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Lineups from the Bay Area

BOSTON

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Ramirez LF
Lowell 3B
Youkilis 1B
Drew RF
Lugo SS
Cash C

Wakefield SP

OAKLAND
Hannahan 3B
Crosby SS
Cust LF
Thomas DH
Sweeney CF
Brown LF
Ellis 2B
Barton 1B
Suzuki C

Harden SP

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 8:39 PM | Permalink

On second thought, Tavarez opts for free agency

BY SEAN McADAM
and JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writers

Julian Tavarez, who only a few days ago elected to accept an assignment to Triple A Pawtucket, has had a change of heart and has instead elected free agency.

Tavarez, who was designated for assignment earlier this month, cleared waivers earlier this week and, as a vested veteran, had the option of becoming a free agent or being assigned to Pawtucket. Either way, the Red Sox were responsible for his entire $3.75 million salary for this season.

Tavarez initially accepted the assignment, with the hope that he could be recalled by the Sox during the course of the season. The Red Sox had informed Tavarez that, even if he accepted the minor-league assignment, they wouldn't stand in the way if a team expressed an interest in him for a major-league spot.

He was expected to report to McCoy Thursday, but called and told the team that he had changed his mind and would become a free agent.

If he signs elsewhere, the Red Sox would get a small bit of salary relief, saving about $130,000, or the pro-rated share of the major league minimum.

Among the teams that had indicated an interest in either dealing for him or claiming him on waivers were Colorado, Milwaukee and Baltimore.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 7:49 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Very sorry to be going

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning as Sean was just getting his day started in California. The topics: the Red Sox' remarkable 7-0 homestand, the rarity of two grand slams in one game, Daisuke Matsuzaka's latest walk-a-rama, and the Red Sox' next two opponents: Oakland and Seattle.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:09 PM to Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Friday, May 23

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

HOME WARRIORS: We'll remember this for a while. A no-hitter. Another impressive start by a rookie hopeful. A just-as-impressive beginning from a veteran being counted on to bolster the rotation. And yesterday, two grand slams in one day, one of them from Mike Lowell (above). Yes, this series -- and this homestand -- was one for the memory books.

What may fade over time are the details, which is just as well because, as Joe McDonald reports, yesterday's 11-8 dispatch of the Royals -- which completed a four-game sweep of Kansas City on the heels of a three-game wipeout of the Brewers -- was hardly a thing of beauty. And the wart of the edge of the nose was, once again, Daisuke Matsuzaka, whose sterling 8-0, 2.40 record (Projo Stats) gives no hint to the agonizing manner in which he got there. Steven Krasner examines yesterday's 5 2/3-inning, six-walk, six-hit, two-wild-pitch 118-pitch torture session, which seemed to wear down even the eternally upbeat Terry Francona, based on comments he made during his postgame session with the media. Kraz reports Dice-K had a built-in excuse this time: It was his first game with Kevin Cash, who handled the catching chores as Jason Varitek was given the day off. (And, indeed, that fifth-inning exchange where Matsuzaka shook off Cash, what, 71 times as grass began growing through cracks in the grandstand cement speaks to that unfamiliarity.) Whatever the reason, Matsuzaka himself was less than pleased with the whole thing (Boston Globe), though pitching coach John Farrell was more upbeat about it. (Boston Herald) Still, there's no arguing with the results: 11th Red Sox pitcher since 1956 to begin 8-0; Sox victories in each of his last 12 regular-season starts, dating back to Sept. 22, 2007; first eight-game winner in the American League. Could be worse. A lot worse.

The reason it wasn't, at least yesterday, was the offensive show put on by his teammates, led by the grand-slam duo of Lowell and J.D. Drew. Paul Kenyon has their reaction to the whole thing, plus the slew of milestones -- first two grand-slam game since Bill Mueller in 2003, first time two Sox hit grand slams in the same game since 1995, first time two of them did it at Fenway since 1984, etc. -- they matched along the way. (Gordon Edes of the Globe has an interesting one: There have been 245 no-hitters since 1876, but only 72 two-grand-slam games.) It speaks to a bigger point, says Krasner: Namely, the relentless, 1-to-9 lineup that keeps producing as a whole no matter which of the individual parts -- like Manny Ramirez at present -- is misfiring.

