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May 17, 2007 »

Game officially postponed

It was just announced that tonight's game between the Red Sox and Tigers has been postponed because of the heavy rains and inclement weather.

The game will be made up tomorrow as part of a day-night doubleheader. The first game will begin at 12:35 p.m., and tickets for tonight's game will be honored for the game. Gates will open at 10:35 a.m. at Fenway Park.

The pitching matchup for tomorrow's matinee remains the same as it was supposed to be tonight: Boston's Julian Tavarez will oppose Detroit's Mike Maroth.

The evening game, which remains at 7:05 p.m., will also feature the same pitching matchup as scheduled, with Curt Schilling opposing the Tigers' Chad Durbin.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

The rain has returned

A heavy rain has set in at Fenway Park, and things aren't looking good for tonight's game.

Though there was an earlier storm and the skies did brighten, apparently there was a second, stronger wave of clouds behind the first and that's what we're looking at now. And now there's the added bonus of thunder and lightning.

Glancing at the radar map on weather.com, the rain is covering nearly all of Massachusetts right now, and there's even heavier stuff near Worcester that's headed this way.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:29 PM | Permalink

Tonight's lineups

BOSTON (26-12)

Lugo, SS
Crisp, CF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Youkilis, 1B
Lowell, 3B
Varitek, C
Pena, RF
Pedroia, 2B

SP: Tavarez

DETROIT (24-14)
Granderson, CF
Polanco, 2B
Sheffield, DH
Ordonez, RF
Guillen, SS
Rodriguez, C
Casey, 1B
Monroe, LF
Inge, 3B

SP: Maroth

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:49 PM | Permalink

Beckett to miss Friday start

Terry Francona just announced that Josh Beckett will indeed miss his next scheduled start, on Friday, because of the avulsion on his right middle finger.

But there is no roster move to report, so at this point the team is not placing the ace on the disabled list.

Who the starter will be is unknown at this point -- Francona said it will not be Kyle Snyder, since he is both not stretched out enough and "we like him in his role." An as-yet-unnamed player will be called up from Pawtucket to make the start.

"Josh is doing very well, it's just not a mistake we want to make" by sending him out too early, Francona said. "Missing him for a start is not that nice, so to multiply" the number of starts he'd potentially miss would be worse.

When asked if Beckett would be back on the mound the next time his spot in the rotation came up, next Wednesday, Francona said, "We're 'til Friday. That's where we're stopping the media information."

Also from Francona's pre-game chat:

* Jon Lester threw a side session today and faced three hitters in a simulated situation. He will go to Ottawa to meet up with the PawSox this weekend and throw 50 to 55 pitches. "And he must be feeling good because he really fought us on that. He wanted to throw 100," Francona said.

Lester was close to making his return after being diagnosed with anaplastic large-cell lymphoma last August, but he experienced tightness in his left forearm during his second rehab start with Pawtucket on May 2.

* J.D. Drew will not start tonight, with Wily Mo Pena getting the nod in right field instead. When he woke up this morning, Francona said, Drew didn't feel like he had hit a wall -- which he did, last night trying to catch a Brandon Inge home run -- and when he arrived at the ballpark, he didn't feel any worse than he did last night when he left the game after the seventh inning.

* Mike Timlin, recovering from tendinitis, played catch today and did fine. He will have a down day as far as the team's throwing program for him tomorrow, though Francona said he can play catch again if he'd like.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:34 PM | Permalink

The sky, it has brightened

Though the tarp is still on the field, it has stopped raining and it looks like there will be baseball game played here tonight at Fenway.

Whether or not it starts at 7:05 p.m. is another story.

But the sky is definitely brighter -- the Citgo sign has turned off; it had come on when it got so dark -- and it looks more like it should at 4:30 on a May afternoon.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:31 PM | Permalink

The tarp is on the field

The grounds crew here at Fenway Park just pulled the tarp onto the field, and the sky here in Boston has quickly turned an ominous black.

In the words of a member of the park's security staff: "This does not look good."

