The Red Sox Have A Ton Of Storylines Heading Into Spring Training
If you’re excited about the 2016 Boston Red Sox, good. You absolutely should be.
Dave Dombrowski came to Boston last summer, and immediately put a plan in place. We need an ace, we need a closer, and we need a fourth outfielder. Done, done, and done. And not only did he get all of it done, he got the best available options for each of those roles. Thus, creating some much-needed excitement, coming off of their third last place finish in four years. So with the official report date for pitchers and catchers being a week from today, let’s take a look at some of the storylines for the Red Sox heading into camp.
David Ortiz’s final season: Let’s get the big one out of the way first. 2016 will be the final season of David Ortiz’s career. He doesn’t want a farewell tour, but I’m sure he’ll get one anyway, just like when your girlfriend tells you she doesn’t want anything for Valentine’s Day. It’s a trap. Now you look like an asshole if you don’t get her something and she’ll never forgive you for it. That being said, I honestly don’t expect this farewell tour to become a distraction. My worst nightmare is, what will the Red Sox do if Ortiz’s production unexpectedly falls of a cliff? Now, I don’t expect that to happen, but it did happen in 2010, and it was very uncomfortable to watch Ortiz get pinch hit for in the ninth inning. Imagine what pressure the manager will be under if fans are there to see Ortiz one last time, but you still have a game to win. Something to keep an eye on, but hopefully won’t have to deal with.
David Price’s first season with the Red Sox: The ink is still wet on David Price’s 7-year, $217 million contract, and he’s already reported to Fort Myers. A lot has been made about Price’s performance in the postseason, but just as much has been made of how he’ll react to the big, bad Boston media. Well, he’s been pegged as a clubhouse leader, and a great teammate, so showing up early would indicate that he’s trying to lead by example to the younger players who will now look up to him, and also get a head start on building a relationship with his new teammates. Price is a perennial Cy Young candidate, but will the pressure of being the second highest paid player in baseball history have an effect on his performance?
Hanley Ramirez is the Red Sox first baseman for some reason: Here’s a storyline that’s pretty cut and dry. The Red Sox are expecting Hanley Ramirez to be their first baseman in 2016. Is it going to work out? No. No, it isn’t. It’s more than likely going to be a disaster, so the storyline isn’t so much if it’ll work out, but what the fuck will the Red Sox do once it doesn’t? Sure, Travis Shaw can easily slide in at first base, but what do you do with Hanley? Stay tuned for that.
The catching situation: This is one of the most interesting angles for me. First, we can put to rest that there will be any competition between Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez heading into the season. Vazquez has been on the comeback trail after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April of last year. Will he compete with Swihart for the starting catcher’s job on Opening Day? Nope. Although he did play some winter ball, all of his at-bats came as a DH. He’ll need to get some reps in as a catcher with the PawSox to start the year, and then we’ll probably see him some time around June. But what happens when he’s ready? Sure, the Red Sox could probably get away with keeping both catchers at the major league level in 2016, especially while it’s half a season for Vazquez. But sooner or later, most likely by 2017, they’ll have to pick one. Both deserve to be everyday catchers at the major league level.
Will the real Jackie Bradley Jr. please stand up: As it stands right now, Jackie Bradley Jr. will be the Opening Day centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox. That’s great, because Bradley is one of the best, if not the best, defensive centerfielders in team history. But can he hit? From August 9 through September 7, Bradley hit .446 with a 1.441 OPS in 90 plate appearances. Combined with his defense, that’s what superstar players do. However, Bradley hit .121 with a .426 OPS in 71 plate appearances leading up to that stretch, and then hit .138 with a .510 OPS in 94 plate appearances after that stretch. Which Jackie Bradley Jr. will the Red Sox be getting in 2016?
Rebound year for Pablo Sandoval: Pablo Sandoval is fat. The Red Sox knew that when they signed him. Still, for some reason, whenever he shows up at spring training, everybody talks about his weight, like he used to be some in-shape guy who got fat over the offseason. I’d really like to skip the fat talk with Sandoval this spring, and focus more on if he’ll actually be able to contribute to the team. Sandoval is coming off the worst year of his career both offensively and defensively, which was perfect timing since the Red Sox decided it would be a great idea to give him $95 million over five years. But the thing is, I think he can bounce back. I don’t know much about the guy, other than he loves him some big titties on Instagram, but he seems like he cares about winning. I mean, he has three World Series rings, a World Series MVP trophy, and is a .344 hitter in the postseason with a .955 OPS. Can he overcome his abysmal debut in Boston?
