Pitching Fails Sox Again

The last two outings have seen the Sox lose games because of their three pitching disappointments on the year. Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, and Tim Wakefield all contributed to the Sox late inning collapses. I think the Red Sox need to think long and hard about the future of each of those pitchers (except for Beckett who just signed that big extension. How nice for him).

Wakefield has clearly had it. He's been serviceable the past two or three years and has made some positive contributions. But his performance this year has shown that he is absolutely and irrevocably over the hill. Witness his 2003 ALCS reenactment last night.

I'm beginning to think that the Sox need to trade Paps while he still has some value. The fact is that a guy like Mariano Rivera or even Trevor Hoffman are very rare. Most closers are only dominant for a handful of years. Papelbon has two years left on his contract and Daniel Bard is showing legitimate closer ability this season. The Sox could keep both pitchers next year then trade Paps in the final year of the contract. I said trade him this off season before his value plummets. I'm sure they can get some idiot to trade them the farm for Paps. Closers like him are always over valued on the trade market and in free agency.

Sox Show Phils Who's Boss

After losing game one, Boston bounced back to take two of three from the NL Champ Phillies in their own building. Tim Wakefield followed Dice-K's near no-no with a gem of his own as the Sox stymied Philidelphia's potent line up two games in a row. There would have been a second shut out as well if not for Ramon Ramirez throwing batting practice in the ninth. Boston also pounded familiar foe Roy Halladay for 7 runs over 5 2/3. Sox batters struck out just once.

The Sox start a three game series with the Rays tomorrow before heading home to face ego booster Kansas City. They may need it. The Trop has proved completely vexing for the Sox for three seasons now. I don't have very high hopes for that series. It's just another opportunity for the Rays to pad their divisional lead.

Feeling Minnesota

Just like last week, the only Boston pitcher who seems to be able to get anyone out or get past the fifth inning against the Twins was John Lackey. Jon Lester had a sub par performance in game one getting out pitched by Carl freaking Pavano, and Tim Wakefield was bludgeoned this afternoon for 10 hits and 6 runs over 5 1/3. On the other side, Francisco Liriano looked like the 2006 version today when it appeared the Twins would have a nasty combination of Liriano and Johan Santana. The Sox ended up getting shut out for the first time this season.

Though I am prone to bursts of outrage, it is far too early to get worried. Lester is a notoriously slow starter. And Wakefield is... well, Wakefield. He's going to get spanked on occasion. The bats still need to wake up though. Other than bombarding the Royals with 8 runs in the last two games of that series, the Boston offense has been ho hum. It might take them a little while to get into a rhythm offensively and for all of the new faces to get accustomed to the their roles. The trick is getting that all started while not digging too big of a hole in either the division or wild card race.

Boston Spanking A's

J.D. Drew and David Ortiz have just gone yard and have chased the A's rookie starter from the game. Order is restored to the universe. Tim Wakefield is pitching well and continuing his fine season. A couple of those knuckle balls really dove into the dirt as the A's light-hitting line up flailed at them helplessly. They better keep this lead and take the rubber match in the series tonight.

Oops, I spoke too soon. As Wakefield came out for the start of the seventh he promptly gave up two base hits. Francona just came out to get him. It was a very good effort anyway. The bullpen had better shut things down. Manny Delcarmen is heading out of the bullpen.

Anything less than taking three of four from the Royals in the next series would be completely unacceptable to me. If the Sox can pull that off, that would make the Sox 6-4 in this stretch of facing cupcakes before the dreaded All-Star break (more on that in a day or two). In my mind 7-3 would have been the minimum goal, but we'll take it.

Wakefield Blows Up

The knuckleball is a fickle mistress. Wakefield was cruising along for 4 innings just fine then the Jays hit double after double in the fifth, scoring 5 runs in the frame. It must have been the powder blue uni's.

At least we got to see youngster Daniel Bard, and he was quite impressive. Not only did he keep the Jays from scoring and keep the Red Sox in the game, but he struck out 7 in just 2 1/3 innings. His fast ball topped out at 97-98 mph and threw what appeared to be a slider in the upper 80's. I hope he gets more opportunities this year. His stuff looks filthy.

Wakefield Pitches Gem

In a fast moving game, the Red Sox bats got Tim Wakefield just enough run support to defeat the front running Blue Jays 2-1. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Jays now that they are going to get into the meat of their AL East schedule.

It was crazy to see the way Wake induced fly ball after fly ball. Many never left the infield. He was super-efficient throwing less than 100 pitches over eight innings, giving up five hits. The Jays never got any real rally going, and their only run came on Kevin Millar's solo homer.

Finally, Kevin Youkilis will be coming back. It seems like he's been gone forever. Though Papi is still struggling, Youk's addition to the line up with hot hitters like Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bay, and J.D. Drew should keep the offense rolling along.

I thought Papi was seeing things better after he drew a walk in his first at bat. But then, later in the game with runners in scoring position, he was over-anxious and struck out on a ball in the dirt. It's a long season, as everyone says, but I don't have a good feeling about this.

State of the Rotation: Part IV

Match up number four is Tim Wakefield vs. Andy Pettitte

It’s hard to believe that Tim Wakefield is still pitching in the bigs after 16 seasons. He may be the last knuckleball pitcher to have a long and productive career in the majors since many teams look at them as glorified batting practice pitchers and a liability at the backend of the rotation. What’s surprising about Wakefield is that he still has the ability to get hitters out with a knuckleball, a basic curveball and a high school fastball. And despite a bad back he has stayed out on the mound with a good amount of frequency over the past two seasons, pitching an average of 185 innings with an ERA of 4.45. Those are some respectable numbers from a number four starter.

Andy Pettitte, on the other hand, spent his last four seasons of his career at the top end of both the Houston Astro and the New York Yankee rotations. Clearly last year he fell off a little but he has been a steady arm and a reliable 200 innings for the past four seasons. He has also has a better K/BB ratio than Wakefield over that time period and he also allows far fewer home runs (79 to 101).

The last thing that needs to be mentioned about these two pitchers is reliability. Though Pettitte is prone to getting knocked around like every pitcher, the likelihood of him laying an egg is far lower than that of Wakefield and most of that has to do with the knuckleball. It is an unpredictable pitch and that translates to unpredictable results.

Verdict: Perhaps this was never a fair match up for the Sox and if you asked them maybe they would say Wake is the fifth starter. But that Brad Penny/John Smoltz/Others fifth spot is still in the air to much to jump Wakefield who has a guaranteed slot. All that aside, this one goes easily to the Yankees. Pettitte has the better track record in terms of performance and durability. Wakefield does a fine job at the backend of the Sox rotation and he is perfectly respectable in the position of a five starter and to an extent of a fourth. But Andy Pettitte is of a different pedigree than Wakefield. He is a pitcher who can step up and be fully capable of being a three or even a number two on any given day and because of that he is a step above most other fourth starters. Yanks take a commanding 3-1 lead.

Red Sox want to relive the past

Just in case you guys missed it, the Sox are bringing back Tim Wakefield for another year. I will never understand their unquestioning devotion to Wake and/or Mike Timlin in these declining years. It also begs the question as to why they can so easily turn the screws on Varitek and not these guys.