Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Edes on Sox Pitching

I just finished reading today's Gordon Edes' article in the Boston Globe. It left me perplexed. Here's a quote. Talk about going back far enough to find numbers to support your argument. He was trying to say that Sox fans should worry about their starting rotation come April.

" In seven seasons with the Sox, Martinez was 21-3 with 13 no-decisions in 37 April starts, with an ERA of 2.39." Ok, but in the past 3 years he was 8-3 with a 3.30 in April. That's a run higher than ALL previous years of Aprils and ALL of his losses. Last year he was 5-3 after May.

But Edes wanted to write an article on the Sox staff coming in to start the season. Wells hasn't missed an April start since '94. Edes concedes that point, but he tries to spin this uncertainty beneath that. Gordon, that is 10 years! Clement was awesome last year. Edes breezes by that point. Arroyo is healthy and should be solid. I don't expect him to be worse than last year. Schill is still on target for opening day. He might not go 8 innings in his April starts, but with the bullpen the Sox have, it doesn't matter. He will pitch 5-6 innings and build strength with each start.

So that's Clement, Wells, Arroyo, and Schilling. Then there's Wakefield who should be the same Tim we've always known...That's Schill, Wells, Clement, Wakefield, and Arroyo. Last year, Schill, Pedro, Lowe, Wakefield, and Kim. Which would you rather have? Plus, we will have Miller at some point (that's like trading for a huge arm), and maybe sooner than later.

What's the problem Gordon? Nothing else to write about?

3 comments:

  1. Yes it is getting to the point that the writers don't have much to write about.

    I had to go back and make sure I read the same article. I didn't think he was saying they should worry - in fact I think he was trying to put any fears to rest. Sure he started out saying that they are still sorting out a few things. And he did ask, should we worry? But that was immediately followed up with a "Possibly?" and then the Martinez quotes.

    Then he went on to say that people expect Schilling to be ready, that Clement had a good start last year, and that Wells is usually a fast starter (I think the 10 year ago stuff was just to prove that point). all the quotes are positive (Wallace on Schilling, Clement and Wells and francona on Schilling).

    For a real look at making an issue on speculation and innuendo, refer to the New York papers this morning and the Unit's tweaked calf. You would think that he is scheduled to have the leg amputated if you read the writers there.

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  2. Well, I think he bailed, but he was eluding to the fact that the Sox were better off to start the year last year. And he did put up big Pedro numbers. In fact, I bet if you could dig in to the archives you'd find Edes articles from May last year saying Pedro is off to another slow start...

    Anyway, I loved this quote: ""Here we go - now I'm going to see what New York's really like," Johnson said. "I'm going to see how you guys handle this. I may never tell anybody, ever, that I'm hurt, or if something's sore on me, because it will get blown out." Do you think this is what happen to Kevin Brown last year? He was afraid of the press and his injuries?

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  3. Stress, worry and so forth are sometimes a sign of the times. For a free MP3 that really helps release the presure and anxiety, go to www.mindmint.com. Use their pull down menu under free downloads. Thanks for the blog.

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