As the Red Sox trudge through a horrendous season-opening road trip, allowing homers at a record pace and dropping eight of their first 10 games after Saturday's 5-4, ninth-inning loss to the Diamondbacks, we thought it would be instructive to speak to a major league scout who watched their first two series of the year in Seattle and Oakland and get his thoughts:
On the beleaguered starting rotation: "I think the big thing that I saw from the starting pitching primarily was, they're all missing a lot to the middle of the plate. You've got to give credit to the A's and Mariners hitters -- they made them pay almost every time when they left pitches out over the middle. They had the right game plan and laid off the stuff around the edges.
I know they're kind of slow-playing (Chris) Sale and he's holding back a little with the velo, but watching him, there's a lot of shoulder involved (in his delivery). In the past, he was more free and whip-like and he wasn't getting that same extension at the end. That tells me that he's got some discomfort in the shoulder area.
With (Nathan) Eovaldi, his stuff is good. But personally, I think he throws too many (different) pitches. I would have him simplify his repertoire. Pick certain games and focus on an opponents' weakness and tailor to that lineup. The stuff's good and that cutter is wicked. But he's kind of all over the map and while that can be good if you've mastered all of them, it can be a lot to deal with. When he misses location, especially with his fastball, they hit it because it's straight.
I know (Rick) Porcello hasn't gotten the results, but I've really liked Porcello. He pitches aggressive in and I like his mix. He's got good stuff, but he can really pitch. Obviously, he hasn't shown good command. He's missing out over the plate and that's unusual for him; he's usually around the edges. I'm fairly confident he's going to get it back. You don't lose that unless there's an injury or a real mechanical issue, and I haven't seen either.''
On the catching tandem: "From the games I saw, the pitchers just appear more comfortable with (Christian) Vazquez. With the experience he has, the game just flows better with him behind the plate. I don't know if that's in any of the pitchers' heads, but that's what it looked like. You look at the two of them and one of them looks like he's sitting on the couch, watching TV and the other (Blake Swihart) is stiffer, with a little more edge, not as smooth. Maybe that will change the most (Swihart) catches.''
On the defensive sloppiness: That ball dropping in between (Mookie) Betts and (Jackie) Bradley Jr., that was more of a mental mistake, an outlier. I don't think you'll see that again. In the infield, (Rafael) Devers still can be inconsistent with his throws. He had a feed to second and pulled the second baseman off the bag. I can't say it's careless. It's just this his arm will drop. I don't know if that's by design, but they need to get rid of that and get him back to three-quarter release. When the arm drops, it drags a bit. I do see him moving better to his left. On balls to his right, he bends at the waist rather than getting down on his legs a little bit.''
On the offense: Mookie's at-bats have been the best on the team, even if he hasn't gotten the results (until Friday). He just hasn't centered the ball as much. He's gotten a little bit under it, or gotten out and around it. But the plate discipline and the way he's been staying in the zone? He was very impressive without producing the way he usually does.''
On the "intangibles": I spoke to some friends on the coaching staff and they told me there's been no World Series hangover, or that sort of thing. They're happy with the work that's been put in. They told me that these guys showed up (in spring training) ready to win another World Series. It's just that the inconsistency is rearing its head. There's a few mechanical things with individual guys and as Alex (Cora) said, the "paying attention to details.'' I think those little things have contributed to the poor start. It's just that everything's a little off-center, you know? I think that's what Alex was getting at (in his comments following Thursday's loss in Oakland). When you make some mistakes and still win, sometimes the details get covered up. They don't look as bad when you win the game. They're in a serious rut right now. It's like they're all waiting around and thinking, 'What's going to happen today to lead to a big inning? What mistake is going to cost us?' It's that snowball effect, the 'doom-and-gloom.' They're going to figure it out soon enough. There's too much talent for them not to.''
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