The Boston Red Sox Friday, August 18, 2017

* The Boston Globe

It’s time for John Farrell to manage with playoffs in mind

Peter Abraham

The Red Sox have 42 games left to play and a four-game lead in the American League East. Fangraphs.com has the Sox with an 89 percent chance to win the division and nearly a 100 percent chance to make the playoffs.

The Red Sox in 2011 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 are proof that such projections can turn meaningless overnight. But the Sox are in a position where manager John Farrell should start to prepare for the postseason in ways that don’t deter the daily cause of winning.

Here are five ways to accomplish that:

■ Develop Robby Scott: The bullpen lacks a lefthanded specialist and that should be Scott. Lefties are 6 of 50 (.120) against him this season, but Scott has appeared in only eight major league games since the break.

Pick out a lefty hitter for Scott to get every night and send him out for that one batter. Get him accustomed to that role so the Sox have somebody they can trust to get an out in a big spot come October.

Farrell lined up Scott to face Didi Gregorius in New York last weekend and he struck him out. There should be more of that.

■ Protect Craig Kimbrel: Now is not the time to be concerned with whether a closer should work in the eighth inning. The focus for the next seven weeks should be to judiciously use Kimbrel so he’s rested and ready to get four-out saves in the playoffs.

Kimbrel has thrown 51 innings, two fewer than last season and 8 1/3 fewer than 2015. He should get only one-inning save situations the rest of the way. If the Sox take command of the division, 4-6 days off would be a great idea.

■ Be patient with Dustin Pedroia: If Pedroia does cartwheels across the clubhouse next week, rest him another five days. His left knee is clearly a mess and probably will require surgery after the season. Less of Pedroia is better, even if it’s well into September. He’ll be ready when the time comes.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the Sox don’t need their second baseman. Pedroia has the second-highest adjusted OPS on the team this season. Eduardo Nunez is not going to carry a 1.005 OPS forever.

■ Don’t figure out the eighth inning: That’s right, don’t. The Sox should not go ride-or-die with one pitcher for that role. Matt Barnes, Addison Reed, and Brandon Workman should be used based on matchups and who is pitching well at the time. Stay flexible. In the 2013 postseason, the Sox used Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow, and Workman in the eighth inning. No one pitcher had the job.

Joe Kelly could figure into that mix, too.

■ Get Xander Bogaerts going: The shortstop has hit .202 with a .523 OPS since getting hit on the right hand by a pitch on July 6. The last three games (5 of 12 with a double and a home run) offer some hope that Bogaerts is on the right track.

If not, sit him down for a few days or drop him even lower in the order. Bogaerts didn’t appreciate hitting sixth to start the season. Maybe a kick in the pants will work again.

A few other thoughts and observations on the Sox:

■ It’s too late to matter this season, but the Red Sox should examine how they can better prepare their players to deal with the media.

The Red Sox play in a unique market and for veteran players who arrive via free agency or trade, the difference from what they are used to can be hard to understand.

As one player told me a few days ago, “Nobody is expecting you guys to root for us. But some of you seem to want us to lose.”

He’s right about that. There is an active market for misery in Boston and losing is better for business for some in the media.

That won’t change. Scripted outrage works in Boston and the Sox are bound to lose 70 or so games even if they’re a playoff team. They’re easy targets.

The Red Sox should do a better job of educating their players about this. Explain the situation and advise them on how best to deal with it. Include their agents and families.

Too many messy situations — David Price vs. Dennis Eckersley, for instance — needlessly fester. Any rough terrain is easier if you have a map.

■ Apologies to Chad Finn, but the Red Sox should avoid any thought of chasing Giancarlo Stanton after the season.

Now that Rafael Devers is in the majors, the Sox do not remotely have the minor league prospects to put together a package that would entice Miami. Getting Stanton would require tearing up the major league roster and taking on a huge salary commitment.

Sure, Stanton could provide the power the Sox have lacked this season. But does he have the makeup?

Stanton recently celebrated his 250th career home run with an Instagram post that mentioned “all the haters who light my fire.”

This from a guy who plays for a team last in the National League in attendance and has sparse media coverage. What “haters” are there?

Stanton is trouble waiting to happen in a big market. He was even surly at the All-Star Game and it was at his home park.

Let Devers hit home runs for 15 years and Stanton can go to the Dodgers.

■ Game 1 of the American League Division Series is Oct. 5. The Patriots play the Buccaneers that night on Thursday Night Football. If the Sox get in, Major League Baseball would be wise to schedule them for an afternoon game.

■ Fernando Abad has had success with his slower-than-slow changeup. According to MLB.com, opposing hitters have struck out six times against pitches 70 mph or slower. One of them was 58.5 m.p.h.

Remember this: The Red Sox discouraged Abad from throwing that pitch last season, but this season have so far overlooked it. The day is coming when somebody will be waiting for it and that ball will go into orbit.

The Sox can only hope it doesn’t cost them the game.

■ As do most teams, the Sox have a rule that players are supposed to be on the field for the national anthem. If one or two are otherwise occupied, it’s not a big deal.

But on Saturday, there were four players on the field. On Wednesday there were five.

That’s a bad look for the organization and it’s been getting steadily worse in recent weeks. That should be cleaned up.

■ Outfielder Bryce Brentz has hit 28 home runs for Triple A Pawtucket and has a 1.047 OPS against lefthanders. There should be a place on the roster for him in September.

Brentz probably does not have a long-term future with the Sox. At 28, he’s older than Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. But Brentz has worked diligently with PawSox hitting coach Rich Gedman to improve the timing of his swing and deserves a promotion.

When rosters are expanded, many teams will be carrying three or four lefthanders in the bullpen. Having Brentz around to pinch hit could help win a game.

He is not on the 40-man roster, but that can be fixed easily enough. The Sox are carrying a few marginal players they can designate for assignment.

■ When the Sox played at Tampa Bay last week, Devers was caught up in watching the Little League regional tournament on television. The 20-year-old is actually closer in age to the 12-year-old players than several of his teammates.

■ The Red Sox had 28 players with them in New York last weekend. There were 32 staff members along for the ride.

Start with Dave Dombrowski and Farrell then add seven coaches, four athletic trainers, three media relations staffers, two equipment managers, two physical therapists, two strength and conditioning coaches, two massage therapists, two bullpen catchers, a video coordinator, a replay coordinator, a mental skills coach, a batting practice pitcher, a social media coordinator, and the traveling secretary.

■ Voting for the Hall of Fame is a lot of fun and Jay Jaffe has helped solve some tough decisions with his research and interpretation of statistics.

His new book “The Cooperstown Casebook” is a great read if you’re willing to have an open mind about who should be in the Hall.

No writer has studied the Hall more closely than Jaffe in recent years the book reflects both his passion and hard work. Imagine caring about something so much that you came up with a unique way to appreciate it. That’s what Jay did.

■ As to the American League MVP race, it’s pretty easy. The Astros are still in first place if Jose Altuve has an average season. The Red Sox are in third without Chris Sale.

■ Strange-but-true: The Sox will be finished playing the Yankees on Sept. 3.

■ The Sox will spend a lot of time in Florida to start next season. After spring training ends, the proposed 2018 schedule has them opening at Tampa Bay then playing in Miami.

■ Finally, here’s to Brock Holt. When the Sox hosted the annual Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon on Tuesday and Wednesday, he did more than pose for a few photos or shake some hands. Holt showed some kids and their families around the park and even played catch with one young guy on the field during batting practice.

Everybody should have been able to see them both smiling. Here’s hoping that fundraiser becomes obsolete someday.

Pedro Martinez pitched two scoreless innings at ‘Oldtime Baseball’ game

Hayden Bird

Pedro Martinez probably hasn’t done too much pitching since his last major league appearance in the 2009 World Series, but the 45-year-old wasn’t afraid to dust off his cleats for a Thursday evening start in Cambridge’s annual “Oldtime Baseball” game.

True to his Hall of Fame status, Martinez pitched two scoreless innings, while going 0-1 at the plate. Additionally, he helped to bring awareness to the charitable causes that the Oldtime game benefits, imploring teammates beforehand to “remember why we’re here.”

And just as he did to Sammy Sosa in the 1999 All-Star Game, Martinez closed out the first inning with a strikeout:

John Martin, a former NESN cameraman who is battling ALS, attended the game. Martinez paid tribute to Martin’s positivity and strength:

The annual game, which began in 1994, was played in front of a large crowd at St. Peter’s Field on Sherman Street in Cambridge.

Drew Pomeranz looking to extend his unbeaten run

Peter Abraham

Drew Pomeranz started the season on the disabled list and his performance in spring training was so erratic that the Red Sox weren’t sure what to expect from him.

