Fenway West - The Boston Red Sox Western Home: 6/14/09 - 6/21/09

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Beckett Gets Things Right

Red Sox ace Josh Beckett showed that even with an injury to Dice-K, the team is going to be just fine. He pitched a complete game shutout giving up just 5 hits with no walks. The always productive Nick Green put the Sox on the board in the 5th with a double. The offense would get two more runs in the game off of Derek Lowe and that was all that was needed for an easy victory.

While this was a good win for the team there was one negative thing that stood out; Dustin Pedroia's lack of production at the lead-off spot. His average since he took over the top spot is now below the Mendoza line. Tonight he was 0-4.

Red Sox Win 3-0 BOX SCORE

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

Dice-K Removed From the Rotation

Terry Francona said that Dice-K would not make his next start and the team would take it slow and try to find out what was wrong. John Farrell and Tito need to talk some more before deciding if they should send Matsuzaka to the DL. Francona was not happy with the situation and said, "having other rotation options doesn't make Daisuke's struggles any easier for me."

UPDATE: Dice-K had an MRI tonight that showed no structural damage but it did show weakness in his shoulder. In other words the Red Sox found something that "could" be an injury so they can send him to the DL without breaking any rules. With the abundance of starters the Sox will take it very slow and make sure he is ready to go before he comes back up the next time. In reality it could work out very well having a rested Dice-K ready to go down the stretch.

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/20 vs the Braves

Dustin Pedroia, 2B
J.D. Drew, RF
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Jason Bay, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Mark Kotsay, 1B
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jason Varitek, C
Nick Green, SS

Josh Beckett, SP

A-Rod* Scandal of the Week - Website Failure

Hey did you know A-Rod* was benched yesterday? You wouldn't if you stopped by AROD.com to find out information on the guy getting $33 million to ride pine. The first thing you see on his website is this news story:

The Yankees have gone 20-8 since Alex Rodriguez's return from hip surgery, and the Bombers now sit in first place thanks in part to ARod's formidable bat in the middle of the order.

They can't be talking about the guy batting .212 could they? When you click on the news section of his site there is nothing about him getting benched, in fact there is nothing about him admitting using steroids. The news does not have anything from December until he begins his rehab in March. I wonder what he was doing during that time?

Red Sox Pitching Coach John Farell Discusses Dice-K

John Farrell takes questions about Dice-K's problems and talks about where the Red Sox go from here. Watch below:

Friday, June 19, 2009

Dice-K Emerges From the Shadow of Big Papi

Only this time, it’s not a shadow that one would want to emerge from. Big Papi’s ‘slump’ appears to have been a thing of the past, leaving Dice-K bare-ass naked right now. Yes, I know he’s won 36 games including the post-season in the past 2 years; and yes, I know the Sox have invested over $100m in the guy. But right now, ya can’t trade him, ya can’t send him to Pawtucket, and ya can’t send him to the bullpen. DL? That certainly won’t go over well with DK. About the only thing you can do is cross your fingers, send him out to the mound, and hope to hell he finally breaks out of it.

Tonight, he didn’t. His line is once more ugly as sin: 4 IP, 8 H’s, 6 ER’s, 4 BB’s, 2 K’s, 1 HR allowed, leaving him 1-5, with a Wang-like 8.23 ERA. All this on only 67 pitches. Usually Sox give him plenty of run support, (usually not enough), but their bats were unusually quiet tonight- 2 hits, that was it. Jason Bay clubbed his 18^th HR of the year, but outside of that, they pretty much e-mailed in their AB’s. The left side of the diamond coughed up another E, this time it was Mike Lowell. (OUCH! It hurts to just even write that!)

Theo and Tito gave Papi over 2 months to get past his slump and their patience has paid off. He’s swinging the bat much better these days. Dice-K did spend some time on the DL, so he still has just a little bit of time left before the FO pulls the trigger on some sort of action regarding him. What that action is remains to be seen, but I’m sure glad I don’t have to decide what to do with all those arms.

Sox Lose 8-2 BOX SCORE

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

Papelbon and his attempt at damage control

So, Papelbon should seriously have a guy on his payroll whose job is to follow him around and stop him from saying stupid things. It would be well worth the money. I adore Pap, we know this....but the concept of thinking before you speak is a foreign concept to the boy.

