John Lackey in 2013: Rebound or Bust?
A brieft history on post-2007 John Lackey and what Red Sox fans can expect from him in 2013.
Category: Brad Penny
Brad Penny Released
The Red Sox released veteran starter Brad Penny late Wednesday night. While there may be some cheers in Red Sox Nation today, we can all collectively say good bye to that Boston rotation depth.
Another poor decision by the Red Sox front office. Let's just hope that Buchholz and Tazawa can pick up the slack.
Analysis inside...
8/21: Penny vs. Pettitte
Yankees Coming to Town
Game previews, matchups, and Sox news inside...
MLB Potpourri – FireBrand Style
A lot happened in Red Sox Nation this past weekend. Instead of wondering, let's get into the gritty details.
-The Sox Drop Two of Three in Texas
The Sox lost two to the Rangers. Yeah, it's too bad. The Sox stand one game back of Texas in the Wild Card, but that's history and it's time to look to the future. Junichi Tazawa struggled in his latest taste of big league hitting, allowing 2 HR and 3 BB against 0 strikeouts. Brad Penny had his moments and held his ground against a good Texas offense. However, he is still no more than a back-of-the-rotation starter, which showed this weekend.
The clock continues to tick on Michael Bowden, representing the last of the Red Sox reserve rotation arms. While he sports a glowing scouting report and a pristine 3.20 ERA in triple-A Pawtucket, it is getting more and more difficult to see him being a success at the major league level this year. With just a 6.40 K/9 and 3.36 BB/9 this season, he is far from a sure thing...
Thanks, Brad Penny. But it may be time to move on.
Luck hasn't been on his side, I will give him that. Penny has had to deal with a .326 BABIP, while surrendering line drives on only 18 percent of batted balls against. And his LOB percentage is at 66, which is far too low. Eventually, he should strand a few more base-runners.
But it is his love with the fastball, and the home run that is killing him. Do you know how often Penny throws the fastball? 73 percent of the time! This is the American League East, Brad. There has to be somewhat of a reliance on the breaking stuff too. Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable throwing it. And he doesn't always seem to have command of it. But his curveball has a "Pitch Type Value" of -15.4. That is horrendous.
Point is, he has no viable pitch outside of the fastball, and at times he even struggles with that. That is why he is so reliant on it. he simply cannot do anything positive with the breaking ball.
8/15: Penny tries to give us a quality start.
Since Brad Penny's best this season seems to be six innings, three earned. Then that is what I expect from him. I just hope that he doesn't fare worse. It is a critical game, in terms of the Wild Card, so let's get a W!
The Weekend Series Preview
Time to Count Your Chips
Is a playoff appearance still in the cards?
It's a slump. That's it. That has to be it.
Mayday! Mayday! We're going down... aren't we?
Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between a slump and a freefall. When given the choice, you always root for the slump, because, what other options do you have...
8/10: Come on horrendous offense, score runs!
Well, after a very, very disappointing series sweep at the hand of the Yankees, the Red Sox take on the Detroit Tigers. Yet, they have to face another very good pitcher in Edwin Jackson. The offense must wake up.
On our side, we have the declining Brad Penny. Hopefully, Penny can keep us in this game and let our capable offense of the past have a shot at a win.