Bosox bludgeon Chisox for third game in a row

Boston 14, Chicago 2
WP: Wakefield (16-10)
LP: Buehrle (9-9)
HRs: CHI-Konerko (26)

SUMMARY
The Bosox offense continued to get healthy courtesy of the Chicago pitching staff, turning a scoreless game in the 6th into another laffer by piling up 14 runs in the final four frames to get Tim Wakefield his ML co-leading 16th victory.

#1 STUNNER Mike Lowell 4-6, 2R, 2BI
The votes are in and the polls are officially closed: this guy is the Red Sox MVP for 2007. His RBI single in the 6th started the avalanche of runs, and in the three games the veteran third baseman is 9-14 with 6 runs scored and 6 RBIs.

M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P...

PAN's FAUN Chicago bullpen 3IP, 9H, 10ER
After starter Mark Buehrle allowed 4 runs in the 6th Ozzie's sorry bunch of relievers came in and torched any hopes of a Chisox comeback. This pen--and this team as a whole--might just be the worst in baseball.

RECAP
I know Chicago is called the Windy City, but I never realized that nickname was derived from how badly the baseball team on the South Side blows.

For the third straight game the Red Sox batters pummelled the piss-poor White Sox pitching, ringing up 15 hits and nearly as many runs in Boston's 3rd consecutive rout of the hapless ChiSox, who have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

Believe it or not, this game was actually a pitchers duel for the first five innings, with each team notching just 1 hit apiece in a scoreless battle as starting pitchers Tim Wakefield and Mark Buehrle were plowing through the other lineup like Angelina Jolie plows through adoptions.

But after five scoreless innings featuring a combined 7 base runners (2 hits, 4 walks, 1 error), Boston erupted in the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four times off a suddenly shell shocked Buehrle (6IP, 6H, 4ER, 3BB, 3K).

Little did we know that was only the beginning of the beatdown Boston was about to inflict on these Second City saps.

The sixth inning started innocently enough when Dustin Pedroia legged out an infield single to short and then Buehrle got Coco Crisp to line one right back to the mound to rob him of a hit.

But then David "One Pitch" Ortiz sliced Buehrle's next offering the opposite way into the left center field gap, and although the speed-challenged Pedroia had to hold up at third, it soon wouldn't matter as Boston broke it open.

After something really strange happened.

Ozzie Guillen decided to walk Manny Ramirez (0-3, 2R) to load the bases and pitch to Mike Lowell.

I know, it makes sense to walk a Hall of Fame hitter with first base open and one out to set up the force at any base, but the way Lowell has been blistering the ball, coupled with the fact that he's got more RBIs than Ramirez does this year, made the decision seem a little bit odd, at least to me.

The professional hitter made the decision really look bad when he took a 1-2 pitch from Buehrle and slammed a single through the hole at shortstop for the first run of the game, a play that said "yes, I am the man when it comes to clutch RBIs on this team this year" and also opened the floodgates like a that first pee on a night out.

Kevin Youkilis and Bobby Kielty (3-5, 1R, 4RBI) followed Lowell's lead and hit nearly identical singles to the exact same spot, plating three more runs and by the time Buehrle recorded the final two outs of the inning he was done for the day, and the White Sox would be as well.

After Wake (7IP, 3H, 0ER, 3BB, 6K) pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 6th, Boston added another run on three hits and a walk in the 7th off the immortal Boone Logan, and the score was up to 5-0.

But not for long.

Wake escaped his biggest jam of the day in the bottom of the 7th when he allowed his first hits since the first inning, a one-out double by Jermaine Dye (2-3) and a two-out single by Danny Richar, but struck out Andy Gonzalez to end the threat.

Then in the top of the 8th the Boston batters laid the wood to the pathetic Chicago pen, racking up 8 runs on four hits, five walks including two with the bases loaded, two hit batters and two wild pitches.

Reliever Ryan Bukvich (0IP, 2H, 5ER, BB) began the festivities by plunking both Alex Cora and Kevin Cash to open the inning, then surrendered a ringing double to left by Pedroia (2-5, 2R, 2BI) to plate Cora and send Cash to third.

Coco walked after a lengthy at bat, and the Papi (2-5, 2R, 2BI) waited till the 6th pitch from Buckvich before he lined a single to right to score Cash and Pedroia, and just like that the score was 8-0 with plenty more to come.

Mike MacDougal (2/3IP, 2H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K) relieved Bukvich and continued to make it hard to believe he used to be an All Star closer when he promptly threw a wild pitch to move Ortiz to second, then after striking out Manny, uncorked another wild one that easily scored Coco from third.

On the next pitch Lowell grounded another single to left to score Papi with Boston's 10th run, and the Sox had just accomplished something no Boston team had done since 2000: score more than 10 runs in three consecutive games.

Not even against the Devil Rays.

MacDougal continued to meltdown as he walked Youk (2-5, 1R, 2BI), allowed an RBI double to deep left by Kielty, then after getting Cora to strike out, walked Cash, Pedroia and Crisp in succession, the last two with the bases loaded.

By the time pinch hitter J.D. Drew rained on the parade and struck out to end the onslaught, Boston led 13-0 and apparently had succeeded in hammering the fight out of the fiery Guillen and his team.

Kyle Snyder ruined the shutout bid when he gave up a two-run blast to Paul Konerko in the 8th after plunking A.J. Punchmeplease with a retaliatory pitch, but the Sox tacked on a "fuck you" run in the 9th on another RBI hit by Kielty.

After Javier Lopez got Jerry Owens to fly out to end the game, one of the most dominating two-day stretches in franchise history had come to a merciful conclusion.

So Tim Wakefield joined teammate Josh Beckett as the only two 16-game winners in the major leagues, continued his streak of recording a decision in every start this season, and continues to make us wonder if the 42-year-old made a pact with the devil, because he is pitching better now than he has in his entire career.

And Mike Lowell continues to amaze even the most hardened baseball fan, going from a "must take" piece in the Beckett deal due to his age, salary, and declining productivity to become the key cog on what looks like a surefire playoff team, leading the team in RBIs and leadership by example.

And the Boston offense has made the Chicago White Sox look like the worst team in major league baseball for three straight games, finding its missing mojo and finally taking advantage of every scoring opportunity that comes their way.

Ah, good times in the Nation indeed.

Holy shit, just writing that wore me out, so I'm just gonna say one more thing: let's do it again tomorrow, boys!

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Game preview: Boston @ Chicago GM3

Wakefield (15-10, 4.35) vs. Buehrle (9-8, 3.42)
US Cellular Field 355 FOX

The king of all decisions takes the mound for Boston today as Tim Wakefield tries to extend his streak of recording a decision in every start this season to a remarkable 26 games.

The red-hot Wake will carry an 8-2 record over his last 10 starts into this game as he hopes to improve on a subpar record against the Chisox (6-10, 5.43 ERA in 26 apps), a stark contrast to the team he owns & dominated in his last two starts, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

His mound opponent was almost a teammate of his. The Red Sox hotly pursued Chicago starter Mark Buehrle before the trading deadline, only to learn they would not acquire the fast-working lefty when he signed a 4-year, $56 million dollar extension with Chicago.

But ever since inking his new pact the once-hot commodity has slipped significantly, posting a 3-4 mark in 8 starts since the deal with his ERA ballooning from 3.03 to 3.42.

The normally stingy Buehrle has also allowed a ton of hits this season, allowing 81 knocks in his last 10 starts, including back-to-back 10 & 14-hit debacles in late July.

The Boston offense will also hope to keep the good times rolling after drubbing the Chicago staff to the tune of 21 runs and 28 hits in yesterday's twinbill. And the good news is that Big Papi has had success off Buehrle and the Chisox staff.

This season Ortiz is batting .429 (6-14) with two homers against the White Sox, and in his career Papi has hit Buehrle at a .375 clip (15-40) with a pair of homers and 7 ribbies.

But the key to the Boston offense this season has been the superb Mike Lowell, who raked in four more ribs yesterday to run his team-leading total to 90, good for 5th in the AL.

If anyone had said that Mike Lowell would have five more RBIs than Manny and seven more than Papi at this point in the season, they would have brushed you aside like a
ugly chick at a club entrance.

So after the long day & night yesterday the two Sox get to play in front of a national TV audience in the middle of the afternoon today, and if all goes well Boston will be able to show the doubting baseball world that their offense is fine, their pitching staff is better, and they're ready to roll into the Bronx on Tuesday with a full head of steam while scraping a crushed Chisox team off their windshield.

