New Tech To Keep Red Sox Healthy

March 23, 2018 Leave a Comment

Fans likely roll their eyes when they hear about the official this or the official that of the Boston Red Sox. But after last year’s miserable, flu-ravaged start to the season, it’s no surprise the team was keen to avoid a repeat.

At one point early in the 2017 campaign, Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, Joe Kelly, Mitch Moreland, Hanley Ramírez, Robbie Ross and some assorted members of the coaching staff were all suffering effects of the flu, which quickly moved from person to person in the close confines of the clubhouse.

This spring, amidst a very tough US flu season, the Dodgers had fatigue, chills, fever, and other flu-like symptoms sweep through their workout facilities. Manager Dave Roberts said he’d sent home 25 players from camp to nurse their way back to health.

Red Sox Sickest Team In Baseball

The flu made it a rough start to the season for the Sox in 2017, but it turned out the issue was not an isolated one.

According to a study by Surgically Clean Air, Inc. that was reported in the Boston Globe, even before the start of the 2017 season, Boston already led the majors in days missed by sickness since 2011 with 85. That equates to a cost of more than $3.9 million, or about $45,882 per game lost because of sickness. Those aren’t numbers ownership could just ignore.

This week the Red Sox announced a partnership with Clorox to introduce that company’s Total 360® System to the club’s existing protocols. Clubhouse staff say that they can now spray down the facilities with a sanitizing solution far more efficiently than using their previous methods. “What used to take our team hours now only takes them minutes,” said Jon Lister, Fenway’s senior director of facilities management.

Can’t get enough about this? Well, for you there’s even a video:

https://youtu.be/R8agytoJq-k

Sox Draw First Blood vs Yankees

June 7, 2017 Leave a Comment

It has been a long time since the Red Sox and Yankees played a game like Tuesday’s.

The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, more of historical interest lately than a practical reality, is front and center again. The Sox arrived in the Bronx just two games back from the Bombers, who have had at least a share of first place in the division for 35 of the last 40 days.

In this electric atmosphere, Boston took on a tough New York team and came out on top. Despite the Sox’ 5-1 lead at one point in the game, the Yankees never felt out of it. And for good reason. At least right now, every batter in this Yankees line up is a threat to go deep. And yet, Boston’s pitchers managed to keep the wolves at bay for a 5-4 win.

Sox Pound 3 Home Runs

Sox starter Drew Pomeranz came away with a win to improve to 6-3 on the season, but it took him a career-high 123 pitches to get through the requisite 5.0 IP. Again and again, Yankees batters drew full counts. Yankees front man Masahiro Tanaka was more efficient, throwing just 62 pitches but giving up five earned runs, including three Boston home runs from Mitch Moreland (his seventh of the season), Hanley Ramírez (eighth), and Andrew Benintendi (eighth). Tanaka was out of the game after 5.0 IP, too.

From there, the Yankees were shored up by 3.1 excellent innings of relief by Chad Green, who allowed no hits or walks and struck out five.

For the Sox it was a parade of relievers: Robby Scott, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes. Scott and Barnes each allowed a run. With a one-run lead in the eighth, John Farrell returned to the well once again, asking Craig Kimbrel for yet another four-out save.

Kimbrel should have gotten out of the inning cleanly but Matt Holliday came around the score when Didi Gregorius struck out on a wild pitch. It was the first inherited runner Kimbrel has allowed to score all season.

Despite throwing 17 pitches to get out of the previous inning, Kimbrel brought his usual electric stuff to the bottom of the ninth. Brett Gardner, Gary Sánchez, and Aaron Judge each went down swinging.

Red Sox pitchers held the Yankees to 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday.

Kelly Dismisses Judge

Kelly’s one memorable inning of work won’t quickly be forgotten. He stared down the major’s home run leader and presumptive Rookie of the Year, Aaron Judge, who had already singled, walked, and doubled in the game. Kelly dismissed Judge, striking him out with a pitch that initially registered between 103 and 104 miles per hour but was later adjusted down to 102.2, matching another Kelly pitch for the highest velocity tracked by Statcast in the majors this season.

The Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier has an excellent pitch-by-pitch recount of the at-bat.

