Comments Off

By Jimmy, 5/7/2007 6:36 am

Boston 4
Minnesota 3

In the Sunday rubber match between Minnesota and Boston, Curt Schilling was masterful for six innings, pinpointing his fastball against the Twins like a surgeon operating on twins of the Siamese variety.  However, he began to fall apart fairly quickly in the seventh inning, but was preserved by the formidable bullpen tandem of Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon.

Of course, playing baseball in the Metrodome is sort of like playing basketball in a hockey rink.  The Jason Tyners and Nick Puntos of the world thrive by slapping the ball to the left side of the concrete-like field, and the Dave Kingmans and Matt LeCroys of the world hit the ball through the roof.

Usually, the Sox are not prone to taking advantage of the wonderful world of artificial turf, and instead fall victim to its cute little quirks.  So, any weekend where the team takes 2 out of 3 in Minnesota is a good one in my book. 

The one item from Sunday’s game which left me a tad uneasy is the usage of Hideki Okajima.  The oft-utilized lefty tossed another inning and a third, and looked hittable (2 hits, no earned runs, but he did allow an inherited runner).  He was using his fastball much more than he usually does, and that is not a good thing; his fastball is straight and slow.  Could it be that his out pitch, the split-change, is taxing on the arm?  I’ll leave this type of analysis to the mechanics experts, but it is something to think about.

Another noteworthy item from last night is the continued emergence of our rookie second-baseman.

Dustin Pedroia, last six games: .389/.476/.611

Of course, our other second baseman also slapped a couple of hits yesterday, we now have this:

Alex Cora, season (39 PA): .405/.463/.757

Obviously, both sets of numbers are unsustainable, but right now, both are on fire.  How should Francona handle this?  Personally, I hope he sticks with Pedroia, and uses Cora to spell Lugo and even Lowell more often.  (Lowell seems like he could benefit from a nice relaxing day off every now and then).

A welcome sight in the bullpen department was an apparently healthy Jonathan Papelbon, throwing his 96 MPH heater and 90 MPH splitter in a perfect inning of work, preserving the 1 run victory.  Most importantly, he did it all on 14 pitches.

Here are some nice, round numbers to wrap your minds around: the Red Sox are 1st in the Americal League with 3.50 runs allowed per game, and they are 4th in the league with 5.00 runs scored per game.

After Monday’s off day, the Sox head to another dome, this one in the land of maple syrup and shitty indie rock.  Josh Beckett (6-0, 2.72) will be looking for win #7 against Victor ”Bad Trade Bait” Zambrano (0-1, 5.06) who will be making his first start of the season.

I’ll have more on Clemens and other stuff tomorrow.

Comments (6)

By Jimmy, 5/6/2007 3:53 pm

Cost of flying actual rocket Russian Soyuz into outer space: $20 million US dollars.

Cost of acquiring 45-year-old pitcher Roger “Rocket” Clemens in a fever of frantic desperation: $28 million US dollars.

Comments (2)

By Jimmy, 5/4/2007 8:55 am

The Red Sox got the brooms out last night and sent the Mariners packing. The 8-7 victory (I believe this series was played on aggregate score, from what I gather) was highlighted with the lack of Papelbon, the 2007 Manny Coming Out Party, and Daisuke Matsuzaka losing his control and, by extension, face.

In the post game, Terry Francona touched on all of these facets, with a good amount of candor, which was nice seeing as though these three things are extremely important to the long-term viability of this team.

The first is Manny’s slump, which seems to have been emphatically ended last night. The funny thing about it was that just how poorly Ramirez looked earlier in the game. He was completely fooled by Horacio Ramirez on a strike out, ending the first. He also ended the second with a double play on the first pitch…with five runs in and runners on the corners.

Manny got the better of his fellow Ramirez with one of those homers that looked like there was no effort in the swing, just a letter high fastball that was crushed to parts unknown. Just to keep us on edge, Julio Mateo made him look like a kid with a three pitch strike out. On a 3-2, his next at bat, he very rudely informed Chris Reitsma not to pitch him middle-in.

With Manny’s bat hopefully awakening for this season, there were two stark-negatives. In his brief Red Sox tenure, Daisuke Matsuzaka has shown a frustrating tendency to completely lose it in just one inning. In that inning, he’s just bunching his walks and hits leading to the proverbial crooked number on the board for the opposition. In his last 11 innings, he’s given up nine walks, 10 hits, and 11 runs.

