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Message #: 7644
Below is a preview/review of Boston . Please feel free to write up one for your team. Al will supposedly be posting this somewhere on the web site. Don’t feel obligated, but it would be a nice edition to the website if every team did something for the upcoming seasons. Doesn’t have to be this detailed either.
The 1974 SMILEY season provides Boston with their first legitimate shot at a division title. An always, offense is the name of the game in Beantown. The offense that lead the AL in runs scored comes back pretty much the same as what finished last season. Reggie Smith was traded midway through the 73 campaign, but Boston brass is high on Arnold “Bake” McBride, who was obtained in the Smith deal.
The Draft: Ross Grimsley (1st round), Ron Hunt (3rd), Deigo Segui (4th), Tom Dettore (5th), Darrel Chaney (6th), Jim Hickman (7th), Jim Ray (8th) and Terry Crowly (9th)
Looking ahead: a position by position breakdown of the 74 Red Sox
Catcher: A three headed monster here. Carlton Fisk provides stellar defense to deter the opposition running game while terrorizing left handed pitching, although he will see limited action on the year. Bob Montgomery returns as his backup, although he figures to see much more action. Tim Blackwell is a rookie who appears to be set to face most of right handed pitching on the year.
1st Base: Cecil Cooper figures to see more playing time after 3 years of limited work. Tommy Hutton comes back for a 3rd year, mainly as a defensive replacement. Carl Yastrzemski and Frank Robinson also figure to see some time here.
2nd Base: Ron Hunt was brought back and provides offense although his glove is suspect. Fellow draftee Darrel Chaney figures to be a defensive replacement and spot starter and Boston is awaiting approval to bring Jack Brohamer in from the Braves to provide yet another alternative to this perennially weak link.
3rd Base: Rico Petrocelli, one of 2 original Sox players left, provides power and defense for yet another year. Ron Hunt and Darrel Chaney will provide Rico with an occasional rest.
Shortstop: Al Gallagher has retired, but Mario Guerrero returns, again in a part time capacity. Sharing the duties with Guerrero is rookie Rick Burleson, who management feels will turn into a good defensive player with a decent bat. Darrel Chaney provides another option to a position that should be improved over last year.
Outfield: The strong point of the team, and the deepest, if not best, in all of SMILEY. Carl Yastrzemski, the other remaining original, has left field nailed down after spending most of last year at first and third base. Centerfield goes to the Bake McBride, the promising youngster acquired for Reggie Smith. McBride will bat leadoff and provide speed to the lineup. Against lefties, Juan Beniquez will get the start, returning from a year lost to injury. Rightfield will once again see a platoon of Dwight Evans against lefties and Bernie Carbo against righties. Add Rick Miller and you can see the depth of this team. Boston can put 3 1’s in the outfield and 5 guys have – arms with 4 of them -2 or better. And to top it off, Boston has 2 promising outfielders that should get September call ups. Manager/owner Michael Tomeo is eagerly awaiting the arrivals of Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, although next year is more likely for them to play every day.
DH: Frank Robinson returns for a second year and will provide power to a team that is surprising short of that this year. Bench/minors: Tommy Harper is man without a position. Not good enough for the outfield this year and squeezed out by Robinson for the dh spot. In addition to Lynn and Rice, Jim Hickman could be called up to provided a right handed bat off the bench. Terry Crowley is packing his bags to head to Atlanta in the Brohamer deal.
Starting Rotation: Boston looks to go with a 4 man rotation for most of the season, for good reasons. Luis Tiant will once again anchor the rotation and could win 20 games for the first time in his career. Jim Colbern hopes to repeat last years results as the other righty in the rotation. 2 lefties round out the staff. Ross Grimsley was drafted in the first round. Boston hopes they can correct his problems of last year in Chicago where he lost 24 games. We hope to be able to coax a lot of innings out of Bill Lee to save a relatively thin bullpen. The 5th starter, when needed, will be Roger Moret, yet another lefty. Youngster JR Richard could also get a few starts over the course of the season.
Bullpen: Diego Segui was drafted to be the closer and provide innings for this weak link on the team. Dick Pole and Richard return as long men, and Tom Dettore and Jim Ray were also drafted. Moret will see significant time from the bullpen as well.
Looking Back: 1973 saw Boston post its best overall offensive season ever. A team average of .270 (15 points higher than any other season), and 693 walks (3rd most in smiley history) helped Boston lead the league with a .354 on base percentage, 2nd best in smiley history. Individually, Carl Yastrzemski had another outstanding year. He batted .332 to finish 4th overall in smiley (2nd in AL ), scored 107 runs and hit 20 homers. Reggie Smith was putting up his usual fine numbers (.338, 14 hrs) before being traded. Bernie Carbo and Ron Hunt were other regulars that batted over .300 as well. Despite a .252, first round pick Frank Robinson led the team in 2b (34), hr (28) and rbi (91). Rico Petrocelli and Carlton Fisk added 22 homers a piece to the offensive barrage. Led by Tommy Harper, Boston stole 60 bases, more than 8 other teams in the league.
On the mound, Jim Colborn won 19 games to lead 5 pitchers in double digits. Luis Tiant added 16, Bill Lee 11 and Roger Moret and Mary Pattin 10 each. Only Colborn and Pattin had double digit defeats. The bullpen was led by the duo of Lindy McDaniel and Bobby Bolin, with support from Bob Johnson, Ray Culp, JR Richard and Roger Moret, who split time between the pen and the rotation.
Saying Goodbye: Boston lost 14 players that spent time on the roster. Key departures are Reggie Smith who was traded to St Louis and Ray Culp, who retires at the top of most of Boston ’s career pitching categories. Most of the pitching staff also has moved on. Curtis, McGlothen, and Garman were traded. McDaniel, Bolin, Johnson, Skok and Pattin have moved on or retired. Offensively, other than Smith, all those that moved on/retired were role players. Allen, Harmon, Hopkins, Oglivie and Gallagher are wished well.
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