Saturday, August 16, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
Boston takes their third title in three years.
Yet another amazing season in Boston, but the front office wouldn't have much time to celebrate. Few expected the team to win it all in 2014, let alone a third time in 2015, but it looks like the painful rebuilding process is finally here. David Ortiz, who looked just about done in 2014, was able to get one more ring before riding off into the sunset and leaving a Big Papi shaped hole in Boston's heart and lineup.
Luckily for Boston there is plenty of young talent still around, Mookie Betts being named the AL Playoff MVP is evidence of that. The Red Sox are in for some growing pains, but they have three rings to help tide the fans over.
2015-2016 FREE AGENCY
Once again the Red Sox took a back seat in free agency, locking up their own players and sitting back during the big free agency process. GM Ben Cherington has been very keen on stockpiling draft picks and rebuilding the team through the farm system, and this year was no different.
2015 Qualifying Offers
Mike Napoli (Declined) - Signed $16 million / 2 Years, Pittsburgh Pirates
Clay Buchholz (Declined) - Signed $30.3 million / 3 years, San Diego Padres
Napoli, a fan favorite and World Series MVP, seriously misjudged the market. Boston's qualifying offer was for almost as much as he ended up signing for, but for one less year. Perhaps at his age he was looking for more, but few teams offered him anything more than a 2 year deal.
2015 Contract Extensions
Braden Shipley - $4 million / 5 years
2015 Free Agents
This was where Boston may have made a few mistakes in 2014, and their roster depth showed it. This year management decided to sit back and see who they could get on low-risk high-reward contracts, and it worked out perfectly. While most of the contenders fought over big names, like the Rangers landing Orioles' 1B Chris Davis for a whopping $118.55 million over 5 years, Boston quietly picked up pieces to compliment the young talent already on the roster. The other notable free agent signings were Jason Heyward (Phillies, $114.20 million over 5 years) and Matt Wieters (Astros, $39.72 million over 3 years).
Matt Adams - $3 million / 3 years
Nelson Cruz - $3.96 million / 1 year
Jake Lamb - $360,000 / 5 years
Jonathan Schoop - $3 million / 4 years
Matt Stites - $300,000 / 3 years
At first glance it seems like the Red Sox splurged, but really they managed to sign a lot of young players to very budget friendly deals. Nelson Cruz, even though he signed for nearly $4 million, was a real steal as he received very few offers. Ben Cherington showed interest on a one year deal early on, but Cruz declined while waiting for a longer deal. Nothing materialized, and the slugger found himself without a job, so the Red Sox landed someone to take the place of Ortiz in the DH spot.
Rule 5 Draft
Boston made no selections in the 2015 Rule 5 Draft.
FINANCES
Despite having one of the largest available budgets, just over $200 million, the Red Sox have really scaled back on their payroll for 2015. Their current team salary sits at $64.2 million, good enough for 26th in MLB, thanks to passing on massive contracts to older players. Dustin Pedroia continues to be the highest paid player thanks to his lengthy extension prior to the 2014 season that goes through the 2015 to 2021 season.
2015 Notable Retirements
A brutal year for Boston in the retirement department, but everyone went out winners. It was important to Boston and David Ortiz that he retire in the town where he became an elite hitter, he will always be missed by his teammates and the organization.
David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox) - 39, 19 Seasons
Koji Uehara (Boston Red Sox) - 40, 7 Seasons
Shane Victorino (Boston Red Sox) - 34, 12 Seasons
Torii Hunter (Boston Red Sox) - 39, 19 Seasons
Jonathan Papelbon (Tampa Bay Rays) - 34, 11 Seasons
Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays) - 34, 12 Seasons
Joe Nathan (Detroit Tigers) - 40, 15 Seasons
Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers ) - 36, 18 Seasons
Big Fat Bartolo Colon (NY Mets) - 42, 18 Seasons
Cliff Lee (Philidelphia Phillies) - 36, 14 Seasons
Chase Utley (Philidelphia Phillies) - 36, 13 Seasons
Friday, August 15, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA - It was do or die tonight with Boston up 3-1 and the Dodgers did the next best thing to sending Clayton Kershaw out; starting Zach Greinke. Greinke has been excellent this year and he was able to beat the Red Sox the first time around. Clay Buchholz would take the mound for Boston, his first start of the series, but with a potential home match up with Chris Archer or Shelby Miller on the horizon there wouldn't be much pressure on Buchholz.
