A Question of Tazawa Fall Out

Posted by Adam Hart December 6, 2008 at 11:39 pm

Junichi Tazawa has officially signed with the Red Sox. We have reported on this extensively. But one question remains — will there be future complications? Read more

Matsuzaka Magnificent

Posted by Mike Giardi October 10, 2008 at 11:34 pm

I’ll admit it. I had Daisuke Matsuzaka lasting no more than 5.1 IPs. But after getting the nod in Game One of the ALCS, the Japanese import delivers arguably his best performance of the season in what is - up to now - his biggest game. He no-hits the Rays through 6, then gets out of a first-and-third, no out jam in the 7th. All three outs coming on his 2-seam fastball, which is not a pitch that Matsuzaka tends to have overwhelming confidence in. But he rolled through Dioner Navarro (shallow fly ball to left), Gabe Gross on a ball at the knees, then Jason Bartlett on an easy grounder to short to preserve a 1-0 Sox.

 

Lester and Dice, then not-so-nice?

Posted by Chris Collins September 29, 2008 at 10:23 pm

So, Josh Beckett has to get pushed back to Game 3 of the ALDS.

On the surface, the back up plan (Jon Lester) is one heck of a back up plan. Ever since Theo put his stamp on the Red Sox they have been set up to win short series - that’s how you win world titles.

And today, the Red Sox have the best front line pitching in baseball. They have the best #2 starter and the best #3 starter in Lester and Matsuzaka, and even though Josh Beckett has been just a shell of his ‘07 self, when the weather cools off Beckett heats up.

If he can pitch.

No matter how you spin it, to have to push back a big game pitcher of the magnitude of Josh Beckett is a terrible way to start the post season. Winning is tough enough — trying to win without your ace healthy is nearly impossible. So the next couple of days are huge. The Sox need to get Beckett back and healthy, and if they don’t, despite a great number two and three in Lester and Daisuke, no Beckett means no back-to-back.

Media Movement All Over The Place

Posted by Bruce August 15, 2008 at 8:30 am

Last night we learned about the changes at the Globe, which included Tony Massarotti moving over from the Herald, and Chad Finn earning himself a sweet promotion.

This morning, David Scott has more on the move, but also reports on new hires at weei.com, which include Jeff Goodman, Alex Speier and wait for it…Ron Borges.

Ron Borges? 

Seriously? Ken Powers wasn’t available? Mike Barnicle turned them down? Patricia Smith wasn’t interested?

My interest and enthusiasm in their new venture just sunk considerably. They were doing things right all the way up until that point. Michael Felger, Rob Bradford, Goodman and Speier are all relatively young guys who understand how things work in the new age of sportswriting. For the most part they have a fresh perspective on things, and don’t stir up stuff just to get noticed (well, except for Felger.)

Borges throws all that out the window. The quotes from Dennis and Callahan in Scott’s piece are just nauseating. Yeah, I’m sure Bill Belichick is shaking in his shoes at the thought of Borges back in Foxboro. That’s provided of course that he knows how to get there. He hasn’t been seen down there in a long time, even before his (wink wink) retirement from the Globe.

I had high hopes for this new weei.com. Borges just about kills it for me. You hire him, you lose your credibility. Simple as that.

Bad move, guys.

——————————
The Red Sox hitters are surely sorry to see the Texas Rangers pitchers leave town. Boston finished off the sweep of the Rangers with a 10-0 victory at Fenway Park last night. The Red Sox scored 37 runs in 3 games off the Rangers…

Globe beat reporter Amalie Benjamin has the game story. Jeff Horrigan has the Red Sox continuing their hot hitting since the Manny Ramirez trade. Paul Kenyon has the Red Sox finishing off their roundup of the Rangers. Jeff Goldberg has Daisuke Matsuzaka once again letting the runners on, and once again not letting them score. Bob Stern has the Red Sox pounding the Rangers one more time. Garry Brown has more on the demolition at Fenway. Phil O’Neill has another big inning leading the way for Boston.

Tony Massarotti has David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis proving to be a formidable 3-3 combination. Barbara Matson has Ortiz especially sorry to see the Rangers go. Ortiz has regain his power stroke in this series, and even enjoyed an early departure last night. Still, I can’t help but remember the reaction from the media when Pedro Martinez left the ballpark early after a start. I’ve got absolutely no problem with Ortiz (or Pedro) going home early, but it’s interesting to note the difference in reaction. Steven Krasner analyzes the lack of success by the Rangers pitching in this series. Massarotti says that the Blue Jays will provide a much stiffer test for the Boston bats.

