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By Jimmy, 8/31/2010 4:07 pm

Amalie Benjamin reports that the Sox just went and traded the only member of the team who was actually raised in Boston, and thus ends one of the more frustrating tenures of a Red Sox reliever in recent memory.

In return for Manny Delcarmen and an undisclosed amount of cash, the Red Sox receive a 21-year-old A-ball pitcher by the name of Chris Balcom-Miller.

Just from eyeballing Balcom-Miller’s peripheral statistics this season (and not knowing anything about him from a scouting standpoint) I would guess that he might crack the bottom of the organization’s top 20 list.  His K/BB ratio certainly deserves some attention.

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By Jimmy, 8/18/2010 9:39 am

8/17/2010: Red Sox 6, Angels 0

The Red Sox continue to dominate the 2010 iteration of the 21st century rivalry they’ve developed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  Boston moves to 8-0 against the Angels this season after another terrific effort from Clay Buchholz, who now leads the American League in ERA.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the AL Cy Young race (the top 6 candidates in my opinion, sorted by innings count):

While King Felix should be in the discussion, his W/L record will disqualify him among the out-of-touch dinosaurs in the journalism community who cling to bubble-gum card statistics like an old teddy bear.  Buchholz has the Pedro-esque ERA+, but his relatively low innings total and low K rate will hurt his cause.

Jon Lester has a strong argument to be the leader here with strong numbers across the board, which is amazing given the streak of inconsistency he’s experienced recently.  I’m trying to be as objective as I can, but I think my vote would go in this direction if the season were to end today.

Notes and Takeaways:

• If you see throngs of chain-smoking, mildly attractive 23-year-old women sobbing outside of Fenway Park, it probably has something to do with this news.  Wicked sad.
• I kid around about Ellsbury, but his injury (another broken rib) is legit.  Just a terribly unlucky lost year for a guy who should be entering his prime.  A pet peeve of mine is when fans who have trouble walking up a flight of stairs without gasping for air decide to comment on the mental toughness of professional athletes.
• The starting outfield from here on out, barring a waiver wire deal, should be Nava-Kalish-Drew, with Darnell McDonald available as a defensive replacement.

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By Jimmy, 8/9/2010 9:19 am

On the heels of the devastating season-ending injury to Kevin Youkilis, the Red Sox have thrown a proverbial Hail Mary by signing 38-year-old Carlos Delgado to a minor league deal.  Delgado has not appeared in the major leagues since May 10th, 2009.  The best case scenario here would be for Delgado to join the team in two weeks and serve as an occasional left-handed replacement for Mike Lowell, who has a .621 OPS against right-handed pitching this season.

A while ago, I wrote a piece on outfielder Jim Edmonds, discussing whether or not he was Hall of Fame worthy.  Ultimately, I decided that he should eventually be enshrined in Cooperstown.  I’ll be conducting the same type of analysis on the newest member of the Red Sox organization.

This one will be a little trickier than the Edmonds analysis, due to Delgado’s position.  There have been a lot of 450-550-HR first baseman/corner outfielder types in MLB over the past 20 years, and not all of them are necessarily Hall of Fame worthy.

I’ll post my analysis and decision when I get a chance.

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By Jimmy, 8/5/2010 4:30 pm

The Globe is reporting that our worst fears have come to fruition; Kevin Youkilis will have season-ending surgery on his injured thumb.  Now without their best hitter, it looks like the Red Sox will likely fall short of the post-season in 2010.

I’ve been following this baseball team closely for 22 years.  I can say, without hesitation, that this is the unluckiest Red Sox team of my lifetime.

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By Jimmy, 8/3/2010 4:16 pm

Word just came across the airwaves that Kevin Youkilis, apparently feeling left out, is going somewhere that many of his 2010 teammates have gone before: the 15-day disabled list.  Mike Lowell has been activated to take his place.

I’m not usually a Chicken Little type, but with the Red Sox now 6.5 games behind a the wild card leader, their two best position players out for the next two weeks, and a 4-game series in Yankee Stadium on deck, this could very well be the killing blow for the team’s playoff hopes.

