Monday, July 7, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
Player (Prospect Grade - John Sickels, Current Level)
3B, Garin Cecchini (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Doesn't have much to prove in AAA, but hitting .242 so far isn't going to get him a call-up any time soon. Continues to play defense well, the rest of his numbers are as expected including 20SB already. Just waiting out the 3B situation in Boston for now.
SS, Chris Owings (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Owings looks like he's trying to hit his way into the majors with a .275 mark and 5HR already after 6 all last year. 9SB is also tempting, but much like Cecchini he is stuck behind some bigger names for the time being. Should see playing time during roster expansion, will have to wait until 2016 for anything serious.
RHP, Leonys Bravo (Grade : B+, AA Portland)
As expected he is crushing AA hitters. Has worked hard to improve his secondary offerings, 10-2 mark with 2.04ERA and a 164K:40BB ratio in 127.2IP shows he is improving rapidly. Will probably continue to overpower AA players, likely slated for a promotion to AAA Pawtucket. Management continues to be very aggressive with him.
RHP, Braden Shipley (Grade : B+, MLB)
LHP, Henry Owens (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Pitching well during his first full season in AAA. 4-6 record doesn't look great, but 3.07ERA and 1.26WHIP is much more encouraging.
LHP, Trey Ball (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Looks like a young pitcher in his first full season in AAA. K:BB ration is decent, 4.10ERA isn't bad, but 1.48WHIP will need some improvement. Should be in Pawtucket for at least another season.
RHP, Braxton Davis (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Davis has been excellent, his only blemish being a 1.21WHIP, which isn't bad. Looks to be on par with the other elite minor leaguers along side him, could push Owens for an MLB rotation spot in 2016.
1B, Issac Koufax (Grade : B-, AA Portland)
Really impressing coaches, including other organizations. 15HR already is a surprise considering he wasn't projected for much power, hitting .278 and continuing to show Gold Glove caliber defense at 1B. Definitely Boston's best 1B prospect, might be pushed to AAA just to see if his hitting holds up.
RHP, Allen Webster (Grade : C+, AAA Pawtucket)
Talk of his demise may have pushed him to improve, no longer looks elite but his ERA and K:BB look better. Regression may have him sent down to AA with a prospective replacement waiting to get promoted (see players making noise).
3B/OF, Rico Berroa (Grade : C+, AA Portland)
Surprising coaches with his hitting, .283 so far, but the rest has been as expected. 16SB with little power and Gold Glove caliber defense in the outfield. Could join fellow Sea Dog, Isaac Koufax, in Pawtucket just to see how he does with more advanced pitching.
SS, Pedro Santana (Grade : C+, AA Portland)
Basically a copy of Berroa, hitting .284 with little power. Too good with the glove to stay in AA much longer, but coaches still have serious doubts about his bat at the next level. Plate discipline is become a concern, may switch to OF if promoted to AAA this year.
Players Making Noise
RHP, Roddy Gibson (Grade : C+, AA Portland)
2014 Comp A selection has looked very good at A-Advanced Salem this year after finishing last season in Class A Greenville. Could earn a promotion to AA Portland with a number of prospects slated to be promoted to AAA Pawtucket after the All-Star Break.
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox, now within reach of 1st in the AL East, would find itself in the middle of dogfight for the division lead. With Baltimore in town, and also in reach of 1st, every game would count toward defending their title. Chris Archer would start against a familiar foe in Miguel Gonzalez, but as luck would have it Gonzalez rarely does well against Boston.
Today's game was less a pitchers duel and more of a great pitching performance propping up an impotent offense. It took five inning for Boston to score, an Ortiz solo-HR, and it started to look like another Archer gem wouldn't go to waste. Boston tried to make it 2-0 when Mookie Betts decided to make an easy triple into an inside-the-park HR but ended up with a 8-6-2 out instead.
Baltimore pulled one back in the 7th with a Nelson Cruz solo-HR and Gonzalez concluded his day with a scoreless seventh. After 7IP Gonzalez only had 2K compared to Archer's 14, but the score was still 1-1. Archer finished up the 8th with two more K to bring his total to 16, a stunning total of 36K in 16IP over has last two starts.
Swihart is starting a pretty good AL ROY campaign.
