The Big Story – Red Sox Actually Do Have a Plan: After two years of public doubts and much caterwauling by Red Sox Nation (and myself) there really does seem to be a future plan.
Craig Breslow’s actions on trades show a type of player he wants. Complementary, offensive spark plugs and good fielding guys to fill in around the offensive core of Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu and, if he comes back this century, Roman Anthony.
Second, with him giving up at least two good young MLB pitchers in recent weeks and three more touted minor leaguers, it appears he believes he/they can identify and develop young pitchers.
Aside from a blip in the ’80s with Clemens, Hurst and company, that’s something that hasn’t happened in the Red Sox organization since that kid from Baltimore named Babe showed up in town.
And finally the brass trading away prospects are a signal Breslow and company aren’t hoarding them and are willing to move them to go for it. That’s good news.
Now, how good are they at judging the talent they brought here and let go to get them?
Only time will tell on that.
Sports 101: Who holds the Red Sox franchise record for most strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher?
News Item – Red Sox Update: They start the week having won 27 of their last 33, in a streak started when their second baseman and shortstops got hurt and were replaced by Anthony Seigler and Andruw Monasterio, who, oh by the way, they got in the Caleb Durbin trade.
Meaning the SS, second baseman and third baseman that sparked the streak no one saw coming, all came in the same trade with Milwaukee this spring.
Bet that’s never happened in baseball history before.
News Item – Red Sox Notes:
• Ceddanne Rafaela’s 28 doubles are most in the AL.
• The 14wins by Sonny Gray already is a career high.
• Brayan Bello’s got his groove back. After being demoted to AAA on June 4 following a horrid first two months, in his first six appearances back in Boston he’s 2-0 and the ERA is 0.76 over 22.2 innings.
• In Friday’s Nolan Ryan-like effort while beating Oakland 13-1, an astonishing 14 of the 18 outs Payton Tolle got came via strikeouts.
• Marcelo Mayer being dumped to SF mercifully brings down the curtain on the disastrous Chaim Bloom tenure as GM.
And I feel pretty certain he’ll be the worst guy named Marcelo to ever play for the Red Sox.
• How does a guy who has hit under .200 all year still be second or third on the team in RBI? Despite all the radio yacking to trade him, Jarren Duran somehow has done that with 60.
Good no trade there.
The Numbers:
7 – consecutive losses for the invincible Dodgers since (according to the pundits) winning the World Series already by agreeing to trade for Detroit’s Tarik Skubal.
8 – consecutive strikeouts to close out his start vs. Pittsburgh by ex-Red Sox hurler Kyle Harrison. Though since he got yanked after just five innings and 69 pitches the wussification of baseball continues unabated.
… Of the Week Awards
Thumbs Up – Adam Vinatieri: On his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The resume shows he started the NE dynasty with the greatest kick in NFL history and later the game winner in the famed Snow Bowl, along with two SB-winning kicks, scoring more points than anyone in history and chasing down sprinter Herschel Walker from behind to save a TD, which was the greatest tackle ever by a kicker. After the game Bill Parcells called him a football player, not just a kicker.
Sports 101 Answer: Jon Lester has the most strikeouts by a Red Sox lefty with 1,386.
A Little History – Lester in Chicago and Boston: Consistency was his forte, illustrated with the astonishing statistical facts that his 63.6 winning percentage and 3.64 ERA in nine years while pitching for Boston was matched identically to the 63.6% and 3.64 ERA during his six years with the Cubs. And his season average of 168 innings and 154 strikeouts in Boston and his 167 and 156 are within the margin of error of being identical in Chicago too!
The only other career statistical consistency to match that that I know was Stan Musial dividing his 3,630 hits evenly by having 1,815 at home and 1,815 Kyle Harrison on the road.
Final Thought – Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve: “We can’t let this happen.”That’s what the Lynx coach, already embroiled in controversy for comments made regarding trans athletes, said about the WNBA possibly hiring men to head coach in the league.
I get the sentiment. But that seems exactly the opposite of feminists correctly bellowing through years about women being discriminated against by gender and not by qualification while head to head with men for a job.
But now since women stand to lose their advantage in this situation, gender suddenly matters more than qualifications do. Got it, Cheryl.
Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.