TODAY: The Red Sox officially announced Hendriks’ reinstatement from the injured list, and Dobbins was indeed optioned to Triple-A.
APRIL 18: Liam Hendriks looks to be in line for his Red Sox debut this weekend. Manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Ian Browne of MLB.com) that there’s a “good chance” the veteran reliever will be activated from the 15-day injured list tomorrow. Chris Cotillo of MassLive observes that righty Hunter Dobbins is preparing to head back to Triple-A Worcester after being recalled this afternoon. It seems he’ll be optioned in the corresponding move.
Hendriks has not pitched in an MLB regular season game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2023. That ended his time with the White Sox, as Chicago bought out a $15MM club option with Hendriks set to miss most or all of the ’24 season. The Red Sox added Hendriks on a backloaded two-year deal with a $10MM guarantee. He made $2MM to finish his rehab last year and is playing on a $6MM salary this season (plus a $2MM buyout on a ’26 mutual option).
The three-time All-Star tried to make it back last September. Hendriks made six minor league rehab appearances, but the Sox backed off his progression when he felt some arm discomfort. He struggled over seven Spring Training outings and landed back on the injured list with elbow inflammation to begin the season. Hendriks was shut down for a few days and received a cortisone shot, but there wasn’t any kind of structural damage. He started a rehab stint last Thursday.
Hendriks has worked three scoreless innings in as many appearances between the top two minor league levels. He has fanned five while issuing two walks. His fastball averaged 94 MPH during his Triple-A work. It’s a nice rebound from the rocky exhibition play, when he allowed seven runs over 6 1/3 frames.
Entering camp, Hendriks seemed the favorite to replace Kenley Jansen as Boston’s closer. Aroldis Chapman had a much better Spring Training to take hold of the ninth inning. Chapman is 4-4 in save opportunities and has only allowed one run over 7 1/3 frames, so he’ll remain the closer. Hendriks will join Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock as setup options from the right side.
That food truck surprise he gave them must have been him knowing this was coming up soon.
Trill – It’s common for established MLB veterans to do nice things when they are rehabbing in the minors. Much of it goes unreported.
The long road back is almost complete. Hopefully he gets into tomorrow’s game and pitches well
Rsox – I’m glad he didn’t. I’d rather he be eased back in with a low-leverage situation. I’m sure he’ll have another chance against his former team today or tomorrow.
Shrimp, Barbie
The Sox bullpen is looking like a strength in the early going, after being probably the biggest question mark of the team heading into the season. If Hendriks can come back strong and guys like Bernardino, Weissert, Wilson and Winckowski can somewhat maintain their strong starts, they might end up having one of the better bullpens in baseball this season. Not only has it looked like a strength in the early going, but they also have several guys performing well in AAA (Wyatt Mills, Nick Burdi) who may get a shot at some point. Add in the fact that guys like Dobbins, Newcomb and Criswell can all be shifted to the pen after all of their starters are finally healthy, and the overall depth is very impressive. Breslow has done a really good job building the pitching staff over the past year or two.
Ban – I appreciate your optimism about the bullpen but facts don’t support it. Red Sox are only 18th in bullpen ERA despite playing against weak offenses like the Rangers and ChiSox. Chapman is great, Whit is great but is being handled with kid gloves. And Liam will obviously need time to shake the rust off. So probably best to wait until June before making predictions about the pen.
Fever, additionally while each win counts, the key to me is getting length out of your starters so Cora can’t burn out the pen by July.
Dewey – I totally agree! That message has finally been conveyed to Crochet, who has dialed it back in order to go longer in games.
However leaving in Houck to give up 12 runs was wrong, hopefully it won’t have a lasting impact on him.
Crochet has pitched 26 innings in 4 starts. That is 6.5 innings per start which is pretty good.
I can’t recall Fever, was the bullpen available?
dewey – Yes, everyone except Whit and Chap were available …. and you wouldn’t want to use those two in a blowout anyway.
Take out the guys no longer here and that pen ERA drops from 3.93 to 2.97. When you limit it to only the guys used in higher leverage situations protecting a lead it drops to 2.63. That’s pretty solid.
Ken – Come on now, that’s just like the people here who always say “If the Sox didn’t have injuries, they’d have won the division”.
You can’t have different rules for different teams when rating them. When it comes to teams, it’s all about MLB ranking …. not the actual stats. So you’d need to also “take out the guys who are no longer on other teams” and then see where the Sox would rank.
Besides, you can’t assume guys that are no longer on the team won’t be back with the team. Let’s say Winck was in Woosta right now (I know he’s not), you can’t throw away his stats because he could very well be promoted again.
Higher leverage protecting a lead is only one aspect of bullpens. Look at how great Whit and Chap were again today, even though not one pitch of theirs was with a lead.
BTW – Red Sox are now 19th in Team Bullpen ERA, the bullpen is becoming a problem.
Sure I can assume the guys no longer with the team won’t be back. Stock was DFAed, Fulmer was DFAed. They aren’t coming back. Criswell is the only one who might be back and again he won’t be used in any high leverage relief situations anyway so he really isn’t a factor.
