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By Jimmy, 8/23/2010 9:19 am

8/22/10: Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0

Our spirits are up after yet another Red Sox win due to a stellar effort from Clay Buchholz, whose ERA+ now sits at 194.  For some perspective on that, only two other AL pitchers have finished with a higher single-season ERA+ in the 21st century.  One of them, Zack Greinke, did it last season.  The other did it several times, and you can probably guess who that is.

Notes & Takeaways:

A sobering thought: Baseball Prospectus has the probability of the Red Sox making the postseason at 18.5%.  However, I don’t think this analysis includes the assumption that Dustin Pedroia may not return to the field this season.  Given this, I’d discount that number a bit, maybe to around 10-15%.  Now, try something for me.  Reach into your pocket and dig out a coin.  Try to flip “heads” three times in a row (you only get one chance, do not flip more than three times).  It probably didn’t happen, right?  Not to piss in your corn flakes, but the odds of you successfully pulling that off are roughly the same as the odds of the Red Sox playing baseball in mid October.

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By Jimmy, 8/18/2010 9:39 am

8/17/2010: Red Sox 6, Angels 0

The Red Sox continue to dominate the 2010 iteration of the 21st century rivalry they’ve developed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  Boston moves to 8-0 against the Angels this season after another terrific effort from Clay Buchholz, who now leads the American League in ERA.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the AL Cy Young race (the top 6 candidates in my opinion, sorted by innings count):

While King Felix should be in the discussion, his W/L record will disqualify him among the out-of-touch dinosaurs in the journalism community who cling to bubble-gum card statistics like an old teddy bear.  Buchholz has the Pedro-esque ERA+, but his relatively low innings total and low K rate will hurt his cause.

Jon Lester has a strong argument to be the leader here with strong numbers across the board, which is amazing given the streak of inconsistency he’s experienced recently.  I’m trying to be as objective as I can, but I think my vote would go in this direction if the season were to end today.

Notes and Takeaways:

• If you see throngs of chain-smoking, mildly attractive 23-year-old women sobbing outside of Fenway Park, it probably has something to do with this news.  Wicked sad.
• I kid around about Ellsbury, but his injury (another broken rib) is legit.  Just a terribly unlucky lost year for a guy who should be entering his prime.  A pet peeve of mine is when fans who have trouble walking up a flight of stairs without gasping for air decide to comment on the mental toughness of professional athletes.
• The starting outfield from here on out, barring a waiver wire deal, should be Nava-Kalish-Drew, with Darnell McDonald available as a defensive replacement.

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By Jimmy, 7/29/2010 9:27 am

7/28/10: Red Sox 7, Angels 3

The 2010 Red Sox have had some difficulty against unlikely teams: 6 losses to Baltimore, 3 losses to Kansas City, and 3 losses to Oakland.  However, they have had no trouble at all against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem in all seven of their contests (with three left to play in September).

Josh Beckett was once again effective, pitching seven strong innings to record his first victory since April 10th.  However, the story of the game was Marco Scutaro’s spine-breaking grand slam off of Fernando Rodney in the 8th inning.

When I look back at my season, there’s not going to be enough wins to really worry about it.

-Josh Beckett, after winning his second game of the year on July 28th.

Notes & Takeaways:

• Minor League Rehab Update #1:  Mike Lowell (remember him?)  continues to take a dump on AAA pitchers, now with 4 home runs and 4 doubles in 22 at bats.  His OPS is 1.727.  The Sox will probably option Jeremy Hermida to Pawtucket to make room for Lowell, as they need all of their “defensive” outfielders now that J.D. Drew is having hamstring issues.
• Minor League Rehab Update #2:   Now, the other side of the spectrum: noticeably missing from yesterday’s minor league box scores was Jacoby Ellsbury.  I can’t seem to find any news on him, and he is still listed on the GCL roster.  Stay tuned…

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By Jimmy, 7/28/2010 9:29 am

7/27/10: Red Sox 4, Angels 2

Despite being booed upon his return to Anaheim, John Lackey was able to keep his chin up (through the use of a complex system of pulleys and cables, most likely) and hold his former team to two runs over 7.1 innings of work.  Lackey gave the Angels a taste of what he provided them over his eight years in Anaheim; a high pitch count with very few mistakes.

That won’t be forgotten, for sure.

