Why The Red Sox Bullpen Will Determine Their Post Season Success

With three weeks left in the 2018 Major League Baseball season, pitching will decide the outcome of the Red Sox success. The starting pitching has been spectacular. But it will be the bullpen that will determine the Red Sox success In this post, we will review three reasons why the bullpen will be a key factor.

Why The Red Sox Bullpen Will determine Their Post Season success

Depth In The Pitching department

Considering the pitching has been spectacular, they have also been getting quality starts from their fourth and fifth starters. Both Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez have pitched respectably in the absence of Eduardo Rodriguez.

It’s depth like this that have contributed to the teams best season ever. If the club can continue to get valuable performances from their back _end, then the pressure will help the pitching as the club heads into September.

A healthy Chris Sale

Chris Sale has been on the Disabled list since August 3rd with shoulder inflammation. Recently Sale has been throwing on the sidelines and is expected to return in September

Sale 12-3 had pitched superbly before going on the disabled list. Since then the club has been getting valuable contributions from Nathan Eovaldi, Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez.

Getting contributions like this that has propelled the team to the best record in franchise history. Righthander Nathan Eovaldi acquired at the trade deadline, has provided a considerable boost for manager Alex Cora. E

Exceptional Closer

Along with having a deep bullpen the organization has one of the best closers in the game in Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel 4-1 37 saves is one of the teams most valuable players.

A club that has a Craig Kimbrel has an advantage. If the Red Sox expect to win in the post_ season, then Kimbrel will be a key factor. The Stretch Run The season of 2018 has been a historic one to say the least. The club is on it’s to a 110 win season, With new additions JD Martinez the post season will be very exciting.

August 1, 2018August 4, 2018

Why Ian Kinsler Is An Upgrade For The Red Sox

Now that the Major League trade deadline has passed Red Sox fans should be happy, as the club traded for veteran infielder Ian Kinsler. The organization obtained Kinsler for two minor league prospects.

. In Kinsler, the club gets a quality replacement for the injured Dustin Pedroia. In this post, we will examine three areas why the Red Sox needed offense over relief pitching.

Why Ian Kinsler Is An Upgrade For The Red Sox

Upgrade Defensively

Since the injury to Dustin Pedroia, the team has been shuffling Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt at second. In Kinsler, the club is getting a thirteen_ year veteran. Kinsler who has a career batting average of 272 has 247 home runs and 871 runs batted in.. Defensively he has a 981 fielding percentage over a span of 8400 chances. Playing in1,719 games Kinsler is still a quality everyday player.

Compared to Pedroia the two are similar in their style of play. Kinsler was a seventeenth round pick in 2002 while Pedroia was drafted by Boston the following year. With Pedroia out with a knee injury, the Red Sox are getting a player who the fans will hopefully appreciate like they did Pedroia. All factors considered Kinsler is a quality upgrade over substitutes Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez.

Strong Bullpen

General Manager Dave Dombrowski did not add any new arms to assist the bullpen. The club has been getting substantial contributions from All _Star closer Craig Kimbrel.

In addition to Kimbrell Boston has been getting valuable contributions from Matt Barnes3-3-3.57, Heath Hembree 4-1 3.65, Joe Kelly 3-0 1.57, Ryan Brasier, and Tyler Thornburg.

Stretch Run

Since opening day 2018 General Manager Dave Dombrowski has been very proactive in improving the team’s roster. The club acquired veteran first baseman Steve Pearce from Toronto. Late last week the team traded for Ray’s pitcher righthander Nathan Eovaldi. In Eovaldi’s first start he shutout the Tigers on 82 pitches.

With the best record in baseball at 75-34, Boston needs to get dependable pitching from its starters. With Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez on rehab, every start is crucial. If the team hopes to achieve success in the postseason, then it all comes down to the pitching.

March 30, 2018

Why the Red Sox Will Go As Far As the Pitching Will Take Them In 2018

There’s an old saying in baseball that a team will go as far as it’s pitching. This can be applied to the 2018 Red Sox. If David Price can resurrect and pitch like Davis Price then they should be ok. Also if the bullpen can be dependable then the team should qualify for the postseason. In this article, we’ll discuss three areas which will determine the team success.

