|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 16, 2020 15:53:20 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 18m Ron Roenicke joins us on Zoom. #RedSox
Roenicke said September is valuable to see how opponents react to your players -- hitters taking swings against your pitchers, how pitchers respect your hitters, etc. #RedSox
Roenicke -- 'This season has screwed up a lot of people. It doesn't seem to matter. Some of them have been really good (in the past).' #RedSox
Roenicke said Springs is among the pitchers starting to throw the ball better. Also includes Barnes and Brasier. #RedSox
Roenicke said 'it's not really important to us' how far Eovaldi goes on Thursday. Said it's probably more important to him and that he would be pushing for a greater workload. #RedSox
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 16, 2020 15:53:57 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 9m Roenicke said releasing Lucroy was related to what looked like an opportunity elsewhere. @jsalisburynbcs reported late last night Lucroy signed with the Phillies.
JT Realmuto is battling a sore hip. Catching depth needed in a postseason push. #RedSox
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 16, 2020 15:56:17 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 21m Replying to @billkoch25 Roenicke said CF is Verdugo's favorite position. Giving Bradley Jr. a day off against a left-hander. #RedSox
Roenicke said 'we'll see how it goes' after Pivetta finishes six innings at the alternate site today. Could be activated to make a start or two down the stretch. #RedSox
Roenicke said he thinks Barnes could serve as a full-time closer over the course of a complete season. Said he has 'the arsenal' and 'the makeup' to do it. #RedSox
Roenicke said September is valuable to see how opponents react to your players -- hitters taking swings against your pitchers, how pitchers respect your hitters, etc. #RedSox
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 16, 2020 15:59:54 GMT -5
Guerin Austin @guerinaustin · 24m Ron Roenicke: -CF is Verdugo’s favorite position -wanted to give Jackie a day off, especially with turf
-Tanner Houck will start Sunday vs Yankees -Peraza Fri, TBD Saturday
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 16, 2020 16:01:56 GMT -5
Guerin Austin @guerinaustin · 19m Roenicke:
-said he’s liked Houck since spring training, he worked on what he needed to work on, great to see the night he had last night -Springs, Brasier and Barnes have turned things around -been impressed with Arroyo -fun for everyone to watch Verdugo, he’s a good player
|
|
|
Post by Kimmi on Sept 16, 2020 16:24:12 GMT -5
Red Sox Notes @soxnotes · 1h Red Sox pitchers have allowed 0 runs in their last 14.0 IP. In their last 10 games, Sox starters are 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA.
Since Sept. 5, the Sox lead the AL in OPS (.877) and rank 2nd in AVG (.291) and HR (20). Bobby Dalbec and Rafael Devers each have an 8-game hitting streak.
All small samples, but this more like how the team should be playing, especially on the offensive side. They were never as bad as the stinky record indicates.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 3:22:35 GMT -5
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 9h I really don't know what I would do if I had to watch this team for 162 games.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 3:23:21 GMT -5
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 7h Replying to @overthemonster Obviously decline comes for pretty much everyone (not that I'm saying this can't just be a one-off for JDM) but Martinez struck me as a guy who would at least always have a plan and confidence. Right now he has neither!
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 3:25:28 GMT -5
Red Sox 4, Marlins 8: There’s the 2020 Red Sox we know and [redacted] A long, drawn out loss. We’ve gotten used to it. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Sep 16, 2020, 10:18pm EDT
This wasn’t the worst Red Sox loss of the season by a long shot. In fact, there was a fair amount to be stoked about! Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers both had very good games. Yairo Muñoz continued to be extremely fun. J.D. Martinez hit a home run on which he looked more like J.D. Martinez than any other swing this year. And yet, this game was one of my least favorite to watch all year. I don’t even really have a reason to articulate. It was just a slog. Mike Kickham was bad, and not in a particularly interesting way. The Red Sox used six different pitchers, and there’s a decent chance none of them make an impact next year. Phillips Valdez is the only one who may not be on that list, and he was in for one out. It was just not a fun game to watch, and I spent most of the night imagining what 162 games of this would do to my psyche. Sorry to be a bummer!
Last time out, Mike Kickham was bizarrely effective. It wasn’t perfect, but the soft-tossing southpaw somehow struck out eight Rays in four innings. Granted, Tampa strikes out at something close to the highest rate in baseball, but still. It was bizarre for Kickham, who is one of many Quad-A arms gracing the Red Sox roster at the moment. Maybe there was hope for him to be a diamond in the rough!
