Listening To Jerry Remy: Observation Is Not Analysis

Back in August 2012, I posted "The Many Problems With NESN", a litany of my many issues with the network's Red Sox broadcasts. (Boston Business Journal's web editor, Galen Moore, wrote about my post and asked NESN to comment. NESN apparently refused.)

Much of the post concerned Jerry Remy. I wrote:

When it comes to analysis of the game, Remy offers absolutely nothing to the NESN broadcast. That has not always been true; in seasons past, his insights have added to my understanding of the game, but those days are long past.

This year [2012], his contributions have been little more than repeating [Don] Orsillo's play-by-play in slightly different words, or simply describing what we see on the replay. He does almost nothing else. His job has evolved into being the play-by-play guy for the replays.

Last year, working with new booth partner Dave O'Brien, Remy was much improved, prompted perhaps by the blunt way NESN shoved the beloved Orsillo out the door after the 2015 season. Remy seemed more prepared and he was quick to discuss strategy to a degree that I had not heard from him in many years. But, sadly, this "new" Remy did not last. He soon retreated to his old habits and now, in his 30th season behind the microphone, most of his nightly contributions are limited to telling us what we can already see on the screen.

Some of Remy's comments, from last Friday's broadcast:

Top of 1st inning, Dickerson batting:

Red Sox into the shift against the leadoff man, Dickerson. You don't see that very often against a leadoff hitter, but they certainly are now, as you can see three men on the right side and only Bogaerts left at shortstop. Outfield, straight up. ... First curveball of the night for Porcello. Three fastballs prior to that. Tries the breaking ball and just getting a piece of it was Dickerson. Hitting the top of it. Good spin on that breaking ball, ends up down just about the knees, fouled off.

Top of 1st inning, Kiermaier grounds out first-to-pitcher:

Two men doing their job there, first Moreland putting the nice lead to Porcello, who's covering the bag. You watch pitchers get to first base, they'll kind of head towards that first base line and then cut it up - right there - so they're in a good position to get the flip from the first baseman. Moreland, very good at this, Gold Glover, and flips it right up around the letters where it's nice and easy to handle.

Top of 2nd inning, Morrison batting:

See the shift going right now. Sandoval going to the other side, now that the count goes to 2-0. They would expect him to be swinging away. They leave Bogaerts at the shortstop position. [Next pitch by Porcello is a ball.] Morrison, the type of guy that you might give the green light to on three balls and no strikes. [Remy does not explain his comment. Morrison takes a strike.] That's a great fastball on a 3-0 count. He may have the green light, so what do you do? You paint the outside corner with it. [Morrison doubles to center field.] He gets that 3-1 count, gets a fastball down the middle and he jumps all over it. At first, it looked like maybe Benintendi would be able to catch up with this, but no. The ball is hit too hard up over his head - and the double. Benintendi tracking this ball back to the wall, but then plays it on one hop against the garage door. He knows right here that he's not going to catch up to that, he's running out of real estate.

Top of 3rd inning, Souza batting:

Porcello shaking his head. You know, that pitch is close. Usually guys that don't walk many guys get that pitch. [So umpires should change the rules for players with more service time?] It was a little bit outside. Of course, yesterday, that would have been considered right down the middle of the plate. Everything away was being called a strike yesterday. ... Those are pitches that Rick generally gets. [Souza eventually walks.] He's frustrated, not only with himself, but with [Lance] Barksdale, the [home plate] umpire. Two pitches that he thought could be strikes. Smart move by Willis, coming out now to calm him down just a little bit because he is hot. ... Now Barksdale's going to come out and break up the meeting. And generally it breaks up just before he gets there.

Top of 5th inning, Longoria striking out and Miller hitting a home run:

[Longoria strikes out swinging.] That's more like Porcello right there. When he gets ahead in the count, he elevates that fastball to pick up the strikeout. And that's exactly what he does here, to Longoria. That high fastball, about letter high, or even a little bit higher, very tough to catch up to. Nice play by Leon, too. That ball foul tipped, right into the webbing of the glove. [Miller hits the first pitch for a home run.] You know, it's interesting, you see a guy like Miller. Came into the game 0-for-11, so what does he do? He bloops one in last time, in the third inning, and now, he feels like he can hit again. And he does. Straight-away center field. Fastball was supposed to be away, stays middle, and takes it out of the ball park to straight-away center field. About the first row of the bleachers. Actually hit on top of the wall, looked like.

Bottom of 5th inning, Pedroia hits a ground-rule double to right field:

Pedroia hitting this ball very well to the opposite field. He's not had great success in his career against [Chris] Archer, only .229 coming into the game, but now 1-for-3 in this game with this double, as that ball bounces up and into the stands. See, that ball almost by Pedroia there, but he, he almost picks it out of the catcher's mitt to drive it to the opposite field for the two-base hit.

Bottom of 5th inning, with Benintendi on first, Betts doubles to left field:

Certainly down by seven, you can't take any chances on scoring Benintendi, but three straight hits for the Red Sox. A double by Pedroia, the single by Benintendi, and now - very flat slider that time, didn't do very much at all - and Mookie takes it right down that left field corner for the two-base hit. So a meeting at the mound. Right there, you run hard until the third base coach holds you up. Benintendi's got the play in front of him, he'll round [second base], and then pick up the coach, coach holding him, stay right there. Down by seven. Take no chances.

Top of 7th inning, Miller triples to right field:

He's just a double from hitting for the cycle now. He's got a single back in the third, a home run in the fifth, and now the triple. As you can see, it's going to get stuck underneath the wall. It caroms off the boards and then just stops. And Mookie has to track it down and, in the meantime, Miller all the way to third base with the triple.

Top of 7th inning, Souza singles to left field:

Remains very aggressive right there, 3-0 count, gets the fastball from Robbie Ross and, with the infield in, picks up the base hit, picks up his second RBI.

Top of 9th inning, Peterson batting:

It's interesting, the different styles of umpires, you know, like yesterday, for example, we saw a very big strike zone. Tonight, not so big.

Bottom of 9th inning, Benintendi hits a ground-rule double down the left field line:

He's had a very good night, on base three times, a walk, a single to drive in a run, now this double. So the first two batters reach in the ninth inning. Again, the shift put on on Benintendi. And Robertson, the third baseman, no chance to get that. The ball will spin up into the stands, about 10, 15 rows back. That went over the head of a lot of people before it landed.

Bottom of 9th inning, Betts singles to left field, is 4-for-5 in the game:

Between he and Bogaerts, they have both really hit the ball hard tonight. Mookie's right on target. That fastball inside, he cleans it out. For a second it looked like Dickerson was going to make a nice play out there in left field, on this sinking line drive. But, kicks it, right off the webbing off his glove.

This is a random sampling. I could have chosen just about any play during the game. Remy tailors his descriptions to the replays, basically narrating what is being shown. And on nearly every pitch that he talks about, Remy will tell us where the catcher positioned his glove, where the pitch ended up being thrown, and where the ball was hit (if it was hit). It's all information we can see easily on our TV screens.

This would be tolerable if Remy gave viewers anything else to consider, anything else to broaden our understanding of the game. In fact, if he offered decent analysis, his replay recaps might go unnoticed. But he doesn't, and they don't. ... I know I'm a broken record at this point, but Red Sox fans deserve better.

G12: Red Sox 7, Rays 5

Rays    - 300 110 000 - 5  7  0
Red Sox - 200 200 21x - 7 17  0

Pablo Sandoval's two-run homer brought the Red Sox into a 4-4 tie in the fourth inning and Mitch Moreland's two-run single three innings later gave Boston a 6-5 lead. The bullpen held on, with Craig Kimbrel retiring the Rays in order in the ninth.

Drew Pomeranz (4.1-5-5-2-10, 103) was squeezed by home plate umpire Ted Barrett and walked the first two batters of the game. Those two Rays scored on Brad Miller's triple; Miller then scored on a passed ball. The Red Sox got two runs back in the bottom half against Alex Cobb (5-11-4-1-0, 93). Mookie Betts drove in one run with a ground-rule double and scored the second run, on a single by Moreland.

Pomeranz recorded his first seven outs by strikeouts. Corey Dickerson homered in the fourth, but Xander Bogaerts doubled and Sandoval homered in the home half to tie the game. Tim Beckham led off the fifth with a solo shot, putting the Rays up 5-4.

Boston rallied to take the lead for good in the seventh. With one out, Andrew Benintendi reached on an infield single. Betts singled and Hanley Ramirez walked, loading the bases. After a pitching change, Moreland singled to left, scoring two runs. Ramirez suffered a left hamstring cramp while rounding second base and had to leave the game.

Matt Barnes took over in the eighth. Kevin Kiermaier singled and stole second. Barnes fanned Evan Longoria and Miller, but walked Logan Morrison. Lefty Robbie Scott came in and got Dickerson to foul out to third.

