Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
The Terrible Twenty continue for the Jays, as the Beantowners arrive fresh off a 5-2 start to the season against the past, present and future fourth- and fifth-place clubs in the AL East. Starting pitching has been generally solid for the Bosox, but the now-infamous "Closer-By-Committee" is providing yet another example of the often-unavoidable clash between baseball strategic theory and the harsh reality of inadequate personnel.

Grady Little isn't only experimenting with his relief corps; Boston has been using players not generally thought of as versatile in versatile ways (see batting orders below). Doesn't look like much of a defence to me, and the Jays might be able to put some pressure on the suspect D, particularly on turf. And we're talking a man's turf here, not that sissy good-for-you stuff in St. Petersburg.

Having said that, the Red Sox are absolutely tearing the cover off the ball at the plate, and turf might enhance their awesome offence even further. By sacrificing defensive expertise and grace, the Red Sox can trot out an exceptionally powerful, patient and explosive offence. Let's see if the Jays redeem themselves for the Yankee fiasco of a series in front of the home crowd. Mark "Lurch" Hendrickson, Tanyon and Doc will be the most important three players of the series on either team.

On to the Advance Scout!

Pedro, pitching coach? After Derek Lowe was shelled by the Rays in the first inning on Wednesday, Pedro Martinez took Lowe aside and talked to him about a mechanical problem Pedro caught on videotape in the clubhouse, which Lowe was able to fix by the time the next inning rolled around...Yes, Pedro's a winner...Shea Hillenbrand is off to a torrid start, batting .333 with fifteen RBI...Jason Varitek hit a 428-foot bomb off the catwalks of Tropicana Field on Wednesday...Mike Timlin is actually a Sox reliever off to a good start, holding opponents to a .158 batting average with no walks...Dating back to last season, Manny Ramirez is on a 20-game hitting streak...Lowe threw 33 pitches in the first inning of his last start, but a more 2002-vintage 7 pitches in the second inning...Kevin Millar is white hot, going 381/519/810 in North American baseball...He missed a cycle on Thursday by the elusive triple...Grady Little says his team is hitting with confidence across the board...Casey Fossum struck out eight Rays in five innings on Thursday...The Red Sox have been tremendous with RISP, two out...Manny had to get to a Geronimo Gil double in a hurry and Nomar Garciaparra had to be perfect with his relay to the plate in the ninth inning on Friday, or else the Committee would have blown a seven-run lead against the Orioles entirely...Steve Woodard and Ramiro Mendoza were the near-goats that night...Little, in response to Friday's debacle: "Things didn't go perfectly. But they will"...Jeremy Giambi has seen his playing time cut after a 1-for-15 start...Chad Fox, Opending Day Goat, walked in the winning run on Saturday...Little concisely described Fox's outing on Saturday as "pretty much of a self-destruction kind of deal"...Little, in response to Saturday's debacle: "We're a little concerned and rightfully so, but we also have confidence that they'll get it turned around and get headed in the right direction shortly"...Nomar fell short of a cycle on Sunday by the elusive single...The Committee has turned Little into Bob Dole: "I'm not exactly sure what I'll do, but I guarantee you one thing, Grady Little is not going to continue to do things that aren't working"...One Committee development is set in stone: Chad Fox is no longer Chairman...Theo Epstein pointed to John Smoltz's early troubles as closer as an example of why not to give up on the Committee...Gamer: Trot Nixon made a full-out diving catch with the score at 12-2 on Sunday...Tim Wakefield described the Toronto SARS cases as a "scary situation," and Little said he would ask his team to avoid crowds...Little is 98-71 and is campaigning to be the second-fastest active manager to 100 wins after Dusty Baker...Thankfully, the Sox will save Pedro for Friday's home opener.

Probable Batting Orders

vs. LH

5 Mueller/ 8 Damon
4 Walker/Mueller
6 Garciaparra
7 Ramirez
9/3 Millar
DH Ortiz/Giambi
3/5 Hillenbrand
2 Varitek
8 D Jackson/9 Nixon

*Yes, that's Damian Jackson in CF.

vs. RH
8 Damon
4 Walker
6 Garciaparra
7 Ramirez
3 Ortiz/Millar
DH Millar/Giambi
5 Hillenbrand/Mueller
9 Nixon
2 Varitek/Mirabelli

Bullpen Usage (yeah, right)

Long Lyon R, Howry R
Short Woodard R
Setup Timlin R, Fox R
"Closer" Embree L, Mendoza R
Advance Scout: Boston, April 8-10 | 12 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
_Mick - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 01:30 PM EDT (#91233) #
Wow, this is great.

This is so much better than anything appearing on the ESPN.com Correspondents Board (present company excepted, Coach, Gitz, Scott, anyone else wandering by) that it's flat out embarrassing.

