Game 117: Rangers put Red Sox back in their place
by Randy Booth on Aug 16, 2009 9:16 PM EDT
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Loss.
That's all I have to say about this one.
Well, I'll tell you the score at least: 4-3, Rangers. The Rangers take the series with the win, 2-1, and now are alone atop the American League Wild Card standings.
It's funny how things play out. After game one of the series (you remember that comeback), it seemed like the Sox were really in control. Then came back-to-back losses and it's the complete opposite.
Just imagine if the Sox didn't make a comeback in the first game. How sour would being swept be? It'd be right up there post-Yankees series of last week.
So should we be happy that the Sox won that first game? Or should we be upset that the Sox could barely win one of three games?
Sox have a day off on Monday. Thank God for that. They need a shot of something in the rear end to get going ... and I'm not talking about steroids.
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One thing is certain
Theo is going to have his hands full this winter. This team got old quickly. I hate to see our team do so poorly in a year where the bullpen is so strong. In years a pen is strong you have to find a way to win, we seem to be doing the opposite.
DFA Nick Green
Got old quickly is a good way to put it.
Really, we’re caught between two extremes. Guys like Ellsbury, Buchholz, and Bard looking underseasoned while guys like Ortiz, Tek, and Lowell take turns acting like they’re 50 going on 60. It doesn’t help that our middle guys (Bay, Drew) decided to randomly act like the old guys.
Luckily for this team, what matters is that we do have that young component, and we’ve got some guys who’re young but don’t show it (Pedroia, Lester).
I have faith in Theo for the offseason, which isn’t to write off this season entirely. Lester and Beckett are the type of players who can win postseason series singlehandedly (I’d take them over CC and Burnett any day) and our 3-4 guys can come up big if the planets are aligned. We just have to get this offense going with a stable lineup where the holes start closer to 8 and 9 than 6 and 7.
by Ben Buchanan on Aug 16, 2009 10:17 PM EDT up reply actions
wasn't that quick
The aging of the Manny/Papi combo was predictable, and then Manny left.
‘Tek has been old for at least three years now. And Lowell’s decline has been foreseeable.
The other problems in the lineup are not age-related. The Sox have had a weakness at SS for years. And Drew continues to underwhelm.
We all knew the Sox needed a big bat during the last postseason, and they got…nobody.
As for the pitching, they really miss Dice-K.
Pretty damn quick.
Ortiz 2007: 332/.445/.621 (1.066 OPS) in 149 games
Ortiz 2008: .264/.369/.507 (.876 OPS) in 109 games
Lowell 2007: .324/.378/.501 (.879 OPS) in 154 games
Lowell 2008: .274/.338/.461 (.799 OPS) in 113 games
Varitek 2007: .255/.367/.421 (.788 OPS) in 131 games
Varitek 2008: .220/.313/.359 (.672 OPS) in 131 games
by Ben Buchanan on Aug 17, 2009 1:27 AM EDT up reply actions
... and I'm not talking about steroids.
Hey, if that’s what it takes…. no but seriously, we are in deep trouble. Its not even like our pitching is doing horrible either, we just aren’t scoring. I don’t care how well you pitch, 2 or 3 runs a game isn’t going to get it done unless you’re shutting people out every night, which obviously can’t happen. The team is terribly SLOW too, with the exception of 46, we may be the WORST baserunning team in the majors.
... and I'm not talking about steroids.
i’m gonna come right out and say it: i dont care if we need a shipment from the domincan republic, i just would like to not be shut out for 31 consecutive innings, ever again. thanks.
and i would like to not have 8 stolen bases on us, ever again (hey juice up that cannon tek! throw some guys out pls). and i would like to not be a) swept by the yanks and pretty much fall out of the division race and b) lose a pivotal series and lose the lead for the wildcard either.
theos a bum. bucholz is a bum. tek/papi/lowell are now bums. and for the red sox, SS stands for sh*t stop.
so disgusted with this team.
theo! get us jose reyes this offseason. and stop overvaluing the damned prospects. hey we did very very good with lester, pedroia, youk, jacoby, etc. but you can’t continue batting .800 forever.
im glad i got that out of my system.
and depending on the reaction of the other commenters, i may or may not have been joking with this post
I'm no expert, but I'm not sure roids are going to make Tek's arm thow faster...
Torque and all that stuff…
Now for the bum-name-calling stuff: no, no (he’s looked great for the past two starts), maybe, maybe, only on defense.
So, you want an expensive guy who’s got a very serious injury to come in and replace a guy who’s ready to come back from his injury at far less cost? Theo could very well keep “batting .800” because of how well he’s run the farm system.
