Saturday, June 7, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - In a bizarre scheduling twist the Red Sox and Blue Jays get to enjoy a little deja vu, but this time it's at Fenway. Jon Lester and Brandon Morrow go head-to-head, again, and Boston would look to stretch their AL East lead.
Unfortunately for Morrow this game would have a little too much deja vu for his liking as Will Middlebrooks opened up the scoring with a solo-HR. Despite being down 1-0, Morrow had a better day on the mound, but this just wasn't his day. Boston scored another run in the 4th after David Ortiz managed to beat the defensive shift that has been killing him all season, moving Mike Napoli to 3rd, and then Will Middlebrooks grounded out on a 6-3 fielders choice to score Napoli.
The rest of the game was basically Jon Lester padding his Cy Young resume. The closest thing to excitement was Edwin Encarnacion falling asleep at 1B on a dropped 3rd strike by Bradley Jr. in the 8th, allowing him to reach 1st safely. Toronto's most notable hitter was Jose Reyes, going 1/3 with one Lester's two walks.
| Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jul 28, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Toronto (55-52) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Boston (65-41) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Lester (12-2) L: Morrow (7-12) S: Uehara (39) | ||||||||||||
Friday, June 6, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
TORONTO, ON - The Red Sox limped their way into the Rogers Centre today, and they were desperate for a win. Boston has been 1-4 since the All-Star Break, and their AL East lead has been shrinking. Facing off against a revenge hungry division rival wasn't going to help. The good news was that Lester would not have to go up against Drew Hutchison or ROY front-runner Marcus Stroman, a 7-10 Brandon Morrow might be what the doctor ordered.
Morrow pitched well, despite his record, giving up a single ER in the second and making it through a bizarre 4th inning that would leave the Red Sox without a manager. Dustin Pedroia would earn his "Laser Show" nickname and hit a line drive in the CF-RF gap, only to round second while Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista fumbled around with the ball on the warning track. 3B Coach Daniel Cora would wave Pedroia home for an inside-the-park HR, and it would be a close play at the plate. John Farrell thought he was safe, but the ump didn't agree and called Pedroia out. Farrell made his way to the plate for a frank discussion, and a few minutes of shouting and choice words later he was thrown out. The worst part is, if Pedroia had stayed at 3B he would have joined Mike Napoli and made Will Middlebrooks' 2R-HR a three-run shot, but they would have to live with a 3-0 lead instead.
Lester is having a legendary contract year
As it turned out Boston wouldn't need that extra run, after trading off single-run innings in the 7th (Mujica allowed a runner credited to Lester) the game ended quietly 4-1. Lester would have 4BB, an alarming trend to his 2014 season, but balance it out with 11K. Lester's LOB% is supported by his strike out totals, which are freakish considering his career average. Lester is currently on pace for almost 300K's, something nobody would have predicted before the season.
| Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays | ||||||||||||
| Jul 23, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (61-40) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Toronto (52-50) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| W: Lester (11-2) L: Morrow (7-11) S: Uehara (36) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - Everyone is rested up and Lester started off the 2nd half of the season for Boston against the Royals. James Shields would take the mound for Kansas City and hope to quiet one of the best offenses in baseball, and the second best team (by record) in the majors. The Red Sox would come in with a 7.0 game lead in the AL West, but the Los Angeles Dodgers would boast a 63-34 record.
| MLB Standings - Updated: Jul 18, 2014 | |||
| AL EAST | W | L | GB |
| Boston | 59 | 36 | - |
| Baltimore | 52 | 43 | 7.0 |
| Tampa Bay | 52 | 45 | 8.0 |
| NY Yankees | 49 | 46 | 10.0 |
| Toronto | 49 | 47 | 10.5 |
The Red Sox must have been partying too much during their break, aside from Lester and Uehara, and this game just came apart at the seams. Thing started well when Bogaerts and Pedroia hit solo-HR's over the Green Monster on the third pitch of their at bats. Boston carried a 2-0 lead into the 4th until Norichika Aoki, a complete nightmare for Lester all day, hit a single that turned into a 2RBI double thanks to some terrible defending. Bradley Jr. and Sizemore combined for a defensive effort that belonged in an episode of the Three Stooges.