Now he’s one of the most reliable No. 2 starters in the game.

Pomeranz faces the Yankees on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park. The lefthander is 12-4 with a 3.39 earned run average over 23 starts.

Pomeranz is 6-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his last 11 starts and this season has beat the Yankees twice in three starts. He faced them on Saturday in New York and allowed three runs over 6⅔ innings.

An All-Star last season with the San Diego Padres, Pomeranz feels he has been even better this season.

“It feels more complete,” he said. “I’ve been able to throw all my pitches for strikes. This has been the best I’ve pitched as a starter.”

The Sox are 15-8 in games Pomeranz has started, winning 11 of the last 15. He is tied for third in the American League in wins and sixth in ERA. Only 12 pitchers have more strikeouts.

Pomeranz will oppose Jordan Montgomery. The rookie lefthander allowed one run over 5⅓ innings against the Sox on Sunday.

Ceremonies on deck Friday is the 50th anniversary of the day the late Tony Conigliaro was hit in the face by a pitch from Jack Hamilton of the Angels.

Conigliaro suffered a detached retina in his left eye, a fractured cheekbone, and dislocated jaw. He missed the entire 1968 season. The 22-year-old from Swampscott had already hit 104 home runs in parts of four seasons in the majors at the time of his injury.

Conigliaro made a successful comeback in 1969 but his career was essentially over in 1972 because of vision problems.

Conigliaro made a brief return in 1975 then passed away in 1990 at the age of 45. The Sox will honor Conigliaro’s memory on Friday by having his brothers, Billy and Richie, throw out first pitches before the game.

The team also will unveil a display honoring “Tony C” located near Gate C.

The memorabilia on display will include his helmet, jersey and American League championship ring from 1967 along with photographs.

On Sunday, the Sox will celebrate Jerry Remy’s 30 years with NESN in a pregame ceremony.

Remy will be on hand to throw out the first pitch. Remy, 64, has been away from the team since June. He had surgery for lung cancer in July and is scheduled to start chemotherapy later this month.

Remy has announced approximately 3,900 games for NESN and been involved in professional baseball since 1971.

Moves made The Sox activated lefthander Roenis Elias off the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple A Pawtucket. To accommodate Elias returning to the 40-man roster, righthanded reliever Noe Ramirez was designated for assignment. Elias has appeared in only three games for the Sox since being obtained from Seattle before the 2016 season. Ramirez, 27, has a 4.99 ERA in 33 major league appearances over the last three seasons. He had a 3.51 ERA in 33 games for Pawtucket this season . . . With the Sox off on Thursday, Hanley Ramirez held a clinic for 120 youth players in Lawrence at the Mercedes Baseball Academy . . . Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth inning on Thursday and was the winner when the Sox scored three times in the bottom of the inning against St. Louis. He has struck out nearly half the batters he has faced this season (94 of 187) . . . The Sox are 5-7 against the Yankees . . . Andrew Benintendi starts the series with a 10-game hit streak. He is 19 of 46 (.413) this month with eight extra-base hits.

Just 20, Rafael Devers is showing advanced talent and poise

Peter Abraham

It was only a few months after he signed with the Red Sox in 2013 that Rafael Devers found himself watching Game 1 of the World Series on television at the team’s academy in the Dominican Republic.

So many of the teenage players crowded into the recreation room that the only seats available were on the floor.

It was the day before he turned 17 and Devers was at the start of a great adventure, having left his parents, siblings, and a comfortable home behind to pursue a career in baseball.

Devers cheered loudest for David Ortiz, his favorite player for as long as he could remember. But it was Xander Bogaerts, then a 20-year-old third baseman, who allowed him to dream.

“If Xander could get there so fast, why couldn’t I?” Devers said. “It was great seeing somebody so young in that game.”

Now Devers has a locker only a few feet away from Bogaerts at Fenway Park and he is the starting third baseman for a team that could return to the Series for the first time since 2013.

In only 18 games for the Sox, Devers has six home runs and 13 RBIs, helping push what had been a slumping team back into first place.

The Red Sox traded many of their top prospects over the last two years. Devers offers proof that they kept the best one.

“He jumped right in and changed this team,” manager John Farrell said.

In a conversation aided by team translator Daveson Perez, Devers showed confidence but no arrogance. As was the case with Bogaerts in ’13, Devers knows he belongs.

Others were awed by the long home run he hit off a 103-mile-per-hour fastball thrown by Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman on Sunday, but Devers saw it as a product of hard work.

“I’m here for a reason,” he said. “I’ve never been afraid on the baseball field. I want the chance to show what I can do.”

Trusting his skills For some Dominican major leaguers, baseball was their way out of poverty. They played with cracked bats and scuffed balls in the streets, hoping a scout would notice.

That was not the life Devers was born into.

His father, also named Rafael, worked at a hotel and owned a clothing shop. There were nine children in his extended middle-class family, but a college education was always an option.

Baseball was the passion he chose. Devers considers himself a self-taught player, having watched his father play in local men’s leagues while growing up.

“From there, I just started to play every day. I always had a good swing,” Devers said. “My father signed me up to play every year and when I needed a glove or a bat, he got it for me.”

His father was a catcher. But that was never part of Rafael’s plan.

“Oh, no. Third base,” he said in English, smiling.

By the time Devers was 14, Red Sox scout Manny Nanita had filed a report on him. Eddie Romero, then the team’s director of international scouting, followed up and was impressed.

“He stood out. What we do is very difficult, trying to project players at such a young age. But we really believed in him and his desire,” said Romero, now an assistant general manager. “We built a relationship with him and his family.”

By the time he was 16, Devers was considered the top lefthanded hitter among international free agents. The Sox signed him for $1.5 million.

“There were other teams and a lot of choices,” Devers said. “But I had a feeling I would sign with the Red Sox. They had been in contact with me since I was 14. They got my attention and I knew their history.”

Devers played his first season of minor league ball in 2014 and earned a promotion to the Gulf Coast League, a rare opportunity for a 17-year-old out of the academy.

“I always said he was shy until he got in the batter’s box,” Romero said. “He was fearless. It didn’t matter if he was facing 22-year-olds at that age. I’ve never seen him intimidated.”

Devers moved quickly through the minors, overcoming a protracted slump with Single A Salem last season. He hit .233 with little power in the first half, then .326 with 37 extra-base hits in the second half.

“You tell the players to trust the process and trust their skills. But until they experience struggling, they don’t know,” said Nelson Paulino, Salem’s hitting coach and a Devers confidant.

“That was the best thing for him, that first half. Now you see the player he is.”

‘A beautiful experience’ Devers was with Double A Portland for the first half of this season before playing nine games with Triple A Pawtucket. Then the Red Sox, at the time desperate for offense, rushed him to the majors.

It felt forced, but it has so far worked.

Devers looks much younger than 20 but is walking around with 234 pounds, his arms packed with muscle. It’s not possible, but the balls he gets in the air seem to pick up speed.

“He has the hands and the power,” assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez said. “He has hit some balls to right field in batting practice to places I only saw [Ortiz] reach.

“He hits the ball the other way because he’s not afraid to let the ball get deep and trust his hands. That mind is virgin and that’s a beautiful thing. He has no bad habits.”

Devers has improved his footwork at third base and is making more accurate throws. Arm strength isn’t a question, but his mechanics were.

“He has good feet and good body control for a big player,” infield coach Brian Butterfield said. “We want him to stay at third base and I think he can.”

The ability to handle everything being thrown at him is there, too.

“That’s probably the main factor in the development staff saying, ‘You know what, we wouldn’t have hesitation to bring this guy to the big leagues,’ ” Farrell said.

“It’s more on how they anticipate he’d react to adversity or challenging times. Would he handle it mentally and stay strong, or crumble? If they did not have that feel or that stamp or approval, we might not see him here.”

Devers stayed in a hotel when he was first called up but has since found an apartment walking distance from Fenway Park. His father has been staying with him this week.

“It has been a beautiful experience,” Devers said. “You walk out on the streets and people want pictures with you or your autograph. It has been cool.”

Before he goes to the park, Devers takes time to video chat with his 2-year-old daughter, Rachell. She lives in the Dominican with her mother.

“She motivates me a lot,” said Devers, who has a tattoo of his daughter on his left arm. “I want to do the best I can for her. She’s my reason for being in the world.”

Devers turns 21 on Oct. 24. Game 1 of the World Series will be that night. He hopes the prospects at the academy are watching him this time.

“That’s the goal, to win a championship,” Devers said. “Why not? Anything can happen in sports.”

