August 11, 2009

G112: Red Sox 7, Tigers 5

Tigers  - 300 000 002 - 5  7  1
Red Sox - 031 020 10x - 7 7 1
Good work in my absence! I had an overnight sleep apnea appointment. No matter what the circumstances are, Lowell as a pinch-runner is hilarious. Now off to find some video. (Fuckin' Jays...)
Example
Rick Porcello (4.30, 106 ERA+) / Junichi Tazawa (10.80, 44 ERA+)

Tazawa, 23, makes his first major league start (and second major league appearance).

Terry Francona:
A year ago, he's pitching in the (amateur) Industrial League in Japan, and a year later he's pitched at Yankee Stadium and now Fenway Park. ... He doesn't seem too overnervous or that out of sorts with where he is. ... His stuff's good enough where, if he throws strikes, he should be fine.
After a fantastic spring training -- 12 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts -- Tazawa started the 2009 season in AA Portland. In 18 Sea Dogs starts, he posted a 2.57 ERA. He made two starts for Pawtucket (2.38 ERA) before being called up last Thursday. (There's lots of good info in SoSH's Adopt A Prospect thread for Tazawa; and here.)

He showed tremendous poise at Yankee Stadium and although he took the loss, it's was tough to be disappointed with his performance. Elias Sports Bureau says Tazara became the first pitcher in history to make his major league debut against the Yankees in extra innings.

The last Red Sox pitcher to make his debut in extras was Phil Seibel, who pitched in the 11th inning against Baltimore on April 15, 2004. Seibel made his second -- and last -- major league appearance three days later against the Yankees. (But he's got a World Series ring!)

Tazawa will also be the second-youngest Japanese pitcher to start a major league game:
Player             Team      Yrs/Days   First start
Masanori Murakami Giants 21 / 101 8/15/65 vs Phillies
Junichi Tazawa Red Sox 23 / 66 8/11/09 vs Tigers
Mac Suzuki Mariners 23 / 94 9/ 2/98 vs Red Sox
Tomo Ohka Red Sox 23 / 123 7/19/99 vs Marlins
A Globe article from June mentioned that Tazawa studies English for three hours a day, four times a week. "I'm not smart, so it takes time."
Example
Porcello, 20, pitched against the Red Sox on June 2: 4.1-8-3-1-2. Before that start, he had a 3.48 ERA. Since then, it's 4.91.

7 PM: Blue Jays/Yankees. Dear Blue Jays: Pounding Chamberlain is Job(a) 1.

225 comments:

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allan said...

Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Martinez, 1B
Youkilis, 3B
Ortiz, DH
Bay, LF
Drew, RF
Varitek, C
Green, SS

allan said...

Two days ago, I posted that Matsuzaka was scheduled to throw a 40-pitch bullpen session next Tuesday, then 50 on Friday and 65 on Monday the 17th.

Sounds like they are aiming for when rosters expand in September. Which is what I assumed would happen (best case) all along. What he will have to offer is a huge question mark.

Lisa Cohen said...

I am glad to see the Sox remembering how to play baseball. I wonder if it's not the post all-star slump problem, but more related to roster changes at the deadline.

A team is more than a collection of individual players, no matter how good they might be and changing the structure of a team more than halfway through the season and so suddenly must be dislocating.

There are studies about the psychological and performance 'hit' people take when their co-workers get laid off. It can't be that much different for a team--and maybe even more so.

Food for thought as I'm waiting for the game to start.

allan said...

BR: Your two recent (rejected) comments were little more than the snide name-calling that is not permitted here and which you claimed you would not stoop to. You were unable to stop, however. And how moronic is it to repeatedly insult the blog owner's partner? Answer: Extremely moronic (or moranic, if you like). All future comments will be rejected.

Patrick said...

I like your point Cohen. A lot of players really liked Masterson (apparently).

I want to see more of the Kotch Rocket. He would be a starter on so many other teams.

Tom DePlonty said...

Re Tazawa - not tough to be disappointed; impossible. What a ridiculous situation for his ML debut. Talk about "high leverage"!

Who knows, maybe it's a good thing in the long run he lost that one - think Buchholz' no-hitter.

tim said...

We want another one!
Just like the other one!

(Yesterday, not any of the other ones before that - just for clarification!)

tim said...

If Remy were here, we'd be hearing lots about Tazawer.

SoSock said...

A win! - Yay!
A Save! - Yay!

Great to see Paps not get smeared.

I credit the save to Amy-bot.

