Monday, June 30, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox head home after a rough 1-4 stretch, but still find themselves just 2.5GB of AL East leading Toronto. The A's, having a poor start to the season, are looking to turn things around with a solid road win. Chris Archer and Sonny Gray take the mound today, only one of them would look like a real ace.
Oakland would open the game up with a Josh Donaldson solo-HR in the first, not a good start for Archer, but that was all Oakland had planned for the evening. Archer would settle down and basically dominate the A's hitters, racking up another 14K start, but still walk quite a few batters.
It took Boston 6 innings to get on the board themselves, but they should have scored more. Gray loaded the bases and Mookie Betts drove in Will Middlebrooks on a Fielder's Choice that had him out at 1st. Gray then intenionally walked Jackie Bradley Jr. to get to Xander Bogaerts, and then was pulled for Ryan Cook. It must have been a good move because Bogaerts popped out to end the inning. Gray, who only lasted 5.2 innings, had a decent stat line but allowed a whopping 10 hits.
Cook stayed inthrough the 8th, but that was an out too many. Betts, again stepping up, hit a solo-HR that just barely cleared the Green Monster and gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead heading into the 9th. Uehara made it interesting, allowing two base runners, but eventually closed it out for a Boston win.
| Oakland Athletics at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Apr 29, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Oakland (10-16) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Boston (14-12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | X | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| W: De La Rosa (3-0) L: Cook (0-2) S: Uehara (4) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BALTIMORE, MD - The Red Sox cap a good week with bad news and a trip to division foe Baltimore. Boston went 5-2 in the past week, but David Ortiz heads to the 15-Day DL with a back strain that moves Paul Konerko to the DH spot.
With two AL East heavy hitters facing each other, most would have expected a high scoring game, but instead fans got a true pitchers duel. Chris Archer and Miguel Gonzalez started the game and went toe-to-toe for eight solid innings.
Both Archer and Gonzalez were sharp, only allowing a single BB each, but Archer flashed the kind of talent that made manager John Farrell pick him to be Boston's ace. Archer's fastball-change combo had the Orioles swinging at thin air, and after 8IP he had racked up 14K. Rubby De La Rosa came in for Archer and pitched through the 10th inning, when something finally happened.
Swihart's play has improved on an almost daily basis
Tom Gorzelanny took over for Gonzalez and pitched through the 11th, but a poorly placed fastball opened the door for Blake Swihart who launched his first major league HR to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Koji Uehara came in for De La Rosa and shut the door to collect his third save of the season.
| Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||||
| Apr 23, 2015 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
| Boston (13-8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Baltimore (10-12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| W: De La Rosa (2-0) L: Gorzelanny (1-1) S: Uehara (3) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, June 29, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BRONX, NY - Boston would make their first trip to New York this week, and the two teams would be headed in two very different directions. Few expected Boston or New York to be all that good, but the Yankees' decline has been sharp and steep.
The Yankees drew first blood today with a Scott Sizemore solo-HR in the 3rd, but Boston struck back in the 4th. Dustin Pedroia milked a 10 pitch at bat, 7 pitches coming on a 1-2 count, until the 10th pitch ended up in the outfield seats for a solo-HR.
The game stayed 1-1 into the 6th when Mike Napoli broke the game open with a 2R-HR that made it 3-1 for the defending champions. Jackie Bradley Jr. added a HR in the 8th to finish off the game 4-1.
Napoli always loves sticking it to the Yankees
The biggest story of this game was Chris Archer, a real Jekyll & Hyde on the mound from one batter to the next. Despite allowing a frightening 6BB, he escaped all those free passes by striking out a whopping 18 batters over 8.0IP. Archer's slider has been very off to start the season, but his fastball-change combo has been his get-out-of-jail-free card so far.
| Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees | ||||||||||||
| Apr 17, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (10-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| New York (5-12) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Archer (3-1) L: Pineda (2-1) S: Uehara (2) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - After trouncing Tampa Bay the Red Sox went on a four game win streak that included three games where they scored 11 runs. That rampage was halted last night by Baltimore, and the Orioles would need to continue that trend to halt the poor start of their season. Jered Weaver would take the mound for Baltimore and hope to start building a Cy Young resume for this season.
Weaver was very good, but Boston managed to push him hard and drive up his pitch count quickly. Jackie Bradley Jr. broke the stalemate with a solo-HR in the 3rd, and things stayed 1-0 until the 6th inning.
Bradley has shown some surprising pop to start the season
Chris Archer, wild again, walked three straight batters to load the bases in the top of the 6th inning. Adam Jones set things in motion for a crazy series of events, centered around Will Middlebrooks making another bad decision, that would even up the score. Jones hit a hard grounder to 3B, with Middlebrooks turning toward 3rd to snag the ball and step on the base to get Machado, but instead of going home to get Markakis he spun and tried to make the throw to 1st that failed to get there in time. Archer, as is the usual case now, escaped the inning by striking out the next two batters and preserve a 1-1 score.