Update: 98.5 FM is reporting that Youkilis has torn a muscle in his thumb.  It could require surgery, and if it does, Youkilis is done for the year (as are his 24 teammates).

For fuck’s sake.

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By Jimmy, 7/29/2010 9:27 am

7/28/10: Red Sox 7, Angels 3

The 2010 Red Sox have had some difficulty against unlikely teams: 6 losses to Baltimore, 3 losses to Kansas City, and 3 losses to Oakland.  However, they have had no trouble at all against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem in all seven of their contests (with three left to play in September).

Josh Beckett was once again effective, pitching seven strong innings to record his first victory since April 10th.  However, the story of the game was Marco Scutaro’s spine-breaking grand slam off of Fernando Rodney in the 8th inning.

When I look back at my season, there’s not going to be enough wins to really worry about it.

-Josh Beckett, after winning his second game of the year on July 28th.

Notes & Takeaways:

• Minor League Rehab Update #1:  Mike Lowell (remember him?)  continues to take a dump on AAA pitchers, now with 4 home runs and 4 doubles in 22 at bats.  His OPS is 1.727.  The Sox will probably option Jeremy Hermida to Pawtucket to make room for Lowell, as they need all of their “defensive” outfielders now that J.D. Drew is having hamstring issues.
• Minor League Rehab Update #2:   Now, the other side of the spectrum: noticeably missing from yesterday’s minor league box scores was Jacoby Ellsbury.  I can’t seem to find any news on him, and he is still listed on the GCL roster.  Stay tuned…

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By Jimmy, 7/28/2010 9:29 am

7/27/10: Red Sox 4, Angels 2

Despite being booed upon his return to Anaheim, John Lackey was able to keep his chin up (through the use of a complex system of pulleys and cables, most likely) and hold his former team to two runs over 7.1 innings of work.  Lackey gave the Angels a taste of what he provided them over his eight years in Anaheim; a high pitch count with very few mistakes.

That won’t be forgotten, for sure.

-John Lackey, on the boos he received from the Anaheim fans

Don’t worry, John.  The problem with Angels fans is that they simply care too much about baseball.  They really put their heart and soul into the historic Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise, and display their passion for America’s pastime via the use of stuffed primates and large pieces of plastic.  Every night.  Right up until the 6th inning.

Notes & Takeaways:

• We’re now three days away from the trading deadline, and the Blue Jays are asking for either Casey Kelly or Jose Iglesias from the Red Sox (the organization’s best pitching prospect and best infield prospect, respectively) in exchange for reliever Scott Downs.  If the Sox were to acquire Downs, he would be the third reliever on the depth chart and would throw maybe 30 innings.  Not really worth it, in my opinion.  Then again, as a child of the late 80’s /early 90’s, I’m still a little gun shy over Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson.
• Dustin Pedroia, still two weeks from a rehab stint (at least) is having a CT scan on Friday.
• Dan Shaughnessy displays a fundamental lapse in logic when he proclaims that there is no reason for the increase in no-hitters.  It can be attributed to the increase in strikeout rates.  Simply put, it’s easier to prevent hits when you prevent contact, thereby removing the risk of lucky bloops and seeing-eye ground balls.

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By Jimmy, 7/26/2010 9:36 am

There hasn’t been a whole lot to smile about in the past few weeks.  It appears that Hideki Okajima, who has had a very nice run as one of the better left-handed set-up men in the majors these past few years, is hitting the obligatory wall that all athletes in their mid thirties eventually hit.

However, there might be a few small glimmers of hope of the horizon for the 2010 Boston Red Sox, now 5 games back in the wild card race.

Josh Beckett:

Beckett was considered to be 1A or 1B on the Red Sox rotation before the season began, but after a very dissapointing start to the season, he landed on the DL for 2 months.  Here is how he looked before and after his DL stint.

