Red Sox / Seattle - Game 29

Let me start off this post with two semi announcements:

1. I really like Jamie Moyer.

2. If you want information on the Mariners or anything to do with Seattle area sports then Sports and Bremertonians is the best stop for you.

OK - now on to last night's game. It was the best of starts (Clement) and it was the worst of starts (Moyer).

Jamie Moyer was having a fine season until he ran into the Red Sox. Moyer gave up 6 runs in 2 2/3 innings last night and that was the ballgame. Before the game his ERA was 3.53 - this morning it has ballooned up to 4.70.

I like Moyer and last year I got the feeling that he was all done. I mean 7-13 with a 5.21 ERA is a huge drop-off for a guy who went 21-7 with a 3.27 ERA the year before. I was happy for Moyer when he got off to a 4-0 start but after last night's game - I'm worried about him again. I mean he is 43 and the wheels have to come off the wagon sometime - right?

One of the little things I like about Moyer is the fact he was one of the heroes of the book Moneyball but he has gone under the radar for it. I mean Nick Swisher and Kevin Youkilis have gotten lots of pub and mileage out of the book but very little notice has been paid to Moyer's role.

Not to be overlooked was the fine job pitching turned in by Matt Clement last night. He went 7 innings only allowing one un-earned run to improve his record to 4-0 and improve his ERA to 3.35. Clement was the guy the Sox signed when they lost out on Carl Pavano to the Yankees. Take a look at how those two compare so far

Clement - 4-0 / 43 IP / 3.35 ERA / 17 BB / 34 K
Pavano - 2-2 / 41 IP / 4.17 ERA / 9 BB / 21 K

I bring up this comparison partly because I know that with the Yankees having so much trouble lately that some people will feel the wrath of Steinbrenner and that wrath may fall on pitching coach Mel Stottlemeyer. I agree that the pressure is probably more on a Yankee pitcher than on a Red Sox pitcher but isn't part of the pitching coaches job to help the pitcher deal with that pressure? All the experts agreed that Pavano had the better "stuff" than Clement but now Clement is putting up better numbers. I'm sure that the pitching coaches have something to do with the pitchers success (kudos to Dave Wallace while we are at it).

Along the same lines - the starting catcher is also usually credited when the staff does well (kudos to Jason Varitek who is proving more valuable than I ever thought possible). In New York should part of the pitching staff's woes be laid at the feet of Jorge Posada? Posada is 33 and has shown the classic deterioration in a catcher's offense. Maybe the problems at the plate have hindered Posada's ability to deal with the pitchers because Posada's mind is pre-occupied with his own woes?

Maybe a move the Yankees should make is make John Flaherty the starting catcher and have him focus just on the pitching staff. Maybe they could move Posada to DH where neither Giambi nor Bernie Williams have been any great shakes.

Back to the Red Sox.

At some point something has to be done about Kevin Millar. He's hitting just .248 with a .666 OPS in THE FIVE HOLE! Even with hitting after Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz - Millar has managed just 12 RBI (he's hitting .258 with runners in scoring position). I don't mean to keep harping on this but Millar and Blaine Neal have been the team's two biggest weaknesses so far this season.

I do feel for Millar because he has to know that the natives are getting restless.