Fenway West - The Boston Red Sox Western Home: 6/29/08 - 7/6/08

Monday, July 7, 2008

Boston Bats Still A Bit Quiet, But Come Away With a Win

After 7 innings, the game was still scoreless. The Twins’ Baker went 7 IP, scattering 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 7. Dice-K was almost as frugal, allowing 6 hits, only walking 3, and striking out 5. Both pitchers at one point loaded the bases earlier in the game, but managed to get out of those jams unscathed.

Enter the bottom of the 7th frame. Red hot Pedroia doubles again (#26), and Manny knocked him in for the only run of the game.

Okajima walked one while notching the win. Pap finished the 9th for his 26th save.

Red Sox win 1-0. BOX SCORE

Red Sox Fans Must Not Lower Their Selves

Earlier this year, a drunken Yankee fan ran down two Sox fans in New Hampshire. Whether this was an act of revenge or not, Robert Correia, 20 of Cape Cod, MA, was held without bail after attacking a man with a baseball bat simply because he had NY license plates on his car. The victim is not even a baseball fan, nor did he even know that the Yankees were playing against Boston this weekend.

The victim was struck in traffic when Correia and others started yelling at him when they saw his plates. He got out of the car and asked them to stop, as there were children in the car. Correia went back to his nearby apartment and came back with a bat.

There’s always a few rotten apples at the bottom of the barrel, but Red Sox Nation does not need such acts from anyone claiming to be a Sox fan. Robert Correia is no Red Sox fan. We can’t lower ourselves to that abysmal level of disgusting, appalling acts. Good natured jeering is one thing. Violence against fans of other teams has no place anywhere near our favorite team, or any team for that matter.

BarryBondsBarryBondsBarryBondsBarryBondsBarryBonds*

Ain’t gonna happen.

Papi took batting practice before the game with the Twins today and promptly deposited 6 balls out of the park and sprayed line drives all over the place. He pushed himself, as he wanted to know definitively how his wrist was working.

“It feels good,” Ortiz said. “I was trying to swing hard and make sure I don’t feel anything. It was fine, and I’m going to keep doing what the trainers tell me to do and keep working hard.”

While he did mention something about being sore, that will happen to an athlete the first time he uses certain muscles that have been inactive for a period of time. The fact that he had huge smiles on his face is a good sign that he will be back soon, although rest assured that Tito and Theo won’t be rushing him back before he’s ready. Granted, it was batting practice, but this was just his first BP session since the injury occurred. He’ll be back soon.

As for Mr. Bonds*, yes, there had been much speculation a month ago about that alleged call that might have happened, or as of today, most likely will not happen, now that we’ve seen Papi back at the plate. Let’s suppose for just a moment, just one, that Papi was out for the season, or even another month or two. Taking it straight down to the playing field, Bonds would have been a good fit in the line-up as a temporary stand-in. (I won’t say replacement.)

However.

Problem #1? His salary. Since no MLB team has made a pitch for the aging slugger, who by the way has reportedly been working out every day at UCLA, he could probably be had for a song. The Sox are among leading candidates to make it to the World Series this year and were needing a left handed power hitter, but Barry wants a ring more. Supply and demand.

Other problems would also be off the playing field. The media circus that surrounds him would only intensify in a city that has one of the most rabid baseball fan following in the nation, if not the most. Would he be bringing his La-Z-Boy lounger and his entourage to the clubhouse? There’s no love lost between Bonds and Schilling. What kind of tension would that relationship have brought to the clubhouse? Fans have already expressed disgust and even hatred towards Bonds over the lies and cheating, (but such sentiments don’t exist for that coach down the road in Foxboro.) I wonder what Boston fans would think of Bonds had he been hitting all those home runs as the DH for the Sox for all those years.

Whatever. A month ago, this was all fodder for the rumour mill. After Papi’s BP today, it’s all a moot point.

Dice-K Locked in a Pitcher's Duel

Dice-K might actually get a complete game today. Through 6 innings, he's only thrown 83 pitches, 56 of them for strikes, struck out 5, allowed 3 hits, and has only walked 3 so far. The Twins' Baker is having a good day today, too, silencing the Sox's bats for most of his 5+ innings: 3 hits, 2BB's, 7 K's.

Sox bats need to wake up now, hello!

