The dream is dead.
So just how much do the Red Sox need another right-handed hitter, anyway? As Alex Speier points out in a mode of analysis I’ve never actually encountered before but love, the single most valuable thing a hitter can do in Fenway Park is pull a ball to left field. That’s obvious based on the eye test (because, you know, there’s that big wall out there) but Speier gives us the actual numbers: righties who pull balls in the air at Fenway produce a batting average of .643 (!) and a slugging percentage of 2.147 (!!!). That’s the best slugging percentage for any kind of hit, in any ballpark in baseball. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
We might want to keep those numbers secret from our pitchers, given how scary they are. And that’s especially true in the case of Garrett Crochet, in light of the fact that (1) he’s a lefty, and (2) he and the Red Sox have reportedly entered into some extension talks. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Liam Hendriks, though, seems to be tough enough to handle some scary stats, given that he was tough enough to throw a bullpen at Fenway yesterday in sub-freezing temps with gusting winds. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
Bobby Dalbec was a right-handed slugger who certainly could pull a ball — the problem was he didn’t do it nearly enough. Now he’ll try to turn his career around with another team. Dalbec, who was a free agent after being DFA’d by the Red Sox, signed a minor league deal with a spring training invite with the White Sox. (Darragh McDonald, MLB Trade Rumors)
And it’s January, which means it’s time to see which player is “in the best shape of his life.” We officially have our first honoree, courtesy of Alex Cora. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)