Game 1 of the mini-series between the Rays and the Red Sox is in the Sox' column. Lackey gave the team 7 strong innings of one-run ball. He allowed baserunners in all but one inning, but made the pitches he had to make to limit the Rays offense to a single run in the 7th inning. Meanwhile, the Sox got to James Shields for 5 runs--3 in the 5th inning with Big Papi's big fly and 2 in the 6th on RBI singles by Tek and Nava, the latter of which I thought would be scored as an error on Reid Brignac.
Tek added a sac fly in the 7th inning and Bill Hall went yard with 4-for-4 Beltre on board for 2 more runs. It's good to see production like that out of Tek and Hall because the Sox will be relying on them in the weeks to come.
The pen and some sloppy defense made the game a lot closer than it should have been after Lackey's 7-inning, 1-run effort. Still, the Sox won 8-5 and will come out of the series ahead of the Rays regardless of what happens tomorrow. Cliff Lee gave the Sox a hand by pitching a complete game victory against the Yankees, pulling the Sox within a game of first place. Not bad after the way they started the season and the ever-expanding DL.
Tomorrow night, Dice-K faces the Rays for the first time this season. The Sox face Gargamel--er, Garza. Last time out, they got the best of him, with Beltre proving to be his kryptonite. Let's hope our third baseman is ready to get down on one knee and go yard! Oh, and Mariners, feel free to beat the Yanks again.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
How to Solve the Pedey Predicament?
How should the Red Sox handle the likely 4-8 week absence of Pedey? Should they try to get by with the likes of Bill Hall and Eric Patterson at second, sacrificing a great deal on offense and some on defense as well? Would Jed Lowrie, who could possibly start rehabbing in Lowell next week, be an answer if he is healthy enough to play? Or, should the Sox give up some prospects to "rent" a major-league quality infielder like the D-Backs' Kelly Johnson and possibly flip him for relief help?
Let's look at the pros and cons for each option:
1. Hall/Patterson platoon
Pros: These guys are already on the roster, healthy, and ready to play.
Cons: Their bats come nowhere close to replacing Pedey's. With V-Mart out until the All-Star break, the Sox can ill afford to sacrifice offense at second as well. Hall's glove leaves something to be desired as well. I don't know much about Patterson's defense.
2. Paging Jed Lowrie
Pros: More upside than Hall/Patterson and no need to give up prospects in a trade
Cons: It's unknown when he'll actually be healthy enough to play. He's seeing a specialist this week to determine if it really is mono he's recovering from or whether it's something more serious. If he gets the all-clear from the doc and feels well this week, he starts rehabbing next week. If not, then it's another setback and an unknown timetable for his return.
3. Rent and Flip
Pros: The Sox get less of a drop-off in production from second base and they can flip the infielder at the trade deadline for some bullpen help. Perhaps in the time between the deadline and Pedey's return, Lowrie will be ready to fill in for a week or two.
Cons: The cost in prospects might be prohibitive for a rental and there are a lot of "moving parts". It's hard to predict what said infielder (i.e. Kelly Johnson) will net in terms of quality relievers.
As you can see, there's no easy solution. Then again, how do you replace a guy like Pedey? Dustin Pedroias don't grow on trees, after all. Whatever the Sox do, the team has to make the best of a bad situation. They've been resilient so far, but how far can they bend before they break?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Let's look at the pros and cons for each option:
1. Hall/Patterson platoon
Pros: These guys are already on the roster, healthy, and ready to play.
Cons: Their bats come nowhere close to replacing Pedey's. With V-Mart out until the All-Star break, the Sox can ill afford to sacrifice offense at second as well. Hall's glove leaves something to be desired as well. I don't know much about Patterson's defense.
2. Paging Jed Lowrie
Pros: More upside than Hall/Patterson and no need to give up prospects in a trade
Cons: It's unknown when he'll actually be healthy enough to play. He's seeing a specialist this week to determine if it really is mono he's recovering from or whether it's something more serious. If he gets the all-clear from the doc and feels well this week, he starts rehabbing next week. If not, then it's another setback and an unknown timetable for his return.
3. Rent and Flip
Pros: The Sox get less of a drop-off in production from second base and they can flip the infielder at the trade deadline for some bullpen help. Perhaps in the time between the deadline and Pedey's return, Lowrie will be ready to fill in for a week or two.
Cons: The cost in prospects might be prohibitive for a rental and there are a lot of "moving parts". It's hard to predict what said infielder (i.e. Kelly Johnson) will net in terms of quality relievers.
As you can see, there's no easy solution. Then again, how do you replace a guy like Pedey? Dustin Pedroias don't grow on trees, after all. Whatever the Sox do, the team has to make the best of a bad situation. They've been resilient so far, but how far can they bend before they break?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Winning in Spite of It All
Here's the latest victim count of the Voodoo Injury Curse that has been inflicted on the Red Sox:
Jacoby Ellsbury (ribs, DL twice)
Mike Cameron (abdominal tear, playing through after some time on DL)
Josh Beckett (back, DL)
Jeremy Hermida (ribs, DL)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (neck, forearm, DL twice)
Kevin Youkilis (arm, hit by pitch, missed a few days)
Marco Scutaro (pinched nerve, missed one or two games)
JD Drew (hamstring, missed 1 week)
Dustin Pedroia (broken foot, DL)
Clay Buchholz (leg, may make his next start)
Victor Martinez (bruised toe, broken finger)
Contributions by Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald and Scott Atchison, among others, have kept the Sox in the hunt so far. The loss of Pedey will be a tough one to weather. Getting JD Drew back today helped and getting other injured players back during Pedey's recovery time, like Hermida, Beckett, and hopefully Ellsbury would also give them a boost. However, one has to wonder how many more injuries the Sox will suffer in the meantime.
Lester threw a complete game gem against the Giants, leaving Lincecum and his 3 innings of work in the dust. Lester allowed a run in the first on an infield hit, two stolen bases, and a groundout. That was the only run he would allow as he baffled the Giants, fanning 9. He had a decent day at the plate too, hitting a long (as in almost got out) sac fly in his first at-bat, with the bases loaded and putting on a tough at-bat and drawing a walk later in the game. The Sox scored 4 runs early on (a Papi homer, hits by Scoots and Hall, and the Lester sac fly) and then added one on in the 9th with a Beltre blast. Beltre got most of the game off, coming in as a defensive replacement in the later innings.
V-Mart was the Red Sox casualty du jour when he had two foul tips hit his thumb, the first of which also hit his toe. The toe is fine, but the thumb's broken. It's unreal how the injuries are piling up for the Sox, especially this past weekend in San Francisco. They must be the favorite team of orthopedic surgeons everywhere!
In winning today's game while the Rays lost, the Sox are now in sole possession of second place in the AL East and the wild card spot. However, the Rays are coming to Fenway for a 2-gamer on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be an interesting series, as the Rays and Red Sox are both in a different place than they were the last time the Tampa Bay team visited The Fens. The Rays got chewed up by (and no-hit in) interleague play while the Sox stole the NL's lunch money. However, Sox fans can never afford to take the Rays for granted, no matter how much they've struggled lately. The Sox will have to keep playing well despite their stars dropping like flies. The guys like Nava, McDonald, Hall, Cameron, etc. will have to keep stepping up, as will Tek in resuming a full-time catching role, at least until it's determined how long V-Mart will be out. No more injuries, PLEASE!!!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Jacoby Ellsbury (ribs, DL twice)
Mike Cameron (abdominal tear, playing through after some time on DL)
Josh Beckett (back, DL)
Jeremy Hermida (ribs, DL)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (neck, forearm, DL twice)
Kevin Youkilis (arm, hit by pitch, missed a few days)
Marco Scutaro (pinched nerve, missed one or two games)
JD Drew (hamstring, missed 1 week)
Dustin Pedroia (broken foot, DL)
Clay Buchholz (leg, may make his next start)
Victor Martinez (bruised toe, broken finger)
Contributions by Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald and Scott Atchison, among others, have kept the Sox in the hunt so far. The loss of Pedey will be a tough one to weather. Getting JD Drew back today helped and getting other injured players back during Pedey's recovery time, like Hermida, Beckett, and hopefully Ellsbury would also give them a boost. However, one has to wonder how many more injuries the Sox will suffer in the meantime.
Lester threw a complete game gem against the Giants, leaving Lincecum and his 3 innings of work in the dust. Lester allowed a run in the first on an infield hit, two stolen bases, and a groundout. That was the only run he would allow as he baffled the Giants, fanning 9. He had a decent day at the plate too, hitting a long (as in almost got out) sac fly in his first at-bat, with the bases loaded and putting on a tough at-bat and drawing a walk later in the game. The Sox scored 4 runs early on (a Papi homer, hits by Scoots and Hall, and the Lester sac fly) and then added one on in the 9th with a Beltre blast. Beltre got most of the game off, coming in as a defensive replacement in the later innings.
