Projo Sox Blog

So that's two straight road wins, which doesn't surprise Baseball Analysts' Patrick Sullivan; he looks a little deeper into the numbers and says he doesn't think the Red Sox' poor record away from Fenway is that big a concern. (Especially when you're playing in Seattle, because the Mariners' DH output this year has more closely resembled that of a typical National League pitcher than an American League designated hitter.) A victory this afternoon would give the Sox a split on the road trip; come back later and follow it here.

MAKING CHANGES: Clay Buchholz will start today's game and McAdam reports he's adopting a different routine in an attempt to fix the first-inning woes that have plagued him recently.

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE: You've probably heard it -- ad nauseum -- by now, but McAdam has the news on Manny Ramirez' near-arrest for jaywalking. This one, Terry Francona took in stride. (Boston Herald)

STILL ON THE PROWL The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the Red Sox' interest in Damaso Marte has "heightened." But McAdam says the Sox' chances of dealing for relief help are pretty slim if this -- the Nationals' asking price for Jon Rauch being Jed Lowrie and Michael Bowden -- is any indication. And then Washington turned around
and made a ridiculous trade for Rauch; more on that later.

OUR HERO! Lowrie is 5-for-18 since being recalled to replace the injured Julio Lugo and both the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy and the Boston Herald's Tony Massarotti wonder if he's taking over the shortstop job for good. There's no doubt many in Red Sox Nation certainly hope so.

BIG PAPI UPDATE: David Ortiz went hitless for the first time in five minor-league rehab starts last night in Portland. (projo.com)

FRAT BROTHERS: Boston's visit to Safeco Field has enabled Tim Wakefield to catch up with fellow knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. (espn.com)

LET'S TRY THAT AGAIN: Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan was a little off in his calculations the other day, so he's refigured the numbers and reposted his odds-of-each-team-making-the-playoffs column. The Red Sox drop from 2/1 to 1/5.

LEFT SPEECHLESS: The Rays' season-long problems with left-handers continued last night as they were beaten, 8-1, by Oakland's Dallas Braden. (St. Petersburg Times) It's one of the reasons the team is searching so actively for another right-handed bat, though there are folks in the organization who think Jonny Gomes could provide some right-handed pop if he were given the chance. (Tampa Tribune)

CASEY AT THE BAT: In that light, the rumor mill is churning out Casey Blake-to-Tampa Bay whispers because the Pirates' asking price for Xavier Nady is so high. Outs Per Swing and DRays Bay discuss.

NOW THAT'S THE TAMPA BAY BULLPEN WE KNOW! The Rays' bullpen, a first-half strength, has a 7.26 ERA in its last 12 appearances. One of the biggest offenders is Trever Miller and he says he's letting the team down. (St. Petersburg Times)

AIM HIGH: The Yankees are talking first place after their fifth straight win, a late-developing (they were trailing 2-1 in the sixth) 8-2 romp over the Twins. (New York Daily News) The Daily News' Filip Bondy points out the Yanks are "making their move, somehow, despite their apparent decrepitude," making this season -- as the headline writer pointed out -- one for the aged.

HELP WANTED: They're also talking about making a significant move in the trade market (New York Daily News), something they were reluctant to do until very recently but now, as the standings tighten, makes more sense to them. One of the names Peter Abraham is hearing: Jarrod Washburn. (LoHud Yankees Blog) But FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says Washburn is too expensive, even for the Yankees.

ROBBIE CANO! DONCHA KNOW! John Sterling must be wearing out that particular phrase as Cano paces the resurgence with a bat that's finally awoken. (New York Post)

START AT THE BEGINNING: The New York Post's Jay Greenberg, however, says the recent hot streak has been a case of the starting pitching performing well, and last night Darrell Rasner held up his end of the bargain.

PAGING MR. LARSEN, MR. WELLS, MR. CONE . . . Kyle Farnsworth is joining you in the Yankee no-hit club . . . sort of. (New York Daily News)

TOUGHING IT OUT: The New York Post reports Jorge Posada has been told he needs shoulder surgery, which would sideline him until February, but he wants to rest and see if he can return in a few weeks as a first baseman/designated hitter.

TITLE TOWN: The last Old-Timers Game at the old Yankee Stadium will feature representatives from the Yanks' last 16 World Series champions, dating back to 1947. (New York Daily News)

SELLING THE GAME: Big League Stew applauds Alex Rodriguez' signing with the William Morris Agency and says MLB should sit up and pay attention because its athletes are woefully lagging in the endorsement field.

