History Lesson: Depth (Part 3)

Last night, Ivan Nova and Doug Fister squared off in Game 5 of the AL Division Series for the Yankees and Tigers, respectively. Nova is the Yankees's rookie sensation who won 16 games, including 12 decisions in a row, and headed into the post season as the team's number two starter. Fister was picked up in a trade mid-season from the Mariners and proved to be the most important trade acquisition in baseball, stabilizing a shaky Detroit rotation by going 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA and 0.6 BB per 9 innings after the trade.

The results of last night's match-up are inconsequential to this discussion (but thank baby Jesus the Tigers won). The reason for highlighting these pitchers is because Red Sox fans and media have wondered why the Red Sox didn't have a pitcher from the minors like Nova or why they didn't make a trade for a pitcher like Fister, but instead threw out the likes of Andrew Miller, Kyle Weiland and Tim Wakefield in key September starts while the playoffs were slipping away.

History Lesson: September Pitching (Part 2)

The Red Sox pitching in September was Loiazan. This is no surprise, and it is not my hypothesis. Even the staunchest supporters of the "bad chemistry" theory can admit that the pitching was just plain terrible in September (although all those chemists point to this drinking story as a reason why, not a combination of bad talent and bad timing; because the Red Sox are definitively the only team in baseball with pitchers that drink between starts; riiiiight).

In September, Red Sox pitchers allowed 6.37 runs per game (earned and unearned). From April-May they had allowed 4.19 runs per game. They went from an above average pitching staff to an historically bad one. While this was happening, the offense more or less remained the same (5.4 runs per game in September, 5.4 runs per game through the whole season), elite compared to the rest of the league, but not historically elite. Because the 2011 Red Sox offense was unable to morph into a combination of the late 90s Cleveland Indians and late 20s New York Yankees, that September pitching became a problem.

History Lesson: Injuries (Part 1)

It is time to dive into the collapse once and for all. I am not sure how many parts this will take or what answers I will find. I have preconceived notions about each topic that I plan to discuss, but I am going to back each argument up with research. Sometimes I may be wrong and sometimes I may be right, but I promise to give unbiased research for each topic. I will start each part off with what I think is right and then will dive into the research to confirm or refute my own theory. Sounds exciting right? While the scientific method may not sound exciting, hopefully it will bring us all some closure.

Today I will look at injuries as a cause for the Red Sox collapse. Injuries seem to be the topic that nobody likes to discuss. For one, people tend to think that every team has injuries so if everyone is on a level playing field with respect to injuries then this is a poor argument. Two, talking about injuries is just sad and boring. There is no way to predict injuries (yet) and prevention is equally unpredictable. Plus, we as fans are not really privy to the methods of preparation and prevention nor the people in charge of the medical and training staffs so when there is a failure there is nobody to focus the blame on so it becomes a dead end. And three, people see injuries as a cop out. They think that these pretty boy millionaires should be able to play through a stiff neck, strained muscle or bone sticking out of the flesh because at the end of the day they get to go home to their mansions and super model wives and this is their job, damnit!