What was that? Jon Lester had become the ace of the staff but today he looked like Clay Buchholz. Here's his line: 8 hits, 2 walks, 7 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. Ouch. Tito called for Chris Smith who followed Lester's lead with a train wreck of his own. Smith's line: 6 hits and 4 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. The Sox had a huge hole to dig out of and were not up to the challenge; the offense only put up 4 hits and was shut out. Strangely enough the Red Sox can win the series tomorrow in Toronto as Dice-K tries to get the team back in the winning groove.
Josh Beckett had inflammation in his elbow along with the numbness in his arm and hand. To give him more time to rest his arm his start will be pushed back to Friday against Chicago. Wake will be activated and pitch against the Yankees on Tuesday.
As if the other ones weren't bad enough, now we have a new Rays song. What is with the cowbell guy? (not that the other guy is normal) I can only hope the White Sox win today and somehow these new Ray's fans can go back to their daily lives of watching WWE wrestling and eating at Hooters. Where is Belushi when we need him?
J.D. Drew: The team learned he has herniated disc in his back. Drew said it was possible that he could play through the pain and not miss any more games but a trip to the DL is very likely.
Sean Casey: Lowrie played third last night and Youk moved over back to first because Casey had a stiff neck and said he could barely move his head. Expect Casey to be back in the lineup tonight.
Julio Lugo: An MRI will tell if he did new damage to his quad or if he just aggravated it. If there is new damage he will be out for the season. Either way he is still at least 3 weeks away from returning.
Josh Beckett: Yesterday's test of the arm went well and Beckett felt comfortable with no complaints. He should be able to start against the Yankees.
Tim Wakefield: Francona would not confirm that Wake will be ready early next week but he has been throwing side sessions without problem.
Bartolo Colon: Since he only threw 40 pitches in his last outing he will make two more starts with the PawSox; Tuesday and Aug. 31. He will not be brought up until September if all goes well.
Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birdswas filmed right here in Sonoma County in Santa Rosa and Bodega Bay. Tonight we had The Birds Part 2 as Paul Byrd took on the Blue Jays in Toronto in his second start for the Red Sox. The Nation will be happy with this one; Byrd did just what he was supposed to do, the offense delivered and the bullpen looked good. Didn't I tell you not to panic? Granted it was just one game, but this one was very good win for Boston. The Red Sox came from an early deficit fueled by yet another homer from Tek. Sox batters were patient at the plate and the hits came from all parts of the lineup. Coco went 3-4! The pen looked great tonight; Masterson gave up a hit an a couple of walks but still seemed to be in control in his scoreless inning. Okajima was perfect in the eighth and Paps closed the door in the ninth.
"Most of the national media is full of Yankee haters. That's why I have to point out the injuries, because the media sweep that under the rug and say we're playing poorly. But next year, in a new stadium, we'll be much better."
So let me get this straight, it's a Yankee Universe but somehow that doesn't apply to the media, you are not going to blame the season on injuries even though you do, you are not going to give up on the season even though your are, and the team is going to be better because they are leaving the stadium where they won 26 World Championships. Just put this under Hank being Hank.
The Red Sox are 4.5 games behind the Rays and tied for the wild card, do not panic. Take a deep breath, everything is O.K. You have a right to have some concern about the rotation but Wake is coming back, Colon is looking good and Beckett will be fine. The offense has been healthy and will improve with J.D. and Lowell back in. Big Papi's wrist and knee are not an issue now, Jason Bay is hitting well, and Youk is gunning for MVP. Sit back and enjoy the ride, it will be bumpy at times but the Red Sox will be in the playoffs. The 2008 Red Sox have the talent, experience, and favorable schedule to make the stretch run enjoyable for the Nation. Keep the Faith!
In a week where Beckett came up with a new injury and Buchholz was demoted to AA, the Sox were in need of some good news about the pitching staff. They got that news tonight in Pawtucket where Bartolo Colon was continuing his rehab. El Gordo pitched 4 no-hit innings with 2 walks and 2 K's. He will most likely make two more starts before rejoining the big club and filling the void in the rotation.
1903: The Boston “Pilgrims” and “Cy” Young beat the White Stockings 11-3, despite the fact Chicago’s OF “Ducky” Holmes ties a Major League record with four assists in a game.
1915: “Babe” Ruth is held hitless in a 4-1 victory over the Browns, but he does get the credit as the starting pitcher.
1916:Infielder Jack Barry hits four sacrifice flies for the Red Sox tying a Major League record in 4-0 win over the Indians.
1936:Starting pitcherWes Ferrell pulls a “Manny” like tantrum when he walks off the mound during a game with the New York Yankees, for what he calls shabby run support. Manager Joe Cronin fines him $1,000, in part, because this the second time in five days that Ferrell has walked off the mound during a game, having done so versus the Senators. When Ferrell hears about the fine, he becomes enraged stating “They can suspend me or trade me, but they’re not getting any dough from me”, four days later the Sox lift the fine, but trade Ferrell and his brother Rick to the Senators for Ben Chapman and Bobo Newom.
1961: The former cross-town rival Braves, now playing in Milwaukee are in town for an exhibition game to benefit the Jimmy Fund. This is the first time that the Braves return the “Hub” since the team left in 1953. The Braves win the game 4-1.
1974: By pitching a one hit shut-out of the White Sox, P Roger Moret earns a new contract. In the game, only Dick Allen’s seventh inning hit is the only blemish in the 12 strike game.
1984: Rookie sensation Roger Clemens gets 15 K’s and no walks in an 11-1 beat down of the Royals.
1986: SS Spike Owen has four hits and becomes the first Major Leaguer to drive in six runs in one game 40 years. Boston goes on to dismantle the “Tribe” 24-5.
1993:Detroit trades OF Rob Deer to Boston for a player to be named later. Deer will homer in his first at bat for the Sox the next day.
2003: Before a crowd of 34,844 Fenway Faithful, “Rally Karaoke Guy” makes his first appearance on the Jumbotron before the start of the sixth inning. The video is a take off of the “Rally Monkey” used by the Anaheim Angels. The video is of Sox first basemanKevin Millar back when he was a freshman at LA City College, doing an impression of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”. It was originally played in a clubhouse meeting in Texas, by a friend from college. Boston wins its first game in a week beating the A’s 14-5.
With Clay Buchholz in Portland the Red Sox rotation now includes: Beckett, Byrd, Dice-K, Lester, and Wake. Since they demoted Buchholz that can only mean that Wake is ready to return when he is schuduled to come off of the DL. Since Masterson did not pitch last night and did not warm up I believe they are planning on bringing him back into the rotation if Beckett misses more time than expected. The Globe has Byrd, Lester, and Dice-K as the next three probable pitchers without anyone listed for the Yankees series. It could be Wake, Masterson, and Byrd in that series if Beckett can't go. You can never have too much pitching.
How bad an outing was it for the Red Sox pitching staff? So bad that Alex Cora had to warm up in the bullpen, that's right, Alex Cora the middle infielder who has not pitched to a batter in his major league career. But hey, he couldn't throw worse than some of the Red Sox pitchers tonight. Buchholz was bad, (see earlier post) Aardsma was bad, Lopez was bad, and Timlin was bad. Combined they walked 8 batters, gave up 9 hits and 11 runs in 6 innings of work. Okajima came in and pitched well for two innings but there was zero pressure on him. The worst part of this loss was that the Sox jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. Buchholz needs to be removed for the rotation, Beckett and Wake need to get healthy and the Sox starters need to keep the team in the game if they want to catch the Rays.
Enough already, send Clay Buchholz down and keep him there for the rest of the season, right now he is giving Eric Gagne a run for his money on how to take the Sox out of a pennant chase. Buchholz has not won a game since early May and tonight did not change that. Clay went 2 1/3 innings giving up 5 earned runs.
Julio Lugo has aggravated his torn quadriceps while running today. This should push his return back from the anticipated date of Sept. 1. Lowrie and Cora will continue to spit time at short in Lugo's absense.
