Are you like me, getting anxious over whether we can take advantage of guys in scoring position ... while up by nine? People may tell you they like the close ones, but give me a positive blowout any day.1) They're not booing, they're saying, "Holy (expletive) (expletive)!"
Ben Broussard drove in more runs than the rest of the Indians combined. He also drove in more runs than any other entire team last night. How many times do you drive in 8 runs? Like, nonce? And when Manny Delcarmen started him off with three balls (one pretty damn close), Ben took the meatball 3-0 and smacked a single on the next pitch rather than swing for the fences like ... oh, about 98% of Americans would have.
Sure, Beckett was off, but two home runs is two home runs, and one was a granny. Just a ridiculous night all around.
2) Okay, they are booing you
Everyone has an off night, but Josh Beckett was truly stupendously bad, walking 6, giving up three taters, and giving up more baserunners than outs. Somewhere Ryan Madson is calling Beckett's cell phone. (They probably aren't talking about pickle juice.)
3) I always liked that guy!
Paul Byrd got the memo! He stopped sucking! Sure, it's easier to throw when up 4-0 after 1 and 6-0 after 3, but I'll give the man credit: he looked a lot sharper last night. Key stat: 1 BB in 5 IP, 71 strikes in 99 pitches. Again, there's not much incentive to nibble with a big lead, but I was convinced Byrd wasn't even capable of throwing the ball over the plate, regardless of the situation. Byrd now has 3 wins ... and an 8.03 ERA. Somewhere Kevin Millwood is having trouble crying, laughing, drinking, and cursing simultaneously.
4) Put on the Aerosmith
Beckett wasn't the only culprit: at one point the Sox pitchers had walked nine Indians, and six had scored. Travis Hafner's box score line looks like a misprint: 1 3 0 0. He didn't even need a bat, walking four times and striking out once. Victor Martinez did need a bat, to sock a three-run bomb off Beckett, but chipped in three walks himself. In a Return of the Nightmare moment, ex-Indian Rudy Seanez walked two and gave up an earned run ... on no hits. (He K'd three, though). Julian Tavarez was roughly as sharp as a bowling ball (with apologies to Foghorn Leghorn). When you score four more runs than you get hits, that's not a good night for the opposing staff. Keith Foulke looked good, but I think everyone was ready to go: the call on Snow at first was awful, and the swinging strikeout of Sizemore wasn't much better.
5) Bring me the deli plate
Jeremy Guthrie, who makes David Riske look large, hummed it up in the mid-90s. (I am not buying 98, but I will buy 95-96.) His motion looks a LOT like Roy Oswalt's, which is to say, hideous, but he can throw the ball. Serious cheese. The record shows that he gave up a run on two hits, but forget the numbers: he looked good. Brian Slocum showed me something: namely, that he looks like Dave Burba, but also that he can throw pretty hard himself. For those worried about Guthrie getting enough work, I have an idea: give him half of Mota's innings and all of Graves'. Then move him into the rotation when Paul Byrd ruptures his spleen or whatever injury he's due for this year. (Slocum ... well, as with Zaphod Beeblebrox, he's just this guy, you know?)
6) Deja vu too bloody often again
Yeah, he's left-handed, and yeah, Cora and Ortiz both looked silly ducking out of the way of called strikes, but can someone tell me what Scott Sauerbeck brings to the table that exceeds what Danny Graves brings? The man's "fastball" goes 86, and this was on the gun that told me Guthrie was throwing 98, so that makes that, what, 83 really? I think Wakefield threw a couple that hard. The Tony Sipp Era can't start soon enough for me.
Seriously, do you want this man facing Jim Thome with the tying run on base?
7) Hey, we had one of those
In the continuing series, "Ex-Indians Looking Really Bad In The Field," Alex Cora botched two plays, including the Very Worst Double Play Toss Not Made By Steve Sax. Just terrible. He did get two hits, but this doesn't offset his inability to develop a chin.
8) The bus is waiting, dammit!
Kudos to Todd Hollandsworth, who made the most of his limited time to stroke his fourth double (fourth? Did you have any idea he had four doubles? I wasn't sure he had four plate appearances.) off poor Manny Delhapless after fouling off fifty-three consecutive pitches. In the seventh. Up 12-3. The only reason to keep that inning alive was to get Broussard another at-bat, but hey, if you play twice a week, you make the most of it, I suppose.
9) Waiter, there's a fly in my ointment
Jason Michaels: 1 BB, 3 K, 0 H, 0 R
Jhonny Peralta: 3 outs, 1 BB, 0 H, 1 R
Ramon Vazquez was a more potent offensive force, driving in a run on a sac fly. Ramon Vazquez! These guys bat 2 and 3! Bleah!
Apr 27, 2006 7:00 PM