Ross Goes Free Agency, Breslow Contract Bought Out

For a guy who was all over the Red Sox championship DVD in 2013 & for a guy singing the praises of Boston, I was surprised that David Ross filed for free agency. Maybe the Sox told him what they were willing to offer for a 60-game back-up catcher now that Vazquez is moving to everyday status. But I was surprised. In a non-surprise move the Red Sox declined a $4 million option on Craig Breslow, instead buying him out for $100,000. Breslow had an off year & he may very well rebound for another team in 2015 - just not at a $4 mil price tag. Lefties are always in demand, so I'm sure he will find a job. I expect the Sox to keep up a busy pace as free agent signings can start on Tuesday.

Rusney Shut Down With Thumb Injury

Rusney Castillo may or may not continue to get at-bats this winter, depending upon how a recent thumb injury responds to rest. Playing in the Arizona Fall League Castillo sustained a minor injury that should respond well to rest - per Ben Cherington. Assuming he recovers after a period of rest, Rusney may continue to get at-bats in Puerto Rico in November. No alarm for Red Sox fans. Just a wait & see period of a week to 10 days.

Closer - Check!

One day after the end of the World Series the Red Sox began the work of assembling their team for 2015. First job - get a closer. And they stayed with a familiar face in Koji Uehara. Koji keeps his job for 2 more years on an $18 million deal. Not Jonathan Papelbon money, but close enough. It will be nearly impossible for Koji to duplicate his stats from 2013, but you can expect an 85%-90% success ratio in closing games from this ageless wonder. With Edward Mujica turning things around in the 2nd half of last season he may take some work off of Koji so as not to wear him out during the regular season. Koji was a big part of the 2013 chanpionship season, a guy the Red Sox couldn't have won without. He deserves this last contract before he retires. Now onto building a starting rotation.

Last 10 World Series Winners

The most successful MLB franchises - measured by World Series wins - over the past 10 years are the Giants, Red Sox & Cardinals who collectively have 7 out of the last 10 championship rings. 2005 - Chicago White Sox. 2006 - St. Louis Cardinals. 2007 - Boston Red Sox. 2008 - Philadelphia Phillies. 2009 - New York Yankees. 2010 - San Drancisco Giants. 2011 - St. Louis Cardinals. 2012 - San Francisco Giants. 2013 - Boston Red Sox. 2014 - San Francisco Giants. Throw in 2004 for good measure & the Giants, Sox & Cardinals have 8 out of 11 or 73%. Only the White Sox, Phillies & Yankees have managed to snag 1 championship in this decade. I guess the Steinbrenner's money in New York can't buy what it once did!

Dynasty 3, Destiny 2

The magical season of 2014 for the Kansas City Royals came to an end last night with a 3-2 loss in game 7 of the World Series. All-world Madison Baumgarner shut down the Royals offense with 5 scoreless innings of relief. Baumgarner was an easy MVP choice. The Giants become the 1st team since the 1940's to win 3 series rings over a 5 year span. The cut the Red Sox 3 rings in 10 years time by half. Neither the Royals nor Giants were expected to be 1 of the last 2 teams standing. So good seasons in 2014 for both franchises. 2015 starts today.

2014 Almost Over

OK Red Sox fans - 2014 is almost over. We finished last in the AL East. We jettisoned players to get Yoenis Cespedes, Joe Kelly & Allen Craig. We signed Rusney Castillo. The offense looked better in September. Starting pitchers were given tryouts over the final 2 months. Maybe Rubby De La Rosa gets a rotation spot. Maybe Matt Barnes gets a bullpen spot. Maybe Brandon Workman fits better in the pen. Will Middlebrooks & JBJ either get another year to show what they can do or they become trade bait. Mookie & Bogaerts showed promise in September. The Sox will fill their wish list for Christmas by finding 2 starting pitchers first, then decide about the left side of the infield & another catcher if David Ross is done. Lots of players available for trade deals. Lots of money available to sign any free agent they choose to. It should all start happening before Thanksgiving. Get ready for November.

