I'll get right to the point: This is a crucial, make-or-break month for the Sox in respect to their playoff chances. As of today, they are 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. It's not an insurmountable deficit, but it means the Sox have to go all out this month and win as many games and as many series as they possibly can. They have to dominate the weaker teams in the league (such as the Indians, who they face this week) and hold their own against their division rivals. This season, they have a history of playing down to their competition. Teams like the Indians, Royals, Orioles and Mariners have given the Sox more trouble than they have given other contenders. This has to stop if they're going to make a playoff push. No letting up on the gas when playing the under .500 crowd A sense of urgency not unlike they would need in playoff games themselves is essential to their survival in the race. The Sox have the talent to make a run for it, but they can't afford to throw any games away. They'll get a boost when Pedey and Ells come back, but until then, guys like Lowrie, McDonald, Patterson, Kalish and Hall need to continue to produce no matter what the score or inning. The bullpen needs to hold leads, especially late in games. The starting rotation needs to continue to pitch deep into games to avoid taxing the pen and keep games within reach. (Keep the 5+ run implosions to an absolute minimum) We'll find out this month just how badly this team wants to play past October 3 (or whenever that last series of the regular season ends)
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Scoots To The Rescue!
The Sox sure like to make things interesting. There wasn't even supposed to be a bottom of the ninth this afternoon. Buch had come into the top of the inning with a 3-run lead and Pap was warming in the 'pen just in case. The young righty had shut out the Tigers for 8 innings and it looked like he was on his way to his second complete-game shutout of the season. Or, at the very least, a complete-game win. He began the inning having thrown 98 pitches. The first batter, second baseman Will Rhymes hit a grounder to second that took a bad hop on Lowrie for an infield hit. Then, Buch walked Ryan Raburn and Tito went out to the mound to get him. In comes Pap. He strikes out Brennan Boesch, but Miguel Cabrera, a serious contender for the Triple Crown, hits one off the monster for a two run double. Then Jhonny Peralta singled up the middle to bring home the tying run. Blown save! Buchholz denied his 12th win after an excellent outing, his shutout gone. Pap managed to get a double play ball out of Jeff Frazier and escaped the inning without allowing the go-ahead run.
Fortunately for the Sox, they were at home and had the last at-bat. Lowrie leads off the inning with an infield single to third. He is pinch-run for by McDonald and Eric Patterson steps in the batter's box. Patterson attempts to bunt several times, but ends up working the walk, putting two men on with no outs. That's it for reliever Brad Thomas, who took over for Verlander in the 8th. In comes rookie Robbie Weinhardt, with their closer Valverde unavailable after throwing over 60 pitches Friday night. Scoots is up. He tries to bunt the runners over to second and third and fouls off the first attempt. Then he lays down a textbook bunt toward third base and the rook's throw to first ends up in right field. McDonald scores easily from second and the Sox have back-to-back walkoff wins.
Tomorrow, the Tribe comes to town for a 4-gamer before the Sox head off to the Bronx for a crucial series against the Yanks. Ells and Pedey don't have an exact timetable for their returns, but they should be back in the next week or so. It would be great to have at least one, if not both of them back for the Yankee series. In the meantime, Lowell is still in limbo after finishing his rehab assignment. The Sox will need to make a decision on him very soon. It's too bad they weren't able to trade him before Saturday. They may end up having to activate him and then place him on waivers. If they activate him, who disappears to make room for him?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON ANOTHER WALKOFF!!!!
Fortunately for the Sox, they were at home and had the last at-bat. Lowrie leads off the inning with an infield single to third. He is pinch-run for by McDonald and Eric Patterson steps in the batter's box. Patterson attempts to bunt several times, but ends up working the walk, putting two men on with no outs. That's it for reliever Brad Thomas, who took over for Verlander in the 8th. In comes rookie Robbie Weinhardt, with their closer Valverde unavailable after throwing over 60 pitches Friday night. Scoots is up. He tries to bunt the runners over to second and third and fouls off the first attempt. Then he lays down a textbook bunt toward third base and the rook's throw to first ends up in right field. McDonald scores easily from second and the Sox have back-to-back walkoff wins.
