Easy Eight: Royals-Sox Gamer IV

The Sox and Royals finish off their four game set early this afternoon at the Fens.  Daisuke Matsuzaka looks to extend his gaudy record to a clean 8-0 against Kansas City's Brian Bannister.  Use this as your thread for the day's action.

Lineups after the jump.

Jacoby Ellsbury cf
Dustin Pedroia 2b
David Ortiz dh
Manny Ramirez lf
Mike Lowell 3b
Kevin Youkilis 1b
J.D. Drew rf
Kevin Cash c
Julio Lugo ss

Daisuke Matsuzaka p

Royals

David DeJesus lf
Mark Grudzielanek 2b
Alex Gordon 3b
Jose Guillen dh
Mark Teahen rf
Miguel Olivo c
Ross Gload 1b
Alberto Callsaspo ss
Joey Gathright cf

Brian Bannister p

Comments

[pale blue eyes]

After the pitching has been the story in this series so far, how about a two-homer game from Manny today?

[Micah-SF]

I feel pretty good about this game, although apparently all of Bannister's wins are in day games (like today) and all of his losses are in night games. If that pattern continues this may well be a pitcher's duel.

[RiceLynnEvans]

pale blue eyes (nice VU ref, BTW)

I was really hoping he'd hit #500 at Fenway this homestand. But at this point I'd settle for a base hit, he's really struggling.

Manny not being Manny

[Atheose]

I'd love to see Manny get 2 HR today. I'd hate to see him hit 500 on the road.

Not liking the sound of Bannister's splits, Micah.

[RiceLynnEvans]

...and we're off!

[Atheose]

K for Daisuke! Good way to start things off.

[Atheose]

wtf, gameday shows ball 2 to Grudz right down the middle. Stupid umps!

[Micah-SF]

Two-out walk. Sigh. C'mon, Dice-K, throw strikes; I'd like more than five innings tonight.

Random aside: man, my fantasy team's turned into a juggernaut - I think I've led the entire league in points three of the last four weeks and it looks like I have a chance to do it again this week (though you may give me a run for my money, Atheose).

[Atheose]

Wild pitch, RISP now. Ugh.

[RiceLynnEvans]

Wild Pitch for Daisuke

[Atheose]

Daisuke is doing a great job of getting ahead of hitters--he's had every batter at an 0-2 or 1-2 count so far, with the exception of the walk.

[Micah-SF]

God dammit.

[Atheose]

F*CK

[RiceLynnEvans]

1-0 KC
damn.

[Atheose]

Nothing pisses me off more than 2-out walks. Except for 2-out walks that end up biting you in the ass.

Ugh, ANOTHER 2-out walk.

[Micah-SF]

Another walk - come ON. At this rate he's going to be out of there in three or four innings.

[pale blue eyes]

Daisuke going for 38 pitches in the first inning.

[RiceLynnEvans]

2nd walk of the inning...gulp

[stuck working]

Hey all, I can't actually watch the game since I'm not near a TV, so I'm curious: does Cash catching Dice-K seem to have any visible effect (ie, shaking off more pitches, etc)? When I saw the line-up, I kind of wrote off the game, in part for that reason. Was that completely foolish on my part?

[Atheose]

Im only on Gameday here at work stuck, so I have no idea what's going on. Didn't even notice that Cash was catching until you mentioned it.

[RiceLynnEvans]

34 pitches in the first, not great

[LocklandSF]

34 pitches... Ugh.

[Micah-SF]

That's a classic Dice-K inning if I ever saw one - no short at-bats, 34 pitches, two walks, two strikeouts, and a two-out meltdown that led to a run.

Ugh. I hope KC comes out swinging in the second. And that Bannister's day/night splits don't carry over to tonight's game.

[Micah-SF]

Er, today's game. Now would be a great time for Manny to break out.

[Atheose]

After swinging early during both Lester's and Masterson's games, I bet their hitting coach has been screaming at them to be more patient.

[Atheose]

Meanwhile, Jacoby sees 2 pitches.

[LocklandSF]

Cash is a pretty good catcher, so I think writing off the game because he's in there could be a bit extreme, to say the least.

