If you didn't see this, you didn't go to the game.After Sunday's depressing loss to the hapless Baltimore Orioles, there's not a whole lot that can be said. We couldn't hit (Guthrie? Really?), we couldn't field (don't even get me started on Ramon Castro), and we sure as hell couldn't pitch (Poreda isn't a firefighter). Rather than torture myself explaining the entire game, I just want to touch on a couple of points and let you look at some pretty pictures.
It's less painful that way.
Stan Lee says: "Excelsior!"DeWayne Wise needs to go:
I am having trouble quantifying my hatred for D-Wise. It's one thing if you're someone who belongs on the team and just can't get the job done (see: Josh Fields vs the fastball, Octavio Dotel in a clutch situation), but it's an entirely different thing if you never had a place on the team to begin with. Wise is a pinch-runner who has somehow managed to replace Brian Anderson despite a sub .200 batting average, an inability to drive in runs (7 RBI after his solo shot today), an inability to field his position (being fast doesn't mean you know how to throw the ball to cut off the runner advancing to third) and the worst at-bat music in the world.
In a perfect world, I am able to watch D-Wise run the bases for Jim Thome, and then SIT HIS ASS ON THE BENCH until another one of our sluggers gets on base in a "we need a runner" situation. Unfortunately, I am doomed to watch him waste a spot in the linup (oh, whoop-de-do he hit a HR on Sunday. It's his first. How are those 24+ strikeouts looking?). He strikes out in 1/4th his at-bats, and allows so many extra base hits that even sane fans miss Brian Anderson. If Anderson gets traded at the deadline in a package deal for something (leaving CF to Wise), Ozzie will find a nice bucket of my excrement on his doorstep.
Guess the year Melvin Mora was on steroids!
Slow Pitcher + Slow Catcher = Problems:
Ramon Castro made sense when he was acquired - he's a veteran catcher who can hit and gives the Sox a legitimate option when they need to rest AJ. All of these things are fine. However, making him "Contreras' personal catcher" means all sorts of problems between the two of them. If you were watching the game, you would know that Castro had about 3 passed balls and some forkballs that he let get away for good measure. Likewise, Contreras can't throw out a baserunner for his life (the pickoff move has hit new lows - he looks like a flailing cat trying to fake a throw). Between the two of them (and another lackluster CF effort from D-Wise), the Orioles scored two runs from guys who were only on 1st base. An easy advance around the bases from a few steals, passed balls, and throwing errors from Castro made it that much easier to get around the basepaths.
I'm not saying to dump Castro - I think he definitely has a place on this team. Hopefully this was just one ugly game in a series of good ones, but if he's going to be that far off his mark (he makes AJ look accurate throwing to 2nd), he can't be catching for Contreras on a regular basis. We would need to have a trail of jellybeans from 1st to 2nd to make it more enticing for the baserunner.
Sox fans - classy to the end.
Poreda could use a real shot:
There's nobody questioning Poreda's ability - he has done everything he can to prove himself at every level. He's a hard worker, and at the very least, really really attractive trade bait. It makes it just that much sadder that he can't find regular work on the team. Poreda has been with the squad for about two months now, and has been used for only 11 IP in a bullpen role. With Clayton Richard suffering in the rotation, why not give Poreda a shot? It'll do more for his psyche than coming into a bases-loaded situation in a close game after not pitching for more than a week.
I am having trouble quantifying my hatred for D-Wise. It's one thing if you're someone who belongs on the team and just can't get the job done (see: Josh Fields vs the fastball, Octavio Dotel in a clutch situation), but it's an entirely different thing if you never had a place on the team to begin with. Wise is a pinch-runner who has somehow managed to replace Brian Anderson despite a sub .200 batting average, an inability to drive in runs (7 RBI after his solo shot today), an inability to field his position (being fast doesn't mean you know how to throw the ball to cut off the runner advancing to third) and the worst at-bat music in the world.
In a perfect world, I am able to watch D-Wise run the bases for Jim Thome, and then SIT HIS ASS ON THE BENCH until another one of our sluggers gets on base in a "we need a runner" situation. Unfortunately, I am doomed to watch him waste a spot in the linup (oh, whoop-de-do he hit a HR on Sunday. It's his first. How are those 24+ strikeouts looking?). He strikes out in 1/4th his at-bats, and allows so many extra base hits that even sane fans miss Brian Anderson. If Anderson gets traded at the deadline in a package deal for something (leaving CF to Wise), Ozzie will find a nice bucket of my excrement on his doorstep.
Guess the year Melvin Mora was on steroids!Slow Pitcher + Slow Catcher = Problems:
Ramon Castro made sense when he was acquired - he's a veteran catcher who can hit and gives the Sox a legitimate option when they need to rest AJ. All of these things are fine. However, making him "Contreras' personal catcher" means all sorts of problems between the two of them. If you were watching the game, you would know that Castro had about 3 passed balls and some forkballs that he let get away for good measure. Likewise, Contreras can't throw out a baserunner for his life (the pickoff move has hit new lows - he looks like a flailing cat trying to fake a throw). Between the two of them (and another lackluster CF effort from D-Wise), the Orioles scored two runs from guys who were only on 1st base. An easy advance around the bases from a few steals, passed balls, and throwing errors from Castro made it that much easier to get around the basepaths.
I'm not saying to dump Castro - I think he definitely has a place on this team. Hopefully this was just one ugly game in a series of good ones, but if he's going to be that far off his mark (he makes AJ look accurate throwing to 2nd), he can't be catching for Contreras on a regular basis. We would need to have a trail of jellybeans from 1st to 2nd to make it more enticing for the baserunner.
Sox fans - classy to the end.Poreda could use a real shot:
There's nobody questioning Poreda's ability - he has done everything he can to prove himself at every level. He's a hard worker, and at the very least, really really attractive trade bait. It makes it just that much sadder that he can't find regular work on the team. Poreda has been with the squad for about two months now, and has been used for only 11 IP in a bullpen role. With Clayton Richard suffering in the rotation, why not give Poreda a shot? It'll do more for his psyche than coming into a bases-loaded situation in a close game after not pitching for more than a week.
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