V-Mart was the Red Sox casualty du jour when he had two foul tips hit his thumb, the first of which also hit his toe. The toe is fine, but the thumb's broken. It's unreal how the injuries are piling up for the Sox, especially this past weekend in San Francisco. They must be the favorite team of orthopedic surgeons everywhere!
In winning today's game while the Rays lost, the Sox are now in sole possession of second place in the AL East and the wild card spot. However, the Rays are coming to Fenway for a 2-gamer on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be an interesting series, as the Rays and Red Sox are both in a different place than they were the last time the Tampa Bay team visited The Fens. The Rays got chewed up by (and no-hit in) interleague play while the Sox stole the NL's lunch money. However, Sox fans can never afford to take the Rays for granted, no matter how much they've struggled lately. The Sox will have to keep playing well despite their stars dropping like flies. The guys like Nava, McDonald, Hall, Cameron, etc. will have to keep stepping up, as will Tek in resuming a full-time catching role, at least until it's determined how long V-Mart will be out. No more injuries, PLEASE!!!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Sink or Swim
The bad news about Pedey came down yesterday: The foot is broken, requiring at least 6-8 weeks of downtime on the DL. Without their sparkplug second baseman, the Red Sox are at a crossroads: They can either pull together and stay in the race with everyone else stepping it up just that much more (and prove us doomsayers wrong) or they can suffer from the disease Acute Lackopedey and free-fall in the direction of the Baltimore Orioles.
Last night, it looks like they were taking a step toward pulling together, beating the Giants 4-2 despite yet another injury. If Clay was going to get hurt running the bases, he would have been better off striking out. However, it seems young Buch's injury is not nearly as serious as Pedey's and with the off-days next week, he may not have to miss a start. The bullpen, which gave Tito and all of Red Sox Nation fits on Thursday, redeemed themselves last night, holding the Giants to two runs after having to come into the game in the second inning. Atch, RamRam, MDC, Oki, Bard, and Pap picked up their fallen starter and the rest of the team, along with Mike Cameron. Cameron went yard for the first time this season and it was a big one with two men on base. He also made a key catch in the eighth inning. Darnell McDonald also hit a long ball and those two dingers provided all the offense the Sox would need to win.
The Sox picked up a game on the Yankees, who fell to the Dodgers 9-4, but kept pace with the Rays, who beat the D-Backs. They also picked up a utility infielder-outfielder from Oakland, Eric Patterson, who appears to be a Bill Hall clone, at least numbers and versatility-wise. Whether two light-hitting utility men will be able to bridge the Pedey gap remains to be seen.
This afternoon, Lester and Lincecum face off in what is likely to be an epic pitcher's duel. This could be a real test for the Pedey-less offense.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Last night, it looks like they were taking a step toward pulling together, beating the Giants 4-2 despite yet another injury. If Clay was going to get hurt running the bases, he would have been better off striking out. However, it seems young Buch's injury is not nearly as serious as Pedey's and with the off-days next week, he may not have to miss a start. The bullpen, which gave Tito and all of Red Sox Nation fits on Thursday, redeemed themselves last night, holding the Giants to two runs after having to come into the game in the second inning. Atch, RamRam, MDC, Oki, Bard, and Pap picked up their fallen starter and the rest of the team, along with Mike Cameron. Cameron went yard for the first time this season and it was a big one with two men on base. He also made a key catch in the eighth inning. Darnell McDonald also hit a long ball and those two dingers provided all the offense the Sox would need to win.
The Sox picked up a game on the Yankees, who fell to the Dodgers 9-4, but kept pace with the Rays, who beat the D-Backs. They also picked up a utility infielder-outfielder from Oakland, Eric Patterson, who appears to be a Bill Hall clone, at least numbers and versatility-wise. Whether two light-hitting utility men will be able to bridge the Pedey gap remains to be seen.
This afternoon, Lester and Lincecum face off in what is likely to be an epic pitcher's duel. This could be a real test for the Pedey-less offense.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Friday, June 25, 2010
More Sad Than Mad
I know there's no crying in baseball, but if the Sox lose Pedey for any significant amount of time, such news would push me in that direction. Pedey is so key to both the team's offense and defense that he's one player they absolutely cannot afford to lose. He fouled a ball off the instep of his left foot in his second at-bat of the night and started hobbling to first base, but only made it a few feet before he had to be escorted off the field. The x-rays are "inconclusive" (bear in mind that this is the Red Sox' somewhat questionable medical staff interpreting them. Just ask Jacoby Ellsbury what he thinks of their diagnostic skills), suggesting that the news is not good. There are no suitable replacements for Pedey who can provide his offensive, defensive, and clubhouse presence. I shudder at the thought of Bill Hall being the starting second baseman for the rest of the season. No great middle infielders in AAA either and there's really no one they could trade for.
Pedey's injury is just the latest in a bizarre and unfortunate series of injuries plaguing the Sox this year. All three starting outfielders and one reserve have been hurt. Both Dice-K and Beckett have been on the DL. The Sox have managed to fight their way back into the division race with a revolving-door outfield and Wake as their fifth starter, but losing someone like Pedey could be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Think 2006 and Tek's injury. It makes me so sad to think of a large chunk of the season without him and the huge door it would open for the Rays and Jays, not to mention the Yankees.
The Sox stranded a ridiculous 13 baserunners and left the bases loaded three times. After the Giants tied the score in the second inning after Youk went yard with two men on in the first, the bats shut down until a too-little-too-late rally in the ninth. Wake allowed a fourth run on a Juan Uribe dinger, but managed to give the team 7 innings on a night the bullpen was taxed. The defense was sloppy and the offense was stuck in neutral. I guess this was to be expected, to some degree, after the draining 5-hour marathon of a game last night and the 4 a.m. arrival in San Fran. The loss was frustrating, but the thought of losing Pedey makes me more sad than mad.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! WIN TOMORROW!!! DO IT FOR PEDEY!!!!
Pedey's injury is just the latest in a bizarre and unfortunate series of injuries plaguing the Sox this year. All three starting outfielders and one reserve have been hurt. Both Dice-K and Beckett have been on the DL. The Sox have managed to fight their way back into the division race with a revolving-door outfield and Wake as their fifth starter, but losing someone like Pedey could be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Think 2006 and Tek's injury. It makes me so sad to think of a large chunk of the season without him and the huge door it would open for the Rays and Jays, not to mention the Yankees.
The Sox stranded a ridiculous 13 baserunners and left the bases loaded three times. After the Giants tied the score in the second inning after Youk went yard with two men on in the first, the bats shut down until a too-little-too-late rally in the ninth. Wake allowed a fourth run on a Juan Uribe dinger, but managed to give the team 7 innings on a night the bullpen was taxed. The defense was sloppy and the offense was stuck in neutral. I guess this was to be expected, to some degree, after the draining 5-hour marathon of a game last night and the 4 a.m. arrival in San Fran. The loss was frustrating, but the thought of losing Pedey makes me more sad than mad.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! WIN TOMORROW!!! DO IT FOR PEDEY!!!!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Laser-Pedey, the New Red Sox Superhero
It was a game that lasted nearly 5 hours, which was an egregious violation of the Joe West rule, by the way. Think of it as a shorter version, a microcosm, if you will, of that epic 11-hour tennis match. Starters were limited to five innings (Dice-K) and four (Hammel) and the bullpens of both teams were all kinds of FAIL. It was a game that would have been a whole lot less stressful if I could have fast-forwarded through the bottom halves of the first inning and innings six, eight, and nine. I'm not one that deals with stress very well. Why I chose to become a baseball fan (or any kind of sports fan) must have been an exercise in masochism. Either that or the victories are worth suffering through the defeats. Depends on who's winning at the moment. Ha ha ha!
Pedey had a career night at the plate--a perfect 5 for 5 with 3 dingers a single, a double, and a walk. He went yard for the third time in the tenth inning with Scoots aboard. Pap, who blew another save tonight in the 9th, came out again in the 10th with the score 13-11 and this time he held the lead. Darnell McDonald saved Pap's bacon in the 9th by making a catch on a ball that almost got out and would have given the Rockies the win. Never did I imagine it would be so hard to beat those guys.
Dice-K shook off some rust in the first inning, allowing 2 runs in what could have been a lot worse. He pitched well through the remaining 5 innings, though he was hampered by errors from the left side of the infield. Those errors drove up his pitch count and he was done after five. He managed an RBI single in his second at-bat--This was the second game in a row where a Red Sox pitcher has gotten a hit, with Lackey getting 2 last night.
