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Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Greetings from rainy Chicago »
August 24, 2007
WHEN IT RAINS . . . it has the chance to mess up the best-laid plans of mice, men and the Red Sox. Everything the Sox have done, pitching-wise, over the last week has been to line up Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling, their top three starters, for the three games at Yankee Stadium next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. (That's what the bringing-up-Clay Buchholz/giving-Julian Tavarez-a-start sequence of last weekend was all about.) Last night's rainout in Chicago (above, AP Photo) doesn't affect those plans just yet, even with Beckett and Schilling scheduled to pitch in today's day-night doubleheader. (The off-day Monday gives them a built-in cushion.) But the weather forecast for Chicago remains ominous (weatherunderground.com) and if today's games are affected by the weather, well . . .
Sean McAdam reports the teams are looking into the possibilties of doubleheaders on Saturday or Sunday, or even for the Sox to make a return trip to Chicago on a mutual off-day Sept. 24. (projo.com) For Beckett to pitch Wednesday, he has to pitch today if he's going to stay on four days' rest; therefore, it's imperative for the Sox to get at least one of today's games in. (Schilling could still pitch Thursday if he pitches tomorrow.) What they do if both of today's games are postponed is anybody's guess. Mine is they skip Schilling entirely in this series, pitch Beckett tomorrow, then use Schilling on Tuesday, Matsuzaka on Wednesday and Beckett on Thursday in New York. But that's all it is: A guess. Stay tuned right on this blog; McAdam will be providing constant updates from Chicago.
ALREADY WORKING ON IT: The Red Sox already had rejiggered their pitching staff in light of the left-leaning White Sox and Yankee linueps, as they brought back Javy Lopez for left-handed fortification in the bullpen and sent Jon Lester down to Double-A Portland. (projo.com) McAdam reports on the moves, saying Lester went to Portland and not Pawtucket because a) he can't be recalled to Boston until Sept. 2 because of the 10-day rule (players sent to the minors can't be brought back for 10 days), b) he'll pitch Sept. 2 for the Sox against the Orioles and c) to avoid him having a week's rest prior to that start -- his next scheduled start for Boston would have been this Sunday -- he'll pitch Monday, and Monday is Clay Buchholz' day to pitch in Pawtucket. And the reason they don't want to push back Buchholz is because he's probably going to start for the Red Sox on Sept. 1 against the Orioles.
Whew. Got that?
In more mundane matters, Sean's notebook has injury updates on Dustin Pedroia, Eric Hinske and Doug Mirabelli, and the Sox signing veteran roustabout shortstop Royce Clayton to a minor-league deal.
A NEW MAN, FOR BETTER OR WORSE: Schilling, says the Boston Herald's Tony Massarotti, has lost some battles to Father Time and is in the process of remaking himself as a pitcher. Question is, can he complete the makeover fast enough to be effective down the stretch and in the postseason?
COMING OUT OF IT: The Boston Globe's Gordon Edes thinks the mega-slumping Kevin Youkilis is showing signs of life at the plate.
NOT COMING OUT OF IT: Discontent with J.D. Drew is rising throughout Red Sox Nation. The latest to weigh in: FoxSports.com's Kevin Hench.
OH, PLEASE: Don't tell Seth Mnookin that Daisuke Matsuzaka has been a disappointment for the Red Sox, because Dice-K has pitched much better than his 13-10 record would indicate. (sethmnookin.com)
27 INTO 25: Massarotti reports the Sox will have flexibility on their playoff roster, flexibility enough to add a Lester or a Buchholz or a Jacoby Ellsbury even though they won't be with the team on Aug. 31, the day the postseason eligibility list is supposed to be set, thanks to the injured Matt Clement and Brendan Donnelly.
PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN: As most of you know by now, USA Today has anointed the Red Sox as the new America's Team, based on the fact that they draw more fans on the road than anyone else. Peter Abraham, however, wonders if the 896-person difference in the average road attendance between the Sox and Yankees isn't due to the fact that the Sox get 55,000 every time they visit New York while the Yankees only get 36,000 when they come to Boston. (LoHud Yankees Blog) The blog Strike Zones and End Zones does the math and calculates that, if you take Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park out of the equation, the Yanks average 38,040 per game while the Sox drop to 37,131.
LET'S GET REAL, SHALL WE? The whole premise is silly anyway, says Abraham, because ''anybody with any common sense knows that the mighty New England Patriots are America’s team.'' I told you the other day, he's from New Bedford.
LOOKING BACK, NOT AHEAD: SI.com's Tom Verducci thinks the Red Sox are peeking into the rear-view mirror these days.
LOOKING AHEAD, NOT BACK: Next week's series at Yankee Stadium will mean something after all, writes the New York Post's Justin Terranova. And the Yanks have a new weapon to throw at Boston in Joba Chamberlain. (New York Daily News)
BUT FIRST . . . The Yankees have a little matter of four games in Detroit, where their season came to an end last October. (New York Daily News)
CATCHING THEM AT THE RIGHT TIME? The Tigers are coming off three losses in four games at Cleveland, which dropped them 2 1/2 games behind the Indians in the A.L. Central. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
DOMINO EFFECT: If this is Joe Torre's final year as Yankee manager, as many suspect, the Yanks may also lose free agents Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. (New York Post)
GLORY OF THEIR TIMES: With all the research material available on the Web today, many stories of old ballplayers don't hold up to scrutiny. The latest: In a story on how wearing golf gloves became popular among major league players, mlb.com traces it back to Ken Harrelson, who said he first wore one as a rookie in 1963 and hit a home run off Whitey Ford of the Yankees. Only problem is, Harrelson didn't hit a home run off Ford -- and, indeed, didn't even hit one against the Yankees -- in 1963. (baseball-reference.com) The incident in question could have occured on Sept. 9, 1964. It had to if Ford was the pitcher, because that was the only home run Harrelson ever hit off him.
TWO OF US: How often do Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner ever blow saves, let alone blow them in the same game? Yet that's what happened last night at Shea Stadium in a game the Padres wound up winning in 10 innings. (New York Daily News) Even so, the Daily News' Filip Bondy says the Mets have no worries, at least not when it comes to winning the N.L. East.
SAME OLD SAME OLD: FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says Wednesday's 30-3 embarrassment is a continuation of the Orioles' sad recent history.
CAPTAIN VIDEO: The blog Bugs & Cranks culled YouTube and came up with some of the best managerial blowups of all time.
THE REAL ISSUES: The blog ShysterBall researches the favorite baseball team of the presidential candidates. Sox fans include Mitt Romney, Christopher Dodd and, in a strange way, Bill Richardson, who claims to be both a Sox and Yankee fan (the logic of which, ShysterBall points out, ''Abraham Lincoln identified the flaw with . . . 149 years ago''). Rudy Guiliani and, perhaps, Hillary Rodham Clinton are Yankee fans.
NOTHING FROM THE MIDDLE: Don't expect the wild card to come out of the Central Division in either league, writes FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry.
LOCAL BOYS: Rocco Baldelli was scratched from his rehab assignment Wednesday because of soreness in his legs. (St. Petersburg Times)
QUICKLY: The Rangers' Michael Young is sick of losing (FoxSports.com) . . . The Padres are worried about Chris Young's sore back (San Diego Union-Tribune) . . . Ever see one of those ballpark marriage proposals? This one really backfired on some poor guy in Houston (FoxSports.com) . . . Mike Sweeney may stay with the Royals, after all. (Kansas City Star)
OLD FRIENDS: David Wells is headed to the Dodgers (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . Edgar Renteria is headed to the disabled list. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:55 AM | Permalink
