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May 8, 2008 »

Cora finishes first rehab game

Red Sox infielder Alex Cora (elbow strain) just finished his first of three rehab games for the PawSox against the Durham Bulls.

Prior to the game Cora said he's healthy and ready to play. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He's hit second in the PawSox' lineup and played second base. He posted only one assist in the field, a 6-5-4-6 run down.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 8:33 PM | Permalink

Cora begins rehab in Pawtucket

Red Sox infielder Alex Cora (elbow strain) is scheduled to play three rehab games for the PawSox, beginning tonight against the Durham Bulls.

Prior to the game Cora said he's healthy and ready to play. He's batting second in the PawSox' lineup and playing second. He's already 1-for-1 with a single and run scored in the first inning.

PawSox manager Ron Johnson sat in his office at McCoy Stadium this afternoon and recalled the first time he saw Cora play.

It was in 1997 when Cora, in only his second professional season in the Dodgers organization, was playing for Double-A San Antonio and Johnson was managing in Wichita (Kansas City Royals).

“He was the same kind of player back then,” said Johnson. “He was always doing the right thing at the right time of the game. You would look at him and from physical skills you’d be like ‘well. . .’ but, God, this guy knew how to play the game. You can see why he’s got 10 years in the big leagues and why he’ll probably be a big-league manager.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:23 PM | Permalink

Mother's Day Walk

The Red Sox will host a Mother's Day Walk in the Park at Fenway Park on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Admission to the park is free. Fans can benefit the Red Sox Foundation by purchasing $10 tickets for the 2008 Ring Raffle. A total of nine Red Sox fans will receive genuine World Series rings and a 10th winner will receive a Volvo C30 Red Sox Special Edition car.

The 2004 and 2007 World Series Championship trophies will be on display from 11-1 during the Walk in the Park . Fans will be able to have their pictures taken with the trophy. Former Red Sox players, Wally the Green Monster and mascots Lefty and Righty also will be on hand. Food and beverages will be on sale.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 5:10 PM | Permalink

A First for Sox Old-Timers

When Tim Wakefield (41 years, 278 days) and Mike Timlin (42 years, 57 days) combined on a shutout Tuesday night against the Tigers, it marked the first time since 1900, when such records were kept, that a team has tossed a shutout using multiple pitchers over the age of 40.

That nugget came from research done by the Elias Sports Bureau after the Sox' 5-0 triumph over the Tigers.

"That's cool," said Wakefield.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:48 PM | Permalink

Plans for Colon

Bartolo Colon threw a side session today and is on schedule to join Pawtucket for a start at McCoy Stadium Saturday night against Norfolk.

Manager Terry Francona said he expected Colon to throw three innings.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:44 PM | Permalink

Pedroia Rest; Lowrie Plays

Dustin Pedroia is being given tonight off from the starting lineup, with rookie Jed Lowrie replacing him at second base and in the number two hole in the batting order, rain permitting.

Pedroia is the only member of the Sox to have played in all 35 games. Manager Terry Francona figured tonight would be a good day to give him a rest.

"I' ve thought about it before, but it seems like every time I want to do it he gets three hits," said Francona.

"But he looked last night like it would be a good night to give him a blow," said Francona of Pedroia, who went 0 for 5 and bobbled a routine ground ball for his second error of the season in Tuesday night's game.

Lowrie, meanwhile, is likely headed back to Pawtucket when the rehab assignment of utility infielder Alex Cora (sprained right elbow) comes to an end. Cora is scheduled to play three games for the PawSox, beginning tonight, so if he makes it through those three games without a mishap, he could be joining the Sox in Minneapolis over the weekend.

Lowrie, who was called up from Pawtucket on April 10, has been solid in his first taste of the big leagues, especially after having had only a little more than a week of Triple A experience. Lowrie, who has played shortstop, second and third for Boston, was batting .286 (10 for 35) in his first month in the majors heading into tonight's game.

