The Bloody Sock will be on hiatus for the next four days as I head to the Big Apple for my sister's nuptials.
That's right, this charter member of Red Sox Nation is heading into the lions den, and in the middle of another subway series, no less.
But the sis lives and works in the city as does her fiancee, plus my son & I are in the wedding, so there was really no getting around making the trip into hostile territory.
Plenty of pix and stories when I return. Hopefully the Sox will have swept the Giants by then, Bonds will be put out of action after Matsuzaka drills him in his ginourmous dome because doing so in his country is viewed as an honor, and Boston will already have taken a pair in Atlanta by the time I get back.
Hey, a guy can dream.
After all, I'm going to be visiting the city responsible for years of nightmares for the next few days!
Wish me luck, and best of luck to my sister, Melissa, and her hubby-to-be, Paul!
6.16.2007
On Vacation: Into the belly of the beast!
6.15.2007
Pedroia & Drew lead assault on Giants
Sox 10, San Fran 2
WP: Tavarez (4-4)
LP: Zito (6-7)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (3)
SUMMARY
The Sox finally broke out of their offense slump; well, at least two players did.
J.D. Drew (3-4, 3RBI) and Dustin Pedroia (5-5, 5RBI) combined for eight of Boston's nine hits and knocked in eight of their 10 runs, and Barry Bonds went a measly 1-3 in his Fenway debut and heard it from the crowd as the Sox broke a two game losing streak and a long stretch of scoring 2 runs or fewer.
HERO(es): Drew & Pedroia 8-9, 5R, 8RBI, 2-2Bs, HR
The top two guys in the order proved to be quite a 1-2 punch for Tito and the Sox tonight as the new leadoff combo torched Giants pitching, mainly Barry Zito, early and often.
Incredible stat of the year: until Coco's leadoff single in the 8th, no Boston batter other than Drew or Pedroia had a hit, yet the Sox led, 7-2.
GOAT: Zito 5IP, 5H, 6ER, 4BB, 5K, HR
If guys like Lenny DiNardo, Joe Blanton, Josh Fogg and Micah Owings have been able to shut this offense down over the past couple of weeks, what's it say about the $126 million dollar former Cy Young winner that he got shelled like Chuckles the Clown at the circus parade?
Over-Rated!
RECAP:
Maybe Tito's lineup shuffle wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Criticized in some circles (guilty) for placing his slumping, $70 million dollar right fielder in the leadoff spot just days after dropping his $36 million dollar shortstop from that position to 9th in the lineup, Terry Francona's strategy, once again, proved to be a stroke of genius.
The new look lineup, unveiled last night, didn't produce a spark against Colorado, but boy did the new Dynamic Duo catch fire and burn the mutha down tonight.
J.D. Drew and Dustin Pedrioa eschewed the usual top of the order etiquette of taking a lot of pitches and getting on base any way you can to set up the big boppers down in the lineup and instead they became the big boppers in the lineup.
And Boston would need someone to pick up the slack when original bopper Big Papi was ejected after arguing a strike three call in the second inning, forcing Wily Mo Pena into an early an unexpected entrance into the game, and especially after they were behind 2-0 before they even came to bat.
For the third consecutive game and fourth time in the last six contests Boston allowed the opponent to score in the first inning. This rally started, of course, with Red Sox playoff hero Dave Roberts, who received a long & loud ovation of appreciation for his major role in bringing a championship to the city.
Roberts led off the frame with a single, then Mark Sweeney followed with a deep double to right that nearly went out and easily score Roberts with the first run. Fitting, huh? After Randy Winn grounded out, Mr. Bonds stepped to the plate, and a long, loud and sometimes lewd roar greeted the tainted (soon-to-be) home run king. What a surprise.
The crowd (which somehow contained quite a few Giants fans-hmmm) roared for a different reason four pitches later when Barry took a Tavrez offering and hung a looping fly down the right field line that wrapped up and around Pesky's Pole near its topmost point and looked to be fair, but was waved foul by first base ump Charlie Reliford.
After a brief protest by Giants manager Bruce Bochy, a bemused Bonds stepped back in the box and promptly popped out to short right. Julie was almost out of the inning when his wild pitch allowed Sweeney to score, and just like the offensively challenged Sox had a deficit to overcome.
Little did we know it would be the only runs the Giants would score on the night.
Because have no fear, RSN, the top two Sox batters were ready to get their 'A' games in gear, and although the onslaught started innocently enough when Drew was hit by a Zito pitch to lead off the game, it didn't take long for the fireworks to start.
Like, say, two pitches later, when Pedroia raked a Zito fastball into the Monster seats for a lightning quick 2-run homer that tied the game and foreshadowed the kind of night it was going to be for the scorching-hot second baseman.
The play after the homer would also foreshadow the end of the night for Boston's hot-hitting DH.
Papi took exception to a fastball from Zito that appeared to be a tad inside but was called strike three by home plate umpire Tony Randazzo. After an exchange of heated words, Ortiz stalked off towards the dugout, then at the last second slammed his helmet and bat to the ground, drawing the immediate ejection from Randazzo.
But no Papi, no worries tonight as the Drew/Pedroia offensive machine was just getting heated up.
In the bottom of the third the pair would both single and then Drew would score on an RBI fielders choice by Manny Ramirez and Boston had its fiorst lead of the night, 3-2. In the fourth, after Lowell and Lugo walked, Drew ripped a double to deep center that scored both men, then Pedroia roped a single to right that brought Drew home with Boston's sixth run of the night.
In the sixth it was more of the same, as Coco reached on an error, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a sharp single to right by Drew, pushing the score to 7-2 Sox. Pedroia did follow with a single as well, but Wily Mo grounded out to end the inning.
By the 8th inning Zito was long gone, Bonds was 1-3 with a single and a walk, and Drew & Pedroia were still playing a game of 'can you top this?'
Coco led off the bottom of the 8th with a single, the first hit by someone other than Drew or Pedroia, and then Julio Lugo walked to set up another scoring situation for Drew. Ah, but this time he flinched, flying out to deep center on a nice play by Roberts (of course), and it was up to Pedroia to record a base knock and take home the Kewpie doll.
And he did just that when he tagged a Jack Taschner (who?) pitch to the left centerfield gap for a two-run double that made it 10-2 Sox, put an exclamation point on his night, and sent waves of relief rippling throughout the Nation- hooray, the drought is finally over!
Tavarez would end up going seven solid innings, allowing six hits and just the two runs, walking two while fanning three, and Okijima and Pineiro chipped in with a scoreless inning each, and like we all expected, Tavarez was the one who broke the starter's slump, and Drew and Pedroia were the ones who carried the offense.
Just like Tito drew it up.
