Sox 12, Rays 6
WP: Snyder (2-2)
LP: Stokes (2-7)
HRs: TB-Gomes, 2 (10), Paul (1)
SUMMARY
The Sox nearly gave away what seemed like a sure victory when Jonathan Papelbon allowed a two-run homer to Jonny Gomes in the 9th to tie the game, but thanks to the Rays' shoddy bullpen, Boston hung six runs up in the 12th and pulled out a tougher-than-expected victory.
#1 STUNNER Julio Lugo 2-5, 2R, 2BI, 2BB, SB
Tough to decide who should get this honor in such a sloppy, stat-infested game, but I guess the man at the top of the order who walked twice with the bases loaded, including a huge free pass to "drive" in the winning run in the 12th, is as good a pick as anyone.
RECAP
Let me start out by saying I don't have the energy--nor the desire--to review this game in its entirety.
Okay, stop the cheering.
The reason being I spent the majority of this hot & humid Florida summer day chasing little dimpled balls all around the course at a charitable golf tournament for my good friend, the late, great 'Chicago' Bob Allen.
After five+ hours in the heat with 120 other golfers, then three more hours at Bob's favorite watering hole celebrating his life, to say I was a little bit spent would be a gross understatement.
Upon arriving home I immediately crashed for an hour and a half, then woke up just in time to catch the start of the game. Little did I know I could've slept another couple of hours and still been able to catch the meat of this crazy contest.
In short the Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead despite the decent performance of Tampa Bay starter James Shields (5IP, 6H, 3ER, 1BB, 7K) thanks to an RBI single by Jason Varitek and a bases loaded walk by Julio Lugo in the second and an RBI single by J.D. Drew in the third.
But the Rays, losers of _ in a row and 25 of 30, chipped away at Sox starter Jon Lester (6.2IP, 6H, 4ER, 1BB, 3K, 2HR), scoring single runs in the fourth and sixth to cut the lead to 3-2.
When Boston added a couple of runs in the seventh on and RBI single by Big Papi against the shift and a sac fly by Manny, it looked like this game was in the bag and I'd be heading off to la la land soon enough.
Not quite.
The Rays touched Lester for a pair of solo shots in the bottom of the seventh, one a moonshot from Jonny on the spot Gomes , the other an opposite field tracer that barely cleared the wall in right by freshly activated catcher Josh paul, and suddenly the Sox lead was sliced to one, 5-4.
No worries though, because with Oki and Paps chomping at the bit to come in and finish this one of, it looked like Boston would hold on, especially after Coco knocked in the sixth run with a
fielder's choice in the eighth after Mike Lowell (4-6, R) had singled to lead off the inning.
After Oki threw a scoreless 8th a rested Paps came on for the 9th, but things got squirrelly in a hurry when Delmon Young led off the bottom of the 9th with a single to center on Papelbon's first pitch.
No problem, he'd just plow through the next three batters and it was enter sandman time for me.
Wrong.
Gomes got a hold of Paps' 2-2 offering and launched it into the seats in left for a jaw-dropping, game-tying homer, and just like that a Lester win turned into a blown save, just the All Star closer's second of the season, and another extra inning affair.
Fucking great.
After both teams escaped two-men-on situations in the first couple of extra frames, the sox finally got deep enough into that horrid Tampa Bay pen, and finally in the 12th inning Boston broke through and put this thing away.
Lowell started it with a one-out single to left off Brian Stokes, he of the 7.90 ERA, and then Tek and Coco followed with walks to load the bases. After nailing Lowell at the plate on a fielder's choice by Alex Cora, Stokes walked Lugo on five pitches to force in the seventh run that broke the tie, and after that reliever Jae Kuk Ryu (who?) gave up a bases-clearing double to Youk and an 2RBI double by Manny, and finally, after a LONG day and night, it was time to put this one to bed.
Meaning myself of course.
After all, I gotta be up bright and early to head to the Trop for the Dice-K/Scott K. showdown.
Those Boston boys better get some sleep, too.
That means you, Youk...stay away from Ybor City!
RECORD: 64-40
AL EAST: Up 9 on NYY (thx, Baltimore!)
STREAK: W-3
LAST 10: 8-2
UP NEXT: *Sun @ the Trop 1:40
*Look for me on TV--I'll be the one wearing the Dice-K tee shirt and Sox cap sitting on the 3rd base line, you won't be able to miss me!
7.28.2007
Sox come back from Paps' blown save to beat Rays
7.27.2007
Sox stay hot, dispose of Rays--again
Sox 7, Tampa Bay 1
WP: Wakefield (12-7)
LP: Hammel (1-1)
HRs: BOS-Youk (10)
SUMMARY
Rays starter Jason Hammel held the Sox to one hit through five innings, but after walking a pair in the 6th, reliever Juan Salas came in and immediately allowed a 3-run blast to Youk, and when Boston tacked on four in the 8th, a tight game turned into a rout.
#1 STUNNER Youk 1-5, R, 3RBI, HR
After hitting two line drives that were caught in his first two at bats, Youk greeted Salas with a shot that only the fans could catch, preferably one of the many members of RSN in attendance.
PAN's FAUN Shawn Camp 2/3IP, 4H, 3ER
Sure the shot off Salas blew the lead for the Rays, but Camp's horrendous appearance took what could have been a winnable game and made it a laffer.
RECAP
Tim Wakefield is a very decisive man.
In 21 starts this season, the knuckleballer has recorded a decision in every single one of them, and by recording his 12th victory tonight Wake climbed into a tie for second place in the majors in victories, alongside such Cy Young contenders as Dan Haren, John Lackey, and teammate Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Not bad for a 40-year-old veteran of 500 career games and possessor of just one quality major league pitch.
But for the first half of the game tonight it looked like that decision streak was going to continue with a loss, because despite Wake (6IP, 6H, 1ER, 3BB, 7K) allowing just one run in six innings, the Sox were having a hard time figuring out young Tampa Bay starter Jason Hammel.
Thank Christ for the Rays bullpen.
Hammel, a 24-year-old righty who has made 20 appearances in his brief career but just one other start, Saturday in the Bronx, befuddled the blazing Bostons batters with a variety of pitches for five straight innings tonight.
The only blemishes against him were a shift-busting single to right by Big Papi with one out in the fourth inning, Boston's first base runner of the night, and a walks to Cora and Lugo with one out in the sixth inning, an inning the Rays staff didn't even think the reliever-turned-starter was going to reach anyway.
By that time Wake had already weathered a couple of brief Tampa Bay storms, surrendering only one run after the Rays put four consecutive batters on after two were out in the second, and working around baserunners he allowed in the 1st, 3rd and 4th frames.
Then after Hammel tired and gave up those two freebies to start the sixth came the moment that all those Nation members that packed the Trop had been waiting for: the time that the Sox batters woke up and turned the game around.
Keep in mind like I mentioned in my preview, Tampa Bay has one of the worst bullpens in modern history. I have no facts to back that up, but I live here, I see & hear things, and it's an inescapable fact for those who follow the team.
Enter Juan Salas.
Up intil now the 28-year-old Dominican's claim to fame was that he is one of the select few who have served a 50-game suspension from MLB for testing positive for a banned substance (ahem, 'roids), but nevertheless the needy Rays still welcomed him to their putrid pen with open arms when he was reinstated on Monday.
Five days later he entered this game in relief of Hammel, who had outdone himself with his performance against one of the hottest offenses in the league, and Salas finally became well-known for something he did on the field: he allowed a three-run home run to Kevin Youkilis four pitches after entering the game, a blow the Rays would not recover from.
For good measure he followed that disaster by surrendering a double to Manny (2-4, R) and a walk to J.D. Drew, although he did fan Papi, and it took old friend Casey Fossum, who just returned from paternity leave, to end the inning by getting Coco to line out to right on a nice catch by Delmon Young.
With the game now swung in Boston's favor, Wake could relax and he pitched one more inning before giving way to Manny D. in the seventh.
