Tag Archives: Red Sox

The Resurgence of the Boston Red Sox

Leave a reply

Since the trade deadline (July 31, 2017), the Boston Red Sox seem unstoppable.  Since then, they stand 12-2 and have outscored their opponents 85-52 (+33 run differential). They have the highest runs scored per game in the league at 6.15.

Three of those 12 wins have resulted from a walk off.  Christian Vazquez hit a three run homer on August 1st against the Cleveland Indians, possibly the greatest game this season.  Mitch Moreland hit a solo shot against the Chicago White Sox on August 4th, and Mookie Betts blasted a two RBI double against the Green Monster on August 16th against interleague rival, the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Sox have definitely undergone a facelift.  With the addition of Eduardo Nunez from the San Francisco Giants and the calling up of Rafael Devers, the lineup has been impressive.

Big Bats

In just 17 games with the Red Sox, Nunez is batting .372 with four big home runs, 13 RBI’s, six doubles and only striking out 12 times in 78 at bats.  Since joining the Red Sox on July 28th, they have a 14-4 record.  In the previous 18 games, the Red Sox were 7-11.

Rafael Devers, A.K.A. The Prophecy, has been my favorite player this year and he’s only played in 18 games. At the age of 20, he’s posting ridiculous numbers, currently batting .348 with six home runs, 13 RBI’s, four doubles, and an OPS of 1.082.  Also, he’s currently on a six game hitting streak, going 9 for 24 (.409) with three home runs and six RBI’s.

Andrew Benintendi has been on fire this month. In 12 games, he’s batting .413 with five home runs, 13 RBI’s, three doubles, and has scored 13 times. He also has the best flow in the game. *Cough. Rookie of the year! Cough *

Starting Five

The starting rotation has also been a huge factor in the recent success.  Since July 31st, Red Sox starting pitchers have pitched a combined 69.0 innings and have struck out 78 batters (Chris Sale, Drew Pomeranz, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Doug Fister).

Chris Sale is 3-0 during that span posting a 3.60 ERA (high because he let up seven earned runs against the Indians), struck out 30 and has only allowed 14 hits in 20 innings.  Opponents’ batting average — just .187 in three games.

Drew Pomeranz has really proved to Red Sox Nation what he can do. Since July 31st, he’s 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA and has struck out 13 in 13.0 innings.  Opponents’ batting average is a little high at .264 but he’s only allowed four earned runs.

The Pen

Other than the big bats and the resurgence of our starting pitchers, the bullpen has been WOWZA. Lights out. Amazing. Couldn’t ask for anything more.  This season the Red Sox bullpen is 22-13 with a 3.01 ERA (3rd best in the MLB). Craig Kimbrel and Matt Barnes have really caught my attention.

In his past seven games, Kimbrel has gone 3-0 with 14 strikeouts in 7.1 innings, and allowed two earned runs against the Indians on August 1st (nothing since then).  It’s pretty much a guaranteed win/save every time he pitches.  He’s 5-0 on the season with a 1.41 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 51.0 innings.

In the month of August, Matt Barnes has pitched 8.1 innings, striking out eight and only allowing one run on just two hits.  Opponents’ batting average this month is just 0.080.  During that span, he has faced 30 batters and 22% of outs have been line drives, 11% pop ups, and 27% have been strikeouts.  He’s allowed two inherited scores this season (both on April 3rd) and hasn’t allowed any in August and has only allowed three inherited runners on base.  Barnes has also lowered his ERA from 3.60 to 3.24 in eight games.

Hopefully this resurgence continues all throughout August and into the Fall Classic.  With the heavy bats now in our lineup and the solidity of our starting pitchers and bullpen, I believe this team can go very far, if not all the way.

 

What did Tony C lose on August 18, 1967?

Leave a reply

Fifty years ago today, Tony Conigliaro’s life changed forever. A Jack Hamilton fastball clocked him right in the eye, causing permanent retina damage. On this fiftieth anniversary of the beaning I want to take a look at his career so abruptly and brutally ended.

A brilliant rookie year

(Photo By The Denver Post via Getty Images)

In Conigliaro’s 1964 rookie season, at the age of 19, he hit 24 home runs in just 404 at-bats, the most home runs ever hit by a teenager. The next season he led the league with 32 home runs, at just 20 years old. Conigliaro reached star status before he could legally have a beer. He was the youngest American Leaguer ever to reach 100 career home runs. At the time of the beaning in August, 1967 Conigliaro had 104 career home runs.

