WEEI and NESN are reporting that Manny has been traded. The details are not available yet, but one source is claiming thath Dodgers are part of the deal...
More to come...
5:00PM - It's official, NESN is reporting that Manny is now Dodger and Jason Bay is now a Red Sox. The details... Boston gets Pittsburgh outfielder Jason Bay, while the Bucs gets Boston reliever Craig Hansen, Boston outfielder Brandon Moss, Los Angeles third baseman Andy LaRoche and Los Angeles minor league pitcher Bryan Morris.
Bottom Line: It's still possible that the Sox will get another player here, but if not, the Sox got hosed. We gave up Moss, Hansen and Manny (and paid Manny's contract out - $7M) for Jason Bay.
Just goes to show you how bad they wanted him gone...
I'm exhausted. We'll have more tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in.
4:35 - WEEI is reporting that Jason Bay is part of the deal and is likely coming to Boston... Manny will go to LA.
The Dodgers could be the team getting Bay, if he indeed is traded. The teams were talking about Bay just prior to the deadline, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions. Outfielder Andre Ethier might go to the Pirates in a deal for Bay, and the Dodgers also are deep in prospects that are coveted by other clubs.
Another possibility is a three-way deal in which Ramirez would go to the Dodgers and Bay to the Red Sox with the Pirates receiving outfielder Andre Ethier and prospects.
"At the end of the day you're taking the field with a guy who doesn't want to play with you, doesn't want to be there, doesn't want to ... obviously effort-wise is just not there and that's disheartening and disappointing," Schilling said during his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio WEEI's Dennis and Callahan program."
Schilling was asked if he was insulted by Manny's "the Red Sox don't deserve a player like me" comment.
"I was here for the end of both Pedro [Martinez] and Nomar's [Garciaparra] situation and I'm not sure how there's any parallels there," Schilling said. "... I've always felt the organization extended a lot of courtesy Manny's way and I know Terry [Francona] as a manager, like with everybody else he went that extra mile for Manny. It's disappointing to see that not get recognized, but that happens.
On Scott Boras’s involvement:
“I think absolutely he’s absolutely had a hand in this … I think he absolutely has a piece of this. Scott Boras stands to make zero dollars if the Red Sox pick up Manny’s options the next two years. Manny’s not 1- years from retirement, he’s maybe four obviously, that’s where he’s at. So does Scott Boras want to get a two year-deal for Manny or a four-year deal for Manny? At the end of the day it falls on the player because Manny’s an adult… I can’t fathom Scott hasn’t had some… you read his comments, he just has no ability to answer a question short, tactfully, and straightforward. It’s a 12 paragraph way to say 19 syllable words that you just can’t figure out what the hell he’s saying.”
As we wait for the possible departure of Manny Ramirez from Boston, I'll keep the lines open here at The Bottom Line for comments... I'll also be posting any updates as they pop up... if you have an update and want to post it in the comments - just be sure to site the source. Thanks.
4:20PM - NESN's Gordon Edes just reported that a deal was sent for approval at the deadline... no details yet.
3:30PM - The Herald is reporting that the Red Sox are unwilling to send Brandon Moss to the Royals becuase if Manny should leave or choose to sit down the road, Moss would be the best guy to fill in.
2:40PM - SI.com's Joe Heyman says the LA Dogers are still in play for Manny... Apparentlym the Dodgers have offered Andre Either, but the Red Sox would prefer Matt Kemp.
Sean Mcadam is on WEEI saying that it is very telling that the Sox are still actively calling teams about Manny. They appear to still be very focused on moving him...
Kemp is a nice player - .295, 12 HRs, 57 RBI, 26 stolen bases... No Manny, but not bad.
As of 1:30 p.m. ET, the Manny Ramirez trade was "dead," according to an executive with one of the three teams involved in the discussions.
However, the deal has taken numerous twists and turns over the past 24 hours, and the Red Sox can continue attempting to trade Ramirez until the non-waiver deadline at 4 p.m. ET.
The Red Sox, Marlins and Pirates have been talking seriously for the past 24 to 36 hours about a deal involving Ramirez.
The collapse of the talks will spur further discussions between the Pirates and Rays over a deal involving Pirates left fielder Jason Bay.
12:15PM - Michael Holley at WEEI says that he has a sneaky suspicion that this 3-way deal is not going to happen... I've go that same feeling... It's gonna be an interesting night at Fenway tomorrow when Manny runs out to left.
"Griffey has approved a trade to the White Sox, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. The trade is now pending the approval of the commissioner, an indication that it involves a cash transaction of more than $1 million."
Rosenthal also reports that the Rays are interested in Jason Bay:
The Rays are awaiting the outcome of the three-way talks between the Red Sox, Marlins and Pirates involving the Red Sox's Manny Ramirez and Pirates' Jason Bay.
If the deal collapses, the Rays will be prepared to resume their pursuit of Bay. In the meantime, the Rays are maintaining contact with the Reds about Adam Dunn, who as a left-handed hitter is not as good a fit as Bay. The Reds' asking price on Dunn is thought to be high.
The Rays are likewise poised to re-enter the Brian Fuentes sweepstakes if the Rockies decide to move their closer. Tampa Bay, seeking only impact players, is not pursuing any other reliever.
Here's what I know about the status of this deal, as of this morning:
• An official of one of these three teams placed the odds of this getting done today at "50-50."
• Multiple sources have said that outfield prospect Mike Stanton is not in this trade, although Boston asked for him and Pittsburgh has been insisting on a prospect of his caliber, in addition to Jeremy Hermida and other prospects.
• Despite reports that left-handed reliever John Grabow would wind up in Boston, indications are that he would actually go to the Marlins if this trade gets done.
• The status of Marlins pitcher Ryan Tucker (recently sent back to the minor leagues to be converted to the bullpen) remains uncertain. Tucker, according to a baseball man who has spoken to the teams involved, is still a name that's "in play."
A major league source with direct knowledge of the talks said that contrary to a report last night in the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, a tentative agreement had not been reached on a three-way deal among the Sox, Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates, one in which Ramírez would go to the Marlins, the Sox would acquire outfielder Jason Bay and lefthanded reliever John Grabow from the Pirates, and outfielder Jeremy Hermida and a package of prospects would go to the Pirates. The Sox would pick up the balance of Ramírez's contract in this deal.
The sides continued to talk past midnight last night, and another industry source described the talks as "brewing."
The person most strongly opposed to trading Ramírez has been owner John W. Henry, who takes the position that the Sox cannot get sufficient value in return for him, and that Ramírez gives the team its best chance of winning. The team has been through these melodramas before with Ramírez - that's Henry's position - and in the end Ramírez's bat has had the last word.
Bottom Line: Having fully digested all the news from yesterday up to now, I'm starting to wonder if Bay and another mediocre RP is really a fair deal from Manny - regardless of his shenanigans.
"The Red Sox don't deserve a player like me," Ramirez said. "During my years here, I've seen how they [the Red Sox] have mistreated other great players when they didn't want them to try to turn the fans against them. "The Red Sox did the same with guys like Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, and now they do the same with me. Their goal is to paint me as the bad guy," Ramirez added. "I love Boston fans, but the Red Sox don't deserve me. I'm not talking about money. Mental peace has no price, and I don't have peace here."
That's about a serious as it get folks. If a deal can't be made today, it's going to be an ugly end of the summer at Fenway...
CF posted the details of the trade at 12:04 am via SI/Jon Heyman:
"[W]hile there's still some back and forth going on, people involved in the talks are still expressing optimism that the deal will eventually get done. There's still work to be done in the Red Sox-Marlins part of the megadeal, but one swap that's on the table would send young outfielder Jeremy Hermida, power-hitting outfield prospect Mike Stanton and hard-throwing young pitcher Ryan Tucker from Florida to Boston for Ramirez. However, the Marlins are said to be trying to keep the highly-regarded Stanton out of the trade. Josh Willingham was discussed as a replacement for Hermida, but it appears Hermida would be the main player going in the first part of a potential deal. In the most talked-about three-team scenario, Boston would send one or more of those players acquired from Florida to Pittsburgh for star outfielder Jason Bay, who would be a more palatable replacement for Ramirez than either Hermida or Willingham. Other combinations being discussed are believed include reliever John Grabow or perhaps even shortstop Jack Wilson. But Pittsburgh is said to be still trying to enhance its end of things, and Boston could wind up tying to substitute a different third team other than Pittsburgh. Though the players haven't absolutely been agreed to, the Red Sox and Marlins felt good enough about things to have relayed their dealings to the commissioner's office, which needs to be aware if more than $1 million will change hands. While some have suggested the Red Sox will ultimately keep Ramirez because there's no way to replace his likely rest-of-2008 production, it's possible Boston may be at its breaking point. Ramirez just might have enhanced his chances for a deal by failing to hustle out a groundball Tuesday night at Fenway Park, inciting boos from the crowd."
And the Herald's Tony Maz pointed out this morning that there are still some snags in this deal:
"... baseball sources continued to indicate last night the Sox are reluctant to make such a deal because the club deems the cost too high. There also is believed to be some disagreement within the Sox organization as to just how much of a distraction Ramirez has become, particularly when the Sox have won a pair of titles during his tumultuous career in Boston. "
"... Bay obviously would be the centerpiece of the deal, though he is eligible for free agency at the end of the 2009 season... Given that Bay is represented by [Scott Boras] it seems likely Bay would refrain from signing a contract extension and would take his chances in free agency late next year... While Ramirez currently is in the final year of a club-record eight-year, $160 million contract, the Sox have $20 million options for 2009 and 2010 that might actually give them control over the player for a longer period than they would have Bay."
Tony also mentions that RP John Garbow could still go to the Marlins in the deal... Manny has made it clear that he is unhappy, but Theo and Co. need to focus on their needs, and some bullpen help seems more important that shipping your Hall of Fame clean up hitter out of town.
One report says the Sox could send 1B/OF Brandon "B-Moss" Moss to the Royals for RP Ron Mahay... Personally, I love B-Moss, but that seems like a much simpler (and better) move than this 3-way deal for Manny.
Lastly here are the numbers on the guys we could see in a Red Sox uniform come Friday:
Jason Bay: 2008 - .282 BA, .894 OPS, 22 HR, 64 RBI, 72 R John Grabow: 2008 - 5-3, 3.19 ERA, 45 SO, 10 holds... he also has a 1.88 ERA in July.
Ron Mahay: 2008 - 5-0, 1.75 ERA, 42 SO, 18 holds... this is the guy we should be getting.
Bottom Line: I'm really finding it hard to believe that Manny wil lstill be a Red Sox come 4PM... but Theo and Co. are smart enought to only make a deal if it helps the team... I think.
A commentor raised a good point over at CF... How is Big Papi going to handle this?
"Olney writes that the Tigers will get righthanded reliever Kyle Farnsworth, who played with the Tigers previously in 2005, in return for Rodriguez.
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada underwent arthroscopic surgery Wednesday on his injured right shoulder in New York. The Yankees decided Monday that Posada would have the surgery after he unsuccessfully tried to come back from the disabled list."
Bottom Line: Pudge is batting .295 with 8 homers and 32 RBI. Posada spent a ton of time on the DL and batted .268 when he was playing... This is an upgrade, and so was the Nady/Marte deal...
I'm not one for making a move just to keep up, but the Sox are starting to look silly...