Weaver came back out in the 6th, and Napoli essentially ended the game with a solo-HR for a 2-1 lead. Archer, Rubby De La Rosa, and Koji Uehara combined to shut out the Orioles for the rest of the game and get Archer his 2nd win.
| Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Apr 11, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Baltimore (4-7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Boston (7-4) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Archer (2-1) L: Weaver (0-3) S: Uehara (1) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
ST. PETERSBURG - The Red Sox made their way south this week to face division foe and World Series hopeful Tampa Bay. This would be Chris Archer's first game as Boston's ace going against his former team, just the motivation any pitcher needs to shut a team down. Matt Moore would be up for the Rays, and he would need to shake off the memories of getting lit up by the Red Sox last august.
Considering how this game started, Moore might have actually wished he could go back to last August, today was much worse. Mike Napoli opening the scoring with a little help from Jayson Werth, who dove for a line drive and completely missed, turning a potential out into an RBI double and a 1-0 lead. Thing got worse in the second when Jackie Bradley Jr. took Moore deep for a 3R-HR and a 4-0 lead.
Werth's defense was atrocious
Moore's day ended mercifully in the 4th after putting a man on 1st and 3rd with no outs, but the Baseball Gods weren't done with his stat line. After Shane Victorino stole 2nd to eliminate the double-play Mookie Betts drove both runners in with a 2RBI double that pushed Moore's total to 6ER. Xander Bogaerts put an exclamation point in the inning with a 2R-HR that gave Boston an 8-0 lead in the 4th.
Boston scored three more runs, hammering a total of 15 hits, and the pitching staff blanked the Rays for a demoralizing 11-0 win. The Red Sox basically had their way with the Rays, totaling 5SB that helped get those 11 runners in. Tampa didn't help their cause, even though Archer was very wild the Rays only managed 2BB on their way to 11K's with Boston's ace.
| Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays | ||||||||||||
| Apr 6, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (3-3) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 15 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay (3-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| W: Archer (1-1) L: Moore (0-2) | ||||||||||||
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
ARLINGTON, TX - The Red Sox open their season on the road again, this time on a warm Texas afternoon. A slight breeze would help cool things down, but Chris Archer would be thrown into the fire for his first start as Boston's ace. Yu Darvish would start for Texas, and he wouldn't make anything easy for the defending champs.
Darvish looked good to start the game, but he slipped up in the 2nd inning by giving up a deep double to the rookie Mookie Betts which would score Middlebrooks from 1st and open up the game with a 1-0 lead. Archer was very hit-or-miss, and he was missing the plate regularly. He walked a number of batters, and it finally caught up with him in the 4th after walking two batter in a row. Leonys Martin scored Jurickson Profar from 2nd with a single, and then Shin-Soo Choo drove in another to make it 2-0.
Darvish made it look easy
Archer was pulled after 7.0IP and a whopping 7BB that basically cancelled out his 10K. Darvish left after 6.1IP, but it didn't matter as Texas' staff continued to fluster Boston until Neftali Feliz put them out of their misery in the 9th. Not a good way to start the season, but that's why they play 162.
| Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers | ||||||||||||
| Apr 1, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (0-1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Texas (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Darvish (1-0) L: Archer (0-1) S: Feliz (1) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, June 22, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
Once again the AL East is going to be a rough place to play, especially for the two-time defending world champions. Most of the big names are still here, including the ones that came over in 2014, but they won't be for long as age is becoming an issue. The AL MVP and Cy Young could stay here for 2015, with a number of teams in the running.
AL EAST (PROJECTED FINISH)
#1 Toronto Blue Jays (95-67) : The Toronto Blue Jays are in just the right position to be one of the best teams in baseball, and should have a solid shot at taking the AL East. The pitching staff is very loaded, and could be one of the best in the AL. Marcus Stroman, fresh of a dominant AL ROY win, is turning into a true ace. The Blue Jays signed Jake Peavy this winter and traded for Yovani Gallardo during the 2014 season. Morrow and Drew Hutchison round out their five-deep rotation, not a bad way to head into the season. The bats are still there with Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, and Brett Lawrie coming back, the Blue Jays don't have any excuses left.
#2 Tampa Bay Rays (90-72) : Pitching and defense still dominate this team, but they have a core of really good hitters that should do enough to help them win games. Another team with a five-deep rotation, just a little younger than Toronto. David Price, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Jeremy Hellickson, and Jake Odorizzi are ready to be the best rotation in the division if the Blue Jays don't get it done. Evan Longoria and Wil Myers are back, and Ben Zobrist just doesn't seem to get old. How well the younger players like speedy SS Hak-Ju Lee do will probably be the difference between winning the division and just making the Wild Card.
