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Post by Kimmi on Sept 2, 2020 6:06:02 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 7h I feel bad for Hart 11 IP, 24 H, 20 R, 18 ER, 4 HR, 10 BB, 13 K, .500 BABIP, 25% HR/FB I feel really bad for him. I never like to see any player do poorly when they are finally called up.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 7:25:33 GMT -5
The guy on the Red Sox you should feel at least a little bad for Rob Bradford September 02, 2020 - 8:18 am
The hits kept on coming Tuesday night at Fenway Park. Fourteen of them to be exact.
One Red Sox pitcher after another tried to get Marcell Ozuna and the rest of his Braves teammates out on a consistent basis in what would be a 10-3 Sox loss, with all too many of the showdowns going in the favor of Atlanta. Ozuna, for instance, torched Ryan Weber once and Kyle Hart a couple of times for 1,279 feet of home runs. Listen Live Now on WEEI
When it was all said and done the Red Sox' pitchers sat with a collective ERA of 6.16, the fourth-highest since 1930 with only the 1996 Tigers (6.38) carrying a worse number in the last 84 years.
Not a lot of people can feel the discomfort then-Tigers pitching coach Rick Adair went through 24 years ago. Dave Bush, however, is one of them.
It is helplessness the Red Sox' first-year pitching coach can never let on to. But one would imagine when you are about to cart out your 12th starting pitcher while carrying a staff that has one pitcher who has thrown more than 4 2./3 innings that carries an ERA of under 4.58 (thank you Phillips Valdez) there are pain points that weren't exactly part of the plan.
"I will tell you I’ve learned a lot, probably more than I expected to in a short period of time," Bush said prior to the Sox' latest loss. "I always learn more when things are tough and there have been a lot of things that have been tough about this year, not only for us end not only for me but across baseball. And really across the world at this point with what we’re dealing with. But I have learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a coach, about how to deal with tough situations, about how to be adaptable. I’ve learned a lot about our players, too.
"Certainly at this point we’ve been together enough and we’ve had enough time together to get to know each other and have a feel for everyone wants to do things. So the process of learning the players, getting to know personalities, developing relationships, that’s all gone along as smoothing last it could be. Personally as a coach, my first time in this job, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned how to make the best of some tough situations. Even simple things. We do our scouting report meetings, our advance meetings the first game of a series. Trying to find a room that is big enough to get everyone into it is really hard. Small things like that don’t happen easily. And with all our players when we’re at home, with our players up in their suites instead of the clubhouse, tracking guys down and making sure we have the space we need to do is difficult. So small stuff like that I’ve just had to learn on the fly and be adaptable and adjustable. It’s been a good learning experience. In the long run, I will be a much better coach because of all the things we’ve had to deal with this year."
The prevailing thought in the world of Major League Baseball is that coaches get too much of the credit when things are rolling along and way too much blame when things go the wrong way.
Only the uninformed would blame Bush for this.
Ron Roenicke certainly isn't going to.
"Pretty difficult year to really assess what a guy does because there are so many things that have come up this year," said the Red Sox manager. "Me personally, looking at what he’s done, a first-year coach to deal with the things he’s dealt with, he’s really doing a good job. I know sometimes you look at a team ERA or what are the starters doing or what are the relief pitchers doing? But this is a weird year and I don’t think it’s fair to judge a first-year guy on something like this. But for me, I know the work he puts in. I know what he’s done. I know how he’s, even when things are going really bad, how he still stays focused on what he needs to do. Very difficult year for him. No question about it. I like what he’s done and I’ve relayed that message upstairs to let them know what I think."
This was supposed to be Bush's well-deserved big chance, having worked his way up through the Red Sox coaching ranks by showing the acumen and introspection that teammates took notice of during a nine-year major-league career. But through all the COVID chaos, injuries and rounds of reclamation projects, the dream job has turned into a nightmare.
Fortunately for the 40-year-old, most -- including the Red Sox front office -- should realize what an aberration this whole deal is.
The Dodgers' pitching staff is on its way to post the lowest ERA of any team since the 1980 Astros. Mark Prior is a genius, right? Well, he is relatively the same age as Bush while also getting his first crack at a big-league coaching position. The difference? All but three of the 22 players who have pitched for Los Angeles this season have better ERAs than everybody but Valdez on the Red Sox. Also, for what it's worth, the Sox' starters also carry a combined record fo 4-18.
Bush will own some of the responsibility. That's another prerequisite for any coach. But when it comes to handing out the blame pie don't give this coach too big of a piece. He deserves a second first impression.
