ST Update – 3/16

I didn’t get the opportunity to watch Beckett’s start last night so I thought I’d watch it this morning before I passed judgment. On the surface, 5 innings pitched with 6 hits, 2 earned runs and zero walks isn’t all that bad. Watching the game however, it really doesn’t do justice to how well Beckett pitched. Although is fastball was sitting only around 89 mph, he was working on his breaking stuff and it looked filthy. He manged to strike out 6 in his 5 innings of work but was let down by his defense in the 2nd inning. A comedy of errors in the second caused the Mets to score twice in that inning without hitting a single ball hard.
In fact, Beckett only gave up two hard hit balls the entire game. One was a home run to Shawn Green on a fastball down in the zone. With Beckett’s regular velocity Green would have been lucky to reach down and get a foul ball on the fastball. A fastball in the 80’s however down in a lefties power zone was begging to be hammered. The other hard hit ball he gave up was a single back up the middle by Reyes in the 5th. Beckett’s breaking stuff looked better than I can remember it looking last year so it’s clearly in mid-season form. He just needs to get that extra velocity on his fastball and he’ll be ready for the season. One thing worth noting is the control Beckett’s exhibited to this point (one thing he lacked last year). In his 11.2 innings of work, he’s allowed only 1 walk while striking out 9. Last year in spring he allowed more than a walk every 3 innings and had a K/BB ratio of only 2. His ERA in spring last year was 5.14 but so far this spring he’s kept it down to 3.09. Also worth noting is that the home run he gave up to Shawn Green is the only home run he’s given up this spring, even with his poor velocity.
And although this isn’t Red Sox related, it’s definitely worth mentioning. Oliver Perez, who started yesterday’s game for the Mets was comically good. He just 3 base runners in his 5 innings of work while striking out 9. I live in New York so I think it’s fair to be excited about this. I am not a real Mets fan but they’re certainly a very fun team to watch and I picked them to win the division next year even though they have questions about their rotation. Perez could provide them quite the boost if he finally puts together the mental aspect of pitching with his embarrassingly good stuff. Unfortunately today’s start by Matsuzaka is not being broadcast and I can’t seem to get the radio feed so I’m stuck listening to the Yankees game right now. But hey, I’m a New Yorker, there’s nothing wrong with following their games. There are even plenty of New Yorkers who root against them. Just as I typed that the Yankees fans jokingly chanted MVP after A-Rod struck out. Anyways, as I sit here with my coffee and my radio I’ll be checking up on the Red Sox game and providing information on Matsuzaka’s start as the day goes on.
Well the Red Sox game is in a rain delay. That probably explains why I couldn’t get the radio feed. Through 2 innings Matsuzaka’s allowed 3 hits and an earned run while striking out 3. He had a poor first inning in which he gave up a leadoff double and was hit hard. He’s gotten all his outs to this point on ground balls and strikeouts. The start by Matsuzaka is disappointing but I wouldn’t say it’s anything to worry about. Through his 9 innings of work he’s allowed only 1 walk while striking out 9. Also, as I said about Igawa’s poor spring start, Japanese players treat the offseason differently. They generally don’t come to camp in shape and ready to play and so take longer to get ready. No word yet on Matsuzaka’s velocity in the game today. Fortunately for him the Red Sox offense has bailed him up. They’ve scored 5 runs through 2.1 innings thanks largely to back-to-back home runs by Pena and Varitek in the 2nd. In fact, the Red Sox have scored all their 5 runs on home runs thanks to a 3-run home run in the 3rd. That’ll help out Varitek’s stats, his AVG just jumped .045 points to .150.