Saturday, August 29, 2009

The Revolving Door

For a team that had "too much pitching" a few months ago, the Red Sox find themselves in a bit of a pickle. The back end of the rotation has been a revolving door of pitchers including Dice-K Wakefield, Buchholz, Penny, Smoltz, and Tazawa. Now the 5th spot belongs to Paul Byrd, who helped the Red Sox late last season before being dispatched to the netherworld and eventual retirement. Byrd will start tomorrow in Wakefield's spot, and with Tazawa being sent to rookie ball it might be his spot until Dice-K returns. Theo sure loves old retread pitchers. One of these experiments is bound to work out.

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Buchholz Lives Up to the Hype

Ever since Clay Buchholz burst onto the scene with a no-hitter in his first major league game, speculation and hype followed. Buchholz was the next can't miss prospect; a front of the rotation guy for the future. His struggles last season alienated many fans and made others question if he could be a star in the bigs. His performance tonight showed that he has arrived. Much like Jon Lester did from the second half of '07 on, Buchholz is now looking like he can have continued success in the majors. Tonight he pitched 8 1/3 innings, giving up just 3 hits while striking out 9.

The Red Sox offense put up 3 runs on 10 hits which proved to be enough run support for Buchholz. Papelbon finally had a smooth outing and was able to pick up his 32nd save of the year.

Red Sox Win 3-2 BOX SCORE


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Blue Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 1
Red Sox 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 10 0

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Thoughts On Senator Ted Kennedy

Today's memorial to Senator Ted Kennedy shows us how much impact one person can have on society. People on both sides of the aisle respected Kennedy because of his love for the country and his pragmatic approach to politics. Whether you agreed with his thinking or not, you have to give him credit for staying true to his roots, helping those less fortunate and working tirelessly for causes he believed in. He was a flawed individual, but was able to overcome those flaws to become the best at his job. The events of this week have reminded me how far the Irish have come in America and how much the people of New England have done for this country. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, please take the example of Kennedy's determination to better his country as inspiration to positively impact the lives of those around you.

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Wake is not the only knuckleballer out there

Charlie Haeger of the LA Dodgers is 1-1, 1.93 ERA after recently being called up from AAA. He has pitched 14 innings in 2 the two games he has started since getting the call, allowing 8 H’s, 3 ER’s, 4 BB’s, while notching 9 K’s. He has only 48 major league innings spread out over 4 seasons with the White Sox, Padres, and now the Dodgers. Haeger also throws a change up, an occasional curveball and even a fastball on occasion.

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Cancer Sucks

Much has been written this week on this and other blogs about cancer and The Jimmy Fund. I don't have much to add, except that it hits close to home with me.

My oldest brother, only 61 years old, has been stricken with lung cancer. He taught me how to play baseball. He learned to smoke from my grandfather who pretty much taught him how to build a house. He died from emphysema at age 72. They were close, he died when I was only 12. One would think that would be enough to scare him from smoking anymore, but no, it did not. After smoking for some 45 years or so, and a few attempts to quit, he finally, finally quit for good 2 years ago. But it was too little, too late. In November of last year, he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and may have only to the end of this year.

We live about 2000 miles apart. We were both heavily involved in competition water skiing when we were younger. He moved to TN, I moved to CA. Neither of us are involved with water skiing any more. My politics went left, his went right. But he's still my brother. I was able to see him for the 1st time in 5 years last month, presumably the last. It was very sad to see him struggling to get up the stairs to the beach that we used to run up and down on as kids.

As Jerry Remy pointed out, I won't preach to anyone who already smokes. They have heard it all before. But for the impresssionable younger ones, please don't start. Smoking tobacco does nothing for you except make you want to smoke another one. That's what big tobacco wants. Maybe 50 years ago, it seemed to be cool to be smoking, but we know much more now.

Please talk to your kids at an early age about smoking. Teenagers may want as much autonomy as possible from parents, but at the same time, they learn more from us than we realize.


