Less chance of corruption than with a Joiseyite, I'm sure. Nice to see Matsuzaka get a little run support tonight.
I watched the game tonight. Those are both very good teams, but the Yankees need starting pitching...
Another shaky 4th inning for Matsuzaka. Three straight walks. Oy. And Rivera takes a save opportunity away from Papelbon. Ohayou, Joel-san.
Really, it is still just April. I don't think either team was too proud of its pitching last night. Dice-K can't afford to keep having "one shaky inning" when he pitches. I was happy with the relief, and it's good to see Timlin returning to form. The Sox need the innings he can provide. These are the two highest salaried teams in the game. Both have the ability to hit the snot out of the ball, and both have questionable pitching. Look at Toronto as well. The AL East seemingly builds for a trip to Omaha or the Roto Championships every year. As much as I love to see the Sox beat the Yankees and hit Mariano Rivera (2004 was the greatest ever), part of me has too much respect for Rivera to take any real glee from last night's 9th. If he had entered the game in a save situation, certainly, but not when he came in just to get some work. Wake and Karstens in a few hours...
Questionable pitching? Looks pretty good to me so far and with return of Lester...best 5 man rotation in baseball as of right now. Pen looks more then adequate. Look for Dustin to break out any time now..he makes contact and is strong for a little guy. Only missing link as of this writing is MANRAM.
"So far" being the operative words. Matsuzaka has been good and bad, often in the same game. It's like he loses focus sometimes. Schilling has looked pretty good, but he's given up four home runs already, admittedly to good hitting, and his K/BB ratio is like 3. Beckett has started strong, but remember last season when he turned into the way back machine? "Way back. Way back. Gone!" Can't have that happen again. Sox gave up some good players for him. Wake is back to walking a lot of guys again already. That was his problem last season, in addition to a lack of run support. I love Wake, but he needs to have a better season. Let's just not talk about Tavarez. Sure, Lester's going to take his place, but Lester is young and he had a fat ERA last season and walked a lot of batters. I am happy with how middle relief is looking, and it will be great if Timlin can contribute as many quality innings again as he usually does. I've watched Donnely for several years with the Angels and I like him. Okajima has been a real surprise. Papelbon? Best closer in baseball. So far, the Sox have the third best team ERA. I'm optimistic, but I think there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Again, it's only April. And I think Oakland has the best 5-man rotation in baseball right now. What they need is more offense.
I think the Boston rotation is solid. I still think middle relief is poor and I know something about bad middle relief :wink: Dice K has pitched I think 13 innings against the Yankees in the last week and surrendered 9-10 runs. That's not exactly lights out. His fastball is OK but not overpowering. His offspeed stuff is much better and he throws a lot of it. He appears to have a rubber arm which is good. To have a chance to beat him you must be patient. The Yankees did well enough against him both times to win but the Yankee pitching is horrendous from top to bottom. Maybe we are finding out why Cashman didn't sign an extension on Rivera in spring training? Middle relief is non-existent. Starters rarely get through the 4th inning. Red Sox look good to me.
Wake's woes continue. He didn't get any run support during his innings as the Sox lost by two runs on Saturday, but he also gave up six walks, two of which ended up crossing the plate. As of right now the Sox starting rotation is 14-8 with a 3.75 ERA. The relievers are 2-0 and 9 for 9 in save opportunities with a 2.18 ERA. Take out Papelbon's numbers (I'm not going to go to the trouble of splitting Okajima's numbers) and the middle relievers only are 2-0, 1 for 1 and 2.56. That's not bad middle relief. Again, so far.
re: No Mojo Part Trois Maybe the Cranks will be willing to cut us a deal to get Yhency Brazoban back...
The Yankee problems are many. They hit like crazy in April but couldn't pitch. In may they are pitching well but not hitting, except for Jeter and Posada who are #1-2 in the league. Bobby Abreu, who is a lifetime .302 hitter with a lifetime .412 OBA, is not getting on base at all. The kids who hit so well last year, Cano and Cabrera, are in two month slumps. Damon and Giambi are both playing hurt and most likely will not finish the season. Plus Damon has already given up. And, to add to the misery, we eagerly await the re-coronation of King Roger of Texas as the new savior. Presumably George S. will be his towel boy. If it weren't for Andy Pettitte it would be totally hopeless. As it is, this does not look like a pinstripe year. The upcoming six game stretch with the Mets and Red Sox will probably tell the tale.
:Ricko..DMAT looked STRONG last night. He is getting better with each outing :!: Pedroia has adjusted to the bigs with a BANG! ( at plate and in field). We still need Cococrisp and Drew to start hitting. J
Andy doesn't start pitching till the 2nd half of the season, it takes him a long time to get all the aches, pains and assorted age related stuff worked out. :twisted:
Verlander got a standing O from the Fenway fans after giving up 1 run in 7 innings. The Sox were overmatched.
Red Sox fans ALWAYS show appreciation to opposing players who play well. Its just The Red Sox Nation way!!