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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 13:29:23 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 24m Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez said being able to review video during games has eased his anxiety.
J.D. Martinez: "It's only three games, guys. It means nothing. 159 more."
J.D. Martinez: I saw Ohtani hit the ball 900 feet and hit it 900 mph off his bat."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 13:30:28 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 1h So far on pitches over the heart of the plate the Sox have hit 2 singles off the pitcher, 3 ground ball singles, a flared single to right, and a soft double into the corner.
Just annoying timing to have a stretch like that, last year the Sox hit .342 BA. .625 SLG in the heart.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 13:36:43 GMT -5
How worried should we be about the Red Sox’ 0-3 start? By Chad Finn Globe Staff,Updated April 5, 2021, 39 minutes ago
Maybe YouTube TV knew what it was doing.
The streaming service frustrated its Red Sox (and Bruins) fan subscribers when it dropped NESN from its lineup In November. The sides never got close to reconciliation — YouTube TV considers NESN’s per subscriber rates too steep — before baseball’s Opening Day, and so Boston fans that use the service were left scrambling for a way to watch their team.
Turns out making it harder to watch the Red Sox may have been an accidental gesture of good will, sparing fans some early-season misery. The Sox, winless in three tries this season after getting outscored by the presumably lowly Orioles, 18-5, in a season-opening sweep, have been darn near unwatchable even for those who can watch them.
It’s embarrassing, which is a feeling this franchise should be pretty used to over the last year-plus. After last season’s 24-36 debacle, the Red Sox needed to start well, for many reasons, none more important than to assure their rightly skeptical fans that this year would not be a repeat of last year.
So, what have they done? Nothing much, other than to remind everyone of last year. Good job, fellas. Way to start this out right.
It’s not the same. It just has felt that way through the first three games. The manager, of course, is different — Alex Cora is back after his one-year banishment — and he will make a difference over the full 162 games.
But it is fair to wonder if his spring training preparation is somehow lacking. The Red Sox’ Chillin’ With The Champs approach to spring two seasons ago led to a slow start from which the 2019 team never fully recovered. Now they come out like this (points at flame-engulfed dumpster adorned with a Red Sox logo).
The only victories so far are those being claimed by the I-told-you-so crowd that thought this team would be wretched. Count me among the dwindling minority that believes this roster is far superior to last year’s and that most of the current issues are repairable, not that rational semi-optimism makes these three games any less maddening. If you haven’t been able to watch them, well, you’re pretty lucky.
This team is not as bad as it has looked. It is not close to as bad as it was last year. That will be proven over the long haul. But some evidence through the first series of the season sure would have been helpful.
Some of the problems are genuinely concerning. Some aren’t worth worrying about at all. The offense, averaging just 1.67 runs per game despite facing New York legend-for-a-fleeting-moment Matt Harvey and the Zimmermann you’ve never heard of (Bruce), actually belongs in that latter don’t-sweat-it category.
Other than J.D. Martinez (6 for 12, the team’s only home run), the Red Sox bats have been left in cold storage. Get this: Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernández, Bobby Dalbec, Hunter Renfroe, and Franchy Cordero had two hits and two total bases in 66 plate appearances. They have three fewer hits than White Sox rookie Yermin Mercedes had by himself Friday night.
The Red Sox were fifth in the American League in runs per game last year (4.87). They should be right in that range again, maybe even better. All of the aforementioned names should be productive, though Cordero is a wild card and Renfroe, who hit .156 last year for the Rays, would be my main candidate to flop on this roster.
The Red Sox should be patient with Dalbec (0 for 11, five strikeouts). Growing pains shouldn’t be a surprise, but the benefits of his prodigious power will come.
The pitching is more concerning, though anyone thinking this is as bad as last year didn’t pay attention last year. The Red Sox, after the Garrett Richards mess Sunday, have a 5.33 ERA. Their ERA for the 60-game season last year was 5.88.
There have been encouraging signs that were lost in the frustration of the sweep: Nate Eovaldi was excellent in the opener, Tanner Houck was unleashing a slider that might be illegal in several states, and Garrett Whitlock was electrifying in relief Sunday. It’s telling that the staff Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is 2.25. There were a couple of disastrous performances — Richards’s and Josh Taylor’s Sunday, namely — but the bigger problem is that the pitching was let down by the offense and defense.
The defense is going to be the prolonged problem with this team, and the biggest annoyance of this season. The outfield defense is OK, but there’s going to be at least one gapper that falls in per series where we say, “JBJ would have had it.” Maybe more than one. I don’t want to hear from those who complained about Jackie Bradley Jr. all these years and now want to lament that he’s gone.
The infield defense? Well, it’s not 1996 Sox-level bad, when Dan Duquette tried to get away with Wil Cordero at second base and Mo Vaughn had his Mitt of Steel at first, but it’s close. Xander Bogaerts is smart, but he’s average. Hernandez won’t lack for hustle, but he’s probably better in the outfield. The Problem, Capital P, is that Devers is playing third base like his career goal is to be a designated hitter.
Devers has the hands, arm, and range to be fine over there, but his fundamentals come and go, and every throw has become an adventure. I’ve heard some suggest Cora should flip Devers and Dalbec on the corners, but Dalbec has enough to think about as a rookie, and Devers has played more professional innings at shortstop (one) than he has a first base (zero). He can play third. It’s on him to prove it.
