Bullpen Fail Part 2: Yankees Beat Red Sox Late Again
by Ben Buchanan on Apr 7, 2010 10:35 PM EDT
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The Red Sox finally got a good start from their top-3, as John Lackey went 6 scoreless innings against a powerful New York offense. The Sox held a 1-run lead through 6, with David Ortiz grabbing his first hit and RBI of the season in the 2nd.
And then came the bullpen. Again.
Scott Schoeneweis gave up a long double to Jorge Posada in the 7th inning, and Daniel Bard threw an 0-2 changeup dead center to Nick Swisher, who singled to right. J.D. Drew's throw was right on the money, but Victor Martinez let the ball get away and Posada scored.
The Sox kept it tied until the 10th as Chan Ho Park of all people mowed down 9 of the 10 Red Sox hitters he faced, but Curtis Granderson took Jonathan Papelbon deep. The Yankees tacked on an insurance run when Mark Teixeira grounded out with the bases loaded, and the Sox went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning giving the Yankees the 3-1 victory.
Game Notes:
- If you're noticing that the bullpen giving up leads and ties is becoming a trend, you are not alone. It was only 2 runs in 4 innings some time, but we could really use someone stepping up.
- Bard and Papelbon both got beat while they were ahead in the count 0-2 and 0-1 respectively. Why put it straight over the plate in these counts? Don't ask me...
- The Sox had plenty of opportunities, but went 1-7 with RISP.
- Kevin Youkilis and Marco Scutaro were the only Sox to go hitless, though both walked.
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Bullpen fail is right
From what I saw, though, the strikezone was a little bit better, right?
Hitting with RISP has been a big problem in games two and three. Why does this always seem to be a problem?
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Because we don't notice it when it isn't.
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Apr 7, 2010 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
1 run doesn't win you many games no matter how good your pen is
I’d go offense first, pen second.
Very nice effort by Lackey
Ok... I just can't reply to commens correctly this monring
The +1is for Ben’s statement above. Though I do agree with JonnyNYC too.
uugggh
pablum bomb just startin where he left off last year but to his credit, it was the second inning he pitched tonite (cheese arm). Me thinks we r noticing the beginning of the end of pablum bomb.
Wow. Great insight.
Has that other writer’s position been filled for OTM?? GET THIS GUY A JOB STAT ON THE ASAP!
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
I have a five-tool player in my pants.
ACTUALLY, advanced metrics show that that wasn't "premature".
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
scott schoenweiss
wasn’t he a throw out of the New York Mess at one time. and now we have him?? Hmmmm, what were we thinking, he had a 7+ era with Ariz, in a league where batters 6-9 suck, and now he pitches in the AL east? can u say era of 10+?
Read between the lines sometimes.
His wife died tragically last season and left him as a single parent with four young kids to care for. Playing baseball at a high level last year was not possible for him. He can get lefties out more often than not and I’m pulling for him and his family bigtime. He has strong ties to New England and one of his baseball dreams was to someday play for the Sox. The first time he ever witnessed an MLB game was a trip to Fenway as a kid.. He may not be lucky enough to still be on the team at the end of season but I hope we’re still watching him compete come October.
" Play Ball "
I agree, it was Bard who made the bad pitch, and Papelbon ineffectiveness
Look Schoenwiss actually pitched well for the Mets. The problem was his tragedy last season.
but besides that, he gave up and big double to Posada, who seems to be starting off hot. He then got a K. They pull him and Bard throws a pitch down the middle on 0-2.
by Rickfansince76 on Apr 8, 2010 7:52 AM EDT up reply actions
Beyond this - 2 appearances does not a season make.
I didn’t about the SS Lefty Specialist’s past, but that is certainly beyond a raw deal to live with, let alone play through.
Right now the way Oki is looking, I think the SS LS gets a least five more ports of call before she’s scuttled.
All I Know
is I never want to see Javiar Lopez again.
by Christopher B on Apr 8, 2010 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I do!
I want to see him wearing a Yankees uniform with Pedroia, Martinez, and Youk coming up to bat against him!
ahhhh dare to dream…
It's only 3 games
But I hope this whole bullpen trend of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory thing dies with this series.
On another note am I the only one ok with putting Paps in a package for A-Gon if this tomfoolery of his continues?
Sodomize Intolerance
by sonicdeathmonkey on Apr 8, 2010 12:22 AM EDT reply actions
paps has zero value for San Diego
they have a payroll of 40M , you think they wanna pay 1/4 of their payroll to a closer?
by German Red Sox Fan on Apr 8, 2010 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions
They do indeed...
Cheaper too.
Papelbon, if traded, will not be part of a big deal to a rebuilding team.
USG
Lackey
Looked very good. Not worried about Beckett & Lester. Still think Sox will have a great year. like Beltre in the 6 spot, offense will be fine
I know its only three games but
I vote we load Ortiz, Papelbon, Offense-Beltre, Angel Hernandez, Manny Delcarmen, Ellsbury and J.D. Drew into a rocketship and shoot it into the sun.
