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Main page May 31, 2008
Woo Hoo for 500!By Joe McDonald BALTIMORE _ The Brothers Woo literally caught history last night. Sitting in Section 94, seats 15 and 16 Saturday night at Orioles Park at Camden Yards, Damon and Jason Woo caught Manny Ramirez’s 500th home run ball. Actually Damon, 40, was the one who ended up with it. He caught the ball on the fly and dropped to the ground as his brother covered him until Baltimore police quickly made their way to their seats and escorted the two to the Red Sox clubhouse. “Nobody was going to take it away from us,” said Woo. The two brothers played golf earlier in the day at Andrews Air Force Base and Damon joked that he would be the way to catch it. He’s not going to hang onto it, however, because as soon as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-3, Damon gave it back to Ramirez. “It belongs to him,” said Woo. “It’s his accomplishment. It’s his achievement. It’s his ball. He said I could borrow it for the night, but it’s his. That’s the right thing to do.” Actually Woo and his brother were hanging around the Sox’ clubhouse waiting for it to clear out so he could officially give it back to Ramirez, who plans on giving it to a local children’s charity in Boston. A ball of this significance could make Woo a nice sum of money, but the Nahant, Mass., native and Manhattan resident felt it best to return it to the rightful owner. “They are so nice, and I’m just happy to have the ball,” Ramirez said. He said he wanted to take a picture with it with his children before handing over to his local charity. In fact, Ramirez is donating $1,000 for every homer he hits this season. No. 500 was his 10th of 2008. Manny might have his ball back, but teammate Julio Lugo has the bat that Ramirez hit the homer with. Ramirez promised Lugo the bat a while ago, and before anyone could talk to Lugo he placed the bat in a white sanitary sock, tied it up and scooted out of the clubhouse. Woo and his brother made a few phone calls, but they couldn’t get in touch with anyone back in Boston and New York. “They must be out drinking in the bars, watching the game and enjoying it,” said Damon Woo. “Hopefully they saw me for a moment.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Manny hits 500th home runManny Ramirez hit his 500th career home run in the seventh inning of tonight's game at Baltimore. The solo shot off former Red Sox reliever Chad Bradford put the Sox on top, 5-3. Ramirez is the 24th member of baseball's 500-home-run club.
Posted by Mike McDermott Sox move Thursday night starting time to 6:05 p.m.Because Game One of the NBA Finals will be tipping off shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday night, the Red Sox have changed the starting time of their home game that evening, against the Rays, from 7:05 to 6:05 p.m. Most baseball games last around three hours, so the Sox game should be over by the time the Celtics' game begins. "We have decided to start our game on Thursday one hour earlier in order that fans may enjoy not only Red Sox baseball but also Game 1 of the NBA Finals," club president/CEO Larry Lucchino said in a statement released by the team early Saturday evening. "On behalf of everyone in our organization, I want to congratulate the Boston Celtics on their Eastern Conference Championship, and we will be rooting for them in their quest to bring another World Title to the fans of Boston and New England." The Sox also have home games on the same days as Games Two, Three and Four. There should be no conflict for Game Two, on Sunday, June 8 -- the Sox' game against the Mariners is scheduled to begin at 1:35 p.m., while the Celtics and Lakers again won't play until 9 -- but they will be facing the same situation for Games Three and Four. On both nights (Tuesday, June 10, and Thursday, June 12) they're scheduled to play the Orioles at 7:05 at Fenway and the Celts and Lakers will play in Los Angeles at 9 Eastern time. It will be interesting to see if they switch the starting times of those games, as well. The Sox are on the road when the Celtics are playing Games Five, Six and Seven, and thus will have no control over their starting times.
Posted by Art Martone Tonight's lineups:BOSTON Ellsbury, rf BALTIMORE Roberts, 2b
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Dice-K talksBy Joe McDonald BALTIMORE -- Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka met with the local and international media just a few minutes ago and assured everyone he's fine. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday with a mild rotator-cuff strain. He was removed from his last start in the fifth inning last Tuesday in Seattle. While the Red Sox traveled here Thursday, Dice-K returned to Boston where he underwent an MRI Friday morning. He rejoined the team here Friday night and was working out at Camden Yards today. He admitted he wasn't too concerned with his shoulder, but was glad to know everything is fine after the testing. "I know everybody on the team is tired," he said. "Even though I might feel okay, the club has told me to take this time and rest up and heal. Even though I appreciate the rest and protection I'm getting, I do feel bad I'm the only one getting rest at this time." Matsuzaka is 8-0 this season, but he doesn't want to dwell on this setback too much. "Dwelling on it won't help me heal any faster," he said. "It's too bad that no matter how hard I work out right now, it won't affect the outcome of the game. I'm going to treat this like a mini-camp."
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Buchholz optioned to PawtucketBy Joe McDonald BALTIMORE -- Pitcher Clay Buchholz has been reinstated from the disabled list and optioned to Pawtucket. Red Sox manager Terry Francona made the announcement earlier today. The Sox held a conference call with Buchholz, GM Theo Epstein, Francona, pitching coach John Farrell and PawSox manager Ron Johnson. Buchholz finished spring training strong and made the rotation out of camp. The Red Sox didn't want him to think this was some kind of demotion. This will be a chance from the young right-hander to continue to hone his skills without any added pressure at this point. "There were some things that needed to be worked on," said Francona. "This is probably the best opportunity to do it." One of the main things, according to Francona, was Buchholz's ability to be consistent with his fastball. "His off-speed stuff is probably as good as anybody's in the game," said the manager. "Again, some times you just need a little more time to finish up what you're doing. We'll continue to monitor it, because of how important he is to where we're going."
Posted by Joe McDonald Postgame notes: This and thatBy Joe McDonald BALTIMORE -- Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was back with his teammates Friday night after undergoing an MRI in Boston the same morning. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a mild rotator-cuff strain. He arrived here late Friday, but manager Terry Francona told Dice-K to go to the team's hotel instead of the ballpark. ***Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis snapped an 0-for-18 skid with a single in the 13th inning Friday night. ***The Orioles struck out a season-high 17 times Friday night. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett recorded 10 of them.
Posted by Joe McDonald Postgame notes: Lugo's defenseBy Joe McDonald BALTIMORE -- Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo leads the majors with 12 errors this season, including five in the last 16 games. He almost cost the Red Sox again lFriday night with his defensive, but thanks to quick reflexes – and an extremely slow Kevin Millar – Lugo was saved. In the bottom of the 12th inning with two runners for Baltimore, Millar hit a routine grounder to Lugo. It appeared to be an easy double play, but the shortstop bobbled the ball and was forced to hurry the throw to first to at least get one out, which he did. The runners now stood at second and third, so with first open the Sox decided to intentionally walk the Orioles’ Luke Scott. That proved crucial because reliever Mike Timlin got Ramon Hernandez to fly out to left field to end the inning and threat. “Sticking with that ball, I don’t want to say it had disaster written all over it, but he stayed with it enough and got the out. That was a huge play,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. Lugo, who did not start the game, felt pretty confident after the victory. “I just want to get one out,” he said. “I was trying to get two, but then I bobbled it. I went to first and got the out.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Postgame notes: Suicide what?By Joe McDonald BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox tried something Friday night that you don’t normally see. In the second inning with one out and Coco Crisp standing on third base, Red Sox manager Terry Francona called for a suicide squeeze with Alex Cora at the plate. Crisp had previously reached on a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He stole third when Francona gave the sign. Crisp broke for home, but Cora couldn’t execute the play successfully and missed the pitch. Crisp was tagged out only a few feet from home plate. Francona explained that since Crisp did a lot of leg work to get to third, and since Cora is probably the team’s best bunter, the manager felt it was a perfect time to drop one down. Unfortunately it didn’t work. “Take note of it because you probably won’t see it again until spring training,” said Francona. “Next time you’ll see it is probably in Winter Haven, because it doesn’t work. You just need to stay out of the way and let good players play.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Postgame notes: Sox set recordBy Joe McDonald BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox stole six bases Friday night against the Orioles to set a new franchise record. They had stolen five bases six times. Jacoby Ellsbury led the way with three, which is the most by a Red Sox player since Jerry Remy had a club record four on June 14, 1980. Manager Terry Francona said after the team’s 5-2 victory, it’s not like he planned to run as much as the Sox did Friday night, it was just the right time to do son. “It’s completely game situations,” said Francona. “A couple of them they weren’t going to throw through. A guy like Mike Lowell, we don’t ever tell him before a game that in the whatever inning he’s going to steal third. That’s just a heads-up guy taking advantage. We ran the bases aggressively, but smartly.” Ellsbury now has 23 swipes this season. “We weren’t scoring runs, but we were moving our legs and getting into scoring position,” he said. “We didn’t get the big hits, but we put ourselves in a position to.” Even Mike Lowell stole a base in the 13th inning that set up a much-needed insurance run. “Wheels,” joked Lowell.
