Fenway West - The Boston Red Sox Western Home: 6/28/09 - 7/5/09

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Saito Hands Mariners a Victory

Jason Varitek gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead with a homer in the second but the Mariners tied it up in the fifth. Brad Penny lasted through the sixth and was replaced by Masterson who kept the game tied. Oki pitched a scoreless eighth and the Red Sox offense failed to score in the bottom of the inning. Saito came in to pitch the 9th and gave up 3 walks and a bloop single to allow the Mariners to take a 1-run lead which would be all they would need.

Red Sox Lose 3-2 BOX SCORE

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

Today's Red Sox Lineup 7/4 vs Seattle

.D. Drew, RF

Dustin Pedroia, 2B

Kevin Youkilis, 3B

Jason Bay, LF

Rocco Baldelli, DH

Jason Varitek, C

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

Jeff Bailey, 1B

Julio Lugo, SS

Brad Penny, SP

Red Sox Will Play First Game at Target Field

When the Twins play their first game at their new home next year they will face the Boston Red Sox. Gone will be the ugly astro turf, the white dome, and the hefty bag; the new stadium will be an outdoor venue that will hold 40,000 fans. You can view a webcam of the new stadium that is updated every 15 min. here.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Dog Day Loss

It's July folks. Technically every game counts the same...Opening day, a Sunday afternoon game in May and July 3rd...they are all just one of the 162. But, as we enter the dog days, those one run loses seem to hurt a little more. In April we would just shrug this on off. In July we feel the lost opportunity a little longer...nothing tragic, but a game that the Sox had in their sights and let slip away.

Things went wrong in the 4th when Youk was obstructed by a fan reaching for a ball in the seats. The Sox could have extinguished a Mariners rally at that point, but it was not to be.

The game entered extra innings. The Sox had their chances, but couldn't deliver. M's win 7-6 in the 11th.

It's tough to drop a close one to the M's in July. If it was April, I'd be over it by now. In July it hurts a little. I'm glad it's not September.

Red Sox Lose 7-6 Box Score

	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Mariners	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	7	13	0
Red Sox	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	6	11	0

Tonight's Red Sox 7/3 Lineup vs Seattle

J.D. Drew, RF

Dustin Pedroia, 2B

Kevin Youkilis, 3B

David Ortiz, DH

Jason Bay, LF

Mark Kotsay, 1B

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

Nick Green, SS

George Kottaras, C

Tim Wakefield, SP

J-Bay's Turn To Slump

We have been through the Ortiz, Pedroia, and Youkilis slumps and now it is Jason Bay's turn. Up until the last series Bay was having a career year but he is 0 for his last 15 and his last 5 AB's were strikeouts earning him a Platinum Sombrero. Bay is not seeing the ball well right now but a day off and some work with Magadan should help. If all else fails they could use some of Ortiz's magic eye drops. Perhaps joining the U.S of A could help as well.

The Red Sox offense can carry a slumping Bay until he gets things right. The silver lining in the slump is it makes him seem human again as the Red Sox negotiate a deal with him for the future.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Papelbon is now alone in the Red Sox record books

No, it's not 500 saves like Mariano Rivera got this week, but Jonathan Papelbon got his own record breaking save this week.

Jonathan Papelbon

Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 20th save of the season which was also his career 133rd save with the Boston Red Sox. That makes him the all time leader for saves by a single player within the Red Sox Organization. Papelbon tied Bob Stanley for the record on Monday night when he got a 1 out save to beat the Orioles 4-0. Pap tried to get the record save on Tuesday, but we all know how that went down. Instead Pap got the statistic we never like to see...a blown save. Redemption was just a few hours away though as Pap came to the mound in the 11th inning on Wednesday afternoon and got a 1-2-3 save to protect the Red Sox comeback 6-5 win.

Papelbon's comments about the save and his place in the record books:

“It feels good,’’ Papelbon told the Boston Globe. “When I set out to do this, to be the closer of the Boston Red Sox, there were a lot of goals in sight. And this was one of them. To finally get there and kind of get it out of my head is good for me. All right, that’s done. Let’s move on.’’

And we all are excited to move on and have Papelbon continue to rack up saves and records....hopefully well into October and beyond. We know he is eyeing the success that Mariano Rivera has had and is looking to gain that kind of success. Yes, Mo plays for the Yanks, but I can't help but respect and like the guy. I hope that Papelbon has the kind of success and longevity that Mo has had...and hopefully like Mo, Pap can do it with one ballclub (One has to dream, right?).