This is why I hate opening the season with the effing Yankees.
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Apr 8, 2010 1:05 AM EDT reply actions
Disagree with the OP
The bullpen did not fail.
The pitching gave up 1 run in 9 innings. Then a total of 3 in 10. That’s not a fail.
The offense failed. If the offense scores just 2 runs in 9 we win.
We had multiple chances to score, and each time came up just a hair short. No one person to blame. But whenever you lose and your opponent scored less than 4 runs in nine innings, its your offense’s fault. Not your pitching.
That doesn’t mean the pitchers didn’t make mistakes (a changeup over the middle? When the guy clearly could not catch up to Bard’s 97mph heater?). But they aren’t why we lost.
The bullpen has one job: Preserve leads, or at least ties.
It failed at that. The Sox’ 1 run was enough for the other pitcher.
USG
The offense failed too
Though it’s failure is exaggerated by bad luck/timing.
But the pen just pitched stupid. Leaving balls over the plate while ahead in the count, walking a bunch of guys, etc.
USG
Seriously Ben
There’s things to like in today BP performance:
Schoenweiss is a VERY effective LOOGY (He faced 4 lefties so far and k’d 3 of them)
Paps throwing some Sliders for strikes
Bard showed some nice control (15 pitches for 12 strikes)
Our starting pitchers will go deeper into games, Wake will be the long man and there’s some talent in AAA (Bowden, Richardson and even Fife could be a factor in mid-season) and you know better than me that relief pitching is the easiest position to revamp by trades 5We got Wagner last year).
We’re going to KC, we’ll beat the crap out of them and everyone will want to go out and smell the roses ;)
"That was a lot of fun… You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don’t want to do is hit a home run. That’s a rally-killer." Jeff Francoeur
Agree
there is a big problem with the pen as constructed and it is the same problem that we had last year (for most of the year). It is not the crappiness of various arms in the pen-it is the utter lack of any semblance of length out of the pen. I get the distinct impression that the Sox do not like to employ long relief, but it is a mistake. One big big advantage that the Yankees have is that both Park and Aceves can throw multiple decent innings out of the pen. That really allows them to hold back on short arms until needed. Last night, Paps and Bard had to throw in 2 innings, and after that we had MDC and RamRam (ugh to both) as the last life line. I don’t like using these guys for 30 pitches this early in the season, and I don’t like the feeling, the same one as last year, of being waited out by other teams until what is left in the pen is the dregs. How many games did we loose that way last year? I think Wake can partly fill this role if he is willing.
Bard should be good to throw 2 innings.
He did so plenty in the minors that I can recall.
Paps too, though last night would suggest otherwise. Actually, Papelbon’s numbers in very limited ABs with 15+ pitches already on his arm are ridiculously low.
USG
It is the 3rd game of the year.
And also, regardless of effectiveness/health, we have no length in the pen. It is a glaring problem we discussed last year. Say that Papelbon finished off the 10th, and we are still 1-1. They still have Chamberlain, Robertson and Rivera, and if need be Aceves. We have…
this will not be an issue after april 23
Wake can and will fill this role. He’s getting paid $3.5 million by the team to do what they ask him to help the team win.
Possibly
Matsuzaka and/or Bowden at some point, too. I’d personally like to see two-pitcher games where every five days Wake starts and Dice-K does the rest.
by Christopher B on Apr 8, 2010 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
+2
And not the new guys so much, either, is my impression (Ortiz, Drew, Beltre (the exception))
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Apr 8, 2010 2:23 AM EDT up reply actions
54-108
Season Ovahhh :’(
"That was a lot of fun… You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don’t want to do is hit a home run. That’s a rally-killer." Jeff Francoeur
Trust me, there are people who think that what's gonna happen
Just check the forums on the globe website or the herald ;)
"That was a lot of fun… You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don’t want to do is hit a home run. That’s a rally-killer." Jeff Francoeur
I'd rather stick a poker up me arse
than read the @#$%ing forums on the Globe or Herald.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
I have a five-tool player in my pants.
ACTUALLY, advanced metrics show that that wasn't "premature".
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
I'll volunteer for the job
of sticking the poker
1 run in 10 innings
How did I know somebody would be blaming the bullpen??
Some things are so predictable.
Apparently your rule is that the offense is only required to provide one run per 9 inning game.
As I said above, the offense was hurt more by bad timing and luck than just sucking (though that played some part too)
And the offense doesn’t have quite so much to prove as the pen. 7 runs in 12.1 innings is unacceptable, especially from a bullpen.
USG
We scored 14 runs in three games.
And also left 21 runners on base in those three games. That is not the the early signs of a weak offense. We also were up against some of the higher ranked pitchers in baseball. This wasn’t Davies of the Royals trying to prove he can pitch in this league.
It sucks to lose a series to the pinstripes but in three games played they scored two more runs than us. They didn’t run away with any of the games and they were the highest scoring offense in baseball last year. A bit more luck in either loss and we win all three or at least the series.
We’ll even the score on Friday in 29 days.
