HENCH’S HARDBALL: Opinions expressed in HARDBALL are not necessarily those of Boston Dirt Dogs, Big Dog, or our sponsors:

Date: Thursday, August 23, 2001
From: Kevin Hench
Subject:  Lowe and Beck Show, Playing All Season

Anyone else growing weary of the Derek Lowe and Rod Beck show?

Is there no funk a lineup can't snap out of when one of these two Guys
enters a game, or as in tonight's loss, when they both enter the game?
Wakes deserved better.  If old friend Tim Tshchida calls Benji Gil out for
running way inside the baseline on his bunt, forcing Wakes' wild throw,
we might very well have won this game.  Maybe Tschida will once again
be man enough to admit that he blew the call.

Tschida also squeezed Lowe on a couple of pitches, particularly the 1-1 pitch
to Erstad that preceded the game-tying hit.  But Lowe is a "contact" pitcher and
Erstad and Garrett Anderson made contact as Lowe turned a 2-1 lead into a 3-2
deficit.  Lowe now has five blown saves to go with his eight losses.

Gee, you think those 13 games will be relevant at the end of September?

Maybe this guy needs to return to being a starter.  He obviously doesn't have the
steely-eyed confidence of a closer and just gives up too many hits to be brought in
with runners on.  I think he'd make a decent third or fourth starter next year.

As for Beck, add Ben Molina to the ever-expanding list of guys who have

taken him deep this year.  Unlike Edgar Martinez who turned around an 0-2

fastball, Molina swatted a 1-2 hanging curve. Mirabelli had set up outside and 

the hanger lolled over the inside half before being schwacked.  It's one 

thing to get taken out on a 3-1 and 2-0 pitches, but when you're giving up 

tall jacks on 0-2 and 1-2 pitches - when the hitter is presumably thinking

defensively - it might be time to pull a Pichardo and just walk away before anyone 

else gets hurt.

In the Indians stirring comeback victory over the A's, Robbie Alomar hit a

routine grounder to second with one out and a man on first in the eighth.

Menechino got the ball to Tejada quickly but Alomar beat the relay to

first, bringing up Juan Gonzalez in a 4-2 game. Gonzalez tied it with a 

two-run home run. We also trailed 4-2 with a man on first and one out 

tonight. Jose Offerman hit a grounder to second.  Not only did he not beat the 

relay, he hadn't entered the frame when the Angels began celebrating their 

victory. Has there ever been a slower leadoff man in baseball? And by the way, 

Mr. Kerrigan, as happy as I am that you actually know what certain guys 

have done against certain pitchers, none of that is relevant in Jose Offerman's

case. He is not the player he was before last year's knee injury.  Not even close.

I would like to poll older fans and ask them if they ever remember any of their 

heroes missing 10 games in a pennant race with a pulled hamstring. Willie Mays?

Duke Snider? Mickey Mantle?  A guy tears up his knee, that's one thing.  But the 

annual trip that seemingly half these guys take to the D with a pulled hammy is a 

real puzzler.  You hit the ball, you run to first...and, oooh, there it went.  What?  

How did that happen?  A buddy of mine on my softball team says it's the weights.  

That all these guys build up their lower bodies with weight work and they're just 

too taut, like piano wire, and they snap easily.  But I thought Griffey was not a big 

weight guy.

And Manny can't DH?  What exactly is a mild strain?  This season has just been 

too cruel. All year when I'd complain long and loud about all our guys being hurt, 

my girlfriend would say, "Manny's not hurt."  Well now he is.Well, not hurt necessarily, 
just unable to play.  In a pennant race.  With his team three games back.

That sucks.