Despite the major threat of storms -- on our way here, WBZ said there is a line of storms coming in quickly across Massachusetts -- Curt Schilling and a player we think is Josh Beckett (but we can't be sure from this distance, even with binoculars) are on the field playing catch.

The rain has started, though there are is no thunder or lightning just yet.

We'll be back with an update soon.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:28 PM | Permalink

PawSox win, 7-4

The PawSox beat Durham, 7-4, today at mcCoy Stadium. It was their fourth win in a row and fifth in the last six tries.
The PawSox fell behind 4-0 after three innings but battled back behind the home run ball and solid relief pitching by Manny Delcarmen, Bryan Corey and Mike Burns. Kevin Cash hit a 2-run homer in the fifth inning and a 2-run single by Brandon Moss gave the Sox a 6-4 lead. A Chad Spann solo homer made it 7-4 in the sixth inning. Perfect relief pitching over the final four innings preserved the win.
The Sox and Bulls play again Thursday night at McCoy.

Posted by Kevin  at 2:55 PM | Permalink

PawSox tack on another

The PawSox extended their lead to 7-4 on a Chad Spann home run in the sixth inning. The homer was Pawtucket's second of the day (Kevin Cash).

Posted by Kevin  at 2:14 PM | Permalink

PawSox Alive and Kickin'

The PawSox just scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead over the Durham Bulls, 6-4.
Kevin Cash hit a 2-run homer and Brandon Moss singled in two more runs to help the Sox rally from a 4-0 deficit.
It's 6-4 PawSox in the sixth. Manny Delcarmen is on the mound.

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 1:52 PM | Permalink

PawSox on the board

The PawSox scored their first run in the fourth inning on a RBI single by David Murphy. They trail Durham after 4 innings, 4-1.

Posted by Kevin  at 1:28 PM | Permalink

PawSox trailing early

The PawSox are hosting the Durham Bulls on a beautiful spring day at McCoy Stadium. Abe Alvarez is on the mound and trailing, 1-0, after his second pitch of the game was knocked over the left field wall by Ben Zorbrist.
Things turned uglier in the third inning when the Bulls got two men on base and Shawn Riggans hit a fly ball to left that carried over the fence for a homer and a 4-0 lead.
So it's 4-0 after two and a half innings..

Kevin McNamara

Posted by Kevin  at 12:40 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk: Alvarez pitching for his future

Today's guest on Projo SoxTalk is Kevin McNamara, who has been at Fenway the past two nights, and is now at McCoy Stadium to watch the Pawtucket Red Sox. Click here to listen to the full audio file. McNamara discusses the Red Sox-Tigers series and looks ahead to today's PawSox matinee with the Durham Bulls, which you can follow on this blog.

Here's what he had to say about the topics of the day.

On today's Pawtucket starter, Abe Alvarez (above, Journal photo by Gretchen Ertl): "He has really struggled for the last year and a half -- most of the heat of the summer last year he struggled as well. I think three years ago he had made that spot start, as I'm sure you remember, up at Fenway, and it hasn't really clicked for Abe. I can see this as a really important year for him. I don't know if he has many more years in Triple A, with this organization anyway, if he doesn't start to turn things around."

On last night's Verlander-Wakefield matchup: "[Verlander] had everything working. He was easily above 95 with the majority of his fastballs. He even hit 100 on the Fenway gun a few times, and you don't see that every day. Wakefield -- you know, I think it was a typical Tim Wakefield performance. It's not usual that he's going to go 7-8 innings without one choppy spot, and he did have that last night. And when Brendan Donnelly came in, he didn't help him at all. He certainly could have limited the damage a little bit, but that didnt happen."

On Josh Beckett: "I'd be surprised if they don't say something tonight, only because you can only keep these things hidden for so long. Either Beckett is going to continue his preparation to make his start, which I think is doubtful -- it doesn't make much sense to me for him not to miss at least one start, I mean, what's the big deal. Obviously things are going very well for the ballclub, and they play a team they're very unfamiliar with in the Atlanta Braves, so what's the hurry. And it's funny, Kyle Snyder came in and pitched last night, looked good, and if they're not going to make a move, he certainly looms as the chief candidate to make that start [on Friday]."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:45 AM to Martone | Permalink

Baseball Today: Wednesday, May 16

Around the baseball world in 10 minutes . . .

