Boston Red Sox Hot Stove: Initial Thoughts

It's hard to believe that the 2013 baseball season is over. Even though the celebrating of the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series has ended, it seems hardly a soul has stopped basking in the glory of their unexpected and vastly entertaining campaign.

There really is no down-time in baseball, and naturally the Red Sox are already hard at work planning their strategy for 2014. 

Here are some initial thoughts on their early movement in the opening days of the hot stove season:

Qualifying offers were extended to new free agents, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, shortstop Stephen Drew and first baseman Mike Napoli. Those are all sound decisions, as it's important to either have those players back or get the draft pick compensation that is now attached to them if they are signed by another team.

It will be a huge surprise if Ellsbury returns. He finally proved himself to be healthy this year and responded with a huge season. It's likely he will be able to get a deal that meets or exceeds five years/$100 million on the open market, which seems to be well outside of the more frugal deals Boston favored last offseason that paid off so well.

Ellsbury is also 30. His next contract will be more about rewarding him for what he has done in the past than what he will likely do in the future. If he is able to remain healthy moving forward, it's unlikely that he has more than two-three peak seasons left.

The $14.1 million, one-year qualifying offers were also shrewd moves to start with Napoli and Drew. It's doubtful Boston wants the shortstop for more than another year, with uber prospect Xander Bogaerts waiting in the wings. However, the veteran's steady defense and solid all-around play could be a help as the youngster is broken in in 2014.

With such a thin first baseman market out there, bringing back Napoli is a near must. The bearded slugger ran red hot and ice cold during various stretches of the season, but was a great defender, a perfect fit for Boston, and had more than enough production to warrant his return. The team must just make sure to not over-extend themselves financially because of sentiment or desperation to keep him around for team balance.

The one free agent who didn't receive a qualifying offer was catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Although he has really come on during his time in Boston, he still remains a very flawed player who struggles to make contact at the plate and is at best a mediocre receiver. The danger with giving him an offer was the slight possibility he may have accepted it. With David Ross expected to get a good share of at-bats next season, the $14.1 million would have been way too pricey for a not-quite full-time player with holes in his game.

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2013 World Series: Game 4 Thoughts and Observations

Aside from New York Yankees great Babe Ruth being thrown out attempting to steal second base as the final out in the deciding Game 7 of the 1926 World Series (thus giving the St. Louis Cardinals the championship), it’s hard to think of another postseason game with an ending so strange as this year’s Game 3.

The Cardinals walked off last night against the Boston Red Sox thanks to a bizarre defensive interference call in the bottom of the ninth against third baseman Will Middlebrooks. The victory gives the Cards a 2-1 series edge, and only ratchets up the intensity of the remaining games.

Here are some notes and observations in preparation of tonight’s Game 4:

***A lot of fans are still crying foul on last night’s call. There are those (including myself initially) who thought that St. Louis base runner Allen Craig may have committed interference himself or perhaps been outside of the base path. However, now that the dust has settled, it’s obvious that the officiating crew got the call exactly right.

The umpires may have looked less than confident when explaining their reasoning after the game, but they called it to the letter of the law as outlined in the official rule book.

Some, like Boston pitcher Jake Peavy, believe such an important game shouldn’t end on a bang-bang obscure rule violation. However, if you aren’t going to observe the rules from the first pitch of the game until the players are walking off the field at the end, there is no need to ever use them.

***The playing time Boston shortstop Stephen Drew has continued to get despite a mighty slump at the plate has caused many to call for his benching. But where is that same level of concern for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia?

Salty is not only just six-for-32 with 19 strikeouts this postseason, but his poor throwing has directly led to the Cardinals winning the past two games.

Backup David Ross isn’t much of a hitter himself, but is a solid glove man. With stupid mistakes sinking the Red Sox, it’s time to bench Saltalamacchia, who has been hurting the team more than helping it of late.

***Much has been made of the Cardinals vaunted young bullpen and their ability to shut down the opposition. While they are certainly talented, the Red Sox have scored five runs against them in 9.2 innings this series.

*** Switch-hitting outfielder Daniel Nava should start every remaining game for the Red Sox. A .322 hitter with a .894 OPS in the regular season against right-handed pitching, he is too big of a weapon to keep on the bench against the Cardinals, who have no lefties in their rotation.

***There’s not nearly enough of a backlash against Boston’s Game 4 starter Clay Buchholz for his recent wishy-washy comments to the press. He has repeatedly referred to feeling run-down and being unsure of how effective he can be.

