D6 Sports The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019
ChadFinnBaseballINTERNATIONAL LEAGUE
North Division
WLPct.GB
Scranton/W-Buffalo ...............B.........64 49 .566......58 55 .513 — 6
Syracuse..................57 56 .504 7
Rochester................57 56 .504 7Lehigh ValleyPawtucket...............49 63 .438..........53 58 .477 (^10) 14½
South Division
WLPct.GB
GwinnettDurham....................63 50 .558..................66 46 .589 —3½
Charlotte .................59 53 .527 7
Norfolk.....................44 68 .393 22
West Division
WLPct.GB
Columbus................64 48 .571 —
Indianapolis............56 56 .500 8
ToledoLouisville .................47 66 .416......................50 63 .44214½17½
No Games Monday
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Scranton/W-B 12...........Lehigh Valley 5
Charlotte at Gwinnett.............cancelled
Pawtucket7.........................Rochester 3
Syracuse11...............................Buffalo 4
Columbus3.......................Indianapolis 2
Toledo12................................Louisville 0
Durham at Norfolk..................cancelled
TUESDAY'SGAMES
Indianapolisat Norfolk.....................7:05
Syracuseat Durham.........................7:05
Buffaloat Toledo...............................7:05
Charlotteat Scranton/W-B..............7:05
Gwinnettat Rochester.....................7:05
Louisville at Lehigh Valley...............7:05
Pawtucketat Columbus...................7:05
EASTERNLEARGUE
EasternDivision
WLPct. GB
Reading....................2818.609—
Portland...................2222.5005
Binghamtonx-Trenton.................2125.4577............2225.468 6½
Hartford...................19 24 .442 7½
NewHampshire.....18 27 .400 9½
Western Division
WLPct. GB
Erie ...........................3312.733—
Bowie .......................3013.6982
x-HarriAltoonasburg...........................1923.452....2025.4441312½
Richmond................18 26 .40914½
Akron........................1727.38615½
MONDAY'SRESULTS
Altoona 6...............................Richmond 5
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Richmond 3.........................Harrisburg 2
Bowie 10..................................Portland 4
Erie 3...........................New Hampshire 2
Akron5..............................Binghamton 0
Hartford 13...............................Trenton 7
Reading9..................Altoona7 (10 inn.)
TUESDAY'S GAMES
Richmondat Altoona........................6:30
Harrisburg at Binghamton...............6:35
Erie at Portland....................................... 7
Bowie at Trenton....................................7
Akronat NewHampshire................7:05
Hartford at Reading..........................7:10
NY-PENNLEAGUE
StedlerDivision
Lowell.......................3019.612WLPct.GB—
Connecticut.............2326.469 7
Vermont...................2228.440 8½
Tri-City.....................20 28 .417 9½
McNamara Division
WLPct.GB
HudsonValley........28 20 .583 —
AberdeenBrooklyn..................2722.551.................2822.560 (^1) 1½
StatenIsland..........26 23 .531 2½
PinckneyDivision
Batavia.....................29 21 .580WLPct.GB—
West Virginia..........2423.511 3½
State College..........2525.500 4
MahoningWilliamsportValley....22 27 .449...........2029.408 6½8½
Auburn.....................19 30 .388 9½
MONDAY'S RESULTS
Brooklyn 3.....................HudsonValley 2
Auburn4.........................StateCollege 3
Tri-City3......................................Lowell 1
Connecticut 2........................Aberdeen 0
West Virginia5........Mahoning Valley 2
Vermont4.......................StatenIsland 3
Williamsport 9..........................Batavia 3
TUESDAY'SGAMES
HudsonValley at Brooklyn..........11:30a
State College at Auburn........................7
Lowellat Tri-City....................................7
Aberdeenat Connecticut.................7:05
West Virginia at MahoningValley.7:05
StatenIsland at Vermont................7:05
Bataviaat Williamsport...................7:05
Tri-City, 3-1
LOWELLJimenezcf AB 50000 RHBI BB SO Avg.3.336
Cannonss 50300 0.225
Scott 1b 31102 1.263
GroshanErro 3bs c5 4021000100 0.227.310
Diaz dh 400002 .257
Deckerrf 20001 1.225
Suarez2b 40100 2.229
Bandy lfTotals 35 1914 3010110 1.157
TRI-CIRamirezTYcf AB 31 RH 101 BI BB SO Avg.0.182
Lee ss 40000 4.223
Paulinoc4 01100 .308
Lee dh4 0100 2.254
Perry 1bBrewerrf 3020140100 0.2351.148
Perez 3b 41120 2.211
Carrasco2b 30000 1.237
Arias lfTotals 32 3732 3000013 3.194
Lowell..............000 000 100 — 1 9 1
Tri-City............000 000 012 — 3 7 1
LOB—Lowell 12, Tri-City6.2B—
Scott,Cannon,Paulino,Perry.HR—.
