Red Sox: 5 things we learned in the first half
Some important things we have learned about the Boston Red Sox so far during this 2016 season.
The Boston Red Sox come into the All-Star break sitting 11 games above .500 with a 49-38 record, a vast improvement over last season when Boston was 42-47 heading into the 2015 All-Star game.
With the additions of David Price to the starting rotation and new closer Craig Kimbrel, to go along with an emerging young core, the Red Sox have improved. But, has it been enough, should they be better?
The Red Sox are currently tied with Toronto for 2nd place (or 3rd, depending on how negative you want to be) in the division. They have struggled to consistently put good games together. On one night they will score 20 runs and the next two they will score 2 or 3. Likewise, they will throw a shutout in a game they score 10 runs, but then give up far more on a night their offense is struggling. It has been an inconsistent first half, but they do come into the break going 7-3 in their last 10. Price has also started to look like himself again, and has even struck out 10 in his last 3 starts. Will they turn things around in the second half and take control of the East?
Regardless, here are the 5 things we have learned during the first half:
Next: Steven Wright
Steven Wright
To most, Steven Wright is likely the biggest surprise of the season. He has been the ace when others have failed to answer the call (I’m looking at you, David Price) and delivered a vintage Wakefield-esque 1st half.
Heading into the All-Star break (and on his way to San Diego to represent the Red Sox), Wright carried with him a sterling 2.68 ERA to accompany his 10-5 record and 3 complete games. While he isn’t starting the All-Star game, and doesn’t deserve to, Wright has been a knuckle-balling machine that has earned the respect of his peers.
Wright has undoubtedly been the Red Sox pitching savior and the reason that Boston was able to survive their horrible month of June. The knuckler has only really had three bad outings while also allowing 2 or fewer runs in 11 of his 17 starts. Not to mention, one of those bad outings was in horrible, rainy conditions, so you could almost scratch that one off his record (I am willing to if you are). If Wright can keep these performances up, the second half of 2016 and beyond should look much brighter for Boston’s rotation and pitching staff as a whole.
Next: Pitching Problems
Pitching Problems
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The Red Sox have pitching problems. It’s difficult to point out one specific area for this cause, as these pitching woes are present all the way down the organization. From Greenville through Portland and Pawtucket to Fenway; it exists at all levels. Is It the coaching? The drafting? All we know is what we see, and we have seen numerous talented pitchers signed that stumble under these coaches, as well as the pipeline of pitching prospects dry up.
David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez, Clay Buchholz, Craig Kimbrel, Junichi Tazawa, and Koji Uehara have all struggled this season. Some of these pitchers are veterans who have been very successful for a long while, yet have had difficulty to find their way in a Boston uniform. And what might be worse is someone like Rodriguez or Buchholz, who have loads of talent but struggle with consistency or even to not tip pitches, while finding no help in the Red Sox coaching staff.
To add insult to injury, Dave Dombrowski traded Aaron Wilkerson, Boston’s best pitching prospect in AAA, for Aaron Hill to further deplete their farm system. It’s unlikely the Red Sox pitchers will falter so mightily in the second half of the season, but the first half of 2016 is cause for concern.
Next: Jackie Bradley Jr.
Jackie Bradley Jr.
JBJ is a major league ball player – period. That wasn’t fully grasped in the minds of many Red Sox fans coming into this season, as Bradley struggled in his first attempts at the big show. This season has changed our perception.
While Bradley’s defense has always been there, as he is a gold-glove caliber defender, his offense was at points atrocious. But, 2015 saw Bradley show some offensive life at the plate. Particularly in the month of August when he hit .354 with 5 home runs.
And during the first half of this season, Bradley has solidified himself as the everyday center fielder while making huge strides and even got voted into his first All-Star game. Of course, starting the season off by batting .381 with 8 home runs in May helped. June was a month that saw Bradley’s offensive numbers slip, but so did just about every other player’s production on the team.
So far in July, he has rebounded nicely, posting a .306 BA in 36 ABs to bring his average up to .296 entering the break. Bradley isn’t going anywhere and he looks to be a big part of the Red Sox future plans in the outfield.
Next: David Ortiz
David Ortiz
Of course, in the cleanup spot…
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Ortiz is now 40 years-old and he has not lost a step. Forget about all the quotes of Ortiz complaining about his sore feet and just look at what he’s been able to do, yet again, in his 20th season. It is remarkable. No one has ever gone out the way Ortiz is and there may not be another player in history we can directly compare to him.
In the 81 games played this year, Ortiz has a .332 BA, 22 HR, 72 RBI, stat line and was voted into his 10th All-star game. If he had finished the year with those numbers, I doubt there would have been much of a complaint. But, instead Big Papi is on pace for what could be his best year yet, and the thought of him retiring grows more haunting by the day. Not just the stats he puts up, but the timing those individual hits and home runs come in are simply clutch.
Big Papi is still up to his usual antics and bigger-than-life persona, and Red Sox fans are going to be in for quite the shock, as life without David Ortiz becomes a reality in 2017.
Next: John Farrell a bonus
John Farrell
It has become ever so apparent John Farrell needs to go. Now, we can debate whether or not he has been the sole reason of Boston’s struggles at many points during this season, or that firing him would fix their issues. But, it is clear that the firing of Farrell is long overdue.
This June was yet another prime example as the Red Sox stumbled to a 10-16 record over the month. Boston was in need of leadership as the ship began to take on water, but were unable to find any in Farrell. Repeatedly after each loss Farrell would “shine turds” and look for any way out of holding his players accountable, especially Price. Lets not forget, just last year after the season had already been labeled a failure going 50-64 under Farrell, Torey Lovullo led the Red Sox to a 28-20 record over the final stretch.
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2016 has been a year filled with under achievement, as the Red Sox have failed to capitalize on having the league’s best offense or the Blue Jays injuries, and are currently tied with Toronto for second place in the division. Both Dave Dombrowski and John Henry should not find this acceptable.
Bonus: That Sandy “The Sandyman” Leon is the greatest thing since flavored sunflower seeds.