Why the Red Sox Will Go as Far As the Pitching will take them in2018 The Price Factor; If there’s any hope of postseason in2018 a lot hinges on the health of David Price. Midway through last season Price came back and proved to be a very effective coming out of the bullpen. Regaining his old form could determine who will win the AL East in 2018. With managers cutting down on the starters innings, the team should be ok. Coupled with a dependable bullpen the Sox should be serious contenders all season long. The Stanton Factor, This year’s free agency market saw a huge demand for relief pitchers. The Yankees however, snagged the biggest fish of anyone by signing Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton and Aaron Judge could combine for over 100 homer uns. The Yankees are gambling heavily on power over pitching. Also, the Angels were active by signing Japanese phenom Shohei Otani Both teams spent money on power rather than pitching. Skillful Managing; With both teams having first _year managers a lot _depends on their decision making. Like Alex Cora Yankee skipper Aaron Boone have no managerial experience. Both will be under heavy scrutiny if either one of the teams doesn’t perform. This season should be very interesting for both teams. Each is extremely talented .But with two rookie managers, the outcome may not only be determined by pitching or power but which manager makes the right decision.

February 19, 2018February 19, 2018

Leadership Is The Main Focus For The 2018 Red Sox Spring Training

[feedzy-rss feeds=”https;//www.bobphaneuf1957.com” feed_title=”yes” meta=”yes” summary=”yes” ]It’s safe to say that baseball is literally in the air. Major league teams have officially begun workouts for both position players and pitchers. In Fort Myers The Red Sox main theme for this year is leadership. Rhe club is coming off a successful 2017 campaign in which they clinched the AL East for the second year in a row. For a team loaded with talent, they still lack the most important characteristic of all. And that characteristic is leadership. In this post, we’ll cover three areas the club needs to focus on plus other issues going forward in 2018. Locker Room chemistry; For a team coming off a successful 2017 season the average baseball fan would never know it. The Sox were a team with basically no identity. Over the course of 162 games and playoffs, it was the blind leading the blind. Several distractions kept occurring. Incidents such as Dustin Pedroia fighting with Oriole third baseman Manny Machado. In another incident, Red Sox pitcher David Price insulted Hall of Fame broadcaster Dennis Eckersley. And of course, there was the ongoing saga firing manager John Farrell. If the club can elect a capable team captain then within the time they can put the drama behind them and focus on winning. Lack Of Home Run Power; Since the retirement of favorite David Ortiz finding a replacement has not yet been accomplished. For the first time in a long time, the club had a realatively quiet offseason. The free agent market consisted of Mitch Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Jose Bautista and JD Martinez. Martinez’s name has been popping up all winter. But has spring training has gotten underway Martinez still remains a free agent. Only Mitch Moreland and Eduardo Nunez are the only free agent signees. If the club can find ways to manufacture runs like last season they could be serious playoff contenders. Fresh Approach; After a disappointing playoff elimination for the second straight year Red Sox general manager decided it was time for a managerial change. Just hours after losing to Houston the Sox said terminated to four- year manager John Farrell. In return the team. In return, the club thought it was best to hire a younger manager to lead a fairly young team. As for Cora’s resume, he has an impressive, backround that includes two world series rings. Cora to his credit was a member of the 2004 champion Red Sox If Cora can send a message early enough the end result.will be worth it. ,

Being a big league manager is not an easy task for a first_ year manager. The key for Cora is to send the message early and when needed. If the team expects to get back to the world series then finding leadership is a step in the right direction.

August 11, 2017

All of a Sudden the Red Sox Are Enjoying A Power Surge

With seven weeks left of the 2017 MLB, the Red Sox find themselves in first place in the AL East. They/ve done this with a combination of hitting and excellent pitching. The Red Sox are doing it with timely hitting and solid pitching. At the trade deadline, the Red Sox acquired Giants utility man Eduardo Nunez. In addition, the Red Sox also picked up Mets reliever Addison Reed and recalled Pawtucket third base man Rafael Devers. Both Devers and Nunez have been a shot in the arm for the weak hitting Red Sox. Devers and Nunez have combined for 8 home-runs while Reed has been a plus in the bullpen. Every game seems to bring out a different hero. Lately the Red Sox have been doing with late season dramatics. Currently, the Red Sox are enjoying an eight game winning streak. The Yankees have fallen four games back while the Devil Rays are in third five games back. Christian Vazquez, Mitch Moreland, Eduardo Nunez and Devers have all contributed with game winning hits. Nunez especially has been important on both defense and offense. If the Red Sox want to remain in first place and have any type of success in the post season they’ll need with both pitching and timely hitting. October is about pitching. Thus far the pitching has been the best in the American League. With a league best 3-64 ERA most of the success is due to Chris Sale. Thus far this season Sale leads the league in both wins and strikeouts.The Sox have also been getting solid performances from Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez. Craig Kimbrell has been super coming out of the bullpen and saving twenty- five games. Pitching is what separates the serious contenders from the pretenders.For the first time in a long time, the Red Sox are last in the league in home-runs/116. Big Papi is no longer delivering big home-runs. What they have is good enough to win. Even if they lack power I’ll take pitching, defense and base stealing any day.

