BBTF's Sox Therapy Discussion :: Yin and Yang and All That Junk

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Sunday, June 01, 2008

Yin and Yang and All That Junk

It seems like just a couple weeks ago (because it was) that all the talk in baseball was that the Red Sox’ young starters were outshining and embarassing their Yankee counterparts. Buchholz was putting up nice numbers and Lester, after a shaky start, had rebounded and threw a thrilling no hitter. Meanwhile, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy were both winless and struggling mightily to get out of the 4th inning. Fast forward a bit and Buc is in AAA after getting hurt and having a couple lousy rehab starts, and Lester has kept pitching well but has returned to his medicore peripherals. In the Bronx, Darrell Rasner has replaced Hughes and pitched very well and the frightening Joba Chamberlain is about to take over for Kennedy in the rotation. In another couple weeks, we could be saying that Rasner and Joba are the best young 1-2 punch between the two teams. Or we could be saying that of Lester and Buc. Or Chamberlain and Hughes. Or Masterson and Lester. The fate of young pitchers turns on a dime. And as a result, I’m betting that the rest of the season will be quite the roller coaster ride.

(Side note: None of these sets of starters measure up to what Kazmir and Shields (and Jackson and Garza) have done this year.

Darren Posted: June 01, 2008 at 08:32 PM | 14 comment(s)
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1. John DiFool2 Posted: June 02, 2008 at 01:01 AM (#2802806)

And, waiting in the wings for a likely Sept. cup of joe is Michael Bowden, he of the 2.20 AA era and 58-16 K-W ratio.

2. NJ in DC loathes his classmates and the law Posted: June 02, 2008 at 02:24 AM (#2802814)

Not sure I would call Rasner "young," but I get your point.

3. 1k5v3L Posted: June 02, 2008 at 02:41 AM (#2802815)

Shouldn't Rasner and Joba throw no hitters first?

Of course, the scary part for the rest of the AL east is that David Price might be Tampa's second best starter in August.

4. The Clarence Thomas of BTF (scott) Posted: June 02, 2008 at 05:44 PM (#2803307)

i'm officially on the bandwagon of the Rays of Light.

5. Answer Guy Posted: June 02, 2008 at 06:01 PM (#2803318)

I'm not on that bandwagon yet. They've played 34 at home, only 23 on the road, in a season where lots of teams have had enormous home field advantages.

6. GIANTlhbASS Posted: June 03, 2008 at 01:01 AM (#2803940)

Shouldn't Rasner and Joba throw no hitters first?

Exactly, though Hughes came close.

And now that Kennedy and Hughes haven't fulfilled expectations, the possibility of Joba not dominating as a starter would be very hard for the Yanks to take.

7. Jim Wisinski Posted: June 03, 2008 at 01:38 PM (#2804293)

I'm not on that bandwagon yet. They've played 34 at home, only 23 on the road, in a season where lots of teams have had enormous home field advantages.

But that also suggests there's road field disadvantage for almost everyone and the Rays are just one game under .500 on the road, much better than Boston in fact. If you're going to question their performance based on a large number of home games so far then you also have to have doubt about the Red Sox who have a much larger home/road split.

I actually do agree with the basic premise of your statement though, this road trip is huge for the Rays as well as probably being their toughest one of the season. Going at least 4-5 on it will be a huge point in favor of their staying power.

8. Dave Cyprian Posted: June 04, 2008 at 03:44 AM (#2805431)

Good post Darren. Remember though that the BoSox could, if they wished, field a solid rotation of all under-27 year olds: Beckett, Diceman, Lester, Buck, & Masterson. That's... that's nice.

Speaking of quality teams with good young pitchers, I'm officially on the rays bandwagon. Their home road splits... are trendy in baseball and pro sports in general right now. And for real, do the Rays really have tens of thousands of screaming fans that makes it tough for opposing teams, or are they just good? I'm betting on the later, and a rewarding 88 win season for them.

I was at the game tonight, and when Carl Crawford pinch-hit late in the game, I was like, "damn, I didn't even notice Crawford wasn't starting." To me, the Rays have just come a long way. Its awesome. New blood in the league.

Other observation from game: Masterson is nice. He was blazing mid-nineies fastballs and low-nineties sinkers, and he seemed to fearlessly pound the corner that is low and inside to righties with the sinker no matter who was at bat. He left a few fat ones that were smacked out-- no biggie. Boy throws strikes.

9. Dan Posted: June 04, 2008 at 04:03 AM (#2805432)

The pitches that got tattooed tonight were mainly changeups, for what it's worth.

10. IronChef Chris Wok Posted: June 04, 2008 at 05:46 AM (#2805443)

Boy throws strikes.

Good. He gave up both dingers to left handers though. Still think because of this his future is probably in the bullpen, but he THROWS STRIKES!!!

11. Darren Posted: June 04, 2008 at 06:38 AM (#2805445)

Masteron appeared to throw a lot of flat breaking pitches last night. I think he did a decent job of battling through it, but he was lucky to escape with only 4 runs allowed.

12. OCD SS Posted: June 04, 2008 at 08:14 AM (#2805452)

He also works really well to both sides of the plate. Thanks new NESN CF camera!

13. steagles Posted: June 04, 2008 at 02:57 PM (#2805787)

i just want to take a minute to say that i'm the guy who went to see justin masterson pitch in harrisburg last august. while there, i saw an excellent sinker, a developing slider, and a dominant performance.

i just made a trip to lakewood to watch drew naylor (admittedly of the phillies) pitch. while there, i saw a tremendous curve, a developing fastball, and a dominant performance. he might only be in low A, but in about a year, look out for naylor.

http://variablesdont.blogspot.com/2008/05/thoughts-on-drew-naylor.html

14. Dave Cyprian Posted: June 09, 2008 at 05:31 PM (#2813256)

The AL East
Boy, about two years ago I thought the East was about to cede the title of "Best Division in Baseball" to the Central for a long time, but now, not so much.

The Yankees
Are .500, with a .500 pythag as well. I'll take that.

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Yin and Yang and All That Junk

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