SB—Decker, Bandy,Ramirez 2, Perez.
CS— Decker(), Suarez().
Lowell IP HRER BB SO ERA
Song 21000 10.00
Padron-Artll 52002 92.00
FernanMejiadez ‚22200 12110 31.554.26
Tri-CitySerrano IP HR 10001 ER BB SO ERA06.23
Sandoval5 5002 58.36
McDonald3 4111 53.21
Home,HBPKevin—bySandoval ().Levine;First,UmpiresJoe McCa-—
rthy.T—3 :13.A—4,004.
Amateur
Baseball
CAPELEAGUE
Playoffs
Second Round
MONDAY’SRESULTS
Harwich 5................Yarmouth-Dennis 1
Cotuit 5...................................Falmouth 0
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Falmouthat Cotuit................................. 4
Yarmouth-Dennis at Harwich..........6:30
Football
NFLPRESEASON
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Indianapolisat Buffalo..........................7
N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants.......................... 7
Jacksonville at Baltimore.................7:30
Tennesseeat Philadelphia...............7:30
NewEngland at Detroit....................7:30
Washingtonat Cleveland.................7:30
Atlanta at Miami................................7:30
Houston at Green Bay........................... 8
Carolinaat Chicago................................8
Denver at Seattle..................................10
L.A. Chargers at Arizona.....................10
TampaBay at Pittsburgh...............FRIDAY’S GAMES ..7:30
Minnesota at NewOrleans................... 8
SATURDAY’SGAMES
L.A. Ramsat Oakland............................8
Cincinnati at KansasCity......................8
Dallas at San Francisco.........................9
Golf
NEPGASECTION CHAMP.
at ManchesterCountryClub
(Bedford,NH),Par36-35--71
and Concord, NH CountryClub
Par 34-36--70
FirstRound Results
- Eric Barlow:33-33--66......................-4
T2. David Bennett:33-34--67...............-3
T2. Jeff Martin: 35-32--67.....................-3 - Matt Zdon: 34-34--68........................-2
T5. KirkHanefeld: 34-35--69................-1
T5. David Jankowski:31-38--69...........-1
T5. Seul-Ki Park:35-35--70...................-1
T8. ChristopherAbbott:34-36--70.......E
T8. Erik Carlson: 37-34--71....................E
T8. SeanMcTernan: 32-38--70..............E
T8. BrendenMitchell: 33-38--71...........E
T8. TroyPare: 35-36--71........................E
T8. Kevin Rhoads: 35-35--70.................E
T8. ShawnWarren:32-38--70...............E
T15.Rich Berberian:34-37--71...........+1
T15. Steven Daly: 36-36--72................+1
T15.LiamFriedman: 36-35--71..........+1
T15.Scott Hickey: 35-36--71...............+1
T15. Bryan Hunt: 35-37--72.................+1
T15. Hal Jacobs:T15. Rick Karbowski: 38-34--72..........+136-35--71..................+1
T15. GregoryKelly: 36-35--71.............+1
T15. Connor Mulcahy:33-38--71.........+1
T15. Jim Schouller:35-36--71.............+1
T15. Jason Sedan:36-36--72................+1
T15.Chad Spencer: 33-38--71............+1
USWOMEN’S AMCHAMP.
First Round
at Old Waverly Golf Club
StevensPoints, Wis.
