Fenway West - The Boston Red Sox Western Home: 5/10/09 - 5/17/09

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Beckett Delivers a Win

Josh Beckett had a solid outing going 7 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits. He struck out 5 and walked 3. The bullpen was solid as usual; Oki went 2/3 of an inning and RR came in for an out. Paps got two quick outs in the 9th before he gave up a hit and brought Ichiro to the plate with a chance to tie it up. A grounder to second gave the Red Sox the victory.

J-Bay, Tek, and Bailey all fueled the Red Sox offense with home runs.

Red Sox Win 5-3

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Red Sox	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	5	6	1
Mariners	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	0

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 5/16 vs. the Mariners

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. J.D. Drew, RF
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Rocco Baldelli, DH
7. Julio Lugo, SS
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Jeff Bailey, 1B

Josh Beckett, SP

Jim Rice Visits Cooperstown

This video gives you a little insight into what Jim Rice might say during the induction ceremony.

What Bud Selig Could Have Told Graduates

Baseball Commissioner Bug Selig was the commencement speaker for the University of Wisconsin's graduation today. Here is some of what he told the graduates:

"In baseball, as in life ... hope and faith are critical to success," Selig told graduates at the first of four ceremonies. "Take advantage of these difficult times because if you have hope and faith, if you are smart and tenacious and dedicated and willing to sacrifice, you can make a difference and make this a better world. And don't be afraid of failure."

If he were being honest with them he might have said, "if you strong-arm your way into the position you want, you too could grow an industry by enabaling cheaters."

Oh Jonny Lester

So, last night's game did not go to plan. The hitters spotted Jon Lester a 4 run lead. He entered the 6th inning maintaining 3 runs of that lead. Unfortunately, Jon Lester would leave that 6th inning with his team now down 5-4. Jon Lester lost a game last night that we should have won.

I'm a Jon Lester fan. I think his stuff is good. When he is his best, his stuff is electric. However, this season he has not been at his best more often than not. He made a mistake last night. He didn't make the play that needed to be made and as a result, he and the ballclub suffered for it. No one is more aware of that than Jon Lester. And after the double play that did not happen, he got a tad frazzled and was also fighting fatigue, so things went downhill from there.

Having said that, I still think Jon Lester is a guy you want in your rotation. You'd be crazy not to. He is a work horse. He is someone who is always learning and adjusting. He's also someone who admits his mistakes and takes his responsibility to the team incredibly seriously. In my experience with Lester, he is also someone who gets stronger as the season gets longer. In an ideal world, I'd want a lights out pitcher from April to October (November this year...thanks WBC!). But if I had to pick, I'd rather have brilliance in October if I could only have one.

Here is one quote from Lester's NESN interview I'd like to highlight because I think it shows what makes me a consistent fan of Jon and what he brings to this ballclub:

"4 runs in the first 3 innings. It's just inexcusable. But with that being said, I can promise you that there hasn't been a pitcher that has worked harder than I have from the beginning of the season and there won't be a pitcher for the remainder of the season that will work as hard I will to get back to where I've been in the past. I don't think we're far. I think it's just little things right now that are screwing up my outings. Hopefully, no not hopefully, it will turn around here in the future for not only me, but the team."

-Jon Lester (The 1st guy to show up to Spring Training)

The Red Sox Should Feast on Today's Starter for the Mariners

Garrett Olsen is 0-4 with a 7.76 ERA in his career against the Red Sox and he doesn't sound too confident going into today's game:

"The Red Sox are traditionally a patient ballclub, so it's important to get ahead and establish the (strike) zone early," Olson said Friday. "Whereas if you fall behind, it's going to be a long day versus that team. Or it could be short …"

Jeff Bailey hit a home run off of him the last time he faced him and Julio Lugo is batting .417 off of him in 12 AB's. Olsen is making a spot start for Erik Bedard

Friday, May 15, 2009

Ichiro Goes Deep Twice to Bury the Sox

Jon Lester looked like he was back in the grove until the 5th inning when Ichiro took one deep to put the Mariners on the board. The Red Sox had a 4-1 lead going into the 6th but Lester ran into trouble again in the bottom of the inning. The third single of the inning brought in two runs for Seattle, and then Ichiro had his second homer of the night to give the Mariners the lead for good.