Please donate whatever you are able to a very worthy cause.



Cancer sucks.

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A-Gonz

Alex Gonzalez is a veritable vacuum cleaner at short stop, that we all now, but much has been made of his slight average and power. Watching him hit and reading his line in the box scores wasn’t making sense of what I had been reading about him, so I did a little research and found out that being in a Sox uni really agrees with him while standing at the dish.

According to last night’s box score his BA is .221 at the end of the game. A little bit of digging reveals that his BA at Cincinnati this year was a pitiful .210, but since arriving at Boston his BA has risen to .221, a nice increase in only 13 games with the Sox. His 2009 statistics in Boston are looking good right now. Since his arrival in Boston, he is 13/47 for a .277 BA, (that’s an average of 1 hit per game so far, they should all be so lucky), 2 doubles, 3 home runs, .511 slugging, and a .787 OPS.

He’s only 32 yo, so as long as he continues to scoop up everything in sight (0 errors so far with Boston, and only 6 in 126 games with the Reds), and he continues to hit at .277 or better, he seems to be a good fit for that shortstop sinkhole that Theo has not been able to fill.

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 8/29 vs the Jays

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Alex Gonzalez, SS


Clay Buchholz, SP

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Wakefield To Miss More Time

Tim Wakefield will miss his next start because of back problems. Jon Lester or Clay Buchholz will pitch on Tuesday in Wake's spot. Paul Byrd could be the starter tomorrow. Suddenly it is looking like last season all over again with Beckett struggling and Wake having back issues.

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Is Fatigue Setting in For Josh Beckett?

Josh Beckett is on a pace to pitch more innings than he ever has in his baseball career. Blisters and oblique injuries have sidelined him in the past but he has managed to stay healthy this season. He has given up more home runs (12) in his last four starts than the previous twenty two starts (10) and his velocity was off by a few mph on the gun last night. With Dice-K coming back soon and the possible arrival of Paul Byrd the Red Sox may have the ability to reduce Beckett's workload, but that is assuming that Tazawa can work things out. With such a close pennant chase the Red Sox must decide if they use Beckett cautiously or continue to throw him out there and hope that things will work themselves out.

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Friday, August 28, 2009

OK, Beckett is scaring me now, but Sox still win

This is his 3rd $#!+ start in a row! He’s looking like last year’s model that went 12-10, with a 4.03 ERA, not the robo-hurler who was mowing down the AL for most of the 2009 campaign. Is he hiding an injury? Is he tipping his pitches? What? Anyone? Bueller? Beckett’s line tonight: 5 innings, 5 hits (2 were round-trippers), 5 runs, 5 earned runs, 5 walks; all this despite striking out 9 Jays. He was saved however, by Jason Bay’s 29th HR of the season, which tied up the game by the end of the 5th inning. Casey Kotchman pinch hit for A-Gonz in the 8th inning, grounded out, but drove in the game winning run. Tonight’s bullpen crew of Saito, Bard, Okajima, and Papelbon throttled the Jays for the remainder of the game.

Sox Win 6-5 BOX SCORE

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 8/28 vs the Jays

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Jason Bay, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Alex Gonzalez, SS

Josh Beckett, SP

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Nick Green Talks About Pitching

Nick Green speaks with the media after his time on the mound last night. He admits that he had not thrown a ball to a catcher in 11 years. Watch below:

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Tazawa Gets Shelled

Junichi Tazawa looked like he was throwing BP to the White Sox last night. He only lasted 4 innings after giving up 1o hits and 9 earned runs.

The Red Sox offense tried to rally back and cut the deficit with 2 homers by J.D. Drew and another by Alex Gonzales but it proved to be not enough.

Jacoby Ellsbury left the game early after he injured his ankle on a slide. The injury was reported as a mild ankle sprain which will cause him to miss a game or two.