Kieth Law! ESPN! WTF?!

Kieth Law of ESPN calls to task the players who voted in their poll for reserves and compares Jason Varitek to "various multicellular [sic] organisms capable of wearing a catcher's mitt."

What he fails to mention in his (article) is that while yes, Tek is in the worst slump of his career, his BA on May 24th was sitting at a very healthy .295. Millions of votes had been cast at that point, placing 'Tek 2nd in the catcher balloting. Law mentions nothing, absolutely nothing, of Tek's knowledge of batters, pitches, and his game calling abilities or defense. (Let's not discount his A-Rod smackdown talents, too.)

The All Star Game is not only about the best hitters at each position. One could make a case that Omar Vizquel, whose BA is somewhere below the Mendoza Line, could be an All Star with his glove alone. Picture the NL with a short lead in the 9th and no chance for him to come to the plate. Would you rather have Vizquel (1 error this year so far, .994 fielding pct.) or someone comaparable to say Jeter with 7 errors (.976) come in at that point?

I believe all the MLB players who voted know that Jason is much, much, MUCH more than just his bat. (Witnesss the Red Sox implosion of '06 the instant he hurt his knee.) They know, and rewarded him with what could be his last All Star game.

Law, as a baseball writer for ESPN, you should know that there is much more to this game we love than just hitting.

Kieth Law, you owe Jason Varitek an apology.

The other big snub is the one Mike Lowell got. His numbers are as good as they get, on the field or at the plate, and I would much rather have him on my team than A-Rod (who needs that freak show circus?) Knowing that Big Papi would not be able to represent the Sox in the game, I would have thought that at least one of the two L's, Lester and Lowell, should have been named to the team. (And I would have picked Lester over Pap, too.)

That being said, I have to agree with Law in regards to Jon Lester getting snubbed. No Beckett? No Dice-K? Understandable, but not Lester.

Time To Get Back Home

Once again the Sox proved they can't win on the road. Boston will be back at home until the All-Star game and hopefully can put a good streak together because this road trip made them look like a team with several holes. Here's how Bob Ryan put it in today's Globe:

The Red Sox went 3-7 on the trip. The Rays are feeling absolutely fantastic about themselves, and even the Yankees are in much better spirits than they were 48 hours ago. Welcome to 2008. We'd better table the Duck Boat talk for a little while, don't you think?

The Sox need to build some consistency at nearly every position and this home stand could be an indicator of how they are going to be for the second half.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Sox Disappoint in Bronx Finale

Another great start by Tim Wakefield was wasted as the BoSox fell short to the Yankees in extra frames. Manny didn't deliver in the 9th watching a called third strike as the Sox offense failed to deliver late once again. The Yankees did not look much better until Girardi got tossed for arguing balls and strikes and sparked a fire under the offense of the Yanks. All was not lost on the evening, Extra Bases reported the following:

With Alex Rodriguez standing in the on-deck circle in the last half inning, a group of fans started singing the Madonna song "Like a Virgin" in his general direction.

Rodriguez, who is having an affair with Madonna according to reports, didn't seem to flinch a bit.

Sox lose 5-4 BOX SCORE

Tonight's Lineup in the Bronx

Manny has the night off, Casey will DH

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. J.D. Drew, RF
4. Mike Lowell, 3B
5. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
6. Sean Casey, DH
7. Coco Crisp, CF
8. Julio Lugo, SS
9. Kevin Cash, C

Tim Wakefield, SP

All Stars Named

TBS just finished naming the rosters for this year's mid-summer's classic.

I was 9 for 12 (.750) on my pitcher's choices. I forgot about the Kansas City factor. KC fans must not vote, so in order to make sure all teams are represented, a (usually marginal) pitcher from KC is selected. No one voted in Baltimore, either. George Sherrill, BAL and Joakim Soria, KCR were selected since no Royals nor O's were voted in by fans.

Realistically, I did not expect Wake would be named, but Lester without a doubt, should have.

