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Bad news keeps coming for Blue Jays

Toronto, losers of eight straight, got more bad news today. Closer B.J. Ryan, who was shutdown last month because of a strained elbow ligament, is going to require Tommy John surgery and is lost for the season.

In the Red Sox clubhouse, the picture is far much rosier. Kevin Youkilis is back in the lineup after sitting out Wednesday.

Jon Lester, who was supposed to take today off, felt good enough to throw at 120 feet.

The lineups:

Lugo ss
Youkilis 1b
Ortiz dh
Ramirez lf
Drew rf
Lowell 3b
Crisp cf
Mirabelli c
Cora 2b

TORONTO

Alex Rios rf
Adam Lind lf
Vernon Wells cf
Troy Glaus 3b
Frank Thomas dh
Lyle Overbay 1b
Aaron Hill 2b
Sal Fasano c
Royce Clayton ss

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 4:40 PM | Permalink

Sox Streakers for May 10

There is a lot of good news in the numbers these days. Here they are, from the team's official game notes:

Who's Hot
-Tim Wakefield, nine earned runs in six starts; ranks second in American League with 2.11 E.R.A.
-Doug Mirabelli, 7 for his last 17 (.412) with a double, two home runs and four RBI
-David Ortiz, 19 for his last 53 (.358)
-Dustin Pedroia, 10 for his last 17 (.588) with three doubles, a home run, five RBI, five runs and two walks
-Manny Ramirez, eight-game hitting streak; 13 for his last 35 (.371) with two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, four runs and two walks

Who's Not
-Coco Crisp, 3 for 17 (.176) on current road trip
-J.D. Drew, 4 for his last 41 (.098)
-Eric Hinske, 2 for his last 24 (.083)
-Julio Lugo, 4 for his last 25 (.160)

Red Sox vs. Roy Halladay
-Mike Lowell, 4 for 11 (.364), 2 HR
-Coco Crisp, 6 for 18 (.333), 1 HR
-David Ortiz, 18 for 63 (.286), 5 HR
-Wily Mo Pena, 2 for 7 (.286)
-Manny Ramirez, 17 for 66 (.258), 3 HR
-Kevin Youkilis, 5 for 20 (.250)
-Julio Lugo, 8 for 34 (.235), 1 HR
-Doug Mirabelli, 2 for 10 (.200), 1 HR
-Eric Hinske, 2 for 9 (.222)
-J.D. Drew, 1 for 5 (.200)
-Alex Cora, 2 for 13 (.154), 1 HR
-Dustin Pedroia, 0 for 9

Blue Jays vs. Tim Wakefield
-Royce Clayton, 12 for 39 (.308), 1 HR
-John McDonald, 5 for 17 (.294)
-Troy Glaus, 6 for 23 (.261), 1 HR
-Matt Stairs, 10 for 39 (.256), 1 HR
-Jason Phillips, 2 for 8 (.250)
-Vernon Wells, 9 for 37 (.243)
-Alex Rios, 5 for 21 (.238), 1 HR
-Sal Fasano, 3 for 13 (.231)
-Frank Thomas, 9 for 40 (.225), 4 HR
-Lyle Overbay, 1 for 5 (.200)
-Aaron Hill, 2 for 11 (.182)
-Jason Smith, 0 for 6

More Stuff
-Manny Ramirez last night drove in his 131st run against the Blue Jays, tying him with Harold Baines for the most by any player.
-The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 12 games away from Fenway Park.
-Boston scored 9 runs in each of the last two games; it's the first time they've had at least 9 in consecutive road games since June 2005 in Cleveland.
-The Red Sox have hit four home runs in consecutive games for the first time since July 2003 against Tampa Bay and the Yankees.
-The Red Sox are the only team in baseball with three four-game winners: Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka.
-This is Boston's best record after 32 games since 2002 -- but that team failed to make the playoffs.
-Boston has not swept a three-game series in Toronto since July 2003, and they have not swept three from the Blue Jays anywhere since August 2004.
-David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez both hit home runs last night, the 44th time they have done so. Only Dwight Evans and Jim Rice have combined for home runs more frequently (56) as Red Sox teammates.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:50 PM to Projo Sox Streakers | Permalink

Home for sale!

In case you're waiting for the price to come down, you may be in luck. Manny Ramirez apparently still hasn't found any takers for his 4,500-square-foot penthouse on top of the Boston Ritz-Carlton with a $6.9-million price tag.

Pedro Martinez is also still trying to move his house in Brookline, Mass. The Wall Street Journal tells you -- if you pay for a subscription -- why tricked-out homes built by professional athletes are going begging for buyers.

If you've read the lengthy New Yorker profile of Manny, you know that he's also had problems recently selling a tricked-out car for the price that he would like. And then there's that grill.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:26 PM to Projo Mannybeingmanny | Permalink | Comments 2

Projo SoxTalk: Confident Pedroia is getting it done

Sean McAdam joins us from Toronto for today's edition of Projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the full audio file.

Today, Sean looks into the adjustments that Daisuke Matsuzaka made to improve his luck, and at some of the ways the slumping J.D. Drew is trying to get better results.

