BOS Vs CLE Series Recap: Alex Cora Is A Blessing.

Coming into this series, it’s safe to say that Red Sox fans had good reason to be optimistic. The team flew into Cleveland coming off of a dominant series sweep over the floundering Pirates.

Unfortunately, despite some bright spots, these three games did a great job in highlighting why the Red Sox will be a last place team in the AL East. Alex Cora and the rest of his staff/players deserve a ton of credit for being three games above .500.

DEFENSE:

Let’s start out with a positive. The defensive mistakes in this series were not as frequent as they have been over the course of the series. However, the few defensive mistakes that were made in Cleveland could have been the difference between a series win or loss.

David Hamilton is a guy who I never trust on the field, no matter what position he is playing. Thankfully we didn’t see much of him at shortstop this week. However, in the very brief time we saw him there, he was terrible once again. Even at second base, I have a hard time watching him play. He looks panicked every time he touches the ball. This Red Sox team would be a better outfit if David Hamilton was in AAA.

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I’d Like To see David Hamilton In This Uniform Again Soon.

As for the outfield, Rob Refsnyder provides near league average defense, which I cannot complain about. Jarren Duran (despite recent troubles at the plate) had a very good series defensively. In game 3, he made a difficult catch in center, and still was able to throw out the runner at second to complete the double play. Personally, I believe this to be the best defensive play of Duran’s career. Additionally, Wilyer Abreu continues to be a rock in this outfield. His cannon of an arm gives the Sox a chance to prevent runs that otherwise would score easily. I have previously compared Wilyer Abreu to a younger and slightly quicker Hunter Renfroe, but I can see now that Abreu has a much higher ceiling as a defender.

The catchers were both okay defensively in this series. There were some great moments from both Wong and McGuire receiving difficult pitches and throwing out runners on steal attempts. Despite that, It is important to highlight McGuire’s error in game three. A combination of him and Chris Martin are responsible for that game slipping away at the end.

Lastly, I wanted to highlight two guys who I think have done a tremendous job defensively. Bobby Dalbec is far and away the team’s best defensive player at two positions. He fits in naturally on the corners, and has especially great instincts at 1st. Given the current state of the roster, his defense might be enough to keep him from being sent back to Worcester. Enmanuel Valdez is another player who I believe has stepped it up majorly on the defensive front. He is being molded into a reliable major league second baseman (defensively) before our eyes.

STARTING PITCHING:

The state of this rotation is an absolute disaster. Following game 2, it was announced that Brayan Bello was headed to the 15 day IL. This is completely devastating for a rotation that was already missing some key pieces. It is APRIL 26TH, and the only starters left standing in this rotation are Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck.

Of the three games in the series, two of the games were bullpen games. While both Houck and Crawford have been phenomenal so far, it is genuinely pathetic that Red Sox fans were subject to a Cooper Criswell start, followed immediately by a Chase Anderson start. I mean, come on…. That is just sad.

I’ll give credit to Cooper Criswell, who had his best outing so far as a Red Sox. He showed me something in the middle game of the series. I am not looking forward to his eventual fall back to earth in his next start, but his performance in this series was a pleasant surprise.

Chase Anderson on the other hand, showed exactly why he isn’t allowed to pitch meaningful innings for this team. He truly is, as many have dubbed him, a human white flag. The fact that he is STARTING games is a complete joke. The guy could not get through two innings without giving up 5 runs…. PATHETIC.

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Chase Anderson

(sucks)

THE PEN:

The bullpen is in rough shape. I do not envy the workload that some of these guys are going to be getting in the near future. With so many starters down, we are seeing some new blood in the pen. Zack Kelly made his season debut in this series, and had a good first outing. You know the situation is bad when Alex Cora wheels out Kenley Jansen to eat meaningless innings.

AT THE PLATE:

As much as the injury bug as decimated the pitching staff, it has equally ruined the team’s lineup. The loss of Casas is devastating. Thankfully though, this series saw the return of both Rafael Devers and Tyler O’Neill. The two of whom were a sight for sore eyes following some really ugly baseball at the plate.

O’Neill showed life with his bat throughout the series, and Devers looked arguably the best that he has all year after returning on Wednesday. The Red Sox will need both of these guys to stay healthy and play at an elite level, if the team has any aspirations of being competitive down the stretch.

Wilyer Abreu struggled in game three of the series, but was otherwise a dominant force both at the plate and in the outfield. Abreu is this team’s MVP over the last couple of weeks now.

Connor Wong is also deserving of significant praise for his performance in game two of this series. When it’s all said and done, Wong’s performance in this game very well might be the best of his career (even if he becomes an all-star someday). Wong put on an absolute CLINIC in this game, going 4-4 with TWO home runs and three RBI. Truly awesome to see from a player that I am a fan of.

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Wong in game 2:

4-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI

A good deal of the lineup, featuring guys like Pablo Reyes, Enmanuel Valdez, David Hamilton, Bobby Dalbec, and Ceddanne Rafaela continue to struggle (some more than others). These guys are going to need to give the team something offensively down the stretch, and I don’t feel great about that happening.

Big picture, this team has done a great job hanging in there given all of their issues. I commend the players, Alex Cora, and Andrew Bailey for the job that they have done through 25 games. For those who have spoken out against Alex Cora, it is time to reconsider your position.