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Sliced and Diced
August 30, 2008
If the outing turned in last night by Daisuke Matsuzaka was something that you could physically touch, it would have immediately been placed in a museum because plain and simple it was a masterpiece. The Boston bats may have put on a show, but Friday night was all about Daisuke. For the second straight start against the Chicago White Sox, Daisuke Matsuzaka baffled the bats of the windy city. In eight complete innings of work, Matsuzaka gave up just two hits and struck out seven in his shutout effort against the "other" Sox.
Daisuke Matsuzaka left the game after the eighth inning having thrown 106 pitches (65 for strikes) and most importantly, he left with a lead of 7-0 that quickly became 8-0 in the bottom half of the inning and eventually the final score. The Dice-man picked up his sixteenth win of the season to bolster his record on the season to an incredible 16-2. The two-hit shutout lowered his opponents batting average to .211 on the season.
The Red Sox offense continued to stay hot with another night of double digit hits with fifteen. An offense that was sparked once again by none other than the hit machine, Dustin Pedroia. He did it all last night to help the Red Sox win, everything except throw an eight inning, two-hit shutout. Pedroia got up to bat five times last night and was on base not long after in all five plate appearances. A 4-for-4 night consisting of three singles, his forty-first double of the season and a walk to go along with two stolen bases and a few highlight reel defensive plays was just another night at the ball park for Dustin Pedroia.
The manager of the Chicago White Sox had a few things to say about our second baseman after last night's one-sided victory, "I worry more about Pedroia than I worry about Big Papi," Ozzie Guillen said. If you read that quote in April/May of '07 you would have thought it was a joke, but no ones laughing in August of '08. Ozzie Guillen went on to say, "Right now, I have to, because he's swinging the bat good. It's amazing how this kid shows up to the ballpark every day and plays the way he plays. He brings a lot of energy to the field.
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Well there's no taking away from the offensive talent of David Ortiz because Guillen should be just as scared of the threat Big Papi poses, but the numbers don't lie for Pedroia. He's second in the league in average, just two points behind Joe Mauer sitting at .322. He leads all of Major League Baseball with 178 hits. He leads the Majors in runs scored. He's tied for second in the Majors with 41 doubles. Out of every Major League second baseman having played 130 games or more this season, Dustin Pedroia leads the Majors with a .990 fielding percentage. The point I'm trying to make here is that the Red Sox have something really special on their hands in Dustin Pedroia.
The Sox don't gain any ground on the Rays who exploded for fourteen runs in a 14-3 victory over the Orioles. The original chatter around Red Sox Nation was that David Pauley would be getting the start Saturday night against the Chicago White Sox but the Red Sox have surprised us all and called up Michael Bowden to start the middle game of the series. The initial rumors were that Bowden would join the bullpen and David Pauley will get the start but Pauley will remain with Pawtucket and Bowden will get the start and likely head back to Triple-A after the game.
Bowden's numbers with the Paw Sox were deceiving with his poor record but the potential and "stuff" that this right-hander has will surely turn your eyes away from a minor league record. Bowden was 0-3 in seven appearances (six starts) with a 3.38 ERA in 40 innings pitched. Bowden struck out 29 and walked just 5 in his time in Pawtucket. Michael Bowden spent most of his year with the Portland Sea Dogs where he went 9-4 with a 2.33 ERA in 19 starts. Bowden struck out 101 batters in his 104.1 innings of work before being promoted to Pawtucket. Tonight, he makes his Major League debut for the Boston Red Sox.
-Jared Carrabis
-Jared Carrabis
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