So far, I like Pap's numbers when it comes to the chase of Mariano Rivera. Mo has been the closer for the Yankees for 12 years and as of this date, has 502 saves. Pap has been the closer for the Sox for 4 years and has 133 saves. If Pap stays healthy and competitive, I can see a serious run at a record like that...hopefully with a Big Ol' B on his hat while doing it.

Congrats Pap....and many more!

Rick Burleson Interview Part Two

Last Sunday I was able to speak with former Red Sox shortstop and current Reno Aces hitting coach Rick Burleson. In the second half of the interview "the Rooster" talks about the altercation with an umpire that Jim Rice wrote about last week, the '75 and '78 teams, and his approach to hitting. Watch below:

My Final Plea: Vote Youk & Pedey for the 2009 All Star Game!

Today is the last day vote GETTING THE VOTE OUT for the 2009 All Star Game! The All Star Polls close tonight at 11:59 PM EST. We are closing in 14 hours left to cast your votes for your favorite All Stars.

If you haven't voted already...go here and get to voting. You can vote 25 times for each email address you have. If you have already voted...find those old email addresses you no longer use....vote with them. Ask your co-workers, family, neighbors, mailman, hair dresser, etc...if you can use their email address to vote for the All Star Game...and then get to voting.

VOTE, VOTE and VOTE some more.

Youkilis was listed as barely in the lead of the evil King of Douchebaggery Mark Teixeira. However, we know those Yanks fans are going to be getting out the vote for their guy...so we can't let them beat us in the final hours. Isn't this just one more way that we can let the Yankees and the WORLD know:

Kevin Youkilis >>>>>>>>>> Mr. Leigh Teixeira

And let's not forget about our adorable, little Pedey. He is currently in a tough battle for the starting Second Base spot with the Rangers Ian Kinsley. Pedey was listed in 2nd place, but only by about 6000 votes. We were able to get Youk into the lead, so while we are voting our little booties off for Youk...we are voting for Pedroia too, RIGHT? Pedroia always is playing the role of the scrappy underdog who comes up big. Why not one more time? Let's make sure the AL MVP is our starting Second Basemen for the ALL STAR GAME. That only seems right.

VOTE YOUK. VOTE PEDEY. VOTE OFTEN AND THEN VOTE AGAIN!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Sox July TV Schedule

Except for the ASG at St. Louis on Wednesday the 14^th, there will be no Sox games broadcast on national TV this month, only MLB.TV and NESN.

Bummer. Except that I’ll be in RI for 2 weeks that month. J

I'll post any additions to the TV schedule as they become known.

Schilling Puts an End to the "Tainted" Talk

Curt Schilling was a guest on Mad Dog Unleashed yesterday on XM/Sirius and was asked by Chris Russo if Manny's PED use taints the Red Sox Championships:

Russo: “Do you think it takes away a little bit from the Red Sox’ championship in ’04?”

Schilling: “Listen, if you’re going to be one of those guys who thinks there is a team in the last 15 years that has played with 25 clean guys for 162 games, you’re lying to yourself....Given what we know, given the numbers, there’s no team that went through a full season and won a world championship in the last 15 years, could be 20 years, that was [totally] clean. I don’t think it takes away from our championship because using that argument, how many players on the other side of the fence were using as well? We beat a Yankee team that had how many users on it?...If you’re going to cheapen one you cheapen them all. The fact of the matter is people want to make an argument about, ‘Oh, these guys were cheating. It wasn’t a level playing field.’ It was absolutely a level playing field because there were guys on every team using it. That doesn’t make it right. That doesn’t make it just. That makes it the way it was.”

One Good Implosion Deserves Another

One day after the Orioles finally showed up at a game and embarrassed the Sox bullpen, they implode themselves. Granted, it wasn't a 9 run deficit that the Sox had relinquished, but the O's squandered a 4 run lead in the top of the 9th, allowing the Sox to tie the game, and eventually win in the top of the 11th inning.

Drew, Pedroia, and Ellsbury all had 2 hit games, while Youk hit a 2 run blast, his 14th of the season. Josh Beckett was not quite the kick ass commander he's been of late, as he allowed 6 H's, 2 BB's, 2 HR's, and 5 ER's over 7 innings. Bard tossed 2 scoreless innings, striking out 4. Ram-Ram gets the win, and Papelbon tossed a 1-2-3 11th for his 20th save one day after earning his 2nd BS of the season.