"We all know he's a really good prospect. He has done a really good job for us. In fairness to his career, not to him, he needs to make sure he plays every day and develops. Playing every day is important to his career. He has not even had a lot of time at Triple A," said Francona of Lowrie, 24, the 45th pick overall in the 2005 draft.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:31 PM | Permalink

Starting Lineups, May 7

It's raining right now, but the storm is expected to move through in time for the Sox to play the Tigers as scheduled, though there may be a delay at the start.

So, if the game is played, here are the starting lineups.

RED SOX

Ellsbury cf
Lowrie 2b
Ortiz dh
Ramirez lf
Lowell 3b
Youkilis 1b
Drew rf
Varitek c
Lugo ss

Buchholz p

TIGERS

Granderson cf
Polanco 2b
Guillen 3b
Ordonez rf
Cabrera 1b
Sheffield lf
Joyce dh
Renteria ss
Rodriguez c

Galarraga p

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:28 PM | Permalink

How Ramirez and Ortiz rank among the all-time great home-run hitting duos

One more nugget from the Red Sox team notes: Manny Ramirez and DAvid Ortiz last night homered in the same game for the 47th time, which ties them for 15th all-time among any set of teammates.

Here are the rankings:
1. Hank Aaron/Eddie Mathews (Braves) 75
2. Lou Gehrig/Babe Ruth (Yankees) 73
3. Willie Mays/Willie McCovey (Giants) 68
4. Gil Hodges/Duke Snider (Dodgers) 67
5. Ron Santo/Billy Williams (Cubs) 64
6. Bob Allison/Harmon Killebrew (Twins) 61
7. Chipper Jones/Andruw Jones (Braves) 59
8. Dwight Evans/Jim Rice (Red Sox) 56
Joe Adcock/Eddie Mathews (Braves) 56
10. Yogi Berra/Mickey Mantle (Yankees) 55
11. Jay Buhner/Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners) 53
12. Jim Edmonds/Albert Pujols (Cardinals) 52
13. Orlando Cepeda/Willie Mays (Giants) 50
14. Jim Thome/Manny Ramirez (Indians) 48
15. Ramirez/Ortiz (Red Sox) 47
Bob Meusel/Babe Ruth (Yankees) 47

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:54 PM to Projo Mannybeingmanny | Permalink

It's raining in Detroit

Steve Krasner just told us that the weather is not so good out in Detroit, where the Red Sox and the Tigers are set to play the third game of their four-game series. The forecast calls for windy and rainy conditions most of the night, including possible thundershowers, before clearing sets in later in the evening. We'll see how this affects the start of the game.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:49 PM | Permalink

Wakefield and Timlin set a new standard for 40-somethings

According to the Red Sox game notes, last night's combined shutout by Tim Wakefield and Mike Timlin marked the first time in major-league history that a team pitched a combined shutout using only pitchers older than 40. Wakefield is 41; Timlin is 42. Both pitchers were born in 1966, as was Curt Schilling, who is working his way back from the disabled list.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:44 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: The old guys can still throw

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the combined shutout by 41-year-old Tim Wakefield and 42-year-old Mike Timlin; the first throwing session of the year for 41-year-old Curt Schilling; Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz becoming a force in the middle again; and the MLB Players Association's investigation of the owners' failure for not finding a job for Barry Bonds.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:55 AM to Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Wednesday, May 7

AP Photo

THE VIEW: Ask the Tigers and they'll tell you they're in a slump. (Detroit News) Ask the Red Sox and they'll tell you Tim Wakefield (above) was brilliant. There's truth on both sides, and Steven Krasner tells us how the Sox saw last night's 5-0 whitewashing in Detroit: As a brilliant pitching performance by the 41-year-old Wakefield, who scattered two hits over eight innings (retiring 17 in a row at one point) without walking anyone. He had help, ranging from personal catcher Kevin Cash, who, reports Krasner, had a good night both offensively and defensively; to Manny Ramirez, who moved one home run closer to career homer No. 500 (Boston Herald); to David Ortiz, who homered one pitch before Ramirez hit No. 497. (Boston Herald). And not that it means anything, necessarily, but the Sox now have the largest lead of any first-place team in baseball, at 3 1/2 games. (Projo Stats)

