Fenway West - The Boston Red Sox Western Home: 6/1/08 - 6/8/08

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Errorless Streak Ends for Youk

Kevin Youkilis went 237 games at first without an error before making one tonight in the 8th inning. Youk has sent a major league record with his spectacular defense at first.

I got to witness the continueation of a streak by Maicer Izturis who hit
a lead off home run in his last two games. He took the first pitch from Smith over the left field wall in Oakland tonight.

The Red Sox played very well today behind the third good start in a row by Wake and good hitting all around. Speaking of good hitting, who is that playing right field? J.D. is a totally different player from last year and cheers have replaced the boos. Drew has really stepped up his game this season, especially since Ortiz has been out.

Sox Win 11-3 BOX SCORE

Sox Are Cruising With Piecemeal Lineup

Who needs Ellsbury, Ortiz, Pedroia, or Lowell when your bench can hit the ball just fine. Manny got the Sox started with a two run homer and the team tacked on 4 more and now lead the Mariners 6-2 in the 8th. With Dick Stockton announcing the game it feels like the old day on TV38. I'm headed to Oakland to see the A's-Angels game tonight, stay cool all of you suffering in the East Coast heatwave, its in the upper 70's out here.

Today's Lineup 6/7 vs. the Mariners

Manny is back, Pedroia and Lowell have a day off, Ellsbury is still out. Looks like a split squad lineup from spring training.

Coco Crisp CF
Julio Lugo SS
JD Drew RF
Manny Ramirez DH
Sean Casey 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Brandon Moss LF
Kevin Cash C
Alex Cora 2B

Tim Wakefield SP

Another Gem From Dumbass Hank

Hank Steinbrenner shows his wit once again with this quote to the NY Daily News,

"Johnny is a player, and as players, they all need to let the brain trust do the thinking and do the talking.
"The players just need to play and to worry about winning games."

Wasn't Damon worried about winning games when he made his comments about Joba? Hank, when did you become part of a "Brain Trust?" If it has not been created yet I need to develop a book of Hankisms, I could then sell a calender...looks like easy money.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Felix Stops the Sox

Felix Hernandez dominated the patchwork Sox lineup to end the Fenway win streak and give Colon his first loss of the season. Boston was able to get 7 hits but could never get a rally going and the team seemed deflated after all of the action last night. Seattle caught some early breaks with some bad defense on the part of the Red Sox giving them a few extra outs which they took advantage of Colon was charged with 2 errors, although the first should have gone to Pedroia who was out of position when the throw came to second. It was one of those games that you knew was not going to go well from the start. The Mariners kept building on their lead until they chased Colon from the game. Aardsma came in and gave up 2 more runs. Overall an ugly night for the Sox, very similar to the way they were playing on the road. Manny and Ellsbury might be back tomorrow for the day game to give the offense a lift.

Sox Lose 8-0 BOX SCORE

Coco, Lester and Casey Get Suspensions

MLB suspended Coco Crisp for 7 games, Jon Lester for 5 games, and Sean Casey for 3 games after yesterday's altercation with the Rays. It is ridiculous for Lester to get 5 games from hitting a batter with a slider. I'm sure the suspension will be appealed.

The Cause of Manny and Youk's Fight

Finally the real reason for the dugout fight from Extra Bases:

"Manny had raised objections to Youkilis throwing equipment around in the dugout after flying deep to center in the fourth inning, and advised him to "cut that (expletive) out. Youkilis apparently didn't take kindly to the remark, said something, and Manny swiped at him."

This seems like something that will blow over quickly, I don't foresee any long term problems in the clubhouse.

Tonight's Lineup 6/6 vs. the Mariners

Manny and Jacoby are out so Casey will DH and Moss will play left. Coco Crisp, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Sean Casey, DH
Jason Varitek, C
Brandon Moss, LF
Julio Lugo, SS Bartolo 'el Gordo' Colon SP

Sox Go For 14, Mariners Hope to Avoid 6

The Boston Red Sox are going for their fourteenth straight victory at Fenway tonight while the Mariners are coming to town with a five game losing streak. Bartolo Colon will pitch against Felix Hernandez in tonight's series opener. Hernandez usually pitches well against the Sox and one-hit them last year in Dice-K's Fenway debut. Tito will have his hands full in filling out the lineup card with the injuries to Ellsbury, Ortiz, and Ramirez. If Boston can continue the winning ways and sweep the series look for Mariner's manager John McLaren to be canned. Lineups coming soon.

Fallout From Fenway

After all of the craziness of last night's game, we have some updates.

Injuries: Manny's hamstring injury does not look too serious and he may not miss a game, Ellsbury hurt his wrist but had a negative X-Ray, he could miss a few games.