Game 7 Tonight

A lot of reporters thought that this World Series would go 7. I thought so too. Each team has won 2 & lost 1 at home. Jake Peavy couldn't answer the bell again for the Giants. Royals stomp Giants 10-0 in game 6 setting up an interesting game 7. Will Bochy go with Hudson or try Baumgarner on short rest? Give the edge tonight to Guthrie who beat Hudson in game 3, although neither pitcher went too long. The KC bullpen is rested & ready to go which is bad news for Giants fans. It will be a good game to watch as is any game 7. Giants need to get an early lead in order to pull off their 3rd World Series win in 5 years. Royals need to keep moving runners, create havoc on the bases & get timely hitting. Enjoy the last game of the year.

Pats Crush Bears

The Chicago Bears are not a good football team. And the Patriots exploited the Bears defense who had no answer for their offense & especially no answer for Gronk. Brady looked like Brady. A bunch of different contributors on both sides of the ball. A good win. A needed win as Buffalo kept pace by beating the J-E-T-S. Can't wait to see Sexy Rexy get fired. Now the tough part of the season begins with games against better teams. Let's see how the Pats fare in the 2nd half.

Where Will Joe Maddon Go?

Some say he should take a year off. Some say Professor Joe is heading to Theo & the Cubs. The guy known for having themes for players on road trips - western wear, pajamas, etc. - is looking for bigger bucks than he could ever get in Tampa Bay. Maddon wants his piece of the pie - which is his right. I think he really wants to go to a bigger name team with bigger players so he can make his mark in a World Series victory. Personally, I think Maddon overthinks the game too much. He overuses his bullpen. He overuses the shift. He substitutes at times for the sake of substituting. Given what he has had to work with in Tampa Bay, he has done a good job. But let's not put him in the Hall of Fame. He's a good manager, but not as fantastic as some would lead you to believe.

Sox Hire Chili Davis As Hitting Coach

Evey 3 to 4 years you need to change your coaching staff as players get tired of hearing the same things over & over again. So the Sox hired Chili Davis, the former A's hitting coach, for the next 3 years. Davis is a former player & he has worked with Yoenis Cespedes in the past. Time for a new philosophy, a new way of teaching players to see the ball, hit the ball. Can't hurt.

Baumgarner the Real Deal

Don't you think that Clayton Kershaw is wishing that he could perform in the post-season like Madison Baumgarner? The Giants ace has been the Jon Lester of this year's playoffs with dominating performances. After the Giants came back from a 4-run deficit to win game 4 & tie up the series Baumgarner outpitched James Shields again to give the Giants a 5-0 victory. When you do it on the big stage, that says something. The giants have their answer to Kershaw for the next several years. Baumgarner had secured his future for a long, long time.

What Have We Learned?

In 2014 the "experts" expected to see the LA Dodgers win the World Series. Vegas odds were 4-1 at the start of the season. The Toronto Blue Jays looked unbeatable in April & May. By late August my buddy Mad Dog Russo wrote off the KC Royals & Pittsburgh Pirates from making the playoffs. As September started, everyone thought that Baltimore & Anaheim would meet in the ALCS to fight for the right to play the Dodgers in the World Series. All of these assumptions were dead wrong. Baseball has a stat for everything, but stats count for nothing in the long run. Stats give sabermetric folks something to scientifically predict results. But baseball isn't all science. Players slump & get hot throughout the course of a 6-month season. All that matters is getting hot at the right time of the year, a/k/a getting hot in October. We have 2 wild card teams as the last 2 franchises out of 30 still standing. So what do we know about baseball? First, teams win games, not stats. Second, it doesn't matter how you get into the playoffs, just get in. Then anything can happen.

Royals 3, Giants 2

Game 3 was more like a playoff game as opposed to the first two. Good pitching. Good defense. Timely hitting. A recipe that the Royals have used to get them a 2-1 lead in the world Series. The Giants know that they need to get a lead before the 7th inning because the KC bullpen is tough to score on. Last year we had Tzawa & Koji to close games out. This year KC has Herrera, Davis & Holland. I'm thinking this will be a 7 game series. If not, I'm glad that the Royals get to go home to KC to play again if the Giants win one of the next two. And finally, goofy guy wearing the Marlins jersey was off to the side of home plate last night & his shirt blended in better with Giants fans in their team orange.

