Baseball Nation: All Posts by Marc Normandin

Series Preview: Red Sox at Twins

2013-05-17T19:17:58Z

Sorry, but the Red Sox lost three of four to the Twins in their last meeting, despite the fact that the Twins aren't very good and the Red Sox are at least capable of being very good. Because of this, I'm afraid to go into too much more detail, lest the baseball gods take offense once more and spite me by reversing my own words.

With any luck, that'll mean Boston takes this series and evens things up with the Twins a bit, continuing what has started as a successful road trip with two of three from the Rays.

Game 1 (8:10 pm ET): Clay Buchholz vs. Vance Worley

Buchholz had some issues with the Twins before he recorded a second out against them, giving up two runs and two walks in the first inning, but then proceeded to strike out nine batters against no walks with two runs allowed in the other 5-2/3 innings. A repeat performance of the latter would be an acceptable follow-up. Remember, he doesn't have to be as dominating as he was in April to be incredibly useful to the Red Sox: in the last 365 days, Buchholz has compiled 30 starts, 209 innings, a 3.06 ERA, 2.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and .271 batting average on balls in play. While you might think that last bit is lucky, his BABIP since 2009, when he became a full-time starter, is .274 -- it's just something he does, and with any luck, will continue to do.

He'll take on Worley, who remembered he isn't all that bad at the most inopportune time for the Red Sox. With any luck, it'll slip his mind once more, though, if Buchholz is on his game as he's been in all starts besides that Twins outing, it might not matter.

Game 2 (7:10 pm ET): Ryan Dempster vs. Scott Diamond

Dempster got crushed in his last outing, on a day when the Red Sox announcers were expecting the ball to fly out of Fenway Park. Their prognostication skills turned out to be a bit too accurate for Boston, with Dempster giving up three homers to push his homers per nine to 1.7. That's a bit too lofty to get by on, but he was doing... okay, not great, but perfectly serviceable in that regard prior to his beat down at the hands of the Jays. He's still well above-average in ERA on the year, and striking out well over three times as many batters as he's walking. If he can just improve his command ever so slightly to keep the homers from being a problem, then this discussion wouldn't be necessary in the future.

Photo credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

He'll take on Diamond, who knows a thing or two about avoiding walks, but, like Dempster, lives in the strike zone and occasionally gives up the long ball. Unlike Dempster, he isn't missing bats and relies on his defense almost entirely, so if the Red Sox can string some hits together, the lack of free passes might not be a problem. Of course, that was true the last time Boston faced him, and he held them to three hits and no walks en route to seven shutout innings.

Game 3 (2:10 pm ET): John Lackey vs. Pedro Hernandez

Lackey had a solid start going against the Rays, at least until he didn't, pushing his ERA to 4.05. That being said, if he finishes the year with an ERA that's above the league average, such as his current one, and doesn't miss anymore time with injury, you'll be pretty pleased. He's still missing plenty of bats -- his current strikeout rate would actually be the highest of his career, but let's remember it's 26 innings and five starts -- and the command he flashed on his good days in 2011 seems to still be there. Working deep in starts has been a problem, albeit not an unexpected one in his first month-plus back from Tommy John. This is a good start to things, though, and he's more than doing his job as the fifth starter at present, despite the 1-4 record slapped on him.

Pedro Hernandez was squashed by the Red Sox last time out, but sadly, it was opposite Allen Webster's and Felix Doubront's even larger squashing. So, uh, Lackey, just last like, five innings, and don't give up more runs than innings pitched, and things should be okay.

*****

The Twins are as healthy as they were last time around, and Joe Mauer -- with a little help from the Sox -- has busted out of his mini-slump and is now the owner of a 156 OPS+. Josh Willingham has seen his numbers drop precipitously, however, and they've basically switched places because of it. Don't let either come up with runners on, and things should be good.

Pawtucket Red Sox update: Jackie Bradley Jr., Rubby De La Rosa, Bryce Brentz

2013-05-17T17:10:07Z

Jackie Bradley Jr., LF

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	PA	2B	3B	HR	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2013	23	Pawtucket	IL	AAA	51	2	0	0	1	1	7	13	.302	.400	.349	.749
3 Seasons					666	45	4	10	25	12	98	110	.310	.421	.463	.884

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/17/2013.

Jackie Bradley Jr. last played on May 3, first missing some time with an undisclosed and minor shoulder injury, which was later revealed to be right biceps tendinitis. Bradley has been on the minor-league DL, but took batting practice on Thursday for the first time since he was placed there -- an encouraging sign for his health. He's set to be evaluated on Saturday, according to PawSox manager Gary DiSarcina, and if all is well, he'll be back with the club shortly after.