For Red Sox, no rush on homegrown pitchers

Alex Speier

Homegrown prospects continue to transform the Red Sox at the big league level, with rookies Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers in many respects anchoring the team’s August surge. Their emergence is noteworthy, given that they represent in many ways the exceptions — top prospects whom the Sox protected amid a steady succession of significant trades.

It’s probably not a coincidence that the team clung to top two position players while parting ways with multiple top pitching prospects, including righthanders Anderson Espinoza and Michael Kopech. Five more arms joined the ranks of the dealt this July in trades for Eduardo Nunez and Addison Reed.

In 2017, Brian Johnson (five starts) is the only true homegrown pitcher who has contributed to the Sox rotation. The team is all but certain to have its lowest total of homegrown starts since Jonathan Papelbon took the hill for three turns of the rotation in 2005.

Even though the Red Sox are starting to reap the benefits of a growing supply of homegrown relievers (Matt Barnes, Brandon Workman, Robby Scott), it may be years before the team features another homegrown rotation staple.

While there are some starting pitching prospects in the organization — including Johnson and Jalen Beeks in Triple A and Mike Shawaryn in high Single A — there’s no clear-cut candidate to do so ahead of Single A lefthander Jay Groome and fellow Greenville starter Bryan Mata, a righthander. Both are 18 and years from the big leagues.

For a long time, the Red Sox’ inability to develop starting pitching had been viewed as a weakness. But increasingly, the lack of young, homegrown starters seems like it might be the product rather than the failure of a blueprint.

By most measures, the Red Sox rotation ranks among the top two or three in the American League for the second straight year. And for the second straight year, it has achieved that stature primarily with pitchers imported from other organizations.

That development follows a formula that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has used across organizations for decades. In his 14 seasons with the Tigers, he had just three homegrown pitchers — Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, and Drew Smyly — who made as many as 30 big league starts in the organization.

“Many years ago, when I first started, one general manager that I respected a great deal said, ‘Always remember, young positional players, veteran pitchers,’ ” Dombrowski recounted earlier this year. “That was a generalization. It wasn’t that he was against veteran players or young pitchers, but he said, ‘Remember, that’s the way to success.’ ”

Dombrowski and the Sox aren’t alone in pursuing such a path. The Cubs won the World Series last year with one start made by a homegrown pitcher; this year, Chicago has yet to have a single start from a pitcher who came up in its system. Both the Red Sox and Cubs have developed young lineup cornerstones while building their rotations through trades and free agency.

In some ways, that approach reflects the enormous distinction between pitching and positional prospects. It’s unnecessary for the team to back off of players like Benintendi or Devers due to workload concerns in their debuts.

By contrast, in recent years teams have wrestled with how to manage young pitchers’ innings while balancing the short-term and long-term interests related to assets such as Stephen Strasburg and Julio Urias — or, for that matter, Clay Buchholz, who was shut down in 2007 because of workload concerns before the Sox’ championship run.

Moreover, injury risks for developing pitchers are enormous. Espinoza, who has never pitched above the Single A level, required Tommy John surgery this summer. He might not pitch for a Padres affiliate again before he has to be added to the 40-man roster or else exposed to the Rule 5 draft after the 2018 season.

In an era of carefully measured minor league workloads, pitchers with the stuff to help in the big leagues haven’t necessarily been developed to handle the physical rigors of a seven-month season. In many cases, starting pitchers aren’t physically positioned for a full-season workload until they are 24 or 25, and sometimes multiple years into their big league careers.

If that’s the case, then their value to contending teams as 20-, 21-, 22-, and 23-year-olds may be greater as trade chips than as long-term assets. That’s the conclusion the Red Sox reached with Espinoza and Kopech when given the chance to acquire lefties Drew Pomeranz and Chris Sale.

“Young pitchers are great. They’re the lifeblood of an organization. But at what point do you hold out?” said Sox manager John Farrell. “[Espinoza was] three years away at a minimum, and there were some questions on how dependable the secondary stuff would be. While there’s a lot of high-prospect projection, does that maximize his value then?

“Kopech on the other hand, here’s someone who, unfortunately, because of the injuries and other things, he was going to be two to three years away because of the innings progression. Part of that is the fit of when does he really begin to pay dividends at the major league level through a year?”

There are other organizations that have created a homegrown pitching infrastructure. The Rays have employed a patient — and effective — level-to-level development strategy in which they haven’t graduated pitchers to the big leagues until they’re ready to shoulder 180-200 innings.

The Cardinals, by contrast, move young pitchers aggressively through the minors, yet they’ve built a long- term, homegrown rotation blueprint by employing strategies such as transitioning top pitchers to the big leagues in the bullpen for up to a year before moving them to the rotation. Lance Lynn and Carlos Martinez are both homegrown rotation members who entered the big leagues in that fashion.

“We know if we want to remain competitive at the major league level, we have to have a pitching pipeline. When you look at the free agent market and trade market, it can be quite punitive to the payee,” said Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. “If we can get our internal pipeline right first, then we sort of always use those outside markets, trade market or free agent market, to support that pipeline — not the reverse.”

In theory, the Red Sox would love to get to such a point — and to arrive in a place where they can have conversations such as the one that followed the 2007 title, when the organization weighed the merits of including Jon Lester in a potential trade for then-Twins ace Johan Santana.

“At what point does the performance of the [veteran] and the young player intersect?” Farrell — a forceful advocate for keeping Lester — recalled asking that winter. “I felt like it was Year 2. It was earlier.”

But there isn’t a pitcher like Lester in the Sox organization who is nearly major league-ready at this point. As a result, Dombrowski has stocked the pitching staff largely through trades and free agency — while using many of the organization’s pitching prospects as trade currency.

Is that ideal for the long term? Probably not. But in 2017, as was the case in 2016 in Boston and Chicago and for many years before that in Detroit, a less-than-ideal outcome hasn’t come at the expense of effectiveness.

* The Boston Herald

‘Haunted’ by past owner's history, Red Sox seek name change for Yawkey Way

Michael Silverman

The Red Sox have had enough.

At a moment when racial tensions have escalated rapidly and the removal of Confederate statues acts as a flashpoint for violent and racially divisive protests, the Red Sox are ready to start taking down a symbol of their own racially tainted history.

Red Sox principal owner John Henry, saying he’s still “haunted” by the racist legacy of his legendary predecessor Tom Yawkey, told the Herald that his franchise welcomes renaming Yawkey Way. The Sox, he said, should take the lead in the process of rebranding the Jersey Street extension outside Fenway Park that was renamed to honor the former owner in 1977.

Complicated history

Yawkey’s legacy as owner from 1933-76, and then by his widow Jean Yawkey and the Yawkey Trust until Henry bought the team in 2002, was as complicated as it was lengthy.

An inescapable, significant and enduring part of the Yawkey legacy is a racist one, and Yawkey — a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame — oversaw the 12-season stretch from 1947-58, in which the Red Sox watched every other team in Major League Baseball integrate before they became the last club to do so in 1959. That residue will not disappear when Yawkey Way is renamed, but it also does not need to diminish the positive impact the Yawkey Trust, funded primarily by the $700 million sale of the team when Henry came aboard, still makes today for multiple worthy causes in Boston and New England.

Yawkey Way, however, is different.

It is a public street, funded by taxpayer dollars.

It’s also where the Red Sox conduct their business and on game days hold permanent rights, after reaching a controversial deal with the city in 2013, to close the street and sell concessions.

The team is not trying to erase its history, but as Henry said, the time is right for the change and the conversation about race that it will spark.

“I discussed this a number of times with the previous mayoral administration and they did not want to open what they saw as a can of worms,” said Henry in an email. “There are a number of buildings and institutions that bear the same name. The sale of the Red Sox by John Harrington helped to fund a number of very good works in the city done by the Yawkey Foundation (we had no control over where any monies were spent). The Yawkey Foundation has done a lot of great things over the years that have nothing to do with our history.”

If it were up to Henry, he would rename the street “David Ortiz Way” or “Big Papi Way.” But before a new name is considered, the name-change process needs to start with Henry and the one other Yawkey Way abutter petitioning the City of Boston for approval.

“The Red Sox don’t control the naming or renaming of streets,” Henry said. “But for me, personally, the street name has always been a consistent reminder that it is our job to ensure the Red Sox are not just multi- cultural, but stand for as many of the right things in our community as we can — particularly in our African-American community and in the Dominican community that has embraced us so fully. The Red Sox Foundation and other organizations the Sox created such as Home Base have accomplished a lot over the last 15 years, but I am still haunted by what went on here a long time before we arrived.”

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said, “The mayor is supportive of this change.”

Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston NAACP, praised Henry, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy and Jim Rooney, president and CEO of Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce for their “bold leadership,” and added, “I am encouraged by this step forward. Although in some respects some people might say this is ‘symbolic’ or ‘this is simply a street,’ I don’t take this step lightly. I do believe it serves as a turning point for us if we take it as an opportunity that changes the conversation.