Daniel Bard was impressive in his second outing with the big club going 1 and 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits but no runs while hitting 98 MPH on the gun. Saito came in for the 8th and kept the Red Sox within one run.

Dustin Pedroia and Jason Bay each hit deep balls in the top of the 9th against their former teammate David Aardsma but both stayed in the yard for outs.

Ellsbury and Drew each had 3 hits in the game. Baldelli did not do much to fill in for Big Papi as DH; going o-4 with 3 K's and 6 LOB.

Red Sox Lose 5-4 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Red Sox	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	8	0
Mariners	0	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	5	11	2

Dice-K, Big Papi, and Larry the Cable Guy

Dice-K pitched a rehab game tonight with the PawSox. He had the loss in the game but put up pretty good numbers going 5 innings giving up 3 hits and 2 earned runs. He had good control in the outing and only walked 1 batter while striking out 9. He is set to rejoin the Red Sox when they return to Fenway on Tuesday.

Terry Francona has decided to give David Ortiz the entire series off against the Mariners. He will play again on Tuesday back in Boston. There is still no word if he will remain as the number three hitter when he plays again.

Larry the Cable Guy took BP with the Mariners before tonight's game:

Dressed in a Mariners' jersey with the sleeves cut off -- courtesy of some quick scissors work in the clubhouse by Ken Griffey Jr. -- Cable Guy took some serious hacks and hit a few decent fly balls to the outfield during four rounds of BP.

If he did that in Boston there would be about 20 callers to WEEI saying the Sox should pick him up to replace Big Papi.

I think I might like it around here.

Hi all. Fenway West has invited me to come on over and play with all y'all. I love talking about anything and everything Red Sox. So, let me tell you all a little bit about myself and then jump right into Sox discussions.

Things to know about Shelley:

I'm from New York and yes, a Red Sox fan. Where I live is in Upstate NY, so it can seem very New Englandy, but I still have to endure guys wearing Yankee Damon t-shirts and that just is not right.

I tend to hang around and chat during games over at Center Field. It's a good time had by all. Come on over and hang out with us. We don't bite, unless the Sox are losing and then all bets are off.

I am an unapologetic JD Drew fan. He is not the most loved member of the Sox, but I just love everything about the guy. I think he's the definition of a clutch hitter. His salary is outrageous, but that's Theo's fault, not JD's. I tend to really enjoy reminding people about his awesomeness when he does something...awesome.

I tend to use or overuse the following words: hilarious, ridiculous, awesome. Be prepared.

I am opinionated. No doubt. But I never assume I am always right. And, when I am wrong...I will fully admit it. Case in point...I am not a Julio Lugo fan, but I have done nothing but sing his praises for his performance last night.

I have a blog. Feel free to visit it. It's where I blather about random things...like my love of ellipticals...reality tv and whatever thoughts come into my mind. I also like Twitter and tend to post like a crazy fool during Sox games.

Ok, now that we have gotten that out of the way. Let's talk about David Ortiz for a minute, shall we? We all know that watching Papi last night going 0-7 was brutal. BRUTAL. The Globe had an article today about Papi and his woes. As of this very moment, there are 230 comments on that article. If you have a couple of hours to kill, read it over.

Let me summarize some of the comments left:

Papi should head down to the minors to work on getting his swing back.
Papi should be traded.
Papi should be moved down in the lineup.
We should trade Papelbon for a good hitter since we have Bard now.
Papi is a hero from 04 and 07 and everyone should leave him alone.
Terry Francona is too afraid to do what needs to be done with Ortiz.
Ortiz like his buddy Manny was on the steroids and that is why he is in such decline.

So, that about sums up the comments. People are often inclined to play armchair Manager. I know I do it. It's human nature. We all like to think we know better than Theo or Tito, etc. In my opinion, Rocco should have been pitch hitting for Papi last night, especially when we were in extra innings. That would have left Drew in the lineup and let Papi sit on a dreadfully bad night. I also think he should be moved down the lineup. He needs to get to the point where his numbers show he is a #3 guy.

The comments that drive me wild and not in a good way are the ones about Ortiz and steroids. People are talking about how it is a given that Papi took steroids. We have no proof whatsoever that David Ortiz has ever...EVER...taken steroids. To make the assumption that his decline is because he is "no longer on the juice" is just reckless. David Ortiz, in my opinion, does not deserve that. He is not guilty by association because of the recent news about Manny.

