Boston Red Sox - 2006

[ILLCHILL]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Padilla had his stuff today. His fastballs had an explosion at the end of them. I thought the Sox couldn't catch a break on offense though, as they hit a lot of liners and hard hit balls right at guys. Great defensive night for the Rangers.


Maybe the Sox can still pull of some more runs and make it a game in the 8th.

[ILLCHILL]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Well Riske isn't looking good, but its one of those days for the Sox pitching. I won't bank too much on this outing.

[ILLCHILL]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Manny K's for the 3rd time. W00t

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Predictable outing by Wakefield in Texas, just isn't his place. Padilla looked strong, and much slimmer than he was a year ago.

I'll say a bright spot tonight was Rudy Seanez. Yeah he loaded the bases on an infield hit and two walks to start the inning, but he settled down and got the next three guys without allowing a run. He showed some nasty stuff, as long as he is getting ahead of guys he should be a solid reliever. He reminds me a lot of Williamson.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

I didn't expect Wakefield to have a great game since he struggles in Texas, but I'm still a little concerned. Wakefield has historically done better when he is comfortable with his catcher (ie Mirabelli). Watching Bard last night was just painful. Maybe it was just nerves, since it seemed like he was blocking the tougher pitches and letting the ones that bounced off his glove go to the backstop. It's only one game though.

Seanez did do a good job getting out of that jam, but part of me wonders if it would have been as easy if the Rangers didn't have a big lead. Either way, he threw some nice pitches after loading the bases and definitely looked better than he had all spring.

I loved the piece of hitting by Wily Mo in his first at bat. It's nice to have guys like him and Manny that are willing to use the whole field. Coco Crisp also had a very nice game. He is much faster than I thought he would be. I expect him to beat out his share of infield hits like he did on the grounder up the middle.

[Beantown]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Crisp has looked very good, even though it's only two games, he has certainly looked comfortable in the leadoff spot.

I'm going to wait until the Sox get out of Texas to judge the pitching staff, yet. They could really use a catcher who has caught the knuckleball before, though.

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Arroyo has gone deep in his first start for the Reds! I bet no one thought Arroyo would homer before Pena.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Arroyo has gone deep in his first start for the Reds! I bet no one thought Arroyo would a homer before Pena.

Haha, I just heard that. Dale and Holley were talking about it on WEEI and said it was a pretty impressive HR, for a pitcher. Good for him.

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

I'm liking Crisp, but I'm not so high on his defense. Did anybody else notice the routes he was taking to balls in center? He seemed to take very circulative paths to where the ball was supposed to land, and not straight lines. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I worry that he is going to have some problems with balls getting by him or going over his head in center this year.

He can probably make up for it with some of his speed, but I think we will definitely be missing Damon's kickass range and coverage in CF.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

I'm liking Crisp, but I'm not so high on his defense. Did anybody else notice the routes he was taking to balls in center? He seemed to take very circulative paths to where the ball was supposed to land, and not straight lines. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I worry that he is going to have some problems with balls getting by him or going over his head in center this year.

He can probably make up for it with some of his speed, but I think we will definitely be missing Damon's kickass range and coverage in CF.

Yah I did notice that. On one last night he started off to his right, then basically had to make a right hand turn to run back and track it down. I'll chalk that up to rustiness for now. He does have superior speed though, and can make up for a lot of small mistakes with it.

The only problem I see, if this continues to be a problem, is that we're depending on his speed to make up for Manny's, Nixon's and Pena's lack of range in the corner OF spots.

[ILLCHILL]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Thank you Mr. Nixon. Now, no Foulke please and we should grab this game.

[CWood2]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Watching Coco leg out that triple was something...but I do agree, his reads in center are questionable and his routes aren't all that great. My favorite player in the league is Andruw, so it's tough to look at him objectively though!

[Beantown]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Best part of the game so far:

Beckett. Bar none.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Best part of the game so far:

Beckett. Bar none.

I'm thoroughly impressed. He clearly didn't have his best stuff to start this game but made it through 7 innings and only let up 1 run. He's been throwing 95-96 consistently and has very good offspeed pitches.

Plus his fist pumps are classic.

[CWood2]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Best part of the game so far:

Beckett. Bar none.

How he conserved his pitch count after the 5th was brilliant, just sawing off guys, getting lazy pop ups, and getting outs by spotting his fastball. Love the show of emotion too, and how Schill's taken to him by his reaction in the dugout. Kid's real good...