The weekend series against the Rays was a progress stopper. After sweeping the Royals last week, the Red Sox lost 3-of-4 in Fenway to drop seven games behind the Yankees and Rays in the division. The upcoming week presents another chance to string together some wins, and that starts with the Rangers in Fenway Park.
Chris Sale threw a three-hit, 12 strikeout shut out in his last start in Kansas City. However, Sale has actually had most of his struggles at home this season. The left-handed pitcher has a 4.45 ERA in 28 1/3 innings at Fenway, compared to just a 3.49 ERA on the road. In contrast, both Rick Porcello and David Price has far superior numbers at home than on the road. If there was any pitcher of the three to bank on to turn their home form around it would be Sale.
Mike Minor is demonstrating the talent that we all knew he had this season. The veteran left-hander has his career derailed by injuries but has fought hard to get himself back on track. This season he has a career-best 2.55 ERA as a starter, striking out 87 in 81 1/3 innings. He has been slightly been more vulnerable on the road, with a 3.00 ERA, and a .310 wOBA.
The Rangers will be using two pitchers in this series who have served time both out of the rotation and the bullpen. Ariel Jurado has also been extremely good this season, both as a starter and a reliever. As a starter, he has a 3.57 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings. Adrian Sampson has been less impressive as a starter, with a 4.93 ERA, but has struck out 34 in 38 1/3 innings.
HITTERS
On the road, this season the Rangers have generally hit well. They rank in the top-10/15 of most road statistics. They have not had it all their own way, in fact, they rank second last in the majors in strikeouts on the road, with a 27.5 K%. Their road record is also pretty poor when it comes to results, as they sit just 10-18. This series should present plenty of opportunities for the Red Sox pitchers to rack up the K’s.
The Red Sox are coming off a series in which they averaged just 2.25 runs per game. It is going to be extremely hard to win games scoring that few runs, especially when they did not have to face one of the Rays best pitchers in Charlie Morton. However, the Rays do rank best in the majors when it comes to ERA. The Rangers? They rank seventh, allowing nearly two runs more per nine innings pitched.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Pitching: The Red Sox will be hoping Sale can continue his good form from last time out. They will also be looking for Porcello and Price to continue their good home form this season. However, question marks remain around the other starter in this series and their bullpen. Depth in starting pitching will likely be important later in the season, and they need their bullpen to hold its own if they are to close the gap and push for this division.
Hitting: You know you have had a bad series at the plate when Jackie Bradley Jr. is the only hitter to clear the fences. The positive is that the Red Sox really need something from JBJ’s bat, but there are more issues in that stat than positives, The Rangers rotation can be got at, and that is just the type of staff the Red Sox need to face right now.
EXPECTATIONS
The Red Sox season just rolls from frustration to frustration. Every time it looks as though they are building some momentum, it gets ripped away with a poor series. That is the case once again after this Rays series. The Red Sox are 34-32 and hovering seven games off the division lead.
There is still a lot of time to go. We have only just clicked through the 62-game mark, leaving over 100 games. In the grand scheme of things a seven game deficit when you consider that is nothing. However, the Rangers are a middle of the pack team. If the Red Sox want to be viewed as more than a middle of a pack team they need to send the Rangers packing with a series defeat.
I had the pleasure of chatting with former Red Sox second baseman Jeff Frye. Frye played in the Major Leagues for eight seasons, three of which came in Boston. He was a career .290 hitter, .295 with the Red Sox. Nowadays, Frye works as a sports agent at Frye McCann Sports and does some pre and postgame work for the Texas Rangers.
BSE: You began your career as a 30th round draft pick; what was it like clawing your way up to the Majors?
Jeff Frye: I never even thought I really had a chance of making it to the Majors to be honest. Every Spring Training I would drive down from Oklahoma with my buddies and wonder if this was the year I was getting released. Obviously, everybody’s goal is to play in the Major Leagues, but when you’re a 30th round draft pick and you don’t even start really your first season, it’s not looking too promising.