Normally, I hate the ‘take out’ game, where you take out the bad and really see how good a player is, but I think with Daisuke, it’s completely interesting. If you remove the fourth inning from the second Yankees start, and the first from the second Mariners start…you have this line:
9 ip 5 hits 2 runs 3 walks.

Even if you play it back, against Toronto, he was hurt by walking three, and giving up two hits in the game-determining two run fourth. He wasn’t going to win against Seattle the first time anyway, but the game was put out of reach with a two run fifth. The only game where he really scattered runs was the first time against the Yankees. The only game where he was in complete control was against the Royals.

It’s way, way too early to deem the signing a failure, or to really even express a moment’s regret…the Red Sox are 4-2 when Daisuke is on the mound, and the Sox have scored two runs in those two games (including Felix Hernandez’s one-hitter). John Farrell will earn his money trying to figure out what is going on though.

Finally…Papelbon watched the sixth-best pitcher in the bullpen last night get a save, in a one run game. No we don’t know if Papelbon is hurt, I would bet no just based on his “I’m pissed off” glare when Romero went into the game.

My take: Tie game, Francona didn’t want to use Papelbon in that situation unless he had to, because he was cuffed up a few days ago, and ridden kind of hard so far. He has Piniero and Romero warming for the top of the ninth…neither has gotten a whole lot of work lately, and even though it’s not ideal, they need to pitch. Manny homers and Youkilis is retired on two pitches, creating a save situation and no time to sit both guys and then warm up Papelbon. Francona plays matchups, with Donnelly facing Vidro, Romero facing Ibanez, and then sticking with him for Sexson (good career numbers in an itty-bitty sample size) or going with Piniero (for R/R).

Romero got the double play, and Sexson grounding out to end the game. Papelbon lives to pitch another day.

Interesting Weekend Series against the Twins:
Wakefield vs. Carlos Silva @ 8:10 ET
Tavarez vs. Johan Santana @ 7:10 ET
Schilling vs. Sidney Ponson @ 2:10 ET

Comments Off

By Zach, 5/3/2007 6:51 am

Your work is done, Marty Miller. The infiltration of the Yankees weight room has been discovered, but not before you ravaged one of the largest and strongest muscles in the human body on five starters. Relax with a frosty cold beer and admire your handiwork. The way things are going for the Yankees, I’m confident tornadoes will be spotted picking up cars on the Triboro Bridge and hurling them toward the Bronx before their next homestand.

The fastball was fast, the curve was curving and the change-up was…good. Beckett retired the first 12 in a row, but fell victim to the slidestep in the fifth; he gave up hits to Piazza and Dan Johnson to bring the tying runs in scoring position. Bobby Crosby and Danny Putnam struck out on big sweeping curves, but a two-out two-run single to Jason Kendall knotted the score. Beckett’s day ended with a laborious two walk seventh inning, but it was another invaluable performance by Cy Beckett.

Gaudin displayed some nasty off-speed pitches, but was victim of the patience of the Red Sox. He found himself down in the count routinely and a terrible error by Langerhans in center led to a run in the third. A line drive glanced off his glove, my first thought was “inside the park?!” but Coco coasted into second, Ramirez-style. It was a big night for Covelli Loyce, he added a double in the sixth to set up the tying and go ahead runs, and added a clutch diving catch in the ninth. Unfortunately, the much anticipated Coco-Kiko matchup passed without a single wisecrack from the booth, I was crushed.

A few idiots were booing J.D. Drew, who struggled in his first game in three days. He left a few on base (6) but the guy was dizzy with flu symptoms; I’m happy he’s in the lineup at all. Another night of Eric Hinske and the Dewey’s House servers might’ve ‘sploded. Like clockwork, Drew ended up on third with a huge RBI in the eighth. Quiet down, drunkards.

Again, Shannon Stewart looked like a bachelor holding a newborn in left. He couldn’t have been more uncomfortable. It seemed like every ball hit to him ended up bouncing off his body and grabbing some turf.

I don’t like this platoon at second base. If the team has lost faith in Dustin Pedroia, he needs to be in Pawtucket playing every day. Clearly, he’s been bad, but Alex Cora’s .311 career OBP is the lower limit on Pedroia’s over the course of the season. Maybe it’s temporary, but this move puts more pressure on the kid. Ride the Cora hot streak, but I want DP back as soon as the true colors show.

