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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 6:49:40 GMT -5
At one time I would of said Chris Sale but with this crop and no dissing them, but none.
Sports Q survey: Which Red Sox pitcher is most likely to throw a no-hitter?
By Chad Finn May 20, 2021 | 2:31 PM
Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, and email. He’ll pick one each weekday to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.
Since it seems like there’s a no-hitter in the majors every day now, which Red Sox starter would you say is most likely to throw one? – Bob W.
Ah, yes, the question that must make the Jordan’s Furniture insurance folks sweat profusely …
There have been six no-hitters in Major League Baseball this season, including one each of the last two nights, by the Tigers’ Spencer Turnbull and the Yankees’ Corey Kluber. And that number is seven if you count Arizona pitcher Madison Bumgarner’s seven-inning gem in April. MLB doesn’t officially, but it’s still a heck of a feat.
The single-season record for no-hitters is seven in 1990, and we’re not even a third of the way through this season yet. I can’t imagine they continue at this pace, but it’s clear baseball has to do something to spark more offense (besides home runs). Commissioner Rob Manfred’s instinct will be to do exactly the wrong thing, but maybe Theo Epstein will have some influence and logical innovation here. Advertisement:
I do think it’s unlikely that the Red Sox get one. They don’t have a complete-game shutout by a starter this season — or even a complete game, period.
They’ve used six starting pitchers so far this year. Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Richards each have nine starts. Eduardo Rodriguez, Nick Pivetta, and Martin Perez each have eight, and Tanner Houck has started twice. All of them have been good to excellent. None is averaging even six innings per start without rounding up. (Eovaldi averages a little under 5.2 innings per start, best on the team.)
So it seems like the only way any of them will get a chance to finish off a no-hitter is if they’re mowing through the lineup with relentless efficiency, like Kluber did Wednesday night when he needed just 101 pitches against the Rangers.
But to actually answer the question, if I had to pick one … hmm, that’s tough. A couple of weeks ago, I would have said E-Rod, but his velocity is down, which is at least a little concerning. Eovaldi? He has the stuff, but he’s made 178 starts in his career and does not have a single complete game.
You know who I’m going with? Nick Pivetta. He walks way too many batters (4.6 per nine innings), but he’s allowing just 5.9 hits per nine, easily the best on the team. He also starts Thursday night. What say he makes three straight days with an MLB no-hitter?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 9:24:10 GMT -5
Tomase: Are the rallying Red Sox really this good? 1H ago / by John Tomase John Tomase RED SOX INSIDER
There come points in every season when you just have to admit that maybe something special is happening and there's no use questioning it.T
The Boston Red Sox have already hinted at multiple such nights this year, whether it's beating New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom, pummeling the Chicago White Sox on Marathon Monday, or walking off the Tampa Bay Rays just five games into the season.
But of all the standout moments early in this improbable never-say-die season, none tops Thursday night.
Down to their final out after blowing a 5-2 lead, they watched J.D. Martinez launch a two-run homer to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7, keeping the Sox alone in first place for a 43rd straight day instead of dropping into a tie with the Rays.
The comeback prompted franchise icon David Ortiz, who's not exactly a prolific Tweeter, to register his approval on social media. "That's how we do it, Red Sox," he exclaimed.
With yet another series victory, the Red Sox once again illustrated that they're harder to put away than a rat's nest. They just keep coming, and it's never obvious from which direction a new hero will scurry.
Martinez delivered the big blow Thursday, but it wouldn't have been possible without singles from Bobby Dalbec and Michael Chavis and the much-maligned bottom of the order to set the table in the ninth. Even though the Red Sox made three errors, they also saw shortstop Xander Bogaerts range deep into the hole to end one threat and start a pretty double play to end another. Advertisement
And when they needed to slam the door, they handed the ball to closer Matt Barnes for the first time since he allowed a game-losing homer to the otherworldly Shohei Ohtani, and he responded by striking out the side with 98 mph heat.
More than a quarter of the way through the season, the Red Sox refuse to relinquish their grip on first place despite playing in one of baseball's toughest divisions, with the punishing Jays, the surging Rays, and the sleeping giants in New York.
"We're not supposed to be here," said manager Alex Cora. "Not too many people thought we were going to be in first place probably at all this season. We just keep playing hard, keep playing good baseball, and keep moving on." About face Total Red Sox wins in 2020 (60 games) 24 Red Sox' wins in 2021 (through 45 games) 27
Cora noted that even after Ohtani shocked them on Sunday to deny a Red Sox sweep, the club didn't act like it had taken "a punch to the stomach." Nor did anyone fret after getting blown out of the opener vs. the Jays in Dunedin, Fla. a day later.
The Red Sox responded by winning the next two to take the series in dramatic fashion on Thursday.
"What an amazing win," Cora said. "What a great game. What a big-league W."
If you're still on the fence, it's understandable. The Red Sox were terrible last year and they don't seem to field the most dominant team, not with a top-heavy offense, a struggling bullpen, and multiple no-name starters.
But there's just something about this group. They discover a new hero every night. They fear no one. They grind like the Ice Bowl Packers.
And they never, ever think they're out of a game, which they proved once again on Thursday night. Maybe we should stop questioning it and just see where the ride takes us.