After Delcarmen set the Rays down in order on 7 pitches in the top of the seventh, Boston teed off on Tampa Bay's Shawn Camp, who came on to relieve Fossum after he walked Papi (1-4, R, BB, 2K) with one out in the eighth.
Two pitches after arriving Camp allowed a single to Manny to put runners on 1st & 3rd, then four pitches later J.D. Drew singled to right to score Ortiz.
Camp did get Lowell to pop out to shallow center, but then Coco sliced an opposite field double to left that Carl Crawford could not come up with which plated Manny and Drew, and on the very next pitch Mirabelli lined a single to right to score Crisp from second, and just like that the Rays pen had made mincemeat out of a close contest once again.
Delcarmen pitched around a leadoff single to BJ Upton in the eigth and then Kyle Snyder brushed off a leadoff walk to potential future teammate Ty Wigginton in the 9th to set the Rays down 1-2-3, and the decision streak continues for the man who continues to defy time and psychics.
Good thing he doesn't have THAT pen working behind him or he'd never get a decision.
Or a win.
NOTES
- Wake is now an incredible 17-2 vs. Tampa Bay in his career and a perfect 8-0 at the Trop.
- On top of Young's inning-saving catch to end the sixth, Upton made a nice running grab of a Lugo drive to the warning track in center to lead off the fourth
- Both teams compiled seven hits after TB held a 6-1 advantage in that department through the first five innings
- While only only Sox hitter, Manny, had multiple hits, three Rays (Iwamura, Upton, Navarro) accounted for six of their seven knocks with two each
- The Sox caught a break when a single by Iwamura nailed Navarro, who had also singled, in the side as he was breaking for second base to end the fourth
- Lugo went 0-4 to snap his career-best 15 game hitting streak; he raised his average from .189 to .225 during that time
- Papi extended his streak to 12 games with his single that scooted by from the shifted infield; he also hustled from first to third on Manny's single in the seventh despite his gimpy knees
- Cora (0-3) played in place of Dustin Pedroia, and Youk got the start in the two-hole
"I like pitching here. I like pitching inside. The ball seems to move a lot more in a dome."--Wake
"I was locked in. Sometimes the body doesn't catch up."--Hammel on his tiring in the sixth
RECORD: 63-40
AL EAST: Up 8 on NYY
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sat @ TB 705 Read More......
Series preview: Sox @ Devil Rays
Boston Red Sox (62-40) @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays (38-63)
3 game series Tropicana Field
Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Fri 705 Wakefield (11-9, 4.74) vs Hammel (1-0, 5.82)
Wake is 16-2 vs. TB lifetime. Hammell is making his 2nd start of the season. Nuff said. MY PICK: Sox roll
GM2 Sat 705 Lester (1-0, 3.00) vs. Shields (8-6, 4.44)
Lester is coming off his first win in a year, shields gave up 10 runs in 3 1/3 vs,. the Stanks on Sunday. Nuff said II. MY PICK: Sox roll
GM3 Sun 205 Matsuzaka (12-7, 3.79) vs. Kazmir (7-7, 4.02)
The series finale boasts the best pitching matchup, but with Kazmir still figuring out how to be an ace, Dice should have no problem notching lucky win #13. MY PICK: Sox sweep
Season series: Sox lead 3-0
Keep an eye on: 1B Carlos Pena .283/24HR/65RBI--the Massachusetts native was a member of the Red Sox for a few minutes (18 games), last season, and although he didn't produce like the Sox had hoped, he has been better than expected for Tampa Bay.
Preview:
The Sox make the first trip of the season to the Tampa Bay area, a.k.a. my adopted hometown, for a three game series at the airplane hangar in downtown St. Pete known as Tropicana Field.
The fact that this is just the second meeting of the season for these two division rivals says all you need to know about how fucked up the schedule is this year. How the hell a team can make two West Coast trips before making even one trip down the East coast to play a division opponent is beyond me.
The two clubs come into this series heading in exact opposite directions. The Sox are coming off a 3-1 series win over the AL Central contending Indians and have won 6 of 7 while scoring 50 runs during the stretch, while the Rays have been getting hammered like scrap metal, losers of six in a row including a three game sweep and back-to-back embarrassments in the Bronx.
Tampa Bay lost the final two games of that four gamer in new York by a combined score of 38-9, and the struggling club is a miserable 5-23 in its last 28 ballgames.
Not really a great time for the Sox to come to town.
Although the Rays have had success against the Sox at the Trop, winning 8 of their last 11 contests in the antiseptic air of the dome, Boston ripped the Rays in a three game series earlier this month, outscoring them 26-10 in a three game sweep.
No reason to expect anything different here, especially looking at the pitching matchups; the finale should be the best pairing of the series , and lucky for me I will be sitting a few rows from the Sox dugout to check that one out firsthand and watch Dice-K and the Sox complete another sweep.
BTW, did I mention the Rays have one of the worst bullpens in the history of baseball?
Go Sox!
7.26.2007
Sox hang on for wild win at the Jake
Sox 14, Cleveland 9
WP: Tavarez (6-8)
LP: Lee (5-8)
HRs: BOS-Manny, 2 (17), Wily Mo (5); CLE-Garko (13), Gutierrez (6)
SUMMARY
One night after the teams completed back-to-back 1-o games the two clubs combined for 23 hits and 23 runs in a wild & wacky series finale in Cleveland.
How crazy was it? Kason Gabbard had a 9-1 lead after four innings and didn't get the win, and Julian Tavarez gave up four runs including a three-run homer in 2 1/3 of relief and did.
#1 STUNNER(s)
- Manny 3-4, 4R, 4RBI, BB, 2B, 2HRs--the former Indian started the scoring with a monster homer that was the 3rd longest ever at the Jake, then ended the barrage with a blast that barely cleared the center field wall
- Wily Mo 4-5, 2R, 4RBI, 2-2B, HR--Whiffy Mo was in the zone tonight, jumping on the first pitch in 4 of his 5 at bats, with terrific results; can you say 'showcase game?'
For the third straight start Lee surrendered seven earned runs, but at least this time he didn't fight with a teammate on the field over his performance; I guess they decided to save their fireworks for the clubhouse this time.
RECAP
Holy shit!
That's all I can think of to say after witnessing one of the wildest games of the season, one made all the more incredible coming on the heels of consecutive pitcher's duels in which only two runs were scored in the last two games combined
Talk about providing contrast.
I'm not really sure where to begin with this recap, either, because my notebook looks like the demented scribblings of a retarded junkie, but I'm going to try and sift through the rubble and figure out what the hell happened tonight.
And I know my posts are wordy enough already, so just bear with me as I try to keep this under 1000 words.
Like a small crack in a large dam, the scoring stared as a slow drip before turning into a torrent of hits, runs and relief pitchers. After both Gabbard (4.2IP, 4H, 5ER, 3BB, 3K, HR) and Lee notched 1-2-3 first innings, Manny got the festivities started with a momentous longball in the top of the second.
On the first pitch of the inning from Lee, Ramirez launched a mammoth shot to straightaway center field that soared over the wall and eventually disappeared into a thicket of trees nestled above the lower section of the wall and landed in a patio area beyond the brush.
At the time I knew it was a drive of epic proportions, but it wasn't until later in the game when the Cleveland announcers (damn Extra Innings) reported that at an estimated 481 feet it was the third longest drive in Jacobs Field history did I realize how epic it really was.
After Gabbard retired the Tribe in order in the bottom of the frame, Boston dripped another run onto the board when Dustin Pedroia's double play grounder scored Wily Mo, who had singled and went to third on a single by Lugo, in the top of the third.
My first thought: hey, two runs by one team in one game--yeah!
In the bottom of the third we all got a little sense of deja vu when pesky Franklin Gutierrez blasted a solo shot to left that put Cleveland on the board, a drive that went to nearly the exact place at nearly the exact same time as his homer last night, which ended up being the winning run.
Freaky, I know.