The Sox called up Brandon Moss and sent Carter back down as they now need outfielders.

Fight Night: Coco could be in for a 10 game suspesion and with Ellsbury hurt it might be just the news Bobby Kielty was looking for.

Nobody on the Sox is opening up about the Manny-Youk altercation. There is speculation Youk was not pleased that Manny took his time joining the earlier brawl and was even beat to the field by newcomer "speed demon" Bartolo Colon. Tito and others said it was no big deal and the team will be fine.

Sweep: The Red Sox did sweep the Rays and now have a game and a half lead in the AL East. The hapless Mariners are coming to the Fens tonight. Lost in all of the fighting was how well the Sox played last night; while Lester did give up 8 hits, he did not walk anyone and struck out 5 in 6 and 1/3. The bullpen continued to be solid and the Sox offense provided some timely hits including a homer by Manny in the first as part of his 5 RBI night.

Sox Win 7-1 BOX SCORE

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Tito Trys To Make Sense Of It All

Post-game press conference has injury updates, fight updates, and more.

In case you missed it, the C's won 98-88.

Manny and Youk Go At It

Tempers flared in the Sox dugout between Manny and Youk, NESN showed the two of them mixing it up after the fourth inning. Both players had to be held back by teammates, no word yet on what caused the incident but I will post more as soon as it becomes available.

Manny left the game in the 7th with a hamstring injury. Ellsbury left earlier with a wrist injury but his X-rays were negative. Paul Pierce also left the game...oh wait, that was the Celtics game, too much going on tonight.

Coco Gets Beaned, Brawl Ensues

Coco Crisp was hit in the back by the second pitch he faced. He took a few steps towards first before he charged the mound and benches cleared. Coco ducked a punch by Shields but then was taken down by the catcher. Several Rays got some good shots in on Coco before the pile was broken up. Coco, Shields and Gomes were ejected. Watch below:

UPDATE: Coco talks to reporters about the brawl after the game. Shield's take on the fight. Gomes' 2 cents.

Tonight's Lineup 6/5 vs. the Rays

Coco is in the lineup so we'll see if there is any retribution. Casey is in for Youk at first.

Jacoby Ellsbury LF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
J.D. Drew RF
Manny Ramirez DH
Mike Lowell 3B
Sean Casey 1B
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Julio Lugo SS

Jon Lester SP

Damon Takes A Jab at Hank

In the battle of the Idiot vs. the Dumbass, Johnny Damon has called out Hank's choice is putting Joba in the starting rotation. Damon told the NY Daily News, "I just felt like our bullpen was our strength. I think it still could be, but when you move a guy like that, everyone's trying to find a role. Everyone's trying to replace a guy who was possibly the best in that role. I remember the teams the Yankees won (championships) with, if they were winning after five innings, it was pretty much game over. We kind of felt that way this year. If we were winning after six, we had (Kyle) Farnsworth in the seventh, Joba in the eighth, and Mariano in the ninth - we thought it was game over. Now, instead, we're trying to find out who's best suited for that eighth-inning role."

Another Manager Rant

Sometimes there is nothing better than a coach losing his shit in a press conference and last night we had another one. Watch below:

I would not put this up there Lee Elia's rant, or Bobby Knight's halftime speech but it is good for a laugh.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Coco Injures Thumb on "Shady Play" Gets Revenge on the Wrong Guy

Coco Crisp injured his thumb when he slid into second headfirst in the 6th and shortstop Jason Bartlett put his knee down to block the bag. Crisp said the following about the play, “That’s a shady play there. That’s how someone can get hurt. He’s not a bad dude, but that’s not something you do as an infielder. You can break someone’s thumb that way. I told him that when I got up.” Coco tried to get revenge in the 8th when he reached base with a walk. Here's Coco's take on what happened, “I went in hard to send a message. If I wanted to hurt someone, I wouldn’t have even slid, I would have jump-kicked his (butt). I was going in there to send a message. I did what I said I was going to do, unfortunately it was to the wrong person. I don’t know why they didn’t have Bartlett covering the bag. If it was me, I would have been there to take my own licking.”

This does not seem to be over so I would be expecting a bean ball tomorrow. The Sox and Rays have had their share of fisticuffs in the past and we may see more soon. Don't forget about the time change for tomorrow's game from 7:05 to 6:05 Eastern so you can watch the C's-Lakers.

Back In The Saddle

The World is back in order with the Sox sitting atop the A.L. East after a victory over the Rays tonight. Beckett shut down the Rays offense although he still had trouble with his curve at times. He went 6 innings giving up just 1 run with 5 K's and no walks. Once again the bullpen was great and shut out the Rays for the final three innings allowing just one hit. The Sox offense scattered hits around with everyone but Pedroia and Lugo getting into the action. There were fireworks in the game with B.J. Upton getting tossed for arguing balls and strikes and later on Coco and Rays manager Joe Maddon got into a heated exchange across the field after Coco went in hard to second.