Buchholz and Greinke proved to be on their game tonight, both inducing grounders and getting strike outs to shut out the opposing team through three innings. The Red Sox were first to score once again, this time a Mike Napoli 2R-HR after a Dustin Pedroia double put them ahead 2-0 in the 4th.
The two starters went right back to be excellent, though Buchholz had the advantage of being ahead, but Greinke was the first to leave after the 6th. Greinke had only allowed three hits, unfortunately for him one of them was a HR right after a double. Buchholz was much better, leaving after the 7th only allowing a single hit with 12 strikeouts.
The game rolled on into the 9th inning with the Dodgers looking defeated, if you couldn't see the score you would think it was a 12-0 game instead of a 2-0 one. With Red Sox fans on their feet and Dodgers fans leaving their seats Boston put the final nails in Los Angeles' coffin. Xander Bogaerts poured salt in the wound with a solo-HR, and then Joc Pederson dove for a Pedroia line drive and missed to turn it into a triple. Napoli drove in Pedroia with a hard line drive that flew right at Hanley Ramirez and right past him. Will Middlebrooks finished it off with a humiliating 2R-HR. The Dodgers had nothing left and Anthony Ranaudo closed out the game for another World Series championship.
Three in a row for the Red Sox.
| Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||
| Oct 28, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (4-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| Los Angeles (1-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| W: Buchholz (3-0) L: Greinke (2-1) S: Ranaudo (2) | ||||||||||||
Thursday, August 14, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA - After a tough loss the Dodgers find themselves at a critical juncture in the World Series. A win tonight would tie the series and give them a chance to take a 3-2 lead back to Boston, but a loss would leave them in a 3-1 hole facing two more road games to win it all. Manager Don Mattingly was well aware of his predicament and put Clayton Kershaw on the mound to staunch the bleeding, but the Red Sox countered with Shelby Miller to reduce the advantage.
Kershaw was basically himself for once to start the game, tossing two scoreless innings along with Miller until the 3rd inning. Mookie Betts broke the game open with a solo-HR, and then Boston found an opening to make things worse. Dustin Pedroia made it 2-0 with an RBI single thanks to some questionable defending by Matt Kemp. Mike Napoli followed up with a double to score Pedroia from 1st and take a 3-0 lead.
Betts' HR broke the game open.
Miller continued to roll over the Dodgers, who were not helping Kershaw at all. Poor defending by Joc Pederson allowed another run in the 4th with a Will Middlebrooks double. Kershaw came back out for the 5th, but he didn't last long. A double by Xander Bogaerts, with no outs, caused Mattingly to pull Kershaw from the game after 70 pitches. Chad Billingsly came in and did his best, but a Napoli sac fly scored Bogaerts for Kershaw's 5th run allowed.
The 6th inning became the highlight of the game, unfortunately it was the low point for Los Angeles. Betts hit an easy grounder to SS Hanley Ramirez, who tried to bare-hand the ball but bungled the play, and ended up with an RBI single. Miller came up to bat, wearing a jacket to stay warm, and put a bunt down the 3rd base line in an attempt to move Betts to 3rd after stealing second. Aramis Ramirez came charging in and tossed the ball a step too far for Adrian Gonzalez who had to leap off the bag to keep the ball from flying into the Dodgers' dugout. With only one out Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a sac fly to RF to bring in Betts. Bogaerts followed that up with his second double of the night which would, improbably, allow Miller and his warm jacket to score from 1st. Pedroia would polish off the 6th with an RBI single to score Bogaerts from 2nd.
Han-Ram's mistake started a huge rally.
Miller went back to the dugout after his 6th shutout inning with a no-hitter on the books, and the way he was pitching it looked like history was within reach. Unfortunately Yasiel Puig had other ideas and ended Miller's chances with a hard hit single in the 7th. Miller continued into the 8th when Aramis Ramirez made it to 3rd with one out, and Stephen Romero spelled Billingsly for a pinch-hit sac fly to finally put Los Angeles on the board. The Dodgers added one more in the 9th with a Gonzalez RBI double thanks to Shane Victorino not paying attention and letting Matt Kemp score from 1st.
In the end Miller went 8 strong innings with only a single BB and 13K. Giving Boston a 3-1 series lead made losing the no-hitter worth it. The Dodgers pitching has been terrible at home, and the team as a whole looks defeated.
| Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||
| Oct 27, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (3-1) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 1 |
| Los Angeles (1-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| W: Miller (2-1) L: Kershaw (3-1) | ||||||||||||
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA - With the World Series tied 1-1 the teams flew across the country, almost as far away from Boston as possible, and got ready for three games in Southern California. Thanks to a two day break and a short outing in Game 1 the Dodgers would feel Boston's 1-2 punch a little earlier than expected. Chris Archer would take the mound today on three days rest and face Ivan Nova, clearly a mismatch in favor of the Red Sox.