American League

C Joe Mauer, MIN
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS
2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS
SS Derek Jeter, NYY
3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY
OF Josh Hamilton, TEX
OF Manny Ramirez, BOS
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
DH David Ortiz, BOSº

Pitchers

P Justin Duchscherer, OAK
P Roy Halladay, TOR
P Scott Kazmir, TBY
P Cliff Lee, CLE
P Joe Nathan, MIN
P Jonathan Papelbon, BOS
P Mariano Rivera, NYY
P Francisco Rodriguez, LAA
P Ervin Santana, LAA
P Joe Saunders, LAA
P George Sherrill, BAL
P Joakim Soria, KCR

Reserves

C Dioner Navarro, TBY
C Jason Varitek, BOS
1B Justin Morneau, MIN
2B Ian Kinsler, TEX
SS Michael Young, TEX
3B Joe Crede, CWS
3B Carlos Guillen, DET
OF J.D. Drew, BOS
OF Carlos Quentin, CWS
OF Grady Sizemore, CLE
DH Milton Bradley, TEX
--------------------------------------------------------------------

National League
C Geovany Soto, CHC
1B Lance Berkman, HOU
2B Chase Utley, PHI
SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
3B Chipper Jones, ATL
OF Ryan Braun, MIL
OF Kosuke Fukudome, CHC
OF Alfonso Soriano, CHC

Pitchers
P Aaron Cook, COL
P Ryan Dempster, CHC
P Dan Haren, ARZ
P Brad Lidge, PHI
P Tim Lincecum, SFG
P Ben Sheets, MIL
P Edinson Volquez, CIN
P Billy Wagner, NYM
P Brandon Webb, ARZ
P Brian Wilson, SFG
P Kerry Wood, CHC
P Carlos Zambrano, CHC

Reserves
C Russell Martin, LAD
1B Brian McCann, ATL
1B Adrian Gonzalez, SDP
1B Albert Pujols, STL
2B Dan Uggla, FLA
3B Aramis Ramirez, CHC
SS Cristian Guzman, WAS
SS Miguel Tejada, HOU
OF Matt Holliday, COL
OF Ryan Ludwick, STL
OF Nate McLouth, PIT

Notes:
# Final Vote Selection
º Injured, will not participate
ª Named as replacement

Al All Star Team Arms Race

My picks for the AL pitching crew:

Tim Wakefield
Jon Lester
Joe Nathan, MIN, 1.26 ERA, 23/23 SVS/SVO, 44 K
Justin Duchscherer, OAK, 1.96, W9-L5, 59K
Jonathan Papelbon, BOS, 2.19, 25/29, 47K
Francisco Rodriguez, LAA, 1.93, 34/36, 35K
Rich Harden, OAK, 2.25, 5-0, 88K
Cliff Lee, CLE, 2.26, 11-1, 93K
Scott Kazmir, TBY, 2.63, 7-3, 75K
Roy Halladay, TOR, 2.88, 10-6, 113K
Ervin Santana, LAA, 3.28, 9-3, 106K
Mariano Rivera, NYY, 1.17, 23/23, 44K

and as an alternate pick:
John Lackey, LAA, 1.93, 6-2, 61K

Now that the error prone A-Rod and Jeter have been named to the starting team left side of the diamond, I should have looked closer at pitchers who induce ground balls to the right side (Pedroia and Youk.) Pedroia will have his work cut out for him trying to catch DP play balls from those two.

While Jon Lester is my sentimental pick for starter, I think Justin Duchscherer will start.

Picks coming up on TBS soon. We'll see how I do.

A Sox Win Tonight Will Make the Yankees Implode

If Wakefield can have another solid start and the offense can get some timely hits, the Yankees will face a loss that will have a devastating impact on their team. The Evil Empire is trotting out their "savior" Joba Chamberlain tonight and if the Sox can get to him, it could spell big trouble in the Bronx. The Yankees will fall farther behind the Sox and Rays and the first half will be declared a disaster. Hank will start blaming Cashman in the media while the media in turn will blame Girardi. The press will continue to hound A-Rod as the baseball world focuses on New York for the All-Star Game. A win by Boston would show how much trouble New York is in and that they have no quick fix; there is no player available at the deadline that would be able to save the sinking Yankees. Don't be surprised if there are some extracurricular activities in tonight's game after all of the bean balls yesterday. Girardi may try to get some spark in his team by having them mix it up with the Sox and there is still the Youk/Joba history. Should be a good one on ESPN tonight even with Joe Morgan announcing.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

I forgot to mention Dice-K in my Lester for All Star Team post! Doh!

