What we learned in Red Sox' first week
by Scott Lauber, The Boston Herald
NEW YORK — Welcome home, Red Sox. Nice to see you again. How’ve you been?
Not too hot after last night, eh? It sure did get ugly early in the Bronx, Clay Buchholz reminding us why he isn’t a No. 1 starter now or in the future. After shutting out the Phillies for seven innings on Opening Day in Philadelphia, he gave up seven first-inning runs to the Yankees, then didn’t back up the bases or do so much as flinch on a chopper to his right in a three-run fourth inning that felt a lot like a white-flag wave.
Never a good look, and certainly not very ace-like.
“Felt like they were going to score regardless of a good throw or not,” said Buchholz, who nevertheless admitted he made a “mistake.”
But then we didn’t need Curt Schilling in the ESPN booth to tell us Buchholz isn’t the leader of a staff. Buchholz will dazzle again as he did last Monday, but by following up with stinkers like last night, he remains what he has always been: a tease.
Notwithstanding the pounding in what amounted to the worst start, statistically speaking, of Buchholz’ career (hold your nose at 31⁄3 innings, nine hits, 10 runs, nine earned), the Red Sox still arrive at Fenway Park today with a 4-2 record and a plus-5 run differential — not bad but also not particularly revelatory considering it came against the lowly Phillies and transitioning Yankees, neither of whom are expected to stick around come October.
So, what did we learn about the Sox from the season-opening road trip? A few observations:
• While the starting rotation might be better than we thought, there are issues in the bullpen.
True, closer Koji Uehara will return today after a turn on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain. He will push Edward Mujica back to the eighth inning and allow manager John Farrell to clearly define everyone else’s role.
But Uehara is 40 and will require periodic rest in order to stay healthy. And even if he does get through the season in one piece, the Sox lack a flame-thrower capable of reaching back for mid-90s heat to record a pivotal late-inning strikeout.
Alexi Ogando may still prove to be that guy. It might be, though, that the Red Sox will have to call up hard-throwing former first-round pick Matt Barnes from Triple A and put him in the bullpen for good.
• Depth matters, and the Red Sox have plenty to go around.
After playing the longest game in franchise history (6 hours, 49 minutes) Friday night and into the wee hours Saturday, the Sox were back at Yankee Stadium for a game that began only 11 hours later. And after last night’s game, they got into Boston early this morning for the 103rd Fenway opener at 3 p.m. Assuming they play only nine innings against the Nationals, the Sox will have played 46 innings in about 72 hours by the time today’s game ends.
Point is, the schedule can be relentless. And as much as the Sox are wedded to their regulars, it helps to have able fill-ins when rest is required.
Good thing Daniel Nava and jack-of-all-positions Brock Holt were here to go 6-for-8 with five RBI Saturday, while Allen Craig did his best Shane Victorino impression with a sliding catch in right field.
•
Mike Napoli has had better starts.
Sitting on the bench while David Ortiz played first base in two of the interleague games in Philadelphia wasn’t ideal for Napoli’s timing at the plate.
Not even being back in Yankee Stadium, where he has the highest OPS of any active visiting player with at least 100 plate appearances, could keep him from falling into a season-opening 0-for-18 spell.
Say this for Napoli: He isn’t chasing bad pitches. He drew a pair of walks last night against Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka, a good sign for a slugger who annually ranks among the league leaders in pitches per plate appearance.
The elusive first hit followed when Napoli singled up the middle in the eighth inning. It says here the first home run isn’t far behind.
• Hanley Ramirez hits almost everything hard, while
Pablo Sandoval doesn’t hit much of anything right-handed.
Ortiz’ at-bats are no longer the only must-see moments when the Red Sox hit. Ramirez is a beast, with three homers and eight hits overall in 25 at-bats, and about a half-dozen outs that were scalded.
Sandoval, meanwhile, is a threat from the left side. But when he turns around to hit right-handed, he’s 0-for-11 after batting .199 from that side of the plate last year.
Maybe Sandoval should follow Victorino’s lead and abandon switch-hitting.
What we learned in Red Sox' first week
(BTW, Bobby Valentine paved the way for nothing. Was Napoli there in 2012? Victorino? Gomes? Drew? Uehara? Peavy? The team was significantly re-made after Valentine was canned.)