This reads better than the media notes the Rangers put in their pressbox on gamedays.
Craig B - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 01:40 PM EDT (#91234) #
Tim Wakefield described the Toronto SARS cases as a "scary situation," and Little said he would ask his team to avoid crowds

Can't wait for the first shrill allegation of "racism" or "shunning" once someone is turned down for an autograph.
_S.K. - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 01:43 PM EDT (#91235) #
Okay, I'll bite... since when is Damian Jackson a CF? The Red Sox are taking this "sacrifice defence" thing all the way, huh?
Coach - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 01:48 PM EDT (#91236) #
Little said he would ask his team to avoid crowds

He has nothing to fear at SkyDome in the middle of winter. I'll be there, tonight and Thursday, but given the weather and the fear factor, I am not expecting much company. It's too bad for the Jays; their marketing efforts have been excellent, but they can't fairly measure the results under these unusual circumstances.

I didn't see Hendrickson's first start, but as I said elsewhere, he bounced back quickly from his initial disaster last year, and I'm optimistic he can keep his team in the game. The Jays hit Lowe pretty well last year, so I'm expecting to see some crooked numbers on the board for both teams tonight. Maybe Tosca will get Aquilino Lopez some much-needed work; if the bullpens decide this one, I like our chances.

I'm disappointed that the anticipated Pedro-Doc matchup didn't materialize, but it makes sense to give Martinez the extra day of rest. There's only one pitcher I dislike more than John Burkett, so I'll still enjoy the series finale, but for a different reason. Even though I was looking forward to a 2-1 pitcher's duel, 10-1 should be fun instead.
Mike D - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 01:58 PM EDT (#91237) #
Agreed, S.K.

Boston's defence is certainly one of the bottom two in the AL. Sadly, the other is Detroit, who can't hit or pitch either.
_Shrike - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 02:38 PM EDT (#91238) #
Coach, why the dislike for John Burkett?
_Jurgen Maas - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 02:56 PM EDT (#91239) #
I was hoping to juggle a busy schedule to make it out to Thursday's game, but it doesn't seem worth the headache anymore.

So, the 17.5 million dollar man won't be facing our '27 Yankees (as Aaron called them)?
Dave Till - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 03:08 PM EDT (#91240) #
Mike D: wow, what a great report. There were a couple of comments made by Little and other Sox thinkers that struck me:


Jeremy Giambi has seen his playing time cut after a 1-for-15 start...

The Committee has turned Little into Bob Dole: "I'm not exactly sure what I'll do, but I guarantee you one thing, Grady Little is not going to continue to do things that aren't working"...One Committee development is set in stone: Chad Fox is no longer Chairman...


Let me get this straight: the Sox are talking about making changes to their lineup after only seven games? Seven games in which they went 5-2? No wonder Red Sox Nation is doomed to suffer every year: the Sox brain trust's panic level is constantly set to Orange Alert or higher. If the Committee blows a save against Toronto, it'll probably be "take to the lifeboats" time.

And, I can't pass up this comment:


Tim Wakefield described the Toronto SARS cases as a "scary situation," and Little said he would ask his team to avoid crowds...


Yo, Tim and Grady: SARS has not broken out into the general population in Toronto yet. All known cases of SARS have been traced to one index case in Scarborough Grace Hospital. You're as safe in the SkyDome as you would be anywhere else. (Safer, given the Coach's probably accurate estimate of tonight's crowd.) Sheesh.
_Cristian - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 03:11 PM EDT (#91241) #
There's one thing wrong with the Advance Scout. I don't think Kevin Millar will be coming up north considering he didn't want to leave the U.S. to play for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan. He made up the excuse that he didn't want to leave the U.S. during this time of war in order to renege on his contract. Seeing as how Japan is a much safer country than Canada, I think Millar will remain at home in Boston watching CNN. Compound the war with the SARS scare in Toronto and I imagine Millar is too terrified to get out of bed.
Coach - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 03:43 PM EDT (#91242) #
Coach, why the dislike for John Burkett?

Just never liked him much, as a person or a pitcher, and apparently I'm not alone. The last straw for me was his declaration during the pre-strike rhetoric last year that he expected (and hoped) the players would walk. I thought it was totally self-serving; he had been getting rocked, going three innings or less in two of his previous three starts, but it also showed an unbelievable hostility to baseball fans. I'm sorry he didn't just quit, to prove whatever the hell his point was.
_Shrike - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 03:53 PM EDT (#91243) #
Point well-taken. I had forgotten about his public stupidity.
_S.K. - Tuesday, April 08 2003 @ 04:29 PM EDT (#91244) #
I didn't like that Cook article. Sure, Burkett is a dummy for wanting to boycott the all-star game (and Cook makes an excellent point there: who the hell is John Burkett that anyone would care?) but the things Cook says about the strike are typical of mainstream sports media. "The players are millionaires. I'm not. I don't want them to get more money, I want them to get less. So, I'm siding with the billionaire owners, each one of whom makes more in a year than 99% of the players will make in a lifetime."

Sorry, residual anger over strike coverage last year =)
Advance Scout: Boston, April 8-10 | 12 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.