Royals, Giants Split First 2 Games

Each team won a game by 5 or more runs, odd by World Series standards where you expect low scoring games. James Shields has been horrible throughout the playoffs &, if this were the regular season, he could use a stint on the DL for a tired arm. You can only throw 200 innings a year for so many years. It looks like Shields has hit the wall & his playoff performance may de-value his marketability in free agency. Jake Peavy just can't win a World Series game. He was horrible for the Sox last year & he was horrible last night for the Giants. I give the edge to KC for better starting pitching & a better bullpen. Finally, have you noticed the goofy guy behind home plate in the orange Marlins jersey with the crooked hat? What planet is he from? And how did he get that seat in Kansas City? It5 takes all kinds I guess.

A-Rod Messing With Yankee Plans

My podcast buddy Steve sent me an article written by Joel Sherman on Alex Rodriguez & his effect on the composition of the Yankees in 2015. A-Rod will be 40 years old. He has 3 years & $61 million left on his contract. What can the Yankees expect from him? Can he play? Will he be healthy? Can he be productive after missing a full year? A-Rod & his contract is an albatross around the Yankees neck, hampering them from composing a team that can compete in a much tougher AL East. The Red Sox, Rays & O's will all be contenders next year. Jays not so much. The Yankees had major injuries to Sabathia & Tanaka. Beltran was off the field more than on down the stretch. No Jeter. Teixeira is another year older. It's going to be awhile before the Yankees figure this whole thing out. Couldn't be happier!!

"The Panda"

As the World Series begins tonight, there has been talk about free agent to be Pablo Sandoval coming to Boston & playing 3B next year. Like Russell Martin, I don't see Sandoval being a good fit. His cost will outweigh (no pun intended about his weight) his production. No question he would be a nice switch hitter to have in your lineup. But if we have $50-$55 million to spend on free agents I would rather spend the money on Lester, Shields & resigning Koji. Pitching is where the biggest need is.

Patriots Escape With Win 27-25

Thank you, Chris Jones, for blocking a last second field goal attempt. It was a game saver for the Pats. Count on this being a long year for the Pats any time the offense scores less than 30 points because the defense is giving up so many yards. If not for the floundering Jets offense in the red zone, the score would have reflected a lopsided win for Rexy's crew. Better to be lucky than good last night, but that philosophy won't hold every week.

Surprise Saguaros - AFL

I had a chance to drive to Surprize, AZ yesterday & see the fall league game between the Surprise Saguaros & Scottsdale Scorpions (lots of S's). The Surprise team includes players from the Red Sox system. While I was hoping to see Rusney Castillo play, unfortunately all I saw was him in the dugout sporting a very cool looking mohawk. He was out of the lineup. I did see Sean Coyle & Deven Marrero in action. Coyle is a small 2B, but he shot a double down LF line & played flawless in the field. Marrero was the DH & he had a rough day, no balls out of the infield. A couple of Sox relievers, Robby Scott & Madison Younginer, got an inning each as the Saguaros won 7-3. I may try to catch Rusney again before he goes to play in Puerto Rico in November.

Giants Win!

The San Francisco Giants become the second wild card team to make it through to the 2014 World Series. They will play the surprising KC Royals next week in the fall classic. Old friend Jake Peavy gets a chance to win a 2nd ring in as many years. And as much as the Red Sox have won 3 championships in 10 years, the Giants can make it 3 wins in 5 years. You could say that the Sox & Giants have dominated for the past 10 post-seasons. The sentimental favorite of this series has to be the Royals, but you have to respect the Giants pulling things together enough at the end to make the playoffs. They are the last west coast team standing. No Dodgers. No Angels. No A's. No Mariners. And certainly no Padres. It will be the west versus the mid-west. Fox will not be happy with no east coast fans looking in. O well, Joe Buck. Good job, Giants!