The Red Sox need someone to step up tonight and they've got the right guy on the mound to do it... the question is: Will the offense back him up?
Last time out Captain Kickass went toe-to-toe with Joba, but was stuck with the 1-0 loss thanks to zero offense. That's been an ongoing problem for Beckett. If you take out the 18-5 shellacking of the Twins on July 9th, the Sox have scored just 11 runs for Beckett in the other 5 of his last 6 starts (1.8 RPG).
The return of Big Papi was supposed to strengthen the lineup, but the Sox have mustered just 3.8 RPG and just one win since his return. Personally, he's been on fire, going 7 for 20 (.350) with three multi-hit games, but that hasn't sparked the rest of his team. Eric Wilbur showed us the post-break stats for some key players:
Granted, the Sox are finishing up their second look at a very good Angels staff right now, but those numbers aren't gonna cut it in a pennant race.
Beckett faced the Halos just two starts ago and held them to 4 runs through 8 innings, but Joe Saunders was better, limiting the Sox to just 2 runs through 6 2/3.
Beckett gets a re-match tonight. He's 5-2 at Fenway, so that should help, but he'll need to particularly nasty if he wants to keep the Anmgels down and stay ahead of Saunders.
Saunders is a ground ball machine and has focred double digits in the category in hios last three starts. Despite holding opponents to 3 runs or less mid-June, he's just 2-2 in his last 5 starts, but he's 3-0 in 5 tries against Boston, so somebody needs to spark the offense.
Who to Watch: Pedroia's got the best numbers against Saunders (6-15) but Youk did take him deep last time... Manny also did well last time, going 1-3 with a double and 2 walks... as for the Angels - everbody's hot, but all eyes will be on Mark Teixeiraid he starts tonight.
Bottom Line: I predict Manny and Papi rise to the occasion tonight. The game will be close thanks to Beckett, but one of them will get the big hit.
For those of you that don't know, this blog is called "The Bottom Line" because I tend to ramble a bit when telling a story, and when it becomes apparent that the listners get the jist - I almost always attempt to wrap it up with my "bottom line."
I didn't coin the phrase and, to be honest, I'm still waiting for ESPN to yell at me for using it... but when I read Eric Wibur's piece today at Boston.com, I felt obligated to call foul!
"And yet, the deadline looms and all the scuttlebutt revolves around the Sox doing nothing, or picking up 41-year-old Doug Brocail. Talk about going for it.
Bottom line, this isn't as talented a team as it was in 2007. There's no Curt Schilling to bank on come October, and while you can feel confident in doing so for Josh Beckett, the man has gotten a total of six runs of support in the last four games that he's started and the team has lost, including Friday night's showdown vs. Joba Chamberlain. Former Golden Boy Jacoby is at this point a better option than Coco Crisp and not much more. Then there is the Manny affair, which if he isn't traded by tomorrow's deadline, promises to rear its ugly head again at some point between now and the end of September.
But if they can somehow get Brocail, well darn it all, watch out..."
Bottom Line: I've been using "Bottom Line" in bold, red letters for almost a year now, and this guy just swoops in with his fancy Boston Globe pants on and steals it!
I'm way late on the recap, but luck for me there wasn't much to discuss anyway.
Buchholz continued to struggle, making me wonder if converting Masterson was the best idea...
John Lackey nearly no-hit the Sox at home, despite owning a 7.46 ERA at Fenway before last night...
Manny opted to "jog-out" his grounder to third, prompting Chone Figgins to laugh after he realized he beat manny by 5 steps despite being deep in the hole and over throwing the first baseman...
And Craig Hansen continued to be useless, walking his 1st batter, giving up the sac fly next and then giving up another run on a single, escaping the inning only thanks to Figgins greediness.
The good news? Well... Pedroia spoiled the no-hitter... but to be honest, at that point I was actually routing for Lackey... and Youk grabbed his 18th homer - holding off his second half swoon for a little while longer... oh and Okajima pitched another clean inning - seriously, that's a very good sign...
John Lackey hasn't had much luck against the Red Sox. He's 2-6 with a 6.01 ERA in 12 starts versus Boston and the numbers get worse when he pitches in Fenway: 1-4, 7 GS, 7.46 ERA.
The Angels' ace has also struggled in July posting a 7.61 ERA in four starts, despite the 2-1 record on the month. Ironically, his one quality start came on July 18th against the Red Sox. He held the Sox to 5 hits and 3 runs through 7 innings and earned the 11-3 win.
With the Halos rolling, Lackey could be the beneficiary of another big offensive night, so the Sox will need hit him early and hard if the want to win this one.
A big offensive night from the Sox would also go along way towards getting Clay Buchholz on track. The young righty has not faired well in his return to the bigs, losing two starts and taking an ND in his most recent attempt, an eventual 6-3 win over Seattle.
The big issue for Bucky is that he hasn't seen the 6th inning since he went 8 innings in a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay back on April 26th. Here's a look at his last three starts:
@ SEA - 5.1 IP (98/63), 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 K @ LAA - 4.2 (83-53), 4 ER (8 R), 8 H, 2 BB, 2 K BAL - 5.0 IP (107/65), 4 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 6 K
It's hard to decifer what the problem is exactly. His strikes thrown ratios are consistent (60-64%)... versus the O's he walked 5 guys and needed 107 pitches to get through 5 innings, but in Anahiem, things collapsed quickly (83 pitches)... He fanned 7 in Seattle, but the swing ALOT there... who know what the deal is.
The Angels got to Buchholz early in Anahiem, but his numbers are signifigantly better at Fenway than on the road - Home: 2-1, 4 GS, 2.42 ERA / Away: 0-4, 7 GS, 7.97 ERA... let's hope we get a little Fenway magic tonight 'cause these Angles are playing like gods right now.
Who to Watch: Torii Hunter - He's o for 2 against Bucky but he's batting .388 with 4 HRs and 11 RBI in his last 10 games... Casey Kotchman is 5 for 6 with 3 doubles against Buchholz and hit the other Angels homer last night... Manny went 2-2 with a home run and a walk the last time he saw Lackey and is batting .480 with 5 HRs and 12 RBI in his career... Ortiz is also hot right now and is batting .385 against Lackey... Ellsbury is 0-3 against Lackey but is 4 for his last 8 - Coco has 2 homers against Lackety but a .182 BA... so who starts in center?
Bottom Line: Normally I'd feel pretty good about Lackey pitching in Fenway, but Buchholz has me nervous...
Daisuke Matsuzaka managed to hold the Angels through one run through 5 innings, but things changed in a hurry in the 6th.
In the time that it takes to grab a beer and Fenway Frank, the Angels turned a 2-1 deficit into a 7-2 lead. The Halos seemed ready for every pitch, holding off when Daisuke painted the corners and pouncing on the fastballs and change-ups. A walk, a homer, 2 hits and another home run and the Dice-K was done.
The Sox had their chances, including a bases loaded situation in the bottom half of the 6th, but the big hit remained elusive. Ellsbury popped up ending the threat in the 6th... Manny hit into an inning ending DP with 2 men on in the 7th... Ellsbury grabbed an RBI in the 8th, but Pedroia grounded out to kill the rally, etc., etc.
In the end, the Angels proved to be the better team for the 4th game in a row and remain the best team in baseball at 65-40 (.619).
“They might be the class of the American League right now,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said after the opener of the three-game series. “They have tremendous starting pitching, a very good bullpen, a lot of speed. They catch the ball very well. I could name a lot of things. Hopefully, tomorrow I won’t be naming those things and we’ll end up winning.”
Notes: Manny and Big Papi continued to hit, combining to got 4-9 with a HR, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored... After an impressive debut, Justin Masterson has struggled a little as of late - he gave up a run on 2 hits through 2 innings last night... Dustin Pedroia failed to reach base for the first time in 30 games, going 0-for-5.
Bottom Line: The Yankees and Rays also lost, so we didn't lose any ground... but we missed a chance to gain some ground as well. Let's hope John Lackey and his 7.46 ERA at Fenway Park can get us back on track.
Lowrie is back in there... and it looks like Tito is gonna keep Ellsbury in the 9 spot for a while... kinda curious to see if he tries Drew in the 2-hole at some point, but for now it's Youk.
Red Sox
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B 2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B 3. David Ortiz, DH 4. Manny Ramirez, LF 5. Mike Lowell, 3B 6. J.D. Drew, RF 7. Jed Lowrie, SS 8. Jason Varitek, C 9. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF --Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP
Angels
1. Chone Figgins, 3B 2. Casey Kotchman, 1B 3. Maicer Izturis 4. Vladimir Guerrero, RF 5. Torii Hunter, CF 6. Garret Anderson, LF 7. Howie Kendrick, 2B 8. Juan Rivera, DH 9. Jeff Mathis, C -- SP, Jered Weaver
It's been all Manny, all the time for the past few days, but after their win last night the Red Sox are now just one game back of the Rays and they've got their hands full with a 3-game set versus Anahiem. Fenway West has Joe Saunders thoughts:
"Another good series against the Red Sox would obviously boost our confidence, but our confidence is very high right now," said Joe Saunders, who will pitch in Boston on Wednesday. "We're playing well. I believe we're the team to beat right now...I think they should worry about us a little too. Obviously, the Red Sox and Yankees are good clubs, but I think we can play with anybody and beat anybody."
He's not wrong.
The Halos made us look silly in Anahiem after the All-Star break, so it would be nice to have last night's offense carry over into this series... but with Weaver, Lackey and Saunders going for the Angels, the Sox will have to step it up.
Weaver is just 8-8 with a 4.08 ERA on the season, but he's been pretty solid as of late giving up 2 runs or less in 6 of his last 7 starts. In his last start however, Weaver left the game early due to a knot in his shoulder. He's cleared to picth tonight, but the last thing Weaver needs is tropublesome shoulder when facing the Sox - He's 0-2 with a 5.46 ERA against them and gave up 5 runs on 10 hits the last time he faced Boston... he's even worse in Fenway (0-1, 3 GS, 7.88 ERA).
The Sox will counter with Matsuzaka... you know, he of the "3-0, 0.88 ERA" line in his last 5 starts? He's been down right nasty, but not matter how good the final numbers are, each start by Dice-K is a roller coaster. Daisuke has only faced the Angels once - Game 2 of the ALDS. He gave up 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks and lasted just 4 2/3 innings in that outing, but the Sox got the 6-3 win.
Note: Matsuzaka is a different pitcher with runners on. Last year his splits were: 2.86 ERA with the bases empty, 6.08 with runners on. This year the splits are even more dramatic: 0.71 / 4.84. It should be noted however, that the BAA against doesn't change that much (.198 empty, .206 on) so perhaps this stat doesn't say as much as I first thought.
Bottom Line: Their not as good as they were last year, but the Angels can still cause havoc on the basepaths... and that could give Matsuzaka some trouble tonight.
Who to Watch: Manny is hot again, but he's just 1-9 with 5 Ks against Weaver... Ortiz, however, is 6-13 (.462) with 2 homers and 8 RBI... and Youk is 5 for 15 with a pair of ding-dongs as well... Howie Kendrick has been red hot - he's batting .424 since the break andhas a .436, HR, 4 2B, 8 RBI line against Boston... Howie Kendrick is 16-45 (.356) with 2 homers and 5 doubles in Fenway Park.
Normally, a weekend series between the Red Sox and Yankees means you won't have any trouble tracking me down - just look for the couch covered in pizza boxes and beer cans.