Yardage: 6,494; Par 72
T1. Michaela Morard 35-32: 67...........-5
T1. AndreaLee 36-31: 67......................-5 - Lauren Hartlage, 36-32: 68..............-4
T4. AlbaneValenzuela,33-36: 69........-3
T4. Ya Chun Chang,33-36:69.............-3
T4. MorganBaxendale,34-35: 69.......-3
T4. Megan Schofill,35-34:69..............-3
T8. ThereseWarner, 35-35: 70............-2
T8. Alexa Pano, 36-34: 70.....................-2
T8. YurikaTanida,34-36:70................-2
T11. AnnabellFuller, 36-35: 71............-1
T11. Auston Kim, 36-35: 71..................-1
T11. Sophie Guo, 36-35: 71...................-1
T11. Kenzie Wright, 36-35: 71..............-1
T11. Rino Sasaki, 35-36: 71..................-1
T11. DoeyChoi, 36-35: 71.....................-1
T11. YukaSaso, 36-35: 71....................-1
T11. CoryLopez,35-36:71...................-1
T11. Bethany Wu, 36-35:71.................-1
T11. RemingtonIsaac,35-36:71.........-1
T11. Allisen Corpuz,37-34: 71.............-1
WORLDRANKING
ThroughAug. 4 - BrooksKoepka,USA...................12.83
- Dustin Johnson, USA.....................9.47
- Rory McIlroy, NIR..........................8.54
- Justin Rose,ENG............................8.09
- Tiger Woods, USA.........................6.83
- Francesco Molinari, ITA...............6.47
- Jon Rahm, ESP...............................6.44
- Bryson DeChambeau,USA..........6.26
- Justin Thomas,USA......................6.07
- PatrickCantlay, USA...................6.01
SoccerMLS
EASTERNCONFERENCE
WLTPts. GF GA
Philadelphia........127642 46 37
Atlanta.................129339 41 29
NewYork.............119437 41 34
D.C. UnitedNYC..................................948...97936 32 3135 37 27
Montreal..............1012333 3444
NEWENGLAND.....99633 34 41
Toronto FC.............910532 38 40
OrlandoChicago..................6109City..........811529 32 3327 35 35
Columbus...............714425 25 37
Cincinnati..............517217 23 55
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Los AngelesFC...163452 61 23
Minnesota............117538 39 30
San Jose...............1175Seattle..................117538 40 3438 35 31
LA Galaxy ............1210137 30 34
Real Salt Lake.....109434 33 31
FC Dallas................996Portland.................99433 31 2831 35 33
Houston..................911330 32 36
Kansas City ...........79728 36 41
Vancouver.............511924 25 42
Colorado................612523 39 48
NOTE: Three points for victory, one
point for tie.
No GamesMonday-Wednesday
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Minnesota United 1...............Portland 0
Philadelphia5....................D.C. United 1
Sporting Kansas City 3............Seattle 2
THURSDAY’S GAME
Houstonat New York City FC..............7
SATURDAY’SGAMES
NEWENGLAND at Seattle.....................4
Cincinnatiat Columbus....................7:30
OrlandoCity at Toronto FC.............7:30
Minnesota United at FC Dallas............8
Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City.8:30
Montrealat Chicago..............................9
San JoseVancouverat Coloradoat Portland...............................................11......9NWSLNorth Carolina......83 4283015PortlandChicago.............................72......85 (^62731192262619)
Reign FC.................63 5231315
Washington...........65 3211914
Houston..................57 4191626
Utah.................Orlando...................56......39 (^31811142111631)
Sky Blue FC...........2103 91019
NOTE: Threpoint for tie.e points for victory, one
No Games Monday-Tuesday
WEDNESDAY’SGAMES
Reign FC at Portland............................10
Utah at Sky Blue FC.............................10
SATURDAY’SGAMES
Chicago at Washington.........................7
Houstonat Orlando...........................7:30
Transactions
BASEBALL
Arizona(NL):Assigned OF Yasmany
TomasMatt Androutrighiese to Visalia (Cal) for re-t to Reno(PCL).SentP
hab assignment.