“To me, this statement by John Henry is really a continuation of what I have heard and seen the last few months from the Red Sox, and I expect we as a city will see more reactions like this not only from the Red Sox but also from other business leaders.”

Added Kennedy: “John has been very strong on this issue from the day he and (chairman) Tom (Werner) arrived in 2002 and today is another reflection of that. I’m very, very proud to work for an ownership group that is committed to creating an inclusive environment for the fans, the players and the employees. It was a very strong message that John delivered.”

If the Yawkey Way moniker goes, the MBTA’s nearby Yawkey Station name could follow, as the Mass. House of Representatives is considering a bill to rename it.

‘Recognition of the past’

Even after the Red Sox became the final MLB team to integrate, the climate often remained chilly and hostile to players of color.

The Sox skipped the opportunity to sign Jackie Robinson two years before the Dodgers signed him to break the MLB color barrier, and then again passed on a shot to sign Willie Mays two years after baseball was integrated by Robinson in 1947. Yawkey and his associates didn’t find an African-American player worthy to make their team until Pumpsie Green joined in 1959.

In later years, the Red Sox’ roster construction began to be handled with a more color-blind style, and the complexion of the Red Sox began to resemble other teams. But racial issues did not disappear. Former outfielder and coach Tommy Harper’s 1986 Elks Club anti-discrimination lawsuit was a lowlight, with Harper noting that the gathering spot in the club’s Winter Haven, Fla., spring training home was still segregated.

While this year’s Red Sox team fields more players of color on an everyday basis than any in recent history, the current ownership has not been able to escape being thrust into ugly racial episodes.

David Price reported that he heard racial taunts while warming up in the bullpen at Fenway last year. In May, Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones reported that he heard a racial slur directed at him plus had a bag of peanuts thrown at him.

The team reacted swiftly to the Jones incident, vowing to make the ballpark a safe haven from racism. Renaming Yawkey Way would be another step.

Kennedy said the Red Sox were “deeply troubled and saddened” by alleged events of a racial nature earlier in the year at Fenway, and added that “obviously the events going on around us in the world are extremely troubling.

“So, I guess John felt now was the time to send a message. It’s one symbol. I don’t think there’s an indictment of any one person. It’s a recognition of the past that is shameful with respect to us being the last team to integrate.”

The Red Sox, who still have many employees who worked under Jean Yawkey and remember her fondly, began an internal discussion about changing the name of the street which gives Fenway Park — 4 Yawkey Way — its address.

They reached consensus, Henry said, to favor a name change.

“We ought to be able to lead the effort and if others in the community favor a change, we would welcome it — particularly in light of the country’s current leadership stance with regard to intolerance,” Henry said.

The road to change

Practically speaking, the process for renaming a public street in Boston where there are no residents requires a petition to be launched by the abutters. All abutters must sign it.

Of the six parcels with Yawkey Way addresses, there are only two abutters: Henry’s Red Sox and the D’Angelo family, owners of the merchandise shops across from Fenway.

The D’Angelos are on board.

“I understand the way the climate is around the Red Sox that they would potentially want to do something like that,” said Bobby D’Angelo, son of the formerly named Twins souvenir shop’s founder Arthur D’Angelo.

D’Angelo, who spoke before Henry said he welcomed a change, said renaming the street would “not be a big deal at all.”

“Honestly, we’re not talking about a human being here, we’re talking about the name of a street,” he said. “I can’t lose sleep over Yawkey Way changing its name, there’s just too many other things in this world to worry about. That’s the last thing we would worry about.

“We don’t look at this thing as a monumental change. It may be in the city’s eyes, a Yawkey Way name change, but the only thing it changes is our stationery. Besides that, that’s life.”

Red Sox notebook: With bullpen, John Farrell shifts to critical mode

Jason Mastrodonato

It’s that time of the year.

John Farrell might have been saving closer Craig Kimbrel like he was the last gallon of water in the desert last weekend in the Bronx, but the skipper is once again managing with urgency as the New York Yankees return to Fenway Park for a three-game series this weekend.

On Wednesday night, the Red Sox were losing by two when Farrell used his bullpen as if he had a two-run lead.

Matt Barnes entered in the sixth with the Red Sox down, 4-2, and threw 12⁄3 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. Set-up man Addison Reed handled a scoreless eighth and Kimbrel came on to pitch the ninth.

“I had a couple of days off so I felt pretty good out there,” Barnes said after the Sox’ 5-4 walkoff win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Farrell tried giving Heath Hembree and Barnes some extended rest of late, but with only 42 games left, the bullpen is ready for whatever the Red Sox need.

“The bullpen came and did its job putting up zeroes,” Barnes said. “We’ve seen what the team can do to come back late and win games in that manner. To keep it to where it was from me and Addie and Craig was awesome.

“Everybody in this room believes in what we are capable of doing and nobody is stopping and nobody is quieting until the last out is recorded. I think that says something about this team and the culture of what we are about as a group.”

The addition of Reed and emergence of Brandon Workman have made it easier for Farrell to more liberally use his best relievers.

“Oh, I mean, we’re in a pennant race,” Farrell said. The standings on the left-field wall “stare at you for nine innings. You see what’s going on. I’m sure it’s going on in every ballpark with teams that are fighting for something here to get past the regular season. So, I can’t say that was added motivation.

“Our guys do such a great job of taking care of the task at hand, and there’s been many examples of that. Friday night in New York, we come back Saturday, focus on the task at hand and get the job done. Talk about the game out in Seattle where we had the tough walkoff in the 13th inning, came right back in a day game. So, our guys do a great job of staying in the moment and executing as needed.”

Rivals red-hot

Both the Red Sox and the Yankees bring momentum into the series, with the Yankees winning three straight leading into last night’s game against the New York Mets and the Sox sweeping the Cardinals.

“This one, going into the Yankees series is going to be huge,” Mookie Betts said. “Hopefully we can carry this momentum and keep it going.”

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts said: “Both teams are playing good. It’s going to be a good series in our house this time. Hopefully that will be our advantage.”

Both Bogaerts and Betts snapped out of slumps to help lead the Sox on Wednesday.

Betts is hitting just .235 with a .635 OPS since July 4, but he’s hitting when it counts. With runners in scoring position, Betts is batting .390 with a 1.060 OPS this season.

“I have no idea,” he said when asked to explain the numbers. “That just seems kind of how this year is going. With guys on, I tend to do better. I’m trying to do good all the time, but if that’s the side I’m going to err on, I’ll be happy with that.

“I can’t even explain what’s going through my head when I step in the box. Right now, I could tell you something, but when I’m in the box, it’s probably something different. I’m not exactly sure if it’s extra focus or anything. I don’t even know how to answer that.”

Sunday mystery

Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees have announced their Sunday starter, though it’s expected to be Sonny Gray for the Yankees and Rick Porcello for the Sox.

Drew Pomeranz and Chris Sale will start tonight and tomorrow, while the Yankees counter with their pair of lefties in Jordan Montgomery and CC Sabathia, who is coming off the disabled list to make the start. . . .

The Sox designated right-handed reliever Noe Ramirez for assignment. Ramirez had been up-and-down with the Sox the last few seasons, but was dropped off the roster so lefty Roenis Elias could be activated from the 60-day disabled list. Elias was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket following the activation.

Mastrodonato: Why do Red Sox play their best with backs to the wall?

Jason Mastrodonato

Here’s to one more ugly losing streak before October.

After watching the Red Sox play 120 games this season, it’s become perfectly clear they play their most exciting baseball when the rest of us are ready to change the channel.

Manager John Farrell’s teams always play best as the underdogs.

A sweep of the New York Yankees this weekend would be nice. A 71⁄2-game lead in late August should set up the Red Sox for a first-round bye as long as they don’t endure a September so bad even the 2011 team would vomit. Clinch a division title, rest up, skip the wild card game and get ready for the American League Division Series.

It all sounds good. But what happened last year? The Sox stomped all over everybody in September until the final week, when they clinched the division, then went on a mental vacation and never returned.

Aaron Hill, currently out of baseball, was Farrell’s leadoff hitter one game. Henry Owens, who has since been demoted to Double A, started on the mound in another.

They sure were cocky, huh? Home-field advantage flew out the window.

Didn’t matter to the oddsmakers. The Red Sox were still considered heavy favorites by the experts, including yours truly. But they couldn’t win a single game against the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS.

They don’t handle the pressure well.

I think back to 2013. A team that nobody expected much from. A bunch of underwhelming free agent signings of past-their-prime randoms who were masterful at playing late-inning baseball.