Winning tonight and avoiding the sweep was huge, especially since the Rays won earlier today. My fingers are crossed that the Sox aren't too exhausted from last night's game and the late flight to win another one tomorrow in San Fran.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON PEDEY FOR HIS INSANELY AWESOME NIGHT!!!
Pedey had a career night at the plate--a perfect 5 for 5 with 3 dingers a single, a double, and a walk. He went yard for the third time in the tenth inning with Scoots aboard. Pap, who blew another save tonight in the 9th, came out again in the 10th with the score 13-11 and this time he held the lead. Darnell McDonald saved Pap's bacon in the 9th by making a catch on a ball that almost got out and would have given the Rockies the win. Never did I imagine it would be so hard to beat those guys.
Dice-K shook off some rust in the first inning, allowing 2 runs in what could have been a lot worse. He pitched well through the remaining 5 innings, though he was hampered by errors from the left side of the infield. Those errors drove up his pitch count and he was done after five. He managed an RBI single in his second at-bat--This was the second game in a row where a Red Sox pitcher has gotten a hit, with Lackey getting 2 last night.
Winning tonight and avoiding the sweep was huge, especially since the Rays won earlier today. My fingers are crossed that the Sox aren't too exhausted from last night's game and the late flight to win another one tomorrow in San Fran.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON PEDEY FOR HIS INSANELY AWESOME NIGHT!!!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Rocky Mountain Low Blow
Why does Pap choose the absolute worst times to blow a save? Not that there are any good times to groove some straight low 90s batting practice fastballs in a one run game, but why after the Sox battled Ubaldo Jimenez, he of the 1.15 ERA before the Sox got to him for 6 runs, to dig them out of the Lackey-created hole? This isn't the first time this season Pap has done this. A certain game in Yankee Stadium on May 17 comes to mind. Dice-K gives up 5, the Sox scratch and claw their way back into the lead. Pap grooves some fastballs and what could have been a great game turns into a gut-wrencher. The guy needs to use his secondary pitches (the splitter and, doesn't he have a slider too?) and mix them in to throw hitters off balance. Bard clearly has the better stuff, with more velocity and movement. National League rules bite the Sox again since they would have had to have Bard hit if they wanted to keep him in the game.
It looks like the '08/'09 version of the Road Sox is back. They've dropped their last four road games, starting with those two in Cleveland. Sure, their home record has improved, but they have to win on the road too. Looks like I might have jinxed them with my Road Warriors blog.
Tomorrow, the Sox look to fresh-off-the-DL Dice-K to avert a sweep by the Rox. It won't get any easier in San Francisco, with Lincecum sceduled to pitch on Sunday.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! PLEASE WIN TOMORROW!!!
It looks like the '08/'09 version of the Road Sox is back. They've dropped their last four road games, starting with those two in Cleveland. Sure, their home record has improved, but they have to win on the road too. Looks like I might have jinxed them with my Road Warriors blog.
Tomorrow, the Sox look to fresh-off-the-DL Dice-K to avert a sweep by the Rox. It won't get any easier in San Francisco, with Lincecum sceduled to pitch on Sunday.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! PLEASE WIN TOMORROW!!!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Brooms are Back...
...and the Dodgers join the Diamondbacks on the receiving end. The Sox pulled off back-to-back sweeps of two NL West teams and pull into a tie for second place in the division with the Tampa Bay Rays. The six-game winning streak is the longest so far this season and it saw the Sox return to dominance at Fenway. While they'd been having trouble closing out the weaker AL teams, beating up on the NL has come a lot more easily to them. The Sox have, in recent years, enjoyed success in interleague play and this year they're taking advantage of it to make up ground in the division while the Rays, and to a lesser extent, the Yankees, have faltered.
Key to the Sox' winning streak and 8-1 homestand is the resurgence of Pedey's bat and Papi breaking out of the slump he was on the last road trip. Nava gave the team a spark with his first-pitch-in-the-big-show grand slam, among other key hits. The pitching has kept the Sox in the ballgame, even if it wasn't necessarily dominant. The team is performing as a team, rather than the collection of individuals that scuffled along in April.
After an off-day tomorrow, the Sox leave the friendly confines and venture back out on the road, first to Coors Field in Colorado-- the same Coors Field where they celebrated their World Series victory on a cool October night in 2007. It might be a little more challenging this time out because on Wednesday night they face the buzzsaw known as Ubaldo Jimenez. Ubaldo of the 13-1 record and the microscopic ERA. After Colorado, they play a set in San Francisco before heading home to face the Rays.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON BACK-TO-BACK SWEEPS!!!!
Key to the Sox' winning streak and 8-1 homestand is the resurgence of Pedey's bat and Papi breaking out of the slump he was on the last road trip. Nava gave the team a spark with his first-pitch-in-the-big-show grand slam, among other key hits. The pitching has kept the Sox in the ballgame, even if it wasn't necessarily dominant. The team is performing as a team, rather than the collection of individuals that scuffled along in April.
After an off-day tomorrow, the Sox leave the friendly confines and venture back out on the road, first to Coors Field in Colorado-- the same Coors Field where they celebrated their World Series victory on a cool October night in 2007. It might be a little more challenging this time out because on Wednesday night they face the buzzsaw known as Ubaldo Jimenez. Ubaldo of the 13-1 record and the microscopic ERA. After Colorado, they play a set in San Francisco before heading home to face the Rays.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON BACK-TO-BACK SWEEPS!!!!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Got Walk-Off?
Do they still do those celebrity milk mustache ads? The ones that say "Got Milk?" If so, Pedey would be a perfect candidate for one, given his joking comment last week about his return to form at the plate, "I'm strong. I drink milk". Milk does the Pedey good, as we saw yesterday in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Dodgers' high-powered closer Jonathan Broxton. The game was tied and there were 2 outs. Pedey was down to his last strike before the game would be forced into extra innings, a situation which has spelled doom for the Sox so far this season. But the calcium-powered Dustin Pedroia Laser Show prevailed and Pedey lined a single into right field, scoring Nava from second, the winning run and Pedey's first career walk-off hit.
Had Pedey not delivered in the bottom of the 9th and they followed their perplexing pattern of losing in extras, this blog might have been titled "A Tragedy of Errors" instead. There were 4 instances of defensive FAIL in this game--Bill Hall, playing right field for the first time with JD being hurt, had 2 of them. The other two belonged to the left side of the infield, Beltre and Scoots. It was only the last error that was costly for the Sox--it led to the game being tied in the 7th, but it created the situation in the ninth where they had to score or they'd have to go into extras. I guess you could say it set the stage for Pedey's heroics, in winning a game they probably shouldn't have won, but Red Sox Nation will take wins in any way we can get them, especially now that the wild card and division are one more Sox win and one more Rays and Yankees loss away.
Before Pedey's knockout blow, both Youk and V-Mart went yard and Nava doubled in a run. Wake pitched well enough to keep his team in the game, despite the lack of help from his defense. The shortage of outfielders, forcing Hall to play a position he had played little if any of, denied Wake the win, but with 6.1 innings and 3 earned runs (4 total), he did his part. Should Drew need to be DL-ed, the Sox would be put in a position to have to make a trade for a major-league level outfielder. Josh Reddick needs to play every day in the minors and Ryan Kalish has even less PawSox time than Reddick (plus, he's on the minor league DL). In order to make room for another outfielder, they will have to part with Lowell in some way or another. Let's all cross our fingers that JD can play on Tuesday.
Tonight, the game's on ESPN and Clay Buchholz toes the rubber for the Sox against Hiroki Kuroda. Will the Beat LA chants become Sweep LA? It would be a sweet sweep after what happened on Thursday night at the Staples Center.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! SWEEP LA!!!!
Had Pedey not delivered in the bottom of the 9th and they followed their perplexing pattern of losing in extras, this blog might have been titled "A Tragedy of Errors" instead. There were 4 instances of defensive FAIL in this game--Bill Hall, playing right field for the first time with JD being hurt, had 2 of them. The other two belonged to the left side of the infield, Beltre and Scoots. It was only the last error that was costly for the Sox--it led to the game being tied in the 7th, but it created the situation in the ninth where they had to score or they'd have to go into extras. I guess you could say it set the stage for Pedey's heroics, in winning a game they probably shouldn't have won, but Red Sox Nation will take wins in any way we can get them, especially now that the wild card and division are one more Sox win and one more Rays and Yankees loss away.