You seem to like making things sound worse than they are many times. The guys that matter in the pen are solid, as much so as any other team the Sox are competing with for a postseason spot.
Ken – Stock cleared waivers and is back with Woosta. He can be back with the Red Sox at any time.
Same could happen with Fulmer, time will tell.
I have a very analytical background and I prefer acknowledging reality instead of living in a fantasy world. So my thought process is different than some here. I’m not saying everyone else should do the same though, to each their own.
So as I mentioned recently elsewhere, I look behind the numbers.
You believe the best relievers on the Red Sox are “solid” because they have performed the best thus far this season. That’s your choice, I respect that. I don’t expect anyone to be analytical, it’s not for everyone.
However I know for a fact that:
1) A strong bullpen requires more than 2-3 “solid” relievers
2) Strong relief performances against the worst offenses in MLB (White Sox, Rangers, Jays) is not that difficult. As we get deeper into the season and the level of competition evens out, then we will have a better indication of how good the Sox relievers are. For now, the Bullpen Team ERA indicates they’ve been bad against weak competition.
Let’s hope Houck gets back on track today and Liam gets into the game!
Happy Easter my friend :O)
Bullpen ERA maybe isn’t the best metric, you have to look at their ability to cover key innings effectively. The Red Sox should end up as a top ten bullpen, regardless of how many runs they concede in blowouts. Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert are all solid.
Sigh… I shouldn’t have jinxed it.
Wait – I respect your opinion. All reliever stats are flawed to some degree, but when it comes to Team Bullpen stats such as ERA it holds a lot more weight than individual reliever ERA. And to me there should be a stat that includes Inherited Runners and it should be weighted by how many outs and which bases have runners when the reliever enters the game.
And of course “key innings” can be defined differently by each person to suit whatever point they are trying to make.
Was Weissert’s outing today a “key inning” when he crapped the bed again? Or do his outings not count in your view because he’s not Chap or Whit?
Wait – Don’t feel bad, you’re definitely not alone in getting caught up with early season success. It happens every year here.
I get it, I really do …. we all want to believe this is a World Series team. The main reason why I look beyond the numbers is because I don’t want to build up unwarranted expectations, as the disappointment would then be much greater when reality sets in.
Hell, look at all the times I’ve said Story is a stellar shortstop …. and then he proves me wrong by going on an inexplicable error binge.
Although I am pretty proud of the fact that all offseason I said Story is due to have a good offensive season ;O)
FWIW this is where I see things now:
1) No offense to ChiSox fans, but they are really not an MLB team. They are dead last in offense with only 60 runs on the season, and they are 2-14 this month with the only two wins coming against the Red Sox. Take away the 11-run game against Boston last week, and the ChiSox have averaged just 2.6 Runs in every other game they’ve played this season.
Think about that …. the ChiSox are 0-14 this month if you take away their wins against Boston, and they haven’t won a road game all season. Beating them this weekend is like winning in ST ….. totally meaningless.
2) The fielding errors continue to pile up for the Red Sox, even on their own field
3) The same few players are carrying the Red Sox offense, today it was Devers and yesterday it was Story.
4) Abreu and Campbell have been regressing in awful slumps, which is understandable …. who is gonna replace their early season production?
5) Crochet lasted only 6 innings against the worst offense in MLB despite the fact he was pitching with an extra day’s rest.
6) The mental errors continue to pile up on the basepaths for the Red Sox
7) So far Bregman has choked often in big late-game situations. Look at all the late innings that have ended with him failing at the plate.
I still believe Boston will win 3 or 4 in this series, but I have real concerns about their upcoming matchups against the red-hot Mariners, Guards and Jays.
Not surprised to see you say Red Sox wins are meaningless. Campbell is not in a slump. He was on base 3 times today and has been on base in every game he has played except one. Crochet is doing fine. I will take 6 scoreless innings from him any day.
FPG- Even more than record when I look at team strength I use run differential. Right now Boston going to win about 80 games at a -3 differential. As you stated Team Bullpen ERA is 19th, if the starters (Houck) can’t stop anyone we really need Hendriks to find his former all-star self. I tell you what if Boston ain’t in a better spot come June 1st I’d start taking offers for Devers. I think Devers slow start is directly linked to how he feels about being DH.
bum – I agree Run Differential can be useful, but this early in the season it can be misleading. Looking behind the numbers, the Red Sox have been far worse than the -3 shows.
For one reason, 5 of the 22 games they’ve played are against a record-setting bad White Sox team. The Red Sox lucked out with Friday’s 10-3 win because Perez was hurt.
Another 9 of the games they’ve played are against teams well below .500 (Cards, O’s, Rays).
They’ve played only 8 games this season against good teams, and they’ve lost 6 of those 8. It should have been 7 of 8 as the Toronto win was thanks to the home plate umpire apparently having money on the Red Sox as he blew 14 calls in that game and 12 of the 14 favored the Red Sox.
I do believe Devers could be traded, but I doubt it would prior to the trade deadline. And who would replace him at DH if Yoshida is traded before then?
Speaking of Yoshida, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Red Sox get investigated for IL manipulation.
FPG If I was to trade Devers I’d slide Story into DH and call up Meyer. Story is an injury in waiting while being on the field.