Let's hope Wake can keep the good times rolling.

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BoSox complete DH sweep with annihilation of Chisox

Boston 10, Chicago 1
WP: Schilling (8-5)
LP: Danks (6-12)
HRs: Papi, 2 (23), Youk (13); CHI-Uribe (14)

"Sure, kid. And have one for your 10th, too, in case I forget"

SUMMARY
Boston put a bow on a banner day in the Windy City as Curt Schilling turned in his best performance since returning from the DL and the offense exploded again, propelled by Papi's two homers, another pair of ribbies from Mike Lowell, and a mammoth homer by Kevin Youkilis that put this one out of reach.

#1 STUNNER Ortiz 4-5, 3R, 3BI, 2HRs
The big man is starting to resemble his clutch, 2004 self as he mashed a pair of home runs for just the third time this season and added a pair of shift-busting singles to prove that he's not just a one-dimensional hitter.

PAN's FAUN(s) J. Danks & G. Floyd 7IP, 9H, 9ER, 5BB, 3HRs
The first two Chicago pitchers were like bad & badder; first Danks allowed 5 earned runs in 3 1/3, then Gavin Floyd "relieved" him and gave up 4 earned in 3 2/3 to make sure the Pale Hose would have no shot at coming back in this one.

RECAP
Talk about a sweet end to a LONG day.

After suffering through rain delays, a postponement, threats of rain delays and postponements, and a four-hour marathon opening game in this series, Boston put to rest early any doubts as to the outcome of this one as they ripped the sorry ChiSox pitching staff en route to a dominating doubleheader sweep.

But unlike the opener, Boston received excellent starting pitching that made all the extra runs totally unnecessary.

Unnecessary, but fun as fucking hell!

Curt Schilling (6IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 3K) turned in his best performance since his 1-hit gem in late June, putting together six quality innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball, his only blemish coming on a 1-0 pitch to Juan Uribe with one out in the second that the beefy (ahem) shortstop tagged for a solo homer.

Other than that and a two-out double by Darren Erstad in the first inning, Schill was nearly untouchable, mixing his pitches nicely and exhibiting great control of the strike zone.

Following those two hits Curt allowed just one baserunner over the next four innings, ringing up 12 straight Chicago batters at one point before allowing a walk to Erstad with two outs in the 6th. He exited after getting the the next batter out having thrown an economical 98 pitches, a remarkable 69 for strikes.

But the story of this game has to be the offense, which after a measly 1-run showing in the finale in Tampa Bay, was bombarded with the questions of "why can't you guys get a big hit in the clutch?"

The Boston batters laid that question to rest-temporarily-today with an offensive output to rival the Texas Rangers.

After racking up 15 hits and 11 runs in the opener, Boston ripped another 13 base knocks to go along with the 10 runs in the nightcap, and the best part about it was the key to Red Sox postseason glory was back to his old self again.

Dustin Pedroia worked a leadoff walk to open the 4th, and then David Ortiz wasted no time in putting this long day behind him; one pitch after Pedroia trotted to first, Papi unloaded on a John Danks offering for a two-run shot to left field that quickly put Schill & the Sox ahead, 2-1.

But the Boston boys weren't done.

Manny Ramirez (1-3, 2R) followed that blast with a hard single to center, then Mike Lowell, the Sox RBI leader, added to his total with a long double to the left center field gap that scored Manny all the way from first and fueled the fire of a big inning.

Danks (3.1IP, 5H, 5R, 2BB, HR), who has lost his last six starts, managed to retire Youk on a pop out (better watch out, bat rack!), but then Bobby Kielty walked on five pitches and Coco Crisp followed with a booming double to left to drive Lowell in and push the lead to 4-1 Sox.

That shot wound up being the last pitch by Danks on the night, as short leash Ozzie Guillen yanked the guy who has allowed at least 5 earned runs in 4 of his last 5 starts, with 7 homers thrown in during that time.

Too bad his replacement fared no better.

Gavin Floyd, who sounds like a 1930's film star, came in and immediately surrendered a solid single to right by Kevin Cash to drive in Kielty, and the new BoSox backstop joined the fun with his first hit & RBI as a member of the club.

Floyd (3.2IP, 4H, 4ER, 3BB, 1K, 2HR) would escape further damage in that inning, but before he knew it the Boston batters were bashing him again in the 5th, and it started with another dose of Big Papi.

After the game Ortiz admitted he was eager to get home to the hotel after an extremely long day at the park, so he "was swinging at the first pitch every time."

Hey, whatever works, big fella.

Papi swung hard at the first pitch of the 5th from Floyd, and the ball travelled a long way, high and deep to left center field for a towering solo homer that put the Sox up 6-1 and paved the way for the onslaught to follow.

A rattled Floyd responded by walking Manny and Lowell (2-4, 2R, RBI), then Kevin Youkilis launched the first pitch he saw deep into the seats in left for a soul-crushing 3-run bomb that made the score 9-1 and emptied the remaining ChiSox fans from US Cell field faster than you can say "Cubbies all the way."

Things quieted down from there, with the Sox batters spent from running around the bases all day & night and Ozzie tired of changing pitchers as often as he swears, but Boston would put the finishing touches on the scoring binge in the 9th.

And whaddaya know, Papi was the one who started the rally again.

It took three pitches this time for Ortiz to bust an opposite-field single to left off someone named Matt Thornton, and then Eric Hinske, who replaced Manny in the field, roped a double to right to set up a 2nd & 3rd, no out situation.

Ozzie must have cussed, because he went to his pen for for former closer Mike MacDougal, but Mike Lowell treated the ex-All Star like he does everyone else, driving a stinging single up the middle to plate Boston's 10th run of the night on the third baseman's 90th ribbie of the season.

Even an appearance by Eric Gagne in the 9th couldn't get the Nation down tonight (after all, he couldn't blow this lead, could he?), and the embattled reliever got out of the game (after allowing a two-out single) by striking out Uribe to put a cap on this offensive affair.

And so a long day turned into a festive night, and the Sox have plenty of reasons to celebrate after bludgeoning the Chisox for nearly seven hours:

1. they will gain at least a game on New York, if not 1 1/2
2. Curt Schilling looks like he's returning to form just in time
3. the offense is clicking on all cylinders, especially with the real Big Papi back
4. they have until tomorrow afternoon before they have to do it all over again

That's it for now. Everyone take a breather, regroup, and we'll see if Wakefield can keep the momentum going tomorrow afternoon on FOX.

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Game Preview: BoSox @ ChiSox GM2 (today!)

Schilling (7-5, 4.25) vs. Danks (6-11, 5.30)
US Cellular Field 811EST

Wow, seems like I just got done wrapping up the last game.

Oh, that's because I did, literally just minutes ago, and here we are just about 20 minutes from starting Game 2 of this delayed double header in Chitown.

As the teams try and recover from that 4-hour, 24-hit, 14-run marathon of an opening game, us bloggers will try and remember what game we are writing about and what's on tap for the next game.

The one thing I'm sure of is that Curt Schilling will be trying to put the inconsistent ways that have plagued him since his return from the DL behind him when he takes the mound for his 4th post-injury start.

In the other three he has allowed 22 hits and 9 earned runs in 18 innings of work (4.50ERA), and although he has not walked a batter, he has apparently lost some velocity from his fastball, forcing him into some sticky situations.

At least his mound opponent has been equally erratic. John Danks has been shelled in his last 4 starts, allowing 27 hits and 18 runs over 19.1 innings, and surrendering 6 home runs during that stretch.

So the sox have a decnt shot at a sweep if the rains hold off and Schill holds up.

If not at least the Pats are on CBS tonight, so the PIP will be busy either way, and if Schill gets shelled, it'll be time to play "Name that patriot" as the scrubs compete for jobs late in that contest.

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Sloppy Beckett nets #16 as BoSox pound ChiSox

Boston 11, Chicago 3
WP: Beckett (16-5)
LP: Garland (8-10)
HRs: BOS-Varitek (11); CHI-Fields (16)

SUMMARY
After drenching storms pushed his start back by a day, Josh Beckett showed signs of rust but shook off a shaky start while his offense piled up runs against a horrid Chicago staff, helping Becks earn his ML-leading 16th victory of the season.

