Sox 8, Tampa Bay 6
WP: Gagne (4-2)
LP: Reyes (2-4)
SV: Papelbon (36)
HRs: BOS- Tek (15), Drew (10), Lugo (8); TB- Pena, 2 (42)
SUMMARY
The Red Sox became the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff berth as their win coupled with the Tigers loss guaranteed their postseason spot; all that's left to be determined is whether they will enter as the AL East champs or the Wild Card.
The berth was in doubt after Javier Lopez coughed up a 5-3 eighth inning lead, but Rays closer Al Reyes blew his third save against Boston when he allowed three runs in the ninth, and Jonathan Papelbon needed just 12 pitches to lock the win down.
#1 STUNNER Varitek 3-3, 1R, 2BI, BB, HR
The Captain came through in the clutch again when he led off the ninth inning with a game-saving home run. It was Tek's 2nd homer in as many nights, and his three hits nearly matched his total for the last 10 games.
Just when we needed him most...
GAGME Reyes 1IP, 4H, 3ER, 1BB, 2HRs
The Sox are so far up in this guy's skull right now they can see what he's thinking about wearing on the links next week. Reyes blew his third save of the season against Boston, and in 7 outings against them he has allowed 13 hits and 8 earned runs in 7 innings of work for a 10.29 ERA.
Honorable Mention: Javier Lopez dude, you're bought in to do one job--get the opponent's big lefty bat out, not allow a game-changing homer to said slugger
RECAP
In a season chock full of firsts it's only fitting that the Sox became the first team to clinch a playoff spot tonight.
Now if only they can work on being the last team standing come the end of October we'll be all set.
For a change Boston won a game that it looked destined to lose, whereas a week ago it probably wouldn't have, but despite being shorthanded and under intense scrutiny brought on by their near historic collapse, they have come down here to Tampa Bay and taken care of business and earned the right to play postseason ball.
Not that it was easy, of course. Nothing ever is with this team.
The Sox got a decent six innings out of fading starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (6.2, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, 7K, HR) tonight; unfortunately he pitched 6 2/3 innings. But for the first six innings of the game he gave his team a chance to win, and he avoided the big inning that has plagued so many of his appearances this season.
Matsuzaka was handed an early lead when the Sox plated a run on two bunts (base hit by Coco, sacrifice by Lugo) and another clutch hit by Jacoby Ellsbury (2-5, 2B, BI), a single blasted through the box that scored Coco with the game's first run in the third.
In the next inning Boston would strike for two runs against young Rays righty Andy Sonnanstine (5.1IP, 8H, 5ER, 2BB, 1K, HR), the first coming home on an RBI double by J.D. Drew following a walk to Mike Lowell, and then after Sonnanstine wild pitched Drew to third, Cap'n Tek came up with his first big hit of the evening, a solid single to right to score Drew and make the score 3-0 Sox.
The three-run cushion would be shredded next inning when Comeback player of the Year shoo-in Carlos Pena (2-3, 2R, 4BI) belted his first big hit of the night, a solo shot on Dice-K's second pitch of the top of the fourth that sailed into the right field seats and down the stairwell to the concourse below.
Hmmmm, wonder where the Rays got this guy?
Matsuzaka ran into more trouble when he gave up a one-out single to Delmon Young, and after the rookie right fielder stole second, Greg Norton singled him home to slice the Sox lead to 3-2.
Dice-K buckled down from there as he struck out Jonny Gomes and Dioner Navarro to end the inning, and after both clubs exchanged 1-2-3 fifth innings, Boston would pad its lead when it scored another pair of runs in the sixth.
After Ortiz flied out against Sonnanstine to lead off the sixth, Lowell (2-4, 2R) dropped a single into right, but with Drew coming up, an inning-ending double play was just as likely as a two-run homer.
Fortunately for Sox fans Drew (2-4, 2R, 3BI) chose to surprise everyone for a change when he rocked a 3-1 offering from Sonnanstine into the same right field location as Pena's shot, a drive that pushed the Boston lead to 5-2 and with only four innings left to play it looked like that elusive 15th win for Dice was finally in the bag.
As Coach Corso said on College Gameday this morning, Not so fast my friends.
Matsuzaka gave one run back in the bottom of the inning when he gave up another RBI single to centerfield by Norton, but with the bullpen in turmoil Tito decided to bring him back out for the seventh inning despite Dice exhibiting signs that he might be fatigued.
That decision, like so many other theses past few weeks, backfired almost immediately on Boston when Matsuzaka walked fellow countryman Aki Iwamura and some dude named Jorge Velandia after getting two quick outs in the seventh, and with Pena up next that forced Francona to go to his pen to bring in the lefty specialist Lopez to face the sizzling slugger.
Yet another decision that backfired.
Lopez added his name to the lengthy list of Sox relievers who have imploded in crucial game situations during their precipitous fall from grace when after he got ahead of Pena 0-2 he allowed the one time Boston first baseman to work the count full before he pounced on a 3-2 pitch from the sidearmer and sent it soaring high into the Teflon sky.
By the time the ball landed in the right field seats, the lead was gone, the Rays fans were raucous, and it felt like the only time this team could win was when Josh Beckett was on the mound.
Mike Timlin came on and got Upton to strike out to end the inning, but the damage was done, and it looked as if only a miracle would save Boston from losing another heartbreaking game this month.
And a miracle it must have been if Eric freakin' Gagme got the win.
Dan Wheeler came in for the eighth and promptly retired Papi (K), Lowell (K) and Drew (fly out), and then Tito backed up his claim that he was not going to back away from using the embattled reliever in tight situations, and despite giving up his requisite baserunner on a two-out walk to Gomes, Gagme had a pretty routine inning for a change.
Which led to the ninth inning theatrics.
