Photo Credit: Boston Globe
Here we are in the beginning of August and what we originally thought now looks like it won’t happen. The Boston Red Sox are struggling with their rotation and have yet to find a way to consistently put up runs. They have not really yet found out who they are and the fans have been let down thus far.
Last season’s Cy Young winner Rick Porcello has looked completely awful and David Price has yet to adjust to the atmosphere in Boston, which leads to him not being able to win there. But thankfully we have Chris Sale, as without him, our team wouldn’t be in contention for the AL East.
Dave Dombrowski addressed two team needs: a third baseman and a setup man. But that won’t be enough, as he didn’t address our situation with having no pop in the lineup. We were rumored to grab Yonder Alonso, who is hitting .266 with 22 home runs on the season. Either Dealin’ Dave didn’t want to make the move or couldn’t make the move. The New York Yankees, on the other hand, have made every move they could to get better. They have improved pitching, which was a big issue for them, and they also got home run-hitting Todd Frazier. And not to mention they have an absolute stud in Aaron Judge. The New York Yankees are now by far the favorite to win the division.
The Red Sox made two deals before the deadline day, acquiring Eduardo Nunez and Addison Reed. Nunez has been great so far, but don’t expect him to be playing like this for too much longer, as he is sure to cool off. But he’s been a great addition so far and with Dustin Pedroia being injured and with his versatility allowing him to fill in for Dustin, this will enable the Red Sox to keep the hot Rafael Devers starting at third. Nunez should be able to keep up his average around the .300s as he did with the Giants. Eduardo is like Brock Holt, under average defense but a good bat.
Boston made a great move going out and getting Reed. He played as a great setup man before being the closer for the Mets. Him, Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel will be closing out games in the late innings. With Reed posting a 2.57 ERA so far this season. He will definitely help bolster our ‘pen and will allow other guys to pitch earlier in the game.
The Yankees have become, as Dave Dombrowski puts it, “The Warriors of MLB.” They have acquired Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson, Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia. Todd Frazier rumors about going to Boston appeared to make it almost inevitable, but the Yankees made a huge move to keep him out of a Red Sox uniform and put him in pinstripes. While doing that, they got two relievers who will make their bullpen stronger. And after that, they got Jaime Garcia. He may not be a top-notch pitcher but the Yankees needed starting pitchers badly and they started with Jaime. Then they went out and gave up a lot, but at the same time got an ace. With those moves the Yankees didn’t just make them AL East pennant contenders, this makes them a team that could possibly make a lot of noise in the playoffs.
With all that has happened, if the Red Sox really want to win the AL East they are gonna have to dig deep and play to how they can play, because frankly they haven’t been playing to their best abilities. Especially on the offensive side of the game with Dave not making a move to add big pop to the lineup.
By: Jake T
SportsPress 