Ruing the ones that got away
Mirabelli will get past passed balls
Traded to San Diego in December, Doug Mirabelli was brought back to Boston to reprise his role as Tim Wakefield's personal catcher. In reality, though, Mirabelli was brought back to make the passed balls that plagued the befuddled Josh Bard a thing of the past for the Red Sox.
That was the case when Mirabelli and Wakefield were reunited in dramatic fashion May 1, with Mirabelli making a harried cross-country trek and arriving at Fenway Park just 13 minutes before the first pitch of Boston's 7-3 victory over the Yankees.
The Yankees tried hard to sabotage the deal that sent Bard and minor league pitcher Cla Meredith to the Padres for Mirabelli. Last night, though, there was no need for any subversive tactics. When Mirabelli settled in behind the plate to catch his batterymate's frustrating knuckleball even he had trouble collecting them in his mitt.
``I've always said it's a double-edged sword," Mirabelli said after being lacerated by it in last night's 7-5 loss to the Yankees, allowing three passed balls in the sixth inning. ``When [Wakefield] throws a really, really good knuckleball, like he was throwing in that inning, they can't hit it, but I have problems catching it, too."
Mirabelli's woes resulted in an unearned run scored by Alex Rodriguez, who reached on a passed ball after a called third strike. A-Rod advanced to second on another passed ball, went to third on Bernie Williams's fielder's choice, and scored on the final passed ball with Terrence Long at bat, extending New York's lead to 4-0.
``When you see balls go by Dougie, that ball is moving pretty good," said Sox manager Terry Francona. ``There were some swings and misses which I think on tough pitches make it even more difficult. When guys get on base . . . it doesn't help you win the game, but Dougie can handle that. He'll bounce back and he's fine. If he can't catch it, nobody can."
Asked if Wakefield tried to lift his spirits after the eventful sixth, Mirabelli said, ``No, because we both know it's not my first passed ball, and it's not going to be my last passed ball. Sometimes it's a built-in factor and we work as well as we can together and I grind it out as hard and as best I can back there, but there's just times when his knuckleball is just too good to catch.
``It's coming in there 68-70 miles an hour and they're swinging and missing it, so it's moving a lot," Mirabelli added. ``Obviously, I don't feel good about having passed balls. I never go into the game thinking I'm going to have a passed ball, but it's part of his game and he factors that in sometimes and he realizes it's a tough thing to catch when he's throwing it well."
They were the first passed balls Mirabelli had allowed in five starts with the Sox this season. Mirabelli nearly tied the major league record of four passed balls in an inning, set by Ray Katt in 1954 with the New York Giants and matched by Geno Petralli in 1987 with the Rangers.
Mirabelli, who entered the game with a .118 batting average (and just one RBI), improved it to .143 with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth that broke up the shutout. It was hardly a redemptive effort at the plate, though, given the fact Mirabelli struck out in his last at-bat in the seventh with two aboard. It followed another strikeout in the fourth with runners at the corners and one out.
``Let me tell you, I grind it out at the plate as much as anybody," Mirabelli said. ``I don't take my at-bats lightly. I'm going up there and I'm trying to put up good at-bats just like everybody else on the team. To get a hit there [in the bottom of the sixth] and score a run, that's nice for the team, but by the same token we're down 4-1 at that point, so it's no real sense of satisfaction for me.
``To me, if I go 0 for 4 and we win a ballgame, that's why I'm here: to help Wakefield win and to help the Red Sox win." 