Juvenile x Young Thug "Red Sox" (WSHH Exclusive - Official Audio)
Pablo Sandoval is in better shape right now than at this time last year and hisstats clearly reflect it.
In 21 Grapefruit League games this spring, Panda went 22-for-65 (.338 batting average) with a .348 on-base percentage, .677 slugging percentage, 1.025 OPS, five homers, sevendoubles, 20 RBIs, 11 runs, one walk and 12 strikeouts.
He also committed just one error in 42 total chances.
In 19 Grapefruit League games during2016, Sandoval went 10-for-49 (.204 batting average) with a .231 on-base percentage, .408 slugging percentage, .639 OPS, two homers, four doubles, seven RBIs, three runs, two walksand six strikeouts.
And he committed four errors in 34 total chances last year.
Opening Day is today. You ready? Pablo seems ready.
Boston Red Sox righty Rick Porcello starts opposite Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed ace Gerrit Cole at Fenway Park at 2:05 p.m.
Sandoval looks to carry his spring training momentum into the regular season after he took just six at-bats in 2016 before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
The third baseman"s return is one of the top five Red Sox storylines heading into 2017:
5. Pablo Sandoval"s return and whether he"ll produce and maintain his weight around where it is now:
Sandoval"sproduction is linked to his weight.
Staying at a reasonable weight and nimble will allow him to stay at thirdbase every day.
We saw what happened during 2016 when he continued to gain weight throughout the season. He finished "16 tied for worst among qualified major league third basemen in defensive runs saved (negative-11), per Fangraphs.com.
Sandoval lost 22 pounds ina six-week span during the 2013 season and he reportedly lost more than 40 pounds during the offseason leading into the 2014 season. But both times he put the weight back on pretty quickly.
the red sox need to monitor how he"s eating -- even after games.
If he puts weight on, people will notice and it will become a story. If he has a terrific comeback season, it will be a better story.
4. Chris Sale"s first season as a Boston Red Sox.
Recent history hasn"t been too kind to Red Sox starting pitchers in their first seasons with the team. Rick Porcello, David Price, John Lackey and Josh Beckett allunderachieved in their first years here.
Sale seems to have the perfect personality to eliminate all outside distractions and dominate like he has the past fiveseasons when he"s finished in the top six each year in AL Cy Young voting.
Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling showed it can be done.
Martinez went19-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 33 starts in 1998. Schilling went 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA in 32 starts in 2004 (and helped lead Boston to its first World Series title in 86 years).
Beckett had the personality to succeed in his first year here but he faced an adjustment period going from the NL to the AL. And perhaps his personality made him resist some adjustments during his first year.
3. Too many injuries and how it reflects on Dave Dombrowski.
Tyler Thornburg (right shoulder impingement), David Price (elbow) and Drew Pomeranz (left forearm flexor strain) all will begin the 2017 season on the disabled list.
Thornburg is the second setup man in two years to suffer a significant injury after Dombrowski traded for him.
Carson Smith, who Dombrowsitraded for December 2015, threw only 2 2/3 innings during 2016 before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery.
It"s not a great look that most of Dombrowski"s pitching acquisitions have failed to stay healthy.
He and manager John Farrell seemed to get a little too sensitive/defensive late inspring training, saying the media pushed/created the storyline about how the team"s shoulder program might have contributed to Thornburg"s injury.
But Farrell was the first person to mention how the shoulder program might have affected Thornburg back on March 10.
2. The starting pitching depth and whether the Clay Buchholz trade will come back to haunt the Red Sox.
The Red Sox traded Clay Buchholz in large part to keep their 2017 payroll under the $195 million tax threshold.
Would Dombrowski have dealt Buchholzif heknew David Price was going to miss at least all of April with an elbow injury?
Would Dombrowski have traded Buchholz if he knew Pomeranz would struggle during spring training?
Would he have made the deal with the Phillies if he knew Roenis Elias was going tosuffer a right intercostal muscle strain?
Or if he knew minor league free agent Kyle Kendrick would be his top depth starter coming out ofspring training camp? Kendrick posted a 4-0 record and 2.18 ERA in eight outings (seven starts), 33 innings.
Henry Owens continues to struggle with command issues and Brian Johnson needs more work at Triple-A Pawtucket. The Red Sox don"t have much depth beyond Kendrick.
As mentioned above, Dombrowski and Farrell already seemed to get sensitive over the Thornburg situation. How much pressure will Dombrowski feel if Price or Pomeranz is lost for the season?
Pomeranz, who underwent a stem cell shot in the offseason, is expected to return from the DL on April 9. But we"ve seen plenty of pitchers receive injections and try to rehab, then shut it down whenissues persist.
1. Getting beyond the ALDS and how David Price, other starters pitch duringthe postseason.
As mentioned on MassLive.com yesterday, Price could return from his elbow injury and dominate during the regular season -- but a successful year for him will be defined only by whether he wins during the postseason. That"s just reality after how much attention has been placed on his postseason shortcomings.
Price lasted only 3 1/3 innings in his ALDS loss to the Indians last year. He dropped to 0-8 with a 5.74 ERA (37 runs, 58 innings) in his nine postseason starts.
Rick Porcello lasted only 4 1/3 innings in his 2016 ALDS loss to the Indians. He is 0-3 with a 5.66 ERA in nine outings (three starts) during his postseason career.
Chris Sale has never pitched in the postseason.
It will be fascinating to see how this team performs in the playoffs if they make it that far.
Source: http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/04/pablo_sandovals_return_and_bos.html
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