Eduardo Nunez might be the spark the Red Sox offense needs
By Mike Moore
Eduardo Nunez has already given the Boston Red Sox a major lift since coming over to the team in a trade with the San Francisco Giants.
“Go Get Your Nunie Jersey, Hurry Up!” Jonny Gomes shouted that out in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday night after newly acquired Red Sox infielder Eduardo Nunez took ace reliever Andrew Miller high off the Green Monster to clear the bases.
Nunez put the Boston Red Sox temporarily on top 9-7, in what was one of the wilder wins of the year. It was his second of three big hits on the night, ending his fifth game with the team with 11 hits (two for home runs) in his first 22 at bats.
His arrival, coupled with the promotion of the young phenom Rafael Devers, has this Red Sox team showing life again just before the division started getting out of their grasp.
Peter Gammons tweeted Wednesday morning:
Restart:in the last week Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nunez have reached base 29 times in 56 plate appearances
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) August 2, 2017
The Boston Red Sox have historically been a collection of sluggers with one ace and a “pray for rain” type of rotation after that. Infuriating at times, but a booming offense is always exciting.
Chris Sale and Pedro Martinez are the exceptions to this of course, since they both electrify the city when it’s their night to start like no one ever.
But with Big Papi happily making commercials and not a player on the roster above 20 homers yet this year, this Red Sox team was losing viewers despite being at or near the top of the standings all season long.
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I was resigned to think before this weekend that the 2017 Boston Red Sox were like one of the 1990’s Atlanta Braves team than any roster we’ve seen the Red Sox put together in decades. Pitching has never been as exciting to me, but it’s certainly been a practical way for a baseball team to have success.
Red Sox Infielder Eduardo Nunez Can Fan this Spark Into a Flame
I hadn’t thought this team was in need of leadership, as they seem to really care about each other, nearly tripping over themselves to show how they have each other’s backs. I was really just finding this team boring.
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As Red Sox fans, we haven’t had to experience many poor offenses, so the experience was a little new for me.
But despite how this offense has gone on some ice-cold streaks to make us all shudder, they really were just a shakeup or two from getting back on track. Fenway Park has been a lot louder the past several games, and the players all seem inspired to keep it loud. Nunez and Devers were the shot in the arm that this tired out ball club needed to bring about some excitement in their games.
And if both of them continue to play so well, there could be some questions if Xander Bogaerts continues to slump when Dustin Pedroia returns from the DL. Having options like that can really make a player focus if their playing time comes into question.
We can’t forget that the Boston Red Sox still find themselves around the top of the standings despite the ugliness of the last few weeks.
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While the few moves that Dave Dombrowski made at the deadline weren’t quite on the same caliber as Theo Epstein’s shocking Nomar Garciaparra trade in 2004, some fresh blood to bring a renewed energy to this club before the dog days of August can really go a long way to ready them for October.