Wait – If they lose today I’m blaming you! ;O)
Seriously though, Kelly has been crap this season and is a big reason why the Sox BP has been so bad. I hope Liam comes into the game. Even if he gives up a couple runs, he will need to shake off the rust at some point anyway.
BTW – I really can’t stand DOB’s announcing. He is such a tool. Today it was “MLB should have 7-inning DH games” and when 10D made a great diving catch DOB acted like it was an easy popup. I mean come on, Rafaela makes the same catch and DOB is screaming that it’s the greatest catch of all time.
No, Weissert needed to hold that lead. Like I said, I jinxed it with my comment.
Kelly has been awful, too, not sure why Cora still goes to him.
I wouldn’t say this is a WS team, but I believe it is one of the top five teams in a weak AL. Good enough to win a Wild Card unless they crap the bed.
Wait – My teasing was directed at your belief the Sox bullpen will finish the year among MLB’s ten best.
What path do you envision will result in that?
They are ranked 22nd right now despite very weak competition thus far.
Chapman has been great, there’s no room for improvement there.
Same with Whit, unless you think he will be used more often going forward?
Hard to say when Liam will finally shake the rust off, or if he can fully return at his age after what he’s gone through.
Slaten has been pitching better after a rough start, Wilson has been better than expected, and Bernie is probably gonna be consistently as good as he has been.
I just don’t see any additions from either the minors or the IL that would improve the bullpen.
BTW – Did you see Booser yesterday? He’s got a Kimbrel beard going on!
They can’t send down Zack Kelly instead? Dobbins has done pretty well.
Let – Dobbins wouldn’t be available for the next 4 games. With Bello returning next week, there’s no need for Dobbins unless there’s another injury or Houck gets moved.
Fever, I’d consider a six man staff as I worry long term about Crochet and those coming back from injuries.
Dewey – I was expecting it as well, but looks like Cora doesn’t want to sacrifice a reliever to do it.
You can’t have everything and these last few years have shown the bullpen is spent by July or August. Why not try something different?
dewey – We can only hope! I just don’t see Cora changing his spots, especially now that he just started his new 3-year contract. Which means no 6-man rotation, especially with Whit being on a one appearance every 3 or 4 games schedule. It’s gonna be really hard to time his usage so that it’s only in winnable games.
Once Bello or Giolito is ready, Wink will be the first one they send down. He’s lost all of his confidence and is not pitching well. They will also have to make a hard decision on Newcomb as well, especially once all 3 IL pitchers are ready (Bello, Giolito & Fitts). While the bullpen might need a tweak or two, hats off to Breslow on the pitching depth he has accumulated. Having Dobbins, Fitts & Newcomb on hand to start games has been great and they also have someone like Sandlin who is getting ready as well. Perhaps one or two of these guys end up in the bullpen by later in 2025. Personally, I think Fitts would be nasty coming out of the bullpen once their rotation is back to full health. Or maybe they end up moving Houck to the bullpen if he continues to implode and give his spot to Fitts.
Dotty – Don’t forget Sandoval and Crawford are due back mid-season too.
It’s nice to have so much depth, but it could lead to bad decisions being made.
Fever – Excellent point, I forgot about Crawford! I think Sandoval is more of a 2026 option but maybe he can get some looks in Aug-Sep. it’s good that Fitts, Dobbins, Wink & others can still be optioned, so they can juggle the rotation/bullpen as needed for the most part. I do think Newcomb eventually gets DFA’d but I am pulling for him not to. Local kid done good….
Newcomb might be able to be moved to the bullpen.
Im with suit newcomb has earned a spot on this team pen for lr
Depth is only good if it’s reliable and adequately managed.
I know Crawford will be ok, I like the progress of Fitts and Dobbins.
I’m not sure the rest is going to be good, or, well managed.
I’m really down on Cora.
If Campbell is in CF once more with Hamilton at 2B I’m gonna lose my mind.
Sad – Fact is half the starting lineup has been bad so far (Casas, Rafaela, Devers, Duran, Wong) and if any of those guys continue to fail they are gonna need to make some changes.
Calling up Mayer & Anthony immediately after the Sox get the extra year of team control is a must. But like you said, they are going nowhere if Cora continues to mismanage them.
I still think Fatso will be the first casualty though. Driveline has really messed up this team, you can’t force the same questionable hitting philosophy on every Red Sox hitter. Every player is different, they each need to be allowed to do what works best for them. Hitting should never be a one-size-fits-all approach.
Dotty – Agreed, I am rooting for Newcomb as well.
FPG: “you can’t force the same questionable hitting philosophy on every Red Sox hitter”
=======================
You have no idea what has been done with each hitter.
Campbell should be fine playing two positions. Lots of players play more than one position.
Mayor started off slow in wooster and anthony is reportly is dh only due to a shoulder issue…no sense in. Calling mayor up with story on fire and mayor cold…and anthony must play the field to.get the call thats all they are waiting for…and no i dont think they are lieing about anthonys should
Slide story to second, Mayer to SS. He’s starting to heat up, 7rbi yesterday. Shift Campbell to center and Ceddane can fill in as necessary. Let Roman heal a bit longer.