Boston came back in the 6th, with a wicked combination of hitting that would send Shields to the bench. Pedroia doubled, then Ortiz went away from the shift to hit a single to LF, then Napoli walked, then Victorino hit an RBI single to score Pedroia, and then Pierzynski capped it off with a sac-fly to score Ortiz. Things were looking up until the 8th when Tazawa came in for Mujica, and the stooges returned. This time it was Mike Moustakas causing hell, driving in Aoki and Butler on a defensive effort fit for the Bad News Bears. With the game tied 4-4 Craig Breslow completely fell apart, facing the entire Royals order and giving Aoki and Moustakas their 3rd RBI of the day. Boston couldn't recover against Greg Holland and dropped the game.
| Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jul 18, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City (45-51) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| Boston (59-37) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| W: Herrera (2-2) L: Breslow (2-2) S: Holland (23) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
| MLB League Leaders - Updated: Jul 14, 2014 | |||||
| AL BATTING AVERAGE | BA | NL BATTING AVERAGE | BA | ||
 | 1. Joe Mauer (MIN) | .318 |  | 1. Didi Gregorious (ARI) | .323 |
| 2. Josh Hamilton (LAA) | .317 | 2. Yonder Alonso (SD) | .320 | ||
| 3. Carlos Beltran (NYY) | .317 | 3. Yasiel Puig (LAD) | .302 | ||
| 4. Chris Davis (BAL) | .317 | 4. Bryce Harper (WSH) | .302 | ||
| 5. Austin Jackson (DET) | .316 | 5. Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) | .301 | ||
| AL HOME RUNS | HR | NL HOME RUNS | HR | ||
 | 1. Prince Fielder (TEX) | 29 |  | 1. Ryan Howard (PHI) | 29 |
| 2. Chris Davis (BAL) | 27 | 2. Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) | 27 | ||
| 3. Mark Teixiera (NYY) | 25 | 3. Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) | 25 | ||
| 4. Mike Napoli (BOS) | 24 | 4. Mark Trumbo (ARI) | 23 | ||
| 5. Miguel Cabrera (DET) | 23 | 5. Jay Bruce (CIN) | 22 | ||
| AL RUNS BATTED IN | RBI | NL RUNS BATTED IN | RBI | ||
 | 1. Chris Davis (BAL) | 88 | | 1. Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) | 71 |
| 2. Mark Teixiera (NYY) | 82 | 2. Mark Trumbo (ARI) | 68 | ||
| 3. Prince Fielder (TEX) | 76 | 3. Yasiel Puig (LAD) | 68 | ||
| 4. Victor Martinez (DET) | 73 | 4. Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) | 66 | ||
| 5. Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) | 72 | 5. Justin Upton (ATL) | 62 | ||
| MLB League Leaders - Updated: Jul 14, 2014 | |||||
| AL WINS | W | NL WINS | W | ||
 | 1. Jeremy Hellickson (TB) | 14 |  | 1. Madison Bumgarner (SF) | 12 |
| 2. Max Scherzer (DET) | 11 | 2. Stephen Strasburg (WSH) | 12 | ||
| 3. Felix Hernandez (SEA) | 11 | 3. Patrick Corbin (ARI) | 11 | ||
| 4. Miguel Gonzalez (BAL) | 10 | 4. Matt Cain (SF) | 10 | ||
| 5. Jon Lester (BOS) | 10 | 5. Cliff Lee (PHI) | 10 | ||
| AL EARNED RUN AVERAGE | ERA | NL EARNED RUN AVERAGE | ERA | ||
 | 1. Jon Lester (BOS) | 1.96 | | 1. Madison Bumgarner (SF) | 1.76 |
| 2. Yu Darvish (TEX) | 2.15 | 2. Clayton Kershaw (LAD) | 2.35 | ||
| 3. Hisashi Iwakuma (SEA) | 2.39 | 3. Jordan Zimmerman (WSH) | 2.55 | ||
| 4. Max Scherzer (DET) | 2.40 | 4. Stephen Strasburg (WSH) | 2.62 | ||
| 5. A.J. Griffin (OAK) | 2.50 | 5. Ervin Santana | 2.62 | ||
| AL STRIKEOUTS | SO | NL STRIKEOUTS | SO | ||
| 1. Jon Lester (BOS) | 175 |  | 1. Clayton Kershaw (LAD) | 142 |
| 2. Yu Darvish (TEX) | 165 | 2. Stephen Strasburg (WSH) | 139 | ||
| 3. Max Scherzer (DET) | 148 | 3. Jose Fernandez (MIA) | 131 | ||
| 4. Steve Johnson (BAL) | 147 | 4. Gio Gonzalez (WSH) | 125 | ||
