Red Sox Sign Shane Victorino... Why?

The Red Sox continue to spend money, this time signing Shane Victorino to a 3 year deal worth $39 million. $13 million per season seems like a lot for a 32 year old who has never hit 20 homeruns in a season and had an OBP of .321 last year, and slugged .383.

He's a decent fielder, but who cares? He steals bases, and again, who cares? He doesn't hit for power, he doesn't get on base, and he'll be paid $13 million next year. Why? It just baffles me.

For 2013 the Sox have committed $31 million to Jonny Gomes, Mike Napoli, and Shane Victorino. That's a significant chunk of cash for a backup outfielder, a decent first-baseman, and a glorified Carl Crawford.

It seems weird to give Shane Victorino so much money yet be so stingy with Cody Ross.

Do these seem like wise spending decisions? Thankfully, all of these deals are short-term.

Here's what I think the Red Sox are trying to do: They want the 2013 and 2014 Red Sox to finish above .500, and at least seem close to contending during the summer. That will keep fans interested, keep Fenway's seats full (at least keep tickets "distributed"), and create the illusion of improvement.

To actually fix the problems with this team will take 3 or 4 years. I think the Sox know this. What they're doing is overpaying for marginal temporary improvements while the long-term solutions are being addressed. It's like overpaying for a condo while your house is being built. Because the alternative is being left out in the rain.

Once again, PR and ticket sales seem to be steering this team's decision-making.

David Ortiz and Cody Ross Likely to Hit Open Market

Both David Ortiz and Cody Ross are going to test the waters of free agency. The exclusive negotiating period ends at midnight tonight (which is technically midnight tomorrow morning).

Ortiz wants a 2 year deal worth $25 million. Sources say (leaks from the Red Sox say) that the Sox are willing to give him a 2 year deal and aren't too far off on the money. But that's subjective isn't it? They might think $1 million a season isn't far off, but that's a decent chunk of cash.

There are rumors that the Texas Rangers are interested in Ortiz.

I don't think the Sox should get into a bidding war over a 37 year old DH who can't play the field and takes a long time to recover from injuries. $12.5 million isn't much for Ortiz in 2013, but it could be a burdensome amount in 2014.

I like Cody Ross, but let's keep his value in perspective. He's a career .262 hitter with a .324 OBP and .460 SLG. Last year he had decent power with 22 homeruns and 34 doubles. And that's about his ceiling. For the $3 million the Sox paid him in 2012, he was a bargain. But he's not worth a long-term, expensive deal.

Ross is smart to test free agency. There will be teams interested. He's 31 years old so this might be his last chance to sign a long-term, big money deal.

Red Sox on a Mission for .500

The Red Sox need to win every single game in order to avoid their first sub-.500 finish since 1997. And they're on their way. Only 13 more wins to go.

Felix Doubront went 6 innings and only 1 hit. He also allowed 5 walks. But it's good to see him get another win, and maybe end 2012 on a positive note. Doubront and Clay Buchholz are now tied for the team lead with 11 wins. Which speaks volumes about the struggles of the Sox rotation.

I wouldn't mind Doubront as a #5 pitcher in a future rotation, so long as the 1-4 pitchers were actually 1-4 pitchers. This team is loaded with #4 and #5 pitchers, and that's one reason they'll need a 15 game win streak in order to finish 81-81.

Cody Ross had a pair of hits, including his 32nd double. It'd be nice to see him back with this team next season.

There's nothing about this team you can't enjoy by watching any garden variety reality TV show. A reality TV show that lasts over 4 hours.

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AP Photo

Beckett: The Worst of What Red Sox Do Worst

Whatever clubhouse problems Josh Beckett may or may not be a part of, the simple on the field facts are that he has undeniably and unequivocally sucked this season. Yesterday afternoon he gave the Sox 5 innings, 8 hits, 8 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 3 homeruns. And that ERA of his is once again flirting with 5.00 (4.97 to be exact).

