Archive for Boston Red Sox

The impact advance scouting has had on the first three games of the American League Championship Series is hard to measure. We can make educated guesses based on what we’ve seen, but that’s all. We aren’t privy to what is happening behind the scenes.

We do know there is a lot of information being shared. The Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers may not utilize advance scouting exactly the same way, but come playoff time, they leave no stone unturned. From pitch selection to defensive positioning, many decisions are influenced, if not determined, by data.

Prior to the start of the series, key personnel from both teams shared their perspectives on the process. Weighing in from the Detroit side were Dave Dombrowski, Jim Leyland, Tom Brookens, Alex Avila and Austin Jackson. Contributing from the Boston clubhouse were Ben Cherington, John Farrell, Torey Lovullo, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Dempster. Dombrowski and Cherington also offered snapshot of their player development efforts and the use of analytics. Read the rest of this entry »

Ten strikeouts swinging. Three strikeouts looking. Six strikeouts on sliders. Four strikeouts on fastballs. Three strikeouts on changeups.

Max Scherzer was brilliant. He allowed just two hits over seven innings and walked off he mound with a 5-1 lead. His team’s win expectancy stood at 96 percent.

It wasn’t enough. The resilient Red Sox rallied to beat the Tigers 6-5 and even the ALCS at one game apiece. As Boston manager John Farrell put it, “Tonight was almost a tale of two different games inside one.”

The last two innings were a tale of woe for the Tigers bullpen. Read the rest of this entry »

There are currently four managerial openings in Major League Baseball. The Cubs, Reds, Nationals and Mariners are all in need of a new skipper. Torey Lovullo is likely to receive serious consideration from one or more of those teams.

Currently John Farrell’s bench coach in Boston, the 48-year-old Lovullo has managed in the minor leagues with the Indians and Red Sox. He interviewed for the Dodgers job in 2006, only to see it go to Grady Little. Boston interviewed him prior to the 2012 season, but hired Bobby Valentine. He was Toronto’s first base coach in 2011 and 2012.

In the second of a series of interviews with up-and-coming managerial candidates, Lovullo discussed the approach and philosophies he would bring to the job. Read the rest of this entry »

Jake Peavy has had a rollercoaster career. The 32-year-old righthander won the National League Cy Young award in 2007 while pitching for the San Diego Padres. A three-time all-star, he twice led the NL in ERA and strikeouts. He has also suffered a career-threatening injury. In parts of five seasons with the Chicago White Sox, he failed to put up the numbers he did in San Diego.

Last night, he did what the Red Sox had in mind when they acquired him at the non-waiver trade deadline: He made a quality start in a postseason game. Peavy talked about the evolution of his career — including mechanical changes related to the injury — late in the regular season. Read the rest of this entry »

Going into today’s Red Sox-Rays game, plate discipline and the strike zone figured to play prominent roles. They did, to a certain degree. Defense — or lack thereof — played a bigger one.

As FanGraphs readers know, Red Sox and Rays hitters are patient at the plate. No team in either league swung at a lower percentage of pitches out of the strike zone than Tampa Bay. Their 0-swing% was just 27.1. The Red Sox were third-lowest at 28.2.

The Rays were more aggressive in the strike zone. The Red Sox swung at 62.4 percent of strikes, the lowest in baseball. Tampa Bay’s 64.8 z-swing% placed them closer to the middle of the pack.

What would that mean for today’s ALDS Game One match-up? Red Sox starter Lester walked 2.83 batters per nine innings this year, but has been known to work long counts and build up high pitch counts. Tampa Bay starter Moore walked 4.59 and has been described as effectively wild.

Before the game, manager Joe Maddon said of Moore, “When he’s kind of like this controlled wildness, they don’t get hits. He may walk a couple of guys, but they don’t hit him. And sometimes he’ll get over the plate, which you’d perceive to be better command, and he gets hit. That’s the problem. He walks this different kind of tightrope.”