Only this time that wouldn't be the only run for the Tribe on the night--just the only one for the moment.
Boston would string two runs together in the fourth inning when Lee walked Manny & Youk to open the inning, Lowell (3-5, 2BI) followed with a single to right to load the bases, and Cap'n Tek lined a single to left that scored Manny & Youk and gave Boston a seemingly insurmountable (with the way Cleveland has been hitting) 4-1 lead.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg, as the fifth inning would blow the lid off the scoring drought for both teams and catapult this contest into the crazy category.
The Sox seemed to slip the noose around the Tribe's necks when they sent nine batters to the plate, ripped four hits and scored five times in the frame.
Pedroia (1-6, R) started the fireworks off with a harmless single to left, then Ortiz (1-3, R, 2BB)worked a 1-2 count into a walk. Manny slammed the next pitch from Lee for a double down the left field line that plated Pedroia, and after Youk reached on shortstop Jhonny Peralta's fielding error, Lowell lined a single to right center that scored Ortiz & Ramirez to make the score 7-1 Boston and chased Lee from the game.
On his way off the field, Lee sarcastically tipped his cap to the thousands of booing fans. Ah, good times in C-Town.
Reliever Jason Stanford apparently ended the onslaught when he got Tek to ground into a double play, but Coco (2-5, 2R, RBI) followed with an RBI single to center and then Wily Mo launched a double to deep right center that scored the fleet-footed Crisp all the way from first, and at 9-1 it was time to put this one in the books, right?
Wrong.
Pitching for the first time in his home state of Ohio, all Gabbard had to do was get through the bottom of the fifth and he would own his first road victory of the season.
Easier said than done.
The inning began and ended the same way--with Ryan Garko flying out to right field. In between the Tribe would score four runs on three hits and three walks, the big blow a two-run double by Josh Barfield that cut the lead to 9-3 and gave the Indians hope, and the most painful being a first pitch ball that nailed slumping Travis Hafner on the elbow, forcing in Cleveland's fifth run and earning Gabby an unwanted early shower.
Handed a 9-1 lead, the wildness that plagued the young lefty in his earlier starts came back and cost him a shot at his fifth win of the season.
Julian Tavarez came on for his first relief appearance since his demotion from the rotation and got Garko to end the inning, and things remained quiet--for one inning.
Then in the seventh Wily Mo turned Thomas Mastny's first pitch (sensing a theme here?) into a tracer that cleared rightfield wall in about 1.2 seconds and scored Tek and Coco, who had both singled, and once again Boston had some breathing room with the score now 12-5.
Then Tavarez (2.1IP, 2H, 4R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K, HR) reminded RSN that it doesn't matter where he's pitching from, the bully or the rotation, he's always highly flammable.
Even though Lugo's error on a grounder by Barfield paved the way for the rest of the inning, after Hafner drove in Barfield in with a solid single to center it was Julie's horrid pitch to Garko that he cranked for a two-run homer that made the game a game again.
12-9 Boston, and still two more innings to get through.
Manny made sure there would be no more thoughts of a miraculous Cleveland comeback when he followed another walk to Ortiz with a mere conventional homer to center, one that barely cleared the wall and a leaping Grady Sizemore's glove, and finally, with the score 14-9 and just six outs remaining, RSN could relish the thought of taking 3 of 4 from the reeling Tribe.
After Okajima and Lopez finsihed the night off without incident. it was off to my new hometown for the Sox for a tasty three game set with the really reeling Rays.
Hope they saved some of that scoring for the Trop.
NOTES
- The start of the game was delayed 34 minutes by rain
- Boston racked up 17 hits, and here's the breakdown: every player except Youk (0-4, 2R) had at least one hit; five players had at least two knocks; two had three hits; and Wily Mo led the pack with four hits, three for extra bases
- How 'bout runs you say? seven of the starting nine scored one run, four players scored a pair, and Manny came home four times
- Pena's four hits doubled his total for the month of July and happened to occur when he is being mentioned in numerous trade scenarios. Hmmm...
- Swing early: that was the obvious game plan for tonight; in 47 PAs Sox batters put the ball in play on the first pitch an astounding nine times. More proof? Six times they hit the second offering from the Cleveland hurlers. In other words out of 47 trips to the plate, Boston hitters saw two pitches or less 15 times. Wow.
- Manny's drive is being called the third longest in the 13 year history of the Jake. The owners of the top two are Jim Thome (511') and Mark McGwire (485'). It was his 250th as a member of the Sox, and the twin blasts gave him 49 career multi-homer games, tied for 12th all-time
- Hafner's seventh inning single broke an 0-21 drought for the slumping slugger
- Barfield made two excellent plays at second, snagging a liner by Ortiz in the third and robbing Lugo of a hit with a diving stop and throw in the fourth
- Not to be outdone, Pedroia matched Barfield on a bullet by Casey Blake to open the bottom of the frame
"It was a bomb. I don't know how they measure it, but he crushed it."--Youk on Manny's blast
"That was one of the hardest balls I've seen go out. I thought it might go through it (the wall)."--Tito on Wily Mo's laser-guided missile
"It's kind of embarrassing to have a 9-1 lead and have that happen."--Gabbard
RECORD: 62-40
AL EAST: Up 7.5 on NYY (Royals blanked the Stanks!)
STREAK: W-1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Fri vs. the Rays @ the Trop Read More......
Game Preview: Sox @ Cleveland GM4
Gabbard (4-0, 2.97) vs. Lee (5-7, 5.95)
Jacobs Field 705
Currently there is rain soaking the greater Cleveland area and the game will be delayed for god knows how long, but hopefully this game will get underway tonight.
I mean I really want them to play this one, because I have tix to Sunday's game at the Trop and my son & I were looking forward to watching Dice-K pitch, up close & personal like from third base box seats.
But of course Motherfucking Nature has to screw with my happiness and throw one of life's annoying little curveballs my way yet again.
Okay, enough bellyaching and on to my game preview, assuming there IS a game to preview.
The Sox will attempt to put the bitter memories of last night's heartbreaking 1-0 loss behind them tonight in the series finale with the Indians, and right now there may be no better pitcher on the staff to accomplish such a feat.
Kason Gabbard has emerged as one of the most promising young pitchers in the league, lefty or righty, as his perfect record and sparkling ERA attest to. In his last two starts the 25-year-old lefty has allowed just six hits and one earned run while walking two and striking out nine in 16 innings of work.
Since his 6-hit, 4-run, 6-walk debacle in Seattle on June 26th, Gabbard is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA, and he's walked just eight while fanning 17 in 28 innings. In other words, he's smokin' hot right now.
His mound opponent is hot right now, too--as in he's steaming mad at his teammates and himself over some of his recent performances.
Not only has Cliff Lee been atrocious on the mound of late--23 hits and 19 earned runs allowed in his last three starts covering 16 innings (10.69ERA)--but after giving up five earned runs in the first inning of his last start at Texas on Saturday, he and catcher Victor Martinez got into a confrontation on the field over his play.
Nice.
Oh yeah, he also beaned Sammy Sosa in the head in that game, too.
Let's just say control issues might be a problem with this guy.
So IF this game gets underway it looks on paper like a Red Sox win, especially since the last two games have gone according to form.
Let's hope this one follows suit--providing they play ball at all at the Jake tonight.
Go Sox!
**UPDATE: The game is indeed on, 45 minutes after the original start time. Who cares--it's Dice-K for me & my boy on Sunday!!**
Sox Drawer: Schill spouts off again; Wiggy to Boston?
Curt Schilling lambastes Bonds, Canseco and other noted juicers--again
Despite a blast of Barry Bonds and other reported steroid users a few months ago that brought a lot of heat & criticism on Schill's shoulders, eventually causing him to backpedal faster than a Tour cyclist away from a doping test, the garrulous one is at it again.
On the latest installment of the HBO series "Costas Now", Curt targeted Bonds, Jose Canseco, Raffy Palmeiro and other suspected juicers when he got off a few 'roid-related rants.