Tomorrow, the Tribe comes to town for a 4-gamer before the Sox head off to the Bronx for a crucial series against the Yanks. Ells and Pedey don't have an exact timetable for their returns, but they should be back in the next week or so. It would be great to have at least one, if not both of them back for the Yankee series. In the meantime, Lowell is still in limbo after finishing his rehab assignment. The Sox will need to make a decision on him very soon. It's too bad they weren't able to trade him before Saturday. They may end up having to activate him and then place him on waivers. If they activate him, who disappears to make room for him?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON ANOTHER WALKOFF!!!!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Big Papi Special
He couldn't close the gap last night, though he did everything in his power to try. Unfortunately, it's impossible in baseball to hit a 5-run tater. He hit a salami in the 9th to bring the Sox within a run, but Cameron looked at strike 3, well, you know what happened then.
This afternoon was a different story With the sacks juiced in the bottom of the ninth with one out, lefty and ex-Yankee Phil Coke on the hill and Youk having been intentionally walked and the Sox down by two runs, the Tigers took a big gamble by electing to face a guy who had just grannied against them the night before. Fortunately for the Red Sox, Detroit lost that gamble and Papi sent a bases-clearing double in the left-field gap. In came McDonald (who singled to lead off the inning), Lowrie (who doubled, pinch-hitting for Patterson), and Youk. Dice-K's somewhat dicey start and the six innings of frustration at the plate at the hands of Max Scherzer became an afterthought. After all, it's not how you start the game, but how you finish.
This win came on a day the Sox let the trade deadline pass without making any big splashes. They shipped RamRam off to San Fran and got Salty from Texas in two separate deals. They also DFA'ed Hermida and called up outfield prospect Ryan Kalish, along with recalling Dustin Richardson to take RamRam's place. Kalish, who had been lighting it up in AA and AAA this season continued this season's theme of newbies coming up big when he went 2-for-4, the second of those hits driving in the Sox' first run. He also scored a run on Darnell McDonald's single and made a great catch in left. If Kalish can provide some solid offense and defense in the outfield, then he's the ideal solution to the outfield conundrum. He has a high upside and doesn't cost a thing. When Ells comes back, the Sox can choose to DL Cameron and let him have surgery to fix his sports hernia (if that's what he has) and go with a starting OF of Kalish in left, Ells in center and Drew in right with McDonald coming off the bench as the fourth OF.
As for the bullpen, the Sox got rid of one of their less-than-trustworthy relievers by sending him to the NL where he may have a better chance of succeeding. They are converting Felix Doubront to a reliever and they have Bowden getting more relieving experience in Pawtucket before possibly coming back up to Boston. Had they gone out and got a reliever on the trade market, it would have been just as much of a gamble as relying on their internal options. Eric Gagne, anyone? The guys the Yanks and Rays picked up have struggled this year and have inflated ERAs. Both teams are hoping their new acquisitions will benefit from a change of scenery--hoping being the operative word. Had the Red Sox picked up either Chad Qualls or Kerry Wood, many of us would have thought they were trading one problem for another. Middle relievers are a crapshoot, as Tito said today, and I agree with him here. You really don't know what you're getting until you've already made the deal and paid the price.
Salty is a good pickup because he's a young catcher with what they call "a high upside". He has struggled with injuries and controlling his throwing arm, but those issues have been supposedly resolved while he's been the Rangers' minor league system. He'll go to Pawtucket first, but if all goes well he could make Kevin Cash expendable soon.
When all is said and done, I'm okay with the Sox not making a blockbuster move this trade deadline. There wasn't a lot to be had that would fill the team's needs and Ells and Pedey will be coming back soon (hopefully within the next two weeks). They can also make waiver trades this coming month.
Buchholz vs. Verlander in the series finale. Let's hope Clay doesn't follow Lester and Dice-K in the not-quite-a-quality-start department and the bats run up Verlander's pitch count early.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
This afternoon was a different story With the sacks juiced in the bottom of the ninth with one out, lefty and ex-Yankee Phil Coke on the hill and Youk having been intentionally walked and the Sox down by two runs, the Tigers took a big gamble by electing to face a guy who had just grannied against them the night before. Fortunately for the Red Sox, Detroit lost that gamble and Papi sent a bases-clearing double in the left-field gap. In came McDonald (who singled to lead off the inning), Lowrie (who doubled, pinch-hitting for Patterson), and Youk. Dice-K's somewhat dicey start and the six innings of frustration at the plate at the hands of Max Scherzer became an afterthought. After all, it's not how you start the game, but how you finish.
This win came on a day the Sox let the trade deadline pass without making any big splashes. They shipped RamRam off to San Fran and got Salty from Texas in two separate deals. They also DFA'ed Hermida and called up outfield prospect Ryan Kalish, along with recalling Dustin Richardson to take RamRam's place. Kalish, who had been lighting it up in AA and AAA this season continued this season's theme of newbies coming up big when he went 2-for-4, the second of those hits driving in the Sox' first run. He also scored a run on Darnell McDonald's single and made a great catch in left. If Kalish can provide some solid offense and defense in the outfield, then he's the ideal solution to the outfield conundrum. He has a high upside and doesn't cost a thing. When Ells comes back, the Sox can choose to DL Cameron and let him have surgery to fix his sports hernia (if that's what he has) and go with a starting OF of Kalish in left, Ells in center and Drew in right with McDonald coming off the bench as the fourth OF.
As for the bullpen, the Sox got rid of one of their less-than-trustworthy relievers by sending him to the NL where he may have a better chance of succeeding. They are converting Felix Doubront to a reliever and they have Bowden getting more relieving experience in Pawtucket before possibly coming back up to Boston. Had they gone out and got a reliever on the trade market, it would have been just as much of a gamble as relying on their internal options. Eric Gagne, anyone? The guys the Yanks and Rays picked up have struggled this year and have inflated ERAs. Both teams are hoping their new acquisitions will benefit from a change of scenery--hoping being the operative word. Had the Red Sox picked up either Chad Qualls or Kerry Wood, many of us would have thought they were trading one problem for another. Middle relievers are a crapshoot, as Tito said today, and I agree with him here. You really don't know what you're getting until you've already made the deal and paid the price.
Salty is a good pickup because he's a young catcher with what they call "a high upside". He has struggled with injuries and controlling his throwing arm, but those issues have been supposedly resolved while he's been the Rangers' minor league system. He'll go to Pawtucket first, but if all goes well he could make Kevin Cash expendable soon.
When all is said and done, I'm okay with the Sox not making a blockbuster move this trade deadline. There wasn't a lot to be had that would fill the team's needs and Ells and Pedey will be coming back soon (hopefully within the next two weeks). They can also make waiver trades this coming month.
Buchholz vs. Verlander in the series finale. Let's hope Clay doesn't follow Lester and Dice-K in the not-quite-a-quality-start department and the bats run up Verlander's pitch count early.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tonight's Game: A Pictorial Rant
How did tonight's game make me feel?
Like this:
How about leaving those bases loaded in the first inning?
And Scoots and Cam giving the Tigers extra outs?
And Lester not bringing his A game?
And the Sox pulling to within a run after Papi's granny only to have Cam look at strike 3 right down the middle?
The Sox, had they won tonight, had the chance to gain ground on the Yanks and keep pace with the Rays. If they keep blowing off opportunities there will be MORE...
Like this:
How about leaving those bases loaded in the first inning?
And Scoots and Cam giving the Tigers extra outs?
And Lester not bringing his A game?
And the Sox pulling to within a run after Papi's granny only to have Cam look at strike 3 right down the middle?
The Sox, had they won tonight, had the chance to gain ground on the Yanks and keep pace with the Rays. If they keep blowing off opportunities there will be MORE...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
A Sweet Sweep
See what happens when you have good starting pitching? And a catcher who can hit and drive in runs? V-Mart must have brought some winning mojo with him when he returned to the lineup Monday night--he drove in a run in his first at-bat. Without him or Tek the past 3 weeks, the catcher spot had been nothing but a black hole in the lineup. It was so bad that it looked like even the pitchers would have better luck at the plate than Kevin Cash, Dusty Brown, or Gustavo Molina. Not a single RBI among the three of them and some abysmal, sub-.200 averages. Bring back an All-Star in V-Mart, thumbguard rigged for his glove, and the lineup looks that much better.
The other part of the equation: solid starting pitching that can go deep into games. Clay Buchholz started on Monday night and gave up one run over 7 innings. He struggled a bit at the beginning, but he was much improved over his first post-DL start. Last night, Lackey faced his old team for the second time this season, going 7.1 and giving up 2 runs. This afternoon, it was Beckett's turn to shine, with a 7-inning 3 run start. All three starters going at least 7 innings made it easy on the bullpen (and Tito's blood pressure!) and it's an encouraging sign that the rotation the Sox thought they'd have at the beginning of the season is finally coming together.
Going into this 10-game West Coast road trip, the Sox were hoping not to fall too much farther behind the Yanks and Rays. With a 6-4 outcome, the best in 12 years, they remain 6.5 games out of first and 4.5 games out of second, pretty much where they were when the trip started. As key players made their way back from the DL, the Sox seemed to get stronger as the trip went on. They won 1 game in their first series (against the A's), 2 games against Mariners, and 3 against the Angels.
Saturday is the non-waiver trade deadline and the Sox, like many teams in buying mode, will be shopping for bullpen help. Competition for the few more reliable relievers will be stiff and asking prices will be high. However, the Sox really need an arm they can count on to take some of the burden off of Bard and Pap. Atchison has been good for the most part, but MDC, RamRam, and Oki require a strong stomach, to say the least. (To be fair, MDC and RamRam both pitched scoreless innings today). As far as bats go, Ells and Pedey will be coming off the DL in the next couple of weeks (hopefully in time for the 4-gamer in Yankee Stadium starting August 6). JD Drew's hamstring issue doesn't sound too DL-ish and Cameron's managing to play several games back-to-back. Scoots (he who knocked an 8th inning grand salami today to break a 3-3 tie) has been playing through some pain as well. I tip my Red Sox cap to Cameron, Drew, and Scoots for playing through nagging aches and pains and keeping the lineup from being made up of almost entirely AAA players.
Having ended their long trek out west on a high note, the Sox are headed back to the Fens. They have an off-day tomorrow to recover from the jet lag and then they face the Tigers. Friday night's matchup: Lester vs. Armando Galarraga. (He who was a controversial call away from a perfecto last month).
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON YOUR WINNING ROAD TRIP AND SWEEP OF THE ANGELS!!!
The other part of the equation: solid starting pitching that can go deep into games. Clay Buchholz started on Monday night and gave up one run over 7 innings. He struggled a bit at the beginning, but he was much improved over his first post-DL start. Last night, Lackey faced his old team for the second time this season, going 7.1 and giving up 2 runs. This afternoon, it was Beckett's turn to shine, with a 7-inning 3 run start. All three starters going at least 7 innings made it easy on the bullpen (and Tito's blood pressure!) and it's an encouraging sign that the rotation the Sox thought they'd have at the beginning of the season is finally coming together.
Going into this 10-game West Coast road trip, the Sox were hoping not to fall too much farther behind the Yanks and Rays. With a 6-4 outcome, the best in 12 years, they remain 6.5 games out of first and 4.5 games out of second, pretty much where they were when the trip started. As key players made their way back from the DL, the Sox seemed to get stronger as the trip went on. They won 1 game in their first series (against the A's), 2 games against Mariners, and 3 against the Angels.
Saturday is the non-waiver trade deadline and the Sox, like many teams in buying mode, will be shopping for bullpen help. Competition for the few more reliable relievers will be stiff and asking prices will be high. However, the Sox really need an arm they can count on to take some of the burden off of Bard and Pap. Atchison has been good for the most part, but MDC, RamRam, and Oki require a strong stomach, to say the least. (To be fair, MDC and RamRam both pitched scoreless innings today). As far as bats go, Ells and Pedey will be coming off the DL in the next couple of weeks (hopefully in time for the 4-gamer in Yankee Stadium starting August 6). JD Drew's hamstring issue doesn't sound too DL-ish and Cameron's managing to play several games back-to-back. Scoots (he who knocked an 8th inning grand salami today to break a 3-3 tie) has been playing through some pain as well. I tip my Red Sox cap to Cameron, Drew, and Scoots for playing through nagging aches and pains and keeping the lineup from being made up of almost entirely AAA players.
Having ended their long trek out west on a high note, the Sox are headed back to the Fens. They have an off-day tomorrow to recover from the jet lag and then they face the Tigers. Friday night's matchup: Lester vs. Armando Galarraga. (He who was a controversial call away from a perfecto last month).
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON YOUR WINNING ROAD TRIP AND SWEEP OF THE ANGELS!!!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Red Sox Write Book: "Winning is Overrated"
The subtitle: How To Lose a Winnable Game.
Chapter 1: Run Support? Who needs it!
Chapter 2: There, We Scored One Run. You Happy Now?
Chapter 3: Outfield Misadventures: Because All Ballgames Need Comic Relief
Chapter 4: MMMM! That Cookie Was Delicious!
Chapter 5: Outs: They Speed Up the Game
Chapter 6: Fresh Squeezed
Chapter 7: No-Doubles Defense? What Kinda Clown Came Up With That One?
