Weekend Story: WTF, Mates.

by Allen Chace on Apr 28, 2008 12:29 AM EDT in Game Stories

Capt

There are probably a number of Red Sox who would argue that they didn't suck at baseball this weekend. If they're not one of the above two gentlemen, they can save it.

Summary: Vaguely Coherent Rant:

No. No. No. No. No. I'm sorry. 5 runs in 3 games. Five runs in three games. 5 runs in 3 games. No. No. No. No.

One not-awful start and two great starts wasted? F no.

Credit to the Rays' pitching? Well. Absolutely. And this is a different Rays' team. I'm aware that I'm the 8 billionth person to say that. If Buchholz was good on Saturday, Edwin Jackson was able to spread his runners and mistakes out a bit more. If Beckett was mostly dominating on Sunday, then James Shields was cool, calm, collected and efficient. I also respect the argument that Buchholz was let down not only by his "offense", but also his manager.

Shields was particularly impressive, and it is today's sort of efficiency that makes him a good bet for long-term success. Think about the Rays in a year or two: Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, and David Price. The first two are as proven as any good young starters in the game right now. The last two might only have to realize 1/2 - 2/3 of their potential to make the Rays' rotation a "difficult" one to face. Jose Lima could be the 5th starter, and it would make no difference.

Comment Goodness:

Somebody please tell Lugo he’s playing FOR the Red Sox, not against them. I’m getting sick of these 1-out, clutch double plays. - ecoli

well I'm here...and I don't give a crap about gridiron, professional basketball, or any other, lesser sport. All I care about are the Sox and Buchholz is just awesome. -sydneysox

on the upside, Buch and Beckett both lowered their ERAs...Of course, it would have been nice if every last batter didn't lower their average, along with it. - DJDP23

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Comments

It was pretty stupid for Francona

Not to remove Buch after he surrendered the single. Nobody expects Iwamura to hit a HR ever, but if he got on base, there would be a man in scoring position with only 1 out, which is worse than just a man in.

I don’t like to question the man who gave us 2 WS. He’s just great. But sometimes he makes some pretty bad decisions.

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by MerryGoByeBye on Apr 28, 2008 1:38 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

I disagree...

There was no reason to suspect that Buchholz couldn’t handle Iwamura in that situation. He had been cruising and the idea of saving a pen that had been a little beaten up over the past week has merit. It was one bad pitch that Iwamura happened to be sitting on. I have no problem with leaving him in there.

"When you don't feel good and you still get hits, that's how you know you're a bad man." - Manny Ramirez - the official quote of MVN Radio's Red Sox podcast

by timfrommvn on Apr 28, 2008 6:32 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Agreed

I have no problem with leaving Buchholz in to face Iwamura

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Apr 28, 2008 7:16 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

After over 110 pitches

I doubt he could handle anyone well enough.

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by MerryGoByeBye on Apr 28, 2008 1:18 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Agreed

Beckett is the only person on our team that I would trust with 110 pitches. Let alone a rookie who has a small frame, didn’t we learn anything from Pedro?

by drabidea on Apr 28, 2008 4:35 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Dice-K

Do not forget Dice-K, that guy can throw 300 pitches and still be fine.

But I agree with you guys, outside of Dice-K, Beckett and if Wake is dealing. No other starters should be pitching into the 8th inning.

by SoxAcumen on Apr 28, 2008 6:00 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Looks like...

... I picked the wrong weekend to stop sniffing glue [Yes, I know Simmons used this line recently].

Ugh. It’s a long season, and you’ve gotta trust it. Of course, when Julio “GIDP” Lugo is on your team, its also a loooong season. Screw the $ 27 million in dead salary here have to be better glovemen available at short who are no less offensively useless than Julio. I mean, strike out, at least…

by nuthinboutnuthin on Apr 28, 2008 1:48 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

*

there

and yes, Julio has been declared my official 2008 Scapegoat. He has to earn his money somehow, and its obviously not happening on the diamond…

by nuthinboutnuthin on Apr 28, 2008 1:49 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Kazmir is gone

Scott Kazmir will be wearing another uniform in 2 years. His agent has already started telling people what it will take to sign him and its a little above the Rays pay grade.

I would not count on Kazmir being in the Rays rotation. If I was betting, he will be a Yankee, if CC does not sign, a Tiger or some wild card like the Rockies who need pitching badly, maybe St. Louis or Chicago Cubbies or Houston and he will get Barry Zito money.

by SoxAcumen on Apr 28, 2008 2:33 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Positives

I am looking at the Rays series with a “glass half full” mentality. Buchholz is good, real good and he will be an extremely important part of our rotation for a long while if he keeps this up. Plus he got shelled against the Yankees and came back to dominate the Rangers, a good hitting team, and the Rays, another decent hitting team. That shows character and guts.

