What a strange day in Red Sox Nation. It started with Mike Lowell coming off the DL. It was assumed that Brandon Moss would be sent back down to make room for him, but Jacoby Ellsbury comes up with a sore groin so we need Moss to stick around. Instead, Bryan Corey gets designated for assignment for the second time in less than three weeks, after clearing waivers the first time and accepting the assignment to Pawtucket, when he could have chosen to become a free agent. Tough break for Corey. There is no way he could have taken that well, and I'll be surprised if he accepts his assignment this time.
The game started 16 minutes late because of rain, but when we finally got on with it, both Roy Halladay and Jon Lester are throwing strikes and mowing them down. I expected it from Halladay but not Lester.
With no score after eight innings, Jonathan Papelbon, who has not worked in six days, came into the game. He proceeded to strike out the first two batters and then gave up a double to Scott Rolen. Vernon Wells comes up and rips a pitch back up the middle that nearly took off Papelbon's head and was headed to center field where it was surely going to drive in Rolen from second and give the Jays a 1-0 lead. Instead, in a play reminiscent of the one he made to save Clay Buchholz' no-hitter, Dustin Pedroia dives to his right, snags the ball as it's practically by him, gets up, spins and fires it to first to nail Wells.
With two out in the ninth, David Ortiz walks. Manny Ramirez singles him to second. It would make sense to run for Big Papi, but we already know that Ellsbury is out with a sore groin. It's possible that Jed Lowrie could do it, but with Ellsbury hurting, J.D. Drew leaving the game in the third inning with a strained quad and Lowell freshly off the D.L., Terry Francona opts to keep Lowrie on the bench in case he's needed to play a position.
Youk comes to the plate and slaps one into center field that falls for a hit. There is no question that Big Papi is going to be waived home, the only question is whether he will make it in time. It's probably going to be close, but Wells bobbles it, there is no throw, Ortiz scores and the Red Sox win.
The game is played in 2 hours and 18 minutes and I'm done writing this by 10:10pm.
On a night when one of our young guys throws 8 innings of shutout ball, the Yankees only get 3.2 from Phil Hughes. He gives up 8 hits and 6 runs to raise his season ERA to 9.00. He is clearly not ready to pitch in the Major Leagues, but they really don't have anyone else to turn to.
I feel a little bad for Halladay. At least as bad as I can for a Major League Baseball player making millions of dollars a year; which is to say, not that bad at all.
This guy is a gamer, a throwback to another time. He works quick, he throws strikes and he doesn't come out of the game unless it's kicking and screaming. I would love to have him here, not just because he's a great pitcher, but because I know I would get to bed early at least every fifth day.
Anyway, the reason I almost feel bad for him, he has now thrown 4 complete games in a row and has lost the last three. Tough break.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Ray of Light
There's a reason we just got swept by the Tampa Bay Rays. Sure a big part of it is that we didn't hit, but that's not the only reason. The other part is that the Rays are good. Okay, they're not that good, but these are not your big brothers Devil Rays, the Devil Rays not having been around long enough to have been your fathers Devil Rays. In fact, they're not even the Devil Rays anymore, they're just the Rays now, and from the new insignia on their uniforms it would seem that the word "Rays" has a new meaning as well, no longer referring to the fish, but now seeming to refer to a ray of light from the sun.
The Rays have been slowly moving in the right direction over the last few years while stocking the team and farm system with good young talent from the draft, from a few key signings (Carlos Pena comes to mind immediately) and from a couple of trades, including the swindling of the Mets for Scott Kazmir.
Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Akinori Iwamura are signed until 2010, including club options, B.J. Upton is under their control until 2012, and up and coming rookie phenom Evan Longoria just signed a 6-year contract that agents are estimating will save the Rays at least 40 million dollars over the life of the contract.
On the pitching side, they still have Kazmir under control until 2010, James Shields, one of baseballs best kept secrets is under control until 2012, and Matt Garza, the key piece in the Delmon Young deal, until 2013. There are some good arms such as Edwin Jackson, if he can ever put it all together, Andy Sonnanstine, and Jason Hammel to help out for now, and down in the minors they have some of the most highly touted pitching prospects such as David Price, Wade Davis and Jacob McGee.
Don't look now but this team is on the rise. They are no longer the whipping boys of the AL East. I'm not saying that they are going to win a World Series any time soon, but they are taking steps in the right direction. They should definitely be better than the Orioles this year and when it's all said and done, they should have a better record than a few other teams as well, at least the Royals and maybe the Rangers. It's even possible that they just might have their first winning season in team history, although it's more likely that they'll get close to .500 and have the best record in their team history.
Of course, they're still second to last in team payroll at under 44 million, and they're still struggling to find a fan base; which is understandable when you consider how many people down there are transplants from other parts of the country, most notably the northeast, where baseball is practically a religion and many of the fans are zealots, but the natives should begin to see their team gain respectability in the near future.
We should still be able to beat this team, but I think the days of assuming the win are over and the Rays are now a team to be reckoned with.
Having said all of that, it was a tough week in Red Sox Nation and hopefully the day off to get everyone healthy and get the bats and bullpen going will be just what we need.