Among starting pitchers that have enough innings to qualify, he is 86th in ERA. Only 12 starters have worse ERAs.

How long does this guy continue to get the ball? How long until he has a roster spot? How many pitchers out there can give the Sox what Beckett gives them, only for less money, and with less drama?

This loss typifies the Sox season. One part of the team did very well (the offense), but their efforts were sabotaged by other parts of the team (Beckett and the bullpen).

Adrian Gonzalez hit 3 doubles, each time knocking in a run. Cody Ross hit a homerun and knocked in 2. Will Middlebrooks hit a 3 run homer. 9 runs should be enough to win.

But Beckett dug a huge hole for his teammates. And when they were finally clawing their way out of that hole, the bullpen dug it deeper. Clayton Mortensen didn't do his job. Then Alfredo Aceves allowed a sacrifice fly that gave the Rangers the lead. He nearly allowed a 2 run homer after that.

Aceves wasn't meant to be the closer on this team. But they let a pretty good one go. Then they signed one who has a history of injuries. And he got injured.

There are good pieces on this team. And there are bad ones. The bad pieces counter the good pieces and the result is a .500 team. It's like running a faucet on full hot and full cold. The result is a tepid stream of mediumness.

It's only August, but looking forward to the 2012-13 off-season I'd prefer that the Red Sox focus on removing the bad pieces that infest this team, as opposed to adding more good pieces. This team is sick. The top priority should be to get rid of the viruses, the bacteria, and all that ails this team. Then the good pieces can be healthy and thrive.

The Sox are in Cleveland for 4 games. The Indians aren't a good team, and the Sox need wins. This is an opportunity for them to win. Although we've seen them fail to take advantage of such opportunities.

Felix Doubront faces 8-11 Ubaldo Jimenez, who had a good June, but has struggled the rest of the 2012 season.

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AP Photo

Ross Knocks Sox Off with Walk Off

Cody Ross continues to belt out 3 run homeruns. And Clay Buchholz is once again pitching as well as he did before his esophagitis. This allowed the Red Sox to beat the White Sox 3-1. The Red Sox won 3 out of 4 in their series against the AL Central leaders.

Ross now has 50 RBI on the season. He's 3rd on the team in RBI (despite having much fewer at-bats than David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez, who are ahead of him). He's 3rd on the team in homeruns behind Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

I'm going to entertain a moment of optimism here, so bear with me. The Red Sox could have an outfield with a power-hitting Cody Ross, a five-tool player like Ellsbury, and a speedy line-drive hitter like Carl Crawford. If all three of these guys are performing at their best, that's a very productive trio.

One tough but enjoyable question to ask is: where do you bat all these guys in the lineup?

Clay Buchholz's ERA might still be a too high 5.19, but since May 27th (his last 7 starts) it's 2.63. He has a track record of starting seasons slow and eventually settling down, and 2012 doesn't appear to be different. He went 8 innings last night, scattering 6 hits, allowing just 1 run, and striking out 6.

Buchholz is the key man in the rotation. Lester, perhaps in a quest to be seen as an Ace, seems to be having some psychological difficulties. Beckett will inevitably be inconsistent and unreliable. Doubront and Cook have been solid, but they're not front-of-the-rotation types of pitchers.

Buchholz can go on a run of seriously good starts. He can spearhead the rotation. He isn't an Ace but he's capable of pitching like one for extended periods.

At the same time, if he gets hurt (as he tends to do) or has a bad stretch (as he can sometimes have), then he can sink the rotation. He's either an engine to drive the pitching staff forward, or an anchor to drag them down.

The Red Sox host the floundering Toronto Blue Jays this weekend. Tonight Josh Beckett faces Aaron Laffey. The converted reliever has been Doubrontlike in most of his starts. He faced the Red Sox in late June and pitched 6 scoreless innings.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Ross and Gonzalez Power Red Sox

Cody Ross and Adrian Gonzalez knocked in all 10 Red Sox runs last night. Prince Felix Doubront made another very solid start and the Red Sox cruised to a 10-1 victory.