DAILY CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHTS ARE PART OF THE PACKAGE: The assumption -- especially in New York -- is that CC Sabathia is signed, sealed and delivered to the Yankees next year. Why, then, is he building a house in southern California? (SI.com)

NO WAGGING: Billy Wagner said he was ready to pitch (New York Post), but the Mets -- wary of the shoulder pain he felt while warming up Sunday -- erred on the side of caution. And did they ever pay the price, blowing a 5-2 ninth-inning lead and suffering a ghastly 8-6 loss to the Phillies (New York Daily News) that knocked them out of first place in the N.L. East. The Post's Mike Vaccaro says losses don't get much worse than this, especially since the Mets had done plenty of other things wrong prior to the ninth inning.

YES, AND TOMORROW THEY START THE SEASON-ENDING 74-GAME ROAD TRIP: Bugs and Cranks' David Chalk was at Shea Stadium the other night and swears that a guy sitting near him asked his friend: "So, this isn't the last game at Shea Stadium, is it?"

FOUR PITCHERS, ONE HIT: Four Marlins combined on a one-hitter in Florida's win over the Braves last night. (mlb.com)

AIMING AT THIGPEN: The New York Sun's Tim Marchman thinks Francisco Rodriguez could blow past Bobby Thigpen's record of 57 saves and hit the 60 mark this year. Imagine how K-Rod -- whose postgame histrionics (like last night's against Cleveland, at left) have been irritating opponents all season -- will react if that happens.

LONG WAY TO GO: The analytical revolution spawned by Bill James almost 30 years ago has seemingly run its course, and every so often you think everyone's now on board. And then you hear things like this, courtesy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

"Who do you want, a guy who's 10-15 with a 2.80 ERA or a guy who's 16-8 with a 7.00 ERA? I'll take the 16-8."

Those are the words of Bill Smith, general manager of the Minnesota Twins. I'll let the folks at Fire Joe Morgan take a crack at this one.

RED HERRING: ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra thinks the Dominican bonus "scandal" is being deliberately overstated by MLB to help pave the way for an international draft.

WITNESSES WANTED: The New York Times reports the government is seeking at least one other witness (besides Brian McNamee) who could directly link Roger Clemens to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

DEAL-MAKERS: The Randy Wolf-to-Houston trade was completed, and Baseball Musings' David Pinto presents the majority opinion when he calls it "useless." The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice seconds that motion . . . Nor does Pinto think the Nationals made a good move by shipping Jon Rauch to Arizona for minor-leaguer Emilio Bonifacio. Rotoworld.com agrees.

TRADE TALK: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Dave O'Brien doesn't think it'll be as easy for the Braves to trade Mark Teixeira as everyone assumes . . . SportingNews.com's Gerry Fraley warns buyers to beware of both A.J. Burnett and Erik Bedard . . . The St. Paul Pioneer Press' Charley Walters says the Twins are reluctant to make a deal because they don't want to disrupt their good chemistry . . . Add the Marlins to the list of teams pursuing Brian Fuentes (foxsports.com) . . . The Cardinals and the Brewers are after Orioles closer George Sherrill (Baltimore Sun) . . . The Dodgers may be showcasing Andy LaRoche (Los Angeles Times) . . . The Dodgers are also interested in A's closer Huston Street. (San Francisco Chronicle)

HERE AND THERE: Jay Gibbons is back in the bigs -- or at least back with a big-league organization -- after signing a minor-league deal with the Brewers (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Juan Pierre could return to the Dodgers this week (Los Angeles Times) . . . Ditto Mike Hampton to the Braves (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . MLB has fined the Cubs $500,000 for violations related to the June draft of first-year players (SI.com) . . . No word on when Todd Helton will rejoin the Rockies (Denver Post) . . . Chris Young is about ready to return to the Padres. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

OLD FRIENDS: The Detroit News' Lynn Henning calls Edgar Renteria -- he of the four extra-base hits in the last 63 games -- "the biggest surprise and greatest disaster of the [Tigers'] season." Note to Lynn: Steve Silva's Rent-A-Wreck is a quicker, punchier way to say it. (And note the Julio Lugo-to-Boston trade rumors that were surfacing on Steve's December 2005 post) . . . Pedro Martinez' mounting physical problems are a huge concern for the Mets (New York Observer) . . . Matt Ginter made another respectable showing in the Indians' loss to the Angels (rotoworld.com) . . . Wily Mo Pena is out for the season after shoulder surgery (Washington Post) . . . Anibal Sanchez could be back in the Marlins' rotation July 29 (Miami Herald) . . . The Giants have activated Dave Roberts. (rotoworld.com)

AND FINALLY . . . NYY Stadium Insider has a cogent piece of advice for Melky Cabrera: "Field the ball first, THEN acknowledge the Bleacher Creatures."

-- ART MARTONE