The Rays have been slowly moving in the right direction over the last few years while stocking the team and farm system with good young talent from the draft, from a few key signings (Carlos Pena comes to mind immediately) and from a couple of trades, including the swindling of the Mets for Scott Kazmir.
Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Akinori Iwamura are signed until 2010, including club options, B.J. Upton is under their control until 2012, and up and coming rookie phenom Evan Longoria just signed a 6-year contract that agents are estimating will save the Rays at least 40 million dollars over the life of the contract.
On the pitching side, they still have Kazmir under control until 2010, James Shields, one of baseballs best kept secrets is under control until 2012, and Matt Garza, the key piece in the Delmon Young deal, until 2013. There are some good arms such as Edwin Jackson, if he can ever put it all together, Andy Sonnanstine, and Jason Hammel to help out for now, and down in the minors they have some of the most highly touted pitching prospects such as David Price, Wade Davis and Jacob McGee.
Don't look now but this team is on the rise. They are no longer the whipping boys of the AL East. I'm not saying that they are going to win a World Series any time soon, but they are taking steps in the right direction. They should definitely be better than the Orioles this year and when it's all said and done, they should have a better record than a few other teams as well, at least the Royals and maybe the Rangers. It's even possible that they just might have their first winning season in team history, although it's more likely that they'll get close to .500 and have the best record in their team history.
Of course, they're still second to last in team payroll at under 44 million, and they're still struggling to find a fan base; which is understandable when you consider how many people down there are transplants from other parts of the country, most notably the northeast, where baseball is practically a religion and many of the fans are zealots, but the natives should begin to see their team gain respectability in the near future.
We should still be able to beat this team, but I think the days of assuming the win are over and the Rays are now a team to be reckoned with.
Having said all of that, it was a tough week in Red Sox Nation and hopefully the day off to get everyone healthy and get the bats and bullpen going will be just what we need.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Hapless Rangers
After watching this 4 game sweep of Texas I can only think of one word to describe the Rangers- hapless. Not to take anything away from what we did over these last 4 days, but the results are just as much a product of what we put on the field, as they are what the Texas Rangers put on the field. And it’s been the same thing year after year.
The Rangers always manage to put together an impressive collection of bats, but never have any pitching. You would think that sooner or later someone over there would figure out that it’s all about pitching and start trying to acquire some, but it just never seems to happen. Every year it’s the same thing, they batter their way through the schedule, and try to outslug their opponent, and more times then not they find themselves on the losing end, whether it be because the starter was terrible, the bullpen was terrible, or they were all terrible.
Nice to see Buchholz go 6 today, after only making it through 3.2 in his last outing. Even though Wakefield gave up 5 runs on Sunday, he was throwing strikes and he gave the pen a much-needed break by making it through eight. In the first 21 games of the season we’ve only had two starts that have made it into the eighth inning, Wakefield’s start on Sunday and Beckett’s start on Thursday, in which he also completed eight.
We need more outings like that from all of our pitchers. Buchholz has yet to get into the seventh inning and both Dice-K and Lester have yet to get out of the seventh inning, with too many of those outings not making it out of the fifth or sixth inning. If we keep going like that, we’re not going to have any bullpen left in July, never mind September/October.
I know it’s still early and these guys are still building up stamina, but most of the problems are stemming from the fact that they're throwing too many pitches and not that they're getting gassed too early. And this has been a problem for both Dice-K and Lester all along. These guys need to start throwing more strikes and they need to start doing it soon.
But hey, despite all of that, we’re in first place in the AL East and we’re the first team to 14 wins in the Major Leagues. Big Papi is coming around, Beckett is shaping up, the bullpen is rounding out and the offense is clicking on all cylinders. It’s all good in Red Sox Nation in April.
The Rangers always manage to put together an impressive collection of bats, but never have any pitching. You would think that sooner or later someone over there would figure out that it’s all about pitching and start trying to acquire some, but it just never seems to happen. Every year it’s the same thing, they batter their way through the schedule, and try to outslug their opponent, and more times then not they find themselves on the losing end, whether it be because the starter was terrible, the bullpen was terrible, or they were all terrible.
Nice to see Buchholz go 6 today, after only making it through 3.2 in his last outing. Even though Wakefield gave up 5 runs on Sunday, he was throwing strikes and he gave the pen a much-needed break by making it through eight. In the first 21 games of the season we’ve only had two starts that have made it into the eighth inning, Wakefield’s start on Sunday and Beckett’s start on Thursday, in which he also completed eight.
We need more outings like that from all of our pitchers. Buchholz has yet to get into the seventh inning and both Dice-K and Lester have yet to get out of the seventh inning, with too many of those outings not making it out of the fifth or sixth inning. If we keep going like that, we’re not going to have any bullpen left in July, never mind September/October.
I know it’s still early and these guys are still building up stamina, but most of the problems are stemming from the fact that they're throwing too many pitches and not that they're getting gassed too early. And this has been a problem for both Dice-K and Lester all along. These guys need to start throwing more strikes and they need to start doing it soon.
