PawSox walk off with win
PawSox end lackluster season on a high note
PAWTUCKET – With Monday’s 5-4 win in 10 innings to Lehigh Valley, the PawSox applied the finishing touch on a season that featured far more losses (81) than wins (59).
Since it’s 2019, let’s put a bow on the past five-plus months with 19 thoughts and observations.
1). Trevor Kelley’s chance to pitch on Fenway Park’s hallowed mound will have to wait for another time. After lowering his Triple-A ERA to 1.79 following Monday’s scoreless outing, the submarine-throwing righthander was informed that he would not be called up to Boston.
On the surface, it’s shocking to learn Kelley is being sent home. He was named to the International League’s Midseason and Postseason All-Star teams. He led all I.L. relievers in saves (15). On top of that, the Red Sox didn’t have to place Kelley on the 40man roster. He was added to it back on July 1 and made his MLB debut the following day.
Kelley tried to apply the best possible spin on the situation after walking out of manager Billy McMillon’s office.
“It’s disappointing. How can it not be?” he said. “Right now, it’s about doing what I can to make sure I’m consistent. I can always get my stuff a little sharper, but I’m shutting it down for this season.”
From what Kelley gathered, Boston at the moment has a greater need for pitchers who can provide multiple innings at a clip.
“They have 18 pitchers up there, hence it would be tough to stay sharp,” said Kelley.
It would have been the ultimate feel-good story … the kid from Barrington pitching for the team he grew up rooting for. Alas, fairytales have given way to an offseason goal where Kelley hopes to stretch himself out. That way, if the parent club needs a pitcher who is able to provides, he’ll be part of the discussion.
“I’m going to work to become a long guy,” said Kelley, someone who plans to turn some tough-to-swallow news into fuel that hopefully translates into better days ahead.
2). The PawSox employed the services of 66 different players this season (35 pitchers & 30 position players). A total of 21 PawSox players were promoted to Boston, while a dozen Red Sox players rehabbed with Pawtucket. That’s a lot of comings and goings.
For first-time Triple-A manager McMillon, dealing with the dynamic of getting guys ready for the big leagues, or being cautious with others, was at times eye-opening. As much as he wanted to put a competitive lineup out there, he grew to understand the importance of protecting the inventory – even if that meant getting caught shorthanded in terms of available personnel.
3). Wins and losses don’t define a Triple-A season, yet McMillon is well aware that Pawtucket wasn’t very good in one-run games (15-26). Again, this goes back to not always having a full deck and making do with what’s available … a sink-or-swim proposition that leaves a baseball lifer like McMillon no choice but to soldier forward.
4). All that said, McMillon has been asked to join Alex Cora’s staff for the next few weeks – a rubber stamp of approval for a job well done in the eyes of Red Sox officials.
“If they ask me to go shag fly balls, I’ll do it. If they want me to sit in on meetings, I’ll do that, too,” said McMillon. “It’s going to be a learning experience. Hopefully I don’t get in the way and I’m in a position where I can learn something, whether it’s exposure to some of their scouting stuff or how they go about their pregame work so it can help me in this job next year.”
5). Know what told me that PawSox pitching coach Kevin Walker had a good season? He coaxed enough out of Teddy Stankiewicz so that the righthander finished the season with a 3.85 ERA. This is the same Stankieiwcz that made one start for the PawSox last season and got absolutely hammered (six runs on seven hits in two innings).
Alas, Walker won’t be serving as an extra set of coaching eyes this month for the parent club.
6). When Bobby Dalbec gets a hold of one, windshields in the parking lot are in trouble. That said, there’s a noticeable hole in his swing that the top prospect is going to need to shore up if he’s going to hit for a higher average – he batted .257 for the PawSox after batting .234 for Double-A Portland.
“It wasn’t as loud as last year, but I thought it was a key development year for me,” said Dalbec. “I’m really excited about next year.”
7). Rusney Castillo may have been named this season’s PawSox MVP, but you could have made a very compelling case for Jantzen Witte, who enjoyed a very solid season with a .277 batting average with eight homers and 49 RBI. An infielder by trade, Witte spent the final two days of the season patrolling the outfield.
8). Another pleasant surprise was outfielder Cole Sturgeon, who blasted three home runs on Monday, including a two-run shot that ended the game in the 10th inning. Like Witte, Sturgeon’s role expanded as the season went along. Seeing his name in the leadoff spot became a common occurrence. In left field, Sturgeon never failed when it came to making one or two “wow” plays per homestand.
