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Red Sox – Royals Series Recap

Monday- The Royals fall to the Sox in Game 1

In their 21st win of the season, the Red Sox won 10-6 over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. Xander Bogaerts hit his second grand slam of the season, and sixth for the team. Mitch Moreland hit a solo home run, going three for four with a homer, a double, three runs, and two RBIs. Andrew Benintendi hit a sacrifice fly into center field to drive in Jackie Bradley Jr. in the bottom of the fourth. Eduardo Rodriguez didn’t have a fantastic start as he pitched five hits, five runs, three walks, and striking out only six in the Royals lineup. Hector Velazquez hit the pitcher’s mound after Rodriguez and only allowed one hit. Mookie Betts was still not present in the lineup, but Cora said that he should be playing tomorrow.

“He’s been pretty amazing for us all year, obviously with the injury, not knowing what to expect coming back, but he’s picked right up where he left off… it was a nice night”. Said Moreland on Bogaerts performance

“I didn’t hit a grand slam in my career, so it’s not because of me”, said Alex Cora on the 6 grand slams hit since he became manager

Tuesday- Sox Fall on Sale day

The Red Sox fell to the Royals 7-6 on Tuesday night. Eduardo Nuñez homered in the 12th inning to tie the game. Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy pitched three scoreless innings to allow the Royals to gain control. A wild pitch in the seventh allowed Benintendi to run home and lead for a portion of the game. Tuesday night’s game was only Benintendi’s second time batting lead off in his career, as Mookie was still on the bench. Sale added another loss after pitching seven innings, allowing two runs, two walks, and only six strikeouts. Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless eighth inning and allowed the Sox to keep the 3-2 lead. Ultimately, the Royals won the 13th inning game. Tomorrow Drew Pomeranz will pitch for the second time this season at Fenway against Kansas City’s Danny Duffy.

Wednesday- Sox take the Series against Royals

With it being nearly 90 degrees in the city, it felt like a typical summer baseball game. Mookie Betts again proved why he’s the lead-off man for the Sox. Betts surpassed Ted Williams to hit the most three home run games in franchise history. The Gatorade shower made an appearance, and Mookie definitely deserved the spotlight. The Sox beat out Kansas 5-4 to take the series. J.D. Martinez also hit a two run homer to tie the game in the third. Drew Pomeranz picked up his first win of the season. He is showing improved velocity and an improved curveball since his time on the disabled list. Joe Kelly also returned from his six game suspension from the bench clearing brawl against the Yankees. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning to show that his time off did no harm.

“It was pretty cool, I’m just trying to shut them down long enough to let Mookie get at-bats. When he gets hot like that, we’re all cheering for more at-bats for him. They keep throwing him pitches, but he keeps sitting on everything they throw him. It’s pretty awesome to watch.”-Drew Pomeranz on Mookies performance

Sources

Red Sox Twitter

MLB.com

Red Sox Take Series Against Toronto

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Tuesday- Porcello vs. Happ

Porcello took the mound for his fifth start against Toronto’s J. A. Happ. Unfortunately, today’s game didn’t end in the Sox’ favor. Rick Porcello pitched another great game ending with a 1.93 ERA. Hanley Ramirez and Rafael Devers both hit singles to get on base. This allowed Eduardo Nuñez to hit and RBI single into left field. With bases loaded, Brock Holt hit to left field, which forced the game into extra innings. The Toronto Blue Jays eventually took the win as Craig Kimbrel let up his first run in the 2018 season.

Wednesday- Rodriguez vs. Sanchez

It was another night of the Mookie Show for the Sox. The Toronto Blue Jays lost 4-3 against the Red Sox Wednesday night. Hitting two homers, one in his first at bat of the game, Mookie smashed the losing streak. In an interview later that night, Alex Cora compared them to the likes of Altuve and Trout. Brock Holt had three hits, to raise his batting average to .327. Eduardo Rodriguez pitched nearly seven innings and only let up six hits. He extended the Red Sox lead to 18-5. It also happened that the Bruins were playing the same day, and there is a large support system coming from the Sox. Both teams are seen often cheering for the others. Tomorrow is Sale day and with the losing streak gone can he add a win under his belt.