The same applies to the team as a whole, really. They can play, especially with comparison to last year. But the Sox are three games past the time to show it. If they’re not careful, even those who can watch them on TV won’t care to.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 13:45:17 GMT -5
Game 4: Rays at Red Sox lineups and notesBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated April 5, 2021, 1 hour ago After getting swept at home by the Orioles, the Red Sox will host the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series at Fenway Park. The offense has struggled thus far for the Sox, scoring just five runs through three games. The Rays, runners-up in last year’s World Series, took two out of three against the Marlins, winning the first two games before dropping the finale, 12-7, on Saturday. Nick Pivetta will get the start for the Sox and will be facing the Rays for the first time. Lineups Rays (2-1)1. Yoshi Tsutsugo (L) 1B 2. Austin Meadows (L) DH 3. Randy Arozarena (R) LF 4. Brandon Lowe (L) 2B 5. Manuel Margot (R) RF 6. Joey Wendle (L) 3B 7. Willy Adames (R) SS 8. Kevin Kiermaier (L) CF 9. Mike Zunino (R) C Pitching: RHP Michael Wacha (1-4, 6.62 ERA in 2020) Red Sox (0-3)1. Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B 2. Alex Verdugo (L) CF 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 6. Christian Vazquez (R) C 7. Marwin Gonzalez (S) 1B 8. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF 9. Franchy Cordero (L) LF Pitching: RHP Nick Pivetta (2-0, 1.80 ERA in 2020) Time: 7:10 p.m. TV/Radio: NESN/WEEI-FM 93.7 Rays vs. Pivetta: Margot 1-7, Mejía 0-1. Red Sox vs Wacha: Arroyo 0-2, Bogaerts 0-2, Cordero 0-3, Devers 0-2, Hernández 4-9, Martinez 0-5, Renfroe 1-4, Verdugo 1-2, Vázquez 0-2. Stat of the day: Marwin Gonzalez (LF, 2B, 3B) and Alex Verdugo (CF, RF, LF) became the first players in franchise history to start each of the Red Sox’ first three games at three different defensive positions during the Sox’ opening series. Notes: This is the 20th time the Red Sox have lost three consecutive games to begin a season, first since 2012 (three games), and the second time doing so at home (also 1948) … J.D. Martinez is 6-for-12 (.500) with three doubles, one home run, three RBI, and two runs scored through the Red Sox’ first three games of the season … In his only start at Fenway last season, Pivetta held the Orioles to one run in five innings … Wacha pitched at Fenway twice in the 2013 World Series, winning Game 2 and losing Game 6, and made his first regular-season start in Boston (5 IP, 1 ER) for the Mets last July. Song of the Day: Guns N' Roses "Garden of Eden"www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuhLVl5qf2A
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:20:12 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 4m Eduardo Rodriguez is scheduled to throw a bullpen session today. Cora says Sox will make a decision tonight about whether he’s ready to be activated and added to the rotation.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:26:56 GMT -5
Marc Topkin @tbtimes_Rays · 14m #Rays place Roe on IL with shoulder strain, call up Mazza
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 5m Mazza appeared in 9 games for the Red Sox last season.
Sox traded Mazza and Jeffrey Springs to TB for catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:39:21 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 11m Some pre-game #RedSox notes:
* Haven't been 0-4 at home since 1948.
* They're 1 for 18 with RISP
* They're 5 for 46 vs. LHPs.
* Their OFs are 0 for 32 👀
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:42:38 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 12m Cora says the ball isn’t carrying right now at Fenway, leading to curiosity about whether that’s related to ball composition, but said he chalks it up to this point to the weather.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:46:23 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 35m Martinez on Bobby Dalbec -- 'From last year to this year, just in spring when I saw him – I was like, ‘This kid can hit. This is real.’ He’s a great kid. He’s a nice kid. He’s hungry. He’s composed. To me, he has the makeup to be an impact player in this league.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:47:46 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 31m Alex Cora -- 'Eduardo (Rodriguez) is going to throw a bullpen today. After that we'll make a decision tonight -- maybe tomorrow morning.'
Describes this as 'the last hurdle.' #RedSox
Cora -- 'It's not only about true outcomes -- walks, strikeouts and homers. You've got to play the game.' #RedSox
Cora on Tanner Houck and a possible rotation spot -- 'I think those conversations started last year with Chaim after the season.'
'People might see it as, 'Well, he should be in the big leagues.' Well, we have more now.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:48:34 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 20m Day off for Bobby Dalbec. Likely a day off for Alex Verdugo on Wednesday. Xander Bogaerts is refusing for now. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:50:19 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 32m Replying to @billkoch25 Cora on the start -- 'We feel we have a good team, but we have a lot of work to do -- just like everybody else.' #RedSox
Cora on the Rays -- 'They have a good program. They do. They have a good team. One thing about them is they don't stop playing.' #RedSox
Cora traces the Rays contending DNA back to the 2008 ALCS. They beat the #RedSox in seven games.
Cora on his 2020 baseball viewing -- 'The Rays, the Indians, the Padres and the Dodgers -- those were my favorite teams to watch.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 14:58:33 GMT -5
Done with the Tigers and Twins as it is a blow out surf a few games until the Sox are on Rangers and Jays coming on and what a nice looking new stadium.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 15:05:06 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 4m Chris Sale playing catch in short right field. Throwing first from 60 feet on flat ground. #RedSox
Sale back now to 75 feet. Looks like he'll eventually stretch out to 90. #RedSox
Sale back beyond 90 feet now. Taking a short crow hop, keeping his feet moving and releasing toward his catcher. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 5, 2021 15:36:54 GMT -5
There are about 40,000 folks at the game in Texas they were told wear a mask,,,,etc etc don't see may wearing them......
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