Christian Vazquez's double scored Chris Young with an insurance run in the eighth. Kimbrel needed only 10 pitches in the ninth (PF2, K, K).

The Red Sox had a season-high 17 hits. ... Benintendi (3-for-5) doubled twice and scored two runs. ... Betts (3-for-4) doubled, walked, and scored twice. ... Vazquez went 3-for-4 and Moreland had two hits, a walk, and three RBI.

Alex Cobb / Drew Pomeranz

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, CF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Young, LF
Vazquez, C

Pomeranz will make his second start of the season. He allowed only one run and four hits in six innings against Baltimore last Tuesday.

Scott Lauber, ESPN: "[Chris Sale] joins Martinez in 1998 as the only Red Sox pitchers since 1913 to pitch at least seven innings, give up no more than two runs and strike out at least seven batters in his first three games of a season."

Pedro Martinez (1998): 23 innings, 12 hits, 1 run, 7 walks, 32 strikeouts (0.39 ERA, 0.826 WHIP)
Chris Sale (2017): 21.2 innings, 11 hits, 3 runs, 5 walks, 29 strikeouts (1.25 ERA, 0.738 WHIP)

"Here Comes The Pizza!"

It's been 10 years!

April 16, 2007. Patriots Day at Fenway Park. Angels at Red Sox. In the bottom of the seventh, J.D. Drew fouls a pitch down the left field line. Garrett Anderson jogs over towards the stands, hoping to make a catch ...

G11: Red Sox 2, Rays 1

Rays    - 001 000 000 - 1  3  0
Red Sox - 010 000 10x - 2  6  0

Chris Sale (7-3-1-3-12, 111) and Mitch Moreland (3-for-4, double, home run, two runs scored) carried the Red Sox to victory.

Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi was forced out of the game with left hamstring tightness after throwing his first pitch of the second inning (a ball to Moreland). Erasmo Ramirez came out of the bullpen - and Moreland clubbed his first pitch to right field for a home run.

In the seventh, Moreland and Xander Bogaerts both singled off Tommy Hunter. Pablo Sandoval grounded into a fielder's choice at second. Chris Young walked, loading the bases. Lefty Xavier Cedeno relieved Hunter, which allowed Sandy Leon to bat right-handed (5-for-9 this year). Leon merely grounded out to second, but it was enough, as Moreland scored the go-ahead run.

Matt Barnes walked two men with one out in the eighth, but got out of trouble with a double play from Evan Longoria. Craig Kimbrel had a smooth ninth inning (K, K, 5-3).

Sale struck out seven of the last nine batters he faced. ... Boston has scored a total of three runs in Sale's three starts.

Jake Odorizzi / Chris Sale

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, CF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Young, LF
Leon, C

The Red Sox are 5-5: W W L L W L W L W L

Boston is tied for 15th among MLB teams in runs scored per game (4.4), so I'm surprised to the team #2 in both batting average and on-base percentage (trailing the Nationals in both categories). The Red Sox are 18th in slugging, however.

G10: Rays 10, Red Sox 5

Rays    - 024 020 200 - 10 12  1
Red Sox - 000 010 103 -  5 14  0

History did not repeat itself at Fenway Park on Friday night. If past performance had been any guide to the outcome of this game, Rick Porcello would have dominated the Rays and Boston's lineup would have sent Chris Archer to yet another early shower.

Instead, Archer surrendered only one run in 5.1 innings - and his streak of losing 11 straight decisions to the Red Sox (the longest streak in the last 30 years by any pitcher against any team) came to an end. And Porcello gave up four home runs* for the first time in his nine-year career and had several other streaks (see pre-game stuff below) snapped. The Red Sox's three ninth-inning runs caused the final score to hide the fact that this was a rout, through and through.

(*: The Rays hit four home runs over a four-inning stretch in tonight's game. The Red Sox have hit four home runs ... in the first 10 games of the season.)

Boston fell behind early once again. Shane Peterson hit a two-run homer down the right field line in the second inning. The top of the third featured the unlikely sight of Porcello walking two batters; he also gave up a grand slam to Logan Morrison (who had doubled and scored on Peterson's shot in the previous inning). Morrison's homer was also hit down the right field line, but was well to the fair side of the Pesky Pole.

Porcello retired the last two Rays in the third, set down Tampa Bay in order in the fourth, and struck out the first man in the fifth. Maybe he had straightened himself out. .. Then he gave up back-to-back home runs: Brad Miller put a first-pitch dong into the center field bleachers and Steven Souza finished off a 10-pitch at-bat with a high fly into the Monster Seats. That ended the night for Porcello (4.1-8-8-2-5, 106).

Robbie Ross was tagged for two runs in the seventh. Miller tripled with one out to get things going for the Rays. (At that point, Miller needed only a double for the cycle, but he walked in the eighth.) Souza and Peterson later hit RBI singles.

There could have been a turning point for the Red Sox in the fourth. Archer (5.1-6-1-2-5, 102) had allowed only one baserunner in the first three innings, but Andrew Benintendi walked and Mookie Betts (4-for-5) singled to open the fourth. After two were out, Xander Bogaerts (3-for-4) walked, loading the bases. Boston trailed 6-0, but a big hit from Pablo Sandoval might have halved that deficit. Instead, Sandoval continued his bad (and highly frustrating and annoying) habit of swinging (and missing) pitches well out of the strike zone, and he eventually grounded out to second.

With two outs in the fifth, Dustin Pedroia doubled to right and scored on Benintendi's single. Pedroia singled in the seventh and his pinch-runner, Marco Hernandez, scored on Hanley Ramirez's single to left.

Rays reliever Austin Pruitt, in his third inning of work, gave up a single to Hernandez to start the bottom of the ninth. Benintendi hit a ground rule double to left (a high pop that landed untouched near the line and bounced into the stands). Betts singled in Hernandez and Benintendi scored on Ramirez's groundout to third. After Mitch Moreland was hit by a pitch, Betts scored on Bogaerts's single. Boston's flurry of activity forced Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash to use his closer, Alex Colome. You could count that as a (very) small victory, but Colome threw only five pitches.

Chris Archer / Rick Porcello

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, CF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Young, LF
Leon, C

Porcello has pitched 6+ innings in each of his last 20 starts (dating back to June 28, 2016), the longest active streak in MLB. It's also the longest streak by a Red Sox pitcher since Derek Lowe went 22 starts in 2002. ... The Red Sox are 19-3 in Porcello's last 22 starts, and are 16-1 in his last 17 starts at Fenway Park. ... Porcello's current streak of 15 consecutive quality starts is the longest streak for a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez had 21 quality starts (August 19, 1999 to June 20, 2000).

Archer has never pitched well at Fenway Park. In five career starts, Archer has a 7.30 ERA. In 24.2 innings, he has allowed 26 hits and 20 walks.

Mitch Moreland, with at least one double in seven consecutive games, has set a new Red Sox record. Moreland has also tied the AL record (Jim Presley 1986, Todd Walker 1998, Gary DiSarcina 1998, Carlos Delgado 2000, Brian Roberts 2004). The National League record is eight games, set by Derrek Lee (2007) and Yadier Molina (2016). (Molina also had a streak of seven games in 2013.)

Mookie Betts has not struck out in his last 105 regular-season plate appearances, beginning on September 2, 2016. The last Boston batter to go at least 100 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout was Wade Boggs (107 PA in 1991).

Elias Says: "Xander Bogaerts's eighth-inning RBI single provided the winning margin for the Red Sox in their 4–3 win [on Thursday]. Bogaerts, in his fifth major-league season, is a lifetime .313 batter in late-inning pressure situations. That's the highest average by any active player with at least 150 at-bats in those situations."

Starting times for this four-game series:

Friday, 7:00 PM
Saturday, 4:00 PM (Jake Odorizzi / Chris Sale)
Sunday, 1:30 PM (Alex Cobb / Drew Pomeranz)
Monday, 11:00 AM (Blake Snell / Steven Wright)

G9: Red Sox 4, Pirates 3

Pirates - 200 001 000 - 3  7  1
Red Sox - 010 000 03x - 4  7  1

After trailing for 7½ dismal, uneventful innings, the Red Sox rallied for three runs in an exciting eighth inning, with Hanley Ramirez tying the game with a two-run, bases-loaded double and Xander Bogaerts giving Boston a 4-3 lead with an opposite field single. (The Red Sox were also aided during the rally by the incompetent home plate, Gabe Morales, whose strike zone, which had been extremely wide all afternoon, shrunk drastically during the home half of the eighth, resulting in two Boston batters getting on base via walks.)

