I Watch the Red Sox So You Don't Have To | April 8th - April 10th @ Yankees

I'm trying something new here, who knows if it will continue, but here's a weekend recap of the Red Sox series against the Yankees.

The baseball season is 162 games long, it's a marathon, not a sprint. All of the games count the same, but losing games in April isn't the end of the world. The Sox got swept at home by the Orioles to open the 2021 season, and that went just fine. It takes time to feel out the squad, find out what works and what doesn't, and create that chemistry. That being said, here's my take on what we learned from this weekend's series.

April 8th: Red Sox - 5, Yankees - 6 (11)

If my employer is reading this, I didn't watch this game. It took place during working hours, and I was giving my full attention to the job I am paid to do. Any takes I have on this game are baseless and based on watching nothing more than the highlights. I'm really not much of a baseball fan anyways, not like I was waiting for months for opening day or anything.

Nathan Eovaldi started the opener, and while he gave up three runs over five innings, I wasn't overly disappointed with his performance. He made two really bad pitches and unfortunately, they were to really good hitters who put them over the fence. It wasn't the Eovaldi we saw late last year, but I'm okay with the start and confident he'll cut out the mistakes as the season progresses.

The bullpen took over after five innings and it was an adventure from there; I expect that to be a running theme this season. Garrett Whitlock was electric as always for two and a third innings before making a mistake and giving up a bomb to D.J. LeMahieu. I don't like to make excuses, but that home run was really a fly out, Yankee Stadium is a joke. Matt Strahm took over from there and struggled to throw strikes and got some fortunate calls; that inning could have really got away from him. Hansel Robles looked good in the 9th, I think he gets a bad rap and will be a key to the team's success this season.

I hate the ghost runner rule, but this game may have taken 11 hours if it didn't exist. The Sox grabbed a run in the top of the tenth and had a chance to win the game, but couldn't close the door. Jake Diekman couldn't get the job done, hitting a batter and getting a weak ground out. From there, Ryan Brasier took over and did what he could, but Gleyber Torres made a great play and put a two strike pitch deep into center to tie the game. Credit where credit is due. The Sox couldn't get a run across in the eleventh and then lost the game on a weak ground ball up the middle against Kutter Crawford, nothing you can do.

The bullpen took a lot of the blame for the loss because they gave up the lead, but I put this one on the offense. The seven through nine spots went 2/11 with a walk and two singles; they're going to need to find some production from the bottom if they want to win games.

Positives: Eovaldi and Whitlock looked sharp outside of a few bad pitches that were punished. Devers hit a ball 5000 feet. Gerrit Cole is still a loser that only cares about himself and sounds like Kermit the Frog.

Negatives: Strahm struggled to find the zone and was bailed out by the umpires. The bottom of the lineup looked lost.

April 9th: Red Sox - 2, Yankees - 4

If my employer is reading this, it was Saturday so I was allowed to watch the game. I didn't though, at least not most of it. Again, no excuses, but I was at Fenway for a free beer and to admire the field. She's as gorgeous as ever, for the record.

From what I did see, Nick Pivetta struggled to locate and worked harder than he had to in order to get guys out. Home runs have always been a problem for Pivetta and they got the best of him yet again. The bats didn't come out against the Yankee bullpen and guys were left on base all day. Not much more to say past that.

Positives: Free beer. Clean inning from Hirokazu Sawamura, the most electric man in baseball.

Negatives: 8 runners left on base, 12 strikeouts - put the ball in play, fellas.

April 10th: Red Sox - 4, Yankees - 3

I love Alex Cora. He has a knack for pulling the right strings at the right time. I guess you could just say he's really good at his job. He's also rocking a super gray beard that came out of nowhere but I'm here for it.

Like the first two games in the series, the Sox jumped out to an early lead thanks to a J.D. Martinez double. Also like the first two games, they gave that lead back. Tanner Houck really struggled with command, but his stuff is still NASTY. He still had some of the same problems from last year in that he couldn't put away lefties and the control was erratic. I don't see those issues suddenly going away any time soon. I'd like to see him throw his sinker more, the numbers against it aren't great, but it has decent movement and could become a weapon. What do I know though?

Back to Cora though, this was a beautifully managed game. He had to go away from Houck early and made all the right moves to navigate the game. He also was without Trevor Story tonight due to illness, and had to play Jonathan Araúz at second, and Christian Arroyo in right. I'm all for getting Arroyo more at-bats, he's a potential spark at the bottom of the lineup, but for the love of god keep him out of the outfield. I don't know how you solve that problem, but man was he a train wreck out there. He threw his entire body at a ball on the warning track; the untrained eye may have thought he was attempting to let the ball deflect off his back so somebody else could catch it. In reality, he was afraid of getting absolutely smoked by the incredibly stationary, incredibly shallow wall they have out there in New York.

Cora made the move to Brasier who got out of a jam in the fourth, and then handed the ball off to Kutter Crawford for a second time in the series. I'm already a huge fan of Crawford and think he can be a massive weapon, serving in a similar role to Whitlock. He missed his spots a few times and left some balls over the middle of the plate, but he showed good stuff, got swings and misses, and definitely can develop into someone who can put in quality innings. He could become a key piece of the bullpen, especially when you don't know how many innings you can get from Michael Wacha and Rich Hill.

Matt Strahm looked better in his second outing, getting both of the outs he was charged with and showing better control. Hansel Robles walked the lead off man and I thought we were heading for a certain disaster, but he managed to work around it and then Jake Diekman showed what he could do by facing the heart of the Yankee order and mowing them down. Aaron Judge put in a great at-bat, fouling off anything and everything, but Diekman got him with a high fastball before getting Giancarlo Stanton and Joey Gallo to go down on strikes. The stuff was electric, I'm comfortable handing him the ball in high leverage moments.

Positives: Managerial masterclass by Cora. Kutter Crawford showed he has what it takes. Jake Diekman is nails. The bottom of the lineup got a run across.

Negatives: No negatives here. We're on the board with a win.

What's Next?

Where the heck is Matt Barnes? Can Wacha and Hill actually put in quality innings? Which will I hate more: Jackie Bradley Jr. playing offense, or Christian Arroyo playing outfield defense? On to Detroit to take on the improved Tigers and hopefully turn this win into a streak.