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Projo SoxTalk: Art's Second-half preview

Sean McAdam is on vacation, so it's sports editor Art Martone and sports producer Mike McDermott doing the honors today on projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the audio file. Today they look ahead to the second half of the season, and particularly at how the Red Sox will address the problems that we saw over the last couple of weeks of the first half.

Here are some excerpts from Art's comments:

On the team's problems: "They have to address, certainly, offense. They've been unable to generate offense against quality pitching for the most part this season, and that's mainly because people they depend on in the middle in their order are not as productive as they have been, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez specifically, but also a few others. Also, with Curt Schilling out, you would think their starting pitching could be a bit deeper. Right now you're looking at two guys at the back end of the rotation, in Julian Tavarez and Kason Gabbard, who won't necessarily give them the kind of pitching they got in the first part of the year, for the most part. You wonder if Beckett is going to stay at the level he's pitching at. And the bullpen, while very effecive, is a little bit thin right now; they could be looking for other arms there as well."

Will Clay Buccholz be a relief pitcher this season in Boston? "The Red Sox haven't said too much. What they have said, at the beginning of the year, is that they're not going to rush this kid. They're not going to bring him up until he's ready. But in this situation they did a very similar thing with Papelbon in 2005. He had been in the rotation, they saw him as a starter, but because they needed bullpen help, they kind of put him into the setup role, and he actually filled it very well. When they went into the playoffs in 2005, Papelbon was arguably the best relief pitcher ... This could happen with Buchholz as well. Depending on what he does in Pawtucket, it's a possibility -- I don't know if it's a probability -- it might be something they'd look at six weeks down the road or so."

On the next 30 days in the American League East: "I think within the next month or so we're going to know if we're going to have a race or not. The Yankees are playing 29 straight games against teams that are presently under .500. Now that includes Toronto, which is only a game under .500, so it's not quite as easy as it looks, but they have a very easy road ahead, and the Red Sox do for the most part as well. So if the Red Sox can just hold their serve, keep the lead where it is, or right around where it is -- eight, nine, 10 games -- and a month passes, then I think they're going to be in pretty good shape, because once they finish that last road trip in August they're home virtually the entire month of September, they shouldn't have a problem. I think the key to whether or not there'll be a race will be the Yankees. If the Yankees can finally begin to get hot, finally be able to put together some sustained streaks that they haven't shown they're capable of yet, they can probably make a little bit of a run at this, because they seem to have too much talent to be kind of piddling along at .500."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments 2

Baseball Today: Tuesday, July 10

REFLECTION TIME: Steven Krasner looks at the good, the bad and the surprises of the first half as the Red Sox -- or most of them, anyway -- enjoy the three-day All-Star break. (projo.com) Many of the Sox get call-outs in SI.com's Jon Heyman's first-half awards, including Josh Beckett (Cy Young Award), Daisuke Matsuzaka (Rookie of the Year) and Terry Francona (Manager of the Year). (Theo Epstein finished second in Heyman's Executive of the Year category.)

SITTIN' ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY: Six of the Sox are in San Francisco for tonight's All-Star Game, including Josh Beckett, who says ''there's not a whole lot of rocket science'' going into his superlative season but who, according to most observers, is a different pitcher than he was last year. (Boston Globe) Beckett was chosen to the A.L. All-Star team in the original wave of selections, but Hideki Okajima needed help at the ballot box; thus he admits he even voted for himself in the choose-the-last-player election. (Boston Globe) Manny Ramirez, at usual, admits to nothing -- because, as usual, he didn't speak to reporters -- but his teammates say he's happy to be on the All-Star team. (Boston Herald) So, too, is David Ortiz (AP Photo right, with his son D'Angelo prior to last night's Home Run Derby), though his sore legs prompted him to avoid the Home Run Derby. (Boston Herald) Yesterday's light atmosphere, though, will give way to competitiveness tonight, according to Jonathan Papelbon, who says he and his five Red Sox teammates want to win to ensure home-field advantage in the World Series. (Boston Globe) In a Q-and-A with the Boston Herald, Papelbon discusses the first half, both his own and his team's.

FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH: As he's sometimes wont to do, Curt Schilling (a.k.a. Gehrig38) dropped into a Sons of Sam Horn discussion about himself and talked about his injury and his rehab. Nothing earth-shattering, but he refrained from firing back at critics who accused him of being out of shape and instead focused on what hurts and what he and the Sox are doing to get him back on the field.

LIVE, FROM AT&T PARK . . . SI.com's Jacob Luft blogged the Home Run Derby, which was won by Vladimir Guerrero.

