V.

Lineups:

All right. I'm just hoping for less than 3 walks from Daisuke.

Oh. And a win.

OMG. WTF can I say here people?

Atrocious, plus a side of excruciatingly painful to watch.

Signs it's going to get better? None. And the only acquisition I'm really interested in, Damaso Marte, hasn't pitched in the AL in awhile, and could easily be cost-prohibitive. Out of 8 full-type seasons, his WHIP has only been above 1.266 twice, and he has struck out 483 hitters in 453 1/3 career innings. It's all but assured that we need to get better on an internal basis.

Masterson. I'm cautiously optimistic, if only because his sinker should make him reasonably effective in those IH situations that we've to this point only been able to use Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen, Mike Timlin, Javy Lopez, David Aardsma absolutely no one in. I'm concerned about his control and HR issues, however, which basically means he'll fit right in in our bullpen.

Delcarmen. All right buddy, I'm losing faith here. I've been one of your biggest defenders, I think, as others have clearly lost all thought of using him in close situations. He's simply been easier to hit this season. Last year he threw 44 innings and walked 17 while striking out 41. This season he's at 40 2/3 with 16 BB and 40 Ks. Hits? 28 last year, 37 this year.

Oki. Same issue, really, and this could've been predicted for both. Control in terms of walk rate and strikeout rate have not changed too much. 

Timlin. Am I serious? His last 5 1/3 of ridiculouslysmallsamplesize: 4 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks. I've given up on trying to figure Timlin out, but his ability to not be afraid to f'n throw strikes means I'm ready for him to try higher-leverage work again, if only because I'm ready for hits rather than walks/gift-wrapped hitters' counts to beat us in close games.

Paps. Pass. Good job buddy, even if you haven't been as crazy-dominant as the past two seasons.

Javy. Just not sure here. He had a good stretch to begin the season, but has come WAY back to Earth. Predictable, yes, and he probably doesn't need to see the kind of work he got earlier anymore. Surprisingly enough, he's looking more like a lefty specialist, with a .741 OPS against LHHs and an .814 OPS against RHHs. That .741 isn't that great, I suppose, but it means maybe we should only throw him against weak LHHs from now on. Doesn't seem that useful.

Chris Smith. 0.97 WHIP in Pawtucket this season. 45 Ks in 48 1/3. He might be a quad-A guy, certainly, but we'll never know until he gets an extended look. Seems like a guy (8 BB this season) who would make the other team beat him rather than beating himself. Refreshing?

Daniel Bard. Well. 82 Ks in 62 innings and a 0.94 WHIP. Next season, certainly, even if he doesn't make it up to help us this season.

Aardsma. Injured, and we'll see how that velocity is when he comes back. Walks too many. Walks too many. Walks too many. 

EDIT:

Conclusions. Manny D and Oki just have to become more deceptive and get into less hitters' counts. Timlin might need to see more late-inning work, if only because he'll throw strikes. Lopez would be good if he got on another run, but as of now should be mop-up and vs. LHH's only. Aardsma shows promise, less IP than MDC with great strikeout rates over his career. Some control (we could say this about a lot of people) and he'll be a rock. Hopefully Masterson can defy his BB and HR issues as a starter during his conversion to the pen. 

via www.fangraphs.com

Not a moment too soon.

Summary:

Wake pitches well for 7 innings.

8th inning for both Wake and MDC: Better not to re-live it.

Days like these make me wonder whether MDC will really live up to his potential.

Aardsma went on the DL today; Masterson up to officially try his hand at being a RP.

DP (3-4, 2B) and "Being" (1-3, 2B, BB) continue to not suck at that whole hitting thing.

Player of the Game:

via d.yimg.com

Comment of the Game:

"Wake blows the 72 mph fastball by Mathis" -soxaholic

via d.yimg.com

Summary:

Josh Beckett in control.

Team takes field in bottom of 7th.

