Kevin Millar

Former Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar appeared on the Mut & Merloni show Friday for his weekly spot to comment on Adrian Gonzalez‘s home run prediction, the Red Sox rotation, the state of leadership in the Sox clubhouse and Jonathan Papelbon. To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.

Gonzalez made a comment Wednesday night saying that he was going to hit a home run in Thursday’s game against the Rays. Tampa Bay starting pitcher Matt Moore might have responded to those comments by hitting Gonzalez with a pitch Thursday. Millar, though, enjoyed Gonzalez’s comments as well as Moore’s response.

“I don’t know how Adrian was saying it, a little sarcastic, but a little bit serious. It’s all in fun. I don’t know if Moore went out there and drilled him on purpose. Only they know. I like Adrian with a little fire, saying, ‘You know what, I’m going to go deep.’ I like to see that out of him. If you ask me, that’s what he lacks.”

Added Millar: “Yeah, I liked it. I liked both sides.”

With the Red Sox winning six out of their last seven, Millar expressed optimism with the season going forward.

“The season will play itself out,” he said. “We get so caught up in numbers, ERAs and stats in the beginning of the season. We can’t forget we played the game, we struggled, we got off to bad starts. … When the dust settles, everyone goes back to where they’re at.”

Millar of the Red Sox starting pitching, specifically Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz: “Beckett will settle in. He’s not a seven ERA pitcher and Buchholz is not a nine ERA pitcher. Are they going to go 21-4 like everyone wants? Probably not.”

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Clay Buchholz turned in his first quality start of 2012. (AP)

The Red Sox have been desperate for quality starts, and no one has inspired more desperation than Clay Buchholz.

The right-hander allowed five or more earned runs in each of his first six starts of the year, posting a major league-worst 9.09 ERA and 2.02 WHIP. He’d been a mess, seemingly reluctant to use a changeup that had long been his most dominant weapon and unable to locate his fastball consistently. In six starts, he was averaging about 5 1/3 innings, and most recently, he was shelled by the Orioles last Sunday for five runs on seven hits in just 3 2/3 innings.

And so, Friday’s outing represented something of a landmark in the team’s season. For the first time all year, Buchholz managed to control the damage done by an opposing lineup, allowing the Indians four runs (three earned) on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. At the time he left the game (with the bases loaded and one out), the Sox were up, 7-1, in an eventual 7-5 victory.

Still, while he recorded his first quality start of the season, Buchholz was not dominant. Far from.

For just the second time in his career, he did not record a strikeout in a start. (The first came on Aug. 20, 2008, and immediately preceded a demotion to Double-A for Buchholz.) He allowed eight hits (six singles, two doubles), walked three, hit a man and was the beneficiary of multiple critical defensive plays by his outfielders that kept the game at bay.

Nonetheless, for Buchholz, the final line represented a potential life raft in a season where he has been adrift in unfamiliar waters. For the first time this year, he allowed fewer than five earned runs, thus snapping a string of six straight starts of such a yield (the longest by a Sox starter since Red Ruffing had eight straight starts in which he gave up at least five or more earned runs in 1925).

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE RED SOX Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Sweeney. (AP)

Bobby Valentine had all of spring training to concoct the Red Sox lineup. But never did he conjure anything along the lines of the batting order that he printed out on Friday for the contest against the Yankees.

Valentine inserted Ryan Sweeney in the second spot in the lineup, between leadoff man Mike Aviles and second baseman Dustin Pedroia. That approach reflects the fact that Sweeney is off to a spectacular start (he’s hitting .424, second in the American League) and the fact that he represents a good counterpart for Aviles.

Aviles (hitting .268 with a .318 OBP and .463 slugging mark this year) is typically an aggressive hitter, averaging 3.48 pitches per plate appearance in his career (below the major league average of 3.81 during that span) and 3.67 this year. The Sox want him to continue to approach his craft thusly while batting.

Sweeney (.424/.476/.624), meanwhile, embraces the virtues of patience by nature. He is averaging 4.11 pitches per plate appearance this year, a slight tick up from his above-average 3.95 for his career. Given the likelihood that Sweeney will work deep into the count (he has put a first pitch in play just 104 times in his career; he has never put a 3-0 pitch in play; and he rarely swings at 1-0 or 2-0 pitches), Valentine liked putting him next to Aviles in the lineup.

