Thursday, September 29, 2005
WHAT DA F*@#?
It goes without saying that Arroyo had nothing last night, but it should been somewhat expected. He is, on paper, the Sox’s fifth starter that was claimed off waivers from the Pirates. Until Arroyo can consistently find another pitch to somewhat neutralize righties (I think he should give a cutter a try), he is going to be a coin flip, which is fine from your number five. But for the second night in a row, the Jays pen shut down the Sox offense at Fenway. This, my fellow citizens is unacceptable.
Many are rippin’ Millar for leaving numerous runners on last night and for good reason. It is justified, although one should consider the circumstances. Five at-bats stand out. In the second, Nixon does nothing with two on and only one out. The same goes for Ortiz (no outs) and Manny (one out) in the third with two ducks on the pond. Tek in the fifth should have had a double with two on, but Johnson makes a great play in the field (wouldn’t it be great to have players that routinely flash the leather besides Damon). Again in the eighth, Nixon did zero with two on and one out. All were missed opportunities to change the complexion of the game.
Nixon may be the real “Pope” on this club (Double D wouldn’t trade him, Pax Crawford, Okha for the Slamming Sammy Sosa). Trot has had his worst season in sometime. His 461SLG is the lowest since 2000. It is also a 50 point drop from an injury shortened 2004 and a 117! slide from 2003. Like Nixon, Millar’s big drop off is his power numbers. Millar’s SLG dropped 70 points this season and he deservingly gets a ton of criticism, but Nixon gets nothing. Now in most situations a player should not be booed, but the media should have been more active in querying the powers that be on Nixon’s lack of power production this season.
It goes without saying that Arroyo had nothing last night, but it should been somewhat expected. He is, on paper, the Sox’s fifth starter that was claimed off waivers from the Pirates. Until Arroyo can consistently find another pitch to somewhat neutralize righties (I think he should give a cutter a try), he is going to be a coin flip, which is fine from your number five. But for the second night in a row, the Jays pen shut down the Sox offense at Fenway. This, my fellow citizens is unacceptable.
Many are rippin’ Millar for leaving numerous runners on last night and for good reason. It is justified, although one should consider the circumstances. Five at-bats stand out. In the second, Nixon does nothing with two on and only one out. The same goes for Ortiz (no outs) and Manny (one out) in the third with two ducks on the pond. Tek in the fifth should have had a double with two on, but Johnson makes a great play in the field (wouldn’t it be great to have players that routinely flash the leather besides Damon). Again in the eighth, Nixon did zero with two on and one out. All were missed opportunities to change the complexion of the game.
Nixon may be the real “Pope” on this club (Double D wouldn’t trade him, Pax Crawford, Okha for the Slamming Sammy Sosa). Trot has had his worst season in sometime. His 461SLG is the lowest since 2000. It is also a 50 point drop from an injury shortened 2004 and a 117! slide from 2003. Like Nixon, Millar’s big drop off is his power numbers. Millar’s SLG dropped 70 points this season and he deservingly gets a ton of criticism, but Nixon gets nothing. Now in most situations a player should not be booed, but the media should have been more active in querying the powers that be on Nixon’s lack of power production this season.
1 Old Comments:
There are two reasons Nixon doesn't get the flack, I believe:
1. He's a dirt dog. He came up through the system, he's scrappy in a way Boston fans love and he's not super visible in the way Mueller is and Millar isn't.
2. He's made a number of very flashy plays in right field this season, he's clearly got a very strong arm and knows how to play Boston's tricky right field. Kevin Millar's defensive abilities are not so highly touted, so he's got nothing to fall back on when his bat goes South.
Thank you - Red Sox!
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