F. Crapspackle.

You know, the way it happened is what sucked and was surprising. The fact that, despite the Sox mostly playing the Angels very well over the last few seasons, in the postseason and all, doesn't change that I never feel like we've got the upper hand going into their stadium. It might just be my memory, but I feel like they almost always take care of business against us when we're there.

Yet another day of Youks' providing the offense. 2-run jack in the 2nd. DP (2-4, BB), Drew (1-3, 2B, 2 BB), "Being" (1-3, 2B, 2 BB) all had good days at the plate as well. It simply wasn't enough. We simply have to be a little unconventional when Pawtucket Red Sox slugger David Ortiz makes it up to the big club. Drew to the leadoff spot. Let's get it done. 

Player of the Game:

via d.yimg.com

Not for this, really.

Misconceptions?

I, for one, will boo most any Yankee player at any time they're not hitting or pitching in a game that could somehow have a good impact for the Sox.

I, also, am sure that Jeter heard a bit from the Fenway Faithful in 1999 at the AS Game. I hope it wasn't while he was actually on the field or hitting, but I'd have booed loudly as his introduction. The pinstripes have that effect on me.

What Paps' wife heard from MFY-fans is ridiculous. What Paps heard from MFY-fans is to be expected, and probably shouldn't be derided on its own. His words were in many instances taken as incomplete quotes for rag-selling purposes, but to say he didn't at least partially stick his foot in his mouth is a little too homerish for me.

I worry a little about Papi coming back; I'm worried about Drew's excellent on-base skills being stuck right in front of 'Tek and Crisp. ...no thank you.

Manuel v. John Henry: Umm. F, guys. Henry was diplomatic but honest. Manuel, we should all be hoping, was referring only to LL. I'd hate to think that Henry and Theo are more duplicitous than their jobs naturally require. 

via d.yimg.com

• Lugo: We're going to miss him, believe it or not, and most of the time we won't know it when we do. He can still get to some balls that many SS in the ML don't, and that figures to be hard to notice on a game-to-game basis. I forsee Alex Cora being played far too often, as many have already pointed out. Cannot imagine a situation in which Lugo comes back and rides the bench, unless Lowrie hits about .300/.400/.500 in his absence.
  
• Loved Youks' day, but how about "Being" with an excellent opposite field shot following Drew's over the monster shot? Very excellent and reassuring.
• The team needs to be ashamed that they haven't won more of Wake's starts  lately, in just this fashion. Superb again, Wake.
• I think Buch will be okay. Don't ask me to base that assumption upon anything specific.
• A less vague timetable for Papi's return? I'm excited. A week before the deadline? Interesting.
• Thanks for saving your stress-free inning this week for a blowout, Craig.
• Any guesses as to combined # of walks in Daisuke v. Daniel Cabrera this afternoon?
• Also. Trade proposals with the Nationals for Jon Rauch? 1.01 WHIP, 42 Ks in 46 1/3. Nationals could use long-term help at basically every position, it seems, but 3B (Zimmerman), C (Flores) and possibly dangerous malcontent (Dukes).

V.

Lineemups.

Blackburn and Lester have enjoyed similar success this season, but have gone about it different ways. Blackburn walks no one. Lester is a tougher to hit. Identical WHIPs? Let's see how identical they'll be after tonight.

Oh. And notice no Wake. But no Varitek either. Moss in for Coco with Ells sliding over to CF.

via d.yimg.com

I've seen all the diaries on the sidebar lately, and I have this to say, again:

SS:  I don't think we're going to see any changes real soon. Lugo is the starter for the time being. There are no terribly appetizing trade options, so until Lugo's OBP goes down below, say, .330, we're not going to see Lowrie brought up and given a shot. He's probably not a long-term (I'm talking years here) defensive solution at SS for anyone anyway. As much as I'd like to believe the FO will get rid of Alex Cora, they won't. He's a backup 2B and pinch-running option for the really slow players at this point. That's it. Look around, however. There's not many really good backup MI anyway, at least none that play SS well. Also, to be 100% honest about Lugo, he's seemed to have a better approach at the plate lately than Manuel, 'Tek, Coco, and Ells, whether his limited offensive skillset has helped him end up with good results or not.