I still believe in David Ortiz. I am not giving up on him. Yes, this year has been a frustrating one at the plate. He hasn't just started slowly, he hasn't really started at all. I still am hopeful that he will get his swing worked out, will get some pitches to hit and the debate of "What to do with Papi?" will be a distant memory. It gets harder every single day, but I still say with pride I BELIEVE IN DAVID ORTIZ.

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 5/15 vs the Mariners

Baldelli will be the DH as Big Papi gets the night off.

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

3. J.D. Drew, RF

4. Jason Bay, LF

5. Mike Lowell, 3B

6. Rocco Baldelli, DH

7. Julio Lugo, SS

8. Jason Varitek, C

9. Jeff Bailey, 1B

Jon Lester, SP

A Home Game on the West Coast

Red Sox Nation is alive and well out here on the West Coast. Most Red Sox fans in the West are transplants with roots in New England, for many Red Sox players it is the opposite. The team has had a history of great players from the West Coast like Ted Willims, Bobby Doerr, and Dom DiMaggio and today's team is no different. Pedroia is from Woodland, California, as we are all too well aware of, and there is a big contingent of players from the Pacific Northwest. Jon Lester is from Tacoma, Wa and from Jeff Bailey is from Longview, Wa. Jason Bay is from British Columbia and has a home in Seattle and Jacoby Ellsbury is from Madras, Or. There will be large number of players' family members in the stands for this series and when you add that to all of the transplanted Red Sox fans as well as those New Englanders who planned a weekend vacation in Seattle, you have a favorable crowd.

Ramon Ramirez = Relief

Ramon Ramirez or the pitcher known as RR, R2 and Ram-Ram, is proving to be the best off-season acquisition by the Red Sox. Through his first 20 innings pitched he has amassed some truly outstanding numbers:

18 Appearances
20 Innings
10 Ks
4 Wins
0.45 ERA
0.63 WHIP (the best among relievers with 10 or more games)
Opponents only have 7 hits off of him and are hitting .113

You may think he is playing well beyond what he should be doing this season when you look at his career ERA over 4 before coming to Boston. You have to consider he did play at Coors Field for two seasons before going to the Royals. With the Royals he had good numbers including a 2.64 ERA. He only gave up 2 home runs in 71 innings last season. RR has developed into an All-Star caliber reliever and has been the most dependable arm in the bullpen for the Red Sox this year.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Big Papi....the New Lugo?

The Red Sox lost the rubber game of a three-game series against the Halos in Anaheim today. Brad Penny started in his usual fashion by giving up a run in the first and two more in the third. He did settle down after that and kept the Sox in the game; allowing the offense to tie it up in the fourth inning. Dustin Pedroia had a monster game with 4 hits and a walk and the much maligned Julio Lugo had 5 hits in the game and is now batting .349. The Sox lost the lead in the 7th but tied it back up in the 8th and with the help of some great defense sent the game into extra innings.

The bullpen (except MDC) continued to pitch extremely well in relief of Penny. Oki went one scoreless inning and RR went 2 2/3rds innings with no hits. Paps again did a Dice-K impression by giving up a hit and a walk before getting out of a jam in the 11th. MDC had a bad night and gave up the winning run in the bottom of the 11th but you have to put the blame for this loss on David Ortiz.

Big Papi set a new AL record in todays game with 12 players left on base! Ortiz went 0-7 with 3 Ks and is now hitting .208, never mind the no home runs. The patience of Red Sox Nation is gone; everything was OK as long as Papi was getting RBI's but this game will bring the scorn. Like this, or this. Lugo had been a nice distraction for Ortiz to get through the slump without much ire, but with Lugo's 5 hits and no errors today Big Papi has nobody to hide behind. Ortiz already had the off day with the "stiff neck" to get his head straight and it did not work. If he does not produce in Seattle he will have to be moved to the bottom third of the order.

Ortiz said this after the game:

"I'm sorry guys, I don't feel like talking right now. Just put down, 'Papi stinks.'"

