A little more fodder for Beth's fantasies

Chris Snow wrote a piece in the Globe today about how well Foulke is pitching left-handed hitters this year. Here's an excerpt.

The Sox, meanwhile, began last night without a lefthander in the bullpen.

But the club has discovered a pitcher suited for the role, even if he throws with his right hand.

"[Keith] Foulke's been our lefty, and he's been a pretty good one," manager Terry Francona said before last night's game. "You're dying for that left-on-left guy. He's actually one of the better ones in the game."

The manager and the captain each offered different opinions as to why Foulkie has had so much success against left-handed hitters this season (They're hitting a mere .190 vs .231 for the righties). Francona said:

"Any [pitcher] with a split like [Jonathan] Papelbon or a changeup like Foulke usually has better success against lefthanders . . . Anybody with good offspeed pitches can get lefties out."

Meanwhile, Varitek has a different explanation, offered as a "caveat" by Snow:

Foulke's ability to precisely locate his fastball to both sides of the plate prevents lefties from sitting on his changeup.