| 5. Marcus Stroman (TOR) | 128 | 5. Cliff Lee (PHI) | 117 | ||
| AL SAVES | SV | NL SAVES | SV | ||
 | 1. Fernando Rodney (SEA) | 39 |  | 1. Craig Kimbrel (ATL) | 34 |
| 2. Koji Uehara (BOS) | 35 | 2. Kenley Jansen (LAD) | 31 | ||
| 3. Neftali Feliz (TEX) | 28 | 3. Sergio Romo (SF) | 28 | ||
| 4. Ernesto Frieri (LAA) | 27 | 4. LaTroy Hawkins (COL) | 27 | ||
| 5. Matt Lindstrom (CWS) | 26 | 5. Trevor Rosenthal (STL) | 26 | ||
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - The 2014 All-Star game is a bit of a downer for Boston fans as Jon Lester and Koji Uehara are the only Red Sox in attendance, not counting manager John Farrell of course. Lester is the only Boston player, aside from Mike Napoli (4th in HRs in the AL), to make the Top 5 in any of the statistical leader boards. Thanks to his stellar start to the season, Jon Lester has been given the honor of starting the game for the AL.
Despite being spotted a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 1st, Jon Lester had a terrible All-Star game. Lester was hammered, giving up 4R (3ER) over 3.0IP with no strike outs. Hopefully this wouldn't tank the rest of his season, only time will tell.
The All-Star MVP was the Cardinals' super-rookie Oscar Taveras who went 3-5 with a HR.
| National All-Stars at American All-Stars | ||||||||||||
| Jul 14, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| National League | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0 |
| American League | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 1 |
| W: Strasburg (1-0) L: Iwakuma (0-1) S: Kimbrel (1) | ||||||||||||
| 2014 MLB All-Star Game Rosters | |||
| American League | National League | ||
| Manager: John Farrell (BOS) | Manager: Mike Matheny (STL) | ||
| Pos | Starters | Pos | Starters |
| C | Perez (KC) | C | Ramos (WSH) |
| 1B | Fielder (TEX) | 1B | Goldschmidt (ARI) |
| 2B | Cano (SEA) | 2B | Hill (ARI) |
| SS | Reyes (TOR) | SS | Tulowitzki (COL) |
| 3B | Longoria (TB) | 3B | Ramirez (LAD) |
| LF | Choo (TEX) | LF | Puig (LAD) |
| CF | Trout (LAA) | CF | McCutchen (PIT) |
| RF | Beltran (NYY) | RF | Taveras (STL) |
| DH | Donaldson (OAK) | DH | Stanton (MIA) |
| Pos | Pitchers & Reserves | Pos | Pitchers & Reserves |
| SP | Lester (BOS) | SP | Bumgarner (SF) |
| SP | Iwakuma (SEA) | SP | Cain (SF) |
| SP | Hellickson (TB) | SP | Lee (PHI) |
| SP | Darvish (TEX) | SP | Kershaw (LAD) |
| SP | Scheppers (TEX) | SP | Starsburg (WSH) |
| RP | Loup (TOR) | RP | LeCure (CIN) |
| RP | Lindstrom (CWS) | RP | Rodriguez (MIL) |
| RP | Uehara (BOS) | RP | Soriano (WSH) |
| RP | Rodney (SEA) | RP | Street (SD) |
| RP | Frieri (LAA) | RP | Romo (SF) |
| RP | Janssen (TOR) | RP | Jansen (LAD) |
| RP | Holland (KC) | RP | Kimbrel (ATL) |
| C | Wieters (BAL) | C | Lucroy (MIL) |
| C | Gomes (CLE) | C | Rosario (COL) |
| 1B | Mauer (MIN) | 1B | Rizzo (CHC) |
| 1B | Davis (BAL) | 1B | Alonso (SD) |
| 2B | Altuve (HOU) | 1B | Votto (CIN) |
| SS | Ramirez (CWS) | 2B | Murphy (NYM) |
| 3B | Cabrera (DET) | 3B | Headley (SD) |
| OF | Bautista (TOR) | 3B | Dobbs (WSH) |
| OF | Jones (BAL) | OF | Gonzalez (COL) |
| OF | Myers (TB) | OF | J.Upton (ATL) |
| OF | Aoki (KC) | OF | Trumbo (ARI) |
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTOM, MA - Lester's final start before the All-Star break would be at home against the floudering White Sox. The last time Lester pitched against Chicago he had to face Chris Sale, but this time the White Sox send John Danks to the mound. A solid performance and a win today would put Lester, a sure-fire All-Star, in a position to start the Midsummer Classic.
