Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Red Sox Digest, the only show where pain, sarcasm and a dash of hope collide nightly like a Trevor story strikeout. We cover every loss, every meltdown, and yes, even the rare win with brutally honest takes and zero front office fluff. Subscribe today at RedSoxDigest.com or risk being left out in the cold like a home game in April.
And now, here's the crew at Red Sox Digest.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Good evening, sports fans, and welcome to another edition of Red Sox Digest, where the Green Monster eats sweepers for breakfast and Alex Bregman just reminded the Dodgers why Fenway still matters. I'm your host for this evening, Jim Delfino. And today, joining me in the studio live and louder than a Fenway foul ball is Nick Face, resident chaos coordinator and the only person I trust to analyze bullpen mechanics while simultaneously eating a Fenway Frank without blinking. Nick's been glued to every pitch this series, which means he's ready to break down Bueller's collapse, Hicks's Houdini act, and why Roman Anthony should be legally required to wear a cape.
Doyle and Nick diamond are officially on assignment, which is code for we sent them somewhere with microphones and zero adult supervision. Was actually in Seattle allegedly scouting relievers, but we suspect he's just trying to find one Starbucks that doesn't charge $8 for a latte. Meanwhile, Nick diamond is embedded deep in the analytics department, which means he's locked in a closet with a whiteboard, three Red Bulls, and a conspiracy theory about launch angles. Sources say Thayer has already pitched a trade involving a relief pitcher, two sushi rolls, and a Mariners fan named Carl. Meanwhile, Nick, on the other hand, submitted a 47 slide PowerPoint titled why the Red Sox should Acquire. Nick faces Pepto Bismol for Aroldis Chapman. Baldston takes the series with a 43 win thanks to Bregman's billboard blasting Two Run Bomb and Roman Anthony's triple that had Dodgers fans googling what is defense. Walker Bueller gave us four and two thirds innings of please don't look at my whip. And Jordan Hicks closed it out with a double play that made Rafaella look like a ninja in cleats. But let's not get too cozy because the trade deadline is creeping up like a bad umpire call a role as Chapman left today with what appears to be something he ate and the bullpen held together by duct tape and vibes. And the Sox are reportedly eyeing Dodgers rookie Dalton rushing. Meanwhile, Marcelo Myers wrist is on the il and the front office is juggling trade calls like it's fantasy baseball night. Nick, I know you've got thoughts on the bullpen roulette and Bregman's launch angle. Let's get into it. What are your reactions to this today's win?
[00:02:44] Speaker C: I gotta hose you down first. That was, that was a great opening. So here's a little Hose you down. That was a lot. It was a lot. I am happy. I just want to make sure we state the obvious first. That was a very nice win here today. I don't have any more fingernails. They're gone. So those are out. Specifically the eighth inning. That was Houdini esque. We big time thank you for our center fielder playing second base. Sinead Rafaela laying out and making an extremely huge play. Game saving play. I want to emphasize there to get the Red Sox two out of three against the Dodgers. We took four out of five. Coming off with the Cubs, the Phillies and the Dodgers.
That is leaving me feeling okay.
I think you're probably in the same predicament there. We survived. We, we survived and we live another day and it gives us that opportunity here to build on this team and go into a series against the Minnesota Twins tomorrow where you actually will not be facing Joe Ryan. That's another surprise. So let that one slip slide away. We don't have to worry about that.
I think the biggest thing that we should get into, and I think that's probably first on your talking points after Rafael is Bueller talking and breaking down that. But overall, I have to say for the series and all, the Red Sox had every opportunity to sweep the Dodgers. They absolutely did. And we took two out of three. So you should be leaving feeling quite satisfied with the results of getting the job done.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree with you, Nick. I mean, you know, when you look at this through a big bubble, you say the Red Sox went 4 and 5 in this nine game stretch at probably the worst stretch of the season for the team.
Am I happy about it? Of course not. I would have liked 5 and 4. I'm always going to go for the winning record versus the losing record. But it could have been a lot worse and it could have been a lot better if there were some really key plays with some of the catchers interference over this period of time and so forth. So you know, I, I, if I want to say the glass is half full, I'll say fine. I'm happy with, you know, the 4 and 5 record. What it tells me is, is that this team needs some reinforcements and it needs now and we talked about this the other day that, you know, Breslow and management and ownership have to go out now and they have to go and do what needs to be done to improve this team. They are definitely worth, you know, investing in. You're taking two out of three from the Dodgers who could be World Series representatives here. So, I mean, it needs to be done. That being said, I did want to get into Walker Bueller, as his name goes against my bottom chin here. You know, another disappointing yet over. Okay, Walker Bueller outing, four and two thirds innings, four hits, the five walks is the killer. He gave up one home run.
