Daisuke v. Sheets

Talk about two similar guys. Daisuke's been worse, but both are serious question-marks at the front of their respective rotations. Daisuke's given up 27 H and 21 BB in 34 1/3 IP--including an insane eight walks in his last start. Of course, Sheets has been known to walk a couple batters--he's given up 29 BB in 62 1/3 IP this year.

The difference, as with Dontrelle Willis, is whether you can make the pitcher pay. He was erratic, but the A's only managed three runs against him--so erratic that he was subsequently released. Now, the Boston offense looked to be in the same bind as the Oakland offense--actually worse--through five, but in walked the bullpen and undid those binds. The Boston bullpen did exactly the opposite.

This will be a battle of bullpens, and that gives the edge to the A's, most normally. Boston has a great bullpen, to be sure, but the A's have a better one. It didn't show up last night, but call it Fenway opening night jitters or something--it's not likely to happen again. Instead, it will be a race to which offense can make the most of early opportunities--and no doubt both starting pitchers will provide them.

Of course, we'll hear it seventeen more times tonight, that Ben Sheets is really turning things around, turning things around, but repeating it doesn't make it any truer. We laud him when he gets out of the seventh unscathed; this is a guy who regularly threw complete game shutouts. That was what made him the name pitcher we thought we were getting. Hell, of all of the pitchers I most admired in the league, Ben Sheets was the guy. And the Brew Crew, for much of his career, was not even half the offense this Oakland team is.