It’s so good to have meaningful games of baseball back. Now let’s go win two series on the road before we come back home to attack the Rays.
" Play Ball "
as i've made clear
i don’t think we have a weak offense, I think it will be very good.
This game, however, was lost by ineffective offense. But every team will have some of those. Even the Yankees.
good scribe
on average, if we get 9 hits per game, plus 3 bb, and score 5 runs while only giving up 4 runs per game, we should win 90 plus games. offensively, as you noted, we were good.
however, the yankmees are better than average and require a better than average performance by us – but only 4 times this year – in october.
we are on course, a little bull pen tweaking, maybe a little on the batting order and we’ll be ok.
159 games left – no one thought we’d go undefeated. just need to play good enough to play in october.
Of course, the flipside is that folks will be unfairly using this game as an inditement of the offense
and saying it proves that Theo should have gotten a big bat.
They’ll conveniently forget that the Yankees, too, only scored 1 run in the first 9 innings. With all their firepower.
Yes, our offense failed to score and we lost. But it is only one game.
‘Same game with some summer time wind and one of either Youk’s, Beltre’s or Cam’s deep flies maybe makes it out and the game ends in regulation.
the team could not get it done against Chan Ho Park
that’s what killed us. When that guy throws 3 scoreless innings against you, things are bad. We need a bat, and 2 arms in the pen.
The Red Sox offense isn't an issue,- until its an issue.
President of the official trade Jacoby Ellsbury campaign.
Still, against the World champs,
we were certainly competitive, and the games were NOT boring!!
I like the defense and the offense of this “new” team, and if the pitching can come along eventually (hopefully sooner than later) , we could still be the best or second best team in baseball. I mean you do have to give credit to the Yankees as a very good and dangerous baseball team. Let’s see how we do against more mundane teams.
You know,
I got just about everything that I wanted a while back. I got:
—rid of Lugo. Thank God Thank God
—Varitek has been marginalized
—Wakefield has been marginalized (I HOPE).
Now maybe I could start working on a new list of “to do” things, but for now I will just wait and watch. As a lead-in, if Ortiz can start to place his hits better and our vaunted starters begin to look vaunted, well I think we will be okay. Let’s wait a bit.
by NG on Apr 8, 2010 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Well, it's a welcome change one way or the other.
Though I expect Wake’s going to be a more important part than you’d like.
USG
I almost threw up on my way to work this morning
XM was replaying John Sterling’s call of the Granderson homerun. He was singing " The Grandy-man can"
Hurl !
You can never have too much pitching.
This is what really sucks about opening vs the Yanks
Every part of each game is over analyzed even more then usual.
It’s too early in the season to do anything more then play out the first…oh I don’t know WEEK of the season, maybe month, (gasp) 3rd of the season before pronouncing ailments and remedies of the Sox.
Over the course of this series, all parts of the Sox looked good for extended periods of a game or 2. No part of either team was perfect
Every early game will be over-analyzed.
It’s hard to analyze the team any other way this early because sample sizes are so small.
USG
What about out our "great defense" ?
Cam could have caught Posadas ball and VMart cant catch the ball and tag him out. If our D stepped up we win 1-0.
the difference between a yankee stadium hot dog and a Fenway frank is that they dont sell yankee dogs in October anymore.
Martinez is a hole, yes.
But Cameron can’t get to Posada’s ball at all from where he starts out. Nobody can. That’s a double.
USG
Hey guys, just a quick question for ya:
From your experience, what is good temperature for Wakefield’s knuckler?
I’m looking at tomorrow’s game and thinking of putting some $ on it, checked out the weather but can’t remember what degrees were optimal for that pitch.
If i remember correctly, the warmer the better right?
Weather channel says KC will be around 60 degrees.
dry
and here is why:
For the same reason that fly balls go farther in humid are than in dry air.
Humid air has water molecules (H2O) displacing ‘regular’ air molecules (mostly N2 and some O2). H2O molecules (~18 amu) are significantly lighter than N2 (~28 amu) or O2 (~32 amu) and thus provide less inertial resistance. At the same temp & pressure, a volume of gas has the same number of molecules. So the ‘weight’ of the air goes as the ‘weight’ of the molecules.
Essentially, humid air is actually ‘lighter’ than dry air. Note that this assumes the same altitude, temperature, etc.
A knuckleball will move more in dry air, because there is more resistance in front of it.
Other factors, though, like winds, ambient air pressure, temp, etc. may be bigger factors.
I'm not sure about that
humid makes sense to me. But for the record, his career ERA in april is his best month.
Don't think temperature as much as wind direction.
If the wind will be blowing from his back into homeplate, don’t bet.
Zink had the same problem when the wind was blowing in from the outfield.
" Play Ball "
yes
you need a slight headwind (blowing out to the outfield). The unpredictablity is due to turbulent currents set up around the ball. Like an airfoil that is increased by slightly increased air flow around the ball-thus wind blowing from his back is bad. Dry air is effectlvely slightly higher Reynold’s #…
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