You know, it's kind of a little bit of a. A coin toss with Bueller right now. Last two outings, he's kept them in the game. And I think that's the best that you can say out of what his last few starts have become.
He's not, he's not causing us to be down 5 nothing in the first, even though it feels like it's. He's keeping you in the game and just getting you through. But Nick, I don't know how you feel. It's not good enough for me.
[00:06:01] Speaker C: We got very lucky today. Very lucky. I mean, the Red Sox, in total for our pitching staff, had nine walks. Five of those are from Bueller himself. That is unacceptable.
I'm sorry. A major league player with command issues left and right that still can't be fixed. Jim, this is so mental with him. He. It's insane. But the biggest takeaway for me with Bueller is Bueller has nothing left in his tank. He runs on empty every time he's out there because he came into the league, what, 10 years ago. Here he is facing his former team for the very first time. Got his World Series ring on Friday, should be failing top of the world. And I'm going to show these guys exactly why you gave up on me. Well, the Dodgers got the last laugh of that because they said we now know why. We said no, go on Bueller again. The guy. Guy doesn't have anything left for an in the arsenal. He has nothing. And I think he's trying to be this finesse guy almost in a way, like, and I hate to bring his name up because I hated his time here. He feels like he's the Corey Kluber, Jim. That's what he feels like to me. A guy that's just destined for disaster.
It's written and spanked right all over it. But the biggest thing here was, I think it was either the second inning or the third inning and he had the bases loaded and he had Freddy Freeman up and I was stunned. He was able to surv.
I was stunned.
And coming out of that, I said, well, I mean if you can sneak by and throw him out there for another inning or so and try and salvage something, I guess we can walk away with this with some positivity. He didn't blow up, he didn't self destruct. And I think that to me is the biggest point here that we saw. He survived, he got out of the jams and he kept his team in the game a lot like what happened with the Phillies. He did pitch much better against the Phillies versus this game. But you know, he's no doubt my number five starter right now and he is cruising for getting out of here. If the Red Sox do go out and get somebody here at the trade deadline, he is their weakest link in their rotation.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: Yeah, no doubt. Especially if he is one of your stall wards as opposed to someone like Dick Fitz. I think my biggest thing is, is that I can't put put my finger on whether I'm happy about the last two outings or I'm not. Because while the numbers aren't terrible, they're not great. But then you have to take into consideration the opponents. You did have the Dodgers, you did have the Phillies, two of the toughest teams in Major League Baseball and you know they're in the National League. I mean they all have scouting reports and so forth, so that's fine. But you know, he did enough to get through. So does it mean that he's actually found something and can be a little bit better down the road against a little bit of weaker competition? I don't know. What I do know is, is that if he's my number five guy, I'm okay with it. If he's my number three guy, I'm not. And so, you know, I'm still going to clamor for the Red Sox to go out and attempt to find and acquire a number two starter to fit in behind crochet so that every one of these guys can be moved down one slot. Giolito Bueller Bayo becomes some combination of your 3, 4, 5. Now you're looking at a rotation that I have a lot of confidence in even if it means putting Bueller in the bullpen for, I don't want to say a mop up duty. But you know, if you need a three inning stint because someone had a bad outing or a lot pitches in three or four innings like Baio, you can bring him in here because let's face it, we don't have really that long reliever anymore. It seemed to be, you know, in 21 and so forth. Obviously Garrett Whitlock was that guy. But it seems like he's been regulated to a one inning stint now and I'm all for that. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea because you're getting him to be lethal for one inning. It's always when he comes back for that second inning, whether it be 2/3 in the inning before or a full inning, it always seems that second inning of work just is horrendous for him.
So we don't really have a long reliever. Maybe Bueller slides into that slot if we wind up acquiring another starter or you know, Fitz is in the rotation, he's in the bullpen or vice versa. Maybe Fitz can give us two or three innings here and there when we need it for a long relief. So I don't know. I think the answer is pretty clear that, you know, it can't stay the way it is this rotation because again, four and two thirds innings, what does that mean again? You're putting a lot of emphasis on the bullpen. You got to get a lot of innings out of your bullpen and we can't keep wearing this team down and wearing this bullpen down.
Any other reactions on Bueller or the pitching staff, Nick, that you wanted to discuss?