Just imagine if…

I have no problem projecting that Tony Conigliaro would have hit 500 career home runs and been a Hall of Famer had this savage injury never occurred. The question for me — how many more than 500 did he have in him? At 22, he had ample room for growth and improvement in his game. Tony proved this in his 1970 season when he hit a career-high 36 home runs. Unfortunately, his eyesight continued to deteriorate.   By the next season, his baseball career came to an end.

Year Age Tm G PA AB H HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS
1964 19 BOS 111 444 404 117 24 52 .290 .354 .530 .883
1965 20 BOS 138 585 521 140 32 82 .269 .338 .512 .850
1966 21 BOS 150 628 558 148 28 93 .265 .330 .487 .817
1967 22 BOS 95 389 349 100 20 67 .287 .341 .519 .860
1968 Did Did Did Did Did Did Did Did Did Did Did
1969 24 BOS 141 566 506 129 20 82 .255 .321 .427 .748
1970 25 BOS 146 617 560 149 36 116 .266 .324 .498 .822
1971 26 CAL 74 292 266 59 4 15 .222 .285 .335 .620
1975 30 BOS 21 69 57 7 2 9 .123 .221 .246 .466
8 Yr 8 Yr 8 Yr 876 3590 3221 849 166 516 .264 .327 .476 .803
162 162 162 162 664 596 157 31 95 .264 .327 .476 .803

This is all creative conjecture, of course, but Conigliaro could have added roughly eight more home runs the rest of the 1967 season. By that point,  he averaged 35 home runs per 162 games played, per baseballreference.com. Take away some games played for injuries and rest days,  why couldn’t he hit 30 home runs a year? Adding in 30 home runs for his missed 1968 season, that bumps his career total to 142 at age 23.

I’m assuming his down 1969 season, when he hit .255 with 20 home runs, was caused by a combination of rust and poor eyesight. Take away these as if they never happened, and tack on 10 more home runs, he’d have 172 homers. I’ll leave his 1970 season of 36 alone since that was ultimately his career high. Through his age-25 season that would total 208 career home runs.

 

Compare with today’s lineup

By the way, Mookie Betts turns 25 this October.  He has 72 home runs. Jackie Bradley Jr. just broke out last year at age 27. At this same age, Tony Conigliaro had already hit 164 home runs, beaned, missed an entire season, made an amazing comeback and ultimately retired. Think about that for a second. Jackie Bradley is a young player just entering his prime.

Tony C’s career at the age of 25 was practically finished due to circumstances out of anyone’s control. There is no reason to think he couldn’t have continued as a perennial candidate to lead the league in home runs for the next eight to 10 years. His 162-game average at that stage of his career included 34 home runs, and he hadn’t necessarily hit his prime. A conservative estimate of 30 home runs per year for the next 8 seasons would give him 448 home runs. Factor in his young age and improving skills, I suspect he could have hit even more. He’d probably have some seasons in the upper 20’s, and he probably could have seasons where he reached and eclipsed 40 home runs. I’m slotting him at 35 home runs per year over the next eight seasons. That would give him a career total of 488 home runs through his age 33 season.

From there where do we go? It’s reasonable to expect a little decline maybe as he entered his mid-thirties. However, at 34 he would have some good baseball left.  The designated hitter came into effect in 1973. Conigliaro could have moved to DH somewhere along the line to keep him from getting injured in the field. I’m predicting that Tony C would have eclipsed the 500 home run mark in 1979 at the age of 34.

Sad end to a brilliant career cut short

Projecting for a little decline I estimate Tony at 30, 25 and 20 home runs in his age 34, 35 and 36 seasons. This would place him at 563 career home runs after 1981. At 36 years old he could still play and add to that total. By giving him just 30 home runs over the next two years he’d be at 593. If he was left just shy of 600 would he stick around another year to reach it? I’d say yes and ultimately project Tony C for just over 600 career home runs. At that time in history, the total would have placed him fourth on the all-time list.

Instead of chasing 600 home runs, Tony Conigliaro suffered a massive heart attack in 1982 at the age of 37. This heart attack was followed by a stroke that left him totally incapacitated until his death in 1990 at the age of 45. The story of Tony C is one of the most tragic stories that can be told. Hall of Fame career aside, a quality life for Tony all but evaporated by the age of 37. In all likelihood these health problems stemmed back to his being beaned by a baseball.

Can the Red Sox Make the World Series?

Leave a reply

Five things that need to happen for the Red Sox to win the World Series:

  1. David Price comes back healthy and finally wins a couple games in the postseason:

    Price has notoriously never won a playoff game.   If he could come back and pitch well that would be huge for the Sox. He needs to get the monkey off his back and win a playoff game, and in so doing he would go a long way towards shoring up the pitching staff. Drew Pomeranz has had a complete turnaround, but behind Chris Sale the Red Sox pitcher with ace capability is David Price. Having a healthy Price to follow Sale in rotation is ideally what the Red Sox need.

  2. Red Sox bats follow Rafael Devers’ and Eduardo Nunez’ example:

    Red Sox hitters were ineffective until the month of August. Struggling to find their way following David Ortiz’ retirement, the trade for Eduardo Nunez and the call up of Rafael Devers have helped spark their dormant bats. Halfway through the month of August the Red Sox have 19 home runs, only six less than they hit the entire month of July. They are on pace to hit more home runs this month than any month this season and their team OPS of .810 is the highest of any month. But through Monday night, Mookie Betts was hitting .220 in August, Hanley Ramirez .214, Xander Bogaerts .211 and Jackie Bradley .179. If the Red Sox can get everyone clicking they will be dangerous.

  3. Bullpen continues to perform:

    Despite all the talk of the Red Sox needing bullpen help, their relievers this year are 21-13 with a 3.03 ERA and better than a strike out per inning. But the Sox don’t have a shut-down reliever beyond Craig Kimbrel.  Dominant as ever this year, Kimbrel’s stats speak for themselves:  striking out an insane 16.56 batters per nine innings while allowing just eight earned runs in 50 innings. All other Red Sox relievers are having solid seasons, but just not comparable. Does anyone have faith come playoff time the other relievers can hold down the fort?  That might just be a key to them winning the World Series. The Red Sox need their middle relievers and setup men to continue pitching well.

  4. Catcher Defense:

    The Red Sox have two excellent catchers who can control the running game. Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon have combined to throw out 29 would-be base stealers this season at a 35.8% rate. Vazquez stands fifth in the league in caught stealing percentage at 37.2%. Keeping opposing baserunners honest and not allowing them to take the extra bases has proved daunting for the Red Sox in recent seasons. In the playoffs, where every run seems to have amplified meaning, holding runners at first could be an underrated key.

  5. NO MORE PABLO SANDOVAL! :

    Does this one even need an explanation?

Year Age Tm Lg G PA WAR oWAR dWAR Salary
2015 28 BOS AL 126 505 -0.9 0.3 -0.9 $17,600,000
2016 29 BOS AL 3 7 -0.2 -0.1 -0.1 $17,600,000
2017 30 BOS AL 32 108 -1.1 -0.3 -0.8 $17,600,000
SFG SFG SFG 877 3562 20.7 20.6 0.8 $18,516,750
BOS BOS BOS 161 620 -2.2 -0.1 -1.7 $52,800,000

Five things that could go wrong

  1. Rotational depth isn’t strong enough in postseason:

    If David Price can’t get healthy the Red Sox rotation is solid, but not as strong as they would like for postseason play. What if David Price doesn’t pitch again this year? What if he comes back and can’t stand up, getting lit up a couple times? Without him, Drew Pomeranz and Rick Porcello have to be the numbers two and three for the playoffs, and I’m not sure they match up. Pomeranz has been great this year, but he doesn’t pitch deep into games. Pomeranz also had never thrown 100 innings before last year; will he wear down come playoff time? Rick Porcello just has not been very good this year with an ERA over 4.50. Those two would look a lot better behind Sale and a healthy Price.

  2. Dustin Pedroia doesn’t heal:

    Dustin Pedroia has been bothered by left knee inflammation for a couple weeks now. He came back from a disabled list stint to play in only one game before returning to the DL. By the sounds of things we won’t see him anytime too soon. Pedroia is the only season-long regular on the Red Sox with a batting average over .300 (.303). He also plays Gold Glove defense at second base, something his replacements most certainly do not. Hopefully Pedroia will heal up with a couple weeks off.  But if his knee gives him problems the rest of this season, the Sox will be without a team leader on the field.

  3. The bullpen implodes:

    This is something that seems to be the fear of all Red Sox fans. The bullpen has performed well this year, but without any lock-down guy beyond Craig Kimbrel can the bullpen hold up their end of the bargain down the stretch and come playoff time? I liked the Addison Reed trade, low-risk move for a setup man who has had a couple good years. However, he was another guy I do not trust added to the bullpen. I tweeted at the time of the trade I would not be surprised if he went full blown Eric Gagne circa 2007.

    The Red Sox traded for Gagne that year to solidify the bullpen.  He came over with a 2.16 ERA for Texas. Gagne posted a 6.75 ERA the rest of that season for the Sox. Unfortunately so far Reed hasn’t alleviated my concerns, allowing five runs in 4.1 innings pitched since the trade. Joe Kelly also hasn’t looked the same since coming back from the disabled list. The Red Sox could use him pitching like he did in May and June when he did not allow a single run.

  4. Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nunez slow down:

    Nunez and Devers have given the Red Sox offense a shot in the arm since they have arrived. Through Monday they had a combined 10 home runs between the two of them in just 130 at bats. Realistically though, Nunez isn’t going to bat near .400, and we can’t count on a 20 year old hitting with the best in all of baseball for the rest of the year. If and when they slow down, are other Red Sox stars going to step up their games and take the reins? Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Hanley Ramirez are all having down seasons. If they don’t make a move once others slow down the Red Sox might go back to hitting like they did in July.

  5. John Farrell:

    Many fans, myself included, are not the biggest John Farrell supporters. He routinely makes questionable decisions in games, leaving in certain pitchers too long, bringing in relievers in questionable situations, not pinch-hitting in obvious situations, etc. Will his game management help cost the Red Sox the World Series? He did his best in 2013, game three to be exact, but that’s another story.  Then again, maybe Farrell gets them to play better late in the year. Last year the Red Sox were one of the hottest teams down the stretch, and they seem to be trending that way again this year having won 11 of their last 12. Ninety percent of managing seems to be handling the personalities and keeping everyone in line and happy. You watch any manager enough and you will question plenty of moves they make.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS XANDER BOGAERTS ?!

Leave a reply
Kansas City Royals v Boston Red Sox

By: Bill Murphy

Twitter: @B_Murph1021

Where is the X-Man?

As our Red Sox start to gain momentum and head into the last leg of the season with a full head of steam we have one important thing missing.   And that thing isn’t A THING at all — our starting short stop, Xander Bogaerts.

To say that Xander is struggling recently would be a complete understatement, as one of our most talented players has COMPLETELY fallen off the face of the earth. Let’s take a look at what Xander hasn’t done recently and why he needs to take a turn for the better in these coming weeks.

Take a look at the photo above (which I took from my fantasy baseball site) and you will see Xander has not exactly had great success since the All-Star break. Not only has he gone missing but it’s almost as if he is going to the plate with an imaginary bat in his hands! We are not talking about just some guy plugging a hole in our lineup and in the field.  We are talking about an All-Star short stop projected to hit 20 to 30 HRs and about 80-90 RBI per season.

New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox

 

Why it matters

At this point in the season, ALL the games truly do matter for this Red Sox team.   Momentum can be key when it comes to heading into the post season and more importantly, making a run in the post season. As previously stated, this Red Sox lineup has had its struggles this year and currently ranks LAST in Home Runs out of ALL TEAMS in the Major Leagues.

Xander remains one of my favorite guys to watch on this ball club offensively and defensively.  The guy is a dirt-dog and leaves it on the field every night, no matter how poorly he may be playing.  With that said, this offense will need him to step it up in a BIG WAY. Xander is one of the most important players for this team.  So his continued struggles truly do hurt this lineup. If X-Man can figure it out and turn it around in these next few weeks, then this team could be deadly in the post season.

 

Inside the Numbers (or Lack Thereof)

To break down this past month for X, lets go a bit deeper inside the numbers and see what he has done (or hasn’t done) at the dish since around the break. In the last month X-MAN has hit .174 (which is below his weight).  He has two RBI, ZERO HOME RUNS, two stolen bases, eight runs scored and a putrid .240 on base percentage.

Want another example of how bad it’s been? In his first 60 at-bats of his career, Rafael Devers has six HRs, the same HR total that Xander currently has, but in 417 at-bats! That stat alone is staggering and should leave most of Red Sox Nation scratching their heads and asking themselves, “Whats wrong with X?”

 

Time for Everyone to Pick Up X

Whether Xander is nursing an injury, or his hand is still bothering him from the HPB he took earlier in the season, we need Xander back and we need him back now! Luckily for the Red Sox we have had some unexpected heroes as of late in the form of Benny Biceps, Devers, and Eduardo Nunez.   Nunez stands out as one of the best pickups made at the deadline due to his knack for making contact and his versatility in playing multiple positions in the field. Either way we look at it one thing is certain, the bigger names need to pick up X and get this offense rolling. Yes, I am calling out guys like Mookie, JBJ, Hanley, and Peddy to step it up and lead this offense into the post-season

Finally…

All I have left is one question and one question only and if anyone knows the answer please feel free to hit my twitter and let me know the answer…

WHERE HAS XANDER BOGAERTS GONE?

Sox Rookies Lead the Way in New York

Leave a reply

The Red Sox bounced back after possibly the toughest loss of the year Friday night to take both games over the weekend. The Sox, now 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the East, were led by the play of rookies Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers.  Benintendi homered three times and drove in nine runners over the weekend series. His two three-run shots during Saturday’s win propelled the team to their 10-5 victory. Not only that, all of his home runs were rockets, making it out of the stadium in the blink of an eye. In Sunday’s game, Benintendi came up with the bases loaded in the 10th and delivered with the game winning hit to right field.

Devers, the 20-year-old- baby faced third baseman, collected the biggest hit of the weekend. With two strikes, facing a fellow lefty and the hardest thrower in the game, Aroldis Chapman, Devers connected for a home run to the opposite field. The pitch was clocked at 102.8 MPH, the fastest recorded pitch hit for a home run.

http://<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Rafael Devers home run was off a 102.8 MPH pitch…. Hardest pitch hit for a HR… Welp ever in the tracked velocity era. (2008)</p>&mdash; Daren Willman (@darenw) <a href=”https://twitter.com/darenw/status/896929237545832449″>August 14, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Impressive only begins to describe the game-tying home run on the biggest stage. Up again in the 10th with the bases full, Devers hit a missile to left field that turned Brett Gardner around. Gardner was able to hang with it and make the catch, but it was another illustration of Devers’ ability to hit the ball hard to all fields. The day before, Devers connected on a lined shot that hit off the center field wall for a double. In New York, Devers picked up four hits and is now batting .328 after having spent only nine games in Pawtucket.

With these two rookies, at 23 and 20 years old, I am excited to see what the future holds for them in Boston. Benintendi has been getting Fred Lynn comparisons all year long. Lynn was on a Hall of Fame path before leaving the Red Sox in free agency.  If Benintendi can play like Freddy did in Boston, this should be fun. As for Devers, at 20 years old and having hit at every level of the minors despite being young at each stop, the Major Leagues has not slowed him down. I hope he doesn’t get too much pressure put on him at such a young age and can stay within himself. His future in the big leagues looks like a potential perennial all-star at third base.

Red Sox, Yankees Rivalry is Back

Leave a reply

The Red Sox and Yankees went head to head this weekend, firing up a long-standing rivalry. Maybe not as intense as the 2003-2004 season with Varitek, Jeter, Pedroia and A-Rod.  But as we come to the last two months of the regular season, the AL East is closing in on the Red Sox and Yankees for the number-one spot in the divison.

Season Finale Heating Up

The Red Sox had Eduardo Rodriguez going Friday, Drew Pomeranz Saturday, and Chris Sale Sunday. Notice no David Price pitching in this series.  That’s how big it is.  The Red Sox took two out of three against the Yankees for a five-game division lead ahead of the Yankees.

The Red Sox had their eight-game win streak snapped Friday night, but came back to win Saturday and Sunday.  That game went into extra innings after a monster home run by 20-year-old Rafael Devers, a rookie, off an Aroldis Chapman pitch clocked at 103 mph.

The Red Sox are on fire right now with Eduardo Nunez hitting leadoff. The Sox aquired Nunez before the trade deadline from the Giants.  To date he’s produced 21 hits,12 RBI’s, four homers, and a .420 batting average in 52 at-bats.  Devers has proven he belongs in The Bigs, batting a .319 average, with 15 hits and eight runs in 47 at bats.

Rookie Yankee Aaron Judge is having a great first season in New York. He leads the league with 35 home runs for a a .294 batting average, with 113 hits, and 86 runs from 385 at-bats this season.

Bullpen health check

The Red Sox have some bullpen questions, even after acquiring Addison Reed from the Mets.  Reed completely crapped himself on the mound Friday night. Hopefully he pitches better in the next 60 days. They have only one standout pitcher — Chris Sale — who once again was absolutely dominant  on Sunday.

I do smell a September collapse with this team though. The Red Sox have done it before in 2011 and could do it again. That would really kick John Farrell out of town.

They are playing good baseball, but I need to see how they do after this weekend before I predict that they’ll win the division. The Red Sox and Yankees play each other two more time this season so it will be interesting to see what happens. They play a series at Fenway Park, then  a Series at Yankee Stadium in the beginning of September. So get ready for the rollercoaster ride of the Major League Baseball race to the end of the season. With the Red Sox anything can happen.