Have you learned your lesson, Mark Melancon?

My kids sometimes get into trouble. And when they do, I'll send them to their room and let them think about why daddy is mad.

And after about 20 minutes or so, I'll go into the room.

Usually the first thing I will say is "Have you learned your lesson?"

I think the same can be said to reliever Mark Melancon. The Red Sox traded 2008 Division Series hero Jed Lowrie for Melancon to be a contributor in the bullpen.

He saved 20 games for the lowly Astros in 2011. He must have been able to do something in Boston.
And he did. In 4 April games, he had a 49.50 ERA, lost 2 games and let up 5 home runs in 2 innings.

Not 5 runs. 5 HOMERS! He let up 11 runs in 2 innings.
He let up 2 walks and 4 hits (including 3 homers) in his final game on April 17 in Texas. He recorded zero outs.

He was sent to Pawtucket, just like my kids are sent to their room.

Now he has pitched a month in Pawtucket.
He has pitched 13 innings in as many games. He has struck out 21 batters in those 13 innings and walked none. He has allowed only 9 hits and has a 0.00 ERA for the PawSox, saving 5 games.

It is safe to say that he is better than a AAA pitcher right now.

He's learned his lesson.
He said he is sorry.
He will finish his spelling homework and not hit his brother.

The Red Sox need a good arm in the bullpen.

Let him come out and play.


  

Hey Mariners... even YOU can score off of Joe Saunders

I am serious Seattle... I know you have NO bats right now.
I know that Ken Griffey SENIOR could probably crack this line up now.

I know you've scored 9 runs all month (and none since Wednesday).

I know you are in a 7 game slide and suddenly that whole "We have Two Aces! We're going to win the West!" sentiment has started to give way to "I hope we can get some good prospects for Cliff Lee" resignation.

But COME ON! You are facing Joe Saunders tonight.
Yeah I know Joe was an All Star in 2008 and a 16 game winner last year. But in 2010 he is one the main culprits why the three time defending division champion Angels look so pathetic right now.

He's let up 5 or more runs in 3 of his 6 starts, is a 1-5 pitcher with a 7.04 ERA.
And his lone win (and only solid outing) was a game on April 17th when he threw 8 innings with no earned runs against a Blue Jays team that was in a horrible slump.

How horrible? Joe Saunders shut them down!

Take out that one game and he is 0-5 with a 9.52 ERA.
That's a run an inning.

You can do it, Mariners. You can score some runs tonight. I bet even the Mariner Moose could go 1-4 against Saunders.

A Mariner win would put the Angels in last place in the loss column.

Let's see what you've got Mariners.

It's Joe Saunders.

Score a run.

This doesn't look good

The Sox are down 4-0 before their first at bat.

Nope this doesn't look good.
Remember that bad thing? It looked just like this.

If Vazquez is a horse, you had better call the glue factory

Another game for Javy Vazquez… another day the Yankees bullpen needs to work in overtime.

The Yankees have 6 losses this year and three were thrown by Vazquez.

Remember him? The guy who people were saying was a horse. The guy people kept saying was a Cy Young candidate?

He has an ERA of 9.00 so far.
That’s an earned run an inning.
And he also averages 5 innings a start. Wasn’t he a bulldog innings eater?

As of this writing, an average Vazquez start is leaving after 5 innings with 5 runs on the board.

The Yankees needed to trade away Melky Cabrera and prospect Arodys Vizcaino for that? How could signing Jarrod Washburn be worse?

This trade stunk in December, it stunk in spring training and it stinks now for the Yankees.

And I get a certain amount of glee pointing that out.

The Red Sox are ALREADY losing?

It's not even 8:30 AM in California!

For Christsake, let me have my breakfast before you fall behind!

CAN'T YOU WAIT UNTIL 9AM BEFORE FALLING BEHIND???

Superbad

It's a bad day for the Red Sox when Jonah Hill actually looked better on the mound than Jon Lester!

Get used to it Yankees fans

Every 5 games Javier Vazquez is on the mound for the Yankees.

Every 5 games is an opportunity for me to blog that bringing him back to the Yankees was a TERRIBLE mistake... and I said so when then trade was made.

Just remember, if Javier Vazquez was truly an ace caliber pitcher and one of the elites in the game... why would he have been traded 5 times in the last 8 years?

Read that again.

In the last 8 years, he was traded away FIVE TIMES!

Each team celebrated like they stole an ace when they got him.
And each one snickered like a Used Car dealer who sold a lemon when he was shipped off.

I am guessing when 2010 ends it will be 6 traded in 9 seasons... and when he gets picked up, the media in the new city will announce "He has electric stuff... he is ONE OF THE ELITE PITCHERS IN THE GAME!"

Enjoy it, Yankee fans.

Every 5 games.

Oh dear... the season is already over for the Nationals

This picture kind of says it all, doesn't it?

The ball is on the left, the fielder is on the right... and the Washington logo shows that you are indeed watching Washington baseball.

Hey, the Nats drafted Strasburg last year... they'll have the #1 pick this Summer.

Maybe they want the #1 pick for the 2011 draft as well to have the three home grown stars to build a team around.

Hey, it makes more sense than the Mets rebuilding plan. (Denial.)

Sorry Nationals fans

Sorry Nationals fans... your team is reaching new levels of "Suckdom" that I am actually getting fascinated by how bad it could get.

Don't screw up the draft this year... or next year.

And please keep having guys with criminal pasts drop easy fly balls.

NATS WIN!

Well, at least we know they won't go 0-162

The did it using kind of a really ugly uniform. 

Aces low

First of all, so much for that whole "Tampa Bay will not be able to hold their own with the Red Sox and Yankees" theory.

After tonight's asswhuppin', the Rays are 3-1 against the two bullies on the block.

But what is really disturbing for the Yankees and the Red Sox is how lousy both Chien-Ming Wang and Jon Lester have looked.

Yeah yeah yeah it's early.

But Wang's 3 2/3 inning 7 run monstrosity in Baltimore was a solid performance compared to today's shelling in Tampa.

And Lester has taken the Red Sox out of the game early in back to back games. 

What I am saying is... for all of you people who don't want the Red Sox and Yankees in the playoffs... if they can't count on Lester or Wang, you might get your wish.