"Trying to get better," he said. "Trying to get everyone a little bit better. I know it’s not showing up on the scoreboard. I know it’s not always showing up in the stats right now. But there are some things we’re doing better. There are some guys performing better than we and they expected. I guess if you want to look at the big picture, that’s what we’re trying to get. We’re just trying to get everyone a little bit better each day. We’re trying to figure out exactly what each guy can do. Some of these guys have been put in roles that they’re not accustomed to, that are new to them. And some of them have handled it very, very well. Some haven’t. But that’s where we are this year with this group.
"It’s a lot of guys that don’t have a ton of big-league experience, so they’re still figuring out exactly where they fit in a game and then things they can do well to succeed at this level. There’s some trial and error involved, but there’s definitely some things I’ve been happy with. There have been steps forward that guys have made, and some guys have performed really well, out-performed our expectations. It’s been tough on the field. The results aren’t there. It’s been frustrating for all of us involved. We all want to win. That’s why we’re here. It’s a competitive game. It’s a lot more fun when you win – for players, for coaches, staff, everybody. We’re working towards that in the future. We’re working towards winning more games. There are some bumps in the road along the way, but there is progress being made. Both for this year and next year, we’re moving in the right direction. ... We’re definitely making progress."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 7:33:18 GMT -5
Tony Massarotti @tonymassarotti · 1h The Red Sox now have a 6.16 ERA, worst in baseball. Next-worst team is the Rockies, who are 0.64 better (5.52) and play with less gravity.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 8:15:09 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture · 36m Statcast has weighed in on Marcell Ozuna's third homer last night: 437 feet.
Seems way below the 3,000 I was expecting.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2020 8:26:31 GMT -5
They acquired Nick Pivetta is there a reason he has not pitched instead of the waste they throw each day. He has to be better than these guys.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 10:12:39 GMT -5
They acquired Nick Pivetta is there a reason he has not pitched instead of the waste they throw each day. He has to be better than these guys. By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- The Red Sox have a clear rotation need and newly acquired right-hander Nick Pivetta already has 71 major-league starts under his belt. So why isn’t Pivetta in the big-league starting rotation yet?
The answer, if you ask anyone in the Red Sox’ organization, is that Pivetta was used as a reliever in Philadelphia (and eventually, at the Phillies’ alternate site in Lehigh Valley) before the trade and needs to be built up as a starter before being brought to the majors. While that’s true, the real reason likely has to do with service time.
As SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield astutely pointed out last month, there’s a way the Red Sox can secure an extra year of Pivetta’s services. If Boston keeps Pivetta at the alternate site in Pawtucket through Sept. 18 or 19 (the math varies), he’ll be due to hit free agency after 2024 instead of 2023.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 10:47:51 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: Red Sox games are void of strategy and painful to watch Bad team’s bad approach unfair to all involved
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald PUBLISHED: September 2, 2020 at 5:00 a.m. | UPDATED: September 2, 2020 at 11:15 a.m.
The team with the highest ERA in baseball handed the ball to the pitcher with the highest ERA in baseball in the seventh inning of a two-run game on Tuesday night.
And once again, Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said he had no other options.
The choice was Kyle Hart. The rookie left-hander allowed six runs, including two of the hardest-hit homers Fenway Park has seen in a long time on a hanging slider and an 89-mph fastball right down the pipe. Hart’s ERA is now 15.55 through 11 innings.
The Red Sox’ lost 10-3 to the Braves and here’s what Roenicke said after the game: “It was a good game there for a while. And we’re still playing hard. Sometimes at the end when you get a score like this, you look at it and you may say they were out of it from the beginning. But that wasn’t the case. It was a nice ballgame.”
Exactly. It was a nice ballgame for six innings. And then the Red Sox gave up.
Certainly Hart isn’t out there trying to lose, and anyone can feel for a kid in his rookie year who simply doesn’t have the stuff to compete with the best hitters on the planet. But if this is the best the Red Sox have to use in the seventh inning of a two-run game, what are they doing on the field at all?
Why are the games being played?
At this point the Red Sox should just show up to the park, forfeit the game, shake hands with the opponent, give them a tour around Fenway Park, say goodbye and then scrimmage themselves.
Because what the Red Sox are currently doing is wrong. It’s not fair to the fans. It’s not fair to the manager. And it’s not fair to the players.
Somebody is going to get hurt out there. Just look at what happened Tuesday. Hart tripped making a defensive play in the seventh inning, then the Sox sent him back out for the eighth. He threw non-competitive pitch after non-competitive pitch, Marcell Ozuna homered twice off him in two innings and then Roenicke said after the game that Hart was actually injured.
“He tweaked a hip on that good play he made that first inning to end it, and I hope he’s OK,” the manager said. “But he’s pretty sore. That could’ve also added to that second inning not throwing the ball well. We went in to make sure he was OK and the trainers checked him out. He said he could go back out there. But I’m sure that didn’t help.”
You have to feel for Roenicke, who’s a company man who never complains and keeps rolling with whatever the front office gives him.