Marty Dobrow has a minor league notebook in the Globe, and examines a rash of oblique strains in the Red Sox organization. Rich Thompson’s minor league notebook has Bartolo Colon on the road back to the majors.

Benjamin’s notebook has Jon Lester trying to help out Clay Buchholz. Horrigan’s notebook has Dice-K once again walking a tightrope last night. The ProJo notebook has more on Matsuzaka. Goldberg’s notebook says that Kevin Youkilis is making a case for league MVP. Brown’s notebook has Paul Byrd getting ready for his first Red Sox start tonight. O’Neill’s notebook also makes the case for Youkilis as AL MVP.

Patriots

Over on Patriots Daily, Scott Benson examines whether the Patriots can or will carry five running backs on their roster.

Christopher L. Gasper has a look at the Patriots signing of veteran safety John Lynch. Christopher Price has more on the Lynch signing. Carolyn Thornton says that Lynch could end up being a big presence in the Patriots secondary. Eric McHugh thinks Lynch should fit well here. Jennifer Toland writes that Lynch could fill the void left by Tank Williams being placed on IR. Mark Farinella looks at this year’s carbon-dated addition to the Patriots roster.

Karen Guregian says that adding Dom Capers to the coaching staff might be the best move the Patriots made in the offseason. Thornton has rookie QB Kevin O’Connell doing all he can to learn from Tom Brady. Guregian has more on the rookie learning how to play the position in his first NFL camp. Farinella has a look at Kenny Smith, who gets a feature written about him for the second day in a row. Thompson has punter Chris Hanson secure in his role with the team.

Price tells us what to watch for during Sunday night’s game. Ian M. Clark has a Ruud family reunion on tap for Sunday night. Mike McMahon looks at former Boston Patriot Daryl Johnson going into the Morgan State Hall of Fame.

Gasper’s notebook has Jason Webster getting close to returning to action for the Patriots. Guregian’s notebook has more on the signing of Lynch. Toland’s notebook has Dean Pees talking about some of his young players on defense. McHugh’s notebook examines the impact on he safety depth chart that the Lynch signing will have.

Misc

Steve Bulpett and Marc J. Spears report on the Celtics signing first round pick J.R. Giddens.

Spears also has the United States’ men’s basketball team taking care of business with Greece yesterday.

Mark Blaudschun has a media column on NBC Sports reporter Bob Neumeier. Neumy mentions that WEEI wasn’t “fair” in their contract offer to him, which is why he left his show with Dale Arnold.  

Gabe’s Good Day

Posted by Mike Giardi August 10, 2008 at 10:32 pm

The Sox brass was unhappy that Gabe Kapler did a one and done as their Single-A Greenville skipper, but the Milwaukee Brewers aren’t, especially tonight. Kapler was one of the most genuine, well-spoken people I have ever encountered, in any sport, on any level. I, and a lot of others who covered him in this market, are happy for any success he finds.

Okay, enough with the oooey-gooey stuff…here’s some real deep digging on the failures of Clay Buchholz. Interesting breakdown on the rookie righty since his complete-game effort against the Rays.

• Brian Giles took quite a beating in these here parts for nixing a possible waiver-wire deal to the Sox. I actually applaud the decision. Hey, if we’ve learned anything over the years, its that guys who don’t want to be here don’t play well here. Edgar Renteria tried to talk himself into liking it in Boston. How’d that work out for him, or the Sox? They’re still paying a piece of that guy’s salary.
• Great take by the world-famous Denton (of “Surviving Grady“) on Daisuke Matsuzaka.  The opening two graphs tell the tale. He writes: “Remember the hype? The controversy over the $51 million spent just to talk to the guy? Next came the hushed whispers of the secret pitch, the so-called “gyro ball.” By the time Daisuke Matsuzaka threw his first pitch, I was expecting him to be decked out in full Ninja gear (with the required red “B” of course) and doing some crazy Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shit on the mound. What we got was a sometimes-brilliant-sometimes-shaky, third starter who threw a lot of pitches and exited games too early.In his second season as a Major Leaguer, Dice-K continues to be inconsistent, but less inconsistent. In his last eight starts, he has given up just 12 earned runs, half of those in a single start against the Angels. In three of his last six starts, he’s pitched into the eighth inning. He continues to walk too many batters, but the walks seldom hurt him as his razor-thin 2.90 ERA shows.”
• My admiration for Dustin Pedroia the baseball player has no bounds. The 29-game road hitting streak…the better than advertised defense…the ability to have a good at bat, no matter what the situation. This group of second basemen, with Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Chase Utley and Dan Uggla front and center, is as good as I ever remember. And I remember when this guy was just a punch-and-judy hitter, not the multi-media star he’s become.
• I’d love to post something from Bernie Mac, who left of us at the age of 50. But this being a family site, I couldn’t do the legendary comedian justice.
   

