Journeyman Darnell McDonald provides spark for previously lifeless Red Sox
Darnell McDonald is congratulated after driving in the game-winning run Tuesday against Texas.(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox received a terrible start from knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. The Texas Rangers stole a team-record nine bases off him and catcher Victor Martinez, which helped them jump out to a 5-1 lead.
Boston, which has found themselves behind many times during their disappointing start to the season, had to try to battle back from a large deficit once more.
Previously, they hadn’t been able to do so, but this time, as well as in Wednesday’s contest, they fought out of a hole and proved victorious behind two replacements–a rookie and a journeyman.
The rookie, Josh Reddick, taking the place of the injured Mike Cameron, stroked a two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning to pull within two, and then another substitute made his mark. Darnell McDonald, a 31-year old outfielder who played sparingly last season with the Cincinnati Reds and was called up by the Red Sox because of the injury suffered by Jacoby Ellsbury, pinch-hit in the eighth and launched a two-run, game-tying homer high over the Green Monster in left. It was just the third home-run of his career.
A great story, McDonald was playing in just his 69th MLB game. And he didn’t waste any time make the most of his first with Boston. He wasn’t done, either, and because of what was to come, he is no longer unknown. Boston, losers of five straight, needed a win in the worst of ways, and he delivered, nailing a Frank Francisco fastball high off the Monster, fueling a jubilant celebration in the middle of the diamond in which he was rightfully in the middle of.
McDonald rose to the occasion again tonight, determined to help his new team win two straight for just the second time this season. After starting pitcher Josh Beckett pitched terribly by allowing four runs on two hits and four walks in the opening two frames, and after Mike Lowell, who was wisely in the place of the woeful David Ortiz for the second straight game, nailed a homer over the Monster, the .168 hitting J.D. Drew wrapped a grand-slam around the Pesky Pole in right to put the Red Sox ahead just like that. As Beckett settled down and managed to pitch a scoreless top of the third, McDonald added to his growing legend, keeping the home-run barrage going by lacing a Matt Harrison fastball to the deepest part of Fenway Park and over the center-field fence.
With a walk in the sixth he had reached base in all five plate appearances as a member of the Red Sox. He was a spark, and one the team desperately needed. And, considering the apparent seriousness of the injuries to Cameron and Ellsbury, he will be around for a while, which is good news for a team has gotten little from their offense so far this season. And, backed by his jolt, the hot-hitting became contagious. Kevin Youkilis caught this offensive bug.
Their third-baseman, who has been one of many Red Sox to struggle, had Boston celebrating for the second straight night at Fenway Park, clubbing a two-out, full-count hanging curveball from Dustin Nippert off the center-field wall in the bottom of the twelfth.
It was another celebration for the now blistering-hot 6-9 Red Sox, and another celebration made possible by McDonald. McDonald, the player playing with his seventh organization, and the player who, after becoming the best high-school running back in the state of Colorado, turned down the opportunity to play backup to one Ricky Williams at Texas. Darnell McDonald, whose choice to play professional baseball is finally beginning to pay off.
Let’s not get too crazy about Darnell McDonald.
This is a guy who won’t ever even accumulate 5 years service time to qualify for his MLBPA pension.
However, I do think he is there for the rest of the year, just to create competition.
Cameron is out at least 6 weeks, and depending upon roster issues, given where I think the Red Sox will be 6 weeks from now, they will be in no rush to activate him.
When Ellsburry comes back around, which should be soon, what I think will happen is that JD Drew becomes the DH.
They are going to play Ellsburry in CF, Hermida is earning his ABs and although a defensive liability they can get away with hiding him in LF, and Riddick will play RF, and then Francona will use McDonald to push all of them by liberally allowing him to steal playing time from all 3.
I know Reddick has been up at least 2 times now, and if he had been up once before for a cup of coffee, I think that means that he has to go through waivers to get sent down. I’m not sure, because they also changed the rules 2-3 years ago, but either way, I think that is why they started Reddick at Pawtucket despite his hot spring, because they were looking at it in the context, of once he gets called up, he never goes back, and if he washes out, then they trade him.
