Red Sox Rant: Vazquez, Kimbrel, Sandoval

At 6-6, the Red Sox have played to their exact potential, a team that will probably end a couple games above .500 with huge inconsistencies in their roster. You can spend hours, week and week talking about their starting rotation. You can go on and on about the exacerbation of the bullpen and their demand to log 30+ innings every week. I don't want to exhaust those points. I’ve got a couple different points I want to make about last week:


Christian Vazquez
The kid knows how to catch. He's clearly better than both Blake Swihart and Ryan Hanigan when it comes to controlling a game. Amazing since he's missed an entire year. In the one game he has played this year, he made Rick Porcello look like a respectable pitcher. He had poise when controlling base runners and clearly knows how to frame pitches better than the rest of the Red Sox battery. It makes me wonder about Swihart’s role with the Red Sox going forward. After getting sent down to Triple A, it makes me believe he will get used in a trade for a legitimate starting pitcher,mi clear number one or two guy. The Red Sox won’t keep both and Vazquez is just so good behind the plate while Swihart could get cashed in for some needed pitching depth that it makes the most sense.

Craig Kimbrel
I know I said I wouldn't talk about the bullpen, but I can't leave out Kimbrel. After his one bad outing (which comes once every other year for him) he has been throwing gas. Kimbrel is a guy I can picture people rooting for and trusting when it comes to October baseball. He's just a likable guy. I went to the Red Sox game on Wednesday, and the atmosphere was like nothing else. He ran in from the bullpen to “Welcome to the Jungle” with flames on every scoreboard. I know it's a cheap Red Sox gimmick but I'm buying in. I like Kimbrel’s demeanor and ability.

Pablo Sandoval
If you haven't kept up with the news, Sandoval basically has an undiagnosed eating disorder. I honestly feel bad for the guy. He gets so much crap from the fans and media about his weight, and he's just a guy that can't control it. I know there are two ways to look at it, but I can't help but feel bad for the guy. You wouldn't go around making fun at the average joe with an eating disorder, so lay off Sandoval. Let him work out his problems. Hope the guy gets some help.



Today is always one of the greatest games on the Red Sox schedule, Patriot’s day baseball. It's the one day of the year where the Red Sox play baseball in the morning, 11:05 sharp. I always remember being home from school on April vacation, and I would watch the pregame in my pajamas while eating breakfast. Truly like no other game. Clay Buchholz pitched pretty good, the team just couldn't hit behind him. I bet being at the actual game is such a great experience too. Maybe one day, but for now, in the wise words of Tom Werner “Let's Go Red Sox? Let’s Go Red Sox?”

Red Sox Rant: The Highs and Lows of Week One

After a long winter and many public outcries about the Red Sox, baseball season officially returned with already a week’s worth of play under our belts, which in Pablo Sandoval’s case is too much and has caused the belt to literally snap (video here). But with all that said, it wouldn’t be a Red Sox season without Red Sox Rants. So here I present you the first Red Sox Rant of the season with a couple of hot topics on the table.

Brock Holt

I rag on Brock Holt or @BrockStar4Lyf a lot. His value diminishes as a one position player and his production drops off exponentially after the all-star break. But I have to give it to him so far. He has carried this Red Sox team on offense this season to date. You could make a case for Hanley Ramirez, but that is an entirely different topic. Holt has started the year 7-17 (.412 batting average) with four extra base hits, two home runs, eight RBI, four runs. Absolutely crushing the ball. He hit a home run in Wednesday’s bullpen meltdown in order to keep the game close. He basically said “Screw the Blue Jays” Friday night, hitting five RBIs and a grand slam that put life back into the Red Sox. They were down 7-2 and Joe Kelly was getting absolutely nailed and when the team was down but not out, Holt stepped up. It’s a breath of fresh air from these entitled veterans. Thank you Brock Holt.

The Starting Rotation

The best way to describe it: S.S.D.D. We all knew that David Price would dominate. He pitched lights-out on opening day, creating this weird feeling amongst Red Sox fans that maybe this team will actually do something good for once. Mookie Betts also hit a home run, Travis Shaw and Holt stepped up, the two last minute decisions to the lineup by manager John Farrell, and it all seemed great in Red Sox camp. Then Buchholz pitches four innings of suck. Joe Kelly followed up with his inability to hit the side of a barn. Both Rick Porcello and Steven Wright pitched like fifth starters. This will be the Red Sox rotation the rest of the year. Price will pitch amazingly followed by a roulette spin for the other four starters. I also feel bad for Dave Dombrowski. He is stuck with Porcello, the guy he traded away in Detroit because he didn’t want him on his team. Now he has to pay him an absurd amount of money as a fifth starter.

Koji Uehara

When Koji Uehara literally threw his entire body at a ground ball last year, causing the trainers to come out on the field, I stated loudly and clearly that Uehara would not pitch the rest of the year. I was right, he broke his wrist. I then doubted Uehara. Going into his age 40 season coming off a broken wrist, I questioned whether Uehara would return to form due to a combination of age and the fact that he relies on off speed pitches with sudden movements and I did not think he would get the same kind of movement post injury. I can say so far that I was wrong. Uehara has pitched three solid innings while only giving up a walk. He looks like the same pitcher prior to surgery. So far so good for Uehara.

The Red Sox have started the season on a good note, going 3-2 and taking a couple games in Toronto, the team to beat in the American League East. I’m still not convinced with the team after week one however. Last year the team started out 6-2 and we were all on board with the team winning 90+ games. Then they went on a really bad losing streak, falling to 12-10 by May and then 22-29 by June. So verdict is still out on this team, but congrats on the accomplishments in week one of the season.