Doing so, the manager believes, will also benefit Pedroia. Pedroia (.271/.340/.521) is averaging 4.09 pitches per plate appearance, but while unquestionably become a more selective hitter, he still benefits from having the freedom to attack a first pitch in his wheelhouse. And so, in a way, the insertion of Sweeney into the second spot could allow both Aviles and Pedroia to feel comfortable with their natural approaches.

“Obviously Ryan’s been hitting the ball and being on base as much as anyone,” said Valentine. “The pitches it seems have been working for him, he might be in a more favorable position to get them. Mike’s an aggressive hitter. At times, he’s had very good at-bats where he’s extended the at-bat. I don’t want to take the aggressiveness away from him. Sweeney is a very patient guy so there’s not a problem with Mike having a quick at-bat with Sweeney coming up and taking a pitch and not having Dustin sitting there thinking he might be the guy to do that so that kind of grouping works a little, I hope.”

While the arrangement makes sense to Valentine, he admitted that it reflects the need to adapt on the fly to the realities now confronting the Red Sox, chiefly the fact that Jacoby Ellsbury is out.

“It wasn’t one of the ones I was planning in spring training, believe me,” said Valentine. “I had 33 games in spring training and this wasn’t one of the groupings I had thought about.”

ESPN MLB analyst Buster Olney joined Mut & Merloni Wednesday afternoon to discuss the numerous high-profile incidents surrounding the Red Sox, as well as some other news around the major leagues.

No story for the Red Sox has been bigger of recent than Bobby Valentine‘s public criticism and questioning of Kevin Youkilis and his effort and commitment. While Olney said that he doesn’t think Valentine meant exactly what he said, he did say that Valentine should be more worried about the reaction of his own players rather than that of the media.

“He referenced in his press conference, he said, ‘Because of my past, basically media members look at something like this and make more of it,’ ” Olney said. “I disagree with that. He’s got to worry about the players more than he’s got to worry about idiots like me. Clearly, given the response we saw from Youkilis and from [Dustin] Pedroia, they’re aware of the history.

“We know when he first became a candidate with the Red Sox, there were players who were really unhappy about that. That’s why I thought he would go so far in the other direction, almost to the point of being criminally bland, and he hasn’t.”

With some of the headlines that Valentine has created lately with some of his off-the-cuff statements, Olney said that if Valentine tones down his outspoken nature a bit, it could go a long way toward helping his team and his tenure in Boston.

“I wonder if that’s something he should really strive to do going forward,” Olney said. “It’s not going to be great for media, it’s not going to be great for quotes, but I think in terms of him in this position this early in his time with the Red Sox, that might be the best thing. He’s got some work to do.”

Part of the friction that Valentine has clearly had with some Red Sox players relates back to his hire in the first place, according to Olney, as many players were set against Valentine from the beginning.

“Those comments tell you that, in some respects, Bobby was on double secret probation with these players when he started,” Olney said. “He had the first strike. And the fact that Dustin, who is so smart and so savvy in dealing with reporters, and although he’s very funny and outspoken, he also chooses his words carefully and for him to choose those words, it really says a lot to you about how comfortable the players are not with Bobby yet.”

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Jon Lester lasted just two innings on Tuesday, tied for the shortest start of his career. (AP)

It wasn’t quite the worst outing of Jon Lester‘s career, but it wasn’t far from meriting such a title, as the Red Sox had little hope of recovering from his dismal start en route to a 18-3 loss to the Rangers. The left-hander lasted just two-plus innings, matching the shortest start of his career, and he allowed seven runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out two.

The Rangers made him labor in extraordinary fashion, foremost in a four-run, 49-pitch second inning. Overall, he required 80 pitches to record his six outs, becoming just the third major league pitcher since 2000 to make a start of no more than two innings while requiring at least 80 pitches. The last was Chris Young on April 15, 2007.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE RED SOX

– Lester, Lester, Lester. The left-hander was entrusted with a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first only to see the Rangers roar back for four runs in the next half-inning. He’s now been given leads by the Sox just twice in his three starts, but both times, Lester allowed the opposing team to take the lead back in the next half-inning.