[00:10:53] Speaker C: I think it's just a common sense here with Bueller. When he's out there, he's going to give up the home run at some point in the game. He's going to walk people at some point in the game. I think this is just going to be accustomed to who he is right now. He did go down south to some pitching lab during break to try and figure out mechanics and command. So I think we saw an improvement against the Phillies. We definitely digressed here in this start here.
This start in particular, I'm fine with the Phillies one that was very good. I have no issue with that. This one I do. I don't really care truthfully which opponent you go up against. Anything to me not hitting at least five innings, that's a failure. You didn't give us length, you didn't keep us.
You made the bullpen have to survive this game and I give the kudos to the bullpen. It was a combination of Bernardino who saved Walker Bueller's butt. Let's make sure that that's stated. Greg Weisert, he was so clutch tonight.
I've been been Very critical at times of Weisert saying he's overworked. He's.
You never know what to get. He, he started it out. It was a leadoff double to Rojas and then he came in, he got Ohtani out.
I think he got Mookie Betts to pop up or fly out or something like that. Greg Weisert kept you right there in this game and that is exactly what you hope for. I have zero issues if Weissert's my six guy, my six inning guy. That was perfect right there. The seventh inning came. Justin Wilson, he got the first two batters out quickly and then it became there was a walk and then a hit by pitch of some sort. No, it was a hit by pitch and then someone doubled or something like that. That. And it got a little interesting there. But he got out of the jam, you know, it was great. And then the 8th came. Well, of course we're going to be talking about that, but it was. The whole emphasis here on the bullpen is just stating the FA the face that this bullpen won the Red Sox the game today. It was the bullpen that was our star. They delivered, exceeded expectations and got this victory today.
Yeah.
[00:13:01] Speaker B: Before we switch topics, Eric Joseph has a chat and he said that get another starter like Mitch Keller or Merrill Kelly. So I just looked up. Merrill Kelly is a free agent at the end of the season. He's 9 and 6 with a 322 ERA, 22 starts, 128 innings pitched, 121 strikeouts and a WHIP of just over 1.
And Mitch Keller is 4 and 10, albeit a terrible Pirates team. But he has a 353 ERA. Also 125 innings pitched, 97 strikeouts and a WHIP is a little bit higher at 1.1.
Nick, if you had a choice on either one, Mitch Keller or Merrill Kelly, who are you going for?
[00:13:47] Speaker C: Merrill Kelly. Not even a question asked right there. If you can get Merrill Kelly, this goes back to the whole point that we were talking about with Dylan Cease from before. And that would be the same kind of rental here.
You have to figure out, negotiate.
If Merrill Kelly wants to come here to Boston, what is the future here going to be? I don't think the Red Sox are interested this trade deadline on the rental game. I really don't.
So that that's where it's going to get interesting because I don't think they're going to mortgage up some of the prospects in the future here just for a stop gap.
Now, Merrill Kelly, does he satisfy me as a Number two, I would say yes, because Merrill Kelly to me has, has been there, done that. I mean, he got all the way to the World Series. He's been post season tested. That's what you're looking for for a guy that has been in the big spot, has gotten to the big show. Granted, the Diamondbacks didn't win, but he understands winning. He understands pressure. He gets it. And that's something that this team, just because they're so young and inexperienced, they don't have.
So if you can go out and get somebody that has these skills and has that bulldog mentality and can put up solid numbers, I am intrigued.
[00:15:06] Speaker B: So I, you know, I'm a little bit back and forth on both of those options and I'll tell you why.
You know, you brought up the point that Merrill Kelly has post season experience, and I think that's a very important thing.
You put him along, Alex Bregman in that dugout and I think there's some really good things that not only the pitching side can learn from, but, you know, Bregman on the hitting side. So that's a really good thing.
The only problem that I have with him is he's 36, going to be 37 years old at the end of this season, and he is a free agent. So I kind of feel like if you're going to go for it, he makes a great argument for trading and you probably won't have to give up too much unless you expand the deal.
The thing about Mitch Keller, he's 29 years old and he signed until 2029. So you would get him for 26, 27, 28, you'd get him for three seasons. You're probably going to have to give a little bit more, but he would be somebody that you could slot in to this rotation for a number of seasons and probably stay a little clear of the free agency market come this off season. And I brought this up before when we were talking about Joe Ryan because he had a couple of years left with the Texas Rangers now nipping on our heels, I kind of feel that going after a Nathan Evaldi is probably not going to happen because Texas is going to try to. They're going to try to say to themselves, look, we're in it, so we're not going to go ahead and, you know, blow this up.