Regarding the allegations leveled at Bonds, Curt said:
"If someone wrote that stuff about me and I didn't sue their [butt] off, am I not admitting that there's some legitimacy to it?"
On Canseco admitting he used steroids for his whole career, Schill pulled no punches:
"Jose Canseco admitted he cheated his entire career. Everything he ever did should be wiped clean. I think his MVP should go back and should go to the runner-up."
Ah, that runner-up just happens to be Boston's own Gator Greenwell, but that's besides the point I guess.
And finally, Schill had this gem in response to Mark McGwire's infamous Capitol Hill testimony:
Please Curt, for everyone's sake, just close your mouth and do what you do best--throw a baseball. There will be plenty enough time to speak your mind and put your foot in your mouth when your career is over and you enter the next phase of your life--politician."It goes to the Mark McGwire thing in Congress. I mean, I'm a huge Mark McGwire fan. But I just always thought it was very simple: If you did something and someone asks you if you did it and you didn't do it, you say no. Any other answer than no is some form of yes, isn't it?"
Thank You.
Say it ain't so: Rays might get Wiggy with it
You would think they learned their lesson about acquiring former Devil Rays infielders.
Not content to call the Lugo experiment a potential disaster, the Sox are reportedly in talks with the Rays to acquire mediocre infielder Ty Wigginton.
Living here in the (other) Bay area, I can say that the few who follow the Rays love this guy for his work ethic, attitude, hustle and versatility. He surprised everyone associated with the team when he made the club following a spectacular spring last year, and to his credit he turned that opportunity into a solid season (.275, 24HRs, 74RBI.)
Also to his credit he is having another solid season, batting .273 with 15 homers and 48 ribbies in 97 games, but my question is, who is he going to replace in Boston, and would he be a better fit than what they've already got?
I guess that would be a pair of questions.
Although he has played mainly at second base this season he is considered more of a corner infielder, so that would mean he would be replacing Youk or Lowell. Make that Lowell.
To paraphrase John McEnroe, "Theo, you can't be serious!?"
I'm not even going to get into all the reasons why this would be a horrid move, number one being that this guy looks strictly like a career utility player who is perfect for a shitty team like the Rays but a mismatch on a pennant contending club like the Sox.
But the bigger picture is what troubles me. With rumours abounding that the Sox are interested in Mark Teixeira, Todd Helton and Dodger's Andy LaRoche, it seems like the Boston brass has its mind made up that now is the time to dump Mike Lowell while his bat is hot and the interest is high.
And I guess in the long run if you can replace an again and error prone fielder with a young and explosive hitter like Big Tex or Todd Helton, the deal has to be made.
But to bring in a guy like Ty frigging Wigginton in place of a Mike Lowell?
All I can say is if that happens Theo better dust off the monkey suit! Read More......
7.25.2007
Fausto's revenge: Carmona blanks BoSox
Cleveland 1, Sox 0
WP: Carmona (13-4)
LP: Beckett (13-4)
SV: Borowski (29)
HR: Gutierrez (6)
SUMMARY
The Tribe turned the tables on the red-hot Sox, bookending yesterday's 1-0 Boston win with one of their own.
Franklin Gutierrez hit a leadoff home run off Josh Beckett in the third, and that wound up being the only run of the game as Boston had almost as many runners thrown out on the base paths (3) as hits (4)
#1 STUNNER Fausto Carmona 8IP, 4H, 2BB, 6K
With last year's two-game humiliation by Boston still fresh in his mind, the rotten-reliever-turned-stellar-starter avenged his matching meltdowns at Fenway last summer with a magnificent eight inning performance that tied him for the league lead in wins.
PAN's FAUN Beckett 8IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K, HR
Tough to hang this dubious honor on a guy with that linescore, but when the only run of the game comes via a moonshot by a mediocre outfielder platoon outfielder with 11 career home runs, well that's a good enough reason for me.
RECAP
So I was wrong.
My pregame prediction that Carmona would flashback to his pair of epic blown saves last July/August at Fenway and collapse under the crushing weight of trying to exorcise those demons couldn't have been more off.
Instead of listening to my whacked logic I should have done what everyone else did tonight and the night before: looked at the incredible seasons both starting pitchers were having and predicted another pitcher's duel.
But it's rare enough one one of those matchups pans out, never mind two in a row.
Only that's exactly what happened tonight as both starting pitchers threw gems, and the end result left Boston's ace tied for the AL lead in wins--with tonight and last night's starters for Cleveland.
To say both Beckett and Carmona were on top of their games would be a major understatement. Beckett went all eight innings and threw 114 pitches, a staggering 80 of which were strikes, while Carmona's 113/71 totals were nearly as spectacular.
Beckett escaped a mini-jam in the second by inducing Ryan Garko to ground into a double play after Travis Hafner had reached on an error, but he made his only mistake of the night in the third inning when Gutierrez grooved a Beckett fastball high and deep into the left field concourse area for a leadoff home run.
One out later Grady Sizemore singled to right but was caught stealing on a strike 'em out/throw 'em out double play that ended the inning, and from that point Beckett would retire 13 consecutive batters until Trot Nixon reached on a single with one out in the eighth.
Pretty dam good, huh?
Unfortunately Fausto was even better. The beefy young righty did not allow a hit until Coco Crisp beat out an infield single with one out in the sixth, and up until that point Boston's only baserunners came on a walks to Manny in the second and Varitek in the fifth and when Carmona nailed Dustin Pedroia with a pitch in the fourth.
The Sox had a chance to put a run on the board after the Pedroia incident when he took second on a wild pitch and the Sox had the Dynamic Duo, Papi & Manny, coming up. But Ortiz, in his first game back after a four game layoff with that balky shoulder, fanned on three straight pitches after getting the count to 0-2, and Manny followed suit when he stared at strike three to end the threat.
After Crisp's single in the sixth the Sox had another golden opportunity to tie the game, but the first of a trio of baserunning blunders by Boston on the night would stall the rally in its tracks.
Pedroia's groundout moved Coco into scoring position with two outs, but once again the big bopppers were due up, and all it would take was a base hit to the right place and the game would be tied.
Good news: Papi got the hit, a hard grounder up the middle of the infield and away from the Papi Shift. Bad news: it wasn't in the right place. After holding the ball because he saw he had no play on Ortiz at first, second baseman Josh Barfield saw Coco breaking for home and chucked the ball in to catcher Victor Martinez.
Martinez deftly blocked the plate...with his ass by sitting on it, leaving Coco no target to slide into or attempt to touch. After Martinez' glove caught him on the knee, Crisp tried in vain to try to elude the tag and grab the plate, but to no avail.
His calculated gamble had not paid off, and I'll bet I wasn't the only member of RSN who thought "that might have been our only chance to score tonight, and he just threw it away."
Boston would get another decent opportunity after Carmona began to tire in the eighth, but that's when the other two baserunning blunders would come back to bite them in the ass.
The Captain started the inning off with another clutch hit, a single to right on Carmona's second pitch of the inning. After Eric Hinske lined out to center, the Sox had to try something to get Tek into scoring position with time running out on their chance to get this game tied.
That's when Tito put the hit & run on for Alex Cora, who was playing for Julio Lugo.
Good news: Tek got the sign, and took off for second base.
Bad news: Cora didn't pick up the signal, and as he half-heartedly swung after the ball was in Martinez' mitt, all the catcher had to do was throw down to second and Tek, who attempted to scramble back to first, was easily tagged out.
Cora tried to make up for his blunder (I guess technically it wasn't a baserunning mistake, but still...) by legging out an infield hit, and Lugo pinch ran for him. Everyone watching the game knew he was going to steal, so Martinez waited and then nailed Lugo trying to steal to end the inning and effectively end the game.
Carmona gave way to closer Joe Borowski for the ninth and the former D-Rays castoff retired Coco (strikeout), Pedroia (strikeout) and Ortiz (lazy pop up to third) to end the game and secure Cleveland's second 1-0 win out of five such contests this season.