Before Pedey's knockout blow, both Youk and V-Mart went yard and Nava doubled in a run. Wake pitched well enough to keep his team in the game, despite the lack of help from his defense. The shortage of outfielders, forcing Hall to play a position he had played little if any of, denied Wake the win, but with 6.1 innings and 3 earned runs (4 total), he did his part. Should Drew need to be DL-ed, the Sox would be put in a position to have to make a trade for a major-league level outfielder. Josh Reddick needs to play every day in the minors and Ryan Kalish has even less PawSox time than Reddick (plus, he's on the minor league DL). In order to make room for another outfielder, they will have to part with Lowell in some way or another. Let's all cross our fingers that JD can play on Tuesday.
Tonight, the game's on ESPN and Clay Buchholz toes the rubber for the Sox against Hiroki Kuroda. Will the Beat LA chants become Sweep LA? It would be a sweet sweep after what happened on Thursday night at the Staples Center.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! SWEEP LA!!!!
Who Owned The Night?
Hint: It wasn't a certain dreadlocked former Sox left-fielder who now sports #99 for the Dodgers. It wasn't necessarily Felix Doubront, who, while he showed promise in his major league debut, will benefit from more seasoning in Pawtucket. It could have been Scott Atchison, who, since making the emergency start last Saturday against the Phillies, has been making a case for sticking around in the 'pen.
The night belonged to the Sox offense, one that put on a Dustin Pedroia-patented laser show for the Friday night Fenway crowd and stole some of Manny's thunder. This offense was thought to be fair to middling at the start of the season, what with no 35-40 homer, 120 RBI guy looming in the middle of the lineup now that Jason Bay had left for Queens and coveted slugger Adrian Gonzalez didn't magically appear in the clubhouse with a brand spankin' new Red Sox jersey waiting for him. Instead, the offense, even without the originally conceived starting lineup, has become a more balanced one. No longer would they need to rely on one or two guys to knock all the dingers drive in all the runs. Production would come from throughout the lineup: From leadoff hitter (in Jacoby Ellsbury's absence) Marco Scutaro, who is showing that last year in Toronto wasn't a fluke. From AAA call-ups Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava, who never could have imagined the impact they would have on this team. From .339 hitting offseason acquisition Adrian Beltre, who leads the team in both average and RBI. From backup catcher Jason Varitek, who is adjusting to his new role beautifully and making the most of his opportunities at the plate. From Victor Martinez, the new everyday catcher, who overcame a slow start to heat his bat up in a big way. From Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, because you know those two grind out at-bats and wear pitchers down. From JD Drew, who has been on a tear of late in interleague play (although he may be DL-bound after straining his hammy catching a fly ball hit by none other than Manny Ramirez), And, yes, from David Ortiz, who turned his season around in May and has once again been a guy you want at the plate with guys on base and the chance to take the lead with a long ball. Bill Hall, Mike Lowell, Jeremy Hermida, and Mike Cameron have pitched in when they can.
This offense is first in runs scored, RBI, and slugging percentage and second in home runs. As with any team, there have been days when the offense just didn't show up, but this year, it's shown up more often than not. The team ERA has been in the middle of the pack, despite some runs of brilliance by Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, so the offense has been key to the Sox making up the ground that they have in the division. As of today, they are a game back of both the division and Wild Card, with the Yankees and the Rays tied for first. The division leaders have run into a little trouble with some surging NL East teams in interleague play and have opened the door a bit for the Red Sox to close the gap and close the gap they did.
Today, Wake stands on the mound for the Sox and Padilla for the Dodgers. The Sox hope to continue their interleague success and keep pace with, if not, dare I hope, surpass their division rivals.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! BEAT LA (AGAIN!)!!!!
The night belonged to the Sox offense, one that put on a Dustin Pedroia-patented laser show for the Friday night Fenway crowd and stole some of Manny's thunder. This offense was thought to be fair to middling at the start of the season, what with no 35-40 homer, 120 RBI guy looming in the middle of the lineup now that Jason Bay had left for Queens and coveted slugger Adrian Gonzalez didn't magically appear in the clubhouse with a brand spankin' new Red Sox jersey waiting for him. Instead, the offense, even without the originally conceived starting lineup, has become a more balanced one. No longer would they need to rely on one or two guys to knock all the dingers drive in all the runs. Production would come from throughout the lineup: From leadoff hitter (in Jacoby Ellsbury's absence) Marco Scutaro, who is showing that last year in Toronto wasn't a fluke. From AAA call-ups Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava, who never could have imagined the impact they would have on this team. From .339 hitting offseason acquisition Adrian Beltre, who leads the team in both average and RBI. From backup catcher Jason Varitek, who is adjusting to his new role beautifully and making the most of his opportunities at the plate. From Victor Martinez, the new everyday catcher, who overcame a slow start to heat his bat up in a big way. From Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, because you know those two grind out at-bats and wear pitchers down. From JD Drew, who has been on a tear of late in interleague play (although he may be DL-bound after straining his hammy catching a fly ball hit by none other than Manny Ramirez), And, yes, from David Ortiz, who turned his season around in May and has once again been a guy you want at the plate with guys on base and the chance to take the lead with a long ball. Bill Hall, Mike Lowell, Jeremy Hermida, and Mike Cameron have pitched in when they can.
This offense is first in runs scored, RBI, and slugging percentage and second in home runs. As with any team, there have been days when the offense just didn't show up, but this year, it's shown up more often than not. The team ERA has been in the middle of the pack, despite some runs of brilliance by Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, so the offense has been key to the Sox making up the ground that they have in the division. As of today, they are a game back of both the division and Wild Card, with the Yankees and the Rays tied for first. The division leaders have run into a little trouble with some surging NL East teams in interleague play and have opened the door a bit for the Red Sox to close the gap and close the gap they did.
Today, Wake stands on the mound for the Sox and Padilla for the Dodgers. The Sox hope to continue their interleague success and keep pace with, if not, dare I hope, surpass their division rivals.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! BEAT LA (AGAIN!)!!!!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
How Pedey Got His Laser Show Back
It's back on, baby! The Dustin Pedroia Laser Show, that is. After climbing out of an epic slump, Pedey's back to tormenting pitchers, daring them to try to get him out. In the first two games of this series with the D-Backs, Pedey is 4 for 7 with 3 RBI, a stolen base, and some awesome glove work. He ended a long homer drought by going yard in the first inning with Scoots aboard to give the Sox a 2-0 lead.
Pedey's not the only one getting back on track at home during interleague play. Papi, who had a brutal road trip where he looked like he did in April, has been whacking the ball lately as well. He had a two-run dinger of his own yesterday to erase a 1-0 deficit in the first inning. The return to Fenway did him a world of good.
I've gotta give some props to Scoots. He made a great diving play tonight, just two days after getting an injection in his neck to treat a pinched nerve. He also got himself a couple of hits. In the absense of Ells, Scoots is getting it done batting leadoff.
Lester and Buchholz each pitched well enough to win the first two games of the series, but neither were as dominant as they had been before the Cleveland trip. High pitch count forced Buchholz out of the game earlier than he would have liked and Lester struggled a bit with command also. Still, they both gave quality starts and, with the bats and the pen backing them up, each collected a W.
The series finale tomorrow night has John Lackey up against Dan Haren. Neither have been as dominant this year as they have been in the past, so it will be an interesting match-up. The Sox have been sans broom lately after winning the first two games in a series. It's hard to complain when they keep winning series, but with the AL East being as tight as it is, every game counts. They made up a game on both the Yanks and Rays tonight, however, thanks to the Phillies and the Braves, and now stand 3 games out of first place. The game will start an hour earlier tomorrow night so as not to conflict with Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Perk's down, so the C's will have to win it all without him. They better win--I don't think I can stomach the Kobe Bryant lovefest if they don't.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! LET'S GO CELTICS!!!!!
Pedey's not the only one getting back on track at home during interleague play. Papi, who had a brutal road trip where he looked like he did in April, has been whacking the ball lately as well. He had a two-run dinger of his own yesterday to erase a 1-0 deficit in the first inning. The return to Fenway did him a world of good.
I've gotta give some props to Scoots. He made a great diving play tonight, just two days after getting an injection in his neck to treat a pinched nerve. He also got himself a couple of hits. In the absense of Ells, Scoots is getting it done batting leadoff.
Lester and Buchholz each pitched well enough to win the first two games of the series, but neither were as dominant as they had been before the Cleveland trip. High pitch count forced Buchholz out of the game earlier than he would have liked and Lester struggled a bit with command also. Still, they both gave quality starts and, with the bats and the pen backing them up, each collected a W.