BACK TO WORK: Krasner reports on Curt Schilling's first throwing session of the season, which consisted of playing long toss with John Farrell. Schilling himself talked about it before it happened on his blog (38pitches.com), then said afterward that, basically, it was the first step in a thousand-mile journey. (Boston Herald)

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW: Alex Cora and Sean Casey will be making rehab appearances in Pawtucket later this week. Krasner has the details. As for the PawSox, Shalise Manza Young reports they wasted a fine pitching performance by Davern Hansack in a 3-0 loss to Durham. She also has a feature on surprise leadoff hitter Jeff Bailey.

LOST IN AMERICA: Krasner reflects on Julian Tavarez, who hasn't pitched since April 24.

ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THE COIN . . . Jim Leyland exploded at the Tigers when they were floundering a few weeks ago. But now that they're floundering again, he's taking a different tack. (Detroit Free Press)

FABULOUS FREDDY: Joe Posnanski, who has consistently come out against Jim Rice's Hall of Fame candidacy, makes the case for Fred Lynn being enshrined. (joeposnanski.com)

NOW THAT'S A PIECE OF MEMORABILIA: Bob Feller and Carl Yastrzemski once wore the same uniform jersey -- for the Raleigh Caps -- and one of the team's former batboys now owns it. (Charlotte News and Observer)

AP Photo

BREAKING THE RULES: "Cut into Joba Chamberlain's skin," writes George King of the New York Post, "and he bleeds." It might not have seemed that way through his whirlwind first few months as a big-leaguer, but Chamberlain proved as human as anybody else last night as -- for the first time in a regular-season game -- he blew a late-inning lead, allowing a three-run, eighth-inning homer to David Dellucci that gave the Indians a 5-3 win over the Yankees. (The picture above captures his reaction.) His only previous blown save had come in the playoffs last year in Cleveland; this time, though, there was no swarm of midges to blame. What's to blame, writes the New York Daily News' John Harper, was a change in pitching philosophy as, in his own words, Chamberlain "didn't attack the zone as much as I should have." He was mixing in sliders and curveballs -- even though Dellucci did hit a fastball for the home run -- and Harper wonders if the expansion of his pitch repertoire was the first step toward a move into the starting rotation, where you can't just fire fastball after fastball at hitters for six or seven innings. Kevin Kernan of the Post says now we'll see how well Chamberlain reacts to the inevitable failure that, though it had eluded him to this point, every big-leaguer experiences. The reaction at Yankee Stadium was inevitable: Some of the fans actually booed Chamberlain, for which they were taken to task by Peter Abraham. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

JOBA TO THE MAX: SI.com's Tom Verducci says the Diamondbacks may have the new Joba Chamberlain -- he's already old?? -- in Max Scherzer.

MINOR MIRACLE: Down on the farm, Ian Kennedy transformed himself back into the prospect the Yankees think he is with 7 1/3 one-hit, shutout innings in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's win over Charlotte. (New York Daily News)

NO 42 MEDIUM: MLB has retired Jackie Robinson's No. 42 in honor of the player who broke baseball's color line, but SI.com's Bryan Armen says the best player in history to wear the number is Mariano Rivera.

GROWING UP: The New York Sun's Tim Marchman thinks that, unlike most, Chein-Ming Wang is still evolving -- as a pitcher, that is -- at age 28.