Sox WIN 6-5 Box Score

Today's Red Sox Lineup 7/1 vs the O's

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

Josh Beckett, SP

Rick Burleson Interview Part One

Last Sunday I was able to speak with former Red Sox shortstop and current Reno Aces hitting coach Rick Burleson. In part one of the interview he talks about how baseball has changed, how he has been involved with the Red Sox in recent years and his double play record. The stadium PA was blasting some music during the interview but you can still hear the great things he has to say. Stay tuned for part two tomorrow.

Great comeback? Yes. Most amazing thing in sports history? not so much.

Granted, the Sox blew a big lead. The O's deserve credit for a spirited comeback. They could have easily mailed it in the last few innings but they won the game with a huge rally.

For O's fans, I'm sure it was gratifying to get a win against the first place Red Sox who have dominated them all year.

BUT - some Orioles bloggers are overreacting to the comeback a little bit don'tcha think. Take the Baltimore Sun's Don Rodricks, who, after saying how sick he is of Red Sox Nation in his blog posts this ridiculous statement:

It ended up amazing -- maybe the most amazing thing we've ever seen in sports? -- and we stayed up to watch. How could we not? The young guns scored runs with timely hits, and the Orioles sent a closer to the mound in the 9th to do the job, and the game ended a few minutes before midnight. I think we'll remember this night for as long as we live.

The "most amazing thing we've ever seen in sports?" Seriously? I weep for Baltimore fans.

"We'll remember this night for as long as we live?" Really now? I bet most Baltimore fans forget it by August and start focusing on the Ravens.

Rodricks can savor the moment of a great comeback by the O's, but when he gets done reading the Sun's "most amazing thing in sports history" coverage of the game, I suggest he look at the smaller box in the Sun's sports page, the one that says "Standings." He might notice that the Red Sox are in first place and the O's are in last, 12 games back.

Update: Rodricks sent me the following email this morning:

Another arrogant Sox sycophant. You'll get yours some day, chum.
Pretty good game last night, though.
Ha ha ha!

-Dan Rodricks, columnist

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Eric Hinske now a Yankee

The Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be kicking off fire sale season early this year, trading former Red Sox Eric Hinske to the Evil Empire for a pair of minor leaguers. While the Pirates are in last place in their division, they are only 5 games under .500 and 6 games out of first. (Not bad for them at this stage of the season.)

Eric Hinske may now be a Yankee, but at least he didn't pledge his allegiance to RSN and then bolt to the dark side as soon as Steinbrenner unzipped his wallet. I will always remember Eric Hinkse for this body slam of Jorge Posada. Enjoy once again.

O-uch!!!

The Orioles finally said enough and took it out on Justin Masterson and the rest of the bullpen tonight. John Smoltz pitched 4 innings, allowing 3 H's, 1 BB, 1 ER, while striking out 2, all on 52 pitches, 34 of them strikes. He was staked to a 9 run lead by the work of Lugo, Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury, Ortiz, and Bailey, all of whom had at least 2 hits. Smoltz did not return to pitch after a 71 minute rain delay. Enter Justin Masterson, exit wheels. Masterson allowed 5 straight hits, 5 ER's. Exit Masterson, enter Delcarmen, who allowed 1 of Masterson's runners in before registering 2 outs. Exit Delcarmen, enter Okajima. His line is ugly: 0.1 IP, 5 H's, 4 ER's. Exit Okajima, enter Saito. More ugly: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER. Exit Saito, enter Papelbon. Sigh. We're still in the 8th inning. The O's scored 5 in the 7th, and 5 in the 8th. Pap gets BS #2.

Sox lose 11-10 Box Score

Big Papi's Restaurant

David Ortiz became a partner in the Metro 9 Steakhouse in Framingham. Ortiz and co-owner Peter Sarmanian plan to change the name to Big Papi's Restaurant.

Papi is a good baseball name - I'm not so sure about a restaurant name. Everytime I think of it that scene from Poppie's Restaurant in Seinfeld comes to mind:

(Jerry and Poppie in the bathroom. Jerry washes his hands while Poppie flushes and gets out of the stall)
POPPIE: Ah, Jerry! Tonight you in for a real treat. I'm personnaly going to prepare the dinner for you and my Audrey.
(He zips up and leaves whitout washing his hands. Jerry notices it)
(back at the table with Audrey, Jerry can see Poppie in the kitchen with his hands in the dough, making dinner)
AUDREY: Jerry are you OK?
JERRY: Huh?
AUDREY: Is anything wrong?
JERRY: No, Nothing.
AUDREY: You look like you've seen a ghost.
(Jerry can't talk and he's staring at Poppie's hands. Poppie smiles and winks at him)
Poppie is kind of sloppy. I'm sure Big Papi's Restaurant will be fantastic. How about naming it Ortiz's Steakhouse? 34 Grill?

