Short Hops: Kazmir owns the Red Sox

LEADING MAN
Tim Hudson complained about getting picked off by Oliver Perez when he led off too far from second base during a recent Mets-Braves game. He implied that one of baseball’s many unwritten rules is that pitchers shouldn’t try to embarrass their own kind. The irony of the bellyache is that Hudson is known as one of the faster-afoot pitchers in the game — not a stolen base threat, but a guy who easily could score from second on a hit if he’s not kept honest. In fact, his second Major League appearance came as a pinch-runner, and it wasn’t the last time he was used in that role. “Every time a pitcher gets on base now, I’m gonna pick,” he warned. Uh, well, OK Tim, go crazy.

I’M TO SOX-Y FOR YOUR TEAM
If you needed one pitcher to beat the Red Sox, you’d want to go to the hapless Devil Rays’ roster to find him. Scott Kazmir owns that team. He’s the only left-hander since World War I to have defeated Boston three times before his 23rd birthday. A few days ago, he threw seven more scoreless innings at Fenway, lowering his career ERA in 16 starts against them to 2.62, with 109 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings. It was the first time in more than six years that the Sox were downed 1-0 at home. Kazmir has a “simple” secret: Don’t let Manny and Papi beat you. Those two have hit .151 against him.

FINISHED AT THE START
The Orioles are making a late run for the No. 1 selection in the 2008 draft. Wherever the pick, they’d be advised to take a pitcher. Their ostensible rotation for the rest of the season is: Daniel Cabrera (5.37), Brian Burres (5.85), Jon Leicester (9.90) and the misnomered “Victors” — Zambrano (10.97) and Santos (16.88). At least two of those ERAs are better than that of their closer’s — Danys Baez at 6.44. Through September 12, in fact, Baltimore’s starters had gone seven straight games without making it out of the fifth inning. Welcome to the major leagues, Dave Trembley. Since the “interim” was removed from his title as manager, his troops have gone 3-18 and been outscored 196-96.

HIT AND RUN
Short Hops’ recurring installment of slapdash observation and imprudent opinion:

Sometimes Adam Dunn can’t get that 275-pound body to decelerate. In a recent game, he overran a single in left field, allowing the guy who hit it, Adam “One Career Stolen Base” LaRoche, to get all the way to third. Three innings later, with the bases loaded, Dunn overran third base — missing it by at least a foot — while attempting to score on a single. That gaffe cost the Reds two runs.

On August 31, Scott Baker lost a perfect game in the ninth inning. In his four starts previous to that gem and two starts since, he’s allowed 59 hits in 35 1/3 innings.

Lou Piniella’s stubborn old-school insistence on using Ryan Dempster ahead of Carlos Marmol as his “prime time” reliever may yet sink the Cubs. Since August 1, Dempster has a 6.05 ERA with three losses, and he has been scored upon in three of his last four saves. Marmol is 5-1, 1.36 with 83 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings.

The managers of the teams with the two worst records in baseball — the Devil Rays’ Joe Maddon and the White Sox’s Ozzie Guillen — signed contract extensions within a 72-hour period.

QUOTABLES
“It's been so long since I had a hit in the big leagues I was going to ask him for the ball.” — Mike Sweeney, fresh off a 2 1/2-month DL stint, whose bloop single ruined Baker’s no-hitter.

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