John Danks pitched much better than expected, considering that Chicago has one of the worst ranked pitching staffs in baseball, but he fell behind quickly on a solo-HR to deep center by Victorino. Napoli made it 2-0 in the 4th with a huge solo-HR that landed on Lansdowne Street.
Napoli's HR might still be going
The rest of the game was basically Lester dominating the White Sox and nothing of note happened until the 8th inning. Mujica made the game exciting after walking Gordon Beckham and giving up a hit to Paul Konerko that bounced off the Green Monster and eluded Grady Sizemore, allowing Beckham to score from 1st. Despite making it 2-1, Mujica finished off the 8th and Uehara did his thing in the 9th to end it.
| Chicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jul 9, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Chicago (36-57) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Boston (57-34) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Lester (10-2) L: Danks (6-5) S: Uehara (33) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox jump back into the AL East, this time Jon Lester has the pleasure of going against the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles have faded a bit in the division hunt, but they are an impressive 27-14 in road games and a so-so 21-23 at home. Miguel Gonzalez would go up against Lester again, a match up that didn't end well for him on opening day.
Almost from the first pitch this game turned into a battle of pitching and defense. Both starters managed to get themselves out of some very tight jams that could have decided the game. In the 4th Xander Bogaerts bobbled a ground ball and couldn't make a throw to 1st, then Lester walked Adam Jones to put two men on with a single out. Lester struck out Chris Davis and then got lucky when Nelson Cruz's shot to RF fell just short of the fence into Victorino's glove. Gonzalez returned the favor in the 5th by giving up a double to Pierzynski, then walking Jackie Bradley Jr. to end up in the same two-on-one-out scenario. The top of the order came around and Bogaerts struck out followed by Pedroia grounding out to Jonathan Schoop.
Machado's steal puts Lester under pressure
Lester faced one final test before ending his day after 8IP. Lester, clearly out of gas, put JJ Hardy on 1st and then allowed Alexi Casilla (pinch running for Hardy) to steal 2nd. A walk to Wieters and Lester found himself in a familiar position, but Nick Markakis grounded to Pedroia who managed to turn the double play and rescue Boston. Tazawa came in for the 9th and shut out Baltimore with 2Ks, and then Darren O'Day came in for Gonzalez to try and take the game into extra innings. Shane Victorino had other ideas and knocked a walk-off HR just over the Green Monster to give Boston the win.
| Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jul 4, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Baltimore (48-38) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Boston (53-33) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Tazawa (4-1) L: O'Day (0-3) | ||||||||||||
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
With three months gone the Red Sox are starting to get a better picture of their farm system. It's hard to tell if anyone is going to be called up long term, aside from Archer if he recovers, but it appears that everyone is basically what scouts thought they were.
Player (Prospect Grade - John Sickels, Current Level)
RHP, Chris Archer (Grade : B+ / 2013, AAA Pawtucket)
Technically not a "prospect" anymore, but he's been sent down. No surprise that he's good, but 2014 has not been good to him. Was slated to start a few games and tweak his delivery, but shoulder soreness has limited him to a few innings. Perhaps the shoulder is what caused his rocky start to the season, but he's going to get some rest and have to prove he is ready to head back to the majors.
3B, Garin Cecchini (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Cecchini had a very good month and is now hitting .284 on the season with 16SB. Continues to flash the leather like a major leaguer, if Middlebrooks wasn't crushing HR's we would probably have a better chance of seeing Garin in the bigs.
LHP, Henry Owens (Grade : B+, AA Portland)
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SS, Chris Owings (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Owings joins the Paw Sox from AAA Reno (Diamondbacks), and boy does he make things hard for Betts and Cecchini. Owings was the PCL MVP in 2013, and he continues to look like it at the plate. He will probably struggle to hit .300 at the next level, and his plate discipline needs some work, but a 15-15 middle infielder with good defense is a real weapon. Currently hitting .280 with 3HR and 27RBI.
