The Switch Pitcher: Baseball’s Last Dying Breed

I recently had a conversation with two friends about pitchers, and if it would ever be possible to see a pitcher who throws both righty and lefty, and does both effectively. I thought it would be impossible for any pitcher to ever be that good. After reading up on a handful of guys from the 1800s who did it, and almost falling asleep while reading it, I gave up thinking about it and conceded the thought of it ever happening. But today’s Rick Reilly article showcases the exact kind of pitcher I thought I’d only be able to dream of witnessing: a switch-pitcher!

Pat Venditte is currently in the New York Yankees system, so considering how poor their relief pitching is and could be for the future, he could land a major league job some day. And he would certainly be a sight to behold. Venditte boasts two different deliveries and slightly different pitch arsenals for each side of the mound. He has a special glove fitted with two thumbs. He pitches righty to right-handers, and vice-versa.

Even though I’m, a Red Sox fan and hate the Yankees with a passion, I would love to see the Yanks call Venditte up soon. Something I originally thought was extinct- if it ever existed at all- is now here, right before my eyes. Amazing!

Check out Venditte in action here:

Boston Red Sox Injured, But Keep On Winning Games

An entire lineup could be assembled out of members of the Boston Red Sox who have struggled with either injuries or inconsistency in 2009. Such problems could derail a season for many major league teams, yet the Red Sox just continue to win games. They currently sit at 20-12, second in the American League east behind the surprising Toronto Blue Jays. And that record is a testament to the Red Sox’s excellent combination of depth and resilience.

All-star infielders Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia have dealt with injuries since the middle of the World Baseball Classic, most recently Pedroia’s strained groin Sunday night. Shortstop Jed Lowrie will be out until at least June with a wrist injury. Daisuke Matsuzaka will rejoin the team very soon, but landed on the disabled list with arm fatigue after pitching Japan to a championship in the WBC.

Outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Rocco Baldelli have also spent time out of the lineup for various injuries. And it should only be a matter of time before J.D. Drew suffers some sort of injury himself.

In addition to injuries, the Red Sox have also dealt with inconsistency in their rotation. Going into the season, the rotation was considered one of their strengths, and one of the best in baseball. But through Sunday, Tim Wakefield remains the only Red Sox starter with an ERA under 5.00 (2.93). Combined, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Matsuzaka, Brad Penny and fill-in Justin Masterson have a 10-9 record with a 6.54 ERA.

So how do the Red Sox keep winning games despite being ravaged by injuries and getting a Jekyll & Hyde act out of almost the entire rotation? The saving grace thus far has been the outstanding relief work from the pitching staff. Jonathan Papelbon, Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen, and Hideki Okajima have combined to allow just ten earned runs in 63 innings, a 1.43 ERA. The only Red Sox reliever to take the loss in a game this season is Javier Lopez, who is 0-2.

The great work of the bullpen cannot be ignored, but neither can the offensive production the Red Sox have gotten from guys who have had to pick up the slack. Jason Bay has been one of the league’s most productive hitters, with a .324 average and 34 RBI in 32 games. He has also made a natural transition to the cleanup spot while Youkilis has been out, and most recently hit a double Sunday night to drive home the eventual game-winning run.

If David Ortiz can’t solve his current power outage (ZERO, I repeat ZERO, home runs through 116 at-bats), he may need to move down from the third spot in the order. If I were in charge, I’d put Youkilis in the 3-hole and keep Bay batting cleanup. But Big Papi’s reputation will keep him in that spot for as long as he needs to hit his first home run of the season…Whenever that is.

Despite Bay’s scorching start, also not to be ignored is Mike Lowell, who has played tremendously coming off hip surgery. Thought to be a question mark in the Red Sox lineup entering the season, Lowell is batting .312 with six home runs and 28 RBI in 31 games. What remains to be seen is whether Lowell can maintain this kind of production. The power is unlikely, but he proved a lot of people wrong in 2007 by maintaining a strong batting average and RBI total throughout the season. They are especially going to need his production if and when Ortiz and Drew go down with injuries, or simply can’t hit (like right now).

For the Red Sox, first order of business is to get Pedroia healthy again. The last thing they need is to miss the defending AL MVP for an extended period of time. The injury is only a strain, so a DL stint is unlikely at this point. But being without both him and Youkilis in the lineup puts the Red Sox at an immediate disadvantage, and they stand to face some strong pitching on this week’s west coast road trip. Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders await in Anaheim, and the rejuvenated Erik Bedard will go Saturday in Seattle.

Perhaps the most important part about this Red Sox team is that manager Terry Francona is not letting them make any excuses. Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint, injuries are part of the game, only wins and losses matter, etc. One can roll out several cliches in this situation. Francona is making sure all of them remain in the Red Sox vernacular.

“We’re a little beat up, that’s for sure,” Francona told Ian Browne of RedSox.com. “I think we’d rather win and be beat up then lose and be beat up.”

Francona is absolutely right. Forgive me for recycling a cliche, but in the end, all that matters is wins and losses. And if the Red Sox can win with make-shift lineups, an entire rotation with ERAs above 5.00 and a growing list of injuries, then something is being done right in Boston.