So it will be interesting. It's kind of like one of those two things. Keller long term, probably costs more. Merrill Kelly, you know, older, free agent, rental and, you know, you got to, you go for him you got to, you're just going for it this season. So that'll be an interesting thing to see. Moving right along. I want to talk a little bit about Rafaella.
That play for the doubling up was just absolutely insane. Nick, take me through what you saw and how you felt about our center fielder in second base Again.
[00:17:22] Speaker C: You know what's interesting is we've been back and forth on this whole thing with Rafael as our center fielder and that's what he's going to be most comfortable with and we feel that that's the best spot for him.
I think what we're seeing here with Rafaela is it doesn't matter, which is awesome. I think he'll fight through adversity, which again is something that this team sometimes has struggled with over the years. And the guy's just going to go out there and play. He's going to do everything he can. He gives me that hustler, that dirt dog, that don't worry, wherever you need me to go, I'll go and I'm just going to be fine. That's the biggest takeaway here for me on the player that Rafaela is, and that excites me because it shows that he's a gamer. He's somebody that is passionate, that wants to win and wants to do whatever it takes to be a Red Sox and be a good teammate. And he laid out and he made an extraordinary play. It could be one of the most game standing, standing, game changing, series altering plays that we have seen all season long. And, and again, his natural position, of course we know is center field and he's exceeded all of our expectations with handling the job of going to second base. And it allows the Red Sox to be a little bit more flexible here with their surplus of outfielders. Well, you don't really have to worry right now of where Duran's going to play every night and where Abreu is going to slot in and where Roman Anthony is going to be because they have something figured out now long term. Is this what they're going to continue to do?
No, they're not going to keep the outfield like it is. But I think for right now, Jim, I have confidence right now with Marcel Meyer being down that Rafaela can handle it. And that was, that was just so huge today to see, depending on what.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: You do for this trade deadline. And you know, we don't, we haven't heard anything about the Red Sox being interested in infield help which kind of goes what they've done the last five or six seasons by getting some five foot nothing, you know, in middle infielder every year.
Rafaela at second base, I think gives you your best offensive lineup, but him in center field gives you your best defensive lineup. And that's not to say that when the going gets rough that he can't move from second to center field depending on a specific game and this specific opponent later in a game seven, eighth inning. But, and I don't, I don't like to use comparisons, but I'm going to throw this out there anyway.
He's kind of given me some Mookie Betts vibes in the fact that he's a contributor. He seems like he's a really good clubhouse guy for a young guy. And he's definitely taken a step forward from last year, which I really thought he would. And anybody listening to this podcast or anything I've read or written in the past, I said last year that I didn't really care about the fact that he struggled offensively because he was a rookie and he had to learn center field and shortstop. And that was a lot to do and it was hard to do.
So I'm really impressed with what he's been able to do.
There are a lot of intangibles that Mookie Betts had when he was first up his first three, four, five, six seasons. Not only on the base paths, not only at the, in the batter's box, but also defensively. You felt like there were things that he could do that you can't teach. And I think Rafaela has a lot of that too. The wherewithal to just know, to be able to, you know, jump and run and try to tag second. You weren't going to get that from some of the other clowns that we had manning the middle infield. Nate Eaton. You think he would have done that? Absolutely not.
[00:21:11] Speaker C: So I don't even know if Marcel Meyer would have been able to do that, in all fairness. I really don't.
[00:21:18] Speaker B: I agree with you on that. And, and that's why I think, I think the Red Sox surprised me with this contract signing with Rafaela because right now it's looking like a steal.
I mean, he's close to.800 OPS.
I mean, that's fantastic. 14 home runs on the season.265 batting average.
You know, he's, he's really become, he's starting to become an all around 5 tool player. I hate to, I hate to say it, but I think you're starting to see that mature. And if he continues down this path he will be an All Star down the road.
[00:21:56] Speaker C: I do think that he's going to be an All Star at some point. And I don't think you're wrong, Jim, with even this, the the early beginning stages of starting the conversation of the Red Sox looking to him to be that equivalent to a Mookie Betts. I don't think you're wrong in the least bit from that because I think if you sat Henry and Kennedy and even Alex Cor and all the operations people for this organization down, I think that they would say we want him to be our next upcoming of a Mookie Betts style.
I think that's exactly why they risked that contract early on with him. And I think that as a building block kind of guy, he has all the tools to be that kind of person. He's got a ways to go. I want to make sure that we say that 100%. But he's at the stage where we can start to see that build becoming a five tool kind of baseball player.
