J.D. Martinez singled to right field to put the Boston Red Sox up two games on the Los Angeles Dodgers, both in the game and in the Series. The Sox took Game 2 with a 4-2 win at home, and now fans are hoping that no more baseball will have to be played at Fenway Park this year.
Starting Friday night, MLB will see at most three games at Dodger Stadium before potentially heading back to Boston for possible Games 6 and 7. Of course, if the Red Sox keep playing like they did in the last two, they will not need a Game 5. What has been working for Boston? Well, last night, it wasn’t necessarily their offense. It wasn’t really their defense either (although Andrew Benintendi made an incredible grab), it was that the Dodgers’ offense was working poorly. David Price only allowed three hits and he struck out five in six innings. Doesn’t that mean that he was pitching well? Yes, of course, but he was also dead tired by the end and he had walked three batters by that point. By the time he left after six innings, Price had thrown 88 pitches, so the Dodgers were swinging and missing on a tired arm. In Game 3, Boston will throw Rick Porcello at the lame Dodger offense. This is where LA might have an advantage because Porcello allowed four runs in four innings on 68 pitches in his ALCS start in Game 4 against the Houston Astros. Porcello did not perform as well as Sox fans hoped he would (although another Benintendi fielding gem won the game), so the Dodgers might be able to scratch out a win. With this in mind, we must remember that the Boston bullpen has been absolutely dynamite this postseason: Since Game 2 of the ALCS (six games ago), the bullpen has only allowed a total five runs and the team is undefeated. The bullpen has a 1.95 Earned Run Average since the start of the win streak and that’s really something to be admired. If the Sox want to sweep, their pitching has to keep up, but more importantly, their top four hitters in the lineup have to hit better. Through Games 1 and 2, the top four hitters (including both Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce because they substituted for one another) acquired 11 hits and five RBIs. That has to be up if Boston wants to sweep. Jesse A. Cook “Boston 2 Away From 4th WS Win This Century” October 26, 2018
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After an 8-4 win in Game 1 of the World Series, the Boston Red Sox look to knock out the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games. Clutch performances from Eduardo Nunez, who had a pinch hit home run, Andrew Benintendi, who went four for five, and Nathan Eovaldi and Craig Kimbrel, who pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings.
Why should the Red Sox sweep? LA is playing against what the Houston Astros’ head coach A.J. Hinch called a, “Juggernaut offense.” Last night, the Sox matched the Dodgers for almost every run they scored. The box score shows that there was only one inning where the Dodgers scored a run and the Red Sox did not. In the second inning, Matt Kemp hit a solo home run off of Chris Sale and the Sox did not answer in the bottom of the inning. That was the only time the Dodgers outscored the Red Sox in any inning last night. The Sox also have a knack for taking pitches. Whether they are good or bad pitches, they stretch their opponent out. Granted, Sale threw 91 pitches by his departure in the fifth inning, but LA’s Clayton Kershaw had already thrown 79 by the same point in the game. When a pitcher throws upwards of 75 pitches, they usually do not have a lot of gas left. The reason Boston was successful with a tired Sale on the hill was because Boston simply has better fielding (also Sale struck out seven in just four innings of work). Good defense is also something that the Dodgers do not possess. In order to keep their best bats in the lineup, Dave Roberts, Dodgers’ head coach, has to put Chris Taylor and Cody Bellinger (two infielders) in the outfield or Max Muncy (a first baseman) at second base or Yasmani Grandal at first (he’s even a risk at his main position at catcher). The Sox have depth at every position. The only possible catch is that, to keep J.D. Martinez in the lineup in the National League ballparks, Boston head coach Alex Cora is considering placing Mookie Betts at his old position at second base. The Sox were lucky to have such depth in their lineup against the Astros, and while they still need Mookie Betts, Benintendi, Steve Pearce, and Martinez to hit well, they still have the same depth. Rafael Devers and Sandy Leon each had important singles and Eduardo Nunez hit a pinch hit three-run home run over the Green Monster on the second pitch of his at-bat against the tough Alex Wood. The Sox might not need their best hitters to be their best players, but Martinez also drove in two runs, Benintendi scored three times, and Betts scored twice. The bullpen came through strong last night, but Cora’s philosophy has been a classic playoff bullpen philosophy. To him, the bullpen is every pitcher who has not pitched already in that game. Eovaldi is the probable starter for Game Three and Cora decided to bring him in for an inning last night. In the ALDS, Rick Porcello and Sale came in in relief in Game’s 1 and 4, respectively, and David Price was warming up when Benintendi made a diving catch on Alex Bregman’s bases loaded line drive in Game 4 of the ALCS. Sure, Ryan Brasier has only allowed one run this postseason (he allowed a sacrifice fly to Manny Machado last night) and Kimbrel has finally stopped tipping his pitches, but Cora has been relying on his top four starters, Sale, Price, Eovaldi, and Porcello. Jesse A. Cook “Sox Win Game 1, Should Sweep” October 24, 2018 Down to their final out, the Red Sox new utility infielder, Brandon Phillips, drove a long drive into the left field stands of SunTrust Park in Atlanta to lift Boston over the Braves 9-8 in the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday. Atlanta led the BoSox 7-1 heading into the top of the eighth inning, but a six-run rally made what looked like an easy win for first place in the NL East Atlanta turn into another episode of Beantown improbability.