-John Lackey, on the boos he received from the Anaheim fans

Don’t worry, John.  The problem with Angels fans is that they simply care too much about baseball.  They really put their heart and soul into the historic Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise, and display their passion for America’s pastime via the use of stuffed primates and large pieces of plastic.  Every night.  Right up until the 6th inning.

Notes & Takeaways:

• We’re now three days away from the trading deadline, and the Blue Jays are asking for either Casey Kelly or Jose Iglesias from the Red Sox (the organization’s best pitching prospect and best infield prospect, respectively) in exchange for reliever Scott Downs.  If the Sox were to acquire Downs, he would be the third reliever on the depth chart and would throw maybe 30 innings.  Not really worth it, in my opinion.  Then again, as a child of the late 80’s /early 90’s, I’m still a little gun shy over Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson.
• Dustin Pedroia, still two weeks from a rehab stint (at least) is having a CT scan on Friday.
• Dan Shaughnessy displays a fundamental lapse in logic when he proclaims that there is no reason for the increase in no-hitters.  It can be attributed to the increase in strikeout rates.  Simply put, it’s easier to prevent hits when you prevent contact, thereby removing the risk of lucky bloops and seeing-eye ground balls.

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By Jimmy, 7/20/2010 6:40 am

7/19/10: Red Sox 2, Athletics 1

Daisuke Matsuzaka set the bar incredibly low in 2009 after a season plagued with injury, ineffectiveness, and a general communication breakdown between player and  management.  After that disastrous season, I would have been happy with him in 2010 if he was even league average.

Believe it or not, but as of July 21st, Matsuzaka is actually having a decent season, clearly better than average.  He hasn’t allowed 5 or more earned runs in over two months (May 17th in The Toilet was the last time that has happened).  His FIP is currently 3.86, which would put him in the top 20 of AL pitchers had he qualified for the league lead.

As odd as it sounds, this guy is the third best pitcher in the rotation right now.

Notes and Takeaways:

• Matsuzaka credits his recent run of success with a new pre-game routine (namely, getting to the park early).
• The guy the Sox are missing most right now is Victor Martinez.  The difference between him and Kevin Cash in the lineup is a major game-changer, and the team hasn’t really been the same since his departure.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem, like much of a timetable has been determined yet.
• Jed Lowrie has been tearing through the minors during his rehab stint, hitting .367/.447/.600 with 5 extra base hits in 30 at-bats.  This will soon will put a merciful end to the Eric Patterson era, hopefully.

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By Jimmy, 7/14/2010 7:18 am

For the first time in 14 years, the inferior National League has won the MLB All-Star game.  Shockingly, there were questionable decisions made on the American League side.

Paul Konerko: 0 for 2 with a K, in case you were wondering.

It’s time to go back to chasing ice cream carts around the clubhouse, Sport.  Leave the roster construction to the experts.

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By Jimmy, 6/14/2010 9:18 am

6/13/10: Phillies 5, Red Sox 3

Cole Hamels might be my least favorite pitcher in the National League, due mainly to the strong West Coast Douchebag aura he seems to eminate, but also due to his 3-0 record and 1.71 ERA in his three games against the Red Sox.  I didn’t stick around to hear Heidi Watney’s interviews after the game, but I’m sure that Hamels believes that he pitched “hella good” and that this is “how they roll in the six-one-nine”.

Notes & Takeaways:

Still working on the draft recap.  It will be up soon.  Also, a few words on the guy who is now a walking trivia question, Daniel Nava.

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By Jimmy, 6/9/2010 9:22 am

6/08/10: Red Sox 3, Indians 2

I’ve always thought that Tim Wakefield was slightly overrated in some circles, due to the fact that he’s a charter member of what I call the Goatee Mafia (or, if you prefer, the blue-collar team chemistry guys who play the game the way it was meant to be played).

Still, I’m going to give some well deserved props to our resident knuckleballer on the heels of his newly achieved milestone.

In an era where starting pitchers are coddled like deformed infants,  and players change teams as often as they change their socks, this is pretty goddamn impressive:

Wake tops a list containing three of the best pitchers in baseball history, and another guy who should be in the Hall of Fame.  Most of the names on the list pitched in an era where starters would routinely throw 300+ innings in a season, with the exception of the hormone-laced mule at #2.

Wakefield’s ERA+ during this his time with the Red Sox was 109, comfortably above average.  While pitching relatively well for long periods, he’s taken a lot of the onus off of the bullpen and other less durable starters during the past 14 seasons.  At the risk of sounding like a tool here, these are things that don’t really show up in a box score.  Well, they do actually show up in box scores, but not in a way that can be easily attributed to Wakefield.

