After playing in three countries and travelling over 16,000 miles, the Boston Red Sox have finally played their first game at Fenway. In what is easily the most sick and twisted start to any season, the Sox are finally home. Of course, like the ‘05 opener, there was a bit of pomp and circumstance to this one. The team will have to wait another day before they can just get down to business and play baseball without all the sideshows and exhibitions.
Of course, its still far too early to predict what the opening day 40 man roster is going to look like, but so far so good. While I’d love to see Johan Santana in a Red Sox uniform, I’ll freely admit that I’m rather attached to Ellsbury, Buchholz, and Lester. Assuming that Johan never shows up in the weight room in Fort Myers, I’m still pretty happy with what I see on paper.
Beckett finished 2007 with a record of 20-7 an ERA of 3.27 and 194 strikeouts. These numbers were excellent, but not great enough to get him a Cy Young. From what little I know about Josh Beckett, I’m expecting even greater things in 2008. It is hard to imagine him improving on his record and ERA, but I do believe they will be better.
One of two things is going to happen in Dice-K’s sophomore season. He’s either going to be better acclimated to Major League Baseball and have fewer meltdown moments or the batters are going to figure him out and knock the stuffing out of him. I’m going to remain optimistic and expect better things from him in 2008. I am predicting a record around 17-10 and an ERA in the high 3’s, fewer dingers, and upwards of 210 strikeouts.
The real question with Curt is, “Can he stay healthy?” I’m convinced he’ll arrive at camp in excellent physical condition, and while that would certainly help there are no givens with 40+ pitchers. I do believe that we’ll see more starts out of #38, but I’m pretty confident they’re going to have him on an ironclad pitch count. If they can keep him off the DL, I believe he can win 18 even at his age. I am not expecting a big improvement over his 3.87 ERA for ‘07 though. He’s going to pitch well enough to win and the offense is going to go out there and get him some wins.
I did a double take when I saw that Wake started 31 games in 2007. My memory of the season told me that he missed more than just the postseason, but alas that is not the case. If the trend continues, I have no reason to expect that his performance will change substantially in ‘08. I’d like to see the ERA come down some, but If it does I don’t think it will be by all that much.
The feel good story of ‘07 has to be the return of Lester to the Major League roster, but his performance was not quite as inspiring. An off-season without chemotherapy will certainly help, and with any luck he can get his Major League career back on track. Assuming that Lester is the full-time #4 or 5 starter in the rotation and he gets a full 30 starts, this young lefty could probably go 15-10 without too much trouble.
Another young Texas right-hander, Buchholz dazzled us all with his no-no in Baltimore last year, but between Portland, Pawtucket, and Boston Buchholz threw nearly 150 innings and it was more than his young arm was accustomed to in a single season. In the off-season, Boston sent Buchholz and Lester down to Beckett’s ranch in Texas to train with their ace. I’m not sure where Buchholz fits in the rotation and while I’d love to see him start 30 games, winning 20 of them, I’m not real sure those are realistic expectations. I am confident, however, that Buchholz has more impressive things to show us in 2008.
When September came around last year three pitchers hit the wall. Buchholz came up from the minors and the other two from the other side of the Pacific. Assuming that Okie is physically up to the grind, I think we’re going to see a more consistent season out of one of the best set-up guys we’ve ever seen in a Red Sox uniform. I have no reason to expect that he can’t continue to dominate lineups in the 8th inning without having to share time with the juiced canadian.
I expect brilliance and unmatched intensity from the best closer in the game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 40 saves, 100 K’s and an ERA under 1.50 from Papelbon in ‘08.
Red Sox rookies are leading the way to Boston’s second World Series in four years. Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits and two RBIs while Dustin Pedroia went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs of his own. Even Daisuke helped himself out by going 1 for 3 and driving in Varitek and Lowell to collect 2 RBIs in the 3rd. On the other side of the ball, Matsuzaka pitched well enough to earn the win. He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and fanned 5 in 5.1 innings. The other rookie pitcher, Okajima, gave up a 3 run shot to Holliday in the 7th, but only one of the runs was earned and he fanned two in an inning of work.
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was tight right up to the 8th when Ellsbury and Pedroia combined to put it out of reach with back to back doubles that drove in 3.
Game 3 MVP: Jacoby Ellsbury
Here it is, game 7 of the American League Championship Series and I’m stuck watching the game on ESPN’s Gamecast. Generally, I’m a big fan of Gamecast and next to watching the game on television or listening to it on the radio, its really the next best thing. (No, I’m not going to pay to stream it over the Internet from MLB.) Anyway, while I’m at the computer working on a few things, I figured why not run a live blog while I’m at it. Can you think of a better use of my time right now? No, I didn’t think so.
Daisuke retired them so quickly, I didn’t even realize the inning was over. I turned my head and “BOOM” its the bottom of the 1st. How long can he keep that up? Yeah, its rhetorical.