Yesterday, I stumped for Lester for All Star Team. (I had already made my case for Wakefield.)

In my Lester post I mentioned Aardsma, Lopez, and Delcarmen all having good years, but not quite ready for the game. I wrote of Beckett and Pap, but somewhere along the way, my Dice-K review got lost. (Damn modern technology!)

Dice-K is having a great year, no doubt. However, I am just a little concerned about his high pitch counts, free passes, and that disastrous 1st game back from the DL.

Those negatives combined with Lester's positives are why I am picking Lester before Dice-K.

Soon come my picks for the rest of the AL arms.

Sox Rally Falls Short In 9th

The Red Sox almost stole one in the Bronx today but the slumping bottom of the order could not get a bases loaded hit. Masterson had another solid outing where he worked out of some jams. He was wild at times but overall he kept the Sox in a position to win. In the 9th Boston loaded the bases after scoring a run but Coco stuck out with a weak swing, quickly followed by a popup by the captain. Lugo came in to pinch hit in a chance to be the hero but once again he was the goat when he failed to make contact on any pitch from the Yankee closer. The offense was not in it today, but it was still one the Sox could have won. On a side note, Manny was hit by a pitch in three at bats today, I wonder if McCormick knows the Yankee pitching coach. The Sox will try to take 3-4 from the Yanks tomorrow night on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

Sox Lose 2-1 BOX SCORE

Close, But No Cigar

Mussina had his game on today, allowing only 4 hits, 1 walk, and no runs through 6 innings. The yankee bullpen for once did their job~ getting to the 9th inning and Mo with a lead intact. One of these days though, Mo's performances are going to land him in the Red Sox Hall of Fame. The Sox almost pulled off a nice come from behind victory. Down 2-0 in the 9th, he hits 2 batters, and allowed 2 hits and a run before wiggling out of a bases loaded jam. I love seeing him come in against the Sox. Close game, but no cigar.

Masterson was just a little wild today, allowing 6 hits, issuing 2 walks, a wild pitch, and 3 HBP's, but he did get through 6 innings with only 2 yanks making it to home plate.

Speaking of hit batsmen, there were 7 of them today, Manny taking 3 of them.

Random thoughts and observations of this game~ Joe Buck said 'Devil Rays.' I thought the Steinbrenner's had a strict dress code that didn't allow facial hair. No matter, some guys just don't look good with a moustache, and neither do his fans. Are golden thongs allowed by the Steinbrenner's? Molina took a nice hit to the head by a foul tip that knocked him down for a minute or so. He's OK. He took a dinger to the cup last week. Not sure how many more he can take, though. When Manny did swing, he was looking a little awkward. I thought Tek had broken out of his slump after going 3 for 7 in the previous 2 games, but he had another 0-4 today. Timlin had a nice 1-2-3 inning with one K. He wasn't wearing his usual knickers, but opted for the ankle length trousers instead.

Today's Lineup at the Bronx

Ellsbury, lf
Pedroia, 2b
Drew, rf
Ramirez, dh
Lowell, 3b
Youkilis, 1b
Crisp, cf
Varitek, c
Cora, ss

Masterson, sp

Yanks Get Beat Up By Sox, Then NY Media

For me there is nothing more fun than reading the New York media after the Sox beat the Yankees. Today proved to have some more entertaining reading, below are a few highlights.

From NY Post:Of course, the Yankees now have to win both games just to get back to the same unfavorable position in which they started the series. Not an exciting prospect.or this from the Daily News:

As for the games, Girardi seems to overthink things at times, whether it was not starting Ian Kennedy because of a bad weather report early in the season, or not bunting Melky Cabrera
earlier this week in a late-inning sacrifice situation, leaving himself open to second-guessing.

He seems to have plenty of respect in the clubhouse, but you wonder if his style creates tension among his players at times. Torre's style never failed to produce a playoff berth. Fairly or unfairly, Girardi's style is now officially on trial.
Or this that Dumbass Hank told to the NJ Star Ledger:
"We're looking into different things," Yankees co-chairperson Hank Steinbrenner said yesterday by phone. "I think we all had more confidence in what we could do with what we have than what we've shown lately.
"I don't think there's going to be any -- for most teams in baseball, 90 percent of the teams in baseball -- there's not going to be anything major that's going to happen."

