October 25, 2007
Throwing Strikes
A big difference in the game last night was the percentage of strikes thrown by each side's pitchers. Beckett put 2/3 of his pitches in the zone, or at least tempting enough for a batter to swing. Francis was around 60%, about the league average. But Morales and Speier, who took the chance of a comeback from difficult to impossible combined to throw 28 of 41 pitches for balls. That's the kind of environment where a highly selective team like Boston thrives. They waited for their pitch, and when they saw one they liked they smacked it, otherwise, they were happy to take a walk.
Morales' performance ranks with the worst in World Series history:
It ranks among the most ineffective all-time relief outings in World Series history. The last reliever to go through a similar struggle was Yankees right-hander Jay Witasick, who gave up nine runs in 1 1/3 innings against Arizona in Game 6 of the 2001 World Series.
Witasick was a veteran at the time. Morales is a kid who was overwhelmed by the setting.
Pitching coach Bob Apodaca said an overly excited Morales let his body get out of control, and his performance rapidly deteriorated into a series of pitches to bad spots.
The Red Sox take all three game ones in the post season. So far, that's worked out well for them.
Tim McCarver - 'This guys got electric stuff'
Morales 0.2 6 7 7 1 0 0 35-19 94.50
Electric
Well, the Red Sox certainly gave him a jolt.