A 3 game series against the BoSox. I can't say that I am a fan of Boston, but they rank higher on teams I like than the NY Yankees, who are dead last. I guess that puts Boston at #29? Who really cares.
Scouting Report:Red Sox: If everything goes according to manager Terry Francona's plans, Beckett will come off the 15-day disabled list and pitch Friday against the Rangers. Beckett's last appearance was on Aug. 17, a sub-par outing against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park in which he allowed eight runs on eight hits in just 2 1/3 innings. But after visiting esteemed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Friday, the Sox's ace seemed confident and more than ready to get back into the rotation.
Rangers: Millwood has won three straight starts with a 1.46 ERA and has allowed one walk in his last 24 2/3 innings. He pitched two consecutive complete game victories against the Tigers and Royals, then beat the Angels on Sunday by allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings. He is 5-2 with a 4.98 ERA in 10 starts at home this year.
Millwood went on the DL with a 5.40 ERA and it seemed like this season would be worse than last year, which was the worst for him on the books. His ERA went up on his first start back, climbing up to 5.58, but since then, he's thrown 308 pitches, 24.2 innings and given up 4 runs, lowering his ERA down to 4.84... and it looks like he's going to just keep on roiling. Or, at least we can hope.
Suckers to Watch (isn't Suckers the plural of Sox?):
- Mike Lowell: 15-54 (.294 BA) with 4 doubles, a triple, a HR, and 10 RBIs
- Mark Kotsay: 14-49 (.286 BA) with 2 doubles, 2 HRs and 6 RBIs
- Sean Casey: 12-36 (.333 BA) with 4 doubles, a HR and 5 RBIs
- JD Drew: 7-24 (.292 BA) with a double, a HR, and 6 RBIs
- David Ortiz: 7-15 (.467 BA) with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs
Please let that be it. I could have added Varitek and Youkilis... but I got tired of writing down all those nice stats.
Beckett is coming off a shelling against the Blue Jays. He gave up 8 hits and 8 HRs in a little itty bitty 2.1 innings of work. He hasn't had the luxury of going up against the Rangers this season, but in three career starts against Texas, he is 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA (17.1 innings/9 earned runs).
Rangers to Watch:
- Marlon Byrd: 6-18 (.333 BA); a triple and 3 RBIs
- Milton Bradley: 4-13 (.308 BA); 2 doubles and 3 RBIs
Notable:
- Hank Blalock: 2-5
The current Ranger roster is 19-76 with 4 doubles, a triple, and 10 RBIs.
Forecast: I think the Rangers are going to get ripped apart in this one. That's what the numbers say... and I think Millwood could do everything technically right and still get pounded by the BoSox. And you know that I do not enjoy typing that. Score: 12-2... YUCK! Let's just hope I am wrong in a big way.
1 Random Thoughts:
sadly, you pegged this one quite well. :-(
Post a Comment