The series finale tomorrow night has John Lackey up against Dan Haren. Neither have been as dominant this year as they have been in the past, so it will be an interesting match-up. The Sox have been sans broom lately after winning the first two games in a series. It's hard to complain when they keep winning series, but with the AL East being as tight as it is, every game counts. They made up a game on both the Yanks and Rays tonight, however, thanks to the Phillies and the Braves, and now stand 3 games out of first place. The game will start an hour earlier tomorrow night so as not to conflict with Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Perk's down, so the C's will have to win it all without him. They better win--I don't think I can stomach the Kobe Bryant lovefest if they don't.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! LET'S GO CELTICS!!!!!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Afternoon Not Delightful
At least not for the Sox this season. They are 5-12 in day games this season, which is the second worst day game record in the league. Their night game record is 32-16. Both their offense (.268 average in day games, .279 at night) and their pitching (5.26 ERA in day games, 4.05 ERA in night games) take a hit before the evening hours. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.
Today's game was no exception to the trend of dreary daytime play. After back-to-back blowouts of the Phils, the Sox bats were owned by Cole Hamels. Hamels held the Sox to one run, an Adrian Beltre dinger in the second. They wouldn't score again until the 9th off J.C. Romero, but it wasn't enough to answer the 5 runs the Phillies put up. Wake allowed 4 of those runs in the 4th inning of an otherwise solid start. RamRam allowed them to tack on the 5th run in the top of the 9th inning.
The silver lining of this game was the 3-hit game for Pedey, the 9th big fly of the season for Beltre, and the 2 hits and 1 RBI by Nava in his second major-league game. The Sox get a day off tomorrow and face the Diamondbacks (and JD's kid brother) on Tuesday.
The C's won the crucial Game 5 tonight and go back to LA with a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 on Tuesday. Beat LA!!!!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Today's game was no exception to the trend of dreary daytime play. After back-to-back blowouts of the Phils, the Sox bats were owned by Cole Hamels. Hamels held the Sox to one run, an Adrian Beltre dinger in the second. They wouldn't score again until the 9th off J.C. Romero, but it wasn't enough to answer the 5 runs the Phillies put up. Wake allowed 4 of those runs in the 4th inning of an otherwise solid start. RamRam allowed them to tack on the 5th run in the top of the 9th inning.
The silver lining of this game was the 3-hit game for Pedey, the 9th big fly of the season for Beltre, and the 2 hits and 1 RBI by Nava in his second major-league game. The Sox get a day off tomorrow and face the Diamondbacks (and JD's kid brother) on Tuesday.
The C's won the crucial Game 5 tonight and go back to LA with a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 on Tuesday. Beat LA!!!!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Grand Entrance
Stories like these make sports fun to watch. As a freshman in high school, Daniel Nava could be mistaken for a fourth-grader at 4' 8" and 70 lb. Four years (and 9") later, at Santa Clara college, he was washing the uniforms of the school's baseball team. For his sophomore year, Nava transferred to junior college to lessen the financial burden on his family and joined the junior college baseball team without having to try out. He performed so well there that he was offered a scholarship to return to Santa Clara and play for them. Still, even with his success in college ball and the addition of another 5" to his frame, the scouts weren't biting He tried out for the independent Golden Baseball League and didn't make the team, but when two players didn't show up, they let him on. Two years ago, the Red Sox took a flyer out on Nava and signed him to a contract. In that time, he worked his way through the minor-league system and was playing for Pawtucket when he was called up today to replace Josh Reddick, who still needs more seasoning in AAA.
Like Darnell McDonald did in April, Nava made a big splash immediately upon stepping in the batter's box. The stage was set, with the Sox down 2-1 to the Phillies in 2nd inning and the bases loaded. Nava took Joe Blanton's first pitch and smacked it into the Sox bullpen (where it was snagged by Manny Delcarmen) for a grand salami. The Sox took the lead and never looked back. They tacked on 5 more runs: Scoots doubled with the bases loaded to drive in 2 in the 3rd. Then, Pedey singled in another. JD Drew, who got Day 2 of the Red Sox run-scoring party started with a Pesky's Pole dinger, knocks in Youk in the 4th inning. In the 6th, with the bases loaded again and nobody out, Tek grounded into a double play, which plated the 10th Red Sox run. That's 22 runs in 2 games! Nava had two hits in his major-league debut, the grand slam and a double in his third at-bat.
On a day where Dice-K had to be scratched at the last minute due to forearm soreness, the Sox bullpen did an admirable job keeping the Phillies' offense at bay. Their offense has been scuffling pretty badly of late, but you never know when they're going to snap out of it--for the Red Sox' sake, let's hope it's after tomorrow's game. Scott Atchison was the emergency starter, pitching 3 innings and giving up the only Phillies runs of the game. MDC, Oki, RamRam, and Pap all pitched scoreless innings in relief. Pap came in the game just to get some work in, since it had been almost a week since he had pitched in a game. Dustin Richardson, a lefty, was called up when Dice-K was put in the DL. It will be interesting to see who pitches in Dice-K's rotation slot next Friday. With the off-day Monday, his turn could just be skipped and Wake could pitch on normal rest. However, Wake is the one guy who could benefit from rest the most, so the Sox could call up someone like Felix Doubront, who is doing very well in Pawtucket so far.
Tomorrow, the Sox face Cole Hamels, one of the better pitchers on the Phillies' staff. Wake pitches for the Sox and the team is relying on him to pitch deep into the game with the bullpen being emptied out for today's game. Dustin Richardson is the only guy in the pen who didn't pitch today, so he'll most likely be the first one called on tomorrow.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS TO DANIEL NAVA (2 for 4, 4 RBI) ON AN AWESOME MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT!!!!!
Like Darnell McDonald did in April, Nava made a big splash immediately upon stepping in the batter's box. The stage was set, with the Sox down 2-1 to the Phillies in 2nd inning and the bases loaded. Nava took Joe Blanton's first pitch and smacked it into the Sox bullpen (where it was snagged by Manny Delcarmen) for a grand salami. The Sox took the lead and never looked back. They tacked on 5 more runs: Scoots doubled with the bases loaded to drive in 2 in the 3rd. Then, Pedey singled in another. JD Drew, who got Day 2 of the Red Sox run-scoring party started with a Pesky's Pole dinger, knocks in Youk in the 4th inning. In the 6th, with the bases loaded again and nobody out, Tek grounded into a double play, which plated the 10th Red Sox run. That's 22 runs in 2 games! Nava had two hits in his major-league debut, the grand slam and a double in his third at-bat.
On a day where Dice-K had to be scratched at the last minute due to forearm soreness, the Sox bullpen did an admirable job keeping the Phillies' offense at bay. Their offense has been scuffling pretty badly of late, but you never know when they're going to snap out of it--for the Red Sox' sake, let's hope it's after tomorrow's game. Scott Atchison was the emergency starter, pitching 3 innings and giving up the only Phillies runs of the game. MDC, Oki, RamRam, and Pap all pitched scoreless innings in relief. Pap came in the game just to get some work in, since it had been almost a week since he had pitched in a game. Dustin Richardson, a lefty, was called up when Dice-K was put in the DL. It will be interesting to see who pitches in Dice-K's rotation slot next Friday. With the off-day Monday, his turn could just be skipped and Wake could pitch on normal rest. However, Wake is the one guy who could benefit from rest the most, so the Sox could call up someone like Felix Doubront, who is doing very well in Pawtucket so far.
Tomorrow, the Sox face Cole Hamels, one of the better pitchers on the Phillies' staff. Wake pitches for the Sox and the team is relying on him to pitch deep into the game with the bullpen being emptied out for today's game. Dustin Richardson is the only guy in the pen who didn't pitch today, so he'll most likely be the first one called on tomorrow.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS TO DANIEL NAVA (2 for 4, 4 RBI) ON AN AWESOME MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT!!!!!
Friday, June 11, 2010
No Place Like Home
There are no ruby slippers, but there are Red Sox. There's no Toto, but there's Tito. After leaving The Not-So-Magical Land of Cleve with a sour taste in their mouths, the Red Sox returned home to Kansas--er, Boston--and Fenway Park to face Jamie Moyer and the Phillies. Moyer, the oldest active pitcher in baseball at 47, who had been having a pretty good season facing National League hitters, got schooled by the Red Sox to the tune of 9 runs in an inning plus. The Sox would score 3 more off of reliever David Herndon, who pitched 3.2 innings.
The combination of home cooking and poorly-located 80 mph fastballs revitalized Big Papi's bat, gave Mike Lowell his second dinger of the season (and a rare start at first, with Youk resting his back), and kept V-Mart, Scoots, and Beltre hot. They were hitting doubles all over the place, scoring those 12 runs in the first 3 innings of the game.
