Brennan Bernardino is always on call for the Red Sox, and other thoughts
How does a pitcher do that?
'For me, it's not wasting pitches,' Bernardino said. 'I try to save my bullets, even when I'm just playing catch because those throws add up over time.'
Bernardino also has condensed his warm-up routine to six or seven pitches at times.
'I prefer to throw more than that, but I can be ready after maybe six,' he said. 'A few heaters and a breaking ball and I'm ready to go.'
Advertisement
Bernardino averages a modest 91 miles per hour with his two-seam fastball, and his 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings are the lowest of his career. But opposing hitters are 8 for 58 (.138) against his curveball, changeup, and cutter.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
'Mix pitches, keep the hitter off-balance, and play the game of baseball,' Bernardino said. 'I don't try to complicate it too much.'
Bernardino has learned a few tips from watching
'One of the hardest workers I have ever seen,' he said. 'To be 37 and throwing as hard as he does and as well as he does, it's amazing. He's strong and flexible. He's very routine-oriented.'
A few other observations on the Red Sox:
Advertisement
⋅ Current Red Sox ownership has yet to fire a manager during the season. Bobby Valentine all but burned the place down in 2012 and the Sox waited until the day after the season
They
⋅ Maybe the Sox should start waiting more than a few games before giving prospects long-term contracts.
Ceddanne Rafaela is an excellent defensive outfielder, but he has a .650 OPS since he agreed to
His idea of a good pitch to swing at is one that doesn't bounce.
Craig Breslow called Rafaela a 'cornerstone' at the time. He might be a bench player once Roman Anthony takes over an outfield spot.
Kristian Campbell hadn't even played his first series in the majors before the Sox gave him
Campbell had a terrific April, then was
Brayan Bello didn't get
Until proved otherwise, he's no better than a No. 4 starter on a contending team.
Advertisement
⋅ Garrett Crochet has allowed two home runs on the first pitch he has thrown in a game this season. One was
Crochet starts every game with a fastball and has been ambushed twice. The Sox lost both of those games by one run.
'First pitch of the game, I'm going to throw a fastball. Everybody knows that. I'm never not going to do that,' Crochet said. 'The guy next game could clip me on another first-pitch heater, and I'd be OK with that.'
Everybody knows that and you'll keep doing it? And you're OK if you give up more leadoff home runs?
Ronald Acuña Jr., Oneil Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, and Fernando Tatis Jr. are among the leadoff hitters Crochet could face this season. The matchup with Acuña could come on Sunday.
Just a thought: Grooving hitters like that a fastball might not be the best plan.
⋅ The Red Sox were a .500 team with Alex Bregman playing at an All-Star level. It could get ugly without him for what is expected to be
It won't help this season, but perhaps there is a long-term upside.
Bregman can opt out of his contract for next season and become a free agent, or he could stay with the Red Sox for $40 million.
If Bregman only plays 100 or so games, staying might be a better play than going back into free agency coming off a major injury and entering his age-32 season.
⋅ Per Baseball Reference, Marcelo Mayer was the
Advertisement
It's amazing that every big leaguer in history wouldn't come close to filling Fenway Park.
⋅ The Sox went into the weekend 381-386 in the regular season since they traded Mookie Betts and have played 11 postseason games. The Dodgers are 493-272 and have played 53.
Sometimes, you do get what you deserve.