Al Reyes has had a decent season for the Rays, establishing himself as a reliable and failry inexpensive closer for this relatively inexpensive team, but for some reason when he faces Boston his stoic face belies the queasiness he must feel deep down inside.
The last time he faced the Sox, September 12th in Boston, Reyes surrendered a two-run homer to Papi to hand the Sox a 5-4 come-from-behind victory, and in three of his last five appearances against the Sox he had allowed at least one run.
Too bad for rays fans he didn't allow just one run tonight.
Captain Tek led off the frame, and when he took Reyes' second pitch and sliced it the other way for a game-tying home run, the Boston half of the crowd went wild, the Boston dugout went wild, and you could almost sense that that particular hit could be the one that salvages the division title for Boston.
It had that kind of feel to it.
As if that weren't bad enough, the next batter Eric Hinske slammed a Reyes offering down the right field line for a double, and after Coco popped out, Julio Lugo stepped up with a chance to exact revenge on his old team just as Pena had done two innings earlier.
And exact he did when he turned on the first pitch from Reyes and sent a scud missile into the left field seats to give Boston an 8-6 lead and send the Nation into a fist-pumping frenzy by providing the follow-up blow that assured us the comeback would be complete without having to sit through extra innings.
Provided Paps could get the save.
When Papelbon breezed through three Rays batters using just a dozen pitches, one leg of Boston's long, rough, exciting journey was complete. The Sox, like most contending clubs, had set four goals for themselves: make the playoffs, win the division, win the pennant, take home the championship.
First mission accomplished.
Over the next few weeks we will get to find out how much more of that plan will be fulfilled.
Until then, enjoy the fact that no matter what this team will be playing meaningful baseball in October again.
And after the stench of last season, it's okay to smell the roses, even if it's not the bouquet we've all been waiting 11 years for.
9.22.2007
Sox clinch playoff berth as Rays closer gags again
Anatomy of a Catch: Ellsbury's 'sliding in foul ground' gem
The exciting youngster adds to his growing legend with a spectacular grab in last night's game.
Can you give a brother a hand? Ellsbury asks for assistance after his sliding catch sent him hurtling into the Boston bullpen seats
That's because the more I thought about the 5th inning grab, in which Ellsbury started in straightaway left, motored all the way to the Sox bullpen area in foul territory, caught the ball as he stumbled over the mound, then crashed into the bullpen chairs and skidded just short of the outfield wall, the more I realized that play was going to need a post of its own.
The 24-year old Navajo American has been drawing comparisons to Grady Sizemore and Judas Demon for his hitting ability, basepath savviness and fearlessness in the field, and that unbridled willingness to sacrifice his body in order to make the play has been on full display in the three weeks since his recall from the PawSox.
Whether it's banging into the scoreboard on the Monster, crashing face-first into the outfield wall in Camden Yards, or what he did last night at the Trop, it's that trait more than any other that has helped endear him to the Nation quicker than any other home-grown player (farm system-wise) since Nomar.
The the fact that he's hit safely in 16 of 17 games for a robust .381 (24-63) average with 9 extra base hits, 13 runs scored , and 7 steals (in seven attempts) since his callup also might have something to do with it, and we can't disregard his movie-star good looks, as my wife calls him a "hot-hot-hottie", which enables him to instantly capture the all-important pink hat demographic.
But the Nation reveres blue-collar type players who lay it all on the line and are willing to sacrifice their body for the good of the team, a-la Trot Nixon, and this kid has proven that he falls into that mode.
So without further adieu, here is a breakdown of the catch. Sorry for the graininess, but the speed of the play combined with an SD signal made for some pretty blurry pix.
It all began with a harmless foul pop...
...Jacoby started out all the way over in left field...
...then raced to the sidelines in pursuit of Greg Norton's foul pop...
...right when he hit the bullpen mound...
..he simultaneously caught the ball and tripped on the elevated dirt...
...causing Ellsbury to slide into the metal chairs...
...and come to a crashing halt at the base of the left field wall And just like that a legend is born.
Read More......9.21.2007
Beckett wins 20th to help Boston end losing streak
Sox 8, Tampa Bay 1
WP: Beckett (20-6)
LP: Kazmir (13-9)
HRs: BOS-Papi (32), Lowell (20), Varitek (14).jpg)
Believe it!
SUMMARY
The Red Sox bounced back from a brutal four game losing streak with a potential season-salvaging win as the Boston batters finally broke out of their slump and helped All Star ace Josh Beckett earn his career-high 20th victory.
#1 STUNNER Beckett 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB, 8K
The most consistent pitcher all season for the Sox became the winningest pitcher in the majors by doing what he's done best this year: carry the Sox to victory when his team needs him most.
Beckett won 20 for the first time in his career, became the first hurler to do so since Bartolo Colon in 2005, and virtually locked up his first Cy Young award.
GAGME Coco Crisp 0-3, BB, 3Ks, 6LOB
Crisp took home the dreaded Silver Sombrero; as if three strikeouts weren't bad enough, the first two came with the bases loaded and two outs. I realize he is playing with an aching back, but if this is the kind of game he's going to turn in, you might as well leave him out of the lineup, Tito.
RECAP
So this is what it feels like.
Seems like it's been a long time since the Nation experienced what it was like for the Sox to win a game; technically it had only been six days, but metaphysically it feels like three lifetimes of choking ago.
Leave it to the pitcher who has been Boston's rock of consistency all season, Josh Beckett, to get his stumbling club back on track. After all, he's the man who helped his club to a large division lead when he jumped out to an 11-1 record, helped the AL gain homefield advantage when he won the All Star game, and has now ripped off a 7-1 streak down the stretch, including two huge wins in the past week that should have him clearing his mantle for his Cy Young award.
