Red Sox 2016: The Lard of Pablo, or No More Papis in MA

PECOTA project: 88-74 for a probable AL wildcard (we'll see about that)

good things: price, mookie, xander, the possibility of JBJ hitting for league average, eduardo rodriguez, the smith-koji-kimbrel part of the bullpen, the return of vazquez's defense, one more year of ortiz dingers, joe kelly's hair

uncertain/potentially bad things: entire rotation beyond price/ed-rod, hanle y at 1st, the ability of JBJ to hit for league average, every other member of the bullpen, pedroia making it through the majority of the season

unequivocally bad things: only one more year of ortiz dingers, the probable washedness of this man
https://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/pablo-sandoval.jpeg

good thread title

thanks!

apparently john henry is souring on analytics. greeeeaaaaaatttttt.

and pablo, hanley and castillo have three of the 25 worst contracts in the league at 6, 10 and 21, respectively http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/14827368/albert-pujols-tops-list-baseball-biggest-albatrosses-worst-contracts-mlb

don't really think castillo's is that bad, other two are p inarguably awful

surely they soured on analytics BEFORE getting Hanley?

i will hear no bad words spoken about rusney

http://www.overthemonster.com/2016/3/7/11171144/evaluating-the-weakness-of-the-red-sox

or Bobby Valentine could return to haunt the halls of Fenway Park as a vengeful-but-somehow-still-living spirit. And at that point we'd all be screwed.

well that's undeniably true

also i forgot rodriguez injured his knee, gahdamnit

don't throw punches with your pitching hand, son

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2016/03/08/red-sox-top-prospect-michael-kopech-fractures-hand-after-altercation-with-teammate/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CeUm66fWwAEKmSO.jpg

lol nice

@PeteAbe
John Farrell says that Travis Shaw is the #RedSox third baseman. Pablo Sandoval to the bench. Met with both players this morning.

2016 29 Boston Red Sox $17,600,000
2017 30 Boston Red Sox $17,600,000
2018 31 Boston Red Sox $18,600,000
2019 32 Boston Red Sox $18,600,000
2020 33 Boston Red Sox *$17,000,000 $17M Team Option, $5M Buyout
Earliest Free Agent: 2020

speaking of salaries is rusney gonna start or what

doesn't sound like it

Holt is gun be the starting LF i believe, which leaves Rusney on the bench.
it's amazing how much talent is riding the pine in Boston.

well my admiration for mr holt is well documented on these boards and the red sox have needed a potent pinch hitter for approx a dozen years so maybe that's not so bad. still, rusney could get around in the outfield, he was nice to watch.

"talent"

no talkin bad bout rusney castillo

i'm gonna miss ortiz. easily in my top five favorite players of his era. i recognize that his HOF case isn't airtight but i'd like to see him go in just the same.

@PeteAbe
The #RedSox’ $37.7 million bench: Pablo Sandoval ($17M), Rusney Castillo ($10.5M), Chris Young ($6.5M), Ryan Hanigan ($3.7M)

plus $9m for allen craig in pawtucket

i saw something today that said they have $170m committed to the bench and $170m committed to the starting 9.

the panda thing is ridiculous, but if he legit can't do a goddamn thing and they can't trade him rn there's not much else to do

i'm vaguely terrified that the padres are going to trade for him

yeah i saw a thing about the padres scouting him lol

sounded like part of the problem, unsurprisingly, was panda's defense -- kinda curious why they didn't move *him* to first and put hanle_y at third. shaw did have a huge spring, tho

evil empires can burn money.

aw morbsie

and poly i would not wish him on yr team at all

i mean ... he would probably be an upgrade on solarte, I guess. But ugh, that contract ( / waistline).

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ce6GhUPUsAEQCWi.jpg

that last inning was v much "better to be lucky than good" territory

price's opening day line: 6.0 IP, 5H, 2R, 2BB, 10K.

