FUN WITH ROSTERS - Top 2nd

(Injury Update: Prior to start of inning, Josh Beckett was throwing sparklers into the Gatorade bucket. One of the sparklers landed beside the bucket and melted off a piece that fell onto the hand of OF JD Drew. Drew is undergoing treatment and will be out for the game. Mirabelli found all of this hilarious.)



Josh Beckett starts

Earned Runs:0
Strikeouts: 2
Hits: 1
Errors: 0
Pitch Count: 12

Ty Wigginton

:::96 fastball:::
/fouls back
Count 0-1
:::93 sinker:::
/takes
Count 1-1
:::96 fastball:::
/fouls back
Count 1-2
:::78 curveball:::
/swings



- Ty Wigginton strikes out swinging

Jonny Gomes

:::95 fastball:::
/takes
Count 0-1
:::85 changeup:::
/takes
Count 1-1
:::96 fastball:::
/makes contact


-Jonny Gomes flies out to center


Akinori Iwamura

:::92 sinker:::
/takes
Count 1-0
:::96 fastball:::
/fouls back
Count 1-1
:::78 curveball:::
/takes
Count 2-1
:::96 fastball:::
/takes
Count 2-2
:::95 fastball:::
/fouls right
:::94 sinker:::
/makes contact
- Akinori Iwamura grounds to first

What’s He Got: Alex Cora

Bizarro World’s Alex Rodriguez

Imagine if Alex Rodriguez was the type of player fans wanted to see: a hard-nosed, modest, talented player who always found a way to help the team win. Now imagine he was a utility infielder who had a VORP of –5.4. Who would you want on your team?





Alex Cora: Finding ways to win (2006 Season stats)

There are only 10 games where Alex Cora had an at-bat and the Red Sox managed a win without one of AC’s hits, walks, or RBIs. This happened to A-Rod 9 times.

A-Rod had 4 sac flies, 0 sac hits.
AC had 0 sac flies, 4 sac hits.

Pitches seen per plate appearance -
A-Rod: 3.81
AC: 3.80

Already, the similarities are just uncanny, with A-Rod being only slightly better. But here’s the real kicker:

A-Rod had 22 Grounded Into Double Play balls in 572 at-bats, or 1 per every 26 at-bats. In 235 at-bats AC hit only four GIDP, or one per 58.75 AB.

Now that we are starting to see how Cora is the far superior player, let us get to the defensive stats.

You Can Win With Your Glove




AC had a fielding percentage of .975, the same as Gold Glove winner Derek Jeter, under only 5 of 26 AL Shortstops who played 100 innings or more. His Range Factor was also the AL’s third best among those who qualified at .483.

A-Rod, shall we say, sucked royally. Only 5 AL third basemen with at least 100 innings have a worse fielding percentage than A-Rod’s .938, and an exclusive 6 others can claim a worse RF of .250.

So now, adding in all other statistical categories, we can see as far under his statstics as Alex Roriguez plays, that is precisely how far over his statistics Alex Cora plays.




Game Announcement:
Josh Beckett is currently melting the Gatorade bucket so we might have a delay of game. Stay tuned.

FUN WITH ROSTERS: Bottom 1st

Scott Kazmir starts

Julio Lugo

:::94 fastball:::
/fouls off
Count 0-1
:::92 slider:::
/swings
Count 0-2
:::80 curveball:::
/takes
Count 1-2

:::95 fastball:::
/big swing
- Julio Lugo strikes out swinging


Kevin Youkilis

:::94 fastball:::
/takes
Count 0-1
:::83 changeup:::
/takes
0-2
:::93 slider:::
/fouls off
Count 0-2
:::95 fastball:::
/fouls off
Count 0-2
:::81 changeup:::
/takes
Count 1-2
:::94 slider:::
/takes
Count 2-2
:::94 fastball:::

-Kevin Youkilis flies out to left center

David Ortiz

:::96 fastball:::
/fouls off
Count 0-1
:::79 curveball:::
/makes contact

- David Ortiz reaches on E4


Manny Ramirez

:::94 slider:::
/takes
Count 1-0
:::84 changeup:::
/fouls off
Count 1-1
:::95 slider:::
/fouls off
Count 1-2


- Manny Ramirez strikes out swinging

FUN WITH ROSTERS

I don't feel like waiting any longer for games so I'm going to make up my own. Here's 3 outs a day against the Devil Rays, Kazmir vs Beckett.





PLAY BALL!

1st Inning:

Josh Beckett starts

Rocco Baldelli
:::97 fastball:::
/swings
Count 0-1
:::95 fastball:::
/takes
Count 0-2
:::86 changeup:::
/fouls back
:::98 fastball:::
/takes
- Baldelli strikes out looking
- Baldelli cries



Delmon Young
:::79 curveball:::
/takes
Count 1-0
:::96 fastball:::
/makes contact

- Young fouled out to third
/kills umpire

(Home plate umpire substituted, Young ejected)

Carl Crawford
:::97 fastball:::
/takes
Count 0-1
:::87 changeup:::
/takes
Count 1-1
:::88 changeup:::
/fouls back
Count 1-2
:::91 sinker:::
/makes contact
/ball drops behind second
/runs really fast
- Crawford triples to center


Jorge Cantu
:::97 fastball:::
/swings
Count 0-1
:::98 fastball:::
/swings
Count 0-2
:::checks runner on third:::
/swings
- Cantu strikes out swinging

The PR Negotiations of JD Drew

The tug-of-war for media supremacy between the Patriots and Red Sox has gone from non-existent to embarrassing to the current state of conscious respect. Since 2002, both clubs have increased success on the field and in the stands nearly ten-fold. So much so that the JD Drew negations have been put on hold to allow the Patriots to have their fair share of the Sports Page and the undivided attention of the region’s football diehards and off-season Sox fans alike.

Well, ok, not really. But it isn’t far off.


What’s wrong with his shoulder? Will he play in 145+ games? What if he doesn’t? Why did he get a 5-year deal after you’ve stubbornly denied it to players in the past? What are Sox fans to expect of him? Why is he JD if his name is David Jonathan?


The Sox are going to need a silent room and a blank page come JD’s presser. JD's stock falls slightly every day and all possible story angles, monetary values, ligaments and muscle fibers will need to be presented, questioned, and answered clearly to sway the skeptics. Any attention taken away from the Sox during this time will lead to misjudgment, contract criticism, and an overall no-win situation that another over-paid, under-performing player in the AL East endures.



What does this mean? Wait until the bye-week. Let the pigskin mouth breathers wear down their theories and squeeze any last quotes out of Foxborough's Finest. Hell, if something actually comes up (Asante is taking a discount!) it’ll allow some time for that news to flatten as well.

Regardless, we’ll hear the story. I just hope it’s quiet enough for us to hear the real story.