Mikey Lowell You Give Me Hope!

Like everyone else in Red Sox Nation, my heart sank a little bit when I heard that Mikey Lowell was heading on the 15 Day DL. We had heard in reports that the effects of the shot could be known within 24 hours, so many of us were assuming the worst with hearing that news that he is heading to the DL and we are seeing Jeff Bailey's smiling face for the next couple of weeks.

Well, The Boston Globe just posting an article that makes me all kinds of happy and gives me hope about seeing Mikey Lowell at 3rd for the long haul this season.

Mike Lowell’s stay on the disabled should not be any longer than the virtual minimum, which means he is scheduled to return the day after the All-Star break. He is eligible to come off July 12, the Sunday before the break, but coming off for one game wouldn’t make much sense. In all, Lowell will miss 14 games but received 19 days off, a pretty good trade off.

And, manager Terry Francona said, Lowell showed up in Boston today feeling great, “to the point he’s thinking about he could play in a couple days,” Francona said.

Now that is the news I wanted to hear. I look forward to seeing Mikey Lowell and his famous scowl in a game sometime SOON.

All Star Game: Still Get Out The Youk Vote!

Ok, I might be a little All Star Vote obsessed lately. But no fear, I'm not done flapping my gums about the All Star Voting just yet. We still have until 11:59 PM on Thursday July 2nd to vote for the All Star Game.

So, if you have not voted yet...please get on over to here and vote. You can vote 25 times for every email address you have. If you are like me and have more than one email address....you can vote a bunch more times than 25. Feel free to talk your neighbors, co-workers, friends, paper boy, etc into voting as well.

They have announced the standings this afternoon...and here is how our boys are doing in the hunt for who will represent the AL in the 2009 All Star Game:

First Base: As of this very moment...our own Kevin Youkilis has overtaken the 1st base of evil aka Mark Teixeira. That, my Fenway West friends...is awesomesauce. See? Annoyingly clicking those VOTE NOW boxes over and over again actually made a difference. Last time the results were reported, Youk was trailing Teixeira by about 35,000 votes. Now...Youk is leading Teixeira by a little more than 40,000 votes. Of course, that does not mean we can breathe a sigh of relief and stop voting. Those evil Yankee fans could always make a final push in the last few days. So, I will continue my war cry. VOTE YOUK, VOTE OFTEN!!!

Second Base: Last time we reported, Dustin Pedroia was trailing Ian Kinsley by almost 60,000 votes. NOW...Pedey is only trailing Kinsley by 6,830 votes. That's right SIX THOUSAND and THIRTY votes. So, if we can swing 70,000 votes in Youk's favor in the last week....we can sure swing a little shy of 7K. The reigning MVP should be starting in the All Star Game, dontcha agree??? Head on over to mlb.com and get to voting for Pedey. It's the only responsible thing you can do.

Third Base: Mikey Lowell is currently in 3rd place behind Evan Longorio and Alex Rodriguez. Mikey is currently on the DL and I am in denial about that, so that's all I am going to say about that. Except...I love that Longo is still in the lead over A-Rod by over a million votes. That means everything is right in the world.

Short Stop: Jed Lowrie is still in 5th place....which is still all kinds of hilarious. That is all.

Catcher: Jason Varitek is still is 2nd place behind Joe Mauer. I love Tek, but that only seems fair. Tek is currently ahead of the Yanks Jorge Posada...and two guys who have been in trade rumors to maybe head to Boston to be the "catcher of the future" Rangers Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Indians Victor Martinez (both trades will probably never ever ever happen).

Outfield: Everything is about the same. JayBay is still in 1st place. Ellsbury is in 6th place and JD Drew has moved up 10th place. Let's remember that even though JD Drew is not the most popular member of the Sox, he is still trailing the evil traitor that is Johnny Damon (8th place).

We still have a few days to vote for the All Star Game. SO...let's DO IT!

VOTE YOUK!

VOTE PEDEY!

VOTE DREW!

and then....

VOTE YOUK AND PEDEY AGAIN!

Red Sox Lineup 6/30 at Baltimore

Julio Lugo, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Jason Bay, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Jason Varitek, C
Rocco Baldelli, RF
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Jeff Bailey, 1B

RHP John Smoltz (0-1, 9.00 ERA)

Drew gets the night off, Bailey gets the start at 1B.