It didn't take long for Nova's day to go south, with Boston taking a 1-0 lead after Xander Bogaerts drove in Jackie Bradley Jr. from 2nd thanks to a single and a stolen base. Boston made it 2-0 in the 2nd with a Will Middlebrooks solo-HR and things started to slowly fall apart for Los Angeles.
Nova settled down after the 2nd, going two scoreless innings while giving up a number of hits in the process, but Boston couldn't get back on the board until the 5th. Bradley Jr. broke the mini-drought with a solo-HR to go up 3-0, but Nova once again escaped without too much damage. After pitching well, but still walking too many hitters, Archer was finally tested in the 5th. Hanley Ramirez hit an easy grounder to 3rd with Dee Gordon on 1st, but Middlebrooks rushed his throw to 1st that would have ended the inning and found the visitor's dugout fence. Ramirez was safe at first, and the speedy Gordon made it to 3rd. Archer, having issues with his slider, finally broke off a pitch that got Alex Guerrero to swing and miss for a strikeout to end the inning.
Archer and Nove left the game after 5IP, both of them throwing over 100 pitches, but Archer hadn't allowed a single hit while Nova gave up 7. Archer did strike out 8 batters, but he also walked 4 and convinced John Farrell to end his day. Boston seemed to put the game away in the 7th with a David Ortiz pinch hit solo-HR for a 4-0 lead, and then the excitement shifted to the possibility of a combined no-hitter.
Ortiz's HR sealed it for the Red Sox.
Boston cruised through the 8th, nearly making it 5-0 when Dustin Pedroia tried to go 1st-to-Home on a Mike Napoli double, but Joc Pederson gunned him down at the plate. Things got really interesting in the 9th with Edward Mujica in to close the game. Archer, Anthony Ranaudo, Drake Britton, and Rubby De La Rosa had combined for a no-hitter through 8, and with two outs it was up to Mujica to finish it off. Unfortunately for Mujica, Pederson blooped a single to RF and ended the no-no, but he still closed out the game for a 2-1 series lead.
| Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||
| Oct 26, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (2-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| Los Angeles (1-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| W: Archer (2-1) L: Nova (1-1) | ||||||||||||
Friday, August 8, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTONA, MA - The Red Sox, riding high off a home win, would start the game tonight looking to put the Dodgers in a 2-0 hole. Unfortunately for Boston they would have to go through Zach Greinke, and Shelby Miller would get the nod to start Game 2. Miller has been excellent this year, finishing the season 15-8 with a 2.35ERA a tick lower than Chris Archer (2.36), and most expected him to handle the Dodgers.
The game was very defensive right from the start, with both teams scooping up grounders and making easy throws for outs. Boston scored first in the 2nd, grinding out a 1-0 on a Shane Victorino sac fly after a Napoli triple. They made it 2-0 in the 3rd thanks to a Jackie Bradley Jr. RBI single that was ruled a fielder's choice.
Miller looked to be cruising through the lineup with a start fitting of Archer, striking out 6 after only three innings. Alex Guerrero finally broke the shut out for Los Angeles with a solo-HR in the 4th, but Miller got through the inning with two more strikeouts. The HR must have rattled Miller, despite getting out of the 4th, because he melted down on the 5th. Brian McCann reached 3rd and Guerrero evened the score with a 6-3 ground out that brought in McCann. With Dee Gordon now on 2nd, Yasiel Puig drove him in with an RBI single. Swihart nearly tagged him out, but Gordon was too quick.
Miller went 6 innings, striking out 12, but Greinke and the rest of LA's pitcher were better. The Red Sox regained their early season form and just couldn't get anything going offensively. Kenley Jansen came in for the 9th and struck out the side to even the series 1-1.
| Los Angeles Dodgers at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Oct 24, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles (1-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Boston (1-1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| W: Greinke (2-0) L: Miller (1-1) S: Jansen (3) | ||||||||||||
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - For the third year in a row the Red Sox have made it to the World Series, and for the second year in a row they will face the Dodgers. This time, thanks to the All-Star Game, Boston has home-field advantage. The Tigers put up a fight in Game 1 of the ALCS, but fell 4-1 to send Boston through. The Dodgers, as expected, beat up the Reds for a 4-0 sweep and a chance at revenge. Game 1 would be an exciting matchup between the best pitchers in baseball; Chris Archer and Clayton Kershaw.
