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2018 Boston Red Sox

dbecks

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dbecks

dbecks 442

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I know the O’s are essentially a AAAA team at this point, but it’s always nice to win both games of a doubleheader. 

And just to be this guy, here are Kimbrel’s last six appearances:

6.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 5 BB, 2 HR, 8 K

He needs to get his shit together.  ASAP.

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dbecks

dbecks 442

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Ryan Brasier and his 1.13 ERA have had quite the journey.  Definitely worth the read.

Ryan Brasier’s journey from failed Fenway tryout 11 years ago to reliable bullpen option

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The Red Sox had Ryan Brasier on their list of candidates to be selected in the 2007 amateur draft. The righthander had pitched well at a junior college in Texas and had a good recommendation from their area scout, Jim Robinson.

Brasier was even invited to a predraft workout at Fenway Park, a sure sign the Sox thought highly of him.

That didn’t last long. His pitches were so erratic during the showcase that one almost hit then-general manager Theo Epstein. The Sox passed, and the Los Angeles Angels took Brasier in the sixth round.

Eleven years later, Brasier is pitching for the Sox and steadily becoming a reliever manager Alex Cora trusts in tight, late-game situations.

Brasier’s journey back to Fenway included Tommy John surgery, an ill-fated stop in Japan, and a bachelor party he left to try out for the same team that once rejected him.

The idea that he would pitch for the Red Sox this year was not something that seemed realistic to Brasier until it actually happened.

“No, to be honest with you,” said Brasier, who turns 31 this month. “Early in the season, I didn’t see that happening. But you go into the season hoping that as long you throw well, you get an opportunity.”

Brasier has appeared in 15 games since being called up from Pawtucket July 8 and given No. 70. He has allowed two runs on eight hits over 16 innings with five walks and 15 strikeouts.

Brasier’s sinking fastball averages just over 97 miles per hour. He also throws an above-average slider and a splitter he hasn’t broken out much yet.

Opponents have hit .148 against Brasier with two extra-base hits in 54 at-bats.

“I had no idea who he was when we called him up,” Mookie Betts said. “After his first pitch, me and Jackie [Bradley Jr.] were looking at each other like, ‘I don’t know who this guy is but he’s throwing 98 with some sink.’ He showed why he’s here.”

Betts and Bradley were not alone in wondering who their new teammate was. Brasier was added to the major league roster for a handful of spring training games and pitched six times. He pitched well, too, striking out six over six innings and allowing two runs on five hits.

But only Cora remembers that.

By the time Brasier pitched, in the eighth or ninth inning, all of the regular players had come out of the game and left the stadium. That’s how it works in spring training.

But vice president, professional scouting, Gus Quattlebaum and other Sox officials were taking notes as they sat behind the plate.

“His velocity was better than we had expected it would be,” Quattlebaum said. “You started to think that he could help us.”

When Brasier continued to pitch well for Pawtucket, Cora knew that what he saw in spring training wasn’t a fluke.

“He was closing for us and pitching great,” the manager said. “When we called him up, I told the other players to pay attention. They didn’t know what we had.”

Few did. Brasier pitched in seven games for the Angels in 2013. He missed most of two seasons recovering from surgery, then signed with Oakland.

Brasier at that point was married and had two young children. He signed with the Hiroshima Carp in Japan hoping to make better money than he could in the minors.

Brasier was actually demoted by the Carp and spent part of the season with their minor league affiliate in Japan’s Western League. When he did pitch for Hiroshima, it was in low-leverage situations, and he had a 3.90 ERA with only 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

“I hoped I could find a job when I got back from Japan,” Brasier said. “But there wasn’t much interest.”

Brasier personally e-mailed Red Sox minor league director Ben Crockett asking for a chance, and the team agreed to send a scout to watch him pitch.

“We had reports on him from his amateur days and we always liked him,” Quattlebaum said. “His pitch mix before Japan was something our analysts had noticed.”

The Sox were one of seven or eight teams that sent a scout to watch Brasier throw in Phoenix in late January. Brasier drove down from Las Vegas, where he was attending a friend’s bachelor party.

The Sox sent special assignment scout Steve Peck to take a look at Brasier. The initial workout was rained out, adding another obstacle.

Brasier thought he pitched well, but no team called until the Red Sox reached out in March. They wanted a veteran player to fill out their bullpen in Pawtucket.

“I had no idea what I was going to do,” Brasier said. “I was still working out and throwing but I didn’t have anywhere to go. Then the Red Sox called and said, ‘Can you be here tomorrow?’ and so I left.”

That led to Brasier being called into Sunday’s game at Baltimore to protect a two-run lead with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. He struck out Trey Mancini with a slider.

“Ryan is someone we trust,” pitching coach Dana LeVangie said. “Credit to Steve Peck, that’s a great signing for us.”