#3 Baltimore Orioles (88-74) : The Orioles are going to be really good on defense, and they continue to have a ton of power. Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, and Matt Wieters make up a potent core of hitters that will continue to power the Orioles. Baltimore addressed their pitching issues last season by trading for Jered Weaver and Wily Peralta. It wasn't enough in 2014, but this season they will be in Baltimore the entire year, wiping out their weak rotation. Weaver, Peralta, Miguel Gonzalez, and Ubaldo Jimenez give them enough to take a shot at winning this division, but TB and Toronto are probably a little too good.
#4 Boston Red Sox (81-81) : It isn't so much that Boston became that much worse, but more about the rest of the division improving. The Red Sox lose alot of depth on offense and Jon Lester, but the core of their hitters return and they have the best 1-3 starters in the division. The Bogaerts-Pedroia-Napoli gauntlet should keep Boston in games, but Ortiz isn't Big Papi anymore and it's hard to tell if Middlebrooks can replicate his 40HR 2014 season. The bottom of the order is very green, with Swihart and Betts probably in for a long season. Boston's pitching is still very good but the rotation now has two rookies (Workman and Barnes), the bullpen is full of guys with very little MLB experience (Ranaudo, De La Rosa, Britton), and Koji Uehara is 40.
#5 New York Yankees (77-85) : The Yankees still have most of their big expensive names, but they don't have much youth to balance it out. They will probably continue hitting with Ellsbury-Beltran-Teixeira-Gardner still in the lineup, but all of those guys are over 30 and starting to slow down. To make matters worse, after a year long suspension, Alex Rodriguez is back. A-Rod is a shell of his former self, but the 39 year old is still on the books through 2017 for over $20 million a year, so he's going to play if he can still swing a bat and throw a ball. The rotation is basically a disaster outside of Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka, who had a very good 2014 debut. Michael Pineda is their #2 starter, and that isn't a good thing, they will continue to hemorrhage runs on defense and it's going to sink their season. With little help in the minors, the Yankees are either going to be big spenders next offseason or risk writing off the next 2-5 years.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
FORT MYERS, FL - Seems like only yesterday Boston was hoisting the World Series trophy, but that was last year and it's time to move forward. Spring Training always brings the promise of a new season, another chance at glory, but most would say the Red Sox sun is setting. The biggest buzz around Fenway South this year would be the prospects looking to make a permanent move to The Show after coming up for a cup of coffee during roster expansion, and the impending retirement of David Ortiz.
SPRING TRAINING (By The Numbers)
Boston 13-15 (4th AL East)
Hot Hitters
Dustin Pedroia - 6HR 19RBI .300
Shane Victornio - 4HR 23RBI .283
Jackie Bradley Jr. - .277 / .344OBP
Cold Hitters
David Ortiz - 6HR 12RBI .224
Xander Bogaerts - 2HR 11RBI .217
TOP PROSPECTS
Every spring comes with a new Top 50 Prospects list, and Boston can feel good about how they did this year. The Red Sox boast four prospects MLB.com ranked in the Top 50, a number padded a bit by Braden Shipley coming over in the Rule 5 draft, but still a good sign of things to come.
Don't leave your prospects unprotected
RHP Henry Owens (AAA Pawtucket)
RHP Leonys Bravo (AA Portland)
RHP Braden Shipley (Red Sox)
1B Isaac Koufax (AA Portland)
FREE AGENT INVITES
After sitting out the winter free agent market and evaluating the farm system it looks like Boston needed to provide a little depth in the majors. 2B/SS Brock Holt was the best and most experienced player backing everyone up, and management seemed to feel that some of their better prospects (Garin Cecchini) weren't going to get the playing time they needed to continue developing. With that in mind the Red Sox reached out to a few veteran players that free agency passed over and brought them to spring training for a shot at making the roster.
Boston's biggest problem coming into spring was, and on some level continues to be, the outfield. The Tigers opted not to re-sign Torii Hunter, and he easily performed well enough to receive a 1-year $4 million offer from the Red Sox. Hunter not only provides a decent bat, he also continues to be a good defender, for obvious reasons the Red Sox will not play him in RF for home games.
With Ortiz in rapid decline, and Brock Holt lacking experience, the additions of 2B Mark Ellis and 1B/DH Paul Konerko on 1-years deals made sense. Ellis provides a good late-inning defensive sub, and Konerko will provide some power as a right-handed hitter with Ortiz getting eviscerated by left-handed pitching.
SPRING ANSWERS
Lester's Replacement : With Jon Lester leaving town for Detroit, the Red Sox needed to crown a new staff ace. Prior to the start of last season the clear choice was Clay Buchholz, if he could stay healthy, but the in-season trades that landed Chris Archer and Shelby Miller made it a three-way race. Miller sat out the end of last season, including the playoffs, so that didn't help him. While Miller was on the DL Chris Archer rose from AAA like a Phoenix and carried it through the playoffs and right into spring. Buchholz looked good, but Archer has put enough polish on his slider to take hold of the #1 spot in the rotation. The Archer-Miller-Buchholz part of Boston's rotation is going to keep them in games all year, no matter how bad the hitting is.