“Two good swings. The one to the opposite side of the field, that was great.” – Alex Cora on Mookie Betts

“Good win for us. Good win for the Bruins. Everybody is pulling for them over here. Mookie did his thing… again” -Hanley Ramirez on the win

Thursday – Sale vs. Estrada

J.D. hit the ball to right center to allow three runs with only two outs in the fifth inning. Chris Sale let up a run in the first inning causing Toronto to give Sanchez the run support Sale wanted. With Joe Kelly serving his suspension, Matt Barnes was brought in. With the Sox only leading Toronto by one run in the seventh inning, Barnes struck out Maile, avoiding a run to tie the game. I’m the eighth inning, Toronto was ready to rally and the Sox had to make a great play. Brock Holt had to throw the ball to Moreland at first, to get Grichuk out. Toronto challenged the call, but luckily there was not enough evidence in their favor. Tomorrow Xander Bogaerts with return from the disabled list and Drew Pomeranz will pitch at Fenway for the first time this season.

You know, even when he’s struggling, you think he’s one adjustment away to do damage.” -Alex Cora on J. D. Martinez

“That’s the kind of guy he is. He does some pretty incredible things with that bat, and I’m appreciative of it tonight. ” – Chris Sale on J. D.

Sources

Red Sox Twitter

NESN

No Need to Panic After Sox Lose Twice in a Row

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Sox Drop Two in a Row

After an incredible start to the season at 17-2, the Red Sox finally looked human. Over the weekend they dropped two straight games to the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum. The first one was just the offense flat-out taking a nap. Well, maybe the second one too, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Sean Manea of the Oakland A’s had one hell of a performance on Saturday night throwing a no hitter that was not cheap by any standards. Some may say the Leon pop up was a hit, that maybe Benintendi stayed in the baseline, but whatever. That was a no hitter in my eyes. He just flat-out shut our offense down. An offense that was red-hot and the best in the league. So a tip of the cap to Sean Manea.

The second loss might have been a little more frustrating as the offense once again struggled up until the 7th. At that point Brock Holt came on with men on first and second with one out. He ripped a double to right, scoring a run and putting runners on second and third. Vasquez popped up on the first pitch and Tzu Wei Lin struck out on three pitches (although the umpire made some iffy strike calls on that one). This was the turning point in the game. They really could have benefited bringing in an extra run or two for the lead. But they just couldn’t do it.

David Price was pitching great up until the bottom of the eighth, when he got into a jam. With runners of first and second and only one down, he struck out Jed Lowrie. He then gave up a three run homer to Khris Davis on the very next pitch to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. That ended up being the final score. Many will blame Alex Cora for leaving Price in, but I had no problem with it. Price is your horse, a guy who’s supposed to go deep into games and get out of his jams. The fact that he was only at 92 pitches at that point was a good reason to keep him in as well.

The only questionable thing today from I saw today from Cora was the lineup. I didn’t understand why Mookie and Hanley were getting the day off. I know that he plans these days off days ahead of time. But why give them a rest when the next day is a day off for the whole team? Nonetheless, the Red Sox lost two tough games in a row. But if you’re panicking, don’t, because you know what? Despite losing two in a row, this team has still won eight of their last ten games and are 17-4 on the season. 17-4 isn’t that bad of a record last I checked. You also have to remember that this is baseball season, the best of the best lose at least 50-70 games. It happens. It’s a long year, and it’s only April.

The Red Sox also ran into a hot Oakland A team. Ever since being 5-10 last week, Oakland now has won five of their last six and are 11-11 on the year.

Boston got a day off today to recharge before heading to Rogers Centre on Tuesday to take on the Blue Jays for a three game series. Rick Porcello will take the mound and try to get the Sox back into the win column against J.A Happ in game one.

If you have worries after these last two games, just remember that this team has a 17-4 record. It’s going to be okay. We just have to shake these losses off, go into Toronto and win the series before going back home.

Series Review – Red Sox @ Angels

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Game 1 – Shohei Ohtani vs. David Price

This game had a lot of hype going into it. MLB Network was broadcasting this game, and many in Japan were watching, for baseball’s new phenom was pitching for the Halos. Shohei Ohtani, before this game had pitched two games, both being against the Athletics. He had a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings pitched in those two starts. The latter of the two starts, Ohtani had a perfect game through 6 ⅓ innings. Furthermore, if you add in the three home runs and the .367 batting average, that is a recipe for national attention.

Courtesy: USA Today

This game didn’t go so well…. for Ohtani. The Japanese Babe Ruth pitched two innings, while giving up three earned runs on four hits. Apparently, Ohtani had a blister, and in addition to the terrible pitch count after two innings (66 pitches), that is why he didn’t pitch long.