Kansas City Sweeps Baltimore

The 2 best AL teams, measured by number of regular season wins, have now been swept by the Kansas City Royals. Since their comeback win in the AL wild card game over Oakland the Royals have seized the moment to play their best ball on a national stage to decimate the Angels & now the O's in 4 straight. MLB Network showed that several of these Royals players were #1 picks back in 2007 & 2008. It took 6 & 7 years for Hosmer, Moustakis & others to reach their potential. (Think about Bogaerts & Betts & Middlebrooks & JBJ in Boston! I can't imagine our fan base being that patient.) But patience has paid off in 2014 for KC in a big way. Get the BBQ ready to go for tailgating in KC! You are hosting the first 2 games of the World Series next week.

Russell Martin - Not A Fit

WEEI had a piece yesterday on Russell Martin, saying that the Sox make kick the tires on the 31 year old catcher free agent who hit .290 last year with 11 homers. I say no. If the Sox keep Cespedes & Castillo, if Pedroia is healthy, if Ortiz can be Ortiz for 1 more year, then we don't need a better hitting catcher that will take $10 million plus to sign. Use the money on pitching. As we are seeing this month, pitching wins playoffs. Keep Ross for 1 more year as a backup to Vazquez, then Swihart should be ready to jump in. I'd rather see the Sox kick the tires on Sandoval or Headley at 3B. We have plenty of outfielders & infielders. Let's take care of starting pitching & the bullpen before anything else. Plus Martin is an ex-Yankee.

Royals Do It Again!

The KC Royals are 1 win away from a berth in the 2014 World Series. Their 2-1 win over Baltimore yesterday means that the O's will need to pull a 2004 Red Sox comeback & win 4 straight. Hard to believe that 2004 was 10 years ago now. What a year! Anyways, time & time again the playoffs are proving that good pitching beats good hitting. The KC starters are going 5 or 6 innings & then their shutdown bullpen takes them home. Good for the fans in Kansas City that they have something to cheer about. Good for KC management for sticking with a group of guys that they believe in. This has to be the best story of the playoffs.

October - Long Month

It's a long month for Red Sox fans. No playoffs. Then teams get a period of exclusive negotiations with free agents. It will be around Thanksgiving before we hear about possible signings or trades. Remember the Schilling signing at Thanksgiving? So we have another month before the 2014 post-season concludes & the signing period for free agents begins. Hang in there as it should be a very active off-season. Turkey Day is coming.

Pats Need A Win in Buffalo

The Pats team that showed up last week needs to show up again today in Buffalo. Back to back solid performances & back to back wins would do a lot to calm nerves in Patriot nation. Brady has an ankle injury, but you know that he will play. Gronk needs to be a weapon in the red zone. And the defense needs to limit the number of 20+ yard plays it gives up. Sounds easy, but the Bills are actually playing well this year & they will give the Pats all they can handle at home. I say a Gostkowski field goal wins it in the 4th 24-21. Let's see if my powers of prediction come true.

Wild Cards Keep Winning

The AL wild card winner - Kansas City Royals - are now up 2-0 on the most consistent team in MLB this year - Baltimore Orioles. And the NL wild card winner - San Francisco Giants - went up 1-0 on the consistent & dependable St. Louis Cardinals. It's great to know that no one can predict hustle, momentum & heart. Big name players & big team payroll really have no bearing in this year's playoff race. Just ask the LA Dodgers, Anaheim Angels & Detroit Tigers who are watching from home. Many of these playoff games have been decided by one run & many have gone to extra innings. In a lot of cases I think you are seeing stars feel the effects of a 7th month added to their season. Wainwright has not been pitching well. Shields has not been pitching well. Kershaw can't win in the post-season. Tillman & norris have been ineffective. 200+ innings adds up over time. So it's bullpens & bit players that usually come up with big outs & big hits. The Royals, for example, went from lowest HR's in regular season to most in the playoffs so far. Go figure! That's why you play the games. Anything can happen. Too bad we are not in it, but the playoffs have been exciting & unpredictable this year.

Is Baltimore Doomed Like Detroit Last Year?

