Thursday, July 26, 2007

It's the Little Things That Win Close Games...


I'm going to keep this short and sweet. It's the little things that win ball games. I'm talking about hustling, running, reading signs from the base coach, and being a "head's up" on-deck batter. The Boston Red Sox should be ashamed of themselves for the way they played last night. Coco, Manny, and Alex Cora specifically. Coco dogged it around third like a jerk before Josh Barfield gunned him down at the plate in a 1-0 game. Where was Manny, the next batter up? He was in la-la land as usual, still on the on-deck circle taking his half-a$$ practice cuts. And Alex Cora, who is normally as heads up as they come, missed a hit-and-run sign with one out in the 8th to leave Jason Varitek caught in a pickle. Most of you know he runs like he just took a fresh dump in his drawers, so you can imagine how that worked out.

As pissed as I am, I can't imagine how pissed Josh Beckett must have been last night. He pitched his fourth career complete game (first since 8/13/2005) and was absolutely filthy last night. Beckett allowed four hits, one earned run, while striking out seven. He made one mistake on a fastball to Franklin Gutierrez (gulp) in the third inning, a fastball right down the c*ck.

But last night, his teammates let him down. They were taking a night off when the AL's best pitcher this year left his heart on the mound. Way to go, Terry Fran"coma" and the boys. Keep playing and hitting like that, you'll be watching the Yankees raise another pennant flag.


***On a side note, hats off to Fausto Carmona. He pitched one hell of a game. Good game, kid.

(Photos courtesy of http://yahoo.com/)

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

This commentary seems like it was ripped from Bostondirtdogs.com. And that's fine, I guess. However -- and I'm no Manny apologist -- but this was an infield single. Given that,was Manny truly negligent in not being nearer to home plate? Chances are that 99% of all major leaguers would have seen the ground ball hit to 2nd base and returned his focus to getting ready for his at bat. In no way was this Manny's fault that Crisp was thrown out at the plate.

Chieftain said...

Hit that PANIC button!

Chieftain said...

Your Beckett is the AL's best pitcher argument is horrible. Besides wins (as close to a meaningless stat as one can point to), there isn't ONE argument you could make to support his case.

T-7th in ERA
T-6th in batting average against
8th in K's

* Both Bedard & Santana have better ERA's than Beckett, have lower opponents batting averages, better WHIP's, and more K's.

* Haren's ERA is nearly a WHOLE run lower, has a better WHIP, lower batting average against...but, ohhhhh...here you go, he has 6 fewer K's than Beckett. Yay!!!

You don't have a leg to stand on w/ this argument. You know it, I know it. Cut the crap.

Simply Suds said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Simply Suds said...

If u are referring to my fran"coma" comment...I guess you never listen to WEEI.

Anonymous said...

how in the world is the wins stat for a starting pitcher irrelevant? are u fucking kiddin me? isnt at the end of the day all you want is a win? always a debate about everything with chieftain. im not arguing about beckett but merely that comment. that is awful.

Chieftain said...

No, you're right anonymous. Both Randy Johnson (5.00 ERA) and Beckett (5.01) were two of baseball's best pitchers last year.

But, you're right -- wins is how a pitcher should be judged??? Hell, RJ had 17 wins & Beckett had 16 wins last year. Guess what? They were 2 of the WORST pitchers in the AL last year!

I can't wait to hear your rebuttal. Christ, this could be the easiest debate in the history of baseball.

After all, Pedro was bad when on the Expos in the mid-90's...b/c he didn't have overwhelming "win" totals???

I repeat...as a pitching stat, wins are USELESS. Wakefield has 11 wins, Miguel Batista has 10 -- thus, they are both as good as Bedard/Verlander/Escobar?

Simply Suds said...

I wouldn't say "useless" when we're comparing the top 5 pitchers in the AL. I don't think it's a completely "useless" stat when determining who gets it done on every 5th day. Maybe a pitcher has to dig down and get a little extra on days his team isn't going to pick him up, or the other team is all over his stuff.

You're such a number cruncher, it's almost laughable. Stop being so cunty.

Anonymous said...

a team is measured by wins and losses. pitchers are important in getting wins and losses. at the end of the day i could care less about who has the best era or most strikeouts as long as my team has enough wins to be in first place. im not arguing that beckett is nasty or anything. just dont tell me that you put more emphasis on wang's era or how many strikeouts he had in a game or in a week or in the season. you want wins from the team cuz thats all it comes down to. kazmir is great, bedard is great, but there teams suck. as cool as it is to be nasty and not make the playoffs, id rather give up 5 runs a game and have a team that scores 10 and get a win with beckett, wakefield, gabbard, whoever. thats all im saying. wins by a team matter more than any stat you can throw around. i dont really care that much though....im going to get drunk. have fun blogging gentlemen and chieftain. and by the way, i wouldnt be anonymous if i wasnt kicked out of the win column for inappropriate comments made earlier in the year. sorry im just so politically incorrect. and by the way......i have hit the panic button.

Anonymous said...

i love the win column. chieftain and suds and norman are great. everything they say is great. their opinions should be set in stone as fact. i love the win column. i will not deface the win column anymore. chieftain and his team of researchers are great. they are never wrong. suds is great. his story's are funny. norman is a key addition. he is great. i will never disagree again. statistics are king. the win column is great. it should be on everyone's favorites list. thank you for allowing me the opportunity to chime in.

Simply Suds said...

hahaha, that is a riot. get that kid a username/password!

Chieftain said...

We're not arguing the same thing -- you're arguing team stats (fan perspective), I'm argiung pitching stats (GM perspective).

You're right in your argument, as I'm right in my argument.

Beckett is a VERY good pitcher - he's just not the AL's very best pitcher...at least not currently.

Chieftain said...

Hey, it's all about self-promotion. It works for 50 Cent...why not The Win Column?

Norman P. Orlando said...

Dear Anonymous,

Whom ever you are, I'd like to thank you for the above comment. that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me. You've boosted my self-esteem to the point where I might even be able to hook up with a chick again in the near future...even if she is a piglet.

Anonymous said...

piglet or not...im glad i inspired to reach for the stars. your important norman...dont you forget it. i myself have dabbled in a piglet or two and if thats what it takes then so be it. anonymous signing out for good. my services just arent appreciated enough for me to hang around. im looking for a 6 figure contract from a few blogs and i just dont think the win column can do that for me. keep truckin norman, keep truckin my friend.