It was a different story for David Price. After pitching one inning and giving up four earned runs on three hits, Price looked for redemption in the better weather. He was typical David Price, as he pitched five innings, giving up only one earned run on three hits. He could’ve gone longer, but with Alex Cora’s approach to keeping starters fresh, he pulled Price after 78 pitches. Also, the bullpen looked great, with Brian Johnson going three strong innings and Marcus Walden pitching the 9th.

Certainly, the story of this game was offense. The Red Sox scored ten runs in the game on six home runs. These home runs came from Brock Holt, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Rafael Devers. But the star of this game was Mookie Betts. Betts hit three home runs in this game, one of them coming off Shohei Ohtani in the first at-bat of the game, further lengthening his record of 12 leadoff home runs (at the time). Mookie also tied Ted Williams’ franchise record of three career 3-home run games.

Final Score – Red Sox 10 Angels 1

Game 2 – Tyler Skaggs vs. Rick Porcello

This game had nowhere near the hype that game one did, but this was an important game nevertheless. If the Red Sox won the game, they would remain among the few teams to not lose a series yet this season. The Angels wanted to win this game in order to give them a chance to win the series the next day. Tyler Skaggs had gotten off to a good start this season before this series, having three starts, with a 1.69 ERA through 16 innings of work. Rick Porcello was having the best start of his career through three starts. He was 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA in 19 ⅔ innings.

Porcello continued his amazing start of the year, pitching six innings, and gave up zero earned runs. Tyler Skaggs couldn’t say the same, as he pitched 4 ⅓ innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits. The Red Sox bullpen continued their great work, with Carson Smith, Marcus Walden, and Craig Kimbrel all pitching scoreless innings. The Red Sox continued their hot offensive streak, scoring nine runs total. Two hitters accounted for eight of the runs, as Rafael Devers hit his first career grand slam, and Mitch Moreland, my player of the game, also had RBIs. Two of the RBIs were on base hits in the first and third innings, and the other two were on a 2-run homer in the ninth inning. JD Martinez also hit a homer in the seventh inning.

Final Score – Red Sox 9 Angels 0

Game 3 – Nick Tropeano vs. Eduardo Rodriguez

This pitching matchup had no excitement around it, as Nick Tropeano isn’t quite a household name, and Eduardo Rodriguez is at most the fourth-best starter in the Red Sox rotation. Rodriguez had come off a great start against his former team, the Orioles, where he pitched six innings, giving up one earned run on five hits. Tropeano’s first start of the year was against the Royals, where he pitched 6 ⅔ innings of shutout ball.

Eduardo Rodriguez had a good start in this one, working six innings, giving up only two earned runs. On the other side of things, Nick Tropeano was probably the best starter for the Angels this series, but this doesn’t mean much. Tropeano pitched 5 ⅓ innings, and gave up four earned runs on seven hits.

The Red Sox offense continued their hot streak in this one. Remember that leadoff home run record Mookie Betts added to in Game 1 off of Shohei Ohtani? Well, he did it AGAIN. Make that 13 career leadoff home runs. Mookie Betts is off to a ridiculous start, and should be a serious MVP candidate this season. Then, Andrew Benintendi finally got his first home run of the year. On top of that, he had a two-RBI knock in the ninth inning. JD Martinez had a RBI, Mitch Moreland had a RBI flyout, and Rafael Devers had two RBIs.

Final Score – Red Sox 8 Angels 2

Cover image courtesy of Jae C. Hong, AP

Can the Red Sox Sweep the Athletics?

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Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are 17-2 with the best record in the MLB. They have yet to lose a series and are on another win streak. The Sox have hit more grand slams in the past three weeks than they have in two years. After Xander Bogaerts was placed on the DL, there was a question of whether or not the Sox would continue their win streak. They did and hit more grand slams (and even more runs). Mookie Betts came back after missing a game due to his bruised ankle. His hot bat never went away and he became the king of Anaheim. He hit at least one home run every game while playing the Angels. The Red Sox also shut down Shohei Ohtani quick in the second inning on Tuesday to prove that they were no one to be taken lightly. Drew Pomeranz also made his season debut Friday after spending time playing in Pawtucket and Portland.