As Matt reported yesterday Papelbon stated in a radio interview that he would consider playing for the Yanks once he became a free agent in 2011. I guess Pap realized that making such statements in 2009 when you are currently playing for their rivals, the Red Sox, might not be such a fantastic idea.

So, Pap has now backed away from said comments in a new article over at the Boston Globe.

"I don't want to go (expletive) play for the Yankees," he said. "I've been on a team for the past five years that's been in first place more than any other (expletive) team otherwise. Why would I want to leave?"

"For me, I want to go to a place where I'm happy," he said. "For me, the only thing that's important is that, A, it's like a family and B, I have manager and a GM that's going to protect me, and I know that here."

OK. So, Pap needs to learn some PR and business lessons. His agent should really be calling him and giving him some much needed tips.

Do I think if things are ideal...Pap wants to resign with the Sox? Absolutely. I think he is honest when he says he is happy with the Red Sox. The dude loves his job, loves that the Sox win, loves the culture and attention in Boston, etc. However, I also think it is bull to the shit when he says that the only thing that is important is to be happy when he becomes a free agent. He hasn't spent YEARS now talking about contracts and his love of the benjamins to not have money be the prime factor. The guy is out to set the standard for contracts when it comes to closers and I think he realizes he might not be able to do that with the Sox.

I love me some Papelbon. I think he's not only incredibly talented, but also highly entertaining to watch as an "ath-a-lete." I want him to stay with the Sox until he is old and gray. However, if he doesn't sign with the Sox...I think the only team who can give him the type of contract he wants is the Yankees....he knows....we know it...the Red Sox knows it.

But seriously Pap. Shut your mouth. At least for right now.

Moving Sucks!

I'm in the middle of moving and may be away from the computer for a while (aaaggghhh- not that!!!) But no matter how great your new situation may be, the actual physical part of putting all your 'stough' into boxes and moving it all from point A to point B Sucks with a capital "S". (Where does all this crap come from, anyhow?!) Thankfully, I am moving to a 1st floor. After many years of trying to get here, I am finally living in Sonoma County, CA, and coincidentally enough, not very far at all from Mr. Fenway West himself. (I had been living one county to the south of here.)

If any of our readers live in this area, let us know and we'll schedule some local gatherings any time the Sox are on the tube. I will be scoping local bistros to see who has the best Sox viewing ambiance, as well as the best selection of brews, as well. I'll be continuing with the Best Western Sox Bars series soon, too.

In the meantime, LGRS!!!!

A Red Sox fan and a Yankee fan get into an accident....

No, this is not a joke (well, it is sort of funny), this is a true story. I had just come on line and was about to post something (um, now what was I going to post?) when I got a phone call from a friend who is a Dodgers fan. She was standing at California and Montgomery in San Francisco on her lunch break today when she saw a car accident take place. The offending vehicle had a 'Yankees Suck" sticker on the back. The driver of the vehicle who got hit jumped out and screamed "You must be a GDFN Red Sox fan!!" You can imagine the ensuing argument. The two guys are going at it pretty hard with the baseball epithets, so hard that the Yankees fan didn't notice that his car was rolling downhill and hitting another car! We all know Massachusetts drivers suck (JK! and I'm not from MA), and the Yankees fan in the accident just reinforces what we all know about them.

ROTFLMAO

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/19 vs the Braves

Dustin Pedroia, 2B
J.D. Drew, RF

Kevin Youkilis, 1B

Jason Bay, LF

David Ortiz, DH

Mike Lowell, 3B

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

Jason Varitek, C

Nick Green, SS

Dice-K, SP

Q & A With Braves Journal Blogger

To get ready for the the Braves/Red Sox series, Fenway West interviewed Mac Thomason, author of BravesJournal.com:

FW: Do you think this will be Bobby Cox's last year as manager?

Mac Thomason: There's no indication that it will be. His contract was extended, and you would think he'd give some sort of notice. I don't really know why he wants to continue at this point. It can't be too much fun.

FW: What do Braves fans think of Smoltz signing with the Red Sox?

Mac Thomason: I think that at the time the feeling was that the Braves should have taken care of him. Since then, he's been annoying enough that people are less sympathetic. The starting pitching has been really good, which has taken the pressure off the front office -- on that front.

FW: Will the Braves be sellers before the trade deadline?

