- 1 year ago
Roman Anthony’s oblique injury is a big blow for the Red Sox and could sideline him for the rest of the season. Bill Koch said losing him weakens an already thin lineup and raises doubts about October success. The Sox should still make the playoffs, but shaky pitching and failed deadline moves could limit how far they go. With the AL wide open, missed opportunities might cost them.
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00:00Really bad news for the Red Sox, but kind of explain the oblique,
00:05how it affects an everyday player, and why this is a serious injury.
00:11Well, just by nature, swinging a bat is twisting your torso,
00:15and the oblique is a big part of that in terms of physically
00:22what you need to do on a baseball field.
00:25And it's an injury that happens occasionally.
00:30You know, it did look awkward, that swing by Anthony.
00:32It was a breaking ball down and in, and he went over the top of it,
00:36and you could see immediately he was in discomfort on his lower left side.
00:40He reached for it, walking back to the dugout.
00:42And when Alex Bregman said postgame that this is a gut punch,
00:46and that was before the MRI and before Alex Cora said anything official,
00:50players know.
00:52They know if it's something serious, if it's something that could keep a teammate out
00:56or themselves out for a little while.
00:58So you got the feeling that there was something bad that was going to come out,
01:02and certainly, you know, Anthony potentially missing the rest of the regular season qualifies.
01:07I don't want to overstate the injury, Bill, but it just seems like without him,
01:12the Red Sox aren't a threat to go very far.
01:15Well, and I think that's a valid concern because he's one of the few everyday players
01:20in the lineup who you'd feel comfortable hitting against left- and right-handed pitching.
01:24You know, he's been so mature and so advanced in his approach in terms of being able to get on base
01:31and be a spark at the top of the order that, you know, you look at the rest of the lineup
01:36and there's a lot of platooning, a lot of mixing and matching against opposing pitchers.
01:42You look at the lineup last night, and there are guys in there who you wouldn't have expected
01:46to see past Fort Myers.
01:48So it is really a concern how they're going to put this together every night.
01:53Yeah, and so where do they go from here?
01:59How does this temper your expectations?
02:03Well, I think still that they're going to get in the playoffs.
02:07I think they've built enough of a cushion, you know, over the chasing pack
02:12that they'll at least get a wild-card spot, you know, but what's their ceiling in a short series?
02:18You figured Anthony has been one of their lead hitters over the last, you know, month and a half,
02:23two months or so.
02:25So you take that bat out of the lineup, you're down to essentially Bregman,
02:30Story, who still strikes out five times as often as he walks,
02:34you know, and maybe Duran, who's about 300 points worse in terms of OPS
02:41against left-handed pitching than he is against right.
02:45You know, Raffaella isn't a guy who necessarily is a thumper,
02:49somebody who's going to produce in October.
02:51So, you know, your options are really limited.
02:55I'm more concerned, though, guys, about pitching in a short series.
02:59You're basically down to a three-man rotation at this point,
03:02and, you know, heaven forbid, if anything happens to Crochet, Bale, or Giolito.
03:07And the Crochet thing's not unrealistic, given his workload and his performance of late.
03:14Bale's not that far behind, by the way.
03:16Yeah, and so let me ask you this.
03:18I'm not overstating it.
03:19The AL's not good.
03:21It's just not.
03:21There's not a dominant team in the AL.
03:24Do you disagree with that?
03:26I'll ask that first.
03:28No, I think that's fair to say.
03:30Yeah, it's wide open.
03:30Okay, so I don't know how familiar you are.
03:37I don't have a lot of problems with the Red Sox.
03:40I think it's a trope to consistently piss and moan about them.
03:45But the Devers trade, if I was a Red Sox fan, would bother me.
03:49And here's why.
03:50Not only did you get rid of the bat, and fine, it's addition by subtraction.
03:54They played very well without him.
03:55But you got actively worse.
03:58What are you saying, Fred?
03:59Well, not only if you would have retained some of the money, you could have gotten better.