NOTES:
- Papi's ejection was his first sine August of 2005. For the record, the call was questionable, and rRmy questioned the validity of the tossing, but the LL coach in me says you just can't slam the equipment on the field of play like that and not get run
- Manny's RBI was his 1,551st of his career, moving him into 37th place on the all-time list
- Drew's 3-hit night broke an o-11 drought, but before that he had back-to-back 3-hit games in Arizona
- The array of signs, shirts and chants that greeted Bonds was pretty impressive, but the amount of Giants fans that managed to worm their way into the park was even more disturbing
- Ryan Klesko, the regular Giants first baseman, was scratched with (teehee) sore hips,and Sweeney took his place in the lineup; Sweeney would go 1-4 with a run & RBI
- Two-way players: on top of the offensive fireworks, Pedroia & Drew also made excellent defensive plays; Drew ran down a slicing liner by Winn to lead off the 8th, and Pedroia threw Bonds out from short right on a play in the sixth
QUOTES:
"What do you want me to do, huh? What do you want me to do?" --Bonds when questioned whether he though the ball was fair or foul
"Barry asked me, 'Is it always like this? With the buzz, the media? And I said, 'Every time you play the Yankees, it's like this. It's a playoff environment."--Roberts giving Barry the 411 on what it's like to play in Fenway
"The first month of the season, we spent so much time trying to defend him. He wasn't hitting. But he plays the ball all over the ballpark. And, man, he makes contact. There's a lot of things in his favor."--Tito on his blossoming second baseman
RECORD: 42-24
AL EAST: Up 8.5 on NYY
STREAK: W-1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: SAT vs. SFG 3:55EST Read More......
San Fran @ Sox GM1
Zito (6-6) vs. Tavarez (3-4)
Fenway Park 7EST
Barry Bonds makes his first trip ever to Fenway Park, and Barry Zito makes his first start against the Sox since he swapped sides of the Bay as San Francisco plays in Boston for the first time in history.
But the Boston players have a lot more on their minds than how Bonds, who is just eight home runs shy of tying Hank Aaron's all-time mark of 755, is received in his inaugural trip to one of the most hostile enemy territories in all of sports.
Such as how they are going to deal with facing a real All-Star-caliber, not to mention Cy Young-winning, pitcher like Zito, since the team has had enough trouble scoring off has-beens and never-will-bes in the last couple of weeks.
Although Zito doesn't own a stellar career record against Boston, posting a 5-5 mark with a 4.78 ERA in 13 starts while with Oakland, and he hasn't gotten off to the start the team would have hoped after shelling out the largest contract ever signed by a pitcher (7-years, $126 million) in the offseason to lure him across the Bay, he is still a quality, dangerous big league starter.
And he'll always have that big-time yakker.
Once again Julian Tavarez will face another team's ace, and so far Julie has faired pretty well going up against the likes of Halladay, Santana and Mussina. As usual, you never know what you're gonna get with him, so the Sox hitters are going to have to break out of their run drought if they plan on getting a win tonight.
Oh, and old friend and Red Sox playoff legend Dave Roberts makes his return to Fenway for the first time since his steal against the Stanks in Game 4 of the '04 LCS turned the tide of the series and eventually led to the trophy coming to Beantown.
Needless to say the reception from the Faithful will be just as warm and heartfelt as that bestowed upon another longtime BoSox fave in his first trip back here, Trot Nixon.
Should be plenty of excitement in the air, especially as Bonds makes his way to the plate for his first at bat.
Something tells me the ovation for Roberts will be a little bit warmer than the one Bonds receives.
Go Sox!
score some bleepin' runs!
Series Preview: San Francisco @ Sox
San Fran Giants (30-35)
NL WEST: 7.5 GB
STREAK: L-1 LAST 10: 4-6
AVG: .253 (10th) ERA: 3.73 (3rd)
HRs: 52 (13th) RUNS: 277 (t-11th)
Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1: Zito (6-6, 4.02) vs. Tavarez (3-4, 5.25)
GM2: Cain (2-6, 3.31) vs. Matsuzaka (7-5, 4.52)
GM3: Morris (7-3, 2.56) vs. Wakefield (6-7, 3.92)
KEY PLAYERS:
| Barry Bonds | .285/13/30; wonder if he'll get booed? |
| Randy Winn | .307/29R/21BI; leads team in avg, Ks |
| Dave Roberts | .216/19R/10SB; the hero returns! |
| Ray Durham | .250/35R/37; leads team in R & RBI |
| O. Vizquel | .229/23R/19; still fields like a whiz |
The Giants make their first trip to Fenway Park since the early 19oo's and their main attraction/freak show/MLB pariah Barry Bonds is making his first visit to the historic ballyard in his 21-year career.
Hard to believe but it's true. The biggest name in the game over the last 7-8 years has never swung a bat competitively in Fenway, and you can be sure his first introduction to the Faithful will be a boisterous, sometimes blasphemous, and above all memorable experience.
The Giants come into this series at a crossroad in their season. With Bonds in the midst of chasing down Hank Aaron for the all-time home run record (he's now 8 away from tying the mark of 755), you get the sense that the entire team would like to put the controversial feat behind them and start concentrating on playing for a postseason berth.
It didn't help their cause when Bonds started out like gangbusters (.356/8/17) in April, then fizzled like a fuseless firecracker in May (.194/4/8), all the while navigating waves of speculation of when he would actually break the record.
When it was predicted that he might set it on this trip, then Curt Schilling had to throw his two cents in, saying Bonds cheated at everything but Scrabble and even though he issued a retraction/apology, the comments still make this series a little juicier.
Now it's obvious that Barry won't break the most hallowed record in sports in the most hallowed stadium in the game, so a little of the luster has worn off the series.
But even with Barry hiding behind the DH, the fanatics will find a way to get under his skin.
I remember sitting in the bleachers back in the day when another muscle-bound lightning rod of a player patrolled the area near the right field bleachers in Fenway and was booed and ridiculed mercilessly for his attitude, performance, and perceived artificially-enhanced physique.
His name was Jose Canseco, and he took the ribbing in stride, smiling and even flexing his muscles for the crowd.
Something tells me Bonds won't be doing much smiling this weekend.
Unless the Boston pitchers keep throwing like the starting rotation of the '62 Mets.
GO Sox!
Read More......6.14.2007
Bad times bite Beckett, too; Rocks hand him first loss
Colorado 7, Sox 1
WP: Beckett (9-1)
LP: Francis (6-5)
HRs: COL-Atkins (5), Holliday (11)
SUMMARY
Different night, same crappy New England weather, same crappy Red Sox result.
Another obscure starter shut down the Sox offense, holding Boston to two runs or fewer for the seventh time in nine games, and the Rockies pounded one of Boston's best pitchers early & often for the second game in a row, and it all added up to an ugly series loss for Boston.
HERO: G. Atkins 3-5, R, 4RBI, 2B, GS
The slumping third baseman has found his groove and picked up his team tonight as his thrid inning grand slam set the tone for another dominating Colorado victory.
GOAT: Beckett 5IP, 10H, 6ER, 1BB, 1K, 2HRs
First time making this category for Becks, and he certainly earned it with an outing that was more reminiscent of July/August 2006 than April-Jun 2007.
RECAP
Technically, the Sox are not in a slump. After all, they have won four of the last seven games and had a chance to sweep Arizona had it not been for a large Unit on the mound.
But after tonight there is no doubt that Boston is struggling, scuffling, stumbling, and worst of all succumbing to weaker teams and inferior pitchers, turning each new scrub into the second coming of Sandy Koufax and suffering from a maddening inability to get runs across the plate.
The stench of desperation hung in the misty, frigid air over Fenway right from the beginning of the game when the lineups were announced and Tito unveiled his latest incarnation of the Magic Leadoff Man-as in poof, let's make one of our multi-millionaire players into a serviceable major league leadoff hitter.
