Cinco De Mayo notes

1) Wow. A loss for words. There are many reasons that can render a baseball fan speechless, and this performance by Ervin Santana on Monday night was one of those games where I felt an overwhelming sense of joy in watching a professional ballplayer go about his work. Masterpieces are great any time; they are the quick reminder of why we love this game so much and why millions of people spend their summer days soaking in baseball.

That being said, there was something more to this game than that. This was a masterpiece, indeed. But this was also a coming of age tale, a statement game, another step in the right direction of what is shaping up to be a terrific season for the Angels' young hurler. "Proud" could be one way to descibe the thoughts that emanated from this ordinary May evening in Kansas City. This game was a collection of all of the struggles Santana endured in 2007. Hitting rock bottom and being waved around cheaply in numerous trade negotiations-- Miguel Tejada and Miguel Cabrera deals to name two.

Santana did his part to buoy the Angels, throwing a 4-hitter at the struggling Kansas City Royals. Santana struck out nine and, most impressively, didn't walk anybody in his complete game shutout.

"So far", Santana said, sheepishly, after being aksed if this was the best game he has thrown in his career. Oh, the levels of confidence that cling from a young man's shoulders as the by product of some success. The metamorphosis that Santana has undergone has come from his mentality. Santana makes it a priority to attack the strike zone these days; strike one on the first pitch of an at-bat is the primary goal. Last season, it was evident that Santana was nibbling and pitching away from contact. In 2007, Santana averaged more than one walk per three innings. So far this season, it is taking him roughly 4 1/3 innings to walk that first batter.

This win was another piece towards becoming the ace that Santana's talent dreams of being. This was a great game for the psyche, but a great game for the Angels as well, kicking off a 6-game roadtrip with a win and maintaining a 1 1/2 game lead over Oakland in the AL West. I am still saving all of my exuberance, hoping that this Santana is for real. I want to love this kid and I want this guy to become a star after going through the struggles. It is only a month into the season, and maybe that is why I am still reserving some judgement, but this is the type of story that has Comeback Player of the Year written all over it.


2) I still haven't figured it out, and I probably never will. But Daisuke Matsuzaka led the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Monday, even though he fulfilled the minimum effort required for the win. What was so bewildering? Well, if you look at the fact that Matsuzaka only allowed one run over five innings, this would probably be considred a decent outing. And I guess it still is. The caveat is that he walked 8 over the five innings. Eight. Grip your pitching strategy mind around that for a minute and please, if only so I won't feel alone, wonder how in the world it is possible to walk 8 in five innings, and only allow one guy to cross homeplate?

This is one of those funky, wild games that baseball throws at us every so often to make sure we are still paying attention. It is a fun stat actually, at least for the readers of box scores and print columns; I suspect that Dice-K doesn't find that line all that amusing, but hey, we can say he battled, right?

In all seriousness, the extraordinarily high pitch count continues to cripple Matsuzaka as he rarely works out of the sixth inning. Dice-K has the stuff to be a horse and has the durable arm to complement his pitches. It must be frustrating, at least for manager Terry Francona, that his big name starter not named Josh Beckett cannot pitch into the eighth inning regularly and be a guy that can spell the bullpen a heavy workload, if only for one night.

Who knows what it is. Maybe Matsuzaka is trying to set some all-time strikeout record or something and figures that hey, if I'm going to be out there for six innings, let me get my 14 punchouts. Probably not, but I cannot come to think of anything else that could cause a pitcher this talented to labor so much. Jason Varitek could probably help him out by changing the game plan a little bit; altering it so that Dice-K throws more pitches to contact and throws pitches to attack in all counts. Varitek needs to make sure strike one is his pitcher's main focus, and allow all of the gyros and sidewinders and whatever else is in Matsuzaka's kitchen to be chase pitches when he is way ahead in the zone. Whatever it was on this given night, it sure was baseball's wackiness coming through in the clutch.


3) Max Scherzer has already made his big league debut. That hurdle was trampeled over and left in his wake-- striking out nearly half the batters you face deserves a word more powerful than "wake", but it will have to suffice for this space. The next step was getting Scherzer into the starting rotation, something that he excelled at in college and his brief stint in the minor leagues.

That promotion came Monday when Scherzer made his first major league start against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Diamonbacks got shellacked, but that was not the entire story for Scherzer. He gave up five runs over four innings, although only two of those were earned, and he struck out five. He was probably yanked in order to keep his pitch count down, as I'm sure they want to limit the innings and stress on his arm early in the season.

This kid is defintely impressive, even if the jury is still out on whether he should be a starter or reliever. Look, the 38 strikeouts in 23 someodd innings in the minor leagues don't lie. This kid can start and he certainly has the arsenal to dominate a lineup multiple times through the order. Many scouts and talent evaluators believe that his future lies in the bullpen if only for the fact that he has had some arm trouble in college and he has an extremely violent delivery. Not many people believe that this kid is a pitcher built for durabilty, but only time will reveal the truth to that inquiry.

I have a feeling the issue will be forced, though, since what is the club supposed to do if they are contedning for a World Series and Scherzer is one of the most electric arms on the staff? I have to believe that he will be out on the mound, firing his 98 mph fastballs with reckless abandon. No manager of front office employee, whose job is to look out for the future of the ballclub's players, wants to admit that they would exceed an innings limit on a young kid, even if the playoffs are at stake. a part of me believes that notion, but most of me wants to say that the only reason to protect these kids is so that you can have a chance at winning a championship. Who knows how many chances you will have or when those postseason oppotunities will come. I think if you have a shot, you better throw caution to the wind, go for it, and hope it all works out for the best.