El Guapo's Ghost Rambles on about the Red Sox

The Red Sox have expressed a desire to move their minor league affiliates to New England so I thought about my residence - Burlington, Vermont. Currently, Burlington plays host to the Vermont Expos in the New York Penn League. The Red Sox could seize an underdeveloped New England market by moving a minor league affiliate to Burlington.

Burlington is a baseball city and the largest in the State (residing in largest county consisting of 24% of the State’s population in 2000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau). ESPN’s 2002 sports fan poll indicates that Vermont fans follow MLB the most at 86% with the country’s average at 78%. www.milb.com reports that the Vermont Expos were tenth in attendance in 2001 among NY-Penn League teams while playing in a park that opened in 1906. Vermonters love baseball and most are Red Sox fans.

The same ESPN sports fan survey revealed that the Red Sox were the favorite team of Vermonters at 49%. A side-by-side comparison between the New England states without minor league Red Sox affiliate teams is below.

MLB Favorite Team
Red Sox/Yankees/Other (Team)
Vermont - 49%/21%/9% (Mets)
New Hampshire - 80%/5%/3% (Phillies)
Connecticut - 28%/30%/20% (Mets)

New Hampshire is already a full member of Red Sox Nation at 80%. Thus, New Hampshire has little room to grow its Red Sox fan base. It would be more advantageous to seek out other New England regions.

The poll would suggest that Connecticut has the potential to become a larger part of Red Sox Nation, but other factors make this market tough to enter. The southwestern portion of Connecticut is a part of the New York teams’ market. It would be difficult to create a sustaining fan base throughout the state without having the television rights to nearly half of the population.

Burlington, Vermont provides the best opportunity for growth of the Red Sox fan base in New England. First, only 49% of Vermont sports fans thought of the Red Sox as their favorite MLB team, which is far less than our Northern New England counter parts (Maine at 77%). New Hampshire and Maine’s closer proximity allows them to feel more connected to Boston and the Red Sox than Vermont. A minor league affiliate would assist in closing the distance between the Red Sox and Vermont.

The Red Sox could move Augusta or Sarasota’s operations to Lowell and the Spinners’ to Burlington. Both Lowell and Burlington should be able to increase attendance and revenue. Lowell would be playing more home games and probably would continue to sell out each game. Burlington should recognize a boost in attendance from the current Red Sox fans in the area as well (note that the Expos were not mentioned as a favorite).

Currently, Vermont may not have an overwhelming majority of Red Sox fans like some of the other New England states, but that allows for the Vermont Red Sox fan base to grow. A Red Sox minor league affiliate in Vermont would assist in increasing the Red Sox fan base now and in the future.

Ed Heinemann (Bartlebooth @ Sox Therapy) is the winner of the contest. The answer is Mo Vaughn and David Ortiz. Ed, please let me know what you would like to say in the sponsor section for David Ortiz (Mo is taken). If you do not have a url, I would like to use mine and all of the other 225? characters are yours. During the winter, I was comparing Mo and Ortiz which lead to me nicknaming Ortiz - Mo Lite - and this contest.

Thanks to everyone for playing and visiting elguaposghost.blogspot.com.

Even though Theo came out after the first Philly loss in support of Shady “Chicken” Little, my feeling is that Little will be looking for employment after this season if not sooner. I am not the only one who is starting to see handwriting on the wall.

Epstein blamed the loss on "bad situational hitting and bad situational pitching." He did not second-guess Little's decision to pitch to Thome, at least not publicly. The manager seemed to take exception that others may have (Heuschkel, Hartford Courant).

Like Joe Friday just the facts please:
1. Theo believes that a designated “closer” is not necessary. The best RP should not always pitch in the ninth. Little named Lyon as the closer,
2. Little has stated that Nixon will be starting against lefties. Then, Theo signs right-handed hitting Gabe Kapler to be a fourth outfielder,
3. Little is a “lame duck” Manager or without a contract for next season,
4. Little was hired before Theo became the GM.

The facts lead to the conclusion that at the very least Theo is seriously evaluating Little and in all likelihood not very positively.

Jackie MacMullan was right. Danny was not going to get his point guard at 16 or 20. He got his man at 13 in a deal with Memphis. Danny expressed on espn that attaining Marcus Banks from UNLV was Plan A. He believes that Banks will control tempo by pushing the ball up the floor. Banks is the fastest guard in the draft and a very good defender. The C's are going to run next season!

