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By Jimmy, 9/30/2009 6:53 am

I was at the game last night, and wanted nothing more to see a champagne-soaked Heidi Watney awkwardly holding a microphone while asking extraordinarily inane questions (“How does this moment feel?”) to a bunch of screaming men wearing goggles.

Sadly, the party didn’t begin until after I left.  However, due to the utter disintegration of our competition in Texas over the past two weeks (thanks, fellas), the Boston Red Sox are heading to the playoffs yet again.  This will be the seventh Wild Card berth for the Sox, by far more than any other team in the history of this current playoff structure.

Hey guys, I love this strategy you have going on!  You know, making absolutely no effort to win these games, focusing 100% on avoiding injuries and conserving energy for the playoffs.  It’s just a brilliant, brilliant strategy.  Right?  RIGHT?!

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By Jimmy, 9/29/2009 7:33 am

2009 American League Best Reliever:
Mariano Rivera, New York
Silver: Joe Nathan, Minnesota
Bronze: Phil Hughes, New York

Rivera produces a cup of fresh guano.

The craziest thing about Rivera is that at age 39 (he turns 40 in two months), he has not yet even begun to regress.  His K rate in 2009 is as high as it’s ever been since 1996, and his 2009 hit rate is the third lowest in his long career.  A few years ago, you could argue that Dennis Eckersley (and guys like Trevor Hoffman and Bruce Sutter to a lesser extent) are up there with Mo in the “best reliever of all time” discussion, but at this point, the discussion is over and done.  “Fruitbat” flutters high above the pack, dumping copious amounts of guano on the competition.

Joe Nathan is no surprise at #2.  An interesting discussion is the argument as to who has been better over the past 4 years, Nathan or Jonathan Papelbon?  Both guys have very similar track records over this recent time span.  If you’re wondering why Papelbon failed to make this list even though he led the AL in relief WPA, it’s due to my feeling of discomfort during more than a few of his appearances.  He still has the low ERA and the gaudy save totals, but “Cinco Ocho” made us sweat through more games than we’ve had to endure in any of his previous seasons.

Hughes is an unorthodox choice as he’s not a closer, but he was a huge reason why the Yankees are where they are today.  There was a lot of panic among the troglodytes when Joba Chamberlain left the bullpen, but Hughes filled in nicely after disappointing everyone who had pegged him as the next Whitey Ford in 2008.

2009 National League Best Reliever:
Trevor Hoffman, Milwaukee
Silver: Jonothan Broxton, Los Angeles
Bronze: Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati

"HELP! HELP! Someone please OPEN THIS THING!"

Hoffman’s story is similar to Rivera’s.  The all time saves leader turns 42 in two weeks, and in 2009 somehow managed to spin one of the best seasons of his long, illustrious career.  I would say that Hoffman’s performance was much more surprising than Rivera’s, as he was coming off of the weakest season of his career in 2008.  Trevor has shown some signs of regression; his K rate has tailed off consistently since his heydays in the mid 90′s.  However, it appears that Trevor will have another crack at reaching the unprecedented 600 save plateau in 2010.

Broxton’s insanely high K rate (13.5 per 9 innings) earns him the second spot, while Francisco “Coco” Cordero quietly piles up the saves totals, now with 250 in his career.

Next, we’ll conclude the awards by evaluating the best rookies in each league.

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By Jimmy, 9/25/2009 1:52 pm

In this Friday installment of our Awards ceremony, we’ll be covering starting pitchers. On to the American League, where the best starting pitcher selection is another award that is devoid of drama and controversy…

2009 American League Best Starting Pitcher:
Zack Greinke, Kansas City
Silver: Felix Hernandez, Seattle
Bronze: Roy Halladay, Toronto

Greinke is a hero to us crazy folk.  Most of us aren’t athletes, most of us aren’t successful.  We pop our lexapro and just try to get through the day without entering crowded elevators.  We gnaw out fingers to the bone, and try our best to avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk.  We treat eye contact and casual conversation like the swine flu.