Atlanta(NL):Recalled P Mike Fol-
tynewicz from Gwinnett (IL).
Baltimore(AL):RecalledP Tayler
Scott fromJimmyYacabonisNorfolk (IL). Optionedto Norfolk. P
Chicago (AL):Sent P MannyBanue-
los to the AZL White Sox for rehab. Op-
tioned C Seby Zavalato Charlotte (IL).
Chicago(NL):Placed P Craig Kim-
brel on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Au-
gustJr. from4. RecalledIowa. Announced P Brad BrachP DuaneUnderwood
has waivers and has beenreleased.
Cincinnati(NL):Designated INF
Blake Trahan for assignment. PlacedC
Juan GrateDietrichon the 10-day IL, Graterol ret-rol andINF/OF Derek
roactive to Saturday.Claimed P Kevin
Gausmanoff waivers from Atlanta. Se-
lected the contractof OF Brian O’Gra-
dyfromLouisville(IL).
ton to ColumbCleveland (AL):us (IL). RecalledOptioned P Phil Ma-P Aaron
CivalefromColumbus.
Los Angeles (AL):Placed P Luke
Bardon the 10-dayIL. Requestedun-
conditionathanLucroy.l release waiveSelectedP Patrickrs on C Jona-San-
dovalfromSaltLake (PCL).Trans-
ferredP Felix Pena to the 60-day IL.
Miami (NL):Optioned P Kyle Keller
to New Orleans(PCL). Placed OF Cesar
Puello and 1B Neil Walker on the 10-day IL. Recalled2B IsanDiazandOF
LewisBrinsonfromNewOrleans. Se-
lectedthe contractof P Robert Dugger
fromStanekNew Orleans. Reinstatefromthe 10-day IL. d P Ryne
Milwaukee (NL):SentP Brent Suter
to Biloxi(SL)for a rehabassignment.
RecalledP JakeFariaand selectedP
DevinWilliamsfrom SanAntonio
(PCL). Optionedwas optioned to San Antonio. Placed PP Aaron Wilkerson
Zach Davieson the 10-dayIL, retroac-
tiveto Aug.3. Transferred P Jimmy
Nelsonto the 60-day IL.
LoaisigaNew Yorkto Scranton/Wilkes-Barre(AL):Sent P Jonathan(IL)
for a rehab assignment.
New York (NL):Placed 2B Robinson
Cano on the 10-day IL. Recalled P
Walker Lockettand SS Luis Guillorme
from Syracuse (IL).
Ho KangPittsburgh. (NL):Released 3B Jung
San Francisco (NL):ClaimedP Ryan
Dull off waiversfromOakland. Sent P
Johnny Cueto to the AZL Giants Black
for a rehab assignment.
do to Charlotte (FSL) for rehab.Tampa Bay (AL):Sent P Jose Alvara-
Toronto (AL):Optioned P Yennsy Di-
az to New Hampshire(EL). Recalled P
Brock Stewart from Buffalo (IL).
BASKETBALL
Memphis(NBA):NamedNiele Ivey,
BradPenn,JonesVital, Davidy Potapenko andMcClure, ScoonieNeven
SpahijaassistantcoachesandJason
March coach of Memphis(NBAGL).
FOOTBALL
Baltimore(AFC):TradedOL Alex
Lewis 2020 seventto the N.Y. Jets for a condh-round draft pick.itional
Indianapolis(AFC):Claimed RB
D’OntaForemanoff waiversfrom
Houston.
Miami (AFC):PlacedLB MikeHull on
the PUP list.
BrownNewoff waiversYork(AFC):fromClaimedPhiladelphia.CB Alex
WaivedWR/KR Quadree Henderson.
Tampa Bay (NFC):RemovedLB Da-
vid Kenneyfromthe PUP list.
HOCKEY
Tampa Bay (NHL):Signed D Kevin
Shattenkirkto a one-yearcontract.
LACROSSE
and T Kevin BrownellBuffalo(NLL):Signed F Dallasto two-yearBridlecon-
tracts.
