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October 3, 2007 »

Angels' Matthews is a scratch

After working out this afternoon at Fenway Park, the Angels have decided that outfielder Gary Matthews is not healthy enough to play in the series. Matthews is struggling with patella tendonitis in his left knee. Matthews is a major loss to the L.A. offense. He hit just .252 this season but did hit 18 homers with 72 RBI.

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 6:33 PM | Permalink

Angels' notes: Guerrero at DH, Matthews Jr. questionable

BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON --Some quick Angels notes . . .

Vladimir Guerrero will be the Angels' DH tomorrow and won't be in right field. It's also yet to be determined if Gary Matthews Jr., who's been suffering from a sprained ankle, will be on the ALDS roster. The rosters won't be announced until Wednesday morning.

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:05 PM | Permalink

Moss hanging around

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Red Sox prospect Brandon Moss did not make the postseason roster, but he's been asked to stick around in order to experience what a playoff series is like in Boston.

Originally it was first thought he would be heading home, but he will remain with the club as long as it is still playing. The Red Sox have done this with other prospects in the past, including Kevin Youkilis in 2004, and it helps a great deal with their development.

''It’s going to help a ton,” said Moss. ''Just being around and being here for it to see what it’s like is an experience. To see how these guys handle will be a great experience.”

Because it is the postseason, and the clubhouse confines are tight, sometimes it can be difficult to bee seen and not heard. Moss, however, isn't worried.

''It’s not very difficult,” he said. “They understand why I’m here as an extra guy, but I’m also trying to be part of the team and achieve the same goal they are, but I’ll stay out of their way so they can achieve it.”

In the meantime, Moss will continue to work in the outfield and at first base.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 3:45 PM | Permalink

Gagne's in the mix

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- When the Red Sox acquired hard-throwing right-hander Eric Gagne at the trade deadline in July, the club knew exactly what it would be getting. Boston, however, didn't expect what would happen.

Gagne struggled a bit when he arrived in Boston and it took him a little while to get adjusted to his new role and surroundings.

“I have more confidence now and I feel good about myself,” he said this morning.

When asked if he thought it was difficult for the fans of Red Sox Nation, who sent out the boo-birds after him on plenty of nights, to realize how tough it is to come to a new team in the middle of the season, Gagne said: “I didn’t relize and I play baseball. It’s a little different. You have to come in and adjust and try to fit in.”

During his struggles, Red Sox manager Terry Francona didn't shy away from him, he kept giving Gagne the ball to help him work out of it. The skipper knew the right-hander will be an important factor for the club's bullpen in the postseason.

“For him to come in and struggle like he did, and we all admitted it was tough at first,” said Francona. “For him to handle it the way he did says a lot about him. I needed to not bail on this guy.”

Gagne agrees.

"I kept fighting,” he said. “I kept going out there and believing in myself. It helped a lot that these guys believed in me. . . It’s the playoffs and you have to do what you have to do to win every ballgame. That’s what I’m prepared for.”

Gagne was shut down for a few weeks last month due to shoulder soreness, but he feels he's turned the corner. He's ready to make an impact in the postseason.

“I’ve been throwing the ball well for the last three weeks, so I’m really not worried about it,” he said. “I know what I can do, and I know what I’ve done before. I’m just going to focus on what I’ve been doing for three weeks. . . It always comes down to the bullpen. It’s going to fun and exciting. I can’t wait to get on the field and start throwing.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 3:24 PM | Permalink

Terry Francona workout comments

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Bits from Terry Francona's press confrerence:

-- The Red Sox have found a way to keep dynamic and speedy rookie outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury on the roster.

Just don't call him the "new Dave Roberts."

While Roberts's stolen base against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS helped propel Boston to an unprecedented comeback in the series and ultimately the Red Sox' first World Series crown since 1918, Ellsbury is not Dave Roberts, said Francona.

''What Dave Roberts did was very, very special," said Francona this afternoon. "It was about six inches from not being special. But this kid (Ellsbury) can impact games. Everybody wants the Dave Roberts. And it was one instance and it was awesome. But this is more, I think, long-term thinking (than just a stolen-base opportunity) of multiple games, defensively, possibly pinch-hitting, scoring from second, playing a couple of games in the outfield or a couple of innings in the outfield."