But this weekend, although there was pizza and plenty of beer, consisted mostly of backyard cookouts and many hours in the car... so I'm a little behind with my thoughts on the Manny saga...
But as Dan from RSM points out in his piece, The Bottom Line is this: Manny will not be in Boston come 2009.
Manny has all but demanded a trade and has made it clear that he would prefer to walk away after the 2008 season:
“At the end of the season, all they have to do is call my agent (Scott Boras) and say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to pick up Manny’s option for ’09, he’s going to become a free agent.’ That’s it. I’ll go my way and you guys go your way. It’s something simple."
“I don’t want to talk to them about contract right now, so what? I know they have me, but enough is enough. I’m tired of them, they’re tired of me. After 2008, just send me a letter. You don’t even have to call my agent or whatever. ‘Thank you for everything, you’re going to become a free agent, we’re not going to pick up your option in ’09.’ ”
But Manny is not a dumb as he looks... he knows the Sox are a better team with him in the lineup:
"Boston is not stupid. They’re not going to do it [trade him], they can say whatever they want. But when it comes to making a deal, they’re not going to pull the trigger because they know what they’ve got here.”
But trading Manny would at least give the Sox something in return. If Manny simply walks away in October, the Sox lose his bat and they potentially give him to a competitor like the Yankees or Angels - two teams that Manny has expressed interest in playing for, and two teams with money to spend and holes to fill... Theo Epstien has said that he plans to see what the market is for Manny, but has been tight lipped beyond that:
“We will have no further comment about this situation, on the record or off the record,” Epstein said. “Our focus is on this team - which is in the middle of a pennant race - and in any case it would be premature to comment now on an offseason contractual issue."
"Any potential replacement from Matt Holiday to Mark Teixeira, Pat Burrell to Raul Ibanez and down the line are ripe with issues that span how would you acquire them to could they even approximate Manny in the lineup."
I'm not sure I could have put it any better.
Here's what Francona had to say about Manny:
"I’d take a guy that’s hitting .500 that’s miserable as opposed to a guy that hands out bouquets to his teammates and is hitting a buck 45,” Francona said. “You move on. The goal is to get better from it. I think we’ve done a good job of that here.”
You know Tito has been bombarded with Manny questions for weeks now, and with the Yankees in town and the Rays still fighting, I give him a ton of credit for finding the prefect words here...
"I've been here two years, I think I'm one of the guys closest with Manny," Lugo said. "I've been closer to Manny than anybody else. As a friend I'm trying to defend him. He cares so much. He does so much to be ready. Sometimes things distract him. Things just came together. I don't think he means anything. He [felt] real bad about the Jack [McCormick, the team's traveling secretary] thing. He apologized to Jack and he apologized to [Kevin] Youkilis. Those things, nobody even mentioned that. I don't think anybody mentioned that. Sometimes people misjudge him. People think he don't care. That's not the way it is. I think you guys should know that. He's the first guy to come here, the only guy who gets up at 10 o'clock in the morning every day is Manny, to get set. It's unfortunate that things like that happen. He shouldn't be doing that stuff. He's a mature guy. He understands he made a mistake. Just move on, ask for forgiveness, like he should, and move on."
J. Beckett (9-6, 3.97) vs J. Chamberlain (2-3, 2.52)
This isn’t Game 7 of the World Series, but today’s pitching match-up might make this the game of the year. I think the picture says it all… but you can click over to Red Sox Chick to see what Beckett thinks of Joba.
You know Captain Kickass will be bringing his A-game tonight with Yankees just 3 games back (2 in the loss column), but Beckett has not been his lights out self as of late. He grabbed an W against the Twins thanks to an offensive outpouring, but he gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in that outing. He followed that up with 8 innings in Anaheim, but gave up 9 hits and 4 runs, despite fanning 6, and took the loss… maybe the Sox should have saved a few of the 18 runs from the Twins game…
The good news is, Beckett is 5-1 at home this year and 7-3 against the Yankees in 11 career starts. The bad news is the Yankees have won 6 games in row.
Joba Chamberlain is just 1-1 since he was converted to a starter, but he’s averaging just 1.6 runs allowed per start. He’s also averaging 6.4 K’s per start and has 17 in his last two games.
The last time Joba saw the Sox he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks over 6 innings. Papelbon gave up an RBI single in the 10th and the Yankees won 5-4, but Joba was stuck with an ND.
Who to Watch: Mike Lowell is 2-5 with a homer against Chamberlain and finished the west coast road trip with back-to-back multi-hit games… Despite being a magnet for Joba fastballs, Youkilis is 2-2 with 3 walks against Chamberlain… the red-hot Dustin Pedroia is batting .400 against Joba and .397 in July.
Arod (.290, HR, 7 RBI), Jeter (.300, HR, 3 RBI) and Cabrera (.296, 4 RBI) all have 27+ ABs and decent numbers against Beckett… Robinson Cano is in the middle of his usual 2nd half surge and is batting .333 versus Beckett… it should be noted that Damon (.250) could be back in the lineup tonight, but Molina (.143) will be the catcher with Posada (.304) on the DL.
If you're not already pumped up for this series, click on these other stories to get your blood flowing:
The Globe's Eric Wilbur reminds us that "No other team in the American League has pitched better than the Yankees this month, 12-6 in July with a 3.07 ERA. -- The Red Sox are second with a 10-8 mark and a 3.38 ERA...
Extra Bases rounds up the stories from the NY papers. Here are a few tid bits:
Justin Terranova, NY Post: "Some guys, apparently Papelbon is one of them, I wish they would engage their mind before they opened their mouth," said YES analyst Al Leiter.
"You're in Yankee Stadium, and to insult Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in the history of the sport, is not smart."
Mike Lupica, Daily News: "You don't announce you are back in play by beating fading teams such as the A's and Twins. The best place for this flinty Yankee team to make that kind of announcement is Fenway, starting Friday night. "
"A sweep this weekend doesn't win the Yankees the AL East or settle anything with the Red Sox and Rays, because nothing gets settled in baseball the last weekend of July. It would just feel as much of a shot as the Yankees have thrown at Boston since they swept them in that five-game series two years ago."
He goes on quite a tear with Mo Vaughn (how did he hit anything!?), Johnny Damon and Wade Boggs... but my favorite is the very last one... Youkilis and Yuke again taking a called 3rd strike.
I would have liked to have seen some Phil Plantier in there...
BSG also does a good job with the 2008 All-Stars here.
We got our first look at Justin Masterson as a reliever last night and the Professor X look-alike did not disappoint. Tito called Masterson's number in the 6th after Buchholz gave up a 2-run shot to Jose Vidro that tied the game at 3-3.
With a quick rub of his magical melon, Masterson made the Seattle hitters look silly, striking out Johjima and LaHair to end the 6th and then plowing through the next six batters he faced, including the mighty Ichiro.
Masterson's performance proved the the Sox may be capable of contending without making a trade for a reliever.
"That's the guy we were hoping to see," manager Terry Francona said. "That was electric. [Masterson] had poise. You don't jump up and down during a game for the future, but that was nice to see."
Masterson's 3 strikeouts and clean 2 2/3 innings were a great sign, but it was equally exciting to see Okajima and Delcarmen continue to improve on their inconsistency. Both relievers have struggled in key situations, but kept the score tied at 3-3 long enough for the Sox to pull out the win. Delcarmen look particularly impressive in the 10th, retiring Ichiro and fanning Lopez and Ibanez.
Bottom Line: The addition of Masterson's Magical Melon to the bullpen could be all the help this club needs. Couple that with the return of David Ortiz and the Sox, essentially, make two pre-deadline moves without giving up anything...
Clay Buchholz (2-5, 5.88) will try out a new pre-game routine this afternoon as he prepares to try and complete a sweep of the Mariners. The Sox have held the Mariners to just 2 runs over the past 2 games, and they'll need much of the same from Bucky, who has never faced the Mariners, if they want to earn a win over Seattle's ace Felix Hernandez (7-6, 2.95).
King Felix has held opponents to 3 runs of fewer in 9 of his last 10 starts and has been particularly nasty in his last 7 starts, allowing just 9 runs while fanning a ridiculous 57 batters in 44 innings. For you non-mathamagicians that's 1.3 K's per inning and a 1.84 ERA... sick.
Who to Watch: JD Drew, who crawled out of a 6-33 (.181) funk with homer and a 2-3 night last night, is batting .500 against Felix... Pedroia and Manny have also been red hot as of late.
Getting out of the first inning has been a problem for Clay Buchholz since his return to the majors on July 11th. On that day, while facing the Orioles, Bucky gave up 2 runs in the first, then settled in in blanked the O's for three innings while fanning 5. He eventually took the loss, needing 107 pitches to get through 5 innings.
Things didn't go much better in his next start in Anahiem. The Angels tagged Buchholz for 3 runs in the first, and he ended up departing after 4 2/3 innings.
Due to start this afternoon in Seattle, Buchholz has decided to mix things up with his pre-game routine in an effort to fix the problem. Bucky told the Herald that prior to taking the mound today, he will warm up a little differently, so that his first inning feels more like his second or third.
“We talked about it a little bit as far as going out there and doing all the same warm-ups and then, when I get maybe three-quarters of the way through, sit down for a little bit in the bullpen and then when I get up, finish the rest of it,” Buchholz said last night. “They’ll try to manipulate me sitting down and getting back up for the first time and see how that works, and maybe we can break that first-inning barrier that’s there right now.”
My sources also tell me that he plans to sacrifice a live chicken, wear ladies underwear, and not shave his peach fuzz until he gets out of this funk.
Bottom Line: The Yankees have won 7 of their last 10 and are 3.5 games back... the Sox could really use this win today. Let's hope this new warm-up routine is more than just superstition.
There really isn't much to recap here... and since I wasn't able to watch the game, we'll keep it brief.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, held the Mariners to just 2 hits and 0 runs through 7 innings before the Mariners grabbed 2 runs off of him in the 8th. He finished the night with 6 Ks and just 3 walks and eventually earned the win... thanks to Hideki Okajima, who has really turned things around as of late.
After completely imploding in June for a 9.64 ERA and a staggering .413 BAA, Okajima has not allowed a run in 4.2 innings this month and has actually started to get outs with men on base. Last night he reliever Matsuzaka wit ha 4-2 lead and the Mariners rallying, but Seattle's clean-up man Ibanez to ground out and Vidro to line out on just 12 pitches.
Bottom Line: With the bullpen struggling, these long outings from Dice-K and Lester, coupled with solid performances from Okajima and Papelbon (2.2 IP, 0, H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 2 SVs), have been a blessing.
The Sox will shoot for the sweep and a .500 road trip this afternoon at 4:40 PM EST.
10PM EST -- D. Matsuzaka (10-1, 2.65) vs R. Dickey (2-4, 3.73)
Dice-K's Merlin-esqu perfromance so far this season has been well documented here at The Bottom Line, as well as by Eric Wilbur here, and the Herald's Michael Silverman here.
Therefore, I'll simply remind you all that despite his 10-1 record and the ridiculous .202 BAA, Matsuzaka has walked 57 batters in just 88.1 innings... Thankfully, the Mariners have the leagues worst OBP at .313... but I want to point out that Seattle also has the fewest strikeouts (509) of any team in the league.
Bottom Line: Seattle is a team that seems to make contact often. They haven't turned that into alot of runs (390, 28th) but walks plus lots of contact usually equals trouble...