That, uh, didn’t carry over to Miami. The thing about Kickham is that he throws an absurd amount of offspeed and breaking stuff — it breaks Dennis Eckersley’s brain on a regular basis in the NESN booth — which can work right up until it doesn’t, if that makes sense. It did not work on Wednesday, as he was hit around a bit and had to throw a ton of pitches in the process.
Kickham got off to a decent enough start, getting two outs in the first three batters with a single mixed in there, though it took him 20 pitches to get that done. That brought Garrett Cooper to the base with a runner on base, though, and the Marlins first baseman worked a nice at bat himself. Kickham tried to get him with a 2-2 curveball, and it actually wasn’t a terrible pitch, breaking down below the zone. However, as I mentioned above, throwing all curveballs works until it doesn’t. When a batter is sitting on the breaking ball, even a solid pitch can be hit a long way. That’s exactly what Cooper did, blasting a two-run shot to make it 2-0 Marlins.
The second was actually a pretty good one from Kickham, throwing 14 pitches to get through a scoreless frame in which he allowed just a single. But the Marlins would get back to work in the third. Miguel Rojas started things off with a double, and then a couple batters later he’d come home on a Brian Anderson base hit. Kickham got another out to almost escape the inning, but the third out would prove to be elusive. Lewis Brinson attacked the first pitch he saw with the runner on first and two outs, ripping a double into the left field corner to give Miami their third run of the night. That brought Jorge Alfaro to the plate, and he got a hanging breaking ball right over the heart of plate that was deposited into the seats in right-center field to make it a four-run inning. Kickham’s night ended there, with Phillips Valdez coming on to end the inning.
On the other side, the Red Sox were going up against a rookie in Trevor Rogers, who was having trouble keeping his pitch count down as well. Unfortunately, the Red Sox weren’t as effective as taking advantage of opportunities. Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers got on to lead off the first, but the heart of the order failed to bring them in. Similarly, Yairo Muñoz led off the second with a walk and immediately stole second, but that was as far as he’d make it.
The third would get off to the same kind of start, with Verdugo and Devers once again getting things off to a strong start with a base hit before Devers was hit by a pitch. It wasn’t a big inning, but they did finally get on the board thanks to a grounder to move the runners up and a sacrifice fly from J.D. Martinez. Verdugo and Devers took care of things themselves in the fifth, continuing a big day for each of them with back-to-back doubles to lead things off, making it a 6-2 game.
The Marlins broke it open in the bottom of the fifth, though. After Chris Mazza came out for a scoreless fourth, Robinson Leyer got the call for the fifth. He sandwiched the first two outs with a walk, once again bringing Alfaro up with a man on and a pair of outs. Different pitcher, same result. This time Alfaro went out to left-center field, but it was another no-doubt shot to bring home two, breaking the game open to an 8-2 score.
This was still the score heading into the top of the seventh after Domingo Tapia worked around some trouble for a scoreless sixth, and the Red Sox got a swing they’ve been looking for all year. Martinez came up with a runner on first and no outs in the midst of looking as bad as he has since his breakout in the first half of last decade. This looked like vintage Martinez, though, as he drove one the other way for an opposite field shot, cutting the deficit down to four.
That was pretty much the last action of the night. To the credit of Robert Stock, he had himself a nice night, tossing a pair of scoreless innings to finish things off on the pitching side of things.
The Red Sox and Marlins have a rubber match on Thursday afternoon to finish off the series. It’s Nathan Eovaldi versus José Ureña. First pitch is set for 1:10 PM ET.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 3:36:54 GMT -5
Martinez has a moment: More to come?
By Ian Browne @ianmbrowne 1:07 AM EDT
For a few precious moments on Wednesday night at Marlins Park, this season-long grind that J.D. Martinez had worn across his face was replaced by a wide smile.
The slugger took a swing in the top of the seventh inning that had been commonplace for the last several seasons but has been lacking in 2020. The baseball flew over the right-field wall, and Martinez had a two-run homer, albeit in an 8-4 loss to the Marlins.
• Box score
The fact Martinez was able to go deep in his home of South Florida probably made it a little sweeter. The fact it ended a 1-for-31 skid almost certainly did. It was part of a 2-for-4 night for Martinez that also included a sacrifice fly.
“To see him have the power to get a ball out -- oppo here, you’ve got to kill it to get a home run,” said Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke. “That’s really good to see. And following it with a base hit. I thought, good swings all night from him. I know he’s been working hard and he’s in that cage all the time, hitting extra on the field. We just hope he follows it up tomorrow with another good one.”
The homer, single and sac fly were all hit to right field. Hitting the ball with authority to the opposite field has always been a good sign for Martinez.
“I think that’s important for him,” Roenicke said. “I know when he’s going well, that’s what he’s doing a lot of. Then with the offspeed, he catches it out front to pull it.”