Peter Abraham can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA Finals 2025: How the Pacers are going to make the Thunder prove they're the 'best team in the NBA'
OKLAHOMA CITY — On the court, Cason Wallace doesn't do anything slow. Seated at a podium at the Thunder's Wednesday media day session ahead of Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, though, the second-year guard eased off the gas and took a second to think. Wallace, who has blossomed into one of the NBA's best young point-of-attack stoppers, had just fielded a question about guarding Tyrese Haliburton — the Pacers' All-Star and All-NBA point guard. Wallace guarded Haliburton plenty during two regular-season meetings between Oklahoma City and Indiana; he figures to find himself across from Haliburton plenty over the next couple of weeks, too. Advertisement So: What do you do with a problem like Tyrese, the engine of a hard-charging Indiana offense that scored nearly 120 points per 100 possessions in its 12-4 run through the Eastern Conference playoffs? What's Job No. 1 when you're dealing with a quicksilver ball-handler who's a high-volume, high-efficiency shooter capable of popping for 30 in any given game, but who'd much prefer to set the table for his teammates all night to the tune of double-digit assists? What's the first thing your defense looks to take away? Wallace took a beat to consider. Then, with a smile, he decided. 'Everything,' he said. What Wallace's answer lacked in specificity, it made up for in sheer soundness of logic. After all, when you're as all-consumingly excellent as the Thunder's defense is — No. 1 in points allowed per possession during the regular season, No. 1 in the playoffs, one of the stingiest units the league has seen since the ABA-NBA merger — you don't have to choose; you just erase. Specificity is for lesser beings. Can the Thunder slow down Tyrese Haliburton? (Photo by) (William Purnell via Getty Images) 'I go into every matchup the same — just trying to take them out,' Wallace said. 'Just trying to take the ball from them.' Advertisement Wallace and the Thunder defense have been exceptionally good at that. Oklahoma City led the NBA in steals, deflections, loose balls recovered on defense and points scored off of turnovers this season. The Thunder landed two players on the 2024-25 All-Defensive Team — on-ball pitbull Luguentz Dort and do-it-all forward Jalen Williams — and they might not even be the third-best defenders on the court at any given point in a Thunder game, depending on how head coach Mark Daigneault is juggling his lineups and what kind of night Wallace, Alex Caruso and big men Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are having. Their style is suffocation. Their brand is brutality. Their business is stuffing you in a locker and taking your lunch money … and brother, business is booming. 'They're super physical — they're annoying,' Pacers forward Obi Toppin said with a smile during Indiana's media availability. 'But they're young. They're young and they're just in your … mess. Like, I don't want to say S-H, but y'all know what I want to say. They're just in you, the whole game. It's annoying.' [NBA Finals preview: Pacers-Thunder key matchups, schedule, X-factors and prediction] Advertisement The Pacers like to push the ball up the court after makes or misses, hunting leakouts and hit-aheads at every opportunity. When they can't advance the ball with touchdown passes, they just sprint with the dribble, looking to get into their first action as early as possible. Cover that up, and they'll run you through three more before the shot clock's even halfway gone, leveraging center Myles Turner's shooting prowess to spread you out with a true five-out attack — Haliburton's the only member of Indiana's starting five shooting under 40% from 3-point land in the postseason — to create passing angles and driving lanes through which to bury you in buckets. 'It really opens up the floor,' said Holmgren, who knows a thing or two about how powerful it can be for an offense to feature a floor-spacing 7-footer. 'It's not even so much about opening up the floor and being able to attack just the 5 — it comes down to opening up the floor for everybody else to be able to attack as well. [Defending it] really comes down to being able to play solid — kind of defeat the point of attack.' OK, so: Don't let Haliburton or Andrew Nembhard get loose off the dribble. And don't get mismatch-hunted or exploited by versatile Eastern Conference finals MVP Pascal Siakam, whom Daigneault praised Wednesday as 'kind of a matchup problem, quite frankly.' Oh, and don't lose track of the always-relocating Aaron Nesmith, who's become fantastic shooting on the move in addition to being nails from the corners. And make sure you're closing hard on Turner all the way to 25 feet out. And don't get lost in the sauce when the ball starts popping all over the place — which it will, considering Indiana has the second-fastest average touch time in the postseason and throws the second-most passes per game — both well, well above the likes of the Grizzlies, Nuggets and Timberwolves. Advertisement … That's kind of a lot of stuff to not mess up. 