Oakland Athletics

The A’s are 9-11 and fourth in the AL West. They recently swept Chicago in a series. Oakland also brought in bullpen reinforcements to prepare for the series against the Red Sox. Oakland has lost every series except one against the White Sox earlier this week. Lou Trevino made his Major League debut on Tuesday and pitched his first scoreless inning. He has not given up a run yet. Stephen Piscotty seems to be the A’s number one hitter, and the most reliable.

Will the Sox Sweep?

The Red Sox are off to the best start in franchise history, they have hit more grand slams than they have over a two year time span. After taking game one against Oakland yesterday, can the Red Sox sweep yet another series this early into the season?

Sources

BJ Weiss

Boston Red Sox

Oakland Athletics

MLB

Red Sox – Angels Series Preview

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With the unfortunate postponement of Monday’s annual Patriots Day game, it is time to look on to the upcoming road trip for the Sox. Their first stop will be at Anaheim to face the red hot Angels. This was already going to be such an intriguing series, but it got even more exciting as we learned the new superstar Shohei Ohtani, will be facing Boston in the first game of this set. And who will he be facing? David Price.

The next two matchups will be Rick Porcello against Tyler Skaggs on Wednesday, and Erod versus Nick Tropeano on Thursday.

So far this year, 16 games in for the Angels, and 15 games in for the Red Sox, Boston is 13-2, while Anaheim is riding a 13-3 record. Both teams are also leading their divisions in the early going. So yeah, it doesn’t take an expert to realize these teams have been on fire to start the year.

Talent in Anaheim

Let’s now look into how these teams have gotten to where they are now. As far as the Angels go, their rotation led by Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs, and some guy named Shohei Ohtani, has been solid. Their bullpen has also been strong led by Noe Ramirez (an old Red Sox), Blake Wood, Jose Alvarez, and their closer Keynan Middleton. Those four have combined to give up only three runs in 34 innings. Pretty decent.

The Angels offense led by Ohtani, Pujols, Justin Upton, and many who say is the greatest in the game, Mike Trout, have also been very productive in the early going. They’ll definitely be a challenge for the Red Sox rotation in this upcoming series.

Showtime Ohtani

Now remember when I mentioned that guy Shohei Ohtani, who’s in the rotation? Yeah, well not only can that guy pitch, but he can hit the ball 400 feet too. It’s really incredible to see what he’s done thus far. He had such high expectations going into the season. After the awful spring he had, everyone wrote him off. Some said he could start the season in AAA.

He has come right out of the gate and hit .367 with a .767 OBP. He’s also hit three home runs. Pretty good numbers right? You have to know that this all comes with him also starting two games and getting two wins. In his last start against Oakland, he took a perfect game into the seventh inning, striking out 12 and only giving up one hit. I’ll tell you right now this man does not look fun to hit against. He throws an easy 100 mph with a 68 mph curveball, along a nasty splitter. Just insane what this guy has done so farm and it will be fun to keep an eye on as time goes on.

No Bogaerts No Problem

The Red Sox starting pitching kept it going this weekend. After a huge series victory against New York last Thursday, the Red Sox took all three games this weekend against Baltimore. They got strong starts from Rodriguez, Velazguez, and five great innings from Chris Sale in the brutal cold weather.

I recently wrote a piece on how even though Xander Bogaerts is out for a little while, there is no need to worry. And I 100% stand by that. Tzu Wei Lin, who was called up after the Bogaerts injury, played all three games this weekend against the Orioles. In 12 AB’s he hit .500 with a .571 OBP. It seemed like every time he was up, he was hitting the ball hard somewhere. You also can’t forget the great defense he played throughout the series at shortstop.

This is the thing I’ve been most impressed with this Sox team so far. Even with Bogaerts, the hottest hitter on the team at the time getting hurt, the offense still thrived and they still found ways to win.

Boston’s Versatility

On Saturday, after a collision at home plate in the bottom of the first inning, Mookie was taken out of the game after the fourth inning. No big deal. JBJ just moved to right and made one of the most spectacular catches you’ll ever see.

Center field, right field, the moon.

Wherever you put JBJ, he will make an amazing catch. pic.twitter.com/FIlnMzIpl5

— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2018

Mookie, along with Nunez, were out of Sunday’s game with the weather being ugly and Cora just being cautious. No big deal. Andrew Beninendi and Lin drove in a run apiece and won the game. This team has found ways to win even without key guys. The bullpen was also sneaky good in the Orioles series, which is another great sign.

So there is no doubt in my mind that this upcoming series is an incredible matchup and should be a fun next three games at Angel stadium in Anaheim. It all starts with David Price taking the bump against Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday night. You won’t want to miss this.

Is Rick Porcello Back?

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It seems as though a spring of Derek Lowe whispering sweet nothings has done Rick Porcello a whole lot of good this season so far.

Last Season

Flashing back to 2017 is a tough ride for Porcello, as he had almost as many losses as he did wins from his 2016 CY Young season. Rick came in with a cool 11-17, and it was clear nothing much was working in his favor. The Red Sox, although a contending team, did not provide Porcello his usual run support, which in turn lead to a collapse in performance on the mound. By the time that the bats ended up pulling through, it was clear that Porcello was a ghost of his consistent self the year before. Porcello by the end of the year was locating that devastating sinker straight down the pipe, and ended the season with an ERA of 4.65 and leading the league in home runs with 38. Needless to say, a couple got away from the big man. This year could be different though.

What Has Changed

You did good, @RickPorcello. pic.twitter.com/b2L6V02Xbc

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 13, 2018

Here we are in 2018, and the Rick Porcello you knew last year is a ghost. Why do I say that? Although Porcello (3-0) is never going to be that lights-out pitcher at the top of your order, having him third in the rotation is comforting. Porcello has seemed to relocate his sinker back to where it belongs, in those tight corners of the zone the ump loves to give you. Although not all of those sinkers having been painting the corners, when Porcello misses his spots it seems as though he’s getting the outs he needs in the field. What is crucial to Porcello’s arsenal is something that he has no control over. In 2016 the Red Sox had a team that could put runs on the board, and it seems to be happening this year whenever Porcello straps in.

Red Sox Run Support

While on the mound this season the Red Sox have been able to provide 19 runs in three games. In the last 34 starts that Porcello has had with 3+ runs of breathing room, he has gone 29-0. With a bolstered lineup, it seems as if the Red Sox may be able to provide Porcello with support a majority of the time he’s on the bump. Is it smart to rely on the Red Sox to put up 3+ runs every single game Porcello starts after the drought of last season? No, probably not. But it does appear that this 2018 Red Sox lineup has production throughout. The games that a major bat isn’t producing, the lower part of the order is picking up that slack.

For example, in Porcello’s Yankees home start, Sandy Leon started a second inning flurry of four runs. This early game production is something that Porcello will need to be a sustainable asset for Boston. It is clear that the Red Sox hitters who will be relied on for production later in the year aren’t fully here yet. But I doubt Benintendi will bat .231 all season. We didn’t pay J.D Martinez what we did in confidence that .227 was his ceiling. April baseball is deceiving.

Conclusion

So instead of grinding your teeth a bit when you see that Rick Porcello is starting like you did last year, I think it’s time to have confidence in the former Cy Young winner. So is Porcello back? With 162 games on the docket, this season is a long and winding road to make assumptions. But Porcello has two seasons in Boston with 180+ strikeouts. The only difference between the two seasons is the support he was getting in 2017 v. 2016. So my answer is simple. IF the Red Sox provide Rick Porcello 3+ run support by the third inning each game he goes out, he will end the season with 20 wins.

The First Series Between the Red Sox and Yankees of 2018 Was a Good One

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It looks like Red Sox vs Yankees in 2018 is off to a hot start. This past series between the two teams at Fenway Park was everything we were anticipating. Maybe even more.

Game 1

It all started with absolute onslaught of the Yankees on Tuesday night. Chris Sale went six strong, allowing only one run. Mookie Betts had the game of his life. He racked up four hits and a walk, including a grand slam that would put the cherry on top to make the score 14-1.

The second game was even crazier. It opened up with David Price allowing four runs in the first, and coming out with an apparent “sensation in his fingertips.” He ended up being okay and is planning to make his next scheduled start. In came the bullpen, which did great. Throwing eight innings of two run ball. Both runs? Courtesy of Matt Barnes. Of course.

Game 2

But the craziness started in the top of the third. Tyler Wade bunted to Rafael Devers, who threw to Brock Holt at second to start a double play. The only problem was the double play wasn’t able to be turned, as Holt got spiked in his calf by Tyler Austin, sparking a bench-clearing argument. If you thought that would be the end of that, you were wrong. Skip ahead to the top of the seventh, Austin was up with one out and nobody on. Joe Kelly was on the mound and drilled Austin in the back. Consequently, Austin slammed his bat to the ground, looked at Kelly as he said, “Let’s go”, and charged the mound. An epic brawl broke out, and Kelly and Austin were both ejected. The Red Sox would end up losing the game, 10-6.