If you’re not sure about something, probably best not to be extreme when stating it.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
in which case i was joking
lol no but seriously. i was a little heated. but this team really makes me mad.
thankfully, michael silverman of the herald more or less sums up my thoughts:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1191748
Sox
We need a bat. We don’t have a bad team at all, We have a solid Starting rotation in Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K (when he wants to be good/healthy). We have great prospects in Youk, Pedroia and Jacoby. We need a solid shortstop (ahem, if only we had kept hanley ramirez). Since Nomar left, the SSposition has been empty. We can settle for Lowrie or Nick Green ( who actually is a decent hitter, but not a good SS) if and only if we can get another power batter. Bay and Drew are good, but not what we need. They fit into the lineup nicely but there just not the bat we need. We need someone to step up and fill Manny’s shoes. Theo will have his handsfull this offseason and I have confidence he can provide. IMO, we should have kept Masterson and traded Buccholz. If V-Mart, Papi and Bay can all click andstay consistent we could have a very potent offense.
We need someone to replace ORTIZ' bat.
Make no mistake, you want to know where the lack of production is, it’s at DH. Sure, we could use a more durable guy than JD Drew who has more of his OBP coming from average and slugging closer to .500, but if we need something it’s a DH who’s going to give us a .850+ OPS or .380 wOBA. Whether that comes from Victor or not I can’t say. If we could get a guy who can do that in the offseason without breaking the bank, than OK. But if not I DO think we have the guys to piece together a team. But some people have to play up to their abilities, tough decisions have to be made, and the players have to ACCEPT those decisions. Even if it’s Ortiz to the bench, and Lowell to DH.
by Ben Buchanan on Aug 17, 2009 7:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Unless
I did the math incorrectly Ortiz has a 860 OPS since June 1 in 248 plate aps. That includes his terrible August. If true, that would make him the second best on the team in this stretch I think. So…is that what you are asking for? I agree that Ortiz cannot be relied on (especially for next year) but one can’t really blame him for the team’s offensive woes of the last 2-3 months it would seem.
We can't keep giving Ortiz ~500 ABs a season
In anticipation of him getting hot for 100 of them. That’s bad math right there. Because sure, he had 1 good month and 1 passable month, but that still leaves his season line looking like crap.
Whether or not Ortiz has been the direct cause of any prolonged slump, that’d just be good luck on his part that he’s not noticeably awful when we’re running bad. In the next game, or next week, or next month, there’s no guarantee the same will be true.
If you’re repairing a machine, and you find a broken or rusty clog that happens to be running smoothly separate from the problem at the moment, you still have to fix it. Leaving it in is just asking for problems later.
by Ben Buchanan on Aug 17, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions
June+July+August
is 3 months. Sure, August looks crappy, but I bet it wont look nearly as crappy by the end of the month. His K numbers are actually down in August from July and in line with June, and he has some serious bad luck (had by far his lowest bapip of the year for August despite, by my eyes, hitting the ball hard but often on the ground). I am not advocating Ortiz as a savior, etc, but I would be willing to be that he will remain in the top 3 on the team in OPS for the rest of the year-and be your needed 850 for the rest of the year. You can take that as an indication of team failure if you like.
Even if he does pull that off (I maintain it's doubtful)...
He’ll still be putting up shit season numbers. We can’t hold onto him as our primary DH next season, nor can we keep a player with 0 utility on the bench. We’ve gotta find a solution to what is a very real Ortiz problem.
by Ben Buchanan on Aug 17, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree
for next season. However for this season the right thing to do is DH him…often. Have him hit down in the order, and perhaps DH Lowell against LHP. I doubt Lowell will hit RHP better than Papi for the rest of the year by OPS. Want to wager on that? I really do think he will put up an 850 the rest of the way. He is what he was in July-a slugging heavy 850, he is not what he was in June. Since he is lower in OBP skills than we would like (and even than Lowell) have him hit 6-7 when he plays.
Because 2 months of his season were wrecked by eye problems.
That’s like having your cog in backwards and replacing it, if you would like to continue the metaphor.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
I disagree Nick Green is not that good and they need to get rid of Lowrie now because his value is still somewhat but I don’t think he will ever become anything besides a mediocre shortstop. Ortiz is getting old but he played well this last series. Please can the Red Sox get rid of Varitek and don’t pick up Bay’s contract
Trading Lowrie would be stupid.
His value is at an all-time low right now. With the system the Sox have, they’re not going to get any player of value for him, so they might as well continue to gamble on his potential as they have.
Ortiz is done. Period. The sooner the Sox make that tough decision and talk with him about how they simply can’t be wasting a lineup spot on him consistently to enjoy the short hot streaks he has the better.
Varitek can’t be gone after this year, no. He has a mutual option. But we definitely need a defensive catcher who can at least put up an OPS of .750. Of course, the big name on the horizon is Mauer.
Lot of hate for Bay given that .393 wOBA on the year.
by Ben Buchanan on Aug 17, 2009 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Depends if Bay really is asking for $100mil+.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
Nah.
But Gammons reported that he was asking for Tex money a few months ago.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
Oh, this should be fun.
- Youk, Pedroia, and Ells =/= prospects. They’re full time starters now – graduation was a while ago.
- How do think we got Beckett and Lowell? HanRam was not given up for peanuts.
- Nick Green’s a bad hitter and an above average SS, not the other way around.
- You are asking for us to get another HoF bat. That’s not exactly an easy task, you must realize that.