Zack Greinke is our Jackie Robinson.  Someone we can believe in.  Someone who we root for just a little harder that the other guys, because it means something.  Continue doing what you are doing, Zack.  As long as your pursuits don’t seriously impact the success of the Red Sox, you will have a fan in Boston.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard the rumors that the Red Sox will make a hard push for Felix Hernandez this offseason.  Look, if I was Seattle, I wouldn’t even entertain the thought of giving him up this early.  Check out my post on the top prospects in the Boston organization.  Now put yourself in Seattle’s shoes.  Is there any combination of those names that would make you give up a 23-year-old pitcher who is already one of the best in the game?  Any deal for King Felix will need to involve Buchholz, I think.  Considering that, will it even be worth it?

2009 National League Best Starting Pitcher:
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
Silver: Danny Haren, Arizona
Bronze: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis

It’s a shame that Michael Lewis wasn’t writing Moneyball during the 2006 draft, because Lincecum was exactly the type of guy GM Billy Beane was referring to when describing players who are overlooked on draft day.  Nine teams passed over this long-haired whelp due to concerns over his size and unorthodox delivery.  You know, the type of concerns a straight up windbreaker type of scout would harbor.  They probably thought to themselves, “Well, this kid is throwing fine, but he looks a little too much like that guy from the movie Kids who infects everyone with the AIDS virus.  So I think I’ll pass”.  Yeah, I bet that’s what they were thinking.  This was all despite him striking out 199 hitters in 125.1 innings of work during his final year in college (that’s 14.3 K/9 in a major conference).  The numbers never lie.

Up Next: We select the top rookie in each league.

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By Jimmy, 9/24/2009 11:36 am

Yes, there’s a handful of games left on the schedule.  The reason I wanted to do this now as opposed to waiting until the post-season is: during the post-season, I will be sort of busy…you know…watching the post-season.   As you may have noticed, I’ve stopped counting down the magic number (6, currently), as a playoff berth for the Red Sox is now a forgone conclusion.

I’ll be revealing my choices for the Best Player, Best Starting Pitcher, Best Reliever, and Best Rookie for each league in 2009.  Note that when I say “best player”, I mean best position player.  To be clear, the parameters are different from MLB’s MVP Award in two major ways: 1) pitchers are ineligible (though you could say that pitchers have been tacitly ineligible for the MVP award since at least 2002), and players will be judged independently from their team’s record.  The other awards I have are self-explanatory.

So, let’s get right down to it.

2009 American League Best Player:
Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota
Silver: Kevin Youkilis, 1B/3B, Boston
Bronze: Derek Jeter, SS, New York

Mauer is so far head of the competition here that this pick could have been called months ago.  I’m not going to guarantee an MVP award here, because I can think of a certain media darling who might receive a lifetime achievement award by the Writers Association this year.  That’s great logic, isn’t it?  “Hey, he’s never won an MVP award before!  That just doesn’t seem right!  LET’S GIVE HIM ONE!”

Anyway, back to Mauer: his RC/G of 10.7 is more than two full runs ahead of the next guy (Kevin Youkilis), and he did it while playing the most challenging position on the field.  I’m sorry, but am I wrong in saying that this is a slam dunk?

Youkilis had a very strong year on both the offensive and defensive side.  His defensive versatility coupled with hit hitting prowess earn him the honor of being Mauer’s first runner-up.  Derek Jeter, my passive-aggressive scorn notwithstanding,  does deserve some credit for having a decent year in the field while continuing to be an excellent offensive SS.

2009 National League Best Player:  
Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis
Silver: Hanley Ramirez, SS, Florida
Bronze: Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia

Apparently the UFO has arrived to abduct him and return him to Krypton.

Above, I mentioned that Joe Mauer could have been crowned in July.  Well, this award probably should have been engraved with Albert’s name in March.  In fact, the folks down at Cooperstown might want to take advantage of today’s labor rates and start working on his plaque right now.   Pujols appears to be headed to the same table where Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron sit.  He’s going to be regarded as one of the 5 or 6 best hitters who ever lived.