Outfield Starters : The shallowest part of Boston's roster was also the most unsettled, with only Shane Victorino and Jackie Bradley Jr. returning. Bradley Jr. had a terrible season at the plate (.218BA), but he played so well in CF that John Farrell had to keep him there. Bradley Jr. did impress Farrell with his hitting and plate discipline in the spring (.277/.344) so it looks like he will be batting lead off and push Bogaerts to 2nd. The competition for LF was rough, with Torii Hunter doing his best to take it, but in the end converted 2B Mookie Betts showed enough with the bat and glove to snag the starting nod. Betts will be under pressure all season, but it doesn't look like Boston will be sending him back to Pawtucket anytime soon.
Hitting 40 homers is a good way to get a new contract
Corner Infielders : The re-signing of Will Middlebrooks really threw a wrench in the works, not to mention having a 40HR season, and now it leaves Boston brimming with current and potential corner infielders. Mike Napoli will now play every game at 1B, leaving Ortiz to DH exclusively, and super prospect Garin Cecchini has nowhere to play. The promotion of Betts seemed to signal that Cecchini would be up as well, but the return of Middlebrooks on a 4-year deal seems to keep him in AAA for some time.
SUMMER QUESTIONS
Outfield Depth : If it wasn't clear already, things are bad in the outfield. Torii Hunter is a decent spot starter or late game fill in, but he can't play CF at all, and he probably can't be counted on to start for a full season anymore. If there are any injuries the Victorino-Bradley Jr.-Betts it's going to get ugly very fast, the best players available in the minors are barely able to play in AAA let alone the majors. They do have two options starting the season in AA, 2014 draft picks Rico Berroa and Pedro Santana, but they would be purely defensive options who would get destroyed at the plate. The Red Sox had better keep a great medical staff on hand.
Behind The Plate : Can Blake Swihart handle the majors? Swihart, who had an excellent season in AAA after being called up from AA, is Boston's only catcher with any real experience. They are an injury away from signing someone in street clothes or called up Jason Varitek to see if he's busy. That being said, he won the starting job outright and looks like a very good player.
Big Papi's Legacy : If anyone's sun is setting, or has already set, it's David Ortiz's. After a 30-103 .309 season in 2013 that surprised everyone, he was able to match some of those numbers with a 34-99 .254 season in 2014. That .254 really jumps out, the third worst batting average of his career and the lowest since 2009 when he hit .238. Defensive shift, now all the rage, have really hurt Big Papi's numbers. With his power against lefties in steep decline he isn't likely to come close to a 30-100 season, but there is no way Boston would ever trade him. Ortiz might have a disappointing season, but if he retires he should retire in Boston.
PROJECTED DEPTH CHART
Boston Red Sox Depth Chart - 2015
- Catcher
- B. Swihart
- First Base
- M. Napoli
- P. Konerko
- Second Base
- D. Pedroia
- M. Ellis
- Third Base
- W. Middlebrooks
- B. Holt
- Shortstop
- X. Bogaerts
- B. Holt
- Left Field
- M. Betts
- T. Hunter
- Center Field
- J. Bradley Jr.
- B. Holt
- Right Field
- S. Victorino
- T. Hunter
- Starting Pitcher
- C. Archer
- S. Miller
- C. Buchholz
- B. Workman
- M. Barnes
- Relief Pitcher
- B. Shipley
- A. Ranaudo
- D. Britton
- R. De La Rosa
- Closer
- K. Uehara
- E. Mujica
- Designated Hitter
- D. Ortiz
- P. Konerko
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
Another year, another World Series Title. An absolutely amazing season from Jon Lester and the early-season additions of Chris Archer and Shelby Miller were probably the extra push this team needed to repeat. It's hard to be called a huge underdog after finishing 98-64, but the Dodgers seemed almost unbeatable all season. It was shocking to see Clayton Kershaw pitch so poorly, the Kershaw-Greinke duo was supposed to be like the Johnson-Schilling one-two-punch that helped Arizona take down the Yankees in 2001, but it never came to be.
While it was incredibly tempting for management to double down in this roster, they had to make some hard decisions that were not popular with fans. GM Ben Cherington was reticent to speak openly during the winter meetings, but considering their finances and age of players involved, most saw the writing on the wall.
2014-2015 FREE AGENCY
The biggest winter headline was Boston declining to re-sign Jon Lester after a record setting season. They did make a one-year qualifying offer for $11.4 million, but everyone knew that Lester would decline the offer and hit the market after a contract year for the ages. The Red Sox made the offer only to claim draft pick compensation, and the Detroit Tigers were happy to help them out again.
