A State of Perplexion

Tony La Russa on why Kip Wells still has a job:

“It’s not like we have somebody waiting in the wings that we want to put in the rotation.”

*Flails arms hysterically* But . . . . . gaaah!

How Do You Say “Reckoning” In Japanese?

Daisuke Matsuzaka’s numbers on the year following tonight’s start against the Seattle Mariners:

7 games
38 innings pitched
35 hits
15 walks
39 strikeouts
31 groundball outs
35 flyball outs
2 home runs
23 runs (all earned)

Good strikeouts, but he has a 1.31 whip and a 5.45 ERA. Are we allowed to call this a disappointment, if not an outright disaster? Red Sox fans, how can you not be severely disappointed with this performance? For serious.

And while we’re at it, can we stop refering to Josh Beckett as “Bottle Rocket?” Roger Clemens pretty much came flying out of the gates and has been dominant ever since; Beckett has padded his resume with several decent years in the weakened National League. I know, I know: he’s changed his approach and loves to play the game the right way and will plunk you if you try to bunt, but come on.