"It's incredible what these guys can do, but it's what we've been doing," said starter Nick Pivetta. "It's what we're capable of. It's what's going to keep happening."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 13:06:09 GMT -5
Max Scherzer Wants “Update” To League COVID-19 Protocols
By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2021 at 11:21am CDT
Nationals right-handers Erick Fedde and Tanner Rainey were placed on the team’s COVID-related injured list Wednesday after Fedde tested positive for the coronavirus and Rainey was quarantined as a close-contact possibility to Fedde. Since Fedde is asymptomatic and had already received a vaccine, teammate Max Scherzer told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post) that he feels Fedde’s trip to the IL was unnecessary.
“We got to update the rules here,” Scherzer said. “We got to start following the science, listening to what the CDC says, whether this is union or MLB, the people above us. We got to update the protocols here. Vaccinated players are testing positive, they are asymptomatic and should be allowed to play. Plain and simple.”
Beyond just being one of the sport’s biggest names, Scherzer’s opinion carries some extra weight considering that he is both the Nationals’ MLBPA rep and a member of the union’s executive board. The right-hander indicated that he had “reached out to a couple other players across the league” and “we’re all on the same page” that the league’s COVID-19 rules were in need of adjustment.
“Other guys in our clubhouse are thinking the same way, so that’s probably the way we’re thinking across the league. Probably a good amount of players want that to have that be the case,” Scherzer said. “There’s a benefit to taking the vaccine. We got to believe in the science, in that if you’re asymptomatic and you’re vaccinated, then you can play baseball….The vaccinated players should reap the benefits for doing this. This is what we want. We want our players to be vaccinated.”
As Dougherty notes, there is a bit of “gray area” within the guidelines released by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, quite possibly due to the ever-evolving nature of research into COVID-19 and how vaccines can guard against the virus. According to one CDC guideline, a fully-vaccinated person (like Fedde) “should not visit private or public settings if they have tested positive for COVID-19 in the prior 10 days or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.”
However, CDC guidelines also state that a fully-vaccinated person without symptoms (again, like Fedde) can “refrain” from testing or a quarantine “following a known exposure.” As well, the CDC’s website wrote in April that “A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection and potentially less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing.”
Major League Baseball has understandably tended to err on the side of caution when it comes to COVID protocols. Even with these rules in place, there have still been multiple COVID cases among individuals within baseball, as well as wider outbreaks among teams — last season’s outbreaks involving the Marlins and Cardinals being the most prominent examples of the latter. Even this season, the Nationals themselves had their first four games postponed due to an outbreak that sent nine players to the COVID-related list, either as close contacts or actual positive cases. The Nats also aren’t one of the 12 teams who have reached the threshold (85 percent vaccination rate) for some health and safety protocols to be relaxed.
It is quite possible that the league will indeed talk with the MLBPA about changing COVID protocols should that list of teams increase from 12 to at least a majority of the league, or until more is known about whether or not vaccinated individuals with COVID-19 indeed pose a lower risk of infection rate. There are league mechanisms in place for some wiggle room within the protocols, however, as Dougherty writes that “MLB and the MLBPA’s joint committee can clear a vaccinated, asymptomatic individual who has received back-to-back negative test results.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 13:12:49 GMT -5
Mattingly: Baseball 'unwatchable' at times Bryan Mcwilliam 4h ago
Don Mattingly believes baseball has changed and the game he's dedicated much of his life to has become "unwatchable" at times.
The Miami Marlins manager offered a candid response about baseball's direction while answering a question about all of the no-hitters being thrown this season.
"Where does this get better? Because it's great for your team when a guy throws a no-no. It's great for that guy. It's a great accomplishment. But, when there are so many, so early ... it tells you that there are some issues within the game that need to be addressed," Mattingly said Thursday, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid.
Mattingly's comments followed Wednesday's no-hitter by the Yankees' Corey Kluber. The right-hander's no-no was the sixth of the year - one off the single-season modern record - with several months left to play.
"(The issues) are going to take a while. ... We're at a point where it's getting so much attention because it's just a game that sometimes is unwatchable," Mattingly said. "Guys you talk to don't even like watching games because there is nothing going on in them."
Mattingly didn't elaborate on the issues he was talking about, but a recent article from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli indicated players are concerned about pitchers' use of foreign substances, different hitting approaches focused around hitting for power, defensive shifts, and the deadening of the baseball.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 13:22:33 GMT -5
Health, hitting, and closing are rare commodities, and the Red Sox have made the most of theirs
By Jon Couture May 21, 2021 | 12:17 PM
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 7, on Thursday night in Dunedin, Fla., is one of those games that’s going to stick in the memory for a while. It is absolutely going to make the DVD or NFT or whatever commemorative production comes out for consumption this winter. A NESN producer may be folding it into promotional spots at an edit bay literally as I type.
J.D. Martinez’s ninth-inning, two-out, go-ahead home run to cap a three-run rally from nowhere — 10 straight Red Sox hitters went down entering the ninth, and Martinez had struck out in back-to-back at-bats — immediately reminded of “The Brandon Phillips Game” from September 2018. From a year packed with more victories than any year in Red Sox history, we remember that one fondly.