He was doing well prior to the injury, making contact, drawing walks, and so on. There wasn't much power yet, but his shoulder was bugging him and it's just 51 plate appearances, too: hopefully, he'll be able to get back now with this rest and take the steps forward that he needs to in order to make it back to the majors for something besides an emergency call-up.

*****

Rubby De La Rosa, RHP

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	ERA	GS	IP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2013	24	Pawtucket	IL	AAA	3.65	8	24.2	104	1.216	5.8	1.1	5.1	10.6	2.07
7 Seasons					2.93	47	257.2	1091	1.242	7.1	0.3	4.1	9.3	2.27

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/17/2013.

The season didn't start off that great for Rubby De La Rosa. He was limited to two-inning stints, and the rust brought on by his Tommy John procedure to close out 2011 hadn't quite come off through this planned short usage. The Red Sox have loosened the reins a bit in the starts since early April, though, as was always the plan, and conveniently enough, De La Rosa has started to look like the high-quality starting pitching prospect he is at the same time.

De La Rosa hasn't given up a run since April 18, and has dropped his ERA from 13.43 to the 3.65 you see above. In the 18 innings in his scoreless stretch of starts, De La Rosa has struck out 22 batters against eight walks, and limited opponents to just nine hits. He's throwing four innings per start, and by the end of the month, should be set loose for five- and maybe even six-inning appearances, so as to bring him back into the conversation of Red Sox starting pitching depth for 2013.

The Red Sox' rotation seems to be in solid enough shape at this point: Felix Doubront is a bit of a question mark, but Franklin Morales should be returning to take that spot shortly if need be. There's Allen Webster, who has one quality start and a disastrous one on his big-league resume, and, of course, in case of dire emergency, there is also Alfredo Aceves. Adding De La Rosa to that group, especially given he's someone who already has major-league success as a starter, could end up being significant down the stretch for the Red Sox as they attempt to remain competitive.

*****

Bryce Brentz, RF

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	PA	2B	3B	HR	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2013	24	Pawtucket	IL	AAA	150	9	1	6	0	0	11	31	.275	.333	.486	.819
4 Seasons					1465	78	10	58	15	12	113	358	.276	.335	.480	.815

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/17/2013.

Bryce Brentz's career has been defined by highs and lows. During his greatest moments, he's nigh unstoppable at the plate, hitting for power with all of his hits falling in while keeping strikeouts to a minimum. When he's off his game, however, there are swings-and-misses aplenty, with little in the way of pop, walks, or production. This year, though, he seems to be balancing things a bit more. The highs aren't so high, but the lows aren't so low, either, and it's made for stretches like what he's produced in his last 10 games, where he's hitting .324/.359/.459 with six strikeouts against two walks.

You'd like to see him bring back some of those stretches where making an out seems like it isn't even an option for him, but for now, if he's taken enough steps forward to stop going back-and-forth between useful and useless at the plate to such extremes, we can be happy about that. Overall, his season is looking solid. More walks would be a plus, but he's striking out just under 21 percent of the time, and has 16 extra-base hits on the season with an ISO of .211. It's a real good start of things.

Travis Snider's homer hasn't stopped yet

2013-05-17T14:48:01Z

The official distance of Travis Snider's home run off of Hiram Burgos is 439 feet, but that's pretty much a lie. That might be where it initially landed, but there is a very good chance it's still going. Here's the homer, and it's original bounce, from Thursday's game against the Brewers:

That bounce you see at the end is important, as is where it happens, as you can see in this alternate angle:

You might have to watch a couple of times to see it, but the ball ends up in the Allegheny River. According to Wikipedia, keeper of all river knowledge, the Allegheny "joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."

In short, that thing traveled more than 439 feet. And is now possibly in Ohio. Or West Virginia. Pretend I know how rivers work, okay?

More from SB Nation:

• MLB's first quarter report card

• The Rotation: Making a more compelling draft

• John Sickels' MLB mock draft

• Angels' Coello revives long-dead pitch

• Jim Leyland holds court on the shift

• If baseball players were evaluated like wine

Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan undergoes Tommy John surgery

2013-05-17T14:33:15Z

With damage to his flexor tendon a definite, Joel Hanrahan was going to be out until at least the 2014 season as he recovered from surgery. He'll be out just a bit longer than that now, though, as exploratory surgery performed while patching up the known elbow injury resulted in finding out that the Red Sox reliever also required Tommy John on his ulnar collateral ligament.

This pushes Hanrahan to the one-year timetable, meaning he isn't likely to return until May of 2014 at the earliest. In more positive news, with the flexor tendon fixed and Tommy John now taken care of, his elbow should not be a problem going forward. What this means for his free agency is unclear, but this should limit concerns about a second surgery in the near future.

