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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 22, 2021 13:56:44 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 4m Red Sox are having their team photo taken today. Phillips Valdez is present - meaning he’s done with his quarantine in Chicago. I believe he was the last Sox player to test positive for COVID-19, meaning that for the first time since 8/26 (27 days ago), no Sox are quarantined.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 22, 2021 14:35:50 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 13m Cora on Dalbec: ‘It’s not that he’s put himself in the conversation. He is the conversation.’
Cora on Nick Yorke, Red Sox minor league player of the year: ‘The way he goes about his business is very impressive…What he did is what he expects.’
Cora on Eovaldi: ‘He’s becoming a different pitcher. He’s different than the one we acquired in 2018.’
More Cora on Eovaldi, who leads AL pitchers in fWAR: ‘He’s been one of the best pitchers in the American League.’
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 22, 2021 15:18:21 GMT -5
Blue Jays down 4-0 in 3rd
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Sept 22, 2021 17:52:36 GMT -5
I have counted over a dozen articles from writers and bloggers on why the Red Sox are still wearing those awful yellow jerseys and hell, has it come to this?
While they are winning games, there is no way they will take them off. Hate the uniform, but love the winning streak. Keep wearing them.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Sept 22, 2021 18:24:23 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 13m Cora on Dalbec: ‘It’s not that he’s put himself in the conversation. He is the conversation.’
Cora on Nick Yorke, Red Sox minor league player of the year: ‘The way he goes about his business is very impressive…What he did is what he expects.’
Cora on Eovaldi: ‘He’s becoming a different pitcher. He’s different than the one we acquired in 2018.’
More Cora on Eovaldi, who leads AL pitchers in fWAR: ‘He’s been one of the best pitchers in the American League.’ It's too early, but the stats are great. Yorke has a .978 OPS+ in A+, at age 19.173. The K/W has weakened since his promotion, but this is really good.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Sept 22, 2021 20:01:55 GMT -5
LMK how many times you watch this before you get tired of it. Iglesias is doing it all. I know he is ineligible for the playoffs, so we need to get Arroyo into game shape, but right now, it is really difficult to sit Iggy.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Sept 22, 2021 20:04:12 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe The initial whirling stop is great. But the casually perfect backhanded flip to Bogaerts is even better.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 2:10:26 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 4h #RedSox 12, #Mets 5, final.
Sox (88-65) have won seven straight. They are +2 on the Yankees and +2.5 on the Jays with nine games left.
The yellow uniforms will be back Friday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 2:46:47 GMT -5
Dan Shaughnessy @dan_Shaughnessy · 8h Mets starter, Walker, throwing batting practice. Red Sox surge reminds me of so many Patriot AFC East titles. One Tomato Can after another. Eovaldi or Sale for the Wild Card game? Should be good drama.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 2:47:08 GMT -5
Jason Mastrodonato @jmastrodonato · 7h Second inning and the game is already over. Mets are embarrassing right now. Haven’t scored more than 6 runs in 11 days. Red Sox couldn’t have a much easier road to the playoffs these final two weeks.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 2:50:00 GMT -5
Kyle Schwarber (2 HRs) and Red Sox pound Mets By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated September 22, 2021, 10:54 p.m.
For roughly two weeks in late August through mid-September, the Red Sox looked like a team being held together by little more than duct tape. No longer.
With the team’s COVID-19 crisis behind it, the roster features enviable depth that at times provides manager Alex Cora with an embarrassment of riches. On Wednesday, that notion was crystallized by a night when first baseman Kyle Schwarber — with Bobby Dalbec sitting — crushed homers in the first two innings to set in motion a 12-5 rout of the Mets.
The triumph extended the Red Sox’ winning streak to seven games, their third streak of seven or more games this year. Only once in the last 30 years — the championship season of 2018 — has the team had at least three seven-game winning streaks. The run has been anchored by a resurgent offense that has scored at least six runs in all seven victories.
“I do believe this is the most complete roster we’ve had the whole season. We have options to pinch hit, to pinch run, to mix and match,” said manager Alex Cora. “Right now, compared to a few weeks ago, we’re in a great spot.”