Red Sox Lose 5-4 BOX SCORE

	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Red Sox	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	15	0
LA Angels	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	11	0

Johnny Damon Strikes Out, 3 Umps Call It

Today's Red Sox Lineup 5/14 vs. the Angels

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

3. David Ortiz, DH

4. Jason Bay, LF

5. Mike Lowell, 3B

6. J.D. Drew, RF

7. Jeff Bailey, 1B

8. Jason Varitek, C

9. Julio Lugo, SS

Brad Penny, SP

The Baseball Show

Fenway West will be on the"Web Sox Nation" segment of the Baseball Show on CSNNE and WEEI this Saturday.

The Red Sox Bullpen is Scary Good

Now that Lopez has been replaced with fireballer Daniel Bard the Red Sox have a rock solid bullpen. When Tito needs to make a change on the mound in the late innings he can go with MDC (.052 ERA), RR (.052 ERA), Oki (3.31 ERA), Bard (0.00 ERA), Saito (4.41 ERA) or Paps (1.20 ERA). The only real weak point is with Hunter Jones (8.00 ERA) in long relief but that can be solved when Masterson moves back to the bullpen.

The bullpen has allowed the team to stay near the top of the division with a slew of injuries and problems from starting pitchers. Think how good this team will be with Dice-K and Youk back, or with Smoltz and Buchholz in the rotation.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Wake Gets Rocked

The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-0 quick lead when Bay hit his 10th home run of the season. By the end of the 2nd the Sox had a 4 run lead but things went south in a hurry. Wake struggled in the bottom of the third giving up a single, walk, single, single, and then a home run by Napoli. The Angels had a one run lead and that was all they would need because Matt Palmer became untouchable after that point. The Red Sox could not get anything going for the rest of the game while the Halos added 4 more. Daniel Bard looked impressive in his first appearence; striking out the first batter he faced with a 98 MPH fastball.

Red Sox Lose 8-4 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Red Sox	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	5	0
LA Angels	0	0	5	1	1	1	0	0	0	8	14	0

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 5/13 vs. the Angels

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Julio Lugo, SS
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jeff Bailey, 1B
8. George Kottaras, C
9. Nick Green, 2B

Tim Wakefield, SP

Carter ,Velazquez, Buchholz and the Rotation.

Chris Carter is now out here on the left coast with the Red Sox to add a big bat to the bench. With Pedroia out tonight Velazquez will most likely remain with the team as a utility infielder for one more day. Carter should be activated tomorrow and Velazquez will go back to the PawSox, assuming Pedroia can go.

Clay Buchholz threw another great game today, his ERA over the last 6 starts in 1.03. Last season fans were wondering why the Sox were taking so long to get him out of the bigs, myself included. Now people wonder why he is still in AAA. If Brad Penny struggles tomorrow the calls for Buchholz will only grow louder. Masterson's outing last night did not did make it seem like he was a viable option to keep in the rotation for much longer. Dice-K will be back with the team after the West Coast trip and Smoltz is about a month away. Where does Clay fit? I think the Red Sox are keeping him in Pawtucket until there is another injury to a starter, even if it is a made up injury like the one that might be coming if Lester has another bad outing. Smoltz is going to get his shot as a starter before Clay is a full time member of the rotation but Buchholz will be with the team at some point when the next injury arises. Brad Penny may be on borrowed time but Clay's performance today did not change that. Penny will have to have two more terrible performances if the Red Sox are going to take him out of the rotation before Smoltz is ready. Bringing Clay up right before Smoltz joins the team does not make much sense; it will only be done if the Red Sox have no choice but to do it.

Pedroia Will Miss Another Game

The PawSox, I mean Red Sox, will take on the Halos without Youk who is now on the DL and without Pedroia tonight. Francona announced that Pedroia will be held out of another game because of the groin injury.

Masterson Talks About Last Night's Outing -Video

Justin Masterson struggled with control last night but was able to keep the Sox in the game. He answers questions about the warning for throwing behind a batter. Watch below:

Epic Fail by OC Register

Yesterday the Orange County Register posted a slideshow of 10 reasons the Angels will be World Champs. Included in the show was this:

Scot Shields entered Sunday's game having thrown 91 strikes and 90 balls. There are usually four possible reasons for loss of control: Brain problems, elbow problems, mechanical problems, or perhaps random fluctuation over a small sample. The Shields of old was back Sunday, throwing 18 strikes in 28 pitches over two innings, so I think we can eliminate reasons 1 and 2, and assume it was probably either No. 3 -- and it has been fixed -- or No. 4. All signs are good, and simply fixing him is worth about four wins more than the Shields we had last week.

