Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Red Sox Lineup For Game 1 of the ALDS
Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew are in there.
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH )
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mike Lowell, 3B
8. Jed Lowrie, SS
9. Jason Varitek, C
Jon Lester, SP
Red Sox ALDS Roster
Here is the Red Sox 2008 ALDS Roster, Mike Timlin will not be active.
Starters
Jon Lester (L)
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Josh Beckett
Bullpen
Tim Wakefield
Paul Byrd
Javier Lopez (L)
Manny Delcarmen
Hideki Okajima (L)
Justin Masterson
Jonathan Papelbon
Position Players
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Jed Lowrie, SS
Mark Kotsay, IF-OF (L)
Coco Crisp, OF (S)
Sean Casey, 1B (L)
Alex Cora, IF (L)
Kevin Cash, C (R)
David Ross, C (R)
Watching on TBS
The good news is the ALDS will not be on Fox. The bad news is it will be on TBS, but things could be worse; imagine having to listen to Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver 
for the upcoming games. Chip Caray and Buck Martinez will be in the broadcast booth tonight. These two are not the bottom of the barrel when it comes to announcers but they really don't add much to the game. The thing I hate about playoff coverage is the 
need for networks to introduce teams to a national audience and fill in the game with repitition of the obvious. With TBS you also get the useless lead distance graphic whenever a runner gets on base and the constant commercials for Frank TV.
View From the Other Side
We interviewed Chuck Richter, the executive editor of Angelswin.com, for his take on the ALDS.
FW: How confident are you in John Lackey after his last performance?
(Chuck @ Angelswin.com) - I'm cautiously confident. Confident in the sense that he can be dominant at any given time, especially after stinking up the joint in his previous start. On the 16th of September he struggled against the 4-A Athletics, giving up 5 runs in 5.1 innings, but got knocked around at the tune of 9 hits, when even his outs were hit hard. Then in Lackey's next start against the heavy hitting Texas Rangers, he hurled 6 scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits, while fanning 12 Rangers. This season, Lackey is 2-0 against the Red Sox in 2 starts with a 2.81 ERA. In one of those starts he nearly threw a no no in Boston, but ended up giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in the 9th. Be that as it may, Lackey has not been himself in the 2nd half of the season causing some fans to be concerned.
FW: How much better is this year's Angel's team than last year?
(Chuck @ Angelswin.com) - Much better! Two reasons: Mark Teixeira & Health! The Angels were in bad shape in 2007 against the Red Sox in the ALDS. To sum it up, at one point Reggie Willits was our cleanup hitter as GA was hitting with one eye shut,. Plus, it didn't help that Vladimir Guerrero had no protection and rookies' Casey Kotchman & Howie Kendrick were simply overmatched.
(Chuck @ Angelswin.com) - I'm cautiously confident. Confident in the sense that he can be dominant at any given time, especially after stinking up the joint in his previous start. On the 16th of September he struggled against the 4-A Athletics, giving up 5 runs in 5.1 innings, but got knocked around at the tune of 9 hits, when even his outs were hit hard. Then in Lackey's next start against the heavy hitting Texas Rangers, he hurled 6 scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits, while fanning 12 Rangers. This season, Lackey is 2-0 against the Red Sox in 2 starts with a 2.81 ERA. In one of those starts he nearly threw a no no in Boston, but ended up giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in the 9th. Be that as it may, Lackey has not been himself in the 2nd half of the season causing some fans to be concerned.
FW: How much better is this year's Angel's team than last year?
(Chuck @ Angelswin.com) - Much better! Two reasons: Mark Teixeira & Health! The Angels were in bad shape in 2007 against the Red Sox in the ALDS. To sum it up, at one point Reggie Willits was our cleanup hitter as GA was hitting with one eye shut,. Plus, it didn't help that Vladimir Guerrero had no protection and rookies' Casey Kotchman & Howie Kendrick were simply overmatched.
FW: Will fans lose faith in Mike Scioscia if the Angels lose this series?
(Chuck @ Angelswin.com) - No! Mike Scioscia is respected by nearly all of the Angels fans. He is currently in my unbiased opinion one of the best manager's in the game of Baseball. I think the Angels fans will lose faith in the Halos ability to beat the Red Sox in a game that means something more than anything else. The feeling around our community forum and consensus for most Angels fans is, we're really nervous, though hopeful our 8-1 dominance over Boston in the regular season will carry over to post-season play.
FW: How do you think Teixeira will do in his first playoff appearance for the Angels? Will he be back next year?
(Chuck @ Angelswin.com) - I believe he'll do well if he doesn't try to do too much, but with Vladimir Guerrero hitting behind him, he won't have to be the savior so I'm sure he'll be relaxed and thus productive. As far as signing him in the off-season, I think we'd have to be considered Teixeira's #1 choice, especially if we get to the big dance. I believe this Angels ball club has all of the components to not only get there, but to win their 2nd World Series ring in the last 6 years.
FW: Who do you think was the MVP for the Angels this season?