Beckett is still a stud and IMO the best pitcher in baseball. Yes I said it.

Who would you want pitching in a game that your life depended on? Santana, CC, Webb, Peavy or Beckett?

by SoxAcumen on Apr 28, 2008 2:38 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

I'd say Beckett based on your list, if you hadn't included Peavy.

Nothing against Beckett, but Peavy has been as good as he’s been for a little longer. I suppose the AL-NL thing might tip the scales back to Beckett or just even it out.

"Are you a real doctor, or a doctor like Julius Erving is a doctor?"

by Allen Chace on Apr 28, 2008 2:41 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Peavy

Not to mention Petco Park is the undisputed best place to play if you are a pitcher.

by drabidea on Apr 28, 2008 4:40 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

ok

then you guys want Peavy over Beckett in the playoffs?

I cannot believe that…

by SoxAcumen on Apr 28, 2008 4:44 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

I want Peavy over Lester

And Webb over Wake. Can we have that? Please?

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by MerryGoByeBye on Apr 28, 2008 5:24 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Not necessarily.

But I don’t think it’s a slam-dunk to pick Beckett over Peavy.

"Are you a real doctor, or a doctor like Julius Erving is a doctor?"

by Allen Chace on Apr 28, 2008 6:39 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

I want Beckett

Peavy is a good pitcher, but playoff Beckett is a god (The Texan God of Shutouts?). In 72 2/3 playoff innings, Beckett has 82 Ks, a mere 40 hits, and only 14 walks (good for a WHIP around .74). His ERA is 1.73. Three of his starts have been complete game shutouts.

72.2 innings may not be a large sample by typical standards, but I think it should be enough to crown him the best big game pitcher going forward.

Peavy has pitched two playoff games (against St L), and lost them both. In 05 he pitched 4.1 with 8 earned runs, and in 06 he pitched 5.1 with 5 ER. A couple good starts could make up for this, but so far Peavy hasn’t proven anything in the playoffs.

by 0157H7 on Apr 30, 2008 2:33 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Good Series.

All 3 games could of gone either way, the Shields CGSO was really helped by the first two won games (motivation for sweep), as well his starting catcher in Dioner Navaro. (1.53 ERA in 3 games he’s caught for him.)

I’d like to say it was an honor for the Rays’ to finally sweep the Sox, and I think the Rays’ have finally ended their losing plague. We are for-real now. We are borderline playoff-contenders(About a year away, imo). I love Price, Garza is bound for the bullpen with our talent coming up. These guys named Wade Davis, Jake McGee, and Jeremy Hellickson will be roaming the mounds in the next four years. Remember those names. Their going to cause hell in the AL East.

Once again, great series. This was very important for our franchise. I hope you guys can get your offense to turn around. I’d rather have the division won by the Rays, but if not the Red Sox deserve it more than the Damn Yankees.

My Blog. Check it out if you wish.

by Cory Alexander on Apr 28, 2008 3:05 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Are the real winners

the other strong teams in the AL? The wild card won’t be coming from the AL East for a while if the Rays develop like they might.

Bottom 9th B:1 S:0 O:0 With Bill Mueller batting, Dave Roberts steals (1) 2nd base.

by britsoxfan on Apr 28, 2008 4:07 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Ray fan views

C.A., while we have a Rays fan here I would love to read your opinions on a couple subjects.

1) do you believe Kazmir will walk when the big spenders call or will the Rays pay him Zito type money? Do you think of Kazmir is in a similar situation as CC in Cleveland?

2) who do Rays fan like to beat more? Yankees or Sox? or both equally? or someone else? Who do the Rays consider a rival?

3) what will the Rays do with Rocco?

Thanks

by SoxAcumen on Apr 28, 2008 6:06 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Alright, I'll answer:

1) With the talent we have coming up, he is likely to be traded unless he wants to accept under-market value. My believing is that the Rays’ were extra cautious with him and hopefully his injury was a blessing in-disguise in order for him to sign a long-term deal with us. But my believing is he will be traded, unless the organization feels the need to sign big for him.

2) I’d have to say I enjoy beating the Yankees more. The Yankees are alot more arrogant and bandwagoners in my opinion, but I like beating BoSox as well. The problem is we beat the Yankees more often, we’re not used to beating Boston that often.

3) I wish I could answer this. No one knows what the hell to do with him. He’s got a very rare and unknown condition in which the mitochondria in his muscles do not work properly. This dispels him from working out or doing basic baseball. The condition seems to have worsened over the past three years. If they find a solution to the condition, and he becomes 100%, he’ll be an All-Star RFer for the Rays. But you’ll most likely see, next year, a minor league contract filled with incentives based on the progress of his condition.

My Blog. Check it out if you wish.

by Cory Alexander on Apr 29, 2008 2:53 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs