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1. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 08, 2010 at 09:14 AM (#3526491)Beckett & Matsuzaka are struggling. Lackey is struggling but has been lucky with his ERA. It's probably just temporary, but that's the problem with building your team around pitching. Pitching is much less reliable than hitting. And there's no guarantee that the struggles won't last long enough to cost the team the season.
I wish the AL would drop the DH for just one game, the next one that Josh Beckett pitches in Yankee Stadium. I'd then bring the 1958 Ryne Duren out of a time machine and sign him to a one inning contract that paid him by the kneecap.
Of course maiming Beckett at this point would just be doing the Red Sox a favor, so I guess it's better to let them suffer his contract for another four years.
Of course maiming Beckett at this point would just be doing the Red Sox a favor, so I guess it's better to let them suffer his contract for another four years.
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
So [Reductio ad absurdum] a team should go into a season with 5 scrubs in the rotation, having put all their resources into the lineup? And this is historically how successful teams have done it?
Beckett's FIP is at 4.35: a .365 BABIP and an absurdly low 56% strand rate will do that for you. Neither trend is likely to continue, tho that is not to say he doesn't need to make any adjustments.
Most innings, he has either no curveball or a very inconsistent curve. He's been throwing more cutters and changes off his fastball, but neither of those pitches is better than average. So instead of a pitcher with good command of both a plus fastball and a plus curve, you've got a guy with a plus fastball and two average offerings beside that. He's not going to be an above average pitcher with that arsenal. Once (or if) he gets his curveball working again, Beckett will be a very good pitcher. But as long as it isn't there, he's going to be at best an innings eater, and he's going to need to learn how to use this new, lesser arsenal before he can even be that.
(You can see this in the fangraphs numbers - the last three years, Beckett has thrown about 25% curves, this year he's under 20%. He's also throwing fewer fastballs and has nearly doubled his use of cutters and changeups.)
To what extent is that (the strand rate; obviously BABIP doesn't include HRs) attributable to home runs?
2008-10
Player A: 74G 73GS 469IP 440H 219R 202ER 194BB 454K 45HR 109ERA+
Player B: 66G 66GS 427.2IP 423H 214R 203ER 105BB 405K 48HR 109ERA+
Intelligent post.
My selective outrage detector is going all koo-koo.
Beat me to it. I hate that little punkass.
Re. the intro: what's the difference between a "disaster" and an "awful start"?
Intelligent post.
My selective outrage detector is going all koo-koo.
It's one thing to hit players like Jeter or A-Rod, who lean all over the plate with the best of them. I don't complain about that, and I never complained about Pedro, since fear was a huge and perfectly OK part of his arsenal, and you can't take that away from any pitcher.
But what Beckett did last night was beyond insane. First he almost crippled Cano, then he nearly clocks Cervelli, then he whacks Jeter. And just for good measure he sends his own catcher out of the game. The worst thing about it, though, was that the umpire didn't figure out what was obviously going on and give him the boot.
Maybe this was some sort of a psychological move on Beckett's part to wake himself and his teammates out of their collective slumber, but if anything, it's only going to make the Yankees play harder, and I wouldn't necessarily want to be in Youk's or Petunia's shoes today.
Is Player A AJ Burnett?
If so I'm treating myself to that new FIFA World Cup game today. I've never guessed one of those right before!
Go ahead and treat yourself to some FIFA.
Selective outrage, with some mind reading tossed-in, from BBTF's oldest fanboy.
I take a back seat to no man in my hatred of Josh Beckett, but even squinting very hard I cannot for the life of me see how crossing up your catcher is the sign of a headhunter. And I'm pretty sure that no pitcher has ever been tossed for that particular offense. At least not by the umpires.
OTOH, 18 is a clear case of pots and kettles. You two really deserve each other.
And if it had just been one batter last night, I wouldn't have said anything, either. But what do you think a more reasonable reaction would be to Beckett's rendition of The
AfricanYankee Dodger, to wait till he's put the whole ####### lineup on the DL?You all have got a serious head case on your hands, and the consoling factor is that he's a head case whose best pitching days are long behind him, while his best paydays are still well in front of him. Enjoy.
Except I didn't say Beckett was a headhunter. I said he was beyond insane, which is a perfectly reasonable interpretation of his actions last night.
I don't know -- I thought it was clear the umpire knew that Beckett had no idea where his pitches were going.
