Mazz: Are we done with the Kyle Schwarber experiment yet?
Look, it’s not rocket science. The Red Sox needed help at first base at the time of the trading deadline. They opted for an imperfect solution and are now getting imperfect results.
That certainly suggests they are getting exactly what they deserve.
In case you missed it, the Red Sox and Mariners are fighting each other (and three additional teams) for a playoff spot. They were tied 2-2 last night in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and nobody on base when this happened:
https://gfycat.com/farmediocreflee
Of course, you know what happened next: Bloop single. Three-run homer. And a 5-2 deficit. The Red Sox subsequently rallied in the top of the eighth to trim the deficit to 5-4, then lost by the same score.
Back at the July 30 trading deadline, here’s what chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said about the idea of playing Kyle Schwarber at first base despite the fact that Schwarber had just one career game at the position during his entire career.
“In a perfect world we would have been able to get someone with Kyle’s impact who also has a lot of first base experience,” Bloom told reporters. “He doesn’t. We are going to take a look at him over there. He’s excited to do it. This is someone I would not bet against to really do anything that he sets his mind to on a baseball field.”
The bottom line? This isn’t a Schwarber story. It’s a Bloom story and a Red Sox story. It certainly feels like the Red Sox made a concerted effort this season to stay under the luxury tax again, which is perplexing to say the least. So their biggest deadline acquisition was a first baseman who’s never played first base.
Oh, and did we mention? Schwarber was hurt at the time. He needed about two weeks to return before he ever played a game for the Red Sox. By the time he came back, the Red Sox had gone from a 1-1/2-game lead in the division to five games behind.
Yeesh.
You can hear Tony Massarotti weekdays from 2-6 p.m. EST on the Felger & Massarotti program. Follow him on Twitter @TonyMassarotti.