Mike Timlin surrendered a run in the ninth, but picked up the save. Phew. I need a blowout win for my sanity.

Tonight:
LHP Horacio Ramirez (2-1, 4.41, 1.96) at Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-2, 4.36, 1.21)

Ramirez has been good at escaping jams, he’s surrendered a single run in two of his three starts while giving up 14 hits and 5 walks. Those two solid performances were sandwiched around a 6 BB, 7 H, 6 ER drubbing, so if history holds don’t expect many zeroes on Thursday. Lowell (15 ABs, 1.071 OPS) and Wily Mo (7 ABs, 1 HR, 3 BB, 1 SO) have the most experience against him. This is a one game make up for an earlier rain out.

Comments (1)

By Jimmy, 5/2/2007 1:47 pm

There is literally nothing to be learned from his start on Thursday. Sorry, there just isn’t, other than a Yankees starting rotation desperate for arms to go deep in the game are likely not to find an answer from The Boy King. Monday told a different story all together, even though the Rangers are what can only be accurately described as a ‘crappy major league team’.

The start against the Blue Jays was a cautionary tale of having a young base baller on the mound for you. It really was a generic appearance…he had good command of his fastball, but poor control. Spotty command of his breaking pitches, and no real off speed pitch that could fool major league hitters. One at bat, you saw a flash of absolute greatness, the next at bat was a battle of Major Leaguer versus Not-Yet-Ready.

Take a look at the debut games of guys like Felix Hernandez, or Andrew Miller…recent young right handers who were pushed into service.

But something happened between Thursday and Monday…Philip Hughes put it all together (as youngsters do sometimes…especially pre-drinking age) against the Rangers. They absolutely couldn’t touch him.

Handed a six run lead before the game even entered the second third, Hughes strung together those ‘flashes’ I mentioned earlier, and was using his curve and fastball to eliminate any chance the Rangers had to get back in the game. By the time he was pulled in the 7th, he had thrown 83 pitches, 53 for strikes. He struck out Kenny Lofton, Mark Teixeira, Victor Diaz, Brad Wilkerson twice, and Gerald Laird. Only three outs were recorded in the air. This game was pitched by developing pitcher with a unobtainable ceiling…not a guy with a lot of hype and 4 MLB innings under his belt.

That is the story that should have been written. Instead, I get to bore you with some reality, because I’m sure as you know, Phil Hughes left the game with a hamstring injury.

This is very, very dangerous for a very specific reason…the legs are the most important part of the body in baseball. In pitching, if you have to change your leg mechanics at all, it might shift the strain on your upper body. The most famous example is that Dizzy Dean broke his foot, and came back before he was completely healed. He had to change his landing spot on the mound, to alleviate the pain on his foot. In doing so, his mechanics were out of wack, his arm died, and so did his career.

This is where the Yankees have to be very careful. The official word is that he’s on the shelf for four-to-six weeks…but in order for his arm not to atrophy, he’ll likely start pitching when he can put weight on his hamstring. If the leg isn’t completely healed, this 20-year-old…already in the throes of a deadly part of his career, injury-wise…faces a dire injury situation. Stress that used to be on the shoulder and oblique muscle could be transfered to the elbow.

The Yankees can’t shut him down obviously, so they are in a precarious position. The margin for error is fairly tight with any young pitcher, and considering Hughes is the hurling future of the Yankees, being overly cautious might be the best track.

Comments (1)

By Zach, 5/1/2007 11:16 pm

New Schilling tried to rear his cont(r)act-inducing head, but the A’s would have none of it. 3-8 was nipping corners and hitting 88 like he was 36 again, but the Piazzas and Langerhans’ refused. It was a parade of K’s until Dan Johnson connected on a first pitch get-me-over fastball for a bomb in the fourth. Its hard to fault New Schill, he’s pitching to contact, remember?

J.D. Drew got the night off with flu-like symptoms, and our boy Eric “Chuggles” Hinkse got the nod in right. Why not Wily Mo Pena? I’m glad you asked. Chuggles had 12 at bats against Joe Blanton, while Wily Mo has yet to face him. You’re probably saying “what about the defense??” Well, there were two routine balls in play to right, both handled ably by Hinske. Chuggles added a clutch double, so I fear I may be in the minority, but I want more Wily Mo.