The question always comes up when a non-Red Sox fan talks baseball with a Sox fan: do you regret the Hanley Ramirez deal?  I would still say no, the sole reason being the ring in 2007.  The trade was a decent one in hindsight, as it appeared Hanley was languishing a bit in the Boston minor league system, but…wow.  I can’t help but cringe when seeing the type of numbers he’s posting in the backwoods of South Florida.

Coming up next: starting pitchers.

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By Jimmy, 9/22/2009 1:10 pm

Now that the minor league season has come to an end, it’s time to take a look at where the top prospects of the Boston Red Sox stand.

The Sox engaged in a handful of mid-season trades this year, and amazingly only managed to part with one upper-echelon prospect: pitcher Nick Hagadone.  Hagadone, while impressive, is a guy who will be 24-years-old in January and has yet to pitch above A ball.  His loss is acceptable considering the addition Victor Martinez brings to the team.  The other key names in the farm system are, for now, still Red Sox property.

1. Josh Reddick (OF, 22)
Reddick rises to the top of the list of the strength of his power potential, something we’ve seen on display at times during his 2009 stint with the big team.  As skinny as he is, he’s able to drive the ball fairly well, and is probably a 25 HR guy in the majors right now.   If the 22-year-old adds some muscle to his 6’2″, 185 pound frame, he could become a legitimate middle-of-the-order power threat.  He’s probably 1 year away from becoming starting RF material.  If the Sox decide to move J.D. Drew before his 2011 contract year, Reddick is a logical replacement.

2. Ryan Kalish (OF, 21)
Probably the closest thing to a “5 tool player” in the upper levels of this farm system.  Kalish does everything well enough (hitting, fielding, running) but nothing really extraordinarily.  His .271/.341/.440 line is extremely impressive for the Eastern League considering his age.  Power hitting and plate discipline are two areas where he could improve.  He has plenty of time to do just that.

3. Lars Anderson (1B, 21)
Easily the biggest disappointment in the farm system this season.  I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and keep him relatively high.  He’s still very young, and has all the physical attributes of a premier hitter (and his track record prior to this year indicate that the scouts aren’t just blowing smoke).  He turns 22 on Friday, and will likely repeat the Eastern League in 2010.

4. Casey Kelly (SS/P, 19)
To a non-scout who hasn’t seen him play the field, it’s easy to glance at the 2009 results and dismiss his potential as a SS/3B in light of his huge successes on the pitcher’s mound.  I did see him throw an inning in the Futures Game, and he looked extremely polished for a guy his age.  Kelly is at or near the top of most lists right now, but I can’t help but assume that his infield pursuits are hindering his development as a pitcher.

5. Luis Exposito (C, 22)
Suddenly, catchers who can hit are all the rage in Beantown.  Expo is not the greatest at throwing out runners (26.7% in 2009), but can you honestly remember the last time the Red Sox had a starting catcher with a good arm?  I think it was Tony Pena, and I’m not exactly pining for a return to those days.  As long as the guy isn’t a complete Mackey Sasser level dolt behind the plate, I’ll take a pure hitter over a banjo-hitting “gritty leader who handles pitchers well and is good in the clubhouse” any day.

6. Ryan Westmoreland (OF, 19)
Probably the fastest rising player in the organization.  His terrific season ended on a sour note when he crashed into an outfield wall a la Michael Madson in The Natural.  I’d love to put the RI native higher on this list, but his stellar performance needs to be taken in context; a lot of also-rans have put up gaudy numbers in Lowell over the years.  Still, Ryan is a 5-tool player, and maybe the one guy on this entire list who has the potential to become a true superstar.

7. Yamaico Navarro (SS, 21)
Another guy who the Sox promoted aggressively to Portland before his 22nd birthday, only to see him struggle.  I’m not going to discount what he did in Salem after returning from injury.  Navarro is still the best SS prospect in the organization.

8. Michael Bowden (SP, 22)
Bowden quietly had an excellent year in AAA Pawtucket.  In his professional career, Bowden has never really had a disappointing season.  He may not light up the radar gun, but he could have a long career as a serviceable starter in the major leagues.