The highlight of the night came when shortstop Nick Green was called on to save the bullpen by pitching the 8th and 9th innings. He was throwing close to 90 on the gun and was able to get through both innings without giving up a hit, although he did walk 3.

Red Sox Lose 9-5 BOX SCORE

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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Jimmy Fund 2009: Give To A Great Cause!

It's that time again....for the annual Jimmy Fund Telethon! It's one of the many things I LOVE about the Red Sox. They are sometimes all about kicking arse and winning baseball games, but sometimes they are about so much more. A lot of ballclubs support charities, but The Red Sox do it bigger and better. They support the 2 day telethon in hopes of kicking cancer's arse...and helping those battling it. I think it is just awesome.

Jimmy Fund

"The Boston Red Sox, WEEI Sports Radio 850 AM, NESN, and the Jimmy Fund are once again teaming up for the 8th annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon at Fenway Park. Call in your gift to benefit the lifesaving mission of the Jimmy Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute."

The 2 day telethon is today and tomorrow. I know money is tight for everyone (especially me who just shelled out money for 3 Red Sox/Yankees games), but we all have a little change lying around, so if you can...please donate it to the Jimmy Fund. The Fund helps support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Any organization that helps kids fighting cancer....is something I will always support.

As you all know, I donate $10 for every Red Sox win to charity so that my obsession with baseball is not so selfish. I couldn't decide on who I wanted to donate to for June or July...and once I remembered the Jimmy Fund was coming up, I decided to wait and donate to them.

So, for the wins in June and July...which were 31...I donated all of those funds to the Jimmy Fund.

That's a whoppin' $310.00.


I couldn't be happier to see that money go to such a good cause.

If you would like to donate...and I hope you do, either visit The Jimmy Fund or call (877) 738-1234.

The telethon goes until midnight tomorrow....so let's log on and pick up the phone....and help them get to their 5 MILLION DOLLAR GOAL.

If you donated to the Jimmy Fund, leave a note in the comments section. Every dollar and cent counts...and is for a great cause!

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Things go better with Coke

Despite his 12 K’s, Burnett was out of the game after 6 innings and 105 pitches, on the short end of a 3-2 score. Burnett is winless in his last 6 starts and his ERA is up to 4.10. Any baseball fan can tell you that being up by 1 run over the Yankees in the 7th inning means virtually nothing, except when Phil ‘the real thing’ Coke enters the game. Red Sox fans will gladly have a Coke and a smile! Coke adds life! Coke is it! Coke promptly gave up another 3 runs (Coke... after Coke ... after Coke) in only 2/3 IP. The Rangers scored once more and the Yankees lose, 7-2.

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Bob Ryan (Boston Globe) on Tim Wakefield

This from Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe on Tim Wakefield:

"Dan Duquette’s long-ago gift to the Red Sox that keeps on giving."

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 8/27 vs the White Sox

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Alex Gonzalez, SS


Junichi Tazawa, SP

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The Rhodes Scholar Speaks

Jonathan Papelbon explains his comments on Wagner and how the story blew up in his face. Watch below:


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Brad Penny Is Gone

The Boston Red Sox have released Brad Penny. He asked the team to release him so he could play for another team and the Red Sox granted him the request.

It is a real shame that the team did not trade him when he had some market value as many people were calling for. By holding on to Penny the Red Sox were rewarded with several more losses when and more wear and tear on the bullpen.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Red Sox Haiku (almost?)

Papi provides flair

hits second of pair just fair

not supposed to rhyme





Thanks to RedSox.com for the first two lines

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Wake's back! Papi, two!

Tim Wakefield pitched a great game tonight, his first since July 8th, but unfortunately did not get the win. Wake went 7 strong innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 run, walking 1 and striking 3 White Sox out. This was the first time Martinez had ever caught a knuckleballer in a game. He had caught a couple of Wake’s bullpen sessions under the supervision of Gary Tuck, the bullpen coach. There were no wild pitches in tonight’s game, and while Martinez did have an error, it was on a throw, not a passed ball.