The Red Sox threw 204 pitches last night, the ninth-most in any nine-inning game this season. It was the most pitches by the Sox since 207 pitches on April 24, 2014, also against the Yankees.

Red Sox in Month One

March 24, 2016 1 Comment

Red Sox Wins Over First 30 Games

Stats help put it in perspective. Excluding the blip of the 2013 season, the Red Sox have averaged over the past seven seasons just under 15 wins for their first 30 games. They’ve played .493 ball in the early going during that time. Sure enough, in the Championship years of 2004, 2007, and 2013 Boston got off to winning records, besting opponents with 19, 20, and 20 wins, respectively.

After a tough 2014 season, and despite a thrilling win on Opening Day, the first 30 games of 2015 ended with just 13 wins, the fewest since 12 in 2012. It was the 45th time since 1914 that the Sox started the first 30 games of a season with a sub .500 record.

As your correspondent reminded you at the start of last season, just nine teams have won the World Series since 1914 when opening the season with a sub .500 win percentage over the first 30 games.

Since 1914, the Sox most wins over the opening 30 is 24 (.800) in 1946. The nadir was just five (.167) in 1932.

Farrell’s Hotseat

Much is being said and written about the importance of a “win now” approach as the Red Sox enter the 2016 regular season. Manager John Farrell, his job likely on the line, surely feels the importance of getting off to a good start.

FirstMonthDoubles2000-15 Sox offense in Month One of 2015 didn’t foretell the disastrous season to come, save for one anomaly unseen by Red Sox Nation for some time: the absolute paucity of doubles.

The Sox had 22 doubles April of 2015, the fewest since the 1981 club collected 21 in the first month of a season. Contrast that with Boston’s 58 doubles in the first month of the 2013 season, the most doubles by an eventual World Series winner in the first month of a season since 2000.

Despite the doubles drop-off, Boston scored 113 runs that first month of 2015. Only Toronto (122) and Kansas City (119) scored more across baseball.

Never In-Balance

Starting with the silly t-shirts in spring training camp, the “no ace” Sox pitching strategy, if one can call it that, had trouble written all over it right from the start.

With 12 wins and 10 losses came a bloated 5.04 first month team ERA that rivaled that of another best forgotten season, the Valentine’s massacre of 2012. That year, Boston opened with a 5.54 ERA in April. It turns out that 2015 was just the 11th season since at least 1913 that Boston’s team ERA was 5.00+ in the first month.

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 6.18.10 PM The Red Sox never seemed in balance in 2015. Having scored the third most runs in baseball in April is only valuable if you don’t give up so many at the same time. But instead, Red Sox pitchers allowed 119 runs that first month, the most in baseball and more than twice as many as the Cardinals (55).

From third best to the cellar, Boston offense all but disappeared in May. Just 82 runs scored was the fewest by any MLB club that month. Still, offensive production rallied and stayed in the top third of all major league clubs for every remaining month but July.

The damage, of course, was done. By August 1st, in last place at 47-58, even another strong month of offense couldn’t overcome the Sox pitchers’ seeming inability to protect a lead. Time and again, Boston needed to come from behind for a win. In 40 of the club’s 162 games, Boston left the first inning behind in the score.

Time for Predictions

Spring Training isn’t a real indicator of regular season performance. That said, the Sox look solid offensively again this year. There’s no reason to believe Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts won’t have great seasons. Dustin Pedroia says (again) he is healthy. David Ortiz will experience the joys (and perhaps pressures) of his final season. One would expect Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval have something to prove. Travis Shaw has had a monster spring, for whatever that’s worth.

The arrival of David Price, a legitimate ace with a 2.45 ERA last season, at the head Boston’s rotation is unquestionably good news. The early injuries to Eduardo Rodriguez and reliever Carson Smith, on the other hand, are disappointments. Smith, a lights out reliever, is said to be down for at least the first month. Clay Buchholz is not an ace but more of the wild card in the deck. Rick Porcello, with his 12.00 ERA over 3 spring starts is, well, less than inspiring. Joe Kelly and Steven Wright, on the other hand, have made their cases to be in the rotation somewhere.