THROW THE BUCH AT EM

fuck man

i always get down on my dad for having no faith in The Buch but he is pretty much always vindicated

brock fuckin holt

buch gets his first 1-2-3 inning, long may it continue

honestly if joe kelly and eduardo don't have it this year i don't know who we got behind price

https://i.imgur.com/mVE4Egy.gif

and then his true form emerged out of the cocoon-mouth

is it churlish to say that dave o'brien is good? so good that i'm not even missing orsillo?

ok that's how we're doin it this year #b2b

BROCK FUCKIN HOLT

brock fuckin holt

buch gets his first 1-2-3 inning, long may it continue

honestly if joe kelly and eduardo don't have it this year i don't know who we got behind price
--illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand)

the (small, unlikely) hope of porcello having an ERA under 4

obrien is fine he's just kind of a standard issue broadcaster - he'll never have orsillo's wonderful batshit surrealism

yeah

so the idea this year is offense (+ 1 ace + 4 no. 3 through 5 starters) wins championships?

tbf it is better than last year's offense + all no. 5s model

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niJk3wJi9Zo

well, he was gonna have to get an AB sometime

hat trick, error, broken belt. impressive

indeed! but hey, the reds aren't gonna break my favorite team's winning streak

robbie ross jr. throwing 2 shutout innings to seal a win is...not something you see every day

hanle y is playing...pretty well at first!

i see what you did there¡

i was not around for that fabled ilxor but have heard weird rumblings/saw the joke made & it stuck in my head

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgBx9JzWsAAwesk.jpg

:(

swihart down, vazquez up

and rusney down!! :(

vazquez rules

https://twitter.com/iamjoonlee/status/721142943768322048/photo/1

lmao

yesterday's game is the template. just like that, every time.

yeah I'm cool with that being the blueprint

so glad to have vazquez back

i never realized how intense the dude is

by the way i'm pretty sure pedey wasn't anywhere close to touching the bag when he turned two in the 8th

omg - that shake-off, nod-on was the best.

@AndrewSimonMLB
Last Red Sox pitchers to induce 4 GIDP in a game:
- Buchholz today
- Dice-K in 2008
- Clemens in 1992 and '93

https://twitter.com/redsoxstats/status/723231943874191360

the oral history of the doug mirabelli trade

omg that's awesome.

Mirabelli: They did, like, seven ceremonial first pitches that night. “Here’s Joey from Brockton, going to throw out a first pitch.” They just dragged it on and on.

left his cup in the police car

forever in our hearts, dougie, forever going deep tonight

JBJ's onetime inability to hit seems so far in the past given how well he's done lately

in retrospect it does kinda suck that sandoval had to go down in the year "panda" by desiigner is a major hit, but

a. he prob wouldn't use it as his walkup song
b. i enjoy travis shaw playing 3rd

otm i love travis shaw and his dazed, glazed mein

Ortiz just tried to bunt.

maybe ortiz should keep playing

i would rather he not end his career like a certain hollowed-out, gift-basket-distributing husk, even if the lack of fielding means he /might/ have one to two more years in him - the final of those years, if they occurred, would be the same sort of facile shitshow

but yeah having a current slash line (#smallsamplesize etc.) of .308/.393/.673 is pretty cool

also cool: steven fuckin knuckleballin' wright all of a sudden pulling off pitching lines like this: CG, 3H, 1R/ER (the gardner homer), 1BB, 7K.

did they flip flop which day was supposed to be the daygame? i was looking forward to seeing steve wright in the afternoon (that's a bbc radio joke, folks)

hah I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it had to do with ESPN wanting the sunday game for that prime time exclusivity viewership cheddar

well i'm pissed off because i got to watch yet another completely forgettable david price performance through to the bitter end instead of papi hitting two dingers and wright getting his CG

how do you watch - MLB TV? blackout rules are annoying as hell

Yup and I'm international so ... no blackouts :D

lol sox are legit starting a dude named sean o'sullivan tonight,who I cannot confirm WASNT just pulled out of a booth at cask & flagon just before the game

these guys are hitting the shit out of the ball

looking more and more like a classic sox home offense

if the trend continues against the As the run differential will go up by like 25 just due to these 3 games

^^^predictive

:D

speaking of "international", Tracer...

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2016/05/11/report-the-red-sox-are-being-investigated-by-mlb-for-questionable-international-signings/

JBJ's last 11 games: .475/.512/1.025

jfc this offense :] :] :]

Matias: How is it possible that Bradley Jr went from being “trash”, talked about a potential trade for a mediocre Mariners reliever, to this exciting player that is putting great numbers, with some pop? Between the last months of last season and this start, we cant say its small sample size, right?