Last night Shields gave up 2 hits and a run in his one inning of work earning a blown save and the loss...sounds like things are all fixed. Better get busy taking ring sizes.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Manny Being....

As seen in a small Red Sox discussion group: Was it Manny being Womanny?

Sox Skweek By Angels

Although his numbers looked good, Masterson was having trouble with his location, but he did manage (lucky according to 'Tek in the post game interview) to make it through 6 innings allowing only 2 runs. He also threw one behind Hunter in the 3rd, drawing warnings from umpires to both sides. MDC gave up a rare run, but that was due in part to a fielding error.

The Sox were down 3-1 in the 7th and tied it on 2 singles, a BB, a HBP, and a FC. In the 9th, Drew singled and 'Tek doubled to send him home and gain the lead. Ramon Ramirez continues to be lights out, his record stands at 4-0, 0.52 ERA. (All Star Game for RR?) Papelbon walked Abreu, who then stole second. (Oh, here we go again.) Torii Hunter whiffed to end the game.

Mike Lowell is swinging the bat well so far this season (.310 BA), but his FA has dropped a bit this season. He has an unusually high number of errors so far (5), but hopefully his fielding groove will return from surgery to match his batting. Ol' Shoebox Lugo added another error tonight. Nick Green is hitting well too, (.289), but he's added another 6 errors so far this season. Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Jed Lowrie. Papi had an RBI, but was still 0/3. I'm wondering at what point does Tito move him down in the line up.

It wasn't a pretty win, but it was a win nonetheless. Toronto beat the Yankees tonight, leaving them 6.5 games out, while the Sox remain 1 GB. BAL beat TBY tonight.

Sox win 4-3 BOX SCORE

I participated in a live game chat on SawxHeads.com, tonight's host being none other than our esteemed Fenway West host, Matt O'Donnell. It was an interesting experience. I was not able to watch the game on the tube tonight, but I was chatting with other Sox fans on one tab, while checking the stats on 'Game Day' from RedSox.com as the game proceeded.

Live Blog Tonight

I will be hosting the live blog for tonight's game over at Sawxheads.com. I hope some of you will stop by to chat while the Red Sox are beating up on the halos.

Boston Pops to Celebrate the Red Sox May 21-23

Next week, the Boston Pops will celebrate their latest cd release, The Red Sox Album with three concerts May 21-23 at Symphony Hall. Keith Lockhart will conduct the Pops as they perform such Red Sox hits as "Sweet Caroline" and "I'm Shipping Up to Boston."

In addition, the Pops will present Baseball on Broadway featuring actors from the Boston Conservatory Theater Division. They will perform baseball numbers from various Broadway shows including the world premiere of "The Game of Baseball" and "God Bless the Boston Red Sox," from Red Sox Nation.

Ken Rosenthal Goes Off the Deep End. Again

Fox's "baseball insider" Ken Rosenthal continues to have no inside information so he comes up with ridiculous speculations like the Red Sox trading David Ortiz for Jason Giambi:

The other possibility would be a trade, and there would be no shortage of candidates.If the Sox merely confined their search to left-handed hitters in the final years of contracts, they could choose from among the following:
Rick Ankiel (Cardinals), Hank Blalock (Rangers), Jason Giambi (A's), Brian Giles (Padres), Aubrey Huff (Orioles), Adam LaRoche (Pirates), Chad Tracy (Diamondbacks).

Last week Rosenthal filled up a column with his take on what might have happened if the Rays landed Jason Bay last year. Good thing Fox is paying him big money to get some inside scoop on trades that didn't happen last year.

This is What You Write When Your Team Can't Win in the Playoffs

The Red Sox own the Angels in the post-season. Angels bloggers can't refute that so they continue to focus on Beckett's pitch near Abreu or write silly things like this:

Jacoby Ellsbury is a bust.

Nick Green is not the pitcher we waived who ended up a Brewer, he is a weak excuse for a shortstop.

FANS: Only Angel fans are Angel fans. Idiot trendoid fratboys and couch-potato ESPN conformists comprise a majority of Red Sox Nation.

Here is my simple response these statements by halosheaven.com: Your team has a rally monkey and your fans use thunderstixs; 'nuf ced.