Luckily for Archer Blake Swihart and Jackie Bradley Jr. would combine to set him up for a win after a Bradley single brought in Swihart from second. Uehara would come in and finish off Baltimore to give Archer his 7th win and get the Red Sox one step closer to defending their division crown.
| Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jun 23, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Baltimore (42-40) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Boston (43-38) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Archer (7-3) L: O'Day (5-7) S: Uehara (12) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - Another game, another start for Chris Archer against the Rays. After the double-ejection game the Red Sox would be extremely motivated to beat Tampa Bay at The Trop and show them the AL East belongs to them. Today's game, the opening game of a three game series, could have major ramifications on the AL East title race.
Hellickson, taking the mound again for the Rays, wouldn't make it easy for Boston to get revenge. Luckily Archer was more than up to the task, and the refs were definitely fair an balanced enough for John Farrell. Through six innings this was a pitching duel of the finest caliber, with Hellickson only allowing a single hit.
It wasn't until the 7th inning that someone broke through and knocked a starter out of the game. With the Red Sox showing little power, they opted for some small-ball tactics to get on the board. Xander Bogaerts got himself to 2nd with a stolen base after a single, and then Dustin Pedroia drove him in with a single of his own to make it 1-0. Pedroia then stole second and scored easily on a Victorino single to make it 2-0. Victorino then stole 2nd, but Middlebrooks struck out to end the scoring.
Apparently revenge is best served with 20K.
With a 2-0 lead finally in had the story shifted to Chris Archer. After 8IP Archer would write his name in the history books next to Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood, and Randy Johnson with an astounding 20K in a single game. This time out Archer only allowed 3H and a single walk, converting those walks from the last start into outs. Uehara came in for the 9th and allowed two hits, but he closed the game with little excitement.
| Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays | ||||||||||||
| Jun 23, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (40-36) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay (43-35) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| W: Archer (6-3) L: Hellickson (8-5) S: Uehara (11) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, July 6, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - It has been a few weeks since Chris Archer has been able to start a game at home, and today's game against the Rays was a real doozy. The AL East leading Rays would start Jeremy Hellickson, who is having a great season, but his pitching would not be the big headline after this game.
The Rays were ready for Archer, but more importantly it seemed like the umps were ready for him too. Archer has gotten by this season picking at the corners and forcing players to swing at borderline pitches, and it seemed that the umps weren't going to let that happen from the start. Tampa Bay started the scoring with an RBI single by Jayson Werth after an 11 pitch at-bat.
The excitement happened in the 4th inning, with Archer's pitch count already approaching 100, John Farrell left the dugout to have a frank discussion about the way the game was being called. Archer had already allowed 6BB, some of them coming on pitches that were clearly strikes. Farrell was relentless, and he was soon thrown out of the game. Archer came out again for the 5th, but the umps kept on calling clear strikes as balls. Pitching coach Devin Lipscomb, now acting as manager, came out to argue a little more and joined Farrell in the club house after being ejected as well. 113 pitches in just 5IP and 8BB later Archer took a seat.
Wil Myers made it 2-0 in the 6th with an RBI single off De La Rosa, and then David Ortiz made it 2-1 with a solo-HR in the 8th that ended Hellickson's day. Boston had nothing left in the tank and Grant Balfour closed it out for his 21st save of the season. The loss knocks Boston down to 4th in the AL East, 5 games back of division leading TB.
| Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jun 18, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Tampa Bay (42-31) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Boston (37-34) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Hellickson (8-4) L: Archer (5-3) S: Balfour (21) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
OAKLAND, CA - The Red Sox made the long flight across this country this week to face off against an AL West favorite in the Oakland A's. The A's are struggling behind the Mariners atop the division, but that doesn't mean Boston would have an easy time on the road. Oakland's pitching has been excellent, and a date with Sonny Gray wouldn't give them much of an opening. Archer and Gray have faced off a number of times before, but Boston has always come up on top.
The game opened with a bad omen for Oakland, with Jackie Bradley Jr. scoring on an inside-the-park HR thanks to a misplayed ball in RF. Boston made it 2-0 in the 2nd with an Ortiz RBI single, but Oakland wasn't ready to get run over by Archer. Rookie SS Addison Russell made it 2-1 with a solo-HR that bounded off the top of the OF wall and landed under Mount Davis.