Actually the consoling factor is, for a few innings, it looked like he'd strike out 20 batters.
As far as mechanics go, I didn't get to watch the meltdown. I walked out of the room in disgust when they IBB'd Gardner.
In an unrelated story: Kevin Youkilis refuses to leave his house today.
Go to TMZ and discuss the latest Mel Gibson tryst, please.
I apologize to women everywhere for comparing them to these idiots.
Complete with Terry Francona doing his best Grady Little impression.
Why would you say "he was beyond insane" if you don't believe it was all intentional?
Insane people are incapable of forming substantial intent.
If you think Beckett did any of those things on purpose, you should check into a rubber room motel for a bit until you get your wits about you.
If he could have hit Cano's knee or Varitek's wrist on purpose, he would have thrown a 27k perfect game on 81 pitches.
Intentional or not, the Yankees need to get a big lead today, and have Boone Logan put one in somebody's ribs. Don't throw at the head; you don't want to actually hurt somebody seriously. But, you can't not do something.
You think the umpire should have ejected Josh Beckett for injuring his own catcher? Seriously?
Bad command is now cause for ejection? Should we be ejecting hitters who consistently line the ball over the pitchers' mound?
Look, I don't blame Yankee fans for being pissed but between "Beckett was intentionally hitting people basically costing his team a fairly important game" and "Beckett had no idea where the ball was going" I know where I'm coming down and I'd like to think I'd come down in the same place if you replaced "Beckett" with "Sabathia."
I think it's appropriate to eject a pitcher for repeatedly hitting or nearly hitting batters even if the cause is bad command, yes.
If the opposing manager doesn't care about the score or the health of the opposing team, why not?
You're the same guy who once wished cancer on Red Sox fans over at RLYW, right? Right, got it. You and 'zop should start your own site.
You're the same guy who once wished cancer on Red Sox fans over at RLYW, right? Right, got it. You and 'zop should start your own site.
Nope, not me. In fact, I have no idea what you're talking about with this. Care to show me a link or something?
That would be the seminary.
It was clear later in the game, he had no idea where it was going. Beckett simply isn't as good as people think.
Is it the Royal Navy or the Sox-Yankees rivalry that's best characterized by alcohol abuse, the threat of sodomy, and beatings/beanings?
Well, bloody hell, there's no excuse for such abominable behavior. If the foremast Jacks had not gotten into the gunroom's wine closet, there'd be no need for the unfortunate business of the cat and the grating. Nevertheless, defaulters will not be tolerated, and once the cat is out of the bag there's nothing for it. Mr. Bonden, it's to be 12 lashes for the gentelemen accused of drunkenness, and the sodomites are to be flogged around the fleet.
The flip-side being, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded...I'm sending Beckett up to PH, mouthing all the way to the box.
Well, he does have three home runs.
I know a certain fanbase that could use a taste of the grape.
I think the umpire may have had cause to eject Beckett for being a danger to other human beings at that point. I'm the furthest thing from a Red Sox apologist you'll ever find, and I hate that scumbag for what he did last year, trying to decapitate Bobby Abreu for calling time. But I don't think Beckett threw at Cano intentionally. It was a breaking ball. His control was off the whole inning, and his up and in pitch to Cervelli walked in a run - that could not be intentional unless Beckett is the single stupidest person on this planet. But if you want to eject him for not having a minimum level of control to not be a deadly threat to others, go right ahead.
What the ####? I never wished cancer either on Sox fans, I just think Boston is a ########.
And we know that isn't so. Because Papelbon is.
Has this ever happened? Ever?
trying to decapitate Bobby Abreu
In these trying times it is great comfort that people can still discuss things rationally without resorting to hyperbole.
And we know that isn't so. Because Papelbon is.
I'm not sure the Red Sox chapter of Mensa has any current members.
Cameron seems like a smart, articulate guy. Also, I hear Asians are good at math and the Sox have a couple of 'em.
I wonder if any MLB players are actually in MENSA. A cursory search revealed nothing.
Baseball players are already members of a self-regarding fraternity full of pompous dickheads. They don't need MENSA.
I have this vague recollection of this sort of happening to Kerry Wood when he was still a starter for the Cubs (I want to say it happened in Houston). He hit a guy and was warned. He then hit two more guys, both of which were fairly obviously unintentional, but he got ejected anyway. But I think that was more a case of, once you warn a guy eventually you've got to toss him, they gave him a pass for one (which, if I'm remembering right, the Astros were none too pleased about - and rightly so) but couldn't really give him a second pass.