We just wanted to let our readers know that we are a part of a new Sports Blog Network at SportsBlogNet.com. SportsBlogNet.com is a site that feeds in over 50 great sports blogs and links back out to all of them. They drive traffic to our site and also sell ads for all the blogs in the network.
Currently SportsBlogNet.com has approximately 56 blogs in the network with a reach of approximately 200,000 unique visitors per month which is growing daily. Check it out. They are interested in hearing your feedback.
1901: At Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds Denton True "Cy" Young pitches a 6-0 shutout over the Milwaukee Brewers.
1903: “Buck” Freeman is the first player to hit a ball over the right filed score board in ChicagoSouthSidePark. Alas Boston loses the Game 9-5.
1960:Ted Williams picks up his 2000th career walk, as the Red Sox split a doubleheader with Baltimore. In doing so Williams joins “The Bambino” as the only batters to have 2,000 walks. “Teddy Ballgame” also bashes his 514 and 515th home runs.
1967: In the first game of a double header, switching OF Reggie Smith hits a home run from both sides of the dish. The first is a three run shot, while the second is for two runs. This not only marks the first time this feat has ever been done by a Red Sox it is also the first time it has happened at Fenway Park. He joins Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose, and a host of others to pull this off. Smith however is not the only person to hit two dingers today, Carl Yastrzemski also nets 2 homers, one in each game. The Sox take the night cap 9-8. The Sox need to come from behind in this one. The Angles surge to an 8-0 lead, but Smith and hits his third home run of the day, to complete a four game sweep of the California Angels, avenging a four game sweep earlier in season in Anaheim.
1997:Boston take two from the A’s in Oakland. Nomar Garciaparra hits in both games to set a Major League record for a rookie by safely hitting in 22 games in a row.
The Yankees lost another one last night when Johnny Damon dropped a fly ball on what would have been the third out of the inning, allowing the winning run to score. "Nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of a 1,000 he catches the ball," Girardi said of Damon, who made his 10th start in center. "For whatever reason, it didn't happen. Those are balls Johnny is used to catching. It was a strange event." "I just missed it, plain and simple," said Damon. "I know that stuff happens sometimes, but catching routine fly balls should not be that much of a problem. I'm baffled. I'll take this on me." A-Rod was also thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the 9th. The Yankees are now 11 games behind the Rays and 6.5 behind the Red Sox.
The Boston Red Sox have signed Jason Lane to a minor league deal. Lane was born here in Sonoma County, California and went to El Molino High School right down the street. He was released by the the Yankees farm system and quickly picked up by the Sox. He will now start for the PawSox and could see some playing time in Boston when rosters expand.
BOSTON, MA-- Carl Yastrzemski arrived at Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday after experiencing chest discomfort. After numerous tests and evaluations, it was determined that he needed triple bypass surgery which was performed this afternoon. The surgery was a complete success and he is resting comfortably. We are most grateful for all of the prayers and support we have received.
The Red Sox took an early lead and steadily built upon it in their defeat of Baltimore tonight. The Red Sox offense looked very good tonight with 15 hits. Jacoby jumpstarted things with a single in the first, he then stole second ,advanced to third on a throwing error, and scored on a sac fly. Many Sox fans are probobly asking who is that power hitting catcher and what has he done with Jason Varitek? The captian went yard for the second consecutive game. Youk continued his MVP quest going 3-5 on the night with 3 RBI's. Dice-K pitched one of his typical games; high pitch count, some jams with masterful escapes, an early exit, and another W. The bullpen was good tonight, going 4 scoreless innings and allowing just 3 hits. With the bad news from Beckett this was a good win for the Red Sox.
Josh Beckett's next start has been moved back because of numbness in his fingers and throwing arm. Here is what he told the ProJo moments ago:
"I have some numbness in fingers that I'm not used to having," he said. "As far as pain goes, there's not very much pain with it. We just have to figure out what it is because you don't want it to get so bad where it ends up being a really bad problem...."It's something I've been dealing with," Beckett said moments ago. "At some point and time we just have to figure out what the hell it is. Obviously, it's not what I want, but at this juncture (being pushed back) is something that needs to happen because there's something going on."
