Xander Bogaerts took a pitch to the hand in the last game in July before the All-Star break. That was when things changed him. He was hitting .308 at the time. He hasn’t had an at-bat since then and he took a 0-for-4 the last time the Red Sox threw him into the starting lineup.
What does that say about the sportsbook odds for the Red Sox games? Well, for now, nothing. Sure, he’s still fighting to recover and his injuries won’t stop nagging at him. But Manager John Farrell refused to lay the blame for some of the Red Sox’s problems at the feet of Xander Bogaerts. A move like this shows strong leadership by Farrell and his managerial style plays a big role in the Red Sox’s potential success this year. In fact, online sportsbooks like wetten-wm-2018.com currently have the Red Sox favored to win the AL East. If you’re into sports betting, now may be a great time to place a bet on Boston.
According to Farrell, every single player surrounding Xander is struggling with a nagging ache or pain. And Farrell doesn’t expect his team to be free of those ailments anytime soon. But like the rest of the team, Farrell expects Xander to persevere through the injury.
He admitted that Xander was a pretty important component of the team. And the last couple of weeks have been a disappointment on his part. But Farrell isn’t ready to give up on him, which is why Xander has been given an entire weekend to focus on getting into the proper physical and mental shape.
Farrell’s hope is that Xander will come back to the starting lineup in peak physical condition. In the meantime, the likes of Deven Marrero, Hector Velasquez, and Dustin Pedroia – who just came off the disabled list – will be expected to pick up the slack.
The Red Sox are expected to finish 20-for-140 in RISP situations against the Yankees. They had a RISP hit on the weekend courtesy of Sandy Leon’s 9th inning single. The Red Sox have nothing to complain about, especially with regards to runners in scoring position.
They have definitely been one of the better teams. But they haven’t completely eclipsed the Yankees who made many key pitches over the course of their 19 games.
David Price saw his first bullpen session mere days ago and he is set to throw a full bullpen in the coming hours. Farrell knows what Price can do and his hope is for the athlete to throw pitches a total of 30 to 35 when his chance at a bullpen session at Fenway comes.
Farrell will use that as an opportunity to see how soon Price can be thrown against some hitters. Price is still nursing an elbow injury. The Red Sox are not certain when he will be ready to get back into the game.
But he has shown promise. At the very least, his showing in the past week suggests that he is making quick gains.
The month of July was ugly for the Red Sox who saw Andrew Benintendi get held out of the lineup for a couple of days, though he made a splash of a comeback in August and became Rookie of the Month, the first Red Sox player to achieve the feat since 2013.
Everyone thinks Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger are leading the charge when it comes to rookies but Andrew Benintendi is quickly pulling away from them.