Klaw: Well, he was never trash, right? People buried him based on what was still a small sample but didn’t look like one. The part that’s surprising to me is that he’s hitting for average AND power. I thought he could do one or the other. I still kind of think with his low contact rate, he’s going to see the average drop, and he kind of has to sell out a little bit to get to this power. I’d rather see him cut down on the swing a little to improve his contact rate, but that’s kind of a stupid criticism when the guy is hitting .322 and slugging .610.

well

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-red-sox-offense-has-been-better-than-the-1927-yankees/

jbj 20 game hit streak

maybe ortiz should keep playing

― mookieproof, Sunday, May 8, 2016 9:26 PM (6 days ago)

A couple of years ago, before the 2014 season started, I posted that Ortiz wouldn't go into the HOF as long as Edgar Martinez didn't get there first. NoTime argued that no, he'll go in. I'll stand by what I said at the time, but I'm thinking that the Edgar Factor is barely visible on the horizon at this point.

Something I never knew: Ortiz was first signed by Seattle in 1992--Edgar Martinez's breakout year (he'd been good in '90 and '91, but not yet the dominant hitter he'd become).

Bradley batted .469 (15-for-32) with six runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI over seven games to earn his first career AL Player of the Week Award.

killer b's baby

i was at saturday's game and it was SO MUCH FUN. ortiz had to be at his daughter's quincañera that night and i have a feeling he was just like 'ok, if nobody else does this, i will.' 600th double was the cherry on top

simmons said yesterday that Ortiz is now m/l as big a boston icon as ted williams

my 7-year-old agrees

unless the PED thing is a bigger deal for him than I think it will be, Ortiz is definitely getting into the HOF at this point. the DH thing and the WAR thing are pretty good counterarguments but i think the postseason performances and his iconic status will push him over the top.

even if he falls off considerably in the second half he'll probably end up with a wRC+ around 140-150 by the end of the season, pretty incredible. wonder what the record is for a final season?

wonder if Bradley will play both games of the doubleheader w his streak

imagine if Papi was a complete baseball player

he'll probably end up with a wRC+ around 140-150 by the end of the season, pretty incredible. wonder what the record is for a final season?

without looking, i'm going to guess it belongs to Bonds.

turns out there's a fangraphs post about it from yesterday: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/best-final-seasons-part-two/

although that one uses WAR, not wRC+

let's see, here's final season wRC+ for some of the players listed in the article with the highest WARs

Williams 184: (in 113 games)
Joe Jackson: 167
Bonds: 157
Will Clark: 146
Mantle: 145
Clemente: 135

papi is huger than ever (pardon the pun?). it helps that the sox are pulling out all the stops for his last year. kevin millar announced his first at-bat the other day, and his daughter sang the anthem at the opener (as a surprise), etc. 'we want papi' chants definitely cropped up during sunday's long-ass back-and-forth with the astros.

lol had to be juan friggin uribe to break up the no no huh

you didn't want kelly going any longer anyway

JBJ streakwatch: 27 straight

so fukin awesome

just got a notification to tune in because papi needs a triple fot the cycle

got stupidly close to one, but the hit ended up a ground rule double

will totally take 4 for 4 with a homer and 3 RBIs tho

Interesting seeing Mantle on that list of greatest last seasons. You'd always hear about how broken-down he was at the end, but indeed, in 1968, 18 homers and 106 walks was pretty damn productive.

i just got tix for bos-ari at fenway in august :D

JBJ's improved approach

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/what-jackie-bradley-jr-figured-out/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjVAY6XWYAADaBZ.jpg

Fun Fact from my FB feed: "DiMaggio faced 55 pitchers during his 56 game hitting streak. As of yesterday, Jackie Bradley Jr had faced 63 different pitchers during his."

when you get this deep into a streak is when it dawns on you how fucking monumental it was what dimaggio did. just insane. it's like .400, it simply will not be done again.

somewhat more likely than .400, not that i expect it.