This is not the news the team needs right now but it does help explain his last outing.
Read more...
Jacoby Ellsbury, RF Dustin Pedroia, 2B David Ortiz, DH Kevin Youkilis, 3B Jason Bay, LF 6. Sean Casey, 1B Jason Varitek, C Alex Cora, SS Coco Crisp, CF
Lester cruises through seven, if the Red Sox can just get to Paps the game will be over. This scenario from last night's game has shown a key difference from last year's team. Last season if the starter could go seven innings and the Sox had the lead the game was an almost guaranteed victory; Oki would dazzle in the eighth and Papelbon would close the door in the ninth. Yesterday Delcarmen got the call in the eighth because Okajima was just plain awful on Sunday. Manny gave the Orioles base runners they needed to get back in the game and Papelbon had to come in at an irregular time for him and gave up a big double. Who is the go to guy in the eighth? It is getting to be late August and we still don't know. Okajima is not the same pitcher he was last year, Delcarmen, and Lopez are inconsistent and Timlin is showing his age. Tito usually has Aardsma go into the game in the early innings along with Masterson. Could Buchholz become an eighth inning guy? It seems unlikely because he has had problems with dealing with pressure this season. If the Red Sox want to repeat as World Champions they need a pitcher to step into the role of setup man and pitch well down the stretch. The Red Sox did not make the deal at the break for a reliever so they have faith that one of these guys can get it done. My question is which guy?
The Red Sox needed a good win today after the disaster yesterday and they got one thanks to Jon Lester and Jason Bay. Lester looked like the ace of the staff again going 7 innings and allowing just 4 hits and one run that came off of a home run by Aubry Huff. Jason Bay hat his first multi home run game with the Red Sox hitting taters in the second and the eighth, he had 3 hits on the night and drove in 4. Tek also had a home run in the game, his 9th in the season. The game tightened up in the eighth when Delcarmen walked back to back batters before getting the hook from Tito. Papelbon came in for a 4-out save but gave up a double to let the O's back in the game. The Red Sox added 2 more in the top of the ninth thanks to some bad fielding by Baltimore and Papelbon shut them down in the bottom of the inning for his 33rd save.
J.D. Drew: He is sitting tonight with the back issue but it is only precautionary, at the most he will miss the remainder of the series but I would suspect he will be back in the lineup tomorrow.
Mike Lowell: He has gone to his home in Miami to begin two workouts a day with his personal trainer because Fenway will not be available this weekend due to the Neil Diamond concert. He is still about 2 weeks away from returning.
Tim Wakefield: He has been playing catch without problems. The Red Sox are being cautious not to rush his return and have the same problem they had with him last season. If Buchholz struggles again on Wednesday they may have to rethink that plan. Wake could come back as early as next week.
Bartolo Colon: El Gordo has been on the slow road to recovery, he was supposed to throw extended innings this weekend but he had a stomach issue and had to come out of the game early. It must have been something he ate. (insert your own joke here) He will continue to bring up his pitch count with the PawSox and is still several weeks away.
Clay Buchholz was happy with yesterday's outing, “It was definitely a confidence booster, my arm felt good, and it feels like I’m moving forward now instead of staying back where I was and, hopefully, there’s good things to come.” In his last 8 starts, Buchholz is 0-6 with an 8.61. Yesterday he gave up a walk, a hit, and a run in one inning of work. That would give Clay an ERA of 9.00 on the day and a WHIP of 2, neither of which is good. Clay has "turned the corner" so much he is spinning in circles. I am glad he will enter his start in Baltimore with confidence, but why do I feel like I have seen this movie before? It does not end well. Now is time for Clay to prove me wrong and throw a great game, we do not need any more hype for this kid, what we need is a win.
1907: Rube Kroh beats the St. Louis Browns 2-1 in a complete game. This will be Kroh’s only win of the season.