Chapter 8: How Much Longer Do I Gotta Stand On This Thing?
Chapter 9: When All Else Fails, Just Plunk The Guy
Chapter 10: The Art of Squandering: The Yanks Didn't Win, So Why Do We Have To?
Epilogue: That Two-Thirty Feeling, Or Why We Hate Day Games
JUST WIN TOMORROW, RED SOX!!! DAY GAME BE DAMNED, JUST WIN IT!!!
Chapter 1: Run Support? Who needs it!
Chapter 2: There, We Scored One Run. You Happy Now?
Chapter 3: Outfield Misadventures: Because All Ballgames Need Comic Relief
Chapter 4: MMMM! That Cookie Was Delicious!
Chapter 5: Outs: They Speed Up the Game
Chapter 6: Fresh Squeezed
Chapter 7: No-Doubles Defense? What Kinda Clown Came Up With That One?
Chapter 8: How Much Longer Do I Gotta Stand On This Thing?
Chapter 9: When All Else Fails, Just Plunk The Guy
Chapter 10: The Art of Squandering: The Yanks Didn't Win, So Why Do We Have To?
Epilogue: That Two-Thirty Feeling, Or Why We Hate Day Games
JUST WIN TOMORROW, RED SOX!!! DAY GAME BE DAMNED, JUST WIN IT!!!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Hurry Up and Heal, V-Mart and Pedey!
It's been awhile since I've blogged, but there really hasn't been that much to say that I haven't already said a bazillion times before. I try to keep the faith (i.e. hope for a miracle), but the realist in me knows that the Sox can't afford to keep playing like they have until the injured game-changers in Pedey and V-Mart come back. Not in the toughest division in baseball. Too many opportunities are being wasted, especially with runners in scoring position and on days when both the Rays and the Yankees lose. The bullpen is still a big problem and Bowden has yet to prove he can get the job done in a close game.
Buchholz returned to the rotation today and the rust was showing throughout his 5-pitch outing. He gave up 2 dingers, one of them for 2 runs, and pitched into a lot of deep counts. This is all understandable, since he hadn't pitched in almost a month. Beckett will probably have the same problem when he pitches on Friday. Even when the team is healthy, it has trouble playing on the West Coast, no matter how weak the teams are. On the bright side, Lowrie did very well in his return to the lineup, especially at the plate, where he reached base 3 times out of 4 and drove in a run. He made a throwing error in the field, but his work at the plate more than made up for it. I only wish he were starting in place of Hall rather than Scoots.
Back to V-Mart and Pedey: The catcher's spot has been a black hole, both offensively and defensively (passed balls, anyone?) since both V-Mart and Tek went down. V-Mart was also a potent weapon against southpaws. Pedey is the heart and soul of this team, as well as the spark plug. He puts on the best at-bats on the team and makes a pitcher work hard to get him out. He puts both the "laser" and the "show" in laser show and if I had to name one favorite player on the Red Sox, it would be him. The sooner both of these players get back, the better. I only hope it's not too late to catch the Yankees and/or Rays. In the meantime, the guys who aren't on the DL need to step it up and play better baseball!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! PLEASE PLAY BETTER IN SEATTLE!!!
Buchholz returned to the rotation today and the rust was showing throughout his 5-pitch outing. He gave up 2 dingers, one of them for 2 runs, and pitched into a lot of deep counts. This is all understandable, since he hadn't pitched in almost a month. Beckett will probably have the same problem when he pitches on Friday. Even when the team is healthy, it has trouble playing on the West Coast, no matter how weak the teams are. On the bright side, Lowrie did very well in his return to the lineup, especially at the plate, where he reached base 3 times out of 4 and drove in a run. He made a throwing error in the field, but his work at the plate more than made up for it. I only wish he were starting in place of Hall rather than Scoots.
Back to V-Mart and Pedey: The catcher's spot has been a black hole, both offensively and defensively (passed balls, anyone?) since both V-Mart and Tek went down. V-Mart was also a potent weapon against southpaws. Pedey is the heart and soul of this team, as well as the spark plug. He puts on the best at-bats on the team and makes a pitcher work hard to get him out. He puts both the "laser" and the "show" in laser show and if I had to name one favorite player on the Red Sox, it would be him. The sooner both of these players get back, the better. I only hope it's not too late to catch the Yankees and/or Rays. In the meantime, the guys who aren't on the DL need to step it up and play better baseball!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! PLEASE PLAY BETTER IN SEATTLE!!!
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