BSE: I actually saw a video of you online talking about how you changed your stance and upped your offensive production. That was pretty neat to see.
Jeff Frye: It was kind of a fluke deal. I’d done really well in A-Ball, won the batting title in low A-Ball and hit like .270 in high A-Ball. Went to AA and the defense was so much better, and the pitching was so much better at AA and I was struggling for probably two months. Just goofing around one evening after a game in the hotel, and I was imitating a lot of the Rangers star players at the time, Ruben Sierra and Juan Gonzalez, they had big leg kicks. I was imitating those guys and the guy I was playing with, who was actually my roommate, Rick Wrona, he says why don’t you hit like that in a game? The next day I started hitting that way and man, it gave me a huge boost in confidence. I started hitting, I could drive the ball and had more leverage. I just kept doing that the rest of my career.
1992: Jeff Frye of the Texas Rangers with his high leg kick. (Photo by Robert Beck/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BSE: There’s been a lot of talk lately about the pay for Minor Leaguers, do you think they need to be doing something about that?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I mean they should’ve done something about it a long time ago. My first year was 1988, and I started out at $700 a month. The Major League minimum was right around $100,000, or 109,000, something like that. Now the minimum’s over $500,000 and starting pay for a first year Minor Leaguer is $1,100 [a month]. It hasn’t progressed.
BSE: You made it to the Major Leagues in 1992 and played a decent amount. Your first Major League home run was actually leading off a game.
Jeff Frye: It’s actually funny, way back in 1992 there weren’t too many games on tv. I think it was a Saturday game, one of the few games that was actually televised. I actually led off the game off Arthur Rhodes with a home run. Our game actually wasn’t the one they were covering, but they clicked over and showed the start of our game. I actually became friends with Arthur Rhodes after that.
BSE: You missed all of ’93 right?
Jeff Frye: Yep, offseason basketball injury. I was playing basketball and tore my ACL, and I kind of lied about what happened to the Rangers. I didn’t have a guaranteed contract so I told them I was jogging.
BSE: In 1994 you came back and batted .327, you had a good season in ’95 and played in 90 games. How come you were in AAA in ’96 for Texas?
Jeff Frye: Well, the new manager they brought over, Johnny Oates from Baltimore, wasn’t a big fan of mine for some reason. He brought Mark McLemore over from Baltimore with him, who also played second base. He was trying to get his guy in there, the guy he felt comfortable with, and I felt like I had earned the spot with what I’d done the year before. Toward the end of the [’95] season I was so frustrated I went on a radio show and the guys were asking me what was going on. I told them how I felt and the Rangers got word of it; Johnny Oates got word of it, and I was pretty much banished after that.
BSE: You were released in June of 1996 and the Red Sox picked you up the very same day, so they must have seen something in you.
Jeff Frye: It was an arranged deal. Billy Martin Jr. is a longtime friend of mine, Billy Martin’s son, he was representing Kevin Kennedy. He called Kennedy up, the Red Sox were struggling, I think they had Wil Cordero and Jeff Manto playing second. Kennedy was looking for a second baseman and he was familiar with me. Billy Martin Jr. said, “well hey, the guy you need is in AAA.” So, they inquired about me, and the Rangers had the choice of either calling me up to the big leagues or letting me go, so they ended up letting me go.
BSE: Your Sox debut was the same day John Valentin hit for the cycle.
Jeff Frye: Funny thing is, Val and I played together in the Jayhawk League, a collegiate league back in the day. He came down to Fort Smith, Arkansas to play for our team. I grew up in Oklahoma so I was playing for that team and we became friends and then we were teammates in Boston….He taught me a lot, I was really raw. I hadn’t had much coaching to that point, I mean a routine grounder to second base was a bang-bang play at first, I didn’t know to charge the ball. Working with Val, he taught me a lot.
Jeff Frye from around the time he met John Valentin.