dimaggio struck out 13 times in 621 plate appearances in 1941; jbj has fanned 20 times during his streak. which is not a knock on the latter, it's just a completely different world

btw the X-man has an 18-game streak going too

both require excellence and luck sustained over a very long stretch... and nobody micromanaged pitching matchups back then the way they do now. it would be interesting to see how many of the great joe d's hits during that streak came against arguable gassed starters in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings..

papi with another dong and another double today (game still ongoing), 35 XBHs in 43 games.

obviously farrell's fault for moving him to leadoff

p. much

idk if there's a new orioles thread but in any event, I'll use this space to thank them for being themselves and striking out at a 15-batters-a-game clip against the stros

in three straight games

worst to first to worst to worst to first has a nice cadence to it

This picture is like in a horror movie when they pan around and you realize the priest is wearing a pentagram ring.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjWzCaDUgAcVPAA.jpg

buchholz to the bullpen

oh good he can give up grand slams in the eighth inning instead of the fourth

I think he'll be passable in the pen, which is all that he needs to be - it's clear he can't hold it together multiple innings but I can see him as a one/two innings per outing middle relief dude

feels like Ortiz has a homer and a double every single game lately.

@theaceofspaeder
#RedSox David Ortiz is batting .296/.381/.618 with 54 2B, 1 3B, 45 HR, & 141 RBI over his last 162 games played.

@theaceofspaeder
Only one player in history had both as many doubles and homers in a season as David Ortiz has over his last 162 games: Todd Helton, 2001.

buchholz survives his first relief outing!

papi's last 7 games: 7 2b, 4 hr

it's such a great story. i really hope he doesn't change his mind.

Ortiz's HR tonight gives him 38 XBH in his (not the team's) first 45 games. Here's where the all-time single-season leaders were after 45 games and their final total:

Ruth (1921): 34/119
Gehrig (1927): 37/117
Bonds (2001): 35/107
Chuck Klein (1930): 34/107
Helton (2001): 29/105

That's the top 5--good chance Ortiz's pace is the fastest ever.

moooooooooooookie

(betts)

This team!

gonna sound corny af but i was at the game where mookie scored his mlb first homer - which didn't help the game much bc it ended up being a 16-9 massacre by the cubs (also the game where jerry remy's tooth fell out in the broadcast booth!) - and was like, "that's legit, please don't be a flash in the pan," so him showing out like this and the numbers he's on pace for are v nice to see

like...O_O

Jeremy Lundblad ‏@JLundbladESPN
Mookie Betts' current pace: 37 HR, 124 RBI, 24 SB, 84 XBH

A-Rod in 2007 is only AL player to do that in last 90 years

This team!

have assumed their non-Yankee-dynasty years' place as the most loathsome team once again.

a. lol
b. lol
c. when was the last time the yankees were remotely dynastic? it's almost like 2009 was an isolated incident
d. lol again
e. what makes a team non-loathsome? not having a huge payroll? being outside of a big market? having a non-douchey fanbase? not winning? because if so, ah, morbs, i mean, i feel like we have some pot/kettle probs here
f. lol x 5,000

The only genuinely douchey bro that comes to mind on this team is Pedey

if Ortiz does this all season he def should not retire

i just meant that they sucked shit last year, and they are still located in Boston :)

orioles: not mookieproofed

mookie has homered 5 times in 24 hours

cross-ref to the pats thread, I have no idea what to make of this ridiculousness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y10hlVv3KRc

25 consecutive hits for X as well

Betts was a 5th rounder baseball is stupid and I don't know why we like it

Ortiz, meanwhile, is up to 39 XBH in 47 games (and slugging .728).

https://twitter.com/mookiebetts/status/738439809773998080

totes adorbz

JBJ AL player of the month!

currently sitting on the best run differential in the AL, at +71. only...*does math* 78 measly runs behind the next-highest in either league, the cubs, with 149. tiny difference!

David Ortiz on Xander Bogaerts: "That kid is on another level. He's on top of his game like nothing I have ever seen before. His s--- is way too good to believe.

Caught a bit of of today's game on TV. Felt a little sad seeing Molitor trudge out to the mound as the runs piled up--one of my favorite Jays ever during his brief stay.