The feel-good story of the season only comes with the mysterious work of the baseball gods. Boston manager, Alex Cora, decided on the drive to the stadium Monday morning to bring the veteran infielder to the major leagues on an almost gut feeling. He said, “Honestly that was the most fun I’ve had all season, just watching the last few innings.” Phillips, who went one for three in that game with three runs scored and two runs batted in, spent four years in Cleveland, 11 years in Cincinnati, three quarters of last season with Atlanta, the end of last season in Anaheim, and the last quarter of this season in Pawtucket with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate Paw Sox. On a six-game win streak the Oakland Athletics pose the biggest threat to the Boston Red Sox in the American League. Oakland began as an afterthought in the AL West with Houston and Seattle barrelling over the rest of the division, but around the All-Star Break they jumped forward into the picture and they made two big moves at and after the deadline that put them ahead of the curve. A’s general manager, David Frost, said, “We’ve been looking for starters, so we were lucky that Mike (Fiers) was available to us.” A partner to Sean Manaea in the starting rotation easily sets Oakland above Seattle who has little depth at the starter role. Fiers is 1-1 since the All-Star Break with a 1.91 Earned Run Average including a win over Boston. The Mariner’s ace, James Paxton, who is 1-2 since the All-Star Break (including a loss to the Angels where he never finished the first inning) with a 3.80 ERA. The Mariners have also fallen greatly, not only from being second in the West, but from being a Wild Card team. Sean Manaea has faced the Red Sox twice this year and defeated them on both occasions, the first of which was a no-hitter. He also has the ninth best ERA in the AL for the season at 3.38. In addition to that his 1.01 Average of Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched is fifth in the AL and eighth in all of baseball. However, every pitcher with the exception of Brett Anderson and Manaea in the Oakland rotation and every pitcher in the Athletics’ bullpen but Ryan Buchter is a right-handed pitcher which puts Oakland at a disadvantage: Boston hits only one home run every 24 at-bats versus right-handers, but they hit one home run every thirty-five at-bats versus southpaws. Boston also strikes out once every five at-bats versus righties and once every four at-bats versus left-handers. The Sox also hit .273 with an .812 OPS versus righties, while batting a mere .257 with a .737 OPS versus lefties. That being said, even without Mike Fiers and Jeurys Familia, Oakland is 4-2 against Boston, three of those victories being over the first three pitchers in the Red Sox’ rotation (1. Chris Sale, 2. David Price, and 3. Rick Porcello). Unfortunately for Oakland, Boston recently traded prospect Jalen Beeks to the Tampa Bay Rays for now 5-4 Nathan Eovaldi, who threw six no-hit innings in a combined one-hit shutout over the A’s in their only meeting this season on May 30. If the season ended today, the A’s would have to win the Wild Card Game over the New York Yankees, who are 6-8 since the All-Star Break. The Yankees hit one home run every 23 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, hit .251, and have a .761 OPS versus righties, while hitting one home run every 18 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, hit .261, and have an .836 OPS versus lefties. That being said, who knows if Aaron Judge or Gary Sanchez, two of their best home run hitters, will be back by the Wild Card Game? Also, Luis Severino has by far the best ERA on the team, and that’s 3.08! That’s not too exciting for the Bronx when they have a losing record in the second half. With these facts in mind, it looks pretty clear that Oakland would move on to play Boston in the ALDS. How do we know Oakland won’t overcome their 4.5 game deficit to the Astros? The defending World Series Champions have a far, far tougher schedule with two against the Colorado Rockies, three in Seattle, three at Fenway Park in Boston, and three against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Those are four tough serieses against four tough competitors. Oakland, on the other hand, has only three even slightly difficult serieses: they have two games at home against the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers, they’re playing three games in Seattle, and their last difficult matchup is at home against the falling Yankees. Houston and Oakland do end up playing one another in two three-game sets to finish the month of August, but they each get three home games from the six game scrum. Since just before the break, Oakland is 3-1 versus Houston. Furthermore, the Astros hit one home run