Meanwhile, Lackey, given a ginormous lead, was able to go after hitters and throw strikes. He gave up 2 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings of work. He struck out 3 and didn't walk a single batter. Boof Bonser of the infinite ERA came in to pitch the 8th and 9th. After giving up a few hits to start the 8th, he escaped without any damage (thanks to a shallow flyout and a double play) and pitched a scoreless 9th as well, giving him an actual number for an ERA (18.00) as opposed to a symbol.
Dice-K, who came within 4 outs of no-hitting the Phillies three weeks ago, faces them again tomorrow. He has come off two very good outings and the Sox are hoping he can have success against the Phils again tomorrow afternoon. The Sox face Joe Blanton, hoping to capitalize on his north-of-six ERA and score some runs for the Diceman.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
The combination of home cooking and poorly-located 80 mph fastballs revitalized Big Papi's bat, gave Mike Lowell his second dinger of the season (and a rare start at first, with Youk resting his back), and kept V-Mart, Scoots, and Beltre hot. They were hitting doubles all over the place, scoring those 12 runs in the first 3 innings of the game.
Meanwhile, Lackey, given a ginormous lead, was able to go after hitters and throw strikes. He gave up 2 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings of work. He struck out 3 and didn't walk a single batter. Boof Bonser of the infinite ERA came in to pitch the 8th and 9th. After giving up a few hits to start the 8th, he escaped without any damage (thanks to a shallow flyout and a double play) and pitched a scoreless 9th as well, giving him an actual number for an ERA (18.00) as opposed to a symbol.
Dice-K, who came within 4 outs of no-hitting the Phillies three weeks ago, faces them again tomorrow. He has come off two very good outings and the Sox are hoping he can have success against the Phils again tomorrow afternoon. The Sox face Joe Blanton, hoping to capitalize on his north-of-six ERA and score some runs for the Diceman.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
EPIC FAIL
All I can say about the last two Red Sox games is...at least the Celtics won tonight! As for the boys on the diamond who call Fenway Park their home, they continue to let the worst teams in the league get the best of them. They are 10-10, or .500 against the O's, Tribe, and Royals and making those teams look a whole lot better than they are in the process. It's yet another facet of this frustrating, baffling Red Sox season. Just when they look like they're going somewhere, the fit hits the shan.
Tonight's loss was especially devastating because they went ahead in the top of the ninth on a 2-run Beltre dinger and it looked like they just might pull out a win after Lester's April flashback on the hill. Alas, Bard, forced into the closer role with Pap unavailable and no other bullpen arms that come close to being trustworthy, appeared to be pitching blindfolded for the first few batters. He appeared to right himself with a strikeout and a popup, but he couldn't get the job done in the end, with Russell Branyan shooting a liner into right for the game tying and winning runs. It was a gut-wrenching loss to a team they're supposed to dominate. Surely the team's two best pitchers had to have at least ONE win between them in the last two games of the series. Ironically it was the back end of the rotation who outpitched the top two.
Tomorrow the Sox return home to Fenway and reunite with the Phillies, who are looking for some revenge. After all, it was that series with the Sox at Citizen's Bank Park that started the Phils on a downward trend in the standings and the batting averages. The Sox had best get their act together and decide whether they are going to be a contender or pretender. Perhaps Doc Rivers can pop into Fenway tomorrow night and give them a little talking-to;-)
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Tonight's loss was especially devastating because they went ahead in the top of the ninth on a 2-run Beltre dinger and it looked like they just might pull out a win after Lester's April flashback on the hill. Alas, Bard, forced into the closer role with Pap unavailable and no other bullpen arms that come close to being trustworthy, appeared to be pitching blindfolded for the first few batters. He appeared to right himself with a strikeout and a popup, but he couldn't get the job done in the end, with Russell Branyan shooting a liner into right for the game tying and winning runs. It was a gut-wrenching loss to a team they're supposed to dominate. Surely the team's two best pitchers had to have at least ONE win between them in the last two games of the series. Ironically it was the back end of the rotation who outpitched the top two.
Tomorrow the Sox return home to Fenway and reunite with the Phillies, who are looking for some revenge. After all, it was that series with the Sox at Citizen's Bank Park that started the Phils on a downward trend in the standings and the batting averages. The Sox had best get their act together and decide whether they are going to be a contender or pretender. Perhaps Doc Rivers can pop into Fenway tomorrow night and give them a little talking-to;-)
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Good Dice, Good Wake
Nice to see those guys, isn't it. Last night, Good Dice-K showed up for 8 innings of shutout ball. Tonight, Good Wake pitched 7.1, allowing 2 runs, only one of which was earned. The Sox should thank their lucky stars that Dice and Wake brought their A-game, because the weren't doing a whole heck of a lot of run scoring. The RISP slump that plagued them in their last game in B-more hopped on the plane to Cleveland with the Sox, but they managed to score enough runs to win both nights.
With a short bullpen due to Manny Delcarmen's aching back and Pap's family medical issue, Dice-K's and Wake's pitching deep into the game was huge. The Sox are now 17-11 on the road and 35-25 for the season.
Who's Slugging and Who's Slumping
Slugging
Kevin Youkilis 9 for 20 on road trip,
Marco Scutaro 9 for 25,
Victor Martinez 8 for 19
Adrian Beltre 6 for 17
Slumping
David Ortiz 1 for 19
Dustin Pedroia 4 for 20
J.D. Drew 3 for 13
My hometown team, the Nats, got a huge lift with the insanely anticipated major league debut of Stephen Strasburg. The 21-year-old righty didn't disappoint. He threw seven innings and struck out a Pedro-esque 14 batters. 14!!!! He allowed 2 runs on a dinger by Delwyn (not to be confused with Delmon) Young. This kid's going to be exciting to watch and good for the struggling franchise, in its sixth year in Washington, DC.
Back to the Red Sox--tomorrow will be very interesting with the matchup of former teammates Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson. Masterson got traded to the Tribe at the deadline last year for V-Mart. Buchholz on the road, so far, has been tough to beat. Let's hope that continues tomorrow night.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
With a short bullpen due to Manny Delcarmen's aching back and Pap's family medical issue, Dice-K's and Wake's pitching deep into the game was huge. The Sox are now 17-11 on the road and 35-25 for the season.
Who's Slugging and Who's Slumping
Slugging
Kevin Youkilis 9 for 20 on road trip,
Marco Scutaro 9 for 25,
Victor Martinez 8 for 19
Adrian Beltre 6 for 17
Slumping
David Ortiz 1 for 19
Dustin Pedroia 4 for 20
J.D. Drew 3 for 13
My hometown team, the Nats, got a huge lift with the insanely anticipated major league debut of Stephen Strasburg. The 21-year-old righty didn't disappoint. He threw seven innings and struck out a Pedro-esque 14 batters. 14!!!! He allowed 2 runs on a dinger by Delwyn (not to be confused with Delmon) Young. This kid's going to be exciting to watch and good for the struggling franchise, in its sixth year in Washington, DC.
Back to the Red Sox--tomorrow will be very interesting with the matchup of former teammates Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson. Masterson got traded to the Tribe at the deadline last year for V-Mart. Buchholz on the road, so far, has been tough to beat. Let's hope that continues tomorrow night.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Innings of Doom
You know which innings I'm talking about--the ones following the ninth. Extra innings, where the Sox have won exactly ONE game this season and lost seven. After two nights of awesome offense, the bats mailed it in yesterday after a 2-run shot by V-Mart in the second inning. It was a case of scoring more runs than they needed for two nights, but coming up short in the finale. Some of those ten surplus runs from Friday night would have been helpful yesterday, you know? Alas, runs cannot be banked for a rainy (or, in this case, dry) day.
The lack of reliable bullpen arms was the other half of the equation in yesterday's 11-inning loss. Delcarmen was money up until Thursday, when he started unraveling again. Now, beyond Bard and Pap, who can Tito trust in a close game? Oki? Maybe a few years ago, but not so much anymore, especially against the O's, who are his personal kryptonite. RamRam? Too hit or miss. Joe Nelson? Don't think so. Atchison (when he's not in Pawtucket)? Fuhgeddaboudit! I worry about the overuse of Bard. The Sox really need another solid arm to take some of the load off the young flamethrower. Color me skeptical about Boof Bonser. He was a reclamation project and we know how those have panned out for the Sox in recent years. Bowden is another shaky pick, seeing how he's struggling to get AAA hitters out. He's one they should have traded awhile back. Dustin Richardson would be worth a shot, though.
The Sox have touched down in Cleveland for a set of 4 against the Tribe, including a reunion with the former Sox hurler who got them V-Mart--Justin Masterson. Tonight's matchup has the Dice-K Mystery up against Fausto Carmona. I don't know what to expect out of this one because I don't know which Dice-K, or combination of Dice-Ks will show up.
