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Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: The hits keep on coming »
May 12, 2008
AP Photo
NOT GROUNDED FOR LONG: They don't go down easy, these Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury looked as if his night might be finished when he was hit in the knee by a pitch in the third inning (above), but he stayed in the game, scored a run by sprinting home on a sacrifice fly, and later made a running catch in right-center field. He was sort of a symbol of his team, which found itself on the short end of 5-0, 7-1 and 9-6 scores at various points during the evening and still came this close to pulling out an improbable win over the Twins. There was no Mother's Day Miracle this time, however, as pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez grounded out with the tying run in scoring position. Steven Krasner has the details of what Terry Francona called "as exciting a game [as] you can have and not win."
MORE OF THE SAME: Excitement was the buzzword of the weekend, though not always the way the Sox planned. Jonathan Papelbon provided a little Friday night -- for the Twins -- when he blew his second consecutive save opportunity; as Krasner reports, this time there were no checked-swing rollers, infield errors and broken-bat bloopers to blame. But he made the adjustments he had to make and was back to his old self Saturday night, saving the victory for a suddenly quick and efficient Daisuke Matsuzaka. Krasner tells us all about it.
Just as he'll tell us about tonight's finale of the wraparound weekend series in Minneapolis. Come back tomorrow for more.
WILDLY EFFECTIVE: David Pinto of Baseball Musings reports Matsuzaka is walking 5.7 batters per nine innings and his ERA of 2.45 is the lowest in history for a pitcher with a walk rate that high.
ERUDITE EMPIRE: That's what Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is calling the Red Sox, whom he admires for their skill and their intelligence. Souhan says the Sox are "a super power . . . [who have] surpassed the Yankees as the dominant franchise in baseball."
(He also makes a Chuck Knoblauch/Dustin Pedroia comparison that, I have to admit, occured to me at some point last night while Pedroia was fouling off Nick Blackburn pitch after Nick Blackburn pitch.)
RIGHT BACK ATCHA: The New York Daily News' Bill Madden throws a little loving at the Twins, who don't seem to miss Johan Santana very much.
OUT OF POSITION: Ramirez pinch-hit in the ninth because a tight right hamstring kept him out of the starting lineup.
IN POSITION: The Herald's Rob Bradford reports Ramirez believes he's the best defensive left fielder in Red Sox history.
HOMEWARD BOUND: Bryan Corey's days in Boston are over; Krasner has word of the reliever's trade to San Diego. Corey says his part in last year's World Series run was "special," but admits he's happy to be moving closer to his home in Mesa, Ariz. (mlb.com)
IT'S NOT HOW MANY, IT'S WHEN: Ramirez' final-out grounder threw the spotlight on a recent Sox problem: The inability to hit with runners in scoring position. Krasner has some startling numbers.
BALANCING ACT: The Globe's Nick Cafardo talks to scouts who say the Red Sox have "done it right" when it comes to lineup construction. "They have guys who can wear down the pitcher, guys who can drill the ball in the gap, they have guys who can run and take the extra base and they have guys who can take it out of the yard," says one. "I don't understand why there aren't more lineups like Boston's in the league, because they've got it right."
HARDWARE WATCH: Krasner thinks Kevin Youkilis is in line for Player of the Week honors. Pinto looks at Youkilis' contract status and explains why the Sox shouldn't, and probably won't, sign him to a long extension.
CRISP AND EFFICIENT: He still wants to play every day, and he knows that -- when everyone's healthy -- it's probably not going to happen here. But for now, reports Cafardo, Coco Crisp is "going with the flow" . . . and the Sox are reaping the benefits.
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? Saying that Bob Watson has "mishandled" much of what he's done as baseball's discipline chief, Curt Schilling expressed no surprise that Kyle Farnsworth's suspension for throwing at Manny Ramirez' head was reduced from three games to one. (Boston Herald)
AP Photo
GOING OUT WITH A BANG: Jed Lowrie was all smiles Saturday night (above) when he hit his first major-league home run (which, coincidentally, proved to be the winning run). And he was still smiling yesterday when he got the inevitable tap on the shoulder to bag his packs and head back to Pawtucket. "I understand the role the team has for me," he told Krasner. His role: Fill in until Alex Cora returns.
COMING BACK WITH A BANG: Cora returned yesterday -- hence Lowrie's demotion -- and went 3-for-4 as he filled in for the ailing Julio Lugo, who suffered a mild concussion Friday night. (Both stories projo.com) Things aren't going well for Lugo (Boston Globe), as everyone knows, but the Boston Herald's Steve Buckley says he's maintaining his sense of humor.