All of the players seemed pretty upset about what happened. Everyone voiced their displeasure, including some of the coaches on each team, along with each manager. This will certainly linger throughout the whole year.

Game 3

With a huge game on Thursday, Rick Porcello took the mound. He came through, taking a no hitter into the seventh inning, allowing two hits and no runs. The offense scored six runs off the Yankees’ starter Sony Gray, and won the game 6-3. Kimbrel got the save at the end of the game. The Red Sox won the series, taking 2 out of 3 games.

To recap? Four words: The rivalry is back. All this time, everyone has been trying to force the rivalry back. It’s been going on for years now. The problem is that the Red Sox and Yankees haven’t really been good at the same time for a while. The last time these two went at it in the Postseason was 2004. That was 14 years ago.

When the Yankees got Giancarlo Stanton in the offseason, the Red Sox’ Twitter account quote tweeted a tweet about the news saying “Rivalry???.” Everyone took it as a stupid joke. But it won’t be anymore. With the Red Sox getting J.D. Martinez in the offseason, many predicted the rivalry can only get stronger in the years to come. We can now confirm this is true. And every single Red Sox and Yankee fan should be excited for what’s ahead.

It sure was a fun first series as we saw a whole lot of action. Home runs, good pitching, and just like old times, brawls. These are two very talented teams in the AL East, and they are not fond of each other. The rivalry isn’t a joke anymore. The rivalry is back, folks.

Q&A with Lou Merloni

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2018 Boston Red Sox Q&A with Lou Merloni (@LouMerloni)

photo credit- www.americaninno.com

I’d like to give a HUGE shout out and thank you to the man himself, Lou Merloni. Lou and I follow one another on Twitter and when I asked him if he would be interested in a quick Q&A for our site, he could have easily ignored me, said no, or said he is too busy. Instead, Lou answered right away and took time out of his day between shows and broadcasts to do me a solid. I have been a Sox fan my entire life and always thought it was cool a guy playing baseball for Providence College wound up playing for our boys in Boston. Lou is one of the better on-air personalities in New England when it comes to talking sports, and brings great insight when talking baseball. Especially Red Sox baseball.

Once again Lou, thank you for doing this….

Now, let’s get this Q&A started, shall we?

Q: How do you see Alex Cora doing with this team and as a first time manager? Do you see him being the long-term solution at the helm?

A(Lou): Breath of fresh air and they needed it. I just think he can relate to the players in a way that John Farrell was incapable of. Communication is key. I also love that Ron Roenicke is his bench coach. His experience will help Alex out especially early in the year.

Q: Which position player and which pitcher will be the key to the success of this ball club in 2018?

A (Lou): It really does come down to David Price. Lost in all the chaos surrounding Price, we forget that he is one the best pitchers in the league. If he can get back to that, The Sox will have the best 1-2 punch in the AL. Offensively, its Hanley Ramirez. The addition of JD Martinez is nice but they need Hanley to be a force in the middle of that lineup like he was in 2016

Q: With the Sox off to a fast start (9-1), which area of the team are you most surprised with out of the gate, and do you think the Sox have this potential all season long and when it comes to facing a more dangerous opponent?

A(Lou): Starting pitching has been outstanding, but I’ve been most impressed with their ability to come back in games and win the 1 run games. It’s tough in April when the weather is brutal. It’s really easy to give up on a game in the cold and move onto the next one. They don’t. My biggest concern continues to be getting the ball to Kimbrel. They don’t have a shutdown 8^th inning guy so they will continue to go with matchups late in games. That puts Alex in a tough spot because no matter who he goes with, if it doesn’t work out, he will be criticized. The difference between he and Farrell is that I believe he will explain his reasoning better than John postgame.

Q: Do you see the Sox making a move this year to possibly acquire a more solidified set-up man to get to Kimbrel in the 9^th?

A(Lou): They are going to have to. They have guys out there but who do you trust? Smith, Kelly, Barnes and Hembree are all “good” pieces but when you watch the post season and you see the high pressure spots late in games, do you trust any of them?

Q: With Bogey going down with what looks to be a significant ankle injury, who do you see filling in for the time being at SS? Holt, Nunez, Lin (AAA), or do the Sox make a move to grab a veteran to fill in.

