One… and done?
Coming into the Yankees series, it certainly seemed that all the Red Sox needed to do was win one game. They were on the road against a good team and they were missing a top starter. A single win would keep them at least 9.5 ahead, preventing a slide to 7.5 ahead. And looking at the series, it appeared that they’re best shot for that win would come in the first game. Tim Wakefield had a career 3.66 ERA in Yankee Stadium, the Sox usually hit Chien-Ming Wang reasonably well (IIRC), and the other two matchups seemed to favor the Yankees.
So winning the 2nd game, started by Tavarez was a happy surprise, but it also came with a price. Apparently, Terry Francona also thought he needed only one game in this series. Leading 7-2, he went to his best setup man and then, with a 7-3 lead, to his closer. It seemed like an excellent opportunity to see if some combination of Delcarmen/Snyder/Donnelly/Romero could get through two innings without getting into trouble. This would save your two best pitchers in case there was a close game the next day.
Another questionable move was leaving Tavarez out there to decide the game in the 5th, when he was having terrible control problems, and then sending him out for two batters in the 6th. Those were very risky choices.
Overall, of course, it got the Red Sox a crucial win. Here’s hoping it doesn’t cost them one tomorrow.
A few notes:
--Will ARod get thrown at tomorrow after throwing a forearm into Pedroia?
--Will it send ARod into a slump the way the plunking by Dice-K did?
--Were the excruciating walks to Giambi and Cano (!) worth it because they led to Pap K’ing Jeter on 3 pitches?
--We will know that Tito hates Pedroia if he sits him and plays Cora against a lefty tomorrow.
--Papelbon has great stuff but his control leaves something to be desired.
Darren
Posted: May 22, 2007 at 11:02 PM |
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Is that A-Rod elbow footage on the interweb somewhere? I missed it.
I'd be shocked if Alex isn't hit. I like being aggressive there, even though it was obviously too much, I just hope he expects to get hit and realizes he deserves it.
I was hoping for Donnelly/Delcarmen in the 8th. Once Tito had gotten Li'l Papi warmed up during hte 8th as Okajima was struggling, it seemed right to use him in the ninth with a four-run lead. I figure Tito's decisions were one part win now, and one part the (incorrect) assumption that surely one of Okajima or Papelbon would get through an inning in under 25 pitches.
Leaving Tavarez out there was more a calculated risk. Get an extra inning out of Tavarez, and that's one less inning you need from an already taxed bullpen. Also, maybe you build his confidence up a little bit by letting him get out of the fifth inning jam.
I think once he decided on using Lopez as the next reliever, he was committed to letting Tavarez pitch to the first two guys in the 6th. They really don't want Lopez pitching to right handed hitters.
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As for A-Rod, I'd be surprised if he does get hit. Not much sense waking up a team that looks pretty content to play .500 ball. That's not going to last the whole season.
The Yankees are incredibly patient at the plate, most of the time.
Fernando Vina. and it wasn't at second. Vina got in front of him and tried to tag him and Belle belted Vina with his elbow.
--Will ARod get thrown at tomorrow after throwing a forearm into Pedroia?
--Will it send ARod into a slump the way the plunking by Dice-K did?
Rodriguez was hit by 111 other pitches in his career before the devastating heatsucking gyroplunk. I think he rebounded okay.
I doubt anyone in Red Sox Nation will be Photoshopping a purse onto the Pedroia elbow, though.
This neither explains nor excuses their use yesterday, but had they entered a situation in which Delcarmen, Donnelly, or someone else had pitched poorly - say, two runs in and two runners on - they very well could have lost the game given the control problems both of them were having.
Tito has a lot of options. I'm sure he had that in mind yesterday when he chose to use both of them.
The problem with the Pedroia play has nothing to do with the size of Little Star. It also isn't a matter of sliding hard and making contact, or claiming space that is yours. Alex Rodriguez purposefully threw an elbow at an opposing player. He didn't run in a straight line and not care who was there -- all physical, hard plays but not cheap plays. This is significantly cheaper than the chop on Brandon.
Throwing an elbow is a cheap play - there is no way around it. It is cheap no matter who does it.
On two pitches off the plate.
I think Papelbon takes that single Jeter hit last year personally, he seems to really gear up for Jeter, maybe not though.
No concern about his velocity being off around here?
"Like with the slap, like with the synthetic swing, ARod just seems to have a poor body-sense of proper baseball play, and particularly a poor body sense for being, like, the greatest player in the game."
He's an athletic goon. I played football with a kid like this in high school. If he tried to do anything physical the first time, he looked goofy as hell (hit himself with a frisbee the first time he threw it). But his body was capable of learning just about anything after some repetition. He picked up a lacroose stick sophmore year and was the best player in the school by the time we graduated, and I think we were a nationally ranked high school program.
Anyone see A-rod run away from the bat that came flying at him a couple weeks ago? He looked ridiculous running away from it.
RDF. When all else fails, blame the ump.
it's one thing to ##### about the first one. But after the ump makes clear that he's going to call that one a strike, it's just plain foolish to not swing at the exact same pitch. What was Jeter thinking on that, that because he's Jeter, he can determine for the ump what is a strike and what isn't? Grab some pine, you mouthy prima donna.
I don't really know. I have a sort of low-level constant fear in regard to Li'l Papi's health, as he's clearly not the same pitcher he was before his arm popped out of his shoulder, but the information is so spotty that I can't figure out what to do with any of it.
Those pitches were not more than half a ball off black. Pitcher pitches yes, but ones you swing at with 2 outs in the 9th and guys on base, when your behind a couple runs. Especially the last one.
i think the dropped arm slot and the control issues are one issue. i think he's getting more side-to-side movement on his fastball b/c his arm slot is dropped. if he can get his arm back up, he'll have solid control of the fastball, and it'll have that late life that make that pitch so great. he needs to get his arm slot back up.
Can't really argue with that.
Yeah. I'm concerned that it's just going to keep dropping lower and lower until his velocity and movement deteriorates so much that he becomes ineffective. I'm not sure if he can get his slot back up without time off or some kind of serious rehab. I think the arm slot is a symptom of the shoulder problem - a structural/strength issue, not one he can just will back into place.
i think you're right.
Whether or not the play was dirty it's obvious A-Rod was trying to do something different and that's what everyone keys off.
Where do we access it?
I think it is, however, time to be worried about Schilling. His performance was very much like Mussina's was the other night. Mid 80s fastballs aren't going to cut it, especially out of a guy that had success when it was in the mid 90s. He went to the mound with just horrid stuff. You have to wonder about him. He doesn't keep himself in good shape in the offseason, and he's looking every bit like a 40 year old pitcher lately.
Epstein's decision to not extend the guy looks better and better with each start.
but if he is lowering his arm slot (and i don't have quite the eye to pick that out reliably), that explains his reduced effectiveness. the key to his fastball is the late life, but when he drops his arm he loses that extra hop and in return he gets lateral movement. when he gets lateral movement on his fastball it's harder to pitch to the corners.
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