Who remembers the ’13 Sox losing six-of-eight in early August, giving up sole possession of first place on Aug. 20 and then, when it mattered most, going 22-10 down the stretch?

Not me. I had to look it up.

I remember the 2013 team as unbeatable, but in a subtle way. I remember those Red Sox falling behind to the Detroit Tigers in the AL Championship Series. The Sox couldn’t touch Detroit’s starting pitching, lost the first game by a 1-0 score and looked lifeless in Game 2, at home, until David Ortiz hit a grand salami.

Duck Boat parade over, World Series trophy in hand, the Red Sox played garbage baseball in 2014.

Before the 2015 season, the Sox went out and “won the offseason” by Thanksgiving with the signing of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval on the same day.

Then what? Same thing. More garbage on the field in 2015.

In Kansas City that June, when the Sox were 10 games under .500 and going nowhere fast, Shane Victorino — a hero in 2013 who was injured and about to be traded — filled me in on what the heck had happened in those first 70 games.

“We were expected to be the best team in the baseball,” Victorino said. “We were down here (at a low point last year) and all of a sudden we made some moves and we got put on a pedestal.”

The higher they go, the harder they fall.

That might explain why, with four of their most important position players in Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mitch Moreland ranking among the worst hitters in the game since the start of July, the Sox have played their best baseball.

They’ve won 12 of their last 14, the best MLB record in that span. Of their 69 wins, the Sox came from behind to win 30 times. Of their last 19 wins at home, eight were walkoffs.

They’ve won 13 games when tied or losing entering the ninth.

They’re 11-3 in extra-inning games and 9-3 in games decided by a walkoff.

Put them in a tough spot, get ready to turn off the television, and the Red Sox look like a bunch of Babe Ruths.

That brings us to this weekend. The Yanks are in town for three games. If it’s anything like last weekend, these games will be tight. It’ll come down to one player on each side making one play that the other team can’t.

Aaron Judge is beginning to look again like Mark McGwire in 1998, as he’s homered twice in three games since the Red Sox left the Bronx, and New York has won all three. They have five pitchers who could be closers in their bullpen. And they have two — Sonny Gray and Luis Severino — who have been among the best starters in the league over the last three months.

This division won’t be decided this weekend. So root for the broom if you can stomach it. Cheer for a pinstriped sweep to come at the Red Sox’ expense.

For the good of the season, it’s probably better that way.

Pedro Martinez pitches in to fight ALS at Old Time Baseball Game

Kat Hasenauer Cornetta

As Pedro Martinez warmed up in the bullpen at St. Peter’s Field in advance of last night’s Oldtime Baseball Game, the crowd hung on his every move with awe.

“Let’s get the radar gun!” yelled a boy pressing his face up against the chain-link fence.

“They aren’t going be able to hit that,” called out another fan.

Martinez grinned the entire time, digging into the dirt and getting back into competitive mode.

The Hall of Famer found himself back on the mound for a great cause: NESN cameraman John Martin, who is battling ALS. This 24th edition of Abbot Financial Management Oldtime Baseball Game raised funds for the John Martin Fund and the ALS Therapy Development Institute.

For Martinez, the decision to play was easy. Martin’s devotion to his job created a strong rapport between him and the players he covered.

“This is a guy that was always recording the stuff we didn’t want to be recorded,” said Martinez. “You saw him around the corner, recording. He was always right behind us. And he is a great guy.”

The bond between the two was so strong that Martinez drove Martin to the field. As he approached Martin’s house, Martinez found himself with something he didn’t experience much on the mound: Nerves.

“I didn’t know what I was going to find,” said Martinez. “As soon as I looked out the window, I saw that big bright smile.”

The smile didn’t leave Martin’s face all night, not even when throngs of reporters surrounded him as he got out of Pedro’s car, not even when he spoke about his plight. Even though it didn’t seem possible, that smile got even bigger as dozens of “angels in the outfield,” players from the South End Little League Martin’s worked with for over 30 years, ran toward the pitcher’s mound pregame with a $10,000 check.

Martin is approaching his fight with ALS with the same attitude Martinez used toward batters.

“I’m not going to sit around and boo-hoo about it,” said Martin. “Anyone who knows me knows I’m not going to. We’re fighting, we’re working hard and we’re doing the best we can.”

After Martin and Martinez arrived, both donned old-time woolen Red Sox uniforms. “Now I know how Babe felt!” Martinez bellowed.

After the pregame pomp and circumstance, Martinez shook hands with former Sox teammate and WEEI host Lou Merloni and took the mound. That competitive spirit came flooding back.

“Once you get to the mound, everything comes back,” said Martinez.

He struck out the first three batters he faced, and added a couple of breaking balls and cutters in his second and final inning of work. In between, Martinez even took an at bat, hitting a pop up.

Returning to the field was just one of the night’s highlights for Martinez. Spending time with his old friend Martin was the other.

“You would never know he is going through what he is going through,” said Martinez. “We can only imagine.”

* The Providence Journal

From long (Judge) to short (Benintendi), stereotypes don’t hold up

Tim Britton

BOSTON — When Eddie Bane traveled to Arkansas in spring 2015 to see the player the Red Sox were considering drafting with the No. 7 pick that June, he experienced what most everyone does the first time they watch Andrew Benintendi.

“I walked in and I started to say, ‘He’s...’ and I couldn’t get the word ‘short’ out because he was taking BP and smoking balls all over the place,” Bane said. “That stopped real quickly.”

Bane, a special assignment scout for Boston, chides himself now for even that briefest of first impressions. In more than three decades as a scout, Bane witnessed firsthand how the industry had moved past stereotypes based on height.

“We’ve come a long ways from walking in and saying, ‘He’s too short’ or ‘He’s too tall,’ ” Bane said. “You can’t eliminate anybody.”

The showdown this weekend between the Red Sox and Yankees at Fenway Park is a testament to baseball’s inclusivity when it comes to size. Benintendi (5-foot-9) will be joined in Boston’s outfield by Mookie Betts (5-foot-9) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (5-foot-10). On the other side will stand Aaron Judge, at 6-foot-7.

But despite their prima facie differences, their paths toward major-league success — and now, major- league stardom — have involved overcoming similar prejudices based on their size.

Extensive research

As Mike Rikard prepared for his first draft as Boston’s scouting director in 2015, there were two players and one question to which he kept coming back. Looking at Benintendi and shortstop Alex Bregman — eventually taken second overall by Houston — Rikard wondered what the track record was for shorter players in the major leagues.

“We did a lot of really extensive research,” Rikard said. “The 5-foot-10, 175-pound player can not only be a good player, but there are a lot of guys that have had a ton of power at that size, too. It was really easy to find a lot of Hall of Fame guys that size.”

Rikard rattled off Hank Aaron (6-foot, 180 pounds), Willie Mays (5-foot-10, 170 pounds) and Joe Morgan (5-foot-7, 160 pounds). He also had examples right in front of him in the Red Sox organization, in Betts and Bradley and second baseman Dustin Pedroia. In fact, no team in baseball has embraced such, well, shortcomings as much as the Red Sox.

“The first thing you notice,” said Danny Watkins, the scout who signed Betts, “is a player’s body. Coming off the bus or walking off the field, it’s something you make note of. ... All things being equal, you’d love to have the 6-foot-2, 210-pound guy. But things are never equal.

“You don’t set out looking for the under-6-foot player. But when you find one, if the tools will end up playing, you’ve got to consider him. You can’t hold it against him.”

“Size helps paint a picture,” said Chris Mears, who signed Benintendi. “Then you kind of take that away and just watch them.”

Even so, a suboptimal height creates hurdles a player has to overcome in a scout’s eyes. Guys like Betts and Benintendi had to prove, more so than a player with a more traditional height and frame, that they were capable of adding weight, capable of playing 162 games a season, capable of hitting the ball just as hard as someone larger than them.

“Maybe our outfielders aren’t as big but they’re all very athletic,” Rikard said. “We try to really have our scouts focus a lot on the parts of the body that matter. You don’t have to be 6-foot-4 if you have really good strong hands and really good forearms.”

Indeed, while Benintendi’s added bulk to his biceps has attracted attention this season, it’s his forearms that made scouts believe he could sustain the power he showed in college against major-league pitching, Bane said.

“It’s pretty amazing how hard he could hit the ball for his size,” Mears said, acknowledging that he believed Benintendi’s slugging would manifest itself more in doubles than homers in the majors. “He had a really advanced approach [in college]. He already had a feel for the pitches he thought he could drive and couldn’t drive, which is really impressive at that stage.”

Mears added that the ease of Benintendi’s motions — “There’s not a lot of wasted movement in his swing,” he said — dismissed any possible concerns about durability.

