Tag Archives: Catchers

Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays Recap

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In the final leg of the road trip, the Red Sox head north to face the Blue Jays for a three game series before heading back to Fenway. Cora made the announcement that Dustin Pedroia and Tyler Thornburg will be playing on Monday and Tuesday for rehab assignment in Pawtucket. David Price is also back with the team after missing a game to get x-rays on his hand in Boston. Chris Sale, Davis Price, and Drew Pomeranz will be the starting pitchers in this series.

Sale vs Sanchez – Toronto Takes the Win

Chris Sale pitches his best game of the season. Fifteen strikeouts in nine innings. Xander Bogaerts hit a homer towards center field to bring the score 2-1 Sox leading in the second. The Sox ultimately fell to the Blue Jays 5-3 in 12 innings. Sandy Leon struck out swinging, but the ball bounced back, allowing Brock Holt to score coming from first base. Chris Sale struck out 15 of the Blue Jays and let up zero walks. He joins Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens as only the third pitcher in Sox history to do so. Jackie Bradley Jr. sat out for his third straight game to hopefully get him out of his slump. He is expected to be in the lineup the next day.

“That was impressive,” Alex Cora said. “That slider was the best of the season. He was outstanding. ”

“You’ve got to tip your cap, he had himself a heck of a night. “

Price vs Estrada – A Comeback win after Injury

David Price made his first appearance since the x-rays we’re taken on his hand to discover that he had Carpal Tunnel. The Sox took the lead 5-2 for the game win. In 93 pitches, Price let up: five hits and three walks. He struck out six Blue Jays. Hanley Ramirez hit a two run homer, after Andrew Benintendi hit a double to bring in Rafael Devers and Mookie Betts. Ramirez had himself quite a game, racking up three home runs and seven RBIs in the last four games. The Sox scored at least five runs for the 24th time this season, which is the most in the MLB. Both Hector Velazquez and Joe Kelly pitched scoreless innings before Kimbrel entered the game. Craig Kimbrel came out to get his 11th save of the season.

“I saw something different in the way he pitched today. Everything. There was a difference in speeds. Mixing up the breaking ball is very important. He induced some weak contact. They hit a few balls hard too. But I think he pitched great ” – Cora on Price’s performance

“It was good to get back out there,” Price said. “The more I threw, the better I felt. To me, that’s always a good sign.”

Pomeranz vs Biagini – Sox Return Home with a win in Toronto

All players in the MLB wore pink in honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday. Hanley Ramirez, although he wasn’t in the lineup, had on catchers gear and was ready to play. A loose Hanley leads to a fun and much looser Red Sox lineup. Drew Pomeranz let up three runs and four hits, while only making it under six innings. Toronto was up 5-3 in the fifth as Hector Velazquez came in to replace Drew Pomeranz. J. D. Martinez homered and had three RBI’s, while Mookie Betts made the unbelievable “deal catch” to prove that he really is a Gold Glove player. Joe Kelly racked up his second save of the season Sunday afternoon.

“He’s becoming a force, not only the field but in the clubhouse, in the dugout,” manager Alex Cora said. “He’s becoming a leader. It’s fun to watch. On a daily basis you’re expecting something great and he’ll do it.”

“To come out of a road trip like that is definitely something to be proud of,” said reliever Joe Kelly.

Up Next

The Red Sox will be back home at Fenway to face the Oakland Athletics Monday through Wednesday. Then the Orioles will come to town for a four game series. Dustin Pedroia will start his rehab assignment on Monday in Pawtucket with Tyler Thornburg. Pedroia hopes to return during the end of May.

Sources

Red Sox Twitter

MLB

ESPN

Statcast

NESN

What to Do with Blake Swihart?

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“See my smile? It feels good.”- Blake Swihart after smacking an RBI triple.

Blake Swihart has been, one of the hottest players in Spring Training so far for the Red Sox. While there have only been a handful of games, Swihart shines in every opportunity this spring. First and foremost, I am a Blake Swihart guy. I see him hitting the ball all over Fenway Park, and have seen him blast balls out of McCoy Stadium. However, Swihart being a catcher for the Red Sox no longer seems possible. That being said, I believe there are many other ways in which Blake could contribute to the team.

Ultimate Utility Man

This may be a little redundant with the signing of Eduardo Nunez, but Swihart could take this role and run with it. Swihart is out of options and is looking for any sort of playing time he can get.  With questions surrounding Brock Holt and Marco Hernández, who is in need of further shoulder surgery, the Red Sox will be looking for someone to bail them out with injured players or those in need of a day off.

