Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Crunchy
remember
before we start jacking each other off over this was KC,a team that is unraveling offensively and they left a few guys on early...
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It would be easy to look at a team reeling from three defeats--two at the hands of pitchers called up from AA and AAA, the other a no-hitter--and to write them off. It would be easier still to do that knowing that today's starting pitcher was Daisuke Matsuzaka, 7-0 thus far in 2008.
That would be hubris.
Today's starting pitcher for the Royals is Brian Bannister. Bannister posted a 3.87 ERA as a starting pitcher in his 2007 rookie season. Scouts discounted his ERA and pointed to his pretty pedestrian stuff; analysts discounted his ERA and pointed to his "unsustainable" BABIP. Let me point at something else: Brian Bannister is one of the smartest players in MLB, and he reviews Pitch f/x logs hitter by hitter before every game. His ultra-low BABIP isn't a fluke: he knows batters better than any other guy in MLB, better than Tek, better than Schilling. Boston's lineup thrives on pitchers' mistakes: Bannister won't overpower batters, but he won't make mistakes. In one previous game against Boston, he held Red Sox batters to a .217/.217/.609 batting line: were it not for home runs by Manny, Big Papi and Dustin Pedroia, he probably would have prevailed. Home runs don't come every game--Bannister matches well against Boston.
One other key split that's disturbing: Bannister has a career ERA of 2.65 and a 10-1 record in day games.
Facing the Royals for Boston will be Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka's 2.15 ERA is lower than Bannister's impressive career split for day games. This year Matsuzaka is getting, on the whole, fair calls, and his ability to paint the corners is frustrating MLB hitters the way it frustrated hitters in Japan for years. What we're seeing isn't a fluke: what we're seeing is the real Dice-K.
For what it's worth, Matsuzaka's Day/Night split is good, too: his ERA is 1.48 runs lower in day games over his time in MLB.
Look for a good, close, well-pitched game. This one could come down to the bullpens.
Game Time 1:35 pm EDT Fenway Park
Current weather 53 degrees, cloudy, wind blowing out to RF at 10 mph
Royals
Brian Bannister
RHP
(4-5) 4.29 ERA
Red Sox
Daisuke Matsuzaka
RHP
(7-0) 2.15 ERA
DFWMM