The decision to start Schwarber at first and sit Dalbec illuminated the team’s depth of options.
On the surface, sitting Dalbec seemed preposterous. The rookie has been on a run since mid-August that rivals the most prolific slugging stretches by any Red Sox player over the last handful of years. He entered Wednesday hitting .340 with a .426 OBP and colossal .802 slugging mark along with 12 homers in his last 34 games.
But for all of his recent success, Dalbec has continued to struggle against velocity, hitting .200 with a .320 slugging mark and just one homer against pitches of at least 94 miles per hour during his hot streak, numbers in line with the entire season.
Schwarber, on the other hand, has swung a sledgehammer against velocity. He entered the night hitting a modest .228 average but with a .545 slugging mark and nine homers against pitches of 94-plus m.p.h.
In a pregame hitters’ meeting, Schwarber told teammates to be ready for Mets starter Taijuan Walker to attack with heat. He then practiced what he preached, crushing a 94-m.p.h. fastball off Walker (7-11, 4.57) to straightaway center for his 30th homer to give the Sox a 1-0 lead in the first.
One inning later, with the Sox up, 3-1, Schwarber launched a 96-m.p.h. heater into the right field bleachers for a three-run homer. He finished 3 for 4 with two homers, a double, and a walk.
“Tonight was obviously his show and he carried the weight,” said Sox starter Chris Sale. “You couldn’t ask for any more from someone you acquire at the trade deadline, doing exactly what we expected him to do.”
By the end of three innings, the Sox had amassed a 9-1 lead on the strength of 10 hits, including seven for extra bases. The eruption made for a comfortable night for Sale.
The lefthander, coming off a Sept. 17 outing in which he’d struck out just one, tied for a career low, featured a more powerful arsenal on Wednesday. Sale (5-0, 2.57) allowed two runs on six hits over five innings, striking out eight (matching his season high) and walking two. His fastball topped out at 97 m.p.h., anchoring a three-pitch mix that produced 15 swings and misses among 89 pitches.
“I think [the velocity is] something that’s still kind of building,” said Sale. “I don’t really rely on it as much as I used to and I don’t really put as much into it, I guess. If it’s there, it’s there. If not, I’ll find a way. But yeah, obviously it’s something that I’d like to progressively kind of uptick.”
The Red Sox defense contributed to a well-rounded performance. In the third inning, with the Sox leading, 6-1, Sale put runners on first and second with one out.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor hit a laser up the middle. Sox second baseman José Iglesias made a diving play to his right to initiate an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play that had Sale howling in appreciation.
“That double play was amazing. It was a game-changer right there,” said Cora. “He got to the ball. His reaction was great, the feed was awesome, and the turn was great. We’ve been a lot better [defensively] lately.”
And in the sixth, with the Mets rallying against the Red Sox bullpen, Kiké Hernández turned a bases-loaded, one-out fly to deep center into an inning-ending double play when his perfect, one-hop throw to third nabbed Jonathan Villar trying to advance.
All nine Red Sox lineup members collected at least one hit. Schwarber led the way with three, while Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez, and Hunter Renfroe each had two.
The Sox improved to 48-29 at Fenway, including 39-18 since late May. They are 5-0 during the homestand while wearing their yellow, City Connect uniforms.
The Sox sit two games in front of the Yankees and 2½ in front of the Blue Jays in the race for the two AL wild-card spots. The stakes have the Red Sox giddily anticipating a weekend series at Fenway against the Yankees.
“You’re going up to the field and the energy is high and obviously the writing is on the wall there, especially out there in left field. You can see it. We know what’s at stake,” said Schwarber. “September baseball, especially when you’re in the playoff push, nothing can beat it.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 2:56:30 GMT -5
Red Sox notebook Nick Yorke named Red Sox minor league offensive player of the year By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated September 22, 2021, 8:39 p.m.
Last summer, the Red Sox shocked the industry by taking Nick Yorke with their first-round pick. Yorke did not ignore the questions about the wisdom of his selection.
“It’s motivation. I mean, I still know the number. I was ranked 139th going into the draft by Perfect Game,” Yorke said, referring to the prominent showcase organizers. “But at the end of the day, that’s not going to help me get to the big leagues. So every opportunity that I got to be on the field, try to make the most of it and prove to them that I’m better than 139th.”