C: Let's stop with the calls for much more PT for Kevin Cash. He is what he is: He's not a starting C and he never will be. However, I'll admit that the non-practical part of me would much rather see Cash with a bat in his hands 5 times a week rather than Varitek, who basically needs to be a PH only in the event that he's the last option on the bench to hit for a pitcher in any possible World Series games. I kind of hope there's some reason he can't play for a few days, just to see what Dusty Brown could possibly do against ML pitching.

P: Specifically, Tim Wakefield. I've seen some people say we need to get rid of Wakefield. Yeah. 115+ innings of a 3.75 ERA and a 1.223 WHIP is just killing us right now. And it's not like his caddy is really dragging down the collective hitting line from the C position. Justin Masterson can still be a long-term starter, but this is the right move for now, assuming he can get his walks under control. Even in a best-case scenario, Masterson is a 2 or 3 starter. Buch can be an ace, and if he has gotten his fastball working (again), then we need to see whether he can be another stopper along with Lester and Becks, and Buch should have better control than Masterson anyway. 

V.

And lineups.

A win would be nice. Also. I think when Papi comes back, Drew should = leadoff. Ells has been a-strugglin.

You know. I was all set last night to rant for about 4,568,342 of title. I convinced myself not to, sure I'd come off as ridiculously overly negative, and would turn all of you off from this site forever. Then something happened:

via d.yimg.com

Well. Not that specifically, but you get the point. A big positive for us tonight, in the person of Jon Lester. Definitely helped temper the...temper I felt towards/about this team last night.

• Lester was excellent. We can't be too down on ourselves with him and Becks in the rotation. This is what he's capable of, ladies and gentlemen, and this performance nor his no-hitter were flukes. He's not going to do this every time out, but I feel awesome about Jon Lester taking the mound these days.
• Coco Crisp is hot. .880 OPS in June. Is it going to keep up? I don't know, but he's definitely helping the Sox and himself out if he still wants to be traded. 
• Our starting catcher can no longer be up when the game is on the line in the 8th or 9th inning. Just can't happen. Sean Casey can hit, and Alex Cora can kind of run if it comes to that. It's silly to continue showing faith in him. And the hit-and-run with Lowell on-base ahead of him has worked a grand total of zero times out of three million tries in the last two days. At this point, I'm ready for Lowell to be a little bit insubordinate when the sign is given. 
• DP is on pace for 47 2Bs, 17 HR, and 17 SB. I'm dubious about the HR and SBs, but he's looking well past the point of rebounding after a slow start this season. Drew's been keeping it going as well. 
• I've seen a lot of people jump right off the MDC bandwagon lately in light of his very recent struggles. Let's hold judgement for now. I still prefer him to everyone but Paps in the late innings of games, though the idea of giving Aardsma a shot in some of those situations doesn't bother me too much. OTOH, I don't know what Hansen needs, but what he and we don't need is for him to be having an even worse run recently than MDC has. Where is '07 Oki when you need him? And WTF did Lopez do to piss Tito off. I'm not saying 8th inning, but he certainly is as good an option as most everyone around lately for the 7th and for situations with Inherited Runners. Sure he's liable to walk guys every so often, but he gets GBs from guys on both sides of the plate.
• Daisuke. Dice-BB. Whatever you want to call him. I'm tired of it. The Sox need to look into something for him if he can't put together a few straight starts of 6 IP minimum (with all of those starts, of course, coming in under 110 pitches and with less than 4 walks). Trying not to aim too high here.
• Finally, Mike Timlin is back. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

V.

And the lineups.

No Lugo. 7-8-9 looks awful. Let's hope Ells can get something going to break out of his slump.