Curtis Granderson Robs Grady Sizemore of a Walk-off Home Run

The score was 1-0, and the Cleveland Indians were batting in the bottom of the ninth with one out and the tying run on first base. Tigers ace Justin Verlander was working on a potential complete-game shutout. Then Grady Sizemore stepped to the plate and launched a fastball over the wall to seemingly ruin the night for Verlander and the Tigers and send Cleveland into an ecstatic frenzy…But instead, center fielder Curtis Granderson makes what could be the catch of the year, considering the situation. Granderson was playing deep to begin with, so he didn’t have far to run. But oftentimes that can make the catch even harder to time. He times in perfectly, and reels the potential Sizemore homer in for the second out. The humorous part of this catch is that he completely fools the play-by-play announcer, who is apparently a fill-in for the Indians’ normal guy. The call of the catch was ruined for that reason, but it’s a spectacular play nonetheless.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis The Hero As Celtics Top Magic In Game Four, 95-94

Before the final possession of the game, Marv Albert commented that the Boston Celtics and coach Doc Rivers wanted the ball in the hands of either Paul Pierce or Ray Allen to try to win the game. And of course, they were in a do-or-die situation, down by one with just 11 seconds left, so to give either of those two the ball would have made perfect sense. But the actual game-winning shot came from perhaps the unlikeliest of sources, forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who has filled in admirably in the absence of Kevin Garnett. Paul Pierce came out with the ball and likely was going to take the shot, but he immediately drew the double-team, which left him with no choice but to pass the ball off. “Big Baby” was doing his job just by being in his sweet-spot for a mid-range jump-shot. Pierce located Davis quickly enough to get him the ball so he could shoot uncontested, and the ball sank through the hoop just as the buzzer sounded.

It was an incredibly clutch shot for the Celtics, as they would have faced a possibly insurmountable three-games-to-one deficit had Davis missed. But instead, the series is tied 2-2 and the Celtics regained home-court advantage. Game five will be in Boston at the TD Garden at 8 p.m.

The game is yet another in which the Celtics’ young stars are shining brighter than they have all season. Rajon Rondo continued his outstanding play with a Garnett-like line of 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Kendrink Perkins contributed 12 and 13 of his own, to go with five blocks. What was disturbing for the Celtics, however, is they got only two points on 1-of-8 shooting out of their bench, whose play has been wildly inconsistent. But here they are, in a tied series going back home. The Celtics can take control of the series with a win Tuesday night.

So What Do We Make of the Bruins Now?

After being shut down by Cam Ward, beaten to almost every loose puck and simply being out-worked and out-played by the Carolina Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins entered Sunday at the brink of elimination. But they did exactly what they needed to do in game 5, deliver an all-around performance and give Carolina no chance to win.

But what to make of this team now? They looked lost and confused in games 2-4, including a shutout at home in game 2. Ward has looked like the Conn Smythe winner he was in 2006, and the Hurricanes have played much better than  a No.6-seed. So in a sense, it’s no surprise that they put the Bruins in this position.

But the No.1-seeded Bruins let it be known Sunday that they would not go down without putting up a fight, and in game 5 they made the Hurricanes look like the inferior squad they were perceived to be entering the series. The 4-0 victory was about as good an all-around performance we’ve seen from the Bruins this year, but it pains New England that the Eastern Conference’s top seed had to do just that to stave off elimination.

Boston fans would obviously be more satisfied to have seen that game give the Bruins the series lead, rather than take them one step toward a comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

Still, there were plenty of things to like about the game from the Bruins. Tim Thomas earned his first career postseason shutout, although he only faced 19 shots. At the same time, the Bruins peppered Ward with 40 shots, ten of which came from Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman. Phil Kessel scored twice after not scoring a single goal all series. They also out-hit the Hurricanes 25-15 and edged them out in the faceoff battle, 29-27.

That the Bruins have made it this far in the series with minimal production from Kessel is a testament to their depth and ability to get scoring from all four lines. Michael Ryder has stepped up huge for them, with 11 points in nine postseason games. Marc Savard is picking up right where he left off at the end of the regular season. Milan Lucic has played as expected with his hard-nosed style, but has surprised many with being an unexpected offensive force (four points in the series).

As a team, they held Eric Staal to three shots on goal and a -3 rating. The huge shots-on-goal differential is indicative of how efficient the Bruins were at both ends of the ice.

Yes, there is plenty to like about how the Bruins played game 5. But they are still down 3-2 in the series, and despite their game 5 effort being about as good as one can hope for, they still need to take the next game in Carolina to stay alive. The Hurricanes ought to be expected to come out with the same type of urgency and intensity with which the Bruins came out at the start of game 5. Surely, the Hurricanes do not want this series to come down to a game 7 in Boston.

But all the pressure will still be on the Bruins. They are the ones in a must-win situation. They showed what they can do at home in a win-or-go-home scenario, and they will need to repeat that performance in game 6, if not player better. I said before game 5 that the Bruins will need to dominate game 5 to have a chance in the series. They did just that, and now they have a chance. But it’s still only a fighting chance.

The Hurricanes took a beating in game 5, but we can all be rest assured that won’t happen again in game 6 on their home ice. This time, they will be the ones who come out swinging. It will be up to the Bruins to be the first team to swing back.