per every 27 batters, strikeout once every four batters, hit .250, and have a .745 OPS versus right-handers, while they hit a home run once every 26 batters, strikeout once every five batters, hit .271, and have an OPS of .791 versus lefties, showing another advantage for the predominantly right-handed Athletics pitching staff. Houston has also struggled since the break going only 8-8 compared to Oakland’s sweet 8-4 second half. The Astros are 2-2 versus Boston, showing that they are not quite as good as the green and gold when it comes to blasting bombs over the Green Monster. The threat from the Central, the Cleveland Indians (who are 2-4 versus Oakland), though they have not played the Red Sox this year, against the other top four teams in the American League (Astros, Yankees, A’s, and Mariners, respectively) are 10-19. The Mariners are 3-4 versus Boston and they’re falling apart. The Yankees are 5-9 versus Boston and the Sox completed a four game sweep of New York Sunday night. The Astros are only .500 versus Boston, Cleveland is projected to do incredibly poorly against them, Seattle is .375 against the Red Sox, New York has a .357 winning percentage (and has been especially terrible) against Boston of late, but the Athletics have .667 winning percentage against them all year (with a no-hitter). This is not to say that Oakland will definitely beat the Red Sox, this is just to say that they have the best chance. Of all 14 other teams in the American League, Oakland is the best suited to take on Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, and Chris Sale. Granted, throughout his career, Cleveland and Houston batters hit Sale better than Oakland, this season Cleveland has hit only one home run every 28 at-bats, strikes out once every five at-bats, with a mere .271 batting average, and a .779 OPS versus lefties. Sale, a lefty, is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, so against him, assuming he starts during the three game series in Boston, the Indians’ stats this year against lefties will most likely falter. Finally, Boston has a rather split rotation as they have three lefties (no matter if it’s the current situation with Sale on the 10-Day Disabled List and Brian Johnson in or the norm with Sale starting and Johnson in the bullpen) and two righties starting. When Sale is healthy that means that Johnson is working out of the pen, however that’s the only time they have a left-handed pitcher ready in relief. Oakland hits one home run every 25 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, they bat .251, and have a .758 OPS versus right-handers, and they hit one home run every 27 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, they hit .244, and they have a .737 OPS against left-handers. The A’s hit righties very well and that will most likely force Boston’s southpaw starters to go longer innings if they want to have lefties to spare if and when these two teams end up meeting in a five or seven-game series. It’s important to note that while every team will have 15 more players on their roster come September 1st for the 40-man roster, seven or eight of whom will most likely be pitchers, teams will still have to focus on saving arms from both the left and right sides. The postseason is when most teams decide that if their starter can go seven, eight, or even nine innings (10 if you’re now Hall of Famer Jack Morris), then they will probably have to be out there that long so if the starter the next day can’t make it through the fourth, they’re not using arms running on fumes to try to win that one. While Oakland’s hitting might not seem too outstanding, their pitching, especially against Boston is. Oakland has only allowed 3.67 runs per game against Boston, Houston has allowed 4.75 runs per game against Boston, Cleveland has allowed 5.03 runs per game against the four teams closest to Boston in record (Houston, New York, Oakland, and Seattle, respectively), Seattle has allowed the Red Sox to score 5.43 runs per game, and the Yankees have allowed an incredible 5.79 runs per game to Boston. Out of the five teams in the best position to have a shot at playing Boston in the postseason (Houston, New York, Oakland, Seattle, and Cleveland) the Athletics have by far the best pitching to fend off Boston’s hitting, and as any coach, player, broadcaster, fan, or… writer, will tell you: Great pitching beats great hitting. Jesse A. Cook “Oakland Is Boston’s Biggest Threat” August 7, 2018 Oakland has to decide soon whether they want a World Series ring this year or if they want to rebuild for 2019. Khris Davis, Jed Lowrie, and Blake Treinen are big names that would look great on any roster and will certainly be talked about come July 31. The question is this: is Oakland all in, or are they looking more towards the future?