Eduardo Rodriguez (5.1-4-3-4-8, 107) had a very rough first inning, throwing 33 pitches (many of them up in the zone) and allowing a walk, three hits, and two runs. Jordy Mercer began by working a seven-pitch walk. Rodriguez struck out Starling Marte, but Andrew McCutchen belted a two-run homer to left. When Gregory Polanco and David Freese followed with singles, it seemed like Thursday's contest might be a repeat of Wednesday's nightmare. But Rodriguez regained his bearings, and struck out Josh Harrison and Josh Bell, and he did not allow another hit until Polanco doubled with one out in the sixth.

Boston scored in the second when Mitch Moreland doubled (for the seventh consecutive game, a new Red Sox record!) to deep center and scored on Marco Hernandez's opposite-field double off the left field wall. After the run scored, however, Pirates starter Chad Kuhl (6.1-5-1-0-6, 92) retired the next 13 Boston batters.

Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead in the sixth. Polanco doubled to right and Freese walked. Heath Hembree relieved Rodriguez and on his 1-2 pitch to Harrison, both runners took off. Harrison swung and missed for strike three, but Christian Vazquez's throw to third was wild and as it went into left field, Polanco scored.

Pirates reliever Daniel Hudson retired Brock Holt on a weak grounder to first to open the bottom of the eighth. Dustin Pedroia walked on four pitches (although Hudson's second pitch was actually in the strike zone). Andrew Benintendi dropped a single into short center. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle brought in Juan Nicasio, who walked Mookie Betts on four pitches (again, Hudson's second pitch clearly should have been called a strike and balls 3 and 4 were very close and had been called strikes earlier in the day). Boston gladly accepted these gifts, however, and the bases were loaded fro Hanley Ramirez, who was 7-for-14 (with three doubles) against Nicasio in his career.

Ramirez made it 8-for-15 when he crushed a 1-1 pitch into the wind, to deep center. It sailed over Marte's head and hit against the wall near the garage door. Pedroia scored easily from third, but Benintendi stayed near second base (as if he was tagging) rather than going halfway to third and watching the play. So when the ball dropped safely onto the warning track, Benintendi and Betts were both near the bag. They took off for third, with Betts staying about ten feet behind Benintendi. The lead runner slid across the plate safely, but Betts was tagged on the foot as he tried to dance around catcher Chris Stewart's tag. (Morales was staring right at the tag and actually called Betts safe, but a challenge by the Pirates resulted in the call being (correctly) changed). If Benintendi had been halfway to third rather than near second base, Betts could probably have run at full speed and would have likely scored ahead of the throw. That "lost" run was forgotten, though, when, after Moreland was intentionally walked, Bogaerts lined an outside pitch into right and Ramirez scored the go-ahead run.

Red Sox fans held their collective breath as Craig Kimbrel began the top of the ninth. Kimbrel threw four fastballs to pinch-hitter Adam Frazier for a 2-2 count and when Kimbrel came in with a breaking ball, Frazier lined it to center for a single. Another pinch-hitter, Francisco Cervelli, battled Kimbrel for eight pitches. It appeared that Kimbrel had struck him out on a 2-2 pitch, but Morales called the pitch (which had been a strike most of the day) ball three. After fouling off two more offerings, Cervelli flied to deep right-center, with Betts making the catch on the warning track. (Whew!) Frazier decided to try stealing second on a 1-1 pitch to Mercer - and Vazquez's lightning-fast throw was high, but Pedroia reached up, grabbed it, and brought down his tag just in time for the second out. On Kimbrel's next pitch, Mercer ended the game with a grounder to second.

Pedroia had hit safely in the season's first eight games, but he went 0-for-3 with a walk. ... Vazquez had reached base in all seven of his plate appearances in 2017, but went 0-for-3. ... Bogaerts went 2-for-4 and has five hits in the last two games. ... After starting the season 0-for-12, Moreland has reached base in 16 of 27 plate appearances.

Benintendi has reached base in all nine games. In the last 100 years, only three other Red Sox have reached base in each of the team's first nine games of a season at the age of 22 or younger: Bobby Doerr (first 12 games in 1939), Jimmy Piersall (first 11 games in 1952), and George Scott (first 26 games in 1966).

Scoring Note: In the seventh inning of Baltimore's 12-5 win on Wednesday, Welington Castilo doubled to right field. Betts fired the ball in to Pedroia, who then dropped it, allowing Castillo to go to third. An error was charged to Pedroia. However, that call was later changed - and Betts was charged with the error. Looking at the play again, Betts made a one-hop throw to Pedroia, and the ball bounced true, with Pedroia gloving it at the level of his waist. It was not wild by any means. There is no way Betts should be charged with an error for that throw. ... Just the latest reason why fielding percentage is completely and utterly worthless.

Chad Kuhl / Eduardo Rodriguez

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, CF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Hernandez, 3B
Vazquez, C
Holt, LF

Robbie Ross - who has not pitched in a game this season - has been activated from the disabled list (flu) and Ben Taylor was sent to Pawtucket.

Jesus, shut the fuck up, Buck.

G8: Orioles 12, Red Sox 5

Orioles - 621 000 300 - 12 17  1
Red Sox - 001 310 000 -  5 11  1

Steven Wright plunked Seth Smith in the right thigh with his first pitch of the night. It was perhaps a sign that things would not go smoothly for the Red Sox knuckleballer.

Wright uncorked a wild pitch before striking out Adam Jones. Manny Machado doubled to center. Chris Davis grounded out, but Wright's outing went straight downhill after that. Mark Trumbo singled to right, making it 2-0. Welington Castillo singled and Trey Mancini crushed a three-run homer to right-center. Jonathan Schoop followed that with a solo dong on Wright's next pitch. After J.J. Hardy singled, Wright finally recorded the third out, as Smith lined to left.

(Wright had a tough time in the first inning last season as well, posting a 5.64 ERA, compared to 2.25, 0.38, and 1.50 in the second, third, and fourth, respectively. For what it's worth, the fifth inning was his worst frame (5.82) and the sixth was little better (5.29).)

Jones opened the second inning with a long home run to left and after Machado grounded to short, Davis homered over the visitors' bullpen. The score was 8-0 - and Wright's night was done: 1.1-8-8-0-1, 34 (4 HR). Mancini hit his second dong of the game, leading off the third against Ben Taylor, who actually pitched very well in relief, allowing only three hits and one run in 3.2 innings.

The Red Sox began crawling back in the bottom of the third. Chris Young doubled and Sandy Leon singled. After Dustin Pedroia lined out to right, Andrew Benintendi's sac fly to left scored Young. Hanley Ramirez began the next inning with a double and scored on Xander Bogaerts's one-out single. Sandoval followed with a two-run bomb and it was 9-4.

Boston's only real chance at reclaiming the lead was in the fifth. Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez walked Benintendi on four pitches. With one out, Ramirez grounded a single into center and Jimenez walked Mitch Moreland on four pitches. Baltimore manager Buck Showalter pulled Jimenez (4.1-8-5-2-1, 104) and called on the hard-throwing Mychal Givens. Bogaerts looked at two balls and then fouled off five consecutive pitches before lining a single to left that dropped in front of Mancini, who seemed to pull up at the last minute. Ramirez scored, making it 9-5, and Boston brought the potential tying run to the plate (something that seemed impossible a couple of innings earlier). But Sandoval struck out on three pitches and Young flied harmlessly to center.

Baltimore closed the lid on the Red Sox's coffin with three runs in the seventh. Fernando Abad gave up a single to Davis before Joe Kelly allowed a single to Trumbo and a two-run double to Castillo. After Mancini struck out, Schoop singled Castillo home. Kelly did retire the Orioles in order in the eighth, the only inning in which Baltimore did not have at least one baserunner.

The Red Sox did not make much noise in the final four innings. In the bottom of the seventh, facing Donnie Hart, Moreland doubled with one out and Bogaerts singled, but Sandoval fouled to the catcher and Young fanned. Vidal Nuno walked Ramirez and Moreland in the ninth, but that only prolonged the inevitable.

Moreland has now doubled in six straight games (he has seven doubles this season). Since 1913, only three other Red Sox players have doubled in six straight games: David Ortiz (May 21-28, 2016), Jason Varitek (August 21-September 1, 2004), and Bill Regan (August 23-27, 1929).

The Red Sox are now 4-4. They host the Pirates tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM.

Ubaldo Jimenez / Steven Wright

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, CF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Young, LF
Leon, C

Baseball Prospectus's Brett Cowett looks at a few of John Farrell's managerial decisions during the recent series against the Tigers, saying that Farrell's managing late in games "wasn't always proactive".

A couple of those games were very winnable, yet the Red Sox lost both, and ended up winning just one of the four games against the Tigers. Most of the gripes stemmed from the loss on April 9th, which saw the Sox score five runs in the top of the 8th inning, only to give up the lead in the bottom part of the frame. So let's take a deeper look at that.