- Yes, let’s keep the swing guy instead of the potential ace.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
Ok
- Yea true they are starters
- Yea no shi t. I’m saying he could have been our SS
- He is the best we have right now. Unless you want to put Youk at SS (i’m sure he wouldnt do terrible actually). SS is arguably the hardest position, but he has 14 errors. And he hasn’t played the whole year either.
- Not necessarily a HoF batter, but a batter with HR numbers. If we would have gotten Ad. Gonzo it would have been nice, but thats not the case.
- Actually Buccholz is the swing guy. There is a reason he was sent back down to AAA a few starts after his no no. Masterson was a stud and he has the potential to be an ace, while Buchholz has shown improvement, I wouldnt be suprised if he always remained a #3 or 4 guy.
Another thing, has anyone noticed that the slump started around when Wake went down?
by arodlikes men on Aug 18, 2009 4:31 AM EDT up reply actions
And if HanRam was our shortstop, we don't win in 2007 and we're likely 5+ games behind Texas this year for the WC.
Check Green’s wOBA and UZR – he’s a mediocre bat and a good glove who happens to make a few mistakes.
Masterson, an ace? HELL NO.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
i agree
we shoudlve given up bucholz instead. masterson’s a guy who we’ve seen can consistently get it done in the majors, bucholz has not. for all the hype, buch was sent down cause he had like an 8 era, whereas masterson was in the majors getting crucial outs in the alcs. and he couldve really helped us in long relief in those extra innings games
that said, i guess the ceiling for buch is that he could be a #2 type starter, whereas masterson is what he is.
i think the argument should be: do you take the sure thing with masterson as a #4/5 type starter or relief pitcher, or do you take buch as a potential #2, even though he has a chance of flaming out and becoming nothing.
although i guess buch has had an ok last couple of games… and mastersons been pretty awful this season at times.
heres a thought though. bucholz’s problem seems to be that he sorta comes off the rails when he strikes adversity. what if we did a phil hughes and put buch in the bullpen when we get dice back, or if we call bowden up?
with buch’s stuff, if we just throw him out there for an inning and tell him to throw his best stuff and get three guys out, he could be pretty awesome, no?
We sold high on Masterson.
Buch had some struggles last year, but is looking MUCH better this year (don’t look too closely at ERA – can’t blame him for bad defense). Masterson still scares me (weird mechanics) and I don’t see him starting for any extended period of time, which is basically the only way he could be any more valuable than a decent Buch. Relievers really are easy to replace, quality starters are not.
I’d give Buch a few more starts to see if he’s matured past the freak out thing – Vic’s been doing a good job with him so far.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
i hate to dump on the captain when hes down...
but tek hasnt been a factor on offense for three years, and now he cant even throw guys out. granted you might come back at me with, “the pitcher has to take some of the blame too” but the fact remains, hes really slipped defensively.
i say we groom vmart to be catcher next year. and have vmart/kottaras splitting time catching (to keep martinez fresh).
that way we can play youk at first all the time. which should improve our defense (right? im not a big stat guy, so dont eat me alive if its wrong), and it means we dont have to throw a defensive guy out there to compensate and watch our offense sputter instead.
and then we should platoon lowell/papi at DH all the time. as for the outfield, i think it could be better, offensively, but its not exactly a black hole.
and then pitching’s fine, we’ve got depth down there in the minors too.
where i think theo should really try and improve is the leftside of the inf. 3B and SS. i dont care if the SS hits .250. if he plays top notch D, i think we can live with that. so i guess our target this offseason should be an elite 3B who we can plunk in the middle of our lineup, maybe hit cleanup.
tampa bay has longoria, MFY have arod, sox have….. we need an upgrade
tek
Yea Tek is seasoned, this is true. But you have to look at stuff thats not obvious. He is THE best at keepin the staff in line. His numbers could be better but he keeps the pitching staff loose but prepared. Look at all the no hitters he has caught.
To J-ace, not a bad idea. But the relief pitching mentality is way different from the starting pitching mentality. If Buccholz started to relieve, it could be detrimental to his starts. Thats why almost every pitcher that goes to the ’pen never comes back.
All i hope is the Sox drafted a stud shortstop that no one saw coming ha
- Earlier i said Buchholz was sent to AAA, it was actually AA.
by arodlikes men on Aug 18, 2009 5:18 AM EDT up reply actions
We got Renfroe.
Who’s Casey Kelly Pt. 2, but more likely to stay in the field instead of being an ace pitcher.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
3rd base should be a target for us.
But if we can get a 1B with the same type bat and a decent glove for cheaper, I have no problem making Youk a 3B (he’s average there, but better than Lowell).
There’s actually a couple of young catchers making their way up through the minors right now that I wouldn’t mind platooning with with VMart next season – Wagner’s the closest and most likely, I guess.
And Jed is probably the kind of SS you’re looking for – solid D (not insane range or arm, but he knows how to use what he’s got) and a league average bat (.350 wOBA) at a below average offensive position.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
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