“He just does things easier than most people,” he said.

Watkins knew the wiry Betts would have to add strength to his frame, but that’s not as big a concern for teams as it used to be.

“One thing that’s changed in today’s game that’s different from 20 years ago is all organizations are so advanced in their strength training and nutrition,” Rikard said. “Most teams have more of a general comfort that they can get kids stronger.”

A different approach

Adding strength was not the concern for the Yankees when they were scouting Judge. On the surface, the entire evaluation for a player of Judge’s stature would seem to be different than it was for Boston’s outfielders.

“You look at Benny and you look at Judge out there,” Bane said, “and you think, ‘Wait a minute. Here’s the two best kids walking around right now, and they couldn’t look more different if they tried.’ ”

In reality, though, those who judged Judge had to see him overcome similar stereotypes about tall players.

“Taller guys typically have some built-in length in their swing,” Rikard said. “If there is length, there are bigger holes and they can get exposed pretty quickly.”

“It’s just the guys with the longer arms sometimes have more difficulty covering the entire zone,” Watkins said.

But, in considering Judge in the latter half of the first round in 2013, the Yankees’ director of amateur scouting, Damon Oppenheimer, found some of the same separators that defined Benintendi and Betts for Boston. He found freakish athleticism.

“If he’s big and strong and stiff, then he’s probably not of any interest,” Oppenheimer said. “If he’s big, strong, has the tools to play and perform and, on top of that, moves with some grace and athleticism, then you’ve got something.

“When we saw [Judge at Fresno State], he demonstrated his raw power. He was a center fielder, so he was running well. There was ease to when he went and got the ball. You saw this guy that was probably like a 6-foot-1 guy in terms of athleticism and grace — just in a 6-foot-7 frame.”

Judge also didn’t have quite as many historical comparables as Benintendi. Richie Sexson was 6-foot-7 but didn’t have the same frame. Dave Winfield wasn’t quite as tall. When scouting Judge, Bane had to go back to the late 1960s and Frank Howard for a close analog.

“That was a strong pick by the Yankees,” Bane said. ”[Judge] wasn’t well-loved all the way around.”

Although Judge has cooled off since his transcendent first half of the season, it’s clear the potential holes in his swing haven’t been exposed as quickly as some figured they would. He’s among the front-runners for American League Most Valuable Player award, alongside the 5-foot-6 Jose Altuve and the 6-foot-6 but 180-pound Chris Sale.

Baseball has always prided itself on being a game open to players of all sizes. Its MVP race and this weekend’s series in the Bronx will be showcases for that inclusivity. And the scouting world is taking that idea more and more to heart each year.

“We’ve really learned to be open-minded to guys that do it a little bit differently,” Rikard said. “That’s an important part of growing as a staff and growing as a scout and an evaluator, is being really self-critical and taking a look at all different types of players and why you may feel they’ve done well or not.”

“It has definitely become more open-minded,” Oppenheimer said. “People just realized it’s more important to have tools and to perform than it is to just have a certain body type.”

“For me, when I go to the ballpark, I’m not writing anybody off,” Mears said. “My eyes are open. Let the player do the talking.

“If they can play, they can play.”

* RedSox.com

'What is that?' Abad's changeup baffles hitters

Matt Kelly

It was a sweltering July night in Arlington and Red Sox pitcher Fernando Abad was eating innings. His team was leading the Rangers, 8-2, in the sixth, and everyone around him was dreaming of the air- conditioned clubhouse.

Adrian Beltre, Abad's former Dominican Republic teammate at this year's World Baseball Classic, stood with his bat gripped high and his closed stance hulking over the plate. Abad threw an 83-mph changeup for a called strike one, then loaded and fired again, whipping his left arm forward at the same speed as the pitch before.

What happened next instantly found its way to Twitter, YouTube and the desktops of GIF makers everywhere. The ball that came out of Abad's hand definitely wasn't a fastball, nor did it resemble the changeup he had previously thrown. It wasn't like anything one sees in a Major League game; it was more like the lazy toss a parent throws to a kid in the batting cage.

Beltre planted his front leg and waited -- and waited and waited -- for a pitch that seemed like it would never arrive. Like a feather swaying toward the ground, Abad's pitch fell out of the sky and into catcher Christian Vazquez's mitt, right over home plate for a called strike. Beltre's body mirrored the flight of the pitch; down, down, down until he landed on one knee.

Adrian Beltre reacts to wild eephus pitch from Fernando Abad

Beltre typically saves that finishing position for massive home runs. But on this night, he became one more very public victim of what Abad calls his "super changeup."

"I threw it to Beltre while we were practicing at the WBC," Abad said, as his face lit up when he thought back to that pitch in Arlington. "He laughed and he looked at me and said, 'What is that?' I just laughed. I don't say anything."

Beltre knew Abad had this eephus-like pitch in his arsenal, but he still looked wholly unprepared that night in July. He's not alone. With the level of advanced scouting in place today, opponents are aware of the pitch by now and what it can do. Abad has affectionately dubbed it his "super changeup," and he throws it with the same trajectory as his 75-85 mph "regular" changeup, as well as his low-90s fastball. But the "super changeup" positively crawls through the air, and it can make imposing sluggers look like beer-league softball players.

Take, for instance, the 63-mph flutter ball that froze Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for strike three on July 2:

Fernando Abad's 63-mph strikeout pitch

Or the moonball that left Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop grabbing a handful of air June 1: Abad Eefus Pitch

Or Abad's most wicked offering of all, a 58.6-mph lob to Khris Davis to record the slowest strikeout in the Majors since at least 2015: Abad Changeup

Abad remembers all of these pitches, nodding and smiling when they're brought up like a musician recalling his greatest hits. He brought up another one, a low-70s changeup that went high and tight to the Blue Jays' Ryan Goins and hit the knob of Goins' bat before ricocheting into play. Goins Groundout

"I picked it up and threw it to first," Abad recalled. "[Goins] was on the ground and he looked at me and said, 'What was that, man?' I said, 'It's a changeup.'"

"What was that?" is the most common feedback Abad gets about his slo-mo weapon. It all started in Spring Training of last year when the southpaw was with the Twins. Abad, one of the more gregarious and loose members of any clubhouse he's in, was messing around in warmups one day when he decided to try something different.

"One day I went there and I told my throwing partner, 'Hey, I want to try this and you tell me how good it is,'" Abad recalled. It was good enough to call over Twins pitching coach Neil Allen, who was impressed enough to give Abad the green light.

"He told me, 'That pitch is good, you can mix it in and throw it any time you want,'" said Abad.

The super changeup wasn't perfect to start. Employing it with both the Twins and later the Red Sox after a midseason trade last year, Abad would too often slow down his entire delivery before throwing it; an instant tipoff to opposing hitters. But this season, he's fine-tuned it to where his motion and delivery with the super change is indiscernible from his fastball. With as much as a 35-mph difference between Abad's heater and slowest changeup, this secret weapon can be devastating when he executes it well.

"They're ready for the fastball," said Abad, "and when they see that slow pitch they think, 'Oh, crap. What can I do now?' A lot of times, they'll just laugh."

The eephus has been thrown in many different forms over the years. It can end in triumph for a pitcher, such as Dave LaRoche's famous "La Lob", or in disaster like the time Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez failed to sneak one past Alex Rodriguez. Those who follow the Red Sox every day might be waiting for the big one.

That day may come, but to this point, Abad has triumphed. On the season, opposing batters have gone 0- for-11 with six strikeouts against changeups Abad has thrown 70 mph or slower. It's as unpredictable for them as it is for Abad's own catchers.

"A lot of times, I'll put down the sign for changeup and then he'll just throw it," said Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon. "I don't always know it's coming myself."

Abad has grown so confident with the pitch that he'll often wait for 2-2 and 3-2 counts to use it, especially once batters have gotten too many looks at his fastball. When it's time, Abad opens the index, middle and ring fingers on his left hand and holds the ball out away from his palm. Then he flips it toward home plate, almost like a knuckleball.

"It's hard because I still want to throw it perfectly, I want to locate it in the zone," he said. "Then the hitter sees that if he doesn't swing, they could call a strike. They have to swing."

Swing or take. It's a decision opposing hitters are dreading, knowing they could be embarrassed either way. The Red Sox's pitching staff has a stable of current and former American League Cy Young Award candidates in Rick Porcello, David Price and Chris Sale, but all three of them have asked Abad how he throws baseball's slowest pitch.

"When we play catch, they try to throw it," Abad said with a chuckle, "but then they look at me and say, 'I can't throw that.'"

It's a pitch Abad can call his own, and a pitch that is driving hitters crazy.