Matsuzaka has a mediocre 1-1, 4.35 line against Seattle, but that's in 5 starts... The last time Daisuke pitched in Seattle, he left the game after a few warm-up pitches before the 5th and ended up on the DL. He faced the M's 4 times in 2007 holding them to 3 runs or less in 3 of them and fanning a combined 22, but gave up 7 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks in the other game...
Seattle will counter with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. A Rule 5 acquisition from the Minnesota Twins who also spent time in the Milwaukee Brewers organization in 2007, Dicky has a 1.27 ERA in four starts and one relief appearance since June 24.
The relief appearance came Saturday, when he threw two scoreless innings against Cleveland. Dickey did not receive a decision in that outing or in his last start - July 10 at Oakland, where he limited the A’s to four hits and four walks over seven shutout innings in Seattle’s 3-2 loss in 11 innings.
Who To Watch: Mike Lowell and JD Drew have each taken Dickey yard, but the red-hot Manny Ramirez has the most at-bats and is 3-9 (.333) with 3 walks... Dustin Pedroia is also on fire, going 12 for his last 26 (.462) with 5 multi-hit games.
I didn't realize this kid was a knuckleballer... I wonder if the Sox will have Wake throwing BP...
Despite batting .500 (18-36) with 4 double, 3 homers and 9 RBI in his past 10 games, Manny Ramirez can't seem to catch a break... or stay out of the media.
Last night Manny was busted by a Seattle cop for jaywalking after the Red Sox 4-0 victory. Extra Bases pulled the story from a Mariners blogger:
Seems that Boston slugger Manny Ramirez was leaving the ballpark, with headphones on trying to look inconspicuous and quickly get away from the crowds still leaving the stadium. He started to cross South Royal Brougham Way, against the signals of a traffic cop who was directing pedestrians. The police officer demanded that Ramirez open his wallet and show identification. He warned him that he could face a $500 fine and possible arrest for disobeying a police officer.
It became clear to those watching that the policeman had no idea who Ramirez was. He didn't ask for an autograph or anything, but did ask Ramirez if he'd attended the game. After the brief lecture, and no argument from Ramirez, the police officer let him go with no further trouble.
This is all pretty silly, but Manny has been the talk of the town lately... and not in a good way. Manny recently told the media that he "wants no more (expletive) where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing." prompting Owner John Henry to respond:
"I find remarks that we have been anything other than completely straightforward to be personally offensive," Henry wrote. "Manny has been a crucial part of two world championships. I do not believe we would have won either without him. He has never played a more important role than he has thus far this year."
“I don’t think that should be going on right now,” Ortiz said. “We’re doing good, and they’re two important parts of the club, which is Manny at the plate and Mr. Henry as the owner.
“I’m pretty sure they just need to see eye to eye, behind closed doors. They need to get this fixed.”
"He's one of the greatest players ever, but this is tired, to me. The players put up with it because they have to. I don't have to. I can come on this show [NESN pregame] and tell you I don't like it. And I don't like the way Manny plays this game, not so much the way he plays it, but the way he's playing his act with his contract. I don't want to hear about it to be honest with you..."
Bottom Line: Some of the media here in Boston are calling all this crap a distraction, but it doesn't appear to be slowing Manny down... and I don't see how Manny's jaywalking or contract discussions has any effect on how any of the other players perform on the field.
That said, Manny might want to to play it safe and lay low when the Sox come back to Boston this weekend...
With the Rays (1.5 games up) and Yankees (4.5 games back) having won their games earlier in the day, the Red Sox needed a win last night.
Jon Lester rose to the occasion. He took advantage of a lineup full of lefties (Ichiro, Ibanez, LaHair and Clement = 4 of 6 Ks) and needed just 50 pitched to get through the first 5 innings, and finished the night with 6 strikeouts and no runs allowed through 7 1/3 innings.
As stated in yesterday's post:
Who to Watch: Coco is 10-21 (.476) with 5 doubles and a homer against Washburn... Manny is 7-21 (.333) with a home run and 10 walks - He's also riding a 9-game hitting streak that has raised his BA from .278 to .297...
Manny lead the Sox with a 3-5 night and Coco's 1-2 with 3 walks performance enabled him to score 2 of the 4 runs. Varitek's 2-run homer broke an 0-8 slump and Jed Lowrie contributed with a 2 hits and 2 RBI as the bottom of the lineup stepped up when the Sox needed it most.
Bottom Line: That was a much needed win with a 3-game set against the surging Yankees coming up...
10:00 PM EST -- J. Lester (7-3, 3.38) vs J. Washburn (4-8, 4.83)
You'd think the 38-60 Seattle Mariners would be a welcome sight for a struggling Red Sox squad, but the Sox were in a similar situation back in May and dropped 2 of 3 in Seattle, ending a 1-5 west coast trip. Let's hope they do better this time...
Lester has faced the Mariners twice and both outing were ugly. He gave up 4 runs on 8 hits through five in 2007 and 5 runs on 8 hits in 2006. Both games were in Seattle.
Lester was on a roll in June, winning 3 straight starts, but he struggled in Houston (6 ER, 9 H, 5 IP) and against Minnesota (5 er, 9 H, 7.1 IP) before the break.
Washburn has pitched well as of late, but has just 2 wins in his last 10 starts thanks to a pretty dismal Seattle offense. Since the Tigers pounded him for 9 runs in 2+ innings back on Mat 21, Washburn has held opponents to 2.11 runs per start.
The Seattle lefty is 3-4 with a 4.76 ERA against Boston. He hasn't seen the Sox since August of last year, where he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in a 4-3 loos at Fenway.
Who to Watch: Coco is 10-21 (.476) with 5 doubles and a homer against Washburn... Manny is 7-21 (.333) with a home run and 10 walks - He's also riding a 9-game hitting streak that has raised his BA from .278 to .297...
Bottom Line: Seattle just dropped 2 of 3 to the Indians and have scored just 390 runs (28th) this year. Seattle is 38-60 and 20-29 at home... need I go on?
Asked if he had had time to see the replay, manager Terry Francona said, “Yeah, too much. The things that make the guys on ‘Baseball Tonight’ laugh, don’t always necessarily make us laugh.
You know what, I don’t think I was laughing. But I’ve also been around Manny enough to know that it’s not malicious, even when it comes across as maybe not caring enough, it’s not malicious, that’s just what it is, I don’t know what else to say.”
Sounds like "Manny being Manny" is getting old... and I agree.
Friday - J. Lackey (6-2, 2.46) vs C. Bluchholz (2-4, 5.70)
Last 10: Lackey won 5 starts in a row from June 6 to July 5, but he struggled in his last two starts, going 0-1 with an 8.49 ERA. He gave up 15 hits - the most by an AL starter this season - in 5 2-3 innings of Los Angeles’ 11-10 win at Texas last Thursday.
vs BOS: That's good news for the Sox, who have owned Lackey in the past, tagging him with a 1-6 record and a 6.27 ERA in 11 starts. The last time Lackey faced the Sox, he lost Game 1 of the ALDS, giving up four runs in six innings of the Angels’ 4-0 defeat.
Last 10: Buchholz will look to bounce back from a rough return to the bigs, in which the he gave up 5 hits, 5 walks and 4 earned runs to the O's in a 7-3 loss. Nerves may have played a part in that outing. After giving up 2 runs in the 1st, Bucky gave up just 1 hit through the next 3 frames, while fanning 5 of 10 batters faced.
vs LAA: Buchholz is 1-0 in his only start against the Angels - it happened to be his major league debut. Bucky gave up 8 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks in that outing, but the Sox won 8-4. It should also be noted that Clay is 0-3 with an 8.64 ERA on the road this season...
Who to Watch: Manny is batting .434 with 4 HRs and 11 RBI versus Lackey... JD Drew is 5-11 against Lackey and is batting .312 on the road this year... Kotchman went 3-3 with 2 doubles the last time he saw Buchholz... Vladdy leads his team in most offensive categories and is always a threat.
Saturday: J. Beckett (9-5, 3.94) vs. J. Saunders (12-5, 3.07)
Last 10: After winning his 8 of his first 9 decisions, Saunders is 6-4 in his last 10 but has only allowed 3+ runs in 3 of those 10 starts. He's only got 63 Ks on the season, but he's only given up 7+ hits 3 times this year. The Sox will need to be patient with him and work the walks.
vs BOS: Saunders is 3-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 4 starts versus Boston. Back in April he beat Masterson in his Sox debut, while giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. But Saunders' ERA is more than a point higher at home this year (3.92/2.23) and batters are hitting .260 against him in LA, versus .214 on the road. Last 10: Beckett won his last 2 starts heading into the break, but gave up 5 runs in the 18-5 shellacking the Sox gave the Twins. Beckett was looking good, going 7+ and fanning 18 in his last 3 starts in June, but he's given up 8 runs on 12 hits, while fanning just 6 so far this month.
vs LAA: Captain Kickass is 2-0 in 4 starts versus LA with a 2.16 ERA and a kickass .202 BAA. The last time the Angles saw Beckett he blanked them for a complete game, 4-0 victory in the ALDS. Beckett had 8 Ks, no walks and just 4 hits in that game.
Who to Watch: Coco is 4-12 (.333) with 4 doubles and 2 SBs off the lefty Saunders... while Ellsbury is 0-4... Nobody in an Angels uniform hits Beckett well. Example: Vladdy is 5 for 23 with 7 strikeouts.
Sunday: T. Wakfield (6-6, 3.60) vs J. Weaver (8-8, 4.03)
Last 10: After a rough start, Weaver has come around winning 6 of his last 10 starts while fanning 5 batters per game. Weaver finished the first half strong allowing just 4 earned runs over 24.2 innings (4 starts) and knocked his ERA down to 4.03 - the lowest it's been since April 16.
vs BOS: Jared of the flowing blonde locks has not faired well against the Red Sox. He's 0-2 with a 5.46 ERA in 5 chances and the last time he saw the Sox they knocked him around to the tune of 10 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings at Fenway.
Last 10: Tim Wakefield has been MR. bad luck as of late. Despite allowing 3 runs or less in 9 straight starts, he only notched 3 wins. He finally got some run supports in a 12-1 beat down of the O's back on the 12th, but if take out that game, as well at the 12-6 and 11-3 victories, the Sox are only scoring 4 RPG for Wake, while he gives them 7+ innings almost every time.
vs LAA: Wake is 9-11 versus LA and just 1-4 on the road this year. He hasn't seen the Angels since a 10-4 loss on August 7 of the last year, but in typical Wakfield fashion, he beat them 10-1 earlier that year... so this one's a toss-up.
Who to Watch: Youk hit a 2-run shot off Weaver back in April and is 5-15 (.333) with 2 homers in his career... Strangely, Valdimir and his wild swing own a .438 BA against Wake and that includes 4 homers and just3 strikeouts in 16 at-bats... fellow veteran Garret Anderson also hits the knuckleball well - .286, 5 HRs, 15 RBI in 63 ABs.
Bottom Line: This is a likely preview of the ALDS. The best match-up of the weekend is clearly on Saturday.
Center Field posted the new NIKE commercial that features a very, very brief shot of Jon Lester. The ad campaign is called "Courage."