I apologize for the late post. Something up with blogger but it seems okay now. Everything should be timely since the tech. stuff is fine and future posts are already written.

It's unrealistic to expect Ainge to unearth a point guard at 16 or 20 that will turn around his team's fortunes next season. Don't expect him to tag the next Dirk Nowitzki, because players of that caliber simply don't fall through the cracks anymore.

The last time Boston had a draft pick of any lasting importance was in 1998, when Paul Pierce slipped all the way into the laps of the Celtics at 10. He has been making the teams that passed on him pay ever since (MacMullan, Boston Globe).

This was a great night! I was living in Cambridge at the time with two buddies: Chico and Meaney. We did not have cable. We thought it was too expensive and living in Boston we got the major channels anyway (we were all only a year out of college with no money). I was pumped up for this draft. The Celtics were on their way back, so I thought, with Pitino and Walker coming into his own. Meaney and I went out searching for a bar that was carrying the draft. After checking every establishment on and around Mass Ave. from Central to Harvard Square, we finally found the draft on at Whitney's Café.

For those of you that have never been to Whitney’s, it is a smoky, locals, dive bar in the heart of Harvard Square. (It amazes me that with all of the commercial development in Harvard Square that Whitney’s is still around. My beloved, Bow & Arrow Pub, fell victim when it should have been Whitney’s!) Meaney and I, of course, get “the look” when we enter. (“The look” is when regulars at a local establishment stare at you and their eyes say “what the hell are you boys doing? This is my bar.”) We order, get the last two seats and then get focused on the draft. We missed the first pick but it was no real surprise the Clippers picked the Candi Man. Vancouver went with Bibby, which was kind of a surprise, but not huge. Then I got more occupied with the chain smoker to my right. My coughing every other second took my attention away from picks three through six. Usually, I might leave or find another seat when this occurs. Neither was an option tonight until after the C’s picked.

I asked Meaney for an update as he finished, White Chocolate was taken by the Kings. I said to Meaney, “Is Pierce still out there? Most had him in the top three.” Then it occurred to me that since Milwaukee already had Ray Allen, if Philly does not take Pierce with the next pick then Paul would fall to the Celtics. I started to feel like I did years ago on Christmas Eve. Knowing you were going to get something nice, but almost bursting with anticipation of the possibility of receiving the perfect gift. I keep annoying Meaney by saying “Pierce is going to fall” over and over again until…

Philly picked Larry Hughes, Guard from St. Louis. Immediately after that announcement, I yelled “yes!” in the bar and grabbed/pushed Meaney’s shoulder a few hundred or less times. I was sure that the C’s were going to get the biggest steal in the draft! Perhaps, the biggest steal since some guy named Red drafted a skinny white kid from Minnesota to play basketball instead of hockey. When the C’s made their selection, I got the perfect Christmas gift that year. I am hoping that Danny, the former Blue Jay, pulls off a similar feat tonight.

I went to two Vermont Expos/Lowell Spinners games this past weekend basically to watch David Murphy, the Red Sox 2003 first round draft choice but the two most impressive Spinners were Arthur Santos and Claudio Arias. I'll discuss those players and a couple others below.

Claudio Arias (Nova) - 3B - R-R - 6-2 - 200 – 5/9/82 from the Dominican Republic

Arias hit every ball hard. Arias had a home run, two solid singles, flied deep to right and center and struck out twice. He missed a double on a liner just foul down the third base line too. Arias worked the count during the seven at-bats as well. He did not appear to be the stereotypical free-swinging Dominican.

The most impressive thing is Arias’ attitude. The Spinners were trying a double steal with runners on first and third. Arias was on third. The Expos catcher threw down to second, then Arias came home and the middle infielder threw back to the Expos catcher. He tried to knock over the catcher, but was called out; the catcher hung onto the ball. Arias did not hang his head or show any kind of negative body language. Just the opposite, he stared down the catcher as if to say next time the outcome is going to be different. Arias showed confidence and determination traits that are necessary in order to make it to the show. I am probably reading way too much into this one event but it was something.

David Murphy - CF - L-L – 6-4 - 195 – 10/18/81 2003 - first round pick out of Baylor

Murphy looked as good as advertised. He works pitchers getting into hitter's counts. Unfortunately, he only got one hit, a double, which Paul DePodesta (A’s Assistant GM and co-star of MoneyBall) would probably state that the hit was 70% of a double. It was line drive to right that the RF should have gotten to quicker and held Murphy to a single. The play did demonstrate that Murphy has above average speed which should aid in his transition to centerfield.

