Seven questions to ponder as the New York Yankees come to down for a very ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ Father’s Day weekend:
Don’t be surprised if you don’t see two of Boston’s ‘Big Three’ in the starting lineup for at least one of this weekend’s three games with the visiting New York Yankees.
But why?
This is what manager Alex Cora does with young lefty hitters when left-handers are on the mound. During one of his pregame media availabilities earlier this week, he reminded us he did the same thing with Rafael Devers in 2018. In more recent seasons, he’s put fellow lefties Triston Casas, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu through the same paces.
The Red Sox certainly have more experienced options on the roster. I call Rob Refsnyder the ‘Southpaw Slayer’; in four seasons with the Red Sox, he’s slashed .312/.409/.507 with 110 hits, 22 doubles, 15 home runs, 54 runs, and 62 RBI in 418 plate appearances against lefties. Fellow utility-man Romy Gonzalez is also extremely capable against lefties, hitting .313/.375/.520 in 168 plate appearances against southpaws since joining the Red Sox last year.
Having such veteran talent is crucial for a Red Sox team where the age of the average batter is 27.4 years old, making them the ninth-youngest position-player contingent in the game. Between Anthony, Mayer, Kristian Campbell and Carlos Narváez, rookies comprising at least one-third of the lineup is becoming the norm.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be this season, but at one point in his career, we’re not going to pinch-hit for him,” Cora said in New York last weekend after sending Gonzalez to pinch-hit for Mayer.
Devers, however, debuted on a ‘17 team that was two months away from their second consecutive division title and just over a year away from a franchise-record 108-win season and World Series championship. Casas, Duran and Abreu, meanwhile, came up during the ensuing rebuilding seasons, when winning at the big-league level wasn’t the top priority.
While Mayer fared better against righties in Triple-A this season, Anthony’s splits on the farm indicate he could be a veritable lefty-on-lefty weapon; he hit .361 with a .480 on-base percentage against them, compared to a .245 average and .384 OBP against righties.
Mayer and Anthony are the players Boston has waited for throughout several brutal so-called “rebuilding” seasons, and if they’re finally here, they need the experience. Nay, they’ve earned the right to gain that experience. And at some point, the Red Sox need to take off the training wheels.
The Red Sox and Twins made a
late-night trade
on Wednesday to bring struggling right-handed reliever Jorge Alcala to Boston in exchange for minor league third baseman Andy Lugo.
Clearly the Red Sox are hoping a change of scenery will reinvigorate Alcala, who owns an 8.88 ERA over 22 appearances, compared to a 3.24 ERA over 54 games last season. The Boston bullpen could certainly use another righty, as neither Liam Hendriks (hip) nor Justin Slaten (shoulder) were doing any baseball activities as of Wednesday.
It’s also a tough break for righty Brian Van Belle, whom the Red Sox called up earlier this week after a strong spring in Triple-A, only to designate him for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Alcala.
Too much talent is a good thing to have, but really: what are the Red Sox going to do? Send Roman Anthony down? Marcelo Mayer?
I posed a variation of this question in the previous edition of ‘7 Questions’ at the end of May, right after Mayer’s debut and while Anthony was pounding on the door with a bevy of 400-plus foot homers in Triple-A. Now that they’re both here, it’s more and more likely the Red Sox trade another outfielder to keep Anthony around.
The WooSox are going for their 10th consecutive win on Thursday after setting a club record with their ninth on Wednesday.
Hunter Dobbins
will start Game 2 of this weekend’s rematch with the Yankees, and it’s guaranteed to be interesting for a number of reasons. His interview with the Herald, in which he said he’d rather retire than ever sign with the Yankees, became the unexpected focus of last weekend’s series finale and carried into this week.
It will also be Dobbins’ first time facing a big-league opponent for the second time. And after the way last weekend’s outing went (five innings, three earned runs on four hits, no walks or strikeouts) and the end result – an 11-7 Red Sox victory to clinch a series win – it’s safe to assume the Yankees will attempt to settle the score.
Same question for Garrett Crochet, as a matter of fact. Last weekend was his first career start against the Yankees, and he’ll take the mound for Friday’s series opener.
If Rafael Devers isn’t the starting designated hitter for Team American League, then the whole thing is a farce. He’s played in all 70 Red Sox games and entered Thursday leading the American League with 54 walks. The latter is impressive, as he’s only drawn more walks in three of his previous eight big-league seasons: ’21, ’23, and ’24, all years when he played at least 138 games. His career high is 67 walks last season. At this rate, he’ll blow past that by the time he suits up for the All-Star Game.
Narváez likely won’t end up in the starting nine, but he’s been an absolute revelation. The Red Sox should send the Yankees a fruit basket or something.
It’s been a rough spring for this Red Sox team, but approximately a zillion runners left on base, 80 blown saves, and 100 losses later (these are definitely the real numbers), might they finally be getting back on track?
Somewhat improbably, the Red Sox entered Thursday averaging 4.93 runs per game, the second-best mark in the American League behind the New York Yankees. With deeper, cleaner starts from their rotation of late, the Red Sox are 6-4 in their last 10 games, including wins in four of their last five, and have won back-to-back series against their AL East rival Yankees and Rays.
Better baseball, indeed, but don’t start saving up for playoff tickets just yet.