BSE: You mentioned how the Red Sox were struggling when they got you; they were 22-34. Went 63-43 afterwards and if I remember correctly had the best record in baseball after the All-Star Break.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, we had a great combination of me and Darren Bragg at the top of the lineup. I told Kevin Kennedy, I want to hit and run every single time there’s a runner on first base. I asked him if he’d allow me to put on my own hit and run with Darren Bragg, which doesn’t happen very often, you know? So, I developed a sign with Darren Bragg…because he was always hitting in front of me. I bet I had 30 base hits that year on hit and run, with Braggy running and me just hitting the ball in the hole.
BSE: I had Kevin Kennedy comment to me once about the rejuvenated team in the second half and he singled out you, Bragg and Reggie Jefferson for key contributors to that run.
Jeff Frye: Reggie was a hitting machine, we called him “the Hit Cat.” He was the one guy that I’ve ever seen…that actually worked on hitting the ball in batting practice to where it’d be a hit in the game. I’d never heard of that before, I was just trying to hit the ball hard. He was a great hitter.
BSE: What were some of the big changes coming from Texas to Boston?
Jeff Frye: Obviously the temperature was a big change. I think probably the biggest change was the pressure that you played under, and the excitement level. I never really had that in Texas, when I was there, we were never really in a pennant race. Coming to Boston we had the rivalry with the Yankees.
BSE: Speaking of the Yankees, I think you were the one on base in front of Trot Nixon when he homered off Clemens in that big Pedro vs Clemens game, right?
Jeff Frye: Oh yeah, there’s a great story to that if you want to hear it.
BSE: Oh, absolutely!
Jeff Frye: The at-bat that I got on base I got an infield hit, but earlier in that at-bat there was a pitch in on me that hit the knob of the bat and I acted like it hit my hand. I was jumping around and waving my hand, and Jimy Williams came out and argued with the umpire. Jimy called me over, and my nickname was Frito, and he goes, “Frito, did he get you?”
“No Jimy.”
“Alright, good try!”
I ended up hitting a one-hopper off Clemens’ glove that he probably should have fielded, and they gave me an infield hit. Trot hits the homer, so we go to the bottom of the ninth, I think we had a two-run lead and they scored a run. Then they had the tying run on third, groundball to me, and I’m getting ready to throw to first base, game over, and I look and Mike Stanley stepped on the base and slipped and was almost falling down. So, I double-clutched, and threw, and barely got, I think Paul O’Neill, by half a step. Joe Morgan was even commentating, I think it was an ESPN game or something, he commented about it. So the next day I talked to him about it and he said, “Oh, I didn’t realize that.” If I had thrown it, initially, it would have gone right by him.
Yankee Stadium– May 28 2000– Boston Red Sox second baseman Jeff Frye greets Trot Nixon at home after the right fielder slammed a two run homer in the ninth off NY Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens to win the game. Staff photo by Jim Mahoney
BSE: Any particular games from your playing career stand out?
Jeff Frye: The game where Darren Lewis and I hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth off Mike Trombley of the Twins in Fenway. He hit a home run to tie the game, then I hit a home run to walk-off the game. Two guys who aren’t known for hitting home runs. I remember the headline in the paper the next day; “Banjo Hitters Come Through for the Red Sox.”
In 2001 I hit for the cycle for the Blue Jays against the Rangers.
BSE: Second one in Toronto history.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, that was a little bit controversial because I could have had a double in my last at-bat but stopped at first. We were winning by nine runs in the eighth inning and I went up to Cito Gaston, who was our hitting coach, and said “what do I do here if I hit one into the corner, or the gap?” He said, “stop at first and tell them I told you to.” As I hit the ball I was so nervous. It was a really frustrating year for me, but to have the opportunity to hit for the cycle. I was always the guy who was unselfish, would move runners over and things like that. I finally had the chance in my career to do something a little bit selfish, instead of getting a double I stopped at first, man I got a lot of flak for it. The manager of the Rangers commented on it, and Tim Kurkjian.