The green and gold showcased two players in DC last week, Lowrie and Treinen, so they’re both on the map for teams definitely in the race for the ultimate trophy in late October. A veteran presence and an allstar middle infielder, such as Lowrie is a good target for better, younger teams. Every playoff team also needs a good closer and Treinen’s stats show that he is one of the best. Treinen has a 1.08 Earned Run Average, a 1.00 average of Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched, and he has 24 saves. He’s fourth in the American League in saves on a team that has only given him 28 save opportunities. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are on an 11-game win streak could use a complement to seemingly equally fantastic closer Felipe Vazquez to help them come back in the contentious National League Central Division. The Astros, Braves, and Phillies all are in position to make serious postseason runs, but none of them are particularly fortified when it comes to late-game pitching. Boston, New York, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia would be prime locations for Lowrie because they all are rather weak at second base. With Dustin Pedroia hurt, the Red Sox would much rather have their old teammate on their roster to be a constant at second rather than alternating between Brock Holt, Eduardo Nunez, and Tzu Wei Lin. New York’s Gleyber Torres, while currently on the ten-day Disabled List, is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but Didi Gregorius at shortstop is having a down year and hitting considerably worse than Lowrie (Gregorius is batting .265 with 17 home runs and 55 Runs Batted In, but Lowrie is batting .276 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs). Hernan Perez in Milwaukee is having a terrible year (.245 batting average, six home runs, and 22 RBIs), so the Brew Crew would welcome Lowrie with open arms. Philadelphia has their own dilemma at second with Cesar Hernandez as he’s batting .270 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. These trades, if made would point to Oakland looking at the future, because all these teams have prospects to give: Boston has Jay Groome and Tanner Houck (I would have included Jalen Beaks, but he was recently traded to Tampa for Nathan Eovaldi), New York has Justus Sheffield, Albert Abreu, and Chance Adams, Houston has Forrest Whitley and J.B. Bukauskas, Pittsburgh has Mitch Keller and Shane Baz, Atlanta has Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, Luiz Gohara, Ian Anderson, and Kolby Allard, Milwaukee has Corbin Burnes and Luis Ortiz, and Philadelphia has Sixto Sanchez, Adonis Medina, Jojo Romero, and Franklyn Kilome. Of course, these are all top pitching prospects, so who’s to say any team would be willing to give up part of their future for one championship run? The answer is that I AM TO SAY THAT! Boston has a dilemma at second base, New York could use some higher quality talent, Philly, as well. In addition to that, every team wants depth in their bullpen because Houston doesn’t want Justin Verlander throwing nine innings in Game 1 of the ALDS when they might need him to be full speed for Game 3 or 4, Boston has the same situation with Chris Sale, New York with Luis Severino, Pittsburgh with Ivan Nova, and teams without the strongest starting pitching like Milwaukee, Atlanta, or Philadelphia also want a strong reliever to pick up the slack when their starters can’t make it through the sixth. Also, every team looking for a postseason run, namely New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh needs a great hitter. Khris Davis is having a standup year with 25 home runs, 72 RBIs, and an .854 OPS. He is a fine fielder, as well, so any team who acquires him would be more than equipped to face their foes during National League games or in the World Series against the NL pennant winner. With all this in mind, it’s important to return to the theme displayed in the title, “Is Oakland All In?” The Athletics recently acquired Jeurys Familia from the Mets; Familia is 6-4, he has a 2.62 ERA, and he has 17 saves in 44.2 innings over 42 appearances. At 59-43, the A’s are 1.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, who are tied for first in the American League West, and they are 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot and six games ahead of the Rays, who are the next competitor for a Wild Card spot. These signs, such as recent trades to fuel their bullpen and their competitiveness in the West, point to a postseason run this year. If Oakland falters and falls apart completely by next week, these trades are no-brainers, but if they hold strong, I expect that Oakland will be a serious contender and a serious problem for their AL West rivals. Being 8-2 in their last ten games and having won four straight, it certainly does not look like the Athletics will die off. Jesse A. Cook “Is Oakland All In?” July 24, 2018 Infielders dominate the MLB Trade Deadline, such as Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Rafael Devers, and Jose Abreu. Other commodities outside of the infield are Bryce Harper, Jacob DeGrom, J.A. Happ, Billy Hamilton, Blake Treinen, and Jon Gray.