SOCCER
Los Angeles FC (MLS):Signed F Latif
Blessing on a multi-yearcontract.
COLLEGE
Providence:Promoted assistant
men’s lacrosseassociate head coach.coach MattFrancis to
WNBA
EASTERNCONFERENCE
WLPct. GB
Connecticut.Washington.............14............1667.6671.727—½
Chicago....................129.5713½
New York...................813.3817½
Indiana.......................815.3488½
Atlanta.......................517.2271 1
WESTERNCONFERENCE
Las Vegas................15Los Angeles............1387.682—.6191½
Phoenix....................1110.5243½
Seattle......................1211.5223½
Minnesota...............1011.476 4½
Dallas .........................616.2739
No games Monday
SUNDAY'SRESULTS
Connecticut94...................New York 79
Los Angeles 83........................Seattle 75
Phoenix103.....................Washington 82
TUESDAY'S GAMES
Minnesotaat Atlanta.............................7
WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
New York at Chicago.............................8
Tennis
WTA ROGERS CUP
at Toronto,Canada
Singles FirstRoundResults
DayanaYastremska def. Johanna
Konta (13), 6-3, 6-2.; Jennifer Bradydef.
Kristina Mladenovic, 6-1, 6-2.; Elise
Mertens3-6, 6-3, 6-1.; Belindadef.AliaksandraBencSasnovich,ic (11) def.
Anastasia Potapova,6-2, 6-1.;Marie
Bouzkovadef.LeylahFernandez,6-0,
6-1.; Sofia Kenin def. Hsieh Su-wei, 6-4,6-3.; Caroline Wozniacki (15) def. Yulia
Putintseva,6-4, 6-2.;Julia Goergesdef.
PolonaHercog,6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5).; Jelena
Ostapenko def.Caroline Garcia,6-3,
6-3.;Martic,Francesca6-4, 7-5.;Di LorenzoAnett Kontaveitdef.Petra(16)
def.MariaSharapova, 4-6,6-3, 6-4.;
Svetlana Kuznetsovadef. Wang Xiyu,
6-2, 6-4.
ATP ROGERS CUP
at Montreal, Canada
Jan-LennaSingles First Round Resurd Struff def. Jo-Wilfrlts ied
Tsonga,6-2, 6-2.;Milos Raonic (17) def.
LucasPouille, 6-4, 6-4.;CristianGarin
def. Laslo Djere, 6-2, 7-6 (4).; Cameron
Norri6-3.;Tommye def. MartPaul def. Brayden Schnuon Fucsovics, 5-7, 6-2,r,
6-1, 6-2.;NikolozBasilashvili (13)def.
DusanLajovic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.; Stan
Wawrinkadef.GrigorDimitrov, 6-4,
6-4.;BernardRobertTomic,o Bautista6-3, 6-2.;AgutAdrian(10)Man-def.
narinodef. Mikhail Kukushkin,6-4, 6-4.;
Denis Shapovalovdef.Pierre-Hugues
Herbert,BenoitPaire,6-3, 7-5.; Richard7-6 (2), 6-4.; Ilya IvashkaGasquetdef.
def. Kwon Soonwoo,7-6 (3), 6-4.
NASCAR
MONSTERCUP
Points Leaders
ThroughAug. 4
Kyle Busch....................................... 851
Joey Logano.....................................838
Kevin Harvick..................................777
Denny Hamlin..................................771
Martin TruexJr. .............................753
BradKeselowski.............................728
Kurt Busch.......................................679
Chase Elliott.................9. AricAlmirola...................................................... (^676640)
RyanBlaney................................... 633
AlexBowman................................623
WilliamByron................................604
Erik Jones.......................................598
KyleLarson....................................590
ClintBowyer..................................556
ScoreboardYYYTUE
8/6WED
8/7THU
8/8FRI
8/9SAT
8/10SUN
8/11MON
8/12KC
7:10
NESNKC
7:10
NESNLAA
7:10
NESNLAA
7:10
NESNLAA
4:05
NESNLAA
1:05
NESN,TBSCLE
7:10
ESPN,NESNDET
(exh.)
