There were two types of people on July 14th. People who loved the Drew Pomeranz trade for Anderson Espinoza, and people who hated it. Regardless, there was much anticipation for Pomeranz’s first start for the Red Sox this past Wednesday. Continue reading
I know there are many great things to talk about in terms of the Red Sox’s performance during the first half, but I’m going to talk about the weaknesses that the team needs to focus on improving in the second half. If they fix some key issues and continue doing the things they are doing well, we could be very happy come playoff time. But, the issues are not small.
Earlier in the season I brushed upon a supposed Clay Buchholz even year curse, but has it gotten to a point where any type of turnaround is improbable? Will he be designated for assignment? Could last night have been the last time we see Clay Buchholz pitch at Fenway Park?
David Price came struggling out of the gate for the 2016 season. In Price’s first seven starts in a Red Sox uniform, he racked up an ERA of 6.75. In four of those seven starts, he allowed five or more runs, some to teams who can be found at the bottom of the AL East standings. It would have been foolish to think those struggles would last throughout the entire season. Maybe Red Sox fans can just call his time of struggle a readjusting period. Because who we are seeing now is not the same David Price we saw in the beginning of the season through the first week of May.
What seems to be a common theme for the Boston Red Sox this year is that there is always someone on the team who has a hot bat. When one player cools down, another one has been slowly heating up for some time, until what they are doing obtains a lot of attention.
I can sit here and tell you how great Jackie Bradley Jr.’s 29-game hit streak was, or I can also talk about how great Xander Bogaerts 22-game hit streak is. Instead, I want to draw attention to what Mookie Betts has been doing. There is a lot to talk about Mookie at the plate, and it doesn’t come with a very tall height.
The most recent buzz around Red Sox Nation has been centered on the recent call up of Christian Vazquez, however, there is still plenty of talk centered around Xander Bogaerts’ hitting power. Red Sox fans are waiting for the day when Bogaerts hits for power. However, that day won’t necessarily come until he starts belting 20+ home runs a season. The shortstop received a Silver Slugger Award last year after having a very solid offensive season. He batted .320 with 81 RBI’s, 7 home runs, and an OBP of .776, nonetheless many people were still unsatisfied with his home run total. Now, after Bogaerts hit his first home run of the 2016 season against Toronto on Saturday to help the Red Sox to a 4-2 victory, the topic of his power is coming back into play.
I was going to try and do a write up every week on the Red Sox and how they panned out over the last seven days of play. However, after Clay Buchholz’s start last night I couldn’t wait that long to write out my angst. Could this just have been one bad start to begin the 2016 season for Clay Buchholz, or is this a potential ongoing pattern to worry about for the upcoming season?
Some may say it is too early to make a choice. However, how many opportunities can you give? And how long does John Farrell have to make the correct coaching decision? Pablo Sandoval has been the storyline since the day he walked into spring training. At first, the uproar coming from Red Sox Nation was about his waistline. Now the headline is whether or not he is deserving of starting at the hot corner come opening day.
The Red Sox bullpen could prove to be a much different bullpen from last year. Despite the fact that it can’t get much worse, we can be assured that there is a real reason for excitement. This offseason we obtained Craig Kimbrel from a prospect-packaged deal from San Diego on November 13th. Then, less than a month later, on December 7th, we acquired a right-handed setup man Carson Smith and lefty Roenis Elías from a trade with Seattle, that sent Wade Miley packing. I hope he likes his Starbucks because Dunkin Donuts may be hard to come by over there in Seattle. Here is a breakdown on the relievers that are going to be a staple in our bullpen:
The Loyal Bostonian 