Buchholz, Bowden Better Birds

Ok, that’s the last alliteration for a bit. Promise.

Last night’s game was much better. I get that it’s against the Orioles. But, doing exactly what you’re supposed to do is never a bad thing. If the Sox won 2-1 or 5-4, I could be worried about just beating a bad team. But, they didn’t eek out a victory. The demolished the visitors, and that’s great.

Clay Buchholz’s performance should not get lost. Sure, he had a huge lead right from the start. But, he didn’t use it. It previous starts, with previous leads, he’s struggled. I remember a similar game with a similar lead; he couldn’t even go long enough to qualify for the win. So, staying in the game for seven shutout innings is a tremendous plus for the Sox. They need him to remember he can pitch if he’s going to be the third starter in a playoff series.

It’s nice for the bats to come alive as well. Once again, I need to consider the opponent. But, any change the line-up can get to feel comfortable has to help going forward. Pedroia was in an annoying little slump. So, at the very least he can go into tonight’s game having hit two home runs the night before. His stats on the scoreboard look a little better than they did. That can’t hurt, right?
The Red Sox record stands at 80-58. They’re currently on pace for 94 wins. After 138 games last year, the Sox were 81-57, finishing with 95 wins. The annoying part is that after those 138 games last year, the Sox were only 4 games back. So, it’s not so much that the Sox have been struggling…even after the rough series in Chicago. It’s that the other teams keep winning. The Yankees won again last night. The Rangers swept a double header. So, the Sox won and not only didn’t gain in the division, but they lost a half-game in the wild card. That’s just rotten luck.

The Sox desperately need tonight’s game in the bag. That way, when the big boys come into town, the pressure won’t be as crazy. If the Sox do what I ask the rest of the way and play .500 on the road, and win the series at home they’ll finish with 95 wins.

Can’t ask for much more than that.

Byrd Bounced, But Beckett Better

OK, not the world’s best weekend for our Boston Red Sox. While I usually don’t expect to win a series on the road, this is one of the times you think they’d at least split. Especially since their two aces were scheduled to appear.
Just when you thought that the Sox had picked up an aging free agent that actually worked, Paul Byrd blew up on Friday night. To be fair, blew up might be a harsh term. He got nibbled and nibbled to death. It’s the sort of performance the Derek Lowe was famous for. A liner off an infielder’s glove. A blooper just over the infield. A dribbler that just makes it through. Just as you’re telling yourself that things aren’t so bad, they go crazy. Franona can’t exactly pull a guy for giving up a bloop and a dribbler. But, before you know it, they’re down seven runs and on the way to a laugher. I don’t know if that shows anything for next time. Was that just a run of bad luck, or does it mean that Byrd’s hittable? Only time will tell.
Once again Jon Lester showed everyone why he’s one of the bright young stars in this league. He passed the 200-strikeout mark, which is pretty remarkable. Thinking back to the inconsistent Lester of a few years ago, who would have thought he’d be in the games long enough to reach 200 K’s? 200 walks, maybe. This shows exactly the kind of progression that requires patience with young pitchers. After a couple years of being “blah”, it wouldn’t have been way off to wonder if Lester would ever get it. It looks like he’s done exactly that. It’s another reason that Clay Buchholz deserved a little time…even thought he’s older than Lester was at the same stage of his career.
Of course the bigger start of the weekend belonged to Josh Beckett. Not only was it a pretty good pitching match-up, but you had to wonder what, exactly, Beckett would give you. While he drew the loss, I’m pretty encouraged with the way Beckett performed. He continued with the high school English pitching. He gave up a couple walks this time, but didn’t give up a home run. He put together one of those “quality starts.” While you can argue how “quality” seven innings of 3-run ball is, it’s better than he had been doing. Quite honestly, if Beckett goes seven innings, and give up 3 runs, the Sox will win quite a few of his starts. I’d say things are looking up.
A couple nice things happen for the Sox in the coming weeks. First, they start a smooth 8-game homestand. Any long stretch at home is much appreciated. They also start it off with a couple games against the Orioles. While I hesitate to look past them, I’d prefer to face them than a lot of other teams. They also have an amazing two days off in the next week. So, if anyone is looking for a rest, now’s the time. The bad news? That’s the last rest the Sox will get all season. After the O’s, the Sox host Tampa and LA. Those aren’t exactly cupcakes. Also, after playing LA, the Sox head out on a 10-day 10-game road trip. While it starts with Baltimore and KC, any trip that long and packed is never a good thing. And, true to form, the schedulers made it extra tough on the Sox by scheduling the Yankees series as the last three games of the trip. Why does it always seem that the Sox go the Bronx at the end of a long road trip? Oh, right. It’s because they do. In May, they closed out a 9-game/10 day trip with a couple in NY. In August, they closed out another 9-game/10 day trip with four in the Bronx. The 10-game/10 day trip next week is even worse. (Usually the Yankees are just finishing up a nice homestand when the Sox come calling. Often with a day off the day before the series opener. Or does it just feel that way?) Would have been nice to start in NY and close in Baltimore. But, that’s the way it goes.
No matter what, the Sox need these next two.

