Apparently Clay Buchholz pitches to the level of his opponents. Against Sabathia, Verlander, and Halladay, he allowed 4 earned runs in 19 innings (1.89 ERA). Against Jose Contreras, he allows 7 runs in 4.2 innings. Thankfully, Clay's next opponent will be Toronto's Ricky Romero, who's 11-5 with a 3.91 ERA.
Jose Contreras really sucks against the Red Sox. Even though he got charged with only 1 earned run, he was primarily responsible for Chicago's 3rd inning collapse. It was his error that allowed Ortiz to reach on a weak groundball, and his wild pitch allowed Youkilis to score the tying run.
We saw in this game why Billy Wagner would be a good addition to this team. The bullpen did an excellent job, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing only 1 run. But the fact that they HAD to pitch 4.1 innings is why adding another arm out there will help.
With 38 games left in the season, Papelbon's already made 52 appearances. Ramirez has made 55, Delcarmen has been in 51 games, and Okajima's made 56 outings. Having a guy like Wagner could help keep the bullpen fresh. With starters like Buchholz and Tazawa, who struggle to reach the 6th inning, the bullpen needs to be as deep as possible.
Jon Lester faces Freddy Garcia Tuesday night. Yes, Freddy Garcia's still knocking around out there.
Source:
ESPN.com
Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
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