NO VILLAIN HERE: FoxSports.com's Randy Hill says Barry Bonds won't be booed tonight by his adoring home crowd and doesn't think he should be. Our own Jim Donaldson disagrees.

PLACE YOUR BETS SOON: The New York Daily News, handicapping the field as to where Alex Rodriguez will be playing in 2008, lists the Red Sox as 5-1 to land the Yankee star. That's better odds than they give the Yanks, whom they have at 8-1. The favorite? The Angels, at 4-1. As for A-Rod himself, he says he's at ''peace with myself'' after finally learning how to handle New York. Still, he gave the New York Post a classic non-answer -- ''I know there is a lot speculation going on, but New York is a special place'' -- when asked about his future plans.

YOU STILL THINK THERE'S A QUESTION THAT HE'LL LEAVE? The Daily News' Bill Madden doesn't, quoting ''one baseball person claiming to have knowledge of A-Rod's mind-set'' as saying, ''I don't think there's any question, he's out of there.''

AND THE PLACE WHERE HE LANDS . . . will eventually be the home of baseball's all-time home-run king, says Barry Bonds, who thinks A-Rod will break whatever record Bonds winds up setting. (Newsday)

NOT DEAD YET: That's the consensus opinion of the A.L. All-Stars concerning the Yankees, including many members of the Red Sox. (New York Daily News) That's also the party line among the Yanks themselves. (New York Post)

WANNA BET? The blog Vegas Watch predicts the Yanks will finish 87-75 and miss the playoffs. Their A.L. division champions: The Red Sox, Tigers and Angels, with the Indians winning the wild card. They also predict the Sox, at 95-66, will finish with the best record in baseball. (They don't have a single N.L. team winning 90 games.) Your N.L. winners: Mets, Brewers and Padres, with the Dodgers taking the wild card.

BUT YOU JUST WAIT: The New York Times profiles the Yankees' pitching-rich farm system, and quotes Indians GM Mark Shapiro as saying, ''[Their] system is now one of the stronger ones in the minor leagues, and at some point, as those players become major-league-ready, the Yankees will have the most deadly combination of depth of young talent combined with elite payroll resources at the major league level.''

WHY NOT WATCH THE REAL THING? SI.com's Alex Belth says the true story of the 1977 Yankees comes not from the ESPN mini-series, but from A&E's new box set of the '77 World Series, which shows them -- and their city, which was a far different place 30 years ago than it is today -- in all their unshaven, shadowy glory.

ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL: Yankee phenom Phil Hughes made his first mound appearance since May 1 last night as he returns from a sprained ankle. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

THEY'RE HELPING US: The Justice Department doesn't want the names of players who obtained performance-enhancing drugs from a former Mets clubhouse attendant released because some of them are cooperating with the investigation and the Feds fear they'll stop if their identities become public. (New York Daily News)

REMEMBERING CHARLIE LAU: Twenty-three years after his death, the controversial batting coach still stirs a lot of emotion, positive and negative. (New York Daily News)

THE DOWNSIDE: The Rockies worry that Kaz Matsui's superlative first half will increase his free-agent value to the point that they won't be able to afford him. (Denver Post)

BACK TO THE BENCH? It sounds like A's general manager Billy Beane is resigned to not having Rich Harden back for a long time, if at all, in the second half. (San Francisco Chronicle)

WHISPERS: The Indians are on the prowl for relief help (Akron Beacon Journal) . . . Andruw Jones thinks the Braves need another starting pitcher (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Tim Marchman of the New York Sun thinks the only Yankees who might be dealt by the trading deadline are Bobby Abreu and Andy Pettitte.

OLD FRIENDS: Shea Hillenbrand was finally released by the Angels (Los Angeles Daily News).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Manny being Manny at the All-Star Game

(AP) One side of the room was lined with Red Sox: David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. There was one empty table though, as Manny Ramirez didn't show up for the media availability.

"I just made sure he got to San Francisco," Ortiz said. "After that, I have no control."

Ramirez usually skips the Monday media availability so this was no surprise. He also was held out of the lineup Sunday at Detroit because of a stomach ailment. The 11-time All-Star is expected to play in the game tonight.

Ramirez, one of six Red Sox players in the game, is hitting .284 with 11 homers and 45 RBI.

"I think he was a little surprised to be here," Lowell said. "He didn't have the same numbers he usually has, but I do know he's happy to be here. Manny is hard to talk to about a lot of topics. He's a hard worker but he's in his own world."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:35 AM to Projo Mannybeingmanny | Permalink