9. Che-Hsuan Lin (OF, 21)
A personal favorite of mine who started the year out very slowly before finishing up strong.  Lin is reportedly amazing in center field, with great speed, range, and a cannon for an arm.  Offensively, he’s very patient at the plate, and makes the opposition pay with the occasional SB.  He’s still young enough to add some pop.

10. Junichi Tazawa (SP, 23)
His fastball seemed a bit too meaty for my tastes.  However, that 12-6 curve he flashed was impressive, and apparently he’s working on a forkball similar to the one employed by teammate Hideki Okajima.  He might eventually become a decent back-end starter.  I’d peg his potential as similar to Bowden’s.  He’s never going to be a guy that you’re afraid to face in a short playoff series.

Next: Our 2009 Awards (League MVP, etc.)

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By Jimmy,

It happened again, a rarity in 2009.  Last night’s debacle was a loss that could be pinned squarely on the shoulders of the bullpen.  Yeah, the same ‘pen I claimed was “among the best ever” in a recent post.  All other parties involved (the starting pitcher, the offense) did their job against Kansas City, except for a handful of relievers who were uncharacteristically awful.

Manny Delcarmen, in particular, has not been very good of late.

Yeah, I know he’s form JP or Hyde Park or wherever. When the playoffs start and the team flies to Anaheim, he might be watching the game from there.

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By Jimmy, 9/17/2009 8:37 am

Nick Green, a guy whose role has been marginalized ever since the Red Sox acquired a vastly superior player from the Reds weeks ago, came up with a huge game-saving walk with the bases loaded in the 9th inning last night.

For what it’s worth, here’s the actual location of Brian Fuentes’ pitches to Green in that at-bat, courtesy of Brooks Baseball (focus on pitch #9 in particular, as that was “ball four”):

Yeah……

Kudos to Fuentes for not having a Serena Williams moment on the mound. Manager Mike Scioscia, a hot-headed Italian, was understandably peeved. However, were I him, I’m be more upset at my left-fielder’s effort on the next play. Juan Rivera basically let the game-winning bloop hit fall 2 feet in front of his toes without so much as a lunge. Just an odd inning all-around, with a few big breaks for the Red Sox.

Whatever, I’ll take it.

Magic Number: 12

Texas was shut down again, this time being held to one hit.  If I weren’t a Sox fan, I would find their swoon very sad and uncomfortable to watch, sort of like the last few episodes of that series “The Beast“.  Instead, I am overcome with joy, as I am when watching Point Break.

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By Jimmy, 9/16/2009 8:58 am

Before last night’s game, if you were to ask me what the most unlikely outcome of Daisuke Matsuzaka’s return would be, I probably would have said “six shutout innings”.  Okay, that’s a lie; I actually would have said “nine shutout innings”, but six is still pretty damn unbelievable.

Stuff wise (and this may be good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it) he wasn’t much different than the disastrous version of Dice-K from earlier in the year.  Look at the PitchFX data from his last start in June that prompted his 3 month vacation, and compare it to last night’s start.  They are uncannily similar, which leads one to believe that the bulk of his early summer struggles were command-related.

Last night was all about pitch placement, something Daisuke had mastered during his 18 win campaign in 2008.  He managed to induce 5 swinging strikes on his fastball.  On a heater that averages under 92 MPH, that wasn’t happening due to brute force.  It was all guile and deception, and we can only hope that Matsuzaka has remastered those skills.

Magic Number: 14

• Hats off to the Oakland A’s bullpen, who held Texas to only 1 hit over 5 innings of shut-out relief last night, an effort spearheaded by former Sox prospect Craig Breslow.
• Jorge Posada apparently had something to prove last night.  Well, he did manage to prove something: his brain is roughly the size of a walnut.  It takes a certain brand of stupid to ignite a brawl during the 8th inning of a 6-run game, when the primary goal of your team is remaining healthy and intact for the playoffs in three weeks.