MANNY MACHADO: For months, people have been asking where Machado will end up and it looks like the options have been narrowed down to a few teams. Boston, New York, and Arizona look like the best targets for the shortstop. As for the Red Sox, there’s a small chance that Machado would play short because Xander Bogaerts occupies the position, however who’s to say that Baltimore doesn’t want a slightly younger player guaranteed to stay with them for two more years, such as the X-Man? We’ll tackle Devers’ possibilities in this potential trade later on in this article, but Boston’s pitching prospects like Jay Groome, Tanner Houck, and Bryan Mata make other pretty targets for the Orioles. The Bronx looks like a team better suited for Machado, rather than more suited for Baltimore, because the Yankees’ third baseman, Miguel Andujar, is hitting better than their shortstop, Sir Didi Gregorius (Andujar is batting .283 with 12 home runs and a .830 OPS, while Gregorius is batting .259 with 15 home runs and a .804 OPS.), so Machado would play shortstop instead of third. Baltimore could also use some of New York’s talent, including any of their top prospects, but the Yankees’ poor rotation indicates that they would not be so willing to trade away young pitchers. Of course, Baltimore might not want to trade the star within their division, so instead of Boston or New York, maybe they will consider someone in the other league or even on the other side of the country. The Diamondbacks are another good location for the former third baseman because they need someone other than Nick Ahmed at short because his .218 batting average, 10 home runs, and .682 OPS do not boast as well as Machado’s .305 batting average, 20 home runs, and .931 OPS. The Orioles also are interested in D-Backs’ prospects Jon Duplantier and Taylor Widener. NOLAN ARENADO and JON GRAY: Arenado’s contract expires after next season, so any team lucky enough to snag the future Hall of Famer will have him for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019, which possesses an opportunity for two championship runs. While it may seem unlikely for Colorado to trade their best player, they’re at the point in the season where they have to decide whether or not they want to try to make it to the playoffs. If they do, they probably won’t make many big deals, but if they don’t they will have to think about the future and trade Arenado and Gray for a bunch of prospects to bring up at the same time in the fashion of the Red Sox or Yankees (or now, the Blue Jays, too). Gray’s another Colorado commodity coming clean off a good season, and who doesn’t want an ace pitcher to join their ranks with Chris Sale, Justin Verlander, or Max Scherzer? If Colorado decides that they are not all in (just like Washington they’re a third place team that was expected to be better) then Gray and Arenado should be the first to go, for each will reap huge rewards in the prospects’ category. RAFAEL DEVERS: It seemed, up until recently, like a foregone conclusion that Devers would end the season outside of Boston, but he’s hit .385 with two home runs and seven RBIs (including a 5-5 night at New York) in his last seven games, which means either that he’s more valuable to Boston or he’s a more valuable trade target. Boston ideally wants to trade Devers for Machado, but with a desperate need for good starting pitching, they might look to Colorado for Gray, or possibly to San Francisco for Madison Bumgarner or Los Angeles for Clayton Kershaw. (Both teams’ failures indicate that they need good, young, cheap talent like Devers.) He makes a great trade target, however his recent success indicates that he might be a really helpful piece in a World Series run for the Red Sox. JOSE ABREU, BRYCE HARPER, and BILLY HAMILTON: Power and speed are greatly needed in the postseason. (Boston and San Diego’s manager, Dave Roberts, can attest to speed being a necessity) Abreu and Harper’s obvious power (they’ve hit a combined 32 home runs) and Hamilton’s speed and improved hitting (he’s hit .400 over the last two weeks with four steals and four RBIs) make them prime targets for teams like the Mariners or Braves who have low power or Yankees and Phillies with low speed. JACOB DEGROM and J.A. HAPP: Two excellent starters on two failing teams are great targets for teams such as the Indians or Angels who are both fighting for first place in their division. DeGrom, with a 5-4 record, the best ERA in baseball at 1.84, and 134 strikeouts has been a trade topic since he beat Hamilton out for Rookie of the Year in 2014 and teams such as the two mentioned earlier in this article and the titans in the East, the Red Sox and Yankees, would be more than happy to give up half their farm systems for the starter, so he can bring them a World Series this year. Since he’s under contract until 2021, a team like the Reds or Rays who are seemingly on the rise would pay a high price for the star. Happ is no small player either because he will prove instrumental in the formation of a championship season for whichever lucky team acquires him. He’s 10-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 110 strikeouts and he’s an unrestricted free agent in 2019, so he’s perfect for one championship season. Virtually every team that’s not the Houston Astros needs more good starting pitching, so Happ will be a prime target come the deadline. BLAKE TREINEN: The Oakland closer is an important target because the Athletics are a losing team, so they don’t have much use for a quality closer. He’s signed through 2020, so whoever wins the bid will have him for future runs for a championship and his 21 saves, 0.91 WHIP, and 0.89 ERA definitely do not hurt his reputation. This is the only area of pitching where the Astros might be in need of improvement because the team has a total 19 saves, two less than Treinen has by his lonesome on a failing ballclub. Jesse A. Cook “Infielders Headline Deadline” July 2, 2018 Due to his recent batting and his obvious skill as a fielder and base runner, Billy Hamilton is a hot topic for trade talks. Now that he’s started to hit well, he could be an extremely valuable asset to a playoff contender, but the Reds might keep him if they become one of those contenders. With one of the best offenses in baseball, they seem like a team that should easily lock up the National League Central, but because their pitching has been abysmal, they’re stuck fighting to stay out of last place!
