Tuesday Links: Sox win?

by | Aug 26, 2014 | Boston Red Sox, Brock Holt, Clay Buchholz, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, koji uehara, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mookie Betts, Nick Punto, Rubby de la Rosa, Yoenis Cespedes

Photo by Kelly O'Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com.

Photo by Kelly O’Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com.

The Red Sox were finally able to snap their 8 game losing skid on Monday night, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays by a final score of 4-3 in 10 innings. While he wasn’t part of the final decision, Clay Buchholz turned in one of his best performances of the 2014 season thus far. The lanky right-hander held the Blue Jays offense to just 3 base runners over his first 8 innings of work, and managed to collect 4 punch outs along the way. With the score tied at zero in the 5th inning, the Red Sox took the lead on a solo home runs by Mookie Betts, and a 2-run shot by Dustin Pedroia. The Red Sox held a 3-run advantage up until the 9th inning, but Buchholz was unable to polish off the complete-game shutout. After the 30-year old allowed the first 3 batters of the inning to reach base, Red Sox manager John Farrell elected to bring in Koji Uehara. However, not even Uehara was able to stop the Jays attack, as Boston’s sure-handed closer allowed 3 runs to cross the plate and tie the score. In extra innings, the Red Sox quickly retook the lead thanks to a Yoenis Cespedes RBI single, which plated Boston’s 4th run. In the bottom half of the 10th, Craig Breslow held the Blue Jays in check and secured the first win for the Red Sox in 8 days.

  • Years ago, being a big market team usually meant that you had a leg up on the competition. In the early 2000’s we saw teams like the Yankees and Red Sox use their money to help find success, while teams like the Devil Rays and Royals were restricted by a weak payroll. But since then, baseball has significantly closed the gap between “rich” teams, and “poor” teams, making it easier for cash strapped clubs to remain competitive in the playoff race. (Money can’t buy success for MLB teams anymore)
  • Koji Uehara hasn’t exactly been the closer that we’ve grown accustom to seeing shut down games. In the 39-year old’s last 4 outings, he’s allowed 10 hits and seven runs over 3 2/3 innings; which is unheard of if you consider what he did out of the bullpen for the majority of last season, and most of the current campaign. But while Uehara’s age and workload suggests that the veteran might be tired, he insists that miss-execution, not fatigue, is to blame for his recent ineffectiveness. A free agent at the end of the season, Boston has stated that they would like to keep Uehara in the fold, and will monitor his use from now until the end of the season. (After Koji Uehara’s latest blown save, Red Sox must consider his future)
  • Between last the offseason and the July 31st trade deadline, the Red Sox have parted ways with 15 major league contributors. The winter saw players like Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jacoby Ellsbury find new homes, while the Trade Deadline featured blockbuster trades involving Jon Lester and John Lackey. Some ex-Red Sox are now playoff hopefuls in their new town, others haven’t even played all season, while some find themselves back in the minors. (Catching up with the departed 2013 Red Sox)
  • Yesterday marked a the two-year anniversary of the blockbuster trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto to the Los Angeles Dodgers, in exchange for a package of prospects including Allen Webster and Ruby De La Rosa. With the Dodgers absorbing most of the players contracts, the Red Sox turned the money saved into multiple parts of their 2013 World Series winning team. While the trade hasn’t translated quite as well for the Dodgers, they have enjoyed modest success with Adrian Gonzalez in the middle of the order, and used the deal to establish themselves as a financial juggernaut. (The Dodgers/Red Sox trade, 2 years later)