So that sets up two competitions. One with the young guys in the OF, and another with the old guys at DH.
Neither Drew, Ortiz, or Lowell are coming back, the offense is horrible anyway and can’t do any worse by playing the young guys, in fact it was the competition between Reddick and McDonald for ABs that has won the past 2 games, so the 3 old guys are going to have to deal with it and accept it, and they will compete for ABs at the DH spot
I think when it happens most of the ABs are going to go to Drew, with Papi playing against at least some lefties, but Drew is going to get most of the ABs because he, along with V-mart, are their most tradable assets. The fans would burn down Fenway if the team brought him back next year, and he can help out a team down the stretch, and they can get a good young player in return, even if Drew is just a rental, because where else can a contender go and get a #3 hitter for the stretch drive?
V-mart is a great hitter, and a switch hitter, but his situation has pretty much been settled over the past 2 weeks, where Boston, having locked up all the money into pitching, isn’t going to give the keys to the car to a DH and let him run the staff.
Look at Texas C Matt Trainor. He was cut in spring training is is only playing because Salty is on the DL, and Teagarden, who Texas actually likes more than Salty, is in a slump. Right now a guy like Matt Trainor, with the Red Sox pitching staff, is an upgrade over V-Mart, even though you lose some hitting. Trainor can at least hit .240, throw out a runner, and call the kind of game where the staff can have confidence in him, and that is all the Red Sox need.
Where is Sal Fasano when you need him?
The pitching is set, but Tito has to open up competition everywhere else, and he knows it, and that is what he is going to do, and the moves he has made so far reflects it. Instead of just walking into the locker room and announcing that guys will have to earn their jobs, which would raise holly hell in the Boston media because it would represent the white flag, he is instead implementing a natural progression of where that is where things are going to go over the next 4-6 weeks.
Francona has seen the schedule, and so has Theo and Jon Henry, and Francona has seen the Yankees and the Rays, and their schedule, and so has Theo and Jon Henry. Everything was set up so favorably for the Red Sox, their schedule was soft and mostly at home, where the Yankees and Rays had it brutal where they were mostly on the road, and the Red Sox know what is going to happen when that advantage flips on them and becomes a disadvantage.
They know at best they are chasing fools gold thinking they can make up 7 games to get the wildcard, and the way the Yankees and Rays are playing right now, it very well may be that both run away and hide.
So they are making contingencies.
The first is to make everybody have to earn their ABs.
The second is starting next month they pull all their advance scouts in from the field, and have an organizational meeting where they are all assigned to instead of covering the MLB level, they are sent out to cover from top to bottom the entire MiLB organizations of 8-12 teams who are potentially buyers at the deadline, so when July comes, and someone calls Theo, they have already done their due diligence, and Theo can throw down the hammer on the guy on the other end of the phone, instead of telling him I’ll think about it and call you next week.
In addition to Drew and V-Mart, who will bring the highest return, Beltre is marketable because all he has after this year is an affordable $5M team option. Varitek wouldn’t yield much at all, but a contender with only a young guy at backup would want a guy like him for the playoffs, because you don’t want to pinch run for your catcher late in a game and then end up in extra innings in October with some kid who is going to crack behind the plate, and the Red Sox would do right by him and give him a chance to go out with a ring.
Scutero might look unmovable right now, but he really isn’t. He isn’t going to get much for the Red Sox, but at least they can get out from under the contract. There is always someone at least on the playoff fringe that gets an injury at SS, and then they’re screwed because they got to play some Latin kid that can’t break the Mendoza line, so for a team like that to take Scutero, it is a deal you have to make, and you look at it like maybe he does better getting out of the pressure of Boston, he will always hit, at least a little, and to take on his contract for 2011 to get a fill in now is the sacrifice you have to make to stay in the race.
Moving Cameron would probably require eating $5M for 2011, if there are any takers that is, and most likely he is your 5th OF for 2011.
There also might be just 1 blockbuster out there.
Just a small chance, but a chance.
Youklis.
I know you think it’s nuts, but think about it.
He plays 1B.
He has a very manageable contract.
He is the kind of player that a team, like for example the Giants, might give up their top pitching prospect for, because it gives them a chance not only to get to the World Series, but also to win it.
