High Anticipation: Sox-Lynx Gamer I

Oh wait, the Major League club is playing tonight? The one that can't buy a clutch hit to save its life (or its shrinking division lead)? The one that can't get seven innings from a starter anymore, and when it does, squanders the opportunity against junkballing journeymen with ERAs of 6? Well, if you want to subject yourself to watching Kason Gabbard face Brian Bannister -- and then actually commenting on it, be my guest.

We'll turn our sights south, to Pawtucket. Do you really need to be told why? Clay Buchholz, Red Sox megaprospect, hottest thing since Brian Rose Carl Pavano Roger Clemens, makes his AAA debut. You want to talk about filthy? We'll crib from Firebrand:

What really overshadows everything else that can be said about Clay Buchholz, though, is the absolute chop-swath he cut through AA: in 15 starts, he recorded a 7-2 record while pitching 86.2 innings. He recorded a remarkable 116 strikeouts while walking only 22, and allowed just 55 hits for a WHIP of 0.89 to go along with his 1.77 ERA. That strikeout to walk ratio of 5.27 is a good deal better than anybody on the current active roster ... . And he has posted similar numbers all throughout his tour of the minor leagues: last year he spent the bulk of the season in short-season single A ball, where he went 9-4 with a 2.62 ERA and 1.04 WHIP and a strikeout/walk ratio of 4.03. What little time he spent at single A at the end of last year he was even better: he won two of his three starts, posting a 1.13 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with a strikeout/walk ratio of 5.75. Basically, this kid has killed at every level.

Comment on either game here.

Comments

[NeffSox]

Red Sox

Drew RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Ramirez LF
Youkilis 1B
Lowell 3B
Varitek C
Crisp CF
Lugo SS

Gabbard P

Royals

DeJesus CF
Grudzielanek 2B
Teahen RF
Butler DH
Brown LF
German 3B
Gordon 1B
Buck C
Pena SS

Bannister P

Good to see the full lineup out there. Need to start a winning streak here.

[NeffSox]

1-2-3 1st

[Ayuh - SF]

All the posters who harp about working the pitch count better count their blessings they're not Royals fans; those guys are up there hacking. Thank goodness they can't hit.

[NeffSox]

Groundout to 1st by Drew

Flyout to RF by Pedroia

Lined to 2nd (nice play by Pena) by Ortiz

1-2-3 2nd

[NeffSox]

1-2-3 3rd

[NeffSox]

We need a hit here

[NeffSox]

That song in the McDonald's commercial really pisses me off for some reason

[Ayuh - SF]

Sox are hitting the ball hard, but at fielders.

[NeffSox]

Coco hits one to the track, cmon boys, Lugo breaks them out of this perfect game right here

[NeffSox]

Boom!

[NeffSox]

Lugo on replay out at 1st

[SF]

We stink at the plate...again. Surprise surprise. Lugo was out there, lucky call from the ump breaks up Bannister's perfection.

[NeffSox]

And Lugo picked off...

[SF]

Lugo picked off. We just suck right now, no other way to describe it. This is a good team playing like a gutter team.

[SF]

I feel like this season is on an express train to disaster, such has the utterly mediocre play of the last 45 days worn me down. Am I the only one?

[SF]

Nice 4-3-6 double play turned by the Sox, in odd fashion.

[Ayuh - SF]

I don't think you're the only one, SF; your sense of impending doom is a lot darker than most people I've heard, though.

[SF]

3-1 for the third out, Gabbard doing a terrific job. Of course, the Sox' offense doing nothing in support of fine pitching.

Can't accuse them of inconsistency...

[SF]

your sense of impending doom is a lot darker than most people I've heard

I think that the several weeks of poor, underachieving play is just demoralizing, almost worse than a five game losing streak followed by a five game winning streak; there's no momentum either way, and it's difficult to watch as a fan - win lose win lose win lose win win lose lose lose - it's painful and disappointing. I just feel the Yankees are NOT a .500 team, so the longer we play .500, the tighter the division is going to get, and once the lead shrinks to five or six the Yankees will have all sorts of psychological momentum. I fear this moment may be in less than a couple of weeks, as well. This is all the Sox' fault, too; they could have a 12 game division lead if they had done anything slightly above average this last month.

And right now, we're effectively being no-hit by the trash of the league, by a guy the Mets traded for a reclamation project, and that's just completely, f*cking pathetic.

[SF]

God, thank you Dustin, I really needed that badly. Homer for the Droid. 1-0 Sox.

[Devine]

Yeehaw! Manny follows Pedroia's lead.

[Ayuh - SF]

Sweet swing by Manny- that's a promising sign. He's been hitting with more power lately.

[Devine]

And here I was all prepared to make a joke about Drew, Pedroia, Ortiz, and Manny coming up and Pedroia being the one that got the homer.

Wait...that's not a joke. That's depressing. Thankfully alleviated by Manny getting the home run.

[SF]

Gabbard losing it a little here...

[SF]

Walk, men on first and second. How about a little jaunt to the mound to calm him down, Farrell? Gabbard struggling now, really aiming it in.

[SF]

Gabbard comes back with three nice hooks to whiff Gordon. Good pitching, just as good as the previous two batters were bad. What a befuddling game.

[Devine]

The three-pitches strikeout is encouraging after the spot of trouble. All right, one more.