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By Jimmy, 9/15/2009 11:05 am

The Sox were idle last night, but were helped by the Oakland A’s who managed to shut-out Texas by a score of 9-0.  Who was the dynamic arm behind this 5-hit shutout, you might ask?  None other than Brett Tomko, who is quietly pitching very effectively after being jettisoned from the Yankees earlier in the year.  The last time Tomko had an ERA under 4, Notorious B.I.G was still alive.

So, the magic number is now the same number I keep scrawled on a card in my wallet, as a reminder of the age of consent in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  It’s tough keeping on top of all these antiquated “laws”, you know?

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By Jimmy, 9/14/2009 10:29 am

In what will be one of the biggest games of his young MLB career, Daisuke Matsuzaka returns to the mound tomorrow night as the Red Sox take on the AL West leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

He’ll be effectively auditioning for the a spot on the post-season roster, either as a back-end starter or mop-up reliever. Unfortunately, the audition comes against a tough team, in a game that the Red Sox would like very much to win.

His recent minor league rehab appearances yielded mixed results:

Well, he seems to do just fine against the 18-22 age bracket. Other than that, there just isn’t a whole lot to be optimistic about.   The “glass half full” response would be that minor league rehab stats aren’t very predictive of future performance.   But, one would think that Matsuzaka might have been actually trying to get those AA and AAA hitters out, rather than just tinkering with his arsenal.

Huge game tomorrow night, on several levels.

My prediction: 4.2 innings, 3 runs, 3 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, no decision.

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By Jimmy,

You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not really big on superstition.

With a 4 game lead in the American League Wild Card standings and 20 games left to play, the race between Boston and Texas is still pretty much wide open.  However, given the make-up of both teams, is there any doubt which one is better on paper?  Is there any doubt as to which team has the stronger pitching staff or the deeper roster?

We’d have to say, at this point, that the Red Sox are the overwhelming favorite to win the Wild Card, and it would take a significant collapse to allow Texas to surpass them.

It’s hard to say which team has the tougher schedule. Only one team on these lists still has something to play for; the Angels have a large but not insurmountable lead over Texas for the West division championship, and will still be very much trying to win. Unfortunately, the Sox get to face them first, starting tomorrow.

Texas still has Tampa Bay, but of course, that team is now viewed much differently than they were a few weeks ago. The Rays are in the midst of a Kanye West style meltdown, and while it’s extremely fun to watch (Matt Garza’s reaction to the Dustin Pedroia home run yesterday afternoon was absolutely goddamn priceless), it’s a shame that they won’t be competitive when facing the Rangers.

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By Jimmy, 9/10/2009 3:15 pm

Obviously, the 2009 Red Sox have an excellent bullpen.  You could make an argument that Jonathan Papelbon, he of the career 253 ERA+,  is the third-best reliever on the team right now.   That’s pretty freaking impressive.

So, where does this bullpen rank among teams in the modern era?  First, let’s define “modern era”, relative to bullpen usage.  I chose the period in between 1977 and today, and I’ll admit right now that I pulled this year out of my ass, generally speaking.  It was right around the late 70′s/early 80′s where you started to see a general decrease in innings pitched by starters, and the emergence of guys like Bruce Sutter and Jeff Reardon.

Let’s take a look at some of the more memorable bullpens in history, in chronological order.

___

1977 Phillies

Tug McGraw, for those of you who don’t know, is the father of some country music star, and quite possibly Hannah Montana’s grandaddy or some shit.  Anyway, he was primarily known for throwing a screwball, a pitch teetering on extinction due to the emergence of the more efficient and easier to throw split-fingered fastball.

Note that those K rates, while low by modern standards, were actually quite good back in 1977.

___

1979 Pirates

Man, do I miss those old painter-style Pirates caps.  Uniforms today look like the collective diarrhea of a politically-correct focus group, charged with the impossible task of pleasing everyone and offending no one.  In a society where everything is child-proof and MLB team officials can’t sneeze in public without the approval of an army of lawyers, union reps, and PR staff, we’ll never again see anything as bold as the uniforms of the late 70′s/early 80′s.