Ross hit a pair of 3 run homers, one in the 3rd, the next in the 4th. He now has 15 on the season, along with 47 RBI. Ross has the second best slugging percentage (.557) on the team, behind David Ortiz. So with Ortiz on the DL, the Sox need him to continue to hit for power.

Adrian Gonzalez also needs to help fill the void left by Ortiz. And he's starting to do that. He was 3 for 4 last night with a solo homerun and a pair of RBI singles. He knocked in 4 runs.

In his last 20 games, Gonzalez is hitting .427, slugging .598, has hit 3 homeruns and knocked in 19 runs.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford did their job and got on base. Ellsbury was 3 for 4 with a double. Crawford was 1 for 3. Ellsbury scored 3 times, Crawford twice.

The offensive output from the top of the order slightly overshadowed yet another good outing by Felix Doubront. He already has 10 Quality Starts this season. Most of them are the 6 inning, 3 earned run variety, but that's good enough. He's only failed to go 5 innings in 3 starts. He's gone 6+ innings 12 times.

This was a great combination win. The big name talent like Gonzalez, Ellsbury, and Crawford did their job. The second-tier guys like Ross and Doubront continued to go above and beyond.

The Sox have a good chance to win this series tonight. Clay Buchholz faces 4-1 Jose Quintana. Quintana is a leftahander who's had consistency problems. For instance, he had an 8 inning 1 run start against the Rangers. Then followed that by getting knocked around by the Royals for 5 runs in 5 innings.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Finish Homestand the Right Way

At the outset of this homestand, I wrote a post about how the Red Sox were beginning a 16 game stretch against mediocre and less than mediocre opponents. I argued that despite injuries to starting pitchers, the Sox could and should take advantage of the schedule and win some games. They've done that so far. They finished their homestand 7-2 and now embark on a West Coast trip to play two of the worst teams in the American League.

Jon Lester wasn't great today. He allowed 7 hits in 7 innings, and didn't walk anyone. But a pair of those hits were homeruns. He gave the Sox an opportunity to win, which is nice, but I expect more then just "nice" from Lester. I don't expect him to be Ace-like every time out, but with Beckett and Buchholz down, he should be slightly better than he's been this year. He's 5-5 with a 4.53 ERA. And in June, he's 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA. Today he allowed 4 runs in 7 innings. Good. Not great. He's capable of doing better.

You can't ask much more from the lineup today. They jumped on Ricky Romero early and often. The game was over after the 1st inning when it was 6-1 Sox.

Since it was a blowout game, Adrian Gonzalez of course added to his RBI total. He had 3. Mike Aviles was 2 for 4 with a single and a double. He knocked in a pair. Gonzalez and Aviles are now tied at 43 RBI.

Cody Ross was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and a double. His 14th double of the season. His .578 slugging percentage is the second best on the team behind Ortiz.

Speaking of David Ortiz, I saved the best for last. In the 5th inning he hit his 399th career homerun. Unfortunately, he didn't get #400 in front of the Fenway crowd. Odds are he'll hit that milestone in Seattle or Oakland. The Mariners have allowed the 5th most homeruns in baseball despite playing in a pitcher-friendly park.

Ortiz and the Sox are in Seattle for 4 games. The series starts tomorrow night at 10 as Franklin Morales opposes Felix Hernandez. Ortiz has homered once off King Felix before.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Drive Braves Out of Boston... Again

The Red Sox finished interleague play with a 12-6 record. Of course it helps when you play the lowly Cubs 3 times and the mediocre Marlins 6 times. Though considering the health of the Red Sox' rotation, taking 2 of 3 from a solid Braves team is a nice little achievement.

Franklin Morales is the latest secondary player to play a primary role in the Sox winning. He's been very respectable filling in for Josh Beckett. He threw 6 innings Saturday night, striking out 8, and only allowing 2 earned runs. As a starter he's thrown 11 innings, only walked 1 batter, allowed 4 earned runs (3.27 ERA), and struck out 17. 17 strikeouts and only 1 walk. That's fantastic.