The Red Sox have TONS of money coming off the books.
Fielder, Howard and Albert, are all out there.
Okay, Albert is never leaving St. Louis, and Fielder and Howard would require a trade, but they could be had at a price, and Boston has the ability to pay the price, not only in prospects, but also money to lock up the player.
If you want to look at the open market, Carlos Pena will be out there, and he is from the area and went to Northeastern.
All of them are big upgrades over Youklis.
Sound crazy?
Maybe, but when you remake a roster, and you have all that money at your disposal, you have to be bold.
Besides, it is nowhere near as crazy as thinking Darnell McDonald is going to carry the Red Sox into the playoffs.
Yeah, there is no doubt they need some help, and that this offense isn’t necessarily one that can compete longterm. They definitely need some fixing. But right now Darnell McDonald is the hot hand. I don’t really expect him to keep it up, but if he does, the hot-hitting could turn contagious.
I could definitely see Drew taking a lot of AB’s from Ortiz and Hermida seeing more time. Cameron’s injury and Papi’s ineptness could be the best thing for Portland. Get some players with more life in there.
Buchholz pitched well tonight, striking out 10 in 6 innings. Is he part of that set rotation? I’d have to think so.
Of course Clay is part of the rotation, and right now he is ahead of Lester until further notice.
They held on to him this long, why would they move him now? He is going to be a fixture in the rotation for at least several more years now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if next spring they buy him out of his arbitration eligibility.
Dice K is just being activated so they can showcase him. The objective is to move him to Seattle and try to get them to take on as much of that money as possible. The more money Boston agrees to eat, the more they will get back in return.
Tito wants nothing to do with the guy, he personally despises him, and he still calls the shots.
Once they move Dice K, I think they bring in Bowden.
Francona is going to create competition wherever and whenever he can, and the way he is going to do that is to constantly create situations where there are too many guys, and not enough spots.
Yeah, good point about Buchholz. Since he’s pitching so well and has been around for a while, what would be their means for trading him?
Personally, I can’t wait for Dice-K to be gone. Too inconsistent, too injury-prone. He has the talent to win 17-18 games as he showed a couple of years ago, but he is wild far too often.
At this point, they know what they have with Buccholz. They know they at least got a guy who is going to give you innings and be able to carry his weight in the top 3 of the rotation, and he isn’t pulling down allot of money until he qualifies for free agency, so why would you move a guy like that, especially when he could even give you more than that?
Now he is a known quantity.
This time a year ago, that wasn’t the case, and you never really know what you are going to get out of a guy and whether or not he is really going to stick until he gets through 162 games, so a year ago, looking to make a pick up in a pennant race, you could make the argument to cash out, and a bird in the hand, and all of that.
I’m not saying he is going to be an ace, I’m not saying he won’t, but I don’t perceive him as an ace for a big market team. However, look at what they gave Lackey, and then consider the kind of money you have to spend to replace him if you move him.
I don’t think any of their pitching other than Dice K is available.
Yeah, I will have to agree with you. Buchholz’s been pitching some of the best ball of any of their pitchers. Dice-K is very expendable. I’d trade him for just a couple of prospects if they could find a taker.
A losing homestand.
Ugh. Thanks for reminding me.
Presuming Albert isn’t going anywhere, since he is from St. Louis and they have the ability to pay…
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5137456
…it is looking like they have 2 choices if they are going to spend, either trade for Prince Fielder, or sign Carlos Pena.
If I had to choose, I’d sign Prince for megabucks. He’s much younger and hits for a better average. I could see it happening, too. There is now way they can rely on these ‘defensive specialists’ and this mentality for the longterm. Their offense would continue to be way too inconsistent. They need a fearsome hitter in the middle. Pedroia and Youk don’t really scare anyone.
Ever since he stepped up to the plate at Fenway, D-Mac has reminded me of a young Manny…..without the attitude, of course. Manny is in a league all his own in that category.
Yes, Sherri, he’s been very valuable for Boston. A great hitter and a speedy outfielder. He and Nava have done their best on Ellsbury’s stead.
Thanks for the comment.