Martinez has but five homers in 44 games and 190 plate appearances this season. The lack of power has been striking for the man who led the Majors with 124 long balls from 2017-19.
Earlier in the season, Martinez admitted to being out of sorts over not being able to study video between at-bats due to modified rules this season. But it stood to reason he would make the adjustment at some point. Perhaps Wednesday was a sign that Martinez will be able to have a strong final week-and-a-half.
• Barnes wants to close in 2021, too
“When he’s going well, his slot to right-center is big for him. That’s what he works on all the time,” Roenicke said. “So you see it in the game, you hope it can continue and he gets locked in and we see that good hitter again.”
Momentum heading into next season is important for a player who is 33 years old and has two years left on his contract with the Red Sox, though Martinez does have opt-out clauses this offseason and next.
Given Martinez’s tough numbers in 2020, it’s a safe bet he will remain with the Red Sox rather than opt out.
When he is right, Martinez is one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. The hope is that he will regain his stroke and his swagger in 2021 and beyond.
Munoz looks at home One player who clearly looks intent on playing a role on the 2021 Red Sox is Yairo Muñoz, who clubbed two more hits on Wednesday, stole a base and made a terrific sliding catch in right field.
“I feel great right now,” said Muñoz. “Obviously I’m hitting well and I’m just putting in all the work I need to have success at the plate. As far as the organization, I feel great being here. I feel at home, and all the young guys have been great, all the veterans as well. It’s really good to be a part of this, so I’m super excited to be here.”
Muñoz, who is hitting .349 with an .884 OPS in 43 at-bats, has caught the eye of his manager.
“He's doing a good job,” said Roenicke. “He's got good instincts out there, the speed plays. He's got a good arm, and he knows how to hit. I know he's a free swinger, but he can hit and we've been seeing it since he's been here.
“So we need some people to get on base and we need some people to get those runs in when we get an opportunity, and most of the time he's going to put the ball in play. So he's doing his job, and we're all liking what we're seeing.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 3:38:50 GMT -5
Barnes aims to keep closer duty in 2021
By Ian Browne @ianmbrowne September 16, 2020
When the Red Sox traded Brandon Workman to the Phillies on Aug. 21, Matt Barnes got the opportunity to take over for his longtime friend in the closer’s role.
Now that Barnes has gotten a taste of pitching the ninth inning, he hopes to stay in that role in 2021 -- his last season before free agency.
“Absolutely,” said Barnes. “Let’s do it. I’m all in.”
Barnes was an eighth-inning specialist for several years. What does he like about performing last call?
“I think one of the best things is when the game ends with you,” said Barnes. “It’s an awesome feeling when [Christian] Vázquez walks out or [Kevin] Plawecki walks out or whoever is catching, they walk out and the game ends with you. I think that’s a really cool interaction, a really cool feeling that you get, knowing that you’re the guy they want to lock down the last three outs of the game.”
Barnes has pitched in 11 games since he became the closer, notching seven saves in nine opportunities. Over that span, he has a 3.60 ERA with 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He has allowed one home run.
When the Red Sox drafted Barnes in 2011, he was a starter. He has been a mainstay in Boston’s bullpen for the last five seasons. And now his role has been elevated to the top spot among the relievers.
It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox give him the chance to do the job over a 162-game season.
“I have no doubt he can do it. He's got great stuff,” said Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke. “He's got two plus pitches he can throw at any time. I think that right away we saw some games where he got in trouble with being a little wild, but when he's throwing strikes and throwing the ball over the plate with those two pitches, he is really tough to hit and is as good as anybody.
“So, no question, he has the arsenal to do it. I think he's got the makeup to do it. We’ll see how it all plays out.”
Before the Aug. 31 Trade Deadline, there was quite a bit of talk that Barnes would be traded. But nothing came to fruition, for which he was grateful.
“I can tell you that I wasn’t really paying attention to a lot of it until I woke up on Monday morning [of the Deadline] and I was like, well, and then you started counting down the hours,” Barnes said. “I’m ecstatic to still be here. I love playing for this organization. I’d love to continue to play here for a long time. So we’ll see what happens. I’m really happy to still be here.”
Houck’s next pitch? Against Yankees After a stellar Major League debut on Tuesday night in which he fired five shutout innings against the Marlins, Tanner Houck -- Boston’s No. 10 prospect, as rated by MLB Pipeline -- is due to make his second start on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park against the Yankees.
Houck’s electric performance seemed to energize a Boston team that has been out of contention for several weeks.