Yorke managed to do just that in his pro debut in 2021. The 19-year-old, who started with Low-A Salem and concluded it with High-A Greenville, produced a startling line, hitting .325/.412/.516 with 14 homers in 97 games.
Those numbers are even more surprising given Yorke’s early-season struggles. He hit .177 with a .440 OPS in May. But from June through the end of the season, he hit .361/.450/.598. In so doing, he earned Red Sox minor league offensive player of the year honors, an award he received at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.
“I was lucky the season wasn’t a month or else I wouldn’t be here,” Yorke chuckled.
The fact that Yorke produced such an eye-popping line as a teenager put him in rare company. The last comparable season by a Red Sox minor leaguer in the lower levels was in 2014, when the feats of 20-year-old Mookie Betts yielded phenom status over a .314/.417/.506 performance with Greenville and Salem.
While Triston Casas, who was scheduled to make his Triple A debut on Wednesday, is generally viewed as the top Red Sox prospect, some evaluators now place Yorke ahead of Casas. Others who continue to rank Casas ahead of Yorke believe that Yorke has a chance to claim top prospect status given the greater value of his position (second base, as opposed to first base for Casas) and the fact that he’s already showed dominance at an early stage.
That conversation is not a slight on Casas — still viewed as a lock to be an everyday big leaguer, with some seeing middle-of-the-order star potential — as much as it is a reflection of a remarkable performance by Yorke, who hopes that his visit to Fenway is a prelude to many more.
“It’s surreal,” Yorke said. “[I’m] very, very grateful … that the Red Sox gave me a chance to be able to even have an opportunity of playing here.”
The Red Sox also recognized righthander Brayan Bello as minor league starting pitcher of the year. The 22-year-old came back from the lost 2020 campaign showing a boost in velocity — regularly sitting in the mid-90s and touching 98 — while complementing that with a quality slider and changeup.
“That [velocity jump] came out of nowhere but I continued … to work hard to keep the velo up,” Bello said through a translator. “I’m super happy about [the possibility of pitching at Fenway] and just waiting on the moment for them to give me that call.”
Durbin Feltman (minor league reliever of the year), Jedixson Paez (Latin program pitcher of the year), infielders Ceddanne Rafaela (minor league defensive player of the year) and Christian Koss (minor league base runner of the year), and outfielder Allan Castro (Latin program position player of the year) also were honored. The organization also recognized righthander Kutter Crawford as the recipient of the Lou Gorman Award for perseverance in the face of obstacles.
Out of quarantine
Utility player Danny Santana and righthander Phillips Valdez, though still on the COVID-19-related injured list, rejoined the team, marking the first time since Aug. 27 that the Red Sox haven’t had a player who tested positive in quarantine.
“I’m glad that everybody is here, everybody is healthy, and hopefully we can turn the page,” said manager Alex Cora. “We’ve still got to … protect each other and take care of the group, but I’m relieved everyone is here now.”
Among other players who had been quarantined this month after testing positive, Cora said that outfielder Jarren Duran will remain in Triple A for now to get more at-bats. Yairo Muñoz has rejoined the Red Sox following his COVID-19 quarantine and is doing defensive drills and running, but he has a wrist injury that has limited him. Family business
Red Sox vice president of scouting development and integration Gus Quattlebaum enjoyed a memorable two games at Fenway courtesy of a member of the opposing team. Hugh Quattlebaum, hired as Mets hitting coach in the middle of this season, turned the series into a family reunion. Related: Red Sox place reliever Garrett Whitlock on 10-day IL with pectoral strain
The brothers were joined at Fenway by their families as well as their parents, former Phillips Andover faculty members Ed and Ruth Quattlebaum.
“Highlight of the year by far, for us. Obviously we have other things we’re worried about like getting into the playoffs, but it was great just to spend time with his family, and they got to spend time with mine on the off day,” said Gus Quattlebaum. “They’re never going to say it, but it was really special for my parents. They don’t come to Fenway that often anymore. To be able to see both their sons at Fenway, it was pretty surreal.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 2:58:36 GMT -5
Schwarber (2 HRs) paces Sox's 7th straight W Sale: 'You couldn't ask for any more from someone you acquire at the Trade Deadline' 1:38 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- Remember that “letdown” the Red Sox supposedly had at the Trade Deadline because their competitors stocked up and Boston’s main acquisition wouldn’t be able to play for at least two weeks because of a right hamstring injury?