Congrats to the Celtics for taking Game 2. I'm hoping once the series moves to Boston, the Kobe Bryant lovefest will be toned down a notch or ten. He's like the A-Rod of the NBA, which fits in with the Lakers being their answer to the Yankees.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!
The lack of reliable bullpen arms was the other half of the equation in yesterday's 11-inning loss. Delcarmen was money up until Thursday, when he started unraveling again. Now, beyond Bard and Pap, who can Tito trust in a close game? Oki? Maybe a few years ago, but not so much anymore, especially against the O's, who are his personal kryptonite. RamRam? Too hit or miss. Joe Nelson? Don't think so. Atchison (when he's not in Pawtucket)? Fuhgeddaboudit! I worry about the overuse of Bard. The Sox really need another solid arm to take some of the load off the young flamethrower. Color me skeptical about Boof Bonser. He was a reclamation project and we know how those have panned out for the Sox in recent years. Bowden is another shaky pick, seeing how he's struggling to get AAA hitters out. He's one they should have traded awhile back. Dustin Richardson would be worth a shot, though.
The Sox have touched down in Cleveland for a set of 4 against the Tribe, including a reunion with the former Sox hurler who got them V-Mart--Justin Masterson. Tonight's matchup has the Dice-K Mystery up against Fausto Carmona. I don't know what to expect out of this one because I don't know which Dice-K, or combination of Dice-Ks will show up.
Congrats to the Celtics for taking Game 2. I'm hoping once the series moves to Boston, the Kobe Bryant lovefest will be toned down a notch or ten. He's like the A-Rod of the NBA, which fits in with the Lakers being their answer to the Yankees.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Road Warriors
If there's one thing the Sox have improved on this year from 2008 and 2009 it's their performance away from The Fens. This has come at the cost of some of their dominance at home, but, in a way, has made them a more balanced team--a team that can win both at home and away. Getting players like Beltre with good road numbers helps. Buchholz is even more dominant on the road than at home, with 9 straight road wins (second behind Roger Clemens: Red Sox edition) The Sox road record now stands at 15-10, with their home record at 18-14. They're tied with the Jays for the second-best road record in baseball, with the Rays' 21-8 far and away the best. Road record, of course, is not the be-all-end-all (that would be overall record, of course) but seeing how much they'd struggled away from home in the past few years, it's refreshing to see them improve outside of friendly Fenway.
Tonight, the Sox kept the pressure on the O's, with Lester and Bard combining for 8 shutout innings. Lester dominated through six, but ran into some trouble in the 7th as the stifling heat caught up to him, toasting his command of the strike zone. After walking three straight batters to fill the sacks with one out in a one-run game, he was lifted for Bard, who had his teammate's back. He made some huge pitches and the O's left 'em loaded with nothing to show for it.
The bats showed up a little later for tonight's game than they did last night. Guthrie pitched a great game, but, thanks to Lester and Bard, lacked the offensive support to win. He gave up the dinger to Youk in the sixth, then a triple to Reddick (called up today), and Scoots for a second run. In the ninth, with Pap warming in the Sox 'pen, the bats put the hurtin' on the O's 'pen. Six runs scored that inning, thanks to a trio of 2-run knocks by Youk, McDonald (who came in to pinch-hit for Reddick against lefty Will Ohman) and Hall.
The big inning in the ninth meant Pap was no longer needed. Joe Nelson came on instead and the O's finally had someone they could jump on. He got only one out, loaded the bases, and gave up a 2-run single to O's second baseman Scott Moore. Uh Oh!!!! Here come the O's!!! Nelson got the hook and RamRam came in. As Red Sox Nation held their collective breath, RamRam snuffed out the threat and the Sox won 8-2.
Tomorrow afternoon, Lackey will once again try to get himself on track and the Sox will try for the revenge sweep. As they're taking care of the O's, the Sox' AL East rivals have been racking up some L's. Both the Yanks and the Rays dropped their last two games (to the Jays and the Rangers respectively). The Sox remain joined at the hip with the Jays, but as long as the Jays are beating the Yanks, the Sox won't be kicking them out of bed for eating crackers. Once they're done playing the Yanks, then the Sox'll be looking to cut 'em loose and send them southbound in the standings.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Tonight, the Sox kept the pressure on the O's, with Lester and Bard combining for 8 shutout innings. Lester dominated through six, but ran into some trouble in the 7th as the stifling heat caught up to him, toasting his command of the strike zone. After walking three straight batters to fill the sacks with one out in a one-run game, he was lifted for Bard, who had his teammate's back. He made some huge pitches and the O's left 'em loaded with nothing to show for it.
The bats showed up a little later for tonight's game than they did last night. Guthrie pitched a great game, but, thanks to Lester and Bard, lacked the offensive support to win. He gave up the dinger to Youk in the sixth, then a triple to Reddick (called up today), and Scoots for a second run. In the ninth, with Pap warming in the Sox 'pen, the bats put the hurtin' on the O's 'pen. Six runs scored that inning, thanks to a trio of 2-run knocks by Youk, McDonald (who came in to pinch-hit for Reddick against lefty Will Ohman) and Hall.
The big inning in the ninth meant Pap was no longer needed. Joe Nelson came on instead and the O's finally had someone they could jump on. He got only one out, loaded the bases, and gave up a 2-run single to O's second baseman Scott Moore. Uh Oh!!!! Here come the O's!!! Nelson got the hook and RamRam came in. As Red Sox Nation held their collective breath, RamRam snuffed out the threat and the Sox won 8-2.
Tomorrow afternoon, Lackey will once again try to get himself on track and the Sox will try for the revenge sweep. As they're taking care of the O's, the Sox' AL East rivals have been racking up some L's. Both the Yanks and the Rays dropped their last two games (to the Jays and the Rangers respectively). The Sox remain joined at the hip with the Jays, but as long as the Jays are beating the Yanks, the Sox won't be kicking them out of bed for eating crackers. Once they're done playing the Yanks, then the Sox'll be looking to cut 'em loose and send them southbound in the standings.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
The Buch Stops Baltimore
Clay Buchholz has been one of the best stories so far of this up and down 2010 Red Sox season. Following in his teammate and fellow Sox farmhand Jon Lester's footsteps, Buchholz is having a breakout year. He has pitched back-to-back shutouts and last night against Baltimore, he went the distance, throwing his first complete game shutout since his 2007 no-hitter. He's exciting to watch. I'm certainly glad the Red Sox stuck with him and didn't trade him away, even though in the past I questioned his ability to get past the psychological roadblocks that lead to him looking snakebitten when pitching from the stretch.
After last night's gem, Buch lowered his ERA to 2.39, good for second in the AL behind Tampa Bay's David Price and tied with Price for most wins in the AL. Could he make an appearance in the all-star game or even make a bid for the Cy? He'll have some pretty fierce competition in the league, including his teammate Jon Lester, but if he keeps up his stellar work on the hill, he has a chance.
The bats enjoyed some in-game BP courtesy of the O's pitching staff in the 11-0 laugher. Rookie starter Chris Tillman only went an inning and a third before getting pulled for long reliever Mark Hendrickson. The hits and runs kept on coming for the Red Sox, on a night following the O's axing of their skipper Dave Trembley. Third base coach Juan Samuel took over as interim manager. Youk, Beltre, and Scoots went yard, Youk for 3 runs, Beltre on one knee, and Scoots for the second game in a row.
In addition to his kneeling dinger last night, Beltre was part of an uncomfortable deja vu experience for the Red Sox. While chasing a foul popup in left field, he collided with Hermida, took a tumble, and, amazingly, held onto the ball for the out as Jacoby Ellsbury (probably) shook his head in the dugout. Hermida left the game with a bruised forearm and is day-to-day. Fortunately, the injury seems to be less severe than the one that has kept Ells on the shelf for most of the season.
Tonight, Lester takes on Guthrie and the Sox hope to continue to take advantage of the O's state of disarray.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
After last night's gem, Buch lowered his ERA to 2.39, good for second in the AL behind Tampa Bay's David Price and tied with Price for most wins in the AL. Could he make an appearance in the all-star game or even make a bid for the Cy? He'll have some pretty fierce competition in the league, including his teammate Jon Lester, but if he keeps up his stellar work on the hill, he has a chance.
The bats enjoyed some in-game BP courtesy of the O's pitching staff in the 11-0 laugher. Rookie starter Chris Tillman only went an inning and a third before getting pulled for long reliever Mark Hendrickson. The hits and runs kept on coming for the Red Sox, on a night following the O's axing of their skipper Dave Trembley. Third base coach Juan Samuel took over as interim manager. Youk, Beltre, and Scoots went yard, Youk for 3 runs, Beltre on one knee, and Scoots for the second game in a row.