This time it was J.D. Drew's turn at the poisoned position, he of the .236 average and .338 OBP. Granted he does walk a lot (31 in 56 games, 3rd behind Manny & Papi), and he had been hitting the ball better lately, but couldn't the pressure of having to get on base at the top of the order really fuck up his already morbid offensive situation?
The answer, it turned out, is yes as Drew went 0-5 and made outs to begin an inning (1st), end an inning (8th), twice with two men on (4th, 6th), and once with the bases loaded (2nd). Nice.
But I digress. I'm supposed to be recapping the game, but this is how we get when our team has lost 9 of its last 14 games while scoring fewer times than Turtle on Entourage while the Stanks are screaming up from behind them, winners on nine straight.
Much like last night the Rocks got to Boston's starter early, by scoring another first inning run. Kaz Matsui (3-5, 2R), who has been a real pest the past two games, blooped a fly ball to the Bermuda Triangle behind second base that fell between three fielders, and Matsui hustled it into a double. Uh-oh.
One out later Todd Helton (2-5, 2R, BI), another pest, laced a 1-2 offering from Beckett into center to score Matsui with the first run, and just like that you got the feeling it was gonna be one of those nights.
That feeling was especially strong when the Sox loaded the bases in the second off Francis (5IP, 7H, 0R, 2BB, 6K) but once again could not push a run across (I've stopped counting how many times that has happened recently.) Lowell led off with a hard single, and after Tek struck out Coco walked and Lugo reached on an error by Helton to load the bases for Drew.
I'll give him credit- he did hit a frozen rope that appeared headed for left field- but SS Troy Tulowitzki stepped in front of it to snag the hot shot, and after Pedroia K'd, the Nation started to shift in its seats from that queasy, uneasy sensation welling up inside.
But Beckett was on the hill, he of the perfect record and lights out performance last time out, so no worries, right? After all, it was still a 1-run game with seven innings to go.
Becks took care of that glimmer of hope by serving up a 4-spot to the Rockies in the third, and Colorado made Boston's scoring ineptitude seem all the more embarrassing when all the runs scored on one swing of the bat.
Matsui (damn him!) led off the frame with a single and then Matt Holliday (PIA #3) ripped a double to to left center that set up runners at second & third with no outs. After walking Helton to pack the sacks, Atkins, who had a breakout season last year but had struggled mightily this season, worked the count to 3-1 and then pounced on a Beckett fastball, sending a tracer missile into the Monster seats in the blink of an eye that left the sellout crowd dazed & confused.
This couldn't be happening again, could it? And to our best, most dependable, most consistent pitcher to boot?
Unfortunately it was happening again, and just to prove this was like some hardball case of deja vu, Francis continued to shut the Sox down for five innings and then manager Clint Hurdle let five relievers finish it out; still, Boston could manage only one run against the likes of Tom Martin, Manny Corpas and LaTroy Hawkins, and that was on-of course-an RBI single by Lowell in the 7th.
Beckett would allow another run on a homer by Holliday before he departed after five innings (and 100 pitches) as well, and it was small consolation that Snyder, Timlin & Lopez managed to stop the bleeding. By then the damage was done, and it was time to put this one behind us, too.
And so here we are, suffering another case of deja vu, this one flashing back to last season. Beckett started that season like gangbusters, too, before immaturity, control issues and longball problems submerged his first year in Boston, and the Sox enjoyed a comfy divison lead through July until the Stanks came to Fenway, executed the BM II, and derailed any postseason plans the Sox had been making.
But this team is too good, too deep, and too talented to stay in a funk like this for a prolonged period of time, and the veteran leadership won't allow a funk like this to faze them. They realize they can bust out of it any minute, and they also realize there's no way teams are going to face Schill, Beckett, Dice-K and Wake all in a week and defeat every one of them.
So we as a Nation just have to ride it out. The rock-n-rollin' Rockies have left town and the struggling Giants come to Fenway in a series that should see more booing of the opponent than any this side of a visit by the Stanks.
The question is, are we going to be booing just Barry, or are we going to be booing members of the home team as well?
NOTES:
- Boston did register 10 hits, two each by Manny, Lowell and Tek, had three walks and a man reach on an error, but stranded 14 baserunners
- Although the Sox held Willy Taveras in check (0-5), the 2-3 hitters, Matsui & Holliday, went 5-10 with two doubles, a homer, four runs scored and an RBI
- Papi went 0-3 with two Ks and a walk, while Manny continued his hot streak as his two hits raised his average to .293
- The Killer T's, Torrealba & Tulowitzki, had another three hits combined, and Tulo had that nice play on Drew as well
- Atkins diet: How off has Atkins been from last year? He mashed 29 homers and 120 ribbies while batting .329 in '06; this year-.242/5/28
QUOTES:
"It was a fun run. There's no way I take all the credit. If you're not striking everybody out, you need those eight guys behind you."--Beckett, brushing off the importance of his winning streak
"I know I'm a good hitter. I've had two bad months of swings, but we've got four months left."--Atkins, not lacking for confidence
"We're looking at maybe being up 2-1 with a full-fledged rally going. They turn it around in the top of the inning with a grand slam, so it's a big swing."--Tito, pun intended
RECORD: 41-24
AL EAST: Up 7 1/2 on NYY
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Fri vs. San Fran 7EST Read More......
Game Preview: Colorado @ Sox GM3
Francis (5-5, 3.81) vs. Beckett (9-0, 2.88)
Fenway Park 7EST
The Sox will try to put the memory of last night's 10-run debacle behind them, and they have just the right person on the mound to do it.
That's because Josh Beckett has picked up right where he left off before going on the DL May 19th; in three starts since his stint, Becks is 2-0 and has allowed 8 runs in 21.1 innings with 20 strikeouts and just four walks, and four of those runs came in a no decision against the Stanks.
Last time out Beckett was awesome, shutting down the D-backs on five hits and two earned runs with eight Ks and no walks over eight innings in a 10-3 Boston win. Tonight he probably won't need to be as dominant, but the way the Rocks hitters swung the bats against Schilling last night, he's gonna have to be pretty damn good.
Just like last night the Sox will be facing a pitcher who won't be making an All Star roster any time soon. Although rangy lefty Jeff Francis has pitched much better of late (4-1, 7 ERs in his last 36 innings) than he did earlier in the season (18ER in his previous 33.2IP), he's still the type of pitcher that a team like Boston should eat for lunch.
But the way no-name starters have had career performances against Boston in the last week or so, who knows what will happen.
Still, my money is on Beckett getting win #10 against no defeats and climbing to within four of Clemens' team record.
Unless Jeff Francis tosses a no-hitter, or something freaky like that happens.
Sox Drawer: What happened to the offense?
A perplexing lack of runs has left the Sox searching for their lost offense
It started, as most streaks do, innocently enough, with a 2-0 loss to Oakland and old friend Lenny DiNardo on June 4th that seemed more like a minor aberration than the beginning of a disturbing trend.
Suddenly, eight games later, Boston's power outage has gone to infuriating, perplexing and epic proportions as what was once one of the highest scoring teams in the league now can't buy any runs.
As pointed out in today's Globe, six times in the last eight games the Sox have been held to two runs or fewer (two wins), a feat it had accomplished prior to this stretch six times in its last 32 contests, and two of those were wins.
So what's the deal with the sudden drought?
