Tag Archives: The Red Sox

2019 Red Sox Free Agency: Get Cody Allen

Leave a reply

The Red Sox bullpen is in flux for 2019.  Craig Kimbrel is out there asking for a 6-year deal, which the Red Sox will never give him.  Joe Kelly is also a free agent, and his performance doesn’t exactly inspire.  Because an already bloated Red Sox payroll, it’s looking like a budget bullpen piece is the answer.  The place to go is Cody Allen.

Cody Allen Performance

Between the years of 2014 and 2017, Cody Allen was one of the best closers in the game.  He averaged 32 saves a year as the anchor of a star-studded bullpen that included Andrew Miller.  The Cleveland Indians rode that bullpen to a lot of postseason success, including a run to the 2016 World Series.

In the regular season, he averaged an ERA under 3 during that time, but he stepped it up in the Postseason.  His career Postseason ERA was 0.47 in 19 innings.  That’s positively vintage Mariano Rivera territory.

But then 2018 happened.  He had a 4.70 ERA, lost his closer position, and got blown up in the Postseason.  So what gives?

The information may be behind a paywall, but pitch usage points to a few things – specifically his curveball.  The curve got less swing and misses in 2018, and he had some trouble throwing it for strikes.  Furthermore, he lost a MPH on his fastball, which dipped below 94 MPH.  The fastball/curve mix is what made him so deadly.

Maybe being in a free agent year got to him.  Maybe he was simply tired and in this era of quick hooks and little patience he crumbled.  But he wouldn’t be available if he had remained elite last year.

Contract Possibilities

A quick google search of Cody Allen shows a distinct lack of contract demands.  There are not even stories out there like this one, saying Joe Kelly is being looked at by multiple teams as a closer.  Because of this, it appears clear that Allen would come cheap.  Maybe even on a one year deal.  Now that’s more like it.

Cody Allen isn’t necessarily a sure thing, but he looks pretty good from here.  He’s one year removed from being untouchable in the Postseason for many years.  He’s only 30 years old, he’s cheap, and he would be an excellent gamble to pair with the remaining relievers on the staff, such as Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes, in the late innings.

Furthermore, he is right-handed.  This is essential.  The Red Sox biggest competition, the Astros and Yankees, have a plethora of right-handed, middle of the order bats in their lineups.  To me, that excludes left-handed possibilities for essential bullpen roles like Andrew Miller and Zach Britton.  Kelvin Herrera is also cheap, right-handed, and recently successful, but arm troubles on top of foot troubles make him too risky.

That leaves Cody Allen.  Sign him.

 

 

Jackie Bradley Jr. A Better Option

1 Reply

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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

By The Stats

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

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

https://youtu.be/CYosReytpcM

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

Now from Jackie we have this in the 2018 ALCS:

https://youtu.be/NH18WpVfCgE

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

Almost Clear Cut

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

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

Let’s Go Boys!

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

The Red Sox Dodgers Preview Extravaganza

2 Replies

The Dodgers just dispatched the upstart Brewers and move on to face the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series.  Cue the grainy black and white photos of The Babe in a Red Sox uniform. Let us see the Dropkick Murphy’s grinding rendition of Tessie. 

Cue fans using the Brooklyn Robins in barroom and water cooler talk, and a million google searches for ‘Red Sox-Dodgers world series history’ hitting the 1916 World Series page on Wikipedia.  Cue every old Brooklyn Dodger fan coming out of the woodwork, and the slightly less grainy photos and videos of Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and Pee Wee Reese. A mountain of content on the 1988 LA Dodgers World Series winners will come out.

Cue Fever Pitch where the old guy counts off the string of Red Sox world series wins in 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918. Prompt Dave Roberts making his fateful steal in the bottom of the 9th in game 4 against Mariano Rivera.  Cue pictures of Alex Cora in an LA Dodgers uniform. The rating of this series is through the roof! 

It’s an old-school, original 6 type of World Series that will be chock full of intrigue and potential controversy.

Detroit Public Library

THE RED SOX

With a resounding thud, all the doubting and putting down of the 2018 Red Sox has been pushed off the desks of commentators nationwide.  This team is an absolute wagon with a horseshoe, four-leafed clover, and all the baseball gods in their back pocket. 

All the beautiful poignant vignettes of warm feelings are still cascading around the Red Sox: The Alex Cora birthday serenade in the clubhouse after beating the Houston Astros in 5 games.  David Price’s moment with friends and family that choked everyone up.  Alex Cora talking about the Red Sox sending supplies to his storm-ravaged homeland.  Alex Cora is the first manager from Puerto Rico to take his team to the World Series.  

Yes, changing managers can make a world of difference in the day to day operations clubhouse and team.  It doesn’t hurt that Cora is batting, oh, around .800 with his in-game and lineup decisions so far in the playoffs.

There’s every reason in our provincial New England bubble to expect a romp over the Dodgers in the World Series.  The bats are batting: JBJ! JD! PEARCY! MITCHY!  The gloves are catching: BENNY! MOOKIE! The pitchers pitching: PRICE! BRASIER! KELLY! BARNES! PORCELLO! Even maybe SALE!  Possibly KIMBREL!

THE DODGERS

PITCHING

And yet, there is a reason to pause.  

When it comes to the match-ups there’s not much, but what there is tends to favor the Dodgers.  Of the four starting pitchers on LA (Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, local boy made good Rich Hill, Walker Buehler), there’s only one player on the Red Sox who have any history. That’s JD Martinez against Kershaw.  It’s a minuscule 8 at-bats, but JD has managed a home run, double and .375 average against the talented lefty.

HITTING

On the other side are two individuals that show up again and again.  

We’ll start with Brian Dozier. He may not be what he once was, but he has a boatload of experience against the suddenly vaunted Red Sox staff. Dozier’s batting average doesn’t jump off the page, but the power does: Against Chris Sale, David Price, Nathan Eovaldi, and Rick Porcello, Dozier has 9 doubles and 9 home runs in 146 at-bats.  If we push those to a full season that’s a 36 double and 36 homer pace.

And he’s the appetizer.

The main man, the designated villain of Red Sox fans and now most of Baseball, is none other than Manny Machado. The side stepper, the slide stabber, the very very bad man.

https://twitter.com/tosa_tina_/status/1052522276766273536

And he’s a force against the Red Sox pitchers: 4 doubles, 9 homers, 108 at-bats.  That’s a projected 18 doubles and, gulp, 41 home runs, and also hits a combined .298 against the Boston starters. 

Throw in the fact that the Sox batters haven’t seen the Dodgers pitchers and it could be an edge for the boys in blue.

We finish with one more subtle note on Alex Cora’s staff.  The hitting coach of the Red Sox is Tim Hyers.  If that name doesn’t leap off the page, it’s not your fault.  Hyers does what the best coaches do, he lets the players shine and stays in the shadows. 

It turns out Mr. Hyers was the Dodgers assistant hitting coach last year.  That means he has the inside track on the Dodgers best hitters, including Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, and Yasiel Puig among others. 

It’s going to be a fun series, why do we have to wait until Tuesday?