'It's one thing to understand what they're doing. It's one thing to understand what you need to do. It's quite another to execute it,' Daigneault said. 'That's what makes them really hard to play against. They pump a 99-miles-an-hour fastball at you. You can prepare all you want for that. When you're in the batter's box, it's different when it's time to hit it.' Especially when the last few pitchers you've seen more consistently sat in the high-80s. 'They're really pushing the ball, playing with pace even in the halfcourt, which is something that has kind of been the opposite ... maybe besides Memphis that we played so far this postseason,' said Thunder super-sub Caruso. 'Memphis did a lot of that — drive-and-kick, play early — where the other teams (Denver and Minnesota) we played [ran] more sets. Just adjusting back to that, and making sure we're ready to run.' Advertisement It's certainly something the Thunder are capable of doing; by a number of pace and possession metrics, Oklahoma City has actually played faster than Indiana in these playoffs, on balance. But simply being ready to run with these Pacers doesn't necessarily mean you're ready for what they're going to do while they're sprinting all over the place — what Turner called Indiana's 'random movement' on offense, which, when combined with Haliburton's tendency toward egalitarian table-setting, makes everybody in navy blue and gold a live threat at all times. 'Every team has their strengths and their weaknesses,' said Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 'They're a very fast team. I think, like, above all, they understand how they're playing, and they're very stubborn in their approach. They kind of grind you with the way they play. … They know their identity and they stick to it, no matter what.' That clarity of vision and purpose, combined with Haliburton's peerless playmaking, Carlisle's tactical acumen and a boatload of talent, helps make these Pacers an incredibly dangerous offensive team, and a complex problem to solve — the kind of challenge that Holmgren has found himself loving to wrestle with in the postseason. Advertisement 'You're also seeing the same team for two weeks, rather than playing a new team every single night,' Holmgren said. 'So you're really able to take a deep dive, get into things, and really try to … it's really like a puzzle. You know, you got to take the time to figure it out.' The first step in solving any puzzle: singling out one piece from the pile and separating it from the rest. So which Pacers piece do the Thunder plan on starting out with? At that, Holmgren paused. 'That puzzle is also a secret, you know?' he said, a grin spreading across his face. 'That's my answer. Sorry. I wish I could give you more of it.' Advertisement Whatever the Thunder's plan of defensive attack, they'll need to be ready to match Indiana's intensity from Thursday's opening tip. Because if the unique brand of offensive pressure that the Pacers apply can make Oklahoma City blink, just once, in one of these first two games — as it did against Milwaukee, Cleveland and New York — then the tenor of a series that all us pundits seem to think we have pegged changes dramatically. 'We know this is a great team. If we were to win a championship, I don't want to win any other way. I don't want to go around or over. I want to go through,' Haliburton said. 'You want to go through the best team, the best challenge. This is the best challenge. This is the best team in the NBA.' And the Pacers are going to make the Thunder prove it.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Giants Announce Unfortunate Justin Verlander News After Loss to Royals
The San Francisco Giants fell to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday afternoon. Now 29-21 on the season, San Francisco is 1.5 games back of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. One of the more disappointing developments for the Giants this season has been Justin Verlander's performance. The three-time Cy Young Award winner signed a one-year, $15 million deal with San Francisco this offseason, but is 0-3 with a 4.33 ERA through his first 10 starts. Advertisement Now 42 years old, Verlander is MLB's active leader in strikeouts. On Wednesday, the Giants announced some unfortunate news on the 2011 AL MVP. San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35)© Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images Going just four innings in his last outing, which came against the Athletics on Sunday, Verlander struggled with his