Suit- what the Red Sox have done is put in place a one size fits all approach to pitching, defense and hitting.
Last year was pitching- limit fastball usage, guess what, it worked for about 1/3 of the season, the Sox finished solidly in the lower middle of the mkb in ERA, ER and QS.
This year it’s “swing as hard as you can all the time regardless of count and situation” approach to hitting. And fielding, no more fielding groundballs in the middle of your stance, grab it on the outside of your glove side leg.
And voila! Most errors in baseball and second most strikeouts!!!! Analytics triumphs once again
Can’t make this stuff up
None of them well! Not everyone is Mookie Betts.
Here you have a kid you just signed long term, brought him up early, he’s learning on the fly and then, oh yeah, don’t settle in and get comfortable in one place, learn a second or third position in the majors. It’s terrible thinking.
Jack of All Trades, Master of None
How can you possibly know the conversations going on between coaches and players? If you post some articles with quotes from players, coaches, Breslow etc. then it might be believable.
Campbell is only playing two positions and he is doing great on offense and just fine on defense so far from what I see.
Suit – here is 30 seconds of Google. These are actual organizational philosophies. Analytics has been given the power to force all players to approach the game in the same exact way!!!
mlb.com/news/red-sox-2024-fastball-approach
985thesportshub.com/2025/04/15/red-sox-hitting-woe…
sports.yahoo.com/article/whats-wrong-red-sox-offen…
youtu.be/alNQAbyjIb8?si=oRZjyrNrx0H8bAb_
Not saying he can’t do it, saying it’s a needless amount of extra stress to put on a kid
Pool – Mayor? When did Sean Casey come out of retirement?
Haha ….. just teasing my friend ;O)
It doesn’t matter what is going on with Mayer & Anthony, because as I said the team is focused on delaying both until they get an extra year of team control by keeping them down. If Anthony was truly healthy he still wouldn’t be called up now.
Fact is, at least one of them would help the team right now. Ideally Anthony should push out Rafaela, but if he is truly hurt then Mayer could move Campbell to the outfield which would push out Rafaela. The lineup isn’t deep enough to support Rafaela’s .598 OPS or his career .276 OBP. He needs to work on his game and Woosta is the best place for that.
Sad – Fantastic post!! Everyone has been saying the Red Sox are being run like a cult, which is insidious and horrible.
We see evidence of it everywhere. Not just the massive MLB-leading errors and batter strikeouts, but also the embarrassing confrontations like when the tunnel-visioned analytics jerk shouted down and humiliated Hall of Famer James Edward Rice in front of players and the media. They may as well rename Fenway Park as “The Spectrum”!!
And let’s not forget all the Catcher Interference calls because the analytics team has instructed the catchers to position themselves closer to the batters.
I’ve seen this happen in all aspects of life, people going way overboard with new ideas because they are not intelligent enough to shake the tunnel vision. It’s like they live in the Ted Williams Tunnel!!!
Sad – So true!! But at least Cora admitted they don’t think, they don’t have a plan.
Cora wishes he could have just a 2-man bench with all 11 non-pitchers playing every position so that he could have a 15-man pitching staff. It’s a sick, sick way of thinking
MLB-leading 23 errors ….. my God, what are we doing here?
No contender has more than 13 errors.
Only last place teams have more than 16 errors.
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&st…
Sad – Fantastic links, Red Sox Nation thanks you!!
Hey since Breslow believes fastballs shouldn’t be thrown, maybe he should tell Chapman to throw 95% changeups!! LOLOLOL!!!
There was nothing in there about organizational philosophies except they are throwing less fastballs which other teams are doing too. There was no quotes from coaches, players or management. I stopped watching the video when they said the Red Sox should sweep the White Sox. If you believe you know what should happen in baseball, you don’t know baseball. The Mets were 11-22 last year before they turned their season around and went to the NLCS. I recommend you relax and enjoy the season. The Red Sox are right in the playoff race.
Siut – I can’t tell if you’re trolling or serious, either way, it’s not worth continuing. The 40 guys on the roster didn’t get together one night and decide this on their own. The Red Sox are “Three True Outcone” disciples.
That said, I will root for the laundry until Gane 162. But, it doesn’t mean that I have to agree with silly theories about reinventing baseball. Moreover. I want a Great team, yes all the time. I’m not interested in being mediocre, or being in a “playoff race” as you call ot. I wanted an 18-5 start this year, not 12-11, and “in a race” because everyone else is mediocre too.
We made so.e great great bold moves this off season. I love Crochet and Buehler. But, I shouldn’t be expected to look the other way when we signed Bregman for $40mm I stead of addressing other shortfalls in the roster when the best player on the team already plays 3B.
We pay hundreds of dollars per game and expect a similar commitment from ownership.
I’m not be unrealistic either, no one else is the Dodgers. However, I want a thoughtful approach to winning. And not a “follow the crowd” and maybe we’ll catch fire at the right time half-asness
I am serious. If you have some quotes from players, coaches and/or management where they are saying that they are instructing all players to do the exact same thing (a one size fits all approach as you say), I would like to see those quotes. I haven’t seen any so far. No one is interested in being mediocre, but I think it is unrealistic to expect things to go great every year. Baseball is quite unpredictable which I think makes it a great sport. I think the Red Sox organization is going in a good direction and the team will continue to get better each year.
