I JUST got the joke in the title.

I didn't even notice it until you said something about it.

IMO, it will really help Dotel if he's a 7th inning guy who we can swap in and out more easily than if he's an 8th inning guy. Right handers hit under .200 against him last year with a .654 OPS. It's when we start saying "The whole inning is yours" that he gets in to more trouble. He was at his worst last year in late July and for the month of August, and that was conveniently the month and a half that Linebrink missed.

 

I agree that he's much better suited for the 7th, as he definitely flourished in that role last year. Maybe it's a mental thing, or maybe it was just a temporary command thing. Either way, I wouldn't expect him to put up his April/May/June numbers from last year over the course of an entire season. He'll be good, but it seems unlikely that he'll be that good.

 

I recall him hitting 94-95mph last year... not once in awhile either, but pretty consistently.

 

I don't know about that... I saw him routinely hitting 91-92. I only watched about 50 games last year, so perhaps I'm missing something.

 

The problem wasn't losing oomph on his fastball. The problem is he was overly dependent on it when he fell behind in counts... which got him in trouble when good hitters knew what was coming.

 

Dotel routinely hit 97 on the gun during his heydey in Houston. He could throw that pitch right by hitters, even when he got behind in the count. He can't do that anymore because he no longer has the velocity.

Edited March 3, 200917 yr by WCSox

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0...0,7687594.story

 

Sox reliever Dotel says fans should not worry about his spring struggles

 

March 3, 2009

 

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Octavio Dotel has a message for those who are wondering if his first two rocky outings are a carry-over from his mercurial 2008 season.

 

Be patient.

 

"I don't know what people are worrying about in spring training," Dotel said Monday. "If it was the [regular] season, that's different. But it's spring training 2009, Cactus League.

 

"What I did in the [regular] season, that's what counts. I don't know why people are worrying about it in spring training."

 

Dotel struck out three and didn't allow a run Monday in the eighth inning of a 5-3 loss to Seattle. Dotel, who did allow a hit and had an errant pickoff throw, said he has been working on a changeup to disrupt opponents' timing.

 

"I'm throwing it, and that's why it's spring training—to work with pitches you need to work on, to see if they're going to be good in the season," he said. "So over here I'm going to throw it no matter what. But when the season starts, if I don't have control the way I want it, believe me, I'm not going to be throwing it because it's different."

 

Dotel struck out 92 but allowed 12 home runs in 67 innings in 2008.

I didn't even notice it until you said something about it.

 

I didn't even read the thread. I saw the title of bunch of times, and it suddenly just clicked.