THE DRAGONS DEN

The Perils of a Starting Pitcher in the AL BEAST (EAST)

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:53:47 -0400

There are some top line starting pitchers in the AL East with the likes of Roy Halladay, A.J Burnett, CC Sabathia, Joba Chamberlain, James Shield, and our own Josh Beckett and John Lester. Each of them has been lit up a couple of times against teams in the AL East even when they've been on a roll of outstanding outings. And the media can't understand why this happens when I watch ESPN and the MLB Network. Every time one of these starters has a tough game the reporters say, " He was going so good, what happened? " It's the tough lineups they must face day in a day out in the division stupid. This is a tough Division folks. Have you noticed how some guys coming from the National League have struggled pitching in this beast of a division? I.E. Smoltz, Penny. Look what happened in Smoltz's first start back in the NL (9K's no runs). It is not only tough physically pitching every 5 days but mentally draining facing these potent offenses from the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, and Orioles. You are going to take a beating every so often here. The 3 top teams make pitchers work much harder going deep in pitch count every at bat plus you have some of the top base stealers to contend with. This division can wear a pitcher down so don't be so surprised when the top starters have a bad game.

The Sox seam to be getting back in stride and with Wakefield coming back strong plus the addition of Billy Wagner to the bullpen I see them finishing very well. Alex Gonzalez has solidified the infield defense and Victor Martinez has been great since arriving. Just watch how Gonzalez makes plays look so easy. The offense is putting up runs again with Big Papi getting some key hits. Should be a fun few weeks and lets hope they can pick up a couple wins against their menace, the Rays next week. Enjoy!!

Sox Starting To Get Their Swagger Back

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:33:05 -0400

After taking three out of four from the AL Central leading Tigers the Sox staged an amazing comeback Friday night in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. Despite a base running blunder by pinch runner pitcher Clay Buchholz they scored 5 runs with two out in the top of the ninth thanks to a clutch 2 RBI double by Victor Martinez to win 8-4. Poor Buchholz got caught up in between 2nd and 3rd on a double hit by Dustin Padroia to deep left and ended up getting thrown out at home which would have been the tying run at the time. He wasn't sure if the leftfielder had caught the ball because it was hard to tell with a lighted scoreboard right where the ball hit. The ball kind of blended in with the lights and David Murphy's white uniform plus the ball bounced right to Murphy's bare hand. Being inexperienced on the bases he didn't take a look at his third base coach who could have helped him because he had a better angle to see the ball hit the wall.
Jon Lester has been outstanding the past three games and has nothing but no decisions to show for it. Bard blew back to back leads for him and last night he punched out 11 over 7 innings. I like the way Buchholz has thrown the last 2 games and what an asset it would be to the rotation if he can stay consistant. The rookie Tazawa showed quite a bit of maturity in his first start recovering from two misplays by Nick Green in the first inning to pitched five impressive innings to pick up his first major league win. I'm really glad the team reacquired SS Alex Gonzalez as I was really disappointed when they didn't re-sign him after the 2006 season. He was the best defensive SS they've had since Nomar and I couldn't understand why they were looking for more offense from that position when there was plenty in the lineup already. Defense is very important at that position and you can how much the Sox have struggled to there since Gonzalez. Looks like the offense is coming back to life because they are certainly going to need everyone to contribute over the final 47 games. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Sox Limp Home for New York