Lowell to DL, Bailey Called Up

The Sox placed Lowell on the DL retroactive to June 28th. It looks like his hip strain is pretty serious.

Jeff Bailey will get another chance to show his stuff in the Bigs. He had a forgettable stint with the Sox hitting .188 in 23 games back in April. Bailey has been hot with the PawSox lately with a nine game hitting streak.

It's Gonna Take More Than That

The Yankees have acquired Eric Hinske from the Pirates for two minor leaguers. Hinske is hitting .255 with one homer and 11RBIs.

Orsillo Doesn't See the Sox Making any Deadline Moves

Sox broadcaster Don Orsillo weighed in with his 2 cents about the likelihood of the Sox making a major move before the trade deadline.

In response to a questioner from San Diego (Fenway West territory) about the upcoming trade deadline, Orsillo wrote on his blog:

No. I really do not. I am open-minded to deals and try to separate business from personal as “The Donald” would. However, I would be very surprised to see any moves prior, or for that matter, at the deadline. I think the Red Sox, as they are currently put together and with the imminent return of Jed Lowrie, are in very good shape. If anything happens, I believe it will be minor or a move that may not impact the Major League club immediately. If the Red Sox are willing to eat the majority of Julio Lugo’s contract, he could be moved.

Drew Surprised by Leadoff Assignment

WEEI Radio reports that J.D. Drew was caught off guard when told he would be leading off - replacing Pedroia who struggled in the role.

“Honestly, I had no idea I was (hitting leadoff),” Drew said on the WEEI Post-Game Show after the victory. “I was walking off the field from batting practice. (Third-base coach DeMarlo Hale) said, ‘Hey – you’re swinging the bat good, like a good leadoff hitter.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘You’re hitting leadoff.’ I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. I had no idea.’ “I very seldom look up there,” Drew admitted. “I’ve been in the two-hole quite a bit here lately. Really, I don’t know where I’m at until game time most of the time.”
Maybe Drew should check in with FenwayWest. The lineup was posted hours before gametime. That's right FenwayWest readers, sometimes you know what's going on before the players on the field do!

Monday, June 29, 2009

O-wned

The Red Sox continued their dominance of the Baltimore Orioles tonight with a 4-0 shutout at Camden Yards. The Red Sox have won 5 straight against the O's.

Lester threw for 7 scoreless innings. J.D. Drew went 3-5 with a tater.

Ram Ram made it somewhat interesting in the 9th when he gave up a hit and a walk. Paps came in to close the door and earn his 19th save of the year, tying Nathan for second place in the AL.

Box Score.

Sweet Return to Playing the AL East

Ah, now that this interleague mumbo jumbo is over for 2009...well, at least until hopefully October...the Red Sox got back to business which means playing the Al East's own Baltimore Orioles. Much like the Nationals and Braves...playing the Orioles is like playing at home when you are away.

Tonight it was Jonny Lester on the mound verses Jason Berken. Lester's numbers have been ridiculously good against the Orioles and he continued it tonight. He pitched 7 shutout innings.....and was following by 2 more shutout innings from the bullpen. Lester struck out 8 batters and only allowed 5 hits. Delcarmen and Okajima took care of the 8th inning and we were on to the 9th. Ramon Ramirez came on for the 9th inning. He quickly retired the first two batters he faced and then gave up a hit and a walk to the next two. So, that meant that Jonathan Papelbon was up and in the game going for his 19th save of the season and career 132th save as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Papelbon got the "Second Coming of Christ" aka Matt Wieters to pop out to left field and GAME OVER...SOX WIN.

Papelbon is now tied with Bob Stanley for 132 career saves with the Boston Red Sox. When Pap gets his next save, he will alone hold that stat line.

Oh wait, I also get to sing JD Drew's praises and we know how much I LOVE to do that. JD was on fire tonight. He was a double short of the cycle. He started off with a triple that ALMOST left the park. Followed by a two run homerun and then a little itty bitty single. He was a hitting machine. JD was moved into the lead off spot and Dustin Pedroia was moved back in the 2 spot. So far, this small sample size seems like a genius move from Tito.

Let's see anything else to report. Oh. Sox defense was also pretty gosh darn good tonight. JD Drew made quite a number of great catches out in right field. Jacoby Ellsbury made his usual spectacular catch in center field. Nick Green continues to impress at short stop with that bullet of an arm of his. Jason Bay...on that pop up to left field to end the game. It was not routine. Jason Bay slid over and made a breath taking diving catch to end the ball game and give Pap his record tying save.

