Well, maybe not that bad. vs A's. 5.2 IP, 9 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. But the pace he set for the game is something we never recovered from. 107 pitches thrown by Buckaroo. 2 hours into the game, and we were just at the mid-4th mark. I didnt watch his last start but I know that this one was comparable to that one with regards to pace/pitch count. Going too deep in counts. I dont mean to sound overly critical here- if you're reading this post, you've likely read others, and have picked up on my decided non-fandom. I've got to say, he's one of ours, and as such I want him to succeed so that the Red Sox can succeed. I mean it. Anyhow, the game is still going. We're in the 11th now... A's just scored a pair.
Spent most of the game watching from the Bleacher Bar. i give it two thumbs up. wasnt crowded which was nice, though that must just be a tuesday night thing. sweet to be field-level. If you've never been there, it's a bar that's built into the wall / under where bleachers would continue on to be out in center field. If you look at the wall behind where Jacoby stands you can see a square of metal gate which is colored/shaded so that people on the field side cant see in but those inside the bar can see out. biggest gripe- my soup was good, but for $4 it was tiiiiiiiiny.
So Buck and Bowden and Westmoreland (who apparently wasnt part of the offer afterall) and Lars and Josh etc etc are still ours. The story changes hour by hour but I cant help tracking it all the same. PawSox games wont be the same without those furtive glances that i still have yet to really understand. I'll admit to my lack of perspective on this whole trade deadline thing. Kind of feel like i've had the rug pulled out from under me... thought that Theo was a little more protective of his team's future, a lot more keen on building as much depth as possible in arms down through the system (several writers have made the point that with smoltz flopping, penny cooled off, wake on the DL, dice-k... aaahahahaha, and buchholz adequate at best, our pitching "depth" consists more of kids who will be ready in a year or two- that all of a sudden, we're down to trying out bowden next, and tazawa come september). where do we go if we lose buchholz and bowden or masterson? i just dont get it. yes, we'll have halladay, lester, beckett... and then? tell me who you'd insert there. because no matter who i think of (major league ready), it means two days of REALLY hit or miss ball. struggle, inconsistency. Coming into 2009, pitching was supposed to be our no-brainer. It has proven to be anything but.
I am very literally falling asleep in my chair. gonna make the switch to my bed. no more energy to write good night!
Showing posts with label Westmoreland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westmoreland. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Rollercoaster.
Some pics from Bowden's start back on July 19th..
His latest start on Friday night 7/25 was great. I was chatting with a friend for the last few innings but MB's 7 innings got charted. 2 ER, 4 hits, NO WALKS, 5 K. Pitch counts per inning: 15, 8, 7, 15, 11, 13, 14. 83 thrown over 7 innings. VERY impressive.
The JUICE improved to 5-0 on the season as of yesterday morning. 5 wins was our goal for 2009 in total. we were so terrible last year, and the thing is, nothing has changed. we have three new people taking the places of 3 players from last year. that's it. new management. it's remarkable. we come out on top every game by 10+ runs. i did just fine... the field was larger than regulation size so one particular at-bat could have been more, as I made as solid contact as i've made all season and drove it on a line to the 2nd baseman. the infield was so much bigger to begin with. i got a hit, and i did well in left field, assisted in a double play even :) not commonly done from way out there.
Charlie Zink.. walked about a batter per inning on sunday, but in the end only gave up a few hits (didnt score it... he went 6 innings, and i think it was only 2 hits through 5 innings, with 2 more in the 6th). We won, he got the win, it was pretty nice. They were making contact off him but not productively. Made sure I was there early to see him warm up (arrived well before that though, in time to catch a few side sessions featuring Gonzalez, Bowden, and Johnson.. that was an unexpected surprise) and was just as fascinated watching him pitch up close as I had been a couple weeks earlier. What a sweet pitch, the knuckleball. I've mused with friends here and there over the idea of pitchers learning the knuckler, not as a primary pitch, but as something to pull out a few times each game, to really just mess around with batters. They wouldnt have to be really strong knuckleballers, they'd just have to be able to command it (as much as you can command it) one pitch at a time, a handful each game. I wonder why pitchers dont. Maybe it's just that tough to throw correctly.
...here it is, nearly 48 hours after i started this post. Finally, it's hot out, the sun is shining. While i was walking outside during lunch, I actually thought to myself...
*Wild Thing just came on. PAPELBON flashed into my mind*
...I actually thought to myself that I was glad I was working today and out of the sun. Sounds crazy? Ever since I read about Kelli Pedroia's story a year or so ago, I have had very little desire to sit out in the sun. Dont get me wrong... I love playing outside. I love walking around Boston in the sun. I love sitting out on the lawn before a Paw Sox game, I love going to the beach though I never do anymore. But as I get "older" (almost 24, wow dee dow) I think more and more about the long-term reality of the body i'm living in. I have one semi-significant sunspot on my back and I really dont care to acquire any more. I'm also terrible at taking the time to put on sunscreen, so if I'm in the sun for more than 30 minutes I am burnt. It's just not good for me. Thankfully I've found good ways to be out and enjoying the warmth... more often than not I'm under an overhang at Fenway or McCoy, and even if I'm not I'm generally at evening games. Working through the day helps too for the same reason- when I get out, I can play soccer or wiffleball as the sun is fading.
