Wednesday, October 8

Pitching May Indeed Win Championships, but the Sox Need to Find Their Bats:




So much attention has been given to the pitching match ups, starting rotations, and overall team health, that hitting (or should I say the lack there of) has been overlooked by many media outlets.

This series may ultimately come down to pitching and defense much like the ALDS did, but one thing is for sure, up and down their lineup, the Sox need to hit better. Give some appropriate credit to the pitching staff of the Angels if you’d like, but this is the playoffs, and hitting .250 for a series (as the Boston did in the ALDS) and you’re not going to beat the Rays, not this year….and perhaps not in the foreseeable future either.

Dustin Pedrioa, I love ya man, like some serious man love (as if that can possibly sound anything else than weird, but I assure you it’s not), you’re my regular season MVP and you remain incredibly underpaid (dude "only makes" 457k..although his time will certainly come to cash in)…but man, RSN is in need of some of your laser hits to the gaps and subsequent sprints to second as if you really were fast for someone your size. Maybe Tito needs to start letting you win in cribbage for once, but the ITM staff will be looking to you to make sure our lofty post season predictions live on. Batting .059 won’t cut it in the ALCS. We all know you have the confidence and skill…if you need me to call you a Sally on this blog to fire you up, I’ll do it…..however, I’ll then quickly lock my doors for fear that you’ll find my apartment and threaten my life.

As much as Jacoby is the “driver” for this lineup in the lead off spot, you are the gas in more ways than one. From knocking Jacoby around, to going deep into counts and being a difficult out in every at bat, your ability to hit anyone at anytime is what pushes this lineup from a good one to a special one, capable of putting up crooked numbers in any inning.


Maybe the poor hitting numbers in the ALDS lead us directly back to pitching and its overarching significance in the playoffs….but either way, the Sox (and specifically Dusty) need to find their collective strokes against the Rays this weekend…..taking both games may be overly optimistic, but taking 1 of 2 is all Boston needs to do to swing the momentum.

7 comments:

Tim Murphy said...

For sure the lineup needs to start hitting the ball. I wouldn't expect Pedroia and Ortiz to remain as cold as they have been, but if they do the series could be over quick.

I wouldn't recommend calling out Dusty, JD drew is one thing, but Dusty remembers who doesn't believe in him. I'd hate for ITM to join the likes of D&C or some other boston sports writers.

Maybe this is the series were JD Drew finally steps us.

DVicino said...

Not calling out Dusty...just threatening to...Clearly the man is insane and would manage to kick the entire ITM staff's asses at the same time. That said, we all know he reads this blog daily so a little provoking couldn't hurt.

I don't expect Ortiz or Dusty to stay this cold either...they are simply too good. That said, Tampa's pitching is more than solid at home, so this weekend will be an interesting match up.

Tim Murphy said...

Ray's fans have been quiet, where are you guys?

we know you're not standing in line at ticketmaster, so thats not it...

Anonymous said...

I really don't think Ortiz is gonna bounce back this season. His timing wasn't even close in the ALDS. I don't doubt he'll have a couple big hits (like he did v. the Angels), but my guess is he keeps about the same pace. Sad to say I have no confidence in him right now, but I hope he proves me wrong.

Tim Murphy said...

How in gods name do you not have any confidence in David Ortiz in the postseason. True he's not 100% healthy, but he was killing the ball the last two weeks of the season. Ortiz has great postseason numbers.

I'm not sure how you don't doubt he'll have a couple bigs hits but you have no confidence in him.

Don't mean to jump on you but that doesn't make a lot of sense

Anonymous said...

No apologies needed. I was sending mixed signals, I guess, so you're right to pick up on it. I was only speaking about my gut. And in my gut, when we need a big hit, I don't want Papi coming up right now. Call me crazy. And I hope he proves me that way.

Anonymous said...

Down in here St. Pete, we're worried about our bats, too. Our pitching (namely our bullpen) and our overall defense is really what has brought the Rays this far. In order for the Rays to beat the Red Sox with the way our bats are now - that is, rather quiet - our defense is going to have to be nearly perfect.
Impossible for the Rays to pull it off? Of course not. But your Red Sox present a much bigger obstacle than most of the rest of the AL.

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