The recent struggles of Hedeki Okajima are a combination of factors coming together. It is now his second year in the league and both hitters and scouts have more experience with Okajima’s pitches and tendencies. The hitters are beginning to catch up with him, but he is also missing with his pitches. His location has been off and his pitches seem to lack some of the movement that they had last year.

These two issues frequently build off of each other. When the hitters start to have success against you, as a pitcher you might begin to press a little bit. Your confidence can become shaken and you start to guide the ball to home plate. Okie needs to regain his confidence and throw with the ball with the same authority as last year.

Who was the best pitcher you faced-the hardest to get a hit off, and who was the easiest (Of the pitchers that were in MLB for a significant period)?
j. nichols

When I think of guys I had trouble with, I think of relievers. Guys who hide the ball well in their deliveries like Dan Quisenberry or Dennis Eckersley. These were guys who could come in for a couple innings and be dominant.

Like Papi, he might hit four bullets into the shift and come up empty because the 2^nd baseman playing in short right field. He hit the ball well but it still shows up as 0 for 4 in the box score. Well, that type of stuff happened to me also. I might be 0 for 7 against a guy but I still hit him hard. It wasn’t necessarily the pitcher that I stuggled with, it was the defense.

The pitchers who I didn’t like were guys like Eck and Q who I might have faced 20 times but might have struck out 9 times. Quisenberry was toughest on me. He threw hard, hid the ball well, and came almost underhand in his delivery.

Hideki Okajima exceeded everyone’s expectations last season, do you think he will be the same workhorse, set up man he was last year or do you think his numbers will fall off this season because teams have adjusted to him?
Sterling

Hedeki Okajima will probably be much the same pitcher he was last year. He pitched a lot of innings and opposing hitters did not seem to show any sign of catching up with him. His effectiveness this year depends on the rest of the bullpen staff.  How he is being used (length and situation) and how much they need to use him will play big parts in his effectiveness this season.

Okie can get you some innings but I would also like to see him used as a situational guy against lefty hitters as well. He could be used more as a lefty specialist this year rather than a set up reliever. That means the team isn’t relying on him so much to get through too many innings.  It all depends on how Terry wants to use him.
However, Okie could pitch more innings or less innings than last year and the Red Sox could still be successful either way.

Colon, Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Wakefield, Matsuzaka, and Possibly Schilling. Do you see Buccholz future in the bullpen or will they send him to Pawtucket to continue to start? - Matty

I’m not in on the meetings so I can’t say for sure, but I think Clay Buchholz has a good shot to be in Boston with the big club. Baseball teams are always going to need pitchers so he will have plenty of opportunity to stay in the Majors. What Clay needs to do now is trust that he can pitch at this level and trust Tek to get him through the tough spots. He has had success and needs to keep his head above water and remain confident at the major league level.