Blake Swihart played 13 games in the outfield in 2016. While this ended up with an injury, that experience is incredibly valuable. Blake played shortstop in high school, and is getting looks in at second base. It is not hard for catchers to convert to first base. This covers the majority of positions the Red Sox are in need of depth this season. While it is unlikely Swihart will reach the levels of 2014-2015 Brock Holt utility man, nonetheless Swihart could be an incredible player for Alex Cora to call upon to fill in any role.

Trade Him

Blake Swihart Thumbnail photo via Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports Images Read more at: https://nesn.com/2015/09/torey-lovullo-returns-to-toronto-as-red-sox-interim-manager-video/

Sep 12, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart (left) and interim manager Torey Lovullo (right) talk during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Swihart was one of the many Red Sox players to thrive under Torey Lovullo while he was the interim manager of the Red Sox in the late part of the 2015 season. During the 2015 season, Swihart swung a decent bat with a .274 average, 31 RBIs, and just five home runs. However, one thing to look at is his numbers after Lovullo took over in the second half of the season. In that time Swihart raked with a .354/.415/.490/.905 slash line. The Red Sox letting Lovullo go is something that will always bother me. He could bring things out of his players that other managers just cannot do. If Swihart does move, this would be the time to do it, his value is the highest it can be, and he is out of options. A trade with the Diamondbacks might help both sides.

Although Arizona just signed veteran catcher Alex Avila to a two year deal, he is prone to injuries. Not to mention the Diamondbacks are in need of a utility player, especially one the 2017 National League Manager of the Year knows and likes. The Red Sox could land 23 year-old Tyler Mark in the deal. Arizona took Mark in the 6th round of the MLB Draft from Concordia. There Mark was the single-season save leader. Arizona attempted to convert him into a starter. This started off slowly, so he returned to the bullpen. Many believe that he now has a better feel and command for his pitches and could become a Major League regular.

 

Cover image courtesy of NBC Sports.

It’s Time to Make Christian Vazquez the Guy

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After the best offensive season of his young career, Christian Vazquez has solidified himself as the mainstay behind the plate. All he needs to do in order to ascertain the starting role is to keep this momentum going. In addition to playing with a fire attitude, Vazquez has one of the best clubhouse and on-field personalities on the Red Sox. His excitement is on display on every pitch he catches. Just watch how fired up he was after hitting a walk-off home run:

The point of this article is not to bash Sandy Leon. Instead the intention is to point out why Vazquez should receive the most time behind the plate.

“Personal Catchers”

The “personal catcher problem” began in Boston with Jon Lester and David Ross. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was behind the plate to catch a significant amount of Jon Lester’s starts. In my opinion, the only time a personal catcher situation is acceptable is for a knuckleball pitcher and catcher. As Red Sox fans, we saw what Tim Wakefield was like when Doug Mirabelli was not with the team. As Chris Sale and Rick Porcello continue to be accustomed to Sandy Leon being behind the plate or their games, Alex Cora needs to take a firm stance behind Vazquez and not coddle the pitchers.

Sandy Leon

Sandy Leon is a good defensive catcher. However, watching his effort, or lack thereof in the playoffs, it is clear his playing time should take a hit. Leon would walk to fetch balls that sailed past him, even though there were runners on base. Vazquez will give a 110% effort on every single pitch. Sandy Leon had the best offensive season of his career in 2016. Leon hit .310 with an OPS of .845. In addition to the fact his season his numbers fell off to .225 and an OPS of .644, his effort behind the plate also fell.

Furthermore, I do not believe that Vazquez can keep up the numbers he put up this season. However his defense and knowledge of the game are more than enough to make him the mainstay.  Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez can become one of the best catching tandems in Red Sox history. The pair has the highest caught stealing percentage of catchers since 1987, with a minimum of one hundred starts. Vazquez owns a career percentage of 46.4 percent, also Leon’s career percentage is 44.3 percent. Also Ivan Rodriguez’s career percentage is 41.7 percent.

Going Forward

I am arguing for Christian Vazquez to receive the majority of playing time going forward. Likewise, I believe Sandy Leon will continue to be an important part of the Red Sox. Having both of these guys fighting for playing time is a good situation for Alex Cora to have. A catching battle can only benefit the team as the pitching rotation continues to get comfortable with both of them.

Follow Matt McGurn on Twitter: @MickGurn

The Worst Catchers in Red Sox History

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The worst catchers in the history of the Boston Red Sox tend to be guys who played a long time ago, or did not spend much time with the team. These guys are not incredibly well-known, like the best catchers are. See how many of the following names you know or remember playing. Since poor position players are harder to come up with than good ones, I am doing the worst three players at each position.