Posted by Joe McDonald Lowell's the heroBy Joe McDonald If anyone listened very carefully Friday night at Camden Yards, you could almost hear the chants of “Sign Mike Lowell. Sign Mike Lowell. Sign Mike Lowell” that fans were screaming after he was named World Series MVP last October in Denver. He obviously did resign with the Red Sox during the offseason, leaving a bigger pay check on the table to stay in Boston. And, he hasn’t let those fans down. Friday night was a perfect example. The man fouled a pitch off the top of his foot in the sixth inning and was clearly in pain. That didn’t matter because he stayed in the game and provided the game-winning hit in the top of the 13th inning as Boston eventual won, 5-2. With Manny Ramirez on second via a throwing error, Lowell delivered a RBI single off Orioles reliever Chad Bradford. “I was just looking to get my hands out,” said Lowell. “Bradford is a really uncomfortable at-bat. He doesn’t throw hard – velocity-wise – but you don’t pick up the ball until real late. It gets on you quick and I can’t say I had a special formula or anything. I was just looking to put a good swing, maybe make him elevate it a little, and it worked out great. We were able to capitalize on some of their mistakes.” Not only did Lowell provide the game-winning hit, he also stole third and later scored an insurance run because of his heads-up on the bases. “I can talk about Lowell doing a lot of things,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “Running the bases, making plays at third and we needed a hit at some point because we were getting (pitching) thin. . . He’s a tough guy and always has been. He plays the game. He’ll play nine or 12 or 13 (innings). He’s a good baseball player and he’s a tough kid.” The job Lowell has done and continues to do certainly doesn’t go unnoticed around the clubhouse. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett has played with Lowell in both Florida and Boston, and he’ll always sing his praise. “He is one of the smartest baseball players probably to have ever lived,” said Beckett. “I don’t know what his success rate is on stealing bases (27-for-39), but he’s probably right up there with Ellsbury. He doesn’t have as many steals in a year as Ellsbury, but generally when he tries to steal a base he’s safe. He knows how to play the game. He made a great play in the 13th inning because that first out is always a big one.” That play Beckett was talking about was the first out of the 13th inning for Baltimore. The Orioles’ Adam Jones hit a grounder to the left side, which Lowell snared and made an accurate throw to get the always crucial first out. “It’s either going to end up in the 13th row or hit Youk right in the chest, so it worked out,” said Lowell. “The first out of the inning is very important with Pap because you’re able to squash anything they are able to get out of him.” Most of the talk after Friday’s victory was the fact the Sox’ bullpen served up zeros after it came in relief of Beckett, who went six solid inning and allowed two runs on only four hits. But, it was the bullpen that credited Lowell with the victory. “Mike’s awesome,” said Mike Timlin. “He plays the game right. He’s highly intelligent. He does the right thing at the right time. He doesn’t try to overdue anything. He stays calm in pressure situations and I love having him there.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Boston 5, Baltimore 2 (13 innings)By Joe McDonald That’s exactly what the bullpen was able to do for Boston last night as the Red Sox defeated the Orioles 5-2 in a four hour and 49-minute marathon that needed 13 innings to play here at Orioles Park at Camden Yards. Entering the 13th inning the Boston Red Sox had scored a total of only five runs in the previous 43 innings of this current road trip. Not a very flattering statistics. In the fourth extra frame last night, Boston scored three unearned runs the hard way en route to victory. After Manny Ramirez, who is still one homer shy of 500 for his career, reached on an error and advanced to second on the same play, Mike Lowell provided the would-be game-winning hit. The Red Sox pushed across two more before Jonathan Papelbon earned his 15th save of the season. After a torrid trip (1-6) through Oakland and Seattle, the Red Sox were back at their home away from home at Orioles Park at Camden Yards last night. A sea of red, white and blue Red Sox jerseys and hats overwhelmed the Baltimore fans as a good number of the 46,199 in attendance were part of The Nation. “This feels a lot better than losing,” said Lowell. “Our bullpen did a great job. . . Giving up only two runs in 13 innings is a pretty good job.” Red Sox manager Terry Francona used a total of six relievers, including Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, Javier Lopez, Craig Hansen, Mike Timlin (3-3) and Papelbon. “I think both the bullpens did a really good job,” said Beckett. “I was obviously happy with the way our guys did, but they had some guys do some good things, too. The Red Sox needed their ace to come though in a big way last night. Early yesterday afternoon Boston placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list with a mild rotator-cuff strain, so Beckett wanted to give the Sox something to be happy about during this tough three-city, 10-game road trip. “They made him work,” said Francona. “He’s facing a lineup that pretty much one through nine he has faced him a lot. They made him work and he was able to pitch out of a big jam late, and they made him throw a lot of pitches. Other than the home run and the other run early, he kept them at bay. That was good because after we scored those two runs (in the first inning, it took us about four and a half hours to get another one.” This victory was key for the struggling Sox, and even though Francona always talks about living and play for that day only, everyone in the clubhouse after the game was relieved. “This was a big win,” said Julio Lugo. “We needed it. Definitely we needed it.”
Posted by Joe McDonald May 30, 2008
Pregame notes: Drew not playingBy Joe McDonald BALTIMORE -- Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew is out of the lineup tonight with a bout of vertigo. Drew first felt something Thursday night and he was put on medication this morning. This is the second time he's had it. Fellow outfielder Coco Crisp had it earlier this season, too. “I’ve had it a couple of times before,” said Drew. “It’s just one of them things that you hope doesn’t stick around for a while. Fortunately, it hasn’t stuck around in the past.”
The right-handed hitter is clearly locked in at the plate for the PawSox. At the time of his recall, he was hitting .318 with 16 homers and 44 RBI in 50 games for Pawtucket. “He’s doing great,” said Francona. “He knows this could be short term. When we send guys down we always tell them that if they do good there’s a chance they’ll get called up. He’s a great kid and has always made a good impression on the staff during spring training. He does his work, goes about his business and doesn’t complain.” Bailey, a catcher by trade when he first began his pro career, has played mainly first base and the outfield for the PawSox. It will be that versatility that will come in handy for the Red Sox this weekend, especially with J.D. Drew out with vertigo. “There’s not much more I can ask for,” Bailey said. “I had to earn it, and I feel like I have. It will probably be only three days, but that’s fine. It’s just nice to be recognized.” The 29-year-old made his major-league debut with the Red Sox last summer, and went 1-for-9 in three games. His one hit was a home run at Detroit.
Posted by Joe McDonald Tonight's lineupsBOSTON Ellsbury, rf BALTIMORE Roberts, 2b
Posted by Joe McDonald Matsuzaka placed on 15-day DL with 'mild rotator-cuff strain'BY JOE McDONALD BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox have placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list with what they're describing as "a mild rotator cuff strain." Jeff Bailey, as was reported earlier today, has been recalled from Pawtucket and will take Matsuzaka's roster spot for the weekend. On Tuesday, the Sox will recall a pitcher -- Justin Masterson is the likeliest candidate -- to take Dice-K's spot in the rotation. Dice-K was examined by team doctor Thomas Gill earlier today and he underwent an MRI in Boston. "The real good news was there is no structural changes, which is really good news The final diagnosis is a mild deltoid rotator cuff strain,” said Francona. “The best way we can see to attack this is to take the time to strengthen it and get him ready to pitch the rest of the season.” Francona spent about a half hour with his office door here at Camden Yards closed during a conference call with GM Theo Esptein and Matsuzaka. Francona was asked if the right-hander, who was removed from Tuesday's start in Seattle due to fatigue, tried to fight his trip to the DL. "A little bit, which is good," Francona said. "That's good news because that means he feels good about himself. That's what good pitches and good players do. That's part of the reason they're good."