Wake allowed a run in the 1st, but David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz homered in the bottom of the 2nd to even things up. Alex Gonzalez, of slight power and average, hit his 5th HR of the season to give the Sox the go ahead run in the 5th. He went 2/3 for the night, raising his average to .219. Ramon Ramirez gave up a HR in the top of the 8th for only his 3rd BS of the season. Enter Big Papi in the bottom of the 9th as we hark back to 2004 and the days of seemingly endless Big Papi walk-off HR’s and other greatest hits. He launched his 2nd HR of the night around the Pesky Pole, giving him 22 HR’s and 77 RBI’s so far in the 2009 campaign.

Sox Win 3-2 BOX SCORE


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

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Putting Things In Perspective

Kevin Youkilis' comments about playing in Boston are understandable especially during the dog-days of August. It will be a one day story and best and Red Sox fans do not need to read too much into it. If you want to see what a real rant looks like watch below:


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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 8/26 vs the White Sox

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Jason Bay, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Alex Gonzalez, SS


Tim Wakefield, SP

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Theo's Press Conference on Wagner

Theo Epstein met with reporters before last night's game. In the interview he shed some light onto the teams plans for using Wagner and gave his thoughts on the season so far. Watch below:


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RIP Ted Kennedy














Ted Kennedy 1932-2009

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Congrats To Jacoby Ellsbury

Jacoby Ellsbury now holds the Red Sox single season stolen base record after he stole third base in the first inning of tonight's game. The steal gave him 55 on the season, overtaking Tommy Harper's record of 54 from 1973

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Red Sox Bats Deliver Another Victory

Jon Lester pitched well but had some bad luck with a bad bounce on a pitch that allowed the White Sox to tie the game in the 7th; taking away his chances for a win. Oki and MDC kept the Red Sox in the game and let the bats take over in the bottom of the 8 with 3 runs including a homer by J-Bay. Jonathan "Rhodes Scholar" Papelbon came in and recorded his 30th save of the season.

After breaking the Red Sox single season stolen base record Ells had 3 hits in the game. V-Mart had 2 hits after coming off the bench.

Red Sox Win 6-3 BOX SCORE


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

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 8/25 vs the White Sox

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

Jon Lester, SP

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Yes, Billy Wagner COMING to the Red Sox

I thought Wagner was just going to be teasing us with his reconsidering act in the final moments. Ah, but not the case. It's official folks....with about 3 minutes to spare, Billy Wagner changed his mind and decided to waive his no trade clause. He's currently Shipping Up To Boston! The Red Sox agreed to not pick up his 2010 option, but retained the right to offer him arbitration.

Here is the official press release.

Of course this leaves numerous questions....

1) Didn't we learn about signing NL pitchers after just undergoing surgery? If this doesn't work out, can the Sox make it a rule to no longer sign old NL pitchers?

2) Do people earn extra money by comparing him to Gagne?

3) Who is staying and who is going in the bullpen now that Wagner is heading into town?

4) What is Papelbon preparing for his welcome basket???

5) Who are the 2 mid level minor league players to be named later??

Ahh...all questions whose answers will come in good time.

Welcome to Boston Wagner....and if you could be chuck full of awesome that would be great. Also, I hope just the continued mention of your name gets Pap all fired and lights out again. Just sayin...

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Billy Wagner Coming to the Red Sox?

The Red Sox have acquired Billy Wagner for a player to be named later in a deal with the Mets but there are reports that he will not accept the deal under his no trade clause.

UPDATE: it looks like Wagner is headed to Boston because he wants to play with a contender.

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Honor Greg Montalbano by Contributing to the Jimmy Fund.

Do your part and contribute to the Jimmy Fund to help achieve a world were we will not have sad stories like this.