#1 STUNNER(s) Varitek & Lowell 5-7, 3R, 6RBI
The Captains of Clutch each contributed a couple of big knocks in this one.

In the 4th Lowell's RBI single gave Boston the lead at 2-1, then Tek followed with a 2-run double. In the 9th Lowell's RBI double broke the game open, 8-3, and Tek's 2-run homer iced the cake.

PAN's FAUN Mike Myers 1IP, 4H, 4ER, 2BB, 41P
The sidearming former Boston and Stankees reliever came on for the 9th and turned a somewhat manageable ChiSox deficit (7-3) into an absolute rout, highlighted by former batterymate Jason Varitek's 2-run missile.

RECAP
I guess it was worth the wait.

After an 18-hour delay and rampant uncertainty that this game would be played, Josh Beckett finally took the mound for his start against Chicago with his sights set on earning his 16th win of the season.

And despite having to navigate a rocky opening inning, in which the All Star allowed a run on a hit and three consecutive bases-on-balls, Boston's road warrior continued his dominance away from home this season, recording his 9th victory on the road and 16th overall on the year.

But the odds of Beckett becoming the first 16-game winner in the majors this season seemed long after this one (finally) started, as Josh struggled with his control while throwing an inordinate amount of breaking pitches early on.

In fact after retiring Jerry Owens on four pitches to start the 1st inning, Beckett went to three-ball counts on 5 of the next 6 batters, and the only one he didn't get behind was A.J. Punkzynski, who doubled to right on the second pitch he saw.

That's what a night & half a day of waiting around can do to a worl-class pitcher, though.

Following Punkzynski's two-bagger Beckett (5.2IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K) fell behind Paul Konerko 3-1 before walking him, fell behind Darrin Erstad 3-1 before walking him, and finally fell behind Jermaine Dye 3-0 before walking him on four pitches to force in the game's first run.

Luckily for him his teammates soon solved ChiSox starter Jon Garland (7IP, 9H, 6R, 5ER, BB, 5K), breaking through for a run in the 3rd before laying a 4-spot on the embattled former 18-game winner in the 4th.

Alex Cora jump-started the offense that had scored just one run in its last 13 innings when he roped a 2-out double into the right field corner, then cruised home when Julio Lugo singled sharply to center to tie the game at one.

In the 4th Coco Crisp and Manny Ramirez (2-4, 3R) sandwiched singles around a line out by David Ortiz, then Lowell drove a 2-0 pitch up the middle and through Garland's legs into centerfield to score Coco with the run that put the Sox ahead to stay, 2-1.

An error by second baseman Danny Richar (who?!) allowed J.D. Drew to reach, loading the bases, and after a lengthy battle, Varitek drove a ball high & deep to left that bounced off the wall for a 2-run single that made the score 4-1 Boston.

Eric Hinske, recovered from his calf cramp, followed with a bloop RBI single to left center on the next pitch, and suddenly the Sox could afford a spot of wildness from their ace.

Which was a good thing because after a 1-2-3 4th inning, Becks let Chicago right back in the game when Owens led off the 5th with a single to left and Josh Fields, who leads all ML rookies in homers, crushed a 1-2 pitch from Beckett into the seats for his 16th longball of the season to cut the score to 5-3.

Beckett would last until he gave up consecutive two-out singles to Richar and RF Andy Gonzalez (who?!) in the 6th, then recently recalled Javier Lefty Lopez came in and retired Owens on a fly ball to left, needing just 4 pitches to squelch the threat.

Welcome back, Javier.

So with the score close and the game getting late, Boston had to scratch some more runs off the Chicago staff to put this one out of reach.

And in the final two frames they would do just that.

The 8th & 9th innings was a horror show for the White Sox, the few Chisox fans in attendance, and especially the viewing audience.

Despite allowing just 2 hits and 2 runs in the 8th, Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen felt inclined to use 4 pitchers in the inning even though his team is so far out of the race they're closer to the bottom of the league than the top of the playoff chase.

After Boston loaded the bases on a walk to Ortiz (0-3, 2R, 2BB), a single by Manny, and a walk to Lowell, pinch hitters Bobby Kielty (sac fly) and Kevin Youkilis (single) both drove in runs against a couple of stiffs named Boone Logan and Ehren Wasserman to provide the Sox with some breathing room at 7-3.

In the 9th that breathing room turned into a wide-open expanse as Boston tuned on their former reliever Mike Myers, getting seven consecutive batters to reach base before he could escape the inning.

By the time the dust settled the Sox had scored four more runs, on Lowell's deep double, another sac fly by Kielty, and Tek's 2-run scud to left that cleared the fence in about 2 seconds and also cleared the stands of any remaining White Sox fans.

Staked to an 11-3 lead Tito left Mike Timlin in for the 9th, and despite allowing a couple of two-out baserunners, he finally shut the door on what was a long-awaited, long-contested (nearly 4 hours) but ultimately satisfying win.

And guess what?

We get to do it all over again in just a couple of hours.

Some one get the Red Bulls!

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Oh shit

I don't live blog, but just so you know WGN finally got its act together and by the time they joined the game, Chicago had a runner on 2nd & two outs (I learned A.J. Punchmeplease laced a double to right), then Beckett proceeded to walk three straight batters, throwing an ungodly amount of breaking stuff that was not finding the plate.

Although he did fan Juan Uribe with the bases loaded on a 3-2 curve to minimize the damage, this is not exactly a great start to this weekend series.

Has anyone else thought about that start Beckett made here last July, when he allowed 6 runs and three longballs but still won the game as the BoSox outslugged the ChiSox, 9-6?

For some reason I have not been able to get that game out of my head.

Let's hope today isn't a repeat of that horror show.

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Game on (for now)

As of right now the plan is to start this game.

But just as the game was set to begin the rain began again, and WGN (damn baseball package!) experienced technical difficulties and I have not been able to see any of the action.

This series has been so fucked up already I'm afraid to see what's going to transpire in the actual games themselves.

The WGN announcer just came on and said they are experiencing tech. diffs in the truck, and I have missed the entire top of the first and into the bottom half.

This is fucking insanity!

What's worse, having a Friday afternoon game cancelled, or not being able to watch it due to a cable station's ineptitude?

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BoSox/ChiSox: lets...play...two?

GM1 210EST Beckett (15-5) vs. Garland(8-9)
GM2 810EST Schilling (8-6) vs. Danks (5-11)

The two teams are preparing as if they will play a day/night doubleheader today.

Mother Nature might say otherwise.

After a rash of brutal storms pounded the Chicago area last night, causing widespread power outages, property damage and dumping several inches of rain in many parts of the city, today's proposed doubleheader may be in jeopardy as well.

The forecast is calling for a 90% chance of more storms today, possibly not until later this evening, which might allow the teams to play at least this afternoon's contest but would put the nightcap in jeopardy.

Any further cancellations would cause a serious scheduling conflict due to the fact that tomorrow's game is locked in to the 3:55 start time to be broadcast nationally on FOX, so that rules out a twinbill tomorrow, and Sunday is the last game of the series before the Red Sox head to NYC and the White Sox travel to Texas.

Needless to say neither team wants to play a double header on getaway day.

That would leave the only mutual off day the teams have left this season-Sept 24th-to squeeze the game in. Once again needless to say neither team wants to use a valued late-season off day to make up what could be a meaningless game, especially for the Pale Hose.

Another aggravation that would come with another postponement is the disruption of the rotation.

As of now the Sox will keep its starters intact for this series, which sets up the Big Three of Beckett, Schill & Dice-K to throw in the Stankees series.

But if games get ppd'd, the rotation gets fucked up and we could end up with a nightmare like Tavarez starting at the Stadium in a game with huge playoff implications, a thought that sends chills up the spine of every Nation member.

So all we can do is look to the sky and pray for a parting of the precipitation so the Sox can play their second consecutive Friday doubleheader.

And pray that we don't have to see Julie on the mound in the Bronx.

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Pix I forgot to post: Sox/Rays Game

This will be my last post of the night. It's a bunch of pictures from the Sox/Rays game I went to last month.

Didn't get around to posting them.

Now I am.

My son waiting patiently for someone to sign...

...and Beckett happily(?) obliging

Paps calmly going through his pregame

Oki acting like he can't understand the kids screaming "Dice-K" at him (true story)

The massive video screen touting the marquee pitching matchup...
...and the game actually lived up to the hype...

...until this happened (Dioner Navarro's homer--from the video board, I didn't have the camera at the ready)...