WHO'S THAT IN THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR?? The second-place Rays completed a sweep of the Angels yesterday and say the feeling in Tampa now is that, in the words of Cliff Floyd, "we're going to win." (Tampa Tribune)
NEXT! Bartolo Colon may soon hop onto the well-traveled Pawtucket-to-Boston shuttle. He pitched well Saturday night in his first appearance since suffering an oblique strain in April and Joe McDonald reports the Sox will be faced with a perplexing decision. To wit: We can assume Colon isn't going to accept an extended stay at Pawtucket, especially with so many teams -- such as the one 160 miles to the south -- in need of starting pitching. So whenever the new opt-out day in his contract arrives, the Sox will either have to promote him or let him go. And if they let him go, they'll know they rehabbed him and nursed him back to health so he could pitch against them for somebody else . . . like the Yankees.
If all that sounds to you as if One Ben Mondor Way will -- barring unexpected injury to someone else in the rotation -- be the summer address for Clay Buchholz, I'd say you've got good ears.
CHANGE IN TITLE: Paul Kenyon says Charlie Zink isn't just a knuckleballer any more.
NEW KID IN TOWN Jose Vaquedano has joined the PawSox bullpen from Portland, and Kenyon reports he had an "interesting" debut.
THE RULE: Having read the book, I can say I totally agree with Chad Finn's glowing review of Red Sox Rule by Michael Holley. (I also agree with his criticisms of Patriot Reign, for the exact reasons he states.) Holley talks about the Sox book with the Boston Globe.
ENOUGH, ALREADY: It's one thing for opponents to be irritated by Joba Chamberlain's pumping and screaming and dancing. But now Goose Gossage is telling him to knock it off and act like a Yankee. (Bergen Record)
MISSED CHANCE: Yesterday's rainout in Detroit cost Derek Jeter a chance to hit cleanup. (New York Daily News)
JUST TRYIN' TO CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF THE THING: It isn't often that a newspaper reporter will start a story with the letters "P.U.", but the New York Post's George King did in describing Kei Igawa's performance Friday night in Detroit. (New York Post)
END GAME? The Newark Star-Ledger's Dan Graziano notes the Mets entered the weekend with a 71-71 record since last June 1 and that management is preparing to reevaluate Willie Randolph.
ONE FOR WILLIE: Randolph had a shining moment yesterday, though, when he caught the Reds batting out of order in the ninth inning. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE . . . The Reds and Mariners have spent the better part of a week denying there's anything to these Ken Griffey Jr.-back-to-Seattle reports, but the Dayton Daily News' Hal McCoy reports the M's "desperately" want him back and have sent one of their executives to check him out. Pinto says that while Griffey would be an improvement over Seattle's current crop of DHs he's not nearly the player he used to be, and wonders why they wouldn't simply sign Barry Bonds instead.
I GET IT, DAVID: You have to be of a certain age, I suppose, to understand Pinto's reference in a short recap of the Astros' 8-5 win over the Dodgers.
THE DISEASE MARCHES ON: The Padres released Jim Edmonds, but the San Diego Union-Tribune's Tim Sullivan says he was a symptom, not the cause, of San Diego's problems.
NEXT STOP: CHICAGO: The Cubs may be interested in Edmonds. (Chicago Tribune)
WELCOME TO THE ETHER: Speaking of the Padres, team executive Paul DePodesta -- the former GM of the Dodgers and ex-Billy Beane assistant in Oakland -- has started a blog. His first topic: Greg Maddux' 350th career victory Saturday night. (San Diego Union-Tribune) Thomas Boswell calls Maddux and his two former Braves teammates, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, "great players who did it right."
'I DON'T CARE': That was Andruw Jones' repeated phrase to the Los Angeles Times' T.J. Simers, who observes that Jones is both "a Tubbo and clueless, which really isn't a very good combination for the player with the highest annual salary in Dodgers history."
HERE AND THERE: Richie Sexson's suspension for charging Kason Gabbard last week has been reduced to five games (Seattle Times) . . . Kevin Millwood, who has a strained right groin, is headed to the DL (Dallas Morning News) . . . Mark Prior, now with the Padres, is experiencing more discomfort with his shoulder (mlb.com) . . . Vernon Wells, as you've probably heard by now, has a broken wrist (Toronto Globe and Mail) . . . The Cardinals have taken the struggling Jason Isringhausen out of the closer's role (espn.com) . . . John Smoltz is optimistic he'll be returning to the Braves by the end of May after throwing Sunday for the first time in two weeks (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . The A's Eric Chavez is ready to begin a minor-league rehab stint seven months after back surgery. (San Francisco Chronicle)
OLD FRIENDS: Orlando Cabrera says he's a "hired gun," brought in by teams to fix their problems and, once things are settled, allowed to move on (Chicago Tribune) . . . Since the Brewers seemed incapable of recognizing what was staring them in the face, Eric Gagne took it upon himself to step down from the closer's role (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Brian Shouse is a member of the committee that will replace Gagne and yesterday he recorded the fifth save of his career. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:36 AM | Permalink
Tom Clancy | May 12, 2008 10:32 AM link
One of my favorite Slapshot lines.