Lesson learned: don't ever underestimate a reliever turned starter who was treated like a human doormat by a team earlier in his career.
He might just come back and nearly no-hit your club.
NOTES
- Although he did get that hit to beat the shift, Papi's return to the lineup could hardly be considered a success. He struck out swinging twice and ended the game on that weak pop up, and according to an ESPN chart the former king of walkoffs and clutch hits is batting .200 with no homers or RBI in the seventh inning and later this season.
- After racking up 10+ hits for seven straight games, Boston has 10 in its last two contests combined
- Last night's 1-0 victory snapped a string of seven consecutive 1-run losses for the Sox, who then started a new streak tonight
- J.D. Drew's 0-3 puts him in a 1-16 skid that has dropped his average to .247
- One of Drew's outs was a nice snag of a hard liner to third by Casey Blake, who made two such plays in the game
- Beckett's loss was his first on the road this season; he had been 6-0
- Lowell and Lugo both got the night off; Youk moved to third while Hinske took first base, and Manny was back in left with Papi returning to his DH spot
- Borowski, with his seventh team in 10 years, is now tied for the AL lead in saves with Seattle's JJ Putz
QUOTES
"I had some hard times against them last year. I didn't want that to happen again."--Carmona.
"All the results were good except for one pitch," he said. "It was a fucking fastball down the middle."--Beckett.
RECORD: 61-40
AL EAST: Up 6 1/2 on NYY
STREAK: L-1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu @ CLE 705 Read More......
Game Preview: Sox @ Cleveland GM3
Beckett (13-3, 3.41) vs. Carmona (12-4, 3.44)
Jacobs Field 705
While last night's matchup between two of the best starters in the league had 'pitcher's duel' written all over it, and ultimately delivered on that promise, conversely tonight's game looks like a mismatch.
How than be, you say, when both teams are throwing another pair of excellent starters out there, Boston's Josh Beckett, who leads the majors in wins and is 9th in the AL in ERA, and Cleveland's Fausto Carmona, who ranks 2nd in the league in wins and 10th in ERA?
Simple, because the Sox are so far inside Carmona's head they can tell him what he's thinking.
Sure Carmona is a quality starter this year, but RSN cannot forget what he was last season--namely an atrocious reliever who got lit up like a Macanudo nearly every time he tried to close a game, a streak that began when David Ortiz hit a three-run homer off him in the 9th inning of a game on July 31st that won the game for Boston, 9-8.
Two nights later Fausto allowed a bases loaded double to Mark Loretta to blow a 5-4 Cleveland lead as the Sox won 6-5, a demoralizing defeat for Carmona and the Tribe; it was his second of three consecutive blown saves that dropped his record to 1-6.
By the end of the season Carmona's record had fallen to 1-10, and in the offseason the Indians pulled a Julian Tavarez with him, flipping the flammable reliever into a starter.
To his credit Carmona has responded much better than Julie did, but something tells me that in the back of his mind lingers a little gremlin whispering "this is the team that crushed your spirit last season, and they want to do it again", and it will be up to Fausto to overcome those demons and defeat the team that hastened his demise as a closer.
With Beckett a modest 2-2 with a 4.68 ERA in his last four starts, he should be plenty motivated to put the alternate win/loss string behind him and start heading towards 20-something victories that will get him a shot at winning his first Cy Young.
Carmona will be motivated, too.
But those little mind gremlins are tough to ignore.
Go Sox!
Sox Drawer: looming deadline could affect chemistry
I was going to do this post yesterday but I got sidetracked. So of course Carfado did a piece on it today, and now it looks like I'm taking my cues from the Globe.
Anyway, as the trade MLB deadline of July 31 rapidly approaches, every team in contention (by my count at least 19 teams that fall under that large umbrella) will be considering a move that could modify their club just enough to get them over that postseason hump.
Which begs the ultimate annual mid season question:
Does a first place club fuck with the chemistry by altering the makeup of the team, or do they stand pat/make minor moves that solidify the bench and keep the core nucleus intact?
As the team with the best record in baseball and few glaring weaknesses the Sox are in a most precarious situation: Theo could make a Nomar-esque trade that would shock the clubhouse while dramatically changing the team on the field, but he also could tinker with the bench and bullpen in an attempt to fine tune an already well-oiled machine.
My guess is the latter.
Make no mistake the Sox brass will not be innocent bystanders when the deadline approaches. With the rival Stankees having already made the first move, albeit a minor one (picking up veteran catcher Jose Molina), you can be sure Boston will be eager to counter with something that makes it look like they are not getting out-hustled in the front office.
But unlike 2004, when the Nomar deal shook the foundations of the franchise and its faithful fanbase, Boston does not need a major upgrade in the field and/or at the plate and will not make a major move just to do so. Nor will Theo strip the farm system for a short term solution for an already strong club.
But the lack of depth on the bench and surplus of quality starters dictate a move of some sort.
Rumours abound about which direction Theo will take, and potential trading partners include Texas (Mark Teixeira), Chicago (Konerko) and of course the perennial sellers, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (pick a player.)
Here are my theories on who will stay and who will go in the next week.
STAYING:
-Mike Lowell: the Sox have entertained thoughts of dealing the pricey ($9 mil) and aging (33) veteran third baseman for the last couple of seasons, but that was when he was a solid complimentary player.
Now Lowell has become the de facto heart and soul of the offense, leading the team in RBI and second in homers while batting over .300 for most of the year, and with Manny's power numbers down and Papi hurting, dealing this fan favorite and team leader, even for a young offensive force like Teixeira, would be a monumental chemistry changer that the team might not recover from.
-Jon Lester: eleven months removed from his cancer diagnosis and having made a triumphant return to the bigs with an impressive win Monday night, trading this real-life hero would be a MAJOR blow to the players and fans who have stood by and supported the young man for the last year.
Sure baseball is a business and if a team makes the right offer no one is expendable (ahem-Nomar), but my guess is the Sox let this kid ride out the rest of the season in the Hub to see what kind of inspirational lift his return can give the city and the team
-Manny Delcarmen: sure his stock is sky high right now, but why would the Sox want to deal a hot young bullpen arm unless they were going to get a major player in return. He's too young, inexpensive, and has too much upside to let him go
GOING:
-Wily Mo Pena: right now Boston would be willing to deal this hitting & fielding liability for the proverbial bucket of balls, but whatever the deal you can bet grandma's pension that the affable man-child will be wearing another uniform come Aug. 1st.
-Javier Lopez: the sidearming lefty was supposed to be a lefty specialist, but the problem is lefthanders are batting .288 off him, and his recent struggles (8 hits, 3 BBs, 3 ERs all'd in last 6 1/3 innings) have made it clear that Boston would be willing to let him go if they could get someone more reliable in return
-Kason Gabbard: with the return of Schill imminent and the return of Lester already a success it appears that Gabbard would be the odd man out. He's good, he's young, and on a team that has four entrenched starters and two rookies vying for one spot, he's expendable
-Julian Tavarez: I know his teammates, namely Papi & Manny, love him and he is a valuable arm in the pen because he can go 1-3 innings, but in the last two years he's been bounced around more than a superball, and a move to another team might be the best thing for him and the Sox right now
The bottom line is this team doesn't need a major change to shake things up and to get in contention like the '04 club did. Sure the offense & bullpen could use some tweaking, but to bring in a Teixeira or some other big-name player right now might do more harm than good.
My suggestion: tinker all you want, Theo, and move a couple of bit players, but don't alter the heart of this potential championship squad.
Then if they shit the bed in the postseason, or God forbid miss the playoffs entirely, go ahead and burn the mother down!
7.24.2007
Let the good times roll: Sox take pitcher's duel for 5th straight win
Sox 1, Cleveland 0
WP: Matsuzaka (12-7)
LP: Sabathia (13-5)
SV: Papelbon (23)
HRs: None
SUMMARY
Everyone was expecting a pitcher's duel between two of the top hurlers in the AL, and like a gift from the Baseball Gods, the two did not disappoint.
