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By Jimmy, 5/23/2011 8:33 am

Wakefield Makes the Sunday Night Game a Little Less Excruciating

Box Score

One of the biggest downsides to following a relatively successful baseball franchise, aside from the inflated ticket demand, is the fact that ESPN often hijacks your Sunday game and decides to host it at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.  I despise this practice, because I can’t really enjoy anything at 8:00 pm on a Sunday.  Sunday night is my time to be miserable.  It’s my time to reflect on all of my regrets and mistakes from the weekend, and also the five days of drudgery that await me in the morning.  No doubt, there is some sort of algorithm that the Disney fat cats use to determine that 8pm is the optimal time to broadcast the game, ratings-wise.  Really, it just warms my heart that some child in Albuquerque (who no doubt cares very deeply for the Boston Red Sox) will have a chance to take in a Sunday ball game at a nice convenient time.  Thank you ESPN, and God bless America.

My point is, we’re going to miss Tim Wakefield when he’s gone.  He works very quickly when things are going well for him, and the Red Sox managed to win this game before 11 pm.

Top 5 Heroes

Buzz Kill

Carl Crawford just can’t seem to stay hot for very long, going 0 for 3 last night.

Quote of the Day

“I’m pissed off, I just got hit with a 97-mph fastball. I mean, I understand the situation, but I’m pissed off.”

- Jed Lowrie, on getting beaned by Kerry Wood in the 8th

Things had the potential to get very ugly after the beanings on Saturday and Sunday (one of which broke Marlon Byrd’s face) , but fortunately, the Sox and Cubs do not meet again in 2011.

Prospect Watch

• AA – Stolmy Pimentel’s stock continues to gradually drop as he was shelled again; giving up 6 earned runs in 1 and a third.  In contrast, Yankee pitching prospect Manny Banuelos had 7 Ks over 4.2 innings, and now has a 1.96 ERA in 8 starts.
• High A – Recently promoted Bryce Brentz is not having much trouble with the increased level of competition, going 3 for 5 with his second HR in as many days with his new team.
• Low A – Starter Brandon Workman, a highly-touted 2010 draftee, pitched 6 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and striking out 5.

Other Notes

• Tonight, the Sox face old friend Justin Masterson, who is 8th amongst AL starters in ERA (2.52) and 3rd in ground ball percentage (56.9).
• The clattering you hear is the sound of 100,000 pitchforks and torches being dropped to the ground (or, more accurately, tentatively placed on the ground): Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hitting .323 with 3 HRs in his last 10 games.

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By Jimmy, 5/19/2011 9:36 am

Salty Plays Hero for a Day

Box Score

The subtitle above might seem like a back-handed swat at the primary catcher for the Red Sox, but last night’s RBI double wasn’t the first big hit Jarrod Saltalamacchia has had this season. He certainly hasn’t been the most consistent hitter on the team, but it cannot be said that he wilts under the spotlight.

If you need some quantitative evidence of this, here are the top 5 American League catchers in Fangraph’s “Clutch” metric, as of this morning (click the link for a description of what that means).

Top 5 Heroes

Buzz Kill

After going 0 for 3, Mike Cameron is now hitting .163/.217/.302 on the year.  However, a .156 BABIP indicates that the baseball gods have chained him to a rock and allowed vultures to feast on his entrails.  His fortunes should reverse at some point.

Quote of the Day

“I know summer has to come soon, where the sun comes out eventually — every day.”

- Mike Cameron, ever the optimist

Man, I hope he’s right.

Prospect Watch

• AAA – The Pawsox played a double-header, and Lars Anderson had quite a day, hitting a HR in each of the two games.  These were his first of the season.

Other Notes

• As I’m sure you’ve heard, both Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey have been placed on the DL with elbow issues.  Dice-K’s injury appears to be a bit more serious than Lackey’s, as it’s been reported that he’ll miss at least one month.
• In related news, Peter Gammons is reporting that the Sox are kicking Kevin Millwood‘s tires.  He last pitched in Baltimore’s rotation in 2010, where he posted a 5.10 ERA in 190.2 innings.  While he can still apparently throw plenty of innings, I’m not really convinced that he will be a more effective pitcher than Alfredo Aceves, Tim Wakefield, or Felix Doubront.

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By Jimmy, 5/16/2011 9:20 am

Even Steven: Sox Reach .500

Box Score

It’s been an odd season, hasn’t it?  The Red Sox, now 5-1 against New York, have lost more games to the Baltimore Orioles than they have against the Yankees.  All five teams in the AL East are now clustered within 4 games in the loss column.