In total, the Red Sox made qualifying offers to three players, and only Koji Uehara (39 years old) accepted the offer. Boston did not want to re-sign Uehara to a long term deal and took the risk of paying him $11.4 million for 2015. As a whole the risk was worth it, with Jake Peavy being signed away and landing Boston an additional pick in the 2015 draft.
Losing Lester will hurt, but the draft pick is more valuable
2014 Qualifying Offers
Jon Lester (Declined) - Signed $37.8 million / 3 Years, Detroit Tigers
Jake Peavy (Declined) - Signed $33.7 million / 3 years, Toronto Blue Jays
Koji Uehara (Accepted)
In addition to the qualifying offers, Ben Cherington had to decline offering contracts to some fan favorites who played important roles in their two-title run. OF's Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes were not offered contracts, and David Ross was also not offered a multi-year deal. Boston gambled on Ross, hoping the market would shake out so they could bring him back on a shorter deal, but he ended up signing with the Chicago White Sox on a two-year deal.
Management focused their off-season spending on extending the contracts of players already on their roster. Boston didn't spend a single penny on a player not already on their roster, with the biggest contract handed out to Xander Bogaerts. These contracts were a clear sign that a rebuild is completely under way, and that more changes were to come in spring training and after the 2015 season.
Bogaerts cashes in on a good 2014 season
2014 Contract Extensions
Shelby Miller - $12 million / 6 years
Xander Bogaerts - $25 million / 10 years
Jackie Bradley Jr. - $7 million / 6 years
Will Middlebrooks - $2.63 million / 4 years
Rule 5 Draft
Boston reshuffled their roster to get all of their biggest assets on the 40-man roster in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft. It actually wasn't all that difficult with so many on the 40-man leaving during free agency, but it was an important move to protect their future. Luckily for Boston, the Phillies decided not to take the same steps, and left RHP Braden Shipley (AAA Lehigh Valley) unprotected. Shipley, a Top 50 prospect, was traded from the Diamondbacks in the Cole Hamels deal. The Red Sox were more than happy to snag him and let him work out of the pen for the season and option him down to AAA in 2016.
Finances
The Red Sox made minimal moves outside of resigning their own players, the only new addition came in the scouting department with the addition of Eric Casto. Casto now joins Boston's expansive international scouting arm, a focal point for Boston going forward, and hopes to bring in the next David Ortiz or Xander Bogaerts.
The Red Sox walk out of winter with a payroll just over $98 million, and some big chunks of that are about to come off. Dustin Pedroia ($26.9 million) is Boston's most expensive player by far, and nearly 1/3 of the payroll. David Ortiz ($11.7) and Koji Uehara ($11.4) are the next most expensive, and their contracts expire after the 2015 season. Victorino ($10.4) and Napoli ($9.8) round out the bulk of the bill, and they also come off the books after the 2015 season. Cherington has made no moves to extend any of them, so it's very likely that Boston could walk into the 2015 Winter Meetings as a big spender ready to gear up for another title run or two.
2014 Notable Retirements
The Red Sox didn't have anyone retire, but the game of baseball lost some all-time greats this year. Some cited age, some said they just couldn't play on the highest level anymore, but they will all be missed.
Derek Jeter (NY Yankees) - 41, 20 Seasons
Ichiro Suzuki (NY Yankees) - 40, 14 Seasons
Jason Giambi (Cleveland Indians) - 43, 20 Seasons
Hiroki Kuroda (Minnesota Twins) - 39, 7 Years
Raul Ibanez (LA Angels of Anaheim) - 42, 19 Seasons
LaTroy Hawkins (Miami Marlins) - 41, 20 Seasons
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - Tonight the Dodgers would face elimination, and Don Mattingly did the only thing left to do; start Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers would have a Kershaw-Greinke gauntlet for Boston to run if they were going to get this series back to LA, but John Farrell had Lester waiting for a Game 5 showdown. jake Peavy, the battle tested veteran, would start for Boston tonight.
After an inning and a half the Red Sox were the first to get on the scoreboard. A Mike Napoli solo-HR over the Green Monster would make it 1-0 and put the Dodgers up against the wall early. The heart of LA's order came up again in the 4th, and they were not impressed with Peavy and his 3 shutout innings. Adrian Gonzalez struck back with a solo-HR, and then Yasiel Puig did the same for a 2-0 lead.
Nobody could have predicted Kershaw would struggle again
What followed in the bottom of the 4th was unbelievable and heartbreaking for Boston. Dustin Pedroia hit a line drive off the Green Monster and tried to stretch it into a double, but he was called out at second. After a long shouting match between Farrell and the umpires Mike Napoli hit a triple that should have driven in Pedroia. Mill Middlebrooks came up next and hit a ducksnort just over Alex Guerrero, that he probably would have caught the night before, and Napoli scored to make it 2-2. Kershaw was starting to have Deja Vu when singles from Victorino and Ross loaded the bases, he was in danger of melting down like in Game 1. Luckily for Kershaw Grady Sizemore and Jackie Bradley Jr. swung like crazy and struck out to end the inning.
