*official 2007 red sox thread*

[legend42]

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I sure did. After throwing 13 consecutive, straight(as in no movement whatsoever) fastballs to the batter before where he could not get a swing and miss

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You don't necessarily want a lot of movement on your fastball when you have 3 balls in the count (down by 1 run in the ninth vs. a non-power hitter). Yes his FB definitely lacked zip, but at least he was spotting it. The ability to throw 9 out of 10 pitches for strikes (all in good spots, and Willits didn't come close to hitting any of them hard) has some value. And he has shown some ability to miss bats recently (I know, zomg Devil Rays, etc.)

I do think that at-bat exhausted him physically and mentally, and carried over to the Kotchman walk. His job against Figgins was very good (painted each corner with FBs, threw a nice 1-2 change that Figgins didn't chase, climbed the ladder and jammed him with FBs that Figgins just fought off, and finally he got one that he could pull through the hole, that probably would have been right at Youks had there not been a runner on 1st). Even the ball that Cabrera pulled through the hole was right on the outside corner, and will often be a GIDP. Then, just like K-Rod in the previous inning, he got frustrated.

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So he lost confidence with his breaking stuff and tried to get by with fastballs that had no movement. It didn't work.

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You're right, it didn't work, and I am over-defending him. But the kind of effort he gave will result in a scoreless inning much of the time. Just not last night. Right now, I put him just behind Delcarmen, just ahead of Timlin on the trust scale. But I would not be surprised at all if he improves going forward. Maybe Tek needs some time to be able to read his stuff better. Again, remember Scott Williamson.