Nine innings: Even among great expectations for Chris Sale, there have been surprises
COMMENTARY
Playing nine innings while wondering whether a batting glove is the only glove Hanley Ramirez will ever wear in a game again …
1. Despite a hiccup Sunday that might count as some pitchers’ best start of the season, I’m not at all surprised at how exceptional Chris Sale has been so far. While the start to his Red Sox career, which includes becoming just the second pitcher in the modern era to strike out more than 70 batters in his first seven starts with a new team (Randy Johnson did it twice), has drawn comparisons to the previously incomparable Pedro Martinez, it’s not as if this is coming out of nowhere. Sale once struck out 273 in a season and has finished in the top six in the American League Cy Young Award voting each of the past five years. He is the most talented prime-of-career pitcher currently active in the AL, and the Red Sox acquired him at age 27, what should be the start of his peak. This is who he is, and it’s both awesome and unsurprising.
2. What is a surprise – at least for those of us unfamiliar with the nuances of his reputation with the White Sox – is what a terrific teammate Sale has turned out to be. He navigated all of that nonsense in the Orioles series better than anyone in either dugout, including the managers. He threw the pitch in the series finale behind Machado, then stood there and stared at him blankly while the Orioles third baseman went into expletive-laced rant mode once again. He discussed it with the perfect humorous, I’ve-got-my-guys-backs touch, noting dryly that they’ll all have a pool party and grill some ribs when it’s over. He also had the grace step off the mound to not only allow fans to salute Adam Jones, but to encourage it. I’m still a little wary of him when scissors are in the vicinity, but he seems to be as good in the clubhouse as he is on the mound.
3. Sincerely hope John Farrell is merely giving Jackie Bradley Jr. a couple of clear-your-head, get-your-swing-straight maintenance days here rather than legitimately considering giving Chris Young more at-bats against right-handers at his long-term expense. Bradley is off to a brutal start – he’s hitting .175 with one homer through 57 plate appearances – and he should cede at-bats to Young against lefties. But we know by know that Bradley is crazy-streaky, and we know what happens when he snaps out of a slump: He can carry the offense for a few weeks, like he did last May when he slashed .381/.474/.701 with 8 homers and 24 RBIs. Plus, he’s a stellar defender, one of the best defensive center fielders the Red Sox have ever had. It’s maddening when his slumps drag on and on, and Young is a heck of a fourth outfielder, but Farrell shouldn’t be reducing Bradley’s role just yet.
4. Seems to me the main problem in the Orioles-Red Sox feud is that neither team could figure out who got the last word – or brushback, as it were – because they disagreed on where it began. The Red Sox thought it began with Manny Machado’s hard slide into Dustin Pedroia – even if Pedroia himself didn’t seem to agree. The Orioles, figuring small-harm, no-foul on the slide, thought it was over until Matt Barnes ignited everything by buzzing Machado. Both teams thought they were in the right to have the final moment of supposed payback, which is why it carried over through all four games of the series. Heck, maybe it’s not even over now. I’m sure Buck Showalter will have something passive-aggressive to say the next time the teams meet.
5. The Orioles are the Red Sox’ most contentious rival of the moment. But we might just return to a more classic and time-tested rivalry if the Yankees continue playing this well. Allegedly in a rebuilding year, the Yankees have the best record in baseball (20-9) after Sunday’s epic 18-inning win over the Cubs. Aaron Judge is hitting like he’s 1998 Shane Spencer, Aaron Hicks has an 1.121 OPS, Starlin Castro is hitting .355, and they have five pitchers averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings. Is it sustainable? I think it’s fair to be skeptical, but they are four games up on the Red Sox for the time being, and not to get too far ahead, but it would nice if these guys ran into each other in the playoffs again one of these years. It’s been too long.
6. I’ve never been a huge Brock Holt guy, not because I don’t appreciate what he brings to the ballclub, but because I think there’s a good-sized segment of the fan base that appreciates him a little too much for his supposed grit. When it comes to the gods of scrappiness and hustle, I’m an atheist. But I can also acknowledge that he’d be a valuable asset now, a slightly above replacement level offensive player with a decent glove who could fill the void at third base until a better solution comes along or Dave Dombrowski makes a terrible trade for Todd Frazier. Holt, who has battled vertigo-like symptoms, has been rehabbing in Portland. Here’s to a healthy and helpful return.
7. In 350 plate appearances since the beginning of the 2016 season, Sandy Leon has produced at a .297/.350/.473 clip with 11 homers, 46 RBIs, and a 115 adjusted OPS. He has been worth 2.9 Wins Above Replacement in that 97 game span, while throwing out 41 percent of base stealers. We’re approaching the point, if we’re not already past it, in which we should stop asking whether he’s for real and start asking when the Red Sox are going to sign him to a contract extension.
8. A comparison that cannot be resisted:
1975 Fred Lynn, age-23 season: .331/.401/.566, 21 homers, 105 RBIs, 47 doubles, 175 hits, 103 runs, 162 OPS-plus, 7.4 WAR
2017 Andrew Benintendi, age-22 season so far, projected to a full season: .325/.385/.500, 26 homers, 104 RBIs, 31 doubles, 203 hits, 109 runs, 138 OPS-plus, 5.7 WAR.
9. Now, aesthetically, Benintendi isn’t quite like Lynn, though both play the game with an easy grace. His swing, for instance, is pure Yaz. But through 20 percent of his rookie season, Benintendi is doing virtually everything Lynn did during his historic Rookie of the Year/Most Valuable Player season in ’75. We never thought we’d see a debut season quite like that again. And here we are, seeing it again.