command. The nine-time All-Star walked five batters in his four innings of work. It turns out Verlander was dealing with pec discomfort in his last outing. The Giants announced via manager Bob Melvin that he will be making a trip to the injured list. "Justin Verlander will go on IL with the pec discomfort that bothered him in last start," Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area posted after Melvin spoke with reporters. "He felt okay playing catch, but wasn't quite ready to start Saturday. Giants are confident he'll be 100 percent after missing two starts. They're TBD for that rotation spot." While Verlander has struggled this season, a trip to the IL is still unfortunate news for a Giants team hoping to get him on track. In the middle of a competitive division race, San Francisco could certainly use a stretch from Verlander similar to what he produced in 2023. Advertisement Related: Pirates Predicted to Make Trade After Paul Skenes News Related: Phillies Send 4-Word Message After Retirement Announcement
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA Finals 2025: Pacers are going to make the Thunder prove they're the 'best team in the NBA'
OKLAHOMA CITY — On the court, Cason Wallace doesn't do anything slow. Seated at a podium at the Thunder's Wednesday media day session ahead of Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, though, the second-year guard eased off the gas and took a second to think. Wallace, who has blossomed into one of the NBA's best young point-of-attack stoppers, had just fielded a question about guarding Tyrese Haliburton — the Pacers' All-Star and All-NBA point guard. Wallace guarded Haliburton plenty during two regular-season meetings between Oklahoma City and Indiana; he figures to find himself across from Haliburton plenty over the next couple of weeks, too. Advertisement So: What do you do with a problem like Tyrese, the engine of a hard-charging Indiana offense that scored nearly 120 points per 100 possessions in its 12-4 run through the Eastern Conference playoffs? What's Job No. 1 when you're dealing with a quicksilver ball-handler who's a high-volume, high-efficiency shooter capable of popping for 30 in any given game, but who'd much prefer to set the table for his teammates all night to the tune of double-digit assists? What's the first thing your defense looks to take away? Wallace took a beat to consider. Then, with a smile, he decided. 'Everything,' he said. What Wallace's answer lacked in specificity, it made up for in sheer soundness of logic. After all, when you're as all-consumingly excellent as the Thunder's defense is — No. 1 in points allowed per possession during the regular season, No. 1 in the playoffs, one of the stingiest units the league has seen since the ABA-NBA merger — you don't have to choose; you just erase. Specificity is for lesser beings. Can the Thunder slow down Tyrese Haliburton? (Photo by) (William Purnell via Getty Images) 'I go into every matchup the same — just trying to take them out,' Wallace said. 'Just trying to take the ball from them.' Advertisement Wallace and the Thunder defense have been exceptionally good at that. Oklahoma City led the NBA in steals, deflections, loose balls recovered on defense and points scored off of turnovers this season. The Thunder landed two players on the 2024-25 All-Defensive Team — on-ball pitbull Luguentz Dort and do-it-all forward Jalen Williams — and they might not even be the third-best defenders on the court at any given point in a Thunder game, depending on how head coach Mark Daigneault is juggling his lineups and what kind of night Wallace, Alex Caruso and big men Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are having. Their style is suffocation. Their brand is brutality. Their business is stuffing you in a locker and taking your lunch money … and brother, business is booming. 'They're super physical — they're annoying,' Pacers forward Obi Toppin said with a smile during Indiana's media availability. 'But they're young. They're young and they're just in your … mess. Like, I don't want to say S-H, but y'all know what I want to say. They're just in you, the whole game. It's annoying.' [NBA Finals preview: Pacers-Thunder key matchups, schedule, X-factors and prediction] Advertisement The Pacers like to push the ball up the court after makes or misses, hunting leakouts and hit-aheads at every opportunity. When they can't advance the ball with touchdown passes, they just sprint with the dribble, looking to get into their first action as early as possible. Cover that up, and they'll run you through three more before the shot clock's even halfway gone, leveraging center Myles Turner's shooting prowess to spread you out with a true five-out attack — Haliburton's the only member of Indiana's starting five shooting under 40% from 3-point land in the postseason — to create passing angles and driving lanes through which to bury you in buckets. 