But hey, despite all of that, we’re in first place in the AL East and we’re the first team to 14 wins in the Major Leagues. Big Papi is coming around, Beckett is shaping up, the bullpen is rounding out and the offense is clicking on all cylinders. It’s all good in Red Sox Nation in April.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Double A and The Mayor
A lot of the talk today will be about Big Papi’s grand slam, Jed Lowrie’s first start at Fenway, or the fact that Dice-K got his AL leading fourth win of the season, despite the fact that he has been unable to get out of the sixth inning in any of his five starts.
So I’m going to talk about something else, in particular, two Red Sox players whose signings were not that big of a deal at the time, but they have both managed to make an impact on this team in the early going.
I’ll start with Sean Casey. On my old BostonNOW blog, which seems to be gone now, I noted at the time we signed him that it was a good move. I noted that, not only was Casey a good guy, which was already well known, but he was also a pretty good hitter (he’s currently sporting a .302 lifetime batting average) and that not only was he a good backup for both Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell, but he would also be nice insurance in case we lost one of them for any extended period of time.
Well, it didn’t take long for that to happen, as Lowell went down with the sprained thumb on April 9th, and is probably going to miss at least a couple of more weeks. No problem, Youk moved across the diamond to third and The Mayor stepped into the game at first and went 2-4 with a run scored. In 9 games since Lowell’s injury, Casey is batting .354 with an OBP of .444. He’s been on base 16 times, has scored 5 runs and driven in 6. Not only that, but he’s fun to watch. Every time they show this guy he’s got a smile on his face and his mouth is moving. He’s always talking to someone, whether it’s an umpire, an opposing player, or a teammate, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else having as much fun playing Major League baseball as Sean Casey seems to be having. We want, and need Mike Lowell back, but having The Mayor around until that happens is making it a lot easier.
For a guy who’s only 26, David Aardsma has been around. He’s already been traded 3 times, starting in San Francisco and playing for both Chicago teams. The good news is he’s got two good pitches, a mid 90’s fastball and an above average slider. The bad news is that he struggles with his control and, although he projects as a good set up man, he’s never been able to put it together, resulting in 3 teams giving up on him.
He’s still having some control problems, walking 8 and hitting a batter in 11 innings so far this year, but he’s also struck out 9 (a regular Nuke Laloosh), and although he’s gotten himself into some trouble, like last night, he’s also gotten himself out of it most of the time. Terry Francona has trusted him in a couple of key situations so far this year, and he’s responded well. It’s still early, and Aardsma started off well with the White Sox last season before completely losing it, but maybe he’s finally going to put it together and become the reliever that many scouts thought he was capable of becoming. He’ll definitely have to cut down the walks though. It would certainly be nice to have another weapon in the bullpen for this year and for the long-term, and David Aardsma could just be that guy.
So I’m going to talk about something else, in particular, two Red Sox players whose signings were not that big of a deal at the time, but they have both managed to make an impact on this team in the early going.
I’ll start with Sean Casey. On my old BostonNOW blog, which seems to be gone now, I noted at the time we signed him that it was a good move. I noted that, not only was Casey a good guy, which was already well known, but he was also a pretty good hitter (he’s currently sporting a .302 lifetime batting average) and that not only was he a good backup for both Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell, but he would also be nice insurance in case we lost one of them for any extended period of time.
Well, it didn’t take long for that to happen, as Lowell went down with the sprained thumb on April 9th, and is probably going to miss at least a couple of more weeks. No problem, Youk moved across the diamond to third and The Mayor stepped into the game at first and went 2-4 with a run scored. In 9 games since Lowell’s injury, Casey is batting .354 with an OBP of .444. He’s been on base 16 times, has scored 5 runs and driven in 6. Not only that, but he’s fun to watch. Every time they show this guy he’s got a smile on his face and his mouth is moving. He’s always talking to someone, whether it’s an umpire, an opposing player, or a teammate, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else having as much fun playing Major League baseball as Sean Casey seems to be having. We want, and need Mike Lowell back, but having The Mayor around until that happens is making it a lot easier.
For a guy who’s only 26, David Aardsma has been around. He’s already been traded 3 times, starting in San Francisco and playing for both Chicago teams. The good news is he’s got two good pitches, a mid 90’s fastball and an above average slider. The bad news is that he struggles with his control and, although he projects as a good set up man, he’s never been able to put it together, resulting in 3 teams giving up on him.
He’s still having some control problems, walking 8 and hitting a batter in 11 innings so far this year, but he’s also struck out 9 (a regular Nuke Laloosh), and although he’s gotten himself into some trouble, like last night, he’s also gotten himself out of it most of the time. Terry Francona has trusted him in a couple of key situations so far this year, and he’s responded well. It’s still early, and Aardsma started off well with the White Sox last season before completely losing it, but maybe he’s finally going to put it together and become the reliever that many scouts thought he was capable of becoming. He’ll definitely have to cut down the walks though. It would certainly be nice to have another weapon in the bullpen for this year and for the long-term, and David Aardsma could just be that guy.
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