[Atheose]

Wow, apparently it's the "All Bannister, all fastball" show today.

[Atheose]

9 straight fastballs, and then the slider finally gets Pedroia out.

[Micah-SF]

Take a walk sometimes, Dustin.

Sigh. 12 pitches for Bannister. This is not going to be our day.

"This is not going to be our day."

Wow, guys, come on, one inning in to the game!

[LocklandSF]

me

[Micah-SF]

Interesting point raised in the SoSH game thread - Dice-K is going on four days of rest here after he and Wake both threw in the double-header. Why not start Wake today instead, and give Dice-K his normal five days, where he's been much more effective?

[RiceLynnEvans]

Yeh, a bad first is not nearly enough to make me think it's not our day.
Especially against the Royals.

[Atheose]

Gload does us a favor and sees only 2 pitches. A few more at-bats like that and Daisuke will be looking a little better.

[Micah-SF]

Ahh, don't mind me, I go into "we're doomed" mode way too easily. Even I don't take myself seriously. :)

[Micah-SF]

Another walk. Ugh. 20 strikes, 22 balls is NOT a good ratio.

[Atheose]

I read somewhere that the Sox wanted to try to keep Daisuke going every 5 days to get him more adjusted to the 5-man rotation. Can't remember where I saw that though.

Also, Daisuke is a far better pitcher than Wake. Pitching him ahead of Wake here could mean an extra start over the course of the season.

[RiceLynnEvans]

3 walks in 1= innings however...

[rootbeerfloat]

Speaking of predicting doomsday by the first inning, where's Dio these days?

[stuck working]

I'm not being pessimistic about the game exactly -- it's more like I wouldn't be so crushed if they lost.

For one thing, they already won the series and they're at some disadvantage in this game for reasons mentioned above (DiceK on short rest and adjusting to a more unfamiliar catcher, Manny slumping and announcing he's planning on breaking 500 HR on the road, etc).

For another, I like Bannister. I'll try to dig up the link later, but he's tried to apply sabermetric principles to his own pitching with some interesting results.

[RiceLynnEvans]

okay, got out of the second without giving up any more runs.

c'mon Manny!

[Micah-SF]

I like Bannister a lot too - he seems like one of the smartest pitchers in baseball and it's always nice to see guys really embracing sabermetrics. But I'd rather he failed miserably against us. :)

Four-pitch strikeout to keep the pitch count under 50 - that's better. Now if he can just stop walking people...

[Atheose]

Another K, Daisuke out of trouble. 49 pitches after 2. If you wanna be 8-0 you've gotta go 5 innings, Daisuke!

[pale blue eyes]

Probably not going to be a complete game from Daisuke. But me being a glass half-full guy today, I think we're still in it.

[RiceLynnEvans]

stuck working

Dave O'Brien mentioned that in the radio broadcast.
Apparently Bannister had good sabermetric reasons to explain his day/night splits.

[Atheose]

HAHA Gameday doesn't have a picture for Manny.

Daisuke isn't pitching on short rest, stuckworking. Just want to clarify that.

[Micah-SF]

Manny gets a leadoff single. Let's go Mikey and Youk!

[RiceLynnEvans]

infield single for Manny
like i said earlier, I'll take what I can get!

[LocklandSF]

Manny has an infield hit?

It's getting chilly down here in hell.

[Micah-SF]

Two on, nobody out! Let's do something with this.

[RiceLynnEvans]

Lowell with a single.
1 & 2, no outs

[Atheose]

Back-to-back singles! Yeah!

I still feel wierd about seeing Youk batting 6th. I've always thought of him as a get-a-walk-in-front-of-Ortiz sort of guy, not the homerun hitter he has become this season.

[Polf]

3 straight hits

[Atheose]

ANOTHER single! Bases loaded for Drew, Cash and Lugo.

[RiceLynnEvans]

Youk singles!
loaded up for Drew.

Get it in the air at least, JD!

[Micah-SF]

Okay, JD - pretend this is Fausto Carmona in the ALCS!

[stuck working]

Oops, misread the earlier comment. Thanks for the correction, Atheose. I ought to be paying more attention to the game thread and less to my work!