...and then this happened (BJ Upton's homer off Manny D.)...

..and finally, this happened.

And on that note, I'm hitting the sack.

Game 1, today, 1:10PM EST

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2007 Bosten Red sox

You know what, this illiterate bastard is right! His devious tactics have forced me to reconsider my fandom and jump over to the dark side.

In fact, this clip might get this man a job in the PR department working for the Boss himself.

Damn you Mr Jester313!

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car jumping, streak-breaking...

I thought this oldie but goodie might be appropriate, too, since it was Gathright who broke Jenks' 41-batter hitless stretch.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe he did this when he was here in Tampa, or right before he got to the bigs with the Rays.

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David Ortiz's Lambo

No wonder he tried selling his Benzo on eBay.
"he actually paid!"

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Boredom sets in with no game to watch.

This sucks.

With no game on, no good movies on and and rerun of the captivating Hippos/Crocs special on Discovery HD Theater, I've resorted to perusing the Net in order to be entertained, which is usually never good.

What's that, you say? Read a book.

Good one.

So I was researching the custom Benz that Papi put up for sale on eBay, and I found out that the auction ended this afternoon with 18 total bids, the highest at 525,000, but none of them were legitimate offers.

The car was a friggin gem, straight out of West Coast Customs and into the arms of a World Series champ, but I'm not sure if the average eBayer could've afforded the price tag.

Dude, next time use the DuPont Registry.

Wait around a while and I'll see what else I can dig up.

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Sox/Sox game postponed

It's official: tonight's game between the Bosox & Chisox has been postponed and will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow.

According to the Globe's Amelie Benjamin and the Hawk on WGN (damn Extra Innings!), the rain stopped for a while around 9:30EST and the crew was clearing the tarp, the field was draining and the players were milling about the dugout.

But then another round of downpours began, and that combined with how long it would take to get the field ready relative to the already late hour made it a pretty easy decision to call the game off.

Still no word on how Tito will handle the staff, but don't be surprised if Beckett goes in GM1, Tavarez in the second game at 7:10 and then Schill & Wake over the weekend.

Oh well, looks like the potential late night just turned into an early one. Time to check out what's on HD Net.

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Bosox @ Chisox Game 1 Update

The game between the Red Sox & White Sox is being delayed by rain in the Windy City. The start time has been pushed back twice, with the latest reports stating that the officials will review the conditions & forecast at about 10PM EST and decide whether or not baseball will be played tonight.

All I know is this could seriously fuck with the Boston pitching situation. WGN reported that if the game is postponed, the teams would play a day/night double header tomorrow, since Boston does not return to Chicago this season and Saturday's game is on FOX.

It will be interesting to see what Tito does with the roatation if that is the case.

Will he just move everyone up a day? Or will he skip Schill tomorrow night and start Tavarez instead, an identical situation he faced last Friday in the DH with the Halos at Fenway?

Anyway, it's all speculation for now. In about an hour we should know more, but either way this makes for a messed up start to what should already be a tough enough series.

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Series Preview: Boston @ at White Sox

Red Sox (76-51) at White Sox (56-70)
4 Game Series at Celluar Field

Standings: BOS up 5 in AL East, CHI -14 GB in AL Central

Season Series: Bos leads, 3-1

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Thu 810 Beckett (15-5, 3.15) vs. Danks (6-11, 5.30)
GM2 Fri 810 Schilling (7-5, 4.25) vs. Garland (8-9, 4.84)
GM3 Sat 355 Wakefield (15-10, 4.35) vs. Buhrle (9-8, 3.42)
GM4 Sun 210 TBD vs. Vazquez (11-6, 3.66)

Keep an Eye On: Jermaine Dye .245/24/63--ever since the Chisox decided to hold onto the right fielder at the trade deadline rather than deal him to Boston, the slumping slugger has come out of his funk. Dye is batting .305 (22-72) since July 31st, with 5 homers, 5 doubles, 11 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 20 games.

Preview
The two pairs of baseball Sox go at each other in a series that always seems to be contentious & hardfought no matter the records.

In this case no matter that the Pale Hose are one of the biggest disappointments in the game, sharing the Central cellar with the Royals and possessing one of the worst records in the majors.

If you recall it was just two short years ago that Ozzie Guillen's hyped-up gang of overachievers rolled the Bosox in the ALDS en route to winning its first title since 1917, snapping a curse even longer than Boston's.

Now the club is mired in mediocrity, owners of an anemic offense (last in AL in runs & avg.) and pathetic pitching staff (ERA & BAA 2nd from last), but despite spinning its wheels in the cutthroat division, GM Kenny Williams decided to stand pat at the deadline, re-signing potential big free agent Mark Buhrle and attempting to do the same with Jermaine Dye.

So while the Chisox march in place this season the Bosox march to the division crown plows onward, with every series seeming like more & more of a grind and every member of the team, front office, and Nation just praying for the end of the season to get here already.

The teams hooked up a month ago at Fenway and after Chicago took the opener Boston ripped off three straight wins by a combined score of 21-10; that would be evidence of the pathetic pitching staff I mentioned.

After that beatdown they won 5 of 6 games, but since then it's been U-G-L-Y, with the club dropping 10 of its last 13 games including an abysmal 8-game skid.

The lone bright spot in this wretched season for Chicago has been the remarkable performance of close Bobby Jenks. The underrated righty ranks 2nd in the league in saves with 35 (on a team that has won just 56 games!), but it was his recent stretch of unhittableness (?) that brought him & his club national attention.

Jenks had retired a ML record-tying 41 consecutive batters going into Tuesday's contest against the Royals, but speedster Joey Gathright pushed a single through the infield to snap the streak, and Jenks had to settle for sharing the mark with Jim Barr.

Now the White Sox can just run out the string and start making travel plans for early
October. But you can bet there's nothing Ozzie would love more than to win this series against the best team in baseball, i.e. the better Sox.

The way the pitching match ups are looking this series could end in a tie, but Boston has the obvious advantage in Game 1, with the best pitcher in the game going up against the mess that is John Danks, who with a 4-game losing streak and 27 hits including 6 home runs allowed in his last 20 innings, would be confused with Bobby Jenks in name only.

The other three games could go either way, and I'll break them down as the series continues.

One interesting note: Boston sent pitcher Jon Lester back to AA Portland, so he will not be starting the fourth game as previously planned. Julian Tavarez will get the call in that contest. Lefty specialist Javier Lopez was recalled to help with the struggling bullpen, and the Globe reports that Lester will miss one start and be brought back up on Sept. 2nd.

Other notes: The Sox signed veteran SS Royce Clayton to a minor league contract. Clayton played with Toronto this season, but fell out of favor with the organization, batting .254 in 69 games. With Dustin Pedroia out of tonight's game after getting plunked on the elbow last night, this move has postseason infield insurance written all over it.

Let's hope Josh Beckett goes out there tonight and shows this piddling team who's the boss, and not fall victim to another horror show like last night.

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Sox suffer frustrating, pain-filled loss to Rays

Tampa Bay 2, Sox 1
WP: Jackson (4-12)
LP: Matsuzaka (13-10)
SV: Reyes (19)
HRs: TB-Upton (18)

SUMMARY
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched well enough to win but got no help from the offense, and Rays CF B.J. Upton decided the game with an assist to nab a runner at the plate and a two-run home run.

#1 STUNNER Upton 1-4, R, 2BI
The 23-year-old celebrated his birthday a day late as his two-way heroics single-handedly won the game for the Rays.

In the 5th he nailed a lumbering Big Papi trying to score from second on a single by Lowell, and in the 6th he smacked a 2-run shot of Matsuzaka for the winning margin in the game.

PAN's FAUN Cap'n Tek 0-5, 2K, 8LOB
I hate to pick on one guy because the offense as a whole was horrid, but the Captain was anything but clutch in this one.

Not only did he pull an o-fer , but he ended three straight innings with two men on base, including the final out of the game.

RECAP
For the third time this season the Rays defeated the Red Sox.

And the loser in all three contests? Daisuke Matsuzaka.

In what has become a familiar refrain when the Diceman pitcheth, Boston mustered little or no run support for the rookie and failed to come up with a timely hit despite numerous opportunities, and instead of a 3-game sweep the Sox limp into the Windy City on the fumes of this frustrating loss.