Re - your earlier post - interesting that JoS1 day is used as the low-water benchmark for Papelbon. Disastrous, I believe it was called.
Maybe, but the company was great :)
Also interesting that my Yankee-fan friends and players seem to forget that even after the sweep, they're still a mere 4-8 against us.
Gloat away, fools!

tim said...

Psft, "sweep" - we've had 3 of those against those fools this year!

OK they were 3 games and one was a 2 game, but still, that = TWO 4 game sweeps.

Us = 2, Them = 1.

Zenslinger said...

Yeah, but now we're watching the Rangers as well as the Rays...Wild Card mode. We have not played well with an easyish schedule the last 4-6 weeks.

Hopefully yesterday was the beginning of an upward trend.

laura k said...

Hi all, bye all. I'm going computer-less today, listening on MLB audio while getting some other stuff done. Have fun and GO SOX and GO BLUE JAYS!

9casey said...

Patrick said...


I want to see more of the Kotch Rocket. He would be a starter on so many other teams.





Are any of those teams playoff contenders?

Zenslinger said...

The Braves...eh, sorta.

9casey said...

and maybe San Fran.

Zenslinger said...

NL Wild Card:

Colorado
SF 1 GB
Chicago 3 GB
Marlins 3 GB
Braves 4 GB

Iridescence said...

'Evening all. IExcited about Tazawa tonight!

SoSock said...

Welcome to the BL Taz

Zenslinger said...

Eh...first inning jitters, we hope. Let's see a Houdini job.

Unknown said...

Erm, outs please?

SoSock said...

Not a very auspicious start.

Anonymous said...

Kid loads the bases and his first run is unearned, odd.

Unknown said...

Ugh

Iridescence said...

Damn Green...
That was our Houdini DP fuck

Iridescence said...

"Kid loads the bases and his first run is unearned, odd."

It scored on an error so it is unearned. What's odd about that?

Unknown said...

This is feeling like a Dice-K start...

SoSock said...

damn
Visitation, eh?

Rob said...

Tazawa being Dice-K.

Good evening, Thread.

Anonymous said...

Pull Green for Woodward, you can't have someone doing that shit behind a rookie pitcher.

allan said...

crowd's behind him ...

aw fuck, more runs

Iridescence said...

You can't blame Tazawa for this. He has 5 outs this inning if we have a real shortstop.

SoSock said...

Actually, it's an earned run oficially. Maybe it shouldn't have happened, but it's still an ER by the book

Unknown said...

Really fucking need that third out...

Anonymous said...

Uh Ish, Tazawa got 2 DP balls and had Green fuck them up both times.

Zenslinger said...

Kid's getting a lot of 0-2 counts.

allan said...

i blame green -- and tek's pitch-calling

gotta blame tek!

Unknown said...

"You can't blame Tazawa for this. He has 5 outs this inning if we have a real shortstop."

No, not all of it, but the hit batter and walk aren't exactly helping the situation.

SoSock said...

1st inning of his 1st start and they've batted around.
Fuck

Anonymous said...

How many of those runs are earned?

Rob said...

"Uh Ish, Tazawa got 2 DP balls and had Green fuck them up both times."

Hey, I'm watching baseball, here. Facts have nothing to do with it. :)

Unknown said...

Alright, that's finally over, not overly bad

Hopefully he'll settle in during the second inning

SoSock said...

Finally.
Meanwhile - the 1st 3 Yankees got hits, and they're up 2-0. Might be worse but Tex-error rounded 3rd and headed home as the cut-off man got the ball. He was out by 20 ft.
More, maybe.

Anonymous said...

Let's see how Ells goes to work against Porky..

Unknown said...

That's a start

Anonymous said...

20 DP balls, wow.

Unknown said...

Fuck no...

Iridescence said...

Something interesting I read on Joe Posnanski's blog earlier:


"The Red Sox, you might recall, have been seen as a very good defensive team — last year they were plus-20 on the Dewan. They are minus-50 this year, largely because the the left side of the infield is a staggeringly bad minus-30 and because their pitchers apparently are brutal defensively (minus-12)."

Green (and injured Lowell) have been butchers in the field this year.

Anonymous said...

This pitcher has our number for some reason.

SoSock said...

Only the 1st is earned I believe. You can't give an unearned for a botched double play. You never a successful DP. So Placido's run is earned. The last 2 were scored after what would have been the 3rd out without the error, so they're unearned.

Anonymous said...

Irid: I remember reading that Bay has been atrociously bad this year as well.

Zenslinger said...

Take care, B.R. I hope you enjoy the rest of the season...elsewhere.

SoSock said...