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1985 Toronto Blue Jays

Tom “The Terminator” Henke isn’t a name that’s thrown around too often these days, but at one time he was the best reliever in the game.  Here he is in his first full-season, the third or fourth option in perhaps the deepest bullpen of the Reagan Era.

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1990 Athletics

I wonder how many young Red Sox fans don’t realize that the nutty long-haired guy in the booth during road games had such an insanely good year as a reliever in 1990.  Eckersley only walked 4 guys in his 70+ innings of work, perhaps the most impressive yet overlooked stat from his historic season.

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1990 Reds

I felt obligated to add “The Nasty Boys” since they actually beat Oakland in the World Series and are probably regarded by the casual fan to be one of the best bullpens in recent history.  However, as you can see after a cursory glance at the above two squads, the Nasties weren’t even the best bullpen in 1990.

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1994 Expos

Oh, what could have been.  Had the 1994 season been played out and the Montreal Expos made noise in the playoffs, we would have seen the 60,000+ seats in Olympic Stadium packed to the gills on national television.  Perhaps then, we would still have baseball in Quebec.  I was in Montreal a few weeks ago (on a “fact finding” trip…cough, cough), and the sight of Olympic Stadium in its current dormant state gives me the chills.  Call me un-patriotic, but the “Nationals” belong up north.

___

1995 Indians

Not many players have gone from “horrible” to “terrific” in as short of a span as the closer of this Indians team, the hot-tempered Jose Mesa.  If you look at his career numbers, he was remarkably inconsistent; great one year and shitty the next.  1995 was by far his best season.

Speaking of hot-tempered pitchers, note the 22-year old who threw 85 innings in his first full year for the Tribe in 1995.

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1996 Yankees

This bullpen wasn’t very deep, but they deserve a mention here, considering the best reliever of all time was essentially a middle-reliever backing up John Wetteland, who was pretty good in his own right.  The bullpen was the main reason for the championship in 1996; both the rotation and offense were rather pedestrian that year.

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1997 Orioles

This Orioles bullpen is a classic example of the bridging of generations.  Armando Benitez, currently in the minor leagues, pitched with Jesse Orosco.  Jesse Orosco was a teammate of Jose Cardinal, who was a teammate of Billy Pierce, who was a teammate of Doc Cramer, who was a teammate of Eddie Collins, who was a teammate of Monte Cross, who was a teammate of Harry Stovey.  And Harry Stovey began his professional career by playing for the Worcester Ruby Legs in 1880.

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2001 Mariners

This team is known for winning 116 games, yet losing the ALCS in 5 games to the Yankees (who, at the time, was anointed the “team of destiny”…for a week or two, anyway).

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2002 Braves

You might not recognize a few of the names above (aside from the closer, who I’m sure you’re familiar with a this point).  This is an interesting bunch of guys, several of whom happened to have a career year in 2002, resulting in one of the best bullpens in baseball history as measured by ERA+.

___

2003 Dodgers

If you happen to be residing in any of those old-fashioned Boston brownstone buildings, try something for me.  Try going to the bathroom, staring at the mirror, and uttering the word “Gagne” three times.  After you begin to bleed out of your eye sockets and the skin on your face begins to melt like queso dip, make note of how ironic it is that Gagne was the best pitcher in the game for a three year span.

___

2003 Angels

2003 was the Year of the Bullpen in Los Angeles, as both teams from the sprawling metropolis boasted a terrific relief corps.  This was the year before the torch was passed from Percival to K-Rod in Anaheim.

___

2007 Red Sox

It’s tough to argue that a squad boasting names such as Kyle Snyder and Javier Lopez will hold a candle to a bunch of the other teams on this list.  The 2007 Sox get a mention due to the final result (championship) and due to Papelbon’s level of dominance that hasn’t really been present in the current team.  Which brings us to…

___

2009 Red Sox (still in progress)

Without even mentioning Billy Wagner or Justin Masterson, it’s clear that this team will at least be in the discussion for best bullpen in modern history.  This is a group that exhibits an impressive blend of power and finesse, experience and youth.  It remains to be seen if the Sox will make the post-season, but if they do, it will be thanks in part to some historically great relief performances.