“The Mitch Moreland Game” of March 29, 2019, doesn’t quite have the same ring, but it dongs a lot of the same bells. The Red Sox trailed by five in Seattle, not quite the six of Atlanta six months before. Moreland’s go-ahead winner came with one out, not two. It came in Game No. 2 of the regular season, not win No. 97 of 108.
And it was not ultimately the 2018 moment we realized, in hindsight of course, the Red Sox team that authored it were champions and truly something special. It was one of the litany of 2019 moments that made it all the more frustrating when they proved and reproved they absolutely were not.
Thursday, minutes before it was iconic, was a disaster — three fielding errors helping to squander a winnable game and series to a division rival. It was a turn as quick as the one from Tuesday, when Toronto pummeled Eduardo Rodriguez in a seeming statement win, to Wednesday, when Boston put five on the board in the first as an immediate answer. There are too many baseball games for any one to be much of a referendum. Advertisement:
But they’ve won six out of every 10 for nearly seven weeks now. Still 20 more weeks until October, but they could do much worse than sticking with this formula.
Stay healthy. Mash in the middle. Close out wins.
None can be understated, but the first feels especially underrated today given Rafael Dolis’s ghastly attempt at finishing Thursday for the Jays. Having lost Kirby Yates to Tommy John surgery this spring, five different pitchers have gotten a ninth-inning save chance for Toronto/Dunedin/Buffalo, with Dolis the primary choice.
Yeah. That guy you watched hammer the dirt in a two-run game is what they’ve settled on as their best option.
Dolis and the Jays have done fine overall, just as their offense has continued to mash despite George Springer missing 38 of 42 games. But as noted repeatedly on the NESN broadcast, Dolis came into a relatively stress-free game and would not challenge Red Sox hitters.
Contrast that with Matt Barnes, challenging hitters and experiencing success like never before. Think back to the shutdown days of Jonathan Papelbon and Koji Uehara — they’d have had some fun with that laundry cart, don’t you think?
Maybe Yates could’ve been that for Toronto, but he’s not been available. Same as Luis Severino hasn’t been and, now, Giancarlo Stanton isn’t available to the Yankees. Chris Archer and Michael Wacha are both hurt in Tampa. The White Sox lost Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert from their lineup. Jake Odorizzi quickly got hurt in Houston, and Byron Buxton is out again for Minnesota. The Dodgers’ injured list is bursting at the seams. Advertisement:
The Red Sox? Outside of Chris Sale, they’ve lost Ryan Brasier. Kiké Hernández for 10 days, and Martinez had that day off for what turned out to be a cold.
It is as big a break as any in a year when the sport is wracked with injuries, and the depth-deficient Red Sox have thankfully made the most of it. Just .540 baseball the rest of the way, 63-54, gets them to an uplifting 90-win season.
When the Angels came through town last weekend, we noted it’s hard to imagine a team with two genuine MVP candidates looking less dead in the water. (Rest in peace, dreams of Mike Trout’s best season yet.) I neglected to consider the flip side: That the Red Sox have two of their own.
Martinez is 10th in Fangraphs’ calculations of WAR on Friday morning with 1.9; his defense is a killer, even if he’s been just fine in the outfield when needed. Vlad Guerrero Jr. leads at 2.6, just ahead of … Xander Bogaerts, who continues to lead the American League in hits (56) and is seventh in the majors with a .991 OPS.
We know his value goes far deeper, his ascension to team leader as smooth as it was sudden. It’s no coincidence he was the one to douse Martinez with celebratory ice water while the latter spoke to NESN on Thursday.
It’s the sort of glue that doesn’t guarantee success by itself, but sure makes it a lot easier to find.
“I know it’s early, but these are guys we’ve got to beat,” Martinez told NESN after he composed himself. “These are guys we’ve got to beat to get some space, to get ahead.” Advertisement:
These Red Sox have built just about all they can while the time to build’s been good. Fourth-best record in baseball a week before Memorial Day.
What team that was bad enough to merit the fourth pick in the draft come July could possibly ask for more?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 21, 2021 13:26:50 GMT -5
Getting Dennis Eckersley’s take on the Tony La Russa flap, and other thoughts By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Columnist,Updated May 21, 2021, 46 minutes ago
Picked-up pieces while waiting for Fenway Park to be at full capacity next Saturday …
▪ Dennis Eckersley is the perfect baseball person to comment on Tony La Russa’s dustup with his own player in Minnesota this past week. It was a story replete with themes of old-school vs. new, baseball’s “unwritten rules,” and social-media warheads bordering on ageism aimed at the 76-year-old Hall of Fame skipper.
Eck doesn’t necessarily agree with his former boss, but thinks the barrage of criticism heaped on La Russa is rooted in the manager’s senior status.
“He’s getting killed,” said Eckersley. “I can’t help but think a lot of it is because he’s old. It’s the age we live in.”
Here’s the background: Leading, 15-4, in the top of the ninth inning of Monday’s game, White Sox manager La Russa gave the take sign to Yermin Mercedes as Mercedes prepared for a 3-and-0 pitch from position player Willians Astudillo, who’d been summoned to pitch for the Twins.
