All Star Game: Get Out the Red Sox Vote!

The last post mentioned the All Star Game....and how Tim Wakefield is definitely worthy. I can't believe he's never been to the All Star Game before. If any year, it is this year and not just because I had to apologize to Timmy for all the smack I had been talking about him.

However, pitchers aren't voted on by the fans. But there is still a lot of voting that Red Sox fans can be doing. Voting remains open until 11:59 PM on Thursday July 2nd. Head on over to redsox.com and get to voting. Go NOW...we'll wait.

Now, how are our boys doing so far in the All Star voting courtesy of CBS Sports??

First Base: As of RIGHT NOW, the evil Mark Teixeira of the NYY is beating our own lil' Kevin Youkilis but only by about 35,000 votes. If you vote for nothing else...YOU MUST GO AND VOTE FOR YOUK. The idea of Teixeira and his douchebaggery starting over Youk is unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE.

Second Base: Pedey is currently in 2nd place in the standings to Ian Kinsler of the Rangers. He is behind by about 60,000 votes. So, while you are over there voting for YOUK (and you are voting for Youk right?)...why dontcha vote for the AL MVP Dustin Pedroia while you are at it?

Third Base: Mikey Lowell is currently in 4th place behind Evan Longoria, Alex Rodriguez and Michael Young. Mikey would need about 1.5 million votes to take over the lead. Please feel free to vote for Mikey as well, but as long as Longo stay in front of ARod, I am cool with the voting results.

Shortstop: Chuckles. What I find comical about this is that Jed Lowrie is currently in 5th place in the results. You know...that Jed Lowrie who hasn't played games and is currently rehabbing his way back to us? Derek Jeter is leading all the others and has a pretty comfortable lead. As long as you don't vote for the Yankees own "twinkle toes"....feel free to vote for whoever you'd like. I'll admit it, I sometimes vote for Jed just because I miss him so much.

Catcher: Jason Varitek is currently in second place behind Joe Mauer. He is about a million votes behind, but well...come on, it's Joe Mauer. I love Tek something fierce and hope he makes the roster, but I think Joe Mauer probably deserves the start. However, I still vote for Tek. Homer all the way, I am.

Outfield: Jason Bay is rocking the outfield and has the most votes of ANYONE. Jacoby Ellsbury is currently in 6th place (in front of Johnny Damon in 7th...tee, hee, hee) and JD Drew is in 11th place. Jason doesn't really need your vote, but I say give it to him anyways....and feel free to shower votes to Ells and JD while you are at it. I'll continue my JD LOVE and say he should be way higher up the list than 11th. Johnny Damon is beating JD Drew people...just think about that for about 2.2 seconds. OK...now you the traitor rage and go vote for JD Drew a few times over.

So...it goes without saying. You should make sure you get your 25 votes in before the end of Thursday night. And...then you should find all those other email addresses you have and then vote 25 times for each one. You have no idea how many email addresses I have and I have voted 25 times with each one.

Vote YOUK and VOTE OFTEN!!! Let's GO RED SOX!!!

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You Can't Tell Me Wake Doesn't Deserve To Be In The ASG!

Wake tossed 6 innings of 3 hit shutout ball against the Braves today for his 10th win of the season, lowering his ERA to 4.18, as the Sox beat Atlanta 1-o in a great pitcher's duel. Papelbon got his 18th save.

I'm still in the middle of moving, Fenway West is headed to CO for some RnR, so details in this post will be few, but check back soon. Fenway West (Matt) will soon have a special interview treat coming in a couple of days.

Sox WIN 1-0 Box Score

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Today's Red Sox Lineup 6/27 vs Atlanta

Pedroia, 2B
Drew, RF
Youkilis, 3B
Ortiz, 1B
Kotsay, LF
Ellsbury, CF
Lugo, SS
Kottaras, C
Wakefield, SP

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Brief Update on Jerry Remy

The RemDawg posted a brief update on his health through his twitter account today:

I appreciate all your support-doing well-going to gym-gained weight back-no issues-have not set return date yet-anxious to get back-Jerry

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Nick Green Can't Hit to Opposite Field

Nick Green wears a mic during batting practice and mixes it up with hitting coach Dave Magadan. Watch below:

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Josh Beckett Can Still Kick Ass With Stomach Cramps

Neither the FAILHAT nor stomach cramps could stop the Red Sox ace from doing his usual ownage of the Braves; he is now 6-0 with an 0.38 ERA in his last 6 starts against Atlanta. The abdominal issues limited his outing to 98 pitches but he was able to go 7 shutout innings giving up just 6 hits with no walks and 6 K's. Oki came in and made it a little interesting but then struck out the side in the 8th preserving the shutout until Paps came in to pitch the 9th. Papelbon gave up a homer and a hard hit ball to the gap before recording the final out of the game.

