209 replies to this topic

[cshea]

A part of me agrees but what are Kotchman's numbers against CC?

1-4 with a single.

[Sprowl]

The horizontal break data for the Bidet is off again: the pitchfx strike zone looks to be very different from what we're seeing on the screen.

[Fratboy]

Umpire was completely and totally right on that. Hit A*Rod's bat. He was definitely trying to sell the shoulder, but in no way did he get hit. And like Buck said, he should be relishing the opportunity to knock in the run.

Ultimately, that didn't happen though.

[Blacken]

Fangraphs has Youkilis at -15.1 runs per 150 as a LF.

I'm not sure I could trust that; it doesn't sound very accurate. I mean, Bay is -15.8 per 150 this year, and I don't think he'd have missed that.

Inexperience out there hurt Youk a bit.

Also, I really liked the mic on the umpire there. Normally I'm not a big fan, but that was nice to have.

[bball831]

Great first inning from Buchholz. Dealt with the Youkilis error and didn't let him effect his pitching vs. Teixeira and A-Rod.

[Fratboy]

Also, I really liked the mic on the umpire there. Normally I'm not a big fan, but that was nice to have.

Not only that, but we get an unfiltered look into A*Rod's gamesmanship. Not that we didn't know about that already, but you get my point.

[Sprowl]

A part of me agrees but what are Kotchman's numbers against CC?

Only 1 for 4 lifetime -- hardly a large enough sample to justify playing against the platoon. Bay's hamstring must be worse than first let on.

[czar]

Umpire was completely and totally right on that. Hit A*Rod's bat. He was definitely trying to sell the shoulder, but in no way did he get hit. And like Buck said, he should be relishing the opportunity to knock in the run.

Ultimately, that didn't happen though.

What amused me is he was trying to sell that it hit his LEFT (front) shoulder which (if you are going to lie about it) doesn't seem like it's the right shoulder to point at; given the way he ducked and the curveball snapped. The Youkilis error only cost Buchholz three pitches; so at least it wasn't murder on the PC.

[Dogman2]

I'm not sure I could trust that; it doesn't sound very accurate. I mean, Bay is -15.8 per 150 this year, and I don't think he'd have missed that.

Inexperience out there hurt Youk a bit.

Also, I really liked the mic on the umpire there. Normally I'm not a big fan, but that was nice to have.

I don't trust it either. It is for 2006 and while Youks has only played 1 game in LF since then(the other day) it does has some relevance given Youks error in the 1st. SSS cavaets apply.

[czar]

Only 1 for 4 lifetime -- hardly a large enough sample to justify playing against the platoon. Bay's hamstring must be worse than first let on.

I don't understand how Bay's hamstring affects whether or not Youkilis plays LF or 1B; especially since the LHB platoon is a wash with Reddick/Kotchman.

The more I think about it; this is the perfect day to play Youkilis at 3B, Kotchman at 1B, Reddick in RF, and Lowell at DH. It's no more lefty-heavy than what we have, and I really would like to give Ortiz some rest at some point.

[Blacken]

I just dug out a couple of handy links that might help out some folks who don't already know about them. These are search engine providers for Mozilla Firefox that let you quickly search useful sites. These are clean, and they're from Mozilla directly.

http://mycroft.mozde...?name=fangraphs - click on "Fangraphs Player Search" to install the Fangraphs search. This should work on IE.
http://mycroft.mozde...eball reference - These do Baseball Reference. The first one is recommended for Mozilla browsers. The second may work with IE, but I have never tried it.
http://mycroft.mozde...e=baseball cube - Baseball cube. IE/Mozilla.

These let you select those sites from your dropdown search (just like you would Google) and type in a player's name to pull up their pages.

Edited by Blacken, 08 August 2009 - 03:40 PM.

[bball831]

29 pitches for CC, 24 fastballs.

[NomarRS05]

Great pitch by Sabathia to K Lowell. 97 on the outside corner. I was hoping we'd see the Sabathia who had allowed 5 ER each of his last two starts.

[Sprowl]

I don't understand how Bay's hamstring affects whether or not Youkilis plays LF or 1B; especially since the LHB platoon is a wash with Reddick/Kotchman.

The more I think about it; this is the perfect day to play Youkilis at 3B, Kotchman at 1B, Reddick in RF, and Lowell at DH. It's no more lefty-heavy than what we have, and I really would like to give Ortiz some rest at some point.

I think Ortiz is in the lineup because of his 1.031 lifetime OPS against Sabathia, and because Tito always tries to show confidence in struggling players and keep their minds off of recent troubles (like this morning's press conference).