And make no mistake win #20 was all him, because thanks to a lot more un-clutch (new word-they've earned it) hitting by Boston this game was in the balance for most of the night, and it wasn't until both starters were long and the Sox launched three late homers that things got out of hand.
Boston didn't figure to catch a break tonight with the opposing pitcher being Scott Kazmir. The young lefty has a particularly good time pitching against the cream of the AL East, and even though his won-loss record against them (1-2 in 07, 6-4 career)might not show it, his 12Ks/9IP speaks volumes about how his stuff fares against the Sox.
But Kaz was not his usual sharp self, and although he added nine more strikeouts to his staggering career total against the Sox, he also walked four, allowed four hits and hit two batters in just five innings of work.
The trouble began with his first batter of the night as Jacoby Ellsbury (2-4, 2R, BB) continued his campaign for president of Red Sox Nation when he led off the game with a bounding double down the first base line.
A sac bunt by Dustin Pedroia moved the speedster to third, and then for some reason Rays catcher Dioner Navarro decided to try and pick Ellsbury off third with one out and Papi at the plate. The errant throw (Iwamura was probably just shocked to see a throw coming) sailed into foul territory, and Ellsbury scampered home with the game's fist run.
Unfortunately Beckett would follow his fellow starters suit and give the run right back when he surrendered a pair of walks and then an RBI double to ROY candidate Delmon Young to knot the game at one in the bottom of the inning.
After both pitchers worked around baserunners in the second, Boston put a pair of runs on the board in the third, thanks mostly to Kazmir's wildness.
The lefty started the inning off by plunking Eric Hinske with his first pitch, and after ellsbury struck out, Kazmir walked Pedroia to bring up Big Papi with two on and one out.
Mired in a 1-15 slump and with rumors swirling around he was going to miss this game due to his nagging knee, Papi stepped in and did what he does best lately-swung at the first pitch and laced it into right field for an RBI single to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
Kazmir seemed to escape the jam when he got Mike Lowell (1-5, R, BI, 3K) to fan for the second out, but then he uncorked a wild pitch that bounced off the plate and scored Pedroia, and when he followed that blunder by walking Bobby Kielty and hitting Varitek with a pitch, it looked as if the sox were gonna blow the roof off the Trop in the early goings tonight.
Yeah, right.
Coco Crisp, coming off three days rest and two games off to rest his sore back, took one pitch for a ball and then hacked at the next three, and by the time he got done chopping wood the Sox had let yet another bases loaded opportunity go by the wayside.
That line is getting ridiculously redundant.
Still, staked to a 3-1 lead Beckett turned into the Beckett we have grown accustomed to, and after allowing two out singles to B.J. Upton and Young in the third, the big righty didn't allow another baserunner for the next three innings, which constituted the rest of his outing.
Kazmir lasted only through the fifth inning due to the short leash, errr strict pitch count manager Joe Maddon has on his young stud, but his final frame was enough to want Papa Joe to get him out of there anyway.
Boston loaded the bases again on a single by Pedroia, an "excuse me" check swing dribbler by Ortiz, and after a fly out by Lowell, a walk to Kielty. But once AGAIN with the chance to blow the game wide open right in the palm of their hands, the Sox whiffed, literally & figuratively as Tek and Coco (again) went down on strikes.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this persistent problem represent major playoff foreshadowing to anybody else?
With Tampa Bay having gone to the beleaguered pen, the game was all over but the final tally, and when the Captain made up for his missed opportunity when he blasted a solo homer to lead off the 8th inning against Gary Glover, it opened the floodgates for a rash of runs that would turn this semi-close contest into a rout.
In the 9th Jeff Ridgeway took a can of gasoline to the mound, spilled a trail around the diamond when he put two men on base with a walk and HBP, then lit the match when he served up an opposite field bomb by Big Papi that brought three runs home and gave the Nation in attendance one more reason to piss off the few Rays fans on hand.
Maddon tried to stop the bleeding when he replaced Ridgeway with Grant Balfour, but Mike Lowell atoned for his horrible night when he drove Balfour's first pitch into the left field seats to make the score 8-1 Boston, and from there it was as if a giant weight had been lifted from everyone associated with this team's shoulders.
Things went so well that Eric the Goat Gagme tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th, and from then it was just time to wait out the score from the New York game to see if Boston gained any ground with this win.
After New York came back from 4-0 down to tie the Blue Jays up in the bottom of the 9th, Toronto got a homer from Greg Zaun in the bottom of the 14th to win the game.
So the lead in back to 2 1/2, Josh Beckett proved he is without a doubt the league's best pitcher, Jacoby Ellsbury keeps contributing in so many ways, Papi had a huge night when he wasn't supposed to play, and the Sox won a game in which they stranded 10 baserunners and struck out 17 times.
Suddenly things don't seem so bleak after all.
At least for one day.
Series preview: Sox @ Tampa Bay (aka the biggest series of the season)
3-game series @ Tropicana Field
The Trop, located in the skeevy outskirts of lovely downtown St. Pete, will be the site of Boston's biggest series of the season this weekend
Standings: Boston up by 1 1/2 gms ov NYY, 27 gms ov TB
Season Series: Boston leads 11-4
Probable pitching matchups:
GM1 Fri 710 Beckett (19-6, 3.20) vs. Kazmir (13-8, 3.54)
GM2 Sat 710 Matsuzaka (14-12, 4.41) vs. Sonnanstine (6-9, 5.68)
GM3 Sun 140 Wakefield (16-11, 4.73) vs. Jackson (4-15, 5.99)
Preview:
The Red Sox arrive here in the beautiful Bay area with their tails between their legs, losers of five of the last six games; with a charging New York team that has nearly devoured an entire 14 1/2 game lead in a matter of weeks nipping at their heels; and with blogloads of negative pub documenting every step of what could be the latest--and greatest--in a string of historical collapses.