Andrew Bailey saying, we’re not throwing fastball because they get hit and pitches that spin have more favorable outcomes:
nbcsportsboston.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/andrew-bail….
Lets move on….
Sad: I said above that I believe they are throwing less fastballs as other teams are, but I am not convinced they coach each player to do the exact same thing no matter what which would be one size fits all. I haven’t seen anything that supports a one size fits all approach to defense and hitting. Do you really believe they coach all the players to do the exact same thing? I don’t believe that and I don’t see any evidence of that. I think they may have a general approach, but I think they likely tailor things based on each player’s strengths.
Sad – You bring many facts and much logic to the discussion. Unfortunately there are some Sam Kennedy clones here who will robotically ignore it all and continue to repeat the Red Sox front office mantra.
In the words of Sox ownership, “Nobody can win the World Series every year but our goal is to compete for a division title every year and we are in position to do just that but it requires patience from the fanbase”.
Red Sox Nation knows THAT IS TOTAL BULLCRAP!!!
They have been saying that exact same thing since Bloom first took over!
Then they blamed 4 years of suckitude on Bloom.
But guess what? Breslow is clearly following the exact same organizational philosophy being directed by ownership and Cora.
And THAT is why, despite the constant turnover of players, the end result is always the same.
1) Crappy defense
2) Ridiculously high offensive strikeouts
3) Ridiculous inability to drive in RISP due to lack of contact
4) Cult-like treatment of all players
How many times have the Sox failed to score because they refused to bunt?
How many times have they committed fielding errors because they aren’t allowed to stay and improve at just one position?
How many times have they committed baserunning errors because of mental lapses?
How many times have they collapsed in the second half of the season?
Everyone truly wanted to believe there would be improvement this year, but so far instead it’s gotten WORSE.
The best hitter on the team is the guy who didn’t get brainwashed by Fatso and Driveline because he was very sick during spring training and missed much of it ….. coincidence?
And you are so right about ownership’s constant attempt to “follow the crowd”. Since John Henry bought the team, he’s been wanting to emulate the Moneyball Athletics and the Cheapskate Rays …. two teams that haven’t won crap in decades.
You probably don’t remember this, but during the 2021 AL WC game the announcers were saying what Red Sox Nation already knows ….. what works for one organization doesn’t always work for another. You can’t copy another team’s approach and have success if you don’t have the right people to implement said approach.
What Red Sox ownership has been doing the past 5+ years is like pointing at successful day traders and thinking anyone could be just as successful day trading. It’s an incredibly stupid way of thinking.
Sad – Luckily I can’t see who you’re responding to, but I’d just like to point out that EVERYONE who watched the Netflix documentary saw Breslow smirk while announcing to all (paraphrasing) “We determined more hits in MLB are off fastballs than any other pitch, so we have decided to drastically reduce throwing fastballs”.
So all the MLB teams that have been in existence going back as far as the 1860’s, all of whom use analytics today, and he thinks he’s the first one to realize fastballs are the most often-thrown pitch? Seriously?
It’s the first time Red Sox Nation has directly seen evidence of Breslow’s unwarranted ego, and it’s hugely disappointing.
FPG: The Red Sox took a step back and rebuilt the farm system under Bloom and they are now reaping the benefits such as trading prospects for Crochet. You do not speak for Red Sox Nation. You can only speak for yourself unless you somehow poll the millions of people in Red Sox Nation. BTW, Campbell credits the Red Sox coaching staff with his success.
“It means a lot,” Campbell said. “I mean, they developed me from Day 1. As soon as I got drafted, they’ve been working with me every day. I’ve learned something new every day — they’ve helped me become the player I am today. So it means a lot to me that I’m with the Red Sox for a long time.”
mlb.com/news/kristian-campbell-red-sox-contract
FPG – you’re 100% right. John Henry lusts after a cheap pipeline of minor league talent, ala Rays. But, if we’re being honest, the Rays set up that system the day they were founded and have followed it through for 30 yrs, and again in honesty, they’ve found a secret sauce, so good for them. However, if it we’re that easy, all the other teams (with the exception of the Dodgers, Yankees and maybe a few others) would be cranking out 90 wins with minor league talent. Isn’t the goal yo win the World Series though? I know how naiive that sounds. The Rays are built on the ideas of Vegas casinos, have a slight edge and you mostly win. This doesn’t work in baseball where the playoffs are short series of pure talent, will and determination. David Ortiz type stuff. The players that want to rip your throat out win, not the team that platoon six guys in order to have a slightly better edge over 162.
It all boils down to profits. Henry is comfortable reinvesting enough to keep the fans from getting too restless. Your pint regarding player turnover is spot on. If you continue to turn over the roster you don’t ever really need to be right in your signings, “oh well, he’ll be gone next year”. It also avoids the responsibility of actually developing player’s talents, which the Sox are miserable at. If 60yrs of free agency has taught us anything it could be this, you get more out of a guy in year two than you get in year one.
