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Sox Streakers for May 4

Who's Hot
-David Ortiz, four straight multi-hit games; is 14 for 35 (.400) in last nine games.
-Manny Ramirez, four straight multi-hit games, going 8 for 17 (.471) with 3 home runs in that stretch
-Kevin Youkilis, nine-game hitting streak; 13 for 35 (.371) during that stretch

Who's Not
-J.D. Drew, 2 for his last 26 (.077)
-Julio Lugo, 11 for his last 61 (.180)

Red Sox vs. Carlos Silva
-David Ortiz, 4 for 9 (.444)
-Kevin Youkilis, 2 for 5 (.400)
-Alex Cora, 6 for 15 (.400)
-Julio Lugo, 3 for 8 (.375)
-Jason Varitek, 2 for 7 (.286)
-Coco Crisp, 4 for 15 (.267)
-Mike Lowell, 3 for 13 (.231)
-J.D. Drew, 1 for 6 (.167)
-Manny Ramirez, 0 for 9

Twins vs. Tim Wakefield
-Joe Mauer, 3 for 5 (.600)
-Justin Morneau, 3 for 5 (.600)
-Luis Castillo, 9 for 17 (.529)
-Jason Bartlett, 3 for 7 (.429), 1 HR
-Torii Hunter, 11 for 29 (.379), 2 HR
-Jason Kubel, 1 for 3
-Michael Cuddyer, 3 for 14 (.214)
-Nick Punto, 1 for 8 (.125)
-Jason Tyner, 0 for 6

More Stuff
-The Red Sox have lost seven of their last nine games against the Twins, and seven of the last eight in Minnesota.
-At 9-5, Boston has the best winning percentage on the road (.643) of any American League team.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:02 PM to Projo Sox Streakers | Permalink

Seattle cries foul on Ramirez home run

"Manny's still rounding the bases, but Sox get the win," says Boston Dirt Dogs today. And boy was that a long stare that Ramirez gave his eighth-inning home run off Chris Reitsma to win yesterday's game with Seattle. It was quite a night for Manny, who did his best Willie Mays impersonation while basket catching a routine pop-up for the second out of the disastrous 5-run Seattle first inning, then blasted one over the Monster off Horacio "no relation" Ramirez, before hitting a real rocket off Reitsma to win it in the eighth. "I can see why he probably admired it," said manager Terry Francona after the game.

From the Seattle clubhouse, there was annoyance not so much at Manny's theatrics, but about the fact that the umpires did not ring Ramirez up on his check swing just before the faithful home run. "We had Manny struck out, plain and simple," said manager Mike Hargrove. Meanwhile, Mariner fans don't think Hargrove should have pitched to Ramirez at all.

Ramirez now stands at 475 home runs for his career, tied for 27th all-time with Stan Musial and Willie Stargell. He's two home runs short of Jim Thome and three home runs short of Alex Rodriguez on that list. He has multiple hits in four straight games, a stretch in which he is hitting 8 for 17 with three home runs and six RBI. But tonight he faces Carlos Silva, a guy against whom he is 0 for 9 for his career.

By the way, Onion Sports lampoons Ramirez today in their (fake) story, "Ramirez asks Red Sox if he can work from home."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:33 PM to Projo Mannybeingmanny | Permalink | Comments 2

Projo SoxTalk: Mechanical problems dogging Dice-K?

Today on projo SoxTalk, Art Martone talks about what he thinks might be bothering Daisuke Matsuzaka. He says the problems are probably mechanical in nature, and wonders if the language barrier might be making it more difficult for the team to get a handle on the problem. But Martone also sees this as a temporary problem that will be fixed at some point this season. Click here to listen to the full audio file.

Martone also discusses Jacoby Ellsbury, the center-field prospect who is making his Pawtucket debut tonight. Ellsbury has been hyped for a while now, but his rise through the system has been even faster than projected, Martone says.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:46 AM to Martone | Permalink

Ellsbury to start tonight at McCoy

The Red Sox' most heralded offensive prospect, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, will be in the Pawtucket starting lineup tonight for the first time when the PawSox take on the Indianapolis Indians at 7:05, according to the PawSox Web site.