Guys like Morales, Prince Felix Doubront, and Cody Ross have kept the Sox afloat this year. They are The Other Guys.

Speaking of Cody Ross, he hit his 10th and 11th homeruns yesterday. In 6 games since coming off the DL, Ross is 7 for 22 (.318 average), with 3 doubles, and 3 homeruns (.864 slugging).

The Sox have endured injuries this season, especially in the rotation and the outfield. The secondary players have stepped up, especially in the rotation and the outfield. They're playing at their maximum potential. Now if only some of the stars would do that, this team could go on a serious run.

If these secondary guys continue to contribute, and guys like Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Dustin Pedroia perform as they're capable of performing, this team is a contender.

But they need every player playing at that maximum level.

They host the 5th place Blue Jays. Prince Felix faces 22 year old righty Henderson Alvarez. Alvarez is 3-6 with a 4.30 ERA. He's not much more than an innings eater, and he's allowed most of his earned runs in his last 6 starts. Since May 20th, he's 0-3 with a 6.94 ERA. The Sox, in theory, should hit him.

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AP Photo

Toxic Sox Beat Marlins

The Sox started their 9 game homestand with a 7-5 win over the Marlins. It was exactly how they needed to start this stretch of 16 games against mediocre teams.

Buchholz wasn't great, but he worked through some mistakes. He allowed 9 hits in 6 innings, and walked 1. The Marlins scored 5 times off him. A 2 run homer in the 1st and a 2 run double in the 5th were the big hits he allowed. It wasn't a pretty start, but it was enough.

The offense gave Buchholz plenty of support. David Ortiz hit a 2 run homer in the 1st, Kelly Shoppach hit a 2 run shot in the 2nd. Cody Ross returned to the lineup and hit a solo homer.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a sac-fly in the 6th to give the Sox a 6-5 lead. While that's not technically a clutch hit, it was a clutch out. Middlebrooks added an RBI double in the 6th.

The bullpen did a great job to hang on to the win for Buchholz. Albers, Miller, and Aceves were all perfect. Padilla allowed a basehit in his inning of work.

It was a solid win. This season we've seen the various parts of the Red Sox undermine the good performances of their teammates. The lineup might get 2 hits and waste a good start. Or the bullpen might blow a 2 run lead. But last night the starter struggled and was picked up by his teammates. The offense scored for Buchholz, and the bullpen finished the game for him.

By the way, how lucky has Buchholz been this season? He's pitched well lately but his 8-2 record is based mostly on run support.

After the "toxicity" talk, it was good for the Sox to just win. Winning and clubhouse chemistry are vicious cycles of each other. Chemistry can cause winning, and winning causes chemistry.

Unfortunately, Dustin Pedroia left the game after an at-bat in the 7th. He apparently re-aggravated his right thumb injury. He hasn't been hitting well since returning to the lineup, although he was 1 for 3 last night with a double. The Sox say that today they'll know much more about how severe the re-aggravation is.

The Sox need to build on this tonight. Doubront faces Ricky Nolasco. Doubront was great against the Marlins last week. And the Sox were able to score off Nolasco. Hopefully that repeats tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Sox Silenced

The Sox managed only 2 hits and apart from a Youkilis homerun, Brian Matusz utterly silenced the Sox' lineup. Aviles, Pedroia, and Ortiz went 0 for 12. It's unfair to single them out, though, because apart from Youkilis' homer and an Adrian Gonzalez single, the entire lineup was quieted.

Youkilis started at first. Gonzalez was in the outfield. Cody Ross' injury was convenient for Youkilis and/or Middlebrooks as it allowed them both to stay in the lineup. Gonzalez is not a long-term solution in the outfield, but the Sox don't have much of a choice.

