Monday, May 01, 2006

Getting the Band Back Together

Welcome Back, Dougie!

Even with all of the hype and excitement and what’s at stake concerning the arrival of the Yankees in Fenway for the first Boston-New York matchup of the season, not to mention the initial return of Johnny Damon to the city that made him famous, there’s just no getting around leading off this blog entry with what can only be described as fantasterrific news for the Red Sox.

Doug Mirabelli, personal catcher for Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, is back in a Boston uniform.

After enduring a month of the Bard experiment, which failed miserably, Theo Epstien pulled the trigger on a deal that sent the troubled backup catcher, who managed to log as many passed balls in the month of April (10) than Mirabelli did all of last season, to San Diego in exchange for the piece of mind that our every-fifth-day backstop is able to catch a knuckleball with some consistency.

From the business standpoint, the Sox probably had to fork over more than they should have, sending minor-league pitching prospect Cla Merdith, cash, and a player to be named later along with Bard. Bard’s $350,000 salary compared to Mirabelli’s $1.5 million may cause some to raise eyebrows, too.

But from a baseball standpoint, the decision was an easy one. Though Mirabelli probably won’t help the Sox score more runs, he will help fewer opponents cross the plate. Mirabelli knows the knuckleball, having been Wakefield’s catcher since 2001. Whereas Bard seemed unsure where the ball would land, much less how to dive in front of it when it did, Mirabelli is a seasoned professional at keeping Wake’s dancing devil at bay.

Some statheads have analyzed Bard’s performance so far this season, and came to the conclusion that his passed balls are responsible for almost two runs per game when Wake pitches. So even though Wake’s ERA is around 3, over 5 runs cross the plate. That’s not bad pitching, that’s bad catching.

And let’s not forget the piece of mind Wakefield gets with the return of his battery mate. I’ve heard announcers comment on how lively Wake’s knuckleball has looked all season, meaning its darting all over the place. But how confident can he really tossing it up to a catcher who can’t corral the pitch? If Wake is on the mound thinking Bard will probably boot his knuckler on a two-strike count or with a runner on base, he probably shakes off his money pitch and serves up a “fastball” to ensure Bard can handle it. Since Wake’s fastball is most pitcher’s change-up, its gonna get belted.

Mirabelli gives Wake that confidence he needs to rattle off an entire game full of floating knucklers with no reprieve. And obviously its not just the Red Sox that think so. Its being reported that Steinbrenner jumped into the bidding war for Mirabelli at the last minute to try to block his return to Boston.

How unbelievably shifty of Steinbrenner to try to pull a move like that. Trading for a player just to keep him from going to the Red Sox? Especially when they have absolutely ZERO need for a catcher! Poor Mirabelli would be wallowing in the mire that is the Yankees minor league system for the rest of his career, just so he wouldn’t catch for Wake, if Steinbrenner had his way. That’s ridiculous. My only consolation here is that he failed. Suck it, Steinbrenner. I hope Dougie sticks it to the Yankees tonight.

Mirabelli is currently on a plane heading back to Boston to rejoin his old team. All of Boston awaits his arrival, hoping the plane gets him to town in time to catch Wakefield when he takes the mound against the Yankees.

I can only wish I was in the locker room when Wake greets Doug with a giant man-hug. I’m gettin’ all misty just thinking about it.

Let the Battle for First begin. After a horrible week on the road, where they dropped 6 of 9 games and lost consecutive series to division rivals Toronto and Tampa Bay, the Red Sox limp back to Fenway for a 7-game homestand. Their recent slide has taken them from the best record in baseball into a tie for first place as they struggle to find ways to get men across the plate.

Its only fitting that the Sox are tied with the very team they open their homestand against: the New York Yankees. Though the Yankees are still struggling with their starting and relief pitching, their offense has been clicking on all cylinders and keeping the Yankees on a winning trend. Now that these teams are knotted up at the top of the AL East, today begins the first of eight games against each other.

The gloves are off. The true start to the 2006 season begins today.

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