Wednesday, May 12, 2004
PEDRO FULFILLS MY PROPHECY
Cleveland Indians 3
Boston Red Sox 5
W: Lefty Embree (1-0)
L: Jose Jimenez (0-2)
S: Keith Foulke (7)
BS: Jose Jimenez (1)
I predicted Pedro would go 7, give up between 1 and 3 runs, allow up to 5 hits, and walk 2. What did he do? He went 7, gave up 2 runs, allowed 5 hits, and walked 2. Am I good or what? As long as the weather is good, Pedro is all but guaranteed to have a quality start. That being said, it gets cold in New England in October, hopefully he’ll be able to get his arm warm enough and pitch well come autumn.
The Man of the Game is obviously Pedro. Sabathia pitched pretty well, but Pedro outdid him. McCarty hit the game winning hit but didn’t do anything else. Victor Martinez had a great night but pitching (especially Pedro’s) will always have an edge in the Man of the Game department. This MOTG for Pedro ties Schilling at 4. I think it’s safe to say that these two will be battling for the coveted PEDROphile Cup (the one with the most MOTGs).
Pedro was very shaky early on despite retiring 6 men in the first two innings via the strikeout. He settled down and wound up striking out 11. It was his 94th career 10 strikeout game and his 67th with the Sox. The Sox record is 68 held by r*ger cl*mens. Pedro retired the last 16 men he faced. He threw a season high 115 pitches, 71 of which were strikes. That’s a 61.7% strike percentage and a 1.6:1 (8:5) strike to ball ratio.
Reese and Embree were lucky that the Sox came back. They were gonna get it big time in the Bitch-Goat department, especially Reese who, in my opinion, is an offensive void unless it is against shitty pitching.
Hopefully McCarty will get more of a welcome the next time he comes to the plate. I’ve noticed recently that there hasn’t been much of a reaction at all when he steps to the plate. When one thinks about it, he’s a lot like Reese only less popular. He’s a defensive expert with a weak bat. However, Reese plays a more flaring position and his speed is exciting.
Terry Francona’s decision to pinch hit for Daubach who pinch hit for Reese was a great one. Very few managers seem to have the guts to do something like that in order to achieve a good matchup but Terry did it and it worked out.
THE FANS…
It is nice to see that the fans in the right field corner have not interfered with a ball. It is harder than it seems to do so but the fact that the fans haven’t interfered with a play this season is a good thing.
The fans at Fenway need to learn how to chant. I like the fact that there has been more of the “Let’s go Red Sox” chant but the fans need to learn how to chant in sync. Otherwise, the chant is just a bunch of noise. I’d also enjoy seeing some original chants such as “Just Say No” from the 99 ALCS, “You do steroids” and “BALCO” from the Y*nkee series. I love a good chant.
STILL, WE CHOKE
After the game, I went and saw Still, We Believe. It wasn’t a bad movie but it was nothing special. The format was good and the use of the split screen was done very well. The splicing of game footage and audio mixed with original material was done very well, I felt. However, the people used as examples of Red Sox fans could have used improvement. There were two blonde alcoholic girls who spent most of the time complaining in thick accents about weather. Have you ever been to a game and got annoyed with the drunk lady yelling dumb shit a few rows behind you? These are two of them. I tell ya, you give a girl 4 or 5 beers and she becomes one of the most annoying things in the world. Another fan was “Angry Bill” a regular WEEI caller. Well, he was a regular caller until he stopped calling a few shows that bitched him out. Bill was a good example of the fatalistic Sox fan. The only time he predicted success for the Sox was in the LCS. Unfortunately, Bill does not know much about baseball. He began his ignorant ramblings by complaining he didn’t know who Mueller, Ortiz and Millar were. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t know much about them but I knew enough and was able to look up enough to see that they were, at the very least, solid ball players. The other fans were pretty interesting: a transplanted New Englander and owner of a Santa Monica bar that featured Boston sports, a crippled kid who was trying to rehab his legs, and a fireman who seemed more concerned with the Sox than fires. I recommend going to see it or buying the inevitable DVD when it comes out. I recommend this as both a Sox fan and a film aficionado.
KIM TO PAWTUCKET
The Sox used the minor league options in Kim’s contract to allow him to work out the problems he’s having with his pitching. I think this is a good move. He’s not taking up a roster spot and he’ll have a good chance to work out his problems without causing some for the Sox.
