©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The Boston Red Sox made a small trade, sending left-handed pitcher Roenis Elias to Seattle. Boston will either get a player to be named later or cash. Elias has been with Boston since 2016. The Red Sox traded with Seattle for Elias on December 7, 2015. Boston was hoping he would add depth to the pitching staff. Elias had an unimpressive record with the Mariners of 15-20. His ERA was 3.97. The part of his game the Red Sox liked was his ability to strike batters out with 240. Elias took some chances with his pitching location walking 108 with the Mariners not enough to scare Boston away. Unfortunately, the trade didn’t work out with Boston. Elias spent most of his time in the Boston Red Sox’s Minor League system. He pitched in 4 games and started 1 for the Red Sox. His record was 0-1 with a 12.38 ERA. Elias had 4 strikeouts and 6 walks. The Red Sox had no choice but to trade him. Elias wasn’t playing at the level they n

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The Boston Red Sox are red hot so far this year. They stand at 13-2, the best record in the American League and lead the American League East by 3.5 games heading into a 3 game series against the Los Angeles Angels which starts tonight. There are many reasons for the terrific beginning of the season. The Red Sox have been successful at the plate. The Red Sox hitters are being patient. They aren’t swinging at pitches outside the zone, helping them work the count. When they do that, they have walked 57 times. The Boston hitters don’t strike out very often so far this year with only 100. The Red Sox are one of the top hitting teams with a team batting average of .275 which has assisted them to be in the position they are in. The offense has been there for the Red Sox but a team can’t be successful without starting pitching and defense. The Red Sox have outstanding pitching with a team ERA of 2.94. Rival teams find it difficult

  ©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude   The Boston Red Sox are the hottest team in all of baseball. They have won 8 games in a row and look for win number 9 against the New York Yankees tonight. Boston is 8-1, their best start in franchise history. According to masslive.com, Manager Alex Cora said, “We have been playing good baseball for a month now. I know spring training doesn’t count, I know the record doesn’t count, but we were playing good baseball. We were playing fast, we were catching the ball, we were pitching.” The hot start is not a surprise. Offensively they are having timely hits and are patient at the plate with an overall batting average of .252. They don’t strike out a whole lot with a total of 56 as a team. The amazing part of their offense is they aren’t doing it by the long ball. The hitters are scoring runs on base hits and have smacked only 7 home runs. The offense has been there, but to win baseball games,

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude In a deal worth $13.55M guaranteed, the Boston Red Sox have extended catcher Christian Vazquez’s contract for three years, taking him through 2021 plus a club option for 2022. According to ESPN, Vazquez said, “I feel awesome here in Boston. It’s a great team, a great staff. I came (up through) the minor leagues here and it feels like a family here so it feels good.” This is a decent deal for the Red Sox.  Vazquez will be the starting catcher this season and for the next 3 years.  He is not a power hitter.  In his 3 seasons with the Red Sox, he has hit .261 with 7 home runs and 64 RBI’s.  Last year Vazquez had a .290 batting average with 5 home runs and 32 RBI’s.  Those are not great numbers at the dish. The reason the Red Sox made this move is how well Vazquez calls a game behind the plate.  He makes sure the pitchers are throwing the right pitch for strikes.  Vazquez is also able to throw runners out, with

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The Boston Red Sox have one more week of Spring training.  They will start the season in Tampa Bay on March 29th.  And Major League Baseball is hoping to finalize a 2-game series in London next season between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.  The games would take place at London’s Olympic Stadium June 29 and 30th, 2019.  According to washingtonpost.com, Red Sox Owner John Henry said, ”this is something the two clubs have discussed for years with MLB and hopefully it will become a reality.” If the deal is completed in time for next season, it would mark the first MLB games in Europe.  The dates are perfect for London because it is after the soccer season so the stadium will be available.  MLB wants the game to be even more global and this would help, plus the Red Sox versus the Yankees is one of the most heated rivalries in all of MLB. This seems like a great idea on paper.  The only problem is it falls during th

