The Lewis Locker Room Episode 9

Back after only one week because we were so eager to record, we've got a new episode out this morning. We have a guest on the show too, Jason DiNicola. Jason earned the priviledge of stepping into the locker room after going undefeated day one of the March Madness pool. He's got some great stories about Kacie McDonnell, a NESN anchor, Wes Welker and Curt Schilling. So take a listen and enjoy.

The Lewis Locker Room Episode 8

What's up everybody, we've got a new podcast out this morning! This episode Alan gives us his reasoning for not going to the Bruins' playoff game, some analysis on his Fenway Park visit, and the three of us talk about the Red Sox catching situation and top prospects. Enjoy!

The Lewis Locker Room: Episode 7

We've got another edition of the Lewis Locker Room for your weekend entertainment! This episode is about March Madness, Red Sox, and Alan's softball league. Alan joined a town softball team and they inserted him directly into the starting nine. Huge mistake. Ben and I trash on Alan a lot this episode so there is some good humor to episode seven. Some casual conversations for every sports fan. Enjoy!

Predicting the 2017 Red Sox season using OOTP

Out of the Park Baseball’s latest installment, OOTP hit the Steam store on Friday, March 24. One of my favorite games on the market, OOTP is a text based simulation game. It uses real life rosters of Major League Baseball and allows the player to simulate or play entire seasons. OOTP is rather in-depth, allowing the player to take control of a team’s finances, free agent signings, salaries, and more. I simulated an entire season of the Boston Red Sox. The team finished one game away from winning the World Series, falling to the New York Mets in seven games. The season started off shaky for the team, but by August, the team was hitting its stride. This is the month-by-month account of the simulated season.

April

After one week of play, the Red Sox got off to a strong starting, going 5-1 in that span. Outfielder Chris Young carried the team offensively, hitting three home runs, nine RBI while batting .364. Offseason acquisition Chris Sale had a good start to his Red Sox career, logging two complete games in his first two starts, winning both those games. Manager John Farrell decided to bench Pablo Sandoval for Brock Holt as well.

Injuries plagued the Red Sox the rest of the month. Sandoval would eventually need a 10-day DL stint for a sore wrist. Mid-month, Mookie Betts would go down for two weeks due to the same injury. Brock Holt went down with back spasms on the last day of April. The team still finished the month out strong, ending with a 14-10 record and in second place in the AL East. Jackie Bradley Jr. surprised everyone, hitting .311 with eight home runs and 22 RBI, leading the team in both categories.

14-10 1 ½ games out of first place at the end of April.

May

Mookie Betts finally came off the disabled list on May 9, three weeks after suffering a sore wrist. His return started a downward spiral for the Red Sox, going 2-6 in the first week after his return and putting the team in last place with a 20-21 record. Upon Brock Holt’s return, the team decided to designate Josh Rutledge for assignment, keeping Bryce Brentz on the major league roster. After Steven Wright went 2-3 with a 6.85 ERA in 14 games and five starts, the Red Sox demoted him to triple A in favor of Robby Scott, who had a 0.53 record in 17 innings and 22 strike outs.

The team’s record during the month of May was 13-15, putting them in third place with a 26-27 record. Even with an injury shortened month, Betts led the team in batting average, hitting .318 in the month of May. Bradley Jr. continued hitting for power, hitting seven home runs during the month, giving him 15 total on the year. Chris Sale continued to dominate, winning three out of six starts while losing only one. Sale finished the month with a 6-3 record and 2.80 ERA.

26-27 6 ½ games out of first place at the end of May

June

The team drafted Mark Vientos in the first round of the player draft. Dustin Pedroia suffered an oblique strain, sidelining him for eight weeks and the team ended the month winning seven of eight games. Their 16-11 record in June was a bounce back from the dismal May but they still sat in third place and 3 ½ games out of first. Andrew Benintendi won rookie of the month hitting .284 with two home runs, 17 RBI and 13 runs scored. Rick Porcello got himself back on track in June, going 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA in 35.1 innings.

