Efficiency seems to be the name of the game this season, at least when it comes to the offense.
The Sox started the season by scoring nine runs on eight hits over their first two games. On Monday, Mark Teahen continued to make us aware that he only hits when it counts.
Tuesday? Not only did the Sox score two runs on their only hit, but they broke up Ricky Romero's no-hitter with the most emotional impact possible.
Step 1: A.J. Pierzynski made enemies with another entire city by faking a hit-by-pitch. It wasn't even close to hitting his foot, but by limping 45 feet and pointing to his toe, he somehow won over a skeptical Tim McClelland.
If McClelland didn't give it to him, would Pierzynski have sold it to the end like the infamous University of Arkansas catcher from a few years ago?
I don't think he'd go that far, but somehow, he's never had to answer that question. Some guys can just take shortcuts, and they piss everybody off because the majority can't take advantage of the same openings, whether it's ethics or a lack of vision involved.
Step 2: Alex Rios answered boos with a no-doubt shot on a hanging changeup. "YOUR HATRED FEEDS ME!" (safe for casual work environments only).
It's nice to see Rios' stats start lining up with how he's been hitting the ball. His homer gives him a line of .258/.324/.516, and he still has a little bit of room with BABIP to work with.
There's not much else to say. Romero had all his pitches working, he made patterns nearly impossible to decipher, and leadoff man Omar Vizquel (let me never have to write those words again) was cheating like mad on fastballs that never came.
Hey, sometimes they can beat Toronto with only one hit. Tuesday wasn't one of those nights.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*Orlando Hudson thinks race may have a part in why Jermaine Dye is still unemployed. Obviously I'm not qualified to see the whole picture, but when you look at Jim Thome, Jack Cust and Hank Blalock, I still think the main reason is that he couldn't have marketed himself much worse.
*Ozzie Guillen has Rios' back, and is trying to downplay Jake Peavy's slow start as well.
*Speaking of Peavy, J.J. did some nice work looking into his pitch selection on Monday.
*Oral Sox has a new podcast up. Forgot to link to this earlier.
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Minor league roundup:
- Charlotte 6, Norfolk 1
- Lucas Harrell bounced back from a shelling by striking out seven over six shutout innings. He allowed just five hits and a walk.
- The 2-for-4 club: Jordan Danks (RBI, walk, stolen base), Tyler Flowers (two RBI) and Dayan Viciedo (one walk, two strikeouts).
- C.J. Retherford and Brent Lillibridge went 2-for-5. Lillibridge is hitting .455.
- Clevelan Santeliz struck out two in a perfect inning of work.
- Potomac 5, Winston-Salem 4 (12 innings)
- Stephen Sauer had uncharacteristic control issues, walking three over six innings. He limited the damage to three runs, striking out four.
- Santos Rodriguez struck out a batter over a scoreless inning.
- Jon Gilmore went 2-for-6 with an RBI and two strikeouts.
- Lexington 8, Kannapolis 5
- Matthew Hopps' line: 1 1/3 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 0 K. He also threw a pickoff throw away.
- Kyle Bellamy struck out two and walked one over two hitless innings.
- Nick Ciolli went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts.
- Brady Shoemaker went 1-for-4; Daniel Wagner doubled, walked and drove in two.