The Yanks had better do something quick because Ponson is not going to get them into the playoffs.

Friday, July 4, 2008

AL All Stars Continue to Beat Up the yankees

Apparently yesterday's 30 minute reaming by Joe Girardi of his yankees was all for nought as the Sox beat them by a score of 6-3*. Beckett pitched 6 innings allowing 4 hits, 3 ER's, walking 2 and registering 4 K's. All Stars Pedroia, Ramirez, Youk, Tek and Lowell all had productive days at the plate going a combined 9 for 19, scoring 5 times and knocking in all 6 runs. Tek is having better days at the plate these days, going 3 for 7 in 2 games against the yanks. Potential All Star write in candidate Jacoby Ellsbury went 3 for 5, scored a run, and made a spectacular sliding catch. Oki is still looking for his Doki, but Delcarmen, Lopez, and Pap all did their jobs well.

*The official score of the game goes into the books as 6-4. In the 9th inning, Coco Crisp made a spectacular diving catch of a Derek Jeter blooper. Coco knew he made a clean catch as he took his time getting up and picking up his shades before realizing that 3rd base umpire Wally Bell called it a trap. Replays clearly show it was a clean catch. It should have been out #3, but the runner on base scored. Even the yankee announcers said it was a bad call. No worries, Pap got Abreu to fly out to Crisp. Expect to see replays on ESPN's 'Baseball Tonight' at 7 pm. Link will be posted when available.

BOX SCORE

Johnny Damon Can't Catch and Can't Throw

The Sox know where to target their fly balls when playing the yanks: left field and Johnny Damon. In the third inning today, Ellsbury got on with a bunt, Pedroia hit a single to left, followed by a sac fly by Lowell, also to left. Youk hits a long ball to left, Damon leaps and gets a piece of it, but as it was not a clean in-the-pocket catch, the ball popped out of his glove and sat on top of the fence for a couple of seconds while Damon fell on his backside and Youk legs out a triple. The ball falls back onto the playing field. Damon thought he had made the catch, then realizes he didn't, gets up and throws the ball in, but it doesn't reach the infield (but we knew he couldn't reach it, injured or not.) After reviewing the video, it's hard to tell if he injured his throwing arm on the collision, or the throw in. As he lands on his ass and gets up, he does not appear injured at that point. I'm guessing he hurt it on the throw.

Damon's replacement, Brett Gardner has struck out twice and flied out, putting his BA at .077. Is that the best the yankees can do?

Sox up 6-3 going into top of the rain delayed 8th. Is there a 60 minute closed door meeting coming up for Girardi and crew? Perhaps 30 wasn't enough?

Jon Lester Makes His Pitch for the All Star Game

I’ve already called for Tim Wakefield to be named to this year’s AL All Star pitching crew. Last year, the Sox sent 3 pitchers to the game: Beckett, Papelbon, and Okajima. To send at least two Sox pitchers should not raise any eyebrows, but I’m sure yankee fans will disagree. The Sox have several potential nominees for pitcher this year. David Ortiz, despite leading in the DH category, will not be able to play in the game, so hopefully Tito can sneak in a 3rd Sox pitcher.

While being consistent and putting up good numbers, Aardsma doesn't have much of a chance mostly because he’s young, unknown, and a middle relief man. Same goes for lefty specialist Javier Lopez. Until recently, Manny Delcarmen had a nice string of well pitched performances going. From May 8th to June 27th, he allowed only 12 hits and 2 earned runs in 19 games and 20.2 innings. They’re all young and will have more chances during their careers to get to the game if they continue pitching the way they have been. I see Manny becoming a top notch closer someday somewhere.

Beckett has found himself in a nice groove of late, but he has not been quite as overpowering and consistent as he was last year. He gave up 11 hits and 5 runs to the O’s in May, followed that by giving up 6 hits and 6 runs to the Brewers in his next start, and 3 runs to the yankees in the first inning of today's game. Overall, his numbers are pretty good, and I expect him to have another very good year, but as of right now, I don’t see him as the no-brainer starting choice that he was last year. Pap is having another great year, but he did have back to back blown saves and losses in May, along with 2 blown saves in June. Nonetheless, he is one of MLB’s premier closers and should be at the top of the list of nominees.