Sox Win 5-1 Box Score

Tonight's Lineup 6/4 vs The Rays

Drew is batting third for the first time this season.

LF- Ellsbury
2B- Pedroia
RF- Drew
DH- Ramirez
3B- Lowell
1B- Youkilis
C- Varitek
CF- Crisp
SS- Lugo

SP- Beckett

Upper Deck Screws Up Red Sox Related Card

The baseball card company has screwed up a card based on Jason Varitek and Foulke's celebration in 2004 with images of Obama and Clinton. The card that went to print got the picture wrong with the pitcher (Obama) jumping and not the catcher (Clinton) like in the famous picture.

Yankee's Savior Doesn't Live Up to the Hype

What now Yankees?

Avoiding Security At Fenway

The drunk kid does make a good move on security during last night's game before he is eventually caught.

Dice-K and Schilling Update

Dice-K will begin throwing again this weekend. John Farrell told the ProJo the following, “This weekend is our target date... It’s just the early stage. He would play catch from 60-to90 feet, then progress to long tossing before he gets up on the mound again.”

Curt Schilling will also throw off of a mound for the first time on June 6th.

UPDATE: Schilling threw 25 pitches off the mound today, he was upset he only threw 22 for strikes. Looks like things are progressing nicely.

Home Sweet Home

The Red Sox proved there is no place like home when they beat the Rays last night. Masterson filled in for Dice-K and while he did not pitch great, he did get his second win. He went 6 innings giving up 4 earned runs with 5 K's. The Sox offense had 7 hits including a home run by Drew and Lowell. Coco had a big double in the 6th and the Sox pushed 4 runs across in the inning. The bullpen was excellent, giving up just 1 hit in three innings. Boston is now just half a game behind the Rays in the A.L. East.

Sox Win 7-4 BOX SCORE

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tonight's Lineup 6/3 vs The Rays

Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Manny Ramirez, DH
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Coco Crisp, CF
Julio Lugo, SS Justin Masterson, SP

Barry Bonds Is Not Going to the Sox

With the injury to Ortiz several sites (Boston Sports Blog and MVN) are speculating that the Red Sox might sign Bonds to fill the hole. It is not going to happens for the following reasons:

1. John Henry does not want alienate a huge part of Red Sox Nation by signing a player that is despised in Boston.

2. Ortiz could only be out for 1 month, Bonds has not played this season and would need at least a month to get in playing shape (and find a steroid supplier in Boston)

3. The Sox have plenty of young players that they could bring up that are power hitters (Moss, Van Every, Carter)

So while it makes a good headline and something to debate about, it is not going to happen.

Sox Call Up Chris Carter as Ortiz Goes on DL

In a surprise move the Red Sox have called up Chris Carter from the PawSox to fill the roster spot vacated by David Ortiz. Carter was acquired in the Willy Mo deal last season. Boston chose to call up Carter over Moss, Kielty, and Van Every mainly because they need a pure hitter to replace Ortiz, defense was not a necessity. For more info on Chris Carter look here and here.

Fox Sports Takes A Jab at Manny

In a blog on FoxSports.com, Con Chapman pokes fun at Manny's lack of hustle. The spoof has Manny promising a sick kid he will run out a ground ball.

Hazel Mae Is Leaving NESN

NESN has announced that the SportsDesk anchor Hazel Mae will be leaving at the end of June. She did not disclose where she will be headed next but did say it was, "the right time for me to make this difficult decision to leave."

Francona Talks About Ortiz and Okajima

Red Sox Manager Terry Francona spoke with NESN about Ortiz's injury and Okajima's bad night.
Watch it:

Monday, June 2, 2008

Okajima Blows Another Good Start By Wake

Tim Wakefield went 7 strong innings giving up 2 runs before Okajima came in for the 8th with a 1 run lead. He gave up 4 hits and for earned runs and didn't even make it out of the inning. The Sox could not rally to get back in it and lost the last game of the roadtrip. Manny did smack #502 and the Sox did manage 10 hits but the really story of the night was the loss of Ortiz.

Sox Lose 6-3 BOX SCORE

Ortiz Will Be Sidelined At Least a Month

Today's MRI revealed extensor carpi ulnaris (a partially torn sheath of his left wrist) David Ortiz will wear a cast for two weeks and need at least two more for rehab. The silver lining is that Papi's knee will get some time off and he should be good for the second half. Look for Tito to juggle the lineup nightly with Manny and Casey and DHing.