According to the announcers, Ortiz his a couple of 400-foot singles today.

My typos get worse all the time. And I'm at a desk, not on a phone. Ortiz aging much better than I am.

oh wrinklebarnes

barnes fuckin sucks tbrr

that hanle y 3-run homer is currently embedded in someone's windshield

(I'm guessing)

so... if anyone here comes to a game let me know because I might be playing the music that day. freelancing, amirite

!

😎

Oh Mookie don't lead the life that they made for you

i'd just go and spoil it all

wow Maura!

so... if anyone here comes to a game let me know because I might be playing the music that day. freelancing, amirite

― maura, Wednesday, June 15, 2016 8:43 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think i'm going to one of the two giants games, july 19 or 20, that's all i have planned so far this season

nonetheless that rules

i might be up for Aug 13-14 vs ARI if i can find the funds

http://saberseminar.com/

yeah do it

morbs i will be at the ARI game on the 12th

oh! we'll see then, i always enjoy our rare meetings, sir. (u too cad)

most efficient base stealers of the expansion era:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-red-sox-have-been-the-best-base-stealing-team-ever/

god all these guys are playing great today.

i feel like the rotation is not great bob, y'all

already preparing to laugh my ass off if they make a trade for rich hill and give up reasonable prospects to do so when they could've signed him again for peanuts last offseason

THAT SAID, the possibility that steven wright may start the fuckin' all star game is both awesome and absolutely hysterical

wouyld be an insult to Kluber, Quintana and Sale

sure, except he's leagues ahead of kluber in most categories except k/9, ahead of quintana by WAR and whip, behind sale in all but ERA and BABIP but not by a great deal.

most major categories, obv behind kluber in strikeouts bc most pitchers are

wright's got the lowest ERA in the AL, wouldn't be the worst choice in the world but when you have established guys having good/great seasons you kind of have to go with them. why is there a rumor wright would be starting in the first place? is he buddies with yost?

or wait do the fans vote on the starting pitcher

They don't.

ERA is on the antique list, lol

precisely, which is why i mentioned WAR and WHIP and BABIP. his ERA+ is also league-leading. not tremendous by FIP but hardly bad either (3.31)

He's having a fine half year and prob should be on the staff

the AL and NL leaders in ERA usually start the game, which is why greinke did last year xps k3v (i cant remember who it was for the AL).

coaches select the pitchers, and as a result i'm sure quintana, sale and kluber will all get in

I don't think "usually" is the case anymore. A bunch of guys get eliminated from the starting option now if their managers want them to pitch the first-half finale on Sunday. I would bet more guy leading in wins have been picked over the whole ASG history.

dallas keuchel started last yr btw

They don't.

ERA is on the antique list, lol

― helpless before THRILLARY (Dr Morbius), Thursday, June 23, 2016 10:29 AM (19 minutes ago)

yeah i know but the people who decide who starts are gonna be antique collectors, and ERA is certainly preferable to...wins or TWTW or something

rip chris young

Wright regressing li'l bit tonight

things like that are where the "hilarious" aspect of him starting the ASG come from. bc that used to be his regular problem.

appears sox may be looking to trade for julio teheran, whom I know nothing about other than that he almost outdueled degrom last night or the night before

man ortiz looked so cooked in 2009 and now 7 years later he's having one of his best hitting seasons, pretty nuts

well he's finally got all the juice out of his system

jokes jokes

sox are being smacked down for international signings violations

they did a dumb thing and the penalty is pretty fair all things considered

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source-red-sox-banned-from-signing-international-players-for-a-year-153432545.html

...lost 21-2 today to the goddamn angels, with CJ fuckin cron going 6 for 6

I think the pitching may indeed be a problem

in which actually functional red sox pitcher steven wright waxes poetic about the knuckleball http://www.theplayerstribune.com/2016-7-6-steven-wright-red-sox-all-star-knuckleball/

in which professional baseball pitcher michael kopech throws a 105-mph fastball:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/red-soxs-michael-kopech-hits-105-start-vs-wilmington

damn boah

now if only he can stop punching people and using speed

fans seem divided over the pomeranz trade. some are like, yo he's pretty good & signing groome makes loss of espinoza easier to swallow, whereas ppl who either a. obsess over prospects the way sam hinkie obsessed over arm length and 2nd round draft picks for the 76ers or b. think any move that isn't COMPLETE AND TOTAL GENIUS is a failure are moaning

personally i lean more toward column a but this year is honestly pomeranz's first genuinely good one. FIP not being that much higher than his ERA, plus good ERA+, K/9 and decent (if not earthshaking) bWAR are encouraging.