Did I mention that Boston's bookend slugger Manny is still out with a nagging injury, their top two set up men are either injured or ineffective, their closer allowed a grand slam the last time out, and they will have to face Sox killer Scott Kazmir tonight in Game 1 at the Trop?
Not like there's any pressure this weekend or anything.
In a stunning turn of events in what has suddenly become a stomach-turning season, this final series against the division team with a mirror image record to that of the Sox has become the most important series of the season, because if Boston were to lose 2 of 3 here and New York was to take a pair from Toronto in the Bronx, then the division lead will have slipped from Boston's grasp for the first time since late April.
Like I said, no pressure.
The good news for Boston is they have their ace and most consistent pitcher throwing for them tonight, Josh Beckett, and he will be bidding to become the majors' first 20-game winner.
The bad news is he will have to defeat the man who treats the Sox like a AA affiliate, Scott Kazmir, who seems to save up his best starts for when he faces the Bosox.
Despite a 1-2 mark against the Sox this season, Kaz has enjoyed great success against the potent Boston lineup; last time out the lefty fanned 10 Boston batters in a 1-0 Rays win at Fenway on September 10th, and on the season Kazmir has struck out 40 Sox in 30 2/3 innings of work. He also owns a sparkling 2.41 ERA against them, and will be trying for his 5th consecutive victory when he takes the hill tonight.
Beckett, meanwhile, has become the most vital cog in the Sox championship machine, because it appears he is currently the only one of the staff who can secure a win for this team.
The only win for Boston in the last week came courtesy of Beckett's manhandling of New York and Chien Ming Wang in Boston's 10-1 victory last Saturday. Since then the Sox have dropped four straight in some unimaginable ways, and if they were to lose tonight they would own a 5-game losing streak for the first time since last August...
...a streak which we in the Nation refer to as the Boston Massacre II.
Their backs are against the wall, the chips are down, the odds aren't in their favor, they've got a long road ahead of them and any other doomsday cliche you can think of applies to Boston boys at this point.
Unfortunately I won't be able to attend any of the contests this weekend, thanks to my son's Little League and some anniversary thingy my wife keeps harping about, but the way things have been going it might be better to listen to the annoying anecdotes of Joe Magrane rather than be subjected to potential ridicule from Rays fans in person
But the equation is simple: win a pair of games here, then go home and do the same against Oakland and Minny and the division should be theirs and the Nation can take a deep breath, relax, and maybe enjoy the postseason baseball.
Lose tonight and it might be all over but the pouting for the Sox, as the dreams of a division title, home field advantage, and another championship could dissipate like plumes of smoke from one of Tampa's finest hand-rolled cigars.
No pressure though, Josh.
NOTES: according to the Globe, Manny will be out of the lineup again tonight, but Coco Crisp will return to action after missing two games with a minor back injury...Youk will also remain out of the lineup with the banged-up wrist, and Hinske will continue to spell him at first...Kielty will get the call in left over J.D. Drew, a no-brainer with Drew's .212 mark vs. lefties...Ellsbury will lead off again, while Lugo moves from nine to eight...the Rays will be without the services of left fielder Carl Crawford for the rest of the season; minor league phenom Justin Ruggiano was brought up to replace CC on the roster..Carlos Pena has 4 homers and 15 RBIs vs. Boston this season
9.20.2007
State of the Nation: How to lose a division in ten days
Ironic or just plain sad? Last year's damning Sox Photoshops are eerily relevant today
The debate has raged for the past few days, as the Red Sox were busy transforming what once was a magical season into another infamous disaster: could the Red Sox survive another late-season collapse, or would the psychological damage caused by blowing a 14 game lead destroy all hopes for a championship season?
Many have weighed in on both sides, with most supporters of the "no biggie" theory citing the Detroit Tigers of last year, a team that blew the Central division title on the last weekend of the season then went on to upset the Stanks and make it all the way to the Series.
Not to mention the fact that three of the last five world champs have come from the Wild Card, most recently our very own Sox in 04.
But to those ultimate optimists I say no friggin way. As in there is no friggin way Boston could recover from that kind of monumental meltdown and be mentally and psychically prepared for the rigors of the postseason.
The reason being that the Sox are backpedaling at an alarming rate, even for a team with a history of chokes under its belt.
After enjoying a 10-game lead following the first forty games of the season, a double-digit lead for most of the summer, and a steady 4-7 game margin as New york caught fire after the break, Boston is not only in danger of losing home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs but for the ALCS as well now that Anaheim and Cleveland have passed them for the league's best record.
How's that for a confidence booster.
Throw in the fact that the team is more banged up than Britney's cooch and that the once-heralded bullpen is now struggling to find one reliever who will not allow a game-losing hit and you've got the recipe for a Division Series ouster, not a World Series celebration.
So how does one team blow such a sizable lead in just a few short weeks? Let me count the ways.
1.) The injury bug struck again
Not only has super slugger Manny Ramirez missed the last 21 games with an obscure oblique injury, but now Coco Crisp (2 gms/back), Kevin Youkilis (4 gms/wrist) and Hideki Okajima (indefinitely/spent) have joined the Grillmaster on the physically unable to perform list.
2.)Lack of timely hits continues to derail offense
Partially due to the loss of Ramirez and the slumps of J.D. Drew and Youk, the Sox inability to cash in on numerous golden scoring opportunities, including a slew of bases loaded situations, over the past few weeks has severely cost this team
3.) Mediocre pitching from the starters and the pen
The starters for the most part have ranged from serviceable to spectacular in the second half, but too many times the man in charge of setting the tempo for the team has let the opponent wedge his foot in the door early, and then the once-rigid bullpen has allowed them to bust it open late
4.) Karma, baby, karma
A season full of rubbing people's noses in it, bragging about the superiority of the Sox over all other teams in the league, and a postseason planning session that started to take place in early July have all come back to bit the Nation in the ass big time.