BSE: I mean, it wasn’t a close game, what did they care?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, that’s kind of how I felt. Plus, I’d already asked Cito! Cito had already won four pennants as manager of the Blue Jays and two World Series, so.
BSE: I think the first base coach was yelling at you to stop too, right?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, Garth Iorg. I was screaming as I rounded first, “what do I do? What do I do?” And he goes, “stay here! Stay here!” So, I took a big turn and went back to first. Kelly Gruber walked onto the field, man it was a cool feeling.
Kelly Gruber, left, hugs Blue Jays’ Jeff Frye after he cycled with a single against the Texas Rangers in Toronto August 17, 2001. Gruber was the first Blue Jay to cycle twelve years ago. (Photo by Vince Talotta/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
BSE: Was that your proudest accomplishment?
Jeff Frye: Yeah. I mean, I do remember a couple games in Boston when I first went there. I made an error on a routine groundball when Clemens was pitching. Man, the crowd was all over me and were yelling to go back to Texas. Not too long after that I had a game where I was 4-4 and I’d lined out my fifth at-bat and I got a standing ovation. One time Jimy Williams pinch-hit me for Trot Nixon. I was like, “man Jimy, are you sure?” They announced me in Boston, “now batting for Trot Nixon, Jeff Frye,” and the whole stadium booed. So, I’m walking to home plate, and I’m not happy, so I take my helmet off and tip it to the crowd as I’m walking to home plate. I got a base hit and got to first base and I tipped my hat to the crowd. I ended up scoring a run, and then I came up later in the game and hit a two-RBI double off the wall and they loved me.
BSE: Nowadays you are an agent for some of the ballplayers?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I’ve been an agent for 17 years.
BSE: Wow, that’s a long time. You think your playing days helped in this position?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, definitely. A lot of stuff I do is amateur recruiting, so if I go in and talk to the family about their son, I can basically tell them everything their son is going to experience, I’ve already experienced. Not many other agents can make that claim.
BSE: With the way free agency has gone the past couple years, what are your thoughts on that? Do you think it needs any fixing?
Jeff Frye: Absolutely, something’s going on. Now that Bryce [Harper] and Manny [Machado] have signed it’s like everything is back to normal, but we still have so many great players who haven’t signed. We have difference makers who don’t have jobs and spring training is already going on. This has been a couple years running now. I don’t want to say there’s collusion, but I saw a story about Mark Reynolds, he didn’t have any offers from anybody, then one day within like an hour he had a call from four different teams and the same offer from every team.
BSE: That’s pretty fishy.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, something’s going on. I’m kind of fearful of what we’re facing in a couple years with the player’s and the commissioner’s office.
BSE: Any thoughts on some of the new rules in the game? The change of pace?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I’m not a fan of that at all. I don’t think the pace of play is why people aren’t watching baseball. I had a hard time watching the playoffs last year, it’s boring with everyone striking out, walking or swinging for the fences. They aren’t cutting down on their swings with two strikes. The Red Sox weren’t that way last year and look what happened; I think Cora did a great job. I don’t think we can look at all these stats, launch angle and exit velocity and things, and measure how valuable a player is. I would have never had a chance, my exit velocity and launch angle wouldn’t even register. I was told to hit the ball on the ground. Nowadays you’re not supposed to hit the ball on the ground….You know last year was the first year in the history of baseball where there were more strike outs than hits? And the shift; they’re talking about eliminating the shift or limiting shifts. Well, if you see four guys on the right side of the infield, hit the ball the other way! Why cater to the guys who can’t make adjustments? He can’t hit the ball the other way so let’s change the rules so it benefits him. Well, that’s not how it’s supposed to work.
BSE: So, you mentioned you’re not a fan of the stats, so called stats, they use nowadays.
Jeff Frye: No, not at all; that’s an understatement. I go round and round with Brian Kenny. I haven’t delved too deep into what stats are put into WAR, but I’m pretty sure if I’m up with a runner on second and move the runner over to third, I don’t get much credit for that. If the next guy hits a groundball to second and gets an RBI, that’s because I helped him get that RBI. I should be credited in some fashion, it’s all about winning.