7:30
Ch. 4SEA
4:00
NBCSBHomegamesshaded For updatedscores:bostonglobe.com/sports
On the radio,unlessnoted:RedSox,WEEI-FM93.7;Patriotsand Revolution,WBZ-FM98.5ONTHE AIR
BASEBALL
1 p.m. Chi. WhiteSox at Detroit MLB
7:10 p.m. Kansas City at Boston NESN
8 p.m. Oaklandat Chi. Cubs MLB
11 p.m. St. Louis at LA Dodgers MLB
OLYMPIC SPORTS
11 a.m. Pan AmericanGames ESPNU
3 p.m. Pan AmericanGames ESPNU
7 p.m. Pan AmericanGames ESPNU
TENNIS
11 a.m. RogersCup TennisThe Tampa Bay Rays took another hit Monday withYonny
Chirinosbecoming theirthird starting pitcher on the injured
list. The righthander was put on the 10-day IL with right
middle finger inflammation and is expected to miss at least a
month. Chirinos will be shut downfor two weeks. Defending
AL Cy Young Award winnerBlake Snellhas been out since
July 22 withbonechips in his left elbow that requiredsur-
gery, whileTylerGlasnowstarted the season 6-1 before being
sidelinedMay 10 due to a right forearm strain. The Rays ha-
ven’t ruled out all threereturning in September. Chirinos
won his ninth gameSunday over Miami but was forcedout
after five innings after experiencing pain in his finger.
Cubs’Contreras, Kimbrel sidelined
The NL Central-leading Cubs said All-Star catcherWillson
Contreras(right hamstring strain) will miss four weeks and
put closerCraigKimbrel(rightkneeinflammation)on the
10-day injuredlist. Kimbrel says his kneestarted acting up
while he was closing out Saturday’s win over the Brewers.
Contreras was also hurt Saturday.... Mets second baseman
RobinsonCanois backon the injuredlist, this timewitha
torn left hamstringsustainedSunday in Pittsburgh... With
five homersin a 9-6 win at Camden Yards, the Yankees now
have hit 32 at the Orioles’ home park this year. That’s the
most homershit in a seasonby a visiting team in any stadi-
um, breakingthe markof 29 set by the Milwaukee Braves at
Cincinnati’s Crosley Field in 1957... The commissioner’s of-
fice said the World Seriesis slated to start Oct. 22 and end
Oct. 30 if it goes seven games. The NL wild-card game is slat-
ed for Oct. 1 and the AL wild-card Oct. 2. The NL Division Se-
ries begins Oct. 3 and the AL on Oct. 4. The NL Champion-
ship Series opens Oct. 11, followed by the AL on Oct. 12.
NBACarter will play record 22ndseason
Vince Carteris returning to the Hawks for a secondyear
— his record 22nd seasonin the NBA — with a personfamil-
iar with the situation confirming that the 42-year-oldhas
agreed to terms. He averaged 7.4 points per gamelast season
in Atlanta. Carter will eclipsethe record sharedwithRobert
Parish,KevinGarnett,Kevin Willis, and recently retiredDirk
Nowitzkifor most seasons in the NBA... The Grizzlies hired
former Notre Damewomen's associate head coachNiele Ivey
as the ninth femaleassistant coach in the league.MISCELLANYBelgiancyclist diesfollowingcrash
Belgian cyclistBjorg Lambrechtdied after crashing in the
Tour of Poland. He was 22. His team, Lotto Soudal, said Lam-
brecht fell during the third stage of the event and later died
during surgery... European soccer starLionel Messiwill
missBarcelona’s exhibition games, Thursday at Miami Gar-
dens,Fla., and Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich., against Italian
club Napoli because of a strained rightcalf... EnglishPre-
mier League club Manchester United madeHarryMaguire
the world’s most expensive defender, signinghim from Leic-
ester for around $100 million... Veteran NHL defenseman
KevinShattenkirksigned a one-year, $1.75 million deal with
the Tampa Bay Lightningafter beingbought out by the New
York Rangers... Australian 2012 LondonOlympics gold
medalistSally Pearson(100-meter hurdles) retired after a se-
ries of recent leg injuries. Pearson took silver at the 2008 Bei-
jing Games and won world titles in 2011 and 2017.SportsLogRays lose another starter (Chirinos) to IL
Plenty of reasons for Sox’ flopIt’s not just that it’s easy to pinpoint
where it has gone wrong for the 2019
Red Sox, who now have 55 losses —
one more than they had in their star-
dusted 2018 season — with 48 games
left to play.