From this group, I’ll rank the Top 5 once the 2009 season is done.

Coming up: an end-of-year prospect ranking.

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By Jimmy, 9/9/2009 8:51 am

Of course, we need to temper our enthusiasm after last night’s game considering the quality of the opponent, but Clay Buchholz looked quite good, didn’t he?

The wiry Texan is featuring five pitches:

• Four seam fastball
• Two seam fastball
• Curveball
• Slider
• Change-up

The most impressive of these last night was the two-seamer, which was touching the mid 90′s with sharp movement and completely baffling the hapless Orioles hitters.

Two weeks ago, it appeared that Buchholz was going to win this position by default.  Now, it appears that he will earn it on merit.

If by chance the Red Sox make the playoffs, Clay will be your guy in Game 3.

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By Jimmy,

Thank Jeebus for the 2009 Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles that have lost 12 out of 14 games to the Red Sox, with four games yet to be played in this all-important September stretch.  The Orioles that have scored only 54 runs against Boston pitching (3.86 per game) while allowing 100 (7.14 per game).

Thank you, Matt Wieters.  As we speak, MLB officials in Manhattan are sheepishly chiseling away on the American League Rookie of the Year trophy, removing the name they had proactively engraved in March.

Thank you, Nick Markakis.  No longer baseball’s best kept secret, however, after all the smoke and bluster begins to dissipate on the 2009 season, the hard data will tell us that you were outplayed by J.D. Drew.

Thank you, Jeremy Guthrie.  A flyball pitcher who doesn’t strike guys out will eventually feel the wrathful vengeance of the BABIP gods.  Consider yourself fortunate that it took them two long years to awaken from their slumber.

If you removed both team’s games against Baltimore, the Red Sox and the Rays would have the exact same record.  Let us turn towards Fenway South and give thanks.  The good teams take care of the cupcakes.  At the very least, the 2009 Boston Red Sox fit that criteria.

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By Jimmy, 9/8/2009 9:05 am

The Red Sox continue to miss opportunities to gain some ground on their Wild Card competition in Texas, as they had a very “meh” holiday weekend against a very “meh” team.

I don’t want to hear about Josh Beckett, he was fine last night, just like he was fine in his previous start.  The story of this game was the apparent renaissance of Mark “Mr. Perfect” Buehrle, who notched his first win since he earned the aforementioned nickname over a month ago.

For what it’s worth:

A couple of things to note:

• The Yankees will likely be in preservation mode when the Sox come into town on 9/25/09.  I’m not saying they’ll lie down (I’m sure they’d love to play the spoiler), but we’ll probably see some of their regulars resting by that point.
• The Seattle Mariners currently have the same record as the Tampa Bay Rays, both being 7.5 back in the Wild Card race.  So, both teams still have something to play for, at this point.  That could change within a few days.

Coming up: I’ll be trying to rank the Top 5 Bullpens of the Modern Era.  Not sure if the 2009 Red Sox will make the list, but curiosity is the main force driving me to write that piece.  Right now, I’m trying to define “modern era”.  For bullpen usage, it’s probably a relatively recent time span, maybe the past 25 years or so.

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By Jimmy, 9/3/2009 1:14 pm

The evidence has been mounting for the last several years.  The case is now incontrovertible.

The American League won 137 games against the National League this year (as opposed to 114 losses).

• Brad Penny, the personification of below average pitching manifested in the body of a Florida manatee, goes to the NL and promptly does something he hasn’t done in over three years: he throws eight shutout innings.
• John Smoltz, the biggest buzzkill this town has seen since Ted Kennedy drove a chick off a bridge in 1969, goes to the NL armed with nothing but a goatee and a prayer, and suddenly remembers “Oh yeah, that’s right, I actually don’t suck!”  He spins two consecutive gems, with more likely on the way.
• Julio Lugo, displaying the fielding prowess of a platypus and the hitting ability of a Tiffany lamp, is chased out of Boston and into the warm, comfy environs of St. Louis (“Baseball’s Best Fans!”), where he is now outhitting Dustin Pedroia, and of course, has only committed 1 error in nearly 200 innings of play! One error!