We’re just a few days to the start of the season. 181 days later, as we turn the calendar to October, the regular season will close with the Blue Jays at Fenway.

Now’s the time when predictions are worth something. Feel free to record and lock in yours in the comments section below. Just where will our Sox be in the standings after 30 games? Where will they be on October 2nd?

Offensive explosion

August 14, 2015 Leave a Comment

On a surreal day for fans as news came in that Manager John Farrell has cancer, the Red Sox poured on an impressive display of power Friday night at Fenway.

Boston beat Seattle 15-1, belting out 21 hits in the game. It was the Red Sox’ most runs scored since beating the Rockies 15-5 on September 25, 2013 and their most hits in a game since racking up 23 against the Orioles in Baltimore on August 2, 2009. The Red Sox have not had that many hits at Fenway since collecting 23 against the Twins on July 9, 2008.

The 21 Red Sox hits is tied for the 3rd most by any team this season in a 9-inning game. Only the Giants (22) and Nationals (23) have had more hits in a game in 2015.

Oddly enough, Boston now leads all of baseball with the most games of 18 or more hits this season (5).

Nine Red Sox players had multiple hits including all the starters except Xander Bogaerts. Alejandro De Aza, who entered the game after Rusney Castillo fouled a ball off his foot, also collected two hits. It was the first time nine Red Sox have had multiple hits in a game since May 28, 2005 facing the Yankees. No other MLB club this season has had nine players collect multiple hits in a game.

Rookie Travis Shaw collected his 2nd career multi-home run game becoming on the 2nd Red Sox player in the last 100 years with multi-HR games within their first 18 MLB games. The other was George Scott in 1966. Castillo’s first inning home run was the fifth of his career, his third this year, and his first ever to give his club the lead.

Shaw, Pablo Sandoval, and Brock Holt each tallied three RBI Friday. The 3rd RBI for Sandoval marked the 500th of his career.

David Ortiz, who has scored at least one run in six straight games, doubled in the first inning. He is now one extra-base hit from tying Cal Ripkin, Jr. for the 22nd-most in MLB history.

Mookie Betts collected his club-best 7th triple of the season in the 5th inning. Brock Holt also tripled in the 3rd inning. It was the seventh time this season the Red Sox have had 2+ triples in a game, the club’s most such games since also having seven in 1978.

Not to be lost in all the offensive fireworks was Joe Kelly, who allowed four hits and one earned run in 6.0 innings of work, retiring 16 of his final 19 batters faced. Kelly became the first pitcher to allow one run or less in each of his first three starts against the Mariners as a member of the Red Sox.

The Red Sox also flashed some defensive brilliance with excellent plays by Betts in the 3rd inning, and Holt and Jackie Bradley in the 8th inning. Holt’s acrobatic leaping catch in the 8th ended Nelson Cruz‘ impressive 21-game hitting streak. Cruz’ was the longest hitting streak by an American League player this season.

Starter Failure

May 26, 2015 1 Comment

In his excellent daily Red Sox newsletter, the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reminds us that Monday’s start by Joe Kelly was the 13th time this season a Boston starter has allowed 5 or more earned runs.

By that horrible measure the Red Sox are now tied with the Indians for the most such games this season in baseball. Contrast that with the Athletics, who’ve had the fewest such games (4) in MLB. Among Boston’s division rivals the Blue Jays have the most such games (9) followed by the Orioles (7), Rays and Yankees (6 each).

I took a look back at 35 previous Red Sox seasons to see how bad this crop of starters is. I found 2015 to be just the 5th time since 2000 and the 10th since 1980 that Boston starters have given up 5+ ER in 13 or more of the club’s first 45 games.

What became of the club in those 9 past seasons with terrible starting pitching?

Remarkably, all but one (the 2012 team) finished the year above .500, and two (the 2005 and 2009 teams) collected 95 wins overall, though notably, both were swept 3 games to none in the first round of the playoffs. Four of those nine seasons ended with the Red Sox finishing their division in 4th place or lower. Here’s the full data set:

We know that the 2015 Red Sox are built for offense but to date, it just hasn’t clicked consistently. Despite living in a weak division, history offers little consolation that this year’s club can thrive in, let alone reach the postseason unless something changes dramatically.