Monday Morning Brushback: Red Sox, White Knuckles

Boy, what a week that was.

The Boston Red Sox’s stretch from August 12 through 18 had everything: walk-off victories, frustrating losses, dizzying helter-skelter games against a divisional rival, players returning from a suspension after yelling a slur, Dan Cortese. . .

I think if you had told me last Monday that this week would result in a 4-3 record for the Sox—where they win one series at home and split a four-game set on the road against one of the best teams in the bigs—I would’ve been fine with it. As a matter of fact: I know I would’ve been fine, because I had a similar sentiment in last week’s Brushback:

All of that is to say that this upcoming week feels like it’ll be the week of weeks for the 2024 Red Sox. A strong slate gets you right back on the saddle before taking on these same Astros with a chance for some payback. Another few hiccups — let’s call it a 3-4 stretch or worse — means I’m breaking my hand by smashing the panic button so hard.

Two takeaways from that blurb in hindsight:

1. I’m aware that I use too many dashes when I write — can’t help myself, and
2. In spite of the topsy-turvy nature of this seven-game sample size, I do feel like Boston is still right in the middle of this fight leading up to the Texas three-step they have next on the schedule.

Sure, the club is still 3.5 games back of a spot in the postseason, but that’s the result of the lion’s share of a difficult stretch on the schedule. The days are getting shorter and Labor Day weekend is just a few weeks away, but that doesn’t mean that the Sox are running short on prime opportunities to make up that ground.

That time just hasn’t come in recent weeks...and it probably won’t come this week, either. The Houston Astros just swept our asses at home, and now we have to go into their house. The Arizona Diamondbacks pay us a visit this upcoming weekend, and they’ve been playing some great ball recently (save for the three-game sweep they just suffered down at the Trop).

But after that, there’s some golden chances to sneak past the likes of the Kansas City Royals or Minnesota Twins. The perfectly stinky Blue Jays come into town for, like, 4.88 games. The completely pedestrian Tigers host us for a trio of games. The White Sox—one of the worst teams I’ve ever seen in my entire life—will soon come to Fenway for three games.

That’s when the Red Sox really can (and should, frankly) make some big strides in the playoff race. It’s not to say that they don’t have an opportunity to make a statement this week—they do—but we’re currently in a stage of white knuckling this shit.

Long story short: let’s survive this week against the ‘Stros and the Sneks, and then hit the ground running for the home stretch.

It’s Monday Morning Brushback time, y’all.

Bullpen? More Like Bullsh—

Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images

A tweet crossed my desk the other day, and it made me pause dead in my tracks. If you’ve just had a meal or are prone to nauseating stats, you might want to avert your eyes as to what team is ranked at number 30 out of 30 on this list of team bullpen ERAs since the start of the second half.

Granted: these stats were posted on August 15, but it’s not like the bullpen has gotten worse in that time, right?

*OTM intern pulls me aside and points out that the bullpen’s ERA since the All-Star Game has actually gone up to 6.99, nearly a full run worse than the White Sox’s bullpen ERA in that time*

Ah. I see.

I appreciate Craig Breslow’s efforts in trying to bolster the pitching staff and provide some relief help, I really do. At some point, it’s on the players to go out there and actually perform well. Hell, the deadline haul hasn’t been all bad: Lucas Sims has allowed just one earned runs in his past five innings of work dating back to last Sunday, and he coughed up just one hit and one walk in three innings of work this week against Texas and Baltimore. Meanwhile, Kenley Jansen hasn’t surrendered a hit since July 27 and hasn’t issued a free pass since July 31. Not too shabby on either of those fronts!

Unfortunately, the rest can’t be same for others in the arm barn.

Zack Kelly has been having an August to forget, as he’s logged a 7.36 ERA across 3.2 innings in his last five outings by way of eight hits surrendered along with a walk. Kelly was joined by Josh Winckowski (who’s not having a month to write home about in his own right, as his 5.79 ERA in 9.1 innings in August) and Luis Garcia (who I’m sure is a very fine fella off the field but has officially proven that he cannot be pitching for the Red Sox with anything resembling an ounce of leverage on the line, considering he’s given up at least one earned run in each of his last five times on the bump) to create a triumvirate of suck during Wednesday night’s disaster against the Rangers. Cooper Criswell’s final line on Friday was ugly, while Chris Martin’s outing that same night was shaky. Cam Booser was put on the injured list due to inflammation in his left elbow after he wasn’t able to retire any of the three Texas batters he faced on Tuesday, leaving a pitching staff that’s recently been desperate for consistency with one fewer option to turn to.