INJURY NOTES
Nomar and Trot took live BP from a AA pitcher yesterday afternoon. They also participated in the typical pregame routines including BP and fielding. Nomar played a simulated 5 inning game on Monday. The path to recovery for Nomar looks like this:
1. play full simulated games
2. play simulated games back-to-back
3. play 3 simulated games in a row
4. minor league rehab stint
Johnny Damon is going to shave his beard for $15,000 from Gillette that will go to the Boston Public Library
Apparently first base coach Lyn Jones had an accident with a screw driver and got it surgically repaired the other day in Cleveland.
Finally, I read in an article that ratings for NBA playoff games were lower than NASCAR races. HAHAHA. Not that I hate basketball but I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the NBA in its modern state. Plus, I love NASCAR.
Post #178
Cleveland Indians 3
Boston Red Sox 5
W: Lefty Embree (1-0)
L: Jose Jimenez (0-2)
S: Keith Foulke (7)
BS: Jose Jimenez (1)
I predicted Pedro would go 7, give up between 1 and 3 runs, allow up to 5 hits, and walk 2. What did he do? He went 7, gave up 2 runs, allowed 5 hits, and walked 2. Am I good or what? As long as the weather is good, Pedro is all but guaranteed to have a quality start. That being said, it gets cold in New England in October, hopefully he’ll be able to get his arm warm enough and pitch well come autumn.
The Man of the Game is obviously Pedro. Sabathia pitched pretty well, but Pedro outdid him. McCarty hit the game winning hit but didn’t do anything else. Victor Martinez had a great night but pitching (especially Pedro’s) will always have an edge in the Man of the Game department. This MOTG for Pedro ties Schilling at 4. I think it’s safe to say that these two will be battling for the coveted PEDROphile Cup (the one with the most MOTGs).
Pedro was very shaky early on despite retiring 6 men in the first two innings via the strikeout. He settled down and wound up striking out 11. It was his 94th career 10 strikeout game and his 67th with the Sox. The Sox record is 68 held by r*ger cl*mens. Pedro retired the last 16 men he faced. He threw a season high 115 pitches, 71 of which were strikes. That’s a 61.7% strike percentage and a 1.6:1 (8:5) strike to ball ratio.
Reese and Embree were lucky that the Sox came back. They were gonna get it big time in the Bitch-Goat department, especially Reese who, in my opinion, is an offensive void unless it is against shitty pitching.
Hopefully McCarty will get more of a welcome the next time he comes to the plate. I’ve noticed recently that there hasn’t been much of a reaction at all when he steps to the plate. When one thinks about it, he’s a lot like Reese only less popular. He’s a defensive expert with a weak bat. However, Reese plays a more flaring position and his speed is exciting.
Terry Francona’s decision to pinch hit for Daubach who pinch hit for Reese was a great one. Very few managers seem to have the guts to do something like that in order to achieve a good matchup but Terry did it and it worked out.
THE FANS…
It is nice to see that the fans in the right field corner have not interfered with a ball. It is harder than it seems to do so but the fact that the fans haven’t interfered with a play this season is a good thing.
The fans at Fenway need to learn how to chant. I like the fact that there has been more of the “Let’s go Red Sox” chant but the fans need to learn how to chant in sync. Otherwise, the chant is just a bunch of noise. I’d also enjoy seeing some original chants such as “Just Say No” from the 99 ALCS, “You do steroids” and “BALCO” from the Y*nkee series. I love a good chant.
STILL, WE CHOKE
After the game, I went and saw Still, We Believe. It wasn’t a bad movie but it was nothing special. The format was good and the use of the split screen was done very well. The splicing of game footage and audio mixed with original material was done very well, I felt. However, the people used as examples of Red Sox fans could have used improvement. There were two blonde alcoholic girls who spent most of the time complaining in thick accents about weather. Have you ever been to a game and got annoyed with the drunk lady yelling dumb shit a few rows behind you? These are two of them. I tell ya, you give a girl 4 or 5 beers and she becomes one of the most annoying things in the world. Another fan was “Angry Bill” a regular WEEI caller. Well, he was a regular caller until he stopped calling a few shows that bitched him out. Bill was a good example of the fatalistic Sox fan. The only time he predicted success for the Sox was in the LCS. Unfortunately, Bill does not know much about baseball. He began his ignorant ramblings by complaining he didn’t know who Mueller, Ortiz and Millar were. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t know much about them but I knew enough and was able to look up enough to see that they were, at the very least, solid ball players. The other fans were pretty interesting: a transplanted New Englander and owner of a Santa Monica bar that featured Boston sports, a crippled kid who was trying to rehab his legs, and a fireman who seemed more concerned with the Sox than fires. I recommend going to see it or buying the inevitable DVD when it comes out. I recommend this as both a Sox fan and a film aficionado.