Doubront had another good start. It went to waste last night, but it was still very encouraging. He struck out 9, which is just as many as Matusz. 6 innings, only 2 runs. Without him, the Sox would be completely screwed. Especially with how Bard and Buchholz have struggled. Not to mention Matsuzaka's health concerns. Doubront has anchored the bottom of the rotation.

The Sox got shut down by a good lefty. It happens. The problem with the Sox is they allow it to happen too often.

So today is a good chance to rebound. Daniel Bard faces Jake Arrieta. This is a great opportunity for Bard to step up and win a game when the Sox could really use a win to keep their momentum going. Arrieta's overall numbers aren't dazzling, but he's had the occasional brilliant start. His last one was 7 innings and 1 run. And on May 2nd he pitched 8 shutout innings against the Yankees. There were 10 innings and 13 runs between those starts, though. He's been inconsistent.

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AP Photo

Prince Felix and Sox Beat Rays

How vital has Felix Doubront been to the Red Sox? The Sox are 6-2 in his starts. That's a full third of the Sox' total wins. He hasn't been amazing, he's been just good enough to get the job done. And that's what you want from a middle of the rotation guy. Last night was another very Doubrontish type of start. 5.2 innings, 2 runs, only 1 of them earned. He struck out 7. He allowed 6 hits and 4 walks, but only one of those hits was for extra bases.

Doubront has been a life preserver for this team, keeping them from sinking completely.

Another surprise performer that has kept the Sox afloat is Cody Ross. He drew a bases loaded walk in the 1st, hit a solo homerun in the 3rd, and a 2 run single in the 8th. His 4 RBI night raised his season total to 27. All of his RBI came with 2 outs. Last night he was the only Sox batter to get a hit with runners in scoring position.

It was nice to see the streaky Sox bounce back from a loss and get a win on the road. Especially against a divisional opponent. The Sox are 4-2 against Tampa Bay.

They'll lose the DH this weekend down in Philadelphia. I'd rather they sit Gonzalez than Ortiz. Ortiz's average is .072 higher than Gonzalez's, Ortiz's OBP is .066 higher, and his SLG is .207 higher.

Lester faces Joe Blanton tonight. Blanton's had an up and down season. Although he already has four starts in which he's gone 7 innings or more.

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AP Photo

Supporting Cast Carrying Sox

Overall, I think we've all been quite disappointed by how poorly the Sox have played this season. Even the most optimistic Sox fans now have a generally negative feeling for this club. But there are a few bright spots, a few pleasant surprises. And if not for them, the Sox would be in even worse shape.

Two of these guys are legitimate stars. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz. Pedroia is hitting .319 with 18 RBI, 25 runs scored, 5 homers, and a .381 OBP. Ortiz has knocked in 25 runs, is hitting .348, has 7 homers, an OBP of .421 and an OPS of 1.026. He showed up to Spring Training in great shape, and his performance has reflected his desire to be a better player.

Apart from these two guys, the big names on the Sox have been disappointing. Adrian Gonzalez hasn't had many big hits. We'll give Youkilis and Ellsbury a pass due to injury. And then on the mound, Beckett might be the most hated man in Boston, Lester is nowhere near as elite as he claims he should be considered, and Buchholz has 4 wins but an ERA of 8.31.

It's been the supporting cast that's carried the load for the Sox.

Ryan Sweeney is hitting .333, with a .364 OBP. This guy was a 4th outfielder for the A's. And now he has the second best average on the Boston Red Sox. He's being paid $1.75 million.

Cody Ross has 23 RBI, second on the team behind Ortiz. His average isn't good (.254), but he's hitting for power with 6 homers (2nd on the team) and 7 doubles. He's only making $3 million.

Mike Aviles, who almost didn't make the starting lineup, is third on the team with 21 RBI. He's hit 5 homeruns. His previous career high was 10. And he's only 30 RBI shy of matching his career high of 51. He's making $1.2 million.

Sweeney, Ross, and Aviles are paid a total of $5.95 million. That's about 4% of the Sox' total payroll of $146.4 million. But they've knocked in 55 runs, or 32.4% of the Sox total RBI.

