If you now have that song stuck in your head, my evil plan is working.... (Wuhahahah!)
Off to Fenway go the Bluebirds, after a very encouraging six days in
their home ballpark. The Good Times(TM) may be due for a speed bump,
however. The Red Sox are annoyingly good, especially at home (18-10).
Toronto has been a quality road team this year though (15-12) so...
um... small sample sizes! Yeah!
Pitching Matchups
FRI 7:10 -- Dickey (2-6, 4.64) v. Price (7-1, 5.11)
SAT 4:05 -- Stroman (5-1, 4.46) v. Wright (5-4, 2.45)
SUN 1:35 -- Estrada (3-2, 2.43) v. E. Rodriguez (1-0, 3.00)
Injury Report
Like
the last series, we played these guys so recently that nothing has
really changed. Starter Eduardo Rodriguez is back, Brock Holt is still
out with concussioney stuff.
Green Monsters
It's
been talked about to death by now, but the Red Sox offense is seriously
crazy bananas good. Remember Jackie Bradley Jr's 29 game hitting streak a
week or so back? Now Xander Bogaerts has a 26 gamer himself. Speaking
of Bogaerts, his OPS+ of 139 is third behind Bradley and Ortiz.
They have four regulars batting over .315 (Bradley, Ortiz, Bogaerts and
Pedroia) and they still easily lead all of baseball in runs scored,
doubles and batting average. Oh, and they don't strike out much either
(397, 9th fewest in MLB). Sigh...
The Wright Stuff
I
know that three-plus years of R.A. Dickey have soured many in these
parts on the knuckleball. But as frustrating as it's been watching
Dickey's only pitch be so damned finicky, I still have a deep
appreciation for the pitch itself and those who can throw it. I've
pitched hundreds of innings in my adult life (obviously without anything
approaching the success of an R.A. Dickey) and I've never been able to
work in a good knuckleball. Once I lobbed one from forty feet away that
danced a little, all 20 mph of it. To be able to throw one over
70 (which is faster than most humans can throw a baseball, period) is a
seriously impressive skill.
For a time it seemed like the MLB
knuckleballer was a breed approaching extinction, that maybe Tim
Wakefield or R.A. Dickey would be the last ones to use the pitch
exclusively. It's too difficult to learn, after all. Not everyone can
learn to throw a good one, so what's the point? But I'm glad,
personally, to see the pitch persevere. It's weird, unpredictable,
frustrating and magical all at the same time. Its quirky presence adds
to the richness (and Gif-ness) of baseball. So even though he pitches
for the (damn) Red Sox, I'll root for Steven Wright to continue being
successful with it. Well, except Saturday of course.
Be nice to win a few.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20160602161009398