Daisuke Matsuzaka Boston Red Sox – MLB Baseball
Monday, May 24, 2010 19:27
The Boston Red Sox have been one of the more disappointing teams so far in the 2010 Major League Baseball season. Daisuke Matsuzaka’s near no-hitter may have changed those fortunes.
Have the Boston Red Sox Finally Turned 2010 Around?
Sometimes one game can change a season.
Sometimes that’s because an injury decimates a hitherto high-flying squad. Other times that’s because one player’s performance or the team’s comeback sparks a winning streak in a previously underperforming club… or inspires a weak team to play above their talent.
The Boston Red Sox may have just played such a game.
So far the Red Sox have been one of the more disappointing teams of the 2010 Major League Baseball season. Not as bad as the sub-.500 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Milwaukee Brewers–though Boston did languish below that break even point for the majority of April–but the Red Sox are a team expected to contend not only for the Wild Card but for the American League East division title. Hovering a couple games over .500, as the Sox have done for much of May, simply isn’t good enough considering the talent Boston has.
And every time the Red Sox have looked ready to break through, they’ve immediately faltered.
Last Monday the Sox came back from several runs down against the New York Yankees, only for Jonathan Papelbon to blow the save in the ninth. The next day they actually did complete the comeback against their arch-rivals, and then swept a short two-game series against the Minnesota Twins. Even so, it didn’t feel as if the Sox had turned a corner, and a 5-1 loss to the defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies to open Interleague Play seemed to confirm that fact.
But on Saturday night, the Red Sox may finally have played one of those season-changing games.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had been less than impressive since coming back from injury (and, for that matter, much of last year), took a no-hitter into the eighth, perhaps his best start since coming over from Japan. The next day the Sox racked up one of the best pitchers in baseball, Roy Halladay, raising his ERA from 1.64 to 2.22 with 8 runs in 5 2-3 innings. And, today, Monday, Boston hammered the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays–a must-win game even at this early point in the season, with the Sox sitting in fourth place in the AL East, (now) 7.5 games back of the division-leading Rays.
Only time will tell if the Red Sox have finally turned the corner.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Since we’ve called out baseball’s under-performers (to date), we should hand out kudos to those pleasant surprises so far of the 2010 campaign, the San Diego Padres (26-18, tops in the NL West, after going 75-87 in 2009) and the Washington Nationals (23-22 in 2010; 59-103 in 2009). And the Nationals have yet to promote Stephen Strasburg from the minor leagues, so they are only going to get better, as long as the rest of the club maintains this good level of play.
4 Responses to “Daisuke Matsuzaka Boston Red Sox – MLB Baseball”
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Gairzo
says:
May 26th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Patience, my friend. Boston's organization has the most talent in the game–from the GM on down. In a 162 game season, talent usually wins out over momentum or a spark in May or July.
I was shocked you didn't give kudos to my beloved Buccos. They are on pace to win maybe 73 games this year. A quantum leap from their win totals in most of the last 17 years. Their vastly improved coaching has reduced fielding and base running gaffes to a mere two or three a game. Rumor has it a couple of players might actually be major league caliber.
I think you owe all of Pittsburgh an apology.
Nate Barlow
says:
May 26th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Fair enough. That is a big turnaround. I would love to see the Pirates break .500 and even contend for a playoff berth. I have a soft spot for the Buccos from my time in Pittsburgh, and went to one of the games during their last trip in the '92 NLCS.
Gairzo
says:
May 26th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
So would I, but I don't think the owners know how to do it. Mark Cuban offered to buy the team years ago.
Without real revenue sharing and the huge cable potential of the bigger cities, smaller markets have a far greater challenge. The Yanks, Sox, Dodgers, Cubbies, etc.–even if they have a few bad drafts in a row, they can cover with a free agent bonanza. Pittsburgh and Milwaukee can't.
The Rays and A's, Twins, are the best examples to follow and the Bucs haven't done it in two decades.
BTW, you did realize I was being sarcastic in my first comment, right?
Nate Barlow
says:
May 27th, 2010 at 1:57 am
I wasn't sure if you were being sarcastic or not (ah, tone is lost over the net). Sadly, 73 would be an improvement for the Bucs, so they deserve credit for doing so, without the benefits of the big clubs.