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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 15, 2023 4:42:34 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 5h Whitlock since coming off the IL 4 G, 23 IP, 3.13 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 4 BB, 22 K
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 15, 2023 4:45:20 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7h Hitting the cutoff man is a lost concept with the Sox and other teams know it.
First inning of three or more runs for the Sox since June 6 at Cleveland.
Sox (34-35) avoid a sweep. Day off Thursday and Yankees in town on Friday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 15, 2023 4:47:37 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Red Sox dive in to make adjustments to Triston Casas’s defensive routine at first base By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated June 14, 2023, 8:51 p.m.
Triston Casas has his routine prior to games.
The routine has its quirks, including basking in the sun shirtless prior to games. The Red Sox have come to respect it, understanding that it’s part of Casas’s eccentricity that makes him who he is. The mental part of the game, and how a player prepares, is essential to growth and performance.
Casas’s defensive preparation, however, needed some tweaks.
Prior to batting practice, you’ll see Casas range to his left or right, and sometimes dive for balls. It’s Casas’s way of putting his body in positions to be an athlete, envisioning the acrobatic play that he might be forced to make in any given game.
“My routine is just movements that I feel like I have to execute in a game situation,” Casas said before Wednesday night’s 6-3 win over the Rockies at Fenway Park. “Just moving laterally. During pregame work, I’m just focused on a specific play and a specific movement into making that play.”
There is one issue with the routine — those plays rarely occur. The Red Sox, instead, want Casas to put an emphasis on making the routine play routinely.
“The game is a little bit faster here,” manager Alex Cora said. “And some of the things that he’s done defensively we have to adjust at the end of the day. I know he’s talked about his routines, and all the plays, that they might come up and all that stuff. But the diving plays don’t happen often. The balls in the hole don’t happen often.”
Casas has struggled defensively. Something that was a surprise to the Sox, believing they were getting a better defensive first baseman when the club called him up toward the end of last season.
He was a minus-6 in defensive runs saved for the season after Tuesday night’s loss, the worst mark for his position in the game. His struggles at the position have made Cora and his staff turn to veteran corner infielder Justin Turner, who will mix and match with Casas at the position for the foreseeable future.
“That is very surprising to me,” said Casas, who added that he didn’t know he ranked at the bottom of the league in DRS. “I’m sure if you put me out on the field against every [first] baseman in the league, I’m just as good or if not better than every single one of them. In terms of my footwork, my arm accuracy, and my hand work. So it is surprising to me. I don’t know how those numbers come across. But I just do as much as I can. I’m intentful on every single pitch. I want the ball hit to me every single time.”
The Red Sox have tweaked Casas’s routine by simplifying it. They believe if he focuses on making the plays right at him with a focus on his pre-pitch setup and his first step, he will see a spike in his metrics and become better defensively.
“Defensively, just like hitting, you gotta be on time for your reaction,” Cora said. “A lot of people have different pre-pitch routines. [Former second baseman] Dustin Pedroia used to jump. Some of us walk through it. There were some moves that were actually negative moves to be honest with you. He’s like he was stepping back instead of going forward.”
On Wednesday, Casas was out early working on these moves along with major league field coordinator Andy Fox. The pre-pitch setup and steps were included in the work. Most of the balls were directly to him.
The good news? He didn’t make any diving plays. Just the routine ones. Devers, Yoshida get extra rest
Third baseman Rafael Devers and left fielder Masataka Yoshida had scheduled offdays. The Red Sox don’t play Thursday, giving the pair two days off of their feet. Cora said Devers isn’t dealing with any injury … Staying on the topic of Devers, he’s tied with good friend Xander Bogaerts on the franchise’s home run list with 156 after hitting two in Tuesday’s loss to the Rockies … Cora managed his 716th career game on Tuesday, passing Don Zimmer for eighth most in franchise history … Trevor Story (elbow) will travel with the Sox next week for their Midwest road trip against the Twins and White Sox. After spending most of the season at the Fort Myers facility while rehabbing from surgery, the infielder made his way up to Boston to be with the team … The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, in conjunction with the Red Sox and others, will host a free exhibit at Emerson College from June 19 to Aug. 4 and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jun 15, 2023 11:33:03 GMT -5
Is Garrett Whitlock becoming the starting pitcher the Red Sox were dreaming about? Current Time 0:13 / Duration 0:15 By Rob Bradford WEEI 93.7
Dealing with the mental side of the game, with Brandon Guyer
Up until the Red Sox became thick with debates and controversy, one of the go-to topics of conversation was whether or not they should have left Garrett Whitlock in the bullpen instead of trying to make him a starting pitcher.
It was an easy talking point considering how dominant Whitlock was as a reliever, totaling a 2.24 ERA while coming out of the bullpen, while limiting opponents to a .214 batting average and .603 OPS.
Oh, and in games Whitlock did pitch as a relief pitcher the Red Sox' record was 47-21. It was a formula that sure seemed both effective and necessary.
And then you had Whitlock, the starter.
Good. Bad. Injured. Good. Bad. Injured.
But now? The narrative might be changing for good.
In his 16th career start, Whitlock pitched as many as seven innings for a second time in what would be the Sox' series finale win over the Rockies. The righty allowed just two runs while striking out seven and walking one.
There was the same image Whitlock had presented as a reliever, one which had seemingly complete command of three pitches - a fastball that sat at 95 mph, a slider which got six whiffs in 12 swings, and what has become one of the better changeups in the game.
From the time he got on his out-of-nowhere run in 2021, Whitlock has become a factory of intrigue. The guy whose extension his pitches sits only behind three pitchers in baseball, with what sure appears to be a constant command of a trio of offerings along with all that goes with becoming a major leaguer - on and off the field.
Has it all come together, at least for three of Whitlock's last three starts. There was the gem in Arizona (5 IP, R), those 6 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium (one earned run), and then Wednesday night when the Red Sox desperately needed some sort of jumper cables.
For a team in real need of good news and some definition, Whitlock afforded it both at just the right time.
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