mreye Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Did you know the Sox have not given up a single unearned run for Loaiza this year? I think that's major to his success. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of success for Buehrle (12 Unearned runs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 It becomes a nasty circle, somewhat like a toilet flushing. E-Lo is on the mound and you *know* you have a chance to win. You're pumped and ready. You play just a bit better and go home thinking I knew it! Mark gets on the mound and you're either 1. Pressing to help this guy because you really want to help him or 2. Thinking WTF is going to bite us in the ass tonight Someone makes an error and you think "damn, I knew it was going to happen" Players play better when they have confidence. Looking up to see Mark on the mound probably doesn't instill much confidence in this team. Of course that is my guess, no insider information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted June 19, 2003 Author Share Posted June 19, 2003 It becomes a nasty circle, somewhat like a toilet flushing. E-Lo is on the mound and you *know* you have a chance to win. You're pumped and ready. You play just a bit better and go home thinking I knew it! Mark gets on the mound and you're either 1. Pressing to help this guy because you really want to help him or 2. Thinking WTF is going to bite us in the ass tonight Someone makes an error and you think "damn, I knew it was going to happen" Players play better when they have confidence. Looking up to see Mark on the mound probably doesn't instill much confidence in this team. Of course that is my guess, no insider information. If that's a fact, you have to wonder when it switched over. MB started out 2-0. I hope he can turn it around, and in a few months we can talk about how the Sox ahve'nt given up an unearned run for him in x starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveb816 Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 On 4/22 in Baltimore, Loiaza pitched around an error by Jose, I think, and definitely an infield hit caused by Jimenez' nonchalance. Loiaza has definitely gotten much better defensive support than Mark, but sometimes it's up to the pitcher to pitch around an error. Of course, Buehrle can't be blamed for that horrible inning in Toronto and Jimenez's muff of a pop-up in Oakland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 You could also explain it as luck. One thing Mark has going for him is he has the talent to lose 15 games this season. With less talent, he would be missing opportunities to start. You have to keep pitching him because you know the next start could be the beginning of a 10 game personal win streak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted June 19, 2003 Author Share Posted June 19, 2003 You could also explain it as luck. One thing Mark has going for him is he has the talent to lose 15 games this season. With less talent, he would be missing opportunities to start. You have to keep pitching him because you know the next start could be the beginning of a 10 game personal win streak. Great point. Here's to hoping that we saw the first game of that ten game win streak the other night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Doesn't it become a self-fulfilling thing at some point? Coming out of spring training, people were just hoping for Loaiza to perform a little over .500 - he's your #5 guy - certainly no feeling of certain victory when he took the mound early in the year. Buerhle, on the other hand, was your Ace, even with the acquisition of a 20-game winner in the offseason. Sox players had to feel confident of victory when Mark took the mound early on. If things have changed in the minds of the Sox position players, and they truly feel that any mistake will lead to Buerhle falling apart on the mound, that speaks to a real lack of confidence throughout the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted June 19, 2003 Author Share Posted June 19, 2003 If things have changed in the minds of the Sox position players, and they truly feel that any mistake will lead to Buerhle falling apart on the mound, that speaks to a real lack of confidence throughout the team. A lack of confidence on this team? No way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Doesn't it become a self-fulfilling thing at some point? Coming out of spring training, people were just hoping for Loaiza to perform a little over .500 - he's your #5 guy - certainly no feeling of certain victory when he took the mound early in the year. Buerhle, on the other hand, was your Ace, even with the acquisition of a 20-game winner in the offseason. Sox players had to feel confident of victory when Mark took the mound early on. If things have changed in the minds of the Sox position players, and they truly feel that any mistake will lead to Buerhle falling apart on the mound, that speaks to a real lack of confidence throughout the team. Sure when you are losing and things aren't going smoothly like you thought they would (and Buehrle was as close to automatic as the Sox had coming in), then your mind plays all kinds of games with you. It is natural. Buehrle has pitched differently because of it. Guys play defense more passively (afraid to make a mistake) than aggressively. It can certainly have a snowball effect. Good teams find their way out of these situations, but there is no magic formula. Sometimes things turn themselves around and no one can really pinpoint how, why or when it happened. That's why baseball players tend to be the most superstitious of all athlete's because you can't always explain logically what goes on in a sport where you play 162 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxplosion Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Mreye is right. At the beginning of the season Im sure everyone felt pumped to see Mark on the mound. But now I understand completely if they are demotivated to see Mark on the mound. So when did it change? He did bad at Cleveland on his fifth start, then he had a 7 IP 3 ER game, then a 6 IP 4 ER game and then the next game his D disappeared. 6 IP with 4 ER isnt very good but if it demotivates the D, thats just weak... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 It becomes a nasty circle, somewhat like a toilet flushing. E-Lo is on the mound and you *know* you have a chance to win. You're pumped and ready. You play just a bit better and go home thinking I knew it! Mark gets on the mound and you're either 1. Pressing to help this guy because you really want to help him or 2. Thinking WTF is going to bite us in the ass tonight Someone makes an error and you think "damn, I knew it was going to happen" Players play better when they have confidence. Looking up to see Mark on the mound probably doesn't instill much confidence in this team. Of course that is my guess, no insider information. That's a pretty sound theory. I suspect it is somewhat part of the equation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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