“I thought Houck did awesome,” Red Sox righty Nathan Eovaldi said. “Came out there, and he looked real composed and attacked the zone real well. Got into a little trouble, but he was able to get himself out of it. It was an awesome debut.”
Said Barnes: “I was really impressed with Tanner Houck last night. I thought he threw the [heck] out of the ball. It was a lot of fun to watch.”
2021 Spring Training schedule The Red Sox on Wednesday released their Spring Training schedule, and it had a familiar ring to it. The first game the team will play in 2021 will be a seven-inning affair against Northeastern in Fort Myers, Fla., on Feb. 26.
The first Grapefruit League game will be at home the following day against the Pirates. The Yankees make their first visit to JetBlue Park on March 3, and the rivals will face off again in Tampa, Fla., a week later. The Sox will close the exhibition season with two games against the Braves -- the first away and the second at home -- on March 29 and March 30.
The Red Sox open the 2021 regular season at Fenway Park on April 1 against the Orioles.
Hispanic Heritage Month With MLB celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, the Red Sox will do some things to commemorate the occasion during the homestand that starts on Friday night against the Yankees.
The Red Sox, in partnership with the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, are expected to have some special cutouts behind home plate during the homestand.
The Red Sox will share some graphics on social media highlighting the careers of some of their best Latino players.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 4:00:28 GMT -5
Red Sox pitching flops again in loss, but J.D. Martinez cracks slump By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated September 16, 2020, 10:16 p.m.
With 10 games left in the sputter toward the finish line, much of the embarrassment of the 2020 Red Sox season will soon recede, a nightmare whose details dissipate almost instantly at morning’s light. Dreadful performances by players whose tenures are confined to one singularly awful season will quickly fade into footnote status once the offseason sets in motion a roster-building carousel.
But some of the concerns will prove more enduring, even alarming, as the Red Sox look to restore dignity and regain competitiveness while heading for 2021. And a case can be made that no aspect of the 2020 team’s performance is more ominous or confusing than the drastic falloff by slugger J.D. Martinez.
Martinez was signed to a five-year, $110 million deal prior to the 2018 season on the strength of his longstanding reputation as one of the most formidable sluggers in the game. His excellence against both lefties and elite velocity offered balance to the Red Sox lineup, and confidence that he could help anchor the offense against any caliber of opponent. Get 108 Stitches in your inboxEverything baseball every Monday-Friday during baseball season, and weekly in the offseason.
The security blanket he offered in 2018 and 2019, however, is threadbare in a baffling 2020 season. Questions whether Martinez will opt out of a deal that will pay him $38.7 million in 2021-22 have shifted to whether he can avoid becoming a liability while commanding that sum.
That being the case, while the Red Sox suffered yet another loss on Wednesday — dropping to 18-32 with a 8-4 loss to the Marlins in Miami — Martinez offered at-bats that provided some measure of hope.
Long one of the best fastball hitters in the majors, particularly against lefties, Martinez’s night began inauspiciously as he struck out on one from Marlins starter Trevor Rogers. But in the third inning, he stayed closed and lined a 93-m.p.h. Rogers two-seam fastball for a sac fly to deep right. After a strikeout on a curveball in the fifth briefly left him in a 1-for-30 hole that dropped his average to .199, Martinez broke through in the seventh.
He drilled a 96 mph fastball from reliever Ryne Stanek over the right-field fence for a two-run homer, and later punched a single to right on a sinker from Marlins closer Brandon Kintzler.
“[To the opposite field] here, you’ve got to kill it to get a home run. That’s really good to see,” said Sox manager Ron Roenicke. “When he’s going well, his slot to right-center is big for him. . . . That’s what he works on all the time. So, you see it in the game, you hope it can continue, and he gets locked in and we see that good hitter again.”
One game, of course, doesn’t erase the 49 that preceded it. But the signature ability to make solid contact and drive fastballs in the air to right field offers some glimmer of validity to claims by Martinez (batting .208/.289/.375) and members of the organization that it is hitting mechanics, rather than age, behind his decline in productivity in 2020, and that the issue is potentially correctable moving forward. For the Sox, such possibilities are what will determine whether 2020 is an isolated disaster or a mess that will bleed into next season.
Some observations from the game:
⋅ On Tuesday, Tanner Houck offered the Red Sox a beacon of hope, providing five shutout innings in his big league debut. On Wednesday, the team received a cold splash of reality that underscored why the team is 18-32, its worst 50-game record in 60 years.
Lefthander Mike Kickham, making his second start since 2013, got shelled for six runs in just 2⅔ innings. The outing marked the 18th time this year that a Sox starter or opener lasted three innings or fewer while elevating the ERA of the rotation to 6.21 — sixth-worst in big league history.
