Results
Pirates 3-5 Red Sox Red Sox 1-4 Tigers
Pirates 0-3 Red Sox (11 innings) Red Sox 7-5 Tigers
Red Sox 5-6 Tigers Red Sox 1-2 Tigers
The Red Sox started the season with a rough week, going 3-3 against the Pirates and Tigers. Obviously, those results aren't exactly what you're looking for to start the season, but it's actually not bad all things considered.
With David Price and Drew Pomeranz starting the year on the Disabled List and a brutal April schedule, a slow start was always a real possibility, but things really got out of hand this week. First, an outbreak of flu took out Mitch Moreland, Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez, Andrew Benintendi, Brock Holt, Joe Kelly, and Robbie Ross Jr. Then, Xander Bogaerts and Matt Barnes went on the bereavement list in order to travel to Aruba for a funeral. As if missing almost the entire starting lineup and half the bullpen wasn't enough, Jackie Baseball went down on Saturday with a very scary looking, non-contact injury while rounding first base. He's been diagnosed with a sprained knee ligament and placed on the 10-day DL. Hopefully he's not out too long, but with that kind of injury I don't expect to see him back on the field for a couple of weeks at least. The Red Sox will miss his production in the lineup and his defense in centerfield, but I might miss his name most of all; "The Killer Bs" doesn't work nearly as well with Chris Young playing in the outfield.
Even with all the built in excuses, it still hurts to lose some of those games in Detroit. They wasted a huge 5 run, 8th inning comeback in the first game of the series, and then threw away a phenomenal Chris Sale effort in the series finale. John Farrell left Sale in the game too long, allowing him to give up 2 runs in the 8th before going to the bullpen, but I'm actually going to give him a pass this time. His options in the bullpen were pretty limited between illness and injury, and there's something to be said for giving your new ace the opportunity to get out of trouble. However, Farrell has a history of poor in-game management, and mistakes like this are going to put him on veeeery thin ice if the team struggles.
Hero of the Week
Chris Sale has been every bit the ace the Sox paid for. In two starts this week, he threw 17.2 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits with 17 strikeouts. He didn't get a win because the Red Sox didn't hit a lick in either game, but that's not on Sale. I can't wait to watch this guy dominate hitters for the rest of the season.
Honorable Mention: Sandy Leon
The Sox catcher is red hot to start the season, going 7-16 with both a bunt single and a walk-off 3 run bomb. He looks like he's on a mission to prove last season wasn't a fluke, which would make an already stacked lineup truly ridiculous.
Goat of the Week
Dr. Laurence Ronan is the Medical Director and Head Team Internist for the Boston Red Sox. Judging by the above picture, which I pulled off of his Vitals doctor profile, he's also a legendary boozehound. I know the flu is a tricky little bastard, but you just can't let the entire lineup get hit with it at once. We've known about infectious diseases for a couple centuries now, come on Larry. Be better.
Looking Ahead
The Sox will be in Boston all week. They have 3 with the Orioles, the makeup game for the rainout with the Pirates, and then 4 with Tampa Bay. Baltimore should be a good test, but these are all very winnable games. An early 8 game homestand against mediocre competition is a great chance to get some Ws in an otherwise very difficult month. Anything worse than 5-3 will be a disappointment.
That's all for this week. Remember to follow us on twitter @TheOutsidersPod, like the Facebook page, and keep an eye out for new podcasts, articles, and who knows maybe even an actual website!
No comments:
Post a Comment