Gray settled down and held Boston scoreless until Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia combined to make it 3-1. Bogaerts stole 2nd with two outs which allowed him to score easily when Pedroia hit a stand up double. Gray didn't come back out for the 6th, but the game went quiet for the next two innings.
The 8th inning was rather exciting, but Oakland still found themselves behind. Pedroia stepped up again with a solo-HR to make it 4-1, but Oakland finally put some pressure on Archer in the bottom of the inning. Archer loaded the bases with two straight walks and Blake Swihart showed he was still a rookie with a real rookie mistake. Eric Sogard hit a ball down into the ground that Swihart was able to collect only a few feet in front of him, but instead of tagging home (which he could have done very easily) he went to 1B to throw out Sogard and allow a run.
Pedroia finished with 2RBI and a HR.
The final frame of the game became a microcosm of Boston's late game problems, as expected it involved Koji Uehara. Uehara struggled to find the plate, his sinker hardly devastating, and he loaded the bases with no outs. Farrell was fed up with Uehara and put in De La Rosa, and he promptly struck out the next three Oakland batters to close the game 4-2.
| Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics | ||||||||||||
| Jun 12, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (35-31) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| Oakland (36-30) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Archer (5-2) L: Gray (4-3) S: De La Rosa (1) | ||||||||||||
Saturday, July 5, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
DETROIT, MI - With the MLB Draft out of the way the Red Sox head to Detroit. The draft brought out a number of interesting trade offers which validated the success of Boston's previous draft. 1B Isaac Koufax has become a hot commodity with Boston receiving serious offers from San Francisco and Pittsburgh. The Giants dangled CC Sabathia and Hector Sanchez, and the Pirates surprised by offering uber prospect James Tallion straight up for Koufax. Boston politely declined both offers.
Today's game would feature two teams with eyes on division titles, and the new look Tigers would certainly have the firepower to keep that dream alive. The Tigers still have Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez, today's starter, but the additions of Anthony Rendon and David Wright have really helped their offense.
Sanchez, already having a rough start to the season, was hit hard and often almost immediately. Shane Victorino opened the scoring with a solo-HR in the 2rd. Detroit's defense was horrible today, which didn't help Sanchez. Boston made it 2-0 in the 4th on a Sanchez throwing error that prevented a double-play and turned into an RBI single from Ortiz that brought in Napoli from third.
The 6th inning would finally put Sanchez out of his misery and end a 10H outing. Another RBI single from Ortiz would bring in Middlebrooks from second, and then a 2RBI single from Bradley with the bases loaded (thanks to more defensive miscues) would bring the score to 5-0. The Tigers would pull a few runs back thanks to Will Middlebrooks poor decision making in the bottom of the 6th. With the bases loaded David Moya grounded into a 5-4 fielder's choice that drove in a runner from third, why Middlebrooks didn't step on third or go home with the ball is a mystery. Rendon followed that up with an RBI single to make it 5-2.
Things settled down until the top of the 9th when Boston finished off the Tigers with two more runs. A Napoli single brought in Bogaerts after a double, and Ortiz drove in Napoli to make it 7-2 and end the Tigers day. The Red Sox ended with a 17 hit explosion that may signal a change to their offensive struggles.
| Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers | ||||||||||||
| Jun 7, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (33-28) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 0 |
| Detroit (31-32) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Archer (4-2) L: Sanchez (3-7) | ||||||||||||
Friday, July 4, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
Just like 2014, it doesn't help your position in the draft to win the World Series. Boston continues to have a need for OF depth in their system, and they will always be on the lookout for pitching prospects. The Red Sox seem committed to backing away from free agent signings for the next few years, so once the current crop of AAA guys graduate to the majors (possibly as soon as the 2016 season) they are going to need to restock their system with high end talent. Putting out as many qualifying offers as possible is an ongoing strategy, and this year it netted them two extra picks.