Such outings represent a virtually impossible formula for winning games, and help to explain why the Red Sox have been stuck in last place in the American League East for virtually the entire season. A lack of rotation depth has been not merely glaring, but unfathomable.
In 18 games started by Nate Eovaldi, Martín Pérez, and Houck, the Sox are 8-10. Their other 32 games have been started by a total of 12 pitchers. That dozen possesses a combined 1-14 record with an 8.04 ERA, allowing 2.7 homers and 5.3 walks per nine innings, and striking out 8.1 batters per nine. The Red Sox are 10-22 when someone other than Eovaldi, Pérez, or Houck starts.
The 2021 season should feature an entirely overhauled group of depth starters. If Eovaldi and Pérez are joined in the rotation by a healthy Eduardo Rodríguez, Nick Pivetta, eventually Chris Sale, and perhaps another offseason acquisition, it’s entirely possible that Houck — with Bryan Mata and Connor Seabold not far behind — will represent part of a promising group of depth starters rather than a single glimmer of hope in an otherwise lost season.
For now, however, 10 games remain in a year where starts such as the one turned in by Kickham’s on Wednesday feel entirely familiar.
⋅ Alex Verdugo continued his strong season, going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. In 26 games as the leadoff hitter, he’s hit .318/.375/.482. If there were questions about whether he could handle the role and remain productive, they’ve been answered.
⋅ Yairo Muñoz continued to impress, going 2-for-4 to boost his average to .357 with a .905 OPS — numbers forged chiefly on the strength of his ability to attack fastballs, and likely to suffer as opponents start exploiting his undisciplined approach against everything else. Also, he impressed with his defensive contributions. One day after he made a running catch going back on the track in left, Muñoz made a diving play on a sinking liner in right.
While he has yet to play the infield with the Sox, his prior experience at short, second, and third suggests a potentially valuable bench contributor.
“I’m a natural infielder,” Muñoz said through team translator Bryan Almonte. “But growing up in the Dominican Republic, there were times when I played shortstop and other days where I’d play the outfield. If there wasn’t a first baseman, I’d play first base. . . . Wherever they need me to play, I’m willing and able to do it.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 4:07:28 GMT -5
Nathan Eovaldi targeting three more Red Sox starts in 2020
By Bill Koch Journal Sports Writer BillKoch25 Posted Sep 16, 2020 at 6:34 PM
It would take something approaching a miracle for the Red Sox to reach the playoffs, and that’s shifted most of the focus to the 2021 season.
Boston has several players under long-term contract for significant salaries, and Nathan Eovaldi is one of them. There would seem to be little to gain by sending the right-hander to the mound too many more times this September.
Eovaldi sees it differently, and it’s why he was eager to return from the right calf strain that put him on the 10-day injured list. Eovaldi was sharp over three innings against the Rays and takes the ball Thursday against the Marlins.
“Finish strong,” Eovaldi said. “I feel like the outing before I got hurt against Baltimore was really good. Built off that against the Rays.”
Eovaldi finished seven innings against the Orioles in a 7-1 victory on Aug. 20. He missed the next three weeks after feeling pain in the calf while playing long toss at Camden Yards. Eovaldi has two years remaining on the $68-million deal he signed prior to the 2019 season.
“It’s more important to him,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. “He’s going to be fighting for the innings he pitches. We’ll see how it goes.”
Eovaldi wants to reach 75 or 80 pitches against Miami, which could take him through five or six innings. He’d be on track to make two more starts on regular rest – Tuesday against the Orioles and the finale against the Braves on Sept. 27. Eovaldi’s usage will depend on whether or not Boston opts to skip a starter due to Monday’s scheduled off day.
“I think it kind of depends on how each outing goes,” Eovaldi said. “I’ll take it game by game. Hopefully I’ll be able to get three more starts in.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
(401) 277-7054
On Twitter: @billkoch25
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 4:09:03 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h We're asking postgame #RedSox questions about Domingo Tapia, Yairo Munoz and Mike Kickham. That about sums up where we are in 2020.
Munoz said growing up in the Dominican Republic he was an infielder, but if there was an open position on any of his teams he was willing to play it. He regards himself as a versatile defender. #RedSox
Munoz still won't be drawn on how and why he left St. Louis in spring training.
There was reportedly a dispute between Munoz and the Cardinals regarding his health and his availability. #RedSox
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 17, 2020 4:09:41 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h The excitement of Tuesday was replaced by the reality that is the 2020 #RedSox season on Wednesday. Boston is 1-25 when trailing after 6 innings. There are simply too many players here not fit to wear the shirt.
|
|