That brings us to Lester. All sentiment aside, the 24 year old Lester just gets better with every game. Riding his 2007 World Series game #4 victory into this season, he has tossed 6+ innings of 3 hit, no runs ball against the A’s, 8 innings of 1 hit ball against the Blue Jays, a no hitter in June, and just completed his 2nd game of the season, a rarity in this age, another shutout no less, AND it was against the yankees in THEIR house, taboot! Now bring in the sentiment factor. MLB wants ‘stars’ and ‘big names’ in the game to pull in those almighty TV advertising dollars, and Jon Lester has the story line behind his performances that TV suits cream their shorts over. Jon Lester is this year’s ‘no-brainer’. He may not be the starter, but he will be on the team.

Yankee Universe is in Disarray

Things are not going well for the Evil Empire this morning. Girardi had to hold a 30 minute closed door meeting in the clubhouse with the team after last night's loss. The Daily News has more on A-Rod's wife blaming Madonna for their split. Johnny Damon said the following about the game:

"After we got down, it seemed like there was nothing there. It didn't look like we had a chance"

or this from the Daily News:

"So after something of a honeymoon period based on what A-Rod did last year, the fans responded with boos Thursday night, which are predictable at this point.

The shocker was there were some boos for Jeter as well, after a sixth-inning strikeout that essentially punctuated a miserable night for the captain. So apparently even Jeter's championship warranty comes with an expiration date....So just as the Yankees are beginning to resemble the Mets, the Stadium in the Bronx is starting to feel more like Shea this year, where the karma has been toxic from Day One."

Today's Lineup 7/4 in the Bronx

Happy 4th of July

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. J.D. Drew, RF
4. Manny Ramirez, DH
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
7. Coco Crisp, CF
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Julio Lugo, SS

Josh Beckett, SP

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Lester and Sox Stop the Bleeding

Jon Lester had a performance that was second only to his no-hitter this season. He got into a jam in the first by walking the first two batters he faced before retiring the next 3 in order. He would dominate from then on holding the Yankees to just 5 hits in a complete game shut-out. The Sox offense got to Pettitte early, scoring 2 in the first and 2 in the second. Tek and Manny both went 1-3 to help them break out of their slumps. The game had everything a Sox fan loves; an error by Jeter, A-Rod and Damon went a combined 0-7, the Sox scored a touchdown + extra point and the Yankees fans were silenced throughout the game.

Sox Win 7-0 BOX SCORE

Tonight's Lineup 7/3 at the Death Star

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. J.D. Drew, RF
4. Manny Ramirez, DH
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
7. Coco Crisp, CF
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Julio Lugo, SS

Jon Lester, SP

Why Wakefield Should Be Named to the All Star Team

Wakefield?!

Yes, Tim Wakefield.

But his ERA is up over 4.00, and that crazy knuckleball?! Who’s gonna catch that?

Let’s start with his numbers.

On May 27, his ERA was 5.19 and over his last 7 starts, it has dropped to 3.72. He has gone at least 7 innings in each of his last 7 starts.

Here are the stats for those 7 games:

That’s a pretty impressive string of quality starts. His ERA over this time period is 1.98, again, pretty darned impressive.

I know it’s a long shot, but I think he should at least be named to the team. With 12 pitchers on the staff, it’s possible that he wouldn’t be called, but he still deserves this. His recent numbers support this, and just as important, he gets an A for All Star effort all year long, every year. Jason Varitek will be a late inning replacement at catcher. While he’s not Wake’s ‘personal catcher’, the two have worked together on the same team for years now. It wouldn’t be the first time Tek has caught Wake, and it would most likely be one inning of work or less. If Wake has another good performance in his next outing, which quite coincidentally will be in the same stadium as the mid-summer classic and could be considered a final tune-up, I say Tito should go with Wake as one of his picks.

A-Rod Gets Dumped by Wife for Lenny Kravitz

F-Word (aka Cynthia Rodriguez) has left A-Rod to be with Lenny Kravitz according to People magazine in the wake of his alleged philandering with Madonna. The NY Daily News contends that the A-Rod/F-Word marriage is over, while the singer's rep maintains that she is not divorcing her husband.

So where does that leave A-Rod? Looks like he's been scratched from the line-up. Not enough lumber to go around, Alex? (There's always Jeter.)