All I want is the Sox to be a big market team that makes other teams fans envious. Success or not. We already endured more last place finishes in this run than we should have, for no other reason than mismanagement. Let’s stop emulating the Rays.
Baseball is played by human beings, not robots. Sign the best players and let them play. Yes, of course, support them with all the information they need, but stop trying yo make them into baseball zombies. The 2004 Sox won because of their character, not in spite of it.
Sorry, here’s a clarification, when i said “success or not” i was acknowledging Suit’s point that no matter what you’re not gonna win every year, more so than, meaning i dont care if they succeed as long as others are jealous.
Suit – not sure if we aren’t mixing apples/oranges here. I dont think i’m saying that the Sox are incapable of having a minor league player with super talent who comes up and can succeed.
i think the point i’m trying to make is once they get him to the big team can Cora make him better? So far imho i think the answer is no.
Sad – Superb post! Unfortunately I don’t see anything changing in the near future. Even last year despite not having a winning team, they made the largest profit in MLB ….. 50% higher than the next highest team the Cubs.
No matter how good or bad the team is, they will always pack Fenway on certain occasions like when teams such as the Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers come to town, and every Marathon Weekend – how “lucky” were they to have the White Sox scheduled for this Marathon weekend.
All we can do is wait for Anthony & Mayer to finally join the team, and hope the Sox management stops making stupid decisions.
Sad – Great point, Red Sox Nation agrees with you that player development at the major league level has been quite poor.
Case in point is Rafaela, this is a kid with million dollar talent and a ten cent brain. Is he finally improving? Nope, he’s getting WORSE. Now playing in his third MLB season, and despite all the NESN hubris about “how much improved he is” he STILL has horrific swing decisions and makes lots of mental errors in the field and on the bases.
And what about Devers? Cora hadn’t done crap to improve Raffy’s defense and now the team has given up.
Despite the ridiculous number of team fielding errors this season, where are the reports of Cora increasing the fielding practice? What additional steps are being taken to improve the defense? How does Bregman instantly go from a GG fielder in Houston to a crap fielder in Boston? What has changed for him? Oh yeah, he reunited with Cora ….. coincidence?
Sad: At the MLB level, I think winning is the priority. I think Cora’s main job is to get wins for the MLB team. So, I think player development is lower in priority for Cora. Teams have player development departments that focus on player development. A player that needs more development will usually be sent to the minors to get regular ABs instead of sitting on the bench for the Red Sox.
Sad..thats kind of cherry picking like conversely since duran has fluorished under cora does cora get credit for making him better? Boone for judge?..is cora to blame for casas not playing well? Point is the manager and coaches only have so much influence…again to quote ted williams..god or whoever will get you to the plate..after that you’re on your own.
Pool – you’re 100% correct and I thought about that same point actually. Moreover, the percentage of players succeeding at the mlb level will always be smaller than those that fail. But, let’s also remember what Duran went through to get to that point where we became an AllStar. He essentially had to shut out all of the noise, great for him!
Lets beware the Duran cautionary tale too. Position change almost on the fly and at the mlb level to boot. What they did to Raffaele and what they’re doing to Campbell. For God’s sake can we play a rookie talent at the position they
played (probably) their whole life? We are seeing a pattern in the Cora years that isn’t working….I’m not willing to give a pass on all of the last place finishes even with 2018. Could it be that was a stacked team that was going to win regardless of the manager (I don’t know that answer)
Are we really going to screw around with Campbell because we must get David Hamilton in the lineup? Nothing against Hamilton, but if we’re going to stress position flexibility can we force the guy who isn’t going to be here past this year to learn a new position?
I’m not anti-analytics. It’s a useful tool. The Sox are over utilizing it probably because these Analyst have to justify what it is they’re doing. Are we all ok what was done to Jim Rice? The guy forgot more about hitting a baseball in 1984 then these ivy league spreadsheet jockeys will ever know.
In an earlier post I referenced 2004. I didn’t mean we should go backwards, but in these last 20 yrs it seems that Analytics has rewritten the entirety of 150 years of baseball knowledge. Everything changes and theres no reason that baseball should be different, but It just doesn’t seem that could be….
Dotty…fitts is nasty in the starting five..if he can hold down a rotation spot its probably a waste to put him in the pen unless you clearly have better options…and the way houck is going he needs to be put on the IL with the old phantom injury till he can sort out what is going on hes too good for the pen as well and that might not help him get right
Pool – Houck really seems like he’s unhappy, probably because the team doesn’t see him as being in their longterm plans. It’s kinda like a snowball effect.
In the Netflix doc even though he had a very compelling breakout season and he’s such a unique guy, he was basically non-existent along with Yoshida (they focused so much on Duran, Casas and Bello but ignored the guy who was a superstar in Japan?).
Houck is just very different than Cora and most of his teammates. He’s highly religious, doesn’t enjoy cursing, and is much more a family man. He was disappointed the Sox never approached him about a possible extension despite his strong 2024 season. And the way Cora left him out to hang for 12 runs last Monday, I’m certain that didn’t sit well with him. No way Cora does that with Bello, Crochet or Buehler.
I think there’s a good possibility Houck gets traded this year.
