Now That’s A Road Trip

On the morning of June 2nd the Boston Red Sox headed for sunny California for a fairly terrifying road trip.  The quality of competition was not particularly frightening but I am old enough to be able to recite chapter and verse on how west coast road trips have turned Red Sox’ seasons sour.  Sitting at 24-27 the Sox had righted the ship but were still climbing out of their early season hole.  Fast forward to this morning and the Sox are 32-29 having laid waste to the left coasters in fairly decisive fashion.  Maybe the most encouraging thing about the trip is how they did it with the pitching and defense (holy crap did you SEE that catch by Refsnyder yesterday?) rather than the offensive outburst that fueled the mid-May hot streak.  Obviously as a Red Sox fan my default is a desire to see big right-handed sluggers smash baseballs great distances but the pitching was generally fantastic on this trip allowing just 24 runs in the ten games.

That’s not to say that all is well with the moundsmen.  Two of the Sox starters find themselves on the IL this morning with Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock both out.  Neither guy seems to be in a situation where it is expected to be a long term issue but pitcher injuries are always a bit dicey.  And of course there is the not to small issue of the bullpen and particularly the closer.  I’m probably a bigger Hansel Robles fan than most but he’s not getting the job done.  Austin Davis seems to be a guy a lot of folks are angling for but I think most of us would like to see Tanner Houck getting the call at the end of games more than less.  It looks like that is Alex Cora’s plan given the way he played things in Seattle this weekend.  At some point Houck will need to demonstrate an ability to pitch on successive days but this is very similar to how Cora managed Garrett Whitlock last year.  Whitlock only pitched successive days once during the regular season last year.  I suspect Cora will be similarly cautious with Houck.

One possible option later in the season I have seen mentioned is Chris Sale.  Sale of course started his career as a reliever and you may remember him from such closing appearances as “THE FINAL FREAKING GAME OF THE WORLD ####### SERIES!”  Sale following a Dennis Eckersley path is not that hard to imagine.  While a $30 million closer is a bit silly the money is spent, so get the best out of him.  Having said that even if Sale arrives to bolster the bullpen it is hard not to think the Sox need some help out there beyond him.  Whether it’s someone internal (e.g. Seabold, Wincowski, Bello, Crawford) or a trade the Sox can’t ask Alex Cora to try and compete with this bullpen.  One guy that I think probably should be considered is Rich Hill.  Hill doesn’t go deep in games so it’s not like you are taking out some big innings-eater out of there and he throws strikes.  I don’t like curveball relievers because they are prone to the long ball but I can see Hill being pretty good at it.

A few other notes;

- Jarren Duran continues to cool his heels in Worcester but I think that’s the right thing.  He’s not hitting so well that he’s forcing the Sox’ hand and his defense is a concern.  It is highly likely that Jackie Bradley Jr. warts and all is better than Duran right now.  My hunch is that the Sox don’t want Duran in Boston playing 3-4 times a week and given the LHB heavy tone of the outfield Refsnyder makes a bit more sense.

- Bobby Dalbec had a really strong road trip but I’d still like some kind of upgrade at first base.  With Triston Casas still on the IL he is not imminent but despite the generally solid performances Dalbec just feels like a guy who is heavily dependent on the quality of opponent.

- Rafael Devers man, Rafael Freakin’ Devers.