The Boston Red Sox need a home run bat, and everyone realizes that. Dave Dombrowski captured two aces with mixed results and his future may rest on a home run hitter.
Baseball is a copycat sport and all sports fall into that niche, but only if someone is successful. There are two instances in the immediate where we have seen that develop. The first is the reliance on the bullpen.
In baseball history, the bullpen was the domain of those who lacked the ability to be part of the starting rotation. The usual was a four-man rotation with the desired result to go as deep into the game as possible. You go deep enough into baseball history and complete games were the norm.
The natural evolution took place and closers of exceptional ability came into the picture, but that was just one piece of the puzzle. How do you get to the closer? You had a shift in baseball language with terms like “Bridge” and “Set up” become common terminology. In 2015, the transformation was complete with the Kansas City Royals become World Series victors.
The Royals did it with a starting rotation that was statistically last in the American League. The idea simply got as much out of your starters as possible, grab a lead, and turn it over to a plethora of arms out of the bullpen to seal the deal. This was most certainly the modus operandi from both the Dodgers and Astros in 2017.
The Red Sox joined into the new mentality with getting Craig Kimbrel to end the game and Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg to get to Kimbrel. But baseball also has a new or refinement of an old idea that would make Earl Weaver proud. Weaver loved the idea of the three-run homer.
In 2017, the home run became as common as weeds in my garden. Just look at the contribution of Rick Porcello to the home run totals. With this philosophical change in dynamics, the Red Sox were certainly in a “sweet spot” since that long ball mentality has been a Boston calling card ever since Tom Yawkey purchased Jimmie Foxx. What happened?
Boston was left at the altar as the bride ran away with the best man. The Red Sox finished last in the American League in home runs with 168. Did we – Red Sox fans – fall into an alternate universe? This was certainly not for want of a source. The Red Sox had the opportunity to join the wave of home run enthusiasm, yet chose to stay on the sidelines. That was costly.
You win with pitching. The Red Sox staff, both starters and bullpen, provided remarkable results despite a series of crushing injuries, but games are not won by pitching alone. Somewhere you need to score runs and the quickest way is to have a hitter simple say “screw station to station, baby, I’m going for the downs.”
Even the Tampa Bay Rays out-homered the Red Sox by 60. How bad was it? The Red Sox finished last in the American League with home runs at home (73). A Red Sox team getting the short end at Fenway Park in power? The Red Sox need a nice home run IV to get back where they traditionally belong and to ride this new baseball wave.
The onus is on ownership and their frontman Dave Dombrowski to give some power triage to this lineup. The first change was getting a new manager in Alex Cora, but Cora needs something to sustain his three years in Boston. Will he get it?
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The Red Sox will shop the free agent market simply because money is far more replaceable than talent. And will that shopping cost! This will not be Amazon Prime and free delivery as every agent with a bat in his free agent pamphlet will expect the Red Sox to do what they do best – overpay.
I wrote recently about development and that is where the original problem sits. The Sox simply have developed outstanding positional players who are not gangbusters when it comes to the long ball. Don’t expect any Red Sox player to be in the Home Run Derby anytime soon.
The Red Sox management is now trapped just as they were in signing David Price as the multitudes shouted “Give up an ace!” and now it is focused on a home run hitter. Both are the results of baseball ops failure and I may point the finger of blame at them for years of failure to provide. That, however, is rather short-sighted.
Next: Patience may be a virtue in free agency this year
Baseball is a results-oriented business that requires an almost immediate response to just do something – anything – to answer the braying from media and fans. If the Red Sox manage to rectify the sudden power outage it guarantee’s nothing but short-term pacification. I wish Dombrowski well in his hunt since his employment status may hinge on getting just the right bat and that bat providing what is expected. In the meantime I can follow the herd mentality and overstate the obvious.