KC is coming
Mar 20th, 2007 by Rob Bradford
You know it’s getting close to Opening Day when you find yourself digesting the Kansas City Royals’ starting rotation. In case you didn’t know, the trio of Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka will be most likely opposed by Gil Meche, Odalis Perez, and Luke Hudson. Update: Perez is fighting a blister problem on the middle finger of his pitching hand and Hudson left his start early the other day with shoulder tightness.
In case you missed it, first base coach Luis Alicea told me before the first spring training game he had already gone through the entire KC and Texas lineups to judge where the Sox infielders should be aligned.
Do you want some semi-useless optimism heading into the rest of this week? OK …
- The Red Sox pitching staff has the sixth-best ERA in the majors this spring.
- Boston’s pitchers have yielded the second-fewest walks among American League staffs (52) throughout the spring schedule, one more than league-leader (you got it) Kansas City.
- No team has had few stolen bases against in the majors this spring (8) than Boston.
- The Sox’s hitters have drawn the second-most walks of any AL team this spring (80), behind only Oakland.
(We aren’t going to mention that Boston is second-to-last in home runs hit, 9, and has the third-worst AL batting average, .251. You know why we aren’t going to mention it … because it doesn’t really matter.)
On to the topic of the month … the bullpen.
FOXSports Ken Rosenthal catches up with one of the game’s best bullpen builders, San Diego general manager Kevin Towers.
This quote from the San Diego GM should catch your eye: “If one or two guys lack consistent command, it can burn your whole bullpen up,” Towers says.
And this, my friend, is the magical formula among the game’s best reliever-rescuing general managers, such as Towers and Minnesota’s Terry Ryan — they get strike-throwers. This is why a Kyle Snyder (2.7 walks per 9 innings last year) could be very useful.
Here is The Eagle-Tribune story I referenced in the previous post. This is the sentiment of at least some of the scouts who have been calling City of Palms Park home base this spring:
“To me, the best closer is in the starting rotation,” said the American League talent evaluator who has been assigned to the monitor the Red Sox this spring. “That’s not my call and that’s not my say. But to see (Jonathan Papelbon) start and see him close, for my money he has the mentality and stuff that you would want in a closer. (Boston) has got some solid sixth- and seventh-inning guys, but I’m not convinced they have got a closer other than the guy in the rotation. I don’t think any of them possess closer stuff.”
Here is an update of Eric Gagne, who just pitched in a simulated game and is getting ready for his first real, game action this week. His progression should be closely monitored by Sox fans who want to see Boston make a strong push for Akinori Otsuka, the Rangers’ current set-up man. Also, those who wanted the Sox to match Texas’ contract offer of $8 million for a pitcher who had totaled 15 2/3 innings the last two seasons can start sharpening their “I-told-you-so’s.”
Oh, and this just in via Dirt Dogs: Manny Ramirez is an eBay wizard.
3 reader comments to “KC is coming”
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1Anonymous said:
They should probably hold off on their “I-tld-you-so’s” for a little while longer. It might be smart for them to wait until Gagne proves he can still get the job done in real games, don’t you think?
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2Miles said:
Did Keith Foulke have closer stuff? Does Trevor Hoffman have closer stuff? As Josh Beckett proved last year, raw heat does not necessarily equal ability to make hitters swing and miss.
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3Anonymous said:
Batters swung and missed a whole lot against Beckett last year, he was 4th in the AL in batting-average allowed.
Still…
I want to use every last internal option before trying out a trade. By every last one, I mean every guy with a good chance to succeed (meaning not Tavarez or Timlin.) Pineiro first, then Snyder, Donnelly, Hansen, Cox, whatever.