Posted by Art Martone Bailey called up to BostonPawSox first baseman/outfielder Jeff Bailey has been called up to Boston. He's expected to join the team in Baltimore today. It's likely he'll remain with the Red Sox through this four-game series against the Orioles and then be sent back to Pawtucket come Tuesday when Boston will need to call up a pitcher. Bailey is hitting .318 with 16 homers and 44 RBI for the PawSox. He's second on the team with 27 walks. He's been on a tear of late. Three times on the team's last home stand he produced a two-homer game. In fact, he had four in the month of May.
Posted by Joe McDonald Red Sox named 2008 Professional Sports Team of the YearThe Boston Red Sox were bestowed with the award for 2008 Professional Sports Team of the Year in the inaugural Sports Business Awards. Other sports franchises nominated for the award include the Buffalo Sabres, Hendrick Motorsports, Phoenix Suns and Toronto FC. The Sports Business Awards, presented by Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily, were initiated to recognize the best that the sports business has to offer. The award ceremonies, held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City Thursday night, recognized the Red Sox for being "baseball’s gold-standard operation” and “the game’s unofficial organizational leaders”, for the ballclub’s efforts “to expand internationally”, “build a sponsorship base that has tripled during (this) six-year ownership tenure” and “successfully renovate storied Fenway Park”. Principal owner John W. Henry also received a nomination for Sports Executive of the Year. The 2008 season is the 108th season in the illustrious history of the ballclub and the 7th for the current ownership led by Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president/CEO Larry Lucchino. Under their stewardship, the franchise has won two World Series championships while selling out Fenway Park for 414 consecutive games dating back to May 15, 2003, second only to the 455 by the Cleveland Indians and a record the organization hopes to surpass later this season.
Posted by Art Martone Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: What impresses us about MastersonClick here to listen to Sean's daily audio report, which is audio only today (if we get someone freed up later today, we might be able to add pictures later). The topics: What impresses Sean about Justin Masterson, teams' inability to catch Jacoby Ellsbury clean on stolen-base attempts, fan voting for the All-Star Game, and Sean's favorite road stops. Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments: On Masterson: "I think he's remarkably poised and mature. That's one of the things I think that impressed the Red Sox so much even from the first start, where he didn't seemed rattled at all in making his major-league debut, having not pitched above Double-A for more than half a season, on the mound at Fenway against a pretty good team in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It was like he was facing another team in the Eastern League, and it was the same thing when he made his second start. So I think the poise and composure and maturity -- all those things, and you know, those things are fine, but you have to be able to get hitters out, and he can do that too. He's got that three-quarter kind of whip-it-like delivery that reminds some people of Dennis Eckersley, and he's got a nice heavy sink to his fastball that makes him very tough, combined with his delivery, on right-handed hitters, and gets him a lot of groundballs. So there's not much not to like about Justin Masterson." On the All-Star voting by fans: "I think we can go through this and do go through this every summer, where we point to some player who's deserving of an All-Star starting bid and who doesn't get one. You mentioned Josh Hamilton and some guys on the Rays. Certainly Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox would be another person in there. There's some guys in the National League having surprise seasons. Those kind of things you can't anticipate. I think in general, you know, fans are going to vote for players who they recognize, and who have established themselves a little bit. And furthermore, they're going to vote for guys who are on high-profile teams. That's why the Yankees dominated so much of the balloting in the '90s, when they won four World Series in five years, and now that the Red Sox have sort of perhaps eclipsed them as the national team, if you will, with two World Series wins in the last four seasons, their players are benefiting from that. It's never going to be perfect. I think even if the players or coaches and managers did the selecting, there'd be some oversights there. So I think that in general this is a game for the fans, and they get to determine who they want to see, and I think that there's nothing wrong with that."
Posted by Mike McDermott Baseball Today: Friday, May 30 ONE AND DONE? Justin Masterson's stay in Pawtucket might not be a long one, not with the Red Sox probably in need of another starter next Tuesday. If so, his first appearance at McCoy Stadium -- which he made last night against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (above) -- might be his last, at least for a while. And he made it a memorable one, reports Shalise Manza Young, throwing six strong innings in what everyone assumes was a tuneup for a start against the Rays at Fenway Park next week. Masterson and PawSox manager Ron Johnson review the performance (favorably, of course) and Johnson, for good measure, also gives a thumbs-up to a batch of butterscotch-oatmeal cookies baked by Masterson's wife. She apparently enjoys delivering cookies to the clubhouse of whatever team her husband is with; she could be dropping some off in Boston in five days. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: Rumors are flying that Jeff Bailey might be joining the Red Sox for their weekend series in Baltimore; Joe McDonald reported them Wednesday and the Boston Globe's Gordon Edes repeated them today. We'll find out this afternoon sometime whether or not they're true, and if they are Bailey made his farewell to McCoy -- temporary though it may be -- one for the books. Young relates he had his second two-home-run game of the homestand in the PawSox' 5-2 win, and also had two pitches thrown behind his head by Scranton/WB starter Dan McCutchen. That little bit of Red Sox/Yankee nastiness earned McCutchen and his manager, Dave Miley, the 'ol heave-ho. NOT SO MIGHTY 'PEN: Both the Globe's Amalie Benjamin and the Boston Herald's Jeff Horrigan look at the Red Sox' bullpen deficiencies. Benjamin's story is centered entirely on the relief corps, while Horrigan examines them as part of a review of the entire pitching staff. SPEAK FOR YOURSELF: Javy Lopez, however, has been doing his job as a LOOGY -- Left-Handed One-Out GuY, for those of you unaware with the term (though I doubt many people here fit that description) -- to perfection. (Not that Terry Francona only uses him for a batter at a time, but he's been much better against left-handers this year than he was in 2007.) He talks about his season with Joe Haggerty on the Hacks With Haggs blog. NO JOSHING AROUND: The Herald's Michael Silverman says now that Daisuke Matsuzaka may be sidelined for a while, it's time for Josh Beckett to step up and start pitching like an ace again. WRONG COUNT: Baseball Musings' David Pinto examines Matsuzaka's game logs and concludes the Red Sox are "more interested in limiting his innings than his pitches," since Matsuzaka's highest pitch-count games have come in those instances when he's walking a lot of batters. Pinto sees walks as a sign that a pitcher's mechanics may be off; bad mechanics, he adds, may be a sign of fatigure, and fatigue can lead to injury. HOP ON BOARD, BREWERS FANS: You may have seen this yesterday on this very blog, but Julian Tavarez forgot his World Series ring in his locker at Fenway Park after being let go by the Red Sox (Madison Times). Deadspin's Will Leitch, who's a Cardinals fan, says Sox and Cards fan alike have "ridden the Julian Tavarez crazy train." UNFRIENDLY CONFINES: Baltimore -- where he hasn't hit a home run since May 16, 2006 -- might not be the best place right now for Manny Ramirez as he sits one homer away from No. 500. (Boston Herald) 'OUR JOB IS KEEPING THEM QUIET' That's new Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail challenge to his players since "so many people [come to Camden Yards] rooting for the Yankees and Red Sox." (Baltimore Sun) So far, so good; the O's are 6-2 against the Sox and Yanks in Baltimore this year, with Boston in town for a four-game series starting tonight. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY: Word came down yesterday that Troy Percival's hamstring injury isn't considered serious. But the Rays placed him on the disabled list anyway (St. Petersburg Times), and the Tampa Tribune's Joe Henderson says it's a good idea "because that's what a team looking at the long haul does". WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW THIS? Trying to figure out when national baseball columnists, like the Philadelphia Daily News' Paul Hagen, were writing about the Rays at the beginning of June? "Never" would be my guess. OR THIS? The blog Rays of Light is guiltily, but giddily, looking ahead to potential playoff previews. NOT TO ME, THEY'RE NOT: The Hardball Times' Geoff Baker doesn't include the Rays in his look at early-season surprises. TAKE YOUR PICK: You can either choose to believe that the Yankees' pilot light has been extinguished (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) or that they're just a hot streak away from another late playoff run. (New York Observer) The Star-Tribune's case, I have to say, would carry more weight if it hadn't described the Horace Clarke Era as being in the mid-1970s. As we well know around here, Clarke was long gone by then and the Yankees won the pennant in 1976 and the World Series in 1977 and '78. CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: The New York Daily News' Mark Feinsand warns that Joba Chamberlain won't "rule their starting rotation - at least not yet." STOKE YOUR ENTHUSIASM: Jorge Posada says he's almost ready to rejoin the Yanks. (New York Daily News) And Hank Steinbrenner says he still has high hopes for Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. (New York Post) KID TROUBLES: The Yankees are having more disciplinary problems with 19-year-old Trenton outfielder Jose Tabata. (nj.com) 'RUE-LESS JOE': Love that New York Post headline about Joe Torre, who's back in the Big Apple with the Dodgers and who couldn't have made it clearer that the Yankees are in his rear-view mirror. The blog River Ave. Blues makes it just as clear that the feeling is mutual on the other side of the fence: "I loved Joe in New York, and I think it’s too bad that he couldn’t still be around to manage the team into the new stadium. But I still think it was the right move for him and the Yanks to part ways." WAKE UP, SMELL COFFEE: It appears Willie Randolph may be ready to pull the plug on Carlos Delgado, at least as an everyday player. (New York Post) WAVING THE CAP: In a fascinating look at the salary-cap structure in the four major sports, Mark Cuban concludes MLB and the NFL can survive without a salary cap, but it's necessary in the NBA and NHL. (blogmaverick.com) Why? Because for a sport to survive without a cap "it must be a [sport] where it takes more than 1 or 2 players to lead a team to a championship. Otherwise, the richest teams can just buy those 2 players, with a 3rd as insurance, which means the competitive balance of the league is purely dependent on finances. That is not a good position to be in." While you may dismiss these as simply the musings of an NBA owner, ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra thinks Cuban may end up owning the Cubs when all is said and done. LOSS LEADER: It's now 11 losses in a row (and counting) for the Royals, and as a result Joe Posnanski is back writing for the Kansas City Star. (His editor is one smart cookie; I'll have to remember her tactics.) The losing streak has resulted in Billy Butler being sent to the minor leagues and Jose Guillen offering to step into the role of Team Leader, which must have heads shaking and tongues wagging from Anaheim to Washington to Seattle. (Both stories Kansas City Star.) THE RACE IS ON: It appears Jake Peavy will get back to the mound faster than Chris Young as the two Padre aces recover from their respective injuries. (San Diego Union-Tribune) SO WHO'S WILLIE AND THE DUKE? The Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon says Josh Hamilton is the modern-day Mickey Mantle, from his on-field talents to his substance-abuse problems. LOCAL BOYS: Pinto fingers the struggling Paul Konerko as one of the reasons that offense in the American League is down. But he had a good game last night against the Rays, and if he begins to hit more like Paul Konerko that bodes very well for the surprising White Sox. HERE AND THERE: Time to start a Chipper Jones Watch? He's now hitting .420 after going 2-for-4 yesterday (mvn.com) . . . John Smoltz says his rehab is coming along nicely (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Wrigley Field is one of the spots under consideration for an outdoor NHL game between the Blackhawks and Red Wings (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Aaron Harang's four sterling innings in the 17-inning game at San Diego Sunday came back to bite both him and the Reds yesterday (mlb.com) . . . Randy Johnson tied Roger Clemens for second place on the all-time strikeouts list last night (mlb.com) . . . The Mariners eventually plan to put Brendan Morrow in the starting rotation, but his bullpen success so far means in probably won't happen this year. (Seattle Times) OLD FRIENDS: Phil Dumatrait pitched what was, perhaps, the game of his career as he led the Pirates over the team that released him last year, the Reds (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . Rudy Seanez may not have pitched forever -- it only seems that way -- but it's been 17 years in the big leagues now and he credits martial arts for his longevity. (Philadelphia Daily News) -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone May 29, 2008
Masterson off to good start in PawtucketRHP Justin Masterson, making his first career triple-A start tonight against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, got off to a good start. Pitching in his first game since May 20, when he recorded his first career major league win with the Red Sox, Masterson had a 1-2-3 first inning, throwing 13 pitches. He struck out shortstop Alberto Gonzalez on three pitches. It is widely believed that Masterson will pitch for Boston in place of Daisuke Matsuzaka on Tuesday; his start tonight was moved up two days, which puts him in line for that date.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Twins claim former Red Sox smart guy Craig Breslow
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Minnesota Twins claimed left-handed reliever Craig Breslow, formerly of the Red Sox, off waivers, a week after he was let go by the Cleveland Indians. Breslow posted a 3.24 ERA in seven appearances for the Indians, allowing 10 hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in 8 1-3 innings. The Indians let him go when closer Joe Borowski came off the disabled list on May 23. Breslow was expected to join the team before Friday's game against the New York Yankees. It's his fourth team in four years. Right-hander Pat Neshek, who is probably out for the season with an elbow injury, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old Breslow graduated from Yale with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. He split time with the Boston Red Sox and their Triple-A team the last two seasons.
Posted by Art Martone Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: They forgot to bring their batsClick the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning in Seattle. The topics: Boston's offensive slump, Erik Bedard, Tim Wakefield, the potential return of Justin Masterson, and whether Kevin Youkilis can get the offense going again. Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments: "Something's happened to the offense, and it can't all be the opposing pitching, although there's been some good guys that they've faced on this trip, Erik Bedard being the perfect example last night two-hitting them through seven innings. But two of those five losses have been shutouts, in those losses they have combined for a grand total of three hits." "Wakefield has made some adjustments mechanically since his last start. He had given up 17 runs in 14 innings in the three outings prior to last night and, you know, one of the hallmarks of his career has been that he is notoriously streaky up or down. So I think the thing that the Red Sox can perhaps take out of last night is that that outing may have been the beginning of the turnaround and they can expect him to maybe get on one of his rolls, which they could use."
Posted by Mike McDermott Tavarez accidentally leaves his World Series ring in BostonThanks to Dan Lamothe at Red Sox Monster for passing this one along: Julian Tavarez, according to The Capital Times of Madison, Wisc., accidentally left his World Series ring -- worth $20,000 -- in his locker at Fenway Park when the Red Sox designated him for assignment earlier this month. "They're going to mail it to me, I'm sure," said Tavarez, who joined the Brewers two days ago.