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Good News on Dice-K

The news from Florida made Clay Buchholz's bad start last night a little easier to take. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched three scoreless innings yesterday for the Gulf Coast Red Sox. He only gave up one hit without walking anyone, but he did hit a batter. He will now join the Portland Sea Dogs for a start on Saturday and then join the PawSox for a start on Sept. 3. If all goes well he could rejoin the big club the next week. That give the Red Sox a chance to see him pitch in the majors a couple of times before any possible playoff start. You can never have too much pitching.

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Sox Return to Winning Ways Against Chicago

After a dissapointing series against the Yankees, the Red Sox did what they needed to tonight against the White Sox. The offense came alive with a dozen runs. Pedroia and Alex Gonzalez both went 3-4. Lowell had a 3-run HR in the 3rd inning. Everyone in the lineup had a hit with the exception of Papi and V-Mart. Buchholz went 4.2 innings giving up 6 hits, but 7ERs. The bullpen gave up only 2 hits the rest of the way.

Red Sox win 12-8.


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
White Sox 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 1 0 8 8 2
Red Sox 0 1 6 2 0 0 3 0 0 12 13 1



4CornersSox is in San Diego this week, so I am checking out different venues to watch Sox games while enjoying the finest beach weather that anyone could ever ask for. For tonight's game I headed down to RT's Longboard Grill in Pacific Beach (PB). Why Longboard's? Well the flag out front says it all doesn't it? San Diego is friendly territory for those of us in the FenwayWest region of Red Sox Nation. I recommend catching a Sox game here (while eating a bomber fish sandwich and sampling one of the many beers on tap) in this fine open air establishment.

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Today's Red Sox Lineup 8/24 vs the White Sox

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Alex Gonzalez, SS

Clay Buchholz, SP

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Q & A with White Sox Beat Writer Mark Gonzales

We checked in with Mark Gonzales, White Sox beat writer for the Chicago Tribune, to see what has been happening on the South Side this summer.


FW: Why do you think Mark Buehrle has struggled since his perfect game?


Mark Gonzales: There's a lot of scrutiny on Mark since the perfect game. He doesn't throw hard, and opponents are sitting on his off-speed pitches with greater frequency.


FW: What is it like to cover Ozzie Guillen as a reporter?

Mark Gonzales
: I feel like a cornerback in man-to-man coverage when covering Ozzie. This is not a bad thing, as Ozzie respects a beat writer's job more than any other manager I've covered. He'll rarely dodges a question.

You just never know what he's going to say.


FW: Will Jake Peavy be able to help the White Sox this season?


Mark Gonzales: If Peavy isn't ready by Labor Day, I think it's going to be awfully tough for him to make a considerable contribution this season.

The sense of urgency on the part of the White Sox hasn't been nearly as high as I thought it would be - which speaks to the severity of the injury and rehab.


FW: Do you think the White Sox can win the Central and go anywhere in the playoffs?


Mark Gonzales: Getting to the playoffs. Is the toughest part for the Sox, assuming Peavy is ready. Their bench depth improved with Kotsay, as well as a mix of left-handed and right-handed options.

But unlike the past four years, Detroit has handled the White Sox very well, and the final three games of the regular season are in Detroit.


FW: What is your prediction for the outcome of this series with the Red Sox?

Mark Gonzales: Despite Boston's starting pitching problems, their offensive production with two outs has been very impressive. The White Sox have been lacking with runners in scoring position, and the starting pitchers have little or no margin for error. Unless things change, I see Boston winning this series.

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Unassisted Triple Play tonight!

And to end the game, taboot! The NY Mets were down 7-9 to the Phillies and had men on 1st and 2nd in the bottom of the 9th inning with no outs when Jeff Francoeur hit a line drive to Bruntlett, then doubled up the man on 2nd and tagged the runner coming in from 1st base. It was not a good time for the Mets to be attempting a double steal.


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WTF is goin' on with the Sox these days?