For more on Ellsbury, click here to read Sean McAdam's story about top Sox farmhands.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:22 AM to PawSox | Permalink

Baseball Today: Friday, May 4

The last day of a busy week of baseball . . .

SOX BEING SOX: It was just Manny being Manny, down to and including the stand-and-stare after his monstrous, two-out, eighth-inning home run that lifted the Red Sox over the Mariners. Good thing, too, because Dice-K being Dice-K put the Sox in a pretty big hole pretty early. But they recovered, thanks in no small part to the Boston bullpen being the Boston bullpen. (All stories projo.com)

ON THE WATCH: The nightly Matsuzaka one-inning meltdown is becoming a local concern, especially now that it happened against a decidedly Grade B offense -- unlike those of the Yankees and Blue Jays, against whom he had similar problems -- and it'll be interesting to see if it becomes a national, and international, one as well. (matsuzaka.blogspot.com) As this is being written, the Matsuzaka Watch hasn't weighed in on last night's doings, but it does have some other interesting tidbids.

YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE TOO MUCH, ESPECIALLY IF DICE-K PITCHES LIKE THIS: Pining for Clemens has been a New York thing thus far, but today Bob Ryan urges the Red Sox to wave "John Henry's golden checkbook in Roger's face". (Boston Globe)

AGE BEFORE BEAUTY: Mike Lupica, on the other hand, points out that "For years . . . [the Yankees] have tried [unsuccessfully] to build another championship team, and that doesn't just mean an AL East championship team, with old and overpaid pitching.'' (New York Daily News) Clemens, he says, fits both criteria.

BUT YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE ENOUGH, YOU KNOW? The Mets look like they don't, which is why Omar Minaya may kick the tires on Rich Harden. (Newsday)

IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, JUST LOOK . . . at who the Yankees are starting this weekend against Seattle. (sports.yahoo.com)

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S ALWAYS INJURED: The Yankees' American Idle is probably headed to the operating table for Tommy John surgery. (New York Post) If he does, people may finally stop questioning why Carl Pavano is on the sidelines.

OR NOT PITCHING WELL: The injury to Mike Timlin opened the door for Manny Delcarmen to get back to Boston, but he's barricading it shut with a series of bad performances . . . like yesterday's. (projo.com)

AND EVEN IF YOU DO, HOW DO YOU EMPLOY IT? Brett Myers has officially made the leap from No. 1 starter to closer. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

FEELING THE PAIN: The Yankees' fired strength-and-conditioning coach is reportedly ''devastated'' by his dismissal, according to his wife. (New York Daily News)

TRADITIONALISTS: The staid White Sox, on the other hand, find more conventional scapegoats. The hitting coach is usually their target of choice, and Greg Walker apparently is the latest. (Chicago Sun-Times)

(Interesting that Ron ''Papa Jack'' Jackson, who walked the plank in Boston just last fall, was the first such Chicago casualty, back in 1998.)

DEAR MICHAEL: Yankees announcer Michael Kay opens the mailbag and addresses the burning question in Yankee Universe: Why don't Yankee pitchers hit Red Sox hitters with the same frequency that Red Sox pitchers hit Yankee hitters?

TRADE TALK: MLB Trade Rumors is chewing on a whispered Yankees-Phillies swap of Jon Lieber for Kyle Farnsworth. (mlbtraderumors.com) Why does Farnsworth -- all power, huge potential, not enough production -- strike me as being the 21st-century, pitching version of Dave Kingman, minus the toxic personality?

TOGETHER AT LAST: The perfect marriage of player and organization: Jack Cust to the A's. (espn.com) The blog Catfish Stew notes that ''When Jack Cust is the answer, you are, perhaps, asking uncomfortable questions'' (catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com)

OLD FRIENDS: John Wasdin is on the DL in Pittsburgh because of a sprained thumb (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . Lew Ford may have his rehab assignment in Rochester extended (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) . . . Andy Marte felt felt tightness in his hamstring during a rehab appearance in Buffalo, and probably will have to stay on the disabled list (Cleveland Plain Dealer) . . . Byung-Hyun Kim's rehab assignment in Colorado Springs is coming along fine (Rocky Mountain News).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:13 AM | Permalink