I thought that by rule, once the teams have been warned, even an unintentional hbp resulted in an ejection. I have no idea whether that's a written or unwritten rule, though.
I hazily recall when Joba threw over/behind Youks head twice in a row and he was tossed without warning, the words 'Son you gotta have better control than that.' Come to mind.
But I have holes in my brain and may just be remembering a forum poster saying that.
I think this is the game I'm thinking about. The article says that Wood hit a guy after both teams had been warned (and right after he'd given up a home run) and stayed in the game. It sticks in my memory precisely because I'd had the same thought as you: warning + HBP = ejection regardless of intent.
There was a study done on this 2 years ago. It might be out of date, but it found that everybody hits A-Rod and Jeter at high rates because they crowd the plate, and that Red Sox pitchers hit Yankee batters at rates not significantly different from pitchers from the other three AL East teams.
Well why not? He was throwing heat behind the man's head. On purpose, I believe.
BTW, I think Beckett was doing it on purpose as well. Or semi-on purpose. There were like 6 different instances, with 5
different guys, one guy 2 times.
Payback's a #####. We were proabaly 80-90% to lose the game when Cano got kneecaped anyway.
That wasn't directed at you; you're just the type of guy who makes jokes about people's homes burning down.
Whatever, I never should have said anything in the first place.
WJ, I apologize, it wasn't cancer, it was AIDS. (post 242) Although, I guess technically you were telling them to be careful. Still, AIDS was an odd choice there anyway, huh? Or how about wanting "Fenway Park to burn down and cook everyone inside alive". (that's post 174). There's a bunch more in there too. Maybe you were kidding, maybe you weren't, whatever, it's all there.
This would be a great policy. In fact, I'd favor putting a far great onus on the pitcher not hit the batter. But that's not how the game works right now so it would be going against baseball's current policies to do that.
198. Posted at 8:59:10 pm on Sunday, April 26, 2009 by Weekly Journalist
This team is an embarrassment to the sport. An embarrassment to the city of new york. An embarrassment to humanity.
a curtain call. He better get ####### beaned next time.
Absurd to think Beckett was throwing at people with the bases loaded, Andy. You may have noticed that he didn't have it yesterday.
I'll "suffer through it" happily, thanks. He's a very good pitcher. His struggles this year have been mainly BABIP related. Some struggling with K/BB but nothing to be alarmed about.
Of course, why Francona left him in as long as he did last night is a mystery.
I hope the pads on the walls of your room are extra thick. What kind of a world do you live in?
This makes... no sense.
What do you mean Lackey is struggling, but has been lucky with his ERA? He's had 1 bad start in 6, and 5 of those are quality starts. He's giving up 1 hit per inning, so it's not like he's had an inordinate number of men on base.
He's struggling a bit controlling the strike zone -- his walk rate is the highest of his career, and his strikeout rate is the lowest of his career. So unless that balance changes for the better, I'd expect his ERA to increase sooner rather than later.
Well why not? He was throwing heat behind the man's head. On purpose, I believe.
As you can see by the part you left out, I think that "headhunting" is an overhyped phenomenon. If Joba had truly been trying to bean Youkilis, he'd have thrown behind him, which would have cause his instincts to back into the pitch. Chamberlain's a hothead, and so are plenty of other pitchers (among them more than a few Red Sox and Yankees from the not so distant past), but I've yet to see any pitcher, including Beckett, purposely try to bean a batter.
BTW, I think Beckett was doing it on purpose as well. Or semi-on purpose. There were like 6 different instances, with 5 different guys, one guy 2 times.
And that's why I've been so vehement against what he did. Once or twice could have been written off, but last night went way beyond any "loss of command" excuse. In not one of those cases did Beckett act the slightest bit apologetic, or make the slightest sort of gesture of "sorry, it slipped."
Payback's a #####. We were probably 80-90% to lose the game when Cano got kneecapped anyway.
That's an honest statement that I agree with 100%, but you better watch out before Harold or Ray try to have to committed to a padded room.
I, for one, haven't ruled out that possibility.
While I appreciate what he did for the SOx in 2007, there aren't many Red Sox players I've ever enjoyed rooting for less than Beckett. I can't stand him.
I, for one, haven't ruled out that possibility.
Nor have I.
I don't think Beckett threw at Cano intentionally. It was a breaking ball.