CF ads this note from NIKE:
On August 31, 2006 , doctors discovered Jon Lester had enlarged lymph nodes, and a few days later he was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma. On October 27, 2007, Lester clinched the World Series for the Boston Red Sox. On May 19, 2008, he threw his first career no-hitter.
"That's my game," Ortiz said outside the PawSox clubhouse, meeting with reporters in the seventh inning before leaving the ballpark. "It feels good ... to be able to swing like that after an injury when I couldn't hold onto my bat."
Fire Brand's Mike Scandura has more: Given the ferocious nature of Ortiz’s hacks, it was obvious that he wasn’t holding anything back — wasn’t holding anything back.
“I’ve been swinging like I normally do,” he said. “If anything happens, I can feel it and would stay away from playing until I get to be fine. Even in batting practice I was trying to swing as hard as I can.
“Everything came out pretty good tonight.”
In retrospect, Ortiz gave an indication of things to come in BP when he hit 11 home runs, including one that bounced halfway up the roof of a concession stand behind the center-field fence (which is 400 feet from home plate).
“I was fine tonight,” he said. “I saw pitches. I chased a few high fastballs but other than that I was taking bad pitches. That’s how you work on your timing.
“I put a good swing (on the home run). That’s my game. To be able to swing like that when I had an injury that prevented me from holding onto my bat is a good feeling.”
The crowd of 11,460 -- there are only 10,031 seats at McCoy Stadium -- was the fifth-largest in the ballpark's history. "We could have sold 20,000 tickets to this one," said PawSox spokesman Bill Wanless.
Bottom Line: A wrist injury can really mess up a swing... this is great news for Ortiz and for Red Sox Nation.
The Boston Globe reports: The Sox signed their No. 1 draft pick, Casey Kelly, a two-sport star at Sarasota (Fla.) High School who had signed a letter of intent to play quarterback for Tennessee but whose baseball pedigree - his father, Pat, is a former big league catcher and current minor league manager - pointed to his coming to terms with Boston.
His signing was further complicated by a divided perspective on how Kelly can best serve the Sox. He played shortstop at Sarasota and wants to be an everyday player. The Sox project him as a pitcher, though general manager Theo Epstein said yesterday there was some difference of opinion internally on whether he had a better future as a shortstop or pitcher.
In the end, the Sox decided to give him an opportunity to try both, though playing shortstop, initially at least, will clearly take precedence.
Kelly, who already was in Fort Myers, Fla., working out on his own, will report to the Sox' Gulf Coast League entry there today, and will play shortstop.
"Pitching we will expose Casey to at the right time, in the right place, and in the right environment," said Epstein, adding that Kelly's pitching would not necessarily interrupt his development at shortstop.
Here are the pitching match-ups for this weekend:
Tonight, 10:05 PM : RHP Clay Buchholz (2-4, 5.70) vs. RHP John Lackey (6-2, 2.46).
Saturday, 3:55 PM : RHP Josh Beckett (9-5, 3.94) vs. RHP Jon Garland (8-6, 4.20).
Sunday, 6:00 PM : RHP Tim Wakefield (6-6, 3.60) vs. LHP Joe Saunders (12-5, 3.07).
Get a more detailed preview this afternoon right here at The Bottom Line.
Dan at Red Sox Monster asked The Bottom Line to join a Red Sox blogger Round Table during the break. Below are 4 of the 6 questions we discussed... go to Red Sox Monster for more expert analysis from me and my fellow bloggers!
1) We'll start with a biggy right out of the box: Given the recent seven-game tailspin by the Rays, who is a bigger threat to the Red Sox in the American League East: the Yankees or the Rays? Why?
The Bottom Line: Why my gut says the Yankees: 1) The Yankees have put Wang, Matsui, Damon and Hughes on the DL so far this season, yet they remain just 6 games back and over .500. 2) Last year the Yanks went 37-19 (0.66 W%) in August and September, grabbed the Wild Card spot and finished with a league best .290 BA and 968 runs - a ridiculous 76 more than the Phillies at 892.
Why my mind says the Rays: 1) These aren't the 2007 Yankees. The 2008 pinstripers are on pace for just 742 runs right now and the 1-2 punch of Mussina and Pettite ain't gonna cut it. 2) The Rays have kept pace thanks to a solid 3.79 team ERA, ranking them 6th in the league... and we need only look at the 34 combined strikeouts from the All-Star Game to be reminded that pitching wins games.
Bottom Line: The Yankees need pitching. The Rays could use a little more offense. The Red Sox have both... I think the Ray and Yanks will be duking it out for the AL Wild Card come September, but if I have to pick one team to challenge the Sox - I'll go with the Rays.
Joy of Sox: The Rays are the bigger threat. Despite their recent skid, Tampa's solid starting pitching can help them avoid any harmful losing streak. Barring a trade, the Yankees will be forced to rely on old jokes like Sidney Ponson or throw their untested rookies back into the fire. Some might point to the Yankees' alleged powerhouse lineup, but through 95 games, the batting stats of Tampa and New York are virtually identical. The Yankees could get hot and go on a run -- though the rest of their schedule is the toughest of the three teams -- but they have too many holes to scare any rational Red Sox fan.
Sox & Dawgs: Personally I don't think you can count the Rays out of it just yet. Every team goes through that tailspin at some point during the season and it just happened to be the Rays turn. Since the Yankees are the Yankees you can never count them out. Look what happened last year when they were ready to buried. They came back and gave the Red Sox a little scare for the division title at the end of the year. I think in the end between the Yanks and Rays, it comes down to who makes the best moves during this trading period that will ultimately contend with the Red Sox.
Who Made You Mirabelli?: We may not want to admit it, but the Yankees are definitely the bigger concern. Sure, the Rays have had a great first half, but their seven-game losing streak heading into the break exposed them for what they are: A terrific home team that's still learning to win on the road. Come September, rookies, second and third year players the likes of Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton will have to keep swinging hot sticks when it counts. It says here they'll slow down. The Yankees, on the other hand, really can't go down from where they already are. Joba Chamberlain seems to be settling into the rotation, Andy Pettitte is practically guaranteed to come through with three, four, maybe even 10 clutch starts and Mike Mussina is in the middle of an inexplicable renaissance. Put those factors together with a veteran lineup that has yet to truly click, and you get a team that could put together a serious challenge, whether Sox fans like it or not.
2) Getting the ball to Jonathan Papelbon successfully is a weakness for the Sox this season, three bloggers note.What do you see as the single biggest thing the Red Sox struggle with in 2008? Is it in the bullpen? Timely hitting? The gaping holes that have appeared at times in the lineup? How do you fix that problem?
The Bottom Line: The bullpen.
Timely hitting is such a hard thing to control. So are injuries. But calling the bullpen must feel like a game of Russian roulette for Tito right now. Okajima's splits are well documented, but at least you know what his weakness is, and in the end he's got a 2.82 ERA. With Delcarmen (4.54) and Hansen (5.47), you're never quite sure if they're gonna bring it or blow it. Lopez (2.19) and Aardsma (2.77) have quietly been the best RP options, and Masterson will help when he's ready, but the Sox will need all their "pirates" to bring their A-game in the 2nd half if they want to repeat.
Joy of Sox: The black holes in the lineup have been frustrating on a day-to-daybasis, but they have not been enough to keep the team out of first place. Jason Varitek has been more than dreadful, but through May 21, he was hitting .295/.372/.519 (since then, .141/.224/.188). The Red Sox will not bench the captain, so we're stuck with him for better or worse. Let's hope he improves to league average, at least. Having Sean Casey (.373!!) and Coco Crisp coming off the bench has been fantastic. And while a lot of the crap thrown at Julio Lugo has been deserved, he has the highest on-base percentage of any AL shortstop!
I still believe the bullpen guys can do the job. Getting a reliable relief pitcher is such a crapshoot -- as is hoping that a good reliever will continue his dominance year after year. Check out Manny Delcarmen's month-by-month ERAs: 6.17, 3.48, 2.25, 7.94. Risking a prospect or two at the deadline for bullpen help seems nearly pointless. Theo Epstein should either try some of the Pawtucket options or hope to catch lightning in a bottle with another team's castaway.
Everyone wants timely hitting. As long as we have good hitters, the timely hitting will be there more often than not. Many commenters at my blog were so down on the bats a couple of weeks ago -- then we got hot and we plowed through Minnesota without breaking a sweat. We should all remember that when the team is not hitting, we wonder how they will ever win another game, and when they are banging out seven runs in an inning, we feel like they will never lose.
Also, it would be nice if the top of the order re-learned how to take a walk. Jacoby Ellsbury has walked only five times in 159 plate appearances since the beginning of June. Dustin Pedroia has taken only 24 walks this year (his OBP is a mere 43 points higher than his AVG). He is 4th the AL in outs made.
Sox & Dawgs: For me, the problem has been the inconsistency of the bullpen. Obviously last season when the game got down towards the end, you could count on Okajima and Papelbon getting the job done. The problem is the same though as it was last year, where is the bridge to Papelbon. Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen have been up and down like a roller coaster all season although MDC appears to be on track again.
If MDC can stay hot the rest of the way and Hansen can pitch pretty well, the bullpen should be in okay shape. David Aardsma has been a decent acquisition but has better numbers on the road than he does at home. It's probably time for Mike Timlin to hang them up. You could quite possibly see the Red Sox go after another lefty reliever such as Brian Fuentes, Damaso Marte or Ron Mahay to help them out. Plus when Justin Masterson comes up to help the bullpen out soon, someone will have to go. I think the key is what Masterson can do when he comes back up.
Who Made You Mirabelli?: Clearly it's the bullpen. Thinking back to 2007, there were plenty of stretches when the lineup was mired in slumps and when the team left ducks on the pond. The difference thus far, aside from having more injuries in 2008, has been the surprisingly vulnerable bullpen.
If you check out the numbers, most would probably be surprised to find that Javier Lopez has done a better job of limiting damage off inherited runners than anyone else. Javier Freaking Lopez, the lefty specialist. That's not a great sign. Manny Delcarmen's recent surge has been a bright ray of optimism and Craig Hansen seems to be getting more and more consistent, but neither has reached the status of Hideki Okajima in '07, aka a sure bridge to Jonathan Papelbon (speaking of which, turn away all Sox fans, but Paps has been a touch more hittable this year, too, despite the fact that WMYM, for one would rather have him on the mound than anyone else in the ninth).
So there you go, clearly, the bullpen is the issue and Theo Epstein would do awful well to go grab a, say, Scott Linebrink at the trade deadline. Not that he's available, but someone of that ilk would sure go a long ways.
3) I've got a record for being a pretty large Terry Francona supporter and apologist at times. With that said, some of his decisions in the first half of the season have baffled me, like not sending in a pinch-hitter for the badly slumping Jason Varitek with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 2-1 loss against the Yankees on July 5. Where do you stand on Francona's performance and juggling act in the face of numerous injuries this season?
The Bottom Line: To be honest, I think much of the credit needs to go to Theo and the player development team. Tito has had the luxury of a strong bench and farm system to help him and the Sox through some injury trouble. Don't get me wrong, Tito still needs to make the lineup and decide when to make substitutions, but it's a little easier when you have options.
Just look at the Blue Jays...
As for Tek, Tito is going to ride out this funk just like he used to ride out funks with El Bencho, but I have to agree, the instance that you referred to still baffles me. Maybe Tito makes a different decision if that game was in September and the Yankees are one game out...