Yes.  If you had any doubts that the National League is vastly inferior to the American League, I hope to have remedied them here.

There is actually a very good chance that all three of the above players see significant time in the post-season, possibly even the World Series.  How utterly, insanely ironic is that?!  Imagine if the Red Sox fail to make it to the ALCS or World Series.  Can you honestly see yourself watching Julio Lugo on television, playing against (most likely) the Yankees?  I can think of several hobbies which I would rather take up, such as the lost art of drilling holes into one’s head to release bad spirits, or reading Harry Potter novels.

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By Jimmy, 9/2/2009 6:56 pm

In case you are wondering what this in reference to (I have received questions), read this.

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By Jimmy,

Unlimited Zone Rating, otherwise known to the baseball cognoscenti as UZR, is my favorite defensive statistic.  It’s the stat I will usually reference on this website when attempting to ascertain a baseball player’s fielding prowess.  If you were to randomly pick players from this past decade who are universally regarded as “good fielders” or “poor fielders”, UZR will typically confirm those opinions.  (You can go ahead and try this on Fangraphs.com).

Now, why is it that Jacoby Ellsbury, a guy who appears to be at least slightly above average, is second to last in UZR/150 among AL center fielders (-14), ranking ahead of only Vernon Wells’ bloated poutine-filled carcass.  Did Jacoby run over UZR’s dog?  Does UZR’s wife parade around the house in an Ellsbury t-shirt like every other New England female under the age of 35?

If you happened to see last night’s game, you witnessed Ellsbury single-handedly save multiple runs from scoring with two excellent catches in center field.  While the catches were outstanding, they certainly were not unbelievable, since Ellsbury has been prone to make plays like this in the past.  Does anyone, anyone, who has watched the majority of 2009 Red Sox games opine that Ellsbury has been even below average in the field this year (never mind one of the worst defensive CFs in the game)?

The only flaws I can think of are his throwing arm (poor, but certainly not atypical for a center fielder), and his shaky play on the wall/warning track (which is improving).  In my perhaps biased opinion, neither of these flaws are glaring enough to warrant a net negative defensive rating, and certainly not one as extreme as -14 runs per 150 games.

I realize I probably sound like an insufferable fanboy here (“Jacoby’s sick, dude! The stats must be wrong!”).  Am I just suffering from rose-tinted tunnel vision, or are we seeing a crack in UZR’s armor?

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By Jimmy, 9/1/2009 9:36 am

Alex Katz writes a tremendous piece on the right fielder of the Boston Red Sox, one of the most polarizing players in baseball.

Once people actually get to know him, their generalizations and past prejudices vanish instantly. They see that the emotionless demeanor is all part of his makeup, just as the money disputes and injuries are all part of the game.

I recommend everyone check this out, especially the haters.  Maybe it won’t completely sway your opinion (especially if you are the type of fan who gets hung up on salary amounts), but at the very least, it might cause you to think about J.D. Drew differently.

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By Jimmy,

The Sox have only summoned two players thus far via the expanded 9/1 roster rule:

Joey Gathright – An outfielder who is known for two things around these parts: 1) he’s fast, and 2) he was punched in the face by Julian Tavarez in spring training a couple of years ago.  Gathright should be used mostly as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.  He has a modest amount of plate discipline and contact ability, but absolutely no power (1 career HR in 6 MLB seasons).

Brian Anderson – We’ve seen him already.  He doesn’t have many strong qualities as a MLB player.  Gathright is actually the better offensive option.  It would be nice if Anderson were not used in any close games while the playoffs are still mathematically up for grabs.

That’s it for now.  The Paw Sox still have 7 games to play.  Once their season ends, you might see the promotion of a few 40-man roster guys from this group:

Jeff Bailey (1B/OF)
Aaron Bates (1B)
Michael Bowden (P)
Dusty Brown (C)
Chris Carter (OF/1B)
Marcus McBeth (P)
Josh Reddick (OF)