'DADDY DEAREST': That's the New York Post headline over its story on Koby Clemens, who stands by his embattled father and says his family remains strong and united in spite of all the recent negative press.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: Suzyn Waldman, who was a target herself last year after her over-the-top reaction to Clemens' re-signing with the Yankees, says the only thing that surprises her about this year's Clemens Saga "is the glee with which people are going after Roger." (Newsday)

HELLO, DOLLY: Under the category of There's No Molehill Small Enough That We Can't Make Into A Mountain, MLB expressed its displeasure over the White Sox' inflatable-dolls-in-the-clubhouse incident. (Chicago Sun-Times) The White Sox brass didn't exactly apologize, though it called the whole thing "a little bit of a disappointment" and promised the issue was being "addressed." Ozzie Guillen, however, continues to be defiantly unapologetic (Chicago Tribune), and the Sun-Times' Rick Telander, an ex-athlete himself, says that's no surprise; ballplayers, in his words, "are adolescent boys," and always have been, and tells us "major-leaguers throughout history have done ludicrous things to break slumps." But he also tells us we're in a different era and Guillen has to watch his step, because "this beast . . . has the power to eat him up and spit him out." It was all a batting-practice fastball to the Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti, whose anti-White Sox venom bubbles in the calmest of times. Now, it's spilling onto a whole new plane.

SORRY, BUT THAT CAN'T BE IT: Refusing to believe they're unemployed simply because no one wants to deal with the baggage they carry, the MLBPA is opening an investigation into whether a collusion case can be made for Barry Bonds, Kenny Lofton and a few other still-unsigned free agents. (ESPN.com)

I WANT TO GO HOME: Ken Griffey Jr. all but told USA Today he wants to finish his career where he started, in Seattle, and the Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Dougherty thinks the Reds should grant him his wish and trade him to the Mariners. But new Reds GM Walt Jocketty called Griffey trade talk "premature." (espn.com)

I WANT TO STAY HOME: The suddenly resurgent Pat Burrell is a free agent at the end of the year, but he'd love to re-sign with the Phillies. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

LOCAL BOYS: Chris Iannetta lifted his average to .362 with a homer and a double in the Rockies' 6-5 loss to the Cardinals (Denver Post), and the Rocky Mountain News' Dave Kreiger calls Iannetta's surge one the few rays of sunshine in Colorado. That's the good news. The bad news is that ex-Providence College star John McDonald had to be taken off the field in a golf cart after hurting his ankle in the Blue Jays' loss to the Rays. (National Post)

BACK FROM EXILE: The Giants are moving Barry Zito back into the starting rotation. (mlb.com)

YESTERDAY'S BEST: Lost in the noise of inflatable dolls was news that Gavin Floyd nearly no-hit the Twins for the White Sox (mlb.com) . . . Sidney Ponson made his third consecutive strong start as the Rangers beat the Mariners (Dallas Morning News) . . . The Astros came from behind no fewer than four times to beat the Nationals (Houston Chronicle) . . . Scott Olsen just missed pitching the Marlins' first complete-game one-hitter in almost five years, but he was still good enough to lead Florida to a shutout of the Brewers. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

WHISPERS: Josh Fogg -- "rotting in the Reds bullpen," according to the Denver Post -- could be headed back to Colorado . . . The Marlins are interested in Jacque Jones, who was cut loose earlier this week by the Tigers. (mlb.com)

OLD FRIENDS: Not only do the Brewers have no plans to replace Eric Gagne as closer, they claim they're not at all worried about his five blown saves, 6.14 ERA and .382 batting average allowed (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Wil Ledezma is moving into the Padres' starting rotation (mlb.com) . . . Justin Duchscherer pitched a strong game for the A's (San Francisco Chronicle) . . . They're not crazy about ex-Blue Jay Eric Hinske in Toronto -- the fans are angry he never lived up to what they thought was his potential after he won the 2002 A.L. Rookie of the Year award with the Jays; their feelings about him are summed up rather nicely by our pal the Tao of Steib -- and he continued to give them reason to hate him by homering in Tampa Bay's 5-4 win at the Rogers Centre (Tampa Tribune) . . . Nor are they crazy about current Blue Jay David Eckstein (National Post), who's been struggling this year; he had to leave the same game because of a strained right hip flexor. (mlb.com)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:49 AM | Permalink