Top 5 Heroes

Buzz Kill

There’s no real significant negatives to point out after the Sox cemented a three-game sweep in the Bronx, but Jon Lester does have a 7.15 ERA in his last two starts.

Quote of the Day

“It seems like when things are going bad, they’re going bad,”

- Joe Girardi, trying very hard to sound like another former Yankee catcher

Prospect Watch

• AAA – After another scoreless 2-K inning, closer Michael Bowden has a 1.59 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 28.2 innings on the year.
• Low A – I should really just create a macro that automatically types “Bryce Brentz” whenever I begin a post, but yeah, he homered again and has now hit in 26 straight games, with a franchise-record 35 game on-base streak.

Other Notes

• How can anyone in the media blame the Yankees management for what happened in the Posada fiasco?  Imagine if all aging All-Star catchers threw this kind of tantrum when dropped in the batting order?  The Red Sox in particular would have had serious problems over the years, between Tony Pena and Captain Pitch Caller.
• Jimmy’s BBQ (no relation) in Grand Central Station is the best train station food I’ve ever had.

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By Jimmy, 5/12/2011 9:12 am

$82,500,000 Worth of Excrement

Box Score

Top 5 Goats

Silver Lining

The bullpen got a rest, I suppose.

Quote of the Day

“Everything in my life sucks right now, to be honest with you.”

- John Lackey

Lackey is usually good for a quote or two beyond the usual cliched script, as we see here. Note: I’m not at all reveling in his misery, I genuinely feel bad for the guy. Us large goofballs have to stick together.
Prospect Watch

• Low A – The Sally League has nothing left to offer Bryce Brentz.  He extended his hitting streak to 24 games by going 4 for 5 with a 3-run HR and a double.  He’s hitting .381/.439/.679.

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By Jimmy, 5/11/2011 6:40 am

Adrian’s Efforts Wasted in Toronto

Box Score

In a surprising turn, Jon Lester had his first lackluster start since Opening Day, as the Red Sox drop a 10-inning game to the last-place Toronto Blue Jays in the sterile, quiet confines of the Rogers Centre.

Top 5 Goats:

Silver Lining

After a concerning power drought to begin the year, Adrian Gonzalez has hit 4 HRs in his last 8 games.

Quote of the Day

“I didn’t have good command of, really, anything.”

- Jon Lester

Prospect Watch

• AA – Catcher Ryan Lavarnway went 2 for 3 with a home run, but probably more noteworthy is the fact that he caught three runners attempting to steal (especially given what went down in the 10th inning up in Toronto).
• Low A – The story down south continues to be Bryce Brentz, who is in the midst of a Splinteresque streak of reaching safely in 31 straight games and has had at least one hit in his last 22.  Yesterday, he went 3 for 5 with two doubles to raise his line to .364/.427/.643.

Non-Baseball Related Rant

After returning to normal life after a mini-vacation, I was already tired and miserable when I woke up this morning, but my rage was suddenly compounded when I stumbled upon the news that FOX is cancelling two of the few decent shows on network TV: The Chicago Code and Human Target.  This, of course, is to make room for a new lineup that includes a Bones spin-off and a Zooey Deschanel sitcom.

Fuck you, network television.  Seriously, fuck you.

A Bones spin-off!  Great idea!  I was just thinking “you know what we really need?  We really need a show that glorifies the work done behind the scenes in crime labs!  Let’s take the role of ‘crime scene investigator’, hire a bunch of up and coming 20-something actors, and put them in wacky unrealistic situations where they will need to use their guns and take down dangerous criminals!  Why hasn’t anyone thought of this?!?!”

And a Zooooey Deshcechzagelfluegenspork comedy!  You know, because she’s kind of cute, but cute in the nerdy Pam-from-The-Office sort of way that endears her to disgusting neck-bearded introverts like me?  I plan on ordering this show on Zulu, just so I can watch it while simultaneously playing Warcraft and brushing Pringles crumbs off of my howling wolf t-shirt!

How can there be room for any original shows on the schedule! We need 3 versions of American Idol and 6 versions of Top Chef!

Seriously, I’m fucking done with network television.  Done.  Aside from sports, I’ll only watch HBO and Showtime from here on out.  FOX?  NBC?  CBS?  You’re cancelled.

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By Jimmy, 5/5/2011 6:50 am

Good Morning!  Yeah, They Lost.

Box Score

I happened to turn on the radio early this morning, around quarter to five or so, and I hear a caricature of a Boston sports fan call in to the JT The Brick Show (ugh…) and demand that Terry Francona “get rid of Daisuke Matsuzaka”.  He also mentioned that despondent Los Angeles Lakers fans need to “put on their brass knuckles and go get it”, whatever the hell that means.  Thank you, JT The Brick, for propagating the Saturday Night Live parody of Bostonians as reality.