Daisuke Matsuzaka bested AL wins co-leader C.C. Sabathia thanks to Mike Lowell's 4th inning blooper, and after he threw eight solid innings, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon closed out the Sox fifth straight win.
#1 STUNNER Dice-K 7IP, 4H, 3BB, 5K
Matsuzaka shook of a couple of recent bouts of wildness in his best outing since a July 3rd blanking of the D-Rays as the rookie shut down one of the most potent and patient lineups in the league.
PAN'S FAUN J.D. Drew 0-3, 3Ks
This Silver Sombrero performance comes as the once revitalized but now reviled right fielder is in the midst of a 7-41 (.171) stretch that has dropped his average from .262 to .249 in his last 10 games.
For $70 million bucks.
RECAP
Ask and ye shall receive.
Before this game I, and every other semi-intelligent baseball fan out there, predicted a low-scoring pitcher's duel tonight when two of the top starters in the American League hooked up for a midsummer night's showdown at the Jake by the lake.
But how often does something that looks like a no-brainer on paper actually come to fruition?
In sports very rarely. Which as the old saying goes, is why they play the games.
Tonight was the exception to the rule, or maybe it was the rule, or...oh what the fuck, the game went according to plan as the two teams combined for a mere 10 hits and a single run, and the way the run scored was not exactly a work of offensive art.
And of course holding that slim lead for a the rest of the game was no easy task.
Since when do the Red Sox do anything the easy way?
The way the game started it certainly didn't look like the Tribe was going to be shut out for the fourth time this season when Cleveland put five runners on base in the first inning but didn't score.
Grady Sizemore began the odd inning with a single to center and then stole second four pitches later. But the Tribe would make the first of many mistakes on the evening when Sizemore inexplicably tried to take third on a grounder by Casey Blake to Lugo at short and Julio flipped to Lowell at third to easily nail the Cleveland center fielder.
Victor Martinez then drew a walk, and after Dice-K snatched a hot shot by Travis Hafner and turned it into a fielder's choice grounder that forced Martinez at second, Matsuzaka hit first baseman Ryan Garko to load the bases with two outs.
That's when Dice-K buckled down and fanned Jhonny Peralta to escape the inning unscathed.
The two teams traded uneventful 2nd and 3rd innings, then the fourth inning brought more action than the rest of the game combined.
Well, if you want to call a bunch of bloops, bleeders and miscues action.
The inning started innocently enough when Dustin Pedroia tapped a harmless grounder to second base for the first out. Things got decidedly unconventional from there.
Youk (2-4, R) skied a shot to shallow right field that brought former Dirt Dog Trot Nixon racing in from his position, but despite a great effort and an apparent shoestring catch, Trotman had actually trapped the ball, and Youk was on board with a bloop base hit.
I should say the first one of the inning.
Three pitches later Manny lined a solid single to left off Sabathia (7IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K), and Coco Crisp, the club's hottest hitter who was starting in the five spot for the first time all year, stepped up with a chance to put some runs on the board.
Unfortunately Crisp could not get it done when he struck out on a questionable check swing, but following him was the leading RBI man on the team, Mike Lowell, and if anyone could drive home a big two-out run, Mike is the guy.
Only this time Lowell didn't club one of his monster homers, or even one of his patented doubles off that tall Jacobs Field leftfield wall. Instead he skied a routine pop up to left field that hung up long enough to get a scenic view of the Cavs' Quicken Loans Arena and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before it came down.
Trouble was Ben Francisco, Cleveland's rookie left fielder, got a late jump on the ball, and by the time he recovered the ball landed inches in front of his outstretched glove for another apparent catch that wasn't, and Youk hustled around from second with what turned out to be the only run of the game.
I know, it looked like he was doing his best Whiffy Mo imitation.
In the bottom half of the inning it looked as if Cleveland would tie the game right up when they got two men on with one out, but once again Dice-K buckled down and got Francisco and Josh Barfield to strike out on just eight pitches, throwing high fastballs by both baffled batters.
By the latter stages of the game the only question became 'would Dice-K be allowed to complete his near-masterpiece?'
The answer was obviously 'no' when fellow countryman Hideki Okajima came out for the eighth, but with a 1-2 combo like Oki & Paps, Tito would be foolish not to use them when the situation was warranted.
And a 1-0 game against an explosive offense like Cleveland's is that type of situation.
After a lengthy 8-pitch at bat by Martinez, Oki needed just six more to dispatch Hafner and Garko, and then it was time for the close to earn his salary.
Following his last rocky outing (2 hits and a walk against the White Sox on Sunday), RSN had to be a little unsure whether or not the tough-as-nails Paps would show up for this one.
Those doubts were quickly laid to rest when he mowed down three Tribe hitters, including Trot swinging and Francisco looking to end the game out with a flourish, and the surging Sox had their fifth consecutive win and eighth shutout of the season.
I love it when a good plan comes together.
NOTES
- Papi missed his fourth straight game with his shoulder injury but is expected to return tomorrow night.
- Julio Lugo returned to the leadoff spot and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with an eighth inning double high off the leftfield wall; he has raised his average from .189 to .226 during the streak
- Boston's string of seven straight games with at least 10 hits came to an end as Sabathia and reliever Rafael Betancourt held the sox to six hits including two each by Manny & Youk
- Whiffy Mo got the start in left field (perhaps as a trade showcase) and went 0-3 with another K, although he did make a nice running catch of a deep drive by Blake in the fifth. He is now 2 for 25 in July with 14 strikeouts
- In addition to Pena's catch, Pedroia made an excellent play on a grounder to shallow right by Hafner to nail the DH at first to end the fifth
- Coco (0-4) had his seven game streak come to an end, as did Pedroia with his 0-4
QUOTES
"I thought it would be a tight game. In a game like that one run can beat you. It turns out we couldn't push a run across."--Sabathia
AL EAST: Up 7 1/2 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-5
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Wed @ CLE 705 Read More......
Game Preview: Sox @ Cleveland GM2
Matsuzaka (11-7, 3.99) vs. Sabathia (13-4, 3.81)
Jacobs Field 705
After the drama and emotion involved with last night's return of Jon Lester, Boson will have to crank up the adrenaline again tonight as they face one of the best starting pitchers in the American League, C.C. Sabathia.
Luckily they have another one of the AL's best on the hill wearing a road uniform, Daisuke Matsuzaka.
The red-hot Red Sox will ride a four game winning streak and the emotional high of Lester's return into tonight's contest at the Jake, but unlike last night they won't be facing a struggling hurler with a bloated ERA.
Sabathia is in the top 10 in the AL in wins (tied for 1st with Josh Beckett), strikeouts (127-t5), and innings pitched (146.1-2nd) and just misses the top 10 in ERA (3.81-17th) and WHIP (1.22-15th), and playing for a potential playoff team puts him smack dab in the running for the AL Cy Young.
But the man opposing him tonight is having a pretty decent season himself, as Dice-K ranks 5th in the league in wins and 3rd in strikeouts (131) despite some maddening inconsistent stretches when he'll walk three batters in a row or allow three or four runs in an inning after shutting down a team for most of a game.
Dice was guilty of both transgressions in his last start when he walked six batters in five innings in a 4-2 loss to the ChiSox on Thursday, but since that time the Sox have reeled off four straight wins while compiling at least 10 hits in each of its last seven games.
So following the hype and drama of last night's game we get to witness a bona fide pitcher's duel tonight, and with both teams possessing patient and talented offenses, any mistakes should be greatly magnified in this one.
In other words, don't walk another half a dozen, Dice!
GO Sox!
7.23.2007
Lester's return a rousing success as Sox smoke Tribe
Sox 6, Cleveland 2
WP: Lester (1-0)
LP: Westbrook (1-6)
SV: Delcarmen (1)
HRs: CLE-Sizemore (18)
SUMMARY
The storybook return of Sox hurler Jon Lester got a Disney-like ending when the 23-year-old lefty pitched six solid innings and got the win in his first start in the majors since being diagnosed with cancer last August.
