Runs, Hits and Errors: When The Math Doesn’t Add Up
Since last Friday and Saturday’s double beat down of the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, the Red Sox have played some real baseball teams over the past week and not looked very good doing it.
As the week played itself out, Boston got back Dustin Pedroia. The the return of one very important player didn’t stop the Sox skid. They dropped two of three to Baltimore and this past Friday and Saturday lost their first two games to a very good Washington Nationals team. Daisuke Matsuzaka returned Saturday to take Bard’s place in the rotation and surprisingly fanned eight and gave up four runs in his first outing with the Sox in 365 days since season-ending Tommy John surgery in 2011. As has happened most of the 2012 campaign, Boston has no counter-punch when facing a good pitcher. While both teams got just five hits, the Nats made the most of their opportunities. Boston squandered theirs.
Runs
Remarkably – and man can this feel so wrong on any given night – the Red Sox continue to pile up runs. They trail only Texas and St. Louis in total runs scored. If you’ve followed baseball for more than five minutes in your life you can guess what’s coming up. Yes Virginia, Boston’s pitching staff continues to let ’em on, let ’em get over and let ’em come in. The Red Sox remain 28th in the majors in pitching. They trail only Colorado and Minnesota in runs allowed.
To make my final point, a little baseball numbers game education for the uninitiated is in order. WHIP, the average number of hits plus walks per inning, is a crucial index of pitching efficiency. The lower the WHIP the better is the team pitching in general. The Washington Nationals lead the majors with a 1.14 WHIP. The Red Sox are 21st in the majors with a 1.46 WHIP.
"The numbers don’t seem that far apart until you break it down. Boston pitchers allow runners on base by hit or by walk at a greater than 20% rate than do the Nats. Couple that with Boston’s near cellar dwelling 4.46 team ERA and you’ve got your quintessential recipe for disaster nearly every game."
Hits – NOT
Boston’s offensive power outage that led to week 10’s multiple losses can be explained in the numbers. While Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.333, .375, .600, .975) and Mike Aviles (.304, .320, .348, .668) paced the Boston offense, some of Boston’s most consistently potent hitters precipitously dropped below sea level. David Ortiz had an atrocious 2-12 week (.095). Pedey (.100) and Ryan Sweeney (.167) did not help The Old Towne Team’s cause. Kevin Youkilis (.136) continues to limp along. Ouch!
Errors
This is an easy one. Daniel Bard‘s “See You In Pawtucket” performance and subsequent second error of commission by opening his mouth and commenting on the situation. Last Sunday Bard finally sealed his fate by working all of 1.2 innings. The good news was he only gave up one hit. The bad news was it was a three-run homer to Jose Bautista. In actuality Bard left no room for hits as he beaned two batters and walked six in yet another disappointing effort that ultimately yielded five runs and his very early departure. Later in the week after being demoted to Triple A Pawtucket, Bard told the media, “I’m just an employee here.” See my comments on that dumb statement at the end of Friday’s game recap here.
Pick of the Week
My pick of the week goes to Daniel Nava. Nava put together a nice week of baseball. He played a solid left field and hit .286, .375, .381, .756. I’ve always liked this kid. He doesn’t have skills that take your breath away but he also doesn’t do many things that simply hurt the club.
Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know I’ll be alright
Perhaps it’s just imagination
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
– Overkill, Colin Hay