SoxHawk1980

The funniest/silliest thing I've heard and read is that Freddy has decreased his velocity on purpose because he now wants to be a soft-tosser. That is pure BS. Even if he were stupid enough to try that early in the season, he wouldn't keep it up through his persistent failure. He either has a nagging injury or some big-time long-term fatigue. Frankly, I have a feeling that neither Freddy nor the organization have a good idea of why is velocity is so far down.

Ozzie needs to try something. His response so far has basically been *yawn* "so what?" And his team is playing the same way. Maybe he should act like this is unacceptable and light a fire under them. That's what he gets paid for, isn't it? That what he's supposed to be good at. Because he sure as hell isn't good at the in-game part of managing.

No hunger at all. Last year they fought like hell for wins. Losses made them angry. This year losses are met with a shrug.

The fact that we have to play Detroit 10 more times this season is one of the reasons we won't make it to the playoffs. We'll probably get hammered. I predict 2-8 vs. the tiggers.

But the team leaders said this team is fine and doesn't need any additions!

I find it interesting that Ozzie has publicly reacted to this awful stretch by acting like it is no big deal. I see no intensity, fire, frustration, urgency from him. No wonder the team isn't showing any fire either.

fixed

Nice team effort there. Freddy gives up an easy hit. Freddy doesn't hold the runner on first. AJ throws the ball into CF and now we have a batter at third with no out. When is this team going to show ANY intensity?

Welcome to late batting practice, courtesy Freddy Garcia.

His 87 mph fastball has looked very hittable. And that slow fastball makes all of the rest of his pitches more hittable. Want proof? The Orioles are hitting him very well and have scored 3 runs so far, and he's not out of the 3rd inning.

At his weight and physical conditiong, with the heat I'm sure he's going to be exhausted by the 5th inning.

I'd like to see Freddy lose 30 pounds. He looks fat and tired.

FWIW, I'm watching the Oriole's broadcast of the game and on their gun, Freddy is topping out at 89 mph.

His peripherals have always been at least decent. Decent K/9, good K/BB, good WHIP. This season, all of those peripherals turned to crap. All of the indictators are down this season. That doesn't look like a slump. That looks like a serious long-term problem, not just a little slump. Sox fans had better hope that this is just arm fatigue or an injury. No, he hasn't been getting lucky in the past. He's been getting enough strike outs, and keeping guys from hitting him too hard. He's had enough velocity, excellent control, and perfectly executed change of speeds. If you look at all of his relevant stats this year, you'll see that they are wildly different from each of his prior major league seasons. This is a major season-long downturn. Not just a little slump.

His peripherals were bad all year though. Finally, it caught up with him and he's been giving up a lot of runs recently. Basically, it was poor pitching, pretty much all year; he just didn't get lucky in the last month. This is a bad season and he's been pitching poorly in every way: K's, hits, walks, runs...everything.

I think there are some things to be worried about: 1. His strikeout rate this season is an extremely low 4.03 K/9. That is considerably lower than any other season of his major league career. The last two seasons it was 6.05 and 5.67 respectively. 2. He has become extremely hittable. Opposing batters are hitting .306 against him. That is much, much worse than any other season in his career. The last two seasons it was .271 and .262 respecitvely. His OPS against is .828. His previous high was .738. If you're giving up a lot of hits and can't strike guys out, you're going to fail big time. This isn't just a slump, it is a horrible season. Maybe it is the huge number of innings and pitches he's thrown over the past 6 years, but he has definitely become a different pitcher this year.

We've got a guy that good in the bullpen who is ready to dominate as a starter. (even though he can't dominate as a middle reliever)

Don't bet on it. What's more likely is that you'll hear that KW signed Crazy Carl and Sandy's brother.

Maybe a boat party with a lot of strippers.

That's a handy excuse, but it doesn't hold water. Prospects who were starters all throughout their minor league careers come up to the majors and pitch out of the bullpen all the time. Good ones usually perform better in the pen than in the rotation. It is rare that good pitcher can't handle the bullpen, but works well as a SP.

Yeah, it's easier.

I'm kind of tired of the "I'm sure the players are as upset/angry/frustrated as the fans are right now" BS. If they were as upset as we are, then I would think we'd see some intensity in these guys. They are rolling over and playing dead. They have been flat as a pancake since the ASB. I see no fire.

None of his stats make any difference. He's the savior.

Is anybody around to give this guy a timeout?

He used the word arsehole. Except of course he used the prohibited version of the word.