Even though most of us possess at least a small amount of critical thinking skills unlike the caller mentioned above, I feel the need to defend Dice-K here.  After pitching well in three consecutive outings and leaving prematurely due to a minor injury in his most recent start, Matsuzaka was thrown into the 13th inning of a rain-soaked 7-hour marathon, and promptly surrendered the game to the Angels.  Now, one thing we learned about Matsuzaka is that he loves routine…his routine.  If there’s one starter that you do not want to put in a crazy situation like the one last night, it’s him.  It just so unfortunately happened that he was the only viable choice.

Top 5 Goats

A mathematically inclined person might balk at these numbers (how can the Red Sox have a 145% chance of losing?), but keep two things in mind:

1. Total WPA doesn’t necessarily add to 100%, since it’s taking a snapshot of the odds of winning at the time of each at-bat, and…
2. Several Red Sox players had positive WPA (for example: Josh Beckett had a WPA around 25% or so).

Silver Lining

Beckett was good again, and likely would have pitched deep into the game were it not for the rain delay.

Quote of the Day

“When I showed up today, I didn’t think I’d be talking to you guys at three in the morning. And if I did, I wish we’d have won.”

- Terry Francona, to reporters after the game

Prospect Watch

• AA – After losing again last night, prospect Stolmy Pimentel is now 0 and 4 with a 7.06 ERA.

Other Notes

• You live by the Monster, you die by the Monster: Kevin Youkilis hit a ball in the 12th inning that would have been a walk-off home run in literally every other baseball stadium on the planet.

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By Jimmy, 5/4/2011 1:34 pm

Lester Carries April Success Into May

Box Score

My apologies for the period of virtual silence over the past couple of days here, as I was busy hunting down and killing a notorious terrorist. And by “notorious terrorist” I mean the centipede that lives in my kitchen.

Top 5 Heroes

Buzz Kill

After going 0 for 4 last night, Dustin Pedroia in now hitless in 17 career plate appearances against Dan Haren, and he’s now hitting .135/.236/.135 in his last 11 games.

Quote of the Day

“I thought I pitched better than my line score would say. I kept us there. Once we gave up the lead, they’ve got a good pitcher on the mound. You know it’s going to be hard.”

- Angels pitcher Dan Haren, absolving himself of responsibility like the dirty hippie he is

Prospect Watch

• AA – Outfielder Alex Hassan, born in Milton, Massachussets, is starting to put himself on the map after going 3 for 4 with a double last night.  He’s hitting .427/.510/.573 on the year, and may or may not creep into our top 25 this week (haven’t quite decided yet).
• Low A – Bryce Brentz is still tearing a hole through opposing pitchers, now hitting .363/.440/.657 after having a perfect night: 1 HR and 3 walks in 4 plate appearances, scoring 3 runs and driving in 1.  As a whole, the Greenville Drive can flat-out rake.  They average 6.4 runs per game, tops in the Sally League.

Other Notes

• Not that you needed another reason to hate the Pittsburgh Steelers, but here’s one anyway.
• The craziest thing about Francisco Liriano’s no hitter: he was one bad start away from being removed from the starting rotation.

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By Jimmy, 4/29/2011 9:25 am

Sox Avoid Embarrassment at the Hands of Showalter’s Orioles

Box Score

Top 5 Heroes

You might be asking, “How can Pedroia have such a high WPA with only 2 infield singles, while Jacoby Ellbury was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI?”.  Major League baseball used to have an official stat called Game Winning RBI (GWRBI).  It was actually on the back of each player’s baseball card when I was a kid.  Sadly, they decided to get rid of it at some point in the 1990′s.  Anyway, if this were 1989, a) I would have spiked hair and a mullet, and b) Dustin Pedroia would be awarded a GWRBI for his hit in the 7th inning.

Buzz Kill

It was a good day across the board for the Sox, and there wasn’t really one negative that stood out.  A near catastrophe occurred when both Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz struck out with men on 2nd and 3rd, but the big inning in the 7th negated that earlier squander.  Marco Scutaro went 0 for 4 and is now hitting .189, but his role seems to be diminishing anyway.

Quote of the Day

“I’m glad that’s over with. I don’t know what was different.”

