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The bullpen is looking pretty thin behind Paps. Guess we better hope MDC remembers how to pitch, or that Hansen steps up big for us.

Didn't they annouce on Friday that they were giving him a few days off? I was under the impression that the Sox thought he'd be ready today or tomorrow.

oh, heres something different

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...ma_says_he.html

Hideki Okajima said his sore left wrist is fine and he's available to pitch. He's out on the field now testing the wrist; Terry Francona said he may not use Okajima depending on whether he feels the lefthander can spot his pitches after a four-day layoff. The guess here is the Sox will use Okajimai if the situation dictates it.

From Rotoworld:

He surely didnt look fine blowing a save and giving up 4 runs for the loss.

Thank you for that staggering analysis, please try and add a but more to the discussion instead of a one-line post.

Now, now, TLB. You're just jealous because you didn't think of it first. And I know how you feel. I was busy wondering last night why they'd bring him into a game with only one off day following back-to-back outings (including a 2 inning stint). I was worried that he'd be tired, that he wouldn't be sharp, and that Baltimore hitters had seen an awful lot of him already in this series. When that inning went to hell, it never dawned on me that some wrist soreness from 3 weeks ago might be the culprit.

It was staring me right in the face, too. I feel so foolish.

You could tell right from the get-go that either his wrist was still bothering him or he was just plain tired. All of his pitches were up in the zone which is a dead on sign of fatigue because your body can't follow through correctly leaving your release point up and causing your front shoulder to open up too soon. Another thing I have noticed too is that his changeup has not been located below the knees much lately and his curve seems to be a lost art since Tek-ee-poo-ski hasn't called for it unless he can't throw anything else for a strike (ala last night). I think it is time (i hate to say it) to give him a good long break and put your chances in a combination of Aardsma, MDC, and Hansen and see who comes out the victor.

I really think there was another, more obvious problem last night...I think he and Cash were very crossed up. I also think that when Farrell came to the mound, it was in part to help clear up that mixup...furthermore, I wonder if his pitches were telegraphed after that...As in, did they just scrap signals and go to straight signs, despite a baserunner on 2nd? Just another theory....But I know they had some sign mixup at some point with Oki last night and you have to wonder what's "lost in translation" in circumstances like that.

Again. I could easily buy that his wrist is bothering him again. If it was "still" bothering him like it was when they gave him nearly a week off in mid-May – and nearly another week off after his next outing – I can't imagine they would have gone to him for two innings on Friday then gone right back to him on Saturday. On the other hand, if it started bothering him in the first place because of fatigue...the kind of usage he had in the Baltimore series isn't the best way to prevent a recurrence.

Wrist or not, I wasn't a fan of bringing him into last night's game, even before the bad results. Although, I suppose Oki's appearance last night should at least allay some people's fears that somewhere along the line Tito is out of the blue going to hand Timlin his old 8th inning job back.