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The Boston Red Sox are well into Spring Training, and the starting pitching rotation could use some work.  They have two top pitchers in Chris Sale and David Price.  After them, the lineup is weak.  There is one pitcher still out there who could help this team: free agent pitcher Alex Cobb. Cobb spent the last 6 years in Tampa Bay.  His record was an impressive 48-35 with a 3.50 ERA.  Cobb would bolster the rotation in the third spot.  He can win games and, with 570 strikeouts in his career, he is able to strike out batters.  Cobb will not take risks by leaving the ball up in the zone.  That cuts down on the number of batters smacking home runs.  He's given up only 65. His only downside is walks.  He will throw the baseball low or outside.  Hitters won’t swing at those and take the free pass.  He has given up 204 walks. Cobb is still waiting for a deal.  The Red Sox need to place the call.  They know that in order to ma

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude Boston Red Sox pitcher Drew Pomeranz left Saturday’s Grapefruit League start after 17 pitches.  He felt tightness in his forearm.  Pomeranz underwent an MRI and the Red Sox received news on the injury.   It is a mild flexor tendon strain in his left elbow.  The Red Sox will re-evaluate him tomorrow to see how serious it is and if Pomeranz will miss the start of the regular season.  He will be shut down for the rest of Spring Training.  According to MLB.com Red Sox Manager Alex Cora said, “Just the flexor tendon strain. No structural damage. We’ll see Tuesday. At this time, we feel pretty confident he’s going to be fine.” This is not the worst injury.  The Red Sox need Drew Pomeranz for the regular season.  He is their 3rd starter and the hope is he won’t miss any time this season.  If he ends up missing time, it may hurt this rotation.  Pomeranz is one of their top strike out pitchers.  Last season he had 174 stri

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The Boston Red Sox have upgraded their outfield.  J.D. Martinez agreed to a deal with the team: 5-years, worth $110 million.  Martinez can opt out after two seasons. The Red Sox have eyed Martinez since the start of free agency.  They know what he can do in the outfield, and they need his bat.  Last season the Red Sox finished 93-69 winning the American League East but they couldn’t hit the long ball.  Boston ended up with 168 home runs, worst in the American League and 27th in all of baseball.  They know that in order to be one of the top teams in Major League Baseball that number must increase. Martinez will be the every-day right fielder.  He can catch the ball and pick batters off trying to advance.  He had 3 outfield assists last season. And he  won’t make many errors as he had only 4 all of last year.  The Red Sox know the move will bolster the outfield. The main reason that they signed him is his hitting.  Mart

©  2108 Jordan Long  Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude The Boston Red Sox aren’t looking to make any changes to the pitching rotation.  One of the top pitchers remaining unsigned is Yu Darvish. Boston was interested in his services at the trade deadline last season in hopes of a World Series run.  Instead he was sent to L.A. where Darvish helped them reach the World Series.  But that doesn’t mean that the Red Sox couldn’t land him now. Darvish is an above average regular season pitcher.  Last season he was 10-12 with a 3.86 era.  The Red Sox need him because of his ability to strike out batters.  He struck out 209 hitters last season.  In his career Darvish is 56-42 with a 3.42 ERA. The only downside with Darvish is his pitching location.  Last season he gave up 27 home runs, the most in his career.  He was unable to keep the ball low in the zone.  If that number is the same this year, it will cost Boston games. In addition, the Red Sox may have to overpay if they want

© 2108 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!          The Boston Red Sox are still trying to improve their outfield.  They have reached out to J.D. Martinez, putting a 5-year deal on the table.  Martinez wants a bigger contract of at least 7 years, worth $210 million.  According to bleacherreport.com, Bob Nightengale of USA today said, "The Red Sox won't give Martinez a seven-year, $210 million contract and aren't about to start bidding against themselves." Martinez is the type of outfielder who is going to make the Red Sox outfield better.  He will help this team's offense.  Martinez is a home-run hitter and scores his teammates.  He hit .303 with 45 home runs and 104 RBI’s last season.  And at the plate Martinez will take chances swinging at pitches outside the zone for strike outs with a total of 128 last season. In his 7-year MLB career Martinez is a .285 hitter with 152 home runs and 476 RBI’s. The Red Sox want Martinez because of his a