Murphy's batting stance is somewhat of a concern from this very amateur evaluator. He starts with his back or left elbow down by his chest out of the normal hitting position. Then as the pitcher goes into his delivery, Murphy shifts his weight to his back or left-side while moving his elbow up into the usual position prior to the swing. My concern is that the elbow movement could throw off Murphy’s timing when he faces tougher competition in the near future. Theo stated on WEEI:
I'd say the expected progression is that he'll move sometime during this season up to A-ball. He should finish next year in AA. So you're looking at 2005 when he goes to AAA and can make majors at the end of the season...The jump to AA is a huge jump and that takes certain guys two years in itself. I'd say anywhere from a year and a half to three and a half years for Murphy (sonsofsamhorn.com).
If Theo is not worried, then I am not either.

Arthur Santos – P – R-R – 6-0 – 175 – 2/20/82 – 34th round from Florida International

Santos threw about 52 pitches over four innings while allowing two hits, no walks and two strikeouts. Santos got ahead of nearly every hitter. By my count he threw 42 strikes and 10 balls. Santos had control of both his fastball and breaking pitches. He could be worth watching this season even though Santos was chosen in the 34th round.

Justin Sturge – P – R-L – 6-4 – 190 – 5/4/81 - 12th round pick out of Coastal Carolina

Sturge came in as a reliever. He allowed a double and a bunt single while walking none and striking out three over three innings. Sturge seemed to have good stuff as he got many swing-and-misses but did not get ahead of the hitter as well as Santos.

Jeremy West – 1B – R-R – 6-0 – 200 – 11/8/81 7th round selection from Arizona State

I was unimpressed by West. I saw seven at-bats. In that very small sample, he went two for seven with three strikeouts. The two hits were weak – an infield single and a well placed grounder up the middle. He did not appear to work pitchers either. I probably saw him on a couple of bad days. Currently, he is hitting 406 and in the PAC-10 his line was 381/513/693 this past season.

Is Theo reading El Guapo's Ghost? I think so. The Sox announced at 6:45 that they signed Gabe Kapler to a minor league deal. Theo states that:
"He's a right-handed hitter, he's a tremendous defensive outfielder at all three positions. He's an above average runner, an above average thrower. He's a threat with the bat," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said. "We think he can fit our club nicely. If he performs well in the minor leagues and there's a need up here, it could work out nicely." (Brown, mlb.com)
I woud just add that Kapler is a cheap upgrade in rightfield versus southpaws for the Sox.

More on this tomorrow.

One more thing, it is great to see DLowe only issue two walks over eight innings.

Troy Percival to Boston!

Okay, stop salivating or laughing. It could happen. Here is why:

1. Anaheim is 12.5 games behind the Mariners with Oaktown in the middle. The Angels are 7.5 behind the A’s for the Wild Card as well. If Anaheim does not win the bulk of their next 14 games against Seattle, LA, Texas and Oakland. It should be time to run-up the white flag.
2. Brendan Donnelly is proving last year was no fluke. K-Rod just oozes future star closer. Both are under Angels control for the foreseeable future at a relatively low cost. Either one could move into the closer role for the rest of 2003 and beyond.
3. The Angels have three underperforming high priced players (Appier, Sele and Erstad) under contract for 2004 totaling $28 million according to http://www.bluemanc.demon.co.uk/baseball/mlbcontracts.htm. There is very little hope in moving any of those contracts to keep the payroll at the 2003 level. Percival is due $7.5 million next season. Moving his salary should assist in keeping the young core of the Angels together in 2004.
4. Percival’s relatively low salary for a veteran “star” closer (Rivera – $8.89, Smoltz - $11) and contract status makes him a perfect fit for the Sox. The Sox are one of the few teams that can take on money and should be willing to give up more for Percival since they know he will be playing for them in 2004.

The acquisition of Troy Percival would be an investment in 2003 and 2004. After the 2004 season, Theo can decide on which players (Nomar, Pedro, V-Tek, Lowe, etc.) should be signed beyond this World Series window of opportunity.

The Sox have 20 games before the break (including last night’s) with four in the Bronx Zoo and three in the North American SARS capital. As you all know, these seven are critical; each game counts as two places in the standings. As it stands now, the Dominating Dominican is scheduled to pitch in only one of the seven. Each starter is scheduled to go four times. Wake or his slot in the rotation and DLowe are going to get the ball in both the Yankees and Jay’s series. A slight change in the rotation would have a fully rested Pedro pitching against both AL East contenders.

