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Lineups from Seattle

BOSTON
Ellsbury, rf
Pedroia, 2b
Ortiz, dh
Ramirez, lf
Lowell, 3b
Casey, 1b
Crisp, cf
Cash, c
Lugo, ss
Wakefield, p

SEATTLE
Ichiro, cf
Cairo, 1b
Vidro, dh
Ibanez, lf
Lopez, 2b
Beltre, 3b
Balentien, rf
Burke, c
Bettancourt, ss
Bedard, p

Posted by Thom Cahir  at 6:41 PM to McAdam | Permalink

Masterson to start Tuesday for Red Sox in Dice-K's spot?

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

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  at 5:14 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: A painful night for Dice-K

Click 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  at 2:08 PM to Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Wednesday, May 28

AP Photo

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.

AP Photo

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  at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Sox: Third-base ump is no Angel

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

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  at 2:34 AM | Permalink | Comments 2

Matsuzaka leaves game because of shoulder 'fatigue'; next start uncertain

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

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  at 2:21 AM | Permalink

Mariners 4, Red Sox 3: A night of losses all around

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

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."

"At the end, I threw a decent pitch and got beat," said a frustrated Timlin. "That’s all it is. (The pitch to Lopez was) on the inside part of the plate, we’re trying to beat him inside. He turned on it."

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  at 2:18 AM | Permalink