Roger* Is Playing a Losing Hand

Roger Clemens* went on ESPN Radio to defend himself from the new book American Icon. In the interview he continued to deny steroid use and would not talk about his failed defamation lawsuit. He continues to play a losing hand as him image and Hall of Fame chances circle the drain.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Papelbon Caption Contest

Every day there is a caption contest for a photo at the Huffington Post. Today's photo is of Jonathan Papelbon after striking out the side in last night's game. You can enter the contest here, I'll update the winning caption and some of the better entries tomorrow.

Red Sox Fan Needs New Home

OK, another OT post except that it's a Sox fan, and that Sox fan is me. My landlord lives with his GF and I thought she owned that house. It turns out she rents, too, and that house is now up for sale, meaning they will be moving in back here. I'll be looking to move to West Sonoma County, CA where it's a bit cheaper and a bit cooler than where I am now.

Follow this link to my post to find out more about my rental history and what I'm looking for. Feel free to forward this post to any landlords you may know of, and thanks in advance for any leads sent my way!

View Larger Map

The Red Sox are Back to Deliver More Pain to the Angels

Torii Hunter may have made a great play against the Royals this weekend but the Rally Monkey is worried about the new team coming to town:

Former Red Sox Merloni Claims Sox Received Steriods Training

Former Boston infielder Lou Merloni claimed on Saturday that during his tenure with the Sox (98-03), they were given steroids training:

"I'm in spring training, and I got an 8:30-9:00 meeting in the morning. I walk into that office, and this happened while I was with the Boston Red Sox before this last regime, I'm sitting in the meeting. There's a doctor up there and he's talking about steroids, and everyone was like 'here we go, we're gonna sit here and get the whole thing -- they're bad for you.' No. He spins it and says 'you know what, if you take steroids and sit on the couch all winter long, you can actually get stronger than someone who works out clean, if you're going to take steroids, one cycle won't hurt you, abusing steroids it will.' He sat there for one hour and told us how to properly use steroids while I'm with the Boston Red Sox, sitting there with the rest of the organization, and after this I said 'what the heck was that?' And everybody on the team was like 'what was that?' And the response we got was 'well, we know guys are taking it, so we want to make sure they're taking it the right way'... Where did that come from? That didn't come from the Players Association."

Merloni has since backtracked a bit with a clarification of his statement, and former GM Dan Duquette chimed in with a disclaimer for a response. In his statement, Merloni made no specific claims of anyone on the team at the time using steroids, and said that the 'training' was more of a warning than an endorsement of any type.

Red Sox Injury Update

Dustin Pedroia: He strained his groin last night and will most likey miss Tuesday's game but should be in the lineup on Wednesday.

Dice-K: He pitched 4 shutout innings in yesterday with the PawSox and will make one more rehab start on Friday before rejoining the Red Sox on May 19.

Kevin Youkilis: He has missed 6 games with the sore left side but with the day off today he should be able to return to the lineup on Tuesday.

Mark Kotsay: Even with the recent calf injury, Kotsay is joining the team for the West Coast trip and could be see some action soon.

John Smoltz: After seeing Dr. Andrews for "peace of mind," Smoltz is still on track to join the team in mid June.

Jed Lowrie: He is still in the recovery process from wrist surgery and should return around the All-Star break.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

J-Bay Delivers Again

Big Papi led off the bottom of the 8th with a double off of the monster and J-Bay drove him in to give the Red Sox the winning run.

Beckett was solid in his outing giving up 3 over 6 innings and the bullpen was excellent. Oki went 1 2/3 innings with no hits and 2 Ks and RR got an out on the 1 batter he faced. Paps made it interesting by giving up a lead-off walk in the 9th followed by a base hit. He then struck out the side to earn his 8th save of the season.

Dustin Pedroia left the game with a strained groin. The team has a travel day tomorrow as they fly out to the West Coast for the last time this season.

Red Sox Win 4-3 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rays	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	7	0
Red Sox	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	4	9	2

Breaking News: Lugo!

In the 7th inning of today's Red Sox game against the Rays, Julio Lugo fielded a ball that was hit to him by Evan Longoria and he made the play to first base without making an error.