- Jon Lester, on his notorious April struggles every year prior to this one

Prospect Watch

• AAA – A big night for Josh Reddick: 3 for 5 with 2 HRs.  He now has 8 HRs on the season.
• AA – Several of the SeaDog hitters had a good night, but I’ll point out Will Middlebrooks in particular: 3 for 4 with 2 HRs and a double.  He’s now hitting .365/.400/.677.
• Low A – I’ve been waiting for Brandon Jacobs to come down to Earth, but it hasn’t really happened yet.  After another 3 hit night, he’s at .377/.456/.610 with 7 stolen bases.  Note: he has struck out 25 times in 77 at-bats, so I’m still betting on a BABIP-fueled crash at some point.  Even so, his performance has been impressive, given his age and rawness.

Other Notes

• Former Sox pitcher Derek Lowe, now an Atlanta Brave, was arrested for DUI yesterday.  Not really shocking news to those of us who remember Derek during his Red Sox days.

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By Jimmy, 4/28/2011 9:23 am

“This is a Hockey Town”

Box Score

The Reverse Lock Theory was applied at Camden Yards last night, as Red Sox hitters were not able to generate any offense against the awesomely mediocre Jeremy Guthrie, while Josh Beckett gave up four runs.  I suppose I deserve this after mocking Luke Scott yesterday.  He did not seem to be phased by the thick coating of egg on his face, hitting a 2-run blast in the 4th inning, and proudly flipping his bat (much to Beckett’s chagrin).  You might call the move a “Freedom Flip”.

Top 5 Goats

Silver Lining

Jacoby Ellsbury, again, looks to be hitting line drives much more often that what we’ve seen since his injury.  However, his defense is another story…

Quote of the Day

“Those things have a way of working themselves out.”

- Josh Beckett, implying Luke Scott will experience four-seam retribution for his post-HR bat flip.

Whenever Josh Beckett is angry, there tends to be a few of these to choose from.  It was a difficult decision, but the above quote wins by a narrow margin over “Is this TMZ?!“ 

Prospect Watch

• AA – Miguel Tejeda again had a good night, going 2 for 2 with 2 walks.  Just like that, he’s now hitting a respectable .296/.345/.426 on the year.
• High A – Salem scored 16 runs on 17 hits in the first game of their double-header, and were shut out on 4 hits in the second.  Most of the regulars had at least two hits in the first game, but catcher Dan Butler in particular continues to shine, now hitting an other-worldly .362/.455/.745.

Off-Topic Rant:

I’m a 98.5 FM “The Sports Hub” listener.  The night guy, Damon Amendolara, is OK in my opinion.  He’s listenable and seems to be knowledgeable enough, he seems like a decent guy, and he’s a paisan so I give him the benefit of the doubt.  However, he never really keeps my attention or adds any insight beyond what most dedicated sports fans already know.

Now, let me add that I don’t know very much about hockey, so I could be talking out of my ass here.  In a late-night Tweet after the Bruins won in OT, Amedolara wrote this: “B’s proved they are a different team than last year’s el choko. Thank God.” Given how easily they could have lost that game, and how easily they could have won Game 7 against the Flyers last year, is this really true?  Does that OT goal suddenly prove that this team is much different that the one we watched last year?  This seems like sports radio cliche-ism at its worst.  And I don’t mean to pick on D.A., because he’s certainly not the only guy who says this type of thing on air or in print.  I read and hear statements like this quite a bit (regarding all four major sports), and it annoys me each time; absolute proclamations about a team or player’s make-up based on one isolated moment that could have easily gone in either direction.

Again, I don’t know hockey, so somebody school me if I’m off base here.

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By Jimmy, 4/27/2011 6:50 am

Soaring Sox Grounded by Rookie

Box Score

The result of this game doesn’t come as a huge shock considering the Red Sox were up against a young left-hander they had not faced prior to last night.  In my preview, I mentioned that Zach Britton induced lots of ground ball outs in the minor leagues, and he seems to have carried these talents over to the majors: the Sox managed to hit into 11 ground ball outs against him (as opposed to only 4 fly outs).

While Britton shined, his Red Sox counterpart failed, as Clay Buchholz gave up a career-high 11 hits in the loss.  The career-high is pretty astounding considering he did have a season where his era was 6.75.  It’s hard to top Clay’s 2008 season in terms of failure, but he somehow managed it.

Top 5 Goats

Silver Lining

Jacoby Ellsbury has a five game hitting streak, going 7 for 22 with 2 walks and 2 steals in that span.

Quote of the Day

“Pitching with runners on base every inning is not the typical thing you want to do”

- Clay Buchholz, stating the obvious

Prospect Watch

• AAA – PawSox pitching was on display in Lehigh Valley, as three guys who could eventually help the big club this year (Andrew Miller, Scott Atchison, and Rich Hill) combined to hold the IronPigs to only 2 hits.
• AA – Miguel Tejeda, a promising middle-infield prospect who started out slow this year, went 3 for 4 with a HR and 4 RBI.