Notes & Takeaways:

• While people have a visceral reaction to any news involving Scott Boras, keep in mind that his interests are pretty closely aligned with Boston’s interests in the case of Jacoby Ellsbury, seeing as though the outfielder isn’t close to becoming a free agent and will need to play well to make a decent arbitration case.
• I’ll have more on the draft in my next post.

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By Jimmy, 6/7/2010 7:01 am

6/6/10: Orioles 4, Red Sox 3

It seems like the annual mid-summer pillage of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is the birthright of every player who puts on a Red Sox uniform (and every Red Sox fan, for that matter).  While the Sox did not leave Charm City with a sweep, they did outscore the flailing Orioles 23-6 over the three-game series.

John Lackey’s 7 inning performance was slightly encouraging; it was his best start since May 5th (the one caveat being that it came against the worst team in the American League).

Notes & Takeaways:

• Manny Delcarmen is hurting a bit, and as  result he’s had two outings in a row where he opened the flood gates.
• Maybe something to keep an eye on: David Ortiz’ left hand after being hit with a pitch by the gargantuan Mark Hendrickson last night.
• Dear Pau Gasol: it’s time to shave your neck.  You are beginning to look like that flying desert creature who sold Anakin Skywalker’s mom into slavery.  (Okay, for those of you who aren’t huge dorks, here’s what I’m talking about.)

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By Jimmy, 6/2/2010 8:25 am

6/1/10: Red Sox 9, Oakland 4

Victor Martinez had one of the best games in his career, going 5 for 5 with 4 doubles, and Adrian Beltre continues to earn every penny of his contract, hitting a key 3-run HR in last night’s victory against Oakland.

The offense was needed, as John Lackey (who earned the victory) was once again shaky.  He wasn’t as wild as he had been in the past, but he was getting hit like a disobedient child from the 1950’s.

Lackey now was the 8th worst FIP among qualified starting pitchers in the American League, right below the decomposed corpse of Jake Westbrook on the list.  Not good.

Notes & Takeaways:

If you need more proof that the general public is stupid and needs to be protected from itself via stringent regulation, look no further than the All-Star voting:

There are other examples, which I’ll ridicule at some point in the near future.  We can all get a good laugh out of it, but when the powers that be decide to award the winning side with home field advantage in the World Series, it kind of becomes more than just an exhibition.  You don’t want your first baseman to be putting up Bill Hall numbers, if that much is at stake.

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By Jimmy, 5/27/2010 6:58 am

5/26/10: Red Sox 11, Rays 3

One of the most notable aspects of John Lackey’s 8 year career coming into this season was his consistently good control.  Lackey’s annual walk rates from 2002 though 2009 have ranged from 2.1 to 3.1 with very little variance, and it’s been a big reason for his success over the years.

Lackey’s not really a strikeout pitcher or a ground ball pitcher, and thus pinpoint command is really a critical part of his game.  This is why his current walk rate of 4.4 is so alarming.  It’s nearly 5 standard deviations above his career average.  Two deviations above the mean is the outer edge of what you would see on a normal distribution of measurements in a sample.  Three is extreme (think of it as the 99th percentile).  Four is downright improbable, and 5 is just insane.  Something is up.

According to Lackey, that was the best he’s thrown the ball all season.  I do admire his approach, because he seems to handle himself well when guys are getting on base or after a lousy inning.  I was shocked to see him in the 7th inning of that game, but I think there’s something to be said for that (he racked up nearly 100 pitches after 5 innings).  Lackey’s a guy I really want to see succeed here.  I suppose the whole 5-year contract thing has a lot to do with that.

Luckily, the Red Sox provided Lackey with plenty of run support, and completed an impressive sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Sox have won 8 out of their last 9 games (all against very tough opponents: the Yankees, Twins, Phillies, and Rays) and are now right in the thick of things with the 4th best record in the American League.

Notes & Takeaways:

• I switched over from the Celtics game once I came to the realization (again) that the NBA is fixed, like professional wrestling.  The referee is firmly entrenched in the story, like Dangerous Danny Davis in Wrestlemania III.  I expected him to hit Kendrick Perkins over the head with a metal chair as Perkins turned his back and walked away.  He might as well have done that, as the effect would have been the same.
• Big night for Adrian Beltre, who is now second in Wins Above Replacement among MLB third basemen (Evan Longoria is edging him by 0.2 WAR).