Many factors have to be considered to figure out the reason behind this annoying occurrence, and but the good news is the condition would appear to be temporary, influenced by a number of factors.
- The Bullseye Effect-- when you're as good as the Sox are and own of the best record in the game for over a month, teams want to take you out, and not just the rival Stanks. Therefore even though the list of hurlers who have tossed gems against the Sox in the last two weeks isn't Hall of Fame-caliber,(DiNardo, Kennedy, Blanton, Cook, Fogg, Randy Johnson-oops), every night Boston faces teams that want to knock off #1 and pitchers who want desperately to defeat a heralded rival like Schilling, Beckett or Dice-K; it's all part of being the best team in the majors (sigh!)
- Scheduling Quirks-- whoever decided to have Boston play a weekend series at home with the hated Stanks, capped by a Sunday Night ESPN game that ended past midnight EST, and then have them take a red eye to the West Coast that landed in San Fran at 4:30 am PST should be shot, hung, and forced to watch Wild Hogs 478 times in a row. Needless to say losing that Sun. nite game on A-Rod's homer combined with serious jet lag might have had something to do with the 0-3 start to the WC swing and led to the drought
- Sudden slumps-- remember when Pedroia & Youk were smoking hot and Lowell and Papi were driving in a ton of runs? Me neither. Most of the team has fallen victim to Slumbering Bat Syndrome, a condition that has certainly been influenced by the rash of hot pitching they've faced, but considering the quality of said hurlers, the situation is that much more vexing.
To that end, let's take a look at how the hitters have (under)performed over this eight game famine:
| Julio Lugo | 4-32, 1HR, 1BI |
| Kevin Youkilis | 7-22, 0HR, 2BI |
| David Ortiz | 9-24, 1HR, 1BI |
| Manny Ramirez | 6-18, 0HR, 2BI |
| J.D. Drew | 7-21, 2HR, 8BI |
| Mike Lowell | 5-27, 1HR, 3BI |
| Jason Varitek | 5-24, 1HR, 3BI |
| Coco Crisp | 4-30, 0R, 0BI |
| Dustin Pedroia | 3-17, 2R, 0BI |
| Alex Cora | 2-12, 1R, 0BI |
| Wily Mo Pena | 2-9, 0HR, 1BI |
| Eric Hinske | 2-4, 1R, 0BI |
| Doug Mirabelli | 2-8, 0HR, 0BI |
Throw out the J.D. Drew 1-game explosion and this team just hasn't been producing from top to bottom. Although guys like Manny, Papi and Youk are hitting, they are not driving in any runs, probably because guys like Lugo, Crisp, Pedroia haven't been getting on base.
It's the old cart before the horse theory; are the Sox not scoring runs because no one's on base, or is no one on base because they have been facing hot pitching?
I don't know the answer and frankly all this talk about it is making me a little upset, so I'll end this exercise right now.
But if Boston doesn't explode for some runs tonight, when the king of run support Josh Beckett takes his perfect record to the mound, and with the Stanks reeling off eight straight wins while scoring 7RPG, well then this could get real ugly real fast.
Who knows, maybe Tito will even make another lineup change.
Hint: Coco (.277 OBP, .324 career) isn't leadoff material, either; try Youk or keep Pedroia there, but not Coco or Lugo, m'kay?
Read More......6.13.2007
Rocks trounce Sox
Colorado 12, Sox 2
WP: Fogg (2-5)
LP: Schilling (6-3)
HRs: BOS- Lowell (12); COL- Hawpe (9).jpg)
SUMMARY
Nothing to say about this one other than it was a good old fashioned ass kicking administered by a good young Rockies squad.
Nearly every Colorado player contributed to the offensive onslaught, while everyone from Curt Schilling to Julio Lugo played a part in Boston absorbing this brutal loss.
Meanwhile, the Stanks have won eight in a row and are now just 8 1/2 back.
HERO: Rockies batters 12 runs, 14 hits, 19 baserunners
Eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit and five had multiple hits, five guys knocked in at least one run while two players had at least three ribbies, and the Rockies mashed five extra base hits.
GOAT: whole Boston team
The pitching? Atrocious. The fielding? Horrendous. The batting? Heinous- just seven hits and two runs against a pitcher that had lost four straight decisions and had an ERA over 5.00.
Not much went right tonight for Boston, and everyone on the field had a hand in it someway.
RECAP:
...hmmm hhmmmm hmmmmm...
... la di da di da di da....
...you know how people always say that their mom used to say if you don't have something nice to say about somebody then don't say anything at all?
Well if that wisdom applies to the sports world then I might as well end this post right here.
Because after what I witnessed on the field tonight, there is not one redeeming thing to say about one player that took the field for the Red Sox in this game.
Before Schill gets wind of this commentary and rips me a new one on his blog, I'm not saying they didn't try, or want to win, or were unprofessional in any way-
I'm just saying they sucked, tonight.
Bad.
Like a high-powered Hoover bad.
Like Paris Hilton on a first date bad.
Like the finale of the Sopranos (to some people) bad.
Hey, it happens, even to the best team in the league. It's the way it happened so quickly, and to so many members of the team at once, that was a bit alarming to the casual observer/over-zealous rabid fanatic.
Curt Schilling (5IP, 9H, 6R, 5ER, 1BB, 5K, 1HR) really got the suck wagon rolling when the Rockies touched him up for a run in the first and two more in the second, and by the end of two innings he'd already thrown 51 pitches and had given up six hits and two earned runs.
And that was the good part of his outing.
In his defense it wasn't all his fault; his defense had a lot to do with it. An error by Julio Lugo in the first inning allowed a runner to get in scoring position, his inability to field a grounder in the second that went right by his glove allowed run #2 to come in, and another gaffe by Lowell on a backhanded play led to Colorado's third run.
Despite all that the Boston batters got Schill right back in the game when they got to Fogg, who was coming off an outing where he allowed 11 hits and six runs in five innings, for a run in the second on a Monstah shot by Lowell (redemption for the error?) and an RBI single by Manny in the third that followed base hits by Youk (2-4) and Ortiz.
But Schill, who had been near-perfect his last time out, was nearly the exact opposite tonight. After he tossed a 1-2-3 fourth, Curt provided the Rockies with all the runs they would need to win the game in the fifth.
Kaz Matsui and Matt Holliday started things off with back-to-back singles to open the inning. When Schill quickly retired Todd Helton (fly out) and Garret Adkins (K), it looked like he might escape the jam and keep his team in the game.
And then he hung a splitter that didn't split to bad Brad Hawpe, and the burly rightfielder obliterated the pitch for a towering three-run homer deep into the right field bleachers that pushed the lead to 6-2 and crushed the spirit of Schill and the Sox.
Boston briefly had one more shot at making a game of it in the bottom of the inning, when Youk led off with a double, but after making it to third with two outs, J.D. Drew (0-3, 2Ks) struck out to end the last threat of the night.
Then came the top of the sixth, which ended the last shred of dignity Boston was hoping to salvage from this mess.
Kyle Snyder came in to relieve Schilling, and even the normally reliable and accurate righty wasn't immune to the bug that bit the team tonight.
Snyder walked three batters (1 intentionally) sandwiched around a couple of outs, and when the normally reliable 1-batter specialist Javier Lopez came on and served up a shot to left by Helton that Manny butchered into a 3-run double to make it 9-3, it was obvious there would be no miracle comeback tonight.