On Tuesday, his most significant issue was an ability to Lester put away Rangers hitters once he got ahead of them. He got to two-strike counts on 11 hitters. As a group, the Rangers were 5-for-8 with three walks after getting into two-strike counts, not only keeping the bases filled with runners but also driving up the starter’s pitch count.

– Mark Melancon achieved a dubious sort of Red Sox and major league history. He was shelled for six runs without retiring a batter, giving up three home runs, including back-to-back home runs (one an absolute moonshot by Josh Hamilton to right, another a blast to dead center by Adrian Beltre). He tied a major league record (at least dating to 1918) by allowing three homers without recording an out. In just two innings this year spanning four appearances, Melancon has allowed five home runs, matching his total yield in 74 1/3 innings in the entire 2011 season with the Astros.

Melancon has been scored upon in all four of his outings, making him the first Red Sox pitcher ever to give up runs in four consecutive appearances of one inning or less to start his Red Sox career. The six runs he allowed without recording an out are also tied for the most by a Red Sox pitcher since at least 1918.

Melancon’s struggles have been sufficiently extraordinary (of the 18 batters he’s faced this year, he’s retired six) that despite the incredibly early stage of the season, the Red Sox may be in a position where — assuming that he is not injured and in need of a trip to the disabled list — they have to consider extraordinary measures, chiefly, whether to option Melancon to the minors.  Read the rest of this entry »

Dustin Pedroia (shown here with Bobby Valentine) wouldn't turn his back on Kevin Youkilis Monday. (AP)

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia came to teammate Kevin Youkilis‘ defense prior to Monday’s early game against the Rays, following manager Bobby Valentine‘s critical comments about the third baseman Sunday.

“I know that Youk plays as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen in my life,”Pedroia said. “I have his back, and his teammates have his back. We know how hard he plays. I don’t really understand what Bobby’s trying to do. But that’s really not the way we go about our stuff here. I’m sure he’ll figure that out soon.”

[Click here to hear Dustin Pedroia's full comments.]

Added Pedroia: “We’ve got Youk’s back. He’s played his [butt] off for us for a long time. Anytime he steps on the field, he’s a great player. We’re here to win, and we’re here to win with him.”

Asked if he thought Valentine’s comments could have been meant as a motivational tool, Pedroia didn’t sound impressed.

“Maybe in Japan or something,” he said, referring to Valentine’s stint as a manager there. “Over here in the U.S., we’re on a three-game winning streak, we want to feel good and keep it rolling. We feel we have a good team and we’ve just got to get each other’s backs and play together. Because if you don’t do that, I don’t care what sport you’re playing, you’re not going to win.”

Pedroia said he had not yet talked to Valentine about the issue.

“I’ll talk to Bobby and talk to everybody,” he said. “We’ll figure it out.”

Red Sox DH David Ortiz addressed his team after the Opening Day loss. (AP)

DETROIT — On the one hand, it was a loss. As such, in the grand scheme, it was a bad day at the office for the Red Sox.

At the same time, the 3-2 Opening Day defeat against the Tigers did come with the proverbial silver linings under the circumstances. Jon Lester, though not as dominant as counterpart Justin Verlander, came within a pitch of being just as effective, allowing just one run in seven innings of work. And when the bullpen allowed another run, the Sox remained unbowed.

Against Tigers closer Jose Valverde, the Sox still saw opportunity in the face of a 2-0 deficit. They rallied back to tie the game — coming within no more than a couple feet of a lead had Ryan Sweeney‘s triple high off the fence, just inside the right field foul pole, either been a hair higher or slightly to the left, where it might have snuck through the inexplicable notch just above the 330-foot sign in right for a home run.

Though the Sox’ top-of-the-ninth-inning rally to tie the game, 2-2, was overcome in the bottom of the inning when the Tigers plated a walkoff run against relievers Mark Melancon and Alfredo Aceves, the Sox still viewed the way they played as a promising building block for what lies ahead this season.

“That’s what we do. That’s what the Red Sox do,” said Pedroia. “We’re going to fight until the end. It says a lot about our team and organization.” Read the rest of this entry »