What is Rusney Castillo?: So, the Red Sox signed this guy, but there wasn’t as much hype surrounding him as there had been for other players from Cuba, such as Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes and Yasmany Tomas. Did the Red Sox get a dud player from Cuba? I mean, his muscular build would indicate at least 20-25 HR power, which I’m sure is what the Red Sox were banking on when they signed him, somewhere in that region. But in his 90 games at the major league level so far, Rusney Castillo has 81 hits, and 61 of them are singles. That’s 75% of his hits not going for extra bases. Will Castillo ever hit a ball out of the infield?
Dustin Pedroia’s health: Everybody loves Dustin Pedroia. That’s probably why his name is rarely brought up when it comes to fan frustration. He has virtually skated for years with Boston fans, and perhaps he deserves it. He’s a Rookie of the Year, an MVP of the league and a two-time World Series champion. But the fact of the matter is that he gets hurt. A lot. That’s not a knock on him, and more a testament to how hard he plays the game, which is what Boston fans appreciate more than anything. Nobody trains harder to prepare themselves to play a full 162-game season like Pedroia does, but it’s fair to say that his health has become concerning. It’s to a point now where you just don’t really know if you’re going to have Pedroia for an entire season or not. Will he stay healthy enough to help the Red Sox for a full season in 2016?
Rick Porcello living up to his extension: I don’t know if this information is out there, but Rick Porcello was pitching with a pretty bad tricep injury last year, to the point where he couldn’t even lift his arm over his head. He’s not a guy that’s going to make excuses for his poor performance. He knows he’s being paid an absurd amount of money, but that hasn’t made him complacent whatsoever. He wants to win, and he wants to win here. Some nights last year, Porcello wouldn’t even sleep after getting knocked around during one of his starts. He cares. If you want a bounce back candidate for 2016, it’s Porcello. Take a look at his last 12 starts when he came back from the disabled list: 74 strikeouts in 77.1 innings with a 3.49 ERA. Will Porcello change Red Sox fans’ perception of him in 2016?
Clay Buchholz is still employed by the Boston Red Sox: Listen, I know I’ve been hard on Clay Buchholz. But it’s only because I know how friggin’ good he can be when he stays healthy. I remember watching Buchholz take the mound in that first half of the 2013 season, and I would make sure not to miss a single inning when he was on the mound. That’s how good he was. And I guess, in a weird way, I hold it against Buchholz for robbing me, as a baseball fan, of being able to see a pitcher like that for an entire season and into a playoff run. Will 2016 be the year that Buchholz actually puts it all together and stays healthy and effective at the same time?
X Gon’ Give It To Ya again: Last year, Xander Bogaerts had one less hit than Nomar Garciaparra had the year that he hit .372 in 2000. Think about that. Bogaerts’ defense improved drastically in 2015, as, obviously, did his hitting skills. The one knock on Bogaerts, if you can even call it that, is that we’ve yet to see his power. When Bogaerts swung the bat last year, he made contact 81.8% of the time. Combine that with the fact that he hit 35 doubles, and then we have ourselves plenty of reason to believe that the home runs are coming. Will 2016 be the year that we see a jump in Bogaerts’ home run totals?
MVP! MVP! MVP!: My pick for American League MVP last year was Mookie Betts. He finished 19th in the MVP voting, albeit for a last place team. This year, that pick of Mookie Betts for MVP seems a lot more popular, as baseball analysts believe that the Red Sox will actually be in the playoff picture this year, and that Betts will have a lot to do with that if they are. You wouldn’t look at Betts’ 2015 season on the surface and think MVP, as he finished the year hitting .291 with an .820 OPS. Which, don’t get me wrong is still an excellent season, just not MVP worthy. However, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that from June 15 on, something clicked and he became one of the best hitters in the game, batting .327 with a .914 OPS in almost 400 plate appearances. Will Betts climb higher in the MVP voting in 2016, and perhaps even win the award?