Joy of Sox: Me too. I'm a total Titohead. The managerial assassin I have seen in the playoffs shows me that he knows exactly what to do in a given situation. During the six-month regular season, however, he has other factors to consider. I give Francona a ton of leeway now. He's earned it several times over.
The Varitek AB was annoying -- and few players in a slump can look as clueless as Tek does -- but I do not see that as a pattern. Francona may keep playing Tek, but what else can he do? The captain will be neither benched nor traded. And Kevin Cash is even worse. Now it's time to give George Kottaras or Dusty Brown a shot as the backup.
Sox & Dawgs: Francona is probably one of the nicest managers out there and treats his players well. But sometimes he needs to put that aside and make the change. If I were the manager that night, I probably would have pulled him in favor of a pinch-hitter, although Tek has hit Rivera well (.333 at the time).
Considering all the injuries the Red Sox have had, he's done a great job of managing what he's had. He's got Theo and the minor development staff to thank for that since all of the young guys called up have helped out the Red Sox. WMYM: WMYM has always been a pretty huge Francona backer itself, so it's pretty hard for me to weigh in objectively. That being said, WMYM is standing by Francona, blemishes and all, halfway through the season. Sure, it took him far too long to catch on to Hideki Okaijima's inability to retire batters that were already on base when he took the mound, and some of his other moves to the bullpen have created some head scratching, too.
That being said, WMYM would have had Varitek hit in that situation, too. If the Sox are going to bounce back, Varitek is going to have to be a big part of it. Boston might as well get him going now, or this whole "Division and World Title Defense" thing just isn't happening.
4) Breaking up the 3-4 tandem of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez would be a bad idea, all four blogger participating said.David Ortiz is expected to return after July 25, which is obviously a huge sigh of relief for Red Sox fans. If you were in charge, how would you incorporate him into a lineup that has produced abundantly at times with JD Drew hitting third, ahead of Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell? Also, what do you do about the four starting outfielders the Red Sox have used while Ortiz was out, since Manny got the bulk of the at-bats at designated hitter?
The Bottom Line: The return of Big Papi sucks for just one guy: Coco Crisp.
The obvious solution seems to be trading Coco, and that may still happen. But it seems like everytime a Sox fan screams those words, an outfielder get hurt... Coco gives Tito and the Sox the option to rest the outfielders and keep everybody fresh through the dog days of summer. Coco may not like that, but it's true. Manny will need some days off, Ellsbury is still adjusting to the major league grind, and you know the injury prone JD Drew needs his rest. I think "B-Moss" could be that guy too, but I don't mind having a speedster like Coco as my 4th guy.
The other interesting aspect of Ortiz's return is where to hit the red-hot Youkilis... He traditionally cools off in the 2nd half, so I say you stack 'em like this:
It might be fun to try Ortiz in the 5th spot and keep Drew in the 3 hole, but I'm not sure Big Papi will go along with that... that said, in 2003 he batted .289 with 25 HRs and 83 RBI in 350 at-bats in the 5 hole...
Joy of Sox: Ortiz will be back at #3, with Drew dropping back to 5th. I cannot see Francona doing anything else. Either Drew or Ortiz can break up the RH string of Manny, Lowell and Youkilis and despite Drew's hot bat, the 3 spot belongs to Ortiz.
With necessary days off, Drew, Manny, Crisp and Ellsbury should still get plenty of playing time. Having those four guys is a great"problem" to have. It allows the team to give Manny and Drew plenty of rest while still putting out a competent outfield. Who wouldn't want Crisp or Ellsbury as a 4th outfielder?
Sox & Dawgs: I think you have to go back to the way it was. You're not going to move Manny down in the lineup and even if Drew bats 6th he's going to see pitches with who's hitting in front of him. And he'll most likely have Youk batting behind him as well.
Manny's injury forced them into the four outfielder's lineup. If Manny had been healthy enough to play the field, he would have been out there more giving the Mayor more time at DH.
WMYM: This one's easy: You move everyone back to where they were, recent productivity aside.
Ortiz and Ramirez have always been lethal as the three-four combo, and Mike Lowell is born for the five-hole. So All-Star Game MVP J.D. Drew hit's sixth, you ask? That's right, and congratulations for your mastery of math. With the way the guys in front of him tend to hit, that'll still give J.D. plenty of RBI opportunities, and in that situation he's more of an insurance policy, which is what the team really needs him for anyway.
With a .258 BA and just 6 homers, JD Drew was nobody's All-Star or MVP at this time last season. But with a 7th inning, 2-run home run in last night 15-inning All-Star Game, Drew earned the MVP Award and the AL, eventually, earned the victory.
As if his performance wasn't grand enough, Terry Francona also admitted that he was seriously considering using Drew as a pitcher, if it had come to that...
“He might have been a little more of an MVPer if we went a couple more innings.He might have pitched,” AL manager Terry Francona of the Red Sox said. “He’sbeen begging me a long time to pitch, and we almost got close.”
“After it started to come to fruition, I was a little bit nervous to be honest with you,” Drew said. “I would have thrown some stuff up there. I got a little sneaky stuff here and there. I don’t know if I would have got anybody out.
“It wouldn’t have been anything pretty, that’s for sure.”
Despite, going to 2-4 with the game-tying home run, Drew and the Red Sox were predictably booed on a regular basis last night. “It was brief to say the least. It was a little weird. I heard about it when I got back out to right field, for sure,” Drew said. “Then as the game went along, I think they forgot that I hit a home run and it picked up again.” Drew was able to shrug off the boos, but Jonathan Papelbon took them to heart, specifically because his wife was in attendance.
"The whole shebang was messed up. My wife was really upset. We got threats, everything. I wish I hadn't taken her." Papelbon's pre-game comments about wanting to close the game over Mariano Rivera didn't help, but even amidst all their Yankee hype, ESPN commentators admitted that the New York crowd was taking it too far. "Brutal," he said the NY Daily News' coverage. "They missed the point I wastrying to make. What kind of closer would I be if I didn't want to close? But Isaid I was willing to step aside." Fenway West has more words from Papelbon regarding the NY Daily News article.
Finally, Dan at Red Sox Monster wonders if all this booing may have reignited a fading Red Sox/Yankees rivalry.
So, to recap:
Manny, Youkilis and Pedroia combined to go 0-5 with 2 K's and a walk. Tek caught an inning, but was Navarro hit for him an inning later. Drew was the MVP. Papelbon gave up the tying run in the 8th, thanks to a bad throw from Navarro, who was trying to catch Tejada stealing
And somehow, Terry Francona made it through this All-Star Game without dying of a heart attack, stroke or Yankee mob.
A special thanks to Dan Uggla and his 3 "uggly" errors... and to Justin Morneau, who probably had the best break ever, winning the HR Derby, scoring on Drew's HR, and then finally scoring the winning run on Young's sac fly.
Strong work Justin.
Bottom Line: The AL won again, and I think it's fitting that Tito and the Red Sox should enjoy home field advantage after all the work he put in last night. We may need Millsie to step in and give Tito an extra day of rest, cause that was ridiculous.
“Of course I want to close the game out, I wouldn’t be Jonathan Papelbon if I didn’t,” Papelbon said. “But at the same time there are also things within this game that I and other people have to understand that things don’t always work that way.
“We owe a lot to this game, we truly do and I feel that I owe a lot to this game and if that’s one of things that I owe this game, letting an elder statesman go ahead of me, then that’s what it is.”
“I’ve always referred to him as the Godfather of the closers, which he pretty much is. Obviously he’s done a lot of great things for this role. He’s one of the main contributors of making this role what it is today.”
This may seem like a no brainer, but just try Googling the names Papelbon and Rivera together and you'll find 3 days worth of articles and blog posts about who should close tonight... Here are just a few:
- And Big League Stew has video of Paps being indecisive about who should close...
Bottom Line: Mo's got the better overall numbers this season (Paps: 2.43, 28 SV, 51 K - Mo: 1.06, 23 SV, 50 K) and personally, I think iy would be cool to see him close out the game. There's little risk in using either guy, but Paps has given up 3 runs and 7 hits in his last 5 outings... Rivera's given up 2 runs and 5 hits in his last 5.
As mean as it is to say, Red Sox Nation rejoiced when Julio Lugo was put on the DL and Jed Lowrie was called up to help out at short... but Lowrie went 0-4 in his first game back and he and the Sox could be victims of bad timing here...
After batting .348 in May and .3087 in June, Lowrie was just 6-34 (.176) before the call up, knocking his average down to .268... the exact same BA as Lugo.
- - - -
After Matsuzaka's maddening 5 walk, 7 strikeout performance yesterday, I had to look and see if anyone else was having success while walking this many guys... this is what I found:
Matsuzaka: 57 walks - 10-1, 2.65 ERA, 77 SO, 16 GS AJ Burnett: 57 walks - 10-8, 4.96 ERA, 126 SO, 20 GS E. Volquez: 56 walks - 12-3, 2.29 ERA, 126 SO, 19 GS R. Dempster: 50 walks - 10-4, 3.25 ERA, 104 SO, 20 GS
These four starters have managed to defy the odds and post winning records an respectable ERAs despite walking 50+ batters through the first half. The have a combined record of 42-16 (0.72 W%) and a 3.19 ERA.
The other 15 starters with 50+ walks have a combined record of 88-110 (0.44 W%) and a 4.60 ERA.
One interesting aspect of this list however is that it includes six 100+ strikeout pitchers... Daiuske only has 77, a far cry from the 123 he had at the break in '07, but he still posts the best winning of group (10-1, 0.90 W%).
Bottom Line: Watching Matsuzaka pitch has become as frustrating as trying to hit that final cup in your 10th straight game of beer pong, but he's winning games, and as long as he continues mix in the K's and the insanely low BAA (.202) he should keep winning games.
- - - -
Lastly, Center Field caught Jonathan Papelbon revealing the "pirate names" of he and his bullpen mates...
Clay Buchholz, or Bucky as I like to call him, will make his return to the bigs tonight when he faces the Orioles at Fenway Park. Bucky was pretty nasty during his time with the Paw Sox, posting a 4-2 record and a 2.47 ERA over 43+ innings. He stumbled in his last start before the call up, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings of work, but he had won 4 in row before that and Tek the Red Sox are confident that he is ready for the bigs again:
"He's going to be good. He's going to be really good. Just like [Jon Lester]. He's going to take lumps, he's going to go backwards, going to go forward, going to go back a little bit until they hit a complete level of experience and knowing themselves."
The Sox picked a good time to bring Bucky back. He's 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA against the Orioles with 12 strikeouts and the O's have lost five games in a row...
One guy to watch, perhaps the ONLY guy worth watching on the O's, is Nick Markakis. Big Nick has a tendency to get hot in the 2nd half, but he's started early with a 16 game hitting streak in which he has batted .388 (26-67) with 2 HRs, 8 2Bs and 17 RBI. He also had a 5 game multi-hit streak going before last night, when he went 1-4.
The O's will counter with Brian Burres (6-5, 5.07). Burres hasn't won since June 19 and hasn't pitched more than 6 innings since May 22nd, when he went 7+ in a 2-1 loss to the Yankees. With a shaky bullpen backing him and the Sox tattooing the Twins relievers in the last series, the stage is set for a big win tonight.
Guys to Watch: Manny (.429 vs Burres) and Mike Lowell (.571) have each hit ding dongs off of Burres, but Ellsbury (4-5, .800) and Youkilis (4-9, .444) also hit him well... tale you pick.