Kim can and should pitch Thursday against the Tigers on three days rest and Wakefield, Rupe or Fossum should take the ball on Friday versus the Marlins. This change would push Petey back to Saturday giving him six days rest. Then everyone would take their normal turn with Petey and DLowe facing both New York and Toronto.

Would it screw up Pedro’s schedule? Yes, but it would also allow him more rest. Hopefully, the extra days off will allow him to take on a higher and normal pitch count. I am not advocating that the Red Sox should allow Pedro to throw 120+ pitches, but rather let him go to 110. He needs to pitch longer in games giving the Sox a much better chance of winning his starts.

In hindsight, Little may have decided differently, but he noted that he was acting without that luxury. ''There are a whole lot of people who know what to do after the pitch is thrown,'' he said, ''but not very many before.''(Hohler, Boston Globe)

As I was watching Saturday’s game, my initial thought was Timlin are you trying to blow the freaking game, Chicken Little. The only hitter to be concerned with in the eighth was Thome. Where the hell is Embree? While Timlin got Polanco and Rollins, I checked out the stats and they supported the lefty vs. lefty matchup. But I told myself that the Chicken Man had these numbers and other information that I did not like Embree was sore, got in a disagreement with his wife before the game, caught Johnny Damon’s “flu-like symptoms” from a night out in Philly, etc. All of which might make Embree unavailable. I gave the Chicken Man the benefit of the doubt. As we know, Thome hit a homer off of Timlin. I was upset, but even more so when Embree came in for Timlin in the ninth.

I really do not like to discuss “manager’s decisions” for various reasons but this game could turn out to be critical. Tough losses are difficult to overcome and I think it showed yesterday. The Sox were out of character at the plate against Myers. If the Old Town Team doesn’t win at least six out of the next ten, it could be the start of a long summer.

Today is the last day until the Yankees’ series that I comment on actual Red Sox games. Recently, I got good constructive criticism that I am rehashing the game or news articles which is not all that interesting for most fans. In order to keep me on task, I want to announce future topics: a modification to the starting rotation, David Murphy and other Spinners, the Vermont Red Sox? and the differences between Red Sox fans and the fans I spoke with during my baseball road trip. Thanks, JD.

CONTEST! CONTEST! WIN STUFF! CHECK IT OUT!

Sometime during the winter, I sent out an email to my friends having them guess which two baseball players stats were listed below (AVG/OBP/SLG):

A – 282/364/446
B – 310/408/576

I gave them a few more clues than you will get, but you will have an unlimited time to guess (they had a couple of hours). The first person to email me with the correct answer will earn my respect, a paid sponsorship of one of the players on baseball-reference.com and if we ever meet, the beverage of your choice. The clue is both players recorded these stats in their fourth year in the majors and both are currently on 40 man rosters. Good luck.

All friends and relatives of El Guapo’s Ghost are prohibited from the contest. You know who you are even if you do not like to admit it.



Other notes:

After finally watching Gordon pitch this season, I am officially starting the Bring Flash Back to Beantown Campaign. Get it done Theo instead of going to Pearl Jam.

My next post will come on Monday with my amateur scouting report on David Murphy and the other Spinners. Have a good weekend.

Okay. I was wrong about Loaiza. He was very effective by only allowing one run over eight innings while striking out six and only walking a batter. Loaiza's cut fastball had everyone other than Damon fooled most of the night. For the most part, he would start it in to the right-handers and the pitch would tail back in over the plate. Loaiza used that pitch to set up the hitters. He also used a sweeping slider going away from right-handers as an out pitch. Loaiza's fastball had good velocity hitting 91-93 mph while putting it exactly where he wanted throughout the whole outing. An off-speed pitch would make Loaiza very very tough.

It is academic, but Grady "Chicken" Little should not have brought in Rudy Seanez when the Sox were only down by one. The Red Sox have three quality RP: Lyon, Timlin and Embree. Before tonight, Embree hadn't pitched in a couple of days. He would have been a better choice to start the inning. Instead, Little waits until Seanez gives up one and loads the bases before going to the right RP to get out of the inning.

Little further damages my opinion of him (like he cares) by saying that In Trot “we trust” Nixon has ''earned the right'' not to be platooned against lefties…(Hohler, Boston Globe). This is STUPID. Nixon’s numbers versus southpaws (AVG/OBP/SLG in AB):
03 – 200/275/378 in 45
00-02 – 230/319/339 in 274
How exactly has Nixon “earned the right”? This season he actually fared worst against lefties. I guess Nixon has not “earned the right” at the plate. Has he “earned the right” by picking up Little’s dry cleaning, washing his car, taking his dog out for walks, wiping his ass?

