The Boston Red Sox of 2015 went 78-84 in what to many was
a disappointing year. While I agree I am
just not as surprised. I just didn't
think the starting staff was that great.
I thought Rick Porchello and Clay Buchholz are both very good pitchers
but not aces. But there really wasn't
anyone behind them. Wade Miley, Joe
Kelly, Eduardo Rodriquez and the rest of the staff were nothing more than what
ifs. With starting pitching an issue
Boston addressed that with the signing of David Price. Will that be enough?
The starting rotation could like this - David Price, Clay
Buchholz, Rick Porcello, etc, etc. This
is Price brings instant stability
allowing the others to follow in what is probably their natural spots in the
rotation. For me the question marks are
at 4 and 5 (better than last year when the questions started at 3). I don't think anyone knows exactly what Joe
Kelly will give you and Steven Wright also isn't a proven quantity. Still most rotations look that way. Price should give them "A" stuff
and if Buchholz and Porcello pitch better Boston will be in a good position. BOTTOM LINE:
Definitely an upgrade at the front end of the rotation but everyone else
still has to do their part or it will be a disappointing season.
Boston's bullpen is much better with the addition of
Craig Kimbrel, stud closer. The bullpen
was not good last year. The Red Sox also
picked up Carson Smith from Seattle who is a hard thrower. That combined with Koji Uehara and Junichi
Tazawa give the Red Sox plenty of options leading up to Kimbrel. Lefties Robbie Ross and Tommy Layne will also
be in the mix.
Blake Swihart kept the starting catching job after coming
up from AAA in May last year when injuries hit the parent club. He only logged 288 at bats but his .274
batting average and 5 homeruns are encouraging.
Hanley Ramirez moves to first base after a year in which it was evident
he isn't an outfielder. His
.249/.291/.426 line also suggest he wasn't much of a hitter even if he was able
to hit 19 dingers. Star shortstop Xander
Bogarts had no such issues. He hit
.320/.355/.421 with seven homeruns and 81 runs batted in. At 22 years of age I am really hoping to see
this guy in a Red Sox jersey for a very long time. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia comes off an
injury plagued year in Otherwise his numbers were good starting with
a .291 average and 12 homeruns. At third
base is Pablo Sandoval who had a bad year hitting after being signed to a big
contract. He hit .245/.292/.366. That won't cut if for a third baseman on a
big contract. BOTTOM LINE: If the infield has a year up to par with what
they are getting paid then this will be a huge year. I'll just hope for something in between that
and last year. Pedroia and Bogarts are
stars who produce. Sandoval and Ramirez
need to prove they are too.
The outfield will consist of Mookie Betts, Rusney
Castillo, and Jackie Bradley Jr. Betts
came on to finish strong posting a .291 average, 18 homers, 77 RBI's and 21
stolen bases. He looks to be the real
deal while the rest of the outfield is shaky at best. Jackie Bradley Jr. has had all of one good
month since his highly anticipated promotion to the majors and Rusney Castillo
hasn't done much else other than battle injuries. BOTTOM LINE: Bradley Jr. needs to live up to some of his
potential while Castillo must show he was worth his signing coming out of
Cuba.
Big Papi will retire after this year as he turns 40 years
of age. David Ortiz will retire a Red
Sox legend who has been there for three world championships and been a great
ambassador for the Red Sox and the city of Boston. He can't be thanked enough and it isn't just
about his personality and leadership. He
will leave having hit over 445 homeruns for Boston while hitting .288 and
slugging .566. He will truly be
missed. Even at age 39 he hit 37
homeruns and drove in 108 last year.
Wow. BOTTOM LINE: Assuming his bat doesn't fall off the end of
the earth Ortiz should be solid again at DH.
I think this team wins more than 78 games this year. Most people will say they are a good
team. I think they are a good team but
need many, many players to perform like they are expected to prior to anointing
them anything better than a third place team.
For me it begins with the starters.
If they can pitch well as a whole the bullpen should be able to hold
leads and I think the offense will be able to score enough runs for this team
to win. I'm going to say they win 86
games this year. I am not sure that puts
them into the playoffs but it is a step in the right direction.
1.Mookie Betts OF
2.Dustin Pedroia
2B
3.Xander Bogaerts
SS
4.David Ortiz DH
5.Hanley Ramirez
1B
6.Pablo Sandoval
3B
7.Rusney Castillo
OF
8.Blake Swihart C
9.Jackie Bradley Jr.
OF
1.David Price
2.Clay Buchholz
3.Rick Porcello
4.Joe Kelly
5.Steven Wright
CL Craig Kimbrel
No comments:
Post a Comment