The game would start out as expected, with Archer and Kershaw shutting down the offenses, but things would get interesting thanks to some rookie jitters. The Dodgers scored first in the top pf the 3rd when Mookie Betts was lazy to a fly ball from Dee Gordon and let it drop, which wouldn't have been all that bad but he took his time throwing the ball in and Gordon sped around the bases for an inside-the-park HR. Not to be outdone, the Red Sox got to Kershaw and put two on for a Xander Bogaerts 2RBI double and a 2-1 lead.
The Dodgers pulled even in the 5th after more help from Betts who dropped three fly balls by this point in the game. With Gordon on 3rd a wild pitch got away from Blake Swihart and he managed to score easily. Despite having a decent day Archer took a seat after 6IP, the Dodgers were doing everything they could to drive up his pitch count and it worked. Kershaw came out for the 7th but didn't last long, leaving the game after a Jackie Bradley Jr. RBI scored Betts from 3rd.
The game rolled on at 3-2 until Koji Uehara came in for the 9th, but his splitter wasn't splitting. Aramis Ramirez caught a splitter that hung over the middle of the plate and tied the game with a solo-HR. The game moved into the 11th with Rubby De La Rosa on the mound, but Mike Napoli ended the game with style. Napoli took Brian Wilson deep for a walk-off solo-HR and an opening game victory.
Napoli's walk-off put Boston up 1-0.
| Los Angeles Dodgers at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Oct 23, 2015 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles (0-1) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| Boston (1-0) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 |
| W: De La Rosa (2-0) L: Wilson (0-1) | ||||||||||||
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - After sweeping the Rangers the Red Sox only needed to wait for the Detroit Tigers to do the same to the Oakland A's, setting up a meeting with Jon Lester and his new team. In the NL the Dodgers would beat Arizona 3-1, and the Reds would take down the Braves 3-1. Chris Archer and Justin Verlander would start for the ALCS opener, and Verlander would hope to get revenge for the 7-1 drubbing handed out by Boston earlier in the season.
Thing went well for both aces to start the game, but Verlander blinked first by giving up a solo-HR to Mike Napoli in the 2nd inning. The teams traded off scoreless 3rd innings, and then Detroit struck back in the 4th. Allen Craig pulled Detroit even with an RBI ground-rule double, and then David Wright drove him in with a double off the Green Monster. Anthony Rendon topped off the 3R inning with a single that brought Wright in from 2nd.
Miggy's slam puts Detroit ahead for good.
The teams traded another scoreless inning before Napoli struck again with an RBI single that scored Xander Bogaerts from 2nd after a ground-rule double of his own. Down 3-2 Archer took a seat after the 7th inning and Anthony Ranaudo took over, but he wouldn't be able to hold the potent Tigers offense back. Miguel Cabrera pushed the score to 5-2 with a 2R-HR before Ranaudo could get out of the inning. Bogaerts answered back with a solo-HR in the bottom of the inning that sent Verlander packing, but the Red Sox offense couldn't get any more. Sergio Romo came in for the 9th and used three straight strikeouts to give Detroit a 1-0 lead in the series.
| Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Oct 12, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Detroit (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Boston (0-1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Verlander (1-0) L: Archer (1-1) S: Romo (2) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The ALDS opened today with an Opening Day rematch between the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. It would also be a rematch for Chris Archer and Yu Darvish, but this time Archer would be able to rely on a little more offense. While Boston would come into this game as considerable favorites, their early season struggles are a reminder that they might just be riding an incredible hot streak.
Darvish and Archer traded off scoreless innings until Mookie Betts broke the deadlock in the bottom of the 3rd. A simple sac fly brought in Will Middlebrooks after a triple for a 1-0 lead. Texas came right back in the next inning with a Shin-Soo Choo 3R-HR thanks to a high and tight fastball from Archer. Texas enjoyed a 3-1 lead until the 5th when the Red Sox pulled ahead again. Jackie Bradley Jr. used a single to drive in Betts from 2nd, and then Xander Bogaerts knocked a 2R-HR for a 4-3 lead.
Darvish wasn't nearly as sharp as on Opening Day.
The game was tight until Boston widened the lead in the 6th inning with an extended rally, but Texas managed to keep the damage to a minimum. After Darvish was pulled for putting a man on 2nd and 3rd Alexi Ogando intentionally walked Middlebrooks to face Betts. Betts took advantage and hit a 2RBI single to put Boston up 6-3. With David Ortiz coming up Betts stole 2nd to avoid the double play, and Ogando was forced to intentionally walk Ortiz to face Bradley Jr. Ogando got lucky this time with Bradley Jr. and Bogaerts popping out to end the inning.
