With baseball season underway, the Red Sox spring report card to date has been mediocre at best. Although, early reports had the Sox clinching the division, I don’t see it based on their performance.
Sox Spring Report Card 2017
Based on the first few months of the season, the Red Sox performance has been dismal. By this time last year, the team showed they were going to be a good team.
In the same way, this year’s team is nothing like last year. Although we have had some injuries early on with David Price and some of our top relievers out on injury, this team hasn’t been consistent.
In the first place, this year’s defense is playing like a bunch of Little League players. In addition, this team has made 13 errors at third base. From a defensive point, this team has a lot of weaknesses, specifically at third base.
For me, some of the biggest problems I see besides defense is lack of run support. Of course, we needed to replace David Ortiz’s bat in the line-up. Without a power bat and clutch hitting, our runs per game is low. Since, the Sox are playing sub-par baseball thus far, they need to figure out what is wrong.
Furthermore, they are playing close to the bottom of the division versus the top. For now, the team needs to figure out a way to play without Ortiz.
How to Fix the Sox Problems
Without Oritz, the Sox are going to have to figure out a way to score runs. Because third base was an issue the last few seasons, the Sox need to have good defense in the corner. Of course, this is a hot topic. Whether Pablo Sandoval comes back or not, they have to find a solution for an everyday third baseman.
In addition, the Red Sox traded Travis Shaw for Tyler Thornburg. Although Thornburg was considered a top reliever, he has had elbow problems in the past. Also, the Sox made a bad trade for Drew Pomerantz that hasn’t worked out. When it was reported that some medical issues were not disclosed, the Sox could have reversed this trade.
Dave Dombrowski
While Dave Dombrowski is considered a top baseball executive, he has made some questionable decisions. For me, he has traded away a lot of good prospects for players that haven’t worked out well for the team. In addition, he should have been looking for a power hitter to replace Ortiz’s bat.
Hence, the bullpen has been a disaster in Dombrowski’s tenure with the team. Both Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg haven’t worked out thus far. Although Craig Kimbrel has been lights out early on, the rest of the bullpen has been unreliable.
Also, another big problem is, do the Red Sox have the right Manager in John Farrell? Because the Sox picked up Farrell’s option for 2018, they don’t have a lot of excess cash to spend.
To sum up, Dave Dombrowski needs to find some solutions to fix this team.
As always, I welcome your comments on what you think of this years Red Sox Team? For me, I would grade the Sox Spring report card as a D.