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!   The Boston Red Sox were searching for a 1st baseman this offseason.  They thought about the possibility of Eric Hosmer but decided to re-sign Mitch Moreland.  The deal is 2 years and he will total $13 million during the contract term. The Red Sox knew they had Hanley Ramirez on the roster.  He is used mostly as the DH.  Ramirez can play 1st base.  The Red Sox wanted a 1st baseman who could play pretty much everyday.  They were looking at Hosmer, but he wanted more money than Moreland.  And the team knew what Moreland could do for them. Moreland appeared in 149 games for for Boston last year.  At the plate he hit .246 with 22 home runs.  Moreland was able to move his teammates around the bases and drive them in with 79 RBI’s.  His problem at the plate was strikeouts.  Moreland is a free swinger and swung at anything close to the strike zone.  More times than not he would strike out with a personal record high

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!   The Boston Red Sox were unable to make a deal for outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.  The Red Sox are still looking to improve the outfield.  They are targeting Chicago Cubs’ outfielder Kyle Schwarber. At 24 years of age, Schwarber is younger than Stanton.  And he would come at a cheaper price.  His contract last season was $565,500.  It will be close to that this upcoming year. Schwarber is a decent hitter with a career average of .222.  He is not a home run hitter but is able to drive in runs and move players around into scoring position. The Red Sox want him for his fielding rather than his ability to hit the baseball.  Schwarber can play all outfield positions as well as 1st base. He rarely makes an error and has a strong arm to throw out batters trying to advance.  Last season he had 5 errors in the outfield but added 7 outfield assists. According to ESPN’s Scott Lauber stated, “It’s doubtful the Chicago

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!   The Boston Red Sox have been quiet so far during the winter baseball meetings.  They haven’t signed any free agents, but decided to keep one of their own.  In order to avoid salary arbitration, the team agreed to a one-year, $2.05 million contract with pitcher Tyler Thornburg. Thornburg was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on December 6th, 2016.  The Red Sox were hoping he would be a late-inning pitcher, one they could count on when games were tight.  Thornburg had the ability to strike batters out to keep the Brewers in games with 220 in his career.  The Red Sox were planning on Thornburg being a large part of the bullpen. Unfortunately, it did not work out last year.  Thornburg spent the season on the disabled list due to an impingement on his right shoulder.  Even with him shelved, the  Sox still went 93-69 and won the American League East Division. But the team missed Thornburg in the playoffs, los

©  2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude!   The Boston Red Sox are looking to improve the outfield position.    If they don’t land Giancarlo Stanton in a trade, J.D. Martinez is the next best outfielder available.    Martinez is a free agent and the Red Sox wouldn’t have to trade for him.    All they would need to do would be to sign him to a contract. Martinez will be entering his 8 th   Major League Baseball season.    He is a complete player at the plate.    Martinez can smack home runs, steal bases and drive in runs.    Last season he appeared in 57 games for the Detroit Tigers before being dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks where he played another 62 games.    For the season he hit .303 with 45 home runs and 104 RBI’s.    Martinez is a threat to steal bases to be in scoring position with 4 stolen bases. Martinez can play both right and left field.    He has played in more games in right field than left field in his career.    He rarely drops the bal

© 2107 Jordan Long   Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The biggest question of the Major League Baseball offseason is “where will outfielder Giancarlo Stanton play next year?”  The Miami Marlins are willing to trade him if the price is right.  One team that is interested is Boston. The Red Sox are known for spending money.  Stanton is already looking at $25 million a year for the next 11 years.  Nevertheless, the Red Sox may not be able to pass up the opportunity for Stanton because of what he can do for the team. And the Sox could use a veteran like Stanton.  They have Andrew Benintendi who has only one full year of MLB experience.  Jackie Bradley and Mookie Betts are the only experienced outfielders.  Adding Stanton would make this an improved out fielding team. If they make the trade for Stanton, his natural position is right field.  The Red Sox would need to move the outfield.  Bradley is a center fielder but can play all the positions in the outf

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The Boston Red Sox ended the season 93-69 and won the American League East division.    Unfortunately the year ended in game 4 of the American League Division Series with a loss to the Houston Astros.    Boston is looking to improve the team for the 2018 season. The Red Sox don’t need to look at pitching.    They were a decent pitching team throughout the MLB season.    The Red Sox team ERA was 4 th  best in all of baseball with a 3.70 ERA.   The starters' ERA was 4.06 while the relievers' was an impressive 3.15. It’s hitting where the team must improve.  Batting average was .258 in the regular season (13 th  in all of Major League Baseball).    In the playoffs it was slightly better at .285.    The Red Sox have Dustin Pedroia locked up as their best hitter.    The team will look at free agency to improve the lineup. Free agency is where they are going to enhance this team.    In the infield, Eric Ho

