There’s already a few things popping up this season that I really don’t like.
In honor of an extremely choppy start to this Red Sox season, I’ll give you a choppy collection of thoughts on this Thursday. We’re just 13 games in and we’ve already seen a wild comeback and an 18-run offensive outburst in the same day, two key contract extensions handed out, two losing streaks of at least three games, a five-game winning streak, awful weather, shoddy defense, questionable approaches at the plate, and inconsistent pitching.
The season’s still looking to build a true narrative, so in the meantime, here’s a half dozen raw thoughts following Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays in 11 innings:
1) The Red Sox need to prove they can win low scoring games.
5, 3, 8, 13, 5, 18.
Those are the run totals the Sox have posted in each of their first six wins so far this season. All but one of them involved an offensive outburst of five or more runs, and the three run win was the shut out in Baltimore behind Garrett Crochet.
They did come back for a thrilling, grind it out style win in the Sunday afternoon game against the Cardinals, and there were also some heroics from Wilyer Abreu on Opening Day, but for the most part, when they’ve gone cold in meaningful moments, they’ve gone ice cold. Oh, and on that note:
2) Hitting with runners in scoring position (or not)
In the seven games the Sox have lost this season, they’re an almost unbelievable 9-78 with runners in scoring position. That translates to an abysmal .115 batting average in those spots. But it’s not just the lack of big hits in these games, it’s the sheer amount of chances they’re pissing away. In six of the seven losses, they’ve had at least 11 at bats with runners in scoring position.
3) Trevor Story’s at-bat (if you saw it, you know which one)
There were so many horrific approaches at the plate to choose from over the last three days, but the one that really stands out in an especially negative way is Trevor Story’s at-bat in the bottom of the tenth inning last night with Alex Bregman at third base representing the winning run and only one out.
Story saw five pitches, and he swung at all of them. Two of which weren’t even close to the zone. His strike out here represents an inability to become more than a one dimensional hitter, and underscores the fact that the game still demands versatility at the plate.
It’s funny, baseball has been trending towards an all-or-nothing approach at the plate, and that makes sense in the macro. But sometimes all you need is the ability to execute the little things in a big situation to generate a win. Story couldn’t do that here.
4) It would have been really nice if Kristian Campbell got the game winning hit last night.
That’s it. Bold take I know, but a knock to walk things off in the tenth after that Story strike out would have done wonders to cleanse the palate. His stock has already soared, but it would have gone to another level if he walked off Toronto there.
Instead, he got gassed by 97mph heat.
Side note: I have an irrational dislike of Jeff Hoffman. To me, he will always be the guy going the other way in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, and that transaction cut me deep! So to see him back on the Blue Jays after all these years striking out former Rockie Trevor Story and the Red Sox future personified in Kristian Campbell feels personal. I’ve got my eye on you, Jeff!
5) The Red Sox should have more of a rivalry with the Blue Jays
Two passionate sports towns, two large fan bases, and a combined six World Series titles between them while playing in the same division for for nearly 50 years. Why hasn’t this match up popped off more?
My best guess: The prolonged game of peekaboo they’ve been playing with each other for decades. Over the last 40 years, the Red Sox and Blue Jays have made the postseason a combined 27 times (17 for Boston and 10 for Toronto), and yet they’ve only made the playoffs in the same season once. (That occurred in 2016, and even then they didn’t clash for a series.)
Perhaps then, this is the most untapped division rivalry in all of MLB. It’s as if The Battle of the Coral Sea was made into a baseball matchup.
6) I have a love/hate relationship with the extra inning rules
Here’s the dilemma: Part of me still wants to see these extra inning games continue in their purest form and march on without a man on second base. As somebody who is very pro pitch clock, I don’t mind if the random game here or there becomes an extra inning slog. As long as it’s in isolation, it’s fine.
On the other hand, starting a runner on second base packs instant drama into every at-bat. From a TV show perspective, it’s hard to take your eyes off the screen when a run is threatening to score at any moment. It’s almost annoying how well that part of it works.
Honestly, the biggest piece that hurts the drama is first base being open to start the inning, which leads to a huge amount of walks to the best hitters. If you want the best hitters to get a crack in these moments, MLB should start the inning with men on first and second to cut down on the intentional walks.
In any case, let’s run a poll and see what the Over The Monster community thinks about the extra innings rules: