Pitching moves don't guarantee anything to Sox

Looking at the big splash -- or at least the overblown coverage -- about Boston's new pitching acquisitions. 

The article breathlessly adds that they're also looking at RHPs James Shields and Max Scherzer and just about every other available pitcher. The implication is that they might have about a 9-man All-Star rotation. Probably won't lose a game, except occasionally to the Yankees. 

I'm thinking that to acquire a star pitcher in a trade, the Sox would have to trade at least one from the group of RHPs Justin Masterson and Rick Porcello and LHP Wade Miley, or that if they sign a free agent pitcher or two, to fill other holes they'd have to trade one of the pitchers they've acquired.

Here's some reality: After the All-Star break, those three pitchers were a combined 9-17. I haven't done the math, but I'm pretty sure their combined ERA was well above the league average. Porcello was 3-8, 3.48. Miley 3-6, 4.60. Masterson was 3-3, but with an awesome 7.04 ERA. 

If the plan is to improve the pitching incrementally, and they're able to pull it off, that should work if they have Shields and Scherzer in the rotation instead of Masterson and Miley, plus another above-average infielder or center fielder who could hit. But if 2/5 of the rotation is Masterson and Miley, and they still have holes in their lineup, the Sox wouldn't be a major threat.

I think Porcello should be OK, but his ERA could take a hit pitching in Boston. I saw him last season before he slumped. He was masterful in shutting out the Rangers. I asked him if he was a better pitcher than he'd been in the past. He looked at me, hesitated and said, "That's for you guys to say." I was pretty sure he was at that time, not so sure now and not too sure what happened to him down the stretch.

Complete game epidemic

Two nights, two top right-handers pitching their first career major league complete games -- and first shutouts.

Rangers RHP Yu Darvish did it Wednesday, and Tigers RHP Max Scherzer got in barely under two starts with his first on Thursday.

In today's game of pitch counts and general coddling of pitchers, complete games are becoming increasingly rare. They now are almost always shutouts, because only a low-scoring, low-baserunner effort can get starters in under their pitch limit.

Another first Thursday was the first victory of 2014 by Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin. If he can continue to pitch well, up to the standard he has set during his first few years in the majors, Colorado could stay in the wild-card race if not in contention in the difficult National League West.

The reduction in starters' innings necessarily has raised the number of relief innings in the majors. And with the relatively new one-inning-at-a-time philosophy, that means more relievers in a game. Many of them are the hanger-on type of lefty reliever.

It's not a first for Brewers LHP Zach Duke, unless you consider that this is his first year with more than three wins since 2010.

He's in his 10th major league season, but aside from a 1-0 record with in nine games for the 2012 Nationals, he hadn't had a winning record since his brilliant 2005 rookie year with the Pirates: 8-2, 1.81 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .253 opponents' batting average.

Even with that season and this year's 4-0, 1.37 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, .219 OBA in 26 1/3 innings, Duke has career numbers of 43-76, 4.49, 1.48 and 3.03.

With his fifth major league team, all in the NL, Duke has struck out 34. His strikeout rate is way more than double that of 2008, when he struck out just 87 in 185 innings. Originally slated as the Brewers' one-lefty-batter reliever so common among the hanger-on left-handers, Duke has assumed much more responsibility in Milwaukee's bullpen.

I'll have some All-Star talk for you later.

Can Seattle, Miami or KC break through? What about Moustakas?

Wow! It has been a week since my last post.
My reasons (excuses?) are a busy weekend covering two Stars games, a Mavericks game and a rodeo; a cold and a migraine, and, most important, getting the three fantasy leagues I run back in shape.
Inner League Baseball, started in 1979, calls for fan-chise owners to have their rosters frozen from March 8 (this year) to March 20 to prepare for the draft on the 23rd. I hadn't updated the draft order or each owner's financial status (some $3,000 still to collect), or sent out a ballot for proposed rules changes, or provided a list of the top players in each of the nine statistical categories we use.
If you're interested in joining a league, leave in the comments section your contact information or a request for mine.
Anyway, here are some highlights of what has been going on in baseball.
The exhibition standings don't mean a lot. But I do think there is value in a poor team's being able to (or learning to) win.
The current top teams are two of last season's breakout teams, the Indians and Pirates, at 6-1. Teams to watch going forward are the Mariners (6-2), and Marlins and Royals (both 5-2). I'll have an eye on them, because I don't think much of any of their chances. If I had to pick one team to do well out of those three, it would be the Royals. But do they really have a chance to finish ahead of the Tigers? Or of a phalanx of potential wild cards in the other AL divisions that will include whatever teams don't lead their division out of the Red Sox, Rays, Orioles, Athletics, Rangers and Angels.
You can pretty much be sure that the Braves (1-6) and Red Sox (1-5) will finish ahead of Seattle, Miami and Kansas City during the regular season.
Speaking of the Pirates, Wednesday's win was a good one, 6-4 over Toronto. They scored five runs in three innings against Blue Jays RHP Brandon Morrow, who is a proven major leaguer but might still have arm trouble. OF Travis Snider was 3-for-3, including a homer against Morrow. It's also a good sign that Pittsburgh scored early, with its starters and mostly major leaguers in the lineup. And it was a lineup that included journeyman CF Chris Dickerson instead of MVP Andrew McCutchen.
Speaking of award winners, Detroit RHP Max Scherzer was impressive in a 3-0, three-hit victory over -- oh, well, it was just the Astros. He allowed one hit and struck out three in three innings. I don't believe the game log is correct in indicating that he threw just 16 pitches, all strikes. That would mean his strikeouts all were on three pitches and every other batter saw only one pitch.
Back to the Indians. They defeated the Mariners 8-5 with three runs in the top of the ninth against RHP Danny Farquhar. Even though most major leaguers had left the field by then, Farquhar did close some games for Seattle last season. And Cleveland's first run scored on a double by SS prospect Francisco Lindor.
Seattle's new closer, RHP Fernando Rodney, is expected to make his spring debut Thursday.
There was a pitching matchup you'd like to see during the regular season. The Padres sent RHP Andrew Cashner against White Sox LHP Chris Sale. It was no contest. San Diego scored four first-inning runs, three on C Nick Hundley's home run, on the way to winning 8-0.
Giants RHP Matt Cain had the upper hand over Angels RHP Jered Weaver as San Francisco won 3-2.
The Phillies and Braves honored the late Jim Fregosi before their game in Clearwater, Fla. Then, not in the tradition of Fregosi or baseball, the teams went home after nine innings even though the score was tied 2-2.
The situation was the same in the Marlins-Mets game, except that they played a 10th inning and Miami won 5-2. Guys you never heard of put the Marlins in the winners' circle. Doubles by Mark Canha and Brent Keys drove in the 10th-inning runs, Michael Brady was the winning pitcher and LHP James Leverton earned the save. He threw three ground balls, including a game-ending double-play grounder after C Travis d'Arnaud reached on an error.
Leverton's is a story of perseverance. The Cubs drafted him out of Texas Tech in 2008, three years after he and Giants OF Roger Kieschnick led Rockwall High School to the Texas state championship game. After Chicago released Leverton, he pitched in independent ball before signing with Miami, and made it to Triple-A for the first time last season.
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Statistical leaders. Among them are Royals 3B Mike Moustakas with three home runs and 10 RBI; Padres 1B Tommy Medica with a .556 average; Orioles RHP Chris Tillman, Rockies LHP Franklin Morales and Athletics RHP Jesse Chavez (?!) with two wins in two starts; Diamondbacks fragile RHP Brandon McCarthy with nine innings pitched in two starts (see below); D-backs RHP Josh Collmenter with three saves; Dodgers RHP SB with eight strikeouts, and Athletics rookie OF Billy Burns with seven stolen bases.Tigers rookie 3B/OF Nick Castellanos has seven RBI in his first 14 at-bats.
This information doesn't have any binding relevance, but it could signal that Moustakas is ready to make the kind of leap forward that 1B Eric Hosmer did in 2013 and that if Medica's for real, he or 1B Yonder Alonso could be trade bait. Morales could win a spot in Colorado's rotation. Collmenter's performance could be a fluke, or he could step into an unsettled closer's job. Burns has a chance to become another John Cangelosi. For Rosin, for now I'll resist the urge to write his name as RHP Seth Rosin (Bag) or to make "up Brainerd" jokes about the native of Fargo, N.Dak.
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Pitchers. Can't live without them, can't kill them. The six-innings-is-enough mentality really bothers me. Teams are doing little or nothing to stop its insidious spread. Inside of pitching three innings in their first spring start, which used to be the norm, starters are down to two, sometimes for their first TWO spring starts. Royals RHP James Shields worked only one inning, 10 pitches, in his spring debut. And, as it happens, Yankees RHP Masanori Tanaka, Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright and Tigers RHP Justin Verlander are scheduled to make their first start Thursday.
I'd set the over and under on the season's first nine-inning complete game at May 15. I'm figuring it might be closer to June 1.
Hold the phone! Dodgers LHP Hyun-jin Ryu pitched four whole innings Wednesday night.
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Player moves. The Rangers, possibly down two left-handers in their season-opening rotation, signed free-agent LHP Joe Saunders. He could receive $1.5 million if he makes the Opening Day roster. Better news for Texas was that LHP Matt Harrison (sore back) returned to throw 38 pitches off a mound Wednesday.
The Orioles made yet another 11th-hour pitching move, signing LHP Johan Santana. The 34-year-old could start or pitch out of the bullpen, but isn't expected to be ready to return from shoulder surgery before June.
OF/1B Rick Ankiel has retired, so you can scratch him off your cheat sheet.
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Injury news. Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig left Wednesday night's game because of a sore upper back, but is expected to play Thursday. His teammate, RHP Zack Greinke, threw off a mound for the first time since suffering a strained right calf muscle six days earlier.
Reds RHP Mat Latos threw off a mound 19 days after undergoing knee surgery.
Rockies OF/1B Michael Cuddyer was hit by a pitch on a shoulder blade Wednesday, but his injury wasn't considered serious. 
With Tigers OF Andy Dirks expected to be out until June following back surgery, OF/3B Don Kelly is the most likely candidate to platoon with OF Rajai Davis in left field. The injury also could be good news for Davis' fantasy owners, who now will see even more chances for him to steal bases if he occasionally could reach base against right-handed pitchers.
Yankees 1B/DH Mark Teixeira, who missed most of last season because of a wrist injury, and OF Alfonso Soriano, who has been sidelined by the flu, are expected to make their debuts Thursday.
Diamondbacks RHP Bronson Arroyo, scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday, underwent an MRI exam and received an epidural injection Wednesday for what was diagnosed as a herniated disk.
Royals RHP Luke Hochevar, who became a valuable bullpen piece last year, is expected to be out until late May because of a sprained right elbow.
I hope this information made up for some lost time.
* * *
Hockey. I'm still stuck on 67 points and in third place (now 8 points out of second), and still having problems with my goalies. Twice this week I have played the Capitals' Braden Holtby against the Flyers' Steve Mason. I did get two wins out of those games, but they allowed a total of 17 goals -- and didn't even play all 60 minutes. As soon as I heard about Ryan Miller's trade to the Blues and tried to reacquire him, but saw that he was on the first-place team's roster. It's quite possible that the owner just reacted faster than I did. He has made nearly 60 moves this season, and has 88 points to show for it.
Wednesday's trade deadline brought some remarkable deals. Imagine a Derek Jeter-for-Dustin Pedroia trade. That's pretty much what the Rangers did in sending captain Ryan Callahan to the Lightning for captain Martin St. Louis. Another interesting move was the Stars' trading goalie Dan Ellis to Florida for goalie Tim Thomas. Dallas picked up a playoff-tested goalie who can provide a better option and allow starter Kari Lehtonen to rest more often down the stretch. Thomas Vanek remains on my team even though he was traded to his third team this season (the Canadiens). These trades will make the final six-week run to the playoffs more interesting.
* * *
Basketball. With another week after this, I have clinched first place in the regular season.
Congratulations to me, but I'm in a dogfight this week. That's significant because my opponent this week is the owner leading our league's other division and second overall 17 1/2 games behind me. So he's quite likely to be my opponent if we both reach the finals -- or a difficult semifinal opponent.
This week it's 4-4. Though I trail by just three 3-pointers and two steals, but my leads in the shooting percentages are tenuous. Congratulations to Joakim Noah for another (barely) triple double -- 10 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists. If only he could block more shots or, this week, get more steals.

Some teams aren't getting the new emphasis on defense

I've written about some teams with position battles at second and third base.
This installment includes a look at some teams with options, or should I say problems, at first base -- and how they're solving those.
The White Sox and Mariners seem willing to go the route of weakening their defense in exchange for the possibility of increased offense. The Pirate no doubt will have their eyes on the waiver wire or trade possibilities.
Chicago signed Cuban 1B Jose Abreu, possibly expecting 1B Paul Konerko to retire. His decision to return for a farewell season created a logjam at first base/DH, with Adam Dunn already there. The proposed solution is to have Dunn play left field. Sox pitchers no doubt are overjoyed.
Seattle's taking a similar tack. 1B Justin Smoak might have saved his position with a strong second half in 2013. But then they traded for 1B/OF Corey Hart, whose outfield days are numbered at best. The Mariners also are working failed C Jesus Montero at first base. So there could be something like Smoak at first, Montero as a shaky DH and Hart as a shaky outfielder in a big outfield. Sure, Seattle has added 2B Robinson Cano to RHP Felix Hernandez and 3B Kyle Seager, but what else is there?
Pirates 1B Gaby Sanchez is making noise about being a full-time player this year. The right-handed batter wasn't very effective in just a platoon role against lefties last season, so how can he really be expected to produce every day. The alternatives or possible platoon players are left-handed batters Travis Ishikawa, who has been found wanting elsewhere, and the unproven Andrew Lambo and Chris McGuiness.
-- Reports say the Red Sox are close to signing LHP Chris Capuano to fill the rotation spot that would have gone to RHP Ryan Dempster except that he decided not to pitch this year. They're interchangeable fifth starter at this stage of their careers, and probably average of below-average among fifth starters.
-- For starters: No surprise, RHP Adam Wainwright will start the opening game for the National League-champion Cardinals.
New Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he hasn't decided among his wealth of right-handed talent: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez. I'd rank them in that order. If Scherzer couldn't get the Opening Day start after the season he had in 2013, when would he? Verlander is 31, so logic tells us he isn't likely to have another year as good as his glory days. Sanchez can be unhittable; the inconsistent one can also be hittable.
Detroit has decided on a starter for its opening exhibition game Tuesday against Florida Southern College, and its Ver ... no, not Verlander, but rookie RHP Drew VerHagen, who finished last season at Double-A Erie. I saw VerHagen on a few occasions when he was at Rockwall-Heath High School in Texas. He was drafted in the fourth round out of Vanderbilt in 2012.
* * *
Basketball. Team Fresh Prints maintained its 7-1 lead for this week. Friday's games could be the key to protecting that lead or even going ahead in free throw percentage for an 8-0 sweep. It appears that I'll have nine players to my opponent's two. If my starting nine can shoot well at the foul line, they could put a big dent in the .050 by which they trail in free throw percentage. The downside is that a bad shooting night could all but eliminate the chance of leading in free throws and could also drop the field goal percentage behind. The six other counting categories should be all but wrapped up Friday night.