Other Notes

• If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the highlights of the 9th inning in last night’s Yanks-ChiSox game.  Absolutely amazing; I guarantee you will not be disappointed (unless, of course, you have no soul).

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By Jimmy, 4/25/2011 6:46 am

Lackey Presents Old Friends with a Pastel-Colored Goose Egg

Box Score

This is the first time since 2007 that the Red Sox have had back-to-back shutouts.  They are now in sole possession of third place.

Top 5 Heroes:

Buzz Kill:

In what has become a recurring theme, our catcher (Saltalamacchia, this time) was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Quote of the Day:

“It pissed me off, yeah,”

- John Lackey, on being skipped in the rotation prior to this start.

Prospect Watch:

• AAA – Kyle Weiland gave up only 2 hits and 1 run over 6 innings for with win, and Yamaico Navarro chipped in by going 2 for 4 with a double and a walk.
• High A – Center fielder Peter Hissey, 21, went 2 for 5 with a double and 3 RBI, raising his batting average to .321.  He also stole his 3rd base of the year (he had 25 last season).
• A quick note: in-between shoveling food into my fat face and making sacrilegious photoshops, I updated the prospect rankings this weekend.  Take a look.

Comments (1)

By Jimmy, 4/23/2011 9:43 am

Lester Crosses-Up Angels on Good Friday

Box Score

Two weeks ago, the Red Sox were 1-7 after a 9 to 4 loss to the Yankees.  If a genie had materialized out of your empty metallic blue Bud Light bottle (if you were to Google Image-search for the term “Red Sox fan”, I imagine it would bring you a photo of a 25-year-old Caucasian male drinking out of one of these) and offered you a deal where the Sox would be 8-11 two weeks later, you probably would have taken it, right?

Top 5 Heroes

We see here another quirky attribute for WPA; if you hit a lazy fly ball that happens to be completely bungled by the outfielders, you are credited with the WPA from that situation.  A better system might be to penalize the outfielders instead?  WPA doesn’t acknowledge good defensive plays at all, so I can see why there might be inconsistencies if it were to penalize defenders for making errors.

Anyway, if you were to take Crawford’s name off the list, Saltalamacchia would pop up in the 5th spot an account of his double and run scored (which again would be a problem, since he had a costly defensive mishap that isn’t considered by WPA).

Buzz Kill

Carl Crawford continues his struggles.  He’s now at .135/.190/.162 after going 0 for 4, despite the runs scored on his fly ball error.

Quote of the Day

“It was kind of a ‘tweener, but it was up there long enough that somebody should have been camped under it. [It was] not a Bermuda Triangle.”

- Mike Scioscia, on the Crawford fly ball that dropped in for a 2-run error.

Prospect Watch

• AAA – After bring sent back to Pawtucket, Felix Doubront made his 2011 AAA debut by pitching three shutout innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 3.  Michael Bowden is off to a good start in his new role as the team’s closer, notching his third save.
• AA – Stolmy Pimentel, considered one of the better pitchers in the organization, got rocked for 6 runs over 4.1 innings.  He’s now 0-2 with an 8.03 ERA.
• High A – Third baseman Kolbrin Vitek went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple, and is hitting .447/.533/.711 in his last 10 games. Chris Balcom-Miller improved to 3-0 with an 0.60 ERA.
• Low A – Starter Manny Rivera went 5 strong innings, striking out 7.

Other Notes

• Kevin Youkilis will likely be in the lineup today.
• An MRI on Ryan Kalish revealed a shoulder sprain.  Not good, but not the worst-case scenario either.  They’ll reevaluate the injury after two weeks of rehab.

Comments (2)

By Jimmy, 4/22/2011 6:36 am

Sox Win First Extra-Inning Game of 2011

Box Score

I’d imagine that most fans here passed out after an arduous Bruins playoff victory.  If that’s the case, they’ll wake up to the news that the Red Sox also won in overtime.

Josh Beckett was outstanding again, giving up only 3 hits over 8 innings of work.  However, he received a no-decision, as the Sox squandered several scoring opportunities against rookie Tyler Chatwood.  Luckily, the bullpen came up big with 3 scoreless innings, and the Sox managed to score a couple of runs in the 11th.

Kevin Youkilis was removed from the game after hitting a foul ball off of his foot, but fortunately, x-rays were negative.  He’s probably day-to-day at this point, but I’ll update this if anything changes.