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:51:01 -0400

After some gut-wrenching losses in Tampa and New York the Sox finally returned home to Friendly Fenway to edge out a win against the Tigers Monday night 6-5. Players must have short memories to be successful at this game. The day to day grind can get to you if you let tough losses effect your play. Remember weeks ago when I said going to bullpen night after night using 3 to 4 pitchers would eventually have an downside effect on the best bullpen in the league? Well, we are starting to see the results of that right now as all of a sudden the pen is struggling to get hitters out. Couple that with an offense that has gone cold which adds more pressure and now every pitching mistake is magnified. Then throw in a couple of long extra inning games and our bullpen is worn out. Now a little bit about Daniel Bard. I love this kids stuff but it makes a difference when your pitching in the 6th or 7th innings as opposed to the 8th. He has this overpowering high fastball but he throws a fastball, low and in to Damon which is the only place where he could catch up to it. Damon would have no chance hitting Bard's high fastball. Then he gets bit with his second best pitch by Teixeira on a hanging breaking ball. With his stuff he has to challenge hitters just like Paps. Get beat with your best pitch. I know he'll learn but the Sox are in a pennant race and he has to learn right now. The Sox have to put a winning streak together but it won't be easy against the Tigers at home then Texas and Toronto on the road. Heat those bats up and lets hope the rookie Tazawa is the answer to the starting rotation behind Beckett and Lester. Later

Where have all the Bats Gone ?

Sat, 8 Aug 2009 19:09:42 -0400

Last night the Sox managed just 4 singles over 15 innings before finally losing 2-0 to the red hot Yankees and fall 4 1/2 games out of first place. They have now lost 4 straight to their 2 main rivals in the AL East. It was a very frustrating night for the Sox hitters as it looked to me like they weren't even taking good swings throughout the game. I know first hand that teams go through rough stretches but the Sox picked a awful time for this one. Somehow they have to regroup and at least win one of the two remaining games this weekend in New York. They have some very tough guys on the team in Youkilis, Pedroia, Veritek, Lowell, Beckett etc so I fully expect them to rebound and finish the season strong. Injuries are piling up as well which is also contributing to the teams struggles. Losing Jason Bay out of the middle of the lineup has certainly had an effect on the lack of scoring. With the starting rotation having problems except for Beckett and Lester it magnifies the offensives struggles also because sometimes the pitching staff can pick up the team with consistent starting pitching when you need to win a low scoring game. One other thing, this team has been in many pennant races the past few years so I don't expect them to panic. Last nights game was exciting to watch between two long time rivals no matter who you were rooting for. In my opinion the great thing about baseball is you have to forget about the last game because you get to do it all over again the next day. You have to have a short memory. We have to have a great game out of Buchholz today. See ya soon!!

Once deep rotation now down to a pair of Sox.

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 18:14:00 -0400

What once seemed like the best pitching staff in the American League has fallen apart. With injuries to Wake and Dice K along with John Smoltz's troubles so far the Sox are down to two reliable starters. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester have been very consistent but are not getting much help right now. I sure wish they would let Lester go deeper into games as I think taking him out after only one pitch in the seventh leading 2-0 against Tampa Tuesday night probably cost them the game. The bullpen got thinned out as well with the loss of Justin Masterson to the Indians in the Victor Martinez trade. Getting Martinez should really help the offense the rest of the way but I'm just trying to figure out how Francona is going to fit five players into four slots and get them all enough playing time. We sure have plenty of first basemen now.

The offense seems to still be struggling a bit right now and with Bay and Drew nursing minor injuries this could be a problem going into New York for a four game series with the Yankees and now trailing them by 2 1/2 games. Let's just hope their mastery of the Yankees this year can somehow continue. For that to happen Smoltz and Buchholz are going to have to step up and pitch much better than they have lately. It's hard to believe the Sox are 8-0 this year against them and still trial in the standings. Offensively, Youk and Pedroia continue to be steady day in and day out and Martinez looks like he has settled in with his new team. I know a lot of people are ready for Martinez to replace Varitek behind the plate right now but they just don't realize how important Varitek has been handling the pitching staff. It's not just always about offense. He knows his staff so well and it will be an gradual adjustment for Victor to get to know the Sox pitchers tendencies. In a pennant race it's best to have the catcher that knows his pitchers behind the plate. This certainly is a big one and with the Sox not playing well a split would certainly go a long way in keeping them in the race. Yankees are hot!! Bring it on. Out for now.