(Chuck @ Angelswin.com) - This is a tough one considering we only had Teixeira since late July, otherwise he'd be the easy choice. I'm going to give this one to both Ervin Santana & Joe Saunders. Without these two dominating early on and solid throughout the season, who knows where the Angels would be at season end? Our starting rotation with Lackey missing the first 6 weeks of the season and not as dominating as he was in '07. Escobar missing the entire season and Jon Garland throwing beach balls for the majority of his starts -this would have been disastrous for a team that was unable to land the "big bat" in the off-season, a team that relied on good pitching and defense entering the 2008 season. Read more...
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
ANGEL FAN?
First, I would like to thank Matt for inviting me to post. Thank you.
I will be attending the game on Friday and will post my on site comments/pictures as soon as I get home.
Next, since you brought up Angel fan, I feel like I should chime in because I have been out here in California going to games since 1995. Angel fan didn’t exist until September of 2002 (OK, for those six season ticket holders, I’m sorry if I offended you). I went in July of 2002 to 2 of the 3 games vs the SOX and there were MORE SOX fans than Angels fans. Attendance was 27K-32K of 43K+. They were a game out of first at the time. Are you kidding me? It wasn’t until September that they started selling out games because they were in the lead for the wild card.
Finally, DO NOT GET ME STARTED on the Rally Monkey! HINT: If you put that rabid monkey on the screen EVERY time you are losing in the 7th inning or later, eventually, it will work.
Drew Says He's Ready to Play, Lowell Not So Much
J.D. Drew said he is ready to play in game one of the ALDS.
Mike Lowell is working out now in Anaheim and is said to be moving gingerly.
Francona will meet with the press shortly to give up his thoughts on the injuries.
John Lackey Could Have a Quick Exit
John Lackey is 3-6 in his career against the Red Sox with a 5.54 ERA. He did pitch well against them earlier this season but he was tattooed in his last start of the season giving up 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Or you could go by this great bit of insight by Halos Heaven :
One can only assume that Lackey's lackluster Friday night was a straight fastball session meant to delight Texas hitters and just break a sweat.
I'm sure they wanted to have Lackey go out there and throw meatballs to get ready for the playoffs; more great insight from a clueless Angels fan. Read more...
Silly Little Angels Fans
Sometimes it makes me laugh to hear some of the comments coming out of the SoCal these days, take a look a few in this morning's Orange County Register.
“I'm not even worried about the Red Sox. They don't have Manny (Ramirez) anymore,” said Brett Plott, 41, who grew up an Angels fan in Stanton and now lives in Yucaipa. “We own Boston now.”
“We've got the greatest fans in baseball and in a couple of days, everybody will see why,” Willits said.
Maybe its time to revisit why I hate Anaheim and to watch the sad life of Angels fans again. Read more...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Off to La La Land
The Sox are coming out to the West Coast for the first two games of the ALDS. Have no fear, Red Sox Nation will be in the house and Fenway West has added Larry Linscott, who will be at the game and cover things from SoCal.
You would think that a guy with an oblique strain would not have to carry his own luggage.
Jon Lester Named AL Pitcher of the Month
John Lester was named the AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA in five starts in September. Lester will be starting game 1 of the ALDS on Wednesday in Anaheim.
Red Sox Pitchers For Games 1-3 of ALDS
Game 1: Jon Lester
Game 2: Dice-K
Game 3: Josh Beckett
Beckett has a right oblique injury from a side session on Friday. His game 3 start is not a sure thing, he will try a side session on Thursday to see if he can go for game 3. Francona has not said if Wake or Byrd would replace him as needed.
In a short series you need 3 good starters and without Beckett the Red Sox could have a much harder time. The injury also forces Tito to pitch Lester on the road when he would have pitched at Fenway where he has been fantastic this season.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Red Sox ALDS Start Times
Wednesday, October 1st
Game 1: 7:00 Pacific/ 10:00 p.m. Eastern
Friday, October 3rd
Game 2: 6:30 Pacific/ 9:30 p.m. Eastern
Angel's Pitchers For Games 1-3 of ALDS
Here's who the Red Sox will face in the ALDS
Game 1 John Lackey
Game 2 Ervin Santana
Game 3 Joe Saunders
Not Much To Hang Your Hat On
The game was meaningless and the performance was forgetful in the first game of today's doubleheader. Dice-K only pitched 4 innings giving up 3 earned runs. Lopez, Delcarmen and Oki all pitched well before Papelbon had a rough outing. Paps gave up 3 runs, all earned, in the 9th. The Sox offense could only manage 5 hits but Ellsbury extended his hit streak to 18 games.
Red Sox Lose 6-2 BOX SCORE
Red Sox Lineup Game 1 vs. Yankees
| Jacoby Ellsbury, CF | |
| Dustin Pedroia, 2B | |
| David Ortiz, DH | |
| Kevin Youkilis, 3B | |
| J.D. Drew, RF | |
| Jason Bay, LF | |
| Mark Kotsay, 1B | |
| Jed Lowrie, SS | |
| Jason Varitek, C Dice-K, SP |
Stephen King's ESPN Sportscenter Commercial
Red Sox superfan Stephen King is staring in a new commercial for ESPN. Video via Awful Announcing.
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