Mercedes, a 28-year-old rookie who’s batting .358, either missed the sign or ignored it, and swatted a home run. After the game, La Russa apologized to the Twins and called out his own player, saying Mercedes “made a mistake” and “there will be a consequence.”
Mercedes used the “I have to be me” defense and La Russa was buried from coast to coast, hearing complaints from players around baseball, even some White Sox (Lance Lynn and Tim Anderson).
Eckersley was La Russa’s Hall of Fame closer for many seasons with the Oakland A’s. Eck was often demonstrative on the mound, celebrating after punching out his victims. He is 66 years old, remains loyal to La Russa, and sees both sides of the argument, but said, “Once you put a position player out there to pitch, everything seems to go out the window to me a little bit. If somebody’s throwing lollipops out there, who gives a [expletive] what the hitter is doing? I’m kind of not with Tony on this.
“The problem is that if the manager gives him a take sign, the batter is supposed to take regardless.”
Eckersley doesn’t push back on bat flips after home runs.
“I gave up enough homers,” he said. “I got you, you got me, whatever. I didn’t really mind. When you give up home runs in money time, that’s life. They’re happy. They’re glad. You can do whatever you want to do. It’s the ninth inning, for [expletive] sake.”
What about the unwritten rules of diamond decorum?
“I think time has sort of made them fade away,” said Eck. “But what rules? This one in particular, this 3-and-0 [expletive]? What I don’t know is if Tony talked to the player before he went off on him with the media. He must have said something to him about the take sign before he talked to the media.
“But these days it gets out of hand with the players’ Twitter accounts and whatever. How do you control that? It’s a tough job to manage today.”
When Lynn came to the defense of Mercedes, La Russa responded with, “Lance has a locker, I have an office.”
“Tony used to say that to me,” Eckersley said. “I love that line. Basically, he’s saying, ‘Shove it. I’m the [expletive] boss.’ And that’s where we come from. That’s where I come from. Do what the manager says. And he did give you the take sign.
“I go both ways on this,” Eck said with a sigh. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t pay attention. Being oblivious can be a beautiful thing.
“I know nobody wants to hear us say, ‘Poor Tony’s getting buried.’ But he is old — and so are we! That’s the message here: If you’re old, you’d better duck!”
▪ When it comes to female sports broadcasters, NESN reminds me of a Triple A ball club prepping talent for the big leagues. Ever notice how many good female reporters leave NESN, then show up in a better place? Tina Cervasio, Heidi Watney, Hazel Mae, Jenny Dell, Kathryn Tappen, Elle Duncan, Jade McCarthy, Nikki Reyes, Kacie McDonnell, Jamie Erdahl, and Wendi Nix come to mind.
Now you can add Leah Hextall to the list. Hextall, who worked at NESN from 2012-14, signed with ESPN last week and will become the first female NHL play-by-play announcer for a national outlet.
▪ Quiz: Name the only two big league players who won a World Series MVP, a regular-season MVP, and an All-Star Game MVP (answer below).
▪ One of my favorite quotes of all-time was uttered this week when NESN analyst and former Bruins goalie Andrew Raycroft told the Globe’s Matt Porter, “As soon as you leave Boston, no one knows you play in the league anymore.”
▪ David Krejci collects soccer jerseys and once told the defunct Improper Bostonian, “I’ve always wondered what would’ve happened — because I quit soccer because of hockey.” My soccer friends insist that Krejci must have worn No. 10 when he was a young player in Czechoslovakia.
▪ Is spin rate a God-given talent? Is it enhanced by substances that improve grip? Asking for a friend.
▪ How bad was the play-in game between the Pacers and Hornets? I called an NBA vice president at home to ask about the rules governing stat-keeping for play-in games. In the course of getting my answer (play-in games are neither regular-season nor playoff games; they are their own category), I asked the league rep if he was watching the Charlotte-Indy farce and he said, “No, I switched to the Penguins.”
▪ Why are there so many more quads and lats and other assorted baseball injuries that we never used to hear about? Giancarlo Stanton was sent back to the IL last week with a strained left quad. Two days later, it was Mike Trout going on the shelf for 6-8 weeks because of a strained right calf.
My theory is too much year-round conditioning. These guys look great at the beach, but give me a George Scott, who played in 152 or more games in nine of his first 12 big league seasons, never fewer than 124 in that period. Bad body Mickey Lolich averaged 35 starts in his first 14 big league seasons, making fewer than 30 only once. Have another doughnut, guys.
▪ Joe Thornton, who turns 42 in July, is still going but has never hoisted the Stanley Cup.
▪ Tim Horton’s fans, rejoice: The Canadiens and Maple Leafs are engaged in their first playoff meeting since 1979. Dating back to 1918, it’s the 16th time they’ve met in a postseason series. Montreal leads the all-time series, 8-7.
▪ Congrats to Ryan Berardino, grandson of both Dwight Evans and former Red Sox coach Dick Berardino, who hit .489 for Bentley this year, striking out only four times in 94 at-bats. Berardino homered in his final collegiate at-bat against Franklin Pierce. The Red Sox drafted the slick-fielding first baseman in the 34th round in 2019 and would do well to go after him again in June and give him a shot in the minors this summer.
▪ Congrats also to the Boston University softball team, which went 36-2 and carried an 18-game winning streak into Friday’s NCAA Regional against Mississippi State in Stillwater, Okla.
