Living Dangerously

How can you describe Daisuke Matsuzaka as a pitcher? Some have called him a 'power nibbler', others simply maddening. What you have to recognize is the force of sheer competitive fire that allows him to do what he does. Live dangerously. Plus, is he not the Gold Glover at the pitching position?

They noted that (now) in twelve at bats with the bases loaded he has yielded one walk and no hits. All of which is astounding when you consider his WHIP (walk/hit ratio) which is 1.39. In other words, his WHIP ratio with the bases loaded is 0.25, or less than 20 percent of that without the bases loaded.

Lugo, going, gone. Julio Lugo is out with a muscle pull, which gives the Sox a comparison to the output with Lugo. Will the real Julio Lugo please stand up? He is a high energy, athletic player who just hasn't met management's or fans' expectations, who also has a World Series ring. Fuggedaboutit.

Red Sox first half MVP? NESN will discuss the first half MVP of the Sox, which has to come from among J.D. Drew, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia. The Sox could have fallen off disastrously when David Ortiz went down, but didn't. Why? The June output of J.D. Drew filled in more than admirably and kept the Sox close, while they wait for Tampa to have some mean reversion.

First half Red Sox Cy Young Award. Jon Lester.

Varitek-nically speaking. WYSIWIG. What you see is what you get. The hitting slump continues, with the July OPS at .499 and JV struggling to stay over the Mendoza Line. Has the mileage finally caought up with him, or just a prolonged slump?

Manny Ramirez. Will Scott Boras be cashing in (negotiating) a new deal for Manny somewhere?
Manny's OPS was .930 in June and is 1.048 in July. Why doesn't it feel like it?

Brandon Moss. Okay, I'm carrying water for this guy. The more I see him hit, the more I feel sure that he's going to be a very productive major leaguer. His OPS for 7 days is 1.049 (note the rampant abuse of short-term, small sample statistics). I think Moss has .280, 20 homer, 80 RBI potential with good defense. Brandy Moss...

Tim Wakefield. 14th in ERA, 19th in strikeouts. Okay, so I don't like to see him pitch against the Yankees, but otherwise, he's still got plenty of juice.

Kevin Cash. Doug who?

Heidi Watney...an upgrade over Tina and gotta figure this job is a steppingstone to a big network gig.