A(Lou): We’re not sure how long Bogaerts is out, but short term I think you’ll see Holt at SS with Lin eventually taking over at SS. Unfortunately, you can’t get what Bogey gives you offensively so you need to make sure you put out the best defensive SS to replace him. I think we are a ways off before we start talking about needing to trade for help.

Q: How do you think J.D. Martinez will fare hitting in Fenway? (Let’s keep him off the defensive side by the way)

A(Lou): He’ll be fine and once the weather warms up a bit, you’ll see that RF can’t hold him. He has monster power the other way which will make it difficult for teams to pitch to him at that park. Pitcher’s keep the ball away from most right handed hitters to take advantage of that big RF and to keep them away from the Green Monster. They won’t be able to do that with JD at Fenway.

Q: What is the most memorable/historic moment you witnessed playing in Fenway?

A(Lou): I’ll never forget that 2003 ALCS. Game 3 especially. Roger vs Pedro. Pedro drills Karim Garcia and we all were waiting for Roger to retaliate and he never did. He just poured in strike one and went on to beat us. It was also the game where Pedro tossed Don Zimmer to the ground. It was crazy. We all respected the hell out of Zim. I know he was embarrassed for going after Pedro but honestly, that’s why we all loved him. He cared. He was passionate and he showed it.

(One of my favorite moments as well, nice to hear the insight of someone who was on the field for it)

Q: Your Prediction: Where do the Sox finish, and if you have them making the playoffs, how deep could their playoff run be with a healthy roster?

A(Lou): I had them for 96 wins and I’ll stay with it. But I could see Yanks right there with them. ALCS is a reasonable expectation. They need to win a round in the post season. Not just for this fan base to believe in them but also for themselves. They have a lot of guys on this roster that need to prove they can win in October

That wraps up my Q&A with Lou Merloni on the 2018 Boston Red Sox! HUGE thank you to Lou again, make sure you give him a follow on twitter @LouMerloni and tune in M-F from 10 AM-2 PM on WEEI (103.7 or 93.7).

Embed from Getty Images

LETS GO SOX!

Don’t Worry About Xander Bogaerts’s Injury

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The Red Sox’ is off to a season has started off great start so far. The offense and pitching are firing on all cylinders. There is just one problem: Xander Bogaerts suffered an ankle injury sliding into the Rays’ dugout during Sunday’s game.

The Injury

It was the top of the seventh and Joey Wendle was up. Wendle hit a ball high in the air that ended up off of the monster. J.D. Martinez fielded the ball and made a throw that landed off the line to Bogaerts. But Xander, who thought someone was nearby to help, made the mistake of flipping the ball to third base; where nobody was at the moment. The ball rolled into the dugout. If the ball went into the dugout, a run would be granted to the Rays. So Xander, not letting that happen, slid into the dugout while getting the baseball. While he did save a run that ended up being crucial, he hurt himself.

He was be taken out of the game right away and was replaced by Brock Holt. Holt ended up making a nice play over at short to end the game and preserve a Sox win.

The problem was that nobody really knew how serious Bogaerts’s injury was. On Monday, it was announced that he would be heading to the DL with a “small crack” in his Talus bone. A bone in his foot. This will knock him out for about 10-14 days, so two weeks at the most.

The Effects

The thing that frustrates me the most about this injury is the fact that he was the hottest hitter on the team at the moment. He was hitting .368 with an OPS of 1.111. Pretty good if I had any say in it. But now that guy is gone for about two weeks. It isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but there is just one thing that worries me.

Last year, Bogaerts was hitting above .300 until he got hit in the hand during a game in Tampa. That ended up screwing him up for the rest of the year, as he would hit .230 the rest of the way. The injury clearly affected him. However, I am not saying that this new injury will make him flat-out stink for the rest of the season. I was on the Bogaerts train before the season started, and am proud to say that I still am. I very much believe that Xander Bogaerts can be one of, if not THE best hitter (batting average wise), in baseball when he is fully healthy. So let him rest, and come back better than ever. In the meantime, the Red Sox will have Tzu Wei Lin over at short along with Brock Holt.

And one more thing: if Bogaerts was going to get injured at all, it’s much better to have him get this injury early on than around when he got it last year. By the time he comes back, it will still be April. So let’s just sit back, relax and enjoy the Tzunami show. The X man will be back in no time.

Cover image courtesy of USA Latest News.