Marc Sullivan

Marc Sullivan was a 2nd round pick of the Red Sox out of the University of Florida in 1979. Despite not demonstrating the ability to hit in the minors, Sullivan was able to find his way to the majors for a few seasons. Sullivan showed his first bit of promise in professional ball in 1981 when he hit .268 with 14 homers in the low minors. However, the next season in double-a he only batted .203 with a homer. Despite this dreadful showing, he got his first taste of the bigs that September. He spent the entire season of 1984 in the minors while struggling. In 1985 he managed to hit 15 home runs, but only batted .204. In his brief showings in the Major Leagues between 1982 and 1984 he was 5-12 at the plate.

By early 1985 Sullivan was up in the big leagues for good. Sullivan may not have deserved this honor though as he never even batted .200 again. As Rich Gedman’s backup in 1985, Sullivan batted .174. Backing up Gedman again in 1986, Sullivan raised his average to .193, homering just once and posting a .512 OPS. As a reward, he actually started more games at catcher than anyone else for the Red Sox in 1987. Gedman’s play fell off a cliff following his holdout, leading to the extra playing time. Sullivan hit .169 with a career low .435 OPS. He got on base at a .198 clip while slugging to the tune of .238.

Sullivan was at least solid behind the dish, throwing out 24 base stealers in 1987. He threw out 36% of runners for his career. This helped improve his career WAR too a -1.5. His career batting line was .186 with 5 home runs and a .236/.258/.494 triple slash.

Javy Lopez

Lopez wasn’t with the Red Sox long, but he was a big disappointment. Lopez is one of the better offensive catchers in baseball history. For his career he hit .287 and averaged 28 home runs and 93 runs batted in per 162 games played. Most of that production came for the Braves, where he is probably the best catcher in team history. Lopez had been playing with the Orioles since signing with them prior to the 2004 season. After a stellar first season there, Lopez had been okay between 2005 and 2006 when the Red Sox traded for him during the waiver trade period.

Following the injury to Jason Varitek, the Red Sox were looking to add a reliable catcher to pair with Doug Mirabelli. The thought was that Lopez would give the Red Sox some juice behind the plate until Varitek came back. Always a poor backstop, it was his bat that gave him value. Lopez proceeded to hit .190 for the Red Sox. He failed to homer in any of his 63 at-bats, driving in just four runs. With his measly two walks, Lopez posted a .215/.270/.485 batting line with Boston. The team fell out of contention and Lopez was ultimately released shortly after Varitek returned in early September.

Javy Lopez of the Red Sox walks off during the game against the Mariners August 26, 2006 (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Mike Ryan

Ryan was actually a pretty good defensive backstop. His glove and arm was all he really brought to the table. For the time period, he may have been alright as a backup catcher, but was miscast as the Red Sox main catcher for a couple of seasons. He managed to hit three home runs amongst his 17 base hits in 1965. Ryan then became the Red Sox top catcher for the 1966 season. That season he batted .214, the highest total of his career with more than 70 at-bats. Despite the poor offensive showing, Ryan did throw out 34 base runners.

Ryan started for most of the season during the Red Sox “Impossible Dream” season of 1967. He clashed with Dick Williams though, who wanted a better bat behind the plate and questioned Ryan’s game calling abilities. Mike Ryan batted .199 and was eventually replaced as the starting catcher when the Sox acquired Elston Howard. It was his final season in Boston as Williams didn’t want him around anymore.

In total, Mike Ryan batted just .201 with 7 homers and 70 RBI while with the Red Sox. His OPS was just .539 during that time. He did add value behind the plate, throwing out 61 would be base stealers over three seasons. His total WAR was -1.8.

Boston Red Sox players Mike Ryan and Russ Gibson at training camp in Winter Haven, Fla., on March 1, 1967. (Photo by Dan Goshtigian/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Dishonorable Mentions:

Russ Gibson, Dave Valle, Bob Tillman

Best Catchers in Red Sox History

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Best Catchers in Red Sox History

This article covers the five greatest catchers in Red Sox history. With the Red Sox all-time pitching staff completed, it is time to move on to the positional players. Quite frankly, there is a steep drop-off after the first few, so there could be some debate as to who makes the top five. There is no debate on the top two.