Welcome back, Jon.
HERO Lester 6IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, HR, W
The performance, though far from perfect, was positive. The stats, though stellar, are insignificant. The decision, a well-earned win, icing on the cake.
The mere fact that a young kid who wasn't even sure if he'd live, never mind pitch again, has made it all the way back to the major leagues after going through everything Jon Lester has gone through in the last 11 months makes him a living example of the word 'hero.'
RECAP
Could it have gone any better than this tonight?
Not only did Jon Lester make it all the way back to the majors after a yearlong battle with the Big 'C', but he pitched effectively for six innings and his teammates got him all the run support he would need in the very first inning.
Knowing how much Lester has gone through to make it back and not wanting to put the kid through any more unnecessary duress, the blazing Boston batters took the field tonight determined to do everything in their power to help their courageous teammate have as easy an outing as possible.
Which meant as little stress as possible. And for a baseball pitcher there is no bigger stress reliever than having your club hang up a four-spot in the first inning.
Coco, who continued his white-hot streak with his second 4-hit game of the season, started the slaughter off against troubled Indians starter Jake Westbrook (6IP, 10H, 5ER, 4BB, K) with an opposite field single to left. Dustin Pedroia followed with a single to right, and then Youk worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out for Manny.
The former Tribe slugger received a mix reaction from the (mixed) crowd, then four pitches later Ramirez nonchalantly ripped a double down the third base line that scored Crisp and Pedroia, and the Sox had a 2-0 lead before anyone even had a chance to clear the foam off their beers.
J.D. Drew kept the ball rolling with a single right past Westbrook's glove to plate Youk with run #3, and only the run-scoring double play grounder by Lowell kept the score from being worse than 4-0 after one.
With his parents as well as a large contingent of RSN cheering him on in the stands, Jon Lester took the mound at Jacobs Field tonight for the bottom of the first inning for his first pitch in 11 months; surely he was surely, but you have to believe he was a little bit more relaxed with a nice four-run cushion to work with.
The layoff didn't appear to effect the lefty at all as his first pitch to Grady Sizemore was a strike, and he went on to retire the side on 15 pitches despite allowing a single to Casey Blake with two outs.
Not content to rest on their laurels, Boston went right back at Jake in the second inning, and once again the man with the flaming stick was the catalyst of the rally.
After Lugo grounded out to open the frame, Coco, who has now hit safely in seven straight games and nine of the last 10, notched his second hit of the night on the first pitch from Westbrook, a slicing opposite-field smash that bounced off the base of the wall in left for an easy two-bagger for the speedster.
Pedroia's groundout to the left side couldn't advance Crisp, but three pitches later Youk lined a single to right that scored the Coco from second without a throw, and Boston's lead was now 5-0 just 12 batters into the game.
Lester opened the second inning by hitting Ryan Garko with a pitch but followed that faux pas by inducing Jhonny Peralta to ground into a double play, but the Sox missed a golden chance to add to the lead when Mike Lowell was caught stealing with one out in the third, thwarting what could have been a bases loaded situation.
The missed opp would come back to haunt them in the bottom of the inning when Lester made his biggest mistake of the night: an 0-2 pitch to Sizemore that the talented center fielder crushed into the right field seats for a momentum-breaking two-run homer.
After that reality check and with Lester's durability in question, the true mettle of the young pitcher was tested in the fourth inning when Cleveland loaded the bases with one out on a double by Garko and walks to Peralta and Kelly Shoppach.
Gut check time.
But for a man who has been tested by one of life's worst situations, a little bit of baseball drama must have seemed like a walk in the park.
At least that's the way it appeared when the calm & cool 23-year-old who was making just his 17th career start got Josh Barfield to tap right back to him for a force at the plate, then icily fanned Sizemore swinging to end the inning with a fist-pumping flourish.
Had the kid left the game right then he would have been hailed as a hero, and no one would have questioned the move.
Except Lester figured he'd waited so long to get back here, so why leave early?
He pitched the next two innings, facing the minimum six batters thanks to another double play, and things were going so good for Boston that no one really cared when Manny hot-dogged his way out of a double after he thought he had hit a homer in the fifth.
By the time Mike Timlin took over in the seventh the Boston dugout was full of congratulatory hugs for the determined youngster, who had overcome so much just to be able to do something many of them take for granted, that everyone in the building knew the Sox weren't going to let this win slip away for him.
So when Manny Delcarmen got Shoppach to ground out to Lowell to end the game, it didn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure out who was going to get the game ball.
After all, Jon Lester earned it.
NOTES
- Coco extra crispy: the move back to the top of the lineup didn't faze Coco at all as he logged his second 4-hit game of the season (the other was that 4-4, 2HR game at Atlanta June 18th); he is batting a sizzling .447 (17-38) in his last 10 games with a double, four triples, 9 runs scored and 10 batted in. Can you say "en fuego?"
- Papi was not in the lineup again with the bad shoulder, and according to Tito he is not expected to return until at least Wednesday; Manny was the DH again and Hinske took left, and it's obvious management has seen enough of Wily Mo
- This was Lester's 17th career start, and he now owns a nice 8-2 career mark
- After garrulous Gary Thorne stated that Lester might have lost his strikeout touch, the lefty fanned six from the most disciplined lineup in the league
- Hit show: Boston racked up 14 hits (plus 5 walks), the seventh straight game the team has gone over double digits in that department
- The only starters not to get a hit were Tek (0-2, 2BB) and Hinske (0-3, BB), who saw his six game streak snapped
- Delcarmen (1 1/3IP, 1K) bounced back from a rocky outing yesterday to record his first career save
- Boston scored its final run in the ninth when Coco singled, went to second on Blake's error, to third on a passed ball and scored on an excuse-me single by Pedroia
- Timlin continued his recent rejuvenation with another inning and a third of scoreless work; the vet has not allowed a run since his 2HR, 3run debacle in Seattle on June 25th, the game he almost got decapitated by a splintered bat, a play that he says changed his perspective on pitching
- Old friend Trot Nixon didn't start against the lefty but did pinch hit in the ninth; he flied out to left
- Home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor angered many a player on both sides with his ever-changing strike zone. Youk was especially perturbed by a called strike three in the ninth that was about 6" outside
- For what it's worth: the win made Boston the first team in MLB to record 60 victories this season
"It was supposed to be his night." --Tito on Lester
"That eases any pitcher's mind getting four in the first. It makes it a little easier to go out there and throw strikes."--Lester. (see, I called it!)
"This isn't even about baseball. It just doesn't get any better the way a guy like that comes back to us.--Schill on Lester. Well said, Curt.
RECORD: 60-39
AL EAST: Up 7.5 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-4
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Tue @ CLE 705 Read More......
Series Preview: Sox @ Indians
GM1: Lester (NR) vs. Westbrook (1-5)
7.22.2007
Sox hang on for thrilling win over Chicago
Boston 8, Chicago 5
WP: Wakefield (11-9)
LP: Garland (7-7)
SV: Papelbon (22)
HRs: BOS-Manny (15), Lowell (15)
SUMMARY
After jumping out to an 8-1 lead on the strength of two 3-run homers, the Sox had to hang on for dear life as Chicago trimmed the lead to three, then loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth before Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door shut.
#1 STUNNER: Manny 2-2, 2R, 3BB, 4RBI, HR
This is the version of MannyBeingManny that all Sox fans know, love and have been waiting all season for.
Manny hit his third homer in the last week and drove in his 12th, 13th, 14th & 15th runs of the month, and it was his three-run bomb in the first inning that set the tone for the day.
PAN's FAUN John Garland 4.2IP, 6H, 6ER, 5BB, 3K, 2HR
The back-to-back 18-game winner and 2005 postseason hero for Chicago looks like a shell of his former self.