But what he’s doing doesn’t look like managing. He’s just reading a card provided to him by the training staff, who tell him who is available and unavailable that day, then putting the pitchers into the game who are available.
There aren’t many. Most of the decent ones are gone. Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree and even Josh Osich were traded. There isn’t a lot left to work with.
And there’s nothing fun about watching a team stretch out every available arm as far as possible with the mere hope of simply completing the game and recording 24 or 27 outs. There is no strategy in the pitching usage, which is one of the best parts of watching baseball. The strategy is throw as many pitches as you can and hopefully we will have another guy who can throw some pitches when you’re done.
Roenicke was asked if it’s frustrating to manage a game when he’s not exactly using his best pitchers, but simply the available ones.
“No doubt, it’s difficult,” Roenicke said. “When you feel like you’re in games, especially if you’re leading games and then you lose them, those are definitely difficult. It’s tough. You play hard, you play close, and all of a sudden you have a blowout.
“That game was a lot better game than the score was. It just got out of hand there at the end. To try to figure out the pieces, it’s hard, because we’re using these guys a lot. We know we can’t keep using them so much, so I make sure we go over before the game who’s down that night. We had a few guys down again tonight. We knew we have length in Kyle and knew we were going to use him somewhere. That’s what we had when we got to that point.”
It’d be one thing if the Red Sox at least called up some of their top prospects to get their fans through these final 24 games with something to watch.
They called up Bobby Dalbec, the power-hitting first baseman, but he wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday. Meanwhile, Triston Casas and Jarren Duran are torching the ball down in Pawtucket but won’t get the call because the organization thinks they need more development, which is probably true. But if service time weren’t a thing, the argument could be made that Casas and Duran would be more exciting than most of the guys the Red Sox have. They’d breathe life into the television.
Or if Jay Groome, Tanner Houck, Bryan Mata or Thad Ward were to get the call, the Sox could show off their pitchers of the future.
Alex Verdugo continues to impress. He’s exciting. He throws out runners from the outfield, steals bases and is hitting .310.
But what’s the fun in watching the offense when, even if the team is in the game late, there are few reliable relievers to turn it over to?
We’re watching the same game, over and over. The only logical explanation is chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is tanking for the No. 1 draft pick and using the pandemic-shortened season to do it quietly and without much impact on the owners’ pocketbooks. There are no fans anyways, so what’s the difference?
So sit down, grab a beer or a soda, make some popcorn and buckle up for 3 ½ hours of Red Sox baseball.
It’s void of strategy. The manager is helpless. Every third game you might see an actual starting pitcher take the ball into the fifth or sixth inning.
If not, you know what’s going to happen.
The same thing that happened Tuesday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 10:50:06 GMT -5
The Boston Red Sox, Fading Into Obscurity, Are Giving Mike Kickham His First Start Since 2013 September 2, 2020 at 9:14 am
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) — The Boston Celtics are rolling along down in Disney, looking like world beaters. The Boston Bruins are done but put on a decent show this summer. New England is eagerly awaiting for the unveiling of the Bill Belichick-Cam Newton era for the Patriots. Against all odds, sports are back and thriving in the era of COVID-19.
And then there are the Boston Red Sox.
Baseball’s second-worst team got blown out once again on Tuesday night, falling 10-3 to the Atlanta Braves in a game where Marcell Ozuna nearly destroyed Fenway Park. It was the Red Sox’ second straight loss, their fourth loss in six games, their sixth loss in nine games, and their 24th loss of 36 games on this miserable season.
Perhaps more than any other year in our lifetimes, the Boston Red Sox — a great, proud, historic franchise — are borderline irrelevant in the Boston sports scene.
Wednesday night’s starting pitcher is unlikely to turn that tide.
For the finale of the three-game set against the Atlanta Braves, the Boston Red Sox will be sending Mike Kickham to the mound to get the start.
If you haven’t heard of Mike Kickham, you could be forgiven. He only has 14 big league appearances, with 30.1 innings pitched.
The last one of those innings came back in … 2014.
His last start? That was in 2013.
For those not in the know, it’s now 2020. And 2013 was a long time ago.
What were you doing in 2013? The Red Sox were shaking off the stink of the Bobby Valentine era while gearing up for a World Series run. Not the most recent World Series. The one before that.
Kickham’s numbers in his big league career aren’t exactly inspiring: He went 0-3 with a 10.98 ERA and a 2.143 WHIP. He gave up nine home runs in his 30.1 innings pitched, which is kind of incredible, while also walking 11. He did strike out 30 batters, which was good.
Since then, Kickham has spent some time in Triple-A, Double-A, independent ball, rookie ball, the Dominican Winter League and the Mexican Pacific Winter League. Most recently, he compiled a 4-2 record and a 1.96 ERA for Naranjeros de Hermosillo.
But somehow, some way, he’s going from the oranges to the Red Sox.
