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April 30, 2008
Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
'WHAT A GAME': Those were the words out of Jerry Remy's mouth less than two seconds after David Ortiz had crossed the plate with the only run of the night, and how true they were. A 0-0 battle between the grizzled vet and the up-and-coming youngster; a game-saving defensive play with two outs in the top of the ninth; a game-winning rally started with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth. Baseball, as the old saying goes, like it oughta be.
Paul Kenyon provides the details, with heavy emphasis on Jon Lester (above, who scattered one hit over eight innings) and Dustin Pedroia's ninth-inning dive to snare the headed-up-the-middle shot by Vernon Wells, which turned what would have been a run-scoring single into an inning-ending out. ("Superman at second base," is how Wells described Pedroia in the Toronto Globe and Mail.) Gretchen Ertl has the story in pictures, and we've been remiss in not pointing to these brilliant nightly slideshows; from now on, you'll see more of them. Sean McAdam details the hard-luck night of Roy Halladay, a throwback to the days when pitchers finished when they started; this was his fourth straight complete game (though, unfortunately for him, he's lost three of them). And Steven Krasner goes Inside The Game on a number of topics, including why the Sox didn't run for Ortiz in the ninth, Pedroia hurting his shoulder on his ninth-inning play (hint: those two items are related), and J.D. Drew's 2007 imitation.
Quite a night. Like we said: Baseball like it oughta be.
HE'S BACK: Last night also marked the return of Mike Lowell, chronicled here by Kenyon and Krasner. The notebook includes the latest health news, including Drew having to leave the game because of a quad strain.
Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
TIP OF THE HAT: Kevin Youkilis (shown hitting the ninth-inning single that scored Ortiz) had nothing but praise for Halladay after the game: "[He's] going to be a Hall of Fame pitcher."
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE . . . "You know we always get up to play the Red Sox," said Gregg Zaun on his blog prior to last night's game (www2.sportsnet.ca), but being up for the game didn't prevent the struggling Blue Jays from suffering their 15th loss in 26 tries. It's getting so bad that John Gibbons' grandmother, who lives on Boston's North Shore, asked him if he was going to be fired. (Toronto Star)
IT HAPPENS: Hey, it's like Jim Rice said on his Ask 14 blog: Sometimes you just get outplayed. Look at the Sox last weekend in Tampa.
BUMP IN THE ROAD: Craig Hansen hadn't allowed a run in Pawtucket all season, but he gave up three in last night's 9-3 loss at Rochester. (projo.com)
TOO EXPENSIVE: Padres general manager Kevin Towers has asked about Coco Crisp, but says the Red Sox' asking price -- Triple-A left fielder Chase Headley -- is too high. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
SMOKIN': Luis Tiant has introduced "El Tiante" cigars to the South Shore. (wickedlocal.com)
AD MAN: Joe Haggerty reports Manny Ramirez spent Monday's off-day filming a series of commercials at ESPN. (hackswithhaggs.com)
PHIL OF DISASTER: Somewhere Hank Steinbrenner is seething. Phil Hughes was shaky yet again and the Yankees fell to 2-9 in games started by Hughes and fellow rookie Ian Kennedy as the Yanks lost to the Tigers, 6-4. (New York Daily News) The Post's Joel Sherman is the first to call for Hughes to be sent back to the minor leagues, and the Daily News' John Harper thinks it will take a minor miracle to save Hughes' season.
IN THE GOOD-NEWS DEPARTMENT . . . Joba Chamberlain's father is out of the hospital. (New York Post)
IN THE BAD-NEWS DEPARTMENT . . . When they were struggling early last season, Baseball Musings' David Pinto continually expressed the opinion that the Yankees would break out of it and make a run at a postseason berth . . . and he was right. This year, though, he thinks the Yanks "just [don't] have it."
A-LIST: The dreaded strained quad has forced Alex Rodriguez to the disabled list. (New York Post)
LUCKY DRIVER: Johnny Damon gave Gary Sheffield a ride to Yankee Stadium yesterday. After Sheffield slammed a two-run homer last night, he's going to ask Damon for another ride today. (New York Post)
ON THE RISE: ProJo's Fantasy Blog thinks Damon is turning the corner and starting to play better.