When I was learning about audio engineering in college it changed the way I treat my ears. When I hurt my back in high school pole vaulting, it changed things too (it's never been the same... regardless of phys training sessions, etc, I think my back is always going to be slightly damaged goods from here on out). I'm really hoping I can continue to be smart about the sun/my skin.
This is a crazy tangent I just went off on.
Another day is passing by, and we still have some of the guys I've been most fearful that we'll lose. Watched another Bowden interview... he's got great composure, very well spoken- granted, everyone asks him the same things so he should have his answers down pat!
..speaking of whom, Twitter just informed me that the Red Sox made an offer of Buchholz, Bowden, and Westmoreland for Halladay. my heart is racing. i am not happy, and i dont understand this trade. i dont know how much you know about Ryan Westmoreland but he is just as much of a prospective-powerhouse as Buckaroo and Bowden have been considered over the past year+. i havent felt this unhappy and suddenly preoccupied in ages.
i need to go work. i can bury myself in research/searches. i try to tell myself that there's no way the jays will take 1 unproven major leaguer and 2 guys who are not major league ready for the best of the best, but i have no idea what's going to happen.
His latest start on Friday night 7/25 was great. I was chatting with a friend for the last few innings but MB's 7 innings got charted. 2 ER, 4 hits, NO WALKS, 5 K. Pitch counts per inning: 15, 8, 7, 15, 11, 13, 14. 83 thrown over 7 innings. VERY impressive.
The JUICE improved to 5-0 on the season as of yesterday morning. 5 wins was our goal for 2009 in total. we were so terrible last year, and the thing is, nothing has changed. we have three new people taking the places of 3 players from last year. that's it. new management. it's remarkable. we come out on top every game by 10+ runs. i did just fine... the field was larger than regulation size so one particular at-bat could have been more, as I made as solid contact as i've made all season and drove it on a line to the 2nd baseman. the infield was so much bigger to begin with. i got a hit, and i did well in left field, assisted in a double play even :) not commonly done from way out there.
Charlie Zink.. walked about a batter per inning on sunday, but in the end only gave up a few hits (didnt score it... he went 6 innings, and i think it was only 2 hits through 5 innings, with 2 more in the 6th). We won, he got the win, it was pretty nice. They were making contact off him but not productively. Made sure I was there early to see him warm up (arrived well before that though, in time to catch a few side sessions featuring Gonzalez, Bowden, and Johnson.. that was an unexpected surprise) and was just as fascinated watching him pitch up close as I had been a couple weeks earlier. What a sweet pitch, the knuckleball. I've mused with friends here and there over the idea of pitchers learning the knuckler, not as a primary pitch, but as something to pull out a few times each game, to really just mess around with batters. They wouldnt have to be really strong knuckleballers, they'd just have to be able to command it (as much as you can command it) one pitch at a time, a handful each game. I wonder why pitchers dont. Maybe it's just that tough to throw correctly.
...here it is, nearly 48 hours after i started this post. Finally, it's hot out, the sun is shining. While i was walking outside during lunch, I actually thought to myself...
*Wild Thing just came on. PAPELBON flashed into my mind*
...I actually thought to myself that I was glad I was working today and out of the sun. Sounds crazy? Ever since I read about Kelli Pedroia's story a year or so ago, I have had very little desire to sit out in the sun. Dont get me wrong... I love playing outside. I love walking around Boston in the sun. I love sitting out on the lawn before a Paw Sox game, I love going to the beach though I never do anymore. But as I get "older" (almost 24, wow dee dow) I think more and more about the long-term reality of the body i'm living in. I have one semi-significant sunspot on my back and I really dont care to acquire any more. I'm also terrible at taking the time to put on sunscreen, so if I'm in the sun for more than 30 minutes I am burnt. It's just not good for me. Thankfully I've found good ways to be out and enjoying the warmth... more often than not I'm under an overhang at Fenway or McCoy, and even if I'm not I'm generally at evening games. Working through the day helps too for the same reason- when I get out, I can play soccer or wiffleball as the sun is fading.
When I was learning about audio engineering in college it changed the way I treat my ears. When I hurt my back in high school pole vaulting, it changed things too (it's never been the same... regardless of phys training sessions, etc, I think my back is always going to be slightly damaged goods from here on out). I'm really hoping I can continue to be smart about the sun/my skin.
This is a crazy tangent I just went off on.
Another day is passing by, and we still have some of the guys I've been most fearful that we'll lose. Watched another Bowden interview... he's got great composure, very well spoken- granted, everyone asks him the same things so he should have his answers down pat!
..speaking of whom, Twitter just informed me that the Red Sox made an offer of Buchholz, Bowden, and Westmoreland for Halladay. my heart is racing. i am not happy, and i dont understand this trade. i dont know how much you know about Ryan Westmoreland but he is just as much of a prospective-powerhouse as Buckaroo and Bowden have been considered over the past year+. i havent felt this unhappy and suddenly preoccupied in ages.
i need to go work. i can bury myself in research/searches. i try to tell myself that there's no way the jays will take 1 unproven major leaguer and 2 guys who are not major league ready for the best of the best, but i have no idea what's going to happen.
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