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By Jimmy, 5/26/2010 9:19 am

5/25/10: Red Sox 2, Rays 0

If Monday’s defeat of Wade Davis and the surging Tampa Bay Rays wasn’t enough to convince you that the 2010 Red Sox are for real, last night’s 2-0 run prevention masterpiece against staff ace James Shields may have done the trick.  The Rays,  second in all of MLB in runs scored per game coming into last night, were completely stifled by Jon Lester and the Red Sox bullpen.

Here’s some fodder for the “Varitek has superior pitch-calling powers” camp: Alex Speier tells us that the Red Sox have had 13 no-hitters or 1-hitters since 1998, tied for most in baseball, and that Jason Varitek was behind the plate for all of them.  I went back and calculated the percentage of games that Tek has started behind the plate since 1998, and by my count, it’s 65% (1293/1991).  So, this does appear to be slightly more than coincidence.  However, this is probably skewed by the fact that Varitek was often on the bench for games started by Tim Wakefield, and Wake is typically one of the weaker starters in the rotation.

Notes & Takeaways:

• Not so fast: Darnell McDonald was not DFA’d yesterday, it was Scott Atchison who ended up as the loser in the zero-sum game of roster management.  Apparently Jacoby Ellsbury isn’t quite as spry as management initially thought.
• Pete Abraham notes that the Sox have thrown out 8 of 20 would-be base stealers in the past 28 games, and the team’s increased focus on holding runners proved especially critical against Carl Crawford and the Rays last night.
• The Providence Journal tracked down Rocco Baldelli, now working in the Rays system as an instructor.  He still hopes to return to the field (shades of Gabe Kapler’s career path).

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By Jimmy, 5/25/2010 9:15 am

5/24/10: Red Sox 6, Tampa Bay 1

Given the pitching match-up here (Clay Buchholz vs. Wade Davis), I considered last night’s game the most winnable of the three in this series against the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays.  The offense continues to be carried by Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, and Adrian Beltre.

Notes & Takeaways:

• While Beltre continues to hit well, I can’t help but point out the fact that his BABIP is .390 this season (compared to a career average of .293).  Yeah, he’s been lucky.  Consider it a good thing, seeing as though he’s helped the team win some games during a period where a bunch of his teammates were struggling.
• It was nice to see Dustin Pedroia have a 3-hit night, the first time he’s done that since April 26th.  Let’s face it folks, he’s a gamer.  He’s a scrappy, blue-collar gamer who brings his lunch pail to work every day, and isn’t afraid to get his uniform dirty.  Give me a team of nine Dustin Pedroias, and I’ll gladly take on a team of nine Albert Pujolses.  Sure, I’ll lose that game by a score of 36-3, but I’ll do it by playing the game the right way.
• Mike Cameron will return from the DL tonight, but Jacoby Ellsbury will remain the team’s regular center fielder for the time being, as the Sox plan on taking a conservative approach with Cameron’s recovery.
• Darnell McDonald was DFA’d to make room for Cameron.  I’d have to think that another team will pick him up off of waivers.  He’s proven that he can be a solid 4th outfielder on a Major League team, a guy who can play all three positions and come up with a big hit once in a while.
• There was a scary moment in the 3rd inning last night when Victor Martinez fouled a ball off his toe, and were were instantly haunted with visions of Jason Varitek behind the plate for the next 5 months.  However, it appears that Victor will be fine.
• We have a confirmed Jed Lowrie sighting to report.

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By Jimmy, 5/24/2010 9:14 am

5/23/10: Red Sox 8, Phillies 3

I’ve become full-fledged hater of interleague play over the past few years, so you could only imagine the level of dread I was feeling as the Red Sox traveled to Philadelphia to take on the reigning two-time National League champions.  However, the Sox did quite a bit to quell some of the unease fans have been feeling this season, by playing well against a tough opponent in a difficult, unfamiliar environment.