Mac Thomason: Depends, mostly on the next two weeks (two series with the Sox, one with the Yankees, one with the Phillies). If the Braves are still about where they are (5 back) then, they probably won't sell. If they fall much further back, they probably will. I'm quite certain that the Yankee and Sox scouts have been keeping a very close eye on Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez; both are free agents, and you'd think at least one would be traded if the Braves are out of it.

FW: Did the Braves make the right decision in extending Chipper Jone's contract?

Yes. The deal is pretty cheap for a hitter of his caliber, and you can't just find one hanging around. The Braves also don't really have a third baseman of any quality in the system, the one big position of weakness.

FW: What is your prediction for this series?

Mac Thomason: The Red Sox should be looking to do what they do, work the counts, get the Braves' starters out of there early, before Soriano/Gonzalez come into play. I'm guessing one blowout Sox win, one close Sox win, one Braves win.

D-Lowe Looking Forward to Fenway

Derek Lowe has entered the blogosphere and in his first post he writes about coming back to Fenway:

I'm really looking forward to heading back to Boston to pitch this weekend. When I think of my career pretty much all my memories are in Boston. There were some good times in Los Angeles, especially last year when we were winning playoff games. But I think any time you win a World Series in any city, that's where your fondest memories are going to be.

Derek Lowe had his share of struggles in Boston but he also had some big time performances in the post-season. I hope Red Sox fans will give him a nice welcome when he takes the mound at Fenway.

Wade Boggs Sings For You...Oh No

Before he heads out to play bartender for the Lowell Spinners, Wade Boggs made an appearance in Seekonk, Ma to promote Miller Lite. It looks like he got into the beer a little to much and busted out in song. This isn't pretty, watch below:

Papelbon Talks About His Future

Jonathan Papelbon appeared on XM/Sirius Home Plate program “The Show" today and was asked about playing for another team:

Host, Jody McDonald: “If you couldn’t work out a contract with the Red Sox before free agency comes up and you eventually become a free agent, is the Bronx ever a possibility?”

Jonathan Papelbon: “Oh, of course. I mean, I think if we can’t come to an agreement on terms here in a Red Sox uniform, I mean, I think that’s pretty much the writing on the wall. If they can’t come to terms with you they’re letting you know that, ‘Hey you know what? We can go somewhere else.’ And I think it’s the same way on the other side, ‘Hey if ya’ll can’t come to an agreement with me then I can go somewhere else.’ Not only in the Bronx, but anywhere. I think anywhere is a possibility. You always have to keep that in the back of your mind because you can’t just be one-sided and think that, ‘Oh I’m going to be in a Red Sox uniform my entire career.’ Because nowadays that is very, very rare and hopefully we can because there’s no question I would love to stay in a Boston Red Sox uniform but I have to do what’s best for me and play in an atmosphere where I’m wanted and play on a team where I’m wanted and that’s all I can really say about that, you know?”

His answer is honest and should come as no surprise. Throughout Papelbon's time in Boston there have been several instances where he has complained about his contract. He is going to go for the big payday when he becomes a free agent and if that is with the Red Sox then he will stay, if it is anywhere else he will go. So for now just enjoy the ride with Paps and hope things work out in the long run.

Red Sox Lose Rain Shortened Game

In a game that probably never should have started, the Red Sox took an early lead by a Youkilis homer in the bottom of the first. The Marlins came right back with two homers of their own to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the second. That was still the score when the rain came in the 6th inning and play was halted for good.

Mike Lowell was not happy with the decision to play the game:

"I think a lot of guys are [angry] right now. I'm frustrated, and I think a lot of guys are frustrated," said Lowell. "We were told it was going to rain all day. There was nothing we were told or saw on the radar that suggested we were going to be playing in any type of good conditions. There was still a lot of game left," Lowell said. "I'm not saying he wouldn't have continued to pitch well, but I think we've got to like our chances with four innings left to score."

Jon Lester gave up 8 hits in 5 innings and the Red Sox offense could only manage 1 hit off of Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco.

Red Sox Lose 2-1 BOX SCORE

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

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/18 vs the Marlins

Dustin Pedroia, 2B
J.D. Drew, RF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Lowell, 3B
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jason Varitek, C
Nick Green, SS

Jon Lester, SP

Tim Wakefield Has Baseball Field Named After Him

Tim Wakefield throws out the first pitch at a baseball field named after him by Franciscan Hospital. Notice how he throws a knuckler.