Here we go with the leadoff single, nicely done Pedroia. And another single, this time from Youk and Pedroia moves to second. Papi goes down swinging. RBI single by Manny and the score is now 1 - 0 Sox. Lowell singles to left and the bases are juiced for J.D. “Mr. Grand Slam” Drew. Make that “Inning Ending Double Play” Drew. We’ve seen a whole hell of lot more of that Drew than the former.
Daisuke gets them 1, 2, 3 in the top of the second all on infield outs.
Nice double to left by Varitek. Looks like they’re going to get to Westbrook early tonight. That’s quite alright with me. Ellsbury, my new favorite player, singles and moves Tek to third. Lugo grounds in to a DP, but Tek scores and the game is now 2-0 Sox. Pedroia flies to left and the inning is over.
Lofton flies out to right. Guiterrez pops out to second. And Blake has a single to center and promptly advances to second on a WP by Daisuke. Oh god, don’t blow up now. Sizemore goes down swinging and the inning is over.
Youk starts off the third right with a double and the Sox have gotten the leadoff man aboard in three straight innings. Ortiz grounds out, but Youk advances to third. They walk Manny. I can’t really blame them, but Lowell is no slouch either. Sac fly to right and the Sox are up 3 - 0. J.D. flies out and the inning is over.
I got behind on this inning and got brought back just in time to see “R Garko doubled to deep center, T Hafner scored.” Hafner may have been cold for the series, but he sure has made his presence felt tonight.
Varitek is 2 for 2, I certainly hope he keeps this up. Ellsbury on third and Lugo on 1st certainly makes for some serious speed on the basepaths. What an unusual thing to say about Sox base runners. Lot of good all that speed did.
Man, I wish I could have seen Lofton getting gunned down at second. It must have been a good play to catch him. Back to back singles and Sizemore coming to the plate. Hard to imagine the tribe not getting at least one here. Doh! Thankfully it was a sac fly and Cabrera struck out. That was looking scary.
Youk, Ortiz, and Ramirez all go down in order and without too much of a fight. This is not the same Westbrook that started this game.
I don’t have expanded stats available so I don’t know what Dice-K’s pitch count was, but I’m surprised, but happy to see Francona pull Daisuke early. That last inning didn’t look real good from here and in the absence of seeing it with my own eyes, I’ve got to think the visual matched. Okajima seemed to make quick work of Hafner, Martinez, and Garko. We’ll see if he’s back in the 7th.
OK, Westbrook is back and I’m not real happy about it. He made quick work of Lowell, Drew, and Tek and they’ve got to add some insurance quick before the Indians can get to Perez and Betancourt.
Here comes Okie Dokie for another inning. It really is annoying watching the little animation that depicts a ball put in play without knowing what is going on. Was it routine, did Drew make a great play? The consolation is that Peralta is out. Case in point, how bad was Lugo’s error just now? Dammit, I’m a wreck. Damn that Gutierrez. Thank you Blake for the inning ending double play.
Here comes Betancourt. As dominant as Westbrook was looking, I’m not sure I would have yanked him. Ellsbury is one fast dude, I wonder if it was a factor on the error by Blake. Lugo sacrificed to move Ellsbury to third. I’ll like this move if Pedroia can lift one to the outfield or hit safely. OH THAT’LL WORK! Not known for his power, the little guy just helped my blood pressure with that one. Sox up by three on the two run shot over the monster. Youk grounded to short and here comes Papi. And there goes Papi.
It would appear that this series is gonna go small-ball. Sizemore just bunted for a single. Of course when you’re as fast as Sizemore, you can do that kind of thing. Aw crap, Cabrera just singled to center and Sizemore is in scoring position at second. And here comes Papelbon. Hafner goes down swinging and that brings up Martinez. Martinez grounds in to a fielder’s choice and now there are runners at the corners with Cabrera getting forced at second. Garko flies out to center and the inning is over. Damn Gamecast animation showed that one going WAAAAY back and I was waiting for the the scoreboard to read 5 to 5.
Betancourt is back for the 8th and manages to take care of Manny pretty quickly. Lowell doubles to deep center and that brings up Drew. That damn animation got my hopes up this time. God, I wish I had a TV handy right now. Then again, maybe its better I don’t. Gamecast is cycling all kinds of stats about J.D. right about now and none of them are very good. HA! A single to center and Lowell comes around to score. 6 to 2 Sox! I can’t see what is really going on, but this Tek at bat is long. Ground rule double to left and Drew goes to third. It was worth the wait. They’re walking Ellsbury to get to Lugo?! Welcome to the majors Ellsbury, you really have made it. Bases are loaded for Lugo with one out. Will Francona pinch hit for him? Nope. I’d much rather Lugo go down swinging than hit in to a double play. That brings up Pedroia who is hitting 2 for 4 with a dinger. Holy CRAP! A bases clearing double for Pedroia and the score just broke open 9 to 2 Sox. Pitching change and here comes Lewis. Well Indian fans, the wheels are officially off the bus. Youk just homered to left and the score is now 11 - 2. Make me wonder if Papelbon will be back in the 9th. Seems like a job for the Eric “The Janitor” Gagne now. Ortiz goes down swinging. It hasn’t been a good game for him, and thankfully we didn’t need him.