Carlton Fisk

Carlton Fisk is the greatest catcher in Red Sox history. His Red Sox career was shorter than it should have been, the Red Sox missed the deadline to tender him a contract in 1980. Nonetheless, Fisk spent over 9 seasons in Boston, and was their most productive catcher to date. In addition to his well known postseason heroics, Fisk batted .284 and hit 162 home runs, while with the Red Sox.

Fisk battled injuries, between 1974 and 1975, he had about one full season worth of at bats (2 excellent seasons I might add). He easily has the highest slugging percentage and OPS (on-base + slugging) of anyone on this list. For those new age stat lovers, his 39.5 WAR with the Sox also easily tops the list.

When it comes to awards, Fisk started his career with an all-star appearance, a Rookie of the Year Award, a Gold Glove and a top 5 MVP finish during the 1972 season. He made six more all-star teams, before heading to Chicago.

Carlton Fisk stands with Jason Varitek as Tek is presented with the Gold Glove Award.

Jason Varitek

Varitek holds the franchise record for many statistics at the catching position, spending 14+ seasons with the team. He collected 1307 base hits, while hitting .256, with 193 home runs during his career. His triple slash was a very solid .341/.435/.776, and he averaged 20 home runs per 162 games played. There is little doubt a 25 man all-time roster would include his name.

Just talking about numbers does Varitek’s career no justice. This is a man who was a leader on the Red Sox for years, and on two separate World Series winning teams. The 2004 season can never be topped, and Tek was an essential core piece of that team. There’s a reason why he was given the big “C” on his chest, the first Red Sox player since Jim Rice in 1989 to receive the honor. Varitek is one of the most beloved Red Sox in franchise history, and rightfully so.

Varitek made 3 all-star teams during his career, which was spent entirely in Boston. He won a Silver Slugger Award and a Gold Glove. I’m not sure how he only was given one Gold Glove, but then again, Derek Jeter won five, so don’t read too much into it. Tek was a master behind the dish, catching a record 4 no-hitters.

Who doesn’t love this picture?

Rick Ferrell

Ferrell spent parts of five seasons with the Sox, equating to roughly four full years. His brother Wes pitched for them as well, sharing the field with him from 1934-37. Rick had less power than his brother, despite being the position player of the two. He was a fine contact hitter though, who drew a lot of walks. Rick Ferrell batted .302 during his time in Boston, while posting an impressive .394 on base percentage. His best offensive season came in 1936, when he batted .312, with 8 home runs and an .867 OPS.

Ferrell was also regarded as a strong defender. If Gold Gloves had been invented, he may have won a couple. He threw out a league high 60% of runners in 1935, with the Red Sox. Ferrell also made the All-Star Game in each season he spent with the Red Sox.

Sammy White

White spent the first 8+ seasons of his career catching for the Boston Red Sox. From 1952-55, he was one of the better catchers in the league. During that time, he batted .273, and received MVP votes in two different seasons. This was the 1950s, catchers weren’t expected to hit much. White accumulated 881 hits during his time in Boston, third most among catchers in team history. White made one all-star team.

Sammy White reaching into grandstands for foul ball, during game with Chicago White Sox. (Photo by Francis Miller/The LIFE Picture Collection)

Rich Gedman

Gedman had an uneven career. After a few years of performing well in a part-time role, Gedman got his chance to start in 1984, and bashed 24 homers. He made back-to-back All-Star Games the following two seasons. Feeling underpaid, Gedman held out in 1987, and seemingly forgot to hit. He batted .205, with a measly .528 OPS that season. He never regained his form, hitting .231 in 1988, and .212 in 1989, before being shipped out the following season.

In total, Gedman’s 83 home runs place third amongst Red Sox catchers, and his 741 base hits place fourth. He did have that three year peak when he averaged a season of .275, with 19 home runs and 72 RBI during the mid-80s. All of this is enough to place him among the top five catchers in Red Sox history.

Honorable Mentions

I received quite a few comments after my last article saying certain players deserved to be mentioned. I hadn’t planned on doing honorable mentions, out of fear of rambling, but since I received so many comments about it, I have decided to add a spot. The pitching articles would have had some very worthy players listed under honorable mention. Unfortunately, the catcher position has been a little thin in the history of the Red Sox,

Honorable Mentions: Birdie Tebbetts, Bill Carrigan, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Scott Hatteberg.

https://bostonsportsextra.com/boston-red-sox/2017/10/best-starting-pitchers-red-sox-history-right-handed

https://bostonsportsextra.com/boston-red-sox/2017/11/best-starting-pitchers-red-sox-history-left-handed

https://bostonsportsextra.com/boston-red-sox/2017/11/best-relief-pitchers-red-sox-history