Should have been - you never ASSUME a successful DP. Not in the scorekeeper's book anyway.

Wow - that BR is one more classy guy isn't he?

Iridescence said...

Yeah have heard that although have also read the LF at Fenway tends tends to make the defensive stats look worse for some reason. So not sure how accurate that is (same with the rap against Manny as a terrible fielder, I think he's had better stats now that he's with the Dodgers though haven't checked it for a while)

SoSock said...

I don't recall any particulrily bad plays on Bay's part - I actually recall 1 particular diving catch right under my eyes a while back :)
I know - 1 good play does not a good fielder make, but really, has he been bad?

SoSock said...

BR should take care about wishing the Rays well. It's not a given at this point that it will be the Red Sox's asses they might be crawling up.
I'd say it's still pretty much up in the air.

SoSock said...

Another injury delay, on a walk?
??
Meanwhile, back at the toilet - A-Roid pops up with bases juiced and 2 down, but the bad guys still lead 3-0.
(I found a live stream of that game, just can't find the one I want)

Anonymous said...

SoSock--there's a difference between not seeing really bad plays and being a good fielder. His range is poor, he has a slightly below-average arm, and he is far too cautious getting to balls that drop, especially down the line.

Unknown said...

That's a better inning

Unknown said...

"Another injury delay, on a walk?"

I think Cabrera fouled a ball off himself, considering Raburn became a pinch hitter in the middle of the at bat.

Unknown said...

On-field delay?

Anonymous said...

OMG, Youk charged the Mound!!!!!!
Get your butt out of the dugout Lowell.

SoSock said...

Right - that's actually what I was asking. Since I get to see so few games, I know I don't see plays that maybe would have been made by a faster fielder, or one with better instincts off the bat. I was asking, and that's the answer I wondered if I would get.
So he doesn't make errors, he just could be better.

Zenslinger said...

Description, please!

Unknown said...

"OMG, Youk charged the Mound!!!!!!"

Well, that explains the delay

Great, now our infield defense gets even shittier

SoSock said...

Mound charging!?
Seriously!?

Damn GDGD

Joe Grav said...

Fuck the Tigers. That is all

Anonymous said...

Youk QB sacked Porcello according to the radio, then Youk was restrained by Tek.

Joe Grav said...

Youkilis is the last Red Sox player I would fuck with.

SoSock said...

No explanation yet. Just "on-field delay"
I assume Yook is tossed?

Unknown said...

So, obviously Youk ejected, anybody else?

Anonymous said...

Porecello gets the gate also.

Joe Grav said...

Peace out asshole pitcher.

Joe Grav said...

yook and poopcello gone.

laura k said...

Youk charged the mound at top speed, chucked his helmet at the pitcher, threw his arms around him and tackled him!

Crowd chanting YOOK, YOOK, YOOK!!!

Benches cleared, lots of pushing and shoving, but no real punches thrown I don't think.

Joe Grav said...

You just can't tell me that's not intentional. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Chris Lambert replaces Porecello

laura k said...

If they didn't toss the mushroom (Portobello), Terry would have to play the rest of the game under protest. It was obvious retaliation.

Just came by because I saw ppl begging for description. :)

Joe Grav said...

Buncha stupid bullshit. I fucking hate when pitchers throw at people, especially in response to a crappy, wild AA pitcher going up and in accidentally. Fuck that. Youk should have smooshed him into the ground and punched him in the face.

Iridescence said...

Tigers announcers:

"Well Porcello was obviously throwing at [Youk]"

and a few minutes later:

"I don't see why they would throw Porcello out"

LOL

SoSock said...

wow
hate I missed it :)

laura k said...

Youk QB sacked Porcello according to the radio, then Youk was restrained by Tek.

QB for sure, exactly right. Youk wasn't restrained so much as peeled off the pitcher.

Unknown said...

Who's in as the runner for Youk?

laura k said...

Bye again.

Joe Grav said...

The V-Mart thing was obvious and clear enough. at that point, time to move on. But no. Fuck the Tigers.

Joe Grav said...

Lowell PR for Yook

Iridescence said...

sometimes you can't really tell but it definitely looked very intentional to me (and as I said even the Tigers guys said so at first)

Anonymous said...

Cabrera got hit on the wrist and left the game showing symptoms of a bad wrist on the next swing. That was not intentional by Tazawa, Cabrera swung his hands into the ball.

Iridescence said...

yeah he threw his helmet at him and then tackled him. It was pretty cool

Joe Grav said...

LAMBERT!!!! Yeah son! I hope you give up 3 or more runs, but YOU GO , MAN.

