4.2.08 Sox v. A’s

Sox win 5-0 to go to 3-1.

What can I say, John Lester was masterful and Big Papi did his thing with a 2-run shot in the 7th off Alan Embree. Embree tried to throw a puny 84 mph fastball by the Man, and Big Papi told him to “Get that cheese outta here!”

Later on Varitek took Huston Street deep for his first homer of the season – this one the umps could not get wrong. Huston Street has looked very mediocre so far; Billy Beane must be lamenting the drop in Street’s trade value due to these first two outings.

Lester was so unlike his first start. In this one he went 6 2/3 with 3 hits, 3 walks and 3 Ks on 94 pitches. At the start of the game he got ahead of batters (he threw a first pitch strike to five of the first seven guys he faced) and pitched with a great deal of confidence. He looked like a different pitcher to me. It was nice to see. I still don’t think he is out of the woods yet, but this was a more promising outing.

No game for the Sox on the 3rd. Next up is a trip to Toronto.

Wakefield takes on Shaun Marcum.

Game 5 Interesting Stat:

Justin Masterson starts the opener for AA Portland.

• Masterson went 10-0, 2.18, 24 runs, 19 earned in 78.1 IP from June 7 – August 5 (between AA Portland and A Lancaster) but finished winless in his last six starts with Portland: 0-3, 7.03, 32 IP, 39 H, 26 R, 25 ER, 13 BB, 27 SO)
• In Portland’s Opener last year, Ellsbury had four hits and tied a Sea Dog franchise record with 3 doubles.

Bartolo Colon starts the opener for AAA Pawtucket.

• In 2005, Schilling started the opener for the Pawsox and lost to Zach Duke 7-4.

4.1.08 – Sox vs A’s

No April’s Fools joke today by the Sox, just a well played 2-1 victory over the A’s. Not much to complain about here (except for Varitek being robbed of a home run). A solid outing by Dice-K (despite still not throwing enough first pitch strikes) followed by the usual brilliant relief stint by Okajima and the hammer that is Papelbon.

Comments

• I love Youkilis. He just plays the game like it is supposed to be played. His defense is fantastic, he works pitchers hard, and he just gets on base. There is not much more you can ask for – okay, maybe a bit more power from your first sacker. I hope Tito keeps him fresh so that he does not wear down at the end of the season like he has the past two years.
• Youk tied the consecutive errorless game streak of 193 set by Steve Garvey in 1985 when he was with San Diego. One more Youk!
• It looked to me like Varitek smoked the same pitch from Blanton for a single and a “double” (which was really a home run). I don’t know why pitchers give him low balls to hit – he loves to golf!
• Is Big Papi’s knee okay? Not a great start 0-11 so far.

By the way, I love all the info you get from MLB’s gameday. It is fantastic.

Game 4 – Interesting Stat

Lester v. Harden – rematch

The last Sox lefty to win in the Coliseum (starter or reliever) was Zane Smith on May 29, 1995.

Thoughts on Dice-K

Let’s take a quick look at Dice-K’s last outing and continue the thread of my concern about his, and Lester’s, inability to throw first pitch strikes. I think this puts them in a bad spot for lasting deep into games. Dice-K’s last outing:

•  5 IP, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 6 Ks, 2 ER; on the surface, this looks good. But

• 95 pitches in 5 innings is not what the Sox need from Dice-K

• First inning, Dice-K was fortunate that Buck swung at the first pitch and grounded out. However, Dice-K then threw a first pitch ball to the next five batters. He escaped with “only” 2 runs crossing the plate. He needed 30 pitches to get through the first.

• Second inning, Suzuki singled on the first pitch, then Dice-K threw a first pitch strike to four of the next five batters and escaped unscathed. He needed another 30 pitches to get through the second. 60 pitches through 2. Ouch.

• Third inning, was a quicker on for Dice-K with a first pitch out by Emil Brown. Dice-K then threw a first pitch ball to the next three batters he faced, but only walked one and ended the inning “only” having thrown 15 pitches. 75 total through 3.

• Fourth inning, a quick 1-2-3 inning with first pitch strikes to two of the three batters. Only 8 pitches this inning. 85 pitches through 4.

• Fifth inning (and what would be Dice-K’s last), another 1-2-3 inning but only one batter received a first pitch strike. 12 pitches for his total of 95.