Top 5 Heroes (Fangraphs WPA)

WPA is an interesting stat to use when determining how “big” or “clutch” a player came up over a period of time.  However, one of my problems with the metric is manifested in last night’s numbers posted above.  Intuitively, you’d think that Josh Beckett’s contribution (8 excellent innings) was more crucial to the win than Dan Bard’s (a scoreless 9th inning).  Much of WPA is determined by situational environments outside of the player’s control.  Sometimes, to earn a good WPA, you just have to be in the right place at the right time.  It should never be used to figure out how good a player really was.  It can, however, be used to determine how good a player was when it counted.

Buzz Kill:

I do admire Jason Varitek’s accomplishments over the course of his career in Boston, but right now he looks like someone who should no longer be playing professional baseball.  Yes, I probably wrote that same exact line two years ago, but at that time my statement was 50% hyperbole.  The hyperbole in my words are now gone.  After going 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts and a walk last night, the Captain is now hitting .043/.185/.043.  It’s a small sample (26 plate appearances), but it’s not like you can really rely on Saltalamacchia to give him a rest when he’s hitting like this.

Luckily, Varitek has some sort of magic catcher’s mitt that can transform pitchers like Josh Beckett from perpetually injured underachievers to a front-line aces.  In that sense, he might be worth keeping around.  Speaking of which…

Quote of the Day:

“Oh, I’m freaking locked in. … Fortunately I can help us win in other ways right now.”

- Jason Varitek, on his slump

Prospect Watch

• AAA – Bad news from Pawtucket as Ryan Kalish, considered by many to be the heir apparent to J.D. Drew in right field, hurt his arm while making a diving play.  It could be minor, but it could also be very bad; remember, Kalish missed most of the 2007 season after breaking his wrist.  In better news, Lars Anderson had three hits and is now hitting .320 with a .462 OBP.
• AA – Catcher Tim Federowicz, known primarily for his defense, is hitting .341/.375/.523 after going 2 for 4 last night.  Given the issues in Boston, he is absolutely someone to keep an eye on.
• High A – Kolbrin Vitek went 3 for 4 with a double, now hitting .341/.431/.500.  No, I’m not just copying and pasting this from yesterday’s recap.  He’s Lowrie-esque right now.
• Low A – Brandon Jacobs went 2 for 3 with a double, and is hitting .353/.452/.686.

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By Jimmy, 4/21/2011 9:18 am

Lowrie Leads Road Warriors to Victory

Box Score

Well, it took eight tries, but the Red Sox finally have their first road victory in 2011.  Ironically, they accomplished this by hitting reasonably well against left-handed pitchers, despite 12 strikeouts.

Top 5 Heroes (Fangraphs WPA):

Yes, it’s very suprising that Jed Lowrie isn’t atop this list.  You know you’ve set the bar very high when people start substituting your name for “Chuck Norris” in the Bill Brasky jokes.  While Jed did have a good game, Dan Bard’s 6th inning performance was absolutely key.  Hats off to Terry Francona by bucking conventional wisdom and inserting his “8th inning guy” into a 6th inning jam.  That’s exactly the type of situation where you want to use your best reliever (or second best reliever, depending on how you view Bard in relation to Papelbon).

Buzz Kill:

Red Sox catchers (Varitek and Saltalamacchia, combined) are now hitting .143/.176/.161.  It’s like having a pitcher hitting in our lineup.  If the Red Sox had lost this game, all you would be hearing about are Varitek’s double play and the five guys he left on base.  Naturally, Dan Shaughnessy has this topic covered.  What, did you expect him to focus on something positive?

Quote of the Day:

“Maybe you can call me the stopper” – Dan Bard

Prospect Watch

• AAA – Former top prospect Andrew Miller continues to pitch well, allowing 1 run and 4 hits over 6 strong innings.  He now has a 1.32 ERA after three starts.
• High A -  Kolbrin Vitek is on fire, going 3 for 4 for the second consecutive night.  He’s 8 for his last 13, including 3 walks.

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By Jimmy, 4/20/2011 6:37 am

Brett Anderson Continues his Reign of Terror over the Red Sox

Box Score

Boston finds themselves in the highly unexpected position of being 0 and 7 on the road, as Oakland’s man-child lefty once again dominated the Red Sox lineup, yielding 4 hits and striking out 8 over 8 scoreless innnings.  While John Lackey pitched very well against his old nemeses, he can thank his teammates’ offensive impotence for his second loss of the season.

One thing I should note as I go on: I’ve decided to scrap “Victory Shares / Pie of Shame / etc.” since Fangraphs.com and BaseballReference.com both have the tools and the capacity to track this sort of thing much better than I ever can.  I think it would be best for everyone involved to just summarize the key players here by listing their daily WPA (Win Probability Added).  FG and BBref both have their own unique calculations for this metric, and while I like BBref’s version a bit better (they use park factors in their analysis), on most days I’ll be using the Fangraphs version only because they typically publish their numbers earlier in the morning.  In any case, I’ll always let you know which version I’m using.