It’s that there are multiple options
for the answer, and all of them are cor-
rect.
Was it when they treated their start-
ing pitchers too delicately in spring
training, to the point that they weren’t
prepared for the regular season?
Was it the 6-13 start to the regular
season, which put them 8½ gamesbe-
hind the then- first-place Rays just 19
games in?
Was it the half-dozen fits and starts
through the first two-thirds of the
schedule, when every time it looked
like they might be finding themselves,
something would go wrong? Right up
through losing the fourth game of a po-
tential sweep of the Yankees a week
ago, one more almost-but-not-quite
moment?
Or was it the harsh realization over
the weekend — as the Yankees pulled
off a four-game sweep of the Sox and
left them reeling on an eight-game los-
ing streak — that the Red Sox appar-
ently spent two years’ worth of good
fortune last year?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
All of the above, and then some.
In a broader sense, it’s also easy to
pinpoint what went wrong. The offense
(an MLB-leading 652 runs) is excellent,
though mixing in a couple more
walkoffs here and there would pick up
the pitching staff, which apparently is
incapable of picking up itself. Brandon
Workman deserves a Fireman of the
Year award just for putting out his bull-
pen cohorts’ attempts at arson.
And as for the starting rotation, let’s
put it this way: I recently compared
Rick Porcello (5.74 ERA) to 2003 John
Burkett. Rightnow, John Burkett
might be the Red Sox’ best hope in a
wild-card game, on the slim chance
they can make up their 6½-gamedefi-
cit the next seven weeks. And he’s now
54 years old.
But as disappointing as the actual
season has been, I don’t think we can
overlook how many missteps the presi-
dent of baseball operations Dave Dom-
browski made in the offseason. It
shouldn’t have been a difficult offsea-
son — the core of the 119-win champs
was intact and in its prime for the most
part — and yet the Red Sox front office
got almost nothing right.
Let’s take a quick stroll through the
transactions log:
Nov. 16: Re-signed 1B/DHSteve
Pearce to a one-year, $6.25 million
deal. Pearce’s love for the Patriots is
well-known, so he’d probably under-
stand when we say this was the kind of
move Bill Belichick never would make.
It wasn’t for a lot of money in general,
but it was probably a $4 million over-
pay for a player of Pearce’s profile — a
mid-30s journeyman 1B/DH type.
It was a sentimental signing after
his World Series MVP performance,
and given the Red Sox budget con-
straints, it got in the way of signing an
actual provenrelief pitcher or two to
make up for the departures of Craig
Kimbrel and Joe Kelly.
And to reiterate, I’m fine with let-
ting them go. Paying for Kimbrel’s de-
cline would have been a bad idea. But
trying to replace their combined 136
appearances by purchasing Quad A lot-
tery tickets with decent spin rates on
their breaking balls was foolish. I said
it then, and I’ll say it when he’s getting
big outs for the Yankees in October:
They should have signed Adam Ottavi-
no.
Nov. 20: Tradedsecond baseman
Esteban Quiroz to Padres for Colten
Brewer. Obviously a minor deal, but
one that in retrospect signaled their
offseason approach to bullpen con-
struction: Let’s try to find another Ry-
an Brasieror two rather than paying
for established relievers. Brewer has a
4.31 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in 48 appear-
ances.
Dec. 6: Re-signed P Nathan Eovaldi
to a four-year, $68 million deal. Well, at
least they didn’t give this deal to Por-
cello instead. I suppose therewas some
sentimentality to this contract as well,
given his legendary performance inGame3 of the World Series, and it cer-
tainly came with a lot of risk given his
injury history, but I also understand it.