Unfortunately, it doesn't instill much confidence in me...

[Redkluzu]

Interesting stat for those of you not listening to Fox is that Cano has the record for hits on first pitches.

But too bad, erased

[Fratboy]

These let you select those sites from your dropdown search (just like you would Google) and type in a player's name to pull up their pages.

Thanks! Eminent usefulness!

Now if RedOctober will share with us how he gets his splits so quickly...

***

Really more of an observation here, but it seems to me that Buck and McCarver are dribbling more splooge over Buchholz than I'd expect, given his struggles over the last two years. His stuff does seem to me on to me.

So far...

[TheShynessClinic]

Thanks to that double play, only 26 pitches for Clay through 2.

Aside from the one Youk fuckup, he looks pretty composed and is pitching as such.

[czar]

Buchholz hasn't been getting nearly enough credit for his improved GB% this year. He is doing an amazing job keeping his offspeed stuff down in the zone, and with the added fastballs he's been throwing, the pitch sequencing is infinitely more conducive to them as well.

I know it's a SSS but he's had a GB rate that some sinkerballers would kill for.

[cshea]

Early on it seems like Buchholz is working the offspeed stuff early in the count, as opposed to trying to establish the fastball like he'd done in his previous starts.

[Blacken]

Now if RedOctober will share with us how he gets his splits so quickly...

I don't know how he does it, but I just punch in the pitcher's name on B-ref and click "vs batter", then use ctrl-F to search for player names.

[Dogman2]

Swisher averages 4.06 pitches per PA. Why did h swing at the first pitch he saw?

[Blacken]

Early on it seems like Buchholz is working the offspeed stuff early in the count, as opposed to trying to establish the fastball like he'd done in his previous starts.

That was always his M.O. in the minors, wasn't it? This is of course wild-ass guessing, but maybe they're letting him do what he feels comfortable doing.

(Also, that was an absolutely filthy K by Sabathia.)

[Redkluzu]

Drew has hit 4 infield dribblers in a row--from last night to today. Of course they also walked him last night. but they are really hamstringing him (no pun intended). Can't get the ball in the air.

[RedOctober3829]

Thanks! Eminent usefulness!

Now if RedOctober will share with us how he gets his splits so quickly...

***

Really more of an observation here, but it seems to me that Buck and McCarver are dribbling more splooge over Buchholz than I'd expect, given his struggles over the last two years. His stuff does seem to me on to me.

So far...

B-Ref PI index, pitcher vs. batter then select vs. certain team.

[glennhoffmania]

Tito's lineup choices are confusing me. Why load the lineup with lefties today instead of yesterday? Why not have Tek catch today and play Kotchman last night instead?

[Sprowl]

Early on it seems like Buchholz is working the offspeed stuff early in the count, as opposed to trying to establish the fastball like he'd done in his previous starts.

Buchholz is back to sitting on the outside edge, just as he did in his first start in Toronto. Given his problems pitching inside against Baltimore, it seems like a good strategy for the first few innings. Second inning: 8 pitches -- 4 fastballs, 4 changeups.

[Ed Hillel]

Tito's lineup choices are confusing me. Why load the lineup with lefties today instead of yesterday? Why not have Tek catch today and play Kotchman last night instead?

Probably because Tek sat for 15 innings last night.

Also, Tim McCarver is a moron. Apparently catchers stretch the hamstring when squatting, but not the quad.

Edited by Ed Hillel, 08 August 2009 - 03:57 PM.

[bball831]

Clay really slowing down with Melky on first.

[TheShynessClinic]

Five fastballs in that AB in seven pitches. Result - a walk.

[glennhoffmania]

Probably because Tek sat for 15 innings last night.

Also, Tim McCarver is a moron. Apparently catchers stretch the hamstring when squatting, but not the quad.

No I agree with you. What I meant was, why not rest Tek last night and play Kotchman against Burnett so Tek could hit from the right side today with Victor at 1B?

[Tudor Fever]

Buchholz seems to match up really well against Jeter. I was a bit surprised to see that Jeter was 2 for 3 off him before today.

[czar]

Season	GB/FB	LD%	GB%	FB%
2007	1.18	28.80%	38.50%	32.70%
2008	1.52	20.90%	47.70%	31.40%
2009	2.87	15.90%	62.30%	21.70%

[Sprowl]

No I agree with you. What I meant was, why not rest Tek last night and play Kotchman against Burnett so Tek could hit from the right side today with Victor at 1B?