RETURNING THE FAVOR: Jim Leyland calls the Red Sox ''one of the best teams in baseball,'' but adds, ''hopefully, they're feeling the same way about us.'' They probably are after Justin Verlander (above left) shut them down and the Tiger offense scored seven runs on Tim Wakefield and the Sox bullpen in a 7-2 victory last night. (projo.com) Verlander was just what the doctor ordered for the Tigers (Detroit News), as was Magglio Ordonez (above right), who had the big blow, a three-run homer in the third inning that broke a 1-1 tie. Not that that's anything new; Steven Krasner points out in Inside The Game that Mags owns Wakefield.

UH OH: The Boston Herald's Steve Buckley says ''The only thing that can hurt the 2007 Red Sox, we all agree, is injuries. And now guys are starting to get injured.'' J.D. Drew, who hurt his lower back crashing into the bullpen wall while trying to catch Brandon Inge's home run (right) is the latest.

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME: So the Sox say about one of their walking wounded, Josh Beckett (projo.com). But it's still not clear whether he'll be able to make his scheduled start on Friday.

IBID: John Smoltz, scheduled to start Saturday for the Braves against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, is also feeling better, but he, too, doesn't know if he'll be able to saddle up. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog)

THANK YOU: Gary Sheffield is getting booed by the Fenway crowds, but considers it a badge of honor. ''They know their sports here,'' he said. (Detroit Free Press)

GET OUT YOUR POM-POMS, BOYS: Allan Wood is disgusted by the juvenile cheerleading coming out of the Tigers' television booth. (joyofsox.blogspot.com) Still, I can't believe they're any worse than the Hawk . . . who, hard as it may be for anyone under the age of 40 to believe, was one of the best, most objective and analytical announcers I've ever heard when he worked for the Red Sox.

I'M NOT GETTING IN YOUR SANDBOX: Barry Bonds says he doesn't have time to engage in ''childish activities,'' so therefore he has no response to Curt Schilling's recent a) criticisms of, and b) apology to, Bonds. (San Francisco Chronicle)

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS . . . The Astros' Lance Berkman damns Bonds with some very faint praise in an attempt to defend him. (Houston Chronicle)

THE SPEED OF ROCKET: Roger Clemens' comeback is progressing so quickly that he may make his Yankee debut as early as May 28. (New York Post) If you want to see for yourself just how well it's going, you'll get the chance; ESPN will broadcast his start for Class A Tampa on Friday night. (New York Post) Clemens, meanwhile has cut ties with his controversial trainer. (New York Daily News)

CH-CH-CHANGES: On a rainy night in Chicago, Joe Torre tinkered with his lineup. (New York Daily News)

GARBO SPEAKS! After a winter and spring of silence, ex-Yankee Bernie Williams will emerge in public this weekend to deliver the commencement address for Iona College's graduation ceremony at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. (Newsday) Williams also will receive an honorary doctorate in humane letters.

IF IT WASN'T FOR BAD LUCK . . . The slump-ridden Rocco Baldelli now has a bad hamstring to worry about, as well. (St. Petersburg Times)

OLD FRIENDS: Alan Embree flubbed his first shot at replacing Huston Street as Oakland's closer (San Francisco Chronicle), though the A's came back to win the game. (Note to Rotoworld.com: Don't blame Ken Macha for bad game management last night. He was fired at the end of last season and is currently a NESN analyst) . . . David Wells pitched a season-high eight innings for the Padres but wasn't involved in the decision as Cincinnati beat San Diego in 12 (projo.com) . . . Edgar Renteria had a two-homer night for the Braves in Washington (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Hanley Ramirez helped carry the Marlins on a night when Miguel Cabrera didn't play (Miami Herald) . . . Ron Mahay is on the disabled list in Texas.

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:00 AM | Permalink