The game rolled on with Texas failing to pose much of a threat and Archer took a seat after the 7th inning having allowed only 2H with 12K. Braden Shipley came in and shut Texas down for the 8th, just before Boston blew them away to seal the victory. Middlebrooks started the rout with a 2R-HR, then Bogaerts with an RBI single, then a Dustin Pedroia sac fly, and finally a Napoli RBI double off the Green Monster. 5 runs later it was 11-3 and Texas was toast.
| Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Oct 5, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Texas (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Boston (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | X | 11 | 16 | 0 |
| W: Archer (1-0) L: Darvish (0-1) S: Shipley (1) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, August 3, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The regular season is over, and the Red Sox get a little break to bask in the glory of a great season. Thanks to victories in their final two games the Red Sox were able to secure the 4th 100-win season in team history, and the best record in baseball.
Chris Archer, making Red Sox fans forget about Jon lester one start at a time.
Chris Archer becomes the 10th pitcher to win the MVP and Cy Young in the same season, putting Jon Lester's 2014 season to shame. It's hard to believe how many batter Archer managed to strike out, and it's even harder to think his season could have been even better if he didn't lead the majors in walked batters. The Red Sox were also able to enjoy a few more awards this season, hopefully a sign of things to come.
| 2015 MLB Award Winners | |||
| Award | Player | Pos | Team |
| AL Most Valuable Player | Chris Archer | SP | Boston |
| AL Cy Young Award | Chris Archer | SP | Boston |
| AL Rookie of the Year | Blake Swihart | C | Boston |
| AL Hank Aaron Award | Evan Longoria | 3B | Tampa Bay |
| NL Most Valuable Player | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | Arizona |
| NL Cy Young Award | Alex Wood | SP | Atlanta |
| NL Rookie of the Year | Matt Wisler | SP | San Diego |
| NL Hank Aaron Award | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | Arizona |
| NL Rolaids Relief Award | Kevin Quackenbush | RP | San Diego |
Xander Bogaerts, Blake Swihart, and David Ortiz also went home with Silver Slugger awards after incredible seasons. Bogaerts was the only Red Sox player to recieve a Golden Glove award as well.
2015 AL EAST FINAL STANDINGS
The Red Sox captured the best record in baseball thanks to a stunning turnaround in offense. It was so stunning that after being one of the worst offenses in baseball they finished #1 in Runs Scored, Homeruns, Slugging %, and Total Bases. They also finish #2 in Batting Average and Hits. The part that wasn't surprising is how Boston fared on defense, mostly thanks to their pitching staff. The team finished #1 in Runs Allowed, ERA, Shut Outs, Hits Allowed, and Strike Outs with a #2 mark in Errors and Fielding Percentage.
| MLB Standings - Updated: Oct 1, 2015 | |||
| AL EAST | W | L | GB |
| Boston | 100 | 62 | - |
| Tampa Bay | 88 | 74 | 12 |
| Toronto | 84 | 78 | 16 |
| Baltimore | 83 | 79 | 17 |
| NY Yankees | 66 | 96 | 34 |
2015 LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES MATCH UPS
The two best divisions in the AL, the East and the West, sent two teams to the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Rays went up against the Texas Rangers for the Wild Card spot and the Yu Darvish led Rangers defeated David Price in a 3-2 game.
The NL, once again, supplanted the AL in terms of drama. Atlanta easily won their division with a 93-69 record, but they would have finished fourth if they were a part of the NL West. The NL West featured three 90+ win teams, sending all of them to the playoffs, and of all the things to have happen the Dodgers (97-65) and Diamondbacks (97-65) had to have a one-game playoff to determine who would be #1. The Dodgers would win and take the NL West for the third year in a row. If that wasn't weird enough the Pirates and Reds would also duke it out to determine the division champ with the Red coming out on top. Despite losing to the Dodgers the Diamondbacks would turn things around behind Patrick Corbin to defeat Cory Luebke and the San Diego Padres 4-2 for the Wild Card spot.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1 - Boston Red Sox (100-62)
2 - Oakland Athletics (91-71)
3 - Detroit Tigers (83-79)
WC - Texas Rangers (88-74)
The AL is probably the weaker league, but if Boston or Oakland can make it to the World Series they will have home field advantage behind them.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1 - Los Angeles Dodgers (98-65)
2 - Atlanta Braves (93-69)
3 - Cincinnati Reds (83-80)
WC - Arizona Diamondbacks (97-66)
The Dodgers face the Diamondbacks for the second time with most picking the winner of their series to advance to the World Series. Most feel the Dodgers are still the best team in baseball despite not having the best record, but the Diamondbacks could easily go all the way if they beat LA.