In Matsuzaka's 10 losses this season Boston has scored just 21 runs, and it doesn't take Steven Hawking to figure that averages to a smidge over 2 RPG.

In those 10 losses the Sox have been shutout twice, scored one run three times including tonight, and managed only two runs in two other contests.

A lesser, more anger-prone man might take the lack of support a personally, or wonder why the team wasn't scoring for him, but to his credit the humble Japanese hurler quietly states that if his offense is having trouble scoring it is his job to shut the other team out.

Which, like the last time he started at the Trop, he was doing for most of the game.

In fact Matsuzaka (6IP, 2H, 2ER, 4BB, 8K) was so dominant this evening that he only allowed four base runners (1 hit, 3 walks) through the first five innings.

Boston batters, meanwhile, were peppering the base paths all night, something that should be expected from the best team in the game facing a pitcher with a 3-12 record and an ERA over 5.00.

But has been the case so many times in this perplexing season, the Sox couldn't drive the big run home,and it's been this inability to put the early nail in the coffin of a lesser pitcher and team that has cost Boston too many would-be victories.

The Sox had base runners in every inning in this game, yet managed to score 1 measly run. They left 15 men stranded, including multiple runners in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th innings.

Their best chance at a big inning that could've driven improving young righty Edwin Jackson (6IP, 5H, 1ER, 5BB, 3K) out of the game came in the third, when the first three batters reached base but Boston could only muster one run from the gift-wrapped situation,

Dustin Pedroia led off the frame the hard way, taking a Jackson pitch off the elbow, a blow that would lead to Pedroia's departure from the game between innings. test results are negative, but don't be surprised if he gets a day or two off to rest the injury.

Kevin Youkilis followed that with a deep drive to right that bounced near the top of the padded outfield wall and landed him on second base and Pedroia on third,
and five pitches later David Ortiz was unintentionally intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs.

Time to lay waste to this guy, right?

Well if laying waste means a sac fly by Mike Lowell, who was hitting in Manny's spot as Ramirez had the night off, then yes, they certainly laid waste to Jackson.

After Lowell's team-leading 86th RBI made the score 1-0 Boston, it looked as if the Sox were headed to another easy win at the Trop.

Then Jackson got Drew to pop out and Varitek to ground out, and the promising inning dissipated in the blink of an eye.

And on and on it went.

In the 4th Eric Hinske drew a 1-out walk, made it all the way to third on a stolen base and an error, and was left stranded when Alex Cora, who replaced Pedroia, flied out to end the inning.

Adding injury to injury, Hinske also had to leave the game when he pulled a muscle on his trip 3/4 of the way around the bases.

In the 5th Boston would get another golden scoring chance when Papi (2-2, 3BB) smoked a 1-out drive to deep left, another shot that nearly went for a homer but just missed and wound up a double.

A few pitches later Lowell spanked a hard grounder up the middle and into center, and as Papi got the "go" sign from Demarlo Hale, B.J. Upton scooped the ball in his glove and came up firing, throwing a perfect strike to catcher Josh Paul to nail Papi at the plate and kill any momentum the Sox might have gained from the play.

Instead it was Tampa Bay that gained the assistance of Uncle Mo, and it would be the same man who provided the defensive highlight who would supply all the offense the rays needed on the night.

Dice-K quickly retired Carl Crawford on strikes to being the bottom of the 6th, then issued a free pass to ex-Sox and current Sox killer Carlos Pena. Two pitches later Upton drove a Matsuzaka offering the opposite way and into the seats in right for a game-changing 2-run homer, and suddenly the team that looked like it was poised for a sweep had some ground to make up, with time running out.

Except the final three frames would contain more of the same for Boston: get men on, fail to get them home.

In the 7th, with Jackson done and the shaky Rays pen on to hold the slim lead, Papi reached on a shift-busting single and Drew (2-4) on a sliced single to left, but Tek struck out swinging to end the threat.

After Mike Timlin worked into and out of a bases loaded situation of his own in the bottom of the 7th, Julio Lugo delivered a 2-out ground rule double to right against Gary Glover, but the much-maligned Glover got Cora to strike out swinging to squelch that chance.

And finally in the 9th Boston mounted one more rally when Ortiz walked and drew singled to put two on with two outs against Rays closer Al Reyes.

I think you know the rest.

So on a night when offenses ran amok--the Texas Rangers scored a league-record 30 runs against the Baltimore Orioles, and 10 teams, including the Stanks, scored at least 7 runs--the best team in baseball managed just a solo score against one of the wort teams, and pitchers, in the sport.

And that fact hurts the most.

NOTES:

-Trop trap: the last time Dice-K pitched down here he took a shutout into the 7th, only to see that lead and win disappear on a Dioner Navarro homer

-Are you K-idding? Not only have the Rays earned all three wins vs. the Sox this year off Dice-K, but they have not beaten any other pitcher in the game more than one time

-Bobby Kielty replaced Hinske, who reportedly suffered from a cramp in his calf, and went 1-2 with a single. he's now batting .300 (3-10) since being called up

-Boston held the Rays to 4 hits in all three games

-Papi continues to swing a hot stick; he's hit in six straight games (11-22), and in five of those contests he's had multiple hits. Meanwhile Youk (1-5) continues to slump, in the midst of a 5-41 (.122) funk over his last 10 games

QUOTES:

"It just hit me in the right spot. I really couldn't bend my arm much...I don't think I've ever been hit that hard before."--Pedroia on the nasty HBP that sounded like it hit his bat

"We just didn't score any runs. Those missed opportunities I'll take on my shoulders, because I left a lot of guys on base."--Tek, being the stand-up captain he always is and validating my goat selection of him

RECORD: 76-51
AL EAST: Up 5 on NYY
STREAK: L-1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Thu @ CHI 800EST

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Game Preview: Sox @ Rays GM3

Matsuzaka (13-9, 3.76) vs. Jackson (3-12, 5.69)
Tropicana Field 710

The last time Dice pitched at the Trop I had the misfortune of watching him lose a pitcher's duel with Scott Kazmir. Maybe the Sox will score him some runs tonight.

The Sox will try for the sweep tonight at the Trop, and they've got the right pitching matchup to do so.

Although Rookie of the Year candidate Daisuke Matsuzaka has lost his last two starts against Tampa Bay, the fact that he will be opposed by a 12-game loser has to give him a bit more confidence.

Not more confidence in his pitching, but more confidence in the ability of the Boston offense to score more than 4 runs for him, something they have failed to do in 5 of his last 9 starts.

Jackson has rebounded after a terrible start, allowing just 4 earned runs in his last 4 starts covering 28 innings (1.28ERA), including a 4-hit complete game shutout at Texas on August 11th.

But the juggernaut that is Boston vs. Tampa Bay should allow the Sox a way to solve Jackson's recent magic streak and hopefully put 8-9 runs on the board to get Dice-K a much-needed easy victory.

NOTES: As he announced yesterday, Tito will rest Manny Ramirez tonight, with Eric Hinske playing left and Mike Lowell jumping up to Manny's 4-spot...Rays manager Joe Maddon also announced that his star outfielder, Delmon Young, will sit this one out as well.

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Sox Drawer: Schill a Ray?

Schilling admits on EEI that he wouldn't mind playing for the Rays

I don't Photoshop, but pretend I do and picture Curt grabbing his tush while wearing the home white ,blue & yellow of next year's Tampa Bay Tarpons team.

I heard about this interview yesterday, read the story on the Globe, but still had to hear the words for myself to believe it was true.

So I went to the EEI vault.

Sure enough, during his weekly interview on the Dennis & Callahan show, Schill was asked by Gerry Callahan a few general questions about the Tampa Bay team, and before long the talk veered into the possibility of Curt wearing the (fill in the color) uniform of the Tampa Bay Rays, or Tarpons, or whatever they might be called next year.

Here are some of the more notable tidbits:

-- "I love the team. I think they've got a ton of talent. With Kazmir, Shields and Jackson, I love the thought of that staff growing up together."

-- "You wonder who is the everyday presence on that club that leads..there's gotta be some guys with some presence to push those guys along"

When pressed on whether he would want to play 81 games in the Trop, he responded:

-- "That doesn't bother me. I love Tampa, love the area...I don't mind that. There's something to be said for knowing your going to play every day...and knowing it's literally gonna be 72 degrees at game time" (amen, Schill, especially when it's 95 and wet outside)

That led Gerry to drop the big question: "so you'd consider being a part of that (mentoring the young pitching staff) at some point?"

