For the Red Sox, Two Weeks that Shouldn't Have Been
by Ben Buchanan on Jun 11, 2010 8:00 AM EDT
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The Red Sox are 2-0-2 in their last four series, having won eight games and lost six. It's not great, but it's certainly not bad.
Except that it is. Because we're in the AL East, and three of those four series were against bad, bad teams, and even the Athletics are just skirting .500. These are the teams the Red Sox have to beat—badly—if they want to contend in this ridiculous division. Last year, they went 16-2 against the Orioles. This year, they are 4-5. That's not going to get the job done.
These last two weeks were another wasted opportunity, like when the Red Sox were swept by the Orioles earlier in the season. Instead of reasserting themselves into the division race, they found themselves (almost mercifully) another game back. While the Rays did not gain any ground this time around, the Yankees stretched their Wild Card lead by a game. The Red Sox went backwards when they needed to go forwards.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this mediocre run is that there's no easily diagnosable problem. One day the back-end of the rotation is blowing the start of the Royal's series, the next they're going deep into games and stifling opposing lineups. The offense put up 50 runs in one six game stretch before managing only less than a quarter of that in the next four. With the Indians in an 0-2 hole and the Red Sox poised to sweep with Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester on the mound, the Sox went dead against Justin Masterson, and then Lester managed to get shelled for six runs despite striking out eight, and Bard gets beaten up in the final inning.
This isn't to say the Red Sox are doomed, just that they've made their jobs much, much more difficult. Instead of having to defeat the cellar dwellers of the world, they have to perform against the harder competition coming up from the AL East and NL West. They have shown they can do so since the turnaround—the 9 games preceding this "easier stretch" are proof enough of that. Now they have to go out and do it again.
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there is one easily diagnosable problem
which is the bullpen. Everything else, bad offense, bad starting, that will happen every once in a while. It is inexcusable for a contending team to have a bullpen with an ERA of 4.67 and only one reasonably reliable reliever. Just doesn’t and won’t work. If that is fixed, there will still be days where the starters will fail and there will still be days where the offense will fail, but they’ll be the exception and we will have a team that will reliably be able to beat up on both good and bad teams.
I agree with what you said, except the "contending" part.
We are not contending with our pen as is right now. No chance.
Reading it again, I think that is actually what you meant.
I never really like trading for bullpen arms…but I don’t think we have much of a choice.
yeah thats kind of what I meant
as in we won’t be contending through the year if this is what our bullpen looks like. But it’s early and the coffee is just starting to sink in, so my typing isn’t as clear as it should be.
Can we lose a couple games without the gloom squad rolling in, in full fashion?
The only major problem this team has is the bullpen and really that’s about it. We’ve been able to do a lot with a little, specifically the OF. The offense has been rolling fine until Masterson decided to pitch maybe the most brilliant game he ever will, and that happens sometimes. Last night our most trust worthy reliever blew it. And that happens sometimes too. But these are things that happen completely out of the control of anyone, it’s just bad luck. Like Papi’s .091 BABIP this month. Is that sustainable? Absolutely not, same with Pedey and his .25-something BABIP. It’s just week to week variation in baseball. Yeah it sucks but we just put up a very good month in May, one where we went from being under .500 to counting on one hand the difference between us and the Rays like it would be no big deal. That was just two weeks ago. Calm your horses. There will be stretches where we struggle, and even then, we’re winning more than we lose. How many series loses can be counted amongst our last 4? None. But there will be stretches like May again where we are on top of our game and the MFY and Rays will take a dive and then it’s all evened up. It’s just the way it goes.
That being said, we need a bullpen or it doesn’t matter how good our starters or lineup is because they can be counted on to blow it in the end.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
It's not that the Red Sox lost
It’s who they lost to. When you’re in a divison as tough as the AL East is you have to at the very least win the series agiasnt the lesser teams. You just can’t split.
It's hard to say what's been most impressive. The seamless jump from AA? The ability to hit for average? The ability to hit for power? The 18 walks in 111 trips to the plate? The flair for the dramatic? When you're trying to isolate the most impressive aspect of Jason Heyward's game, there's a lot to choose from, and it's only been a month and a half.
by Richie Grogan on Jun 11, 2010 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions
At least
we miss Halladay
It's hard to say what's been most impressive. The seamless jump from AA? The ability to hit for average? The ability to hit for power? The 18 walks in 111 trips to the plate? The flair for the dramatic? When you're trying to isolate the most impressive aspect of Jason Heyward's game, there's a lot to choose from, and it's only been a month and a half.
by Richie Grogan on Jun 11, 2010 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Im not worried about Halladay
I’m worried about unproven pitchers that we make, on a regular basis, look like Cy young
I look at this series and say, we didn’t play our best baseball and we were one pitch away with our best reliever on the mound from winning the series. Its unfortunate yes, but there is nothing that could have been done, especially when you have to treat Bard as closer while Paps is out (has anyone found out why he’s on bereavement leave?) and leave him in the game, even when his stuff isn’t the best.
I’m just saying, not playing at peak level, we’re still winning more than we’re losing and there are more reasons to be hopeful about this team than to be in the pits about them. Unless we don’t get bullpen help, then we’re screwed.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
Yup.
This loss does not mean that we are a worse baseball team. It just means we have one win fewer than we could; and in a tight division that is important.
"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw
But with the back and forth luck we’ve had, we’ll probably win one somewhere that we shouldn’t have and we’re square. There is another side to this.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
Hopefully. But we have to take the opportunities when they are there.
I don’t think this loss is anything more than one loss. But one loss might mean losing the division.
"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw
You're right.
As we all know, there’s luck in baseball; the playoffs are not decided by pythagorean records (nor should it be). The problem is that for every unlucky stretch, it makes it more and more difficult to make the playoffs. We have a good team; probably as good as the Rays or the Yanks. But we will almost certainly need a little good luck to get ahead of those guys and losses like this will not help. At all.
"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw
Im not worried. Thetre in the hunt, and at least they are beating the good teams.
last night was just a bad luck game
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by bestbostonsports on Jun 11, 2010 11:02 AM EDT reply actions
I give up trying to predict games
Lester and Bucholtz lose while Wakefield and Matsuzaka do very well and win. Go figure?? It would be easier betting on horses.
Every loss hurts
but we still need to take one game at a time.
Where we will get help this year is the Rays schedule has them playing 15 games total against Minnesota and Detroit. Those two teams match up well with Tampa Bay and will be fighting all year for the Central Dvision Title and a shot at the playoffs. All 15 games are in July and the first few weeks of August.
We need to take care of business tonight against the Phillies at home and continue to handle the interleague match ups, so that July and August mean something.
The back end of the bullpen needs help right now by revolving call ups from Pawtucket. Viable options are Manual, Bowden, Doubront and Richardson. They all have option years remaining, so they will be protected if they need to be sent back and forth to get some fresh arms for middle relief. There is an open spot on the 40 man roster for Robert Manual. Also one sleeper. A reliever in Salem and now a starter in Portland is Jeremy Kehrt. His GB% is pushing 60% and he may be able to help the back end by inducing some groundballs with his fastball that’s touching 93, splitter in the mid 80’s, slider at 80, and great control. He’s 24 years old and has moved though the system at a good pace.
And can we have some health, please.
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