Gonzalez strikes back
Things went smoothly again until the 6th when Peavy put himself, and Boston's chances, in series danger. A single by Adrian Gonzalez was followed by walking three consecutive batters and giving LA a 3-2 lead. The Red Sox managed to salvage the inning with a 4-6-3 double play, but they would have needed a triple play to prevent Puig from coming in from 3rd and falling behind 4-2.
Boston got right back to putting Kershaw in trouble in the bottom of the 6th. Middlebrooks hit a line drive that bounded over the low RF wall for a ground rule double that scored Napoli and made it 4-3. Bradley Jr. turned the tables on LA with a 2RBI double that drove in Sizemore and Ross to make it 5-4 Boston. Mattingly came out, practically before Sizemore had crossed home plate, and sat Kershaw for Brian Wilson. Wilson pitched two innings and gave up a solo-HR to David Ross in the 8th to go down 6-4 and basically seal the victory for Boston.
Unfortunately for Boston, the Dodgers weren't comfortable leaving it there. Koji Uehara, normally quite reliable, just completely fell apart in the top of the 9th. A walk and a hit into the inning and Matt Kemp had two men on and one out, and he hit a stunning 3R inside-the-park HR thanks to Victorino missing a fly ball and running into the RF wall just under Pesky's Pole. 6-4 was now 7-6, and Boston was clearly shaken. Uehara managed to finish off the inning, but the damage was done.
In an odd twist of fate, Mattingly sent out the former Twins closer Glen Perkins to shut the door on Boston. Why Mattingly would send out the left handed Perkins over the right handed Jansen would be a mystery, especially with the right handed gauntlet of Bogaerts-Pedroia-Napoli-Middlebrooks coming up. He would almost immediately regret the decision, as Bogaerts would absolutely crush a fastball over Lansdowne and probably onto the Mass Turnpile. With the score now 7-7 Pedroia would single, and Napoli would strike out to bring up Middlebrooks. Joe Carter was the last one to do it in 1993, and now Will Middlebrooks would make history as he took a high fastball deep over the Green Monster for a World Series winning walk-off HR. An improbable victory and a repeat title was Boston's, a fitting end to an amazing season.
Middlebrooks is mobbed at home plate
Despite Will Middlebrooks getting all of the attention Mike Napoli made history by hitting for the cycle, a World Series first. It wouldn't sway the votes much, but Will Middlebrooks' heroics helped him land the World Series and Playoff MVP, hitting .333 with 4HR and 11RBI overall. Middlebrooks hit .313 with 2HR and 6RBI during the World Series.
| Los Angeles Dodgers at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Oct 26, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles (0-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
| Boston (4-0) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| W: Uehara (1-0) L: Perkins (0-1) | ||||||||||||
Monday, June 16, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - After a shock 2-0 series lead, the Red Sox would welcome the Dodgers to Fenway Park for Game 3 of the World Series. Clay Buchholz and Hyun-jin Ryu would take the mound tonight, the Dodgers would need a win tonight or they would essentially be eliminated. Getting the series back to LA would be difficult, not impossible, but very difficult considering Jon Lester would start at some point in Boston.
This game turned into what fans had hoped for in Game 1, but when it comes to baseball sometimes you have to take what you get. Ryu and Buchholz had incredible starts that made this into a pitchers duel that anyone could appreciate. The Dodgers were the first to break the scoreless innings in the 4th when Brian McCann drove in Andre Ethier from third on a 4-6 fielder's choice.
It didn't take long for Boston to even the score, in the bottom of the 5th Shane Victorino hit a solo-HR to make it 1-1. Not long after in the 6th, Boston managed to grind out a run with a Bogaerts RBI 6-3 fielder's choice that scored Sizemore from 3rd. Ryu continued to pitch very well, using his off-speed offerings to force weak contact and easy ground outs, but left for J.P. Howell in the 8th.
Victorino's HR puts Boston closer to another title
Boston tried to pad it's 2-1 lead in the 8th, but Alex Guerrero was having an unbelievable night on defense. Guerrero had already made some diving grabs on line drives up the middle that any mortal man wouldn't have been able to catch, and he managed to pop up and make the throw to first on just about every one. Guerrero basically sat Boston down in the 8th all by himself with an incredible Superman-like dive to catch a hard liner between 2nd and 1st. He followed that up by snagging another liner up the middle and tossing the ball behind his back to Hanley Ramirez to get Bogaerts at second, and then Ramirez got Pedroia at 1st for a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Alex Guerrero's defense was out of this world
Buchholz had the game of his season, going 8 strong innings with only 4 hits, a single run, and 2BB. He also tallied 12 strike outs against a very potent Dodgers lineup. He stepped down in the 9th for Koji Uehara who continues the strike outs, and after two K's and an easy ground out Boston had a 3-0 lead and a World Series repeat in their grasp.
| Los Angeles Dodgers at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Oct 25, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles (0-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Boston (3-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Buchholz (2-0) L: Ryu (2-1) S: Uehara (4) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, June 15, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA - The second game of the World Series would feature an unexpected pitching match-up. Everyone knew the Dodgers would start Zach Greinke, who has been excellent all season, but few expected John Farrell to go with Chris Archer. Archer has pitched extremely well since returning from AAA, especially in the post-season, so Farrell didn't need to think twice about putting him on the mound.