1 (27) : LHP Brett Gilchrist - 20 (University of Virginia, VA)
Very good major-league-ready pitcher with a long track record of pitching well in college. A bit of a reach at the end of the first round, most projected him as a high-second round player, but he fits a need in Boston's system. Works in the mid to upper 90's with a fastball that grades out around 70. Also throws a two-seam fastball with good life that pairs well with a circle change that could use some polish. Best case scenario he becomes a good 3-5th starter, worst case he could be a very good middle reliever.
CA (31) : OF Tyron Green - 18 (Harvard-Westlake HS - Studio City, CA)
The most dramatic pick of the draft by far, and one of the most expensive. Tyron and his twin brother Justin, both dual-sport athletes, are best known for being some of top defensive backs in the nation. After a heated recruiting battle the two eventually decided on scholarship offers from the University of Oregon, but they also wanted to see what they could get out of the MLB draft. Both were very vocal about their demands, stating up front they wanted to go to the same team and refused to sign at or below slot value or they would play baseball and football at Oregon. Boston, having back-to-back picks in Comp A stepped up and took the risk, the biggest challenge will be signing them. Tyron is extremely athletic (6'-2" 190) and profiles as an excellent toolsy player, especially with the glove. Can play any outfield position, has the arm strength to make all of the throws, and shows good insticts getting to fly balls. Decent hitter, not alot of power, but very patient with the potential for an 80 speed grade. Some evaluators were very agressive on comps, citing Justin Upton, while others compared him to a Desmond Jennings type.
CA (32) : OF Justin Green - 18 (Harvard-Westlake HS - Studio City, CA)
Justin is basically the same as his brother, very difficult to tell them apart, and not just because they are twins. Exactly the same build (6'-2" 190) with all of the upside, both are hard to project as far as power goes. Nice quick compact swing impressed scouts, so the foundation for a power hitter is there, but right now they mostly hit line drives and doubles. Very agressive base runners, taking advantage of their speed, should be 30+ base stealers down the road. It will be interesting to see how the two deal with more advanced pitching if they get through A level. Distinct possibility Boston fails to sign both of them, very high-risk high-reward selections.
2 (60) : SS Chris Weathers - 20 (LSU, LA)
Speedy base stealer with a slick glove, doesn't have the arm strength to stick at SS so should move to 2B/OF eventually. Hits for average and walks more than you would expect for someone with an agressive approach at the plate. Compact swing, keeps his hands back well and leaves the bat in the zone for an extended period, but not much in the power department.
3 (90) : RHP Austin Berkeley - 18 (Fenway HS - Boston, MA)
One of the weirdest picks in the entire draft, but not just because Berkeley went to school in the shadow of Fenway Park. Austin has an incredibly similar profile to a guy the Red Sox took in 2014, Adam Castro, but they took him in the 5th and he had a longer history of playing baseball. Berkeley, 6'7", played football and basketball at Fenway all four years of high school and added baseball his Junior year. The upside is obvious, Berkeley is probably the hardest throwing prospect in the draft with a fastball that sits 96-98. Unfortunately he can't hit the broad side of a barn let alone the plate, and to make things worse he doesn't have anything that resembles a secondary pitch aside from not throwing quite so hard. Berkeley is extremely athletic for his size, and despite his lack of experience he throws hard with great ease. The few scouts that looked at him said he doesn't even look like he's trying to throw hard, but his mechanics are a crime against humanity and he lacks a consistent arm angle. Not sure why Boston took a prospect with this kind of profile so high, the coaching staff will have tons of work to do if he's ever going to advance past short season ball.
4 (120) : OF Nick Acosta - 22 (Cornell University, NY)
Speedy outfielder who plays defense well, steals bases when he can get on base which isn't as often as you would like. Doesn't hit for power considering his size (6'-1" 212), but has a good line-drive swing with decent plate coverage. Floor seems high as a utility player, but low ceiling limits long term value.
5 (150) : C Greg Arnold - 20 (Witchita State, KS)
Another low-bonus college guy, but a serious need for Boston. Above average defensively and shows ability to manage a game, but well below average at the plate when it comes to hitting. Does show good plate discipline and walked at an impressive rate, strikes out at a below average rate, probably a career minor-leaguer.