-- Francona indicated he has seen Josh Beckett, tomorrow night's Game 1 starter, mature into an ace.

"We've seen a young guy work so hard and mature so much and he became the guy we really needed him to become," said Francona. "And every good team has guys like that on the team where you send your guy and you say this is our guy and go get 'em. And he'll respond to adversity and he competes. He's got a lot of different weapons. And you need that because we're playing a good team."

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 3:17 PM | Permalink

Josh Beckett workout comments

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Bits from Josh Beckett's press conference:

-- Don't ask Beckett, Boston's starter in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Angels tomorrow night, to do any in-depth comparisons.

This is 2007, not 2003 when, as a 23-year-old, the right-hander buzzed his way through the Yankees lineup and pitched the Florida Marlins to a World Series title over New York.

And what can he take from that postseason experience into this one?

"Nothing," said Beckett, the majors' only 20-game winner this season and a seeming lock to win the American League's Cy Young Award.

"I've got to go out and execute pitches (this postseason) just like I did in 2003," said Beckett this afternoon. "I don't think (what he did in 2003) has any bearing on what's going on now. I certainly think you learn a lot through failure and through succeeding. As you get older, obviously, you're still learning. You learn a lot of crucial things along the way. But I don't think anybody will ever consider their learning process completed in this game," he said

-- The Angels' style of play has impressed Beckett.

"They can run. They've got guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark. They move runners over. They play very fundamentally sound. They play the game the right way, the way they have to play to win. And they don't make mistakes, offensively or defensively. We have to play fundamentally sound if we want to compete with them," he said.

-- One player in the Angels' batting order who will definitely have Beckett's attention will be former MVP Vladimir Guerrero, the most effective and powerful free-swinger in baseball.

"You have to be very careful (pitching to Guerrero)," said Beckett. "You have to be even more worried about being careless because if you think you're wasting a pitch, it may not be a waste pitch to him and he'll find a way to hit it as far as anybody.

"I think the thing is you really need to focus on not being careless," he added. "You have to be careful anyway because of who he is, but it's when you get a little bit careless, that's when people make mistakes, and mistakes are not good this time of year."

Manager Terry Francona chimed in on the difficulties in pitching to Guerrero, who batted .324 with 27 homers and 125 RBI this season.

"There's not a pitch that's thrown that he doesn't think he can hit," said Francona. "And unfortunately he does hit some of them. He seems to hit balls six inches off the ground. When you go over how to pitch to him, throwing him a strike on the black is not necessarily a good pitch. Sometimes you have to attack him off the plate in and out because he can reach so much and with so much authority."

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 3:01 PM | Permalink

Wakefield out, Lester in

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- In a surprise move, Tim Wakefield was a last-minute roster casualty for the ALDS, with Jon Lester taking his spot.

''Up until just a little bit ago,'' said manager Terry Francona this afternoon, ''Wakefield was on our roster. (But) he had a cortisone shot (in the back). In his role with us now, if something unfortunate ever happened to a starter, Wake would be asked to come in and fill something like that in the game. And he's not ready to do that. He's been fighting it for a long time and it's not fair to Wake.

''Because of our feelings for Wake and some of the respect that's there, we wanted to give him a chance to pitch on our roster, in the series. (But) it was putting the team in a very difficult spot, which he understood . . . He bleeds for us, but he understands it's the right thing to do. We were going to possibily put him in a situation that was not fair to him or the team. Doing this, we can slow him down and not rush him into two or three innings in a game where he's not ready and get him ready for a start, hopefully later on.''

Lester, who was to be excluded, will now serve as the long man out of the bullpen, giving the Sox three lefty relievers, to go along with Hideki Okajima and Javier Lopez.

''If we get into extra-inning games,'' said Francona, ''you can use your other relievers, knowing you have a guy that can go multiple innings behind those guys.''

Lester was used in relief Sunday, pitching out of the bullpen for the first time this season.

Neither Lester nor Wakefield was available for comment.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 2:52 PM | Permalink

Kevin "Cashes" in

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Kevin Cash didn't know it at the time.

The backup catcher said before Boston's workout Tuesday that he had no idea if he'd be added to the Red Sox' playoff roster for the American League Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, which begins tomorrow night at Fenway Park.

But Boston has included him, giving the Red Sox flexibility to run and/or pinch hit for their other two catchers, Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli, without getting into a roster bind.

That is all just gravy for Cash, who had his contract purchased from Pawtucket on Aug. 17 when Mirabelli had to be placed on the disabled list.

''This has been unbelievable,'' said Cash, who did a solid job catching Tim Wakefield's knuckleballs in place of Mirabelli.

''What an experience. I came up here seven weeks ago to the best team in baseball at the time and I finished up with the best team in baseball. I'm sure in the offseason all that has transpired the last two months will sink in,'' said Cash, who batted .111 (3- for-27) for Boston.

While Cash's offensive statistics were hardly dazzling, he did have three important RBI as the Red Sox overcame an 8-1 deficit and beat Tampa Bay, 16-10, on Sept. 11.

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 2:49 PM | Permalink

Ortiz one of many to receive cortisone shot

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON _- Red Sox slugger David Ortiz has been a virtual walking ice pack this season. Still, he's had one of the best offensive seasons in the league, and he admitted this morning that he received a cortisone shot in his ailing right knee in preparation for the postseason.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I got a cortisone shot the other day to relieve the pain that’s there. Now, I hope it stays like that.”

Knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield, who is not on the roster for the ALDS, also had a cortisone shot in his back on Monday and will not be available for the first round of the playoffs.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 2:38 PM | Permalink

Wakefield off the ALDS roster

Terry Francona just announced that Tim Wakefield, who is still recovering from back problems, will not be on the ALDS roster. Francona said it would be ''unfair'' to ask Wakefield to pitch in relief because of his physical condition.

Jon Lester will take his place and pitch out of the bullpen.

More to come . . .

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:25 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Sean's Red Sox-Angels preview

Click here to listen to today's edition of projo SoxTalk. Today's topics: workouts and Fenway Park; first-time playoff participants; Kevin Cash added to the playoff roster; the Angels' banged-up outfield; John Lackey's struggles at Fenway Park; and Orlando Cabrera's most significant homecoming.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:57 PM to McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Tuesday, October 2

LULL BEFORE THE STORM: On a generally quiet day yesterday -- save for Rally Monday (above, AP Photo), decried by Frank from Gloucester but enjoyed by pretty much everyone else who was there (AP via projo.com) -- pieces began falling into place for the Red Sox-Angels series. For one thing, the starting times were finally announced. (Projo Sox Blog) So was the Red Sox' starting rotation (projo.com), with the news -- first put forth by Sean McAdam on Monday -- that Daisuke Matsuzaka, and not Curt Schilling, would start Game Two. But for the most part, it was just a day when the players had a light workout, awards were handed out and people slowly began to look forward to the series opener on Wednesday.

BUT FIRST, A LOOK BACK: We said yesterday we'd been remiss in not pointing to the excellent photography provided by the Projo staff over the course of the year. Remiss no more; take a look at Bob Breidenbach's slideshow of the season. Steven Krasner went over the schedule and came up compilation of exhilarating and memorable games and moments, as well as a few lowlights along the way. Here, with the help of assistant sports editor Mike McDermott, is Kraz' breakdown of the important moments, complete with that day's photo gallery. Take a look; it's very interesting.

SNAPSHOTS OF A SEASON: Krasner also did some quick hits on various elements of the year, such as how Jonathan Paplebon's decision to return to the bullpen cleaned up a muddly relief situation; Tim Wakefield recording a decision in his first 26 starts; the delightful surprise that was Hideki Okajima; Kevin Youkilis' 23-game hitting streak, and the one-inning woes of Daisuke Matsuzaka.