KIM TO PAWTUCKET
The Sox used the minor league options in Kim’s contract to allow him to work out the problems he’s having with his pitching. I think this is a good move. He’s not taking up a roster spot and he’ll have a good chance to work out his problems without causing some for the Sox.
INJURY NOTES
Nomar and Trot took live BP from a AA pitcher yesterday afternoon. They also participated in the typical pregame routines including BP and fielding. Nomar played a simulated 5 inning game on Monday. The path to recovery for Nomar looks like this:
1. play full simulated games
2. play simulated games back-to-back
3. play 3 simulated games in a row
4. minor league rehab stint
Johnny Damon is going to shave his beard for $15,000 from Gillette that will go to the Boston Public Library
Apparently first base coach Lyn Jones had an accident with a screw driver and got it surgically repaired the other day in Cleveland.
Finally, I read in an article that ratings for NBA playoff games were lower than NASCAR races. HAHAHA. Not that I hate basketball but I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the NBA in its modern state. Plus, I love NASCAR.
Post #178
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
SOX DROP TWO STRAIGHT
Kansas City Royals 8
Boston Red Sox 4
W: Darrell May (1-4)
L: D-Lowe (3-3)
H: Jaime Cerda (1)
Derek Lowe is really dissapointing me. I figured that with a full spring training, and being matched up mostly against #3 starters, he'd be able to win at least 16 and up to 22 games. However, he's .500 and his ERA is over 5. Of all the Sox that are going to be a free agent, he is the lowest priority (besides Reese, of course). He is too tempermental.
The Man of the Game is Carlos Beltran. He had two doubles and 4 RBI. He also stole a base.
The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Bellhorn: 0.1 - 0 for 5, 3 Ks, 3 LOB
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 Ks, 2 LOB
Dinardo: 0.1 - IP, ER, 2 H, BB
Timlin: 0.1 - IP, ER, HR
Reese: 0.1 - Error, CS, Picked off
Lowe: 0.5 - 5.2 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 5 H
Cleveland Indians 10
Boston Red Sox 6
W: Chad Durbin (3-3)
L: BH Kim (1-1)
H: Scott Stewart (3)
What a long and pointless game this was. Three hours and 40+ minutes. Absolutely terrible pitching combined with a lack of clutch hitting to destroy the Red Sox in this game. Kim was absolutely horrendous. More on that later.
The Man of the Game is Ben Broussard. He went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.
The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Reese: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 3 LOB
Dinardo: 0.1 - 2.1 IP, ER, Inherited runner scored
Embree: 0.2 - IP, 2 ER
Kim: 0.6 - 3.1 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 H
I was going to write about whether or not to send Kim to the pen and put Arroyo back in the rotation but the Red Sox answered that question for me. Kim has a good arm and I think he'll be valuable coming out of the pen as long as it isn't against the Y*nkees. I would like to give him some easy innings out of the pen and possibly trade him for prospects or a bat to come off the bench.
PEDRO AND THE WEATHER
I've been theorizing that Pedro's poor starts were due to poor weather conditions. Here is a look at the relationship between game time temperature and his performance:
Start #1 - 4/4 - @BAL - 43 degrees: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 K, HR
Start #2 - 4/10 - TOR - 55 degrees: 7.2 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 7 K, HR
Start #3 – 4/15 – BAL – 48 degrees: 5 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
Start #4 – 4/20 - @TOR – 68 degrees: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
Start #5 – 4/25 - @NYY – 55 degrees: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 8 K, HR
Start #6 – 5/1 - @TEX – 58 degrees: 4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, BB, 3 K, HR
Start #7 – 5/6 - @CLE – 82 degrees: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, HR
The Texas game got much colder as the game progressed. Apart from the Texas game, Pedro’s starts in weather above 50 degrees were all very good. His starts in mild weather (50-65 degrees) average out to this performance:
5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 6 K, HR
That’s essentially a quality start and this includes that Texas start. Here are his average numbers for warm weather games (65+)
7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, HR
That isn’t a bad start at all. Now here are his average numbers for all non-cold starts:
6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
That is a pretty good start, if you ask me. Is it “Pedro-esque?” Not really. But considering that the Texas start, in which it got much colder after the first pitch, that is a good average start. Without the Texas start, the numbers look like this:
7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, HR
That’s a good start. So judging by his track record in warm weather games and the game time temperature being around 80 degrees, Pedro should go out and pitch 7 innings, give up 3-5 hits, 1-3 ER, and walk about 2.