Alex Speier notes (in his must-read daily 108 Stitches newsletter):

After just 2.1 innings, Phillies starter Clay Buchholz bounced a 70 m.p.h. pitch in front of the plate, shook his arm, and walked off the mound with a trainer at his side with what Phillies manager Pete Mackanin called a strained flexor tendon. Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly writes that Buchholz will land on the DL and undergo an MRI on Wednesday.

In other news, Buck Showalter is a dick:

I don't know where we are with the flu today. ... Everybody in the league has had that issue. ... [N]obody really wants to hear somebody else complain about it. Our guys have done a good job not broadcasting it to the world.

G7: Red Sox 8, Orioles 1

Orioles - 000 000 100 - 1  5  2
Red Sox - 010 010 33x - 8 15  0

Extremely sloppy infield play from the Orioles in the seventh and eighth innings helped the Red Sox pile on the runs as Drew Pomeranz (6-4-1-1-6, 91) made a good impression in his 2017 debut. Dustin Pedroia drove in four runs, Christian Vazquez went 4-for-4, and Chris Young scored three times. The Red Sox (4-3) moved to with one-half game of first place in the AL East.

Batting for the first time since last Wednesday, Hanley Ramirez drew a walk to open the second inning. He went to third on Mitch Moreland's sixth double of the season and scored on Pablo Sandoval sacrifice fly to left. With one out in the fifth, Young singled, Vazquez doubled high off the Wall and Pedroia made it 2-0 with a sac fly to center.

Baltimore scored a run in the seventh, but the Red Sox immediately pulled away in the bottom half. Starter Dylan Bundy (6.1-7-3-2-3, 106) was pulled after a one-out walk to Sandoval. Facing Darren O'Day, Young grounded to shortstop. The play looked like a textbook (inning-ending) double play, but J.J. Hardy booted the ball twice, not even recording a force. Vazquez then popped a pitch into short right-center. Two outfielders came in, but second baseman Jonathan Schoop called for it - but the ball dropped unmolested - and the bases were loaded.

Pedroia hit a ground ball up the middle. Hardy dove to his left behind the bag, but the ball glanced off his glove. Two runs scored. Andrew Benintendi lined a single to right, scoring Vazquez. Craig Gentry's throw to the infield was wild and Benintendi was able to advance to second on the throwing error. Mookie Betts grounded to shortstop; the infield was playing in and Hardy ran over and tagged out Pedroia between third and home but the runners were able to advance to second and third. Ramirez flied to left to end the frame.

Boston scored three more times in the eighth off Oliver Drake. Xander Bogaerts walked with one out and Young singled with two down. Vazquez lofted a fly ball towards the right field corner. New right fielder Seth "Ender Of The 2007 WS" Smith tried making a sliding catch, but the ball ticked off his glove and rolled far away. Both runners scored and Vazquez had a triple. Pedroia reached on an infield single to Schoop (the second baseman couldn't make a bare-handed grab of FY's ground ball) and Boston led 8-1. Benintendi and Betts both singled to load the bases, but Ramirez ended this inning as well, with a soft liner to second.

NESN Note: In the top of the first, Dave O'Brien mentioned that Orioles manager Buck Showalter is still being asked to explain his refusal to use ace closer Zack Britton (0.54 ERA in 67 innings) during last season's Wild Card Game loss to Toronto. Both O'Brien and Dennis Eckersley agreed that Showalter still had no credible explanation for his non-move. And then both men reminded us that Showalter is one of the game's best managers and is excellent at managing a bullpen. ... Yeah, it might be time to finally retire that old canard. Showalter proved last fall that he is clearly not among the game's best thinkers. When a manager falls to make a move that is painfully obvious to millions of baseball fans around the world, a move that a mediocre skipper would call for in his sleep, well, that manager is a certified bonehead. ... And what's with Eck referring to Baltimore outfielder Trey Mancini as "Man-chee-nee"?

Dylan Bundy / Drew Pomeranz

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, CF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Sandoval, 3B
Young, LF
Vazquez, C

Roster: Jackie Bradley to the DL, Pomeranz off the DL, Bogaerts off the bereavement list, Deven Marrero to Pawtucket.

The Red Sox (3-3) return to Fenway Park for a seven-game homestand, with two games against the first place Orioles (4-1) tonight and Wednesday and (after the makeup of April 6's rainout against the Pirates on Thursday) four against the Rays (including Monday's Patriots Day game at 11 AM).

Then it's back on the road to Toronto and Baltimore before a long homestand hosting the Yankees, the defending World Champion Cubs, and the Orioles that will take the team into May.

G6: Tigers 2, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 010 000 000 - 1  4  1
Tigers  - 000 001 01x - 2  5  1

Chris Sale: 7.2-5-2-1-10, 108. ... Mitch Moreland had three of Boston's four hits. ... The Red Sox's one run was unearned. ... Jackie Bradley was wrong. He is now on the disabled list.

Chris Sale / Justin Verlander

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, CF
Betts, RF
Moreland, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Young, LF
Holt, 3B
Leon, C
Hernandez, SS

Xander Bogaerts was supposed to play today, but his flight to Detroit was cancelled.

Jackie Bradley sprained a ligament in his right knee on Saturday and was sent back to Boston, but he doesn't think he'll need to go on the disabled list.

G5: Red Sox 7, Tigers 5

Red Sox - 011 000 140 - 7 11  1
Tigers  - 110 100 101 - 5 13  1

On a day when Rick Porcello (6-11-4-1-8, 102) was not sharp, the Red Sox rallied against the Tigers' bullpen and snapped a small two-game losing streak.

As much as it pains me to say (because I truly cannot stand him), Matt Barnes turned in two innings of solid relief. Craig Kimbrel walked the first two men in the ninth, but struck out three and allowed only one run (and that happened because home plate umpire Marvin Hudson blew a called third strike that should have ended the game at 7-4).

NESN Note: With no outs in the eighth, Boston led 6-4 and had runners at first and third. Pablo Sandoval grounded to third and the Tigers turned a 5-4-3 double play. Sandy Leon scored from third, giving the Red Sox a three-run lead. Jerry Remy questioned the Tigers going for the double play (and allowing the run to score) and not getting the runner at the plate. Keeping anymore runs from scoring should have been a higher priority at that point than recording two outs.

Then NESN showed the replay. Leon DID NOT take off for the plate when the ball was hit. He watched and waited to see what the third baseman would do before he sprinted home. The Tigers went for the double play because it was the only play available - there was absolutely no play at home. Remy's entire analysis was based on something that quite clearly DID NOT HAPPEN. And Remy continued talking about it as we watched the exact opposite on our screens.

Detroit Distance: The distance from home plate to the left field pole at Comerica Park is printed on the wall as 345'. Is that apostrophe really necessary? I assume that most fans understand those numbers on the wall at every ball park indicate the distance in feet. Is there anyone who might be confused otherwise and think it's 345 inches?

Marco Hernandez had three hits. Chris Young had two hits and scored two runs. Leon had two RBI. Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland each walked twice.

Rick Porcello / Daniel Norris

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, LF
Betts, RF
Young, DH
Moreland, 1B
Selsky, CF
Leon, C
Sandoval, 3B
Hernandez, SS

Benintendi's status was uncertain after he began throwing up during Saturday's game. ... Jackie Bradley underwent an MRI after jamming his right knee on Saturday. Bradley underwent an MRI. ... Matt Barnes was activated from the bereavement list and Noe Ramirez was optioned to Pawtucket.

Also: April 9, 1912: Fenway Park hosts its first game, an exhibition between the Red Sox and Harvard University. The Red Sox won 2-0. The first major league game was played on April 20.

G4: Tigers 4, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 010 000 000 - 1  6  0
Tigers  - 001 030 00x - 4  5  0

The flu bug has extended its reach into the Red Sox broadcast booth. NESN's Dave O'Brien had to abandon the microphone in the sixth inning. Jerry Remy took over for a bit before Tom Caron called the rest of the game remotely from NESN headquarters.

Me, yesterday:

Does anyone else feel that some Boston sportswriter will take that factoid [scoring in only x of x innings] as evidence that the team's post-Papi offense is in serious trouble and that fans should - with 98.1% of the season still to be played, mind you - begin panicking?

Rob Bradford, WEEI, today:

To make a judgment about anything regarding the Red Sox following their 4-1 loss to the Tigers Saturday would be silly. ...

In four games, they have now scored in just four of their 39 innings. ...

This isn't a second-guess. Throughout the offseason, heading into spring training, it was a genuine concern that the Red Sox didn't have solutions for key elements in the lineup. ...

Once again, it's not fair to judge how good this team is after these four games ...

So, after admitting it is silly and unfair to judge the performance of the Red Sox lineup after only four games, Bradford promptly judges the performance of the Red Sox lineup after only four games.