5.5 fWAR, depending on which of those u put more stock in

so i will be staying near BU (tho Cambridge side of river) Aug 12-14... i take it Tracer already has Sox tix w/ his fam for a game. I'd be up for Fri or Sat night, cheap as possible (StubHub i guess) if anyone wants to. cad and i were talkin' bout FAPping Sunday eve as he will not be around earlier.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cn0uCePWcAAR_21.jpg

lolllllllll

i try v hard to never say the "we" or "my" shit when talking about the sox. i mess up now and then but it's a huge pet peeve

agreed

hanle_y

the hanley ramirez game

espinoza did about as well as pomeranz tonight fwiw

hanley stunt on them haters

hanle_y
--mookieproof

the record for XBH age 40 and above is 62, by dave winfield. papi's double just put him at 60 w/67 games to go.

morelike david yikes

_hanle_y
--mookieproof_

--if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes)

and another one

"That was a great moment. Another memorable moment this year was Big Papi's walkoff."

"The baby powder walk-off."

"It was flour."

"Oh it was flour?"

"It was Joe Kelly's idea to do that. Throw flour on Papi as he came into second base. ... Baserunner for Pujols now who's gone 1 for 3."

"I guess baby powder would have smelled."

"Not a good idea to get baby powder in your eyes."

"I'd guess flour isn't good to get in your eyes, either!"

"Gary it's not good to get ANYTHING in your eyes."

ok that was an immensely gratifying game of baseball.

I worked that walk-off!

i will be up in 2 weekends; whether i will be able to buy a seat for $60 or less for the 13th is a diff question

just to get this pun out of the way: dealing pat light was not abad move to get fernando

(actually it was a gr8 move pat light sucked this year in his big league appearances, though im sure someone will tell me he had gr8 stuff)

have an infield seat for Sat 8/13! to the left of home, row 10

letting Wright throw 119 pitches in a 9-0 CG win seems nuts

it was excessive but they have a day off this coming monday so there's extra time for him to rest - he prob won't throw again till at least next Wednesday or thursday

arms don't explode on the 101st pitch, particularly when they're throwing knuckleballs. i'm sure he'll pull through

he's a knuckler!

or what mookie said

bobblehead disaster

link to bobblehead disaster: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2016/08/09/red-sox-deem-david-ortiz-bobblehead-racially-insensitive/qwAnoxGz56oV5pxohgrFuM/story.html

@MLBNetworkRadio
#RedSox Manager John Farrell: Jonathan Papelbon "could be an addition here"

i assume he means that as in "possesses a mammalian frame that has weight and volume"

Papelbon had the good chicken and beer contacts, club house hasn't had as good a spread since.

the fuck has gotten into mookie betts

I can't remember which one of the three, but that one he hit to center was a bomb. If you are 5-9 and have that type of power, you are in league with Jim "The Toy Cannon" Wynn. All those old 60s and 70s guys would talk about how much power that Wynn had for his size.

Don't see Betts play much at all, but the guy has to have some amazing bat speed.

mookie in 11 games against the orioles this season

.426/.490/1.000, 20-for-47, 8 HR, 3 2B, 17 RBI, 3 2B, 16 R, 6 K

seven of the homers have come in the five games at camden yards

Criminy, I figured you guys were referencing the 3 HR game a couple days ago. Yowza, the ball must look like a beach ball to Betts right now.

he was AL player of the month for july; he already has more homers and rbi in august

I guess it is good that Betts never got moved out for a stretch run free agent a few years back when his name came up in those rumors.

he does indeed have incredible bat speed

betts is currently at 6.9 WAR per baseball reference #nice #chill

Haven't read everything on this business about Detroit refusing to change today's game time (from afternoon to everning) to accommodate Boston's schedule, but it seems like Boston should have first asked Baltimore to change the time of yesterday's game since THAT was a getaway day. Anyway...

http://www.bostonherald.com/sites/default/files/styles/gallery/public/media/2016/06/22/062616dombrowskifarrell1.jpg?itok=VeFv7x9s

apparently it was bc there's a preseason lions game tonight? idk. thats what they're saying publicly i think

i was gonna blame showalter bc why not but by all accounts he agreed to let last night be called after finding out what boston's next-day schedule was

one of the sox beat writers mentioned that boston isn't too generous with its getaway days either

All Thursday games at Comerica start at 1:00ish.

