The Red Sox got a big win on Monday behind starter Hunter Dobbins and an excellent performance from the bullpen, as the team held down the Mets in a 3-1 win. Dobbins, strangely enough, has been one of the saviors of a starting staff that has been wildly inconsistent this season, and though he did not get the win, he now sits at 2-1 in six starts, with a 3.62 ERA.
The game was not managed by Alex Cora, who was out to attend his daughter’s college graduation. Instead, longtime MLB infielder Ramon Vazquez, the team’s bench coach, took over the helm for the Red Sox and notched his first win as a manager.
Before the game, Vazquez was asked to address an issue facing the team (and rookie Kristian Campbell, especially), one he knows something about–first base. During his nine years and 663 games in baseball, Vazquez played every position in the infield, and though he was primarily a shortstop and third baseman, he did log 11 games as a first baseman.
That’s an especially useful experience now that the Red Sox are looking for solutions at their own first-base spot, where Triston Casas is out for the year with a knee injury.
Kristian Campbell Working Out at 1B
Boston began working out second baseman Campbell at first last week, but there’s some question about how long it will take for him to be ready to take over. Vazquez was asked for his view on a timeline for Campbell to be ready, and his answer was not likely encouraging for Red Sox faithful.
Campbell, for his part, has expressed an endearing willingness to do what is necessary to help the team, a stark contrast to star slugger Rafael Devers, who has refused team entreaties to play first.
“Just my versatility, learning something new,” Campbell said. “Finding a new position. Trying something different. … It’s going to take some time, but it’s something I’m willing to do to help the team
Red Sox’s Ramon Vazquez Addresses Timeline
But it could be a while before Campbell is ready to be the Red Sox first baseman, Vazquez said, and when it happens, it might not be pretty.
Here’s Vazquez’s full take, via NESN:
“Games, it’s hard to say. There’s just so many different things that come into play during games that you can’t practice that. Runners being on base, what are you going to do with the cutoff, ball going up the middle you got to go to first base, but if it’s not caught, you got to do the relay. Those kinds of things. We’ve seen guys that have a lot more experience playing first base — we saw the misplay the other day (Sogard) going after the ball. Especially with guys like that, playing up the middle all the time, you go after balls. That’s your first instinct trying to catch the ball and make a play. It’s almost impossible doing it here. …
“It’s going to be hard. I’m not going to say he’s not going to be ready ever. It’s going to take time. Even when he starts playing, there’s going to be mistakes. It’s going to go to the wrong place at times, and when the time comes, you just have to deal with it.”
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