Good stuff.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Jordan Zimmermann

Holt, DH
Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, LF
Moreland, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Bradley, CF
Young, RF
Hernandez, SS
Vazquez, C

Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez are still ill.

G3: Tigers 6, Red Sox 5

Red Sox - 000 000 050 - 5 10  0
Tigers  - 100 001 22x - 6  8  1

Through three games, the Red Sox have scored in only three of 29 innings. Does anyone else feel that some Boston sportswriter will take that factoid as evidence that the team's post-Papi offense is in serious trouble and that fans should - with 98.1% of the season still to be played, mind you - begin panicking?

The Red Sox trailed 4-0 when they rallied for five runs in the eighth inning. The big blast was a three-run homer from Pablo Sandoval (who also doubled). I did not see the game, so here's a dry recounting of the big inning: Andrew Benintendi walked with one out. He stole second and went to third on Mitch Moreland's single to right. Chris Young doubled in one run and, after a pitching change, Jackie Bradley singled in another. Sandy Leon struck out. Francisco Rodriguez came in to face Sandoval - who banged an 0-2 pitch out of the park.

The Tigers tied the game in the bottom half against the Boston bullpen. After getting the first two batters, Heath Hembree walked both Victor Martinez (whose sac fly and single had driven in Detroit's first two runs) and Justin Upton. Robby Scott came in and gave up a run-scoring double to pinch-hitter Mikie Mahtook. Then Joe Kelly issued two more walks, to James McCann (who hit a two-run homer off Steven Wright (6.2-7-4-3-4, 93) in the seventh) and JaCoby (yes, the C is capitalized) Jones, forcing in the go-ahead run.

In the top of the ninth, facing Rodriguez, Steve Selsky grounded out. Dustin Pedroia reached on an infield single. Benintendi flied out to left. Moreland doubled to right, with Pedroia stopping at third. Young popped out to first.

Steven Wright / Michael Fulmer

Holt, DH
Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, LF
Moreland, 1B
Young, RF
Bradley, CF
Leon, C
Sandoval, 3B
Hernandez, SS

Now Hanley has the flu...

Roster Moves, Pitching Assignments

The Red Sox have placed Xander Bogaerts and Matt Barnes on the three-day bereavement list. And the flu continues to make its way through the team, with Robbie Ross being sent to the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to April 3).

Reliever Noe Ramirez and infielders Deven Marrero and Marco Hernandez were called up as replacements.

Bogaerts should be available for the final game of the Red Sox's four-game series in Detroit, on Monday. Mookie Betts missed Wednesday's game because of the flu and his status for Friday afternoon's game will likely not be known until close to the 1 PM start time.

The pitchers for the Tigers series (all of the games are at 1 PM):

Friday: Steven Wright / Michael Fulmer
Saturday: Eduardo Rodriguez / Jordan Zimmermann
Sunday: Rick Porcello / Daniel Norris
Monday: Chris Sale / Justin Verlander

Drew Pomeranz, who had been expected to pitch on Sunday, will now get the ball on Tuesday, against the Orioles at Fenway Park.

From Elias:

Sandy Leon's 12th-inning walkoff home run gave the Red Sox a 3–0 win over the Pirates on Wednesday. He's the first player to hit a walkoff homer in a shutout win of 12 or more innings after having caught the entire game since the Cardinals' Del Rice did that on April 30, 1950. Rice's homer came in the 13th inning off Cubs starting pitcher Johnny Schmitz; St. Louis's starter, Harry Brecheen, also went the distance. ... Only three other Red Sox players have hit an extra-inning walkoff homer to end a shutout win: Carroll Hardy in 1962, Rico Petrocelli in 1971 and Dave Stapleton in 1980.

G3: Pirates at Red Sox, Postponed, Rain

Today's game has been postponed because of rain.

It will be played on Thursday, April 13 at 2 PM.

Pirates - 
Red Sox - 

Chad Kuhl / Eduardo Rodriguez

G2: Red Sox 3, Pirates 0 (12)

Pirates - 000 000 000 000 - 0  5  0
Red Sox - 000 000 000 003 - 3  8  1

Sandy Leon's third hit of the game - a three-run home run into the Monster Seats off Antonio Bastardo - was the big blast, on a night when Chris Sale (7-3-0-1-7, 104) did not allow a Pittsburgh runner past first base. The Red Sox made a little more noise against Jameson Taillon (7-5-0-3-6, 95), but were likewise kept off the scoreboard until Leon went deep.

Bastardo, the sixth Pirates pitcher of the night, retired Chris Young on a fly to left-center, but he walked Jackie Bradley (balls 3 and 4 were very close to being strikes). With Pablo Sandoval at the plate, Bradley took off on a 2-2 pitch. Bastardo had JBJ picked off, but first baseman Phil Gosselin's throw to second was low and skipped past shortstop Jordy Mercer. (At the end of the play, Mercer stepped on Bradley's ankle, but he seemed okay.) Bastardo walked Sandoval, bringing Leon to the plate. After a pitching coach/infielders mound conference, Leon cracked an 0-1 pitch for the dong.

Back in the third inning, Leon had doubled with two outs and run through Brian Butterfield's very obvious stop sign after Dustin Pedroia singled to right. Catcher Francisco Cervelli make a nice pickup of Andrew McCutchen's throw and easily blocked the plate and made the tag. (After the game, Leon said, "I didn't see Butter." I'm not sure how that's possible. Butterfield was 3/4 of the way down the line with both hands way up as Leon touched third base.)

Boston had runners at first and third with no outs in the fifth and could not score as Sandoval and Leon struck out and Pedroia grounded back to the mound. Andrew Benintendi left the bases loaded in the tenth inning.

Sale's curveball and slider were very impressive - most of his seven strikeouts came on one of those two pitches - and he allowed only four baserunners:

2nd inning: David Freese singled with one out. Sale struck out the next two hitters.

3rd inning: Adam Frazier reached on an infield dribbler to third. Sale got the next two Pirates, including a strikeout of Starling Marte.

5th inning: Josh Harrison singled off the Wall with one out. On the next pitch, Josh Bell grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

7th inning: Freese walked with two outs. Cervelli flied to right.

NESN Note: NESN put up a cool graphic showing some of the picks in the 2010 draft: #1 Bryce Harper, #2 Jameson Taillon, #3 Manny Machado ... #5 Drew Pomeranz ... #13 Chris Sale.

The Red Sox are scheduled to play at 1:30 PM on Thursday afternoon, but rain is expected.

Jameson Taillon / Chris Sale

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Young, RF
Bradley, CF
Sandoval, 3B
Leon, C

Mookie Betts has the flu. ... David Price threw off a mound today.

G1: Red Sox 5, Pirates 3

Pirates - 000 000 300 - 3  8  1
Red Sox - 000 050 00x - 5 10  1

Rick Porcello won the 2016 American League Cy Young Award, and in the first Opening Day start of his career, he pitched as if there had not been a months-long break since last season. Porcello left the game with a 5-1 lead, but his final line (6.1-6-3-1-5, 96) was a bit worse that it should have been because Matt Barnes allowed two inherited runners to score.

As Porcello's outing was an echo of 2016, so was Craig Kimbrel's. With Boston up by two runs in the ninth, Kimbrel came out of the bullpen overthrowing. He nearly allowed a home run to Josh Bell, but Bell's fly ball to left hit near the top of the Wall for a double, and Pittsburgh brought the possible tying run to the plate. Kimbrel got into a groove, however, and struck out both Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer on fastballs. He got ahead of Adam Frazier 0-2 and then (after a quick mound visit from catcher Sandy Leon) decided to get cute. Kimbrel yanked a curveball too far inside and the pitch drilled Frazier in the front thigh, putting runners at first and second. Kimbrel wisely went back to throwing heat, and retired Starling Marte on a foul pop to first to put the season's first W in the books.

Gerrit Cole (5-7-5-1-2, 76) had allowed the Red Sox next to nothing for the first four innings - and he retired Mitch Moreland and Xander Bogaerts to open the fifth on a total of four pitches. However, Cole would face seven more batters before recording the inning's third out.

Jackie Bradley (now wearing #19) lined the ball into the right field corner. The long carom confused Andrew McCutchen for a moment and Bradley hustled into third with a stand-up triple. A slimmer Pablo Sandoval beat out a hit into the shortstop hole, and Bradley scored. The Pirates went into a shift against Leon and he dropped a bunt down into the open space near third. Cole bobbled the ball and could not make a play. Dustin Pedroia lined a hard single to center and Panda scored. Then Andrew Benintendi (now wearing #16) hit a 405-foot home run to right field to make it 5-0.

Porcello has pitched 6+ innings in each of his last 19 starts, currently the longest streak among MLB starters. Leon and Bogaerts each had two hits. Bogaerts also stole two bases, both without a throw.