Posted by Art Martone Baseball Today: Thursday, May 29
JOURNEY TO NOWHERE: Not that it's a state secret or anything, but we introduced some numbers last week showing that the Red Sox are a different team offensively away from Fenway Park than they've been in Boston. Just six days later, it appears there's as much "insight" in that observation as in noting that the sky is blue, or rain falls down. These Sox appear to be on nothing less than a season-long quest to redefine the term Offensively Inept On The Road, as evidenced by last night's 1-0 loss to the Mariners. It was the second time they'd been shut out in the six games of this road trip -- record in those six games: 1-5 -- and Sean McAdam trots out some ghastly statistics: 14 runs scored in the six games, .169 batting average, grand total of three hits in the two shutout losses. I can trot out some ghastlier ones: a road OPS that's exactly 100 points lower (.757 to .857) than it is at home, an OPS-plus of 114 at Fenway Park and a Manny Alexander-like 88 on the road. (baseball-reference.com) Surviving Grady's question from last Sunday still rings true today. Or maybe it's best to be philosophical about the whole thing. Like The Soxaholix. THE GOOD NEWS: The offense should get a boost when they resume play tomorrow in Baltimore because Kevin Youkilis will return to the lineup. His recovery from some right-hand inflammation is at the top of McAdam's notebook. THE NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS: It's a day later and the Sox still don't know exactly what's wrong with Daisuke Matsuzaka's shoulder. So, reports McAdam, they're sending him back to Boston for an MRI. NO, IT IS GOOD NEWS: The Boston Herald's Michael Silverman says a little time off would be a good thing for Matsuzaka, as indeed for almost any pitcher. And he points out the team has been superb in managing their workloads because "[saving] bullets, so their pitchers still have some and some with pop, for a seven-month season is the name of the game for the Red Sox." THE DOMINO EFFECT: With Matsuzaka almost certain to miss his next start -- even if Francona wouldn't say so -- the Sox began some organizational shifting to get ready. Joe McDonald reports Justin Masterson's first start at Pawtucket is being pushed up two days, from Saturday to tonight, which would put him in line to pitch Tuesday in Boston. Matsuzaka's next scheduled start is Monday but, because of today's off-day, Tim Wakefield can pitch Monday on normal rest. GO WITH THE FLOW: McDonald talked to Masterson about the whole thing and he expressed confidence in the way the team has handled him so far. "They know what they’re doing," he said of the Red Sox’ philosophy. "You have to buy in and know what they’re doing is to help you." That was in contrast to, say, Jon Lester, who chafed at the organization's pitch-count restrictions while he was working his way back to the big leagues last year. (McDonald quotes PawSox manager Ron Johnson as saying taking Lester out of a start when he'd reached his pitch-count limit "was never a delightful situation. It was like sticking a finger in your eye.") MASTERSON? WHY NOT CLAY BUCHHOLZ? Because his next scheduled start is Friday, and he won't be ready to pitch either Monday or Tuesday. STOLEN MEMORIES: I know it's been a long time since I thought of Patsy Dougherty or Heinie Wagner. But Jacoby Ellsbury brought them back to life last night when he stole his 20th base of the season, tying him for fifth place on the list of most steals by a Red Sox rookie. (projo.com) DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY: Manny Ramirez remains as carefree as ever one home run away from No. 500. (Boston Globe) STILL GOING: The Rays, meanwhile, increased their lead to 1 1/2 games with a 5-3 win over the Rangers that was tempered somewhat by a hamstring injury to closer Troy Percival. (Tampa Tribune) ALWAYS SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT: You'd think a team that's enjoying first-time success, like the Rays, would be basking in compliments. But the blog Beyond The Box Score is wondering what's wrong with Carl Crawford. THAT DAMN OPEC: More W's in the standings have yet to translate into more fannies in the seats for the Rays, and a AAA spokesman thinks high gas prices are to blame. (newsadvance.com) PRESENT . . . Andy Pettitte got the win and Mariano Rivera got the save -- just like old times -- in the Yankees' 4-2 win over the Orioles. (New York Daily News) . . . AND FUTURE: All signs point to Joba Chamberlain making his starting debut for the Yanks next Tuesday. Guess Graig Nettles didn't get the memo; he wants to keep Joba in the bullpen. (Both stories New York Post) SPORTS PARENTING: Ian Kennedy, as expected, is headed to the disabled list (New York Daily News), where he joins fellow phenom Phil Hughes. But the Post's George King says this still isn't necessarily a lost year for them. It all goes to show, points out Peter Abraham, that "[this] 'develop the kids' stuff is hard work." (LoHud Yankees Blog) SETTING A DATE: Bob Sheppard, giving an interview to BustedHalo.com, says he hopes to be back behind the Yankee Stadium microphone by July 1. SEE, SOME GOOD DID COME OUT OF IT: If nothing else, the Yankees' signing of Kei Igawa has bolstered Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's starting rotation. (projo.com) PICK SIX: The Yankees are letting fans vote which six games should be included on the soon-to-be-released Essential Games of Yankee Stadium DVD. And no, don't think you can flood the ballot box with votes for Games Six or Seven of the 2004 ALCS; the games have been pre-selected and you have to choose from a list. YANKED AROUND: A self-proclaimed "diehard Yankees fan" says the team reneged on its promise to give him 15 All-Star Game tickets in exchange for a pair of home-run balls he caught during a game last year. (New York Post) The Yankees say they promised nothing of the sort. BRING IT ON, ROCKET: ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra explains in great -- and glorious -- detail why any defense lawyer with two brain cells firing would be drooling in joyous anticipation at sinking his or her teeth into Roger Clemens' "intentional infliction of emotional distress" claim in Clemens' defamation lawsuit against Brian McNamee. AND IN THE MEANTIME . . . Mindy McCready is singing to the FBI. (New York Daily News) I BEG YOUR PARDON? The Daily News' Filip Bondy can't believe some of the crowd totals being released by the Mets, who, he says, have "successfully . . . taken over the lead [from the Knicks] for fabricating attendance figures." HOWEVER MANY WERE THERE SURE ENJOYED THIS ONE: Regardless of the actual attendance, the fans at Shea were smiling at the end of last night's 12-inning win over the Marlins. (New York Times) WE DID HIM RIGHT: Omar Minaya defends the Mets' handling of Ryan Church. (New York Times) LIEUTENANT INTANGIBLES: Derek Jeter's the captain of that outfit, so we'll have to assign the lower rank to David Eckstein. He's back in action with the Blue Jays (Toronto Star), even though the Tao of Stieb didn't particularly miss him and didn't seem to want him back in any hurry. And Baseball Musings' David Pinto points out that the Jays are 13-18 when Eckstein plays and thinks certain members of the Toronto media are "Jeterating" Eckstein. Come on. You remember. DEFEND YOUR POSITION: Joe Posnanski put forth the opinion the other day that Ron Gardenhire is the best manager in baseball. When the inevitable protests arrived, Joe admitted that Gardenhire may only look good in comparison to the Royals managers he's been watching up close for the last 12 years. Particularly Trey Hillman. TOP OF THE HEAP: Foxsports.com's Tracy Ringolsby. on the other hand, throws some love to Bobby Cox, one of the most overlooked great managers of all time. IT WAS COMING: The Royals' recent run of frustration continued last night when they blew a five-run, ninth-inning lead and lost to the Twins (Kansas City Star), which prompted the first blowup of the season from the tightly wound Jose Guillen. (royalsblog.kansascity.com) YOU CAN'T FIRE ME, I QUIT! Even though neither one of them is playing at the moment, both Bret Boone and Sammy Sosa announced their retirements yesterday. (Both stories espn.com) CHUMP CHANGE: Pete Rose now says he wagered "like $2,000 . . . that's it" on every Reds game while he was their manager. (si.com) AND IN THE "THERE'S ALWAYS A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING" CATEGORY . . . A minor-league game in Omaha was suspended because of a hydrochloric acid leak. (AP via Yahoo!) KONG AVERSION: The Sporting News' Gerry Fraley thinks the Phillies are doing the right thing by not signing Ryan Howard to a long-term contract because he's "increasingly becoming a Dave Kingman-esque, one-note player." HERE AND THERE: The Twins may be shopping Livan Hernandez (St. Paul Pioneer Press) . . . The struggling Vladmir Guerrero was given the day off by Mike Scioscia (Los Angeles Times) . . . Mark Cuban may be able to buy the Cubs, after all. (Chicago Sun-Times) OLD FRIENDS: The Cleveland-based blog WaitingForNextYear thinks it's time for the Indians to find out what they have in Andy Marte . . . Pedro Martinez threw six innings in a rehab start for Port St. Lucie last night. (New York Post) -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone Late Red Sox notesBY SEAN McADAM SEATTLE -- The Mariners thought they had caught Jacoby Ellsbury leaning the wrong way in the third inning, but after a pickoff throw forced Ellsbury to take off for second, the throw to second by Miguel Cairo was errant, allowing Ellsbury to successfully steal second. That was Ellsbury's 20th steal of the season, moving him into a tie for fifth place in Red Sox history for most steals in a rookie season. He's even with Patsy Dougherty (1902) and Heinie Wagner (1907). Next on the list is Nomar Garciaparra, who had 22 in 1997. * * * * * *