If Tyler Mahle and Sal Romano can jumpstart this Cincinnati rotation into pitching as good as they should, not only could they keep Raisel Iglesias for a postseason run, but they could keep their Gold Glove candidate, Hamilton. #6 is an absolute demon on the basepaths and he makes the ESPN Top Ten almost weekly with his outstanding outfield diving grabs. A team like the Atlanta Braves would really benefit from gaining him. Their center fielder, Ender Inciarte, is batting .333, with five strikeouts, and no stolen bases in his last seven games. His play is declining (He’s hitting .252 on the year.) and he is nowhere near as valuable as BH in the outfield. The Washington Nationals should look into Hamilton. Adam Eaton, their CF, is batting .346, with five strikeouts, and no stolen bases in the last seven games (In fact, Eaton hasn’t stolen a single base all year, so Washington could definitely use Hamilton’s speed.). His Defensive Wins Above Replacement is a terrible -0.5, 0.9 below Hamilton’s +0.4. The Milwaukee Brewers could use Hamilton because he and Lorenzo Cain, their center fielder, are similar players, but Hamilton is five years younger and in much better shape. Cain is batting .400, with four Ks, and four stolen bases in his last seven. Hamilton however, is a better fielder and is much, much faster. Hamilton is batting .409, with only three Ks, and 4 stolen bases in just the last seven games. During these games, the Reds have gone 5-2. They are in the midst of a four game win streak, as well, so things are looking up for the Reds. Luis Castillo, Romano, and Mahle all have unimpressive Earned Run Averages, Mahle’s being the lowest at 3.89, Romano at 5.18, Castillo at 5.77. Mahle leads the team in wins as he is 6-6, Romano is 4-7, and Castillo is 4-8. Mahle and castillo have struckout 76 each and Romano 56. These stats are not impressive by any means, but in the last month Castillo is 0-3 in incredibly close games, Romano is 1-1, but Mahle is 3-0. In the last month, Romano has a 2.70 ERA, Castillo has a 6.89 ERA, and Mahle has a 1.61 ERA. During June, Romano struckout 14, Castillo struckout 15, and Mahle struckout 20. If the Cincy starting pitching continues to improve and Hamilton’s bat becomes better, the Reds would have to keep him, so he can finally fulfill his destiny to be great for the Reds. Hamilton’s bat has improved of late (and the Reds really only need him to bunt it down the third base line because he’ll almost always beat the throw to first and then he’ll steal second and third with ease.), so teams are now seeing him as the major asset that he is. If the Reds don’t have a shot at the postseason, they’ll likely trade BHam to a playoff contender for some younger prospects, tough. The Reds are 17th in baseball in runs, tenth in hits, and ninth in batting average, so it’s evident that pitching is the problem. Thankfully their pitching has improved of late, so if they can keep their momentum they’ll be a postseason team and Billy Hamilton will stay in the plain red and white of the Queen City. Jesse A. Cook “Reds’ Good Pitching Keeps Hamilton” June 22, 2018 Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez form the unstoppable duo that puts the Boston Red Sox as the best team in baseball. Why have they been so great, though?
