Saturday, July 16, 2005
Two Doses of Suffering
Matt Clement looked real good until all hell broke loose with two outs in the bottom of the third. A fastball behind the back of Gary Sheffield was the precursor to what turned out to be a nightmarish afternoon at Fenway.
After the six-spot was posted in the third by the Yanks, that included a John Flaherty two-RBI double, the Sox would score and score again. But mistakes did us in.
First, Dale Sveum screwed up again by holding Kevin Millar at third on a single to centerfield. Who's in centerfield for the Yankees? These days, it's either Melky Cabrera or Bernie Williams. Cabrera looks like a deer-in-the-headlights in the outfield, with seemingly no instincts whatsoever, and Bernie has lost his job due to an exceedingly poor throwing arm that can't reach the pitcher's mound from medium-deep CF. This resulted in Doug Mirrabelli having no place to go, and getting tagged out between second and third. It's time for Sveum to go.
Another is the error by David Ortiz in the seventh that put the game out of reach. Tito was trying to get as many righthanded bats in the lineup as possible, so he put Doug Mirrabelli at DH and Ortiz at first. I think we all learned last year, on July 1 at Yankee Stadium, that Papi shouldn't be at first base. John Olerud would have easily had that grounder, and in addition, he has handled Randy Johnson well throughout his career.
Al Leiter will start for the pitching-starved Yankees tomorrow, making his first start for an AL team since September 30, 1995 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Wakey is to go for the Sox, gametime 6:00.
Can't Touch This
The Mets can't touch Atlanta Braves pitching. After scoring only on a David Wright solo shot last night, the Mets get shut out tonight by Tim Hudson, Jim Brower, Dan Kolb, and Chris Reitsma.
Getting dominated by John Smoltz and Hudson isn't what bothers me. What bothers me is that the Mets failed to score the last two nights against Kolb and Brower, who both have ERA's well in to the fives. A lineup that sports the names of Piazza, Beltran, Floyd, etc. has to beat up on mediocre pitching. At least once, anyway.
Willie Randolph showed his cluelessness once again tonight in three capacities. The first was, for a second straight night, holding Jose Reyes on first base with Mike Cameron at the plate. Cameron hasn't been able to hit a beachball this July, and Reyes is second in the National League in steals. Why the hell he isn't running is anyone's guess.
Another is that Danny Graves comes into a 2-0 game in the ninth. Why? The game is still in play, due to the bloop-and-a-blast theory. But Graves and his 7.81 ERA enters the game, and by the time he threw four pitches, a run had scored. Heath Bell hasn't pitched since the Pittsburgh series, and he clearly has been the better option this season.
The last is all the bunts. Victor Zambrano and Marlon Anderson both were presumably instructed to bunt for base hits, Zambrano with two outs and Anderson with nobody on base. Zamby has handed the bat well this year, and although he isn't a slugger, no doubt he has a far better chance of getting on base and driving in a run with swing the bat. And Anderson, who has been the NL's best pinch hitter so far in 2005, is told to drag one down the line? Please Willie, grow a brain.
The Duke of Pittsburgh
Ever heard of Zach Duke? Last year, he dominated the minor leagues at two stops and became heralded as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. This year, after doing more of the same in AAA, he's gobbling up major league hitters.
Now in three starts in the big leagues, Duke has gone at least seven innings in any appearance, and hasn't yield a run in his last 15. After picking up his first win against the Phillies on July 7, Duke outdueled Greg Maddux at Wrigley Field today to move to 2-0. Over eight innings today, he allowed just six hits and two walks, struck out four, and didn't allow a run in lowering his ERA to to a staggering 1.23.
It's very early in this 22-year-old's career, but he certainly looks like something special. Stay tuned.
After the six-spot was posted in the third by the Yanks, that included a John Flaherty two-RBI double, the Sox would score and score again. But mistakes did us in.
First, Dale Sveum screwed up again by holding Kevin Millar at third on a single to centerfield. Who's in centerfield for the Yankees? These days, it's either Melky Cabrera or Bernie Williams. Cabrera looks like a deer-in-the-headlights in the outfield, with seemingly no instincts whatsoever, and Bernie has lost his job due to an exceedingly poor throwing arm that can't reach the pitcher's mound from medium-deep CF. This resulted in Doug Mirrabelli having no place to go, and getting tagged out between second and third. It's time for Sveum to go.
Another is the error by David Ortiz in the seventh that put the game out of reach. Tito was trying to get as many righthanded bats in the lineup as possible, so he put Doug Mirrabelli at DH and Ortiz at first. I think we all learned last year, on July 1 at Yankee Stadium, that Papi shouldn't be at first base. John Olerud would have easily had that grounder, and in addition, he has handled Randy Johnson well throughout his career.
Al Leiter will start for the pitching-starved Yankees tomorrow, making his first start for an AL team since September 30, 1995 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Wakey is to go for the Sox, gametime 6:00.
Can't Touch This
The Mets can't touch Atlanta Braves pitching. After scoring only on a David Wright solo shot last night, the Mets get shut out tonight by Tim Hudson, Jim Brower, Dan Kolb, and Chris Reitsma.
Getting dominated by John Smoltz and Hudson isn't what bothers me. What bothers me is that the Mets failed to score the last two nights against Kolb and Brower, who both have ERA's well in to the fives. A lineup that sports the names of Piazza, Beltran, Floyd, etc. has to beat up on mediocre pitching. At least once, anyway.
Willie Randolph showed his cluelessness once again tonight in three capacities. The first was, for a second straight night, holding Jose Reyes on first base with Mike Cameron at the plate. Cameron hasn't been able to hit a beachball this July, and Reyes is second in the National League in steals. Why the hell he isn't running is anyone's guess.
Another is that Danny Graves comes into a 2-0 game in the ninth. Why? The game is still in play, due to the bloop-and-a-blast theory. But Graves and his 7.81 ERA enters the game, and by the time he threw four pitches, a run had scored. Heath Bell hasn't pitched since the Pittsburgh series, and he clearly has been the better option this season.
The last is all the bunts. Victor Zambrano and Marlon Anderson both were presumably instructed to bunt for base hits, Zambrano with two outs and Anderson with nobody on base. Zamby has handed the bat well this year, and although he isn't a slugger, no doubt he has a far better chance of getting on base and driving in a run with swing the bat. And Anderson, who has been the NL's best pinch hitter so far in 2005, is told to drag one down the line? Please Willie, grow a brain.
The Duke of Pittsburgh
Ever heard of Zach Duke? Last year, he dominated the minor leagues at two stops and became heralded as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. This year, after doing more of the same in AAA, he's gobbling up major league hitters.
Now in three starts in the big leagues, Duke has gone at least seven innings in any appearance, and hasn't yield a run in his last 15. After picking up his first win against the Phillies on July 7, Duke outdueled Greg Maddux at Wrigley Field today to move to 2-0. Over eight innings today, he allowed just six hits and two walks, struck out four, and didn't allow a run in lowering his ERA to to a staggering 1.23.
It's very early in this 22-year-old's career, but he certainly looks like something special. Stay tuned.
# posted by Dave @ 10:44 PM 