And I'm excited for his future here. I can say that.
[00:22:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And the term building block that you use, I think is really important because being still, you know, a young guy, 24 years old, second year, you know, by the time we get to next year at this point, you know, July 26th, I think you're going to see him take on a more stronger role in that Dustin Pedroia, you know, Mookie Betts type of leadership and, you know, hats off to him. I hope it continues. My next topic that I wanted to talk about was staying on the offensive side of the ball.
The Red Sox have a DH problem. I don't know if you've noticed this, Nick, but Masataka Yoshida has been pretty much our primary DH since his return from the Grand Canyon. I mean, shoulder surgery. And since he's been the dh, he's been in the outfield once and thank God that there were no damage to any lenses on the Green Monster in that one game.
Other than that, he's been downright pitiful. The ground outs to second base are back. There was a game, I think against the Phillies where I think Duran was on second and all you needed him was to ground out to second and he grounded out the third or short and couldn't advance the runner.
This guy is now batting.216 on the season.237 on base percentage, a.534 OPS. He's got a negative WAR. He's actually hurt you as a DH. That's what that means, Nick, take me through your best, best friend, Masataka Yoshida.
[00:24:38] Speaker C: He's. He's a real gem. He's a real bff.
My bff, Yoshida xbff, if you want to put them that way, needs to be vanished to Worcester and given the Rusney Castillo lifetime contract to disappear into smithereens down to Worcesterville.
That's what the team needs to do.
Much like with you and the rest of us here, Thayer and Nick, we were very surprised with the activation so early of Yoshida. We were very surprised. We thought that this was going to be all season that we wouldn't see him. We heard the excuse all at the beginning of the first half. All his shoulder. We're going to build him up so he can play the outfield. Yep, yep, yep. More BS here. A little bit more this way. And then Devers gets traded. Oh, we're going to start to ramp him up.
I laughed at that because it was unrealistic to even think that this was going to result in something positive here. I think his first game back, he had like two or three hits or something like that. Then that I think counts for most of his.260 batting average.
I will give him a little bit of benefit from the doubt here that this isn't just a Yoshida problem. This is an entire offense problem.
Most of your team, outside of Bregman and Anthony, at least he's been coming on pretty strong.
Can't hit.
We had five hits today, Jim.
We strike out constantly.
We leave runners on constantly.
I've been chirping about Jaren Duran since the beginning of time.
And then Durant had a big game yesterday with his two triples. He went 1 for 3 today. But there was another crucial spot. First and second, two outs. Lefty up on the mound. Rather he strikes out, they go upstairs on him.
So as much as I want to, you know, complain about Yoshida, I think the biggest thing that we can emphasize with Yoshida is that they were hoping that he would give us more contact.
Not rolling the ball to second base, solid contact, meaning drive the ball in, whether it's over right into right field or into a gap or something. He ain't even doing that. So if that's the case right there, I'm all set. I would rather see Grissom be playing or I would rather be seeing Password from Worcester up or Blaze Jordan up. I would rather see that production because right now this is a big pile of crap.
You know, I'm grateful we have Bregman and Bregman can get the big hit when he has to, but outside of Bregman and Anthony on occasion, this team, I mean, I don't know how much more we can, we can survive on this gym. That's why sustainability really scares me here long term.
Because the other thing that they did today, they changed the lineup. They had Anthony as your leadoff guy, they had Durant as your 3 hitter. And I was screaming and chirping all morning long as soon as that came out.
And I said the biggest thing here for me is a confidence thing with Durant.
So you're going to put a guy that just had a great game yesterday and now you're going to drop him down into the, into the most pressure spot in my eyes, the three spot. That's your best hitter on your team and you're going to do that to him when he can't be consistent, strikes out a ton. He's got like a.330 on base percentage. And you're going to do that when Anthony has at least given you somewhat consistency in that three spot.
I think Anthony's at the point, wherever you put him, he's going to be fine. But I was more concerned here on the Duran effect.
I was worried that Durant was going to strike out four times and then mentally be shot and ruined. After you had such a great game yesterday. He's that fragile. Jim, where you. I feel like I have to worry about those things. I, as a fan and that's why I went out and I said that. I said this was like the 107th time this lineup's been changed this season because there's no consistency. It's core waking up. Oh, I feel like Russ Snyder is going to be our leadoff guy today. Oh, how about Anthony? How about we just bump everybody else up? I mean it's, it's, it's just, it doesn't scream to me consistency and achieving the ultimate goal of being a better team. It's a bunch of mix, mix and match and it just screams desperation.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: Nick, back to a little bit on Yoshida. I want to bring up a couple stats that are really alarming.