Batters faced – 23

First pitch strikes – 11

While this outing turned out okay for Dice-K, it was an A’s lineup that is much inferior to say New York or Cleveland or Detroit’s. If Dice-K continues with his penchant for avoiding the plate on the first pitch, he will not last long against the good teams. He needs to turn that around.

And, while we are on the topic of first pitch strikes, Lester is just as maddening. In his outing, he went 4 innings and threw 83 pitches. He faced 20 batters and threw a first pitch strike to just 8 of them. That is not good.

3.26.08 – Sox vs. A’s

The final game in the Tokyo series went to the A’s 5-1.     Rich Harden was superb. His line was 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 9 Ks, 1 ER. The run he gave up was a monster blast to Manny. But, apart from that, Harden was in control, and the A’s pen also looked pretty sharp with a nice appearance from Santiago Casilla. 

• Manny has certainly started off the season with a bang.  He looks to be in midseason form already.  I guess the contract year has been a motivating factor for him.
• Lester fell into the trap I was afraid of – not enough first pitch strikes led to way too many pitches thrown by the fourth inning.  He departed after 83 pitches, well on pace for 100+ through 5.  That just is not going to cut it.  Lester is a pretty big question mark in my mind.
• Varitek does not look good.  In 8 plate appearances so far he is 0-8 with 6 Ks.  Let’s hope this is not a sign of things to come.
• David Aardsma looked really good in his 1 2/3 IP.  He had good velocity and was painting the corners.
• Is Keith Foulke going to resurrect his career?  I am still not sold on him.  While his numbers look good, there were some solid shots against him.  I don’t think he has gotten out of the woods yet, but, as I mentioned yesterday, it still is like spring training for many of these guys.

 

The NESN broadcast had a really funny moment.  Remy and Orsillo were doing the game via the Japanese feed and at one point the feed was different shots of Dice-K, for, I kid you not, about 5-7 minutes.  Remy couldn’t take it at the end and actually got up and walked around the booth so he would have something to do.  Both he and Orsillo were actually speechless for blocks of time – they had nothing to say because the picture was of Dice-K sitting in the stands.  It was pretty funny.

 

 

A little more on Varitek – he has me worried.  His K%/BB% has gone like this since 2000:

 

• 2000 – 18.8/11.8
• 2001 – 20.1/10.8
• 2002 – 20.3/8.1
• 2003 – 23.5/10.2
• 2004 – 27.2/11.8
• 2005 – 24.9/11.7
• 2006 – 23.8/11.2
• 2007 – 28.0/14.0

 

This is not a good sign; it looks like age has caught up with him. What will the Sox do with him?  They have very little down in the minors and this is the last year of his contract.  Is his handling of the pitching staff enough to overcome the scary look of these numbers?  

 

It will be interesting to see how Theo and company plan for the future starting in 2009.  Will Varitek accept a one year deal? With Boras as his agent, you’d think not. 

 

Player of the Day – Rich Harden:

 

 

3.25.08 – Sox v. A’s

My first post of this new blog.  The goal of this blog is to record my thoughts and memories about the Sox, the games, and baseball in general.  Onward … 

6-5 Sox in 10.

• Dice K had no control at all in the first two innings.  March 25 is still spring training.
• Keith Foulke, while his line looked good, was lucky to escape his inning without any damage. Youkalis took him to deep center and then Big Papi hit a laser right at Emil Brown in left.
• Huston Street’s windup reminds me of the Eck – the results however were not on par with the Eck.  But, again, I think March 25 is still spring training.  Street did not put the ball where he wanted.  You have to wonder if Billy Beane though gnashes his teeth over these type of outings in that other GMs might not be as interested in Street if he struggles for any period of time.  Small sample sizes must have some impact on a player’s value – they shouldn’t but we are all human and look at what the player has done lately.

 

This was a nice comeback win the for Sox and a great way to start the season.  The A’s must be very frustrated; my friend Dennis is an A’s fan – I feel his pain.  The A’s deserved to win this game but for their stud closer’s implosion.  

 

Rich Harden takes on John Lester tomorrow.   If Harden is healthy he is a tough pitcher.  Let’s see if Lester can get to the 5th inning with fewer than 100 pitches.  I am not very hopeful about this, unless Lester has changed his erratic ways.  His two post-season outings, while amazing, have not convinced me that his control is better and his ability to throw first pitch strikes has improved.