Thousands of fans would have been thrilled to change/scrap their plans to ensure a good night's sleep for the visiting team.

such a weird non-story. it was fine for the sox to ask, and fine for the tigers to say no!

All Thursday games at Comerica start at 1:00ish.

Thousands of fans would have been thrilled to change/scrap their plans to ensure a good night's sleep for the visiting team.
--Andy K

sorry about the Ls

benintendi just made the sox catch of the year

https://vine.co/v/5OhjYHJnUat

now if he can just learn to hit the cutoff man.....

I happened to have that game on at the time, great catch. Even better was him trying to look professional and not grin ear to ear afterward.

Scott Lauber
ESPN Staff Writer:

Red Sox rookie left fielder Andrew Benintendi has been placed on the 15-day disabled list after twisting his left knee awkwardly as he dove into second base. Benintendi underwent an MRI exam Thursday, and manager John Farrell told reporters that it's too soon to know whether the injury is season-ending. Benintendi, the Red Sox's 22-year-old outfield prospect, was batting .324 since getting called up earlier this month. In his absence, veteran outfielder Chris Young will get the majority of the at-bats in left field, with utilityman Brock Holt filling in against tough right-handed pitching.

no structural damage, should come back for the final games of Sept and the 'offs (however long the sox are in them, I for one don't think that long but wouldn't mind being proven wrong)

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2/7/0/198802270/083116_tbbos_papilego_med_o22mzlqf.gif

perfect expression on his face

damn moncado's got a rifle on him huh?

moncadA

clay buchholz

clay buchholz

i hadn't realized just how truly, truly awful bogaerts has been. his august line was .219/.274/.325, good for a 55 wRC+. and september hasn't been much better

dude has some WILD home/away and lefty/right splits too

like recently? his whole-year lefty/righty split looks normal.

he seems to have gotten worn down this year. even back in july he was vocal about needing a day off.

yeah i meant the combined splits, which admittedly are small sample sizes. for example against lefties on the road in 71 PAs he's got a wRC+ of 41, while against lefties at home it's 228. i don't think this "means" anything tho it's just interesting

oh ok, yeah that is an odd one.

Hanley hitting 500 with 9 home runs in first pitch, holy cow

(on first pitch, oops)

What's this, the fifth or sixth time Boston and Baltimore have come back from 3+ runs down the past week? Every time I leave a game involving one of them happy, I come back to disaster.

rick porcello was blowing ppl away throwing 89 tonight. he's fun to watch when he's sharp.

dude hit clayton kershaw's 2014 win-loss record tonight, which is hysterical, because obv wins are a somewhat misleading stat and in no way will he ever be that type of natural genius, but he manages to do a lot right that I didn't expect him to do based on how much he sucked for most of last year

it's completely nuts!

i like to think my visit for the ARI series in mid-August is what vaulted this team to their current form - they have basically been on fire ever since

i was there too, u know

Difft day tho I thought - but yes! It was totally us!

papi just crushed #37, moved into a tie w/gehrig for #10 on the XBH list, now has the most RBI in a final season (one more than shoeless joe jackson)

Sox staff has struck out 21 Rays in 9 innings (major league record) including 11 in a row (major league record).

i think 21 may only be a franchise record

great game tho, totally cobb-esque prancing fro pedey there

the way they clinched is sort of a perfect summation of this team.

Can I just say I SAW THIS?