Friday, August 1, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BALTIMORE, MD - The Red Sox hit the road to finish the season against division foe Baltimore, and one team would not be happy with the results. Boston came into this game after a disastrous 1-6 stretch leaving them only two games away from 100 wins. The Orioles were probably looking forward to facing a team that has little to play for, but a hot streak by the Blue Jays has them at 4th in the AL East. Jered Weaver would start the game opposite Chris Archer, but only one of them would see the 4th inning.
Both aces swapped scoreless innings to start the game, but then Weaver had one of the worst innings of his life. Blake Swihart, still building his AL ROY resume, hit a 2R-HR in the 2nd to start things off. David Ortiz added an RBI single after Mookie Betts stole 2nd, and Xander Bogaerts turned the misery up to 11 with a 3R-HR to end a 6 run inning.
Weaver bravely came back out for the 3rd and managed to get two outs, but a Shane Victorino solo-HR brought Buck Showalter out of the dugout to end Weaver's day. Michael Morse pulled one back for Baltimore with a solo-HR in the 4th, but Swihart took it right back with his 2nd HR of the day in the 5th. Not to be outdone, Nick Markakis took a hanging slider from Archer and sent it into the stands for a 2R-HR.
Baltimore hung on for another inning, but the 7th became another nightmare. Mike Napoli added another run with a solo-HR, and then David Ortiz made it 10-3 with an RBI single on a Steve Lombardozzi throwing error to first. Jackie Bradley Jr. capped off the inning with an RBI single to score Ortiz and make it 11-3.
Swihart must be the AL ROY, it wouldn't be fair otherwise.
Unfortunately for the Orioles, the Red Sox weren't done. The poor Baltimore bullpen just couldn't get out of the 9th to end the misery, giving up another pair of RBI singles from Ortiz and Bradley. Xander Bogaerts completed the beating with a 3R-HR for an emphatic 16-3 beating. Swihart, now hitting 5th for Boston, may have clinched the ROY race today with a 3/5 2HR performance.
| Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||||
| Sep 27, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (99-62) | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 1 |
| Baltimore (83-78) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Archer (18-5) L: Weaver (19-10) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The divisional races are basically locked up and Boston is starting to take their foot off the gas, and back-ups are getting more playing time in anticipation for the playoffs. Chris Archer, within a few strikeouts of 400 for the season, would start tonight in an effort to continue shattering records. The Blue Jays would start Marcus Stroman who is fast becoming one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Things looked really bad for Boston right away with a brutal inning from Archer. Jose Bautista blew the game open with a 3R-HR in the 1st, and Dioner Navarro added an RBI ground-out on a near double play thanks to a rare Dustin Pedroia throwing error. The double play would have ended the inning and staunched the bleeding, but Archer had to strike out Tony Abreu to end the inning and notch his 400th strikeout of the season.
David Ortiz put the Red Sox on the board with a deep solo-HR to straight away center in the second, but things were starting to shape up like the pre-August offense. Stroman held the Blue Jays 4-1 lead through the 5th until he cracked in the 6th. Pedroia made up for his throwing error with a solo-HR that just barely topped the Green Monster, and then the Baseball Gods struck down Toronto with an improbable series of events. Navarro dropped a 3rd strike to Ortiz, probably the easiest player on the planet to throw out at 1st, but he threw the ball high and it sent it into RF which allowed Ortiz to walk to 1st and Blake Swihart to walk home from 3rd.
Stroman did not return for the 7th, still up 4-3, and neither did Archer. Rubby De La Rosa took over and shut out Toronto, but Brett Cecil wasn't as lucky. Cecil gave up a few hits and left Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. on 2nd and 3rd for Pedroia, and he gladly drove them in with a 2RBI single and the lead. Edwin Encarnacion would tie things up in the 8th with a solo-HR, but Boston had some homers of their own waiting for Cecil. Swihart took the lead back with a solo-HR and Xander Bogaerts used a 3R blast to put the Blue Jays away for good.
| Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Sep 22, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Toronto (79-77) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| Boston (98-58) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | X | 9 | 14 | 0 |
| W: De La Rosa (8-6) L: Cecil (1-4) | ||||||||||||
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BRONX, NY - Not much drama left in the season, but a trip to New York is always something to be excited about. The Red Sox have already clinched the AL East, their third in a row, and now it's all about getting to 100 wins. Boston has a small lead over the Dodgers (93-57) for the best record in baseball, and it's still hard to believe this team spent most of the season unable to generate offense.