He also spoke about Dustin Pedroia and the uproar over Curt Schilling's and David Ortiz's Barry Bonds/steroid comments. Here are two excerpts.

On the streaking Pedroia: "I think a lot of it is just confidence with him. I don't think there's much question looking back to April that he was pressing a little bit, perhaps trying to prove that he belonged and was worthy of having a spot in the lineup for a team that expected to contend for the pennant. There's been a lot said and written about his swing, which looks overly long for someone his size, but it's always worked for him. A couple of nights ago Pedroia said that he's also doing a little bit better job in the batter's box, maybe waiting on the pitch that extra fraction of a second and not being too jumpy -- sort of out in front of the pitch, he was pulling a lot of pitches foul. He seems to be making more solid contact and I think just getting a little bit more comfortable in the lineup with the more success he has."

Why the off-field fiasco probably won't be a distraction: I think Terry Francona has probably had his fill of it the last few days, because a lot of the questions get directed at him, and he's probably feeling some heat from above in the front office and ownership to try and keep a tighter rein on these guys. I think we've seen back to the days of the 2004 championship team that this is a pretty loose place. I think players have made their peace with the various personalities. Teammates know that Schilling is opinioniated, is going to say things that get attention. I think that the core of this team has been togehter long enough to just shrug that off for the most part -- ignore the off-field stuff and focus on baseball."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:42 AM to McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Thursday, May 10

Around the bases in the world of baseball . . .

BACK ON TRACK: Now that was Daisuke Matsuzaka as advertised (projo.com), even if it did come against a team that, according to its manager, has fallen ''about as low as we can go.'' (Toronto Sun) Lyle Overbay thinks that ''[a] couple of months down the road, no one is going to remember it,'' but au contraire, Lyle; this eight-game -- and counting -- losing streak is all anyone is going to talk about all season long. If the Jays never recover from it, it will be pointed to as the time the season went down the tubes (much like an early 10-game skid is still talked about as the downfall of the 1976 Red Sox, who never put up much of a fight in defending their American League championship). If they do start playing well, it will be referred to, again and again, as the albatross around their necks, as in, "Imagine where they'd be if they hadn't . . . '' The Toronto Globe and Mail's Jeff Blair says ''[next] year isn't here yet. But it's visible.''

ENOUGH OF THAT: The Red Sox have problems of their own, namely a pitcher who seems to make headlines every time he opens his mouth or puts words to his blog. (projo.com) We linked to Schilling's apology to Barry Bonds yesterday afternoon (38pitches.com), and apparently he's been making other apologies, as well. (joyofsox.blogspot.com) It'll be interesting to see if these recurrent firestorms will change the way Schilling writes on his blog or answers questions on his weekly scheduled radio interviews.

GIANT RELIEF: Mike Pindelski of Beyond The Box Score analyzed the issue and concluded that, prior to yesterday, the Red Sox had the best bullpen in the American League, and fourth-best in baseball. (beyondtheboxscore.com) Don't ask about the Yankees; he only lists the top 10.

SENSE OF HUMOR: Give Vernon Wells credit: He knows how to respond to hecklers. (Toronto Sun) So why do I think every leatherlung in the American League will now be zeroing in on Wells in the hopes of getting their own ball?

"Dear Mr. Dork" . . . I have to admit, I like that one.

''I'M PREPARED TO TRACK HIM DOWN WHEN HE'S REINCARNATED TO BOO HIS SORRY . . . '' I don't think Chad Finn likes Roger Clemens very much. (touchingallthebases.com)

YOU CRITICIZING ME? And, conversely, Roger doesn't like some of the sniping being done at him from various corners, particularly comments made by Astros manager Phil Garner. (Houston Chronicle)

GETTING A LITTLE CHESTY: Maybe it was related, maybe it wasn't, but 'ol Rog wasn't in a very good mood yesterday. (New York Daily News)

ROGER WHO? Suddenly, the Yankees starting pitching doesn't look so bad. (New York Daily News)

CREEPING DOUBTS: Even Reggie Jackson is wondering if Mariano Rivera is coming to the end of the trail. (Newsday)

SAY WHAT? Rick Dempsey says he was just joking, and I have no doubt he was, but some subjects aren't laughing matters. (Baltimore Sun) (Sun blogger Roch Kubatko agrees, but also comes to Dempsey's defense). Can't Stop The Bleeding has the full clip, via DailyMotion. What is it with members of the Orioles' broadcast crew this year?

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE: Joe Posnanski has a family and a regular job and everything. So how does he get the time to research and write such fabulous blog items? (thesoulofbaseball.blogspot.com) Really, this is magazine-length worthy . . . and Red Sox fans will like it because, at the end, he makes the case that David Ortiz was far more valuable in 2006 than American League MVP Justin Morneau.

MYSTERY: Orioles vice-president Jim Duquette says his club is about to the enter the market for some pitching. (Baltimore Sun) MLBTradeRumors.com tries to figure out who he's talking about.

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:02 AM | Permalink