Posted by Sean McAdam Mariners 1, Red Sox 0: Boston bats go south out WestBY SEAN McADAM SEATTLE – If the Red Sox have any designs on winning on the road this season, maybe they should first concentrate on hitting on the road. Either way, they haven’t been doing much of either of late. Losing for the ninth time in the last 10 road games, the Red Sox were blanked by the Seattle Mariners last night, 1-0, leaving them 1-5 through the first two stops of this three-city road trip. Two of the five losses have come in shutouts. In those two games, the Sox combined for just three hits. In the six road games in the last week, the Sox are now hitting a not-so-robust .169. They’ve scored just 14 runs in those six games for an average of 2.2 runs, less than half of their season average of 4.98 per game. Tim Wakefield made his best start of the season, allowing just five hits in eight innings while striking out a season-high eight and walking no one. But one of the five hits was a solo homer in the third to No. 9 hitter Yuniesky Betancourt, and that was the difference. Erik Bedard limited the Sox to two hits over seven innings – both singles, and both in the fourth inning. The Sox didn’t collect another hit after the fourth. "Bedard’s stuff was great," said manager Terry Francona, "but so was Wakefield’s. He left one ball up that carried out of the ballpark. Other than that, he was spectacular and we didn’t do anything to help him." Wakefield, who has just one win since April 20, had allowed 17 earned runs in his previous 14 innings before last night. But some between-start fine-tuning corrected a mechanical problem and he was almost flawless. "I felt a lot better than my last start," said Wakefield, who fell to 3-4. "I was able to control the strike zone better. I stayed back (in his delivery) a little more, allowing my arm to travel through the slot a little easier. I made some adjustments mechanically and it paid off. Obviously, it showed with the (improved) command of my knuckleball." After the homer, Wakefield retired 10 of the next 11 hitters he faced and allowed just three more hits the rest of the way. But the offensive support he needed never materialized. The Sox never got a baserunner past second base, but, thanks to some walks, had their opportunities. They stranded seven runners, including at least one in each of the final three innings. In the eighth, with Bedard out of the game, J.D. Drew worked a leadoff walk against Brandon Morrow. But for the second night in a row, Julio Lugo’s late-inning bunt try was pushed too hard and Drew, the lead runner, was cut down at second on a fielder’s choice. With closer J.J. Putz on in the ninth, Manny Ramirez worked a one-out walk and Sean Casey joined him two batters later, giving the Sox the potential tying run in scoring position and the potential go-ahead run at first. But Putz got Coco Crisp to roll out to second to finish things. "It’s a combination of things," said Dustin Pedroia when asked to explain the team’s offensive dip. "The strike zone’s been a little bigger and some pitchers have been throwing the ball well. I don’t know – we weren’t in two good hitter’s parks (Oakland and here). Just one of those things, I guess." Though the Sox were held hitless in eight of the nine innings, Francona said his lineup "made Bedard work hard (109 pitches in seven innings). We just didn’t have anything to show for it." Francona, too, cited some of the pitchers the Sox have seen to date, including Oakland’s Rich Harden and Seattle's Bedard and Felix Hernandez, as one of the reason’s for the team’s collective cooling off at the plate. "They’ve been pounding the strike zone and working ahead," he said of the opponents. "They’ve done a good job against us." In the meantime, the Sox have fallen 1 1/2 games behind the front-running Tampa Bay Rays, with four more road games awaiting, beginning tomorrow in Baltimore, where the Sox were 0-2 in a visit just two weeks ago. A return home to Fenway Park seemingly can’t come soon enough. But first, comes a day off on the schedule. "Those are always good to have," said Pedroia. "It will be nice to step away."
Posted by Sean McAdam May 28, 2008
Lineups from SeattleBOSTON SEATTLE
Posted by Thom Cahir Masterson to start Tuesday for Red Sox in Dice-K's spot?BY JOE McDONALD PAWTUCKET -- Justin Masterson was originally scheduled to make his Triple-A debut on Saturday in Durham. But now the Red Sox pitching prospect will start for Pawtucket on Thursday at McCoy Stadium, perhaps as preparation for another appearance in Boston next week. Daisuke Matsuzaka had to leave Tuesday's game in Seattle because of shoulder fatigue, and both Matsuzaka and manager Terry Francona said they were unsure if Dice-K would be able to make his next scheduled start. By moving up Masterson's start, it would put him in line to pitch Tuesday, which -- because of Thursday's off day -- could be Matsuzaka's next turn in the rotation. Tim Wakefield, who is pitching tonight for the Sox in Seattle, could work Monday in Baltimore -- Matsuzaka's actual day to pitch -- on normal rest because of the off day. Clay Buchholz, who is in Pawtucket on rehab assignment, will pitch Friday in Durham and thus would be unable to work either Monday or Tuesday. If the Red Sox do, in fact, place Matsuzaka on the disabled list, don't be surprised if the club recalls hot-hitting Jeff Bailey from Pawtucket, especially since Kevin Youkilis has been hampered with a sore right hand. Bailey could help the Sox this weekend then sent back to Pawtucket once a pitcher (Masterson) is needed early next week.
Posted by Joe McDonald Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: A painful night for Dice-KClick the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning from Seattle. the topics: Daisuke Matsuzaka's injury, the ejections of Terry Francona and Julio Lugo, and encouraging signs from Manny Ramirez. Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments: Matsuzaka's postgame remarks re: his injury: "They were trying to leave the impression that, while it was up in the air and there was nothing definitive, that [the injury] wasn't anything terribly serious. Dice-K had his translator convey at the end the conversation with reporters that he wasn't overly concerned. If it is indeed just shoulder fatigue, then there really is nothing, you would not think, long-term to be too concerned about. But anytime you're talking about a pitcher in the prime of his career, as Matsuzaka is, to have either elbow or shoulder issues is significant in and of itself." On Terry Francona's confrontation with umpire Angel Hernandez: "[Francona] initially went out just to sort of diffuse the situation and try to get Lugo out of the way before there was more trouble. But the longer he stayed, the angrier he got, because of comments that Hernandez gave him in response to some questions. Of course, [Francona] didn't get into any of that [in his comments after the game]. One thing that we sort of found comical in the press box -- and we're only ascribing it in our own interpretation -- but there was a point right after he was run, or maybe it was right before, when Francona, talking to Hernandez, signaled to all the people in the ball park, sort of gesturing wildly with his arm. And knowing managers as we do, and some things that get said in the heat of conversation, we could almost bet that it was something to the effect of, 'Hey, all these people didn't come here to see you perform,' which is often something that is said to umpires who get a little too big for their britches."
Posted by Mike McDermott Baseball Today: Wednesday, May 28
THERE ARE LOSSES, AND THEN THERE ARE LOSSES: The routine ones -- like last night's 4-3 defeat at the hands of the bottom-of-the-heap Mariners -- you can live with, no matter how gut-wrenching they may be . . . and, as Sean McAdam reports, this one was pretty gut-wrenching. (To wit: Losing on a two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth single.) But the big loss for the Red Sox last night wasn't in the standings. It was Daisuke Matsuzaka (above) having to leave the game in the top of the fifth inning because of "shoulder fatigue." Bill James once wrote that caution flags should fly when teams describe injuries in such vague terms, because what it actually means is, "He's hurt and we don't know why . . . and if we don't know why, we can't fix it." They'll attempt to get a more specific diagnosis today, but both Matsuzaka and Terry Francona were saying last night that Dice-K's next scheduled start -- at least -- is in question. So what does it all mean? Well, for one thing, it looks like Clay Buchholz' stay in Pawtucket will be a short one. And for another, it just goes to show that the old saying -- the minute you think you have too much pitching is when you should go out and get some more -- rings true every time.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE . . . No one would ever accuse ex-Red Sox television broadcaster Sean McDonough of being a FOU (Friend of Umpires). He would routinely lambast the men in blue, more over their imperious attitudes than their actual job performance (though he didn't like that, either), and during a broadcast on May 31, 1998, he articulated his complaint against them in 23 words: "In addition to being incompetent at their jobs, they're also combative, arrogant, and they create more problems than they solve on the field." (Back in a former life, when I was the author of a daily blog known as Art's Notebook, I wrote it down.) With all that in mind, may we present Angel Hernandez. It's not that Hernandez is incompetent at his job -- he's actually known as a pretty good umpire (though the blog spudart.com might disagree) -- but combative? Arrogant? Creating more problems than he solves? Hernandez is a three-tool ump in those categories, and they were all on display last night in his inexplicable mid-inning ejection of Julio Lugo, which was followed soon afterwards by the tossing of Terry Francona (above). McAdam reports Lugo insists he did absolutely nothing to warrant getting thrown out -- he said Hernandez was staring at him, and gave him the thumb when he asked why he was looking at him -- and Francona (an "exasperated Francona," according to McAdam), said, "I wouldn't know where to begin" when asked for an explanation of what happened. McAdam notes that Hernandez and Lugo have a history -- in April 2007, Hernandez denied Lugo's routine request for time out while he was in the batter's box and the Orioles' Daniel Cabrera delivered a strike after Lugo had stepped out; Lugo made some harsh comments afterwards (Boston Herald) -- and it couldn't be that Hernandez still remembers that. Could it? The incident is already drawing commentary -- none too complimentary towards Hernandez -- in the blogosphere, on sites such as Sports of Boston and bleacher report. One of the more, ah, interesting takes on the incident is bleacher report's conclusion that subsequent in-game successes by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were a result of their wanting "to take a stand for their Latin American teammate and friend!" Uh, yeah, whatever. In any case, I'm sure we'll hear more about all this. But maybe all we needed to know was said almost 10 years ago to the day: "In addition to being incompetent at their jobs, they're also combative, arrogant, and they create more problems than they solve on the field." Protesters