It’s not an insane commitment in mon-
ey or length, and he’s a talented pitcher
and great teammate who is still just 29
years old.
Dec. 18-20: Signedfree agent pitch-
ers Erasmo Ramirez, Carson Smith,
and Ryan Weber. Did I mention that
they also signed Jennry Mejia, Daniel
Schlereth, Brian Ellington, and Dan
Runzler over the winter, with Mejia
coming off a “lifetime” ban for three
failed performance-enhancing drug
tests, and the latter all journeymen
who have since been released? The
let’s-sign-a-bunch-of-guys-and-see-
what-sticks approach left nothing that
stuck, unless you want to count Weber
and his 4.50 ERA in nine appearances.
I’m not counting it.
March 22: Re-signedP Chris Sale to
a five-year, $145million contract ex-
tension beginning in 2020. I have no
idea what to make of Sale’s enigmatic
trainwreck of a season (5-11, 4.68 ERA,
a different command issue every time
he pitches, and yet a league-leading
13.1 K/9 rate). But I know this: The ur-
gency to extend him at the end of
spring training when he was coming
off a season abbreviated to some de-
gree by injury seemed to be an indica-
tion that the Red Sox were sure he
would be his usual self. He has not
been,all year, and were he hitting the
open market after the season, I can’t
imagine he’d get anything resembling
$145million over the next five years.
(By the way, his most similar pitcher
throughage 29 is David Price. This
seems fitting somehow.)
If you want to count the A++ deci-
sion to re-sign Xander Bogaerts — who
seems to be the team conscience as
well as their best player this season —
for six yearsand $120million in the
first week of the regular season as an
offseason move, go ahead. But I’m giv-
ing all the credit to him for wanting to
stay, and doing so at a rate that proba-
bly was less than he’d get as a free
agent.
If he hasn’t beenthe best thing
about this season, it’s only because Ra-
fael Devers emerged rapidly as a line-
drive hitting force. But that’s about it.
The 2019 Red Sox are a mess. We
never could have expected the deci-
sions of the offseason to foreshadow
this, but they sure have played a part in
making this season an increasingly un-
watchable sequel to a championship.Chad Finncanbe reached at
[email protected].D-Y football coach Funk to step down
ByDanShulman
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
After 18 seasons,Paul Funk will
step downas headfootball coachand
athletic director at Dennis-Yarmouth
to become the high school’s principal.
Joe Jamielwill becomethe Dol-
phins’ new headcoachafter serving as
offensive coordinator throughout
Funk’s tenure.
“We basically built the whole pro-
gram from scratch and reenergized
the community,” said Funk. “It’s going
to be a change, but I’m excited to
jumpinto a new role.”
Funk enjoyed a successful run, go-
ing 125-64-1en route to a trio of Su-
per Bowlappearances, winning in
2011 and 2018. Upon taking over the
football program in 2000,Funk raised
the teambackto varsity status, build-
ing a perennial powerin Southeastern
Massachusetts.
Prior to coachingat D-Y, he was an
assistant coach for John DiBiaso at
Everett in the late 1990s.
His successor, Jamiel, is a former
return specialist at Brown and was
namedto the Bears’125th anniversa-
ry team.Jamiel helped start the youth
football program in the two towns.
“[Joe Jamiel]is a tirelessworker
witha finger on the pulseof the foot-
ball community,” said Funk.
“He’s always had the idea the D-Y
footballrepresents the community
and he will carry that traditionfor-
ward.”Jamiel has seen three children
comethrough the program, including
current Dolphins’juniorreceiver
Geoffrey.
As a sophomorelast season,Ja-
miel had morethan 1,000 receiving
yards and 17 touchdowns.
His brothers,Andrew and JoJo,
wenton to play college footballat
Stonehilland Sacred Heart, respec-
tively.
Field hockey coach Mary O’Connor
will take over as acting athletic direc-
tor. O’Connorled the Dolphins to a Di-
vision 2 state title last year.DanShulmancanbe reached
[email protected]
on Twitter@DanielRShulman.JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF
MookieBetts andtheRed Sox have
a lotof explainingto dofortheir
underwhelmingperformances.