For Peck, Quattlebaum, Crockett, and others who work behind the scenes to find players for the Sox, Brasier’s story is an example that it’s not always about having the highest payroll.

“Pitch well and you’ll get a chance,” Quattlebaum said. “We all love what he’s doing. He’s helped us win.”

If the playoffs started this week, Brasier would almost surely be on the roster. Whether that stays true in October will depend on how well he adjusts to opposing hitters getting second or third looks at him.

Underestimating him at this point wouldn’t be smart.

“He’s been great,” Cora said. “He went from a minor league camp guy that we just needed outs [from] playing the Twins in spring training to a guy that is contributing to a first-place team.

“That’s perseverance and hard work.”

 

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txhorns

txhorns 2413

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I played with and against Brasier for many years.  He has worked his ass off to get to where he is right now.  He actually rarely pitched in high school.  He was a great catcher and hitter.  As you can imagine no one ran on him.  When he did pitch he was hitting mid to upper 90s.  When he got to Weatherford College he was told to put away his catcher's gear on day 1, he was a pitcher now.  He is from Rider High School in Wichita Falls.  Same class as Brewer's ace Chase Anderson.

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Guest Lobo

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It would be almost weird if Sale, Porcello, Price, Rodriguez, Pomeranz, and Wright were all healthy this year.  I realize their stats this one particular season would not have been achieved by imagine a team with those healthy six starters.  120-124 wins would have been possible, the all-time best record even going back to the 152 game schedule of the Cubs.  The way they'd be playing, holding the ball...it's almost nude.   

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dbecks

dbecks 442

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On 8/14/2018 at 12:03 PM, txhorns said:

I played with and against Brasier for many years.  He has worked his ass off to get to where he is right now.  He actually rarely pitched in high school.  He was a great catcher and hitter.  As you can imagine no one ran on him.  When he did pitch he was hitting mid to upper 90s.  When he got to Weatherford College he was told to put away his catcher's gear on day 1, he was a pitcher now.  He is from Rider High School in Wichita Falls.  Same class as Brewer's ace Chase Anderson.

That is actually a cool story, bro.  

 

Fucking Pomeranz shit the bed tonight, but oh well... a split series in Philly isn't the end of the world.  Another off day tomorrow, then back to Fenway for 3 vs the Rays, followed by 4 vs the Indians.  More importantly, the last road trip of the year over a week is over, and the Sox are still 10 games ahead of the Yanks.

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dbecks

dbecks 442

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Didn't realize the PawSox WooSox is seriously going to be a thing now.  For selfish reasons (I have family in RI that I visit in the summer), I don't like it.

Pawtucket Red Sox Reach Tentative Deal To Move To Worcester

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The city of Worcester and the Boston Red Sox’s top minor league affiliate have struck a tentative deal that would move the team to central Massachusetts to play in a new ballpark, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement.

Team and city officials plan to unveil details of the deal at a Friday afternoon event at Worcester City Hall, the person said. Worcester Magazine first reported the impending announcement.

The relocation plan, which awaits a public hearing and City Council vote, represents a generational shift on the New England baseball landscape. Pawtucket, Rhode Island, has been the club’s home — and the place for fans to scout future stars of Fenway Park — since 1973.

To lure the PawSox north, Worcester negotiators, led by City Manager Edward Augustus Jr., likely had to offer something more generous than what the city of Pawtucket and state of Rhode Island dangled to entice the team to stay, Holy Cross sports economist Victor Matheson said. Under the Pawtucket plan, the team would put $45 million toward a new stadium, with state and local taxpayers kicking in $38 million.

Incentives aside, a team ownership group led by former Red Sox president Larry Lucchino has been eyeing an exit from Pawtucket since purchasing the club in 2015. Owners originally pitched a waterfront ballpark in Providence — and were willing to pay the entire $80 million cost of construction, if granted public land use and tax breaks.

That plan fell apart in just five months, when Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo declared the proposed site unsuitable for a stadium. The team then considered other locations in Providence and also examined the former Cumberland Engineering factory in Attleboro.

Team officials have said little in recent months about their plans, yet there were clues that Worcester was the front-runner.

In July, an attorney for Minor League Baseball applied to trademark the nickname “WooSox.”

Two weeks ago, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette spotted Lucchino and other club leaders at BirchTree Bread Company, one of several restaurants to open in the city's Canal District in recent years. Accompanied by the president of the AAA league in which the PawSox play, Lucchino told the newspaper he was touring the prospective stadium site.

On Monday, Worcester Magazine reported another Lucchino sighting: at City Hall, this time with team president Charles Steinberg.

Pawtucket seemed to sense that the team was slipping away. After meeting with Lucchino last week, Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien acknowledged to the Providence Journal that club owners appeared to be leaning toward Worcester. Grebien said he hoped his meeting with Lucchino had improved Pawtucket’s odds to 50-50.