Well, it turns out that Kyle Schwarber was entirely worth the wait. And you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who still thinks that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made a mistake by trading for Schwarber instead of Anthony Rizzo, who went to the Yankees.
Schwarber (3-for-4 with four runs scored, two homers and four RBIs) flexed his muscles and flattened the Mets on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, propelling the streaking Red Sox to their seventh consecutive win -- a 12-5 romp over the Mets.
“He's been clutch,” said Red Sox starter Chris Sale, who improved to 5-0 since his return from Tommy John surgery. “Tonight was obviously his show, and he carried the weight. You couldn't ask for any more from someone you acquire at the Trade Deadline, doing exactly what we expected him to do. He knows what he can do. We all know what he can do. He's been around a while now. That was a big piece for us.”
And if there was some public perception among Red Sox fans that Schwarber wasn’t a big enough piece back on July 29 when the trade was made, the slugger said he wasn’t aware of it.
“No. I think you’re the first one to tell me that. Thanks for telling me,” quipped Schwarber. “I’m all about winning. That’s me. I want to win. I was obviously very grateful for the time in Washington, but being able to come here to know that we’re in a playoff push -- it’s all about winning.”
Backed by their recent resurgence, the Red Sox (88-65) are in possession of the first American League Wild Card spot by two games over the Yankees. The Blue Jays are 2 1/2 games behind Boston.
That sets up a huge rivalry showdown this weekend when the Yankees come to Fenway for a three-game series that starts on Friday night.
“Yeah, very excited to see what the atmosphere is going to be like,” said Schwarber. “Obviously it’s going to be my first Yankees-Red Sox matchup here in Boston. I’m definitely very excited to show up to the field on Friday and see the buzz. It’s going to be fun. I’m sure it’s going to be electric, and I think we’re all going to be ready for the challenge.”
But before getting to the Yankees, Schwarber torched the Mets one last time in 2021. Schwarber has belted nine homers against them this season, including four multihomer efforts.
“He’s been really good against [Taijuan] Walker, and he’s a good pitcher,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “We talked a little bit today in the hitters’ meeting, and he talked about, ‘Be ready to hit a fastball.’ And obviously he did, and we did an outstanding job offensively early on.”
The left-handed-hitting Schwarber got the Red Sox started in the bottom of the first, when he mashed a solo homer to center field in the first inning that had an exit velocity of 112.6 mph and traveled a projected distance of 434 feet.
In the second, he mauled a three-run rocket (105.8 mph and 405 feet) beyond the visitors’ bullpen and into the bleachers in right.
In 32 games and 111 at-bats with the Red Sox, Schwarber has a slash line of .297/.431/.541 with 29 runs scored, nine doubles, six homers, 17 RBIs and 25 walks.
Schwarber might have been in a bit of a September dry spell when it came to the long ball, but just like that, his 47 at-bat homerless drought ended with moonshots in back-to-back innings -- giving him 31 for the season.
Heading down the stretch, Schwarber -- who has a World Series-winning track record with the 2016 Cubs and is known for his relentless at-bats -- figures to be a significant player for Boston.
“We want to be able to keep winning and get to the postseason and keep winning in the postseason,” said Schwarber. “Postseason baseball, it’s addicting. It’s a different kind of baseball. It’s something that you want to get to every single year.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 3:13:51 GMT -5
for folks wondering why he was in the line up over Dalbec last night....add 2 more home runs to this
Tim Healey @timbhealey · 8h Kyle Schwarber in 2021...
* 8 homers in 10 games against the Mets * 22 homers in 94 games against everyone else
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 23, 2021 3:15:17 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 5h "There's a pretty good chance."
Alex Cora on the yellow uniforms being worn on Friday.
"I love them, I do." — Chris Sale, noted uniform connoisseur, on the yellow jerseys.
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