Ortiz broke up the scoreless game in the 5th with his 8th homer of the year. Pedroia and Drew each had 2 hits in the game.

Red Sox Win 4-1 BOX SCORE

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

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Congrats to Tito

With tonight's win Terry Francona earned his 800th career victory as manager.

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/26 vs Atlanta

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

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DeMarlo Hale Gets No Respect on Redsox.com

Ever take a look at Red Sox third base coach DeMarlo Hale's bio page on redsox.com? Chances are the editors didn't either. Half of the entry relates to first base coach Tim Bogar:

Tim and his wife, Wendy, have 2 sons, T.J. and Ty, and 2 daughters, Aralee and Jesse Lynn...They reside in Bloomington, IL...Attended Eastern Illinois University where he batted .408 with 17 home runs to earn All-America honors in 1987.

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The Georgia Connection

The trip to Atlanta will be a homecoming of sorts for many players on the Red Sox:





J.D. Drew is from Valdosta, Georgia

Jason Varitek went to Georgia Tech and lived in Gwinnett County during the off-season.

Nick Green went to Duluth High School in the Atlanta suburb. (Gwinnett County Public Schools - my former employer in the late 90's)

John Smoltz spent his career in Atlanta before coming to the Red Sox and still lives in Georgia.

Mark Kotsay played for the Atlanta Braves in 2008.

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Josh Beckett's All-Star Chances

After a slow start Josh Beckett has completely turned it around and is now looking like the best pitcher in the American League. In his last 4 starts he has an ERA of 1.88 with 29 strikeouts while only walking 4 batters. Opponents hit just .186 against him over that stretch.

But where does that put him when it comes to the All-Star team? Even with his great run of late he is 20th in ERA, tied for 5th in wins, and tied for 5th in strikeouts. He is on the bubble right now for making the team but has a good chance if he has a few more quality starts.

He is facing the Braves tonight and he had a complete game shutout against them last time he faced them so things are looking good for Beckett to be on the mound for the A.L. in St. Louis this July.

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Sign of Trouble

Things may have been too good to be true for Mike Lowell and his recovery from surgery. Rob Bradford has this on Lowell after tonight's game:

Mike Lowell said that his surgically-repaired right hip felt no better after getting four of the previous five days off and a decision regarding the approach would be made on the way to the team's next series in Atlanta. One option that Lowell has been weighing are shots to help lubricate the hip, along with additional time off.

We may be seeing some more of Kotsay at 1st with Youk spending time at the hot corner while Lowell rests.

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Smoltz Does Not Deliver the Goods

The John Smoltz era did not start out as Red Sox fans had hoped. It took 35 pitches to get out of the first inning and before it was done the Nats had 4 runs on the board. Smoltz did settle down and pitched 5 innings. In reality the jury is still out on Smoltz's ability to come back from the shoulder surgery; his velocity was good enough and he had good control in the game but he did get hit pretty hard. His first inning looked like one of Dice-K's recent starts but by the way he finished the night left room for some optimism. It will take three starts to know what the Red Sox have in John Smoltz and if he doesn't have it they can always turn to Buchholz, Bowden, or Masterson to join the rotation unitl Dice-K comes back.

The Red Sox bullpen had an off night too with Bard and Saito each giving up 2 runs. The offense had some bright spots with Baldelli hitting a home run and Drew getting 2 hits in the game. But there were some problems as well; Pedroia went back to struggling at the lead-off spot going 0-4 and Ortiz had an 0-fer at clean up.

Red Sox Lose 9-3 BOX SCORE

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

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/25 vs. the Nats

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

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Big Milestone for Tito

Terry Francona is going for his 800th career win as a manager tonight. He has 514 wins with the Red Sox and 285 with the Phillies. He is 799-730 in his career as a major league manager.

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Top'a Da Ordah

Dustin Pedroia is batting .218 in the lead-off spot this season. Hitting coach Dave Magadan thought Pedroia was trying to hit for power too much:

He’s pressing a little bit and just like everybody else he’s trying to get two or three hits in every at bat. He’s just got to slow everything down, let the ball come to him and hit the ball where it’s pitched rather than trying to do too much with it.