6 (180) : RHP Leonidas Alcantara - 18 (Boca Chica - Dominican Republic)
More brotherly love from the Red Sox, but it mostly appears to be a lottery ticket low-signing bonus move. Poorly scouted, reports are only a few teams even gave him a look. Throws hard, lacks command, and mechanics need work. Very slight build (6'-4" 160) with durability questions, but if he fills out those could go away. Currently throws three pitches, four-seam fastball could be a plus pitch with command, circle change and curveball are below average,
7 (210) : RHP Rafael Alcantara - 18 (Boca Chica - Dominican Republic)
Just like the Green brothers, almost a carbon copy of his brother Leonidas. Throws the same pitches, just swap out a hard splitter for the curve, secondary offerings aren't much better. Throws hard with ease.
Overall Analysis
Very risky draft for a team about to hit a real low point unless they spend a ton of cash during free agency. Loaded up on low-bonus college senoirs to make room for the Green brothers, but the upside is probably worth setting their system back a year. Before the season it seemed like most of the impact players were in AAA and the lower levels were semi-barren aside from 2014 first-rounder Leonys Bravo. With the success of other 2014 picks (Koufax, Berroa, Santana) they have a little cushion if this class is an out-and-out failure. All of the college players should start the 2015 season in AAA, especially if current starters like Chris Owings graduate to the majors. The best thing Boston did here was add three OF prospects to their system, they are in danger of converting players to fill their OF on a regular basis.
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
KANSAS CITY, MO - Things have really change for Boston's 2015 season after slow start had them headed for the bottom of the AL East. A hot second half of May combined with the rest of the division playing poorly has them a few games back of 1st. The team is basically getting by on pitching at the moment, if they are going to keep this up they need to start driving in runs.
| MLB Standings - Updated: Jun 1, 2015 | |||
| AL EAST | W | L | GB |
| Tampa Bay | 35 | 22 | - |
| Boston | 31 | 24 | 3 |
| Toronto | 31 | 24 | 3 |
| NY Yankees | 29 | 28 | 6 |
| Baltimore | 26 | 29 | 8 |
The Red Sox are going to have to keep hoping for runs, today's game was not their day to hit. Even with a Chris Archer vs. Jeremy Guthrie match up they just couldn't break out against Kansas City. Guthrie's off speed repertoire kept Boston fanning at air, but they opened the scoring in the 3rd with a Pedroia single that brought in Mookie Betts from 2nd.
Boston could not catch a break all game long.
The Royals answered back when Lorenzo Cain hit an RBI double off a hanging slider that bounded off the Green Monster to tie it up 1-1. Archer, having an insane season, must have switched bodies with Guthrie and struggled to make it out of the 4th inning. Farrell shut Archer down after 100 pitches in just four innings, 30 of which came in the 1st. The Royals were fouling off everything Archer put over the plate and refusing to swing at anything off the plate, it just wasn't Archer's day.
The Royals finally took advantage of Boston's misery in the 7th when Rubby De La Rosa loaded the bases. Salvador Perez hit a sac fly that easily drove in a run to make it 2-1. Guthrie, who made it 8 solid innings, did an incredible job of inducing weak contact and pop flys and get Kansas City in a position to call on uber closer Greg Holland. Holland came in and easily shut the door on Boston to collect his 13th save.
| Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jun 1, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City (26-29) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Boston (31-25) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Guthrie (3-6) L: De La Rosa (6-1) S: Holland (13) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
PITTSBURGH, PA - Boston's tour of the NL Central wrapped up tonight, and what was once a nightmare quickly turned into a wonderful dream. Since getting swept 0-3 at Cincinnati the Red Sox would go 10-3 which would include a 5 game win streak. The Pirates, barely over .500 themselves, would trot out Francisco Liriano in an attempt to halt Boston's turn around. With the way Boston has been hitting, they would need another gem from Archer to get a win.
Turned out that Boston and Pittsburgh would both get amazing pitching performances from their staff. Unless you love pitching, this game was a bit of a snooze. Archer and Liriano would go 8 strong innings allowing three hits between them. Archer did walk four batters, but he balanced it out with 11K. Both left after the 8th with the game scoreless.
The Red Sox are having to grind out runs, unlike 2014.