[Devine]

The hit by pitch to load the bases on a 1-2 count is NOT encouraging.

[SF]

Gabbard hits the #8 hitter, second hit batsman today. Buck made zero effort to get out of the way, but it's still a bad pitch. Bases loaded. Argh.

[Ayuh - SF]

GREAT play by Pedroia!

[SF]

Pedroia with a heckuva play on a slow bouncer over Gabbard to get the speedy Pena. Inning over, no damage. Whew.

[Devine]

Aaaaaaaaaaand, breathe.

[SF]

Replays show Gabbard offering a very awkward high/mid-five to Pedroia, who appeared to slap his forearm. It was all very, very white.

[Devine]

Goddamn computer. A second ago, I was watching it on MLBTV. Now Internet Explorer hates me. This just happens sometimes. It's like Flash, and in general media devices, just refuse to work on my computer sometimes.

[SF]

Wow, what a horrible play by the left-fielder, dropping a can of corn. I suppose I should be thankful, even considering the recent run of mediocrity by the Sox. I could be rooting for the Royals.

[Ayuh - SF]

Good point, SF. Even with this recent run of mediocre play by the Sox lately, at least it's just been that. They haven't been inept.

[SF]

Sox' bats back asleep. Coco pops up the first pitch. Two runs against the Royals ain't gonna do it, boys. At least not for my sanity.

[SF]

Lugo misses a double by about an inch over the bag at third. Hale argues, but how does he have any say? The ump stands right behind the bag, Hale to the side of the bag. There's no physical way Hale can call that one better.

[SF]

Lugo rips another one foul; his swing looks far better, he's batting with a lot more confidence, no matter the result of this at-bat.

[SF]

Jinx. Lugo whiffs on a very weak wave at a curveball.

[SF]

1-2-3 for Gabbard.

[Devine]

The two rookie pitchers' ERAs are practically the same, and they're both pretty good (though Bannister's is more impressive since it's over more time).

[SF]

Drew seems to have case of Crispitis (Coco got rid of his), in which a batter just looks at every pitch, hoping to get a free pass. Drew sees six pitches, swings at none, and is rung up on a low strike.

[SF]

Droid off the schneid, with his second hit of the day, a single up the middle. Meat of the order coming up.

[SF]

Note to Sox: the ump is calling the low strike.

[SF]

Papi with a Pesky cheapie! 4-0 Bosox.

[SF]

Watching Papi and Pedroia bang elbows at home after Papi's dinger is just weird. Papi could rest a drink on Pedroia's helmet more easily.

[SF]

Gah, Manny misses two straight horridly hanging changeups...

[SF]

Makte that three, popping to Emil Brown in left. Those were three really terrible pitches that Manny failed to cash in on.

[Ayuh - SF]

feeling a little better, SF?

[SF]

Momentarily...

[SF]

Gabbard through seven, inducing a double play to end the inning. No matter who the opponent, Gabbard's done yeoman's work here. If he can get through eight that would be superb -- so far there's no reason to not let him come back for at least the start of the eighth.

[SF]

Lowell singles to start the Sox off.

[Hudson]

Double play gets Gabbard out of the 7th cleanly; just 84 pitches thrown, 2 hit, 1 walk, 2 HBP, and 6 Ks. Nice.

It's only J.C., but even so he's doing a swell job... Might even log a complete game if he has a short 8th.

[Ayuh - SF]

This is a good team for Gabbard to face- not much plate discipline, no huge power threats. Just the kind of team that's vulnerable to a lefty junkballer

[SF]

Dang, Coco rips one to center, but the quick DeJesus tracks it down.

[SF]

Gabbard coming out for the ninth...

[Hudson]

Gabbard's now thrown 93 through eight innnings... I'm assuming this would be his first complete game in the majors if Tito sends him back out.

[Hudson]

NOTE: Jays have tied it up 4-4 in the top of the 6th vs. the Spankees.

[SF]

I'm assuming this would be his first complete game in the majors if Tito sends him back out.

It could be his first complete game at any level in years, honestly.

[SF]

Two down in the ninth. What an effort from KG. One to go.

[SF]

Gabbard making a play for the fifth spot in the rotation when Curt comes back, with Tavarez going back to whatever planet he came from.

[Hudson]

And Gabbard gets the CG win with two closing strikeouts. Sweet.

If the Sox can get through July with most of this lead intact, August brings 13 games against Baltimore and Tampa Bay, and September with 12 against those two teams...

[SF]

K!!!

Gabbard with a complete game shutout, eight Ks. Superb.

Erratic offense again, with the three homers bringing instant runs, but no sustained hitting, again. Gabbard's effort overshadows this and the homers disguise more offensive issues.

But a win is a win. We need tomorrow night's game badly - no rubber matches allowed!

[Hudson]

(Can't help noting, on the downside, that despite the win the Sox were not impressive at the plate, especially vs. K.C. ... 7 hits, NO walks, with all the runs coming off homers.)

[Hudson]

Yankees up 6-4 now in the bottom of the 6th. Let's go, Jays.

[Kazz]

One time, I put a baseball up my butt, then turned around and bent over and blew on my thumb, and when I turned around I'd pitched a complete-game shutout against the Royals.

Just saying.

[Hudson]

Kazz, it's amazing... that's exactly the same method Joe Torre has been using lately to manage his bullpen. Weird coincidence!