As it turned out, Moore — despite pitching better than his line score — walked the gangplank. Early on, it was Lester who was getting a sinking feeling. Not surprisingly, plate discipline and the strike zone came into play. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to baseball play-by-play, few are better than Dan Dickerson and Dave O’Brien. They aren’t broadcast partners — Dickerson is the voice of the Detroit Tigers; O’Brien calls games for the Boston Red Sox and for ESPN — but they did pair up for this interview.

The well-informed duo addressed questions prior to Wednesday night’s game at Fenway Park. The topics were: the Most Valuable Player award in the American and National leagues, pitcher stats and the Cy Young Award, the Joey Votto OBP/RBI debate, and the impact Jose Iglesias has had on his new team. Read the rest of this entry »

The object of this article isn’t to compare Manuel Margot to Xander Bogaerts. That wouldn’t be fair. The latter is one of the top prospects in the game and just made his big-league debut. The former is playing short-season ball. There are other notable differences as well.

There are also notable similarities, which is why it is hard to write about Margot without mentioning Bogaerts. Each signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent at age 16 and excelled in the Dominican Summer League at age 17. Each proceeded to hold his own against older competition at age 18: Bogaerts in the South Atlantic League two years ago, Margot in the New York-Penn League this season.

Then there is the wow factor. The buzz surrounding Margot hasn’t reached Bogaerts proportions, but it’s definitely there. And it’s getting louder. Read the rest of this entry »

Jarrod Saltalamacchia has come a long way behind the plate. “Salty” isn’t among the elite at his position, but he’s developed into a solid defensive catcher. He is certainly among the most cerebral. Once looked at as an offense-first backstop, he is playing a key role in the success of a Boston Red Sox pitching staff that is exceeding expectations.

Originally a first-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2003, the 28-year-old switch-hitter was acquired by the Red Sox from the Texas Rangers in 2010 and has been the team’s primary catcher for the past two seasons. He discussed the nuances of his craft — and several members of the Boston pitching staff — prior to a recent game at Fenway Park.

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From 2007-2009, Ryan Rowland-Smith was an effective pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. The Australian-born southpaw appeared in 88 games and logged an ERA below 4.00 for three years running. His move from the bullpen to the starting rotation had been seamless. His future looked bright.

Then the roof caved in. In 2010, Rowland-Smith went 1-10 with a 6.75 ERA. He allowed 141 hits in 109 innings and walked nearly as many batters as he struck out. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since.

Read the rest of this entry »

The sample size is small — just 24 plate appearances — but the numbers still jump off the page. Four weeks into the season, Mike Carp is hitting a stratospheric.455/.500/.864. Seven of his 10 hits have gone for extra bases.

The 26-year-old outfielder will obviously come back to earth, but he still might be one of the best under-the-radar acquisitions of the off-season. The Red Sox acquired him from the Mariners in February for a PTBNL.

Carp was an enigma in Seattle. In parts of four seasons, he hit .255/.327/.413 and occasionally drove baseballs long distances. What he didn’t do is prove that he could stay healthy and provide consistent production. Jettisoned to Boston, he is intent on proving he is capable of both. Only time will tell, but Carp is swinging a hot bat.

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Carp on his hot start: “Being healthy is a big part of it. I missed a lot of time last year with the shoulder injury, so it’s about finding my rhythm. The more reps I get, the better I see the ball and better rhythm I have.

“I wasn’t getting at bats the first couple weeks of the season, but I’ve gotten a few lately and that’s helped me lock in a little more. I feel great at the plate. I’m just trying to stay short and use the whole field. I’m going up there with a good plan and sticking to it. I kind of got away from it [Saturday] and had a rough night, but I rebounded [Sunday] and got back to what’s working for me.

“I’m itching for as many at bats as I can possibly get, but I also understand the concept of a team. We have a very deep bench and it’s nice to be able to keep guys fresh.”

On hitting at Fenway Park: Read the rest of this entry »