So against right handers, Yoshida is batting.182.
He's a left handed bat. He's batting.182 against right handed pitching and 333 against left handed pitching.
He's in there as a right handed compliment to bat left handed against the right handed pitching. He can't hit against right handed pitching.
[00:29:38] Speaker C: It feels bad. That's what the point we're at right now and he's like, oh, yep, we're just going to throw him out there. He'll get going. Don't you worry. He has a. He has all the confidence in the world from me and that drives me insane because I can't do it with Yoshida anymore. I can't.
[00:29:53] Speaker B: The problem here is that you have a platoon at first base with Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro. Toro has started to show signs of fatigue. He's not having the offense he was having earlier in the season and it shows. These guys are not everyday starters and you're running them into the ground.
So when you suffer offensively with maybe Gonzalez, Toro and even ref Schneider in your lineup and then add in your DH of Yoshida giving you nothing, you're talking four people. And God forbid Connor Wong is catching now you're talking more than half your lineup that can't hit the ball.
So what are you exposed to do?
And I know when Nick diamond was on last time, he brought up the idea of Roman Anthony leading off and we saw that today.
But to your point, I don't like Duran in that three hole because you need a guy that's going to see pitching, foul off pitches, take walks, do all those intangibles. Jaren Durant is not that type of guy.
He's not a number two hitter. He's not a number three hitter. I don't understand the fascination this season with taking Jaren Durant out of the leadoff spot because you have not replaced him with anyone that would be a prototypical leadoff hitter. Someone that is a high on base guy, a high average guy or can steal bags. I mean, if anything, I'd rather have Rafael lead off.
You know, I just don't understand why the tinkering so much on this rotation and this lineup this season, it doesn't make any sense to me. I don't understand what Core is trying to prove because he's not going to get anybody else in that lineup. They're not making any moves in May and June. So why has he got to keep tinkering with Duran and the first, you know, the, the, the leadoff spot.
[00:31:59] Speaker C: I think the big thing here, Jim, is that they just don't have anybody. They don't, they have no thump. They have nobody that can consistently hit outside of Bregman. They just don't.
So I think he legitimately.
Here's my hat today. Up. Let's see. Let's mix it up.
Oh, leadoff today. Oh, we're going to Go with Anthony today. Oh, let's put that there. Let's mix it up again.
Wait a minute. We got to do a real good mix this time. Who's my 2 guy today? Oh, William Abreu is going to be my 2 guy and so on and so forth.
That's unacceptable. This is the major leagues. It's just a joke.
[00:32:36] Speaker B: It really is ridiculous. And you know, as far as Duran leading off, I mean, again, if you just leave him there like you did last year, I understand he's not having the same offensive game he did last year, but when you think of the fact if he can get on base, steal second, somehow wind up in scoring position after him, that's when you need guys like ref Schneider who can see a lot of pitches. If it's a left handed starter, maybe he can get a hit on the opposite field and bring Durant in. I'd even go as far as to say Yoshida batting second. Why? Because if Duran's on second, hopefully three out of four times, he can ground out to second and move Duran to third with one out. I mean, it's that sad that I'm looking for that as a positive and I understand Bregman will be second or whatever case might be, but I just don't see the need for ref Schneider to lead off and I don't see the need for Anthony to lead off. I want Anthony in the two, three or four hole. That's where he needs to be. If that means, and if it means that you've got to find someone else to be your leadoff guy and put Duran down in the seventh or eighth hole, then find the leadoff guy and stick with him. Stop with the, you know, stop with this merry go round of leadoff guys. It doesn't make any sense. I've never seen this on any championship driven team that plays this Russian roulette with the leadoff spot. Just drives me crazy. Exactly. Next topic, I want to talk about. Roman Anthony had what appears to be a mild injury today.
At least we're hoping so. He did. I think foul ball off his foot or his ankle.
They did look at it afterwards. He continued to play the whole game. Did not come out of the game.
He did have a trainer look at it later in the dugout. Went down below probably to see about some swelling and I'm sure they'll take X rays after the game. But how serious would this be, Nick? Three days before the trade deadline? If Roman Anthony. You read tomorrow he's going on the il.
[00:34:42] Speaker C: I mean we, we in our chat, were all worried about what was going on. And specifically Trainer comes out trying to figure out what's going on when he was over at third base and everything.