▪ May 21 was the 40th anniversary of St. John’s Frank Viola vs. Yale’s Ron Darling in an NCAA tournament regional opener, attended by Roger Angell and Smoky Joe Wood. Darling fanned 16 and took a no-hitter into the bottom of the 12th of the 0-0 game before losing, 1-0, in New Haven.
▪ May 21 also was the 50th anniversary of the release of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” According to the New York Post, Gaye’s pals from the Detroit Lions — Lem Barney, Mel Farr, and Charlie Sanders — sang backup on the hit, as did Detroit Piston Dave Bing.
▪ Does Kemba Walker’s ubiquitous Yankee cap bother any of you?
▪ Brockton honors the late Marvin Hagler Sunday at Brockton High School starting at 2 p.m.
▪ Globe baseball scribe Julian McWilliams is the voice of Willie Mays in the audio version of John Shea’s outstanding biography with the Say Hey Kid.
▪ Speaking of books, now is the time to pre-order (Amazon or your local independent) “Remember Who You Are: What Pedro Gomez Showed Us About Baseball and Life.” Everybody’s favorite ESPN baseball guy died unexpectedly in February, and those who knew him best (including Terry Francona, Eckersley, Peter Gammons, and Tim Kurkjian) contributed 62 personal essays to the tome.
Pedro’s son, Rio, is a lefty pitching prospect in the Red Sox system and was just called up to Double A Portland. Rio also wrote a piece on his dad.
▪ Not enough scorn can be heaped upon TNT for its amateur-hour broadcast of the Celtics-Wizards play-in game from the Garden Tuesday. The great Marv Albert deserved better for one of his final broadcasts. Albert and analyst Grant Hill sounded as if they were broadcasting from bus terminal bathrooms in separate locations.
▪ After a 14-month hiatus, the Sports Museum will begin offering private VIP tours June 1. To schedule a tour for your group, email Maria Kangas at mkangas@sportsmuseum.org.
▪ If you are on Twitter, do yourself a favor and follow tennis legend Chris Evert. She’s smart, irreverent, and hilarious. Asked by one of her followers to list the top five women’s clay-court players in history, Evert wrote, “I would say, in no particular order: Steffi, Monica, Martina, Serena, moi …”
▪ Quiz answer: Brooks and Frank Robinson.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2021 7:30:27 GMT -5
IMO, it is quite something not only winning vs the big dogs of other teams but actually teeing off on them.... been noticing the teams that have been hitting sure as hell like using the whole field....Devers, Ohtani, JDM, Xander, heck Vlad jr......
Peter Gammons @pgammo · 2h Red Sox have won v. Nola, Giolito, Ryu, deGrom:17 IP 26 H, 16 R. Won 3 straight v. Toronto, Philly on road w/ bullpen getting 28 outs, only 3 by Barnes w/ Phils, Braves and Astros on the horizon
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2021 9:36:48 GMT -5
Sunday baseball notes Should baseball’s unwritten rules be made history? By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated May 22, 2021, 2 hours ago
There were two more no-hitters this past week. Every division race is tight. Shohei Ohtani is doing what seems impossible and Albert Pujols joined the Dodgers.
But the hottest topic in baseball was a 76-year-old manager fuming about a 28-year-old rookie having the temerity to hit a home run.
When it comes to shooting itself in the foot, baseball never misses.
Imagine an NBA coach admonishing a player for entertaining the crowd with a creative dunk in the final minutes of a lopsided game.
You can’t. That would be ridiculous.
But when Rookie of the Year candidate Yermin Mercedes of the White Sox swung at a 3-and-0 pitch and homered off the Twins’ Willians Astudillo on Monday night, it set off days of controversy.
Because the White Sox were leading, 15-4, at the time and had a position player on the mound, Chicago manager Tony La Russa wanted Mercedes to take a pitch.
“I took several steps from the dugout onto the field, yelling, ‘Take, take, take,’ ” La Russa said. “The way he was set up, it looked to me like he was going to swing.
“I was upset because that’s not a time to swing 3-0. He missed a 3-0 take sign. With that kind of lead, that’s just sportsmanship and respect for your opponent.
“He made a mistake. There will be a consequence he has to endure here within our family.”
Consequences to endure for hitting a home run. Has it really come to that?
According to the vaunted unwritten rules of baseball, Mercedes could have swung at a 3-and-1 pitch without disrespecting the Twins. But 3 and 0 was forbidden.
Meanwhile, are people really paying close attention to the count in a 15-4 game?
Astudillo is a stout utility player whose nickname is La Tortuga — The Turtle. He threw a looping 47-mile-per-hour pitch that Mercedes crushed. Is that really so awful?
“Big mistake,” La Russa said. “The fact that he’s a rookie, and excited, helps explain why he just was clueless. But now he’s got a clue.”
La Russa’s age isn’t the issue here. Old-school sensibilities are.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who is 39, said he was surprised by Mercedes swinging.
“Those things still happen in this game, and we have to deal with it,” Baldelli said.
They did. On Tuesday, Twins reliever Tyler Duffey threw behind Mercedes in the seventh inning. He was ejected, as was Baldelli.
Duffey was later suspended for three games and Baldelli for one.