In 2013 the unlikely Boston Red Sox came from nowhere to win the World Series after their city experienced a terrorist bombing earlier in the year. Some say it was fate. Some say players were playing for more than themselves. Perhaps the Kansas City Royals are the new team of destiny in 2014. They beat the Orioles 8-6 last night in Baltimore in extra innings. On paper the Orioles are the better, more consistent, more complete team. But you don't win games on paper (as the Yankees know). Baltimore may fall prey to a team of few players who's names most people don't know. It reminds me of the Detroit Tigers last year in the ALCS. No way the Red Sox should have eliminated that Motown team, but they did. It's not always about stats. And the Royals are reminding us of that.

Josh Becket Retires

He should have been the 2007 Cy Young Award winner. He led the Boston Red Sox to a 2nd World Series win in 3 years after an 86 year drought. He should have been named the World Series MVP. That was Josh Becket then. Unfortunately, Becket will be remembered for 2012, the beer & chicken, golfing on an off day while he was injured & the trade to the LA Dodgers. Boston fans forgive as they have with Rocket Man & Nomar. Maybe somewhere down the road Sox fans will clap for Becket when he returns to be honored at Fenway with the 2007 team.

Hit And Run

I was watching one of the playoffs games last week. A runner from 1st broke for 2nd & the batter fouled the pitch off. Announcer says that the hit & run was on. Next pitch the runner from 1st goes again & this time the batter lines out to short who then turned it into an easy double play. That hit & run brought me back in time to when Gaff & I would coach together. Gaff was one for trying everything - hit & run, squeeze, safety squeeze, delayed steal. Several times our hit & run attempts turned into double plays at the youth level. But I will say that one girl was the best hit & run batter that we ever coached. Her name was Allie Joseph. Allie hit 2nd in our college lineup & she had tremendous concentration & bat control. You could count on Allie to hit the ball on the ground to advance the runner, while many times picking up a hit herself. The hit & run is a double edged sword - great when it works (the coach is a genius) to horrible when it doesn't (the coach is a bum). You coaches out there have to be willing to live with both results.

Dodgers - Big Loser

Clayton Kershaw can't beat the Cardinals. It's happened 2 years in a row now. The big money Dodgers will be watching the World Series from home. Adrian Gonzalez has never led his team to a playoff series victory. Maybe any team he plays for has a curse. And the Giants knocked off the top-seeded Nationals in 4 games as well. That decision not to pitch Strasburgh in 2012 still haunts Washington, their own curse. No LA. No Anaheim. No Detroit. No New York. No Boston. That equals small World Series ratings for Fox. Take that, Joe Buck! Let's get this month over so we can get to the wheeling & dealing of the off-season.

Lackey Beats Dodgers

John Lackey was solid in a big playoff game against the Dodgers last night. He put his Cardinals team up 2-1 in the NLDS. Lackey was never going to resign with the Sox for $500,000 in 2015. Just too many things happened in 2012 before his renaissance in 2013. At least he left Boston on a positive note. Joe Kelly will certainly get a spot in the rotation for Boston next year. And maybe Allen Craig can get his health back & get back to being a professional hitter. Good trade for both teams. I hope the Cards light up Kershaw again in game 4.

Baltimore O's Versus Kansas City Royals

A consistent team versus a Cinderella team. Baltimore sent the Tigers home for the year with another win yesterday. Detroit has their tiger tail between their legs as the Motown men let another year slip away with no World Series ring. Dan Dumbrowski will have to answer lots of questions this off-season with free agents like Victor Martinez & Max Scherzer. And the high-priced Angels were grounded by a determined Royals team that ran off 3 straight wins. Good for the Royals! If the Dodgers get eliminated, Fox will have a small TV audience for the World Series with no New York, no Boston & no LA.

Brady Strikes Back

No doubt about this one. Like a pitcher who has a bad game, you work hard before your next start to correct things. Brady & company sure did they as the offense dismantled the previously unbeaten Bengals by scoring 40+ points. Now who's wearing the dunce hat, Cincinnati? The critics should be off Brady - at least this week.

Can Pats Rebound?

After being embarassed on Monday night the Patriots have a tough Sunday night opponent in the Cincinnati Bengals. Can they rebound? Sure. Look at Green Bay coming back after a slow start. New Orleans in 1-3. Giants are 2-2. No one is setting the football world on fire in September. But the Pats need this win badly to stay away from a 2-3 record. 3-2 keeps them in the hunt. Remember the old saying - you are never as good as you think or never as bad as you think. Let's hope the latter is true!