AND NOW, A LOOK FORWARD: McAdam lists the the 10 keys for the Red Sox against the Angels. (projo.com)

MANNY BEING MANNY: When he has a bat in his hands, that's a good thing for the Sox. (projo.com)

A DIFFERENT MATCHUP: You'll see plenty of side-by-side comparisons of the Angels and Red Sox today and tomorrow (including here). But Seth Mnookin analyzes how the 2007 Sox rate against the 2004 World Series champions.

AN EARLY LOOK: ESPN.com's Jonah Keri examines the thinking fan's approach vs. the non-thinking fan's approach to the series. Keri, a thinking fan, picks Sox in five.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES: The Angels are covered by one of our sister publications, the Riverside Press-Enterprise, and we'll be sharing stories throughout the series. Their Angels' beat reporter, Matt Hurst, says today that the team -- or at least the outfield -- is hurting heading into the playoffs. You can also keep up with the latest Angels' news on pe.com's Angels Blog. I know I will.

Today will be a busy day at Fenway, with both teams working out. Check back here throughout the morning and afternoon for constant updates.

WHAT AN ENDING: Does it get more dramatic than this? The Rockies' 13-inning victory over the Padres in the NL wild-card play-in game (Denver Post) -- in which they rallied against closer-for-the-ages Trevor Hoffman after San Diego scored twice in the top of the 13th -- has to rank as one of the greatest games in playoff history, and gets the 2007 postseason off to a rousing start. And one of the most controversial, since it doesn't appear Matt Holliday (above, AP Photo) ever touched home plate when he scored the winning run. (Denver Post) They made believers out of Woody Paige and everyone else in Colorado (Denver Post), but FoxSports.com's Tracy Ringolsby says plenty of people believed in -- and feared -- the Rockies. We'd love to know how the Padres feel about this, but the San Diego Union-Tribune only has Associated Press stories on its site. We have the AP feed ourselves, so here's the AP postgame account from the San Diego locker room.

AND FUTHERMORE . . . Holliday's performance last night enabled him to beat out Chipper Jones for the N.L. batting title.

UPDATE THE RECORD BOOK: Writing for SI.com, Baseball Prospectus' Nate Silver adds the 2007 Mets and 2007 Padres to the list of the 13 worst collapses in baseball history. The Red Sox are all over this list, both bad (1978, 2003, 1986 World Series) and good (2004, 1986 ALCS).

ONLY ONE WINNER: Dustin Pedroia is the lone member of the Red Sox collecting postseason hardware in ESPN.com's Jayson Stark's list of awards.

FUNDAMENTAL DISCONNECT: The New York Daily News' Lisa Olson says the clinical, emotionless Mets' brass is completely out of touch with its devastated, heartbroken fan base.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS NEXT YEAR: FoxSports.com's Mark Kriegel expresses what many Mets followers felt.

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS: ESPN.com's Page 2 lists 44 reasons why the Mets collapsed.

PLAYOFF BITS: Jason Marquis may be the odd man out in the Cubs' rotation (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . The Yankees are counting -- tentatively -- on Roger Clemens to start Game Three. (New York Post)

TO-DO LIST: FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry puts one together for teams that didn't make the playoffs.

OURS IS PRETTY SMALL: The Blue Jays believe their 2007 season was torpedoed by injuries and not fundamental team weaknesses, so they plan to fine-tune rather than rebuild this winter. (tsn.ca)

QUICKLY: The Brewers may be open to trading Bill Hall (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . The Marlins are mulling moving Miguel Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez, who may comprise the worst defensive left side of an infield in baseball, to different positions next year (Miami Herald) . . . Jim Tracy's status is still up in the air in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . Jim Leyland met with the Tigers' brass about a contract extension (Detroit Free Press) . . . It looks as if Tom Glavine and the Mets will be parting company (Newsday). . . But not Willie Randolph; sources tell Newsday he'll be back . . . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Mark Bradley thinks bringing Glavine back to the Braves is a terrible idea . . . Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis denies a report that he received six shipments of steroids from the pharmacy that is at the center of an ongoing investigation into illegal prescription drug sales (New York Daily News) . . . Sean Casey is through in Detroit. (MLB.com)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:50 AM | Permalink