Jager Shots With Papelbon

In this week's Cinco with Cinco, Paps indicated that a shot of Jagermeister is his drink of choice. Watch below:

Buchholz Responds to Criticism

Earlier this week I posted the NECN interview where Clay Buchholz sounded very frustrated in his current situation and said some things he probably regrets. Yesterday WEEI caught up with Clay and asked him about the interview:

“My goal is to pitch in Boston,” Buchholz added. “[The media] might have went a little out of context with it because I’m getting a little frustrated, but on the up and up that’s where I want to be. Fenway is the best place to pitch and the Red Sox are the best team to play for. I don’t see me being anywhere else except for Boston, so that’s where I want to be.”
Buchholz apologized for any ruckus that the interview caused, and showed the same enthusiasm towards his eventual return to the big leagues that he did in spring training.

“That was a little bitterness coming out of me, but I can’t be too bitter,” said Buchholz. “I’m still pitching healthy and I’ll get my shot sooner or later.”

Great to see that he is on board with the team and is willing to do what it takes.

Yankee PR Fail

To get Yankee fans to embrace A-Rod* the team that brought you the moat, decided it would be a good idea to have players "mingle' with fans in Monument Park before a game.

Meet and greets are scheduled to be held once a homestand, an idea that team spokesman Jason Zillo said originated months ago. A-Rod wanted to be a part of it Tuesday, hoping it would help show he's still a mere mortal, even with his larger-than-life persona.

The PR move didn't help him much as A-Rod* went 0-3 last night bringing his average down to .219 and earning him the Bronx cheer from Yankee fans once again.

and get this: A-Rod* is lending his voice to an animated movie for kids. The film is based on a children's book by Ray Negron who said the following about the project:

"We can give the innocence of the game back to the children," Negron said. "Goodbye steroids, hello grassroots."

So they choose A-Rod* to send this message? Nothing says steroid free and grassroots like A-Rod*. Only in the Bronx.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Smoltz, Buchholz and Van Every

John Smoltz pitched 4 innings in his last rehab start with the PawSox tonight giving up 3 hits and a run on a homer. Buchholz came in after Smoltz excited and pitched 4 innings of his own giving up 2 runs and earning the win. The outing had to be frustrating for Buchholz knowing that Smoltz is on his way to joining the Red Sox while he remains with the PawSox indefinetly.

PawSox outfielder and Red Sox fill-in/pitcher Jonathan Van Every will undergo knee surgery and will be out at least 5 weeks. With Kotsay and Baldelli healthy it was unlikely that he would have been called up in that time but he did quickly become well liked by the fans in Boston.

Red Sox Roll in 500th Sellout

It was a night of numbers at Fenway; 500 consecutive sellouts, the 100th career win for Brad Penny, and Jacoby's first career error.

Penny pitched 5 innings and gave up 3 hits and 1 earned run, he did get some luck on a few hard hit balls that were right at people. Masterson, Oki, RR, and Paps each pitched an inning in relief and prevented any further damage from the Marlins offense.

The Red Sox offense put up plenty of runs; fueled by Pedroia's 3 RBI's, Baldelli's 2 hits and Ells' solo homer.

Red Sox Win 6-1 BOX SCORE

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

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/17 vs the Marlins

Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Rocco Baldelli, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Nick Green, SS

Brad Penny, SP

Red Sox are Looking at Cuban Shortstop

Jose Iglesias defected from Cuba ten months ago and last week was declared a free agent by MLB. He just switched agents and now wants a deal right away. The Red Sox are said to be the team most interested in signing him.

Milestones

David Ortiz is just 3 RBI's away from #1000. There are 260 players in MLB history that have reached the 1000 RBI plateau.

Jonathan Papelbon is just 4 saves away from being the all-time Red Sox leader. Bob Stanley is the current save leader for the Red Sox with 132 saves.

Tonight will be the 500th consecutive sellout at Fenway Park.

With 4 more K's last night Tim Wakefield now has 1954 career strikeouts, putting him within reach of #2000 sometime this season. Don't forget to join the Wakefield 2000 strikeout contest by clicking on the link on the top left of the page.

