Save It For October

Before I start, props to Derek for his top ten response to my top ten list. However clever Derek may be, he can't change this fact. As I write this blog, the Yanks are still in last and the Sox are in first. That's not in dispute.

Now with that out of the way, I want to talk about pitching...more specifically how the Yankees and Red Sox treat their pitchers. It really is night and day. The Sox are extremely careful about how many innings their pitchers throw every year, especially the young guys. I'm sure Masterson, Buchholz, and to some extent even Lester will be monitored very closely. But even the veterans are kept under tight supervision. Rarely will Beckett, Dice-K, or Wakefield go more than seven innings, and their pitch count is closely watched.

But what happens when a pitcher gets injured? Look at how the Sox are handling Dice-K. He goes on the DL two weeks ago, and the injury doesn't seem that serious...a mild rotator cuff strain. But the Sox medical team takes no chances. He's shut down for two weeks, and has only just begun to throw lightly. I think this is part of a bigger picture approach by the Sox. The team doesn't mind resting a pitcher for a month in June or July, especially if it means they'll be fresher in September and October. So Masterson comes up, and chews up some innings while Dice-K properly heals.

That's why Boston is so careful with Papelbon. They will seldom pitch him three days in a row, unless it's October and it's the World Series. That's why Okajima was shut down last year. He takes a break, and his arm responds accordingly, meaning he's fresh for the playoffs. Even Schilling went down for two months last year. But guess what, he was there in October when the team needed him, and that may very well happen again this year.

Now let's look at the Yankees. They want to make Joba Chamberlain a starter instead of a set-up guy. In order to properly do this, you'd think at least a few starts in AAA are in order. But no, Hank (there's no doubt this is Hank's doing) wants Joba to stay in the majors. So he gets to stretch his arm out in front of fifty thousand angry Yankee fans. So far he hasn't made it past the fifth inning, and the Yankees have lost both the games he's started. Aside from the fact Joba hasn't been very effective, does Hank think this is really a healthy way to treat their star-in-the-making. Plus, using Joba for 2 and 4 innings a start stresses out the rest of the Yankees bullpen. I can't see John Henry putting Clay Buchholz or John Lester in this position. As a matter of fact, Buchholz is back in the minors, even though he hasn't pitched all that badly this year.

Maybe Chien Ming Wang stinks in the playoffs because he has nothing left by the time October rolls around. The Yankees rely on 200 plus innings a year from him, while the Sox try to keep thier pitchers under 200 innings a year. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona had nothing for the Sox in the ALCS last year. How many innings did they throw in regular season? 241 and 215.

So the next time you see a Sox pitcher on the DL, don't sweat it. It's all part of the master plan. Maybe some other teams should look at the blueprint. It seems to be working just fine in Beantown.

Oh look, Pumpsie can count.....

I see someone has been busy in my absence. I didn't realize a sox fan could count that high but the top 10 list was a nice touch. There is no getting around the fact that we are at the bottom of the AL east and are not playing our A game. I can only imagine what it does to a person to feel like this for decades at a time. That explains a lot about the populace of the nation.

Any baseball fan will tell you when it rains it pours...hard. You get down and you almost invite things to break bad. You worry about getting hurt and you get hurt. You think about your pitches and they become predictable. You play like your drowning and you sink to the bottom. But fear not, it's a Yankee universe and the universe has a way of self correcting.



#1 - A LONG way to go indeed - Since Pumpsie's post the sox have fallen out of first by half a game and we are now only down by six which means 5.5 down on the nation. We are playing some of our worst ball in years and the sox are for the most part at the top of their game. We're going to get better. Long term I'm more worried about the Rays come this fall.

#2 - Dirty Laundry - some things (like gold thongs) should just stay in the lockerroom. Neither of us should peel this onion because I guarantee there is plenty of weird stuff to go around.

#3 - Jon Lester - I was going to bring up Gehrig but some things transcend rivalries (or at least should) and remind us of why we love the game of baseball. Well done young man.

#4 - Make that "were" in first place.

#5 - Broomed in Oakland - .......and three losses are three losses.

# 6&7 - Pitching - there's something to this one. Moving Jaba into a starting role is going to help but the disappointment of Kennedy and Hughes is profound. And for the record, it's HGH Andy. This is where in years past King George would take out the check book, but since you guys seem to be able to spare a few arms......