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 5/10 vs. the Rays

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jeff Bailey, 1B
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Nick Green, SS

Josh Beckett, SP

Totally OT Post (almost)

So I've been playing in Grateful Dead tribute bands since 2003. This is a side project for our new lead guitarist in this latest incarnation of the band. He's a Yankee fan, and a great guy and guitarist nonetheless. I've already posted that we were able to watch the Sox and Yanks together without killing each other (lol). Jimmy Brighton is in a band called Stackabones, a band that has 3 CD's out, with a 4th due out this year (and I'm on it.) This band has been together since 1981 or so, but Butch Zito, his songwriting partner and bandmate for all these years happens to be living in Delaware (where?) at the moment, but flew in Friday for the local Dead show tonight.

Apparently, Jimmy is impressed with my rhythmic skills behind the drum set as he took me up to the studio to add some percussion to a couple of tracks, as well as some harmony vocals, too. Since Butch was coming in, we hastily arranged a show at The Connecticut Yankee, a Red Sox bar that I've previously written about, with me as the drummer, since George Marsh, the previous drummer is now working with David Grisman, (so I've been told.)

George, Jimmy & Butch after 10 hours in the studio

Butch grew up in Yankee country with Jimmy. He knew we were playing at 'The Connecticut Yankee', but he didn't know it was a Red Sox bar until the end of a short rehearsal when Chip the bass player started to tell him that the bar was a Red Sox bar. I was frantically motioning the 'cut' sign across my throat trying to get him to STFU! Well Butch started complaining about playing with a Red Sox fan in a Red Sox bar. (heh heh heh) I told him there was a big photo of Lou Gehrig on the wall as you walk in.

I left the rehearsal early to get to the club to grab a bite to eat and get my kit set up as drummers usually are first in, last out. I sat down at the bar watching the O's beat up the Yanks. I asked the barkeep if he knew how the Sox had done earlier, and he told me that Fox didn't show the game here yesterday. (It's just as well that I didn't discover the outcome of the game until today.) Butch walks in and I told him, "Don't look at that TV!" Grumble, grumble, bitch, piss, moan. The rehearsal went well, so I thought he was just being an average Yankee fan. He noted earlier in the day when he found out I was a Sox fan that the Sox are the reason he stopped watching baseball. (heh heh heh)

I told him that besides being an exception to the rules of being a drummer (I show up on time for rehearsals and shows, I have a running vehicle, and despite not having a girlfriend at the moment, I am not homeless), I am not one of those Yankee hating, vitriol spewing & bat slinging Sox fans. (I take my occasional shots at the Yankees here on this board, but hey, that's my job!)

I only played two rehearsals with this band, and each was missing one key player, but the show was a total success! Tom, Steph, and Mike from Leadfoot Betty sat in with us on a couple of numbers, as well as a very competent sax player who just happened to be in attendance last night. Many good friends were in the house, too. I had Butch smiling at me while we were playing, and the whole band was smokin' hot despite only two rehearsals with the new drummer. Not only that, with Butch living in DE, the rest of the band hadn't even played together in some six months or so. We recorded the show semi-professionally (16 tracks, where as most audience tapers only use 2 mic's and maybe a PA soundboard feed if they're lucky), and I hope it will get uploaded sometime in the near future to archive.org, a web site for downloading free and legal live shows by many taper friendly bands.

So not only can a Red Sox fan and a Yankee fan watch a game together without killing each other, we can all play on the same stage together, too! A great night!

Bard Called Up

The ProJo is reporting that Daniel Bard will be called up for tonight's game:

The Red Sox will not only have to take someone off the 25-man roster in Boston to make room for Bard, but they'll also have to make a move to put Bard on the 40-man roster. The Red Sox have not made an official announcement, but Bard is expected to be at Fenway Park Sunday night for the series finale against the Rays.

We can only pray that Lopez is the guy that gets taken off of the roster.

The Endless Yankee Cover Collection

Here's two more for the collection.

Troy O'Leary Will Judge You Now

Are you ready for the "American Idol" of baseball? Troy O'Leary is. A new reality show is in the works by the former Red Sox left fielder. The show will look at videos of young players and evaluate if they have what it takes to make it in baseball:

O'Leary said he's not interested in the thirtysomething player who's trying to get back into baseball or make it for the first time. What he wants is a young player who has slipped through the cracks of major league scouting.

I guess that rules out Julio Lugo.

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