RHP, Anthony Ranaudo (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Much like Owens, continues to strike guys out with unimpressive numbers. 4-6 with a 4.65ERA isn't going to wow anyone, but 97K in 112.1IP is going to make people feel better about him.
2B/OF, Mookie Betts (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Has played more OF than 2B now that Owings is playing SS. Hitting .275 on the season with 6HR and 38RBI hitting 6th for the Paw Sox. Playing OF is probably better for him going forward, not much organizational depth and Boston only has two OF's on the payroll for 2015 (Victorino & Bradley Jr.) and one in 2016.
C, Blake Swihart (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Didn't skip a beat after being promoted to the Paw Sox. Hitting .271 with 3HR and 8RBI since being called up. Has continued to defend well, and is showing improvement as a game manager. Boston is being very aggressive with him and most scouts think he could be up in the majors as soon as 2015.
RHP, Allen Webster (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
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Webster continues to have a rough season, still sitting above a 6.00ERA with an an unimpressive K/9. Coaches are trying to work on him, but if he continues to pitch poorly he may be demoted or offered up in trade talks. A number of teams would like a high-upside prospect like Webster.
RHP, Matt Barnes (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Still looking like the Pawtucket ace, has the best numbers of anyone right now. 3-3 with a 3.18ERA (leads Paw Sox starters) and 95K in 119.0IP is very good. Could do alot to improve his WHIP, still walking guys more than coaches would like. Still on pace for a late-2014 / early-2015 spot in the bullpen.
LHP, Trey Ball (Grade : B-, AA Portland)
Good win-loss record (7-4) and disappointing numbers (4.53ERA, 1.58WHIP) are marring his season. At this rate he will spend 2015 in AA instead of being promoted.
Players Making Noise
RHP, Brandon Workman (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Continues to pitch well in the rotation, and with Andrew Miller out with an injury the Red Sox will be very tempted to call him up. Starting to lean more on his four-seam / change-up / cutter arsenal and getting people out more effectively. His knucklecurve has been a mess, but it looks like he won't be needing it at this rate.
LHP, Drake Britton (Grade : C+, AAA Pawtucket)
Pitching well, and much like Workman the injury to Miller makes him tempting. Replacing the injured lefty seems to make sense, but the acquisition of Chris Archer means Britton will be stuck behind Doubront and Lackey in the pen.
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BRONX, NY - Another trip to the Bronx, another tough start for Jon Lester. Boston is 8-2 in their last 10 games and now holds a 3.5 game lead in the AL East with Tampa Bay right behind them. The Yankees are also on a hot streak, and they would like nothing more than knocking the Red Sox down a peg or two. Ivan Nova, who has been up and down for a few seasons now, would go up against the red hot Jon Lester.
The Red Sox would be the first to get on the board after a solid two inning of scoreless baseball from both Nova and Lester. Nova cracked first, putting Jackie Bradley on in the 3rd and giving up a 2R-HR to Xander Bogaerts with 2 outs. The Yankees wouldn't take a two run deficit laying down, and Jon Lester wasn't finding his spots. After two consecutive walks Brett Gardner hammered a 2RBI double to even the score, and then Carlos Beltran drove him in from second after Sizemore misplayed the ball in LF.
The two teams traded scoreless frames in the 4th, and then all hell broke loose for Nova. With Sizemore on 1st Xander Bogaerts hit a line drive double that would score Sizemore and even the score. A clearly rattled Nova then hung a change-up over the plate and Pedrioa crushed it over the fence in LF to make it 5-0. Nova would finish the inning, but he wouldn't come out for the 6th. Mike Napoli would pour it on with a 2RBI single in the 7th to cap off another 3R inning. Middlebrooks would finish off the game with a solo-HR in the 9th to cap a 10-3 victory that features some questionable fielding by the Yankees. Derek Jeter was the goat of this loss with two errors and a foul 0/4 3K performance at the plate.
| Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees | ||||||||||||
| Jun 28, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (50-31) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 0 |
| New York (43-37) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| W: Lester (9-2) L: Nova (3-2) | ||||||||||||
Monday, June 2, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
OAKLAND, CA - The Red Sox hit the road today with a target on their backs. Boston comes into Oakland, and AL West contender currently struggling, sitting atop the AL East by 2.5 games and leading the majors in HR and RA. They are #2 in RBI and team ERA, so things are going much better than expected. Jon Lester would start today and face off against uber-stud wunderkind Sonny Gray.