I don't think that was intentional either, but cut fastballs are breaking pitches now? Gameday had it at 92 mph.
Which is exactly what Joba did. He threw behind him. Which of course blows up your non-point in its entirety.
But not when Joba threw behind Youk's head, which you conveniently forgot about. Which is why you're the senior fanboy at this site, and your postings in this thread are unintentionally comic--selective outrage worthy of Frank Rich.
Just admit you got emotional and made a bunch of stupid posts. It won't kill you.
My bad, thought it was a slider. It had a lot of movement on it.
I can't remember the last time I cheered a Red Sock striking out a Yankee (probably a decade ago, when Pedro won me a fantasy league), but I was glad to see the ump expand the zone and call Brett Gardner out. You've got a 9 run lead and an outfielder on the mound in a game that started 5 hours ago. The last thing anyone needs is a hitter trying to work a walk.
No. The umpire's job is to call the strike zone as best he can, not factor in game situation. That -- factoring in game situation -- is the "last thing anyone needs."
He advocated based on seniorfanboyism that the players on his favorite team intentionally maim a player from the opposing team.
Yeah, it's hard to call that anything except stupid.
Which is exactly what Joba did. He threw behind him.
Joba's fabled "headhunting" confrontations with Youkilis have amounted to two pitches thrown above his head in 2007, one pitch thrown behind his legs in 2008, and one pitch that would have beaned him later in 2008 if he hadn't ducked, and it wound up as a foul strike. After a careful research of the annals of MLB, I've discovered that this last near miss was the first time in history that a batter has ever been the victim of a near miss.
But of course as you know, Joba's never actually hit Youkilis. He needs to take a few aiming lessons from Beckett.
Yeah, it's hard to call that anything except stupid.
Here's that incriminating quote, which may have been stupid but was hardly lacking a self-correcting second thought:
You and tfbg9 can now discuss whether or not Beckett was intentionally throwing at the Yankees last night---Oooohhh, catfight!
Jesus, Andy, not counting postseason Youkilis has 12 PAs against Chamberlain in his career. Which means one out of four PAs has featured a pitch at his head and one out of three has featured either a pitch at his head or a pitch behind him.
You're probably taking a little too much grief on the thread (**), but you're entering sillyville here.
(**) It's hard to tell exactly what is what with Beckett; to me there was an inordinate amount of frustration there -- the type you see when a formerly dominant athlete isn't dominant anymore. If he'd had an ear available to bite, he'd have likely pulled a Tyson on it.
You're probably taking a little too much grief on the thread (**), but you're entering sillyville here.
Actually, BB-ref lists 17 PA's, of which 3 have featured these incidents. Nasty to be sure, but hardly any more lethal than many hundreds of similar incidents that take place every year. IMO Chamberlain and Beckett both come from a long and honored tradition of confrontational pitchers who get very territorial about their ownership of the plate. But I don't consider either of them headhunters, because I don't have the privilege of entering the heads of either of them, or of Clemens, Pedro, Drysdale, etc., etc., etc.
But when has Chamberlain---when has any pitcher this side of Dock Ellis---ever come up with the sort of sequence of hit batsmen and deckings that Beckett did last night? I'm sure that there have been, and I'm not saying that what Beckett did was unique, but at what point does that "lost command" explanation begin to wear thin?
(**) It's hard to tell exactly what is what with Beckett; to me there was an inordinate amount of frustration there -- the type you see when a formerly dominant athlete isn't dominant anymore. If he'd had an ear available to bite, he'd have likely pulled a Tyson on it.
That was definitely my impression, too. And without trying to be too snarky, I think that you might could begin to think such verboten thoughts about the entire 2010 Red Sox team. I know it's early in the year, but the way they've been playing in Fenway against their two major opponents doesn't exactly suggest many prospects for a revival. IOW if I were Beckett, I'd feel pretty damn frustrated myself.
Hey Beckett son where are you now?
Don't you know that we need you now?
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Beckett's bones resting now?
Charles Einstein has a wonderful short story about a pitcher who acquires the nickname "Sixth-Inning Sam" because he can never get out of the sixth inning -- great stuff right up to then, and whammo. Snappy dialogue, observant and funny.
I assume Dave Bush's name was changed for legal reasons?
Oh I get it. We're supposed to be girls, or something.
Andy, your next comic post will be your first.
Matlock's on at 4 today.
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