The Red Sox are off tomorrow. Chris Sale makes his Boston debut on Wednesday night.

NESN Note: Dave O'Brien and Jerry Remy called a good game. I was somewhat surprised when they both admitted to not watching even one pitch of the recently-concluded World Baseball Classic.

Gerrit Cole / Rick Porcello

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, LF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Bradley, CF
Sandoval, 3B
Leon, C

Opening Day Roster:

Starting Pitchers: Rick Porcello, Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Wright. [Drew Pomerantz (forearm flexor strain) is on the 10-day disabled list; there is a possibility that he could make his first scheduled start of the season on April 9.]

Relievers: Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes, Heath Hembree, Ben Taylor, Robbie Ross, Fernando Abad, Robby Scott. [Tyler Thornburg (right shoulder impingement) is on the DL.]

Catchers: Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon.

Infielders: Mitch Moreland, Dustin Pedroia, Pablo Sandoval, Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez, Brock Holt, Steve Selsky. [Josh Rutledge (hamstring) is on the DL.]

Outfield: Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts, Chris Young.

David Price threw from 90 feet on Saturday and said he felt good. There is no word on when he will return to the rotation. John Farrell: "The way we have to approach this is he'll be with us when he's first available and with the ability to impact this team and certainly the rotation."

In addition to being good at baseball and bowling, Betts can also beat you in ping pong.

Note: 2017 is the 14th full season for The Joy of Sox. I started the blog in August 2003 (first post here), which was only a few months after David Ortiz had begun asserting himself as a serious contributor to the Red Sox. Also, I think 2003 was the first season I was able to watch the Red Sox every night, via MLBTV. Being that closely connected to the team began a different chapter for me as a fan, and Ortiz was the most important player during that chapter. A new chapter begins this afternoon, one without Big Papi's big smile and big bat.

Red Sox 2017 W-L Contest Entries

Here are the entries for this year's Red Sox 2017 W-L contest.

               W-L     SALE ERA

Jere S        104-58     2.34
  
Laura K       102-60     3.25
  
Chris S       101-61     2.99
Chris J       101-61     3.41
Zack P        101-61     3.42
  
Rick M        100-62     3.03
  
Paul H         99-63     3.57
  
Ben A          98-64     2.75
hrstrat57      98-64     3.02
  
John Q         97-65     2.91
Stephen S      97-65     2.94
Warren S       97-65     2.95
Charles G      97-65     3.27
Tim L          97-65     3.81
  
Duncan C       96-66     3.13
Patrick K      96-66     3.48
  
Anthony D      95-67     2.18
Kathryn L      95-67     3.07
Jeff M         95-67     3.12
  
Michael G      94-68     3.27
Jim M          94-68     3.38
Dr. Jeff       94-68     3.40
Barry W        94-68     3.45
Shawn K        94-68     3.45
Matt K         94-68     3.57
  
Allan W        93-69     3.25
  
Jeff L         92-70     3.08
Miles L        92-70     3.11
Ian R          92-70     3.68
  
Rich G         91-71     3.01
Andrew M       91-71     3.12
Matthew H      91-71     3.16
Timothy C      91-71     3.18
Brian B        91-71     3.23
David F        91-71     3.37
Peter L        91-71     3.53
  
Joshua H       90-72     3.27
John G         90-72     3.50
  
Warwick D      89-73     3.28 
Jeffrey A      89-73     3.68
  
Jeff F         87-75     3.21

The winner will receive a copy of The New Baseball Bible: Notes, Nuggets, Lists, and Legends from Our National Pastime, by Dan Schlossberg.

Note: I was surprised to receive so many entries (39 (from people who do not live in my apartment)). I have been doing less with the blog over the last few seasons, and I posted very little during the winter and spring training, so it's nice to see people are still reading.

Opening Day: Red Sox Begin Season Tomorrow (Yankees Lose Today)

Although the Red Sox begin their 2017 season tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM, there were three games scheduled for today. In one of them, the Yankees lost to Tampa Bay 7-3 (Tanaka allowed 7 runs in 2.2 innings). So far, so good!

Also, if you have not yet read "Don't Let Us Win Tonight", my book about the Red Sox's historic 2004 playoff run, here are some reviews from Amazon to pique your interest:

* There are many other accounts written of this most-significant and celebrated time in baseball playoff history, but "Don't Let Us Win Tonight" has got to be the perfect-game version. Taking the reader thru all games of BOTH playoff series (Angels, Yankees) then the Series versus the Cardinals, in an almost diary-like format. We're told the significant situations in sequence, followed by key participants' recounts in their own words, in a story plot which is fascinating even though we know the final outcome.

* This was a trip back to 2004, having the foresight to carry one eagerly thru the brutal first 3 games of the ALCS to the coming redemption and triumph. Masterful writing and editing to tell, relive the story thru the eyes of the Red Sox themselves. Reading this, I was there again, this time at Fenway, instead of in front of the TV. Only 5 stars doesn't do it justice.

* The best parts was reading the comments of all the writers after game 3 of the ALCS. Fantastic memories for someone who lived through '67, '75 '78 '86 and 2003.

* The authors have recreated the 2004 postseason in a gripping and extremely readable way. Usually I get bored with descriptions of baseball games, even though I love watching baseball. But Allan Wood has used a combination of clear, precise and concise writing and a mixture of quotes from the players, managers, coaches, even batboys to bring to life what was going through the minds of the players and management as these games were unfolding. The chapter that described Game 4 of the ALCS made my heart pound - even though I knew exactly what was going to happen from watching those games 10 years ago.

* A great companion piece to the DVD collection; this book gives you so much insight into what was going on, not just on the field but also behind the scenes of that amazing ALCS and World Series. And we are gaining invaluable information about the season ending heroics from so many different sources and not just from the stars of the games. This is not only great Boston Red Sox history but great baseball history.

* By using the players' own words, it captures the tension and emotions of that historic playoff run. It's filled with fascinating detail - about the events and characters, baseball, and the psychology of sports at the highest level - but it's also a load of fun for a fan who wants to re-live the experience.

More Predictions: SI, ESPN, CBS, USAToday, Fangraphs, WEEI, Globe, Herald, Yahoo

Here are a bunch of predictions for the 2017 Red Sox:

Sports Illustrated

Tom Verducci: Red Sox win AL East and AL Pennant, but lose World Series to Cubs.

Ben Reiter: Red Sox win AL East. World Series: Astros over Mets.

Albert Chen: Blue Jays win AL East, Red Sox win one of the wild cards. World Series: Nationals over Mariners.

Jay Jaffe: Red Sox win AL East and AL Pennant, but lose World Series to Cubs.

Ted Keith: Red Sox win AL East and AL Pennant, but lose World Series to Cubs.

John Tayler: Red Sox win AL East. World Series: Dodgers over Cleveland.

Emma Span: Red Sox win AL East and AL Pennant, but lose World Series to Dodgers.

Jack Dickey: Red Sox win AL East. World Series: Cleveland over Mets.

AL MVP: 1 of 8 (Jaffe) picked Mookie Betts.

AL Cy Young: 2 of 8 (Verducci, Tayler) picked Chris Sale.

AL Rookie: 7 of 8 (Verducci, Reiter, Dickey, Jaffe, Keith, Span, Tayler) picked ​Andrew Benintendi.

Rival scouts assess the Red Sox:

Chris Sale's delivery looks terrible, but it always has. That doesn't mean he's not gonna blow out tomorrow, but I'm not afraid of that.... Having Sale is great for Rick Porcello because it takes the heat off him. He commanded his fastball and threw strikes with his curve all year. It doesn't come around often that someone commands two pitches in the zone that well.... I'm not a David Price guy. He's never won big games. His velocity's down and he's having a tough time making the adjustment.... Steven Wright's got the right nature. He knows he's got a trick pitch and he doesn't take himself too seriously.... Pablo Sandoval was a million pounds last year—he looked like Archie Bunker—but he lost weight and his feet have always been good. Boston fans will cut him some slack—until he hits .220. Then they'll hate him again.... Boy, this is a good outfield! It's a good group of kids too. It's the best outfield in the AL, mostly because of Mookie Betts. I like everything about him.... Once Andrew Benintendi learns to lift, he'll add a little power.

SI: The best reason to watch the Red Sox:

Even with David Ortiz's retirement, there's no shortage of reasons to watch the defending AL East champions. Their rotation features a pair of AL Cy Young Award winners (reigning honoree Rick Porcello and 2012 recipient David Price), and they offer strong candidates for AL MVP (rightfielder Mookie Betts) and Rookie of the Year (leftfielder Andrew Benintendi). That said, the arrival of Sale in a blockbuster off-season trade with the White Sox offers something new. Sale will be pitching for a contender for the first time since 2012, and the side-arming southpaw will be battling to avoid the first-year struggles that have plagued Porcello, Price and many other hurlers upon arriving in Boston. He's finished in the top-six of AL Cy Young voting for five straight years; a sixth would help ensure the Red Sox return to October.