Top 5 Goats (Fangraphs WPA):

The Ellsbury WPA is very questionable, since the official MLB box score (the one I’m linked to up top) list the “Ellsbury CS” as a batter interference on Cameron.  It appears that the umpires weren’t exactly sure what had happened themselves.  The replays do show that Ellsbury was in fact safe, so if it actually is an interference call on Cameron, his name would jump to the top of the Goat list with a whopping -21.4% WPA.

Silver Lining:

John Lackey is the obvious bright spot here, throwing 6 quick, clean innings against a relatively tough opponent.  According to PitchFX, the main difference between last night and his previous start (the 4/8 bombardment from the Yankees where he actually got the “win”) was that he relied much less on his curveball.  Only 17 thrown out of 93 pitches last night, compared to 38 thrown in 93 pitches against New York.

Quote of the Day:

“I just work here” – John Lackey, on the staff’s decision to pull him after 6 innings.

Prospect Watch

• AAA – Not a prospect, but Matt Albers threw 2 scoreless innings of relief in his rehab outing.  He’s heading to Anaheim to join the team on Thursday, which means that Alfredo Aceves is most likely on his way back to Pawtucket.
• High A -  One of last year’s 1st round picks, Kolbrin Vitek, went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a triple, while pitcher Chris Hernandez gave up 1 unearned run over 5 innings.
• Low A – Anthony Ranaudo, the organization’s top pitching prospect, continues to toy with Sally League opponents.  He gave up 3 hits and one run while striking out 6 in 6 innings.

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By Jimmy, 4/19/2011 10:00 am

4/15/11: Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 6
Bobby Jenks Dishonors Jackie Robinson’s Legacy by Sucking

Clay Buchholz wasn’t really dealing against the Jays, but it was Jenks who completely torched Boston’s chances for a victory, as the Red Sox celebrated Jackie Robinson Day by continuing their shocking plummet in the loss column. The one bright spot here was the home run by Kevin Youkilis, one of the handful of Red Sox hitters who had been mired in a horrible slump.

Loss Shares (I’ve renamed “Pie of Shame/Honor”, choosing to go with “Victory Shares” and “Loss Shares”.  Hopefully I can manage to tip-toe around any lawsuits from Bill James).
.50 – Jenks
.25 – Buchholz
.25 – Crawford

4/16/11: Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 1
Odd-Year Beckett Freezes Jays

I was at both this game and the one before it, and in both cases, the temperature was around 40 degrees with 15-25 MPH winds.  I can’t imagine it’s fun to face any major league pitcher in those conditions.

Victory Shares
.75 – Beckett
.25 – Lowrie

4/17/11: Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 1
Salty and Ellsbury Join the Party

Lester battled a bit during this outing (9 baserunners allowed, 3 Ks in 6 innings) but still managed to hold the Jays to only one run.  The big hit here came early from an unlikely source, a 3-run HR by Jacoby Ellsbury.

Victory Shares
.50 – Ellsbury
.25 – Lester
.25 – Saltalamacchia

4/18/11: Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 1
A Tale of Two Matsuzakas

Every Red Sox fan is now familiar with the inconsistency of Daisuke Matsuzaka, and there is no better example of this trait that in his last two starts.  Matsuzaka was absolutely horrible against the Rays, but magnificent against Toronto.  How can this be?

1) A bit of luck – while Daisuke pitched very well, it did seem as if the Jays hit a lot of lazy fly balls and pop ups on pitches that I wouldn’t exactly describe as “nasty”.
2) Location – I’ve said this several times in the past, but I truly believe that Matsuzaka is at his best when his pitches are all over the place.  When the hitter (along with the catcher, the manager, and the fans) have no idea where the next pitch will be located, it’s not as easy to make solid contact.

For some evidence of this, here is a plot of Matsuzaka’s pitches from his bad start (top) and his incredible outing yesterday afternoon, courtesy of Brooksbaseball.net:

Victory Shares
.75 – Matsuzaka
.25 – Lowrie

Coming Up - A preview of what could be a difficult series in Oakland.

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By Jimmy, 4/13/2011 4:15 pm

Good news: the Red Sox will not lose tonight.

The rubber match against the Rays will be played at a date yet to be determined.  Technically, the Sox were just swept for the third time this season.

Comments (1)

By Jimmy,

It’s a good thing Charlie Sheen brought his circus to town last night (performing about 100 yards from where I currently sit), if only to serve as a temporary distraction from the atrocities taking place on Yawkey Way.