42-38 3 ½ games out of first place at the end of May

July

The Red Sox started the month off trading Mitch Moreland to the Oakland Athletics for second baseman Jed Lowrie, twenty-year old pitching prospect Adonis Medina (two star potential) and $200,000. Nothing that would drastically change the team but Lowrie gave the team another bench player with more versatility than Moreland, being able to play second base, third base and shortstop. Moreland had only played in 17 games, hitting .083 so anything was an improvement over Moreland. Betts was voted in as the all-star game starting right fielder and Sale as a starting pitcher (the game votes in five starting pitchers and relievers). Bradley Jr. joined them as well.

Two weeks before the July 31 trading deadline, the Red Sox pulled the trigger on a starting pitcher. The team traded 20-year old left fielder Juan Carlos Abreu and catcher Sandy Leon to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Andrew Cashner. Cashner slotted into the third spot in the rotation and by moving Leon, Blake Swihart took over the starting role with Christian Vazquez getting another chance at the major league level.

Winning seven out of their last eight and 11 out of the last 14 going into the deadline, the Red Sox swung a trade for third baseman Danny Valencia of the Milwaukee Brewers, sending outfielder Alex Aristy and catcher Danny Bethea to Milwaukee in the trade. Valencia became the starting third baseman while DH in certain instances.

58-49 3 ½ games out of first place at the end of July

August

The team stayed consistent during the month of August, going 15-12 during that span. They stayed one game ahead in the wild card and closed the game to one game back in the division. Valencia performed well for the Red Sox hitting three home runs 13 RBI and had 14 runs in the month of August. Cashner was moved to the bullpen where he won two games and pitched 18.1 innings. Porcello went 5-0 in the month of August while Benintendi hit eight home runs, 26 RBI and scored 19 runs while hitting .374.

73-61 1 game out of first place at the end of August

September

The Red Sox finished out the season with an 89-73 record and first in the wildcard. Sale led the team with 16 wins, 224.1 innings and 229 strikeouts. Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez, Bradley Jr, Betts, Benintendi, and Valencia all finished with 20 or more home runs. However, no one finished with 100 or more RBI. They set out to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the wildcard game.

89-73 record. Finished first in the wild card

October

The team squeaked out a 5-3 win in the wildcard game against the Rays. Sale lasted only 4.2 innings, but David Price pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out seven in the win. Young went 3-4 with a three-run home run and Ramirez hit 4-4 with two runs in the playoff win. They moved on to face the Cleveland Indians, a rematch of last season.

Pedroia suffered an oblique strain in game two against the Cleveland Indians. However, it wouldn’t matter. After the Red Sox lost game won, they won the next three games to move onto the ALCS against the Houston Astros.

They took game one 8-2 thanks to seven strong innings from Sale. David Price won game two, pitching all nine innings, striking out 11 on four hits. They won game three in walk-off fashion with Bradley Jr. hitting a single through the infield scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth, winning the game 6-5. Game four was no different. On a 0-1 pitch, Ramirez cranked the ball over the green monster in the bottom of the 10^th for the 4-0 ALCS series sweep. They moved onto the New York Mets in the World Series.

Starting the series at home, the Red Sox split their home games 1-1. The Mets took two out of three in New York, going ahead 3-2 in the series. It was do or die going back to Boston. They won game six, 3-1 to tie the series up at three. Game seven was not as fortunate as the Red Sox lost 3-1 and the New York Mets took home the trophy.

David Price led the team winning all four of his starts, pitching to a 1.39 ERA in 32 innings while striking out 36. Benintendi hit four home runs along with 15 RBI and batted .338 throughout the playoffs.

It was a good effort by the Red Sox. They made it further into the playoffs than most expected. In October, anything can happen. The season started off slow for the Red Sox but with a few good moves by Dave Dombrowski, the team found its niche. OOTP is the most realistic simulation out there and if this season is anything close to what will happen, Red Sox fans will be happy with the results. They might not have won the World Series in 2017, but they came as close as a team can get and it only adds more to the offseason.