This is not meant to be a knock on Kickham. Frankly, it’s pretty cool that he’s kept working on his dream for the better part of a decade and is getting another shot at it. Millions of athletes before and after him won’t ever get that chance, so in that sense, his is a sports story worth celebrating.
But from a Red Sox’ perspective? How the team got here is unfathomable.
The Red Sox weren’t just the best team in baseball two years ago; they were one of the best baseball teams ever. They won 108 games, buzzing through the entire league, before going 11-3 in the postseason en route to a World Series title.
With three straight first place finishes and a World Series title, the Red Sox were sitting pretty as borderline bullies in the AL East.
Now, they are a laughingstock.
Part of that is by design, sure, as the team clearly set out to get under the luxury tax threshold. It turns out, though, that fans aren’t as interested in a reset of the competitive balance tax as much as they are in a competitive baseball team.
And so, the 12-24 Red Sox will carry on, bringing pitchers out of almost-quite-literally nowhere to start real, live baseball games.
To be fair, it can’t get much worse. They’ve been outscored by 60 runs this season, the worst mark in the majors. The Rangers have been outscored by 57 runs, but after that, it’s the 10-23 Pirates as the next-worst team, having been outscored by 46 runs. The Red Sox are absolutely dominating in the earned runs department, having given up an MLB-high 215 of them. Colorado’s way behind in second with 196. Correspondingly, the Red Sox’ 6.16 team ERA is worst in the bigs, and their starters’ combined ERA of 6.91 is — you guessed it — worst in the majors.
So why not give Mike Kickham a try? At the very least, his story provides a shred of entertainment in a season that has otherwise relegated the Red Sox to complete and total obscurity.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 12:47:51 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 59m Verdugo note of the day:
First Pitch Swinging Percentage 1. 8.8% Alex Verdugo 2. 9.8% David Fletcher 3. 11.0% Alex Bregman
When he does let it rip on a 0-0 pitch, he makes good decisions:
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 13:26:23 GMT -5
Jon Couture @joncouture 39m Twenty-one of the final 24 #RedSox games are against teams in playoff position, most safely. And said Sox appear content to treat them as more open tryouts than games.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 13:47:53 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 31s #RedSox announce Robinson Leyer will start on the mound tonight. Expect to see Mike Kickham behind him.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 13:53:17 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 13:57:43 GMT -5
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 6m Don't be too disappointed, gang. Kickham still seems likely to throw multiple innings in this game.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 14:00:55 GMT -5
AIR RAID AIR RAID
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 2, 2020 14:26:44 GMT -5
Game 37 Braves at Red Sox previewBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated September 2, 2020, 12:01 p.m. The Red Sox will close out their three-game series with Atlanta tonight at Fenway Park. They were supposed to start lefthander Mike Kickham, who has not pitched in the major leagues since 2014, but instead are going with righthander Robinson Leyer. Lineups BRAVES (21-14): 1. Dansby Swanson (R) SS 2. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B 3. Marcell Ozuna (R) DH 4. Nick Markakis (L) LF 5. Travis d'Arnaud (R) C 6. Austin Riley (R) 3B 7. Adam Duvall (R) RF 8. Johan Camargo (S) 2B 9. Ender Inciarte (L) CF Pitching: LHP Robbie Erlin (0-0, 6.00 ERA) RED SOX (12-24): 1. Alex Verdugo (L) RF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 4. J.D. Martinez (R) LF 5. Kevin Plawecki (R) C 6. Michael Chavis (R) DH 7. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF 8. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B 9. Jose Peraza (R) 2B Pitching: RHP Robinson Leyer (0-0, 9.00) Time: 7:30 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Braves vs. Leyer: Has not faced any Atlanta batters Red Sox vs. Erlin: Xander Bogaerts 0-0, Rafael Devers 1-2, J.D. Martinez 0-0, José Peraza 1-3, Alex Verdugo 1-4, Christian Vázquez 0-1 Stat of the day: Alex Verdugo is batting .330 with 17 extra base hits and a .985 OPS in 26 games beginning Aug. 4. Notes: Leyer posted a 5.24 ERA in 56.2 minor-league innings in the upper levels of the Mariners’ and Red Sox’s systems last year, with a 14.3 percent walk rate offsetting a 27.4 percent strikeout rate. ... Rafael Devers is batting .339 with 16 RBI and a 1.008 OPS in 14 games beginning Aug. 17. ... Xander Bogaerts is batting .360 with 12 RBI in the last 13 games. ... Since Aug. 17, Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley is batting .378 (17-for-45) with seven extra-base hits and 13 RBIs. ... Erlin has failed to register a quality start in three outings, averaging only four innings per start, but the Braves are 2-1 with him on the mound. Song of the Day: Don Henley "Dirty Laundry"www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibEFVHWMUcg
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