SOX CRASH ON MEMORY LANE

Tim Wakefield is deifnately the worst pitcher in the rotation at the moment. Right now I think he is on the bubble of the rotation and will be the guy to go to the pen when Schilling returns.

The Red Sox were outplayed both Monday and Tuesday. Small things adding up together. The Cardinals stole 3 bases, took extra bases when they could, and never made a defensive misplay. Meanwhile, the Sox played their typical station-to-station baseball, Renteria made an error, and Varitek allowed a passed ball.

The Man of the Game for Monday is Matt Morriss who went all 9 allowing only 1 run off 4 hits. He only walked one batter. He threw a mere 101 pitches. He also knocked in a run.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Wakefield: 0.5 - 5.2 IP, 4 ER
Renteria: 0.2 - 0 for 4, 2 LOB, 2 GIDP, Error
Nixon: 0.1 - 0 for 3, LOB
Payton: 0.1 - 0 for 3, LOB
Mueller: 0.1 - 0 for 3, LOB

Tuesday's game was even more an example of a few little things combining to make a blowout victory. The Cardinals won this game in the 2nd, and the Red Sox lost it in the 6th.

After a pair of quick flyouts in the 2nd, Clement walked #8 hitter Yadier Molina on 5 pitches. Walking the eighth hitter in NL ball is not a good thing with 2 outs. It allows the pitcher to come up in that inning instead of leading off the next. Suppan, who isn't that good of a hitting pitcher, took 2 balls. Dave Wallace then came out to talk to Clement. Suppan knew the next pitch would be a strike and he lined it into left field. Had Ramirez been playing slightly more shallow or had more range, the inning would have been over. Instead it continued. Eckstein hit a gorunder into left field for a single. The slow footed Molina tried to score. He hit third base when Ramirez had the ball in his glove. All Manny had to do was make an average throw to end the inning and keep the game 2-1. Instead he threw a double bouncer and Varitek couldn't tag Molina. Clement gave up a 1 run single and a 2 run double before striking out Edmonds.

The Sox were down 7-2 in the 6th and began to rally only to have it crushed quickly. Renteria his a single, as did Ortiz. Manny then hit into a devastating 6-4-3 double play. Nixon popped out. The game was effectively over.

The whole beanball war was interesting because it started over nothing. Halama didn't seem to hit Walker with any intent but Tony LaRussa is known as one of those "hit my guy and we'll retaliate even if you didn't mean it." So Al Reyes hits Varitek, the next best thing to hitting the pitcher. Mantei then hits Grudzelanik, and Walker getting ejected along with Francona. Neither one seemed inentional, especially the second one. Then Al Reyes takes it to a completely classless level hitting Youkilis in the arms. Reyes, you may or may not remember, is the same guy that hit Nomar on the wrist, permanently altering his career. That injury took a long time to become apparent and God only knows what might be wrong with Youkilis after that pitch.

I thought National League baseball was supposed to be free of beanballs.

The Man of the Game is Varitek who went 3 for 3 with a homerun.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Nixon: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 LOB
Mueller: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 LOB
Renteria: 0.1 - 1 for 4, 2 GIDP, 2 LOB
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 2, LOB, GIDP
Clement: 0.6 - 4 IP, 7 ER

The first day of basbeall's draft was today. With the 26th pick the Red Sox selected Jacob Ellsbury, an outfielder from Oregon State. Here's what ESPN and Baseball America said about him:

Ellsbury has few holes in his game and is capable of beating teams in a lot of ways. He has excellent makeup and instincts. His best tool is his speed, and it's evident both on the bases and in center field, where he catches everything hit his way. He has been clocked in 6.55 seconds over 60 yards. He has become more patient, rarely swings and misses and is comfortable hitting with two strikes. His style of play and physical appearance have drawn comparisons to Johnny Damon at a similar age, but scouts say Ellsbury has a better swing. They question whether he'll grow into the same power, though.

With the 26th overrall pick, the Sox got righthander Craig Hansen out of St. John's:

Hansen pounds the strike zone with a fastball that has been clocked consistently in the mid-90s and tops out at 97 mph. The velocity on his slider has been even more impressive, sitting at 85-86 mph with a high of 90. Though his fastball command wavers, he has an excellent approach to pitching and isn't afraid to go right at hitters. He should be even more effective against wood bats. He's suited to be a closer because of his temperament, short arm stroke and full-effort delivery.

A 90 MPH slider? DAMN! With the 42nd pick the Sox got an outfielder from Angelina College. With the 45th pick, they got Jed Lowrie, a second baseman out of Stanford. With the 47th pick they got a high school pitcher. They got a high school catcher in the 2nd round, a high school pitcher in the 4th, a high school outfielder in the 5th, an outfielder from UFA in the 6th, an outfielder from Florida International in the 7th, a pitcher in the 8th, a catcher in the 9th, a pitcher in the 10th, a pitcher in the 11th and 12th, an outfielder in the 13th, a shortstop in the 14th, a pitcher in the 15th, third baseman in the 16th, a shortstop in the 17th, and a catcher in the 18th. Definately an emphasis on outfielders.