04:03But the players you brought in, as predicted, have made your team worse.
04:09Hicks is worse than a replacement player.
04:12May, in my opinion, is probably teetering.
04:16He's a negative force since he showed up to.
04:18Is worse than a replacement player.
04:20So, if they don't, and they played well, which makes the problem worse.
04:26But they're making the playoffs.
04:28But if they have an early exit, are Red Sox fans right to be pissed about at least the lack of return for Rafael Devers?
04:37You could certainly be upset with what Craig Breslow has done during the year, in terms of player acquisition.
04:44Before the season, he did very well.
04:46He got Crochet, he got Bregman, he got Chapman.
04:49Those have all been hits.
04:50Right, because then, if Anthony goes down, you still have a formidable lineup.
04:59And if you get something in return for Devers, even if it's a rotational depth that's not May.
05:05Like a real guy that could be a possible, in a pinch, even a third starter for you.
05:12So, you know, you're talking about a completely different outlook.
05:18Yeah, and they clearly needed a bat.
05:20I mean, they've been trying to piece this together at first base since Tristan Koss went down.
05:24And even he was off to a really tough start at the beginning of the year.
05:29Their needs were obvious.
05:30They didn't meet them at the deadline.
05:32And instead, now you're saddled with two more years of Jordan Hicks.
05:36He's got an 820 ERA in Boston in 21 games.
05:40Kyle Harrison apparently has a sore ankle.
05:42That's why he couldn't pitch the other night.
05:44You know, we have not seen him yet.
05:48James Tibbs was traded for Dustin May, you know, almost as soon as he got here.
05:54And May was a guy who was already moving to the bullpen,
05:56who was already 70 innings above his previous career high with the Dodgers.
06:01That didn't figure to be an impact acquisition.
06:04You could look back on that and say, why did they make that deal at all?
06:07For me, it was because you got in the last hour of the deadline.
06:10You thought you might get Joe Ryan.
06:12And when the Twins finally said no, you pivoted, panicked, and said, oh, no, we need to get a starter.
06:18We need to at least get somebody.
06:20Dustin May is available.
06:21He's going to the bullpen.
06:21Let's bring him in.
06:22So, in terms of strengthening this team over the course of the year, I mean, Nathaniel Lowe might end up being somebody over the last three weeks in the playoffs who helps more than just about anybody else he's got.
06:34Okay, so let's look at maybe the brighter side here.
06:39Is there any reason to believe that Roman Anthony, like Raphael Devers, bad clubhouse guy,
06:46and his removal from the everyday situation will somehow propel this team forward, much like Raphael Devers leaving, and they seem to play better afterward.
06:55Let's workshop this, Bill.
06:57I like what you're doing there.
07:00You know, I actually think it might be the opposite.
07:03I think it would be a great thing for Anthony to stay around the team, you know, while he's recovering from this.
07:09If they can get him on road trips and whatnot while he's doing physical therapy, I think that would be a great thing.
07:15Because, by all accounts, you know, you hear the older guys talk about his maturity and his approach and just his professionalism.
07:24And, you know, I think him being around in September for a pennant race and him potentially being around in October,
07:31even if he's unable to play in those games, that's a huge benefit to him and the organization going forward.
07:37Oh, because it's counter to the idea of getting rid of talent.
07:40Oh, I see.
07:42I get it.
07:44It is hard not to be cynical.
07:47It is, Bill.
07:48It's hard not to be cynical a little bit.
07:50And I guess they're victims of their own success.
07:52But people thought that they'd be a playoff team going into the season.
07:55So it's not like, and especially at the deadline.
07:58And look, Seattle hasn't been great.
08:01Texas has been terrible.
08:02These are all teams that made a lot of moves at the deadline.
08:04It's certainly no guarantee.
08:06But it did seem like you said, Breslow hit in the offseason.
08:11I mean, Heimblum hit with these prospects, you know, these top prospects.
08:16Things seem to be working out for you.
08:18And maybe you're a victim of your own success.
08:20A little bit.
