A Few Words About The Sox
Javier Vasquez is driving me nuts. I just can't stand watching him pitch, because he clearly has such superior stuff, and such great command of it so much of the time, that it's aggravating as hell to watch the inevitable nightmare inning that he has at least once in almost every start.
My theory, from watching his games, is that when he doesn't get a call that he wants from the plate umpire, he can't move on from that, starts pouting, and loses his concentration. Maybe that's unfair, but it does seem that many of his problems immediately follow a tough call that he thinks was missed.
Vasquez is the first Sox pitcher in a few years that I've wanted to give the Bob Gibson advice. When Gibson was pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves under Joe Torre, he once told a struggling starter, "if there weren't 30,000 people watching, I'd hit you in the head."
That said, maybe tonight's game is a turnaround. Vazquez had chances to blow up in every inning through the first four, and has battled through it. After leaving nine runners on base through four, he got through a perfect fifh, retired the first two in the sixth before Grady Sizemore singled, and should have been out of the inning when Jason Michaels hit a roller to Juan Uribe.
Instead, Uribe tried fielding the ball with his head in the wrong position...up his rectum. With the speedy Sizemore on first and Michaels out by about 10 feet at first, Uribe waited on the ball and then made a nonchalant flip to second for the force play. Which Sizemore beat to the base. Two on now, and oh, look who's coming up. Travis Hafner, exactly the guy on the Cleveland roster who you don't WANT to see coming up in that spot. Neil Cotts came in to pitch, and Hafner did to him what he did (more predictably) to Boone Logan earlier this year; he drove it far into the stands in right for a three run homer. Ah well, Vasquez tried, anyway.
Jeff Nelson's career appears to have come to a grinding halt, the grinding being in his elbow. Like I said earlier, signing him was worth a try. With Cliff Politte also down, the Sox have called up Agustine Montero (who said that failed steroids tests would carry a stigma?) and Sean Tracey to fill out the back end of the bullpen. Neither are all that exciting, but both could be reasonably effective (or post ERAs above 6.00). The Sox should be fishing around for some potential postseason chess pieces for the bullpen.
They might also want to fish for a centerfielder. Rumor has Jon Garland going to the Phillies to bring back Pants Rowand. I have no idea if there is anything to it, or if it's just more made up stuff from the Chicago media. The chances of it probably looked better before Nelson and Politte hit the DL, making Brandon McCarthy needed in the bullpen.
My theory, from watching his games, is that when he doesn't get a call that he wants from the plate umpire, he can't move on from that, starts pouting, and loses his concentration. Maybe that's unfair, but it does seem that many of his problems immediately follow a tough call that he thinks was missed.
Vasquez is the first Sox pitcher in a few years that I've wanted to give the Bob Gibson advice. When Gibson was pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves under Joe Torre, he once told a struggling starter, "if there weren't 30,000 people watching, I'd hit you in the head."
That said, maybe tonight's game is a turnaround. Vazquez had chances to blow up in every inning through the first four, and has battled through it. After leaving nine runners on base through four, he got through a perfect fifh, retired the first two in the sixth before Grady Sizemore singled, and should have been out of the inning when Jason Michaels hit a roller to Juan Uribe.
Instead, Uribe tried fielding the ball with his head in the wrong position...up his rectum. With the speedy Sizemore on first and Michaels out by about 10 feet at first, Uribe waited on the ball and then made a nonchalant flip to second for the force play. Which Sizemore beat to the base. Two on now, and oh, look who's coming up. Travis Hafner, exactly the guy on the Cleveland roster who you don't WANT to see coming up in that spot. Neil Cotts came in to pitch, and Hafner did to him what he did (more predictably) to Boone Logan earlier this year; he drove it far into the stands in right for a three run homer. Ah well, Vasquez tried, anyway.
Jeff Nelson's career appears to have come to a grinding halt, the grinding being in his elbow. Like I said earlier, signing him was worth a try. With Cliff Politte also down, the Sox have called up Agustine Montero (who said that failed steroids tests would carry a stigma?) and Sean Tracey to fill out the back end of the bullpen. Neither are all that exciting, but both could be reasonably effective (or post ERAs above 6.00). The Sox should be fishing around for some potential postseason chess pieces for the bullpen.
They might also want to fish for a centerfielder. Rumor has Jon Garland going to the Phillies to bring back Pants Rowand. I have no idea if there is anything to it, or if it's just more made up stuff from the Chicago media. The chances of it probably looked better before Nelson and Politte hit the DL, making Brandon McCarthy needed in the bullpen.
posted by Jim at
8:35 PM
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