After a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on May 2, KC manager Ned Yost said about Betts that he’s a, “Special player, special player… he's definitely up there with the upper-echelon players in this league. He's just fantastic, talented, athletic, quick hands, great power, good swing.” Betts hit three home runs in that game, so it’s pretty clear why he’s great. He has two three home run games this year, four in his career, and he’s second in all of baseball in homers with 17. As Yost said in his comments after the early season game that Betts’ swing is incredible: he starts by throwing his body forward, but he still keeps all his weight on his back foot (basically gearing up for a massive power swing). As he does this, he does a very Pete Rose-esque diagonal holding of the bat; he pulls his back elbow up and the barrel of the bat behind his head, and then he masterfully swings his hips around, with the bat carrying behind for a perfect swing. He also keeps his bat in the strike zone longer than most players, allowing him to put the ball on his bat for longer and that gives him more force and more power. Because he’s also an aggressive hitter, he rarely gets caught looking at strike three. His Pete Rose aggressiveness and swing, combined with his strength and stability (how he manages his weight and how he keeps his bat in the strike zone) leads to a player who has a higher batting average and a higher on-base percentage. He also is a great all-around hitter, as his he can easily tap the ball through the infield, but he just as easily hits for power (although he refuses to participate in a home run derby because he doesn’t want to risk messing up his swing, which I think is astute). As for Martinez, he’s a more typical power hitter, yet he shares Betts’ aggressiveness that helps prevent large strikeout numbers. This season, he’s only struck out 56 times, which is rather staggering for a power hitter; it’s very low for a power hitter. With the Tigers, Martinez had a low stance that’s more average oriented, but in his time in Arizona and his time in Boston, he, like neanderthals to homo sapiens, evolved into a more upright stance. He has a very different swing than Betts does, as Betts stays lower, brings his elbow up and his bat back much more, and he throws himself forward during his swing (mind that Betts still manages to keep his weight on his back foot). Adversely, Martinez brings his elbow up and his bat back only slightly, he’s very upright, and he barely moves forward at all during his swing. While his swing is very different from Betts, that doesn’t mean that he’s a worse hitter; in fact while Betts is number two in homers, J.D. is number one. Martinez is of a breed of batter that lifts the ball more and hits for distance. Being a power hitter, he likes to pull the ball (Betts is an all around hitter, so he’s very good at hitting to all fields), so when he doesn’t bring his elbow up or his bat back, that allows him to get his bat to the ball quicker and launch it down the left field line. Not moving forward allows him an easier means of keeping his weight on his back foot and gives him a swing more oriented at lofting balls into the stands, rather than hitting line drives into the stands, as Betts does. Staying tall during his swing does a similar thing as it lets him lift the ball (fun fact, of the 14 longest home runs in MLB history in the age of televised baseball, eight were hit by batters with upright stances). Obviously, Alex Cora has a lot to do with these stars’ success, for the changes in their stats from last year are staggering. Approximately one third of the way through the year, Betts and Martinez have inarguably good stats: Martinez has 18 home runs, is batting .317, has an on-base percentage of .377, has a slugging percentage of .654, has a 1.030 OPS, and has 47 RBIs. Betts has 17 home runs, is batting .359, has an on-base percentage of .437, has a slugging percentage of .750, has an OPS of 1.187, and has 37 RBIs. Betts is first in baseball in batting, Martinez is 13th, Martinez is first in homers, Betts is second, Martinez is first in RBIs, Betts is 18th, Betts is second in OBP, Martinez is 27th, Betts is first in slugging, Martinez is third, Betts is first in OPS, and Martinez is third. Last year, in the entire season, Martinez had 45 homers, batted .303, and had an OBP of .676. Last year, again, in the ENTIRE season, Betts had 24 homers, batted .264, had a .344 OBP, drove in 102 runs, had a .459 slugging, and a .803 OPS. Clearly, under new management, the stars’ stats have taken a major turn for the positive. Great swings and better management clearly have played a huge factor in the development of these definite all-stars. The new management has also fueled the team because, as Red Sox Nation has been guessing for the last four years, John Farrell is not a first-place-in-all-of-baseball manager. Betts and Martinez and their incredible swings and stats show baseball that the Red Sox will be a force to be reckoned with for the next decade or so. Not to mention that they have what is possibly the best farm system in baseball (I mean, it bred Mookie Betts, himself, for God’s sake!), but their constant production of future greats will also place an incredible team for years to come around these two and under Cora. Boston’s pitching is also key in their success as the play of Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, and David Price has greatly, greatly improved from last year, putting them as one of the best rotations in the league. Yes, Boston is in good hands and Betts and Martinez are absolutely instrumental in their success of the present and the future. Jesse A. Cook June 1, 2018 “Behind Betts And Martinez’ Incredible Year” Joey Votto should assume the title of the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, now that Brian Price lost the job. Okay, okay, I know it sounds a bit crazy, but when you think about it, it’s not such a far-out idea.