Just last night it appeared that all was well with the Sox. They had just swept Toronto, and bounced back from a 20-11 ass whoopin' from the Yanks last night with a thoroughly convincing 14-1 woodshed session. But Commander Kick Ass Beckett is looking more like Gilligan these days as the Yanks launched 5 long balls off of him tonight. Yet he somehow outlasted Sabathia, in number of innings that is, as Sabathia was pulled after 6.2 IP and 118 pitches, while Beckett finished 8 IP and threw 120 pitches. He scattered 9 hits, but since 5 of them left the yard, that left the Sox on the short end of a 8-4 evening. It started off ominously, as Jeter put one out with the very first pitch of the game. The Yanks scored in each of the first 5 frames when it finally looked like Beckett was settling into a groove, tossing a scoreless 6th and 7th innings, sitting 8 Yankees down in a row. The Sox were only down by 3 at that point, and that means nothing in a Red Sox-Yankees game, but a 3 run deficit became a 4 run deficit in the 8th when Matsui hit his 2nd HR of the night.

The 5 HR's allowed by Beckett in one game is a new low for him. In his last 2 starts/13.1 IP, he's allowed 15 ER's; and in his last 3 starts he's allowed 10 HR's. He denied that working with new catcher Martinez for the 1st time had anything to do with his previous loss, Varitek was catching again tonight. So what is wrong with Beckett and the Sox these days? They had better figure all this out and fast, too. September is right around the corner.


Sox Lose 4-8 BOX SCORE

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Why couldn't he pitch Like that for the Sox?

I'm in San Diego this week, so I headed on down to Petco Park to check out the Padres - Cards game. Smoltz was the starting pitcher for St. Louis so I assumed I would see the Padres put up some big numbers.

It seems that Mr. Smoltz is a lot more comfortable pitching in the NL than the AL. He got out of a minor jam in the 1st inning and then cruised from there giving up only 3 hits over 5 innings. He didn't walk anybody either. In fact, he looked like the Smoltz that we thought we were getting, a guy who, while past his prime, can still fool hitters and put your team in a position to win. I would have liked to see him pitch one game like this for the Sox, but they couldn't keep him around with the numbers he was putting up.


Just when you start thinking that the Red Sox front office isn't patient enough with players, up comes Julio Lugo to pinch hit for the Cards. His box score for the day? GIDP: Lugo


One other item from San Diego. There is a statue of Tony Gwynn in the park outside center field at Petco Park. Here's what the Padres website says about the statue:


TONY GWYNN STATUE
The 9-foot, 1,200-pound bronze likeness of "Mr. Padre" was unveiled at the Park at the Park prior to the Padres-Phillies game on July 21, 2007 as part of a "Tribute to Tony Weekend," honoring the 2007 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. The statue was molded by sculptor William Behrends, whose artistic credits also include a statue of Willie Mays at San Francisco's AT&T Park. The statue and surrounding plaza includes bricks with personalized messages from fans.


Have you seen Tony Gwynn lately? 1200lbs! Sounds like they got the "likeness" part right.



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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 8/23 vs the Yanks

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, DH
Rocco Baldelli, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Alex Gonzalez, SS

Josh Beckett, SP

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Yankee Writers Continue To Dismiss the Red Sox

At 1:45 Eastern time on Saturday as the Red Sox were putting an ass whopping on A.J. Burnett, NY Daily News writer Bill Madden wrote the following:

Do you think the Yankees, who are a major-league best 26-8 since the break, have had a chance to notice who might be standing in their way for a trip to baseball's Nirvana? That would be the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem... Now that they've managed to obliterate that 0-8 start against the Red Sox, the Yankees seemingly have become masters of their universe - with one notable exception, the Angels, who sent them packing in the first round of the '02 and '05 division playoffs and, when last seen, swept them to end the first half of this season. They'll see each other four times in September, three of them in Anaheim, but come October, it is looking as if the Yankees, in their quest to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2003, may well have to show they can beat the Angels.

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