ESPN

Picks from 35 "experts":

AL East: Red Sox 28, Blue Jays 6, Yankees 1.

AL Pennant: Cleveland 15, Red Sox 9, Astros 8, Blue Jays 2, Rangers 1.

NL Pennant: Cubs 14, Dodgers 10, Nationals 7, Giants 3, Mets 1.

World Series: Cleveland 10, Cubs 9, Astros 5, Dodgers 5, Red Sox 4*, Giants 1, Nationals 1.

(*: Jessica Mendoza, Doug Padilla, Eduardo Perez, Eddie Matz)

CBS Sports
[Jonah Keri, Bill Reiter, R.J. Anderson, Mike Axisa, Dayn Perry, Matt Snyder]

AL East: All 6 writers pick the Red Sox for first place. Anderson and Reiter both predict the Red Sox will win the AL Pennant and lose the World Series to the Cubs.

AL MVP: Keri picks Betts.

AL Cy Young: Snyder, Perry, and Anderson pick Sale.

AL Rookie: All 6 writers pick Benintendi.

USAToday
[Ted Berg, Scott Boeck, Steve Borelli, Steve Gardner, Gabe Lacques, Bob Nightengale, Jorge L. Ortiz]

AL East: All 7 writers pick the Red Sox for first place.

AL East
Red Sox    94-68
Blue Jays  87-75
Orioles    84-78
Yankees    80-82
Rays       75-87

ALDS: All 7 writers pick the Red Sox to win the ALDS.

ALCS: 5 of the 7 writers (Berg, Gardner, Lacques, Nightengale, Ortiz) pick the Red Sox to win the AL Pennant.

World Series: 3 of the 7 writers (Berg, Gardner, Ortiz) pick the Red Sox to win the World Series.

AL MVP: 4 of the 7 (Boeck, Borelli, Gardner, Ortiz) pick Betts.

AL Cy Young: 2 of the 7 writers (Berg, Nightengale) pick Sale.

AL Rookie: 4 of the 7 (Berg, Boeck, Nightengale, Ortiz) pick Benintendi.

Fangraphs

Projected Standings

Red Sox    93-69
Blue Jays  89-73
Orioles    89-73
Yankees    84-78
Rays       68-94

Red Sox predicted to score 4.93 runs per game (#1 in MLB).

Red Sox predicted to allow 4.31 runs per game (8th in MLB).

Staff Predictions

AL East: Red Sox 43, Blue Jays 6, Rays 2, Yankees 2, Orioles 1.

AL Wild Card #1: Red Sox got 6 votes.

AL Wild Card #2: Red Sox got 2 votes.

AL MVP: Trout 34, Lindor 7, Correa 5, Machado 5, Betts 3.

AL Cy Young: Sale 17, Kluber 15, Darvish 7, Tanaka 4, Carrasco 3, Archer 2, Stroman 2, Verlander 2, Sanchez 1, McCullers 1.

AL Rookie: Benintendi 40 of 54 votes.

WEEI

What is your predicted order of finish in the AL East? How many games will the Red Sox win?

Rob Bradford: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Rays. ... 90.

John Tomase: Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays. ... 92.

Ryan Hannable: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Rays. ... 91.

Alex Reimer: Blue Jays, Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays. ... 79.

World Series

Rob Bradford: Rangers over Nationals.

John Tomase: Cleveland over Cubs.

Ryan Hannable: Nationals over Blue Jays.

Alex Reimer: Astros over Nationals.

Boston Globe

Peter Abraham: Blue Jays win AL East. Red Sox are one of the wild cards and win the ALCS over Cleveland. World Series: Dodgers over Red Sox in 7.

Nick Cafardo: Red Sox win AL East and beat Blue Jays in ALCS. World Series: Cubs over Red Sox in 7.

Dan Shaughnessy: Red Sox win AL East and beat Astros in ALCS. World Series: Cubs over Red Sox in 7.

Christopher L. Gasper: Red Sox win AL East and lose ALCS to Cleveland. World Series: Indians over Dodgers in 7.

Chad Finn: Orioles win AL East. Red Sox win one of the wild cards and lose the ALCS to Astros. World Series: Cubs over Astros in 7.

Alex Speier: Blue Jays win AL East. Red Sox win one of the wild cards. World Series: Cleveland over Nationals in 7.

Boston Herald

Ron Borges: 92-70, win AL East. Win AL Pennant. Win World Series over Cubs.

Michael Silverman: 90-72, 1st in AL East. World Series: Cleveland over Dodgers.

Steve Buckley: 96-66, 1st in AL East. Win AL pennant. Win World Series over Cubs.

Jason Mastrodonato: 93-69, 1st in AL East. Win AL Pennant. Lose World Series to Cubs.

Chad Jennings: 90-72, 1st in AL East. World Series: Dodgers over Cleveland.

Yahoo Sports
[Tim Brown, Jeff Passan, Chris Cwik, Mike Oz, Liz Roscher, Mark Townsend]

AL East: All 6 writers pick Red Sox. (Passan and Brown pick the Yankees for last place.)

ALDS: 4 of 6 (Passan, Brown, Cwik, Roscher) pick Red Sox to advance.

ALCS: 1 of those 4 (Brown) picks Red Sox to win AL Pennant.

World Series: Brown also picks Red Sox to win World Series, beating the Giants.

AL MVP: No votes for a Red Sox player.

AL Cy Young: 4 of 6 (Passan, Brown, Oz, Cwik) pick Sale.

AL Rookie: All 6 pick Benintendi.

Also: Brown picks Kimbrel to lead the AL in saves. ... Brown and Oz pick Pablo Sandoval to win AL Comeback Player of the Year.

SB Nation: "Red Sox Are The Easy Pick For First" In AL East

From SB Nation's 2017 Season Preview:

PROJECTED STANDINGS
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. New York Yankees
5. Baltimore Orioles

This is easily the most difficult division to predict. Not at the top, with the Red Sox having a clear advantage according to the computers and our common sense, but the rest of the way down. ...

The Red Sox are the easy pick for first, and there's a temptation to suffer from Red Sox fatigue and talk yourself into a wacky surprise of a pick. Don't fall for it. Even if David Price is out until May, this is a team with everything you want to see in a franchise: a stable mix of veterans and youngsters, a deep minor-league system, and the money and willingness to fix problems as they come up.

Everyone Loves A Contest #21: 2017 Red Sox W-L

With Opening Day a little more than two weeks away (April 3), it's time for this year's Red Sox W-L Contest!

Correctly guess Boston's 2017 regular season record and you could win a copy of The New Baseball Bible: Notes, Nuggets, Lists, and Legends from Our National Pastime, by Dan Schlossberg.

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two items:

1. Predicted 2017 W-L record
2. Tiebreaker: Chris Sale's ERA

W-L guesses must be exact. Tiebreaker winner, if needed, will be the closest guess, either over or under.

Deadline: Sunday, April 2, 11:59 PM.

Culture Club: The Red Sox, Post-Papi

Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, March 15, 2017

Life for the Red Sox without David Ortiz requires group therapy. Nearly every spring training morning, coach Brian Butterfield assembles the players to impress upon them the little virtues of team play by reviewing the previous game with a humorous touch. These sessions are designed to establish the culture of having the right culture, which is why they are known in Red Sox camp as "Culture Culture." ...

Spring training may be too long and sometimes tedious, but it is the incubator of a team's culture. ...

The Red Sox are holding their first camp without Ortiz since 2002. He became one of the most indispensable figures in the game, not only for his bat but also because of his generosity of spirit. Teammates rallied around him, whether in the dugout during a World Series game, in the clubhouse before a big series or after a bad loss, or in one of his many backyard barbecues at which all were welcome. ...

The reigning AL East champion Red Sox now belong to outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi and shortstop Xander Bogaerts—all younger than 26 ... Last year, Boston fielded its youngest playoff team over a full season since 1975, and without Ortiz, this one could be even younger. ...

Boston is a loaded, deep team, probably a win or two better than Cleveland as the class of the American League. ... [A]t the moment, the Red Sox have no obvious vulnerability. ...

It's been seven years since Boston reached back-to-back postseasons. Each of its past three 90-plus win seasons (2009, '11 and '13) was followed by a retreat—by six, 21 and 26 fewer wins—the next season. The Red Sox won 93 games last year.

Farrell's Lineup May Have Benintendi 3rd, Betts 4th

Red Sox manager John Farrell has talked a little bit about his 2017 lineup and the issue of having a run of right-handed hitters at the top of the lineup.

To offset that, Farrell is considering having rookie Andrew Benintendi bat third, after Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts. Mookie Betts would likely hit fourth, followed by Hanley Ramirez.