And don't think that fucking 'Magic Number" countdown of the Globe homepage didn't have anything to do with it, either. That idea was almost as bad as spraying the World Series logo on the Fenway field before the ALCS is over.
Whichever side of the debate you fall on, if Boston can just take care of business this weekend here in Tampa Bay, then return home to Fenway and dispatch a couple of teams that are already making their offseason vacation plans, all will be right with the world.
If not it could be a very short foray into the month of October for our beloved Bosox.
Again.
9.19.2007
Nothern exposure: Jays complete the sweep
Toronto 6, Sox 1
WP: Litsch (6-9)
LP: Buchholz (3-1)
SV: Accardo (29)
HRs: BOS-Drew (9); TOR-Adams (2)
SUMMARY
Boston brought itself to the brink of another collapse of historical proportions as Toronto completed a three game sweep with a come-from-behind victory. Clay Buchholz made a costly error that led to the Jays go-ahead run, and Jonathan Papelbon caught the Boston bullpen blues as he allowed a game-sealing grand slam in the 8th.
#1 STUNNER Russ Adams 2-4, 1R, 5RBI, GS
One night after breaking a 2-2 tie by knocking a bases-loaded pinch-hit double off Eric Gagme in the 8th inning, the stocky third baseman clubbed a bases-loaded homer off Boston's stud closer for the first granny--and 17th homer--of his career.
Unfuckingbelieveable.
GAGME of the GAME Boston offense 3H, 1ER, 4BB
The run-scoring drought continues to plague the banged-up Boston lineup as they failed to score at least three runs for the sixth time in the last ten games.
I realize that Toronto pitchers have allowed the fewest hits in the American League, but even this depleted crew should bang out more than two hits against Jesse Litsch.
RECAP
Well, it's official.
This 2007 season which began with so much joy and excitement has veered into morbid, car accident territory--you know what's coming, you don't want to see what's happening, yet you can't pull your eyes away from the potential carnage.
As if New York treating Boston like O.J.s memorabilia dealer wasn't embarrassing enough for this suddenly sorry Sox squad, the pesky Jays followed Derek Jeter's lead and dropped a trifecta of Nation-crushing losses on the boys from Beantown, saving the worst for last with tonight's humiliating finale.
Coupled with New York's 2-1 victory of Baltimore, Boston's East lead now sits at a Kate Bosworth-slim 1 1/2 games. Both teams are off tomorrow before the Sox head down here to lose 2 of 3 to the Rays and the Stanks arrive in Toronto to annihilate the Jays for four games.
I'm too sick and tired to post about this disastrous turn of events right now. I've already started snapping at the wife and cursing intermittently, so I think I'll rest on this one and try to put a proper spin on it in the morning.
Maybe by then the ugly sight of the Red Sox postseason express rolling over into a ditch won't be so fresh in my memory.
9.18.2007
Gagne steers sinking Sox directly into the rocks
Toronto 4, Sox 3
WP: Burnett (9-7)
LP: Gagne (3-2)
SV: Downs (1)
HRs: BOS-Lugo (7)
SUMMARY
Another appearance, another meltdown for the artist formerly known as Eric Gagme as the portly, washed-up reliever came on in the 8th and turned a 2-1 Sox lead into a 4-2 deficit by loading the bases and then allowing a walk and a double, effectively putting a torch to Jon Lester's masterful outing, and hopefully his career in a Boston uniform.
#1 STUNNER Gagme 1IP, 2H, 3ER, 3BB, 0Ks, BS, L
This clown has gotten so bad that he is now officially a valuable weapon for the opposing team. Congrats on getting him out of the pen tonight, Toronto. Well played!
PAN'S FAUN Gagme
With the hysteria over Pan's Labyrinth having died down (probably due to the fact that it wasn't nearly as good--or scary--as it was hyped to be), it's time to re-name this ignominious category: the loser of the night will hereby be rewarded with the Gagme.
Hey, he's earned that honor.
RECAP
1978.
1986.
2003.
2006.
2007?
As every Sox fan knows, word association for that list would go "Bucky Bleepin Dent"; "Billy Buckner"; "Grady's Braincramp"/"Aaron Bleepin Boone"; "The Boston Massacre II"; and now "Gagnegate"
The embattled reliever continued his uncanny and unnerving streak of allowing runs to cross the plate at an alarming rate when he gave up three runs on two hits and three walks in the eighth inning tonight, turning what looked like a possible season-saving win (aren't they all right now?) into another soul-crushing loss.
In what now has to be one of the worst trades in Boston history, Gagme has allowed 14 earned runs in 14 innings of work and singlehandedly lost four games since arriving from the Rangers on July 31st for promising young pitcher Kasson Gabbard and talented outfielder David Murphy.
It doesn't take a math major to calculate that had Gagme not blown those wins the Sox would own a 6 1/2 game lead in the East with 10 games left to play, and the Nation would be breathing a lot easier today instead of coping with that all-too-familiar pang of dread that is linked to yet another season of promise going down the drain.
The WWL was kind enough to point out via a terrific little video montage that the Sox have lost their last three games on Jeter's 8th-inning homer off Schilling, three longballs from long-in-the-tooth Jays slugger Frank Thomas, and yet another late-inning meltdown from their key mid-season trade acquisition.
Way to roll into the postseason guys.
The worst part about this loss was the fact that lefty Jon Lester (6.2, 3H, 1ER, 4BB, 5K) pitched a whale of the game after a shaky start put him and his team in an early hole, taking a 2-1 lead into the 7th inning before he gave way to Manny Delcarmen with two outs and no one on, his 5th victory of the season apparently well in hand.