In other news... Fenway West says that Justin Masterson needed just 16 pitches to retire all three batters he faces as a reliever for Pawtucket last night. The Paw Sox plan to use him again tonight if possible.
Want to climb into the Wally suit an wreak havoc throughout Fenway Park? Red Sox Monster tells you how you can do just that... as long as you answer 4 simple questions.
Surviving Grady shows us why mocking the Sox by playing Sweet Caroline after a sweep and poor journalism can come back to bite you in the ass...
Most Valuable Player: J.D Drew — .298/.405/.559, 16 HR (runner up: Mike Lowell)
FB states the obvious, siting Drew's ridiculous June and how he filled the production gap left by Ortiz... but I think you have to give Kevin Youkilis some strong consideration. Take a look at the stats:
He's played 85 of the 94 games played and has been superb on defense, as usual. He also hits all over the lineup, and although many of the Sox have shifted around to fill in gaps, Yuke is by far the most versatile, batting in all but the 8th and 9th spot, while playing ist, 3rd and even RF twice...
Least Valuable Player: Julio Lugo — .264/.349/.327, 16 E (runner up: Mike Timlin)
"He gets on base an average amount of times and has a putrid 19 RBI on the year. He’s an automatic GIDP anytime he comes up with any runner on base. And in the clutch? Forget it. He and Coco Crisp are the antimatter of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez."
"Pedroia slumped during May and had a lot of people whispering about him. He’s still striking out a bit more than usual and hasn’t displayed his plate discipline he was known for, but at least he’s putting the bat on the ball, right? He’s also an extremely capable second baseman and always finds a way to get dirty by the end of the game. He personifies the phrase “Saturn Balls,” which was coined by Curt Schilling in 2003 about Bronson Arroyo."
I just like that they have a Saturn Balls Award...
Surprise of the Year: Javier Lopez — 34.2 IP, 2.34 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 8 holds (runner up: David Aardsma)
"...Lopez has started to come in more frequently in pressure situations and the general rule of thumb is that if you don’t hear about a person, he must be doing well."
While I agree that Lopez has been solid and a bit of a surprise, I think Jon Lester's emergence and Bartolo Colon's (short-lived) success should be in the discussion.
Lester has always been talked about as a potential solid No. 3 or 4, but while Matsuzaka was hurt, Beckett was not so ace-like and Buchholz was sent back to Pawtucket, this kid threw a no-hitter, more recently blanked the Yankees for 9 innings in The Bronx, and has held opponents to 3 runs or less in 12 of his last 14 starts. His 7-3 record does not do justice to the job he has done so far this year.
As for Colon, I think signing him was a surprise in and if itself, but the fact when he stepped up and won 4 games while the staff was struggling with injuries, was a huge surprise... I mean serious, the guys had one leg in a Taco Bell uniform when Theo called him and he shows up 6 weeks later and goes 3-0 in his first three starts.
Yahoo! reported that OF Jacoby Ellsbury had a career-high four hits, the first four-hit performance by a Red Sox rookie outfielder since Trot Nixon turned the trick on May 22, 1999.
Ellsbury has also collected eight games this season with at least three hits, which marks the most three-hit efforts by a Red Sox rookie outfielder since Ellis Burks (15 times) and Mike Greenwell (nine times) in 1987.
"A lot of (how we play) is directly correlated to (Ellsbury) getting on base,” manager Terry Francona said. “When he’s hot, when he’s on base, we’re a different team.”
Terry's comment got me thinking, so I took a look at the stats for this season:
The Red Sox are 16-5 when Ellsbury has 2 or more hits in a game. That one seems obvious, since your team should do well when your leadoff guy gets on base...
But even when Jacoby gets just 1 hit, the Sox still seem to pull out the victory. Boston is 21-14 when Ellsbury gets one hit, and therefore, 37-19 when he gets AT LEAST one hit.
However, when Ellsbury throws up a goose egg, the Sox are just 6-10, and a perfect example of this was the most recent road trip. Ellsbury's BA fell from .290 to .268 in June, but despite coming around in July, Ellsbury went 9-40 (.225) on the 10 game road trip and the Sox lost 7 of 10 games.
Since returning to Fenway, the Sox have won 3 straight and guess what... Ellsbury is 7-14 (.500). The Sox are now 34-10 at home... is it a coincidence that Ellsbury hits .324 at Fenway and just .243 away from home???
Bottom Line: As Jacoby Ellsbury goes, so go the Red Sox. Let's hope this recent turnaround for Jacoby carries over after the break.
Josh Beckett has allowed 2 runs or less in 8 of his 17 starts this season, but had walked away with a loss and a no decision in 5 of those 8 starts, thanks to little to no run support from his offense.
Yesterday, Beckett needed 104 pitches to get through 5 innings and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits (2 homers) and 2 walks. Like most of Red Sox Nation, I don't think Beckett expected to get the win, but the flood gates opened after his departure and the Sox scored 14 runs from the 5th through the 8th, resulting an 18-5 shellacking of the Twins.
- J. Varitek singled to center, M. Lowell scored, S. Casey to third - J. Ellsbury singled to left, S. Casey scored, J. Varitek to third, J. Lugo to second - D. Pedroia doubled to deep left, J. Varitek, J. Lugo and J. Ellsbury scored - K. Youkilis doubled to deep left, D. Pedroia scored - M. Ramirez singled to center, K. Youkilis scored
Manny's done for the day, as is Tek... Cash made good on the opportunity, hitting a solo home run in the 8th... B-Moss followed with a triple... this is getting ridiculous.
Bottom Line: 21 hits, 15 runs = a sweep and a half.
Josh Beckett is done for the day. He gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks, as well as 2 home runs. Captain Kickass was not so kickass, throwing just 67 strikes and 104 total pitches... but the offense has come alive and the Sox currently cling to 7-5 lead thanks to an a sac fly from Youkilis.
Javier Lopez almost coughed it up allowing 2 hits and a walk, before throwing the ball into center field on a pick off attempt. Thankfully he got the pop fly to end the inning, stranding the go ahead run at second.
Manny stroked a wall-ball double to center that missed the HR line by inches. Yuke scored and then Casey drove in Manny to put the Sox up 6-3. Even Varitek got into the mix with a double... but Bosner came in and struck out B-Moss and got Lugo to do what he does best... ground out and kill rallies.
The heart of the lineup: Yuke, Manny, Lowell and Casey are 7 for 12 with 6 RBI and 4 runs scored.
Manny continues to be locked in, getting the Sox on the board with an RBI double. Not to be out done, Mike Lowell followed with a 2-run double and advanced to 3rd on the throw to home... then Sean Casey, made it 4-3 with an RBI single.
The Twins jumped out early against Josh Beckett, scoring 3 runsin the first off os a Joe Mauer sac fly and a 2-run homer from Justin Morneau... Beckett threw 34 pitches in the first inning.
Okay, I'm a little behind the 8-ball here, so I'll be quick.
A quick toot of my own horn for tell you all yesterday that Manny was ready to bust out. He only went 1-4, but the "one" was a 2-run ding dong in the 8th that tied the game. It should also be noted that it was the 2nd night in a row that the Sox got a clutch hit when they needed... a pleasant change of pace from the recent lack-luster road trip.
But just when you though Manny was going to win the BL Hero award for the 2nd day in a row, Brandon Moss drives in Youk to put the Sox up by one, and Paps seals the deal. Not only did B-Moss (yes, I'm creating a nick name here, so spread the word) drive in the winning run, but his sac fly in the 7th kept the game close, but recent call up Jeff Bailey struck out to end the threat.
“I think we were in a really good situation,” Moss said. “Even though we were down by three, we had our leadoff guy coming up in Jacoby, Pedroia, who’s been on fire, J.D. and Manny. I don’t think anybody was surprised to see Manny go deep in that situation, he’s done it so much.”
I'd like to agree with Remy and say that Lester looked good, despite giving up 5 runs, but the Bottom Line is the 6,7,8,9 guys went 8-15 and drove in all 5 runs for the Twins... He fanned 6 and got into the 7th so I can't complain too much, but that's the second time in 3 games that he's given up 5+ runs...
Bottom Line: We're back within 3 games of the Rays and we've got Captain Kickass on the mound today at 1:00... things are looking up.
Jon Lester has been all kinds of nasty lately. Most recently he shut ot the Yanks in the Bronx, fanning 8 in the process.
Tonight he'll take on the Twins, who were red hot, before Dice-K shut 'em down last night. Lester is 4-1 in Fenway this season with 2.54 ERA and despite batting .276 (4th) as a team, the Twins aren't as good against southpaws (.260, 17th).
Former Rays, Brendan Harris (.417, 13 AB) and Delmon Young (.154, 13 AB) are the only Twins with more than one game's worth of experience against Lester, but Harris has hit him well (5-12, 2 2B, 2 RBI) so you may see him get the start tonight.
The Twins will counter with Nick Blackburn, who like the rest of the Twins staff, doesn't walk anybody: 16 BB in 104+ IP. Blackburn has decent numbers: 7-4, 3.78, but he's been inconsistent as of late, lasting just 4+ innings in 3 of his last 7 starts.
Couple that with a 2-2, 5.06 ERA, .318 BAA road line this season, and the Sox should have it made in the shade tonight... but keep in mind that I predicted a possible slugfest last night, so who cares what I think, right?
Guys to Watch: Manny seemed to have a better approach last night and may be ready to bust out... JD Drew hit a 3-run homer off of Balckburn earlier this year... and Justin Morneau, who quietly went 2-3 last night, is hitting .316 on the road and .500 against the Red Sox this year...
Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson will be sent to Triple A Pawtucket this week to become a reliever, Sox manager Terry Francona announced Monday.
Clay Buchholz will return from Pawtucket later this week to take Masterson's spot in the rotation, with his first starting coming Friday against the Orioles. PawSox outfielder Jeff Bailey will take Masterson's roster spot until Buchholz is needed.
“The thinking there is that we wanted to at some point get Clay back here and get him in the rotation, which I think we’ve been alluding to,” Francona said. “We also think getting Justin acclimated to the bullpen has a chance to really help our ballclub.”
Francona said Masterson is scheduled to get some relief innings Wednesday at Richmond, and Friday and Saturday at Norfolk.
Bottom Line: I think we all knew this move was coming. What I am surprised to hear is that Masterson will become a reliever. I guess we need RP help right now more than another young starter, but I hope this doens't mess with his development...
In case you're wondering, after winning 4 straight games, Buchholz gave up 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks over 5 innings in his start for the Pawsox on Saturday.
Jeff Bailey meanhwile, is batting .301 with 23 homers and 61 RBI... sounds like an offensive spark if you ask me...
Brought to you by Mr. Manny Ramirez, courtesy of Brain Bass and Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire, who pulled Scott Baker after just 94 pitches. Huh!??
Baker had held the Sox to 5 hits and 2 walks, but Gardenhire yanked him after the 7th and Dustin Pedroia welcomed Bass with a first pitch ,wall ball double that missed being a HR by a foot.
Drew moved Pedroia to 3rd on an infield grounder and then Manny, who has looked completely lost for about 3 weeks, got the head of the bat on the ball and lines an opposite field single to right, scoring the first and only run of the game.
In typical, Remy fashion, Remy immediately reminded us that when Manny uses the opposite field, he's at his best, so perhaps his 2-4 showing last night means better days are ahead for Ramirez.