Maybe he should text Clemens* about that Viagara.

A Win Tonight Will Make All of This Go Away

Note to Red Sox Nation: it is still early July, the Sox will have their best hitter back soon, and the Sox will make a deal to improve the bullpen before the deadline. It is tough to see the big picture in the middle of losing streak but the Red Sox will regroup. Boston has been very streaky this season and have followed their losing streaks with big win streaks. There is heat on Tek, Manny, Tito's managing skills, and the pitching staff in general from the media and the fan base, but the great thing about baseball is you usually get to play again the next night. Tonight the Sox face their real rival with a chance to remind the Yankees and the country(2 of the games are on national TV) that they are World Champs and they are still the team to beat. The Sox are due for some big clutch hitting, tonight it will come at the Yankees expense.

Timlin Returns, Buchholz Does Not

Mike Timlin will be activated today and Chris Smith will be sent down. It was thought that Clay Buchholz would also be returning to the Red Sox to start against the Yankees but the team is saying that he will stay with Pawtucket and Masterson will get the star.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Things That Suck

Tek's bat right now

Manny's bat right now

The bullpen

Getting swept by the Rays

Sox Lose 7-6 BOX SCORE

Pedroia Just a Single Away from Hitting for the Cycle

At Tampa Bay today, the Sox and Rays are in the 5th inning, Sox up 4-1. In the 1st inning, Pedroia hit a home run. In the 3rd inning he hit a triple. In the 5th inning he hit a double, making him 3 for 3, with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. All he needs is a single to hit for the cycle!

C'mon, Dustin!

And if, make that when, he does it, it will be in decreasing order by number of bags (4, 3, 2, 1)

Kazmir appears not to have his best stuff today.

Here's hopin' he does it!!!

UPDATE: Pedroia did one better than the single he needed; he whacked a double in his last at bat. So far today he is 4 for 5, 3 runs, 2 RBI's.

Unfortunately, the Sox are now down 7-5 going into the bottom of the 8th.

The Manny Backlash Begins to Grow

Manny's behavior in Houston is getting more attention mainly because of the way it was swept under the rug. Bob Ryan of the Globe calls out the Sox for their handling of the situation:

Manny was not just out of line. Manny was actually indulging in a criminal act. The Red Sox had an obligation to inform the rest of the organization, as well as the rest of baseball, that they will not tolerate criminal acts on the part of anyone, even future first-ballot Hall of Famers such as Manny Ramírez. It is incomprehensible that such smart people as John Henry, Larry Lucchino, and Theo Epstein didn't understand how much they had to gain by taking a stand for honor and decency. There is no more thankless task in baseball than that of the traveling secretary. How can any of the Red Sox brass now look Jack McCormick in the eye?

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports thinks the Sox should end their relationship with Manny at the end of the season:

Should they have disciplined him? It goes without saying. But the Sox can't touch Manny, lest he go into one of his periodic funks. So, they tolerate his obvious sense of entitlement and disrespect for a longtime team employee, viewing the incident as an aberration.

Manny has apologized and Jack McCormick says the incident is in the past but the story has legs and the media and fans will not be satisfied until some additional action is taken. The Sox dropped the ball on the handling of this one and need to right a wrong. I love Manny's quirkiness and his ability at the plate but his actions were inexcusable and need to be addressed in a way that sets an example to the entire organization that Manny cannot get away with anything he wants. I understand the team needs to treat Manny differently in some situations, this is not one of them.

Buchholz May Replace Masterson in The Rotation For Yankees Series

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Sox may bring Clay Buchholz back up to the big club this weekend to start against the Yankees. He would replace Masterson in the rotation.

"The idea was to work on fastball command," Francona said of Buchholz's stint in Pawtucket. "Consistency, and we slightly adjusted his arm angle to create two-seam movement.
"We didn't want to run him down there for just one or two starts. We made him throw his fastball. I don't know if it was a hard count, but we told him, 'Make yourself do this.' "
Buchholz's changeup and curve are so good, he could fall back on those pitches to get hitters out, which is why the Sox told him not to worry about results, Francona said.
But the results have been there as well, which would seem to guarantee Buchholz a seat on the shuttle to Boston, sooner rather than later.