Baseball Today — July 29

Posted by Projo Sox Blog July 29, 2008 at 10:04 am Journal photo / Mary Murphy DEEP SIXTHED: It was a promising start, but Daisuke Matsuzaka turned a leadoff walk in the sixth inning into a full-blown meltdown, surrendering home runs to Casey Kotchman and Torii Hunter, and the Angels...

What Am I To You?

Posted by Mike Giardi July 13, 2008 at 5:10 pm

I just watched “Almost Famous” yesterday, hence the title of this piece. What a tremendous movie. I put it in my top-5. Of course, considering that I basically just watch the same movies over and over, I’m not sure how critical my thumbs up for the flick is…

I have been off caffeine for exactly 11 days. To say I’m not enjoying the experience would be a colossal understatement. So combine that with the periodically infuriating Daisuke Matsuzaka, and you can see where my head is right about now.

Five walks in six innings. 115 pitches. But the bottom line, zero runs. I can’t explain it. I’ve sat in on his press conferences, and he can’t explain it either. Or maybe it just gets lost in the translation. Regardless, Dice’s wild - and wildly successful, at least numbers-wise first half - has come to an end. Based strictly on the stats, the Sox righty should be in the All-Star game.

10 wins. Just one loss. An ERA under 3. Everything about Dice-K’s numbers scream that he’s been better than Beckett this season, better than Lester, better than Wakefield. But that’s not how I see it. Just look a little closer.

Your number two starter shouldn’t go 6 innings or less in over 50% of his starts (10 of 16). Yet that’s exactly what Matsuzaka has done. Fans and media around here have concerns about the bullpen, but if Dice does his part, he saves that group 7 to 10 innings over the course of the first half. Doesn’t seem like much, but when you pull up several of those box scores, you see just how important it is. Take a look here, here, here and here.

****My entire theory here has been derailed by a fascinating conversation between two of our female interns on their current dating status. One of these young ladies, who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent, hid at her workplace from her beau, deciding that he really wasn’t up to her standards. When I asked her to describe him, she said he was nice but that was about the best she could come up with. I hereby endorse said move. Perhaps at a later date we will update her situation. Okay, back to business now. ***

Suffice to say, while Dice-K’s stuff puts him at or near the beginning of every conversation regarding this staff, his lack of consistency lumps him in with someone like Wake, who despite his dazzling run, is - by the very nature of his best pitch - inconsistent. That’s the only way I can describe Dice-K. I just don’t believe yet. Just can’t. He hasn’t given me enough reason to be firmly in his camp. Can he get me there? Yeah, its simple: work deeper into games, and stop walking so many guys. Sounds simple, but to this point in Dice’s career, it remains an elusive accomplishment.

 

 

 

Daisuke to the D.L.

Posted by David Green May 30, 2008 at 5:20 pm

Well, it’s official. The Red Sox placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list this afternoon after an MRI on his right shoulder showed a mild strain of his rotator cuff. Matsuzaka had been forced out of his last start after only 4 innings and 65 pitches, and even though the exam showed no structural damage in his shoulder, the Sox opted for caution.

Prior to tonight’s series-opener in Baltimore, skipper Terry Francona said, “The best way we can see to attack this, we’ll DL him, take the time down and get him ready to pitch the rest of the season. That’s kind of where we are.”

Francona added that Matsuzaka tried to talk his way out of a DL stint — and “that’s first of all good news because it means he feels good about himself. That’s what good pitchers and good players do. That’s part of the reason they’re good.”

Jeff Bailey, one of the hottest hitters in the International League, has been recalled to take Matsuzaka’s roster spot for the weekend series in Baltimore. Bailey has 13 home runs and 33 RBI this month for the PawSox.

Finally with Matsuzaka sidelined, Tim Wakefield will be moved up to Monday in Baltimore. That means we could see Justin Masterson’s 3rd big league start on Tuesday at Fenway against the first-place Rays, though the Sox haven’t made any official announcement about that yet.