Votto said during Spring Training, “Frankly, a leader is very, very — what’s the word — you’re only as good as how well you play and how consistent your actions are. If don’t people don’t perceive your actions to be at the upper level and you don’t play at that upper level, then really you’re not a very valuable leader.” Votto is clearly the leader of this Reds team (I’m surprised he doesn’t wear a “C” on his chest) and he doesn’t really try to make up any wordy means of keeping his stature. He’s revered by his teammates and he’s been in the top ten of MVP voting each of the last three years. He continued on the topic of his leadership by saying, “To be honest with you, it’s never been a priority for me. I don’t want to say I was against it, but I didn’t pay it very much mind when there was demand because with a good team carries winning into accountability, carries accountability into performance and picking each other up.” A true leader doesn’t strive for the role, but they step up when it falls into their hands… or in this case, glove. His .243 batting average is fourth on the team, his 18 hits place him second in that category for the Redlegs, and his .337 on-base percentage places him fifth in the Cincinnati lineup. At 4-17, the Reds are in desperate need of a leader and why not have that leader be a familiar face, who already is the face of the squad, and is a good player? Last season, he came in second for the MVP Voting, close behind Giancarlo Stanton, who had the best season for a heavy-hitter since the steroid era. This is a clear indicator of his skill because the Reds were last in the National League Central Division, yet he still was one of the top players in all of baseball. First base is also a commanding position, where Votto can address everyone in the infield. Sure, shortstop or catcher are usually the “Captains of the Field,” but Votto can direct shifts to the rest of the field and as a powerful leader on the team, he already has influence over every player on diamond. Batting third, he is guaranteed to bat in the first inning, so he also is in the position to set the stage for the rest of the lineup. While Price’s main purpose as manager was to be able to help lead the pitchers, he ultimately failed in that role. Votto would help nurture what was their most powerful aspect last year; the bats. He also has a pitching coach serving as his second in command, so he can keep in constant contact with him, and do some effective delegating. The last player-manager in baseball was also a Red (and a would-be Hall of Famer), Pete Rose. The team and the history pose as a good omen for Tokki 2, so the choice is clear that Joey Votto is the rightful heir to the role of manager of the historic Cincinnati Reds. Jesse A. Cook “Here Me Out--Joey Votto Should Manage The Reds” April 24, 2018 Wil Myers leads a dark horse candidate for this postseason, but the San Diego Padres pose a new threat in the West. Their acquisition of Eric Hosmer as well as their minor league prospects will put the Padres as a leader in the National League.
Pitching is their main issue, but their farm system is readily addressing that, with seven of their top ten prospects being pitchers. One of their premiere players is Mackenzie Gore, a left-handed pitcher. Padres’ coach Darren Balsley said “Every time I’ve seen him (Gore) he’s been lights out. He’s what you want to see.” Gore is the listed as the best San Diego prospect by MLB.com, so clearly the scouts all conquer that he’s the best they’ve got. Gore is listed as San Diego’s second best prospect, baseball’s 19th best prospect, and the best left-handed prospect in all of baseball. Last season, in rookie ball (a league he won’t be in very long), Gore had a 1.27 ERA, gave up only seven hits and three earned runs, and struck out 34 batters in 21.1 innings. You should not expect to see him in the lower minor leagues come April. Anderson Espinoza, the man San Diego traded Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox for, is an optimistic question mark. Despite receiving Tommy John surgery last year, Espinoza is the 89th best prospect in all of baseball. In his last season, 2016, he had 4.49 ERA, a 1.385 WHIP, and struck 100 batters in only 25 games; this is coming from the future closer of the Padres. Clearly, they’ve got some great young talent warming in the pen. Myers is a constant to the team, and he had a fine season last year. Last season, he hit .243, but he also drove in 74 runs, had 138 hits, and at one of the best in all of baseball, he hit an impressive 30 home runs. This team leader will, as always, be who makes the team successful. They acquired Hosmer this offseason, and the man is an all-star home run machine. Playing every game last year, Hosmer knocked 25 long balls over the deep fences of Kauffman Stadium, batted in 94 runs, batted .318, came in 14th for the American League MVP, won a gold glove, and won a silver slugger. The former Kansas City Royal is sure to make a much needed addition to the Southern California lineup. The National League West should play in fear of the threat that is San Diego (and the AL West in fear of Anaheim, as predicted in part one of this series, “California Countdown Part 1: City of Angels Soars”). The best team in that division as of last year was the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the new arms and the new bat stacking Friar’s play pose a great foe for them. 2018 will be a crazy year. Jesse A. Cook “California Countdown Part 2: Head Of Family And League” March 21, 2018 |
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