BSE: Yeah, it was designed initially to just be a tool to help determine how good someone was, not be an and-all-be-all. The problem is, some guys now treat it like gospel, if one guy has a higher WAR than another it automatically means he’s a better player. That’s the big problem with it.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I remember Tim Naehring said to me one time, way back in the day, the three most important stats are hits, runs and RBI, and the best players in the game average more than two per game. So, any combination of hits, runs or RBI over the course of the season, and if you look at the numbers at the end of the year, the guys who are the best players at the end of the year have the highest percentage.
BSE: I remember a few years ago I was watching MLB Network, and two of the guys were having a big conversation about WAR while John Smoltz just stood there quietly. Right before commercial Smoltz slides in, “Jason Heyward has a higher WAR than Giancarlo Stanton, that’s all you need to know about WAR.” It was perfect, just casually makes a short statement that exemplified a part of the problem.
Jeff Frye: I watch that all the time too, he’s my favorite; he and Billy Ripken, neither one buys into that. Look at the contract the WAR stat got Jason Heyward, and how has that paid off? Immediately it was bad.
BSE: I don’t know if it was the year before he was a free agent, but Heyward hit maybe .276 with 13 homers and was a top 10 player in all of baseball according to WAR. (He hit .293 with 13 HR in 2015).
Jeff Frye: Yeah, because his defensive stats were so great.
BSE: Yeah, which is important, but how does it make you better than someone hitting .310 with 35 homers or something?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, well obviously it doesn’t because look at what’s happened since he signed.
BSE: One last thing, you’re doing some pre and postgame work for the Rangers, correct?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I started last year on Fox Sports Southwest and I did like 17 games I think last year. I’m scheduled to do, I don’t know how many this year, but that’s been a lot of fun.
BSE: Well, that’s all the questions I have for you, anything you’d like to add?
Jeff Frye: Still a Red Sox fan, happy they won they won the World Series. I’ve reached out to the Red Sox because I’d…like to do their fantasy camp, I thought that’d be cool to get to see some of my old buddies, so maybe down the road I’ll get to do that.
BSE: Well, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, no problem man.
Featured picture (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images)
We have now arrived to discussing the American League, starting off with the West. The American League West will definitely draw some attention this season, with the arrival of Shohei Ohtani in Los Angeles. Houston is looking to defend their World Series title as they got even better this off-season. From the veteran presence of the clubhouse in Seattle, to Tim Lincecum, here is a look at the AL West in 2018:
Oakland Athletics:
On paper, the Athletics are considered to be in comparison to “The Island of Misfit Toys”. One look at their roster and you could consider them the favorite to finish dead last in the division for the third consecutive year. SPOILER ALERT: I have them dead last again in the division. Despite having them last, these guys could be a huge sleeper pick in contention for the division. Oakland possesses a great core of young talent that will take the team into a positive outlook for the future. Jed Lowrie (2.77 BA in 2017) will look to lead a young, but very capable lineup this season. Kendall Graveman and Sean Manaea look to lead their staff in hopes of a more promising season. Don’t sleep on these guys, but also don’t be surprised if they’re exactly where you expected them to be.
Texas Rangers:
The Rangers will look to contend as always this season with high hopes. They’ll attempt to match up against teams such as Seattle and Los Angeles, but they lack the necessary power they used to possess to do so. Their lineup will consist of guys such as average leaders Elvis Andrus, Delino DeShields, Robinson Chirinos, and Shin-Soo Choo. The always intimidating Adrian Beltre will bring in veteran leadership once again, along with Cole Hamels who will look to lead the rotation. Their pitching including Hamels, Matt Moore, Doug Fister, and Mike Minor may turn out being their strong suit this season.
