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Baseball Today: Friday, May 18

IT'S ALL GOOD: Webster's definition of "You're going good": You win one game when your No. 5 starter pitches seven innings of four-hit, one-run ball against the defending league champions. You win another when your No. 1 starter somehow gives up only two runs despite allowing seven doubles, a home run, and four walks in six innings, and your third-string right fielder (right, Journal photo by Kris Craig) a) makes a catch for the ages and b) breaks a month-long slump with a game-winning home run.

Yes, Mr. Webster, the Red Sox are going good.

Eric Hinske was the star of the nightcap, as he first saved Curt Schilling's bacon with what Steven Krasner described as a ''sensational, face-first, head-banging diving catch on the hard-packed dirt of the warning track in the right-field corner,'' and then hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give the Sox a 4-2 win over the Tigers. Julian Tavarez took the No. 1 star in the opener as he stifled Detroit and, with late help from Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon, nailed down a 2-1 victory. (All stories projo.com)

The result? A 9 1/2-game lead in the American League East. Yankee fans like our good friend Lou DiLullo will tell you they're not worried (yankeetradition.com), and at this time of year -- mid-May, more than 120 games left -- I'd usually agree with them. But there comes a point where this stops being a hot streak and starts being a sign of the way things are. (On the Joy of Sox blog, Allan Wood has a message for the Yankees.) I don't know if we're there yet . . . but I don't know if we're not, either.

BREAKS OF THE GAME: You need things to go your way in baseball, and Steven Krasner points out in Inside The Game that the wind was Curt Schilling's friend last night. (projo.com) Schilling needed all the friends he could get, calling last night ''as weird and as frustrating as any game I’ve thrown in the last four years'' in his detailed breakdown on 38pitches.com.

SCHILLING'S NOT THE ONLY ONE: The Tigers' Curtis Granderson also has his own blog, and in his latest entry he talks about the difficulty in trying to hit Tim Wakefield and why some fans -- in Boston, but also elsewhere -- confuse him. (espn.com)

LOOKING AHEAD: The Sox placed Josh Beckett on the disabled list after last night's game, and -- as we reported in mid-afternoon yesterday on this very blog -- recalled Devern Hansack to pitch tonight against Atlanta. Beckett was placed on the DL retroactive to last Monday so he'll be eligible to be reactivated on Tuesday, May 29, and Terry Francona said last night that Beckett will pitch that night against the Indians. If all goes according to plan, Beckett will only miss two starts: tonight, and Wednesday in New York against the Yankees. The Sox also need a starter for this Sunday, and, as Kevin McNamara reported in his PawSox game story, all signs point to Kason Gabbard. (This, of course, is contrary to the conventional wisdom of yesterday morning, when it was thought Gabbard would start tonight.) If it all sounds convoluted, it's because Wednesday's rainout forced a juggling of the rotation; the Sox pushed Tim Wakefield back a day and will start him Monday in New York to avoid having to use Hansack and Gabbard in two of the three games at Yankee Stadium next week. Of course, more rain is on the way this weekend and that may force even more changes, so stay tuned.

LOOKING WAY AHEAD: Bud Selig was in Boston yesterday and laid out his vision for the future of major league baseball. (projo.com) He didn't lay out his plans for honoring Barry Bonds when Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's home-run record; he has steadfastly refused to address the subject, and he steadfastly refused -- though in a polite way -- again last night.

I'M SORRY, SO SORRY: Another subject Selig has skirted over the years is steroid use. But in an interview with USA Today, Jason Giambi says baseball should have apologized years ago for its widespread drug problem, and -- for the first time, I believe -- admitted publicly that he was a user, saying, ''I was wrong for doing that stuff.'' The New York Daily News has more.

YOU LIKE ME! YOU REALLY LIKE ME! Seth Mnookin reports that lots of people liked the 2004 Red Sox. (sethmnookin.com)

YOU DON'T LIKE ME! YOU REALLY DON'T LIKE ME! Oh, ESPN's Scoop Jackson says he likes Roger Clemens. But in the same piece he also calls The Rocket a self-absorbed, beyond-arrogant, bigger-than-the-game, I-have-no-respect-or-honor-for-the-concept-of-team, I-only-pitch-when-I-feel-like-it, any-team-should-feel-blessed-to-have-me, Randy-Johnson-will-never-be-on-my-level, the-world-revolves-around-me, kiss-the-ground-I walk-on, worship-who-I-am-because-I-am-the-me-myself-and-I-in-MLB pimp.

Whew.

WORTH THE MONEY: Slate's Jordan Ellenberg says Clemens might be worth every penny the Yankees are spending on him.

OR NOT: The Village Voice's Allan Barra says it doesn't matter whether or not signing Clemens for $28 million makes economic sense, because, when push comes to shove, George Steinbrenner's ''aim doesn't fit into any economic model: All he cares about is winning.''

THE DEBATE CONTINUES: But this time, it's a Yankee player -- Kyle Farnsworth -- admitting publicly that he's not crazy about the Yanks allowing Clemens to come and go as he pleases. (New York Daily News)

MEANWHILE . . . The Yankees are floundering and now face six straight games with the Mets and Red Sox. Some of them think that might be the way out of their funk. (New York Post)

ANY YANKEE FAN WILL TELL YOU . . . that God roots for the boys from the Bronx. (Except, maybe, in 2004.) The blog ShysterBall offers up proof.

NEW LINE OF DEFENSE: WFAN's Sweeny Murti uses Derek Jeter's considerable offensive skills to justify his defensive ones. (wfan.com)

WE DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY UP HERE: When the Yankees were struggling, they fired their strength-and-conditioning coach. When the Blue Jays were struggling, they extended the contract of theirs. (yahoo.com)

GOOD RIDDANCE: Cubs broadcaster (and ex-third baseman) Ron Santo won't be shedding any tears when the wrecking ball takes down Shea Stadium. (Chicago Tribune)

GET READY: The Baseball Network is on its way. (Washington Post)

TIME TO MOVE ON? If the St. Petersburg Times' Gary Shelton is any indication, the locals in Tampa are ready to part with the oft-injured Rocco Baldelli.

OLD FRIENDS: Angels manager Mike Scioscia isn't giving up on Shea Hillenbrand despite Hillenbrand's offensive struggles (Riverside Press-Enterprise) . . . Ramon Vazquez is in . . . Todd Walker is out . . . So is Donnie Sadler (Arizona Republic) . . . Justin Duchscherer is hurting (mlb.com) . . . Tom Gordon is recovering (Philadelphia Inquirer).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:53 AM | Permalink