Manny's RBI single gave the Sox the win, but Matsuzaka's 7+ shutout innings were the real story. After looking like the same old Dice-K in the first, loading the bases on 2 walks and a single but squeezing out of the jam - Daisuke was at his best for 6 more innings, allowing just 5 more hits and 1 more walk, while fanning 5. He kept the red hot Twin off the board with first pitch strikes and consistent control - a good sign said Jason Varitek:
“That was probably his best outing as far as his ability to command the strike zone,” Boston catcher Jason Varitek said. “It’s good. It seemed like our bats were a little slow. We needed a good pitching performance.”
Bottom Line: Yesterday, I thought this might have turned into a slugfest... I was dead wrong. But the Sox got the clutch hitting they've been lacking and Dice-K finally got into the 6th inning, throwing 71 strikes on 108 total pitches.
I'd like to see a few more hits, but the Sox seem to have the eye of the tiger again.
As for my predictions - Drew did not go yard, nor did Ellsbury wreak havoc on the base paths... and there was no slugfest.
The red hot Minnesota Twins have won 6 games in a row and 16 of their last 18. The not so hot Red Sox have lost 4 of 6 in July and 10 of their last 16.
The Twins are batting a league best .290 with RISP and 2 outs. The Red Sox are 22nd with a .223 BA in that critical situation.
Over the past 7 days Minnesota is batting a ridiculous .348 as a team. During that same span the Red Sox are chugging along at a pitiful .258.
In short, the Red Sox look like Rocky after Clubber Lang reminds him about the eye of the tiger in Rocky III... the Twins, well they look like Clubber Lang.
Perhaps this 6-game set at the Fens will wake up the Sox just like a trip to Apollo's old gym did for Rocky - eventually resulting laughing, hugs and short-shorts...
Okay, I could live without the short-shorts, but it has been awhile since we laughed and hugged here in Red Sox Nation.
Daisuke Matsuzaka gets the call tonight against Scott Baker.
In his last 2 starts Daisuke has been in April form, walking 8 batters and lasting just 5 innings per start, but fanning 9 and allowing just 4 hits and 1 run in that span. He'll need to be better if he wants to keep the streaking Twins off the board.
Meanwhile, Baker has been as hot as his the rest of his teammates, winning his last 3 starts and fanning 15 in the process. Baker doesn't walk many (12 in 69 IPs) but he does give over a hit per inning (71 H), so despite decent stats for both starters, this could turn into a slug fest.
Bottom Line: The Sox need to find their edge. Maybe the roar of the Fenway Faithful will bring it back and we can close the gap on the Rays before the break.
"Sure, they're frustrating, you'd probably rather lose 15-5," Kevin Youkilis said of the one-run defeats. "But we're in every game. We just have to finish them off."
That about sums it up folks.
In the past 3 series (10 games) the Red Sox have lost 5 games by one run, coughing up leads and failing to get the clutch hit. Last night's 5-4 loss was just the latest example of ineptitude.
With Manny out of the lineup, Drew and Lowell combined to go 0-8 with a number of frustrating pop-ups. Manny did get a chance to pinch hit with the winning run on the 3rd, but watched three Rivera fastballs wizz by to end the threat. That was Manny's 18th strike out since June 23rd, giving him a 13 game streak with at least one K.
Lowell has been as hot as Pedroia, but with Drew and Manny in funks and the bottom of the lineup completely useless right now, the Sox are batting just .256 with RISP and a dismal .223 with RISP and 2 outs. Last season, the Sox finished at .283 w/RISP and .256 w/ RISP and 2 outs.
Bottom Line: The Sox went 3-7 on this road trip and fell 5 games behind the red-hot Rays. They've got 6 games at Fenway coming up and they're 31-01 at home, so they could climb out of that hole before the All-Star break... but then they've got the dreaded West Coast road trip.
At least this year it's right after the break, so they should be rested.
The Sox and Yankees went at it again this afternoon. The craziest triple you've ever seen (check ou the Sox fan in the back ground - priceless), a rain delay and 5+ hours later, the Red Sox grabbed their second win.
Kevin Youkilis' triple that sat on the fence after falling out of Johnny Damon's glove was definitely the play of the game, but Jacoby Ellsbury also had a great game at the plate and in left field, going 3-5 with 2 bunt singles and an amazing sliding catch in foul territory.
Mike Lowell, who failed to drive in base runners in a few key moments in the last series, hit a 3-run ding dong in the 5th that turned out to the difference in the game.
Bottom Line: The Sox have won back to back games after losing 5 in a row, while Damon calls out his teammates and Joe Girardi refuses to tell the media about his secret team meeting.
"I never thought I was going to have such a hard time hitting soft toss," Ortiz said, "but at the end, I took like 25 swings, and I started catching up."
Ortiz said he hopes he might be able to step into the cage next week.
"It's been hard for me since Day 1," said Ortiz, who has not played since May 31."
"I'm not used to this."
"Every day I feel better. Every day I discover something new, but in a good way, you know what I mean? My problem might be that because I swing so hard, I've got to be 100 percent to play, Otherwise, I can have a setback and I don't think this team needs that."
Mike Timlin will be activated for tonight's game in New York. To make room, the Sox optioned righthander Chris Smith to Pawtucket. After the Hansen/Delcarmen implosion, a healthy Timlin could be a welcome addition to a struggling bullpen... but don't get too excited - Timlin has given up 29 hits and 17 earned runs in 21+ inning so far this year.
Clay Buchholz has been plain nasty in Pawtucket as of late, but the Sox have opted to give Justin Masterson at least one more start before possibly swapping him out with "Bucky."
Masterson, has given up 8 runs on 12 hots and 9 walks in his last two starts... if he struggles in his matchup with Mike Mussina on Saturday, the Sox may need to make the switch... Buchholz is set to start on Staurday as well against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, so the move would be a smooth one.
After watching last night's implosion, I've finally figured out what's killing the Red Sox - a lack of rally caps. Sure there were a few mixed into the crowd last night come the 9th inning, but that clearly ain't cutting it.
Manny is in a HUGE funk and is back striking out what feels like 3 times a game (it's actually 12 times in 7 games ,27 at-bats)... Dustin Pedroia is beyond en fuego (4-5, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R last night) but it's being completely wasted by in inept offense... Don;t even ask me about Hansen and Delcarmen... AND LUGO CAN'T EVEN RUN THE BASES RIGHT!!!
Seriously Julio, it was Ellsbury, not Casey, running to first. You don't need to tackle the short stop. Congratulations, you're officially useless.
Starting tonight, as the boys head into the Bronx while in the biggest funk of 2008, I propose that Red Sox Nation don their Red Sox caps inside out right off the bat - hell flip it around right now and get it nice and broken in.
Bottom Line: The Sox have now lost 4 of their last 5 by one run (the other was by 2 runs). They've blown leads and their rallies have come up short. With the power of a Nation full of rally caps, maybe we can turn the tide here... I mean it can't hurt right?
ps. Game time: 3 hours, 55 minutes... Thanks Daisuke.
pps. That ain't me in the photo, but isn't it amazing that you can find a photo of a Red Sox rally cap in 3 seconds on Google...? Ain't technology grand?
...The Sox may bring Clay Buchholz back up to the big club this weekend to start against the Yankees. He would replace Masterson in the rotation.
"The idea was to work on fastball command," Francona said of Buchholz's stint in Pawtucket. "Consistency, and we slightly adjusted his arm angle to create two-seam movement.
"We didn't want to run him down there for just one or two starts. We made him throw his fastball. I don't know if it was a hard count, but we told him, 'Make yourself do this.' "
Buchholz's changeup and curve are so good, he could fall back on those pitches to get hitters out, which is why the Sox told him not to worry about results, Francona said.
But the results have been there as well, which would seem to guarantee Buchholz a seat on the shuttle to Boston, sooner rather than later.
FW's thoughts:
For either Materson or Buchholz it is going to be a pressure filled situation to pitch in the Bronx when the Sox are desperately in need of some wins. This could be great for Clay's confidence if he can pitch well in New York but it could also have the fans and media really questioning Theo and Tito if he comes up and gets shelled.
Bottom Line: Masterson has slipped as of late (8 runs, 9 walks in last 2 starts) while Buccholz has been lights out in Pawtucket, winning his last 4 starts, posting 24 Ks and just 5 walks in 22.2 IPs - giving him a 0.40 ERA in that span.
I think it's time to make the switch and although this weekend series with the Yankees will be hyped as usual, the Yanks aren't the threat they usually are right now...
Wake pitched well enough for the win last night, but as I mentioned yesterday, Matt Garza is a control freak and he proved it last night by holding the Sox to just 5 hits and zero walks over 7 innings.
The one bright spot was Jacoby Ellsbury - who reached base three times on pure speed. He got into scoring position each time but the Sox couldn't get him across home plate when they needed it most.
Drew, Ramirez, Lowell and Youkilis combined to go 0-14 in the heart of the lineup... causing many to wonder whether or not the Sox can succeed without David Ortiz. Tito says that's bull:
“I don’t really care to talk about who we’re missing. We showed up to win and they outplayed us,” Francona said. “That’s what matters to us... Regardless of who you have out there, you either win or you don’t.”
Bottom Line: The Sox have now lost three in a row by the narrowest of margins, and they look like a team in dire need of a break... somebody needs to step up and spark this team.
James Shields shut down the Red Sox last night, and despite a rally kept alive by pure luck, the Sox fell to the Rays 5-4 and are now 1.5 games back.
Tonight Tim Wakefield will square off with Matt Garza in the Trop. The season is far from over, but it would be nice to take this series and get back on track before the break, so who better to turn to than Wake, he of the 9-1, 2.52 ERA at Tropicana Field?
Wake gave the Sox 7 solid innings in all five starts in June, and was 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA. He's beet stellar as of late, but he did take an no decision back in May when Timlin gave up the game winning hit in the 11th. Wakefield gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and 5 walks in that game.
Matt Garza will go for the Rays. The young right-hander is 4-1 with a 2.51 ERA at home this season and has allowed just 3 runs or less in 9 of his last 11 starts. Graza is 2-1 with a 4.71 ERA in four career starts versus Boston, but he went 01- with a 6.97 ERA in 2 starts last season. Last time he saw the Sox (6/3) he was shellacked for 7 runs (5 earned) and took the 7-4 loss.
That said, Garza is a control freak, walking just over 2 batters per game giving him a 1.21 WHIP - 11th best in the AL. The Sox have one of the most patient lineups in the league, but they'll be tested by Graza tonight.
Guys to Watch: Manny is 5-8 (.625) versus Garza, but Manny's in a bit of a funk - his average has fallen from .301 on 6/14 to .286 after an 0-3 showing last night... JD Drew is 2-3 with a homer against Garza... and Mike Lowell has heated up, batting .450 with 5 doubles, a HR and 10 RBI in his past 10 games.
Akinori Iwamura's suspension ended on Monday. He had been on a roll before his suspension, hitting .300/.388/.429 over his last 17 games. He's also batting .421 with 3 doubles, 4 walks, no strikeouts versus Wake... Carl Crawford also his the knuckler well, batting .316 in 74 at-bats versus Wakefield.
Bottom Line: On paper, the Sox have the advantage... and they could use a win.
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WEEI and NESN are reporting that Manny has been traded. The details are not available yet, but one source is claiming thath Dodgers are part of the deal...