In a recent press conference, he indicated he would be happy if he could replicate his last start, which was a five inning/two-run effort against the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. That kind of apathy and willingness to settle for mediocrity is not what you want to see from a pitcher who is about to pitch the biggest game of his career.

Buchholz may be tired or hurt but he needs to keep that to himself. All he needs to say is how much he wants to go out and kick butt—then behind the scenes the team will determine if he can and should go.

Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling gave huge pitching efforts in playoff games in the past couple of decades, despite working with major injuries. They didn’t complain; they just went out and competed.

At this point, I’d be more concerned about Buchholz’s attitude and lack of fire than any physical ailment.

***After stealing 123 bases in just 142 attempts during the regular season, the Red Sox have ceased running in the World Series. Sure, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is an all-time great in keeping the running game in check, but he can be had.

Including the playoffs, runners have been successful in five of their last six attempts against the Gold Glove catcher. In addition, the 42 percent of runners he caught during the regular season represented the fourth-lowest mark of his 10-year career.

Running on Molina can be a risky proposition but the Red Sox are pretty darned good on the base paths in their own right. The 86.6 percent success rate they had in stolen bases this season is the best mark a team has ever had since the statistic started being recorded in 1914. Taking a chance or two could really pay off and help Boston even the series.

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2013 World Series Game 3 Thoughts

Game 3 of the 2013 World Series will be underway shortly, as the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals will battle to become the last team standing this season.

So far, each team has taken a game in rather convincing fashion. Even though it has been a thoroughly entertaining series, both teams suffered from errors and poor decisions in their respective losses.

The third game will take place in St. Louis following the first two contests going down in Boston. Tonight will be a clash of right-handers, as veteran Jake Peavy will take the mound for the Red Sox, and young Joe Kelly toes the rubber for the Cards.

Here are a few things to look out for tonight:

***Kelly doesn’t have swing-and-miss stuff. With 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings this year, he relies more on pitching to contact. His stuff is headlined by a fastball that averaged 94.8 mph this season, but may be a bit flat. He is hittable, as evidenced by his 1.36 WHIP, which is unordinary high given his velocity and 2.69 ERA.

***Converted from relief earlier this year, Kelly still doesn’t have the stamina of a front-of-the-rotation type of starter. He has only exceeded 100 pitches in a game five times this season (with a high of 109), and the last time he did was almost two months ago—September 6th.

Further giving hope that Boston’s lineup can get to him is the .810 OPS he has permitted to batters between pitches 51-75 this year, and the .757 mark he has allowed on pitches 76-100. Waiting him out could really pay off, but would also mean the Cardinals would then dip into their excellent bullpen.

***Boston shortstop Stephen Drew is in the midst of a horrid slump at the plate, having gone just 4-for-42 with 15 strikeouts this postseason. Look for him to finally snap out of it in Game 3. He has played against a lot of strikeout pitchers so far during the playoffs, and should have somewhat easier pitches to hit against Kelly.

***Mike Carp hasn’t gotten enough playing time this postseason. The left-handed hitter has had just six hitless at-bats for the Red Sox. However, the .904 OPS he had during the regular season against right-handers should be enough to get him a few more plate appearances. Instead, manager John Farrell has given Jonny Gomes the lion’s share of at-bats because of gut feelings and perceived luck—whatever that means.

***With Peavy coming off a rough last start where he gave up seven runs in just three innings in the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers, the Red Sox need to do whatever they can to make sure he is comfortable. One thing that might have helped was starting David Ross at catcher instead of Jarrod Saltalamacchia (who is in the starting lineup).

Peavy had a 2.75 ERA in three starts with Ross this year, compared to a 4.64 mark in five starts with Salty. It’s a small sample size but is hard to overlook, especially with the pitcher needing some confidence after getting rocked last time out.

***Right-hander Clay Buchholz is tentatively slated to start Game 4 for Boston despite numerous reports citing fatigue and possible injury. Not knowing what he can give, the Red Sox will need to manage their bullpen very carefully tonight. That includes avoiding guys like Felix Doubront and Ryan Dempster if possible, as they are the most likely candidates to throw multiple innings if Buchholz can’t go or is knocked out early.

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Boston Red Sox: Prospect Jantzen Witte Trying to Tame the Hot Corner

The Boston Red Sox have a proud tradition of third basemen, with Jimmy Collins, Larry Gardner, Frank Malzone and Wade Boggs are just some of the fine players to have manned the hot corner in Beantown over the years. It’s a tough group to crack, but one that prospect Jantzen Witte hopes he can one day join.

Witte starred for Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, hitting .468 as a senior, earning team-MVP honors.