Notes & Takeaways:

• While the mood surrounding the team is generally positive, Dustin Pedroia continues to struggle, hitting .214/.333/.357 in the month of May.
• On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kevin Youkilis has been putting up Barry Bonds numbers this month: .397/.587/.810.
• The fans said “boooooo”, but J.D. Drew said “fuck youuuuu”; he hit .364/.417/.455 in the three game series against the team that initially drafted him (and subsequently failed to sign him).
• The Red Sox travel to Tropicana Field in Tampa for what will be a true test of their recent awakening.  If the Sox are to win the series, they will need to beat at least one of Tampa’s two best pitchers, as both Matt Garza and James Shields are slated to pitch (combined 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 126 innings, 120/32 K/BB.

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By Jimmy, 5/21/2010 9:44 am

5/20/10: Red Sox 6, Twins 2

I’m not sure if it’s really kosher for me to refer to a 2-game series victory as a “sweep”, but the way things have gone thus far this season, I think I’ll go ahead and take that liberty.

Surely, two beacons of hope for the 2010 Red Sox have been starters Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, both of whom pitched masterfully against one of the best teams in the American League.  Lester has been especially impressive since his first three shaky starts of the season.

Lester, Since April 23rd:

Notes & Takeaways:

• David Ortiz, not really known for his thick skin, took some time before the game to pee into Amalie Benjamin’s ear a little bit.  His rant was mostly directed at his detractors in the media (one specific example being ESPN’s Buster Olney).  Ortiz was benched against lefty Francisco Liriano last night.
• While Ortiz has been all over the news due to his hot streak (hitting .358/.397/.774 in May), Kevin Youkilis has been even better during the same stretch (.411/.585/.786).
• Jacoby Ellsbury will be with the team in Philly this weekend.  No word yet on when he’ll actually play, but the indication is that he’s ready to go today if Terry Francona is so inclined.  When he is activated, outfielder/mop-up pitcher Jonathan Van Every will be the roster casualty.
• The error by Dustin Pedroia in the 9th inning last night is the first of the year from the right side of Boston’s infield.

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By Jimmy, 5/20/2010 8:47 am

5/19/20: Red Sox 3, Twins 2

I’m a little pressed for time this morning, so here’s a few quick hits:

• Marco Scutaro has tennis elbow and will miss a few games.
• Since the Sox are already extremely thin at SS, Angel Sanchez was added to the 40-man roster and called up from Pawtucket.  He’ll start today.
• The corresponding move was to DFA lefty Scott Schoeneweis.  Tough break for a guy everyone was pulling for, but the reality of being a LOOGY is you are often the first guy on the chopping block when a roster crunch occurs.  He’ll probably catch on elsewhere.

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By Jimmy, 5/19/2010 6:38 am

5/18/10: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6

It appears that the enterprising folks in the New York Yankees research & development department have developed new technology.  No, we not talking about their latest batch of untraceable steroids (though they are quite remarkable), we’re referring to their newly developed Pain Detector™.

You see, the Yankees now keep a prototype of this new Pain Detector in their dugout, a device which enables manager Joe Girardi to ascertain the exact level of pain that any human being is experiencing at any moment.  This device came in handy in the 5th inning of yesterday’s game against the Red Sox, when Josh Beckett (a pitcher with a notorious history of back problems, including extensive reports of recent stiffness before yesterday’s game) was pulled in favor of a reliever due to an “injury”.  Of course, this reliever was now able to make some extra warm-up throws, which all but sealed a Red Sox victory (even though they were losing by 5 runs at the time).

Joe Girardi, using the impenetrable logic of “he doesn’t look hurt, therefore he’s not”, decided to consult the Pain Detector.  Sure enough, the device showed no significant pain on Beckett at the time, and the Yankees decided to play the game under protest.

Once MLB overturns last night’s Red Sox victory in light of overwhelming evidence that Beckett was faking his injury, Girardi’s protest will go down in the baseball annals as one of the wittiest, most prudent managerial decisions of all time, right in-between Tommy Lasorda pitch-hitting Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series and Joe Girardi banning ice-cream from the Yankees clubhouse in 2008.

Notes & Takeaways:

• Both teams stayed true to form, as this game lasted 4 hours and 9 minutes (not including the rain delay).  Once Joe West learns of this and keels over, I think it would be good for the economy if his neck fat was harvested and used to make those religious candles you see in the ethnic isle at Star Market.
• J.D. Drew took himself out of the game (cue the “no heart” morons) in the 8th inning with lower leg pains, but he mentioned that it doesn’t appear serious, and he’ll probably be able to play tonight against the Twins.
  
• Jacoby Ellsbury feels good after his second rehab game, and is meeting with Terry Francona today to determine whether or not he needs more time before returning to the Red Sox lineup.