--"...it's one of those situations you'd certainly look at...if circumstances were (to) happen...I'd love nothing more than to finish my career working on a pitching staff where I would know that there were young guys that were gonna be positively impacted by my being around when I was gone."

And there you have it. Straight from the mad blogger's mouth to my ears. If the Sox don't want to fork over the dough to retain the aging ace for next season, he would actually consider ending his career here in Tampa Bay.

Wow.

Mind you this stuff has been said before, by other marquee players such as St. Pete native Gary Sheffield, and more recently Judas Demon expressed similar sentiments in some offhanded comments last weekend.

But this is huge. A two-time World Series champ, co-WS MVP and the man who brought a championship to Beantown residing in the House that Monster Truck pulls built, putting the finish touches on a stellar career by mentoring the young studs in the Rays system.

Pardon me while I check into the prices of a mini-plan.

Paps sets new mark for Boston closers

By recording his 30th save last night against the Rays, Jonathan papelbon did soemthing no pitcher in the long & storied history of the Boston Red Sox franchise had done: register back-to-back 30 save seasons.

That's right neither Mark Clear nor Steamer Stanley, not book fodder Flash Gordon nor the insufferable Keith Foulke (you) had ever accomplished what Ppas did last night.

And the fact that he did so by getting four outs, three by way of strikeout, had to make the feat that much sweeter.

Hats off to a true closer in every sense of the word, and say another prayer that he decided to rerun to the pen this season.

Halos spank Stanks 18-9 behind Garret Anderson's 10 ribbies

Had to mention this beaut of a game that ended late last night on the West Coast.

The Angels, a team Boston has come to know far to well these last few weeks, absolutely bludgeoned the Stankees last night in Anaheim, winning by a score of 18-9, a number that was even greater until the Stanks scored 4 in the 9th.

But put aside the absolute ass kicking the Angels inflicted on New York, and the fact that LA of A now owns a 6-2 mark against the Bronx Bummers this season, but the Stankee pitching staff allowed one man to drive in 10 runs singlehandedly.

Garret Anderson, who was deemed washed up and ready to be replaced in an ESPN.com piece a few days ago, slammed two homers including a grand slam and drove in an Agel-record 10 runs in the win.

I have nothing more to say.

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Rays of hope: Sox hang on for tough win at the Trop

Sox 8 , Tampa Bay 6
WP: Lester (2-0)
LP: Sonnanstine (2-9)
SV: Papelbon (30)
HRs: TB-Iwamura (4), Pena (28)

SUMMARY
Boston jumped out to a sizable 7-2 lead after four innings but even though the randy Rays clawed back with four runs in three innings to make the game a lot closer than it should have been, starter Jon Lester still earned his second win of the season.

#1 STUNNER Big Papi 2-4, 2R, BI, BB, 3B
The big fella's 1st triple of the season and 12th of his career drove in the first run of the game, and for an encore he legged out a 60-ft single to ignite a five-run rally in the 4th.

PAN's FAUN Andy Sonnanstine 5IP, 8H, 7ER, 0BB, 5K
What a difference a week makes. Last Wednesday at Fenway the youngster dazzled the Sox hitters, taking a shutout into the 7th inning and earning his 2nd win of the season. Tonight? They beat him like he was a Devil Ray pitcher.

RECAP
It wan't easy.

And it sure wasn't pretty.

Did I mention it wasn't easy?

Either way Boston did what it set out to do tonight: defeat the Rays and get one step closer to a much-needed sweep of an inferior team to boost confidence before battling the Bummers in the Bronx one week from tonight.

Who cares that Boston pitchers only surrendered 4 hits for the second straight night and could have lost the game?

Who cares if the normally patient Boston batters worked just one walk off the usually obliging Rays staff?

And who cares if Jon Lester was more erratic than an episode of Entourage?

The only thing that matters when you play scrub teams is that you beat scrub teams, and although this one won't be going into any 'Best of 2007' DVDs, Boston will take the victory nonetheless.

The way the game started it looked like tonight might be a carbon copy of last night's 6-0 shellacking.

For the second night in a row Boston put up a pair of runs in the very first frame, but this time the offense was decidedly of the unconventional variety.

After Dustin Pedroia struck out to open the game, Kevin Youkilis drove a ball to deep left center field that would have been a sure-fire triple for a speedier man but instead wound up as a stand up double.

But whadda ya know, the next batter in the Boston lineup would have to show the slow-footed Youk how it's done.

David Ortiz stepped in the box after sitting out the game yesterday with 11 career triples under his belt, the last one coming Sept. 8th of last year at home against the Royals.

After running the count to 2-1, Papi fouled off three straight pitches before unloading on a Sonnanstine offering, muscling the ball the other way into the left center field gap between outfielders Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton and all the way to the wall.

By the time Youk had rumbled around to score the first run of the game, Papi was heading to third with his first three bagger of the season, and when the winded Ortiz got up to catch his breath you knew he was thinking "that's how you do it, slow poke."

Manny would add to Papi's shortness of breath when his medium-depth fly ball to center was just deep enough to bring the exhausted Ortiz home, and, thanks to Upton's terrible throw, without a slide, and just like yesterday Boston owned a demoralizing 2-0 lead after one.

Morale would quickly be boosted on the home bench when Upton, who celebrated his 23rd birthday today, drew a 1-out walk from Lester (5.1IP, 4H, 5ER, 4BB, 4K, 2HR) and then cruised home when ex-Sox Carlos Pena blasted the next pitch over the right field wall for a game-tying two-run blast.

It was Pena's 28th homer run, a career-high, and I don't think I need to point out to anyone that his total would lead the team by seven homers, and he was a member of the squad for 18 games last season.

Moving on, Boston would put some distance between them and the Rays on the scoreboard when it put up five runs on five hits in the fifth.

Papi was a key contributor to this rally, too, but this time it was an accidental nubber that never made it past the pitcher's mound for an infield single, and just like that the man had hit the longest and shortest hit a player could possible get in one game.

Sonnanstine went on to retire Manny swinging at strike three, but then the kid hit Mike Lowell (1-3, R) with a pitch and when J.D, Drew followed with a soft single to right, the bases were loaded and Boston was poised to break the game open.

Tek's lazy RBI single over the shortstops's glove didn't exactly blow the game open, but when Coco Crisp lined a double down the first base line to score two, and then Julio Lugo stroked a slow roller to left center that turned into a 2-RBI double, suddenly the Sox were up 7-2 and it looked like the D-Rays faithful had another reason to head home early.

Not so fast, fairweather.

Lester had settled down after Pena's bomb in the first, retiring 10 Rays in a row counting Aki Iwamura, who was picked off trying to steal second in the 3rd, and it looked like if he could just get through the 6th, Tito was ready to have his bullpen take over.

Except Lester got into trouble in the 5th when he gave up a one-out single to Jonny Gomes and then walked Josh Wilson, but when induced a fielder's choice and ran the count to 3-2 against Iwamura, Lester was just one pitch away from escaping the jam.

Then Aki sent the next pitch the other way, and as Manny ranged over to the fence to try and corral the drive, the ball landed in the first row of seats for a momentum-killing 3-run homer, and the easy victory just got a whole lot harder.

The teams would trade unearned runs in the 7th when Manny's hard shot to short was bobbled by Wilson to score Pedroia, who had doubled, from third, and the Rays got a gift when Pedroia fumbled a Carl Crawford bullet that plated Wilson, who was a victim of a HBP by Manny Delcarmen earlier in the inning.

With the score now 8-6 Tito relied on Hideki Okajima, who relieved Delcarmen in the 7th, and not Eric Gagme to get through the 8th, but after walking Pena and the getting the next two batters, Francona was forced to go with his horse for the 4-out save.

Papelbon fanned Gomes on four pitches to end the 8th, then breezed through a 1-2-3 9th to put this one in the can, and Jon Lester had earned his first victory since July 23rd while posting numbers only a Devil Ray could love.

Like I said it wasn't easy and it wasn't pretty, but the Sox have now won 6 of 9 and can build some serious momentum with a win tomorrow before heading off to Chitown for a four-game weekend set with the White Sox.

And with 13-9 Dice-K going up against 3-12 Edwin Jackson, a sweep is all but in the books.

