{"id":28246,"date":"2021-10-11T17:28:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T21:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=28246"},"modified":"2021-10-11T21:29:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T01:29:13","slug":"stines-weekly-red-sox-check-up-on-we-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2021\/10\/11\/stines-weekly-red-sox-check-up-on-we-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Stine’s Weekly Red Sox Check-Up: On We March"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Caleb Stine<\/em><\/p>\n

The Red Sox are World Series Champions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I mean this both as a cheeky prediction, and a description. For Red Sox fans, the World Series will not be starting October 26th on local Fox affiliates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It already happened last Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, the Gerrit Cole versus Nathan Eovaldi pitching matchup was discussed, and it was fair to say “Nasty Nate” won the tie. A stellar performance of one earned run, just four hits, and not a single walk solidified his place as the Red Sox ace. A few weeks ago I had made the case for Sale to carry that title. Not anymore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the Red Sox winning the World Series against the New York Yankees last Tuesday, every win after that is now considered a bonus. Do the Sox really have a shot to win MLB\u2019s \u201cWorld Series\u201d that takes place weeks after the only one that matters? As always, it depends on a few factors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Red Sox Need to Get Serious<\/b><\/h4>\n

After a miracle home run by none other than Christian Vasquez, and a dominant-under-pressure performance from historically mixed-bag Pivetta, the Red Sox could ride the wave of momentum to get to the ALCS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They shouldn\u2019t, though. It\u2019s in the Sox best interest to focus up, and settle down. The Rays are a dangerous team, and focus and determination to win tonight will fare better than excitement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The energy coming into tonight should reflect the relieved-yet-still-fighting content and mild celebrations of Friday night\u2019s Game 2 performance, and not one considering the ticket to already be punched to Houston or Chicago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Balance the Bullpen<\/b><\/h4>\n

Hansel Robles was bailed out of maximum security prison last night. He has Garrett Whitlock and Nick Pivetta to thank for that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regularly, it feels as though when Boston\u2019s starting pitching is dismal, the bullpen is strong. Exhibit A. being Game 2, where Houck and Pivetta were able to effectively wipe clean Chris Sale\u2019s atrocious start on Friday night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conversely, Eovaldi\u2019s strong performance last night was overshadowed by Robles\u2019 collapse in the eighth. The solution to this problem doesn\u2019t depend on a missing piece. It depends on personnel usage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If Boston wants to make a serious run for the ALCS and beyond, the bullpen needs to have reliable pitchers pitching on a frequent basis. Said pitchers include Ryan Brasier, Houck, Whitlock, and Josh Taylor, all who have proven to be trusted this postseason. This is October baseball in Boston, and it is necessary for the success of the team for Cora to utilize what has consistently produced results, instead of taking chances and \u201ctrying guys out\u201d in the case of Hansel Robles and Austin Davis. <\/span><\/p>\n

I would also extend the same sentiment to Eduardo Rodriguez and possibly even Chris Sale, it would be irresponsible to expect and plan for them to throw for more than a few innings. It would absolutely be in the Sox best interest to organize nine innings with four or five trustworthy pitchers into future games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time of writing, Eduardo Rodriguez is the tentative starting pitcher for Monday night, which does not excite me considering his last few outings. However, as was outlined in last week\u2019s column, the bullpen with the right handful of guys could lessen the blow of a potential collapse on the mound from E-Rod if necessary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Get Bats Back<\/b><\/h4>\n

Kik\u00e9 Hernandez is the hottest hitter on Earth right now. Great.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The meat of Boston\u2019s lineup was frozen solid last night. Xander Bogaerts failed to produce a single hit in five chances, and Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, and J.D Martinez all respectively earned one hit in six appearances. While it\u2019s certainly worth noting that all four players in question swung their hearts out Friday night, and put up commendable numbers, the inconsistency of these dependent bats is cause for concern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If these four sluggers can get on a consistent hitting trend, Boston\u2019s odds of making it to the ALCS and beyond will drastically rule in their favor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bottom Line<\/b><\/h4>\n

Red Sox: Focus and be determined tonight, and the series is yours. Manage the bullpen well, and the series is yours. Get the whole team to put up hits, and the series is yours. Do what has been done all year in small doses, and the series is yours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Punch this ticket to the next round. Let\u2019s go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Featured Image by Patrick Donnelly<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Caleb Stine The Red Sox are World Series Champions.\u00a0 I mean this both as a cheeky prediction, and a description. For Red Sox fans, the World Series will not be starting October 26th on local Fox affiliates.\u00a0 It already happened last Tuesday.\u00a0 Last week, the Gerrit Cole versus Nathan Eovaldi pitching matchup was discussed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19814,"featured_media":27929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1032,1035,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28246"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19814"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28246"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28249,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28246\/revisions\/28249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}