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By Jimmy, 5/18/2010 9:45 am

5/17/10: Yankees 11, Red Sox 9

In all honestly, the only reason I turned on the computer this morning was to look at some porn and check my whatifsports.com dynasty team before work.  Hey, the Deweyshouse link is right there below “Red Tube” on my bookmarks, so I might as well say something about last night, for historical recordkeeping purposes.

Our closer, Jonathan Papelbon, has had an outstanding career in the major leagues thus far.  Historically good, even.  If he were to say “fuck it” and retire from baseball this morning, I’m pretty sure he’d take with him the best ERA+ in the history of America’s pastime (among pitchers with over 300 innings).  I’m not positive on that last tidbit, but if anyone feels like scouring baseballreference.com for a pitcher with a better career ERA+ than 257, please post your results here.

Anyway, last night’s game was one of the low points of his career, depending on where you rank his post-season hiccup against the Angels last year.  This was the first time in his career that he gave up a walk-off home run (pretty remarkable, considering he pitches almost exclusively in the 9th inning), and the first time in his career that he gave up more than 3 earned runs.

Man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.

-Lou Mannheim, Wall Street

Basically, what is happening here is every single one of these Red Sox-Yankees games are worse that the one before. Each game introduces me to a new level of torture. Through pain, I am experiencing enlightenment. By the end of the season, these games will feature the zombie of Thurman Munson pillaging Fenway Park and kidnapping Heidi Watney while Ramiro Pena kicks Ted Williams’ decapitated head around the outfield like a soccer ball.  That’s the only way it could get any worse.

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By Jimmy, 5/17/2010 9:05 am

5/16/10: Tigers 5, Red Sox 1

The Red Sox played the role of Las Vegas magician “Roy” over the weekend, as what began as a promising 3-game series turned into an unfortunate and unexpected mauling.  John Lackey’s hiccups in the first few innings of yesterday’s loss to the Tigers have been a reoccurring theme thus far in 2010.  His performances are not unlike my experiences with the 1987 Nissan Sentra I drove in high school; very erratic in the first few moments after the ignition is turned, but relatively stable after a while.  Take a look:

Lackey has been a different pitcher during the first few innings of his 2010 starts. The walk rate is especially odd from a guy known for pinpoint command, but I guess we can take some comfort from the fact that his walk rate during innings 3-9 resembles his career rate much more closely.

He started off slowly last season as well, posting a first half ERA of 4.93 compared to an ERA of 3.05 in the second half of the season. Considering all of this, I think we are seeing some evidence that he’ll most likely turn things around in the long run.

Notes & Takeaways:

• Check out this crazy Bernie Carbo story.  Oh, how I long for those clean pre-steroid years, when players played the game the right way, dag nabbit!
• There is a chance that both Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron could be roaming the outfield for Pawtucket tonight.  Cameron is already there, and Ellsbury is expected to begin his rehab assignment today.

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By Jimmy, 5/12/2010 4:25 pm

5/12/10: Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 2

I spent the afternoon listening to this game on internet radio, and occasionally pretending to work on some spreadsheet whenever someone walked by my office.  Anyway, I happened to notice that Joe Castiglione complained about the home plate umpiring quite a bit when the Red Sox were hitting.

Now, Joe is a bit of a homer, like most local market radio/tv guys.  Not a Tommy Heinsohn level homer, but let’s just say that he wouldn’t make much of a stink if the Blue Jays were negatively impacted by bad calls.  So, I decided to check out his claims myself (don’t take it personally, Joe).  Now that we are well into the Information Age, I can easily visit this website to check out the umpire’s strike zone myself.

Sure enough, Castiglione wasn’t kidding:

Let me first say that the Red Sox offense sucked today, and probably wouldn’t have been able to do much against Marcum (maybe the most underrated pitcher in the game) even with a good umpire behind the plate.  The umpire wasn’t responsible for the Red Sox loss, but he certainly was a factor.

The red triangles are called strikes thrown by Toronto pitchers.  The black square, as you probably guessed, represents the strike zone (as it’s typically defined).   You’ll notice lots of red triangles outside the strike zone, and unfortunately, not a whole lot of red squares.  Umpire Dale Scott clearly gave Toronto a bloated strike zone.

Terry Francona was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the 9th inning.  If our manager was Butch Hobson, he’d probably be in the back of a police car right now.