And then we see him go down the tunnel. That's when I got very nervous. And I was expecting to see Ref Snyder head out to left field because the camera kept panning to him to figure out what was going on. Then the commercial ended, and then, lo and behold, he was back out there. So I was very relieved because I felt that if something was that serious, they would have removed him at that point.
So here's what they did. In between innings, they took his shoe off. They gave him a little bit of this lovely stuff. We're not going to say the company, but you put it on.
[00:35:28] Speaker B: I have that in my office.
[00:35:29] Speaker C: They put a band aid on, they kissed it, and they tied his shoe up and said, you'll be good.
So I am. I'm happy with that result. I do think Jim, though, if this was very serious, we would not have seen him. The Red Sox don't fool around with anything. Whether it's precautionary or not.
I think that we definitely escaped something major. I think it all had to do with following the ball off of his foot. You know, he had to leg out a triple. I'm sure that aggravated a little bit. I'm sure he's icing on this plane ride over to Minnesota. And I'm sure he'll be a little black and blue or a little inflamed. I expect him to be in the lineup tomorrow and for the rest of the series upcoming. I do.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: I hope so, too. Even if he does have to, Dharma, you know, just to stay up field, that's fine. But I do agree with you. If it was something serious out of the get go, there's no way in Sam hell they're going to let him or Sam Kennedy stay in the game because he's their prized possession right now and he is the future. So there's no way that they would risk that, you know, in a game like this. I do want to bring up this stat. I looked at some of this scheduling down the stretch for the rest of the season. We all, we all talk about the Red Sox having one of the toughest schedules.
They do have 24 more games with teams over.527 more games with teams under.500.
And I did not count the Indians because they were at.500 exactly when I did that stat.
So they were completely eliminated. But with that said, I want to Switch gears to the upcoming series in Minnesota. We have Dick Fitz and he will be going against Simeon or Simon Woods. Richardson, however you want to pronounce his name, will have Giolito against Chris Paddock and then finally Brian Baio against Zebby Matthews. Take me through what your reactions and what do you think the outcome of this series is going to be against the Twins in Minnesota.
[00:37:26] Speaker C: Dick Fitz start tomorrow worries me and a lot of it has to do with figuring out what he's going to bring you.
If he can give you three runs or less over six innings and then hand it over to the bullpen, I think we'll be in good shape. The problem here, your bullpen now is taxed. You have Garrett Whitlock available tomorrow. You have Aroldis Chapman, who's tumming it up right now, if you know what I mean. You have Chris Murphy available, probably Bernardino, he only threw a little bit today. But you're definitely not going to see Jordan Hicks. You will not see Aroldis Chapman because they're going to make sure that that Tums did him in and make sure that there's no more issues in that department. And Weisert maybe. But again, I don't love this hole if you're in high leverage stress situations. Coming back into those situations the next day. I need some length from Mr. Fitz tomorrow. That is my big ask, my big request. Give me six plus and I'm a happy camper of three run or less ball.
The problem is your offense still is invisible and now we're going on the road. We are not a very good road team at the current moment and we're much better at home. We're just much better at home. It is what it is. Right now I am nervous to see what the offense does. I am so I'm not expecting a win tomorrow night. I'm going to be honest with you on that one. Now on Giolito start on Tuesday.
We need to, we need a little bounce back here.
Obviously he got tattooed his last time up against the Phillies. This is not a Philly lineup. The Twins, they have some players, you know, Kawas, Correa and whatnot. But it is nowhere near the fanfare of what the Phillies are. I need a bounce back from G Leo. I need him to shove. I need six, seven innings, two runs or less handed over to probably a more rested bullpen Tuesday. I could see a win on that one.
The wild card here is your Wednesday game, you know, your getaway one.
I want to say that you know Bale will Bounce back and he'll be fine in this next start. I think historically he pitches well against the Twins. I'd have to look over the statistics and everything, but I think historically and also in Minnesota, he pitches well. So that's where I would say I would take two out of three. So I'm looking for the Giolito and Bayo starts to be my wins and the fifth start tomorrow to be my loss.
So you better well come out of this series against the Twins two out of three. And that brings you to Thursday for the trade deadline and we'll see what happens.
[00:40:00] Speaker B: So I also will agree with you, Nick. Two out of three. The Red Sox will take two out of three from the Twins on this series.
The question is game one with Dick Fitz against Woods Richardson.
So these guys here, Richardson's been, it's been fourth season second as a starter with the Twins. He Is got a WHIP of 1.37, 76 innings pitch, 64 strikeouts. So a little less than a strikeout an inning. Paddock has 83 Ks in 111 innings pitched. He's the most well rounded starter they have. He's got a number of years under his belt, of course. And then finally Zebby Matthews, which is basically, he's a Rookie. He had nine starts last season. He now is pitched 29, 38 strikeouts. So he's kind of your strikeout guy of the three.