Feeling left out, Gascan Piniero made an appearance and in the 8th allowed three runs on three hits and a wild pitch that turned the game into an official laugher at 12-2. Thanks for coming.
By the time Lugo (appropriately) flied out to end the game, the crowd was sparse, the chilly grey skies were spitting rain, and the Sox and RSN were ready to put this massacre behind them and look forward to Josh Beckett going for win #10 tomorrow night.
Let's hope the old "used 'em all up tonight" adage applies to the Rockies in that one.
NOTES:
- The Terrible Ts: the phonetically challenging duo of Yorvit Torrealba and Troy Tulowitzki tore the Sox up tonight; the two combined to go 3-7 with five runs scored, and in the series the pair is Torrealba also had two hits in Game 1
- After striking out to end the game last night, Helton (1-4, 4 ribs) got the last laugh tonight with his soul-crushing double
- The top three Colorado batters (Taveras-Matsui-Holliday) went 7-13 with six runs scored and two RBIs one night after they combined to go 0-12
- Leadoff limbo: Coco wore the leadoff hat tonight, and turned in an 0-4 stinker. Lugo, meanwhile, is still batting 9th turned in an absolutely dreadful game, going 0-4 at the plate including a big strikeout with two men on in the fourth and numerous misplays in the field, including his 9th error of the season. "Hate to say I told you so..." (scroll down)
- Papi continues to rack up base hits. His single tonight marked the 11th time in the last 12 games he's had at least one hit
- Lowell had an odd night; he committed his 12th error in top of the second, then hit his 12th homer later in the bottom of the inning. He added another hit and now has 48 RBIs, 14 more than ManRam, but his error total is only two off his career high of 14, achieved in 159 games in 2002; he made six all of last year
- Back to "normal": Drew has begun to relegate his Arizona performance to a distant memory; in three games since his 6-hit barrage he is 0-7 with two Ks and he left three men on base tonight
- After a near no-no last week, Schill dispensed with any possible drama by allowing a hit to the first batter of the game; another "interesting" stat on Schill's outing: all six runs he allowed scored w/2 out (talk about not putting 'em away)
- Youk ripped two hits including his 19th double after going through a 3-15 spell
- Snyder had only allowed three runs in his last 10 appearances dating back to May 8th before getting charged with a trio tonight; he also had only walked three batters in his last six outings before the trio tonight. Freaky stuff tonight.
QUOTES:
"You get blown out like that, you can deal with it, not like a 4-3 loss."--Youk, taking the proper perspective
"I had a manageable, winnable game in the fifth and I gave up a three-run homer."--the ever frank and self-critical Schilling
"I'm more worried about going up there looking for strikes and not worried about who you're facing."--Hawpe, dipping into the cliche handbook regarding Schilling
RECORD: 41-23
AL EAST: Up 8.5 on NYY
STREAK: L-1
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Thu 7P vs. COL
Read More......Game Preview: Colorado vs. Sox GM2
Francis (1-5, 5.06) vs. Schilling (6-2, 3.49)
Fenway Park 7EST
Explain to me how a second-year sensation like Justin Verlander can toss a no-hitter against one of the best teams in the National league, but a big game legend and veteran of almost 20 major league seasons like Schill can't close the deal against the the slappy A's?
What's that, Verlander had a heater that reached 101 mph once and 99 repeatedly on the gun last night?
Never mind.
Anyway, Schill will take the hill tonight coming off the his best performance in a Sox uni in a long time, when he held Oakland hitless for 8 2/3 innings before Shannon Bleepin' Stewart lined a solid base hit to break up his bid for history.
No matter. The bigger picture for Boston is the continued improvement of the once-struggling ace, as he has allowed just five earned runs in his last 21 innings after surrendering 14 in his previous 24, picking up two wins and an ND in that time.
His opponent on the mound tonight will be Josh Fogg. The struggling righty, a native of Lynn, Lynn the City of Sin, has been in a fog of late (sorry, too easy), losing four straight and spending time on the DL in late May.
Fogg has allowed an astronomical 95 base runners (72 hits, 23 walks) in 58.2 innings of work, so Boston should be able to put some runs on the board after being stymied by Aaron Cook last night.
I believe another Sox win is in the cards, and who knows, maybe this time Schill will get that no-no.
Go Sox!
Sox drawer: Lugo demotion long time coming
Tito made a move yesterday that was much deserved, but also long overdue.
Great grabs like this is one reason teams have been snowed by Lugo's talents
Julio Lugo, the struggling veteran shortstop with the ginourmous contract (4-years, $36 million) and microscopic batting average (.215), was dropped from the leadoff spot all the way down to #9 in the order in favor of the hotter, younger, and much cheaper bat of rookie Dustin Pedroia.
Let's go over why this was the right decision, and why it should have happened sooner:
- He's NOT a leadoff hitter. The guy is many things-alternately slick & sloppy in the field, alternately hot & (mostly) cold at the plate- but one thing he is not is a leadoff batter. He's always been more of a slap hitter/RBI guy, and in 8 seasons he has never come close to walking more times than he strikes out (okay, in 2005 he had nine fewer.) Plus his lifetime OBP is an anemic .335; by comparison, Kenny Lofton's is .371, Judas Demon, .344, and even Randy Winn has a career OBP of .344.
- He's NOT worth the mega bucks. Look, for some reason Theo & the boys have been enamored with him since his days in Houston and then throughout his 2+ seasons here in Tampa Bay. Why? That is the mystery. Sure he has some pop (career high 75 ribbies in 2004, 15 homers in 2003), but so what? He's always been more of a defensive liability than a plus (20+ errors in a season four times, 16 last year in 81 games), has struck out more than 100 times in a season three times, and then there's that whole lousy OBP thing, which is pretty important if you want the guy to hit leadoff
- He's NOT an upgrade at either position. A couple of guys who have manned the SS position since Nomah departed in mid-2004 have had equal or better stats than Lugo, yet were jettisoned for one bad reason or another:
- Orlando Cabrera (2004) has only had one 20+ error season in 11 years, has had over 70 RBIs three times, including a career-high 96 in 2001 w/ Montreal, and has the exact same career batting average as Lugo (.272); he'll make $3 mill less than Lugo in '07
- Alex Gonzalez (2006) career batting average (.247) & OBP (.293) may be awful, but he is a far better fielder (30 fewer errors in 24 more games from 2003-06), has had two 70+ RBI seasons compared to Lugo's one, and is owed $22 million less than Lugo over the next three years. Plus he was batting 8th & 9th, not first.
And we all know there is no comparison to him and Demon as far as leadoff batting goes, and there's no need to go into the 2006 disaster that was Edgar Rentanerror.
Look, I haven't been a fan of this guy since the former D-Ray regime fell hard for him in 2004, wooing him away from the Astros, and it had nothing to do with his ugly spousal abuse charge that paved the way for his early departure.
In my opinion he's always been a lot of sound & fury signifying nothing. Boston and Tampa Bay were enamored with is wiry, limber body that allows him to get to many tough balls, his occasionally streaky bat that has led him to hit over .280 three times, and his enthusiastic personality & energetic play.