Gray's day did not start well
If it wasn't for the 1st inning the legend of Sonny Gray would have continued to grow, but he stumbled out of the gate. It only took four pitches for Xander Bogaerts to hammer a HR to deep CF. Two batters later Mike Napoli planted a HR in the concrete steps beyond the LF wall, and suddenly Boston was up 2-0.
Unfortunately for Oakland, and to a much lesser degree Boston, that was it. Lester and Gray completely dominated the game, with Lester allowing a single hit, one BB with 11K over 8.0IP. Sam Fuld was the only A's player to get a hit, both of them, and Oakland was completely shut out. Uehara came in and just continued what Lester started to give Boston their 47th win of the season.
| Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics | ||||||||||||
| Jun 22, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (47-29) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Oakland (33-43) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| W: Lester (7-2) L: Gray (5-8) S: Uehara (25) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox continue their home stand, taking Cleveland 3-1 and losing their first game against Minnesota, and look to keep a hold on 1st in the AL East. Jon Lester took the mound today, looking to keep his streak of great starts going, and the Twins would lean on Scott Diamond to win back-to-back games and get closer to .500. Xander Bogaerts and Grady Sizemore would sit in favor of Johnathan Herrera and Jonny Gomes.
The Twins came out swinging right from the start, but Boston used a little defensive guile to escape an early attack. Brian Dozier reached 1st, and attempted to steal 2B on a Mauer strike out, but was thrown out in a close one to end the inning. Ron Gardenhire came out to voice his displeasure, and things escalated until he was thrown out. The Twins didn't back down after that, and took advantage of a few defensive miscues to take the lead in the 3rd. With a man on 1st Brian Dozier hit a single that Gomes misplayed and turned into an RBI double. Then, with one out and Dozier now at 3rd, Mauer hit a shallow sac fly to 3B that was caught by Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks didn't notice Dozier going home and threw the ball to 1B for some reason, allowing Dozier to score and give Minnesota a 2-0 lead.
Dozier is called out at 2nd
No doubt Middlebrooks and Gomes were feeling stupid after that inning, but they combined to bring to score to 2-1. Middlebrooks would hit a deep ball to CF which would bounce around by the garage door at the deepest part of the park and turn into a triple. Gomes would follow that up with an RBI sac fly to deep CF to bring Middlebrooks in from 3B.
Scott Diamond was absolutely on fire through 6IP, aside from the Middlebrooks-Gomes series, and only allowed 3H with 8K. Diamond stepped out in the 7th and Matt Guerrier promptly gathered his 2nd blown save opportunity of the year. With the score now tied the Twins put in Casey Fien to finish it out, and he pitched very well, carrying the game into the 9th. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Will Middlebrooks made his way back to the plate. Fien tried to sneak a fastball high and inside, but instead wound up losing the game on a walk-off home run that looked like it flew over Lansdowne and landed on the Massachusetts Turpike.
| Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jun 17, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Minnesota (31-29) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Boston (42-29) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Tazawa (2-1) L: Fien (0-2) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, June 1, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - Boston completed their third trade of the season to bring 2B/SS Chris Owings to AAA Pawtucket. The Red Sox sent C Christian Vasques (AAA Pawtucket) to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for the highly rated prospect.
Owings has not had a great season, but many scouts had him pegged as the Arizona starting SS in the near future. Didi Gregorious was seen as the better defender, but he was not getting it done at the plate. Owings is a much better hitter with some speed, he won't hit 20HR a year but 15 is very possible. He doesn't walk very often and needs to tweak his aggressive approach, but he could hit .275-.285 in the majors. Owings was named the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2013 after having an excellent season for AAA Reno (104R, 12HR, 81RBI, 20SB, .330BA). It's tough to say where he fits in with Pedrioa and Bogaerts blocking his positions, but at 22 there is plenty of time for him to make his way to the Majors.
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THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
CLEVELAND, OH - The Red Sox would go up against their former, and well liked, manager Terry Francona today. Francona and Farrell, both members of the 2007 World Series coaching staff, were very jovial prior to the game. The two teams are headed in opposite directions, with Cleveland well below .500, but that wouldn't mean the Indians would be rolling over.