Let it be known that “Chicken” Little is a lame duck manager; Theo is watching. It would be great if Theo brings in a RF who mashes lefties. The move would be very telling.


Other notes:
Both Manny and Nomar made nice plays in the field.
Damon appears to be out of his usual spring slump.
Wake needs to cut down on the walks to be consistently effective.
What's the deal with Billy Koch only hitting 92 on the gun? Could this be a blessing in disguise so he has to throw breaking balls?

Tonight the Red Sox face Estaben Loaiza, who has been dominating so far leading all AL starters in ERA at 2.24. He is fifth in strikeouts with 78, ninth in K/BB ratio, and given up only six homers in 92 innings. Even though I have not seen Loaiza pitch this season, I am predicting the Red Sox beat him up to the tune of four or more runs tonight.

Here is his bio from espn.com and stats:
Loaiza has an outstanding ability to locate his pitches somewhere in the strike zone, but it's his location within the zone that gets him into trouble. Strange as it sounds, scouts say Loaiza throws too many strikes. When he expands the zone by working the corners and wasting the occasional pitch, he is much more effective. As it is, hitters sit back and wait for their pitch, without being intimidated.

31 year-old pitchers usually do not magically attain near dominating stuff over the winter. Checking out Loaiza’s game log is very telling. He has only faced two MLB teams currently in the top third in scoring (I am not counting Baltimore ranked 10th). Loaiza’s line against Seattle was 3.2 innings, 9 hits, 5 earned, 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. Loaiza did better when he faced Toronto pitching 7.2 innings with 5 hits, 2 earned, 2 walks and 4 K’s. It is said that players usually get pumped up facing their former clubs. Either way, I looked up Loaiza’s comparables at Baseball-referencene.com. None of his top ten comparables had an ERA below 4.5 at the age of 31.

Loaiza has beat up on the worst two-thirds of the league which is fine, but it has inflated his stats giving folks the wrong impression of his real ability.

Did Tony Massarotti rip-off my idea for improving the Sox bullpen? Probably not. But I did publish the notion before Massarotti on Sox Therapy. http://www2.bostonherald.com/sport/red_sox/tony06172003.htm

Posted 4:44 p.m., June 9, 2003 (#18) - Tom
Gammons is speaking today. He is saying that the Sox are going to take a look at Finley. And they are also interested in bring back UUU or Bentinez. But what about Flash?
(K/BB/HR/R/IN)
UU - 23/12/4/9/24
AB - 34/18/3/13/33
FG - 38/17/1/17/28
Flash is also making only 1.4 compared to nearly 7 for AB and 4.5 for UU.
End Post

``He's been awesome,'' said Daubach. ``I told some guys (yesterday) that outside of some broken bats and cheap runs he's given up, he's been awesome. His arm feels great and he's pitched two or three days in a row'' (Massarotti, Boston Herald).

Flash’s peripherals backup Daubers' (a.k.a. – Porn Star look-alike) statement. Flash’s Adjusted Runs Prevented from Baseball Prospectus is 3.7, Urbina is 3.1 and Benitnez is 2.5. Flash has pitched slightly better than the more notable Red Sox possible pen acquisitions, would cost less in terms of dollars and probably in terms of talent traded too. Gordon should be the first option.

Before I get ripped-off again…

Posted 5:38 p.m., June 10, 2003 (#3) - Tom
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~96~1445841,00.html
Most recently I have been in favor of acquiring Flash (still am), but the Sox maybe interested in another right hander I like, Steve Reed. The Denver Post indicated that the Sox are scouting the recently demoted Gabe Kapler. As I mentioned before in another thread, Reed dominates right handed batters (2003 OPS of 494 and 00-02 of 578), makes only 600K and should be available since he is not a part of the Rockies future. If the Sox take on the Rockies portion of Kapler’s salary (around 1.25) for a couple of months, they might not have to give up anything of value. The paper also states that the Rockies are about 3 million over budget. Also, it appears the Sox could put Kapler in AAA without any roster issues. Kapler would be a corner outfield insurance policy as a small bonus.
End post

If the bullpen gets straightened out, the Sox could go to a more traditional roster of 11 pitchers and 14 position players. It would open up a spot for Kapler to play against left-handed pitchers with In Trot “we trust” Nixon versus righties. Nixon can not hit lefties. Nearly anyone is better than Trotman versus southpaws.