Feeding Your Red Sox Fix

If NESN is not enough for you there is now more Red Sox programming on cable. Comcast has launched Red Sox on demand to feed your Red Sox fix whenever you need. Watch below:

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Red Sox Squish the Fish

I promise that will be my last "fish" related headline of the series because I know you are already sick of them after one game. The Red Sox cruised to an easy victory as Wakefield earned his 9th win of the season and bettered his chances of making the American League All-Star Team in St. Louis. Wake went 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with 4 K's. Delcarmen, Saito, and Bard combined for 3 innings of 1-hit ball with no walks.

Big Papi fueled the Red Sox offense with his 5th homer of the season and drove in a season high 3 runs. The bottom three of the Sox order each had 2 hits in the game.

Red Sox Win 8-2 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Marlins	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	7	1
Red Sox	0	1	1	6	0	0	0	0	0	8	13	0

Sammy Sosa* Joins the Asterisk Club

In what should surprise nobody, Sammy Sosa* has reportedly been one of the 104 players that tested positive for steroids in 2003. Drip, drip, drip. How long before a Red Sox hero goes down?

Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/16 vs. the Fish

Dustin Pedroia, 2B
J.D. Drew, RF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Lowell, 3B
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Nick Green, SS
George Kottaras, C

Tim Wakefield, SP

Smoltz Will Pitch One More Game With PawSox

The rotation question has been postponed for now as John Smoltz is not going to join the team until next week to start against the Washington Nationals in D.C. He will make one more rehab start with the PawSox this week. The Red Sox now have some more time to try to move Penny while he has high trade value.

Nick Green is Key to Red Sox Success

When you look at Nick Green's stats the numbers don't exactly jump off of the page. But with closer inspection you can find some good numbers. Green is hitting .286 this season and that number jumps to .317 with runners on. With runners in scoring position he is hitting .333 and when there are two outs and runners in scoring position his average is .417 with an OBP of .500! But perhaps the most important stat is that the Red Sox are 26-9 when Nick Green starts at shortstop. His glove has not been great but he can get the job done and he can play second to give Pedroia a rest. When Lowrie comes back it would make sense to keep Green and move Lugo if possible.

Monday, June 15, 2009

I'm Not So Sure I Want Wade Boggs To Be My Bartender

Hall of Famer Wade Boggs will be pouring beers for fans that attend this Saturday's Lowell Spinners game at LeLacheur Park. I'm not sure that I want the guy who rode around on back of a horse in the Bronx filling up my cup of suds. Boggs did some great things while he was in Boston but he might make the Spinner's All-Time Most Hated Yankee Lineup. Did everybody already forget that he put on a Yankee hat at last year's All-Star game?

The Spinners better keep a close eye on him to make sure some of the beer he pours actually makes it to the paying customers.

Q & A with Marlins Beat Writer Joe Capozzi

To get ready for the upcoming interleague series with the Florida Marlins, Fenway West interviewed Joe Capozzi who covers the Marlins for the Palm Beach Post and writes The Fish Tank blog.

FW: Do you see any way that the Marlins will ever trade Hanley Ramirez back to Boston?

Joe Capozzi: With the Marlins, it’s always “never say never.” Marlins fans never thought they’d trade Josh Beckett, the 2003 World Series MVP. But Hanley is a different player than Beckett, in terms of someone the organization believes can be a franchise player. Hence, the $70-million, six-year extension Ramirez got last May. They’d like him to be the centerpiece when they open their new ballpark in 2012. I’d say a Hanley reunion in Boston is a long shot for now. By the way, Hanley seems to rise to the occasion playing in front of big crowds. It will be fun watching him this week. Hanley told a group of Marlins reporters on Saturday that he believes he’d be playing with the Red Sox today if general manager Theo Epstein had still been in Boston’s front office when the trade was made on Nov. 24, 2005. At the time, Epstein was on a sabbatical, having briefly resigned in October 2005 before returning in January 2006. “Theo didn’t want to trade me,’’ Ramirez said. “But it happened and now I’m in Miami and I’m happy to be here."

FW: Do the Marlins have a shot at the Wild Card?

Joe Capozzi: With the exception of Washington, I think the NL East is wide open. The Phillies and the Mets seem to have the most legitimate shots but I’m still wary of the Mets pitching. The Marlins are starting to play more consistently; they’re a game under .500 and the starting rotation looks like it is taking a turn for the better. And Josh Johnson (6-1) is emerging into one of the best pitchers in the NL.