La Russa was fine with Minnesota throwing behind Mercedes.
“I didn’t have a problem with how the Twins handled that,” he said.
White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn came to the defense of Mercedes that night.
“The way I see it, for position players on the mound, there are no rules,” he said. “Let’s get the damn game over with. And if you have a problem with whatever happens, then put a pitcher out there. Can’t get mad when there’s a position player on the field and a guy takes a swing.”
La Russa shut down that talk quickly.
“Lance has a locker; I have an office,” he said.
Via Instagram, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson threw his support to Mercedes.
“The game wasn’t over!” he wrote. “Keep doing you big daddy.”
La Russa is not the best messenger about rules, unwritten or otherwise. He left a pitcher as the runner on second base to start the 10th inning of a game earlier this month because he didn’t know it was permissible to use the player preceding the pitcher in the batting order.
Mercedes may have been a little overeager. But can you blame him? He’s a career minor leaguer who unexpectedly made the team out of spring training and hit .358 with a .960 OPS through his first 38 games this season.
He’s realizing his dream. Now this happens.
“I’m going to play like that. I’m Yermin. I can’t be another person because if I change it, everything is going to change,” Mercedes told reporters. “We’re just having fun. It’s baseball.”
The White Sox went into the weekend with the best record in the American League. They’re too talented to let this get in the way. But this underscores the potential pitfalls of bringing La Russa out of retirement to manage a team with some players more than 50 years younger.
La Russa is a Hall of Fame manager. But he was out of uniform for nine years and what’s accepted around the game has changed. Players are more expressive and less inclined to accept groupthink.
So, what can be done?
A 10-run mercy rule would extinguish such situations in the first place. It’s hard to envision lopsided games being called, but then who ever thought extra innings would start with a runner on second base?
“I’m still not saying I’m for it. I’m just saying it’s worth discussing,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Because then you don’t have to worry about, ‘I’m six runs up, am I allowed to steal? Is this going to make this guy mad?’ No, we’re just playing to get to that point.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora stayed clear of the subject when asked if he would tell one of his hitters to take a pitch in a similar situation.
“Good question,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that. We’ve had some games like that, we decided what we decided to do. One thing for sure, we keep it in the clubhouse.
“That’s the most important thing and I don’t think it’s about respecting the game or disrespecting the game. I think the game is in a different stage right now. We see so many position players pitching compared to a few years ago. I mean, we’re seeing position players pitch in the seventh inning. So, it’s just unfortunate that it’s a topic.”
La Russa was a special adviser with the Red Sox from 2017-19. Cora considers him a friend and mentor and certainly wasn’t going to take sides.
That’s understandable. I got to know La Russa a little when he was with the Red Sox and learned a lot about the game from him. He’s a charitable, caring person.
But at some point, everybody around baseball will have to make a choice. As MLB works to maintain its position in the modern entertainment marketplace, rookies being chastised for breaking an antiquated code of conduct doesn’t help.
“Let the kids play,” was the slogan MLB came up with a few years ago.
It’s more like let the game breathe. Mercedes was just having a little fun. PRESSURE IS ON Vazquez has faith in Rodriguez
Eduardo Rodriguez is scheduled to face the Phillies on Sunday. He was 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA in his first four starts before going 1-2, 6.00 in the next four.
Christian Vázquez, who has caught all eight starts, doesn’t see anything amiss with Rodriguez’s mechanics. He believes it’s more of a mental issue.
“He wants to be perfect. He wants to throw a no-hitter in one inning,” Vazquez said. “For me, he’s not locating his pitches well. He’s working at it, and he’ll get better.
“He’s trying too hard. He knows he’ll be a free agent. But he’ll get better. He needs to be the Eddie he was before.”
Rodriguez is 28 with a wife and two kids. A good season would set him up for a major contract that would take him into his 30s and provide lifetime security.
He’s 37-13 with a 3.92 ERA since the start of the 2018 season. With MLB bouncing back financially from the pandemic, Rodriguez could be in a strong position.
Trevor Bauer, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard, and Justin Verlander will be free agents after the season or have the ability to opt out of their deals.
Rodriguez doesn’t have the accolades they do. But he’s a reliable lefthander who has performed well in a big market and has playoff experience. Whether it’s with the Red Sox (which he would prefer) or another team, he should have good options.
“It’s tough when you miss a whole season, but he looks strong to me and his velocity will get there,” Vazquez said. “I keep telling him to relax and be himself.”
A few other observations about the Red Sox:
▪ The Cubs, like the Sox, haven’t reached 85 percent of their Tier 1 players and staff being vaccinated. That’s the threshold for MLB to relax protocols. But beyond that, it also lessens the chances of an outbreak that could ruin the season.
General manager Jed Hoyer doesn’t believe the Cubs will get there and said it was “a real competitive advantage we’re going to miss.”
Red Sox officials have the same fears.
“The more players are vaccinated, and therefore you eliminate the contact-tracing element of [protocols]. It eliminates risk. So eliminating risk is a competitive advantage,” Hoyer said.
“Injuries can be avoidable, but sometimes they’re not. Your season can get derailed when you have injuries, and that’s part of this job. But I feel this is one that can be avoided, and we’re not able to avoid it.” Related: The Red Sox will likely be one of the last MLB teams to be fully vaccinated. Here’s why.
