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Baseball Today: Friday, April 25 »
April 24, 2008
BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON – Justin Masterson made his big-league debut yesterday.
Great things are predicted for the 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander. The 23-year-old certainly seems to have all the tools for stardom – size, live arm and intelligence, to name three.
Here are some first-game impressions:
-- His motion is three-quarters. The beginning of his motion is deliberate, but then he explodes off the rubber, slinging the ball to the plate, reminiscent of the finish to Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley’s delivery. His delivery, though, does seem to put a lot of stress on his elbow.
-- He works very quickly, a sign of an extremely confident pitcher, not the typical first-game-in-the-bigs body language. Masterson was by no means wide-eyed, in awe of his surroundings. He looked like he belonged.
-- He can field his position. Masterson quickly came off the mound when speedy Chone Figgins attempted to bunt for a hit in the third. Under control, Masterson raced in, picked up the ball, planted his feet, squared up to first and threw a strike for the out.
-- He looks like he can control the opposition’s running game. He used his normal high leg-kick delivery in the second and the Angels’ Maicer Izturis swiped second without a throw. The next time the Angels had a runner at first, Masterson used the slide-step. And he showed quick feet and a good move to first, almost picking off Gary Matthews Jr. in the third.
-- He has the stuff to compete at the big-league level. Masterson was able to keep the Angels off-balance with his fastball (up to 92 m.p.h.), changeup (80-84) and slider (78-80), but his bread and butter was the sinker, generally 87-90. Of the 18 outs he recorded, 11 came on ground balls and he also whiffed four, so there were only three balls hit into the outfield for outs.
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His batting average still is a mere .189.
Late in the game, though, David Ortiz is a tough out. At least he was on this homestand, which wound up yesterday.
In his last at-bat over the last seven games, Ortiz went 4 for 4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. He walked in his other three final at-bats.
Yesterday, Ortiz was 0 for 4 when he faced Scot Shields with a runner at second and two outs in the ninth and the Sox down, 7-3. Shields surprised Ortiz by dropping in an 81 m.p.h. curveball for a called strike, making the count 1 and 2. He tried another 81-m.p.h. curve but missed, so it was 2 and 2.
It’s rare to double up with breaking balls. But throw three in a row? Not likely. So Ortiz had to know a fastball was coming. It did, a fat one over the heart of the plate, and Ortiz crushed it to right for a two-run homer, Boston’s final runs in a 7-5 loss.
Earlier, Ortiz had given indications that he’s still battling a slump, and that he wasn’t terribly confident facing Angels left-hander Joe Saunders. Ortiz attempted to beat the shift by dropping down a bunt on an 0-and-1 pitch in the first inning, but missed the pitch.
Another indication came in the fifth. The count on Ortiz reached 3 and 0.
Ortiz rarely swings at a 3-and-0 pitch. He did it only seven times last year (3 for 5). Yesterday, though, figuring he would get a fastball, he hacked at the 3-and-0 offering from Joe Saunders, the first time this season he as swung at 3 and 0.
He got the fastball, and he hit it well, but the high drive died in the triangle and was hauled in by Torii Hunter.
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The last time Manny Ramirez faced Frankie Rodriguez, the Angels’ ace closer, it was last Oct. 5. And the Red Sox left fielder clubbed a dramatic, titanic, tie-breaking three-run homer well over the Green Monster with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of Game 2 of the American League Division Series, spurring Boston to a sweep of the series.
They met again yesterday. The circumstances weren’t nearly as pressure-packed. The Angels had a 7-5 lead and there were two outs with none on in the bottom of the ninth.
Rodriguez slipped two fastballs, each at 93 m.p.h., over the outside corner for called strikes. He missed with a fastball and a slider. His 2-and-2 pitch was a 93 m.p.h. fastball that Ramirez hit very well – but flied out to the triangle in center.
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It is said that stealing third base is easier than stealing second.
Pitchers don’t tend to pay as much attention to the runner at second as they do at first, so the runner can get a bigger lead and jump, as a result.
Yesterday, Coco Crisp made it look real easy to swipe third.
In the fourth, after hitting a double, Crisp wasn’t held close by the Angels shortstop or second baseman and Saunders only gave him a cursory look. So Crisp got a nice walking lead and took off for third, sliding in safely without drawing a throw because he had such a good jump.
In the sixth, Crisp made it 2 for 2, again getting a great jump and sliding into third without a throw.
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Those who complain about any negative Ramirez comments should pass on this item. This may be construed as Manny Bashing.
Leading off the second, Ramirez hit a high popup behind first base that twisted in the wind. Angels first baseman Casey Kotchman was in obvious trouble trying to track this ball in the bright sunshine and the swirling wind.
Ramirez could see all of that. The play was right in his path.
Nevertheless, Ramirez lolly-gagged his way down the first-base line. So when the ball fell safely onto the grass, totally missing Kotchman’s glove about 15 feet behind the dirt part of the infield, Ramirez had barely made it to first base.
It should have been a double, had he been running out of the box.
As things turned out, it didn’t matter. Kevin Youkilis walked, pushing Ramirez to second. Ramirez was held up at third on Jed Lowrie’s single to center and scored on Coco Crisp’s one-out chopper to the right side.
skrasner@projo.com / 401-277-7340
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 6:03 PM | Permalink