08:21Well, I'm just going by what they told us in spring training.
08:24They told us that this was a year where they were going to be aggressive, where they were going to try to win the division.
08:30That was their target at the outset, that they were going to go back to the playoffs for the first time in 2021.
08:37Ultimately, I think in four weeks, all that will have come true, with the exception of winning the ALEs.
08:43I don't think they can do that now.
08:45They're too short in terms of pitching.
08:48And this will hurt their lineup.
08:49I do not think that they'll catch the Blue Jays or the Yankees.
08:53But they will have a chance in October, as you mentioned, against a weak American League.
08:59And they could still have a chance to do something here.
09:01In 21, they played the Rays and beat them.
09:04And they had a chance to beat the Astros in the ALCS.
09:07They were really in that series.
09:09And that wasn't exactly a flawless team.
09:12Oh, yeah.
09:12I mean, you're better than the Yankees, head-to-head.
09:15I mean, you've got to like Boston in a head-to-head series against the Yankees.
09:18It doesn't matter what ballpark.
09:19It doesn't matter to me at all.
09:21There's no data to suggest that the Yankees can take you in a series.
09:28And, again, the Tigers can't hit.
09:31Houston, Seattle's crapped themselves into the deadline.
09:34Houston is no world beaters.
09:37You've seen Toronto be very brought down to earth.
09:41It's all very winnable.
09:43It's all very winnable.
09:43But the question is, if the Red Sox get to that wild-card series and lose to the Yankees
09:49or lose to whomever, is this season still a success in your eyes, Bill?
09:53For me, I think, just based on the goals that they laid out, they wanted to win the division.
10:01I don't think they'll do that.
10:03And if you do win the division, it's implied, I think, that you will get at least to the American
10:08League division series.
10:10And if they don't get out of the wild-card round, they will have fallen short of that.
10:13Now, they'll say that there are injuries here and that the roster was short by the end of the season.
10:18I can already write this, so, of course.
10:20But that's your own fault.
10:22But, see, Bill, they can say it was a success in some ways and be right because they hit on two young kids.
10:30And they can say that.
10:32And, you know, they can say we have the most exciting young player in baseball.
10:37You know, you could make that argument.
10:38The most exciting young player in baseball.
10:40And look it, Crochet extended himself more than he ever has before.
10:44Da-da-da-da-da-da.
10:45But, again, I'm with you.
10:48You made these expectations in the beginning of the season.
10:51You were right there.
10:53And now it's not over yet, but you were right there.
10:55And that's what's frustrating.
10:56And if you admit, geez, if they just got a little depth, just a little depth.
11:00But you made the deal.
11:01Even if you didn't do anything.
11:04And I'm with Bill.
11:05So, just because they fell so, you know, short of expectations early on in the season, that doesn't change the fact that the expectations were so high.
11:15You're talking about, you know, winning the division.
11:17They're supposed to be in the ALCS.
11:19I mean, that was like a foregone conclusion, the way they had put this team together.
11:22So, if you're judging the success of the season based on the initial expectations, no, they still have to go pretty far in order to deem it a success.
11:33You can't, you know, change the goalposts just because they played so poorly, you know, going back to April and May.
11:42You know, I'll be the first one to admit that at times I might be a little bit unfair.
11:46But my standards for them are always going to be high, you know, because they are certainly one of the teams in the AL with the most resources.
11:55They ask us to invest more than just about any other market through ticket prices and anything else.
12:01And, you know, just with what they've won in this century, they have set the bar so high.
12:07Tom Warner will gladly tell you that they've won the World Series in this century.
12:11That is the standard.
12:14You know, they have done that.
12:16It's been a great achievement for them.
12:18But when they don't match that standard, they don't seem to like when you push back and say, this isn't good enough.
12:25Yeah, it's a little frustrating.
12:28But, look, there's something to talk about.
12:31So, at least we have that.
12:32Bill Koch, read him in the Providence Journal.
12:35As always, sir, thanks so much for your time.
12:38We do appreciate it.
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