LOOKING TO THE STARS: The Yankees and MLB announced plans for July's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. (mlb.com) If you'd like to be there, bring your wallet . . . and maybe somebody else's, too. (The Journal News)
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: We expressed the sentiment yesterday that Roger Clemens -- had he an ounce of self-awareness, which is questionable -- should rue the day he decided not to admit to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, ask for forgiveness (which he would have gotten, same as everyone else), and disappear into the sunset. Today, the Globe's Nick Cafardo writes the same thing, especially since Clemens' bullheaded insistence on fighting an unwinnable fight is leading to his reputation -- and who knows, maybe his personal life -- being shattered into a million pieces. Today's Daily News revelation: He had extramarital relationships with plenty of women other than Mindy McCready. (And just to bring it even deeper into the gutter, the Boston Herald reports that Clemens also hit on the wife of former wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake.) As yahoo.com's Tim Brown said yesterday, none of this would have been looked into had Clemens' against-all-odds exhortations that he's telling the truth, and everyone else is lying, invited -- indeed, demanded -- further examination into his affairs. Mike Lupica tears Clemens and his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, to shreds: "Clemens and Hardin were going to bully everybody and roll over everybody, and how has that worked out for both of them?" (New York Daily News)
Not too well, Mike. Not too well.
JUST WAIT: Doug Mientkiewicz, who played with him in Minnesota, says Mets fans haven't seen the real Johan Santana yet. (Newsday)
DECISION COMING? Vin Scully, who's been broadcasting Dodger games since 1950, says he'll talk to his wife when his contract expires at the end of the season and see if she wants him to retire. (New York Times)
END OF THE LINE: Matt Morris, released by the Pirates on Sunday, told his hometown newspaper that he's decided to hang 'em up. (Times Herald-Record) Across the continent in San Francisco, Giant pitching hopefuls Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum remember their ex-teammate and mentor fondly. (mlb.com)
YEAR TO FORGET: Travis Hafner is hitting .243 since last May 1, including the postseason, and he and the Indians can't figure out why. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
THE GREAT DEBATE: USA Today examines the spate of long-term contracts signed by younger players that appear to work in favor of the club, and frames the issue in the words of two agents whose philosophies appear to be diametrically opposed:
Paul Cohen: "To me, it's a no-brainer. Unless you want to live in the middle of Beverly Hills or Fifth Avenue, you're set for life. If you just get 5% of your investment, you never have to work another day in your life."
Scott Boras: "These deals are strongly club-oriented. I can only speak for our clients, but almost every client has benefited substantially from not signing those deals."
What a shock that Boras came down on that side of the argument, eh?
LOCAL BOYS: Chris Iannetta, pressed into action at a strange position (third base) because of a spate of Rockie injuries -- one of which is mentioned below -- had a game "I'll remember . . . for the rest of my life" as he homered and doubled and led Colorado over the Giants, 3-2 (mlb.com) . . . The White Sox' Paul Konerko, whose mother is a Rhode Island native and whose grandparents still live here, became a 10-5 man yesterday and how has the right to veto any trade. (Chicago Tribune)
MEDICAL REPORT: The Rockies may lose Troy Tulowitzki for a while because of the dreaded quad strain (Denver Post) . . . The Rangers' Jason Jennings had to leave last night's start in the third inning because of pain in his surgically repaired elbow (mlb.com) . . . Bobby Cox is happy that John Smoltz just needs rest, and not shoulder surgery (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Remember those worries that Moises Alou had a broken ankle? Well, he doesn't, and the Mets may reactivate him Friday (New York Post) . . . The A's Rich Harden will make a rehab start Thursday. (San Francisco Chronicle)
HERE AND THERE: The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner wonders if Ken Griffey, allegedly unhappy with the going-nowhere Reds, wouldn't be a good fit for the Cubs . . . Jason Botts, designated for assignment by the Rangers, wants to make a new start somewhere else (Dallas Morning News) . . . Ryan Freel is frustrated that he's not playing more in Cincinnati (frontier.cincinnati.com) . . . Mike Cameron had three hits in his Brewer debut (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Everyone says otherwise, but it sure looks like Shane Victorino has lost his starting job with the Phillies. (Philadelphia Daily News)
OLD FRIENDS: Joel Piniero allowed only one hit over seven innings as the Cardinals beat the Reds. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) As a last tribute to Bob Lobel: Why can't we get players like that?? (Boston Globe) . . . Todd Jones celebrates his 40th birthday by reminiscing about his long career on his blog. (sportingnews.com) He also got the save in the Tigers' win at Yankee Stadium last night (mlb.com) . . . Cliff Floyd, recovering from knee surgery, may be activated on the Rays' next homestand (St. Petersburg Times) . . . Bret Saberhagen's son Drew is playing well at the University of Tennessee. (tricitiessports.com)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:46 AM | Permalink