Jon Lester was off pretty much the entire game, but the 2nd inning was clearly his worst. Lester loaded the bases and managed to get Carlos Santana to hit a weak grounder right to him, but instead of going to home plate with the ball Lester threw it to first and allowed a run to score. The error was compounded when Mike Aviles hit a sac-fly and drove in another run to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead.
Boston recovered, and Lester pitched well over the next 6 innings. He wasn't as sharp as he has been, allowing 4BB and only 5K, but he didn't let the game get out of hand. Wandy Rodriguez was Cleveland's star, allowing 8H and striking out 6 over 6.1IP. Rodriguez could not handle Will Middlebrooks though, who hit two solo-HR in the 3rd and 6th to tie the game up. The Red Sox finally made up for the 2nd inning blunder in the 7th, getting Santiago Casilla in for Rodriguez, with two outs Mike Napoli would drive in Jackie Bradley Jr. from second to score the go-ahead run. Tazawa would make things interesting in the 9th, allowing two hits without getting a single out, but Uehara would come in and shut Cleveland down for his 22nd save.
| Cleveland Indians at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Jun 12, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland (21-46) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Boston (39-27) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | X | 3 | 10 | 11 |
| W: Mujica (5-2) L: Casilla (2-5) S: Uehara (22) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
DETROIT, MI - Boston's second game in Detroit would be big for team momentum. The Red Sox came into the game riding an 8 game win streak, sweeping Cleveland and Tampa Bay, which included a shocking 19-0 beating of the Tigers in the series opener. Justin Verlander would take the mound to face Jon Lester, so if anyone was going to halt Boston it would be Verlander.
Things started off well for Detroit, and through the 1st inning Verlander was in Cy Young form. Verlander struck out Bogaerts, Pedroia, and Ortiz with minimal effort, but things went south very fast in the 2nd. A Napoli single was followed by two consecutive walks (Middlebrooks and Victorino) to load the bases for Grady Sizemore. Sizemore made the most of it and gave Boston as 4-0 lead with a grand slam that would ruin Verlander's day.
Sizemore's Grand Slam unsettles Verlander
Lester would give up a run in the 3rd to make it 4-1, but he would cruise through 7IP with only 2BB and 11K. If the Tigers thought Lester would be rattled after their last meeting, they were very wrong. Victor Martinez continued to be very difficult, going 2/4 with an RBI, but it wouldn't be enough. Boston scored again in the 8th, and Detroit once more in the bottom of the 9th to end the game 5-2. The win brings Boston within a single game of Baltimore atop the AL East.
| Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers | ||||||||||||
| Jun 7, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (37-24) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Detroit (34-27) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Lester (7-2) L: Verlander (4-5) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
It's June 5th, and that means time for the 2014 first year player draft. Winning the World Series doesn't help your position in the draft, but that doesn't mean Boston had problems finding some promising players. The Red Sox had the 26th slot heading into Round 1, and the 29th pick through Round 5. Thanks to the Yankees (Jacoby Ellsbury) and Tigers (Stephen Drew) the Red Sox would get two additional picks during Compensation Round A (#32 and 33).
The Red Sox do not have any glaring holes at the moment, especially when it comes to pitching, but they are a bit thin on organizational depth at C, 1B, 3B, and OF. They should be set in the near future at C and 3B, especially if Blake Swihart (AA Portland) and Garin Cecchini (AAA Pawtucket) continue to improve. The Red Sox would go into this draft with their eye on a few OF prospects, but things didn't work out as they had hoped.
| MLB Draft 2014 | |||||
| Pick | Team | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt |
| 26 | Red Sox | Leonys Bravo | RHP | 6'-3" | 175 |
| 32 | Red Sox | Braxton Davis | LHP | 6'-3" | 180 |
| 33 | Red Sox | Roddy Gibson | RHP | 6'-4" | 180 |
| 61 | Red Sox | Pedro Santana | SS | 6'-0" | 165 |
| 93 | Red Sox | Issac Koufax | 1B | 6'-2" | 200 |
| 123 | Red Sox | Rico Berroa | 3B | 5'-8" | 150 |
| 153 | Red Sox | Adam Castro | RHP | 6'-6" | 180 |
1 (26) : RHP Leonys Bravo - 18 (San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic)
Unfortunately for Boston the best available players did not meet their current organizational needs, but you can never have enough pitching and it was hard for management to pass on a high-upside arm who slipped in the draft. Bravo was one of the hardest throwing prospects this year, sitting in the upper 90's with a plus four-seam fastball with some movement. His command could use some work, but most scouts feel his fastball could grade out as an 80 with some work. He doesn't have a dependable secondary offering at the moment, getting by mostly by overpowering hitters, but if he could develop a changeup or slider in the next few years he could be a good 3rd starter or set-up man / closer.