I'm not saying that Pedroia is the answer; he may not be. But now the truth is out- Lugo isn't either. He attempted to man a high profile position on a team with the best record in the game, and he came up empty with a pathetic batting average, paltry on base percentage, and just 21 walks in 242 ABs while committing eight 8 errors in 59 games and knocking in 33 runs.
All that points to a bottom of the lineup player.
But there were $36 million reasons why Tito didn't do it sooner.
Read More......6.12.2007
Sox win in under 2 1/2 hours. Yes, it's true!
Sox 2, Colorado 1
WP: Wakefield (6-7)
LP: Cook (3-4)
SV: Papelbon (15)
HRs: None
SUMMARY
Tim Wakefield had a 1-0 shutout going thru seven innings, but he allowed a run in the eighth to tie the game. Extra innings, right? Wrong. The Sox bucked up and put a run on the board in the bottom of the frame, and Paps came on in the ninth to slam the door on the win-forcefully.
HERO: Wakefield 8IP, 4H, ER, BB, 3K
He had been battered worse than Paris Hilton's ego the past few weeks and saw his ERA balloon from 1.79 to 4.22, but tonight his knuckler was dancing like that cute little blond on Dancing With the Stars, and he set a season high for innings pitched.
GOAT: J. Affeldt 1/3IP, H, W
After his staffmate, starter Aaron Cook, had thrown an absolute gem for 8+ innings, and his teammates tied the game in the top of the inning, Affeldt came in and blew the game for them by giving up a double, a walk and a sac fly that plated the winning run.
RECAP
The Sox may have returned to an American League ballpark and played the game under AL rules, but the opponent and style of play said National League all the way.
A low scoring, one-run pitcher's duel that saw the three runs score on a double, single and sac fly and that clocked in at an astoundingly brisk 2:25 is almost an unknown entity in the free-swinging junior circuit, but over in the "turn the lineup over" NL, 2 1/2 hour games are a common occurrence.
Of course it always help to play the game quickly when both pitchers are tossing zeroes on the board like a couple of seniors throwing shoes at the local retirement center.
Wakefield and Cook engaged in a skill full battle of contrasting styles that made for a miserable night for the hitters but was captivating to watch. While Wake's flutterballs were confounding the Rockies, of whom only Todd Helton had faced him before, Cook's sinker was getting the Sox batters to pound more balls in the dirt than the Brokeback boys. (I know, it's old & stale, but it's all I got)
Boston grabbed an early run for Wakefield, and it was a good thing because he had allowed 26 earned runs in his last 5 starts.
Julio Lugo, batting in his new slot in the 9-hole, doubled with one out in the third. After Dustin Pedroia, who went 1-3 batting leadoff for the first time, grounded out and Lugo swiped third without a throw, Youk ripped a double down the right field line to easily score Lugo with the game's first run.
It would remain that way for four more innings; Boston mounted a couple of scoring chances against Cook but were foiled by a couple of DPs, the sinkerballer's best friend, and Wake was plain masterful, allowing just three base runners through the first seven innings but living on the edge with a mere one-run lead.
In the eighth he would slip off that edge, and the Sox hitters' failure to put another run or two on the board would come back to haunt them big time.
Brad Hawpe (1-3, R) led off the frame with a double to right, and just like that the tying run was in scoring position. After a flyball moved him to third, Wake got the fun-to-say Troy Tulowitzki to fly out to shallow right, and J.D. Drew's throw kept Hawpe nailed to the base. But two pitches late the funner-to-say Yorvit Torrealba (2-3, RBI) blooped a single to center to score Hawpe, and suddenly it seemed as if all of Wake's hard work was for naught.
Ah, naught so fast.
Thankful for what he had done for them and embarrassed by not being able to crack a guy with an ERA near 4 1/2, the Sox hitters staged a rally in the 8th that was, well, very NL-like.
Pedroia, who like Lugo took the news of the lineup switch in stride, laced a 2-2 pitch from Cook to center to lead off the inning, and with that Cook was out of the game. And as usually is the case when a manager removes a hot pitcher after he gets in a smidgen of trouble in favor of a cold reliever just to play the friggin percentages, things did not turnout well from Clint Hurdle.
Because Papi (3-3) patiently waited for his pitch from reliever Jeremy Affeldt and then roped his third offering for a laser to right field that missed clearing the bullpen wall by about six inches according to Rem Dog, setting up runners at second & third with no outs. Gulp.
After the obligatory walk to ManRam, the pressure fell on the fragile shoulder of Drew, who in his first game back home since his 7-RBI outburst in Phoenix had a chance to be the hero earlier in the game but GIDP'd.
But with the sacks packed all Drew needed to do was put the ball in the air deep enough to score pinch runner Alex Cora, and after working the count in his favor at 3-1, he did just that. His solid shot to center was plenty deep enough to score Cora with the go-ahead run, and now all that stood between Wake & the Sox getting the win or another heart wrenching loss was one Mr. Jonathan Papelbon.
It's no secret that Papelbon has been less-than-dominating since he blew his first save and allowed his first runs of the season in a May 1st loss against Oakland at Fenway. Since then he has allowed runs in three of 12 appearances, and he's given up nine hits in that time after allowing just two the whole month of April.
It's obvious that Paps was aware of this annoying minor slippage, and he set out to correct it tonight. He entered the electric atmosphere pumped and wasted no time proving to everyone watching that the real Paps is back.
Kaz Matsui? Sat down on a 96-mph heater.
Matt Holliday? Flied out after tasting 97-mph cheese
Todd Helton? Sit down and thanks for (not) coming, and say hello to John Henry on the way out.
After fanning Helton with 96 octane, the fireballing hurler was so amped he nearly jumped from the mound to the dugout, pumping his fists and screaming up into the cloudy night.
We know how you feel, Paps...
...the Nation loves these early, short games too!
NOTES:
- Papi had three hits (two singles and a double) to raise his average to a season-high .340, and he's hit in 9 of the last 10 games (15-38, .395), lifting his average 25 points
- Francona Magic: Tito's long-overdue lineup switch worked well as Lugo and Pedroia both figured prominently in the win. To his credit, Lugo handled the demotion with class, realizing he's still making $8 million/year no matter where he bats
- Colorado's first four batters-Taveras, Matsui, Holiday & Helton-were a combined 0-16. Yikes!