'It really opens up the floor,' said Holmgren, who knows a thing or two about how powerful it can be for an offense to feature a floor-spacing 7-footer. 'It's not even so much about opening up the floor and being able to attack just the 5 — it comes down to opening up the floor for everybody else to be able to attack as well. [Defending it] really comes down to being able to play solid — kind of defeat the point of attack.' OK, so: Don't let Haliburton or Andrew Nembhard get loose off the dribble. And don't get mismatch-hunted or exploited by versatile Eastern Conference finals MVP Pascal Siakam, whom Daigneault praised Wednesday as 'kind of a matchup problem, quite frankly.' Oh, and don't lose track of the always-relocating Aaron Nesmith, who's become fantastic shooting on the move in addition to being nails from the corners. And make sure you're closing hard on Turner all the way to 25 feet out. And don't get lost in the sauce when the ball starts popping all over the place — which it will, considering Indiana has the second-fastest average touch time in the postseason and throws the second-most passes per game — both well, well above the likes of the Grizzlies, Nuggets and Timberwolves. Advertisement … That's kind of a lot of stuff to not mess up. 'It's one thing to understand what they're doing. It's one thing to understand what you need to do. It's quite another to execute it,' Daigneault said. 'That's what makes them really hard to play against. They pump a 99-miles-an-hour fastball at you. You can prepare all you want for that. When you're in the batter's box, it's different when it's time to hit it.' Especially when the last few pitchers you've seen more consistently sat in the high-80s. 'They're really pushing the ball, playing with pace even in the halfcourt, which is something that has kind of been the opposite ... maybe besides Memphis that we played so far this postseason,' said Thunder super-sub Caruso. 'Memphis did a lot of that — drive-and-kick, play early — where the other teams (Denver and Minnesota) we played [ran] more sets. Just adjusting back to that, and making sure we're ready to run.' Advertisement It's certainly something the Thunder are capable of doing; by a number of pace and possession metrics, Oklahoma City has actually played faster than Indiana in these playoffs, on balance. But simply being ready to run with these Pacers doesn't necessarily mean you're ready for what they're going to do while they're sprinting all over the place — what Turner called Indiana's 'random movement' on offense, which, when combined with Haliburton's tendency toward egalitarian table-setting, makes everybody in navy blue and gold a live threat at all times. 'Every team has their strengths and their weaknesses,' said Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 'They're a very fast team. I think, like, above all, they understand how they're playing, and they're very stubborn in their approach. They kind of grind you with the way they play. … They know their identity and they stick to it, no matter what.' That clarity of vision and purpose, combined with Haliburton's peerless playmaking, Carlisle's tactical acumen and a boatload of talent, helps make these Pacers an incredibly dangerous offensive team, and a complex problem to solve — the kind of challenge that Holmgren has found himself loving to wrestle with in the postseason. Advertisement 'You're also seeing the same team for two weeks, rather than playing a new team every single night,' Holmgren said. 'So you're really able to take a deep dive, get into things, and really try to … it's really like a puzzle. You know, you got to take the time to figure it out.' The first step in solving any puzzle: singling out one piece from the pile and separating it from the rest. So which Pacers piece do the Thunder plan on starting out with? At that, Holmgren paused. 'That puzzle is also a secret, you know?' he said, a grin spreading across his face. 'That's my answer. Sorry. I wish I could give you more of it.' Advertisement Whatever the Thunder's plan of defensive attack, they'll need to be ready to match Indiana's intensity from Thursday's opening tip. Because if the unique brand of offensive pressure that the Pacers apply can make Oklahoma City blink, just once, in one of these first two games — as it did against Milwaukee, Cleveland and New York — then the tenor of a series that all us pundits seem to think we have pegged changes dramatically. 'We know this is a great team. If we were to win a championship, I don't want to win any other way. I don't want to go around or over. I want to go through,' Haliburton said. 'You want to go through the best team, the best challenge. This is the best challenge. This is the best team in the NBA.' And the Pacers are going to make the Thunder prove it.