Beckett’s game looked better than before in just about every facet; velocity, command, and pitch selection.  With all 2010 interleague games now in the rear view mirror, Beckett will have no reason to get within 60 feet of the batter’s box and risk another “tweak” (until the playoffs, at least).

Victor Martinez:

Terry Francona mentioned that Martinez might be ready to play in this series against the Anaheim Angels.  This is huge news, considering the fact that the three-headed abomination of Kevin Cash, Dusty Brown, and Gustavo Molina have reached base only 14 times in 70 plate appearances, and have had zero extra base hits or RBI during that span.  The variance in offensive productivity between Martinez and these other guys is mind-blowingly vast.  It’s simply a completely different team without him in the lineup.

Jacoby Ellbury:

Take heart, drunken 25-year old women smoking butts while double-fisting Coors Light on Yawkey Way: you will soon have another reason to let your gravelly voices be heard amongst the other cheering fans.  Your enigmatic heartthrob should return in a week or two.  Jacoby Ellsbury will begin his minor league rehab assignment this week.

Dustin Pedroia

Pedroia still has at least 3 weeks to go before we see him back on the major league roster, but it appears that he is progressing nicely.

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By Jimmy, 7/19/2010 9:02 am

Tim Wakefield has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 7.2 innings of work, but thankfully, we shouldn’t be needing him in the rotation after tomorrow night.  Of course, they’ll need him to start again once a piano inevitably falls on the head of Jon Lester or John Lackey, but until then, the Red Sox rotation will feature 5 guys who can throw a baseball faster than 75 MPH.

The Projo lays it out for us:

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By Jimmy, 7/14/2010 7:18 am

For the first time in 14 years, the inferior National League has won the MLB All-Star game.  Shockingly, there were questionable decisions made on the American League side.

Paul Konerko: 0 for 2 with a K, in case you were wondering.

It’s time to go back to chasing ice cream carts around the clubhouse, Sport.  Leave the roster construction to the experts.

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By Jimmy, 7/13/2010 2:31 pm

Just one thing to note here; the players I chose at DH were simply the two best hitters after every other spot on the roster had been filled.

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By Jimmy,

It’s the day of the 2010 All-Star Game, but in baseball circles, 7/13/10 will now be known for something else entirely.  According to radio reports, iconic New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died of a heart attack.

I have a feeling that the “never speak ill of the dead” rule will be violated quite a bit in this part of the country, and to an extent, a lot of that will be deserved.

The bottom line is, this asshole bought a 79-win team for $8.8 million dollars in 1973.  The franchise he leaves behind is now…no longer a 79-win team worth $8.8 million.

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By Jimmy,

Timing is everything, as they say.

What better time to ask for a contract extension after putting on a mammoth exhibition of power in front of millions of viewers, after hitting .317/.467/.671 in your last 25 games?  The problem is that the Red Sox have a one-year team option on him for the 2011 season, and it is really not in their best interests to discuss a long-term deal with an overweight 35-year-old DH.

Perhaps if Bud Selig agrees to ban left-handed pitchers from the game of baseball?  You know, since Ortiz is hitting .192/.277/.301 against them.  Just ask a nun at any Catholic school: left-handed people are the spawn of Satan.  The Italian word for left is “sinistro”, not coincidentally sounding a bit like “sinister”.

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By Jimmy, 7/7/2010 9:29 am

7/6/10: Rays 3, Red Sox 2

The Sox had another massive injury scare last night when Kevin Youkilis, one of the last few regular position players not on the DL, had to leave the game with pain in his right ankle.  The team’s loss to the Rays can be directly attributed to Youkilis’ departure, as Tampa Bay was then able to intentional walk David Ortiz to pitch to Youk’s replacement (the offensively-anemic Niuman Romero).

Fortunately and surprisingly, it appears that Youkilis is fine, and should be ready to play today.