And, please nation, continue to hang some hope on Schilling's return because that is not going to be the homecoming everyone north of NY thinks it is.

#8 - Shea Day - I know when you have one team to root for between 6 states two teams in one town must seem like the big time indeed. It's the Mets.....moving on.

#9 - Posada - it physically hurts to admit it but I tend to agree. A catcher, especially one that hits like Posada is the captain on the field whether he has a C on his jersey or not. We need him healthy.

#10 -....like I said, when it rains it pours.

Silence Is Golden

Shhh...quiet!!!! Can you hear that? Listen closely. That's right...it's the sound of silence. It's been quite a few days since we've heard from Derek. Let's go over the top ten reasons why.

#10 - Orioles 12, Yankees 2

Jeter makes a huge error that leads to a seven-run first inning for Baltimore. Mike Mussina sheepishly walks off the mound after 2/3 of an inning. I'm sure he was probably mumbling under his breath about how Jeter screwed him out of a good outing.

#9 - Jorge Posada's Shoulder

Being a Red Sox fan, I truly despise him. However, there's no denying how important he is to his team. Remember when Varitek got injured a couple of year's ago? The Red Sox imploded. The same thing's happening to the Yanks. I'm sure they're happy to have A-Rod back. But I bet they can't wait to see Jorge behind the plate again.

#8 - Meet The Mets!

It must have burned grumpy old Hank to see the Bombers bomb against his cross-town rival. Included in the two game sweep, an embarassing 11-2 loss on national TV. It actually could have been worse if the umps didn't botch a home run call that went against the Mets.

#7 - Yanks Youngsters Struggling

Hughes and Kennedy have been busts. When your rotation features Igawa, Rasner, Steroid Andy and Old Man Mussina...you've got issues.

#6 - Masterson Steps Up

While the Yanks young guns have stunk out the joint, the Sox have picked up two clutch performances from Justin Masterson this year. Right now, the Sox have an overload of pitchers who currently aren't in the current rotation who could start in a pinch. Those names include Masterson, Colon, and maybe even Schilling later this year just to name a few. You get the feeling the Sox will be able to plug any holes that may pop up in the starting rotation in the upcoming months.

#5 - Sox Current Winning Streak

Granted Milwaukee and Kansas City aren't exactly the cream of the crop, but five wins is five wins.

#4 - Sox Back In First Place

Boston's recent run of success has landed them back atop the AL East, a game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. As for the Yankees, we'll talk about their position in the standings shortly.

#3 - Jon Lester's No-Hitter

If there's a better story in baseball this year, I'd like to know about it. How can you top a kid who's overcome cancer to return to his dream of pitching in the major leagues? Plus, not only does he come back, he comes back to win the clinching game of the 2007 World Series and pitch a no-hitter. The Yankees most-inspiring story of the year so far has been A-Rod passing out during the birth of his child. Hey A-Rod!! If I can tough it out twice, so can you! Not exactly storybook stuff, huh Alex?

#2 - Jason Giambi's Thong

So when he's in a slump, Giambi supposedly slips on a golden thong. Funny thing is, he's pretty much been in a slump ever since he got off the juice. That thing must be getting a little uncomfortable by now. Plus, supposedly other Yankees who have gone through slumps have also worn it? This from the same team that won't let their players have facial hair. I guess you've got to vent somewhere.

#1 - Yankees Record (20-25)

Dead last in the AL East, seven and a half games behind the Bosox. Simply put, this team has played some stunningly uninspired baseball in the first third of the season. Is there plenty of time for them to come back? Of course. But does anybody really think that the Yankees of 2008 are playoff material? This team looks old, tired, and very thin on starting pitching.

So there you go Derek...I look forward to your response along with all the fellow members of the Evil Empire.

Leaving Derek Alone

Normally, my main purpose in life is to shoot down all the opinions of one Derek Dent, my fellow blogger. Now while it's true that the Yankees have a couple of pretty significant injuries, (A-Rod, Posada) I find it particularly gratifying that the team with the highest payroll in the majors has no adequate back-up for either of them. I guess 200 million can't buy you a back-up catcher or third baseman.

But instead of mocking Derek, I'm leaving him to wallow in his own ignorance. I have more important things on my mind. Right now, our Sox are struggling.