CA (32) : LHP Braxton Davis - 22 (University of Louisville, KY)
Boston's first, and only, college pick for the 2014 season. Davis has a nice profile, lefty with good-not-great mechanics and delivery, with mostly above average stuff. Very good with the glove, has a plus fastball that he can throw for strikes and a decent change and cutter that are hit or miss. Good extreme ground ball college pitcher that has shown durability and sustained success throughout his time at UL, mostly likely he will find himself in AA or AAA by the end of next season and make his way to the bullpen at the very least. High-floor low-ceiling type player with immediate impact.
CA (33) : RHP Roddy Gibson - 18 (Vista Murrieta HS - Murrieta, CA)
A bit similar to Leonys Bravo, doesn't throw quite as hard but shows better command of his fastball. Lacks a dependable secondary pitch, but still managed to dominate HS hitters, comes from a well regarded program. Despite his overall numbers he could be streaky at times, looking dominant over a stretch and then looking very hittable and frustrated at times. Scouts were very split on projections, some seeing a future middle reliever while some see a future #3 starter. Fell in the draft due to signability and character concerns.
2 (61) : SS Pedro Santana - 18 (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
Another draftee out of the Dominican Republic, but without the upside of Boston's first (Bravo). Santana looks be be a plus defender, with his glove/arm grading out around 70, and showing 70-80 speed on and off the base paths. Lacks power and has the plate discipline of an 18 year old, looks his age at the plate and struggles with off speed pitches. Has an athletic frame and reminds scouts of Texas 2B Jurickson Profar, if he can improve his hitting to be league average he could be a valuable utility man with speed.
3 (93) : 1B Issac Koufax - 18 (Bosqueville HS - Waco, TX)
Raw dual-sport athlete (Football & Baseball), draws comparisons to James Loney as a high-floor low-ceiling type prospect. 6'2" 200, very strong, but doesn't show any HR power at the plate. Strength comes from being an excellent contact hitter with a line-drive swing and well above average plate discipline, makes hard contact and hits alot of doubles. Also very good defensively at 1B, unclear if he can play 3B, but having a plus defender at 1B with the potential to hit .300 isn't something to complain about. Fell in the draft due to depth and power available at 1B, if he can hit for more power after some work in the minors he could be a real steal.
4 (123) : 3B Rico Berroa - 18 (Monterrey, Mexico)
Another raw high-upside dual-sport athlete (the other football this time) with a very Rays-ish toolsy defender feel. Berroa is a plus defender with the glove and arm to man the hot corner, very speedy with 30+SB potential, but seems to profile more as an outfielder or middle infielder considering his lack of pop at the plate and diminutive size (5'8" 150). Reminds scouts of 2B Jose Altuve, currently lacks the plate discipline or pitch recognition to hit .300, projects as a utility infielder.
5 (153) : RHP Adam Castro - 18 (Acton-Boxbrough HS - Acton, MA)
Local HS pitcher joining the Red Sox growing stable of power arms. Very tall and lanky with a funky side armed delivery (Chris Sale anyone?) with serious issues finding the plate. Very sharp splits concerned scouts, as left-handed hitters killed him (hit .455) regularly, possibly ruining his long term chances at staying a starter. Despite his splits he struck out a ton of hitters with an upper 90's four seamer and a change-up that needs some serious work, but he also managed to walk almost as many as he struck out. The coaching staff will have their hands full, but Castro will have time to work on his command and add some polish to his secondary offering. His best outcome is probably a 5th starter, worst outcome he never passes AAA.
Overall Analysis
The 2014 draft class isn't bad, but it certainly failed to shore up organizational depth problems. For a team with alot of solid pitching prospects still in the minors (Owens, Ranaudo, Webster, Ball, Barnes) it's hard to understand why 4 of 7 total selections were pitchers with no OF's taken, perhaps Berroa will be moved. Aside from Braxton Davis (University of Louisville) the Red Sox went heavy on high-school talent, some with a clear path to the majors and some high-risk players that could never get out of the minors.
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