My Top 10 list. I will point out 10 things I saw during the game good or bad. It could be from a situational point to which way the wind was blowing. A lot of these things mentioned you probably didn't see. Over the years I have really become a student of the game by looking at the game differently than the average fan or the 10-10 High School coach. There is so much more to baseball than just turning on the tv with a drink and watching the game. I hope I can point out some things for the average fan and maybe help someone involved in baseball.
1.6th inning. Napoli first up to the plate vs Gonzalez. Red Sox down 8-4. Napoli has excellent patience and takes the walk, by which he eventually scores on a 2 out double from Holt.
2. 7th and 8th inning. Good example of not going over or even having a scouting report on Nationals rookie pitcher Martin. He had 5 Ks in 2 innings throwing 88 mph with a little slider like pitch.
3. I see tired arms coming out of their bullpen. When you have tired arms, it usually leads to missed location and inconsistent command. Day off tomorrow. But I think a roster move should be made to swap out from Pawtucket.
4. 6th inning. Holt on 2nd base, score 8-5 with 2 out in Washington's favor. Matt Williams I believe decides to keep Gonzalez in the game to face Leon even with over 100 pitches on the day. Why? Because if he had gone to the bullpen and brought Jordan in, Farrell would have countered with pinch hitting Ortiz for Leon and a chance to cut the lead to 1.
5. Three different Red Sox pitchers walked the first guy they faced in the game. That cannot happen. Walking the first guy as a starter has "short outing" written all over it.
6. Four 2 strike sliders from Miley were pounded hard for extra bases.
7. Washington's throwing errors in this series was terrible. These were not Big League throws. Poor mechanics and none of the plays really needed to be rushed. Just poor or lack of concentration.
8. Exactly what I was expecting for the most part. A lot of these starters' games look like a 4th or 5th starter is throwing them. This is why I believe you need a true number 1 guy. A guy who ends losing streaks, a guy that the defense feels confident with out there and a guy that has the concentration and the will to get out of jams and if he doesn't, he comes back the next inning and shuts them down. This team doesn't have that guy.
9. I like how Ross faced Harper in the 6th inning. He worked him high with mostly fastballs and a show me slider. Then with a 2-2 count he changed Harper's eye level and threw him a nice outside slider that Harper flew out to center. Harper, a fantastic low ball hitter, is always looking to pull and to me doesn't have the patience at this stage to hit a 2 strike pitch the other way.
Finally number 10. I am impressed how Hannigan and Leon have handled themselves and the staff so far. If both can hit around 250 and have a few clutch hits that would be a plus
That's my Call
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