FW: Is the new stadium going to get done and will the fans show up?

Joe Capozzi: That’s a great question. Yes, I believe the stadium will get done. They’ll break ground in July. But quote a few of us in the media have asked the same question — If they build it, will fans come. I’m not convinced that will happen. The ballpark will be in downtown Miami, a major city, but it will be farther away from the core of the team’s fan base, which comes from the north. Fans will show up for the first year, for sure. After that, it could be a repeat of what has happened at PNC Park in my home town of Pittsburgh.

FW: Was Hanley Ramirez justified is saying his team did not protect him?

Joe Capozzi: Hanley is frustrated because this happened at least once earlier this year, when he was drilled by the Mets in April. As Hanley told my colleague Juan Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel after being drilled in Toronto on Sunday, “There's going to come a point where I'm not going to feel protected. I'm going to be scared to hit a home run because I know I'm going to get hit."

FW: What are your predictions for this series?

Joe Capozzi: Hopefully the Marlins won’t suffer another 25-8 loss like they did the last time the were in Boston in 2003! As I said earlier, the Marlins are on a roll after sweeping the Blue Jays. But the Jays have been scuffling lately and the Red Sox ... Well, the Red Sox are the Red Sox. Too bad the Marlins can’t throw Josh Johnson (complete game Sunday). Their Tuesday starter is Chris Volstad, who has lost his last three starts. Andrew Miller (Wednesday) has showed progress and Ricky Nolasco (Thursday) is still looking to regain his form. But the Marlins can hit the ball. If they show patience with Wakefield’s knuckleball and get a win Tuesday, that might breed enough confidence for them to win the series. No sweep, though.

Buchholz Gets Pissy

Clay Buchholz is not happy with being in the minors and has talked to his agent about trying to get in the the majors with the Red Sox or another team. In the interview you don't hear much about Clay wanting to do what it takes to help the team; he clearly wants to pitch for any team and says he does't want to "waste bullets" in Pawtucket. Watch Below:

IMO the team gave him plenty of chances last season and does not owe him anything right now. I want him to be competitive and have a strong desire to succeed in the bigs but this talk of wanting to go elsewhere is crap. He needs to be a team player right now, and do what he is asked to do without whining about it.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Wally Can Rake - Video

Earlier this week Wally joined Wrentham Youth Baseball and Softball in their effort to set the record for the longest baseball game. The game went 36 hours and Wally laced a single and eventually scored a run on a bases loaded walk. Watch Below:

Pitching Implodes, Red Sox Lose

Josh Beckett showed signs of brilliance mowing down Phillies batters until the wheels came off in the 5th. The fightin' Phillies put 4 runs up in the inning and drove Beckett's pitch count up. He was gone after the 6th, giving way to the usually reliable bullpen. Tito chose to go with Daniel Bard out of the pen and it did not turn out well. Bard threw 31 picther (11 for strikes) and gave up 3 walks, 2 hits and 4 earned runs without even getting through an inning. That could have been Bard's last outing for the Red Sox for the near future if they send him down to make room for Smoltz on Tuesday. Saito and Masterson mopped up for the Red Sox but the damage was done.

The Red Sox offense looked good early in the game and every starter other than Youk had a hit. Baldelli, Green, and Beckett each had home runs. It was Beckett's third career homer and second at Citizen's Bank Ballpark.

For the silver lining the Red Sox did win the series on the road and players like Tek and Drew were given time off to rest. The Red Sox bullpen that had been overworked in the last three games will have tomorrow off before the team takes on the Marlins on Tuesday.

Red Sox Lose 11-6 BOX SCORE

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Red Sox	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	6	11	2
Phillies	1	0	0	0	4	0	6	0	0	11	14	2

Today's Red Sox 6/14 Lineup vs. the Phillies

Julio Lugo, SS
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Rocco Baldelli, RF
Nick Green, 2B
George Kotteras, C
Josh Beckett, P

Tek Talks About Dice-K's Outing - Video

Fans are running out of patience for Dice-K and since Lugo had 4 hits yesterday their focus will go elsewhere. If Dice-K is not 100% then why is he in the rotation right now? Tek gives Matsuzaka a pass because of the rain delay:

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