Masterson to Start

The Red Sox have announced that Justin Masterson will be the starting pitcher when the team begins their homestand at Fenway. The Red Sox are using Masterson as a spot starter until Dice-k comes off of the DL. This is further indication that Buchholz will be with the PawSox for a while.

Ortiz Likely Headed to DL

The Red Sox are still evaluating David Ortiz's wrist injury after his MRI this afternoon to determine the course of action. By reading the tea leaves from the report I would bet that Ortiz will be going on the 15-day DL. If they are still trying to decide , it can be seen as good news in that Ortiz should recover quickly. If he does go on the DL look for the Sox to call up Brandon Moss who has been red hot lately and hit 3 homers on Saturday.

Tonight's Lineup 6/2 at Baltimore

Ortiz is still out, Manny will DH and Jacoby will play left.

Ellsbury-LF
Lugo-SS
Youkilis-1B
Ramirez-DH
Lowell-3B
Drew-RF
Crisp-CF
Cora-2B
Cash-C

Wakefield-SP

Greedy MLB Doesn't Get Another Day in Court

You may remember the story of MLB suing an online fantasy baseball company saying it did not have the right to use player's names for its product without a license. MLB would not offer the small company a license because they wanted to control the small group of companies that would use the players names in order to get more profit. MLB lost the lawsuit and then appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where they lost again. Two losses were not enough for MLB so they appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court announced today they would not take on the case and let the lower court ruling stand.

What Now for Clay Buchholz?

After coming off of the DL Clay Buchholz was optioned to the PawSox. For a pitcher on any other team it would mean a few starts in AAA and some retuning. With the Red Sox it is not that simple, when Buchholz was sent down Colon stepped up in a big way, when you throw Curt Schilling into the mix things get murkier. Buchholz is not going to rejoin the rotation any time soon; in reality, he has lost his spot with the Red Sox until someone gets hurt. Even with an injury to one of the starters he does not necessarily have his job back if Schilling is ready to go. There is also Justin Masterson who will enter into the equation at some point. The Red Sox don't want to put Buchholz in the bullpen so he will continue with the PawSox for the foreseeable future. If he continues to make starts like he did this weekend, he may be there for a long time.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

West Coast TV Schedule for June

Red Sox:

Weds 4th v. TBY, ESPN, 4:05 pm

Sat 7th v. SEA, FOX, 12:55 pm

Sat 14th v. CIN, FOX, 12:55 pm

Sun 15th v. CIN, TBS, 10:15 am

Mon 16th v. PHI, ESPN, 4:05 pm

Sat 21st v. STL, FOX, 12:55 pm

All times Pacific.

Now the schedule for my 2nd favorite team:

Mon 2nd MIN v. NYY, ESPN, 4:05 pm

Tues 10th OAK v. NYY, CSN, 7:05 pm

Weds 11th OAK v. NYY, KICU, 7:05 pm

Thurs 12th OAK v. NYY, KICU, 7:05 pm

Sat 28th NYM v. NYY, FOX, 12:55 pm

You guys aren't thinking that the yankees are my 2nd favorite team?!

My 2nd favorite team is whoever is playing against the yankees!

Other Bay Area games of note:

SFG v. OAK, June 27th, 28th, 29th (Fri, Sat, Sun)

Updates on times and stations later in the month.

Colon is 3-0

Bartolo Colon won in for the third time in as many starts for the Red Sox. He gave up 4 runs in 7 innings but he had plenty of run support. The Sox went yard three times including back to back homers from Manny and Lowell. Boston will try for the 4 game sweep tomorrow night in their last game of the road trip. Ortiz did not play and will undergo an MRI back in Boston to further diagnose the wrist injury.

Sox Win 9-4 BOX SCORE

Today's Lineup 6/1 at Baltimore

Ortiz is out with the wrist injury so Manny will DH and Bailey will play left.

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Manny Ramirez, DH
Mike Lowell, 3B
Jason Varitek, C
J.D. Drew, RF
Jeff Bailey, LF
Julio Lugo, SS

Bartolo 'el Gordo' Colon, SP

Sox Use Long Ball to Beat the O's....Ortiz Hurt

Pedroia and Ortiz hit back to back home runs in the third and Manny hit #500 later in the game. Lester pitched well enough to keep the Sox in the game and get it to the bullpen. The pen was spectacular last night. Aardsma has become the everyday option for Tito and he went 2 perfect innings. Oki and Paps pitched the 8th and 9th each giving up a hit but no runs. David Ortiz was hurt on a swing in the 9th. He was pulled from the game and underwent X-Rays at the ballpark (negative) He is not expected to be in today's lineup.

Sox Win 6-3 BOX SCORE

Watch the celebration of Manny's historic home run. Make sure you wait for the drunk guy to do a somersault on the dugout.

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