Maybe this is just a bump in the road for the pitching staff, but I dunno. I don’t want to see these types of hiccups become a trend as we move closer to September and October. Liam Hendriks made an appearance on the mound for Worcester over the weekend, so maybe he’ll be able to give the arm barn some reinforcement. The same goes for Rich Hill, The Pride of Milton, who just signed a minor-league deal and began what seems like his 952837387505618th stint with his home town club.

However, the Sox are gonna need more than just those hurlahs (I tried typing out an Australian accent there in honor of Hendriks but I don’t think it really stuck. Whatever; it stays in the blog) to stay in this race for the pennant. The conversation about organizational depth for pitching is one that can be addressed in the winter, but for now the guys who are actually here now need to step up their game.

A Soul for a Soul

Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

Welcome back, Triston Casas!

The first baseman had been on the shelf since April due a rib injury, but he looked like he hadn’t missed a beat during his first series back with the club in Bal’mer: five hits in 13 total at-bats as well as a run scored in each of the three contests he played in against the Birds.

That’s the makings of, as he poetically put it, one tough SOB.

You shouldn’t need me to tell you how huge it is to have a guy of Casas’ caliber back towards the top of the lineup full-time. It’s another lefty in a lefty-heavy lineup, sure, but who gives a shit when he’s hitting with authority like he has in the past? With Devers protecting him in the lineup, with other players like Masataka Yoshida contributing at a great clip as of late, and with Tyler O’Neill back in action, it just makes the offense that much more lethal at a pivotal point in the season. The only thing we’re missing is the full-time mic attached to Casas so that we can enjoy all of his musings.

Of course, with Casas being activated, somebody had to go. That somebody was Dominic Smith, another left-handed hitting first baseman, who was designated for assignment on Friday.

It made sense to make him the casualty of this move—other bench players have proven their worth, too, and he would’ve been a bit of a redundancy on the roster with Casas back in action—but it still doesn’t stink any less. Smith quickly became a fan favorite, and he helped us weather this Casas-less storm for the past few months. A tip of the cap to him for his contributions to the 2024 Red Sox; they will not be forgotten. Unfortunately, he’s the most recent victim of the business side of this game.

Boston Rob’s Future

Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

After kicking around with a few clubs to begin his career, outfielder Rob Refsnyder has carved out a nice lil’ spot for himself in Boston. Since 2022, he’s been a dependable option at the plate to face off against lefties. Believe it or not: his OPS during his tenure with the Red Sox is .798; not bad for a guy who didn’t have big expectations when coming here.

2024 has been a stellar year for Boston Rob: he currently boasts a 133 OPS+ in just over 250 plate appearances. His brilliant run continued this week, as he drove in the winning run in Monday’s opener against the defending world champs.

Refsnyder is a valued contributor to the Red Sox, and is even recognized as the “de facto captain” in the clubhouse, according to a team official. It seems obvious, then, that the club would move to exercise the $2 million option they have on his contract for next season and retain his services, right?

Well, I had thought the same thing up until a nugget from Pete Abraham was dropped over the weekend: Rob Refsnyder might be retiring after this season.

Now Rob isn’t playing in 162 games for us, but this would still be a tough pill to swallow. Depth within the clubhouse is key; we’ve learned that the hard way the past few seasons with all the injuries we’ve seen, haven’t we? I’m sure Alex Cora would deeply miss the option to deploy Refsnyder whenever he needs to.

Plus: it’s two million big ones, Rob! That’s two million bones! Two million smackaroos! You wouldn’t want that?!

But then you take a moment and realize: he’s been in this league since 2015. He’s been living a dream for quite some time now, and now he has the chance to accomplish another dream: retire at 33.

I’m 28; you know what I would do for the chance to retire in five years, with all due respect to OTM and Daddy Vox?! I’d do some stuff that would probably get me in jail for even typing into this article, let alone carrying out in practice.

Who would blame Rob for potentially wanting to call it a career at 33? We only go down this way once; you can’t replace time missed with loved ones and friends. Of course we’d all miss him being a part of the team, but I hope he makes the decision that’s best for him and his family for 2025 and beyond—whether it’s dominating southpaws at the dish or dominating some nice concoction under a palm tree in some beautiful island oasis.

Song of the Week: “The Family Madrigal” from Encanto

Apologies to any parents who read OTM as a way to escape from the perpetual loop of Disney movies that play at their homes.

Missy Mo Peña and I were on babysitting duty for a four-year-old over the weekend, so of course I was introduced to Encanto for the first time. Since then, I haven’t been able to get this bop out of my head. Lin-Manuel Miranda, you dirty dog, you did it again.

Same time and same place next week, friends! Go Sox.