I think Tito's catcher rotation is driven more by who is pitching for the Red Sox than who the catcher might hit against. I don't recall the source, but I think Francona intended to have Tek catch Beckett and Lester all the time, and then to mix and match for the remaining 3 starters.

Given Tek's LHH deficiencies, I think this looks like a costly strategy, but Tito does have enormous confidence in Tek behind the plate.

Buchholz is losing fastball location by increasing margins.

[Shoeless Joe Wood]

No I agree with you. What I meant was, why not rest Tek last night and play Kotchman against Burnett so Tek could hit from the right side today with Victor at 1B?

I read somewhere (maybe last night's game thread), that Tito wants Varitek to keep catching Beckett and Lester. Not sure if that is true or not, but it could be one explanation for this lineup decision.

[Manzivino]

Buchholz needs to learn the lesson Lester picked up from his duel with Halladay last April that it's a lot easier to maintain a consistent pitching rhythm, and as result improve command of your pitches, when you work faster than a pitch per minute.

[Tudor Fever]

McCarver attributing Teixeira's success to A-Rod's return to the line-up. He fails to grasp that there's as much evidence for the validity of the "protection" concept as there is for Sasquatch.

[cshea]

Alright, not bad. No implosion with the runners on, and he battled well to limit the damage. PC is at 47 for Buchholz. Lesson learned on trying to go back to the changeup to Teixeira the 2nd time around. The Molina BB was the real killer that inning.

Edited by cshea, 08 August 2009 - 04:08 PM.

[Fratboy]

I really dislike the idea of Ellsbury trying to bunt for a hit there. He's playing well, and there's no reason to resort to that.

[Blacken]

Alright, not bad. No implosion with the runners on, and he battled well to limit the damage. PC is at 47 for Buchholz. Lesson learned on trying to go back to the changeup to Teixeira the 2nd time around. The Molina BB was the real killer that inning.

That PC is the key, I think. I know there's a little wiggle room, but Buchholz going seven (I know, I know, don't get ahead of yourself) would be a great bounce-back for the pen.

[TheShynessClinic]

Alright, not bad. No implosion with the runners on, and he battled well to limit the damage. PC is at 47 for Buchholz. Lesson learned on trying to go back to the changeup to Teixeira the 2nd time around. The Molina BB was the real killer that inning.

I think Green's offline throw cost them more than the BB. If not for that, the Yanks don't score a run and Damon/Teix/A-Rod never get an AB.

[cshea]

Watch out for the changeup, Victor.

[Barbara]

McCarver attributing Teixeira's success to A-Rod's return to the line-up. He fails to grasp that there's as much evidence for the validity of the "protection" concept as there is for Sasquatch.

I agree, but I have read/heard that theory several times. There must be some sort of "clever things to say during game" for announcers blog.

[Tudor Fever]

This stretch of offensive nada is reminiscent of when they melted down in 1974.

[RedOctober3829]

Can the offensive struggles be attributed to the constant lineup changes and the uncertainty in players not knowing if and where they will be in the lineup? This game is so mental that something as little as this can throw players off.

[Jnai]

Figured this thread might be interested-

Futures at Fenway PitchFX =)

http://brooksbasebal...amp;prevDate=88

[taxmancometh]

I actually liked the bunt attempt by Ellsbury. Tough lefty on the mound. It was his second time up this game, so maybe Ellsbury had determined that he wasn't seeing the ball well. Also, by showing the bunt, even if not successful, he puts it in Rodriguez's mind for his next at bat, maybe allowing a little more space for a slap hit.

[Fratboy]

Okay, this is probably reactionary, Joba and his father were featured in a "Beyond the Journey." I'm trying hard not to wretch here.

You really have to see it to believe it, with all the talk of playing down the stretch and anything. Funny they don't mention anything about the midges...

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

This stretch of offensive nada is reminiscent of when they melted down in 1974.

I was thinking more of that dreadful series in September 2001 against NYY where they lost 4 straight at Fenway: 3-2, 2-1,2-1,1-0 (the last being Mussina's near perfecto).

[glennhoffmania]

Can the offensive struggles be attributed to the constant lineup changes and the uncertainty in players not knowing if and where they will be in the lineup? This game is so mental that something as little as this can throw players off.

I think it could. Was it Jimy who used to screw around with the lineups on a constant basis? It drove me nuts. Everyone is different, but I know when I played I liked to know if I was playing, where I was playing, and where I was hitting. Intellectually it doesn't seem like it should matter, but it certainly can.

Edited by glennhoffmania, 08 August 2009 - 04:22 PM.

[Tudor Fever]

Anyone got the answer to the tiriva question? Here's my guess:

1996 Orioles