In short, Witte and Sturgeon made themselves into reliable and dependable Triple-A players.
9). With 17 homers and 64 RBI, Castillo had a solid season that probably would have been even better had he not been limited with knee issues over the final few weeks.
“He’s a trooper and in a unique situation that everyone knows about,” said McMillon, a reference to Castillo’s mammoth seven-year, $72.5 million contract that expires after the 2020 season. “The fact he’s been willing to post every day has been really good. He’s got something in that bat that’s really special.”
10). The sample size might be small, but I’m here to state my case for C.J. Chatham as the most complete shortstop prospect I’ve seen in my decade-plus covering the PawSox. By complete, I’m talking offense AND defense. Also in the conversation are Jose Iglesias and Deven Marrero – two players cut from the same cloth. Each were upper-echelon defenders and borderline liabilities with the bat. Chatham can hit (.302 in 20 Triple-A games) and has been solid at short. His problem is that he won’t make it as a shortstop with the Red Sox – some fella named with the first name Xander has a grip on the position.
11). Bobby Poyner allowed a home run to a lefthanded batter on Monday. Even though he’s on the 40-man roster, it’s hard to see him getting innings out of Boston’s bullpen ahead of either Darwinzon Hernandez or Josh Taylor, whether we’re talking this September or in the future.
12). Still very puzzling why the Red Sox cut ties with International League All-Star Dan Runzler and elected to keep Jenrry Mejia and his 6.38 ERA in the PawSox’ fold.
13). Gorkys Hernandez set the PawSox franchise single-season record with strikeouts by a righthanded batter (146). Perhaps they should rename Route 146 the Gorkys Expressway.
14). If Chad De La Guerra managed to stay healthy, there’s no doubt the infielder would have merited strong consideration for a possible September callup. De La Guerra was in the midst of a good run with the bat – 13 homers in 61 games – before his season ended in early August with a right wrist sprain.
Despite his limited availability, De La Guerra made enough of an impression to get my vote for next year’s darkhorse PawSox candidate to reach the parent club.
15). What I expect to hear in my sleep one night this offseason: PawSox PA announcer Ben DeCastro putting his voice to strong use when introducing Josh Ockimey, Bryce Brentz, and Jantzen Witte.
16). An additional September callup from the PawSox that’s definitely worth mentioning: first-year clubhouse manager Josh Liebenow will be spending most of his September helping out at Fenway Park. Liebenow and his merry band of McCoy Stadium clubhouse workers deserve a ton of credit for running a clean and tidy ship.
17). As long as we’re handing out plaudits, here’s a well-deserved one for field superintendent Matt McKinnon, assistant groundskeeper Alex Tedesco, and trusty grounds crew member Chris Parent for keeping McCoy’s playing surface in pristine condition at all times. From early-season chills to summertime sizzlers, those guys know how to take care of prime real estate in the face of challenging weather conditions.
18). The PawSox ended up drawing 331,010 fans in 63 openings. That’s the lowest turnout since 1988, when the total attendance was 307,193 in 66 regular-season games. It’s easy to point to poor weather and the decision to move to Worcester as the reasons for such a glaring gate dilemma. Still, it’s worth noting that Pawtucket drew crowds of 7,000-plus in seven of their final 17 home openings.
“July was extremely hot and we don’t know if that was the reason for crowds that were lower than we thought. Come August, we had a number of well-attended games,” said PawSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg.
19). Looking ahead to the 2020 season – the final one where the PawSox conclude their tenure at McCoy Stadium – Steinberg wants it “to be as emotional as it promises to be. You can take an expression like ‘thanks for the memories’ and look at it through several lenses.”
Along those lines, unlocking the memory vault doesn’t figure to be a tall order. From memorable moments to unforgettable players who went on to become Red Sox stars, the PawSox have five-plus decades to pour through and analyze. The challenge will be making sure not to leave someone or something out.
Steinberg envisions the final curtain call at McCoy to feature a platform where fans cab express their PawSox memories. For the diehards, that shouldn’t be a problem. Engaging those who continue to remain bitter about what Pawtucket will be losing is the challenge.
In any event, you can bet next season figures to produce all sorts of raw emotions.