the top five.

April 13, 1984: Mike Easler bats during the Red Sox home opener against the Detroit Tigers on April 13, 1984.
(Photo by Peter Travers/Boston Red Sox)

Cecil Cooper

Cooper is a guy who should have been with the team longer than he was. An upcoming prospect coming off two solid seasons, the Red Sox traded the 27-year-old Cooper to Milwaukee. Boston brought back two former Red Sox on the wrong side of 30 in George Scott and Bernie Carbo. Scott and Carbo both had one more good season, Cooper went on to bat .302 over 11 seasons with the Brewers.

Before he was traded, Cooper had batted .283 with 40 home runs and a .772 OPS. His best season with the Sox was definitely in 1975, batting .311 with an .899 OPS. He was one of the team’s hottest hitters that summer before taking a pitch to the face in September. Although he would become a Gold Glover in Milwaukee, he was not considered to be a good fielder in his younger days so he had been relegated to DH.

Honorable Mentions:

Carl Yastrzemski (.264 46 HR .764 OPS at DH), Don Baylor, Andre Dawson