Fpg ..i agree on the run deal he should not have started the 3rd inning..that said it happened very fast in the 3rd so assuming cora intentionally hung him out to dry is a big reach vs him having faith in him to give them so innings after the poor first two…and based on what the netflix directors said they followed the players that were intersted and werent under any instructions from The team on what they did and did not show..now you could call him a liar but i thinks it more you reading too much into it .and for the record they did speak with houck on an ext prior to last year
Pool – Netflix had total access to the clubhouse and all the players. You may have misunderstood what I was saying, Houck was not very vocal and kept to himself …. that’s not a complaint against him or Netflix, I never said Netflix intentionally ignored him.
As for the extension talk, where did you hear that? He was quoted recently (past couple months I believe) that he was never approached about an extension. I don’t think he’d lie about that.
Fpg…i dont want call houck a liar either or you for not researching before you posted but but lets just assume he forgot the contract extention discussions he had with the team per this feb 23 report
Tanner Houck had ‘conversations’ with Red Sox about extension, open to deal – masslive.com
masslive.com/redsox/2023/02/tanner-houck-had-conve…
Pool – Thanks, I feel better now! His quote was likely in response to this past offseason, not ever.
2 years is a long time ago! Lol!
He has just become a human interest story. His talent isn’t why he’s on the team and you know it….
Remember when blackpink called black players “colored”?
Also wearing those pants to shorts zipper jawns.
Yes, the Red Sox signed him because he’s a “human interest story”
Where do these people come from?
Missouri
Ghost – They come from other baseball sites where they’ve been banned.
This team doesn’t have a 40 save closer and that’s ok. Chapman in some situations but used somewhat sparingly to keep him firing missiles. Hendricks has the right mentality and if he can get his stuff up to snuff, he gets a share of the load. Sprinkle in a dash of Slaten and Whitlock and I think they’re set up for closing. Then they need arms for set up innings, the more reliable options the better.
I’ve explained the six man rotation many times before but it’s not really a six man rotation like a five man or four man rotation. It’s having six guys start about 25 – 28 games, but everyone on the four day rest cycle. So it’s still a five man rotation but using a sixth pitcher to insert into the rotation when someone needs a break.
hayzee – With all due respect, why are you always so negative?
Chapman can easily reach 40 saves if managed properly. He just came off a stretch where he pitched in 5 games over a 7 day period!!
Cora just needs to stop bringing him into tie games so often.
Playing the long game, definitely not negative.
Chapman’s the closer and could easily save 40 if given the opportunities. Getting 40 saves is more a product of save chances than anything else.
Hank – Talent is more critical in getting 40 saves than opportunities, provided you’re on a good team of course.
Not many have saved 40+ in MLB history, it’s a small margin of error that comes with Save Opportunities. That’s why closers are getting as much as $100M while other relievers are getting far less.
Four championships with 32,37,21,42 saves from their closer. And the 42? Flamed out in the postseason while the other three were effectively unhittable, almost beyond compare.
hayzee – What does postseason have to do with anything?
You mention Kimbrel flaming out in the 2018 postseason, that’s not true …. he struggled mightily starting July 23rd ….. from that day on he had a 4.79 ERA and gave up 10 hits and 15 walks in just 21 innings. It was believed he was tipping his pitches.
Getting back to the original topic, the best reliever on a team is typically the team’s closer. That’s because talent matters most. To say you can stick any pitcher in the closer role and they’d still convert nearly all of their Save Ops is silly.
Happy Easter to you my friend!!!
The postseason is everything.
Especially this year.
hayzee – If only the White Sox could somehow join the AL East, that would guarantee a playoff spot for the Red Sox.
Have you seen today’s Chicago lineup?
Here’s the BA of six White Sox batters:
.146
.143
.147
.118
.151
.095
And here’s the OPS of six White Sox batters:
.588
.521
.443
.329
.463
.233
How on Earth did that team score 11 in one game against the Red Sox, beat them twice in Chicago, and take them to extra innings yesterday? Good grief!
If Houck doesn’t get the win today he may as well be demoted to the bullpen tomorrow.
Houck was fine. Zach Kelly? Liam Hendricks?
It is April, these things happen.
As the soccer ref says, “Play on.”
hayzee – Agreed, Houck was acceptable today.
What’s not acceptable is Bregman making yet ANOTHER error, his 5th of the season.
What’s not acceptable is the ChiSox stealing 6 of their 15 bases against the Red Sox.
What’s not acceptable is the Red Sox pitchers hitting 3 batters in today’s game.
What’s not acceptable is Campbell getting picked off despite a bad throw.
But yes, today is Easter and the Easter Bunny will make it all better soon ;O)
Sweet. He’ll get a couple games in before he gets hurt again
Cool. Hopefully he’ll stay healthy this time…He also is one of the most outspoken liberals in the game, sort of the anti-Jason Adam, and we appreciate him.
Please stop using the words liberals and conservatives. They have no meaning in today’s world. In fact, many words have been co-opted by the politicians to just rile up their followers: woke, cancelled, CRT, BLM, patriots, neocon, RINO, need I go on?
Sorry Alan53, this wasn’t directed at you, just the state of things today.
Now, back to baseball, go Red Sox.