For either Materson or Buchholz it is going to be a pressure filled situation to pitch in the Bronx when the Sox are desperately in need of some wins. This could be great for Clay's confidence if he can pitch well in New York but it could also have the fans and media really questioning Theo and Tito if he comes up and gets shelled.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Ortiz's Absense Is Becoming a Big Factor

For the second night in Tampa the Sox had trouble bringing runners across the plate. Manny is slumping and J.D. is not really a guy you can build a lineup around. Wakefield pitched well but so did Garza for the Rays. The Sox did not have many scoring opportunities and when they did they did not come through; Mike Lowell grounded out to short in the eight with bases loaded to end the inning. Boston is now 2 1/2 games out of first and the lineup is badly in need of a spark. If Ortiz can come back at 90% or better the Sox will be fine but if he can't return it will be difficult to win the division. The Red Sox need to leave Tampa with a win before heading to the Big Apple to face the Evil Empire.

Sox Lose 3-1 BOX SCORE

A- Rod Now Cheating With Madonna?

A-Rod announced he will not be participating in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star game in New York because it would upset his swing. There may be another reason; he wants to avoid the national media. A report has come out in US Magazine that A-Rod has been making late night visits to Madonna's apartment in NYC. I wonder if he texts Pete Rose while he's there? Honestly, you can't make this stuff up.

Tonight's Lineup 7/1 at Tampa Bay

Lugo gets a day off, that should give you something to cheer about.

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Drew RF
Ramirez DH
Lowell 3B
Youkilis 1B
Moss LF
Cora SS
Cash C

Tim Wakefield SP

Last Call to Vote for 2008 All Star Game

It's looking like the Sox will have 3 starters at this years All Star Game farewell to the House that Ruth built (and the one that the Steinbrenner's burned down.) Youk, Pedroia, and Manny, are all leading their respective positions in ballot totals updated as of Sunday, 29 June. Youk is up by about 260k votes over the Twins' Morneau, while Pedroia has a lead of about 185k votes over Kinsler of the Rangers. Manny is the leading vote-getter in the outfield, and has a slim 82k vote edge over Hamilton, also of the Rangers.

Due mostly in part to his torrid June, JD Drew has surpassed former Sox traitor Johnny Damon and is now in 6th place in the outfield ONLY 7,OOO VOTES BEHIND THE YANKEES' ABREU.

VOTE NOW FOR JD DREW!!

Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET on Wednesday, July 2, 2008.

Big Papi still maintains quite a lead over 2nd place Matsui for DH, but has fallen to 3rd place in the most-votes-overall category behind yankee caped crusaders A-Rod and Jeter, by about 36k votes, most likely because it had been becoming apparent that his injury would prevent him from playing in the game. You can still vote for Papi, and it sure would be nice to see the final tally with him on top of the two yanks.

The Sox should also be furthur represented with Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek both holding comfortable 2nd place positions over their nearest competitor's in 3rd place.

This puts 3 Sox starters and 3 Sox reserves in the last ASG ever to be held at Yankees Stadium.

But wait! There's more!

VOTE FOR JACOBY ELLSBURY IN THE WRITE-IN BALLOT!!

We'll take a look at likely pitching candidates after the voting is done.

Another Silly Rip on Red Sox Nation

Hat tip to The Rational Red Sox Fan for pointing out an article in today's St. Petersburg Times entitled 10 reasons to hate the Red Sox. If anything this shows how hard the Rays fans are trying to be legit but bottom line is they play in the worst stadium in baseball, they live in an area that is home to Scientology, they had to change their name to try to sell more gear, and I can personally say, I have NEVER seen anyone wearing a Rays hat. Maybe Tom Cruise can make some aliens come down and fill the Trop with real fans...until then they can return to being the basement rat that they will always be. If you don't believe me, watch below.

Close, But Lugo Was At the Plate

Justin Masterson looked like an inexperienced pitcher facing a first place team last night. He gave the Rays an early lead when Upton homered off him in the first and left the game after 6 innings. The Sox offense struggled against Shields but did manage 2 runs. In the 9th the Sox were down by 3. The started a comeback and scored two runs. Moss, the tying run, was at third when Lugo came to bat. Lugo got decent wood on the ball but it caught at short to end the game and put the Sox a game and 1/2 behind the Rays.

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