It would turn out that Farrell made the right choice, but the Dodgers didn't make it easy. The first five innings of the game were literally just Greinke and Archer striking guys out or inducing weak grounders. The top of the 6th is when Boston finally broke things open against Greinke. Things started off with a dropped throw to 1B by Adrian Gonzalez, which allowed Xander Bogaerts to reach safely. Bogaerts followed that up by stealing 2B and eliminating the threat of a double-play. Greinke managed to get Pedroia and Napoli out, but David Ortiz came through with a 2R-HR to make it 2-0 heading into the bottom of the 6th.
Ortiz gives Boston an early lead
Archer, unlike Greinke, stayed sharp through the 6th. Striking out his 11th batter, 8 of them on his slider, to finish his day with only 2 hits allowed and a single BB. Paco Rodriguez would take Greinke's place in the 7th and get out of a real jam. With two on (1st & 3rd) and one out Mike Napoli would pinch hit for Archer, but the move wouldn't pay off as Rodriguez would strike him out looking.
Rodriguez would stay in for the 8th, but Boston would get to him to extend their lead. With Pedroia on 3B Will Middlebrooks hit a 2R-HR to make it 4-0. Grady Sizemore would use his legs to keep the inning going by running out an RBI 6-4 fielders choice that would have ended the inning as a double play, but he was called safe at 1st to make it 5-0.
Middlebrooks uses the long-ball to put the Dodgers away
Mujica and Uehara would combine for 3.0IP, 5K between them, and finish off the Dodgers to take both games in Los Angeles. Ortiz and Middlebrooks were the heroes tonight, both going 2/4 with 2R-HRs, not to mention Bogaerts who has 2SB. The Dodgers and their fans were shocked to see themselves down 0-2 and headed for a rough three game stretch at Fenway. If they lost another game they knew they would have to go through a red hot Jon Lester to eliminate Boston.
| Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||
| Oct 23, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (2-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Los Angeles (0-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| W: Archer (1-1) L: Greinke (2-1) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA - The 2014 World Series is finally under way, and we couldn't have asked for a better story. The defending champions against the presumed champions, few thought Boston would make it back here for a shot at a repeat but that certainly wouldn't stop them. The Red Sox had a little extra rest, after defeating Seattle 4-1 they waited patiently for the Dodgers to polish off the Nationals 4-2 in an exciting series. Thanks to the NL All-Stars, especially Oscar Taveras, the Dodgers would enjoy home field advantage.
The most exciting part of Game 1 would be the pitchers; Jon Lester vs. Clayton Kershaw. The best pitcher in baseball going up against one of the best seasons in history, two lefties facing off on the biggest stage possible. Lester finished the season 19-5 with 327K and a 1.94ERA and 0.93WHIP, but if he couldn't come up huge in October and lead the Red Sox to another title, it would ultimately go down as a wasted season.
Despite being heavy favorites, things did not start well for the Dodgers or Kershaw. The uber-talented ace was battered around in the 1st inning, giving up 4 runs to start the game. Pedroia reached base after drawing a walk, then stole 2nd where he was able to score after an Ortiz single away from the shift. Kershaw then loaded the bases to make it worse, and Grady Sizemore singled to score Ortiz and Victorino to go up 3-0. Jackie Bradley Jr. got them to 4-0 with a single that brought in David Ross from 3B, and with that Boston batted through the order in the 1st inning.
Mattingly was not happy with the Dodgers' start
The Dodgers and their super star lineup wasn't done at 4-0, and Yasiel Puig hit a 2R double in the 3rd that was bungled by Sizemore in LF to make it 4-2. Kershaw would leave the game after the 5th, and the bearded Brian Wilson would come in for him. With Sizemore on 1st a hit-and-run would bring Sizemore around with a Bradley Jr. triple and make it 5-2. Mike Napoli would come in for Ortiz in the bottom of the inning, after a few scares at 1B John Farrell wanted Napoli's glove to improve their defensive play.