Seattle Mariners:
The Seattle Mariners could definitely contend for a top spot in the division. They have the pieces in their lineup with Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano, Jean Segura, and newcomer Dee Gordon will look to play their fair share as well. Ryon Healy (Right Hand Surgery) and Ben Gamel (Strained Right Oblique) will look to produce once being returned from the Disabled List. They have all the pieces with the bat, the pitching on another hand is the concern. If Felix Hernandez doesn’t pitch that day, the game is a toss-up. There’s really no “wow” guy I can determine that will match the workload Felix will can handle. James Paxton will be a solid two for the team, but nothing more than that. The Mariners have it figured out with their lineup, it’s up to their pitching if they can step up and make some noise in the division.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
The Angels are definitely worthy of a break out season, and it’s NOT because of Shohei Ohtani. Despite winning the Ohtani sweepstakes, there hasn’t been much noise about the guy. This doesn’t mean he should be forgotten during the season. Give him some time and he’ll produce, trust me. The Angels also have Mike Trout, who’s the best player in baseball right now. Mike Trout will lead the lineup per usual with a supporting cast of Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons, and “The Machine” Albert Pujols. Ian Kinsler is looking for a bounce back season after hitting a career low .236 BA. Garrett Richards will take the ace role of the staff in his eight season with returners Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs. The Angels will definitely make some noise this season as it looks as if things may be coming together.
Houston Astros:
No question as to who’s going to come out on top of the division this season. The Houston Astros are not only looking to repeat as division champs, but World Series champions as well. They have almost all returners this season with the addition of Gerrit Cole to the pitching staff. Reigning American League MVP Jose Altuve will look to have yet another incredible season at the plate and in the field. Carlos Correa anticipates to be great per usual. Justin Verlander is hoping for another Cy Young worthy season. He takes the lead role in a very talented pitching staff, which includes Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton. They have all the tools to make another title run, or at least go deep into the postseason.
When the Red Sox acquired Eduardo Rodriguez for Andrew Miller, he was a top prospect. In his first year in Boston he impressed, going 10-6 as a rookie. In his MLB debut against the Texas Rangers he threw seven and two thirds scoreless innings. The Sox were in the middle of a lost year and he was seen as the future. Since that season Eduardo has struggled with health and performance. He’s shown flashes of the talent that once had him projected as a top of the rotation starter, but has not been consistent. This upcoming season will be big for Eduardo as he looks to prove people wrong.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/ Steven Senne
Rodriguez’s Early Days
Once the Sox acquired the lefty from Baltimore, he became their best pitching prospect. On the same day the Red Sox acquired Rodriguez they traded John Lackey and fan favorite John Lester. The Red Sox were rebuilding, and Rodriguez immediately became a key part of the future. Eduardo was solid and his rookie year was promising. Like any other rookie he went rough his growing pains particularly with framing his pitches. Rodriguez made the necessary adjustments and finished the season strong. 2016 was a different story for Rodriguez.
Photo Credit: Boston Globe
Rodriguez Struggles
In 2016 Eduardo battled injuries and struggled with his performance. His ERA rose from 3.85 in his rookie season to 4.71. He finished the season with three wins and seven losses. The once talented prospect from a stats perspective took a major regression. The season was not a lost cause, however, as during the second half of the 2016 season he rebounded. In the second half he pitched to a 3.24 ERA compared to his first half ERA of 6.89. His strikeout rate also improved in the second half of the season to 9.2. This was what made him so successful in the minors. Going into 2017 hopes were still high for Rodriguez.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Colin E. Braley
2017 Season and the Lefty’s Future
In 2017 the story was the same for the former top prospect. He struggled to stay on the field as he battled knee issues. Going into next season he has one more chance. The Sox have Price, Chris Sale, and Drew Pomeranz at the top of the rotation. This means Rodriguez does not have to be the savior he was once seen as. If he can pitch to his potential, then the Sox could have another ace in the back end of the rotation. Rodriguez still has electric stuff he just needs to stay healthy. The Sox haven’t given up on him and in 2018 Rodriguez will look to reward their faith.