Nobody gives a crap about his politics or any other baseball players. Nor football/basketball/hockey/tennis etc…
They are not us
“Chapman is 4-4 in save opportunities ….”
Sorry, is this a standard notation for writing “4 for 4” or is it novel? I initially read it as “4 and 4,” making it seem like Chapman has a 50% blown save rate. I would have understood “4/4,” but this seems unnecessarily confusing.
Health…….will decide everything
In other news, the Orioles gave up 24 runs.
It’s April, these things happen.
Yes, the Red Sox have a ways to go before they start playing good baseball. Then, alleluia.
Happy Easter and keep the faith.
hayzee – The Orioles are eerily similar to the Red Sox these days. They’ve produced a great farm system over the past few years, but they’ve continued to be cheap with their spending and making overall bad decisions.
The Morton signing was especially asinine, he’s the one who started today. It’s almost like they said during the offseason “Let’s emulate the Red Sox signing Rich Hill, James Paxton, and Corey Kluber” …. hence their decision to sign a 41-year-old declining pitcher.
Well yet again , now 2 games in a row Cora puts in the wrong reliever Todays game as I’ve said all along Kelly is a mop up pitcher. But Cora puts him in a tight game. 3 batters later the Sox lost. Pathetic display of managing the pen.
All Cora’s is good at is managing the culture of the team. Cause he can’t manage a baseball team
Add to that.
Isn’t this team all about winning. Then why the f$@k is Story sitting and Cora playing a bench 50cent player.
Who gets paid more to play!
Every other game Cora manages to change the line up. Ffs. No consistency what so ever.
Cora is as useless as $&$& on bull.
Sox – Very true about Story, he just had a day off 3 days ago …. why would he need another today? Cora will baby his players by giving them plenty of days off, it’s the biggest reason why the players like him. More days off with pay.
I would almost guarantee at least one of the regulars will be off tomorrow as well. Not Bregman because he just got back from paternity, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Campbell or Rafaela or Abreu or Duran has the day off. Maybe Devers too?
This just in, Red Sox won.
Now I could write 17 pages of commentary complaining about the owners, the manager, the grounds crew, the French fries, individual blades of grass, the insufficient whiteness of home plate, today’s humidity, the laces on their cleats being tied wrong, some of the caps being off center, the seat in Section B, row 7, aisle 6, at GPS location 40.54632, 57.53714, being a little bit sticky, the mustard on the hot dogs, the head on the beer, the bugs buzzing around the outfield, the loudness of people honking their horns down the block, barking dogs, the guy who farted on the elevator, and numerous more issues.
But they won. So I’m happy with that.
Amen to that
hayzee – Should I blame Crochet’s crappy pitching for today’s loss and series loss?
Or should I blame you for jinxing them in this series?
Nahh …. I can’t blame you my friend ;O)
Well yesterday I said this was a huge game for Crochet. Not just because the series was on the line, but because 4 of his 5 starts were against crappy lineups. Today he faced the 10th-best offense in MLB, and he failed miserably giving up 5 hits and 5 walks in just 5 innings for a 2.0 WHIP and he gave up 4 earned runs. Definitely not the performance of an “ace” pitcher.
Crochet needs to drastically up his game. The Red Sox gave up a ton of talent to acquire him and gave him a massive contract extension. No more excuses from him, he needs to start earning it.
Meanwhile Pivetta is pitching like Prime Pedro while bashing Bailey and the Red Sox coaches. Not a good look for the Red Sox so far.
FPG – must have missed that, what did Pivetta say about Bailey?
Sad – He didn’t call out Bailey specifically, he did it in a professional and polite way by hugely praising Niebla and the rest of the Padres coaching staff for the changes they made with him. Without question his instant success in SD is a huge blemish on Bailey and the Sox, it’s embarrassing …. all the talent was there, the Sox just didn’t know how to bring it out and properly use it.
You know how the Red Sox emphasize strikeouts so much? They kept forcing him to throw the slider last year because of the 32% K rate, but this year he hasn’t thrown a slider even once.
Last year he threw just two sinkers all season, this year he’s thrown it 16 times already. He’s also significantly increased the use of his cutter this year.
I’m really happy for the guy, as you know all offseason I said a different coaching staff could help him make that jump to ace level. So far he certainly has. I’m just glad the Sox will face him no more than once this season, and not until August. Can you imagine if he had signed with the Yankees, O’s or Jays?
Not sure if you caught Crochet’s comments yesterday, he’s done with Breslow’s “no fastballs” approach. He said he’s not a pitcher, he’s always been a thrower and that’s what he feels comfortable doing. So going forward he’s gonna just bring the heat right down the center of the strike zone. It will no doubt lead to more success after yesterday’s dud, but it could lead to more injuries as well.
That was one of the biggest concerns I had with him, they need him to last longer than 110 pitches over 5 innings and he needs to cut down on the walks.
Lets see if the Sox take a stab at trying to fix Triston McKenzie.
I’ve been saying that I’m tired of them signing every broken down post surgery 30yo. Here’s a guy that’s 26, if you were gonna waste time and money on someone I’d rather it be a guy that’s still young
Well, that first game against a AAA-team really didn’t go well. DFA incoming!