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The Boston Red Sox has its new manager. The team hired Alex Cora. His contract will be 3 years, running through the 2020 season. The contract also includes a club option for the 2021 season. Currently, Cora is the Houston Astros Bench Coach and will not start his new job until the 2017 World Series is over. The Red Sox may not have contact with him until that happens. According to MLB.com, Cora said in a press release, "I am extremely honored and humbled to be named manager of the Boston Red Sox and I want to thank Dave, John Henry, Tom Werner, and Sam Kennedy for giving me such a tremendous opportunity. Returning to the Red Sox and the city of Boston is a dream come true for me and my family and I look forward to working towards the ultimate goal of winning another championship for this city and its great fans."            The Red Sox could have hired somebody else who had at least managed at the Major L

By Jordan Long © Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The Boston Red Sox are looking for a new manager. The job opened October 11 th  after another disappointing American League Division Series loss. And so manager John Farrell got the boot. The team has been interviewing candidates for the opening. This past weekend, Houston Astros Bench Coach Alex Cora talked to the Red Sox and appears to be the front-runner. Monday, Brad Ausmus also met with the Red Sox. And, according to  yahoosports.com , Arizona Diamondbacks Bench Coach Ron Gardenhire is next in the hot seat. Alex Cora has never been a manager in Major League Baseball. This season was his first as a coach of any kind, and his first time as a Bench Coach. The only experience he has in Major League Baseball is as a player.  He appeared in 1,273 games throughout his 14 years in Major League Baseball as in infielder. The problem with Cora is he has no experience as a Major League Baseball manager. He is knowledg

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The Boston Red Sox were knocked out of the Division Series by the Houston Astros in 4 games.    Once the series was over, word was that manager John Farrell wasn’t going to be back for the 2018 season.    The Red Sox made it official and are now looking for a new manager. Farrell was hired as Manager of the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2013 season.    During his tenure he turned Boston into a winner.    His overall record was an impressive 432-378, 54 games above .500.    His winning percentage was .533.    Boston won the American League East Division three times with him including the last two seasons.    They missed the playoffs only twice under Farrell.                 The problem was the success in the regular season didn’t translate to postseason success.    The Red Sox won the World Series in 2013.    After that, the Red Sox didn’t come close to winning a playoff series again.    In 2016 they were swept

© 2107 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The Boston Red Sox sit at 55-47 heading into tonight’s game against the Seattle Mariners. They are a game ahead of the New York Yankees for 1st place in the American League East. They made a trade with the San Francisco Giants acquiring 3rd baseman Eduardo Nunez for minor league right-handers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos. According to ESPN, Nunez said, “It’s exciting. You’re going to go [play] for a championship. That’s why we’re here. That’s the focus right now.” Nunez is an above average batter at the plate. He is hitting .308 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI’s. Nunez won’t hit with power but will have solid base hits to get on base, allowing hitters behind him in the lineup to move him over into scoring position. What makes Nunez a respectable player is he can play any position. The Giants had him at 3rd base, left field, right field, and shortstop. Nunez is more comfortable playing the infield. He started 427 of

© 2106 Jordan Long Sports-Scoop.com | Sports with Attitude! The Boston Red Sox made a big splash by trading for starting pitcher Chris Sale on Tuesday. The Red Sox weren’t done wheeling and dealing on that day. They acquired reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Milwaukee Brewers for infielder Travis Shaw, infield prospect Mauricio Dubon, and Single-A pitcher Josh Pennington. How will this help the Boston Red Sox bullpen? Thornburg was the setup man and the Brewers’ closer last season. He appeared in 67 innings for Milwaukee. His ERA was a solid 2.15 and he had 90 strikeouts. Thornburg became the Brewers’ closer when Jeremy Jeffress was dealt to the Texas Rangers on July 31st. In 21 save opportunities Thornburg saved 13 games and had 8 blown saves. His record was 8-5. The Brewers saw in his limited time as a closer, Thornburg wasn’t going to be the closer of the future. They wanted to trade him and get something back in return. Boston was looking to upgrade their bullpen. They al