Unknown said...

Ooh, Toronto's tied things up in the bedpan

Unknown said...

Gotta love facing a guy with an ERA over 30

Anonymous said...

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM NIAGARA VALLEY APPLES!?

Unknown said...

THUNDER!!!!!!!!!!!!

SoSock said...

Go Papi, go!

And Overbay just hit one Over Cano with bases loaded and tied the game in Canada

Joe Grav said...

FUCKIN WOW

9casey said...

What were you guys waching , Yook got hip tossed by 120 lb., 20 year old...after he threw his helmet at him....

9casey said...

all FIRED up....

Iridescence said...

LOVE that CANADIAN THUBDER!

9casey said...

What a strange 10 minutes.....

SoSock said...

Drew /= LBJ

Anonymous said...

Tito hits the showers, I guess that means Brad Mills has the bridge.

SoSock said...

Another on-field delay ?!?!

Anonymous said...

It was a legit missed call according to Castig.

SoSock said...

Tito = gone?

Unknown said...

Well, this game certainly helps out the umpire ejection fantasy leagues

Unknown said...

I'm assuming Tito was arguing the call at second?

Anonymous said...

Francona was ejected I meant

Iridescence said...

he definitely looked safe to me. Bad call

SoSock said...

Jays, Yanks, Tigers, Sox - everybody has 3!

Wait! HR off the foul pole by Ruiz! Not Quite Dead Birds lead 4-3 at the toilet.

Iridescence said...

Go Jays (and Sox) go!

Unknown said...

Wake to pitch on Saturday for Pawtucket

Anonymous said...

SENSATIONAL PLAY!

SoSock said...

Wiggle, Taz, wiggle!

Unknown said...

Very big K

Iridescence said...

big K

Iridescence said...

Nice!

Unknown said...

Nicely done

Let's get the lead

SoSock said...

Wiggle recipe -
Step 1 - K or pop-up - check.
Step 2 - Just get the 3rd out - check!

Wiggle is served!

Unknown said...

Oh look, a Sox hitter grounds into a double play...

Anonymous said...

Lowell Avenges Youk!

Iridescence said...

Lowell!

SoSock said...

DOC!!!!
FREAKING DOC!!!!!

Unknown said...

R FUCKIN' X!!!

SoSock said...

c'mon Papi - b2b plz?

SoSock said...

guess not
But way to go Dr!

Unknown said...

This pitcher has allowed 3 earned runs in 2 innings ... and his ERA dropped

HAHAHA

andy said...

Hello I am Mike Lowell and tonight I am showing tito how I should play 1B and youk can play 3B. I am also very good at hitting a baseball.

Unknown said...

Sit

I really hope he's not on a strict pitch count, 89 already

Iridescence said...

yeah he should play 1B or DH

But Tito is too attached to Papi and Tek

Anonymous said...

I hope Mills lets him stay in for the 5th and try to get the W.

SoSock said...

Taz with a nice battle against Granderson. Then a nice comeback aftert starting 2-0 against Polanco.
I'd say he's settled in.

Unknown said...

5 Ks, nice

He definitely seems to have settled in

Iridescence said...

nice. This kid should be pitching a shutout right now without the bad defense (although great LBJ defense did save another run to be fair).

Iridescence said...

hope so too. He deserves the W

SoSock said...

Watch the Top 10 on SC tonight.
Inglett just robbed Noodle Arm of a double off the wall with a running full-out, leaping grab at the lip of the toilet.
Still 4-3 good guys - in BOTH games!

Unknown said...

Tek with a hit?! Nice

Rob said...

I'm surprised Don's chair goes back that far.

Amy said...

I can't believe I wasn't here for all the excitement, though I saw most of it at the bar where we were eating.

Unknown said...

Three straight Ks!

Anonymous said...

Popped up bunt caught by Tek.

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Hi Amy, hi all. I'm working late and sneaking peeks at GDGD and this thread. Got to hear the end of the brawl on the radio on the way back from a meeting.

Iridescence said...

Nice OTT

Anonymous said...

What kind of reaction did Tazawa get from the fans?

Unknown said...

5-pitch inning!

Nice

Amy said...

Seems to me that once he settled in, Tazawa has been pretty effective.

Who was HBP before Youk?

Unknown said...

Definitely a much better start than the last time a Sox pitcher made his first ML start in the middle of a pennant race

Amy said...

Why was Francona tossed? (No sound on the TV at the bar.)

nick said...

the interplay between don and eck's been really nice and casual. Eck's funny 'bout whether the hit on youk was intentional.