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Game Preview: Sox @ Rays GM2

Lester (1-0, 5.14) vs. Sonnanstine (2-8, 6.15)
Tropicana Field 710

Now that the Wakefield hysteria has died down the Sox will try and win a game at Tampa Bay without the services of the Rays killer on the mound.

This time it will be up to young Jon Lester to keep the good times rollin and help Boston establish a little winning streak and hopefully gain some ground over the Stanks as they play the Angels at home, like they did last night.

The task won't be as easy tonight as throwing Wake on the mound and waiting for the easy "W"; last week struggling Rays rookie Andy Sonnanstine spun a gem at Fenway, taking a shutout into the 7th inning before tiring and leaving with 6 2/3 innings allowing 4 hits and 3 runs in a 6-5 Tampa Bay win.

The righty outpitched Daisuke Matsuzaka in that contest, so there's no reason to believe he can't hold his own against fellow rookie Lester.

Since his return from cancer treatments in late July, the 23-year-old lefty has been erratic at best, but did settle down to pitch 7 innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball in a 2-1 win against these Rays last week.

All we need is for Lester to duplicate that performance and then have Sonnanstine revert back to his 1-8, 6.35 ERA self like he was before that come-from-nowhere performance against Boston.

And if things don't work out like that we'll have to see what Tito can do about getting Wake to pitch again in the series finale tomorrow.

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Bayside Bitches: Wake defeats Rays--again

Sox 6, Tampa Bay 0
WP: Wakefield (15-10)
LP: Kazmir (9-8)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (17)

SUMMARY
Once again the knuckleball of Tim Wakefield bedazzled, befuddled and bewildered Tampa Bay as the veteran used the strength of 3 RBIs from Mike Lowell and a pair of ribbies from Manny to earn his 19th career victory against the Rays.

#1 STUNNER Wake 7IP, 4H, 1BB, 5K
His numbers against the Rays are starting to resemble a fantasy geek's wet dream: 19-2, 2.74 ERA, 9-0 at the Trop. When you talk about one player owning one team, this record has got to be right near the top of the list.

PAN's FAUN Scott Kazmir 5.2IP, 7H, 6ER, 4BB, 8K
Normally Kaz is nearly as tough on the Sox as Wake is on his team, but not tonight. Boston hit the young lefty early & often, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after two and spoiling any rhythm the kid had hoped to get to offset Wakefield's dominance.

RECAP
What do you know, I was wrong again.

For some reason I had a sneaking suspicion that the twin Wakefield streaks were going to end tonight here in the Bay area, what with so much attention having been paid over the last week to both his unblemished record at the Trop and him recording a decision in every start this season.

But this is Tampa Bay, USA, where dreams come to life, snow birds come to vacation, and one old knuckleball pitcher comes to kick the local ballclub around like a Mike Vick chew toy.

Wakefield, the 42-year-old wunderkind, not only ran his record to 19-2 against the Rays but with his 15th victory of the season he tied teammate Josh Beckett and the Angels' John Lackey for the major league lead in wins.

I know it's a cliche, but this guy truly is the Energizer Bunnny. With that 60 mph floater and just enough of a fastball to keep hitters guessing, the senior Sox might outlast Buchholz, Lester, Delcarmen and all the other young studs currently in the Sox system.

Another reason I suspected the task might be tougher for Tim and the Sox tonight was the fact that they were facing a mini-assassin as well, Scott Kazmir.

Sure his 5-3 record vs. Boston doesn't sound so impressive, but when you figure in a 2.37 ERA along with 91 strikeouts in 83 innings of work, there's no denying the fact that the youngster enjoys going up against the best in the East.

And for the last month Kaz has been pretty happy to go up against anybody. He's been the hottest pitcher since the break, posting a 4-0 mark and surrendering just 5 earned runs in 44.2 innings for a phenomenal 1.02 earned run average covering seven starts.

Oh and he also struck out 53 batters and walked just 15 during that time.

But tonight the Boston batters had his number, whether it was the joy of playing a team other than the pesky Angels or just being in the cozy confines of Red Sox Nation South, and they quickly went to work on Wakefield's next win.

Dustin Pedroia started the festivities off with a single to left center on the first pitch of the game. Five pitches later Youk worked his obligatory walk, and with Papi getting the night off it was up to new Sox hero Bobby Kielty to get on for Manny.

Kielty reached base, but only by forcing Youk at second, and after Kazmir fanned Ramirez looking at three straight pitches it looked as if the young lefty was going to escape the inning unscathed.

Then Mike Lowell, Professional Hitter, stepped to the plate, and much like he has all season long, delivered just the right hit at just the right time.

Lowell sliced a wicked shot down the third base line that eluded the sprite Akinori Iwamura at the bag and scooted into the corner for a 2-run double, and with Wake owning the Rays you almost got the feeling the game could have ended there and saved everyone the trouble of sitting through 8 more innings.

Wakefield escaped a mini-jam in the bottom of the frame when Iwamura singled and stole second, then went to third when Carl Crawford whiffed but had to be thrown out as new knuckleball catcher Kevin Cash had not yet adapted to the nuances of the flutterball.

As it turned out tricky bounces would not pose much of a problem on the night when Boston tacked on three more runs in the second inning, effectively ending the game and allowing the sparse crowd in attendance to go home and tuck the kiddies into bed before the first day of school.

Coco ignited this rally with an odd ground rule double that looked as if it was a foul ball but glanced off right fielder Delmon Young's glove in fair territory and hopped into the stands.

A groundout by Lugo got Crisp to third, and after Cash watched a couple of nice pitches by Kazmir just miss the mark to earn a free pass, Pedroia (2-4, 2R, BI) slapped his second single to left to score Coco and run the score to 3-0 Sox.

Youk followed with a single to load the bases, and after Kielty struck out, Manny swatted the first pitch from Kazmir to deep center to score Cash and Pedroia to make it 5-0, and even though they couldn't capitalize when Manny made it to second and Lowell was intentionally walked to re-load the bases, the damage was done and this one was all but over..

That's because Wake's knuckler was dancing like Ian Ziering, floating and prancing like a proud ballerina and confounding the Rays, who did manage to get a runner on base in five of the first six innings but could do nothing with them.

By the time Lowell (2-2, R, 3RBI) slammed a solo shot to left with one out in the fifth to make the score 6-0, you could hear the drunk Sox fans cheering on their beloved team as the Tampa Bay fans rushed for the 275 on ramps.

Things were going so good that Manny Delcarmen exorcised the demons of his last appearance here (of which my son & I were unwitting witnesses) by tossing a 1-2-3 8th on 13 pitches, and with Papelbon & Gagne watching side by side from the pen, Mike Timlin set the Rays down in order in the 9th to close out another Wakefield milestone victory.

Once again the magic man of the major leagues continued two impressive streaks and tied for the league lead in wins at the same time.

If he keeps pitching against Tampa Bay he might even get some Cy Yong consideration.

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Series Preview: Sox @ Tampa Bay

Red Sox (74-50) @ Devil Rays (47-76)
3-game series @ Tropicana Field
AL East: Sox up 4 on NYY, 26.5 on TB

Season Series: Sox lead, 7-2

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Mon 710 Wakefield (14-10, 4.55) vs. Kazmir (9-7, 3.44)
GM2 Tue 710 Lester (1-0, 5.14) vs. Sonnanstine (2-8, 6.17)
GM3 Wed 710 Matsuzaka (13-9, 3.79) vs. Jackson (3-12, 5.69)

Keep an Eye On: Tim Wakefield 18-2 (8-0 @ TB), 2.83 ERA career vs. Rays
The phenomenon that is Tim the time bender Wakefield will attempt to extend two freaky streaks tonight at the Trop: his uncanny domination of the Devil Rays franchise, especially in their dome, and his incredible run of earning a decision in every start this season, a feat that hasn't been matched since 1936.

A sad image from the last Sox game I went to at the Trop: the final time Kason Gabbard was seen in a Sox uni; he was traded the next day for you know who

Preview
After waiting until after the All Star break to meet for the first time this season and with Boston not visiting the cozy, cement-filled confines of Tropicana Field until three weeks ago, all of a sudden it seems like these division rivals are squaring off on a weekly basis.

Not like that's a bad thing for Boston, which routinely beats up on its little AL East brethren, especially when Tim Wakefield takes the mound.

But with repetition comes recognition, and ever since the Sox first swept the Rays in a three-game set at Fenway on the 4th of July, Tampa Bay has made each successive meeting much more difficult for Boston to breeze through.

