The Baseball Reporters Show Recap 5/28

Tony Massarotti opened the Baseball Reporters Show today with a question: As of right now, who would you rather have in the starting rotation: Tim Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka? Tony explains why these next 2 weeks are important for this Red Sox team. Also, Mazz talks about Jacoby Ellsbury going back to the DL.

When Tony analyzes starting pitchers there are 3 statistics that he looks at: Batting average against, walks, and ERA. Wakefield is better than Dice-K in all 3 categories. Tony says, "He [Wakefield] gives more innings per start, walks fewer batters per 9, and has a lower ERA." This debate is important because Josh Beckett is off the DL on June 3rd and one of these pitchers, Daisuke Matsuzaka or Tim Wakefield, is going to the bullpen. Tony would rather have Wakefield as a starter but realizes that it probably won't happen.

Both pitchers have started 6 games this season. Tim Wakefield is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA and averages almost 7 IP per start. Daisuke Matsuzaka is 3-2 with a 5.77 ERA and averages less than 6 IP per start. Sean from Merrimack, NH called into the show today and admits he would rather have Wakefield because he'll give you more quality starts, won't tax the bullpen, and is more reliable in general.

Tony also discussed the importance of these next 2 weeks for this Red Sox team despite the opponents they'll face. "The Red Sox thus far have played pretty much the same against good teams and bad teams. For example, they're 2-2 against this Kansas City club, 3-4 against Tampa Bay, and they actually have a losing record against Baltimore. So, now that they've played their way back in, they really need to avoid falling asleep against these bad clubs and playing themselves back out."

And the last topic on the show today was Jacoby Ellsbury. He was sent back to the DL today after seeing a specialist and he's not eligible to return until June 9th. The Red Sox would have played 60 games at that point and Jacoby would have only played in 9 of them.