In a statement Thursday evening, a spokesman for the city of Pawtucket said the team has not told officials there of a plan to leave.

"We remain confident that the ballpark at Slater Mill, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and the superior Greater Providence metro area is the only home for the PawSox's future," said the spokesman, Dylan Zelazo.

Barring a last-minute change, the question in Worcester is whether the stadium financing plan, which has not yet been made public, can win popular support and City Council approval.

Worcester business leaders told WBUR this week that they would welcome the team to town, if convinced that economic benefits would justify a large, public expenditure.

 

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InkaUtexas

InkaUtexas 26172

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yeah, not great news but better now than late September. I think they want to rest him. Bring up some young dude and get some starts in the Show. 

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Yeah, I was in the show. I was in the show for 21 days once - the 21 greatest days of my life. You know, you never handle your luggage in the show, somebody else carries your bags. It was great. You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have long legs and brains.

And kids need to learn important shit, like the Rose goes in the front. 

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Bateshorn

Bateshorn 9942

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Cora said he bounced back better from his last start than he did with his prior stint on the DL.  They just don’t need him right now, tbh.  This is all about October.

Its illustrative on how the league has changed. In the old days, he would have pitched through pain to lock the Cy Young down.  Now?  Take 3 weeks off kid.  We’ll get you a couple of warm up starts in late September and then it’s on.

 

as somebody who has had shoulder problems, rest is by far the best curative. 

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dbecks

dbecks 442

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On 8/19/2018 at 6:47 AM, Bateshorn said:

Cora said he bounced back better from his last start than he did with his prior stint on the DL.  They just don’t need him right now, tbh.  This is all about October.

Its illustrative on how the league has changed. In the old days, he would have pitched through pain to lock the Cy Young down.  Now?  Take 3 weeks off kid.  We’ll get you a couple of warm up starts in late September and then it’s on.

 

as somebody who has had shoulder problems, rest is by far the best curative. 

All true.  Apparently the "injury/rest" isn't as severe for Sale as the last one... so I suppose seeing "big picture" is paramount here.

I'm still a little of a sucker for a Cy Young Award (would be Sale's first), but ultimately, playing in late October is far more important.  Sounds like he'll only miss one start (two max).

It'll be interesting to see how the Sox match up vs. the Indians over four games.  Even without Sale, the rotation seems decent (Porcello, Eovaldi, Johnson, Price).  I'd be happy with a split of the series.

 

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Bateshorn

Bateshorn 9942

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Porcello and Price are bothing pitching very well right now, and I was impressed with Johnson's ability to get his curve ball under control and bounce back against the Rays. Eovaldi will sink or swim depending on his ability to keep the ball down and in the yard. 

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dbecks

dbecks 442

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If you have the time, this is well worth the read.  The 2007 ALCS was crazy.  I had no idea about the Taylor Swift connection...

How Taylor Swift shaped Red Sox-Indians rivalry

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III. Anthem
Lewis: You pull in the parking lot, and there are people five or six deep rooting you on. You walk in the concourse, and you've got all the cameras there. And then you walk into the clubhouse and go to the white board. Here's the time for the anthem, and here's who's singing the anthem. And you thought, "Oh no."

Bob DiBiasio, Indians vice president of public relations: We had announced Taylor Swift. All these years later, I'm not sure why she was unable to perform. But we had to find somebody else, and [country singer] Danielle Peck was chosen due to local connections with her people.

Lewis: The few of us that were plugged into pop culture at that point knew [Peck was Beckett's ex-girlfriend].

DiBiasio: We had absolutely no idea. None, whatsoever. I'm not that tied into the country western scene, nor the Josh Beckett dating scene. That day, the writers were asking about it, and I thought they were joking. Then you had to explain, "Do you really think that's who we are as an organization? When did we ever do anything like that before?"

Lowell: Knowing Beckett as long as I do, he has a chip on his shoulder, anyway. I've told him, "You're a good friend four out of five days. On the day you pitch, you're a jerk." So putting his ex-girlfriend out there kind of helped Josh. He didn't need extra motivation, but they provided it.

Willis: I would have rather seen Taylor Swift.

John Farrell, current Red Sox manager, then their pitching coach: Josh had the presence of mind that when the anthem started, he turned to me and said, "Just for the record, I broke up with her."

 

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NHKeith

NHKeith 53

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1 hour ago, Bateshorn said:

2/2 with the Indians w/o Sale?  I’ll take that.  

Yeah they showed a lot of fight coming back to get a split.  The Price is (finally) right. If they can keep their cushion against the Yankees without having to use Sale for anything more than a pre-playoff tuneup outing then they should be golden come playoff time. 

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