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Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Another winner from Buchholz »
September 7, 2007
FEAT OF CLAY: ''The Legend of Clay Buchholz grew last night,'' writes Steven Krasner, and why not? It's wasn't so much that Buchholz (above, AP Photo) escaped a bases-loaded, no-out mess in the sixth -- a mess of his own making, granted -- or that he got the victory in the Red Sox' 7-6 win over the Orioles, or that he's now 3-0 despite having made only three major-league appearances. It was how he did it, writes Krasner, that so impressed the Red Sox, right down to the 3-and-2 changeup he used to strike out Kevin Millar with runners on second and third and two out in the sixth. ''If the Red Sox ever had any questions about his mental makeup,'' writes Kraz, ''they received an answer that left them giddy.'' Even before last night, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer said he was impressed with Buchholz. (Boston Globe)
MEDICAL REPORT: Tim Wakefield's performance was so shaky -- 3 2/3 innings, 9 hits, 6 runs -- speculation immediately rose that his back, which caused him to miss his last start, was still bothering him. But, as Krasner reports, Wakefield said he felt fine and the back had nothing to do with how he pitched. Doug Mirabelli, on the other hand, had to leave the game three innings into his comeback because of a hamstring injury. He had strained his right calf three weeks ago and was just recently activated off the disabled list.
HE'S ELIGIBLE, FOLKS, DON'T WORRY: The Globe's Amalie Benjamin explains the postseason eligibility rules. And yes, Jacoby Ellsbury can be on the playoff roster.
NO END IN SIGHT: As Sean McAdam noted Thursday, that might not be good news for J.D. Drew, whose summer of discontent continued last night when, with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning of a 6-6 game, he grounded into the easiest 6-4-3 double play you ever saw, ending the threat. (Luckily for him, he was bailed out in the ninth when Coco Crisp beat out an infield hit, stole second, and rode home on a single to left-center by Jason Varitek for the winning run.) It's clear The Nation has turned on him (Boston Dirt Dogs), and he admitted to the Boston Herald's Steve Buckley yesterday he's going to have to learn to ''relax a little bit'' if he's going to have a successful career in Boston. He also takes a swipe at the critics who interpret his laconic demeanor as a lack of passion, asking, ''Do you think I want to have the year that I’ve had? . . . I’m as hard on myself as anybody.''
OH, SO THAT'S WHAT THOSE WERE! The strange uniforms worn by the Orioles last night were replicas of the Baltimore Black Sox Negro League team. (mlb.com)
YOU'RE NOT PRAYING HARD ENOUGH: The Orioles are going so badly that even the team chaplain is catching some blame. (Baltimore Sun)
IT IS WHAT IT IS: The Yankees are heading down the stretch with two rookies in their starting rotation, along with another slot manned by ailing/struggling veterans (Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina), and Andy Pettitte hopes it'll be good enough to get them to the postseason. (New York Daily News) To get there, says Brian Cashman, they have to focus on the task at hand and win the games they're supposed to win. (New York Post) And they may have to do it with Alex Rodriguez at DH; his ankle may keep him off third base. (New York Post)
''THEY'RE IN'': Peter Abraham examines the schedules of the wild-card contenders and concludes that the Yankees will make the playoffs: ''The schedule is easy and the offense will make up for any problems with the pitching.'' (LoHud Yankees Blog)
AND YOU CAN THANK ME FOR THAT: Bud Selig does a little chest-pounding over the wild card, which, as this MLB.com story notes, was ''his baby.''
PROUD FATHER: Joba Chamberlain's father will be at Kansas City when the Yankees play the Royals this weekend, and admits ''[there'll] probably will be a tear or two running down my cheek'' at the sight of his son in a Yankee uniform. (New York Post)
THE LATEST BOMBSHELL: The New York Daily News reports the Cardinals' Rick Ankiel -- one of baseball's best feel-good stories for his transformation from no-control pitcher to slugging outfielder -- received a 12-month supply of HGH in 2004. The story is careful to note ''he stopped receiving HGH just before Major League Baseball officially banned it in 2005. MLB does not test for HGH, but a player who is known to have used it or even possessed it from the time it was banned can face a 50-game suspension.''
N.L. RACES: Ankiel had made headlines earlier in the day by hitting two home runs as the Cardinals crushed the Pirates (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) . . . The Dodgers rallied past the Cubs at Wrigley Field. (Los Angeles Daily News)
A.L. RACES: The Angels beat the Indians in a matchup of two playoff-bound division leaders . . . The Tigers stayed alive with a ninth-inning win over the White Sox, and now get the chance to put away the Mariners -- who go to Detroit for the weekend -- and make the wild-card chase a two-team battle between themselves and the Yankees. (Detroit News)
ON THE HOT SEAT: FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal lists the managers who may in trouble at season's end, and says Joe Torre is one of them if the Yankees don't make the playoffs.
QUICKLY: The Giants' Bengie Molina says his team's losing ways are ''a freakin' embarrassment'' (San Francisco Chronicle) . . . Diamondbacks second baseman Orlando Hudson has a torn ligament in his thumb, but hopes he won't be sidelined long. (Arizona Republic)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:49 AM | Permalink