Will Middlebrooks has exploded in 2012. He's already hit 4 homers and knocked in 13 runs in only 10 games. He's making $480,000. Add his RBIs to Sweeney, Ross, and Aviles, and that's 40% of the team's runs knocked in, by only $6.43 million of payroll. That's less than a third of what Adrian Gonzalez gets paid.

Felix Doubront makes $484,000. The 5 pitchers that are currently in the Sox rotation make a total of $30.7 million. More than half ($17 million) of that goes to Beckett.

Doubront isn't a Cy Young Award candidate. But he's 3-1 with 4 Quality Starts, a 4.46 ERA, more innings than Beckett, higher K/9 than Beckett, and much more consistency than Beckett. Doubront has not missed a start. He is worth $484,000, and then some.

Beckett makes more than 35 times as much as Doubront. More than twice as much as Lester. The Sox don't pay Lester and Buchholz much compared to what our expectations of them were. But they've still been disappointing. None of them have an ERA below 4.

At the start of the year, I thought Ross was a joke, Sweeney would be a serviceable 4th outfielder, Aviles was a defensive liability, and Middlebrooks was in AAA Pawtucket. Now they're responsible for 40% of the team's RBIs. I thought Doubront might manage to be a not-so-bad 5th starter. But he has as many Quality Starts as any other starting pitcher.

I have two points I want to make with all this data. The first is that there are some players on this team that are worth rooting for. Sweeney, Ross, Doubront, Middlebrooks and Aviles are hungry, hard-working players. And I enjoy seeing them making the most of the opportunity they have found here. Also, Ortiz and Pedroia are busting their ass to produce for this team.

The second point I want to make is that the "stars" on this team, particularly in the rotation, aren't pulling their weight. Their weight is being pulled by the supporting cast. Watching this team play is like watching a movie with the star actors mailing in their scenes, and the supporting guys stealing the show. So maybe in the future, instead of big budget blockbuster action-films loaded with big names, the Sox should try to find more Paul Giamatti types. Quality players with talent and motivation.

I miss Mark Bellhorn, Bill Mueller, and Kevin Millar. Sweeney, Ross, and Aviles remind me of them. They're just overshadowed by clowns like Beckett and no-show stars like Gonzalez.

Bard Relieves Sox Fans

Daniel Bard wants to be a starter. And I can't blame him. But by doing such a good job as a reliever last night, he might have eliminated himself from the rotation.

He inherited a tough situation: a runner on third with 1 out in a 5-5 game. And he worked out of it. Cody Ross homered in the next half inning, and Bard got the win.

I was a little puzzled with Valentine's decision to take Bard out and put Aceves in to pitch the 9th. I know Aceves is the temporary closer, but Bard only threw 11 pitches in the 8th (4 were part of an intentional walk), and he's clearly the best option to pitch the 9th. Taking Bard out and putting Aceves in was tempting fate.

With the Sox struggling, Cody Ross has been somewhat overlooked. He hit homeruns number 4 and 5 of the year. And knocked in 3 runs, giving him a total of 13 RBI. He leads the Sox in both categories. He's also hitting .283. I don't know if this production will last, but the Sox desperately need it at the moment.

Jon Lester looked off, especially going through the Twins' lineup a second time. He allowed 5 runs in 7 innings. And if not for the 3 double plays the Twins grounded into, things might have gotten really messy. I'm not worried, though. He had bad Aprils in 2009 and 2010. And a bad May last year. Give him a few starts to warm up and he'll revert to his usual self.

The Sox needed the win. But there's still lots to work on. Morales looks awful. Aceves is unnerving. The Sox still make inexcusable little mistakes like screwing up a relay from right-field.

Those problems seem more manageable after a win, though.

Beckett faces Nick Blackburn tonight, who struggled in his first start, did well in his second, but hasn't pitched since the 14th.

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AP Photo