to the contrary? Your point of view was made a lot harder to defend last night. LOOK OUT BELOW: Worried about Julio Lugo's defense but heartened by his offensive resurgence? Allan Wood says that train's about to come rolling to a stop, too, and tells us why on his Joy of Sox blog. NOT HERE: McAdam has an interesting piece on why the Red Sox aren't following the crowd in the new baseball practice of tying up young players to long-term deals. STAR POWER: The Red Sox have the leading vote-getters at five of the nine positions as the first results of All-Star voting were released yesterday. McAdam reports Francona thinks it's "kind of a reward for the team’s success and their personal success." The game, of course, will be played at the soon-to-be-closed Yankee Stadium and Francona probably hits the nail right at the head when he muses, "I can’t imagine a lot of (New York) fans will be thrilled that I’m sitting in the dugout." As for the Yankees, they hope their fans will start stuffing the ballot boxes soon so as many Yanks as possible can start in the game. (New York Post) Well, okay, they didn't use those words exactly, but that's what they meant. Wait a minute, I take that back; Derek Jeter did use those words. (New York Daily News) DUSTIN FOR THE DEFENSE: Baseball Musings' David Pinto uses a nice play by Dustin Pedroia Monday night as a jumping-off point for a discussion on defensive range and positioning. On a somewhat related defensive note: I'm a subscriber to Bill James Online and among the treasure trove of information available are in-season fielding statistics from John Dewan's The Fielding Bible. Those stats rank Pedroia as the fourth-best defensive second baseman in baseball, through Monday's games. More accurately, it ranks him fourth in "the number of plays the player made, above/below the number that the average fielder would make." POWERFUL FEAR: The sudden death of former Red Sox and PawSox pitcher Geremi Gonzalez when he was struck by lightning prompted Joe McDonald to ask some Pawtucket players about their experiences with lightning on the playing field. Some of them, like Charlie Zink, head to the dugout as soon as they see the first bolt in the distance. DIRT DOG UPDATE: Trot Nixon is toiling away in Tucson, hoping someone notices and gives him a big-league job. (AP via Canadian Press) NASTINESS IS ITS OWN REWARD: Joe Posnanski discovered that only three teams -- the Red Sox, Yankees and Phillies -- have not had an eight-game losing streak since 2002 and, noting that the teams play in the three most intense baseball cities in the country, wonders if "booing fans, the angry media, the intensive talk shows, the angry Internet boards . . . keep the players a bit more on edge." OR AT LEAST THEY HOPE SO IN WISCONSIN: Sounds like Brewer fans are emulating their Boston/New York/Philadelphia brethren, if their letters to SI.com's John Donovan are any indication. THE FIRST SIGN OF SUCCESS: The Rays are beginning to attract bandwagon followers. Among the first: The blog RaysGeek, previously known as MetsGeek. ("Unlike the Mets, we’ll never let you down. Because if the Rays’ season takes a turn for the worse, you can bet that we’ll be ready to jump ship again.") Its readers are thrilled, mainly because, as one wrote, "Finally I can root for [Scott] Kazmir without a guilty conscience." SOMETHING'S IN THE AIR: The Red Sox weren't the only team who lost a pitcher last night. Ian Kennedy strained his right lat muscle in his start against the Orioles (New York Daily News), which may force the Yankees' hand with Joba Chamberlain. And the Sox weren't the only team suffering a gut-wrenching loss, either. The Yankees gave up two runs in the bottom of the 11th, after taking the lead in the top of the inning, and lost to the O's, 10-9, in a rain-delayed affair. (New York Post) Whipping boy LaTroy Hawkins was the loser (New York Daily News), but Peter Abraham says there was plenty of blame to go around in this one. (LoHud Yankees Blog) WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE? The blog Bugs and Cranks lists the only possible reasons Hawkins is still a Yankee. Me, I vote for "accepting money under the table from other A.L. East teams." IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR, IT IS . . . CAUGHT: There's actually a Yankee blog named for John Sterling's occasional misspeaks, and it must be proud today. Newsday's Neal Best reports Sterling had a memorable Memorial Day weekend when it came to on-air blunders. It started with the understandable, and forgivable, flubbing of the end of a recent game against Seattle when plate umpire Larry Vanover mistakenly rang up Jose Vidro for the final out when, in fact, it was only the second strike of the at-bat. (What was that we said a few steps back about "incompetent at their jobs" . . . ?) But I would have loved to have heard this one: "Here is Molina. Matsui at second with two out. The pitch swung on and hit in the air to right center. Ichiro going back, a way back in deep right center. It lands for a base hit! How do you like that? Matsui scores, Cano goes to second with a double. Oh, it's a ribbie double by Robbie Cano, don't you know, and the Yankees take the lead! A ribbie for Robbie! . . . Excuse me, that's Molina. What am I talking about?" Late update: Here's the audio, spliced into the game video, via dailymotion.com: I don't mean to be harsh on Sterling; I actually think he's a good announcer and he makes the game entertaining. But when he begins trotting out his catch phrases ("Robbie Cano! Doncha know!") for the wrong guy, it sort of like setting off fireworks at the wrong time. All you can do is laugh. ROCKET'S MAN: Roger Clemens may be gone, but he's still texting pitching advice to the grateful Joba Chamberlain. (USA Today) THE SAGA CONTINUES: Clemens is now accusing Brian McNamee "of intentionally inflicting [him] with emotional distress." (Houston Chronicle) THIS IS WHY WE GOT HIM: The Daily News' Filip Bondy lauds Johan Santana for coming through last night when the Mets most needed him. YOU DON'T RIDE A HORSE TO WORK, DO YOU? No? Then why, asks FoxSports.com's Michael Rosenberg, should anyone want to stand in the way of progress and be against instant replay in baseball? QUIT WORRYING: Red Sox fan Russ Smith, writing on the blog splicetoday.com, says all this talk about instant replay and long games is all a bunch of hooey. Baseball, he asserts, is "continually evolving . . . and interest hasn’t diminished." FROM PROSPECT TO . . . Utilityman. That's the career path the Dodgers seem to have for Andy LaRoche. (Los Angeles Times) THE BEST REVENGE: Bill Hall, angered about losing playing time with the Brewers, came off the bench and was the hero in the bottom of the ninth last night as Milwaukee rallied past the Braves. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) MEDICAL REPORTS: Ex-Yankee reliever Luis Vizcaino, rehabbing an injured shoulder, is inching closer towards rejoining the Rockies (Denver Post) . . . That's not the case with the Rangers' Hank Blalock, who's recovering slowly from carpal-tunnel syndrome (Dallas Morning News) . . . The Mets' Ryan Church is still feeling the effects of last week's concussion and the team is being criticized for bringing him back too soon (New York Times) . . . The latest players headed to the DL: Arizona's Eric Byrnes (mlb.com), Detroit's Gary Sheffield (AP via Yahoo!) and Atlanta's Matt Diaz (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Joe Torre says Jason Schmidt's velocity is down, and may remain so all season. (Los Angeles Daily News) OLD FRIENDS: Julian Tavarez joined the Brewers yesterday. (mlb.com) He also pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, though none of the game accounts I saw mentioned anything about it . . . Steve Lyons is still bitter about his firing by Fox during the 2006 postseason (Chicago Tribune) . . . Kent Mercker is alive, kicking, and pitching a perfect rehab inning for the Reds' farm club in Louisville (Cincinnati Enquirer) . . . Orlando Cabrera is developing a me-first reputation in the White Sox clubhouse -- for instance, he's twice called the press box to complain about errors that were charged to him this season -- and Ozzie Guillen is warning him to straighten up and fly right (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Scott Hatteberg has been designated for assignment by Cincinnati (mlb.com) . . . It looks like Pedro Martinez will pitch for the Mets on Tuesday. (New York Daily News) -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone Sox: Third-base ump is no AngelBY SEAN McADAM SEATTLE -- Minutes after Daisuke Matsuzaka left the game -- voluntarily -- Julio Lugo and Terry Francona did, too, though not of their own accord. In the home half of the fifth inning, reliever David Aardsma threw a 1-and-0 pitch to Raul Ibanez. Believing that Ibanez had committed and swung through, the Sox asked home-plate umpire Eric Cooper to check with third-base umpire Angel Hernandez. Hernandez signaled "safe" with his arms, indicating Ibanez had held up and the pitch was a ball. Lugo had been shouting "Check! Check!" from his shortstop position, indicating he wanted help from Hernandez on the pitch. After Hernandez ruled that Ibanez had held up, Lugo said the umpire was staring at him. When Lugo asked what he was staring at, Hernandez ejected him. Lugo raced over to Hernandez for an explanation and the umpire several times turned away from the infielder, ignoring his question. Francona raced out to restrain Lugo and, not long after, got himself ejected, too. "I didn't say nothing else," maintained Lugo after the game, a 4-3 Sox loss, had ended. "There's nothing else I can say. I don't know -- I don't understand. I just wanted to know why he threw me out." Added an exasperated Francona: "I wouldn't know where to begin. I just wanted to get Lugo out of there and move on with the game." Lugo and Hernandez have something of a history. In April of 2007, with the Sox playing the Orioles in Baltimore, Lugo asked for time to step out of the batter's box. The request, routinely granted by umpires in almost every circumstance -- on Tuesday night, for instance, Cooper called time when Manny Ramirez asked just as Mariners starter Miguel Batista was beginning his windup -- was denied by Hernandez, the home-plate umpire at the time, and a pitch by Daniel Cabrera called a strike. At the time, Lugo said of Hernandez: "He's just hard to talk to. Personally, that guy, there's something wrong with him." The ejections were the first this season for both Lugo and Francona, but the third team ejection on the current road trip. Hitting coach Dave Magadan was thrown out Friday night in Oakland.