Perhaps if the Boston offense hadn't continued to be as stagnant as Cuba Gooding's career the Sox and Lester wouldn't have had to sweat out the end of the game and could have enjoyed a satisfying win. But Jays starter A.J. Burnett, who has been on fire since coming off the DL at the end of August, bent but didn't break by holding the Sox to two runs through six innings despite scattering 8 hits and 3 walks in that time.
Burnett (8.2IP, 9H, 3ER, 3BB, 11K) was bailed out by a couple of double play balls off the bats of youngsters Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5) and Brandon Moss, and by the 11 Ks he recorded, including Ellsbury and Big Papi three times each.
Lester survived a rough first inning when he allowed a pair of walks and and a pair of hits, the big blow and RBI double to deep right by Alex Rios. But he, was bailed out by a nice play by Lowell and Tek to nail Rios at home on a grounder by Aaron Hill, and despite the fact that they had five baserunners in the inning, the Jays managed just one run.
Sounds like the Sox offense.
Speaking of which, it was held off the scoreboard for the first three innings of the game by Burnett despite having at least one batter on base in each of those frames. After Ellsbury led off the game with a single to left he moved to third with one out on a stolen base, his 7th in 7 attempts, and subsequent throwing error by Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun.
But Burnett got Papi to strike out and then retired Lowell on a fly ball, and yet another Boston baserunner was left stranded 90 feet from home plate.
Singles by J.D. Drew and Tek were wasted in the second when Hinske struck out and Moss grounded into a double play, and in the third a leadoff single by Lugo was quickly erased when Ellsbury GIDP'd to sqelch that potential rally.
Ah, young guys. They may giveth excitement, but the ability to stay out of the inning-killing double play they taketh away.
Boston finally got on the board in the fourth when Lowell reached on an infield single with one out, Drew walked, and after Hinske struck out again, Captain Tek laced his first big hit in weeks into the leftfield corner to score Lowell and tie the game at one apiece.
The Sox would grab the lead in the next inning thanks to a two out single by Dustin Pedroia and a double to deep center by Papi, but after Lowell was intentionally walked Drew obliged the Jays by striking out swinging, and still another possible big inning was shot in the ass.
Lester and Burnett both held serve for the next couple of innings, and after Hector Luna drew a one-out walk from lester in the seventh, Tito allowed the young lefty to get one more out before bringing in Manny D. to face Wells with the game on the line.
Delcarmen did his job, getting Wells to fly out to Ellsbury in center, and after Burnett set the Sox down 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th, it was Gagme's turn to redeem himself to his team and the Nation.
Mission NOT accomplished.
Truth is the mission should have been aborted long before it got to the hideously ugly point that it did, and the debate about why Tito left this guy in there to absorb yet another career-killing loss will rage for weeks and possibly a lot longer if the Sox end up blowing this thing.
From the minute they showed two the Seth Rogen/Sasha Baron Cohen look-a-like trot out of the pen with a look that screamed "why do I feel like I'm about to shit myself right now?", I sensed disaster in the air. As a matter of fact, when my son sat down on the couch a few minutes later and asked what was going on, I replied "the Sox are about to lose this game, Gagne just came in", only half-sarcastically.
Sure I said it, but after so many awful outings, a brief stint to rest his "tired arm", and a couple of decent appearances in garbage time recently, I didn't really believe I would witness a repeat of one of those unforgettable horror-shows.
Unfortunately that's exactly what happened, and just to add to the torture effect, the roly-poly reliever got two quick outs in the inning before he ran everyone through the wringer.
What a dick.
After those two quick outs the game spiraled into a surreal, movie-like collapse of epic proportions. Seemingly from out of nowhere Gagme couldn't find the plate, walking Frank Thomas on four pitches (in all fairness a couple of those were pretty close), then after Aaron Hill singled to left on one pitch, Gagme walked Matt Stairs on six pitches to load the bases, and that familiar queasy feeling began to take hold in the pit of the Nation's stomach.
Gagme quickly went to 3-0 on Zaun, and despite numerous mound meetings with Tek, proceeded to walk him two pitches later to force in the tying run, and now the feeling of dread carried that special "all-time choke job" tinges that we are all so familiar with.
Curiously, instead of pulling the train wreck for a warmed-up Papelbon, Tito allowed the carnage to continue, and when pinch hitter Russ Adams sliced a drive through the glove of Drew for a two-run double, it was like watching the finale of a horror-porn flick.
The fact that Zaun was thrown out at the plate to end the inning, or that Lugo added a "thanks, anyway" homer in the ninth to deny Burnett the complete game and make it just another one-run loss for Boston, means little to the frantic Nation worldwide.
Even though losing the division would still result in yet another Wild Card birth for the team that won the series via that route in '04, this is full-fledged panic time, folks.
But it's not like we haven't been here before.
Read More......
9.17.2007
Thomas puts a big hurtin' on Wake, Sox
Toronto 6, Sox 1
WP: McGowan (11-9)
LP: Wakefield (16-11)
HRs: TOR-Thomas, 3 (25).jpg)
SUMMARY
Tim Wakefield got lit up for the third straight start and Big Frank Thomas clubbed three homers, two off of Wake, as the Jays handed the sputtering Sox their third loss in the last four games.
#1 STUNNER Thomas 3-4, 3R, 5RBI, 3HRs
There's a reason this guy was nicknamed the Big Hurt back in his MVP-winning heyday with the White Sox.
BTW, the last time he had three homers in a game? Sept 15, 1996 at Fenway against Wakefield. (cue the Twilight Zone theme please)
PAN's FAUN Wake 6IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HRs
Much like Schill yesterday, the wily veteran wasn't horrible, but when your team is in the thick of the pennant race and you have the third-most wins in the majors, you gotta do better than that.