- Taveras had his 15-game hitting streak snapped
- Mirabelli had a rough game, going 0-3 with a strikeout and rally-killing DP
- Welcome home: Drew also had a lousy night at the plate, grounding out to the right side all three times before finally lofting the ball for the winner (baby steps)
QUOTES:
"On a night like tonight, I don't care how many times you've faced him. He was very good."--Tito on Wakefield, disregarding the Rockies' lack of experience in facing the knuckler
"He was commanding."--Tito on Papelbon
"I was in a situation where I wanted to get a pitch in a good part of the zone to be able to drive. I was fortunate to get in a 3-1 count with a pitch out over the plate. "--Drew with a spine-chilling description of the ever-thrilling game-winning sac fly
RECORD: 41-22
AL EAST: Up 9.5 on NYY
STREAK: W-1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Wed vs. COL 7EST
Series Preview: Colorado @ Sox
Colorado Rockies (31-32)
NL WEST: 5.5 GB
STRK: W-2 LST 10: 6-4
AVG: .265 (4th in NL) ERA: 4.58 (12th)
HRs: 42 (14th) RUNS: 268 (12th)
Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Tue 7EST Cook (4-2, 4.54) vs. Wakefield (5-7, 4.22)
GM2 Wed 7EST Fogg (1-5, 5.06) vs. Schilling (6-2, 3.49)
GM3 Thu 7EST Francis (5-5, 3.81) vs. Beckett (9-0, 2.88)
KEY PLAYERS:
- Matt Holliday (.352/10/46)--this category used to belong to the next guy, but the beefy, blossoming left fielder has taken over; he smacked 34 homers last year as soph, and this season he's taken his game to a ho... nuva...level, as in leading the NL in batting while placing ninth in OBP (.390), sixth in RBIs, third in slugging % and fourth in OPS (.976); needless to say he leads the Rocks in most major categories and should be heading to the All Star game as well
- Todd Helton (.332/6/29)--not long ago this was the man who represented the Rockies in the All Star game, and even more recently Boston tried to deal for him in the off season. But Helton's aging body (he's 33) and hefty contract (he's still owed $103 mil guaranteed for the next six years) helped nix the trade, and all Helton has done is rank fourth in batting, second in on base %, second in walks (46) and and second in OPS (.949) since; his name is still be bandied about in the rumour mill
- Brad Hawpe (.297/8/38)--the rightfielder has come into his own this season; he's second on the team in ribbies and third in total bases, and can also throw the rock from the field (3 assists)
- Willy Taveras (.321/31R/15SB)-- the speedy centerfielder has been on a tear and now ranks seventh in the league in batting, and his legs have got him fifth in the NL in thefts. He has hit safely in all nine games in June (14-43, .326), and much like his counterpart Coco Crisp, he is always a threat on the bases and in the field
- Brian Fuentes (2.15 ERA/18 svs)-- the hard-throwing closer is tied for third in the NL in saves and has a terrific strikeout/walk total (20/6)
PREVIEW:
The Rockies visit Fenway for the second time in history tonight as Boston plays its fist game since completing its long 7-game West Coast road trip on Sunday.
Colorado has changed its style from the years of the Blake Street Bombers; they still have boppers on the team, like Helton and Holliday, but gone are the heydays of guys like Burks-Bichette-Cashstealer-Walker slamming 35 homers apiece. That evidence can be found in the paltry home run and runs scored departments, categories which the team used to own back in the day.
The new Rockies squad is built more on old school beliefs like (don't laugh) pitching, speed and defense. The addition of slick centerfielder Willy Taveras and New York Mets bust Kaz Matsui has energized the team on the basepaths, in the field and in the lineup, and the emergence of Matt Holliday as a big time player has coincided nicely with the (supposed) deterioration of Helton.
Plus now they don't sit around waiting for a 3-run homer all night.
The Rockies pitching staff is adequate if not spectacular. After many failed, pricey experiments (Mike Hampton, hello!), the team decided to go with youth over dollars, err experience, and the results may not be a lot better, but they're certainly not worse.
Despite being last in the league in strikeouts and fourth in earned runs allowed the quartet of Josh Fogg, Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis and Jason Hirsch has posted a decent (for them) 13-18 record, but more importantly, are only making $7 1/2 million combined this year, or roughly half of what Hampton was averaging for a year.
Anyway, the Sox should welcome the return to its home turf, and even though Colorado is playing better and riding a little high right now, so were the D-Backs, and look what Boston did to them.
Wakefield will try to shed the troubles that have plagued him recently (1-4, 7.98 ERA in last five starts) when he takes on Colorado's Aaron Cook. The knuckler has not been dancing as nicley for Wake in the past month, but it only takes one staart to get it back.
Cook, a sinkerball specialist, has been getting hammered himself of late, allowing 10 earned runs in 13 innings over his last two starts, but prior to that he had enjoyed a four game winning streak.
If Wake can bounce back and he gets some offensive support, I believe it should be a fairly easy series for Boston looking at the following pitching matchups, and I predict a sweep heading into the big Giants series this weekend.
I do know one thing: at least this series will have an official ending! (Badda Bing!)
Go Sox!
Read More......Sox Drawer: Lester off DL, sent to AAA
The good news: Jon Lester has been removed from the disabled list, a huge sign that things are progressing as well as can be expected in his road to recovering from cancer.
The bad news is he was sent to AAA Pawtucket, a place where he had been pitching while on a pair of rehab assignments and not the place many Sox fans had expected him to land after being reactivated.
But evidently this decision was no surprise to the parties involved, and everyone from pitching coach John Farrell to Theo Epstein thought it be best if Lester make a couple more starts at AAA, completely healthy, before making the jump to the big club in the middle of a successful season.
Makes sense, I guess. I know Julian's happy.
Still, the encouraging thing is everything looks good for his return in the next couple of weeks, and the most important thing is that he have no setbacks once he makes the move back to a major league rotation.
Keep up the great work, Jon, and we in the Nation can't wait to cheer you on when you return to that Fenway mound again.
NOTES: Minor league catching prospect George Kottaras got a little slice of national fame last night when his 9th-inning three-run homer against Ottawa that won the game for the PawSox last night made the ESPN Top Plays reel. Way to go, Georgie!
**UPDATE: The Globe just reported that Julio Lugo has been dropped from the leadoff spot in favor of Dustin Pedroia, and Lugo will now occupy the 9th position in the lineup.
YES! THERE IS A GOD! IT"S ABOUT DAMN TIME, TITO! MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! YES! THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS! HOT DAMN!
I'm okay now**
6.10.2007
Pitcher's duel in the desert goes up in flames
Arizona 5, Sox 1
WP: Johnson (4-2)
LP: Matsuzaka (7-5)
HRs: None
SUMMARY:
A brilliant pitcher's duel between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Randy Johnson was spoiled by shoddy relief work from the Boston pen.
Brendan Donnelly, Javier Lopez and Mike Timlin combined to turn a 2-1 game in the 8th into a 5-1 rout, and Johnson got another victory over the sox while Dice had to settle for a well-pitched loss.
HERO: R. Johnson 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 9Ks
The Unit came up big when his team needed it most, setting the tone by fanning 7 of the first 14 Boston batters and keeping the Sox off the basepaths for most of the game.
GOAT(s): Timlin & Tito
I'm not sure who's to blame more for ruining any chance of a Boston comeback, Timlin for making a 2-run error on a routine play, or Tito for using him in a pressure situation in just his second appearance since spending a month on the DL.
Call them Dumb & Dumber.
RECAP:
While the streaking Stankees were demolishing the Pirates to cut their AL East deficit to less than double-digits, Boston was busy trying to complete an unlikely sweep in the Phoenix desert over the recently hot D-Backs.
Ironically it was former Stankee starter Randy Johnson, who wanted out of the Bronx Zoo as badly as Roidger Clemens wanted back in, who threw a wrench in the Sox' plans, shutting down the righty-dominant Boston lineup on just four hits and a run while striking out nine in six innings.
But as good as Johnson was, Dice-K (6IP, 4H, 2ER, 4BB, 9K) was just as remarkable, matching the Unit pitch for pitch, strikeout for strikeout. It's no coincidence that the two ended the up with nearly identical numbers; they were like pitching Twins, yin & dang, separated at birth by thousands of miles and one incredibly ugly mullet.