July 30, 2017August 26, 2017

Leadership Seems To Be The Biggest Need For 2017 Red Sox

With forty eight hours left for major league baseball teams to make a deal the biggest need for the 2017 Red Sox is leadership. Since David Ortiz retired last season no player has taken the role as team leader. This years Red Sox are a team surrounded by turmoil. The center of the turmoil is starter David Price. Price has fallen out of favor with the fans and media. Price has had two verbal incidents with Sox color man Dennis Eckersley and also a Red Sox beat writer. Price has since then gone on the ten day DL for shoulder stiffness. Price don’t forget missed all of spring training and the first two months of the season due to shoulder issues. Incidents like these have sparked outrage from Boston fans who want Price shipped out of town as soon as possible. Price’s behavior has caused controversy in the Red Sox clubhouse. With the trade dealine Monday Prices name has come up in several trade talks. Price is in his second year of a three year deal where hev has an option to opt out after three years. Many Red Sox insiders feel that this is the route Price is taking. He’s on his second stint on the DL and many speculate that he his preparing to opt out after next year. In another gray area for the Red Sox this year has been manager John Farrell. Since the Price incident Farrell has not addressed the issue. He has let the tension escalate which as resulted in the Red Sox falling out of first place. With two months left the Red Sox desperately need leadership. Veteran Red Sox infielder Dustin Pedroia has volunteered to take over the role . Pedroia is the Red Sox elder statesman with eleven years of service. With the Yankees and Devil Rays red hot the Red Sox need to find ways to keep winning. Earlier in the month the Red Sox released free agent bust Pablo Sandoval. No matter what happens between now and October leadership is the main need this year n

May 24, 2017August 26, 2017

What The Red Sox In Order To Stay In The Hunt For 2017

With a quarter of the 2017 MLB season in the books the Boston Red Sox find themselves in third place in the AL East 23-21- 512 and 4.5 games out of first. For a lot of clubs that would be encouraging but not for Red Sox nation who won the AL East last year. The first order of business is to get starter David Price back healthy. Price is currently on a rehab assignment in Pawtucket and should be back in a week to ten days. Secondly the Sox and their fans need to get over the retirement of David Ortiz. Naturally production has fallen way off the Sox have a league low 38 homers and 166 runs batted in.but have a respectable team batting average of 266. First baseman Hanley Ramirez has filled in and has done a respectable job with 5 homers and 17 runs batted in. If the Sox are going to make a run outfielder Jackie Bradley needs to get going. Bradley had a great year last year but is hitting just over 200 with 4 homers and 11 runs batted in. So far the pitching has been fair. Newly acquired Chris Sale has been sensational. Sale is going for his ninth straight games with ten strikeouts or more. Sale recently tied a club record of eight straight games held by Pedro Martinez. Relief wise the bullpen has been sub par .Relievers Robby Scott, Heath Hembree , Matt Barnes and Fernando Abad been criticized by the fans for being overused by manager John Farrell. Closer Craig Kimbrell has been brilliant. Kimbrell has a nifty ERA of 0.96 a 4-2 record with 12 saves . The last area of concern has been third base. Opening day 3rd baseman Pablo Sandoval has gone down with an injury. Sandoval out most of last year had a fantastic spring and earned his job back. Sandoval should be back within in week. Since his injury third base has been a committee. Utility men Josh Rutledge, Marco Hernandez and Deven Marrero. Out of the three Marrero has shined playing solid defense. If the Sox are going to be serious contenders they need to make a move now. Other than Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez the Sox need quality starts from the fourth and fifth spots .Starter Steven Wright has gone down with an injury. Fifth starter Drew Pomeranz has been awful. If the Sox start falling farther and farther back then manager John Farrell’s job could be in jeopardy in the off season. The Sox may need to thick about trading for another starter or arm to survive the summer The only problem is GM Dave Dombrowski has already traded away most of the organizations top prospects. Only time will tell.