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The Red Sox managed to drunkenly stumble into the playoffs last night, despite riding a 5-game losing streak.  The Texas Rangers made life easy by losing to the Angels thus clinching Boston's post-season reservation.

They have been playing poorly, but I'm not going to worry too much about their on-field play, instead I'm more concerned with the healthy of Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell as well as having an eye on a hot-button topic:  how are the Red Sox going to stop the running game?  Sounds like a question for Bill Belichick, doesn't it?

First the health issues.  Mike Lowell had an injection into his hip and is out for a few games.  The injections done in anticipation of the playoffs in hopes that it will allow him to stay healthy.  Beckett had 3 cortisone shots in his back but he describes it as a minor deal.  Good.

As for the nightly track meet in the Red Sox infield, things are scary.  Peter Gammons brought this up first a week ago (at least from a media standpoint), when he talked about the inability of the Red Sox to prevent stolen basis.  Some facts:

The Red Sox have allowed 150 stolen bases in 2009.  They've thrown out 23 would be base stealers.  That's a caught rate of...13%.

Jason Varitek has allowed 106 and caught 16 (13%).  Victor Martinez has allowed 17 and caught 2 (11%).  George Kottaras has allowed 26 and caught 5 (16%).

Ugly.  The Red Sox have to get this under control as the Yankees exploited their problems this year, as did the Rays and several other teams.  Obviously putting all the blame on the catchers isn't fair as the pitchers can and need to do a better job.  It's one thing to control the running game by not letting guys on base, but against a good line-up like the Yankees, you are always going to let guys get on base.

From an organizational standpoint, there has never been emphasis on stopping the stolen base, but if you extend every walk and single to a double, it will bite you in the buttocks (run Forrest!).  I don't want to spend next week watching the ALDS and Chone Figgins, Torii Hunter and every other Angel taking a free base every time they get on.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Jason Varitek since June 1st: .192/.308/.313 with 20 runs, 4 home runs and 29 RBI in 253 Plate Appearances.

Jason Varitek since the trade deadline:  .129/.219/.212 in 96 PAs.  Wow...

David Ortiz since June 1st: .265/.357/.551 with 57 runs, 25 homer runs, 73 RBI in 384 PAs.

Mike Lowell since trade deadline:  .281/.347/.477 with 20 runs, 6 HRs, 24 RBI in 144 PAs.

Victor Martinez since the trade deadline:  .332/.401/.489 with 25 runs, 6 HRs, 34 RBI in 207 PAs.

Jon Lester since June 1:  10-2, 129.1 IP, 2.16 ERA, 141 K's.

Josh Beckett since mid-August:  2-2, 50.1 IP, 5.90 ERA, 13 HR allowed.

Manny Delcarmen 2nd half:  3-1, 7.15 ERA, 22.2 IP, 26 H, 16 BB, 18 K's.

Daniel Bard since August 1st:  2-2, 6.89 ERA, 15.2 IP, 19 H, 11 BB, 24 K's, 4 HR.

Clay Buchholz since Sept 1st:  4-0, 1.38 ERA, 32.2 IP, 24 H, 8 BB, 22 K's, 1 HR.

Takashi Saito 2nd half:  1-1, 0.79 ERA, 22.2 IP, 16 hits, 11 BB, 23 K's.

From a trend standpoint, the bullpen seems to be figuring itself out for post-season play.   Delcarmen and Bard might be spectators (or mop-up options) while Saito has pitched his way into a more prominent role.  Billy Wagner too.

Jason Varitek has been a vacuum.  It is tough to watch, as he got off to a good start, but has completely disappeared.  I see now why the Red Sox saw the Victor Martinez trade as more than just a nice addition to the line-up.  He has been vital providing significant offense and, by catching, it has allowed Terry Francona to bench Varitek.  Come playoff time, I am not expecting to see Varitek at all baring injury and or a blow-out situation.

David Ortiz has also put together a fine 2/3 of a season.  He isn't the player he was in 2007, but he is still dangerous.

As for the rotation, I think we are going to see Lester, Beckett and Buchholz with Matsuzaka as the 4th starter when/if needed.

Big weekend in New York, not so much for standings and playoff spots, but because the Red Sox have been roughed up by the Yankees of late and it'd be nice for them to stop that trend.

Look for me, I'll be the Red Sox fan getting pummeled in the stands by angry Yankee fans.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Daisuke Matsuzaka showed up at Fenway Tuesday night and was unrecognizable.

First things first, I will say it knowing that respected media outlet will not; Daisuke lost a ton of weight.  He looked healthy and clearly lost his pudge.  This was evident from the first glimpse of him warming up in the bullpen.  His uniform was baggy, as opposed to “filled-out” in his earlier starts this season.

Secondly, he attacked hitters and showed things we haven’t seen from him before.  He leaned heavily on his fastball and was able to locate the pitch.  He seemed to work faster and dictated the pace of the game, a very nice development as I’ve always said watching Matsuzaka can be painful because he works so slowly.

We also saw an interesting thing between innings.  During what would have been his warm-up throws, Matsuzaka stood about 10 feet behind the mound and aired out several throws to catcher Jason Varitek.  I don’t know the reason behind this, but I suspect it is the Red Sox meeting Matsuzaka in the middle philosophically.  He was quoted earlier this year in a Japanese newspaper that he didn’t think he could succeed with the regimen the Red Sox prescribed.

My guess is the Red Sox told him to get in shape and in returned said they’d be more willing to let him incorporate his past (i.e. Japanese) training techniques which, while unorthodox in the States, seemed to work just fine for him in Japan.

All in all, a great night for the Red Sox and Matsuzaka as with Tim Wakefield gimpy (that’s being kind) and Paul Byrd being Paul Byrd, the Red Sox had no rotational depth.  One start isn’t enough to label this a season saved for Matsuzaka, but it is a nice first step.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)