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/195181944/jackie-bradley-jr-makes-highlight-reel-play/

First pitch of the game: Segura lofts a long fly ball to right-center, Jackie Bradley Jr. lazily tracking it back, back, back, and just as he's about to catch it he SLIPS on something - the lip of the warning track? And he tumbles over, the ball bouncing off his glove and into the grass. Segura makes it all the way to THIRD by the time the ball comes in. The crowd groans. Not the greatest omen for the three hours we have ahead of us.

Second pitch of the game: A frozen rope line drive to dead center, looks like a base hit for sure. JBJ barrels towards it, and amazingly, implausibly, catches it off the tops of his shoes. Everyone gasps. And in one motion, he fires the ball home with such unbelievable power that Segura, tagging at third on the catch, decides whoa, I'm going back to third, I can't beat that. But it's too late. The throw was so hard, and so accurate, that Bryan Holaday (who he?) grabs it and fires to third before Segura can get back. Double play. Nobody on the bases, two out.

(Morbs were you there??)

call all destroyer I disagree that it's a perfect summation! Buchholz was great (he has mainly been terrible); Kimbrel was terrible (he has mainly been great); etc

i was thinking more about the clinching-with-a-heartbreaking-loss aspect, seems to fit a team that has overcome some glaring issues and frustrating stretches to arrive here.

i agree w/ CAD

at the same time, when you go back and think on it...they won the fuckin' games, and while they def pulled a couple of wins out their asses with 9th inning comebacks and such, most of them came from the offense just pulverizing teams day in/day out

i'm most worried about the rotation going into the playoffs. rodriguez is showing good signs again, as is buchholz, and the bullpen (barring last night's colossal fart) has seriously improved, but porcello-price-buchholz-rodriguez just feels iffy

Porcello and Erod feel the most solid to me. Price has been AWFUL. And Buchholz, I mean, he either throws a shutout or gives up 6 in 3 innings.

i dont think price has been awful of late at all - 7 of his last 9 starts, which were sox wins, had him yielding only 2 runs apiece, and he was never the type of ace who always shut teams out completely. his historical numbers reflect that. BUT, his start on tuesday was an object lesson in all the problems he's had the entire season.

so i'm still worried.

as always, buchholz is a coin flip

lollllllllll http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/2016/09/30/red-sox-manager-john-farrell-responds-to-yankee-stadium-heckler-shut-your-expletive-up/91340268/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

that is the softest 'expletive' anyone in baseball has ever used

Can I just say I SAW THIS?

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/195181944/jackie-bradley-jr-makes-highlight-reel-play/

First pitch of the game: Segura lofts a long fly ball to right-center, Jackie Bradley Jr. lazily tracking it back, back, back, and just as he's about to catch it he SLIPS on something - the lip of the warning track? And he tumbles over, the ball bouncing off his glove and into the grass. Segura makes it all the way to THIRD by the time the ball comes in. The crowd groans. Not the greatest omen for the three hours we have ahead of us.

Second pitch of the game: A frozen rope line drive to dead center, looks like a base hit for sure. JBJ barrels towards it, and amazingly, implausibly, catches it off the tops of his shoes. Everyone gasps. And in one motion, he fires the ball home with such unbelievable power that Segura, tagging at third on the catch, decides whoa, I'm going back to third, I can't beat that. But it's too late. The throw was so hard, and so accurate, that Bryan Holaday (who he?) grabs it and fires to third before Segura can get back. Double play. Nobody on the bases, two out.

(Morbs were you there??)

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, September 29, 2016 9:15 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

WOW

that is the softest 'expletive' anyone in baseball has ever used

― mookieproof, Friday, September 30, 2016 5:02 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

farrell saves the best ones for when he's being ejected

http://a2.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2016%2F0930%2Fr133571_1296x518_5%2D2.jpg

the president of the dominican republic is here to send off ortiz

Ortiz's 1994 Arizona League teammates who made it to the majors:

Wilson Delgado
Tommy Hinzo (before '94)
Dusty Wathan
Ken Cloude
Shawn Estes
Aaron Scheffer*
Roy Smith
Kerry Woodson

*Faced him in high school and barely got a bunt down. Terrifying.

Played some pick-up ball and was high school teammates with another one of this team's pitchers (local demigod, didn't make it out of A-ball).

too bad ortiz won't match dusty wathan's career .600/.667/.800 line

lol