Pedro recreates young Pedro for charity

Ian Browne

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The 45-year-old legend took the mound with No. 45 on the back of a flannel Red Sox jersey for a one-night engagement that thrilled everyone in attendance on Thursday at St. Peter's Field.

Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez suited up again and couldn't contain his smile or his laughter as he pitched two shutout innings in the Old Time Baseball Game, which included a plethora of talented local college players.

Fans got closer to Martinez than they ever could during his playing days, as many were sitting on beach blankets in foul territory.

"It felt a lot better than I thought, and I'm extremely happy I did it. I certainly think I exceeded the expectations I had of myself because I got two innings in," Martinez said. "It was supposed to be one. A lot more command than I thought."

Hundreds of spectators added to a unique atmosphere at a field that was five miles from Martinez's former home office of Fenway Park.

Lou Merloni, a former teammate of Martinez's from 1998-2003, played third base in the top of the first.

"It was old school," said Merloni. "It's always fun playing behind him. I don't care how old he is, or how long it's been since he pitched. Seeing him on the mound, he was just laughing, having fun, which was great to see with Pedro."

Red Sox chairman Tom Werner joked that he was scouting Martinez as a potential September call-up.

The Old Time Baseball Game, which was started in 1994 by Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley, supports a different charitable cause each year. The proceeds from Thursday's game went to John Martin, a popular NESN camera man who was diagnosed with ALS last year, and the ALS Therapy Development Institute of Cambridge.

"Pedro, as everybody knows, has not only a big arm but a big heart," said Werner. "This is a great evening, and I'm honored to be here and represent the Red Sox. It's a great evening. We see the lousy hand that John got dealt. This is a way of saying to John, 'we love you.'"

Martin served as a manager of the game, and Martinez went to his house and drove him to the park.

"This is a disease that's starting to show up more and more every year and I wonder, when are we finally going to get an answer for that disease? Guys like John don't deserve this disease," Martinez said. "And it lifted me up to see him, to be honest. As soon as I got out of the car, through the window, I saw that bright smile."

Once the game got going, Martinez settled into a familiar rhythm of retiring batters. He got a flyout to left, a flyout to right and a strikeout looking in the first.

"That was a dead fish," Martinez said of the fastball that generated the strikeout. "One of them we normally give when we know a guy is geared up for a fastball."

In the second, Martinez allowed a bloop single but quickly regrouped, getting a fielder's choice and a double-play grounder.

"Everything comes back," said Martinez. "Once you get to the mound, everything comes back. I don't know if you saw me holding the runner and varying the looks and all that. You just react to the emotion you have and that's what I did pretty much. I was having fun. I know this is a great cause and having the opportunity to be here and be healthy, I felt a lot better than I thought."

It was the first time Martinez has pitched in a game as a Hall of Famer. The last time Martinez could remember pitching was in a game involving retired players at some point in 2014.

"After that, it was just BP to my kids and stuff like that, simulated situations with my kids, nothing else," Martinez said. "I haven't been on the mound, I don't think, since then."

But the surroundings looked as familiar as ever to the pitcher who used to electrify Fenway like Chris Sale is doing this summer.

"I'm actually a little bit shocked because I've never seen something like it," Martinez said of Sale. "I know that you guys said you saw it in me, but I never saw what I was doing, really. I never stopped to look at what was going on. Now that I'm seeing Chris Sale, I can now understand why the Boston fans got so excited every time I went out."

With 241 strikeouts in his first 24 starts, Sale has a legitimate chance to break Martinez's single-season strikeout record for the Red Sox of 313 in 1999.

"It will feel great," Martinez said. "I was always a guy that was searching for greatness for the biggest and toughest challenges. If anyone is going to do it, it's Chris Sale. Chris Sale is suited to do anything against anybody in any era."

But Thursday was a sweet reminder of the era when Martinez took the mound every fifth day.

Red Sox to unveil Tony C. display at Fenway

Matt Kelly

The Red Sox will unveil a display Friday at Fenway Park honoring former outfielder Tony Conigliaro. The display, which will be revealed 50 years after the tragic facial injury that cut short Conigliaro's prodigious career, will feature photos and memorabilia from his playing career in Boston.

Conigliaro enjoyed a charmed rookie season in 1964, in which he batted .290 with 24 home runs and 52 RBIs in only 111 games. That included a towering blast in Conigliaro's first game at Fenway on April 17, 1964. Conigliaro hit 32 round-trippers the following season to become the youngest home run champ in American League history. He holds the Major League record for most home runs hit as a teenager with 24, and remains the youngest player in AL history to hit 100 home runs, reaching the century mark at 22 years and 197 days old.

A promising, possibly historic career was changed forever Aug. 18, 1967, when Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton hit Conigliaro on his left cheekbone. The young slugger's sight was permanently altered, and though he returned in 1969, he was never the same player. Conigliaro passed away from kidney failure in 1990 at the age of 45. A glass display case near Gate C at Fenway Park will be unveiled to the public Friday with Conigliaro's brothers Billy and Richie in attendance alongside Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy. The display will include Conigliaro's helmet, Red Sox jersey and AL Championship ring from the 1967 "Impossible Dream" season.

* ESPNBoston.com

New villains rev up Yankees-Red Sox rivalry

Scott Lauber

BOSTON -- For the second weekend in a row, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will square off in a three-game series. There’s always hype when the rivals get together, but considering they haven't occupied first and second place in the American League East this late in a season since 2011, this latest showdown carries even greater significance.

The Red Sox took two out of three last weekend and bolted the Bronx with a 5½-game edge in the division. The standings haven't changed much in the past four days, so the stakes are once again higher for the Yankees.

Though they can't overtake the Sox in the next three days at Fenway Park, the Yanks -- who just swept the Mets in the Subway Series and now sit four games back of Boston -- certainly can cut into the lead. Sweep, and they will effectively turn the AL East race into a six-week sprint to the finish line. Get swept -- or even drop two out of three again -- and they can probably focus on trying to win a wild-card berth.

But there's also plenty on the line for the front-running Red Sox, who can make life much easier down the stretch by creating more distance from their closest pursuer.

"Both teams are playing good," Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "It's going to be a good series -- in our house, this time. Hopefully that will be to our advantage."

Here, then, is a closer look at why the second of three series in 24 days between the Sox and Yanks is worth our attention.

1. Chris Sale is becoming New York's latest sporting nemesis.

As much as the Red Sox have sought to maximize Sale's rest between starts to keep him fresh for September and beyond, they also jiggered their rotation to make sure he would face the Yankees in each of these series, including Saturday night at Fenway.

Do you blame them? Not only is Sale the leading candidate to win the Cy Young Award, he's also Yankee Kryptonite. In 10 career starts against them, he has a 1.22 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 74 innings. That includes Sunday night's gem, when he allowed one run and struck out 12 batters in seven innings.

Pedro Martinez might have called the Yankees "my daddy," but Sale has been their master, reaching nearly the same level of torment as Reggie Miller against the Knicks, Chipper Jones against the Mets and Tom Brady against the Jets. And to hear Sale tell it, he has New Yorkers' attention.

"People in New York have never been really nice to me, but they hate me now," Sale said this week during a rare between-starts interview for the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund telethon. "I heard some pretty interesting things out in the bullpen last time warming up. I don't go to New York to make friends."

Spoken like a true Big Apple villain.

2. Aaron Judge has had a power outage against the Red Sox.

In his first career at-bat in Fenway Park, way back on April 26, Judge wrapped a homer around Pesky's Pole in right field. Since then, the Yankees' hulking rookie has gone 56 plate appearances without going deep against the Red Sox.

#AllRise? Not so much.

It seems the Red Sox recognized what the rest of the league has caught on to in the second half of the season. Judge is prone to chasing high fastballs, and according to ESPN Stats & Information research, 66 percent of the heaters he has seen from the Red Sox have been elevated.

The result: Last weekend, Judge was 1-for-10 with six strikeouts and three walks against the Sox. In a four- game series last month at Fenway, he was 1-for-18 with six strikeouts and three walks. In 12 games overall, he is 8-for-46 (.174) with 20 strikeouts, 10 walks and just the one home run.

The Yankees need Judge to weigh in this weekend.

3. Both bullpens can use some relief.

On Sunday, impressive Red Sox rookie Rafael Devers turned around a 102.8-mph fastball and launched it into the left-field bullpen for a game-tying homer in the top of the ninth inning.

And that was the least of Aroldis Chapman's problems.

In his past four appearances, the Yankees' closer has allowed four hits, including two home runs. He has walked four batters, hit one and thrown only 56 of 90 pitches for strikes. And his hamstring tightened up as he covered first base on the final out Tuesday night against the Mets. Add it all up, and there's too much uncertainty about Chapman, who is in the first season of a five-year, $86 million contract.