Both the flamethrowing veteran and crafty rookie had allowed only one run through the first five innings, with Boston grabbing a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by Lowell and 'Zona tying it in the bottom of the frame when Stephen Drew singled in Orlando Hudson, who had led off with a walk.
Matsuzaka and the Sox were lucky to escape the inning giving up just one run, though; after allowing two walks and Drew's one out single to start the inning, an error by Mike Lowell on a wicked hopper from right fielder Carlos Quentin loaded the bases and had the D-Backs threatening to break the game open early.
That's when Dice did his best Johnson impersonation, freezing Chris Snyder on a sugar sweet curveball for strike three and then blazing a knee-high fastball past the stork legs of Johnson to get out of the jam without any further damage done.
Unfortunately the D-Backs would grab the lead in the sixth when Dice was done in by-you guessed it- another leadoff walk, this time to Conor Jackson. After getting Drew the Younger to fly out, Quentin ripped a double deep in the left centerfield gap that easily scored Jackson and gave Arizona, and Johnson, the lead it would not relinquish.
With both starters compiling high pitch counts and departing after six innings, it would be up to the bullpens to finish it off. Arizona's battered pen needed to hold the lead, while Boston's steady but jumbled relief corps had to keep the game a one-run contest.
At least one group got their jobs done.
Brendan Donnelly relieved Matsuzaka for the 7th and after allowing a leadoff single to Eric Byrnes (3-5) he retired the next three batters without incident. But when he gave up a leadoff single to Jackson to begin the 8th, Tito called the pen and brought in lefty specialist Javier Lopez to face Drew. He walked Drew after a six pitch at bat.
On came Mike Timlin, he of the 17 years in the bigs and 1,110+ innings logged on his rubbery right arm. He was just activated from the DL on Tuesday after spending over a month there with shoulder tendinitis. Wonder why.
As Quentin (there's that fucking guy again!) laid down a perfect sac bunt, Timlin sprinted off the mound, grabbed the ball before Quentin was halfway down the line, then promptly threw it into right field for a horrendous two-run error that effectively ended any chance of Boston staging another come-from-behind win.
A walk and another single made it 5-1, and once Zona closer Jose Valverde got into and out of a 9th inning jam, the D-Backs had slammed the door on any thoughts of being swept at home.
The good news is the road trip is over, and after starting 0-3 the Sox finished 3-1 and got terrific starting pitching the whole time. Dice continued to improve from his previous bout of wildness, Beckett and Schilling were both dominant, and now Boston heads home for a much needed day off before taking on the Rockies at Fenway on Tuesday.
All in all a pretty decent trip out West. Too bad it couldn't have ended on a higher note.
NOTES:
- Due to interleague play: J.D. Drew & Papi got the day off, although Drew's might be injury-related; Wily Mo (1-3) played right, while Youk took first base
- How similar were Matsuzaka's & Johnson's outings? Dice threw 120 pitches, 78 for strikes while Johnson tossed 113 pitches with 71 strikes
- Boston batters managed just six hits from six different players, just one for extra bases (double by Lowell), but they did draw five walks
- Dice-K fanned twice in his first two ML at bats; unfortunately for him they had to come against Johnson
- Opposite ends: Manny went o-1 but scored a run and walked three times with Papi out, but Tek, the hero of yesterday's game, went 0-4 with three Ks; ouch!
- A day after snapping a 15-game hitting streak, Byrnes rapped three hits including a double; BTW, how fucked up is it that the team's best hitter bats leadoff?
- It was a sloppy game defensively as Boston committed three errors (Tek had the other) and Arizona was flagged for one when Jackson bumped into Coco on the basepaths for a rare interference call
- Johnson ran his record to 16-7 against Boston
- RSN Unite: it was another large, loud, Red-clad crowd and the two sides engaged in another Miller Lite-esque "Let's go Red Sox/Let's go D-Backs" chant that echoed throughout an enclosed Chase Field in the late innings
- Welcome back: third baseman Chad Tracy, just activated from the DL, struck out three times vs. Dice-K
- The error was Lowell's 11th of the season
"Our team lost, but overall I feel like I'm improving." --Matsuzaka, who tossed his second straight quality start but has no wins to show for it
"No one wants to get swept at home."--Quentin. Mission accomplished.
RECORD: 40-22
STREAK: L-1
LAST 10: 4-6
AL EAST: Up 9.5 on NYY
UP NEXT: Mon-Off; Tue vs. COL
Game Preview: Sox @ Arizona GM 3
Dice -K (7-4, 4.63) vs. Big Unit (3-2, 3.78)
4:40PM Chase Field, Phoenix
A lot is on the line today in Phoenix when Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Randy Johnson in the third & final game of this interleague series.
Dice-K will be trying to snap a personal two-game losing streak after he had enjoyed a six-decision winning streak. He had been hit hard in two of his previous three starts before turning in a fine performance last Tuesday in Oakland (7IP, 2ER), though Boston could not him his usual 8+ runs in order for him to get the win.
Johnson will be making his ninth start since spending the first three weeks of the season on the DL after coming over from the Stanks in a January deal. After starting out slowly, Johnson has returned to early Big Unit form, winning his last three decisions while fanning 61 batters against just 8 walks in 47.1 innings pitched this year.
Johnson will bring a lifetime 15-7 mark with a 4.57 ERA into the game against Boston, and the former Stankee and Arizona teammate of Curt Schilling will be highly motivated to defeat the Sox, especially after the way Boston has slapped his streaking team back to reality the last couple of nights.
In fact the only better matchup today would have been former teammates and co-2001 World Series MVPs Curt Schilling squaring off against Johnson, his onetime clubhouse adversary.
Though they shared a lot of memorable experiences in bringing a title to the desert, its no secret that there's no love lost between the two polar opposite personalities, and to see them go against each other at this stage of their careers would have been fucking priceless.
As is we'll have to settle for watching the goodwill ambassador for Major League Baseball oppose one of the meanest, nastiest and filthiest lefties in league history.
Johnson's game is pretty good, too.
GO SOX!
SWEEP THE D-BACKS!
Clemens makes '07 debut (yawn!)
Roidger goes six innings, gives up three runs and throws 108 pitches in the first start of his second go-'round with the Stanks.
Does anyone else find is absolutely friggin hilarious that the 2007 Rocket relaunch or whatever cutesy name the headline writers want to call it, took place not in front of 10's of millions of viewers nationwide on FOX or ESPN but on the few million YES Network subscribers in the tri-state area?
The only subtle thing about Clemens was his inauspicious '07 debut, in front of 55,000 fans at the Stadium; not even Extra Innings subscribers could witness the latest un-retirement in the Clemens' long & storied career.
The good news for New York is that he provided them with a boost, both in the clubhouse and on the field. He went six innings and allowed five hits, three runs with two walks and seven Ks, and got a win against the Pirates.
The bad news is that he needed over 100 pitches in just six innings to dispatch a team that is one of the worst in the majors, and if his team didn't score nine, who knows if he might have grabbed a victory.
The bottom line is it really doesn't matter what Clemens or New York does over the next few months. As long as the Sox keep winning and keep the division lead at a robust double-digit level, those Stankee fans can slurp Roger all they want, because at nearly a million dollars a start, he is one of the most expensive 4th starters in history.
Can't wait to see you in August, Roidger. If you're not on the DL, that is!
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