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November 1, 2007 »

Red Sox roster move

Only three days removed from winning their second World Series title in four seasons, the Red Sox wasted little time getting back to business.

Late Wednesday evening, Boston announced it had purchased the contract of catcher Dusty Brown from Triple-A Pawtucket. To make room on the roster, the club designated veteran infielder Royce Clayton for assignment.

Brown split the 2007 season between Double-A Portland and Pawtucket, batting .260 with nine homers and 46 RBI in 77 games. The righthanded batter is currently playing for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League and is hitting .276 in nine games for the Solar Sox. Brown has spent his entire seven-year pro career in the Boston organization.

In his brief stint with the PawSox, Brown was impressive both behind the plate and offensively.

--Joe McDonald

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Another World Series ball fiasco?

BOSTON (AP) - The last ball from the Boston Red Sox's 2007 World Series victory might not get back to the team after all.

Jason Varitek caught the final strikeout to complete the four-game sweep of Colorado, then tucked the ball in his back pocket as he ran to the mound to celebrate.

Varitek said after the game that he would give the ball to the team, but on Wednesday he said he gave it to closer Jonathan Papelbon.

"I already gave it to Pap," Varitek said. "It's out of my hands."

The ball was the one Papelbon used to strike out pinch-hitter Seth Smith for the final out of Game 4 on Sunday night.

"I'll give it back to the team," Varitek said at Coors Field. "Maybe we won't have a controversy this time."

After the 2004 World Series, ownership of the last ball became an issue when Doug Mientkiewicz, the Red Sox first baseman who caught the final out, kept the ball. Team president Larry Lucchino wanted it back, and eventually a settlement was reached where Mientkiewicz loaned the ball to the Red Sox for a year and then donated it to the Hall of Fame.

Neither Lucchino nor Red Sox spokesmen immediately returned calls or e-mails seeking comment on Wednesday.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:06 PM | Permalink

Losers rally

DENVER (AP) - Hundreds of clapping and cheering fans turned out in chilly weather Wednesday to thank the Colorado Rockies for a nearly magical season, even though it ended abruptly with a four-game World Series sweep by the Boston Red Sox.

"I don't know if I expected this many people to show up, but I tell you what, it means a lot," pitcher Jeff Francis told the bundled-up crowd.

After Gov. Bill Ritter and Mayor John Hickenlooper sang the team's praises, Rockies Manager Clint Hurdle responded: "We couldn't be more happy that a ballclub has been able to bring so much joy to so many people."

"Thank you for the unconditional love, and thank you for the conditional love we picked up this season," Hurdle said.

Left-fielder Matt Holliday, a potential MVP, had trouble making himself heard over the screaming fans.

"I wasn't around when we had sellouts every night," Holliday said, referring to the franchise's early years. "But now that you're here, I know what to expect next season."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:01 PM | Permalink

Sox take celebration to Mass. State House

AP photo / Elise Amendola
Jason Varitek at a ceremony this morning outside the Massachusetts State House.

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox’s celebration goes into extra innings on Beacon Hill.

Cheered on by hundreds of fans, catchers Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli took to the steps of the State House to thank Red Sox Nation for their support. Without it, they say the team could never have captured their second World Series championship in four years.

Governor Deval Patrick says the team has given the city and the state a lift with their comeback American League pennant win and World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

Red Sox president Larry Lucchino also promised a statewide tour of the twin World Series trophies.

It was the second rally for the Red Sox in as many days, though the Statehouse
version was much calmer than Tuesday’s parade from Fenway to downtown Boston that drew tens of thousands of fans.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:34 PM | Permalink

JIM DONALDSON: Great minds think alike

Enjoyed reading colleague Steve Krasner's ''Dare to Compare'' piece in Wednesday's paper. Actually, my son read it to me as I drove him to school. I told him to let me guess how Kraz rated each position, comparing the 2004 Red Sox to the 2007 team. As it turned out, we differed on only two -- first base and starting pitching.

He called Millar/Youkilis a draw, giving Youk the edge as a player, but giving props to Millar as an emotional leader in the clubhouse. While not downplaying Millar's considerable contributions to the chemistry of the '04 club, if I had to choose between the two, I'd take Youkilis without having to think twice about it. He's a tougher "out" at the plate, and much better defensively.

As for the starting pitching, while Beckett deserves to the be the Cy Young winner this year, and was all but unhittable in the postseason, Schilling did win 21 games in '04 and also had the "bloody sock" win over the Yankees in Game Six of Boston's history-making comeback in the ALCS. But the big reason I give the nod to the '04 Sox in starting pitching, over this year's rotation, is that Pedro Martinez was 16-9 as the No. 2 starter and was much better than Schilling was as the #2 in '07. Derek Lowe was erratic during the regular season, but was lights out in the postseason, so I'd give him then nod over Dice-K, although Matsuzaka probably -- hopefully -- will be much better, long-term. I suppose Wakefield was better this season, before he developed shoulder problems, than in '04, but the '04 team also had Bronson Arroyo.

Anyway, such comparisons are fun for fans to think about and debate.

As for which team would have beaten the other, well, it's a series I would have paid to see. Steve chose the '07 team, but I'm inclined to go with the '04 aggregation, because it had better starting pitching, and because Big Papi and Manny were an awesome 1-2 punch in '04.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:10 PM | Permalink