Rubby De La Rosa and Justin Wilson would duke it out until the 10th when Boston finally got the ralley they needed. Napoli would get things started with a solo-HR, and Mookie Betts would drive in Swihart from 1st for good measure. Uehara would keep the shutout going and finish off the Pirates 2-0.
| Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates | ||||||||||||
| May 26, 2015 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
| Boston (28-23) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh (28-26) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| W: De La Rosa (5-0) L: Wilson (1-2) S: Uehara (9) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
ST. LOUIS, MO - The end of June can't come fast enough, a brutal trip through the NL Central had Boston sitting just below .500 and a game in Busch Stadium would probably send them further down. The Cardinals would be a little over .500 coming into this game, but with Adam Wainwright on the mound Chris Archer would probably need to toss a perfect game to get out of this one with a win.
The game would open with both teams trading jabs, first an RBI double by Napoli and then an RBI fielder's choice from Allen Craig after a Matt Carpenter triple. The two aces would dig in and go at it until the 6th inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr. would take advantage of an Alexei Ramirez throwing error, his third of the day, and find himself on third. Ramirez would struggle to make the throw from short to first all night, clearly not his best day. Pedroia would follow it up with a sac fly and a 2-1 lead, Wainwright would not come out for the 7th but Oscar Taveras sure did. Archer tried to sneak a fastball by Taveras high and inside that ended up in the upper deck beyond RF. Archer would take a seat after the 7th, another stunning performance with 14K in only seven innings.
Taveras shows his 2014 All-Star Game MVP award wasn't a fluke.
The Red Sox and Cardinals would trade scoreless innings until Mike Matheny made a match-up mistake. With Mike Napoli up the Cardinals would put in lefty Randy Choate, making it easier for Napoli to park an inside fastball in the LF seats and putting Boston up 3-2. Uehara, still being given a chance to perform, lived up to expectations and closed the game out to but the Red Sox right at .500.
| Boston Red Sox at St. Louis Cardinals | ||||||||||||
| May 21, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (23-23) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| St. Louis (24-22) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| W: De La Rosa (4-0) L: Choate (1-1) S: Uehara (7) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The slow decent into sub .500 baseball appears to be getting to the defending champions. The Red Sox have gone 5-8 in May, and if things get much worse they may decide to blow up the team by June. A road game at Washington, facing Stephen Strasburg, would not be the best way to break a losing streak. Chris Archer would need to cut down on the walks if Boston had any chance of winning.
Anyone who came to Nationals Park to see Strasburg-Archer expecting a pitchers duel would walk away extremely pleased. Archer and Strasburg would be lights out until the 3rd when Boston broke the deadlock. With Blake Swihart on 3rd Chris Archer drove him in on a Fielder's Choice to take a 1-0 lead. Archer and Strasburg went at it again, shutting out both teams through the 7th when Strasburg left the game.
Boston would out-hustle Washington, but it wouldn't be enough.
Archer continued to dominate, going 8 innings with only a single hit and 3BB to go with 16K. Koji Uehara came in to finish the game, and did what Uehara seems to do now. Uehara walked Denard Span, and then gave up a double to Wilson Ramos. Span scored easily from 1st to make it 1-1 and take the game into extra innings.
Uehara has been extremely disappointing.
Six innings and four pitchers later the game finally came to a conclusion in the 14th. With no outs and Nate McClouth on 1st a Wilson Ramos single off Anthony Ranaudo gave the Nats an opening. McCouth threw caution to the wind and went 1st to 3rd to win the game, a crushing loss for the floundering Red Sox.
| Boston Red Sox at Washington Nationals | ||||||||||||
| May 15, 2015 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | R | H | E |
| Boston (19-22) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Washington (20-21) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Detwiler (3-2) L: Ranaudo (2-2) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
CINCINNATI, OH - The month of May has not been kind to the Red Sox, and a long road trip starting in Cincinnati wasn't going to help. David Ortiz returned to the lineup on the 7th, but with his recent struggles at the plate John Farrell has moved him to 7th in the order from 5th behind Napoli. To make things worse Xander Bogaerts, Will Middlebrooks, and Blake Swihart are all hitting under .200. Chris Archer, who is piling up strikeouts at a historic rate, would need to have a great game to get Boston's ice cold bats through this one.