1967: While facing right handed pitcher Jack Hamilton of the Angels in the bottom of the fourth at Fenway, OF Tony Conigliaro is hit the face by a fastball (according to most Red Sox players it was a spit ball). The ball hits him on his cheekbone, just below his left eye socket. Conigliaro suffers a fractured cheekbone, a dislocated jaw, and a damaged retina, and doctors say that had the ball hit an inch or two away it would have killed him. The 22 year old will miss the rest of the season as well as all of 1968. However by special permission of Commissioner William Eckert, Tony C. was able to be in uniform for the last game of the season, and was on the bench when the Sox won their first pennant in 21 yeas. At the time he was hitting .267 with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs in only 95 games. Due to his injury he has problems with his eyesight for the rest of his life, and never is able to live up to his Hall of Fame potential that was on display during his first three years. 1993:Righty Danny Darwin pitches a 5-0 shut out over the White Sox.
2006: In the second half of a day/ night double header the Yankees and the Red Sox play in the longest nine inning game in Major League History. The game lasts 4 hours and 45 minutes. The teams have a total of 34 hits. The Sox go on to lose the game 14-11.
Josh Beckett started to dig a massive hole for the Red Sox by giving up 8 runs in 2 1/3 innings and then he handed the shovel to the bullpen. One by one the Sox relievers dug some more until the team had given up 22 hits and 15 runs. Josh Beckett did not have much today but niether did Aardsma, Timlin, Buchholz, Masterson, nor Okajima. Every Boston pitcher not named Papelbon that entered the game added to the misery. On the offensive front, the Sox were not terrible; they did score 4 runs on 10 hits but in reality the game was over in the first inning. To add to the bad news, J.D. Drew left the game early with back stiffness. Usually when his back flares up Drew misses 2-3 games.
Josh Beckett did not get out of the third inning; he went 2 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. None of his pitches were working and the Jays were able to feast on most of his offerings. Beckett gave up 8 hits, 8 runs (all earned) and a home run in today's start.
1904: In SouthSidePark, lefty Jesse Tannehill gets a no-hit shutout of his brother Lee and the White Sox, winning the game 6-0.
1914: The Red Sox beat the Manchester Amoskeags from the New England League 4 – 2, in an exhibition game. On the mound is “Babe” Ruth, who one day later will be sent to the Providence Grays (International League), after clearing waivers.
1940: Jimmie Foxx sets a club record when he hits a home run for the fifth straight game. Foxx’s homer helps to lift the Sox over the visiting Senators 12-9.
1950: FenwayPark hosts the first ever Lady’s Night in the American League. In game Boston tops Philly 10-6. This will be the A’s 19th straight loss in Fenway, a streak that dates back to September 12, 1948. The game also sees Joe Murray make his Major League debut for the A’s, it is not the kind of start he had hoped for; Bobby Doerr touched him up for a grand-slam, in the first inning.
1979: The Red Sox purchase veteran 2B Ted Sizemore from the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later (C Mike O’Berry).
1986: Boston sends SS Rey Quinones, P Mike Brown, and P Mike Trujillo to Seattle for SS Spike Owen, OF Dave Henderson, and OF John Christensen.
1996: “The Rocket” Rodger Clemens, shutout the Angles 6 – 0, get his first shut out since April 20, 1994. It also is his 37th career shutout, and only one behind Cy Young for the most all time in a Red Sox uniform.
1997: In the last game of a four game sweep of the Twins, Nomar Garciaparra hits in his 20th consecutive game. In doing so he ties a team record for a rookie. The only other person to do it is Fred Lynn.
What was that? Jon Lester had become the ace of the staff but today he looked like Clay Buchholz. Here's his line: 8 hits, 2 walks, 7 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. Ouch. Tito called for Chris Smith who followed Lester's lead with a train wreck of his own. Smith's line: 6 hits and 4 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. The Sox had a huge hole to dig out of and were not up to the challenge; the offense only put up 4 hits and was shut out. Strangely enough the Red Sox can win the series tomorrow in Toronto as Dice-K tries to get the team back in the winning groove.