He accepted a scholarship to play at Texas Christian University (TCU). He was immediately a starter and became one of the most consistent players in school history. During his four years with the Horned Frogs, he appeared in 211 games, hitting .327 with 14 home runs and 138 RBIs. He also scored an impressive 132 runs while playing strong defense. Along the way, he received a long list of awards and recognitions that helped get him on the radar of MLB teams.

The Red Sox picked Witte up in the 24th round of the 2013 draft. He split his first professional season between the Gulf Coast League and short-season Lowell, hitting a combined .168 with 10 RBIs in 33 games. While it may not have been the strong start he hoped for, it was a chance to get his feet wet in preparation for his first full year in 2014.

Having seen Witte interact with fans prior to one of his games, I already had a great sense of admiration for how grounded and accessible he seemed to be. He only confirmed those feelings in the recent interview he gave me regarding his time in baseball. Make sure to read on to find out more, and keep an eye out for him next year as he seeks to advance up the Boston player development ladder.

Jantzen Witte Interview:

Who was your favorite player when you were growing up, and why?: Growing up in Arlington, Texas, I grew up a Rangers fan and loved watching Michael Young play. He always seemed to play hard, and from what I can remember, he always did well in clutch situations. I tried to match his middle-away approach when I was growing up.

How did you wind up attending TCU?: I had a few other offers, but in my mind, I wanted to play for the best team possible because I thought I could work my way up and end up playing no matter where I went.

I had not signed with any college even going into the summer before my freshman year of college (which was a little scary). TCU's recruiting coordinator at the time, Todd Whitting, came and watched me play, and ended up bringing me on campus for a visit. I signed with TCU the day of my visit, and I cannot be happier with my decision to hold out for TCU.

How did you first find out that the Red Sox were interested in you?: I had never been drafted before and I was really looking forward to trying to get drafted after my senior year of college. We had scouts at our practices and had meetings with some scouts a couple of times during the year. I don't think I actually ended up meeting with anyone within the Red Sox organization, but after filling out a questionnaire for the Red Sox, I received a phone call from them making sure they had all of my information correctly and to me, that was a sign they were interested in drafting me and I was ecstatic.

What was your draft experience like?: After talking with some guys this past year, I realized my draft experience was a little different than most. I was doing some yard work outside of our house with my dad, and he had set up a little speaker with the draft picks playing. We worked outside all morning and I could tell he was getting a little frustrated that we had not heard my name over the loud speaker yet.

Because I was a senior, I didn't think it made a ton of difference wherever I got drafted, just as long as I got drafted. I walked inside the house to get a glass of water and decided to stop at the computer and look up the draft. When I went to the draft page's Twitter, the first tweet that popped up had my name on it, and I was very confused because I was expecting a phone call before I had been drafted. Shortly after, I started receiving text messages from friends saying congratulations, and that's when it started to hit me that I had actually been drafted by Boston.

What do you believe are some of the strongest aspects of the Boston organization?: When I think of the Red Sox, I think of history and tradition. There are so many great players who played with the Sox back in the day, and still playing now. I also love the fan base that supports the Red Sox. They are arguably the most loyal fans in all of sports, and I think that has shown this year like crazy. Even in Arlington, Texas I see Red Sox hats and gear everywhere.

What is one part of your game that you hope to improve on the most?: Since I am a corner infielder, I hope to improve my power the most. I’ve never hit a lot of home runs and I think with this extended offseason, I can get stronger and ultimately end up with some better power numbers this next season. In college, we were instructed to focus more on the process of hitting more so than the results, and the Red Sox have drilled that in our heads as well. So, ultimately, I want to put together good, positive, at-bats that will help our team. While I continue to focus on that aspect of my offensive production, I believe an increase in my power capabilities will benefit the team and myself.

How would you describe your first professional season?: There’s no doubt in my mind that my first professional season was a little rough. Once I was drafted, I was sent to Florida to play in the Gulf Coast League. I played okay but felt like I really didn’t play like I know I am capable of.

About a month into the season, I was called up to play for the Lowell Spinners, which I was ecstatic about. Once again, I didn’t get off to a hot start offensively, and before I felt like things were starting to turn around for me in the right direction, I was hit in the right hand by a pitch and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Although my first professional season didn’t go as I had hoped, I still gained a lot of experience and I’m looking forward to putting the things I learned this past season to use in this next upcoming season.

What has been your proudest moment of your playing career to date?: There is no doubt in my mind that the proudest moment of my baseball career came in 2010 when we played in the College World Series the last year it was held in Rosenblatt Stadium. The atmosphere around Omaha, Nebraska during the College World Series is unbelievable and I had an absolute blast playing there.

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