Of course, that's mostly true at home, where they have a higher batting average (.303 to .286), a higher on-base percentage (.383 to .347), a higher slugging percentage (.474 to .450) and score more runs per game (6.0 to 4.54) than they do on the road. (baseball-reference.com) And, not coincidentally, they're 21-5 at Fenway and 10-14 on the road. Now they head out to Oakland, Seattle and Baltimore for a 10-game trip. Let's see if they can make those numbers even out a bit.

SHORT AND NOT-SO-SWEET: The flip side of the Sox' fireworks show: It led to a truncated Banny Log on joeposnanski.com.

MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW: Not doing anything Sunday? Head out to McCoy Stadium to see Clay Buchholz make a rehab start for the PawSox. McDonald and Krasner tell us all about it in their notebook, which includes items on Varitek's day off and various game notes.

NO, IT'S NOT ALWAYS LIKE THIS: I'm sure many of us know someone who attended both Buchholz' and Jon Lester's no-hitters. Edes found a guy who not only went to both of them, but they were the only two times he's ever been to Fenway. Not only that, he's from Utah. In addition, Gordon reports that -- unlike the reward Tom Yawkey gave to Mel Parnell for his 1956 no-hitter -- John Henry had no bonus for Lester, and he answers a question I get all the time: What's the difference in salary between the major leagues and minor leagues? He gives us Masterson's numbers.

FINITO: It appears Kevin Youkilis' days as a blogger are over.

BIG DEAL: Writing in Slate, Pat Jordan says most athletes' blogs "are essentially self-aggrandizing and masturbatory . . . [and] reveal nothing genuine about the writer." It's part of a bigger piece in which he talks how the new celebrity status of athletes has put a moat between subject and follower -- a moat which reporters, once seen as allies in their achievements but now viewed as adversaries, are not allowed to cross -- and led to an angrier, less-forgiving relationship between player and fan.

YOU'RE NOT CALLING ANYTHING: The New York Times reports the Yankees -- hosts of this year's All-Star Game -- were unaware of a promotion in which a fan can predict where David Ortiz will hit the ball during the Home Run Derby (Biz of Baseball), with Ortiz getting one chance to hit it to that spot. And -- considering the damage Ortiz has done to them over the years -- they're not happy about Big Papi playing Babe Ruth in their ballpark and may attempt to stop it. Before Red Sox fans get all high and mighty, the blog YFSF makes an interesting point: "I am pretty sure (actually, I KNOW) that Sox fans wouldn't like A-Rod being the focus of an All-Star game gimmick at Fenway Park."

BE PREPARED: Jim Rice has an interesting Ask 14 entry on the way various players he's known -- Nomar Garciaparra, Wade Boggs, John Valentin, Manny Ramirez -- prepare for games.

WON'T BE LONG NOW: The Mets' fourth straight loss in Atlanta (New York Post) has everyone -- Mets fans such as those who run the blog The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamas and media professionals like Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution -- talking about what a mess they are. Considering that David Wright is publicly questioning the team's effort (mlb.com) -- though he later said he did nothing of the sort (New York Daily News) -- and team owners aren't returning his phone calls (New York Post), can Willie Randolph's head possibly be saved?

10:30 THUNDER: The Yankees -- energized, perhaps, by Joe Girardi's first ejection of the season -- scored a run in the bottom of the ninth and beat the Orioles, 2-1. (New York Post) It was set up by a good six-inning performance from Ian Kennedy (New York Daily News), though Baseball Musings' David Pinto thinks Kennedy was more lucky than good.

BUT THERE'S ONLY ONE STORY IN THIS TOWN: Still, all the talk in New York -- at least the American League side of it -- is on Joba Chamberlain's move to the starting rotation. (New York Daily News) It makes sense, says the New York Post's Kevin Kernan, because "Chamberlain was not put on this earth to be an eighth-inning setup man." And since the Yankees are "thinking about 2009 and beyond more than [they are] about 2008," according to the Daily News' John Harper, it's time to transition Joba into the rotation. Even so, Peter Abraham can't fathom what the excitement is about since Chamberlain is "a really good pitcher . . . [and you] know what you do with the really good pitchers? You start them." (LoHud Yankees Blog)

UH OH: While they're still saying his right-calf injury is minor, the Yankees have pushed Chien-Ming's Wang's next start back by a day. (New York Post)

AS EXPECTED . . . : LaTroy Hawkins was suspened for throwing at Luke Scott's head the other night. (New York Daily News). And, as expected, he appealed the penalty.