RECAP
At first I was upset that I forgot to set the DVR so I could watch this game after I got home from my son's LL game (they lost 16-7, but at least he played well).
So I when I got home just after nine and turned it on, I was expecting to see the Sox leading big in the fifth or sixth inning.
Then I was upset I watched any of it.
With an NL-esque run time of 2 hours and 13 minutes, I tuned in just in time to witness Jays DH Frank Thomas take Kyle Snyder yard in the 8th inning for what the TSN announcers informed me at the top of their lungs was BIG FRANK'S THIRD HOMER OF THE BALLGAME!
And I thought the game I had just come from was ugly.
For the third time in four games the Boston Red Sox played as if someone had a foot on their throats, taunting them with threats like " if you think you're gonna win the friggin divison this year you got another thing coming, you bunch of fucking Townie punks!"
While the Stankees were busy dropping 8 runs on the hapless Orioles, Boston's offense continued to do its best turtle impersonation, refusing to come out of its shell when everyone is staring at them waiting for it to happen.
And now the division lead is down to 3 1/2 games.
Magic number? Hah! How 'bout a magic potion to end this nauseating free fall into David Lynch-land?
I didn't see the game, save for one homer run in the 8th, so I'm not going to bother analyzing it from low lights and box scores. Bottom line is Wakefield has continued to fall apart since a minor back injury caused Clay Buchholz to make history, allowing 26 hits and 17 earned runs in his last three starts covering just 12 2/3 innings for an atrocious 12.08 ERA.
And the offense, after failing to cash in on numerous scoring opportunities while losing 2 of 3 to New York over the weekend, continued it's dreary stretch where it's been either feast--scoring 10 twice, 13, and 16 runs--or famine--averaging just over four runs in the rest of the games--this month.
Tonight Boston managed just five hits, two by RSN poster boy Jacoby Ellsbury, who atoned for his first hitless game last night since his callup on the 1st, and just one run batted in, that coming of course off the bat of Professional Hitter/RBI machine Mike Lowell.
That's it. One run and five knocks. Against Toronto's talented-yet-raw righty Dustin McGowan, whom the Sox tuned up for six runs and eighth hits in five innings of a 9-4 Boston win in mid July.
So it's come to this. Boston, after enjoying a seemingly insurmountable 14 1/2 game lead way back in May now has to keep winning in order to ensure they wear their first division crown since the mid-ninties.
Because suddenly that magic number is looking more like a warning light. Read More......
9.16.2007
Pitcher's duel turns into another heartbreaking loss
Stankees 4, Sox 3
WP: Chamberlain (2-0)
LP: Schilling (8-8)
SV: Rivera (28)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (); NYY-Jeter (11)
SUMMARY
Hall of Fame workhorses Roidger Clemens and Curt Schilling engaged in a tense and exciting pitchers duel, combining to allow one earned run on five total hits through the fist six innings.
But while Clemens exited the game after six, Tito stuck with Schill into the eighth, a move that backfired like Grady/Petey as Curt surrendered three hits including Jeter's three-run Monster shot in the inning, essentially handing the season series--and any postseason momentum--to New York.
#1 STUNNER Jeter 2-4, 1R, 3BI, HR
The Stankee captain has raked Boston pitching in general and Curt Schilling in particular all season long. Coming into the game he was batting .382 with five homers vs. the Sox, and now he can add a game-winning homer to those gaudy stats.
PAN's FAUN Schilling 7.2IP, 6H, 4ER, 0BB, 2K, 2HR
He didn't pitch all that poorly, in fact he was brilliant in stretches, but you can't expect to beat these assclowns by allowing homers to Cano and Jeter all the time. I mean A-Rod I can take, but not those two mighty mites.
RECAP
In the end Boston found themselves in a situation that seemed to be sprawl from the pages of a lyrical baseball novel--bases loaded, home team down by a run, the legendary slugger at the plate facing the opponent's legendary closer on the mound, season series hanging in the balance, final inning of the final regular season game between bitter archrivals.
But this isn't literature and although the mighty Papi did not strike out, his weak popper that was caught by--fittingly--Derek Jeter, put a cap on what was at times an exhilarating, exasperating and totally exhausting 19-game series against the boys from the Bronx.
And who woulda thunk that the two old, injured aces would both turn in stellar performances in a mano-a-mano duel in which neither pitcher wanted to blink, and barely did for the first half of the contest.
Boston would draw blood first when it scored a run in the first inning courtesy of a hit, a walk and an error.
The error came when Judas Demon let Jacoby Ellsbury's (0-4, R, SB) liner to left handcuff him and drop out of his glove to lead off the inning, and after Pedroia flied out and Ellsbury stole second, Clemens walked David Ortiz before surrendering an RBI single to Mike Lowell, the third baseman's team-leading 107th ribbie of the season.
After Clemens got J. D. Drew to fly out to deep left center, Jason Varitek came up with a chance to pad the lead against the veteran righty, but his bid for an extra base hit was stymied on an incredibly lucky snag by first baseman Doug the Ball Stealer Mientkiewicz, who after realizing he had stopped the ball outraced the captain to the bag for the out.
So it was 1-0 Boston on an unearned run after one inning, but it would be the last time the Sox would cross the plate for quite a while.
Both starters would find their grooves over the next three innings when each team only put one runner on base and couldn't even sniff a scoring opportunity.
But this is Sox/Stanks--you know a 1-0 game was out of the friggin question.
That fact hit home hard when official pain-in-the-ass second baseman Robinson Cano took a 1-0 offering from Schilling and deposited it in the Monster seats to tie the game. It was Cano's 6th hit in 12 at bats against Curt this season, and three of those hits have been homers.