[Polf]

Grand Slam from Drewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[RiceLynnEvans]

DREW!!!!!!

[LocklandSF]

HOLY SHIT!!!!

[pale blue eyes]

Well done, J.D.

[Atheose]

In play, run(s)! DREW HITS A GRANNY!

[Atheose]

Hey Micah, good job calling it!

[Micah-SF]

DREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

He did what I said!

[RiceLynnEvans]

how you feeling about the game now, Micah ;)

[Atheose]

HAHAHA Cash goes back-to-back!

[Atheose]

Wait nevermind, Gameday lied to me.

[Micah-SF]

By which you mean he struck out. ;)

Pretty good, RiceLynnEvans. Pretty good. :)

[ponch - sf]

good thing I sat Bannister today. heh

[RiceLynnEvans]

another single

[Jackie (SF)]

Christ. I dropped Drew from my fantasy team YESTERDAY. My retardo fantasy team, which counts grand slams as a category. I want to die.

[RiceLynnEvans]

Lugo CS

[Atheose]

Lugo caught stealing. At least now if Ellsbury gets on base he can steal 2nd without anyone in front of him.

[Atheose]

That SUCKS, Jackie!

[RiceLynnEvans]

Ellsbury walks.
entering the game he has a .390 OBP

[Micah-SF]

Lugo, not content to actually succeed at baseball (however briefly), gets himself thrown out. Jacoby proceeds to walk - TAKE NOTES, DUSTIN.

[Atheose]

Come on Jacoby, steal 2nd!

[ponch - sf]

well, Lugo was probably ticked off that there was nobody on first base when he came up, thus denying him hitting into his daily double play

[RiceLynnEvans]

I imagine Jacoby'll be running if he gets a chance.
He's the g*damn Flash!

Now 2-0 on Pedroia too.

[Atheose]

A .390 OBP is fantastic for someone with the speed of Ellsbury. I'm very pleased with that, despite his average being below .300.

[RiceLynnEvans]

damn. sounds like a good play by the 3b

[Jackie (SF)]

Yup. I am terrible at fantasy baseball - too impatient. Oh well, at least it's positive for the Sox. ;)

[Micah-SF]

Dustin not doing so well on the slider today.

And Bannister, after a 12-pitch first inning, has matched Dice-K's pitch count through 2.

[Atheose]

I'm kind of annoyed Ellsbury didn't try to steal, especially when the count moved to 2-2. If you steal it successfully, fantastic. If not, then Ellsbury leads off the 3rd. Now Papi has to lead off, with no one on base in front of him.

[Atheose]

And Bannister, after a 12-pitch first inning, has matched Dice-K's pitch count through 2.

And more importantly, has quadrupled Daisuke's runs allowed this game!

[RiceLynnEvans]

Okay, Daisuke, you've got the lead.
THROW STRIKES PLEASE

[Atheose]

Goddamnit Daisuke, attack the strikezone! Lead-off walks are BAD!

[pale blue eyes]

Walk #4 for Daisuke. Ugly.

[RiceLynnEvans]

Atheose

Ellsbury did run on the pitch that Pedroia hit to the 3B

Another walk...ugh!

[Micah-SF]

Leadoff walks are NOT HOW YOU RESPOND TO BEING GIVEN A THREE RUN LEAD, DAISUKE.

[Atheose]

Whew, Gordon pops up on 2 pitches. Time for a GIDP please.

[Atheose]

Ahhh, thanks for the info Rice.

[SoxFan]

Daisuke is halfway to his career high in walks.

[Atheose]

Or a 3-pitch K! I'll take that too!

[Micah-SF]

See, that's much better. Two pitch popup, three pitch strikeout. C'mon, one more.

[Jackie (SF)]

Every time I watch DiceK pitch, I am reminded of that Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial with the elderly couple. "Nibble, nibble nibble." (link, if it's allowed: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PdtaThCpyPM)

THROW A F*CKING STRIKE!!

[Jackie (SF)]

And of course it took me so long to find the youtube that he got two outs on 5 pitches in the meantime.

[Polf]

DiceK is shaking off Cash a lot

[Atheose]

Damnit Teahan, stop fouling off pitches and pop-out already!