The Red Sox could always re-sign Hanrahan to an incentives-based deal, sliding him to the 60-day disabled list once rosters need to be finalized in order to keep their roster clear until he's ready to return. If he's healthy, he can be useful, and if the cost is reduced due to surgery, it's worth looking into. As it's just May, though, it's too early to seriously speculate on next steps, even if Hanrahan's 2013 story has now come to its close.

Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront has been wild, but...

2013-05-17T13:48:26Z

Felix Doubront walked five batters in five innings on Thursday night, somehow allowing only one run in the process. Maybe because, at his wildest, there was luckily no one on base:

It's hard to see how quickly that slips right out of his hand, given the nature of this camera angle. Thankfully, NESN's camera behind home plate is on the case:

Kudos to NESN announcer Jerry Remy for pointing out that this just missed the inside part of the plate.

Ian Kinsler faceplant slides like a champ

2013-05-17T12:57:33Z

So, how did the Rangers' Ian Kinsler end up like this...

...in the prone position, in the first inning of Thursday's Rangers - Tigers game. In short: by eating dirt on a near-faceplant side:

As amazing as that looks in slow-motion, the best part of this is a toss-up between two things. One, his prescient-but-lazy tag of third base after he manages to stop his body from flying any further:

And two, there was no play at third. No throw, just Ian Kinsler nearly faceplanting himself into oblivion when he could have gone first-to-third standing up. Thanks for thinking of us, Ian.

More from SB Nation:

• MLB's first quarter report card

• The Rotation: Making a more compelling draft

• John Sickels' MLB mock draft

• Angels' Coello revives long-dead pitch

• Jim Leyland holds court on the shift

• If baseball players were evaluated like wine

Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey throws simulated game, rehab next

2013-05-16T19:34:34Z

The Red Sox have had some issues at closer -- Joel Hanrahan wasn't good, Andrew Bailey was, Bailey got hurt, Hanrahan continued to be not good, Hanrahan got hurt, Junichi Tazawa hasn't closed much because the Red Sox haven't won much since. Now, though, things should be getting as back to normal as they can with Hanrahan out for the year, as Andrew Bailey threw a simulated game today.

Andrew Bailey has finished a simulated inning. He threw to Ryan Lavarnway and Mike Carp. His arm is still attached. Fist bumps all around.
— Brian MacPherson (@brianmacp) May 16, 2013

Having his limbs attached is a obviously huge help for his velocity and command, and as far as we know, the celebratory fist bumps didn't cause any damage. Things apparently also went fine, as Nick Cafardo says that Red Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves is "very encouraged" by the 15-pitch sim game. The next step is to send Bailey off for a one-game rehab assignment, which will take place on Saturday according to Brian MacPherson, just to get him in game conditions and double-check that his arm is indeed going to remain attached.

When he does come back -- and from the sounds of it, that will happen on Monday at the latest, before Boston's series with the White Sox begins in Chicago -- he'll bump Tazawa back to setup duties alongside Koji Uehara. Craig Breslow is already back, and Franklin Morales is either on the way to help the bullpen or to send Felix Doubront there in his place, so things are starting to look up for the beleaguered unit.

Mariano Rivera breaks five bats in one GIF

2013-05-16T18:05:55Z

At this point, you've likely seen the cool new GIF thing, to make a bunch of stuff happen in a single GIF via video overlay. We told you about Yu Darvish's five pitches all at once, and MLB Network even got in one things by showing off a video of all four of Justin Verlander's pitches (which we put into GIF form, because auto-looping without sound wins).

Here we have a first, though, from FanGraphs' Drew Sheppard: Mariano Rivera breaking five bats at the same time, in one GIF!

Batsplosion? Batsplosion.

For more on the Yankees and Mariano Rivera's destructive attitude towards bats, visit SB Nation's Pinstriped Bible

Baseball Nation: All Posts by Marc Normandin

Series Preview: Red Sox at Twins

Game 1 (8:10 pm ET): Clay Buchholz vs. Vance Worley

Game 2 (7:10 pm ET): Ryan Dempster vs. Scott Diamond

Game 3 (2:10 pm ET): John Lackey vs. Pedro Hernandez

Read more Red Sox:

Pawtucket Red Sox update: Jackie Bradley Jr., Rubby De La Rosa, Bryce Brentz

Jackie Bradley Jr., LF

Rubby De La Rosa, RHP

Bryce Brentz, RF

Read more Red Sox:

Travis Snider's homer hasn't stopped yet

More from SB Nation:

Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan undergoes Tommy John surgery

Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront has been wild, but...

Ian Kinsler faceplant slides like a champ

More from SB Nation:

Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey throws simulated game, rehab next

Read more Red Sox:

Mariano Rivera breaks five bats in one GIF