Homer Bailey started the game by taking advantage of the Red Sox hitting troubles and sat down the top of the order in short order, sadly Chris Archer wasn't as sharp. Carl Crawford opened up the game with a towering solo-HR on a high and tight fastball. Archer struggled to get out of the 1st, but he eventually managed to escape with only a single run allowed.
Crawford would haunt Archer all game.
The 2nd inning was a whole other problem, Archer put two men on with a hit and a walk to face Crawford again. This time Crawford reached across the plate and caught a low slider to hit a 3R-HR and put the Reds up 4-0. Boston made it 4-2 in the 4th with a Will Middlebrooks 2R-HR to CF, and then they bungled a chance to tie the game in the 5th. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit an RBI single that scored Swihart from second, he was then promptly thrown out at 1st preparing to steal second. With two outs Bogaerts hit a deep fly ball to RF with Betts on 3rd, if Bradley hadn't been thrown out Betts would have scored easily and tied the game.
The Reds made it 5-3 on a bizarre hit that seemed par for the course today. Joey Votto hit a deep fly ball that was nearly a HR, but it hit very high up on the RF wall and bounced up and well over Shane Victorino to land Votto on 3rd. Jay Bruce followed that up with a sac-fly to bring in Votto and essentially end the game. A Swihart single scored Napoli from 2nd, a rare feat against Aroldis Chapman, but that was all they could muster.
| Boston Red Sox at Cincinnati Reds | ||||||||||||
| May 10, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (17-19) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Cincinnati (18-18) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Bailey (2-3) L: Archer (3-2) S: Chapman (9) | ||||||||||||
Thursday, July 3, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox, sputtering recently, play host to a very hot and hated rival today. The New York Yankees, 10-5 since their last meeting, come in to Fenway looking to knock the Red Sox below .500 for the first time since Opening Day. The Yankees' hitting has caught on, so the Red Sox arms would need to be sharp.
Newly acquired Colby Lewis would take the mound for New York, and he would get a rude Fenway welcome to start the game. Jackie Bradley Jr. opened the 1st with a double, and two hitters later Mike Napoli hit a high double off the Green Monster to drive Bradley Jr. in for a 1-0 lead. Shane Victorino would make it 2-0 with a single that became an RBI triple when Carlos Beltran missed the ball.
Cans of corn can be hard to open sometimes...
Mike Napoli made it 3-0 with a solo-HR in the 4th and Boston was cruising toward a win, but the Yankees weren't beaten just yet. With Beltran and Ellsbury on base in the 7th DJ Peterson hit a high double off the Green Monster to score both of them and make it 3-2. Paul Konerko pulled one back with a HR off Pesky's Pole to make it 4-2, but that didn't keep New York from coming back for more.
Boston kept it 4-2 up to the 9th and brought in Koji Uehara to shut the door on the Yankees. Uehara, already being labeled as a mistake re-signing, gave doubters a reason to call for him to be removed from the closer role. Uehara put two men on and DJ Peterson, who already drove in two, made it five with a 3R-HR off Pesky's to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. David Robertson came in and showed Uehara how to do things, closing out the game with two strikeouts and collecting his 10th save.
| New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| May 4, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (16-17) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| Boston (16-15) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| W: Billings (1-0) L: Uehara (0-1) S: Robertson (10) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
The Red Sox farm system is brimming with talent, it's no wonder management passed on free agent signings. It might be another year or two but Pawtucket and Portland have the makings for another decade plus of success. These guys have the rest of the AL East looking over their shoulders.
Player (Prospect Grade - John Sickels, Current Level)
3B, Garin Cecchini (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Cecchini cannot catch a break, has basically nothing left to prove in AAA but gets another season before he can compete with Middlebrooks for the 3B job. Should start 2016 in the majors unless he experiences some serious regression, but may be used as a back-up / utility player until Middlebrooks is moved or traded. Some discussion of trading him, but most feel Boston would rather keep him and avoid developing another 3B after a year or two for the end of Middlebrooks' current contract.
SS, Chris Owings (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
The only reasons Owings is still on this list are named Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts. Owings looked good in spring training, but the Red Sox ultimately decided to give him extended playing time at Pawtucket vs. competing with Brock Holt and Mark Ellis for time at 2B/SS. Improved defense and plate discipline in 2014, hits left handers hard with 4 of his 6HR coming off southpaws, splits are only concerns as .268BA included a .301 mark against lefties.