Chris Archer would take the mound opposite Alfredo Aceves, and there wouldn't be much fight in the Yankees from the start. Xander Bogaerts and Mike Napoli would each hit solo-HR to give Boston a 2-0 lead in the first. David Ortiz would have a solo-HR as well in the 2nd, and then things got really bad for Aceves. Napoli would drive in a run with a single, and then with two men on Shane Victorino would end Aceves' day with a 3R-HR.
Bogaerts would go 3/4 with a HR and 3R scored.
Archer would practically sleep walk through the Yankees' lineup, with a weak single here and there, and a Victorino 6-3 ground out would bring in another run in the 5th for an 8-0 lead. Archer would go 7 inning, finishing with 3BB and 15K without allowing a run. Henry Owens, up for a cup of coffee, would show off for 2016 with two shutout innings and 4K to end the game. Boston would finish the game with only 4K, where the Yankees struck out 19 times. It's going to be a long road back to the top for the Bronx Bombers.
| Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees | ||||||||||||
| Sep 17, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (96-55) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| New York (60-93) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| W: Archer (17-5) L: Aceves (3-5) | ||||||||||||
Sunday, July 27, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
TORONTO, ON - The season is coming to a close and with only 17 games left the Red Sox currently enjoy a 14 game lead in the AL East. Thanks to their incredible August they now share the best record in baseball with the Dodgers. A trip to Toronto, desperate for wins, would be on the slate for this week. Once again Chris Archer would dodge an ace, taking on Drew Hutchison.
The two starters would both toss shutout innings through the 3rd when Boston would get to Hutchison. A hit and a walk would put two on for Xander Bogaerts and he would take advantage of the opportunity with a 3R-HR.
Hutchison and Archer would keep throwing scoreless innings until the Blue Jays finally capitalized on Archer's shaky day in the 5th. The slider was definitely a problem today, and his change-up wasn't catching the corners like he had hoped. Jose Reyes started the rally with a 2R-HR, and then Edwin Encarnacion followed it up with a 2R-HR of his own.
Hutchison suddenly had a 4-3 lead, but the rain of homers wouldn't quit. The very next inning Hutchison would give up three HRs to lose the lead for good. First Dustin Pedroia would tie the game with a solo-HR, then Shane Victorino would take the lead with a 2R-HR after a Mike Napoli BB, and then Will Middlebrooks would send Hutchison packing with a solo-HR.
Archer's strike out total is now officially historic.
Archer would take a seat after the 6th with a 7-4 lead. He ended up walking 6 batters and "only" striking out 13, but it was enough to set a new single season strike out record. 384 strike outs on the season and three potential starts left, the chances of getting to 400+ was now very real. Anthony Ranaudo would come in for Archer and shut out the Blue Jays through the 9th. Uehara would come in and collect his 20th save of the season, and Boston would be one step closer to clinching the division.
| Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays | ||||||||||||
| Sep 12, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston (92-54) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| Toronto (76-71) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| W: Archer (16-5) L: Hutchison (12-7) S: Uehara (20) | ||||||||||||
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
BOSTON, MA - The Red Sox enter September riding a 17 game winning streak, and the way things have been going the Oakland A's all-time record is a possibility. If you ask any of the players, they won't admit the record is on their mind, but the media is buzzing about their streak. The once mighty, now 70-70, Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander would not be interested in streaks. John Farrell is also uninterested in streaks, the coaching staff is more focused on clinching the division and punching their ticket for October.
The top of the first was a bad omen for Boston and Archer, with Elvis Andrus hitting a solo-HR off a hanging slider. It didn't take long to see that Archer's slider wasn't working, he was going to have to lean on his devastating fastball-change up combo. Luckily for Archer, slider or not, Shane Victorino bailed him out with a clutch 2RBI double with two outs to move into a 2-1 lead.
Victorino's 2RBI double put Boston ahead for good.
Mike Napoli made it 3-1 in the third with an RBI single that brought in Xander Bogaerts from 3rd. Napoli put Boston even further ahead in the 5th with a solo-HR and Will Middlebrooks copied him with one of his own. With Verlander taking a seat after 5 innings the Red Sox went further ahead in the 6th with a Jackie Bradley Jr. sac-fly.
Archer tore through a loaded Tigers offense, shutting them out through the 7th after giving up a run to start the game. Blake Swihart finished off the scoring in the 8th with an RBI single that was scored an E6 after Jose Iglesias threw the ball into the stands. The Tigers didn't help themselves on defense today with two errors, but their hitters went 4/31 with 20K to seal their defeat.
| Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||
| Sep 6, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Detroit (70-71) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Boston (89-52) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | X | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| W: Archer (15-5) L: Verlander (12-11) | ||||||||||||
Saturday, July 26, 2014
THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)
The MiLB season is over and despite the talent percolating in Boston's system the AAA and AA affiliates failed to make the playoffs. AAA Pawtucket (75-69) and AA Portland (73-69) are hardly complete teams, especially with mid-season promotions, but the talent there will keep Boston winning for years to come.
Player (Prospect Grade - John Sickels, Current Level)
3B, Garin Cecchini (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Finished the season with a .259 batting average, which is a little concerning, but 18HR and 31SB is going to land him a spot in the majors next year. Outfield is a likely place with Middlebrooks blocking him at 3B and a desperate need for outfielders.
SS, Chris Owings (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
John Farrell is going to have his hands full with the 3B/SS/2B situation next year. Owings finished the season hitting .284 with 9HR, 61RBI, and 12SB not to mention slick defending.
RHP, Leonys Bravo (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
Really odd scenario after destroying AA, settled down after a rough start in AAA but no longer looks like a sure-fire success. Finished 5-4 with a much improved 4.08ERA and 1.26WHIP in 53IP. 69K:18BB ratio still points to greatness, but brutal splits between the first and last half of his starts are concerning.
RHP, Braden Shipley (Grade : B+, MLB)
Finished his season 2-0 with a 4.22ERA, 1.19ERA, and a promising 28K:10BB ratio out of the bullpen. Has an excellent shot at staying in the majors rather than being sent down to AAA.
LHP, Henry Owens (Grade : B+, AAA Pawtucket)
10-8 with a 3.18ERA and 1.27ERA, excellent shot at being in the MLB rotation next year.
LHP, Trey Ball (Grade : B, AAA Pawtucket)
Roughed up a little this year, but still looks like a future middle-rotation starter. 9-11, 4.43ERA, 1.44WHIP in 178IP.
RHP, Braxton Davis (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Looked much better than Owens, but being right handed might put Owens ahead of him in the pecking order. 10-7 with a 2.84ERA, 1.17WHIP, and an impressive 152K:62BB ratio in 196.2IP. Fastball grading out at 70 with serious heat and life that will be a serious asset going forward.
1B, Issac Koufax (Grade : B-, AAA Pawtucket)
Really turned things around at the plate, finishing the season with a .313 batting average. Power fell off a bit with only 3HR and 23RBI, but with his swing most scouts still feel he could hit 25HR.
RHP, Allen Webster (Grade : C+, AAA Pawtucket)
Organization is way down on Webster, appears to have plateaued as a player. Hard to tell if Boston is going to give him a chance in the majors at all. 10-9 record isn't all that bad, but 4.01ERA and 1.52WHIP isn't helping his cause.
3B/OF, Rico Berroa (Grade : C+, AAA Pawtucket)
Something must have clicked with Berroa, finished the season with a .321 batting average. Out hit Koufax, 3HR and 25RBI, but only 6SB is not what coaches were expecting. Still a future Gold Glove defender.
SS, Pedro Santana (Grade : C+, AA Portland)
Continues to surprise after being drafted as a defense-first player. Hit .292 with 5HR and 15SB, probably won't be able to replicate that above AA but he wasn't expected to do that in AA. Still projects as a career utility man.
Players Making Noise
RHP, Roddy Gibson (Grade : C+, AA Portland)
Probably not long for AA, 5-3 with 2.61ERA, 1.33WHIP in 58.2IP. 48K:19BB ratio looks very good for such a young player, barring a serious injury he will be in Pawtucket's rotation in 2016.
bayers3
0
174 Forum Posts
214 Blog Entries
220 News/Blog Comments
0 Reader Score Votes
8 Friends
6 Chalkboard Messages
0 Screenshots
0 Videos
109,888 Arena Visits
bayers3's PSN Gamercard
' +
bayers3's Screenshots (0)
bayers3 does not have any albums to display.
More
bayers3's Friends
Recent Visitors
The last 10 visitor(s) to this Arena were:
bayers3's Arena has had 109,888 visits
- CaliBigWave
- Dynasty Legend 99
- Frankped
- Houston
- huskerfan4life
- JFrenchy06
- steelersd26
- Tmizzle
- Trojan32
- Zhu
bayers3's Arena has had 109,888 visits
Working...