Tag Archives: pitching is the art of instilling fear

April 19, 2011 · 9:05 pm

I’m starting to get used to this. Or: Nothing new to say here.

Well, unfortunately I don’t have much new to say after today’s loss to the Rays. The score was 2-1, but I don’t know that it was even that close.

Phenomenal job today by James Shields. Good, sharp game. And, a really charming interview at the close of the game. A solid complete game that took him over 1000 career innings. Well done. There’s nothing to be done but to applaud his effort today.

Not a bad outing by Danks, we’ve certainly seen worse lately, but there was just the same usual problems plaguing us tonight. Some questionable defense, some less-than-desiable offense, and just a general feeling that there is just something missing that is preventing this team from feeling like a cohesive unit. Sometimes, it just seems like 9 guys hanging out in the grass. There was actually a really great running and sliding catch where I was actually surprised that Rios and Pierre didn’t smash into each other. And, it’s disappointing that the defense has me feeling this way.

I would love them to win, but I don’t even really need that. I would just like them not to give things away. Even games where we lose can be fun to watch, if they’re good, quality ball.

Oh well. In an effort to be positive, I would like to point out that there was one bright spot tonight.
jesse crain.jpg“Hello, my name is Jesse Crain and I will be auditioning for the role of closer.”

Two good outings in the last three games. I’ll use that to fill up my glass a little and try to keep it half full.

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April 16, 2011 · 10:17 pm

Ow. Or: No, really. OW.

advil.jpg Well.

That could have gone better.

*sigh*

We didn’t even wait until the 9th for it to all fall apart tonight. Just a long, slow, steady downward tumble today.

All I have to say is that I hope we break-in this line-up before the end of April. Get all of the kinks and issues ironed out before we dig ourselves into a hole that we can’t get out of.

Tonight, I am breaking out the advil, because this one hurt.

aj-gavin.jpgI think I should also probably pass a couple of them to AJ Pierzynski, who is probably going to be a little bruised tomorrow morning after throwing himself into the path of the oncoming train more than a few times tonight.

Which brings us to the pitching staff (because everything does, these days). Oh, Gavin. Gavin, Gavin, Gavin. Why did you insist on breaking my heart tonight? I’m not giving up on you (its going to take a lot more than a couple of disappointing starts for that), but next time, take a few deep breaths and stop getting ahead of yourself. It’s only April, the season is young. Don’t worry yourself into being your own worst enemy.

I don’t really have anything more eloquent to say tonight.

Hats off to the Halos tonight. Well played, gentlemen. Well played.

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April 11, 2011 · 12:11 pm

Pre-Game Ramblings. Or: Its always easiest to talk about pitching.

So, as the ChiSox get ready to take on the A’s tonight at the Cell, I’m trying to work my head around the first match-up of the season. This is always hard for me. I can read the stats and crunch the numbers, but I guess I just need to see it to believe it. But, if you’re going to try to ponder a game before the roster is even submitted for the day, you pretty much have to talk about the pitching.

As the headline on mlb.com points out, both probables have pitched perfect games in the last two seasons, but that’s a remarkable acheivement that doesn’t help me much today. Neither of these teams are the Rays.

And, while Braden has a better record (2-0) against the ChiSox than Buehrle does against the A’s (4-13), but the disparity in the number of games should say something about the ability to draw comparisons. Looking at IPs, Braden has 22 1/3, while Buehrle 152 1/3 lifetime innings. That’s the difference of couple of seasons, right there.

And, this season, Braden’s record is 0-1 and Buehrle is 1-0 (and a no-decision in KC).

So, really. Pitching-wise, I might want to hedge with Braden a bit, given that his one loss was still a decent showing, but I need to see how things start to unfold. And, given that my heart lies with the Sox, I have to hope that the numbers don’t mean anything when put into action. Talk to me again after I see what they’re throwing for the first inning or so and what’s happening on offense (and, of course, defense). There are always factors to consider other than the pitching, and there are a number of reasons that I think the Sox are going to be the stronger club tonight.

Until then, I figured this method of predicting the outcome of tonight’s game (basedon pitching) is about as accurate as any (particularly any that I can come up with)…

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April 10, 2011 · 3:40 pm

Holy drama, batman! Or: We all knew this was coming.

So, what to say about the Rays/ChiSox today?

Well, it was all Chicago all the time until Sam Fuld decided (again) to show his teammates, his management, and pretty much everyone else in the world of MLB what he’s worth. A double which had him on base an in position to score, putting the Rays on the board (6-1). Really, the only hiccup in Gavin Floyd’s day was his throwing error (though, I would have to argue that he wasn’t alone in that one) that allowed Fuld to score.

And, then comes the drama. The score was (very briefly) 6-2 until the call on Johnson was reversed and his RBI (bringing Damon across home plate) didn’t count.

And, then Maddon got mad. Pun intended. He was pissed. He came out of the dugout red-faced and hand-waving in the familiar way. My lip-reading skills are amateur at best, but I saw an awful lot of bullsh*t getting thrown around in amongst the general flailing. I think he knew from the time he marched onto the field that he was going to yell until he got himself tossed from the game. It was a close call, an arguably an important one, so the dramatics weren’t unexpected.

But, I can’t help but wonder if at least 50% of Maddon’s ranting was letting out 7 games worth of frustration in a public venue. It’s been a rough start for them, really, and who could blame him? Unfortunately, it didn’t help his boys today.

However, aside from that aforementioned throwing error, this guy was having a pretty great day (and getting a reasonable amount of exercise, running back and forth to first):


Way to go, Gavin Floyd.

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