What do you want me to talk about? We're 1-5. We're not playing good right now. ... Nobody in this clubhouse wants to start slow regardless of years past. Like we said last year, it sucks to hear, but it's a long season.Adrian Gonzalez:
It's just as frustrating [as last year]. ... It's a different team. It does feel different.Bobby Valentine:
That's not the road trip we want.Dustin Pedroia:
It's kind of hard to believe.David Ortiz:
Hopefully we start playing better once we get home.Bobby Valentine:
Six games is a ridiculously small sample size.
12 of the team's 22 runs came in one game. ... Of the other 10 runs, only one has come before the sixth inning. ... In five of their six games, the Red Sox entered the ninth inning with zero runs or one run.000 000 002 000 000 000 025 002 001 02 000 001 003 000 001 002 001 000 000
As a team, the Red Sox are hitting .236/.300/.341, which looks pretty bad, but is actually only a little below league average for the AL right now (.236/.303/.379).
Bobby Valentine: "I think the offense is fine."
Hot: Ryan Sweeney (8-for-18), Dustin Pedroia (8-for-25), David Ortiz (7-for-23), Adrian Gonzalez (6-for-23). ... Not: Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1-for-13), Kevin Youkilis (2-for-20), Jacoby Ellsbury (3-for-23).
On the pitching side, the Red Sox have the worst staff ERA in MLB (6.40) and the second-worst WHIP in the AL (1.404). Boston has the highest opponents' batting average in the AL (.283), second worst opposition OBP (.333), and second-worst opposition slugging (.459). It's small consolation, but the Yankees' staff has the worst WHIP, worst opponents OBP, and worst opponents' SLG.
Finally, the Red Sox have the worst run differential of all 30 teams (-16).
Monday: David Ortiz - the potential tying run with no outs in the seventh inning - attempts to steal second base. He is thrown out.
Tuesday: With a runner at second and no outs, Kevin Youkilis fails to cover third base on Brett Lawrie's ground ball to shortstop. Nick Punto looks briefly towards third, sees no one at the bag, and throws belatedly to first. That single is Daniel Bard's last batter and a key part of Toronto's rally that pushes its lead from 3-1 to 6-1.
Wednesday: Kelly Shopach's weak bunt, with runners on first and second and no outs in the third, is pounced on by Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia, who gets the lead runner at third. (And a hearty boo to Bobby Valentine for calling for a bunt in the third inning.) ... Jon Lester has Rajai Davis picked off first base, but soft-tosses the ball to Gonzalez, and Gonzalez's throw to second is too late. Yunel Escobar singles on Lester's next pitch and Davis scores an insurance run for the Blue Jays.
Ron Bradford indicates we're doing a bit better than last year, after 6 games:
ReplyDeleteAfter six games in 2011, the Red Sox pitching staff had totaled a 7.13 ERA, having surrendered 14 home runs. This year? Their ERA is 6.40, having given up eight homers.
The starters’ production has been similar, with this year’s group totaling 33.2 innings with a 6.77 ERA, compared to last season’s 32.1 frames, which included a 6.68 ERA.
Offensively, there is somewhat of an improvement, with the Sox hitters having totaled 22 runs thus far this season, compared to the 16 they had put up last season. This group has also hit .239, compared to the .181 clip it had after six games in ’11.
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Also in the Monday game - Toronto's first run, when the batter grounded back to Doubront with runners on 1st and 3rd. Instead of covering home, Saltalamacchia was in front of the plate pointing at second base, but there was no time to make the double play.
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