(hi)

nick said...

speaking of which, how freakin' much better are they than the ESPN crew. holy shit.

nick said...

Terry argued the tag at second, made a comment as he turned back to the dugout and --yank! whatever that last word was...

maybe something to do with how could the ump claim to see that play when he couldn't see the bullshit slide to break up the DP earlier.

Amy said...

Don't get me started on Jon Miller again, Nick.

SoSock said...

Petey with wheels!

This is cool - I went to do a couple things around the house, like fix food, and came back to find a whole half-inning gone. Scrolled back thru GDGD and saw a 5-pitch inning!
Not a bad recovery, "i'd say.

Amy said...

Thanks, Nick, for filling me in.

Amy said...

DOCTOR DONGS!

Rob said...

Lowell is saying TITO APOLOGIZE.

nick said...

I'd totally be humping Lowell's leg if I was anywhere near the guy!

SoSock said...

Doc has the RX tonight!

Iridescence said...

LOWELL!!

Unknown said...

DR!!!

nick said...

Amy, it's like when I mute the TV and suddenly realize how beautiful the silence is. There's that sudden moment of relief.

These guys have been really casual together..good humor, informative. Don playing with Eck's slang and Eck playing back. good natured ribbing without straying to far from the game.

Iridescence said...

Very nice debut for Tazawa

Amy said...

Eck's grammar may be awful, but he is so much more animated than Dave Roberts. And SO much better than listening to Morgan and Miller and co.

SoSock said...

98 - I'da sent him back out there.

Unknown said...

"Very nice debut for Tazawa"

Especially considering the shitty defense in the first inning

Iridescence said...

well debut start i mean

Anonymous said...

GRD for Avila

SoSock said...

mmmmmm.....shoulda stayed with the kid?

Unknown said...

Sit

Rob said...

Rain VERY close to Fenway.

Unknown said...

Nice debut for Cabrera as well

Joe Grav said...

it's raining in Newton, 4 miles west. i don't have the game on, is it raining?

SoSock said...

OK, Cabrera did his part. Can we plz get a 7th inning pitcher to do his now?

Joe Grav said...

our cable just went out after some lightning and thunder.

Unknown said...

I'd think maybe Saito for the 7th, Oki for the 8th

Amy said...

Robbed

Rob said...

Rain's picking up.

Unknown said...

Saito it is

Unknown said...

And we have a rain delay

Amy said...

Rain delay...ugh

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Radar looks ugly. Could be an hour.

Amy said...

It doesn't look like a big rain system, from my amateur read of the radar. What do you think, Ish?

Amy said...

Hmm, I guess I am wrong. I assume WCS is more expert than I am on weather radar!

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Nice diving stop by TOR 3rd baseman to end the 7th inning. Still 4-3 TOR in the 8th.

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Nah. What do I know about radar?

I won't be threading or watching at all next week, I think. Heading overseas on business, and I think all the games are being played while I'm working. I suppose if any of them last until 3am EDT...

Amy said...

Where are you going? Law business overseas---sounds good.

Anonymous said...

Rain Delay.

nick said...

I'm in Olympia, WA next week. and in a house without cable or high-speed internet. If I had an mlb.tv account I could watch the games on my phone, but I don't think it's worth buying since it'd be useless as soon as I return home because of the lame blackout restrictions.

Rob said...

I looked at the radar and saw Boston, and a big yellow and green and red blob surrounding the city. Pretty telling.

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

NZ, Amy. Not as glamorous as it sounds.

Amy said...

Olympia, WA sounds fun...hope it is for vacation, not work.

nick said...

I've always wanted to go to NZ -- great music scene in the 80s/90s and geez it looked beautiful in the Lord of the Rings movies.

Amy said...

New Zealand. From what I have seen in photos, it is beautiful there.

nick said...

family "work". It'll be mostly good though. Emma and I are there for 9 days. Might get to see one of my best friends from high school who I haven't seen in 18 years (weird). He lives in vancouver...I'll have to convince him to come south since I don't have a passport.

Amy said...

No passport?

Sounds like a good trip. The Pacific Northwest is near the top of my list of places to see in the US.

Amy said...

Shit, Matsui just tied the score for the Yankees.

Unknown said...

Fuckin Shemp dong, 4-4 in NY

Unknown said...

And a Passedballa dong gives them the lead...

SoSock said...

Damn, Matslug ties it with a HR on the 8th pitch of his AB.
Then Posada goes b2b and the bad guys lead

Iridescence said...

damn crappy Jays bullpen

SoSock said...

Now there are "on-field delays" in NY ?

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