It was looking like Francona was going to make a switch soon but Pedey is starting to heat up. He had multiple hits in his last two games and may stay at the top spot a little longer. With Ells finding his grove again and getting on base it seems like a good time to put him back up top but Lou Merloni of CSNNE likes Jacoby batting 7th:

Which brings me to my next point, I like Jacoby in the 7 hole. I realize that all hitters want to hit at the top of the order. Its a pride thing, I get it. But like i just said, the middle of the order isn’t where i want this team to "manufacture" runs, its the bottom third where they should and with Jacoby hitting 7th that’s exactly what can happen. He no longer has the big boppers hitting behind him so every time he gets on base he thinking one thing……steal this base.

Pedroia put up huge numbers last year batting second and it seems like the place he belongs. Youk is in a mini slump of his own so batting Pedey in front of him may not be the right move now but Francona needs to get Ells back at the top and move Pedroia to batting second before the All-Star break.

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Happy Smoltz Day Red Sox Nation!

The day has finally arrived. John Smoltz will make his major league debut in a Red Sox uniform this evening against the Washington Nationals.



Every time I think about Smoltz pitching for us, I get giddy as a school girl. I do worry that I am setting myself up to have WAY too high expectations, but giddy as a school girl none the less. I have to remind myself that Smoltz is coming off surgery and that he is going to need to build up his pitch count and what not. Doesn't change how flippin' excited I am! We have JOHN SMOLTZ on a mound for OUR team. That is just complete and utter awesomesauce. We have a guy who has dominated starting games....closing games....middle relief.

The guy just knows how to win...and his competitive drive is one of the highest I have ever seen. Whenever I think of his competitive spirit, I remember when the pitchers were doing sprints in Spring Training. Who won the sprints? Yeah, that's right...the 42 year old John Smoltz, that's WHO!

I think he is going to fit in ever so well with the Red Sox and it's faithful Nation. 7:05pm cannot come early enough for me today.

HAPPY JOHN SMOLTZ DAY EVERYONE!!! (Except Braves fans)

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A Win is a Win is a Win

Everyone in Red Sox Nation is expecting the Sox to crush the Nationals by 30 runs each game; after all, they play in the NL and they have one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors. Boston did not crush the Nats tonight but they did play well enough to win and have already won the series.

Jon Lester was good but not dominant in the game going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. The Red Sox overcame a 1-0 Nats lead when Big Papi hit his 7th homer of the season in the 4th. The 3 run blast put Ortiz over the 1000 career RBI mark. Pedroia stayed hot with another 2 hit night and Tek had a 2-run tater in the game.

Masterson gave up a run in relief, Oki faced 2 batters; walking one and striking out one. Papelbon earned his 17th save of the season by retiring the Nats in order in the 9th.

Red Sox Win 6-4 BOX SCORE

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

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Tonight's Red Sox Lineup 6/24 vs the Nats

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

Jon Lester, P

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MLB Drops the Ball on Manny Suspension

Here was Major League Baseball's chance to get tough on PED users and once again they failed. When Manny Ramirez became the first big star to be given a 50 game suspension, MLB touted how their policies were working and that everyone would be treated equally. When Manny violated his suspension by being in the clubhouse and speaking to reporters MLB simply gave him a warning. Now Manny has begun his rehab in the minor leagues which doesn't seem like much of a suspension at all. He has been given a huge spotlight where he can ignore the reasons for being suspended with statements like:

"I don't want to talk about that," Ramirez told the AP. "I'm not talking about it anymore. I already said what I'm going to say. I'm here to do my rehab, you know ... get a couple at-bats and get back to the big league team."

He is acting like he is coming back from an injury and even showed that the suspension did nothing to his reputation:

Was he concerned that after all the work he did repairing his image since his trade to Los Angeles last July, Dodgers fans would still be in love with him?

"They still are," he said. "People love me everywhere I go. I'm excited to bring a lot of joy to a lot of people here."

MLB Network (which is owned by Major League Baseball) showed his at bats live last night. After the game they interviewed the Isotopes manager about how Manny is progressing. The network was actively promoting Manny during his suspension. How is that a punishment? The game was played in front of a record crowd. If a player is suspended for 50 games they should be out of baseball for 50 games. Players should not be allowed to rehab and enjoy the spotlight during their suspension; that goes against the purpose of the suspension. If fans want to forgive Manny that is fine but let him finish his punishment before he gets to bask in the glory of cheering fans and shame on MLB for being part of this glorification of a cheater during his suspension. Why is this happening? Because guys like Donald Fehr and Bug Selig wanted to look tough without actually being tough.

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