Quote of the Day:
“It’s a long season and there’s a ton of talent there and a really bitchin’ hitters park they play in. Relax.”
-Charlie Sheen

Pie of Shame:
.25 – Lester
.25 – Cameron
.25 – Crawford
.25 – Gonzalez

Silver Lining:
Their Pythagorean record is 3-8.  Why must the baseball gods smite us?!

Minor Threat:

• High A: Chris-Balcom Miller, the guy Boston stole from Colorado in exchange for Manny Delcarmen, pitched 5 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits and striking out 5.  I have him ranked #15 on my prospect list.
• Low A: Bryce Brentz continues to rake, going 2 for 4 with a HR and a walk.  He’s a 22-year-old sandwich draft pick, so he should be expected to tear up Greenville pitching, but it’s good to see this actually happening.

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By Jimmy, 4/12/2011 8:54 am

It’s not a good sign when you watch a starting pitcher go up in flames in the second inning and you find yourself not surprised in the slightest.

To those who have asked why Dice-K “nibbles” so often with his pitches, last night was a very blunt answer to that question.  He wasn’t nibbling, and as a result, the game was over within 20 minutes.  It’s clear that Matsuzaka is at his best when he is walking the fine line between balls and strikes, not trying to toss two-seam fastballs down the heart of the plate.

I honestly felt bad for the guy as he walked off the mound amidst heavy boos.  Matsuzaka isn’t one to show emotion, but in this case, you could tell he was extremely embarrassed.

Quote of the Day:
“The good news is that [Jon] Lester is tomorrow.’’
-Terry Francona

Pie of Shame:
1.00 – Matsuzaka

Silver Lining:
Jacoby Ellsbury, a guy who was in serious need of a decent game at the plate, went 2 for 4 with a HR.  It wasn’t a cheap HR, either.  He legitimately cranked it into the RF bleachers.

Minor Threat:

• AAA: The Pawsox offense ran wild for 15 runs, highlighted by Juan Carlos Linares going 3 for 5.  Linares turned quite a few heads during spring training, and will probably be seen in Fenway at some point this year.
• Low A: DH Miles Head (settle down, Beavis) went 4 for 4 with two home runs.  He only had one home run in 229 at-bats last season in Lowell.

Odds & Ends:

• Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s wife gave birth to a daughter last night.
• For those who are into such things, Curt Schilling’s first video game is on display.  As a casual RPG fan, I’m pretty impressed.

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By Jimmy, 4/11/2011 9:32 am

The way things had played out before Friday afternoon, a lot of us were expecting the Yankees to storm into town and easily take two games out of three or even sweep the Red Sox.  The weekend went very well, considering the low expectations.

4/8/11: Red Sox 9, Yankees 6

Since the Sox managed to win their home opener, we can go ahead and praise John Lackey for “gutting it out” and being a “bulldog” or whatever, but in reality he simply pitched very poorly.  This game was carried by a stellar offensive performance and terrific bullpen work. There’s lots of praise to go around, but I don’t think any of it should necessarily be directed toward a starting pitcher who is unable to get through a single inning without giving up a run or two.

Pie of Honor:
.25 – Pedroia
.20 – Gonzalez
.15 – Drew
.10 – Saltalamacchia
.10 – Papelbon
.10 – Jenks
.10 – Bard

4/9/11: Yankees 9, Red Sox 4

Maybe I’m getting less tolerant as I age, but it’s simply impossible for me to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver call Red Sox games now.  I’m forced to mute the television and listen to the radio broadcast on my computer.  Of course, there’s a 3 or 4 second delay between the internet radio and the television, but that minor annoyance is an acceptable alternative to the nonsense coming out of the Fox Sports booth.  Before Joe Morgan was let go by ESPN, baseball bloggers would tear him to shreds every week (deservedly so, in many cases).  I actually enjoyed Morgan 10 times more than I do both of these clowns.  Of course, my rage factor is amplified quite a bit if the Sox are getting destroyed on the field, as they were on Saturday.

Pie of Shame:
.70 – Buchholz
.20 – Doubront
.10 – Ortiz

4/10/11: Red Sox 4, Yankees 0

Last night was my first trip to Fenway in 2011, and given the 8:00 PM start time and the two teams involved, I was pleasantly surprised to be home by midnight. This is of course due to Josh Beckett’s Pedro-esque performance on the mound.  I was far back in the center field bleachers, but even from that distance of ~500 feet, we could see the sharp break on Beckett’s curve as it fooled many a Yankee hitter.

Pie of Honor:
.80 - Beckett
.10 - Pedroia
.10 - Scutaro

Next – previewing Sox/Rays.