Defensive replacement time. Crisp to center and Ellsbury to left to replace Manny. Sounds good to me. Papelbon is back out and I can only assume to give him some work before the WS starts. Peralta singles to left. Lofton lined out to left. Gutierrez lined out to center. C’mon Blake just line out to right and we can spread it around the outfield and end this nice and quick. Nope, he had to be different and fly out to center. That’s the ball game folks and the Sox are going back to the World Series. I am going to bed, but when the Series starts I will not be going without a TV for any of the games. Sox and Rockies here we come.
The Cleveland Indians are the real deal and they made that painfully clear when the oft-overlooked Jake Westbrook kept the potent Sox lineup in check for nearly 7 innings. Westbrook’s performance may not have looked impressive, he walked more than he fanned, but with a ground to fly ratio of 14 to 3 he kept the ball in the park, and more often than not, in the infield. Three double-plays certainly helped to insure that Boston stayed off the bases and many a rally died a quick and painless death.
On the other side of the coin, Matsuzaka’s numbers look pretty good right up until you take note that his 6 K’s, 2 walks, 6 hits, and 2 earned runs on 101 pitches were accumulated over a measly 4.2 innings of work. Once again, Matsuzaka showed some flashes of brilliance, but would seem to inexplicably lose his control at the most inopportune times.
With the Indians up 2 games to 1, the momentum has clearly shifted to Sizemore and the gang and the Sox will need a sore Tim Wakefield to pitch some serious magic tonight. It may be a tired old cliche, but this series is proving once again that when it comes to the playoffs; good pitching trumps all.
There is nothing I enjoy more than sitting back with a couple of friends and watching a good Sox game. That being said, watching a game, like yesterday’s ALDS clincher with the Angels, can also be an interesting experience. Every once in you here the occasional nitwit on WEEI decrying a particular player with the kind of hate and vitriol reserved for political figures. These bozos normally have no facts to back themselves up with and use the most irrational arguments. Yesterday was no exception and I heard some real doozies yesterday.
I was at a birthday party for one of my daughter’s friends and thankfully the hosting husband had the Pats and Sox games on. Unfortunately, present in our midst there was both a Matsuzaka and Manny hater. Now, I understand why these players rub some people the wrong way, but never to the extreme I heard from these guys. The following are just some of the gems I heard from the group:
Manny is the best right handed hitter that has ever worn a Red Sox uniform. His power numbers declined this year during the regular season, but his production in the postseason has been outstanding. I have no doubt that Manny quit on the team last year, but I don’t believe that was the case this year. His oblique injury was day for day the same amount of time as Trot “Dirt Dog” Nixon’s last year. Personally, I’m glad Francona played the final week of the season they way he did. He wanted to make sure the team was strong in the postseason and Manny’s slow return was a big part of that plan. As for A-Rod “getting it done” as compared to Manny “getting it done” I simply challenged the individual to look at A-Rod’s production in the postseason as compared to Manny. The difference is pretty stark. I’d also like to offer that the final quote was delivered during Manny’s fourth inning at bat when he added another run to what was only a 1 run game at the time.
Quotes 1 and 2 are obviously two of the dumbest things I have ever heard someone not named McCarver or Morgan say during a baseball game. The entire exchange was rather comical and the perpetrator stayed pretty quiet for the remainder of the game. The third point, is something I’ve heard an awful lot of throughout the year and in every case, the speaker had no idea how awful Zito was this year. This is the difference between Zito and Matsuzaka’s seasons:
Record
- Matsuzaka: 15-12
- Zito: 11 - 13
Innings per Game
- Matsuzaka: 6.1
- Zito: 5.2
Strikeouts
- Matsuzaka: 201
- Zito: 131
WHIP
- Matsuzaka: 1.32
- Zito: 1.35
ERA
- Matsuzaka: 4.40
- Zito: 4.53
Age
- Matsuzaka: 27
- Zito: 29
2007 Salary
- Matsuzaka: $6,333,333
- Zito: $10,000,000
Distance from Home Stadiums (’07 to ‘08)
- Matsuzaka: 6,722 mi (if the Ted Williams tunnel isn’t closed)
- Zito: 18.8 mi
I often hear people claim that Zito just had an off year because he changed leagues. I often have to remind these people that he went from the AL to the NL, merely crossed the bay, didn’t have to move his family, or learn another language. Obviously, only time will tell which was the better deal, but I’ve got my money on Daisuke.