All in all. A good game folks. Let's do it again tomorrow.

Sox WIN 4-0.

Sox Make First Trip to Camden Yards in '09

Doesn't it seem like forever since the Red Sox played in Camden Yards?

That's because it has been. The Red Sox played their last game there on August 20th, 2008 (a game that most of us tried to quickly forget - Buchholz only lasted 2.1 innings giving up 5 ER and the Sox lost 11-6). Usually the Sox have a series in Baltimore in April or May, but this year first visit to the Yards has come much later.

In recent years, Red Sox Nation has filled the seats in Camden Yards making it seem like a home game for the Sox. This series should be no different.

O's fans are struggling to deal with a rebuilding year. Many of them are ready to jump off the Matt Weiters (three throwing errors in four games) bandwagon before it truly gets rolling, causing Baltimore Sun O's blogger Peter Schmuck to write a blog post titled, "Time to Mellow Out."

The Sox swept the O's in a 4 game series back in April. Let's hope they keep the wins coming in Baltimore.

Today's Lineup 6/29 at Baltimore

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

P Jon Lester (6-6, 4.68 ERA)

How Concerned Should We Be About Lowell?

Mike Lowell sat out most of the last two interleague series to rest his ailing hip. He will now be receiving injections to lubricate his hip joint. If he doesn't respond in a few days he might go to the DL:

“I guess it could happen,” Francona said. “I don’t think we want to, and I don’t think he wants to. But if he didn’t respond to this, it’s probably something we’d have to think about it. But I don’t think that’s our goal, for sure. . . . Because there’s a lot of season left to go, we’d rather try to let him take a deep breath or regroup. We just want him to be able to go out and play rather than drag it, or when he makes a move, feel it so much.”

If Lowell does go on the DL then Kotsay would take over at first and Youk would go to third. Lowrie can play third when he gets back and Green is also an option but Lowell's bat would surely be missed.

Fat, Drunk, and Stupid

How many beers do you have to consume to think it is a good idea to run on the field during a baseball game? Here's the video of a guy getting owned by security at Turner Field yesterday. (via Red Sox Monster)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Greetings from Reno

I'm in the press box at Aces Ballpark home of the Reno Aces, the AAA affiliate of the D-Backs, as they take on the Tacoma Rainiers. The Aces are in their first season in Reno at a beautiful new ballpark after moving from Tucson.

I contacted their director of media relations to get an interview with their batting coach; former Red Sox shortstop Rick Burleson. I was given a media pass and got to watch BP on the field before spending about 15 minutes interviewing Rick Burleson in the dugout. I videotaped the interview and will post it in a few days. He was very forthcoming and shared everything from how he approaches hitting to his thoughts on Jerry Remy's health, so check back later in the week to watch it.

If you every find yourself in Reno, head downtown and check out a nice family friendly ballpark with good concessions and a nice grassy area to lounge on in center.

Brad Penny Can't Win It All By Himself!

I am glad I am not a betting woman. If you told me it was Brad Penny vs. Tommy Hanson and that Hanson was almost scratched from the game because he was suffering big time from the flu...and the temps were in the high 90s. I'd bet that Brad Penny would probably have some pretty good run support...and have a pretty good chance to win this game.

Well, we know that didn't happen. The Sox lost to the Braves 1-2. Brad Penny had another quality start this afternoon. He started off shaky allowing a solo home run to Chipper Jones in the 1st inning. However, he settled down and the only other run he allowed was another solo homerun to Garrett Anderson in the 4th.

The Boston Red Sox just weren't able to get anything going against Hanson. He seemed to get strength from whatever flu bug attacked him. The Sox had their chances with runners on...in numerous innings, but always seemed to come up short. The Sox left the bases loaded, which seems to be their pattern this year.

The only run the Sox were able to get to cross the plate was a RBI single by Jason Varitek in the 9th that brought in Kevin Youkilis. Of course, if the Braves were able to complete a double play correctly, Tek never would have had that opportunity.

The Braves just played better than we did today. We took the series, but were unable to get the sweep. Brad Penny pitched well, just not well enough to get the win. And now the Sox are officially done with interleague play for the 2009 season...unless they are hopefully blessed with some interleague play in the post season.

SOX LOSE 1-2. Box Score.

Tomorrow. We are on to the Orioles and hopefully in line for some more wins.

Today's Red Sox Lineup 6/28

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

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