Farrell:

There might be some lineups here in camp when Bogey returns that would take a look at that. If you were to take the approach of Andrew in the two-hole, where does that put Bogey? We're also talking about a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner who has had very good production offensively. If there's a way to combine breaking up the right-handers and not having a string of three or more right-handers in a row, is that one potential option with Benny in the three-hole? That puts Pedey, Bogey 1-2 with Benny and then Mookie four and Hanley five. You can probably make the argument those are our best five hitters in the top half of the lineup with some balance as best possible.

Benintendi:

Wherever they need me, wherever that may be, it doesn't really matter to me. Approach or anything doesn't change for me. I'll be the same wherever I hit. Obviously there's a strategy behind it. You have to break up the righties. I'm just going to worry about hitting.

Farrell also had some good news on Saturday morning about David Price:

Yesterday we talked about increasing the rehab and putting some plyometrics in place. But he actually went and threw in the cage today, about 25 throws and the range of motion, the freeness to the movement is all positive. Granted, we recognize we're at the early stages right now, but it's a good day for David. ... All of the early phase of throwing are going to be short, controlled effort and energy. We're not even mapping out distances right now. We're more interested in seeing how his arm responds to even the light throwing.

Speaking of Price, the lefty did a Q&A interview with the Globe's Stan Grossfeld a few days ago. WEEI's Alex Reimer called the interview "bizarre" and "troublesome". He said Price was "paranoid", thought the pitcher was "losing his mind" and warned that we are "witnessing the self-destruction of a man". Reimer believes nearly the entire published interview "should disturb Red Sox management".

It sounds pretty horrible, doesn't it? I read Grossfeld's Q&A before seeing Reimer's description and I do not agree with his description. Price certainly comes off as thin-skinned and he seems to have a pair of rabbit ears when it comes to the boo birds and sports radio trolls, which is a shame, but in no way would I call it anywhere near a meltdown. Read it yourself.

US Soccer Now Requires That Players Stand For National Anthem

U.S. Soccer Becomes First Major American Sports Organization To Require That Players Stand For National Anthem
Emma Baccellieri, Deadspin, March 4, 2017

Five months after U.S. Soccer lashed out at Megan Rapinoe for kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest before an exhibition game, they've codified their dislike for silent and non-disruptive self-expression in this form. As of today, they're apparently the first major American sports organization to formally announce a requirement that players stand for the national anthem since Colin Kaepernick sparked anthem protests across several sports last fall. ...

Players can represent their country only, apparently, if they're willing to represent the version of the country in which U.S. Soccer is most interested in selling.

Rapinoe, last September:

I am disgusted with the way he [Colin Kaepernick] has been treated and the fans and hatred he has received in all of this. It is overtly racist: "Stay in your place, black man." Just didn't feel right to me. We need a more substantive conversation around race relations and the way people of color are treated. We are not saying we are not one the greatest countries in world. Just need to accept that [it is] not perfect, things are broken. ... And quite honestly, being gay, I have stood with my hand over my heart during the national anthem and felt like I haven't had my liberties protected, so I can absolutely sympathize with that feeling.

The new bylaw:

New Policy 604-1
(National Anthem)

"All persons representing a Federation national team shall stand respectfully during the playing of national anthem at any event in which the Federation is represented."

Passed by the Board of Directors on February 9, 2017

What's Going On?

After sitting in a cramped, overheated plane for 12+ hours, I was back home in good old Mississauga, Ontario, at eight o'clock this morning. I did not see any Red Sox news while I was away, so I'm wondering what has been going on in camp: good news, bad news, questions raised, answers provided?

What If Baseball Statistics Did Not Exist?

A very interesting article from ESPN's Sam Miller about a baseball world without statistics of any kind:

What if some ministry of information outlawed the collection of baseball statistics and we were all left to judge players exclusively by what we saw, what we perceived and what we remembered? Who would be perceived as the best player in baseball? ...

Imagine you're watching a game on Opening Day. If you're paying close attention, you might notice that one guy goes hitless, strikes out a couple times and makes the final out of the game. Maybe he's lodged in your memory because of that final out, so you notice he goes hitless in the second game too. Finally, he gets two hits in the third game and one in the fourth and one in the fifth. Is he good? How about if he goes hitless in the next game but then homers in the seventh, then goes hitless, then two singles, then hitless, then 1-for-4, then 1-for-4, then 1-for-4, then hitless, then three hits. Is he good?

Most likely, you have no idea. Even right now, staring at that paragraph, you have no idea because you aren't allowed to add all those games up and figure out whether they add up to something good. In fact, I can tell you what they add up to -- a .259/.359/.370 slash line -- and you still don't know if they're any good unless you know everybody else's slash lines. And that's just one guy, whom you happen to be paying suspiciously close attention to. There are 750 active players, spread out across 15 games every day. What are the odds you'd remember all 60 plate appearances from one player if you were trying to keep track of hundreds?

This is something I have thought a lot about, especially when crotchety sportswriters and ignorant fans bemoan (and ridicule) the introduction of new (and better) ways of measuring player performance. (As though the very idea of possessing more information is inherently bad.)

No one is capable of watching and retaining the memory of every single pitch of every single game of every single season, of every single fielding play or every runner on the base paths, year after year after year. We need information about those thousands of at-bats, those catches and extra bases taken; we need records of everything that happens on the field; we need statistics. The game is nearly meaningless without them. And the more precise and accurate those statistics are, the better we can understand and appreciate the game and its players.

Egypt

Today is Truck Day!

Red Sox pitchers and catchers are due to report to Fort Myers on February 14, with the first full-squad workout scheduled for February 17.

Also: There will be no posts until March, because I will be in Egypt for three weeks (and Jordan for a few days). If you are wondering what we'll be doing, you can read Laura's (almost) daily travel journal at wmtc.

While in Cairo, we are staying at the aptly-named Pyramids View Inn. Here is a picture taken from the roof:

Pre-Season Magazines: Red Sox Favoured To Win Pennant

The pre-season baseball magazines are out. Here is a bit of what they have to say about the Red Sox's chances in 2017.

Athlon

American League East
Red Sox
Orioles
Blue Jays
Yankees
Rays

AL Central: Cleveland
AL West: Houston
AL MVP: Trout (Betts #2, Sale #6, Bogaerts #8)
AL Cy Young: Sale (Price #3)
AL Rookie: Benintendi

ALCS: Red Sox over Cleveland
World Series: Cubs over Red Sox

"The Red Sox are all-in on 2017. ... Anything short of a World Series berth will feel like a disappointment."

Lindy's

American League East
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Yankees
Orioles
Rays

AL Central: Cleveland
AL West: Houston
AL MVP: Betts
AL Cy Young: Kluber
AL Rookie: Benintendi

ALCS Winner: Cleveland
NLCS Winner: Nationals

The Sporting News

ALDS: Red Sox over Mariners, Cleveland over Astros
ALCS: Red Sox over Cleveland
World Series: Cubs over Red Sox

AL MVP: Trout
AL Cy Young: Archer
AL Rookie: Moncada

#34 Will Be Retired On June 23

The Red Sox will retire David Ortiz's #34 on Friday, June 23, before a game against the Angels.

Ortiz's number will be the 10th number retired by the Red Sox.

Pedro Martinez believes Ortiz will come out of retirement in mid-season 2017. However, Big Papi has given absolutely no indication that his retirement is not genuine.

Depressing News: Remy Signs Multi-Year Contract With NESN

NESN announced that Jerry Remy has signed a new multi-year contract with the network to provide analysis for Red Sox games. While the length of the contract was not specified, NESN stated that Remy would work 115 Red Sox games per season.

This news depresses me. When Remy was working with long-time play-by-play man Don Orsillo, he coasted for many seasons, offering little more than a description of the various replays, sometimes actually repeating Orsillo's play-by-play word-for-word. From the comments he would make during games, Remy gave the impression of never having prepared for a broadcast.

NESN let Orsillo go after the 2015 season, replacing him with Dave O'Brien, and Remy began the 2016 season newly energized. Indeed, it was almost shocking how engaged he was. He enlightened listeners with numerous insights and opinions on many aspects of the game (he even did some on-field interviews!), an entertaining and informative improvement but also one that could not help but expose the fact that he had been mailing it in for several years. (Either a NESN executive pointedly told him that it was about time he actually earned his salary or perhaps Remy saw the writing on the wall re Orsillo and worried about his own future employment.)

Whatever the reason, the New Remy did not last. Within perhaps one month, I felt he had fallen back on his old habit of saying what even the most casual fan could see on the screen - "he puts the bat on the ball and hits it into left field" - rather than adding something worthwhile to the broadcast. And now that Remy has signed a multi-year deal, I see no reason why he would bother to push himself and put in the effort when he knows he can get away with doing less.