It's the kind of pitches like the one thrown to Josh Hamilton tonight that keep Javier Vazquez from being considered a front-line starter.
Don't get me wrong -- Vazquez pitched well tonight, especially in comparison to his previous several outings. There was just something about that pitch and the events leading up to it that drive me insane.
The situation: Two outs, runner on second, Michael Young up, Hamilton on deck. What's the one thing Vazquez shouldn't do? Walk him. What did he do? Walk him. Granted, the 3-2 pitch was very close (if not a strike in the wide zone), but he fell behind 3-1 to begin with.
So there are two on and two out, with the league's leading RBI guy at the plate. He falls behind Hamilton 2-0, which isn't a crime in and of itself because, as mentioned, Hamilton is the league leader in RBI. There's a base open -- not open-open, but open enough -- so being careful is advisable.
It's the 2-0 cookie that grinds my gears. Hamilton launched it roughly 425 feet to dead center to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead, and the Sox wouldn't really threaten it.
Javy pitched well -- he struck out 10 and only allowed six baserunners in seven innings -- but those are the kind of pitches and series of events that explain why Vazquez has constantly underperformed his peripherals.
That said, he would've had to turn in a gargantuan effort tonight, because Scott Feldman and Co. shut down the Sox offense. Part of it was luck -- one of the three double plays they grounded into was a lucky pick, and they had a handful of warning-track shots -- but there wasn't much of a pulse otherwise.
Also, Boone Logan and Nick Masset once again threw gasoline on the fire. Maintaining his recent percentage, Logan retired only three of the seven batters he faced and allowed a back-breaking two-run shot to lefty Hank Blalock.
Record: 55-43 |
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