After cruising through the first four games with the Rays, outscoring them 33-11, Tampa Bay has struck back with a vengeance.

In the last five matchups Boston has still held the scoring advantage, but that 24-18 mark is skewed by the 6-run 12th Boston laid on them in a come-from-behind win on July 29th.

I had the misfortune of attending the following game, in which Dice-K and Kazmir went toe-to-toe for 7 innings before Matsuzaka surrendered a solo homer to Dioner Navarro and Manny D. imploded by allowing two more longballs in the inning to propel Tampa bay to its first win over the Sox this season.

I know, just my luck.

Boston took two close contests last week at home, 3-0 and 2-1, before the Rays ruined the potential sweep when Andy Sonnanstine out pitched Matsuzaka and Tampa Bay scored 5 runs in the final three innings to steal the win, 6-5.

Bottom line is these guys are ready to play, and with the Boston offense sporadic at best, the bullpen in somewhat of disarray and a supposed "sure thing" on the mound tonight, don't be surprised if this series doesn't go the way it ought to, i.e. another sweep.

Unfortunately I won't be able to attend any of the games because tonight and tomorrow is a local holiday here in the Bay--the first day of school!

That's right our fucked up school systems in Pinellas & Hillsborough counties have the kiddies returning to their learning emporiums BEFORE Labor Day, an odd fact I got over about 12 years ago, but one I come to appreciate more & more as I advance in fatherhood (especially working from home!)

So I will have to tune in on TV like everyone else, and like the rest of the Nation I will be hoping & pulling for a sweet Sox sweep.

Just don't be surprised if things turn ugly under the Teflon sky.

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Halos split series as Boston bats go silent

Angels 3, Sox 1
WP: Saunders (7-1)
LP: Tavarez (6-9)
SV: Rodriguez (31)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
On a glorious afternoon at Fenway the Sox got a quality start from Julian Tavarez, a solid debut from Bobby Kielty, even a three-K 9th from Eric Gagne, but still couldn't defeat the Angels as Joe Saunders stymied the Boston batters to run his record to 2-0 vs. the Sox this season and the Angels earned the split.

#1 STUNNER Kielty 2-3, BB
Not only did the former flaming redhead notch base hits in his first two at bats, his homer-robbing grab of a Casey Kotchman drive in the 1st inning kept the Sox in the game.

Nice way to start your career in Boston. Like the new 'do much better, too.

PAN's FAUN Kyle Snyder 2IP, 2H, ER, 2K
After relieving Tavarez in the 7th, Snyder worked his way into trouble (runners at 1st & 3rd and no outs), then nearly got out of the jam but he threw a wild pitch which allowed the critical 3rd run to score.

RECAP
I had a feeling the day was gonna turn out like this.

Actually I thought it would be a lot worse; I expected Tavarez to give up 4-5 runs, but I hoped the Sox offense would be able to produce that many as well.

But for the second time in three weeks L.A. starter Joe Saunders (7.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 7K) shut down the potent Boston offensive attack, limiting the Sox to just six singles and a pair of walks in 7 2/3 innings of work.

The most frustrating part about this game was that after a slight setback in the first inning, when he allowed his only runs on the day, Julian Tavarez went on to have his best start for Boston since tossing seven shutout innings against the Braves in Atlanta on June 20th.

Curiously the game was delayed a bit when Tavarez (6IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K) took a little longer than expected to enter the game from the bullpen.

From what transpired in the first I'd say he should have stayed out there a little longer, because as soon as Julie started throwing real pitches, the Angels took advantage.

The first three L.A. batters reached base when Chone Figgins led off with a single to left center, Orlando Cabrera walked and Vladdy (1-3, RBI) hit a sharp single to left to drive the speedy Figgins home from second.

Tavarez got Garret Anderson to fly out to deep center field, with O.C. taking third on the appendage of Coco Crisp, and then fan favorite Gary Matthews got him home with a fielder's choice grounder to deep short.

Just like that the score was 2-0 Angels, and judging from the less-than-full house at Fenway, many local diehards predicted such a beginning.

Those who arrived late missed the early indoctrination of Bobby Kielty into Sox lore just two pitches later, though.

Casey Kotchman, who had four hits in the series opener, scorched a 1-0 offering from Julie high & deep into the air in right, and without the skilled J.D. Drew out there it looked like the score was about to bloom to 4-zip.

But the once Carrot Top-coiffed Kielty got a bead on the blast, streaked in and timed his leap to expertly pick the ball before it went over the bullpen fence, a play that left Kotchman scratching his head, Kielty grabbing his torso in pain, and the Faithful who were in attendance showering him with a Fenway ovation.

Welcome to a real baseball city, Bobby.

The former A kept the applause coming when he singled in his first at bat to put runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the 2nd, but Saunders buckled down and got Coco and Lugo to fly out to squelch the threat.

In the top of the third the emotions generated by the best two teams in baseball playing 7 hard-fought contests in the last three weeks boiled over when Tavarez grazed Cabrera with his first pitch with one out in the inning.

O.C. tried to play it cool by taking a page from the Gerald Ice Williams "slowly remove my gloves, then get real pissed" book of brawls, but he quickly started jawing with the nonplussed Tavarez, and both teams gave a token benches-clearing effort while asking "what the fuck was that about?"

Evidently Julie had accused O-Dog of stealing signs while on base in the series in L.A earlier this month, and the brushback/grazing was a little message from Julie to say "don't fuck with me."

I'm sure Papi patched things up after the game by taking them all out for a few Mojitos.

More importantly was how Tavarez settled down after the outburst and despite walking Guerrero, induced Anderson and Matthroids into rally-killing groundouts.

Things stayed quiet for the next few innings as both starters found their groove, and you got the feeling that if Boston could just get Saunders out of there and get to that rattled Angel bullpen, the game, like the other three in the series, could turn around in a hurry.

Except that plan backfired when Boston went to its pen first and once again allowed a key run to score.

Kyle Snyder, whose last outing was the three-hit, three-run debacle in Baltimore a weel ago, took over in the 7th and continued to regress, allowing Kotchman (2-4, BI) to reach on a deep double to center and Sox killer Maicer Izturis on a single to right, sending Kotchman to third, setting up a potential game-killing rally.

But Snyder caught a break when new Sox backstop Kevin Cash nailed Izturis trying to steal second, and one pitch later a called strike three on a check swing by Ryan Budde had the beleaguered reliever on the verge of escaping the jam.

And then he bounced a pitch in the dirt about six feet in front and to the right of Cash, easily scoring Kotchman with the the ever popular insurance run, and suddenly it became that much harder to comeback again.

A two out single by Ortiz (2-4, R) in the 8th finally chased Saunders, and when Scot Shields came in and gave up a walk to Manny and a Wall-rattling RBI single to Lowell, it looked like the comeback kids were back in business.

Until Drew pinch hit for Kielty and stared at strike three, and every fan in the place thought "why are we paying that guy $70 mill and the other the league minimum?"

More groans followed when the horror show that is Eric Gagne rumbled in from the pen to pitch the 9th, and when Anderson singled on his first pith of the inning, the boos reigning down on him were of the variety normally reserved for Stankees and reviled ex-Sox.

It only got worse when Kotchman hit a hard hopper that bounced off Pedroia's chest for a single, but then suddenly Gagne did a miraculous and cliched thing--he turned the jeers into cheers by striking out the side, including Izturis and Budde swinging to exit the field in style.

Welcome to Boston, where if you perform, we love you.

That would be it for the cheers on the day, though, as Francisco Rodriguez came in and set the Sox down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, including a pair of K's of his own, and the Halos escaped Beantown with a split of what could have been a 4-game BoSox sweep.

Ah well, at least the roadie opens in St. Pete.

NOTES:

-Boston lost despite outhitting L.A., 7-6

-Youk, mired in an awful 5-34 (.147) slump, went 0-4 with three Ks

-Fine me?: a quote by Tavarez regarding the plunking of Cabrera will certainly incur the wrath of the MLB. "I say if you are doing it, to stop doing it because I will hit you..." is how Julian explained the how the beaning beagn with a sign-stealing accusation in Anaheim. Paging Bud selig...

QUOTES:

"I was going after the ball. I wasn't focused on the wall."--Kielty. Alright, enough already, we love you!

"I don't know if he was just trying to throw inside but I just took it personally." Cabrera on Tavrez. To which Julie responded "lighten up, Francis."

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