You Know What They Say About an Old Penny…

Sometimes, right after you give them their release because they pitched so pathetically they come right out and throw eight shutout innings while getting the win for their new team.
OK, so it’s not a real common saying. But, it certainly applies in this case. How does Penny come out and mow down the Phillies? When Smoltz did it against the Padres and Nationals, you could at least blame the competition. But, this was the defending World Champions at home, and Penny cut through them like it was nothing. Is the NL really that bad? I know there’s always the kidding that they’re the weaker league, maybe even at the level of AAA. But, I would have been shocked if Penny was sent to Portland and tossed 8 shutout innings. What gives? How does this happen to the Sox twice?
More importantly, does Theo get to say he was right? When two pitchers he took a chance on do end up dominating, but only after he finally releases them, does that show he made the right call? Apparently they both did have something left in the tank. They both did come back from arm troubles to be a factor on a playoff contender. It just wasn’t in Boston. Maybe a half-point for each of them?
Just as important, can Theo use these examples to fleece other National League teams? Can Theo offer struggling pitchers to NL teams, and convince them they’ll be Cy Young contenders? Can he convince the Cardinals that, say, Daisuke for Pujols is a more than fair trade? Would it work for position players too?
Speaking of struggling pitchers, what going on with the ace? Beckett’s stats continue to baffle me. He gives up runs like they’re on sale, but the rest of it looks pretty good. He went six innings yesterday, giving up 4 runs. That’s not a good start for anyone, let alone a top of the rotation guy. But, if you didn’t know that and I just said, “Beckett pitched last night. Went six innings, didn’t walk anybody, gave up seven hits, and struck out nine.” You’d assume the Sox won big. That’s a heck of a performance. Pitchers with 1.17 WHIPS are league leaders. That works to 13.5 K’s/9 innings. You’d pray for that kind of dominance. Once again though, despite the supporting numbers, he gave up runs in bunches. It’s hard to say, then, that he’s doing much wrong. I can’t say he must be hurt, or he wouldn’t be striking out nine guys. He’s not wild, since he didn’t walk anybody. Is he, perhaps, suffering from being too controlled? Maybe he needs to go a little Nolan Ryan and throw the ball all over the place for a while. Players appear to know that his fastball is going to be around the plate. They aren’t punished for swinging for the fences, so they do. Maybe brush a few guys back to regain the swagger? I don’t know the answer.
He better figure it out pretty dang soon.

Red Sox A-Z: H is for…

Hideki Okajima

Okajima was signed by the Sox in November of 2006. At the time, the Sox had won the rights to negotiate with Japanese super-pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The signing of Okajima was seen as a way to encourage Dice-K to sign. Most of the public thought the move was to give Matsuzaka a friend on the team. It may have worked, too, since Matsuzaka ended up signing a couple weeks later. I’m not sure if even the Sox front office knew that Okajima would turn out to be a steal.
Things may not have started out great for Hideki, as he game up a home run on the first pitch he threw in the major leagues. But, he shut everyone down after that. He didn’t allow a run for the next 20 games he appeared in. He ended up making the All-Star team, which is amazing for a “rookie” set-up guy. The Sox rode him hard down the stretch, and into the playoffs. He didn’t give up a run in the ALDS or the ALCS in 2007. He ended up being a major factor in the 2007 World Championship. Just so Daisuke would have someone to talk to.