WE'RE NOT ALONE: Annoyed by the at-times-subterranean level of intelligence displayed by sports talk-show callers? Apparently they're no smarter in Canada, as our pal The Tao of Stieb tells us. Because, yeah, Ernie Whitt's time as first-base coach makes him the obvious choice to replace J.P. Ricciardi as Blue Jays general manager.

(Watch out, Theo. You're in Luis Alicea's cross hairs!)

'BLAND LIMBO LAND OF NOTHINGNESS': I hate it when my friends don't get along, so I wonder how Tao will take ShysterBall's none-too-flattering take on the Jays.

CENTRAL DEBATE: Today it's the Royals' turn in the "Someone Has To Win The Central" series on the blog WaitTillNextYear. In a totally unrelated post (I think) on Baseball Prospectus, Joe Sheehan makes a case for the White Sox.

AND WHY NOT? The White Sox completed a sweep of the Indians last night and now have won six in a row. (Chicago Tribune)

THE CLUB IS GROWING: The Indians, on the other hand, are floundering and Pinto wonders if Eric Wedge will soon be joining Randolph and Ned Yost in the Managerial Hot Seat Derby.

SPEAKING OF SWEEPS . . . Those surprising Marlins completed one of the Diamondbacks. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING: ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports baseball's first dip of the toe into the instant-replay waters will come this year in the Arizona Fall League, and it could be instituted in the majors as early as next season. ShysterBall isn't sure it's such a good idea. Not Joe Girardi, though; he loves it. (New York Post)

NO, NO, IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND! The blog Big League Stew says that good health will be a key to a potential Chipper Jones run at .400 this year. But Pinto has a study that demonstrates the chances of hitting .400 go up if you play less.

I LOVE THE THINK FACTORY: One of my stops every day is The Baseball Think Factory's Baseball Primer Newslog, and one of the reasons is Repoz, a poster who first caught my eye with a Rich McKinney reference several years back. At least once a week he makes me laugh out loud; he did it today when he mentioned Fred Harris and Brendan Boyd. Because a friend and I can still recite some of their lines verbatim. ("Hey, Mac, you wanna buy a hot Buick?")

VOTING PREFERENCES: It appears the Omar Vizquel-to-the-Hall of Fame debate has been decided in Omar's favor. The question now, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman, is whether or not he'll make it on the first ballot.

MY DAY'S COMING: Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Bert Blyleven's candidacy has been a hot topic for some time now. But in an interesting -- and sometimes hilarious -- interview with Big League Stew, he says he thinks he'll make it.

MINE'S NOT, IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT: Marvin Miller, on the other hand, wants no part of being in the Hall of Fame because of "the voting mechanism and what he feels are conflicts of interest that stack the deck against any labor executive who spent a career battling management." (New York Times)

STAR POWER: Bud Selig is expected to announce today that the Angels have been awarded the 2010 All-Star Game. (Los Angeles Times)

HERE AND THERE: Surprise, surprise: Moises Alou is headed to the DL (New York Post) . . . The Dodgers may soon summon phenom Clayton Kershaw to Los Angeles (mlb.com) . . . The Nationals will be without Austin Kearns for about a month (Washington Post) . . . Josh Hamilton's amazing season continued as he led the Rangers past the Twins, and Texas is trying to sign him to a long-term contract (Both stories Dallas Morning News) . . . The Angels shot down rumors that Chone Figgins is headed to the White Sox. (Los Angeles Times)

OLD FRIENDS: Pedro Martinez denied reports that he's considering retirement (New York Post) . . . Eric Gagne has rotator-cuff tendinitis and will be sidelined indefinitely. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

AND FINALLY . . . Many thanks to Craig Calcaterra of ShysterBall for his kind words concerning this very blog. Believe me, we're aware of the changing landscape and are trying to adapt to it.

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 9:00 AM | Permalink