As with any group of 100 people, baseball teams have cultural and political differences when it comes to vaccines. Fifteen teams have hit 85 percent, but others are dealing with more holdouts than expected.
▪ The Sox have the fourth overall pick of the draft and are making sure to get as many eyes as possible on the top players available. GM Brian O’Halloran was in Mississippi last weekend to see Vanderbilt play Mississippi and get a look at righthanders Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter.
Rocker, Leiter, Texas high school shortstop Jordan Lawler, and California high school shortstop Marcelo Mayer are generally considered the top four prospects, although some scouts would put Louisville catcher Henry Davis in that mix.
Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom hasn’t been on the road scouting amateurs yet but plans to be soon.
▪ Bobby Dalbec hit .174 with one home run and a .507 OPS in his first 26 games. But the Sox stayed with him and it’s paying off.
Dalbec hit .316 with a 1.103 OPS and four runs in his next 11 games. As was the case in his journey through the minors, he’s figuring out how pitchers attack him.
If Dalbec hits 25 homers, drives in 75 runs, and plays above-average defense at first base, the strikeouts won’t matter. Related: ‘Thinker’ Bobby Dalbec trusting talent, approach at the plate for Red Sox ETC. Back up the truck in Anaheim?
The Angels were 18-22 before Mike Trout was lost for 6-8 weeks with a Grade 2 strain in his right calf. Baseball has had a rash of hip, quadriceps, and calf injuries this season and Trout is the latest to land on the injured list.
With Trout out for an extended period, whatever slim chance the Angels had of making the postseason is down to nearly zero. That would make seven years outside of the playoffs for the greatest player of his generation.
As incredible as Shohei Ohtani has been, opposing pitchers can work around him now.
Over the course of his career, the Angels are 34 games over .500 with Trout and 25 games under without him.
The Angels have two choices: Persevere and try to stay in the mix until Trout returns or make as many trades as possible to reload for next season and beyond.
Manager Joe Maddon spoke positively about getting back in the race. But his pitching is not close to playoff caliber. The Angels have the worst ERA in baseball.
Trout turns 30 in August. There’s time to build a team around him that can make the World Series. At some point the Angels have to commit to that.
First-year GM Perry Minasian bolstered the roster over the winter with free agents signed to short-term deals. If trading Steve Cishek, Raisel Iglesias, Jose Quintana, Justin Upton, Tony Watson, or anybody else helps that cause, why not? Extra bases
The Dodgers, who have a $266.9 million luxury-tax payroll, went bargain hunting. They signed 41-year-old Albert Pujols after he was released by the Angels and Yoshi Tsutsugo after he was released by the Rays. The Dodgers are responsible for only the prorated minimum salary on both players, about $430,000. “It’s surreal and I don’t use that word very often,” said manager Dave Roberts about having Pujols on his roster. “But it fit, and it looked normal.” Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times asked Roberts if he could beat Pujols in a footrace. “I would say yes,” the 48-year-old Roberts said. Pujols drove in four runs in his first four games with the Dodgers, who needed help against lefties … The Dodgers now have four former MVPs on their roster: Pujols, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, and Clayton Kershaw. They’re the first team with four MVPs since the 1996 Red Sox had Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Kevin Mitchell, and Mo Vaughn. They finished 85-77 … Chris Davis will miss the entire season for the Orioles after undergoing surgery on his left hip. He’ll be 36 next season and in the final year of his contract. You have to wonder if Baltimore will release him and move on. Davis has hit .185 since 2017 … Corey Kluber’s no-hitter on Wednesday was the sixth of the season, one short of the record. That was last done in 2012. Kluber threw the 14th complete game of the season. Six were no-hitters. At this rate it will take a perfect game to impress anybody … As pitchers chase strikeouts, they’re losing control. There have been an average of 0.47 hit batters per game, well above the record rate of 0.32 in 2012. Wild pitches (0.40 per game) also are at record levels. To use the Red Sox as an example, they went into the weekend with 24 wild pitches in 45 games, four fewer than in 60 games last season … Happy birthday to Reggie Cleveland, who is 73. The righthander pitched for the Red Sox from 1974-78, appearing in 150 games. Cleveland was acquired from the Cardinals as part of a five-player deal. He was a starter with St. Louis but pitched in a variety of roles for the Sox and averaged 188 innings in his first four seasons. Cleveland was the first Canadian pitcher to start a World Series game (Game 5 in 1975) and his 105 victories rank fourth among Canadians. Only Ferguson Jenkins (284), Ryan Dempster (132), and Kirk McCaskill (106) have more. Kevin Romine is 60. He had 158 hits for the Sox from 1985-91. His sons Andrew (283) and Austin (279) surpassed that in their careers. Both are in the Cubs organization this season.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 10:09:23 GMT -5
IMO, it is quite something not only winning vs the big dogs of other teams but actually teeing off on them.... been noticing the teams that have been hitting sure as hell like using the whole field....Devers, Ohtani, JDM, Xander, heck Vlad jr......Peter Gammons @pgammo · 2h Red Sox have won v. Nola, Giolito, Ryu, deGrom:17 IP 26 H, 16 R. Won 3 straight v. Toronto, Philly on road w/ bullpen getting 28 outs, only 3 by Barnes w/ Phils, Braves and Astros on the horizon I first noticed that with Mike Schmidt. I realized then, that the best power hitters can go the other way. Pitchers will simply nibble on the out fringe of the plate unless you are willing to go the other way. JDM didn't kill the ball on that game-winning HR. And Dalbec didn't kill the ball when he homered down the RF line.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 10:23:39 GMT -5