Craig Kimbrel has been lights-out in the ninth inning for Boston. But while the Yankees' setup crew of Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Adam Warren might represent their greatest strength, the Red Sox are still sorting through roles and responsibilities for Matt Barnes, Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, Joe Kelly, Robby Scott and even recently acquired setup man Addison Reed, who wasn't happy when manager John Farrell pulled him from the ninth inning of a tie game Sunday in New York.

It could all make for some late-inning fireworks this weekend.

4. Can the runnin' Red Sox be slowed down by anyone but themselves?

Perhaps you've heard that the Sox have made more outs on the bases -- 66, to be exact -- than any other team in baseball.

Well, they won't apologize for their aggressiveness.

The Red Sox don't hit many home runs, so it seems they have taken a vow to push the envelope at all times on the bases. They're often overzealous, such as Friday night when Eduardo Nunez was thrown out trying to advance to third base on a sacrifice fly to strong-armed Yankees left fielder Aaron Hicks. Other times, their daring ways pay off, such as when Jackie Bradley Jr. scored the winning run all the way from first base on Mookie Betts' double off Fenway's left-field wall Wednesday night.

"It seems like everybody is saying we're too aggressive and guys are getting thrown out, but [there's] the risk-reward," Betts said. "You're going to run into some outs, but you're going to run into something like [Bradley's winning run]. It just shows you that there's a means to an end, and we're just going to be an aggressive baserunning team."

Hey, at least they're committed to their style of play.

5. Sonny Gray is about to matter in the AL East race.

There will be intrigue Saturday night when CC Sabathia returns to the mound after missing two starts with an inflamed right knee. But the bigger start will come Sunday when the Yankees hand the ball to Gray.

Gray has made three starts -- and pitched well in each -- since being acquired from the Oakland A's at the trade deadline. But while it's nice to finish six innings and allow two earned runs against Cleveland, Toronto and even the Mets, it has been a while since he has pitched in a game as meaningful as facing the Red Sox in the thick of a pennant race.

It's also precisely the situation for which the Yankees got Gray.

Gray has faced the Red Sox before, of course. Earlier this season, in fact, he gave up three runs in six innings of an 8-3 A's victory in Oakland. But his last visit to Fenway marked one of the worst starts of his career, a seven-run pounding on May 9, 2016.

With Masahiro Tanaka struggling through a tough season and now on the disabled list with a shoulder problem, Gray represents the closest thing the Yankees have to a veteran ace. In his first big test with his new team, he will need to pitch like it.

* WEEI.com

Pedro Martinez returns to mound in Oldtime Baseball Game

Brooks Sutherland

Thursday night at St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge, Red Sox fans got to witness No. 45 once again take the mound.

Benefitting ALS and the John Martin Fund, Pedro Martinez stole the show, as he brought in a huge crowd and helped raise money for one of today’s most crippling diseases.

Martinez, though smiling throughout the entire night and seemingly enjoying himself, made it clear why he decided to pitch in the game.

“Remember why we’re here,” he told his teammates in a pre-game speech, according to Boston Herald writer Jason Mastrodonato.

Pedro pitched the first two innings and added in at-bat in the bottom of the first, before meeting with reporters.

He spoke about the game, Martin, and the dominance of Chris Sale, whom pundits have continually compared to the Hall of Famer this season.

“You know it looked a lot better than I thought,” Martinez said. “And I’m really happy I did it. I certainly I think exceeded expectations I had on myself because I got two innings in. It went better than I thought. A lot more command than I thought.”

Martinez spent time with Martin and his family before the game. He alluded to Martin’s smile and how his spirit is unmatched for someone battling ALS.

“Certainly he’s the first one smiling,” Martinez said. “You wouldn’t tell that he’s going through the troubles that he’s going through. It’s amazing (his spirit) and it lift me up to be honest. I was searching myself. I didn’t know what I was gonna find. But as soon as I got off the car. Through the window, I saw that big bright smile. I lifted myself up right away.”

Martinez had very good things to say about Sale, who is inching towards his single-season strikeout record.

“I was always a guy that was searching for greatness,” Martinez said. “For the biggest and toughest challenges. And for him, it’s no exception. I think this a guy that if anybody is gonna do it (record) in any era, let me clarify that, in any era. Chris Sale. Chris Sale is suited to do anything against anybody, in any era.”

Martinez saved most of his good stuff in the charity game. Though he did find his breaking ball after his first landed in the dirt. He liked his overall command.

“One change-up to get a double-play,” the Hall-of-Famer said. “Dead fish fastball, no cutters. A couple of breaking balls including one behind one body. But that was the first one of the game. That was just a do- over. But then after that I threw pretty good ones. Pretty good command. I would say out of all of it, it was pretty good command."

* CSNNE.com

Sam Kennedy: Yawkey Way name 'has made folks feel uncomfortable'

Evan Drellich

BOSTON — Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy on Thursday underscored a goal of inclusiveness for his organization after news came out that they want Yawkey Way renamed because of Tom Yawkey’s history of bigotry.

Sox owner John Henry revealed his desire to rename the street in an interview with the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman.

“We’ve been discussing this for over a decade internally, the conversation has come up time and time [again],” Kennedy told CSNNE on Thursday evening. “I think today what John did was send a very loud message about what he’s been saying since we arrived in 2002, which is we want Fenway to be open and inclusive and tolerant to everyone, and so it’s just a conversation we’ve been having for a while.”

As of Thursday evening, Kennedy said he had not spoken with the Yawkey Foundation or the Yawkey family. Kennedy noted that renaming the street is not exclusively a Red Sox decision and nothing has changed at this point. A public hearing is needed first, and all landowners along Yawkey Way would need to be in agreement. Per the Herald, that appears the case.

“I want to be clear it’s not an indictment on the Yawkey Foundation, the great work that goes on there,” Kennedy said. “The Red Sox need to start to engage the community and have an open conversation with our neighbors and other community stakeholders and then of course City Hall, sort of the beginning of the process.

“I’m well aware of the fantastic work that the Yawkey Foundation has done and there’s an undeniable track record of fantastic, good deeds, generosity and there’s great people that work there and have been affiliated and associated with it. This is in no way a reflection of anyone’s feelings toward the Yawkey Foundation.”

The political climate in which the Red Sox decided to take this stance, as some Confederate statues come down across the country, indeed factored into the decision, per Kennedy. But he painted the decision as part of an ongoing conversation, rather than the product of a tipping point.

“The timing I think is probably a result that, as an organization, we’ve elevated the conversation around what we can do ... with respect to making Fenway as inclusive and welcoming as possible,” Kennedy said. “Certainly the Adam Jones [incident] and the follow-up incident the next day … just the overall climate in our country right now, the conversation has been elevated and has been a sustained conversation throughout the course of the year internally, in private and in public with different community groups, community leaders, elected officials, business partners.

“So I’m really proud to work for an organization that has those types of conversations and is open to discussing em and tackling what may be perceived to be sensitive issues. So I don’t know that there is a specific reason for the timing, other than John has been the leader of our organization for 16 years and it’s been a conversation he’s been engaged in, and we’ve all been engaged in, for some time.”

Kennedy said there was no final meeting where a decision was made internally.

If the street is renamed, what about other ties to Yawkey?

“I don’t have a list of everything Yawkey related and no one is suggesting that we wipe out or erase our past or history at all," Kennedy said. "In fact, I think it’s important to understand our history. The real issue here is, it’s symbolic and it’s something that is powerful and we have heard from many people in the community that it is something that has made folks feel uncomfortable about coming to Fenway. That’s been troubling to us. So I don’t think you’re going to see anyone trying to completely erase our history."

And why not take action sooner? Already on Thursday, the discussion on social media and sports talk radio, for some, centered on pandering — and the perception that's what the Red Sox are doing.

“We’ve been here for 16 years,” Kennedy said. “You know I suppose we could have engaged in a more forceful and public way on this issue in the past, but we’ve really been focused on ways to make Fenway as inclusive and accepting as possible. We’ve focused on community outreach, building the Red Sox Foundation. Yeah, I suppose some could say, ‘Why now?’

“There’s not a specific reason for that other than the things we discussed and the sustaining and elevating the conversation around everything under our control and our sphere of influence that would make everyone feel welcome at Fenway.”

There is an MBTA station named for Yawkey near the ball park. It does not appear the Sox are making an active push for it to be renamed at this time.

"If that becomes a topic, if we're asked to weigh in on that, we will as well, we'd be supportive of exploring it," Kennedy said. "If it makes people feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, then that's something that absolutely needs to be looked at."

The Yawkey Foundation gave a statement that it was "disheartened by any effort to embroil the Yawkeys in today's political controversy."