When I think of Okajima, I think of two things. The first is his delivery. I didn’t get to see many Sox games on TV during the 2007 season, relying mostly on the radio. So, it wasn’t until the playoffs that I noticed his delivery. He doesn’t look at the plate as he releases the ball. Which coach let him get away with that all his life? Instead of keeping his eye on the target, he looks straight at the ground. Is that unnerving to the hitter? Do they realize this guy is throwing a no-look pitch? Creepy.

The other thing about Okajima is his entrance song. I don’t know many set-up guys with such an identifiable entrance song. If you haven’t heard it, go search for Okajima on itunes. It’s worth downloading. It’s both energizing, and campy at the same time. I can’t hear it enough. I don’t know the history of the song, but it’s just great.

These days, Hideki is still a vital piece of the Red Sox bullpen. I shudder to think where the Sox would have been without him these last few years. he was an amazing pick-up. I wonder if anyone predicted it.

H is for Hideki Okajima.

36 Questions: Why Do Rosters Expand in September?

Every September, ML teams are allowed to expand their rosters. They can add more players to help them out for the last month of the season. I’m just not real sure as to why they do it.

Because of the pitching rotations, baseball is already one of the few sports that really changes from the regular season to the post season. A football team that performs well in the regular season, probably will perform as well in the postseason. Unless someone gets hurt, most of the same players will play in each game. In baseball, that’s different. With the number of games played during the regular season, most teams use a five-man pitching rotation. So, a team with 5 pretty good pitchers will probably win more games than a team with two great pitchers, and three scrubs. In the postseason, though, the team with two great pitches can configure them so that’s really all you need. Just ask Arizona fans. So, what you get, is a team that is built for the regular season, but not the playoffs…ore vice versa. The September call-ups would look to add even another wrinkle. In the case of the Red Sox, they had a pretty deep bench, and pitching staff. They had the different qualities they’d like in bench players, and have benefited from that. Suddenly, other teams are allowed to improve their bench without trying. By sheer volume, they can have players on hand to do whatever they may find that they need. That happens in the pen too. Suddenly, the bullpen is stocked with any kinds of arms a team could want. So, what happens is to really have three seasons. There’s the regular season from April to August. In this season, teams are rewarded for depth, and careful bench selection. Then, when the playoff run starts, teams are given the advantage of quantity. Depth isn’t as important, because everyone has depth. You don’t need a guy who can play first, third and outfield. You just find a guy who can play first, one that can play third, and one that can play outfield. Not to mention, that most of these call-ups won’t be able to play in the postseason. So, for the most important month of the season, teams can use players they can’t use later. Why would baseball upset the competitive balance like that? There must be a good reason…right?

By September, many of the minor league seasons are winding down. It is nice for some of the top minor league talent to have something to do. Although, I remember the Red Sox teams of years gone by waiting to call up extra players so that they could compete in minor league playoff games. But, killing time better not be the reason. Is upsetting the league worth getting some youngster a couple extra at bats? Heck, lots of the time the call ups are on the bench anyway. It’s nice for older teams to have the extra subs on hand. It allows players to get a little extra rest after a long season of aches and pains. But, isn’t that forgiving the teams without the foresight to employ younger healthy players? Once again, a team that did a good job to obtain an advantage sees that advantage taken away. It’s nice for the call-ups. Most of them are making their ML debuts. For some of them, it will be the only time they spend on a Major League roster. But, I can’t imagine a league messing with things so players can feel good about themselves. You know, other than Joe Torre’s All-Star teams.

So, what’s the reason? What’s so important that MLB is willing to change the whole dynamic of the league. Why does it penalize smart teams when it matters the most? I don’t get it.

Why do rosters expand in September?