Sunday baseball notes Should baseball’s unwritten rules be made history?By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated May 22, 2021, 2 hours ago As with any group of 100 people, baseball teams have cultural and political differences when it comes to vaccines. Fifteen teams have hit 85 percent, but others are dealing with more holdouts than expected. I'm not so sure it is as simple as politics and culture. Your age 25-35 cohort is not particularly at risk, so some of them might figure the risk of the shot is greater than the risk from Covid.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 10:48:45 GMT -5
Sunday baseball notes Should baseball’s unwritten rules be made history?By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated May 22, 2021, 2 hours ago Over the course of his career, the Angels are 34 games over .500 with Trout and 25 games under without him. The Angels have two choices: Persevere and try to stay in the mix until Trout returns or make as many trades as possible to reload for next season and beyond. Sometimes teams tank, with good reasons, but this isn't one of those cases. 1-You don't want to trade off anyone that will help in 2022, even if you give up on 2021. 2-More importantly, the Angels have exactly -0- players they can reasonably trade. Walsh, Fletcher, Trout, Canning and Ohtani are keepers. Rendon & Upton are too expensive to trade away, without the Angels eating a chunk of salary. No one else is worth anything. It's a sacrilege for most people, but they should've traded Trout when they had the chance. They could've landed half the LAD farm system. The numbers with how the Angels fare with/without Trout shows you how relatively little on player impacts a team.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 22, 2021 13:52:20 GMT -5
Sunday baseball notes Should baseball’s unwritten rules be made history?By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated May 22, 2021, 2 hours ago Over the course of his career, the Angels are 34 games over .500 with Trout and 25 games under without him. The Angels have two choices: Persevere and try to stay in the mix until Trout returns or make as many trades as possible to reload for next season and beyond. Sometimes teams tank, with good reasons, but this isn't one of those cases. 1-You don't want to trade off anyone that will help in 2022, even if you give up on 2021. 2-More importantly, the Angels have exactly -0- players they can reasonably trade. Walsh, Fletcher, Trout, Canning and Ohtani are keepers. Rendon & Upton are too expensive to trade away, without the Angels eating a chunk of salary. No one else is worth anything. It's a sacrilege for most people, but they should've traded Trout when they had the chance. They could've landed half the LAD farm system. The numbers with how the Angels fare with/without Trout shows you how relatively little on player impacts a team. The signing of Pujols made no sense other than putting asses in the seats they overpaid for Upton I love Ohtani and like the Walsh kid, but they won't get anything for anyone else on the roster....heck they overpaid for Rendon.
It is a damn shame, they have arguably the best player in a generation and they could never put a team around him.
Their pitching is a god damn joke.
Mike Trout has been to 3 play off games. That is it. And I don't see them getting to the post season anytime soon.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 22, 2021 18:00:38 GMT -5
Sometimes teams tank, with good reasons, but this isn't one of those cases. 1-You don't want to trade off anyone that will help in 2022, even if you give up on 2021. 2-More importantly, the Angels have exactly -0- players they can reasonably trade. Walsh, Fletcher, Trout, Canning and Ohtani are keepers. Rendon & Upton are too expensive to trade away, without the Angels eating a chunk of salary. No one else is worth anything. It's a sacrilege for most people, but they should've traded Trout when they had the chance. They could've landed half the LAD farm system. The numbers with how the Angels fare with/without Trout shows you how relatively little on player impacts a team. The signing of Pujols made no sense other than putting asses in the seats they overpaid for Upton I love Ohtani and like the Walsh kid, but they won't get anything for anyone else on the roster....heck they overpaid for Rendon.
It is a damn shame, they have arguably the best player in a generation and they could never put a team around him.
Their pitching is a god damn joke.
Mike Trout has been to 3 play off games. That is it. And I don't see them getting to the post season anytime soon.They are really disorganized, imo. Sometimes you have to tank. But the offset to that is, sometimes you have to go all-in over the top. They don't have anything close to an an ace, but they still managed to not land Cole or Bauer or Wheeler. They're expensive, sure, but sometimes you have no choice but to cut the check and hold your nose.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 6:34:48 GMT -5
Buster Olney @buster_ESPN · 5m Run differential leaders: 1. Padres +68 2. Dodgers +66 3. White Sox +65 4. Astros +60 5. Giants +53 6. Red Sox +51 7. Rays +42 8. Blue Jays +35 9. Yankees +23 10. Cubs +15 Only one division not represented in this group of 10 teams.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 23, 2021 12:28:17 GMT -5
Alec Lewis @alec_lewis · 55m Andrew Benintendi so far in the month of May:
— .356 AVG (No. 9 in MLB) — .392 OBP — .452 SLG — .844 OPS — Nine multi-hit games
#Royals
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