Nick Swisher hasn’t played since he strained his hammy April 24th, but is still listed as day-to-day. Root for that thigh to tighten up again before tonight’s game; it’s a different lineup without him.

The results of the bottom of the first were just how they drew it up. The methods were more…small market? Three runs on a sac fly, two infield hits, 2 stolen bases, a bloop single and fielder’s choice; these are your $143 million Red Sox. MVPYoukilis demonstrated his versatility again: he manned the five-hole with aplomb, swiped a base and picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

The second was a typical New Schilling inning. He embarrassed Piazza and Dan Johnson, then induced some contact on Bobby Crosby, who induced a single off the wall. Travis Buck began his string of dominance with a single to center. Kendall worked the count full as NewSchill was having some trouble from the New Stretch, but got him the Old Way on the outside corner. Random Capitalization, its a tool I just invented.

Yet another mlb.tv bonus: snippets of the in booth conversation between innings. I can see this being very popular, as long as the broadcasters don’t find out. No f-bombs yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

Blanton had control issues all night. His 12-6 curve is disgusting, but rarely a strike. His changeup must look huge to lefties; he leaves it in the middle of the plate with regularity. There were several to Ortiz that looked crushable. The Jolly One argued vociferously with Charlie Relaford on two pitches in the bottom of the third, but it was Papi that was blushing after the replays confirmed their relative fatness. It was a tough night for Relaford; he was the brunt of Eric Chavez’s anger in the top of the fifth, then had to toss Bob Geren between innings. If you’re ever managing a professional baseball team, make sure you get tossed when all the cameras are on and the fans are watching the game, it’s far more dramatic.

If baseball were more like the stock market, Theo would be crazy not to sell high on Lowell. We’re looking at a arbitrage situation here. He’s going well when he fouls off that outside pitch he can just reach. In his first two at-bats he stayed alive after barely getting a piece. We’ll see how many of those he misses in August, but right now Lowell is swinging a hot stick. Holy sh*t he had a steal last night! Get BillBavasi on the horn!

Kudos to the NESN truck for the top of the fifth. Their slow-motion zoom on the ball boy’s reaction after the interference ground rule double was hilarious. That is the look of a kid who just lost his (our) dream job; and yes, he was gone by the next inning. Sometimes, it’s okay to cry.

It was all going beautifully until the ninth. Coco belly-flopped into a diving catch in the seventh; what it lacked in grace it made up for in punctuality because New Schill was beginning to labor at 100 pitches. Moreso, Wily Mo Pena can’t even sniff that ball in the air; it probably skips by him for a triple. Okajima continued his case for set-up ace with a 1-2-3 eighth, but as it turns out, He is not invincible. That’s right, the Papelboner failed to perform. Travis effing Buck and his hippy haircut took the southern buzz-cut stylings of Sir Paps out on a flat fastball, launching a two run blast to the right field corner. I bet it was all that hummus. Paps lacked a little life, he looked like he was coming from the side a little more than usual. Instead of the rising action, the fastball was moving laterally. It got quite tense for a few minutes, a long at bat for Shannon Stewart and a two-on, two-out situation got this keyboard a little sweaty.

Entering the 10th, Tito thrust the ball into the hand of Brendan Donnelly. Hey, at least it wasn’t Mike Timlin. This is why Donnelly is on the team, and I can’t fault Francona here. Donnelly proceeded to give up back to back doubles as fast as he could. I had yet to return from crafting my customary extra inning snack and the lead had been relinquished. Audible sigh.

Tonight:

7:05 EDT
Chad Gaudin (1-1, 2.54, 1.09) at Josh Beckett (5-0, 2.48, 1.04)
You know how good Beckett has been, but Gaudin has been one of the biggest surprises of the American League. The converted reliever has struck out 24 in 28.1 IP.

8:05 EDT
Andy Pettitte (1-1, 3.00, 1.47) at Robinson Tejeda (3-1, 3.82, 1.24)
Tejeda has been the Rangers best starter so far, which, to no fault of his, isn’t saying much. Pettitte will try to follow up a very strong performance from Phil Hughes; who may have saved Joe Torre’s job.