Notes & Takeaways:

• Imagine what the general reaction would be if it were J.D. Drew who left the game and allowed the Rays to ILBB their way to victory, only to shrug off the injury immediately after the game ended.
• It looks like the final AL All-Star roster spot is down to Youkilis and Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher.  Here, let’s be objective: Player A is hitting .296/.375/.509 in 332 plate appearances, and plays mediocre corner-outfield defense.  Player B is hitting .299/.416/.589 in 339 plate appearances, and plays excellent 1B defense.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention: the American league currently only has 2 first basemen on the roster.  Who would you pick?
• David Ortiz will participate in this year’s Home Run Derby.  Not something I would have predicted in April.
• Josh Beckett will make his first rehab start in Pawtucket on Sunday.
• Just a quick note on the insanity that is the Lebron James sweepstakes: I’m predicting that he ends up with the Chicago Bulls.  Assuming that the Bulls and the NY Knicks are the two finalists, Chicago has too many advantages over NY:

1. The obvious reason is that the Bulls are a much better team than the Knicks, and their future is much brighter.
2. In NY, Lebron would have to play second fiddle to Derek Jeter’s rapidly expanding forehead.  The Jets and the Giants also get much more love than the local hoops team.  In Chicago, the Bulls are much more appreciated.  Lebron is revealing himself to be a bit of an egomaniac, so these things will definitely be a factor.
3. Chicago is a nicer city than NY.  NY has the advantage of scale, but that’s about it.
4. Chicago is closer to where he grew up.

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By Jimmy, 7/2/2010 4:45 am

Jason Varitek, apparently feeling left out, is headed for the disabled list with a broken foot (an injury similar to Dustin Pedroia’s, it would seem).  During a normal circumstance, this is one injury I think the team could shake off without much difficulty.  However, when just about every other MLB ready or near-MLB ready catcher in the organization is injured, it becomes a serious problem.

The Sox have made an emergency trade for Kevin Cash.  Yes, he of the lifetime .188/.250/.291 averages.  Cash was here in 2008 and had his “best” offensive season with the Sox, and he is a good defensive catcher, but he is not a guy you want behind the plate for the majority of your games.

Unfortunately, as of July 2nd, 2010, Kevin Cash is the starting catcher for the Boston Red Sox.

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By Jimmy, 6/16/2010 9:22 am

According to multiple sources, left-handed pitching prospect Felix Doubront (currently the #2 pitching prospect in the organization per soxprospects.com) will most likely make his MLB debut on the mound on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Doubront is a 22-year-old who has been in the Red Sox organization ever since he was signed out of Venezuela at age 16.  He’s had consistent success throughout most of his minor league career, combining excellent control with decent (though not overpowering) stuff.  Here is what he’s done over the past 3 seasons:

Perhaps most impressive has been his ability to induce ground balls and keep the ball in the park at Pawtucket this year.

Unfortunately for “Prince Felix”, this will be a one-and-done situation, as Daisuke Matsuzaka is only expected to miss one start.

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By Jimmy, 6/9/2010 9:22 am

6/08/10: Red Sox 3, Indians 2

I’ve always thought that Tim Wakefield was slightly overrated in some circles, due to the fact that he’s a charter member of what I call the Goatee Mafia (or, if you prefer, the blue-collar team chemistry guys who play the game the way it was meant to be played).

Still, I’m going to give some well deserved props to our resident knuckleballer on the heels of his newly achieved milestone.

In an era where starting pitchers are coddled like deformed infants,  and players change teams as often as they change their socks, this is pretty goddamn impressive:

Wake tops a list containing three of the best pitchers in baseball history, and another guy who should be in the Hall of Fame.  Most of the names on the list pitched in an era where starters would routinely throw 300+ innings in a season, with the exception of the hormone-laced mule at #2.

Wakefield’s ERA+ during this his time with the Red Sox was 109, comfortably above average.  While pitching relatively well for long periods, he’s taken a lot of the onus off of the bullpen and other less durable starters during the past 14 seasons.  At the risk of sounding like a tool here, these are things that don’t really show up in a box score.  Well, they do actually show up in box scores, but not in a way that can be easily attributed to Wakefield.