The 7th inning would turn into the most exciting inning of the game. Dustin Pedroia hit a solid double to the RF gap and tried to strech it into a triple, but Puig had other ideas and made an incredible throw to get Pedroia at third. It was a huge out because the freshly subbed Napoli would hit a solo-HR and make it 6-2 going into the bottom of the inning. Lester's night, already not one of his best outings, suddenly got very rocky. Hanley Ramirez, thanks to a double and an Adrian Gonzalez single, found himself on 3B where Puig drove him in with a sac-fly. Lester then walked Andre Either, his 6th BB of the night, and then left a two-seam fastball a little too high for Juan Uribe who hammered a 3R-HR to make it 6-5.
Both teams traded a scoreless 8th, and Boston couldn't get any runs in the top of the 9th to provide some security. Koji Uehara, normally extremely solid, made the Red Sox sit through a serious nail biter of a 9th. Uehara struck out Ramirez and got Gonzalez to pop out before walking Puig and Ethier, putting the winning run on 1st. Don Mattingly swapped out Chris Perez in favor of AJ Ellis to face Uehara, and Ellis made it very difficult by milking an 8 pitch at bat before Uehara got him looking with a splitter on the outside corner to end the game.
| Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||
| Oct 22, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (1-0) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| Los Angeles (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Lester (3-0) L: Kershaw (1-2) S: Uehara (3) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
SEATTLE, WA - The Seattle Mariners, surprise winners in Game 5 of their ALDS series with Detroit, hosted Game 3 of the ALCS today. The Mariners are in dire need of a victory, already down 0-2, after the opening games at Boston. Boston had a few days to rest up after sweeping the Rays, wins from Clay Buchholz and Jake Peavy put the Red Sox through, and the extra rest allowed Boston to shuffle the rotation a bit.
The winner of this series would face either Washington or Los Angeles, both teams swept their opponents in the NLDS to set up a 1-vs-2 NLCS. The Dodgers remain heavy favorites with the Kershaw-Grienke tandem anchoring one of the best rotations in baseball.
Jon Lester would start Game 3 today after Peavy and Lackey handled the opening games to set up the 2-0 lead. Lackey beat Felix Hernandez, a surprise considering the season Lackey has had, and Boston would continue to need him going forward with Shelby Miller out for the season.
Lester would face Hisashi Iwakuma, but he wouldn't have to do much to give Boston a 3-0 series lead. This game turned into a blood bath, Safeco might be a pitchers park but it sure didn't slow down Boston. Ortiz opened the scoring in the 1st with a solo-HR to LF, continuing to hit away from the defensive shifts plaguing his season, and then Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in Will Middlebrooks for a 2-0 lead.
Napoli, among others, ate the Mariners' pitchers alive
Mike Zunino drove in Brad Miller in the 2nd to make it 2-1, but Jon Lester and Edward Mujica would combine to make sure that was it for the night. Unfortunately, the Mariners' staff couldn't say the same for Boston's offense. Napoli hit a solo-HR in the 3rd, the second of many HR's to come. Bradley Jr. hit a 3R-HR in the 4th that knocked out Iwakuma, and Pedroia added a solo-HR to make it 7-1 after 4 innings.
Middlebrooks hit a 2R-HR in the 5th, Bradley Jr. hit his second HR in the 6th, and Middlebrooks capped off the inning with a 3R-HR. Pedroia and Napoli both homered in the 8th, and then Pedroia mercifully ended his evening with a 2R triple in the 9th. In all Boston recorded 9HRs, and Bradley Jr. had an amazing night going 3/4 with 2HR and 5RBI.
| Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners | ||||||||||||
| Oct 15, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (3-0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 21 | 0 |
| Seattle (0-3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Lester (2-0) L: Iwakuma (1-1) S: Mujica (1) | ||||||||||||
Saturday, June 14, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox welcomed division rival Tapa Bay to Fenway, setting up a battle between Jon Lester and David Price. The Rays would have high hopes of taking this series to five games, but Boston shut the door on that rather quickly.
Boston took a 4-0 lead in the first, with a 2RBI single by David Ortiz followed by a 2R-HR by Mike Napoli. Ortiz added a third RBI in the 3rd with a solo-HR that landed on Lansdowne, and then Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts added back-to-back solo-HRs in the 4th to make it 7-0 and send Price packing.
Bogaerts wrecked the Rays pitching
The Rays fought back in the 5th with a Jason Werth solo-HR, but Shane Victorino shot back with a 2R-HR in the bottom of the inning. The Rays came back again in the 6th, this time a Wil Myers double off the Green Monster scored Desmond Jennings and an Evan Longoria double scored Myers to make it 9-3.
Boston added a run in the 6th and the 7th to make it 11-3, and then Edward Mujica finished off the game for a humiliating victory. The Red Sox pounded out 17 hits, with Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz eating the Rays pitching alive. Bogaerts was 3/4 with 2HR and 3RBI, and Ortiz went 3/5 (all to LF away from the shift) with 3RBI.
| Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Oct 4, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Tampa Bay (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Boston (1-0) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 0 |
| W: Lester (1-0) L: Price (1-1) | ||||||||||||
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