Posted by Sean McAdam Matsuzaka leaves game because of shoulder 'fatigue'; next start uncertainBY SEAN McADAM SEATTLE -- Daisuke Matsuzaka left last night's start after four innings, the result of what the Red Sox termed "fatigue" in his right shoulder. After giving up two runs in the first to the Seattle Mariners and another run in the third, Matsuzaka came out to begin his warmup tosses for the bottom of the fifth. After his second toss, he appeared to grab his lower back, bringing out a coterie of support from the visitor's dugout. Following a brief discussion, Matsuzaka left the mound and the game. "He felt some fatigue," said Terry Francona. "We're not going to run somebody out there (like that). There's just no sense in doing that." The Sox manager was unsure whether Matsuzaka would be able to make his next start, which is slated for Monday in Baltimore. He will undergo further tests and examinations today. Francona said he knew that Matsuzaka was experiencing an issue with the shoulder earlier and that the team was monitoring him. When there wasn't much life on his warmup tries, the Sox didn't hesitate to yank him from the start. "Even before I went up on the mound," said Matsuzaka, "I felt things were a little off in the bullpen. I wouldn't go so far as to call it discomfort, but I wasn't at my best. I definitely felt there something wrong. "I gave it a try, but I thought it best to stop . . . With so much season left and such a long way to go, we thought it would be best to come out of the game . . . Things just didn't' feel right." Asked about his chances to make his next start, Matsuzaka said: "It's hard to say until we re-assess the situation until (today)." Matsuzaka recalled that he had a "similar experience in the second or third year of my pro career," and that he had erred in attempting to pitch through that difficulty. In 2002, which was Matsuzaka's fourth year in pro ball, he missed about half the season because of an elbow injury. It was not clear last night if that was the injury to which Matsuzaka had alluded.
Posted by Sean McAdam Mariners 4, Red Sox 3: A night of losses all aroundBY SEAN McADAM SEATTLE – It was night full of losses, beginning in mid-game and continuing right through to the bitter end in the bottom of the ninth. First, the Red Sox lost Daisuke Matsuzaka to some sort of vague shoulder ailment. Then they lost Julio Lugo and Terry Francona, both to ejections by the same umpire, within minutes of one another. Finally, they lost to the Seattle Mariners, something no other American League has been able to do since May 14. A two-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth by Jose Lopez off Mike Timlin snapped the Mariners’ seven-game losing streak and saddled the Sox with their fourth setback in five tries on the current road trip. The Sox have lost eight of their last nine away from home. With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Wladimir Balentien reached on an infield single to the shortstop hole. A bunt moved him to second and a groundout to the right side pushed him to third. The Red Sox elected to intentionally walk Ichiro Suzuki and face Lopez instead, but the Seattle second baseman foiled the strategy by slapping a single past third baseman Mike Lowell, scoring Balentien with the winning run. "We were trying to make Lopez beat us," said Francona, "and he beat us. It was the right thing to do; it just didn’t work out." The loss dropped Timlin to 0-6 with a 10.29 ERA at Safeco Field. "Yeah, my luck (stinks) right now," said Timlin, now 2-3 overall this year. "This park . . . it doesn’t matter. Right now, for me, it just (stinks); it’s frustrating. I’m throwing the ball well. I’m locating the ball well and I’m getting beat. And I don’t like it." Limited to two hits through the first five innings by Seattle starter Miguel Batista, the Sox erased a 3-0 deficit with one mighty swing from Manny Ramirez. An error by normally sure-handed shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt allowed Dustin Pedroia to reach and David Ortiz followed with a sharp single to right. Ramirez then drilled the first pitch from Batista into the right-field seats for career homer No. 499, his first since May 12, dating back 45 at-bats. "What a nice swing," marveled Francona. "We were pretty quiet until that point." The Sox had another opportunity to overtake the Mariners in the eighth after Pedroia worked a leadoff walk off Batista and Ortiz singled off lefty reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith. But Brandon Morrow overpowered Ramirez and Mike Lowell, striking them both out swinging, and retired J.D. Drew on a soft liner to right, stranding two baserunners. Matsuzaka, who began the game 8-0, was nicked for two runs in the first inning. Ichiro started things with a double, took third on a sacrifice by Lopez and scored on a fielder’s choice. Raul Ibanez then doubled home Jose Vidro with the second run. In the third, a single by Ichiro, a stolen base, an error by Sean Casey and another fielder’s choice produced the third Seattle run. When Matsuzaka came out to begin his warmup throws in the bottom of the fifth, he made it through just two before what seemed like half the Red Sox dugout had assembled at the mound. Following a brief consultation, Matsuzaka exited for what the Sox later cryptically labeled "shoulder fatigue." David Aardsma, Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima combined to keep the Mariners within reach, allowing just two hits and two walks though four innings of relief, until the fateful ninth.
Posted by Sean McAdam May 27, 2008
Early Notes from Seattle * Kevin Youkilis is out of the lineup for a second straight night, battling some soreness in his right hand. Sean Casey is again his replacement at first. * Francona spoke at length about his upcoming role as the manager of the American League All-Star team. The occasion was the the release of the first batch of voting results by fans, which puts a number of Red Sox regulars -- Jason Varitek, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis -- leading at their respective positions. * Now that Manny Ramirez has played his 2,000th game -- he jokingly invited everyone in the clubhouse to a party in celebration Monday night, giving out his room number -- he be placed in some sort of historical perspective. * Finally, not surprisingly, Jon Lester was named A.L. Player of the Week for last week, sharing the honors with Detroit's Magglio Ordonez.
Posted by Sean McAdam Lineups from SeattleBOSTON Crisp CF MAtsuzaka SP SEATTLE Ichiro CF Batista SP
Posted by Sean McAdam Five Red Sox lead All-Star ballotingThere could be a lot of red in the Yankee Stadium infield for the All-Star Game. In early fan voting for the July 15 midsummer classic, Red Sox players lead the way at first base (first-time-on-the-ballot Kevin Youkilis), second base (Dustin Pedroia), designated hitter (David Ortiz), catcher (Jason Varitek) and one outfield spot (Manny Ramirez). Ortiz is the overall leader among American League vote recipients, with 556,567 votes. The other four leaders: Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. Click here to see the top five vote recipients at each position.
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