Some quick hits on this evenings game vs. the other Sox:

Pedro looked good tonight. His control was slightly off from the previous start. I do not recall him throwing many curves and not many for strikes, but Petey did it when it really counted to strike out Frank Thomas.

If Freddy Sanchez is going to be the Sox second baseman next season, then he needs to play there in RI. He still needs to develop on the right side of the infield and with the bat. Zuelta should have been brought up to avoid his departure. If an infield injury occurred, Dirty Sanchez or Lou Collier could have been brought up.

Flash Gordon really looked good with only Manny getting a light hit ground ball single between SS and 3b. Gordon will be a future topic shortly.

''’I don't really consider our rough times rough. I just think that's just part of a bullpen. If we were perfect, we'd all have zero ERAs,’ said Timlin after Red Sox relievers finished a weekend sweep of Houston without allowing a run over 12 2/3 innings” (Joe Burris, Boston Globe).

Timlin is just plain wrong. For example, a relief pitcher comes into the game with runners on second and third with two out. The batter hits a single to right and both runners score. The relief pitcher is not charged with either run. Thus, it does not affect his ERA. I would not call that “perfect”.

It is a flaw in baseball’s antiquated statistics. If ERA is used to value pitchers and especially relief pitchers, a team could be in for some big surprises. I am confident that Theo and the Red Sox front office understand this as well.

The attached link to the Baseball Prospectus web site does a better job explaining the concept and lists their more valuable stats. www.baseballprospectus.com/current/rrereport03.html

One more thing, does “flu-like symptoms” in baseball speak translate to hung over?

If the Sox can make it through the next six games with a spilt, they should be fine until the Fourth of July weekend series in the Bronx. The Phillies are the Sox’s only opponent with a winning record during that time period. The bats should be able to win every other series for the Sox. Hopefully, Theo can acquire more pitching assistance and others can get healthy and on track by the holiday weekend. A test is in July with 14 games against the Yankees and Jays, but August will make or break the Sox’s playoff chances.


I wrote the above on Bambio's Curse last week. As you all know, the Sox sweep the Astros and got one game from the Cards. The club exceeded my expectations and looked good doing it, most notably in the weekend series on the mound. They still may need pitching help and perhaps in the field too, but for now I'll savor the sweep of a playoff contender.

The Sox pitchers performed well against a good club. They gave up only nine runs in three games or in 32 innings. Prior to the series, Houston averaged 5.56 runs per game. The pitching peripherals are even more encouraging. Over the last three games, the staff K-ed 22 batters, walked five and gave up four homers. The most pleasant stat out of the three is only five base on balls. The staff has struggled with yielding free passes this season.

It appears three are emerging in the bullpen as solid choices for Grady "Chicken" Little: Mike Timlin, Brandon "Heart of a" Lyon and Alan Embree. They combined to strike out 10 with only one walk and allowed no homers versus the third most productive lineup in the NL. Embree has been lights out since his return from the DL. Timlin and Lyon have been consistent since the start of the season. Jason Shiell and Hector Almonte have had their moments as well. Hopefully, this is a preview of things to come.

Derek Lowe's last two outings have been reminiscent of his starts last season. DLowe only walked one batter in each game. Before these last two starts, Lowe averaged 3.9 BB/9 innings. Last season, he averaged less than 2 BB per nine. An increase of two walks per nine is tough to overcome as a groundball pitcher. DLowe has had some blister issues, a skin cancer scare, and knowing his defense is not as solid as last year probably all contributed to his earlier problems. DLowe's next scheduled start against the White Sox's could make me a believer again. I want to believe! I want to believe!

I thought before I began commenting on current Red Sox and baseball happenings, I should discuss the title of my blog. El guapo in Spanish means the pretty one. It also is the nickname of a 300+lb. former middle relief pitcher of the Boston Red Sox, Rich Garces. El Guapo was one of the best at providing effective relief in the critical sixth to eighth innings for the Red Sox from 1998 to 2001. But the other reason I like him so much is that I found great humor in watching an unusual professional baseball player dispatch many other regular looking professional ballplayers. El Guapo retired before this season began. I am going to try to live up to the memory of El Guapo through this blog site by hopefully providing interesting baseball commentary from an unusual source.

Testing. I am just trying this out. If all goes well, I plan on going into full swing on Monday after the Houston series.