When he did get the ball over the plate the Sox batters hammered him like chopped meat, and when he couldn't find the strike zone he just walked 'em, including two batters before each Boston home run.
RECAP
Whhhheeeeeewwwwww!
That's what the entire Nation exclaimed after Paul Konerko's ninth inning grounder was flipped from Mike Lowell to Alex Cora on to Youk at first to complete an around-the-horn double play that gave Boston its first series win in two and a half weeks.
Despite blasting a pair of three run homers and amassing 10 hits and eight walks, the Sox still had to sweat out the win thanks to some (rare) sloppy relief work by Manny Delcarmen and a pesky bunch of Chicago hitters who refused to go down quietly.
But now that all the sweating is over with, the Sox can look back and take many positives out of this contest and the series in general as they head off for a seven-game roadie to Cleveland and then down here to the greater Tampa Bay area.
Which reminds me, I've got third base box seats for next Sunday's game at the Trop (as of now Dice is scheduled to throw, but shhhh, I don't want to jinx it.)
Anyway, the most obvious thing atop the list of positives is the fact that the previously ineffective Sox offense got its groove back against the putrid ChiSox staff; Boston rang up 31 runs in four games and topped all that scoring off today with a staple of a bygone BoSox era: the three run homer.
(Quick history lesson for any bandwagon jumpers/non-Sox fan readers)
See kids, used to be back in the day the Boston offense was predicated around that very powerful but sporadic weapon, as was much of the offense in the AL during the early years of the DH. And Boston, forever without any speedy base stealers or prototypical leadoff men, used to hope guys like Remy, Marty Barrett, Jody Reed and Spike Owen would get on base and then wait for the guys like Rice, Armas, Dewey, Brunansky or Big Mo to launch a moon shot and drive them in.
It was a quick, easy and above all lazy way to grab a three-run lead.
But now, with players the size of Youk toting +.400 OBPs and the Coco Crisps of the world able to steal or crank one out, obviously those days are gone.
Sure at times this Boston team can still bash with the best of them, but with the team ranking a modest 8th in the AL in longballs and the threeleader on the squad, Big Papi, totalling a pedestrian (by AL standars) 16 taters on the season, it's safe to say that the days of getting two men on base and praying for a home run are, pardon the expression, long gone at Fenway.
Well, at least they were until today.
Boston reprised that fan favorite at the old ballyard this afternoon, with former White Sox ace Jon Garland the unfortunate victim of the retro craze, and it kicked off in the very first inning.
Julio Lugo, who reached base three more times and extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an eighth inning single, walked to lead off the inning. After Alex Cora grounded into a fielder's choice to force Lugo at second, Kevin Youkilis worked a walk to set up Manny's theatrics.
It didn't take long for Ramirez to produce them, either, as he took a 1-1 offering from Garland and deposited it into the Boston bullpen for a lightning-quick 3-0 Boston lead.
Ah, just like the old days of 1984.
Things stayed pretty quiet for a while from there, as Tim Wakefield (6.1IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K) held the ChiSox scoreless for the first four innings, allowing just a pair of walks and a single, before Chicago scratched out a single run in the fifth on doubles by Jermaine Dye and the impressive Josh Fields.
But the Sox batters responded to that small uprising with another Earl Weaver special, but this time it was the team leader in RBIs, Mike Lowell, playing the part of Chief Long Stick with Manny & J.D. Drew playing the parts of Johnny Tablesetters.
Garland started the fifth by retiring Cora and Youk on just six pitches, but suddenly he lost his control again and walked Ramirez & Drew on his next eleven throws. Lowell was only to happy to accept Garland's generosity, and on the third pitch of the at bat Mike lined a tracer into the Monster seats that gave the Sox a seemingly insurmountable 6-1 lead.
So when the Sox tacked on a couple more runs in the sixth on a sac fly by Youk and a solid single to center by Manny that pushed the lead to 8-1, combined with the way Wake was tossing the knuckler, it looked like the game was all but over.
As Coach Corso would say, not so fast my friends.
The ChiSox exhibited the fire and fight exemplified by their manager, Ozzie Guillen, when they scratched and clawed their way back into the game thanks to a three-run seventh.
Wake wasted no time in letting them back in the game when A.J. Pierzynski singled, Dye doubled, Rob Mackowiak hit a sac fly and that pesky Fields (2-3, 2R, RBI) drilled an RBI single on the first eight pitches of the inning the to cut the lead to 8-3.
That brought Tito out to yank Wake, and as he left the field to a huge ovation, lights-out reliever Manny Delcarmen made his way in from the pen.
Almost as soon as Remy announced that Delcarmen hadn't allowed any of his 11 inherited runners to score on the season, he gave up a single and a walk that loaded the bases and then surrendered an RBI single to the immortal Alex Cintron that ended the impressive streak and cut Boston's lead to 8-4.
As if that weren't bad enough, Delcarmen walked Jim Thome on five pitches with the bases loaded to push Chicago's fifth run across the plate, and after Okajima came on and retired Pierzynski to end the rally, what had been a seven-run cushion was now down to three with two innings to go.
Uh-oh.
A golden scoring opportunity went by the wayside in the bottom of the inning when Lugo singled, went to second on a wild pitch and third on an error and then Manny was intentionally walked, but Fields made his third great snag at third base in the series on a hot shot down the line by Drew, and the lead remained at three runs.
But Papelbon was coming in for the ninth, so many of the Faithful filed out of the park to beat the traffic since thoughts of the White Sox coming back from three runs down against the All Star closer were out of the question.
Ah, not so fast my fleeing Fenway friends.
Paps, who has pitched just three times in the last 10 days, got into trouble immediately when he allowed a single to Uribe (3-4, R), a single to Jerry Owens and a walk to Cintron to load the bases with no outs.
Gulp.
With the tying run on base and Jim Thome at the plate, those fans who were filing out most likely stopped at a monitor on the concourse or at the Cask to witness what could have been a monumental collapse by Boston and its ace reliever.
Instead Paps remembered who he was and what team he was pitching to and promptly blew Thome away on four pitches flavored with 96-mph gas. He then got Konerko to tap out to Lowell, who went around the horn for the double play to retire the side and the Sox had swiped the win before it was swallowed by the jaws of defeat.
So it's off to C-Town with the 7 1/2 game lead intact (the Stanks bludgeoned the Rays 21-4) and with Jon Lester's debut tomorrow and then Boston's first trip to St. Pete, a.k.a. Boston South, next weekend, this is shaping up to be a big week for the Sox.
Who knows, maybe they'll even hit a few more three-run jacks.
NOTES:
- Papi got the day off to rest his injured shoulder, as expected. There is no structural damage and Ortiz said he should be able to play soon; as predicted, Manny was the DH again but Big Hit Hinske played left
- Coco still crispy: no matter where he hits in the lineup nowadays, Coco just hits. He grabbed three more knocks today, all singles to center, and now has hit safely in six straight games (10-24, .417) and has raised his average from .221 to .277 since June 13th
- Lugo (1-3, R, 2BB) also remained hot, extending his streak to 12 games (21-46, .457), but he has cooled off (2-8) since his re-insertion to the leadoff spot yesterday
- Cora got the start for Pedroia and went 0-5 to drop his aveaghe to .267; remember when everyone wanted him to start over Dusty? Me neither.
- Not only did Manny D allow his first inherited runner of the season to score, he also allowed his first runs since June 26th in Seattle, a span of 10 appearances; hey, he's only human
- Oki pitched his second straight scoreless inning after allowing his first homer since Opening Day on Friday night
- Wake became the first pitcher to have a decision in each of his first 20 starts since Houston's Shane Reynolds in 2001 and the first AL pitcher to accomplish the odd feat since Bret Saberhagen did it with the Royals way back in 1987.
"That was agonizing, but it's a heck of a lot better than losing."--Tito
RECORD: 59-39
AL EAST: Up 7.5 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-3
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Mon @ CLE 705 Read More......
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