In addition to his kneeling dinger last night, Beltre was part of an uncomfortable deja vu experience for the Red Sox. While chasing a foul popup in left field, he collided with Hermida, took a tumble, and, amazingly, held onto the ball for the out as Jacoby Ellsbury (probably) shook his head in the dugout. Hermida left the game with a bruised forearm and is day-to-day. Fortunately, the injury seems to be less severe than the one that has kept Ells on the shelf for most of the season.
Tonight, Lester takes on Guthrie and the Sox hope to continue to take advantage of the O's state of disarray.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Defective Windmill
Can they bench a third base coach? Tim Bogar is just not cutting it for the Red Sox. Today's two craptastic decisions are just the latest in a series of "What's Bogar Smoking?" calls this season. In the third inning, he sends V-Mart, ailing toe and all, from FIRST BASE home on a Youk double. V-Mart's not fleet of foot even without the bum toe. Then, in the very next inning, Darnell McDonald rolls his ankle on a dive back to first on a pickoff attempt. He stays in the game, only to be greeted at third by the same wonky windmill that got V-Mart gunned down at the plate. Result: McDonald is McOut!
Of course, Wake, in his second shaky outing in a row, takes some of the blame, as do the batters for stranding so many baserunners, but they do bang out 18 hits and 8 runs. Most games, that should be enough to win. The bullpen has been overworked lately and, for Manny Delcarmen, the overwork came at the cost of back-to-back dingers in the eighth. Wake's ineffectiveness may get him sent back to the 'pen, even before Beckett returns from the DL. Felix Doubront is dealing in AAA. Beyond Lester and Buchholz, the rest of the Sox rotation is shaky. Lackey still hasn't gotten it figured out and Dice-K is like the proverbial box of chocolates. Wake is really showing his age this season and, of course, Beckett's trying to get healthy before he can work on getting his pitching mojo back.
Tomorrow, it's back to Birdland to try and NOT get swept again by the O's. With Buch and Les pitching the first two games, their chances are pretty good to at least win the series. Sweeping would be even better.
Game 1 of Lakers/Celtics in 5. Go C's!!! Beat LA!!!!
Of course, Wake, in his second shaky outing in a row, takes some of the blame, as do the batters for stranding so many baserunners, but they do bang out 18 hits and 8 runs. Most games, that should be enough to win. The bullpen has been overworked lately and, for Manny Delcarmen, the overwork came at the cost of back-to-back dingers in the eighth. Wake's ineffectiveness may get him sent back to the 'pen, even before Beckett returns from the DL. Felix Doubront is dealing in AAA. Beyond Lester and Buchholz, the rest of the Sox rotation is shaky. Lackey still hasn't gotten it figured out and Dice-K is like the proverbial box of chocolates. Wake is really showing his age this season and, of course, Beckett's trying to get healthy before he can work on getting his pitching mojo back.
Tomorrow, it's back to Birdland to try and NOT get swept again by the O's. With Buch and Les pitching the first two games, their chances are pretty good to at least win the series. Sweeping would be even better.
Game 1 of Lakers/Celtics in 5. Go C's!!! Beat LA!!!!
A Tale of Two Dice-Ks
We saw them both last night. In the first inning, the Bad Dice-K was on the mound, giving up 3 runs, including a 2-run homer to Kurt Suzuki. However, in Dice-K's defense, Hermida botched a play in the outfield that would have saved one of those runs. Fortunately for the Red Sox, Good Dice-K took over from the second inning through most of the seventh. Those 3 first inning runs were all the A's would manage off of Dice, who fanned 7 and walked no one (quite a 180 from his walk-the-ballpark debacle last time out). He was a strike-throwing machine, getting ahead 0-2 in count after count. When he ran into a little trouble with 2 outs in the seventh, Bard came in and finished off the inning by fanning the first batter he faced.
Big Papi, fresh off his AL Player of the Month win (Lester got the nod for AL Pitcher of the Month), didn't let the magic of his May fade when the calendar flipped to June. After the Sox put up 2 runs in the first to come within one run of the A's, Papi put the Sox on top with a 2-run shot to right field. Pedey ended his longtime RBI drought with a double in the seventh, plating Scoots. Scoots then knocked in a run of his own in the next inning. The Sox would need the insurance, as Pap gave up a solo dinger to pinch-hitter Kevin Kouzmanoff in the ninth.
This is somewhat off-topic, but props to Tigers starter Armando Galarraga for being a class act. After umpire Jim Joyce blew a call at first base with 2 outs in the ninth to break up his perfect game, Galarraga saw how upset Joyce was and offered him a hug and words of encouragement. That's sportsmanship at its finest!
Wake on the hill today, trying to get win # 2.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Big Papi, fresh off his AL Player of the Month win (Lester got the nod for AL Pitcher of the Month), didn't let the magic of his May fade when the calendar flipped to June. After the Sox put up 2 runs in the first to come within one run of the A's, Papi put the Sox on top with a 2-run shot to right field. Pedey ended his longtime RBI drought with a double in the seventh, plating Scoots. Scoots then knocked in a run of his own in the next inning. The Sox would need the insurance, as Pap gave up a solo dinger to pinch-hitter Kevin Kouzmanoff in the ninth.
This is somewhat off-topic, but props to Tigers starter Armando Galarraga for being a class act. After umpire Jim Joyce blew a call at first base with 2 outs in the ninth to break up his perfect game, Galarraga saw how upset Joyce was and offered him a hug and words of encouragement. That's sportsmanship at its finest!
Wake on the hill today, trying to get win # 2.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Warning to Pitchers: V-Mart's Bat Highly Flammable
Who's willing to bet the next time V-Mart strides to the plate he gets the four-finger salute? It won't be tonight, as V-Mart will need to catch tomorrow's day game against Wake, so Tek will step in. Victor Martinez could not be retired in last night's game, going 5 for 5 with 4 doubles and a single, making Red Sox history. I was surprised--but glad--he wasn't intentionally walked, as he drove in the go-ahead run after the tying run scored on Pedey's double-play ball. Speaking of Pedey, he broke out of his 0-for-the-homestand with a ground-rule double in the eighth inning. Beltre also came up big, knocking a 3-run dinger in the fifth to bring the Sox within one run of the A's, who put Lackey and his teammates in a 4-run hole.
Lackey, who is still struggling to regain his pitching mojo, was doing his best Dice-K impersonation on the mound. Isn't one Dice-K enough, John? Just sayin'. He Houdini'd his way out of some jams, but couldn't escape them all. Daric Barton hit a 2-run jack off him in the third and Jack Cust and Mark Ellis combined for 2 more RBI in the fifth. His offense bailed him out big-time, with V-Mart leading the way. After Beltre's homer in the fifth, the Sox tied and went ahead by one in the sixth, added an insurance run in the seventh, and piled on 3 more in the eighth. They took advantage of an A's bullpen that had only a passing acquaintance with home plate. Bill Hall had to play some dodgeball before earning a walk in the sixth off Tyson Ross, who was all over the place. He ended up walking 3 times on the night. Did he spend Memorial Day hanging out with Youk?
Tonight, the great mystery known as Dice-K is on the hill. Which Dice-K will it be? It's pointless to even try to predict. The Sox face Ben Sheets for the first time. Let's hope the bats stay hot and they can clinch a series win tonight.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! CONGRATS V-MART ON AN AMAZING NIGHT AT THE DISH!!!
Lackey, who is still struggling to regain his pitching mojo, was doing his best Dice-K impersonation on the mound. Isn't one Dice-K enough, John? Just sayin'. He Houdini'd his way out of some jams, but couldn't escape them all. Daric Barton hit a 2-run jack off him in the third and Jack Cust and Mark Ellis combined for 2 more RBI in the fifth. His offense bailed him out big-time, with V-Mart leading the way. After Beltre's homer in the fifth, the Sox tied and went ahead by one in the sixth, added an insurance run in the seventh, and piled on 3 more in the eighth. They took advantage of an A's bullpen that had only a passing acquaintance with home plate. Bill Hall had to play some dodgeball before earning a walk in the sixth off Tyson Ross, who was all over the place. He ended up walking 3 times on the night. Did he spend Memorial Day hanging out with Youk?
Tonight, the great mystery known as Dice-K is on the hill. Which Dice-K will it be? It's pointless to even try to predict. The Sox face Ben Sheets for the first time. Let's hope the bats stay hot and they can clinch a series win tonight.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! CONGRATS V-MART ON AN AMAZING NIGHT AT THE DISH!!!
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