Is there reason to jump of the Tobin? No. But there is reason for concern. Our starting pitching can be best described as inconsistent. Lester has been hit or miss...Buchholz is on the DL, and Wakefield is Wakefield. Even our top two guys have room for improvement. Dice-K is 6-0, but those walks will come back to bite him at some point. As for Beckett? He's been good, but not spectacular, and the loss to the Orioles earlier this week was particularly painful. It's only May, and we're already hoping Bartolo can be our savior. That's not good.

The bullpen, on the other hand, has been particularly putrid. I'm not going to harp on Papelbon's two blown saves. The first was a fluke (thanks Julio!), and the second included some well-placed ground balls and bloops. Other than that, he's been a rock.

But what's going on with Okajima? 11 out of 14 inherited runners have scored on him?!?!? That's awful. Maybe it will dawn on the coaching staff that he should come it at the start of an inning, not with the bases loaded. His ERA is under one, but it seems like he's giving up runs by the bunches.

As for the rest of the bullpen? Blaaaahhhh! Francona doesn't trust Delcarmen or Timlin. Hansen looked promising for a while, but he didn't get an out against the Orioles on Wednesday. Bye Julien, thanks for your three years of memorable service. Frankly, the most consistent guy out of the pen this year has been Javier Lopez. If the Sox starter can't make it through seven, the team is in trouble. Those three outs in that inning have become the most stressful moments in any Red Sox game this year.

The offense has generally been good, but timely hits are dwindling while double plays are growing. Lugo's act has now become maddening, and J-D's recent power outage is troubling.

All of these woes plus those of the Yanks translates into the Tampa Bay Rays being in first place. This leads to my final point. The AL EAST is vastly improved this year. Tampa's young pitching is unhittable at times and the Jays rotation is also loaded with young talent and a workhorse of an ace in Doc Holliday. The one team I can't account for is the Orioles. How that team is over .500 is beyond me.

So while we spend our time worrying about the Empire and vice-versa...maybe Sox and Yanks fans should spend more time figuring out how to hit Scott Kazmir and AJ Burnett. As for the Yanks, I'm not too worried about Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, and Kai Igawa. After all, maybe that's why they're in last place, right Derek?

Oh How Cute.

Oh how cute! Look who finally figured out how to wear their championship rings. I find it incredibly satisfying to watch red sox fans who have spent the majority of their lives whining about everything from salary caps to artificial turf now trying to adjust to life in the driver's seat. It will take some time to get used to hearing anything but profane chants from sox fans. Welcome to the grown-up table.

Let's be clear, Pumpsie! Getting the sniffles is not an injury. We had (and still have) key players out with real injuries...the kind you can't fix with chicken soup. While we have to force our players to the DL for their own good, you have to beg your pitchers to try and gut it up rather than take the year off.

Enjoy the moment. We'll keep our distance as usual until after the All-Star break (played in the best park in history this year). Then we'll see where things stand. You'll find staying on top is a lot harder than getting there. "How you handle it is how you are judged."

And by the way....Pumpsie? Really?

Hey Derek, Meet Pumpsie!

I promised you a big hitter a couple days ago, and I have delivered. So here with a response to Derek's latest blog attempt is none other than legendary Sox fan, Pumpsie Piersall:

Mr. Dent, unlike your organization, we have depth on our "blog team" and when you write your blog there is a fight at the keyboard to see who will get the chance to answer you. Actually its very much like the Red Sox fighting at the bat rack when anyone of your pitchers, except Wang, takes the mound. Wait, if I remember correctly we spanked him the last time we played. So make that every one of your pitchers, especially Mussina.

Anyway Derek, do you serve cheese with your whine? It's early in the season and every team , no exception, suffers the injury bug. How you handle it is how you are judged. The Sox had the flu bug, no make that the plague! Our two top pitchers were on the DL along with the third baseman and right fielder. But the Sox didn't whine and are now on top of the American League East. By the way, I think Big Papi is starting to hit, don't you? You should worry about "Hankenstein" and your players before you wonder about Ortiz's batting average. That will take care of itself. As for your team Mr. Dent, I'm not so sure.

Bringing In The Big Guns

It appears that Derek's comments about our beloved Sox have infuriated a very powerful man here at NEWS CENTER. So instead of me telling Derek that he's totally off base and that in fact the Red Sox are in first place and have the second best record in baseball, I'm going to let our mystery blogger put Derek in his place. Look for his blog tomorrow!