RHP, Leonys Bravo (Grade : B+, AA Portland)
A little early for management to do a slow jog around the bases, but Bravo is looking like a grand-slam. 2014 first rounder (26th overall) absoluetly eviscerated three levels (Rookie, A, A-Advanced) with his plus fastball that looks like it could be graded as an 80 sooner or later. Worked on a circle change, which still needs improvement, but even a below average secondary pitch was devastating when paired with his fastball. Coaches refined his mechanics and got him working out, can hit 100 regularly but tends to tire late in games which isn't unexpected from a teenager. Starts off in AA where he will be forced to improve his circle change and slider.
RHP, Braden Shipley (Grade : B+, MLB)
Technically not a prospect since the Rule 5 Draft has him stuck in the majors for 2014 and his rookie status will expire, so this grade is more about his previous ranking. Will definitely struggle in pen, and will likely be reserved for situations where Boston is behind. Pitched well for Arizona at A South Bend and a short stint at AA Mobile before being traded to Philidelphia in the Cole Hamels deal. Played well enough for Philly to move him to AAA Lehigh Valley to start the season, but he didn't even get to put on a bacon hat before Boston snagged him as a Rule 5 pick.
LHP, Henry Owens (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Looking to improve on his 2014 season, 2015-2016 will be key for him as slots will open up in the MLB rotation/pen. The better of Boston's two high-end LHP, with the loss of Jon Lester the rotation lacks a solid LHP starter and Boston could be more agressive with Owens.
LHP, Trey Ball (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Very similar situation to Owens, but younger and will probably struggle through AAA for at least this season. He will be passed over and stuck behind a number of pitchers farther along, but he will be highly valued just for being left handed.
RHP, Braxton Davis (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Boston's second pick in the 2014 draft overpowered AA hitters in the second half of last season, management planned to start him off in AAA barring a total collapse in 2015. The MLB roster could use pitching depth, so there is a chance he could be a second half call-up if he pitches well. Fastball continues to be a plus pitch, cutter-change secondary pitches looked better than expected in AA and has continued to look sharp through spring training.
1B, Issac Koufax (Grade : B-, AA Portland)
Absolute revelation through three levels (Rookie, A, A-Advanced) in 2014. Taken in the 2014 draft as a plus-defense contact hitting 1B, showed some surprising pop (17HR) against lower level pitching and basically hit himself into AA to start the season with an eye watering .401 batting average. AA pitching should let coaches see if his power is real, there is nobody blocking a promotion to AAA if Boston feels like being agressive with him.
RHP, Allen Webster (Grade : C+, AAA Pawtucket)
Important season for Webster, really struggled down the stretch in 2014 and has been downgraded by most if not all rating services. Continued struggles may see him sent down to AA to try and get back on track, but he is in danger of getting lost in a very deep pitching class. Possible trade chip.
3B/OF, Rico Berroa (Grade : C+, AA Portland)
Didn't have much blocking promotion to AA, seamless adjustment to his new role as an OF player. Played well at 3B, but Boston is very shallow at OF and wants to reserve 3B for a more powerful hitter. Plus glove and speed (41SB) with decent plate discipline. Hitting needs work, but defense looks major league ready.
SS, Pedro Santana (Grade : C+, AA Portland)
Slick fielder played very well in what was left of the 2014 season, didn't blow anyone away at the plate but still managed to steal 46 bases through three levels (Rookie, A, A-Advanced) and earn a promotion to AA to start the season. Minors are depleted due to graduations, so in a sense he was passing tired horses, but he is still good enough defensively to play in AA.
Monday, June 30, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - Blake Swihart has been playing very well, but with the Red Sox playing better than expected they needed some depth at the catcher position. Management looked over the minor leagues, and with nobody ready they started making calls and found a deal.
The Phillies are in rebuilding mode and keen to dump as much salary as possible. The Phillies were also looking to move Cliff Lee, but his $18.5 million a year contract was too much for the cost cutting Red Sox. Carlos Ruiz ($8.41 million) is an expensive backup, but his experience will help Swihart develop. The deal only cost Boston RF Henry Ramos, who doesn't figure in Boston plans.
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