Notes & Takeaways:

• While people have a visceral reaction to any news involving Scott Boras, keep in mind that his interests are pretty closely aligned with Boston’s interests in the case of Jacoby Ellsbury, seeing as though the outfielder isn’t close to becoming a free agent and will need to play well to make a decent arbitration case.
• I’ll have more on the draft in my next post.

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By Jimmy, 6/8/2010 6:50 am

After two straight years of selecting a high school/prep player with their first pick in the amateur draft, the Red Sox took a different approach in 2010, selecting polished college players with their first three picks.

Pick #1 (#20 overall): Kolbrin Vitek
Ball State University
Projected Position: 3B

Vitek, who played 2B in college, was rumored to be a possible top 10 pick before the San Diego Padres passed on him for someone else.

He’s an advanced, well-rounded player who hits well and runs well, and could conceivably be the Red Sox starting third baseman in two years.  Reports indicate that the Sox have a verbal agreement in place with Vitek, who is anxious to start playing the in the minors.

Pick #2 (#36 overall):
Bryce Brentz
Middle Tennessee State
Projected Position: RF

With Brentz, the Sox are taking a chance on someone whose stock dropped a bit due to concerns over a fractured ankle.  Two years ago, Brentz hit an other-worldly .465/.535/.930 before his injury, and managed to hit “only” .348/.440/.636 in 2009.

Brentz could bloom into a decent power hitter at the MLB level, but from what I’ve read, he’s certainly less of a sure thing than someone like Vitek.  All indications are that Brentz will also sign quickly and begin his career in the low minor leagues relatively soon.

Pick #3 (#39 overall)
Anthony Ranaudo
LSU
Projected Position: SP

The main difference between Ranaudo and those two picks above is manifested in a loathsome balding fellow wearing an expensive suit (Scott Boras).  Ranaudo is begin advised by Boras, who will likely try to push the negotiation process out until the mid August deadline, in order to squeeze as much out of the deal as possible.

With all that being said, the Sox aren’t really prone to be scared off from Boras’ demands if they feel that the player is worth the trouble, so I don’t think there’s too much to worry about in that regard.

Ranaudo is another pick who fell in the draft due to injury concerns, in addition to his signability issues.  He’s had elbow problems, but is one of the best college power pitchers available in the draft, and could be a huge steal at #39.

Keep checking in as I’ll continue to monitor the remaining rounds, and report on some notable players drafted by the Sox.

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By Jimmy, 6/7/2010 7:01 am

6/6/10: Orioles 4, Red Sox 3

It seems like the annual mid-summer pillage of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is the birthright of every player who puts on a Red Sox uniform (and every Red Sox fan, for that matter).  While the Sox did not leave Charm City with a sweep, they did outscore the flailing Orioles 23-6 over the three-game series.

John Lackey’s 7 inning performance was slightly encouraging; it was his best start since May 5th (the one caveat being that it came against the worst team in the American League).

Notes & Takeaways:

• Manny Delcarmen is hurting a bit, and as  result he’s had two outings in a row where he opened the flood gates.
• Maybe something to keep an eye on: David Ortiz’ left hand after being hit with a pitch by the gargantuan Mark Hendrickson last night.
• Dear Pau Gasol: it’s time to shave your neck.  You are beginning to look like that flying desert creature who sold Anakin Skywalker’s mom into slavery.  (Okay, for those of you who aren’t huge dorks, here’s what I’m talking about.)

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By Jimmy, 6/6/2010 1:31 pm

Isn’t it nice to live in an era where the term “draft” is typically associated with sports, video games, and beer?

Taking a page out of the NFL’s playbook, the first round of the MLB draft will be held in prime time on Monday night, and the entire event will be spread out over the course of three days.

While there isn’t much of a chance of Bryce Harper falling to #20 due to his “makeup issues”, we’ll be here to analyze each notable selection from the Sox.  Be sure to check here during the draft, as I’ll hopefully be posting in real time as the event goes down.