Just a final note, Manny Ramirez became a United States citizten yesterday and therefore missed the game last night. He was going to be given a day off in this series anyway and if he had missed the ceremony in Miami yesterday, he wouldn’t have been sworn in as a citizen for at least a year. Of course, some members of the Boston media decided that this was a story and deserved more than a blurb. Some members of the media criticized Manny even though he did this with the blessing of the Red Sox.
Post #177
Kansas City Royals 8
Boston Red Sox 4
W: Darrell May (1-4)
L: D-Lowe (3-3)
H: Jaime Cerda (1)
Derek Lowe is really dissapointing me. I figured that with a full spring training, and being matched up mostly against #3 starters, he'd be able to win at least 16 and up to 22 games. However, he's .500 and his ERA is over 5. Of all the Sox that are going to be a free agent, he is the lowest priority (besides Reese, of course). He is too tempermental.
The Man of the Game is Carlos Beltran. He had two doubles and 4 RBI. He also stole a base.
The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Bellhorn: 0.1 - 0 for 5, 3 Ks, 3 LOB
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 Ks, 2 LOB
Dinardo: 0.1 - IP, ER, 2 H, BB
Timlin: 0.1 - IP, ER, HR
Reese: 0.1 - Error, CS, Picked off
Lowe: 0.5 - 5.2 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 5 H
Cleveland Indians 10
Boston Red Sox 6
W: Chad Durbin (3-3)
L: BH Kim (1-1)
H: Scott Stewart (3)
What a long and pointless game this was. Three hours and 40+ minutes. Absolutely terrible pitching combined with a lack of clutch hitting to destroy the Red Sox in this game. Kim was absolutely horrendous. More on that later.
The Man of the Game is Ben Broussard. He went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.
The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Reese: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 3 LOB
Dinardo: 0.1 - 2.1 IP, ER, Inherited runner scored
Embree: 0.2 - IP, 2 ER
Kim: 0.6 - 3.1 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 H
I was going to write about whether or not to send Kim to the pen and put Arroyo back in the rotation but the Red Sox answered that question for me. Kim has a good arm and I think he'll be valuable coming out of the pen as long as it isn't against the Y*nkees. I would like to give him some easy innings out of the pen and possibly trade him for prospects or a bat to come off the bench.
PEDRO AND THE WEATHER
I've been theorizing that Pedro's poor starts were due to poor weather conditions. Here is a look at the relationship between game time temperature and his performance:
Start #1 - 4/4 - @BAL - 43 degrees: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 K, HR
Start #2 - 4/10 - TOR - 55 degrees: 7.2 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 7 K, HR
Start #3 – 4/15 – BAL – 48 degrees: 5 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
Start #4 – 4/20 - @TOR – 68 degrees: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
Start #5 – 4/25 - @NYY – 55 degrees: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 8 K, HR
Start #6 – 5/1 - @TEX – 58 degrees: 4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, BB, 3 K, HR
Start #7 – 5/6 - @CLE – 82 degrees: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, HR
The Texas game got much colder as the game progressed. Apart from the Texas game, Pedro’s starts in weather above 50 degrees were all very good. His starts in mild weather (50-65 degrees) average out to this performance:
5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 6 K, HR
That’s essentially a quality start and this includes that Texas start. Here are his average numbers for warm weather games (65+)
7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, HR
That isn’t a bad start at all. Now here are his average numbers for all non-cold starts:
6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
That is a pretty good start, if you ask me. Is it “Pedro-esque?” Not really. But considering that the Texas start, in which it got much colder after the first pitch, that is a good average start. Without the Texas start, the numbers look like this:
7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, HR
That’s a good start. So judging by his track record in warm weather games and the game time temperature being around 80 degrees, Pedro should go out and pitch 7 innings, give up 3-5 hits, 1-3 ER, and walk about 2.
Just a final note, Manny Ramirez became a United States citizten yesterday and therefore missed the game last night. He was going to be given a day off in this series anyway and if he had missed the ceremony in Miami yesterday, he wouldn’t have been sworn in as a citizen for at least a year. Of course, some members of the Boston media decided that this was a story and deserved more than a blurb. Some members of the media criticized Manny even though he did this with the blessing of the Red Sox.
Post #177
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