In fact if Schilling had just read the ESPN preview before the game, he might have come away from this one with a W:
"Schilling is winless in four starts this year against New York, going 0-2 with a 5.76 ERA. He's had the most trouble with Derek Jeter, who is 7-for-12 against him this year, and Robinson Cano, who's 5-for-11."
Boy would that last little sentence prove prophetic.
Faced with a brand new ballgame both hurlers buckled down again, retiring the next 10 batters before Clemens ran into trouble by walking Papi and allowing a single to Mike Lowell with one out in the fifth. Lowell's hit was just the second the Rocket had allowed on the night, both by the Boston third baseman.
But Clemens got Drew to ground into a forceout to second base (shocker!), and then Cap'n Tek, who is mired in a horrendous 1-21 slump, ended another inning with a fly out to Demon in left, and yet another possible scoring opportunity had gone by the wayside for the sporadic Sox.
Please come back, Manny, please!
That wound up being Clemens' last batter as Torre went to heralded rookie Joba Chamberlain with the game tied and the series in the balance to start the seventh.
The hefty hurler brought a zero ERA into the contest and had only allowed eight hits in 16 innings this season, but he was greeted with a double high off the Monster by battering ram Eric Hinske to start the inning, and when Coco sacrificed him to third on the very next pitch, it looked like that scoreless streak was about to come to an end.
But then Lugo whiffed on a 100 mph heater just off the plate, and when Chamberlain got Ellsbury to ground to first and the Ball Stealer made another fantastic play to beat the speedster to the bag, the momentum was clearly with New York as the game wore on.
Uncle Mo swung full circle in the eighth when a tiring Schilling came out to try and give his beleaguered bullpen as much of a rest as he could, but it turned out that just like Grady should have done four years ago with Pedro Martinez in the Bronx, Tito should have stepped in and said "thanks, but hit the showers" to Schill before the inning even began.
That became apparent as soon as the Ball Stealer laced a one-out single to left center, and by the time Giambi stepped into the on-deck circle to pinch hit for catcher Jose Molina, you could almost sense something disastrous was about to happen.
Schilling made a decent pitch to Giambi, he just reached out and sliced it high off the top of the Monster for a double that missed being a homer by about six inches, but in a few minutes that minor inconvenience would become a forgotten memory.
Jeter came to the plate blistering Boston pitching this season,a nd with the game on the line you have to wonder why Francona didn't pull the plug on the situation right there and bring in Manny D.
After running the count to 2-2, Jeter teed off on a fat Schilling fastball for a mammoth wall shot that nearly left the building, and just like that nearly every television set in the Nation swapped the game over to the Pats shellacking of the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
But for those who stayed with the game, Boston proved they were not going to let this series get away without a fight.
Lowell would pop the Chamberlain cherry when he uncorked a solo shot to deep left center with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to 4-2, and with Mariano Rivera coming in for the ninth, a man who has blown more saves against Boston (11) than any other team in his illustrious career, there was hope for a miraculous comeback yet.
And when Varitek drew a leadoff walk against the leatherfaced closer, that hope grew to full-fledged possibility.
A pair of groundouts got Tek around to third, but with two outs the hope was fading into doubt. Then Julio Lugo doubled to the left center field gap to score Hinske with run #3, and hope had turned back into all-out belief that the boys could get it done, especially if Papi could get to the plate.
The Faithful got their wish when Rivera nailed Ellsbury with a pitch and then walked Pedroia to load the bases for the most clutch hitter in modern Red Sox history, setting the stage for an improbable comeback that could propel the Sox to the division title and points beyond.
Ortiz got the count in his favor, 2-1, before fouling off a classic Rivera cutter, and then he swung at what was probably ball three and blooped it out to Jeter, who looked up, watched the ball drop into his glove, and then pumped his fist a-la Jonathan Papelbon, a gesture meant to say "see you guys in October".
So New York took the season series 10-8 after Boston had won 6 of the first 8 games, and with the best record in baseball over the last three months and the confidence gained from drilling Boston in 6 of the last 7 meetings, it's safe to say that although the division lead remains in Boston's hands, the post season momentum clearly resides with the pinstripes.
Damn Stankees!
Game Preview: Stanks at Sox GM3
Clemens (6-6, 4.17) vs. Schilling (8-7, 3.97)
Fenway 8PM ESPN
This regular season finale of the season series with the Stanks will truly be one for the ages.
As in, ages 45 and 40, otherwise known as Mr. Roidger Clemens and Mr. Curt Schilling.
That's right the ultimate game of a long and winding 18-game series has come down to two of the oldest and most decorated lights-out big game pitchers this rivalry has ever seen.
Clemens, the former Sox phenom turned Public Enemy #1 in the Nation, will be making his first regular-season start at Fenway since August 2003 and his first start in his old haunts since an October matchup vs. Pedro Martinez that same season.
The reception will not be kind for the man who has jerked the Sox brass around in two of the last three seasons by leveraging a potential deal with Boston to sign for greater money elsewhere, first in Houston and then this spring with New York.
They'll be a lot of "fuck you too, dickhead!"s flying around Fenway.
This will also be the first time Schilling and Clemens have faced each other since Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, when Schill's D-Backs defeated Clemens and the Stanks 3-2 in a game in which both hurlers turned in herculean efforts. Schilling would go on to win the MVP and then break an 86-year-old curse, while Clemens would go on to string teams along like a 14-year-old girl for the next six years.
Both pitchers have been feeling their age this year, with Schill spending a month on the DL with a shoulder injury and Clemens coming off a two-week hiatus due to an elbow problem. But both will be fired up to get the win in this series finale, a game that might not decide the division title, but one that both teams--and proud pitchers--want badly nonetheless.
Go Sox!
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