And that's in game three. I think I feel pretty confident with the G. Alito start. I think I feel pretty confident with the Bayo start, providing that the Red Sox can, you know, make some contact and have a good offensive showing against Matthews and maybe stir him a little bit. What I would say is, is that if Richard Fitz has a bad outing tomorrow night, I think it's indivitous of CORA to actually stay with him late in that game. He's going to have to take one for the team. Meaning that if it's the third inning and he's at 60 pitches and they're down 2 to 1 or 3 to nothing, I think he's got to stay in there and he's got to give this bullpen a little bit of a rest.
So hopefully the Red Sox come out and score seven in the first and then he can just coast. But he's going to have to come out and go into the sixth inning tomorrow. No ands, ifs or buts. There's just no way they need somebody like crochet going tomorrow night is what they could use. And again goes back to my let's make a deal. And who knows? Maybe they can get it done during this week and it'll save Joe Ryan this trip.
[00:42:11] Speaker C: Yeah, I could go right on the plane right back to Fenway. That would be great. Who do we have? It's Houston coming up to the weekend, right? It's right back to Fenway.
[00:42:19] Speaker B: Friday, quick trip. Yep. Friday, August 1st, against Houston. It's crochet and brown then.
[00:42:25] Speaker C: Oh, that's perfect. We can do the whole press conference there and everything on Friday.
Just make it all work out. Just board them up, get your bags all set to go. Joe Ryan.
[00:42:35] Speaker B: Yep, exactly.
[00:42:36] Speaker C: If any good bullpen arms want to come and join, be my guest.
[00:42:40] Speaker B: And he can pitch game two in place of Bueller on Saturday.
[00:42:44] Speaker C: Oh, you are. You are 100%. I am. Right. On that plane they live in, they.
[00:42:51] Speaker B: Were able to trade Tristan Christian Vasquez to the Houston Astros and save themselves a plane ticket. So they must do the same thing with Ryan and Duran this time. So get of those.
[00:43:02] Speaker C: Remember 21 years ago when Nomar was traded, they were in the with the twins. Doug McKavich just came right across to the next. The next clubhouse and got it all done right there.
[00:43:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:43:12] Speaker C: And they kissed Nomar. See you later. You're going over there.
[00:43:15] Speaker B: They've done that quite a few times with different guys.
[00:43:17] Speaker C: Can be done.
[00:43:19] Speaker B: So any closing thoughts for tonight? Nick, before we wrap it up today.
[00:43:23] Speaker C: The biggest stat that I saw after this game, and it got me kind of intrigued. So like you were saying about the opponents upcoming, there are seven teams right now in baseball with a winning percentage of.570 or higher. Right now, the Red Sox do not play any of those teams. Right now, it is the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays series is September. Twerd.
That is a long stretch right there. So I'm feeling pretty good getting out of this toughest stretch of the season here.
I'm not saying it's smooth sailing. Absolutely not. But you got through your big boys here, your big teams, and you survived. Now it's time to take care of even more business and get some separation and distance here.
[00:44:10] Speaker B: For anybody that may have heard me say this many times before, you know, Thayer and I go back a lot, a long time, and we used to always count wins per month.
And we did it by saying the. You know, the Red Sox needed to win 15 ball games per month. When you do that, you win 90 ball games after six months.
So we always look at that 15 as the barometer. And if you win more than that, you've got extra for the following month.
So we are at July 27th. We have a three game series coming up and the Red Sox have 57 wins. So if they can get to 60 they'll be on a 90 pace win streak still or pace. So you have to look pretty positive at that and we'll see where it goes. But I'd like to thank Nick for being on with me tonight and we will be back with you on Tuesday and we will be live on Thursday.
Barring any other trades that occur, we will be here on Thursday night to go over not only the Red Sox, what they may do in this trade market, but we'll analyze some other moves from other teams as well. And we encourage anybody that is going to listen on that live stream to definitely put in on the chat and we'll answer your chats and get you on with your quote and talk about whatever trade that you, you know, wanted to discuss. And again, like I said, if Monday, tomorrow or Wednesday, there is something big, you know, we may do an emergency podcast for that. That being said, I'm going to call it for tonight. Nick, thanks again and we will see you on Tuesday. Have a good night everybody.
[00:45:47] Speaker C: I'll see you soon.