Go Royals!

The lowly, small payroll Kansas City Royals are on the verge of eliminating the high-priced Anaheim Angels - who by the way are not from Los Angeles. What a stupid name! David & Goliath of sorts. Eric Hosmer & Mike Moustakis versus Albert Pujols, Mike Trout & Josh Hamilton. As my nephew told me yesterday, this year's playoffs have been great games to watch. For all the prognosticators who wrote off the Royals, just remember it's the team with the hot hand that wins in the playoffs. And, after beating Oakland in the wild card game, the Royals are hot! Go Royals!

Kershaw Can't Beat Cards

Clayton Kershaw amassed a hugely impression record during the regular season. No doubt he will win another Cy Young Award in 2014. But, just like last year, the young & talented lefty cannot beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs. Kershaw & the Dodgers lost game 1 10-9 yesterday. Give the Cards credit for making it back to the playoffs again - something the Red Sox couldn't do. I don't want to hear any more comparisons between Kershaw & Koufax. Koufax got it done in the playoffs. Until Kershaw can do that, I don't want to hear it.

Billy Beane on Hot Seat

Here we go. Monday morning quarterbacks are at it with Billy Beane over the Lester/Cespedes trade. If you win, you're a genius. If you lose, you're a goat. The trade didn't work for Oakland, but it did for Boston as Ortiz/Cespedes proved to be a nice 3-4 combination in the lineup. Get Mike Napoli & Dustin Pedroia healthy, get Rusney Castillo going, get Allen Craig back into form & you have a very nice long lineup from top to bottom. In my opinion you can't mess with team chemistry. And the A's had chemistry when they were the best team in the AL before the trade. I wouldn't have given up a middle-of-the-order bat. As it turns out, the A's could have used more bullpen help as we saw in the wild card game. But it's hard to fault a GM for doing what he thinks is best for the team at the time. It's going to be a long off-season for Billy Beane, especially when Lester signs with another team.

Better AL Bullpens Win Game 1's

The Kansas City Royals just find a way to scratch out 1 more run than their opponent. The Royals outlasted the Angels 3-2 in 11 innings. 6 shutout innings tossed by the KC bullpen. Eric Hosmer's homer was the difference in Anaheim. And in Baltimore the Achilles heal of the Detroit Tigers showed up in the 8th inning with the O's scoring 8 times off of several ineffective relievers out of the Tigers bullpen. A tight 4-3 game became a blowout 12-3 game before the inning was over. Max Scherzer deserved better, but the O's bullpen was very effective over the final 4 innings, giving up just 1 homer to Miguel Cabrera. Wouldn't the Angels & Tigers have some explaining to do if they don't make it to the ALCS!

Giants 7, Pirates 0

Clint Hurdle will be answering questions all off-season about his decision to pitch Gerritt Cole in game 162 instead of saving him for the wild card game. Edison Volquez was not up to the task against the Giants. His demeanor does not exude confidence & Volquez gave up a bases loaded bomb to Brandon Crawford early. Game over. Baumgartner was lights out. I'm glad to see the Giants advance since I got to see a game at AT&T Park, aka Pac Bell in the old days. The Giants remind me of the Red Sox - feast of famine. World Series wins in 2010 & 2012 & not much in-between. Since 2014 is an even number year, maybe the Giants can pull off another ring. I think that they will give the Nats a run for their money.

A's and Royals In A Duzzie!

Just when you thought Jon Lester & the A's had the game won in the 8th, the Royals come back to within one run & they come back again in the 9th to tie it & then they come back in the 12th to win it. What a "wild" wild card game! I'm glad that Lester is done for the year, having thrown 220+ innings. Save a few bullets for next year in a Red Sox uniform. Shields was not on his best game last night either, but he would look good in a Red Sox uniform next year as well. Good for the Royals moving on into the ALDS for the 1st time since George Brett in 1985. I hope they give the Angels all they can handle.