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Red Sox' off-day workout notes

BOSTON -- What the Red Sox did on their day off . . .

-- Daisuke Matsuzaka played catch, making 60-70 throws at distances of up to 180 feet. He will play catch again on Tuesday and is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Wednesday

-- Jacoby Ellsbury took batting practice in the cage. He reported he had no problems, and will be evaluated again tomorrow.

-- Others who worked out at Fenway Park included Josh Beckett, Bartolo Colon, Justin Masterson and Manny Ramirez.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:44 PM | Permalink

Sox change starting times for Tuesday and Thursday games

Having changed the starting time of last Thursday's game to accommodate fans who wished to watch the Celtics in the NBA Finals, the Red Sox will do it again this week.

With the Celts scheduled to play Game Three on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. and Game Four on Thursday night at the same time, the Sox are moving the starting times of their games against the Orioles on those nights to 6:05 p.m. Both games, obviously, will be played at Fenway Park.

The gates will open at 4:05 p.m. on both Tuesday and Thursday. NESN’s pregame coverage will begin at 5:00 p.m. both days.

Posted by Art Martone  at 1:54 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: J.D. Drew is as hot as the weather

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: J.D. Drew's hot streak, John McLaren's ill-fated decision to pull Erik Bedard after five innings of work, whether Dustin Pedroia is primed to break out of his slump, and Justin Masterson's continued good work.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:

On Drew: "Drew's numbers historically, or over his career, in the number-three spot have been far better than any other spot in that batting order. He has more power, more homers, more RBIs, higher OPS -- whatever way you want to measure. There's something about the number-three spot that agrees with J.D. Drew."

On Masterson: "It's been a remarkable debut when you think that, before [his first big-league] start, he had not pitched above Double-A, and he has come up and filled in a couple of spot starts, and now that Buchholz and Matsuzaka are both down, he has just stepped in very nicely and given them everything they could hope for and more."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:37 AM to Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam | Permalink | Comments 1

Baseball Today: Monday, June 9

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

ON THE BALL: How wonderful to be talking baseball again; we weren't doing much of that when last we spoke. And J.D. Drew is giving us a lot to talk about. His sixth-inning home run (above) delivered the winning run in yesterday's 2-1 win over the Mariners, which, Steven Krasner notes, also featured a Drew RBI in the third and a Drew run-saving catch in the second. This on the heels on what Sean McAdam pointed out could have been a five-hit game on Saturday when Boston buried Seattle, 11-3; as it was, two of his line drives were caught, so he had to settle for a 3-for-5 afternoon in which he tripled and homered. It is, Krasner wrote Saturday, "a great illustration of hitting the ball where it’s pitched, an approach that, given the compact, flawless mechanics Drew has been showing at the plate recently, puts the Sox' right fielder in a position to succeed every time he’s in the batter’s box." He's been succeeding just about every time he's in the batter's box, too, hitting .519 in his last eight games and .400 in his last 16. I don't think I have to point out Drew's resurgence couldn't have come at a better time because, as McAdam reports, David Ortiz may be feeling better but he'll still be sidelined for the next several weeks. Nor are the other walking wounded much farther along than they were Friday, though Krasner says Jacoby Ellsbury hopes to be back tomorrow and Manny Ramirez may return to left field Friday when interleague play resumes. But as long as Drew continues this torrid streak, hey, who needs 'em?

CALM DOWN, WILL YA? I know, I know; let's get real. It's hardly a one-man show. Even yesterday, Drew wasn't the only hero. McAdam has the details of another superb outing from Justin Masterson, and puts it into an interesting context: "There’s not enough pitching [in the major leagues today], and for what little exists teams gladly overpay. Then there’s the Red Sox." Daisuke Matsuzaka -- the 8-0 Daisuke Matsuzaka -- goes down, and Masterson steps in so ably that the Sox don't miss a beat. (And his games are certainly more esthetically pleasing than some of the walk-a-thons authored by Dice-K.) Krasner reports that Craig Hansen continued his stretch of lights-out relief. And Steve goes Inside The Game to laud Dustin Pedroia, hitless again yesterday -- and now 10-for-his-last-70 -- but who may have had the key at-bat in the victory, a nine-pitch walk that led to the tying run and helped drive up Erik Bedard's pitch count to the point that he had to be lifted from the game in the sixth. It was in the sixth inning, against Bedard's replacement, that Drew delivered the game-winning homer.

INTO EACH LIFE, SOME RAIN MUST FALL: The bad news from the weekend: Kevin Youkilis' record streak of errorless games at first base came to an end Saturday. McAdam and Krasner tell us all about it.

THE REAL CULPRITS: The weekend actually started with a bit of Rays hangover (which, reports Joe McDonald, manifested itself in a lifeless 8-0 loss Friday night), along with the inevitable fallout from the testosterone fest. It didn't take long for MLB to hand down its suspensions for Thursday Night At The Fights -- McAdam broke the story, at least in regards to the Red Sox penalties, at about 4:30 Friday afternoon and updated it with reaction and news over the next hour-and-a-half -- and most of the media reports centered what the Sox and Rays thought about it. (The Rays continued to salute themselves for their noble reaction to the evil Coco; Joe Maddon told Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune they were "sincerely aggressive in a good way, and I liked it.") But McAdam had a different take: He blamed the umpires for not taking charge of this thing Wednesday night, specifically when Maddon and Crisp began screaming obscenities at each other in the middle of the diamond, and as a result "invited the players to implement their own brand of frontier justice." And so they did. (Sean also takes Crisp to task, saying he "clearly overreacted" to Jason Bartlett's dropping of the knee.) You get the sense MLB agrees with Sean about the umpires; after all, it suspended Jon Lester for acts -- hitting Carl Crawford, throwing behind Willy Aybar's legs, coming up and in on Cliff Floyd -- the umps didn't even deem worthy of a warning, let alone an ejection.

In any case, let the suspensions begin and let's get on with life. It's over.

At least until June 30 in St. Petersburg.

DON'T MISTAKE SILENCE FOR ACCEPTANCE: Jon Lester may have been relatively quiet about his suspension -- which he chose not to appeal, mainly because the timing was such that the Red Sox won't have to bring up another pitcher to make a start in his place (thanks to today's off day) -- but that doesn't mean he agrees with it, or isn't angered by it. (Boston Herald)

THEY SAID IT: Best quotes from the whole thing:

-- "I believe that. I will agree with him. It’s true." -- Crisp, when told James Shields described his actions as "bush league" (projo.com)

-- "I don't think I had a very good case to appeal" -- Jonny Gomes, on why he accepted his five-game suspension (Tampa Tribune)

WHAT, DID YOU SLEEP THROUGH 2004? Last year the Red Sox skated through the season with relative ease, health-wise, and no one said a word. Now they've had some injuries so Bill Chuck of Foxsports.com's Dugout Central trots out "The Curse" as an explanation.

PROBLEM? WHAT PROBLEM? MAYBE YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM, BUT WE HAVEN'T GOT A PROBLEM: As expected, the Sox arrived at Fenway Park Friday insisting all was well between Ramirez and Youkilis, one day after their dugout contretemps was caught by the television cameras for all the world to see. Curt Schilling, in the middle of a newsy post that touches on a number of topics, calls the showdown "a TOTAL non-issue and an event that happens far far more than you ever see or hear about." (38pitches.com) Most of you agree. (Stories and surveys via projo.com)

Even so, Allan Wood says that if reports are true -- that it started because Ramirez was tired of Youkilis' complain-about-every-call, scream-obscenities-when-things-don't-go-his-way, slam-down-the-equipment-in-disgust-when-he-makes-an-out act -- then he's with Manny. "Yook's Paul O'Neill impersonations have always grated on me," he writes. (joyofsoxn.com)

PROBLEM? WHAT PROBLEM? MAYBE . . . OH, YOU ALREADY HEARD THIS: The Rays were saying the same thing after yesterday's battery, pitcher Matt Garza and catcher Dioner Navarro, exchanged words and then shoves in the dugout in the middle of their 6-3 loss to the Rangers. (St. Petersburg Times) The blog DRays Bay thinks the Rays are right in keeping things under wraps, and also comes to the same conclusion as everyone else: The culpable party here was Garza.

CELEBRITY IMPERSONATOR: My wife calls Joe Maddon "Spencer Tracy" because of the way those glasses make him look. Me, I'll start calling him "William Buckley" if he continues to say things like "The strike zone was slightly amorphic today." (St. Petersburg Times) (It probably was; the normally placid Eric Hinske got tossed for arguing a call with the plate umpire, James Hoye.) But the blog Ryan Goes To ASU is calling him "A.L. Manager of the Year."

BOSTON EAST: The Rays now head to Anaheim, and they've historically struggled there as much as they have at Fenway Park. (Tampa Tribune)

A DREAM COME TRUE, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE: Chris Carter's major-league debut Thursday -- as the Red Sox left fielder -- meant more to him than anyone could have known. He told McDonald that his father grew up as both a Red Sox fan and a Ted Williams fan, and his grandfather -- who's now blind -- was in the stands Thursday as his grandson played for his son's favorite team, in the position that was made famous by his son's hero.

BACK FOR SECONDS: Joba Chamberlain lasted almost twice as long in his second start as he did in his first and this time the Yankees won the game, 6-3 over the Royals. (New York Daily News) Not that Chamberlain had a whole lot to do with it -- the score was tied, 3-3, when he was lifted with one out in the fifth, having reached his pitch-count limit -- and the New York Post's Larry Brooks is looking forward to the day when pitch locations mean more than pitch counts. One good thing: Now Johnny Damon thinks Joba as a starter isn't such a bad idea, after all. (New York Daily News)

THE ORACLE: Jim Bouton once wrote that, in baseball, the more successful you are on the field the more people listen to you. They're hanging on Damon's every word now after he became only the second Yankee in history to get six hits in a nine-inning game in Saturday's wild 12-11 victory. (New York Daily News)

PARDON ME, DID YOU SAY SOMETHING? The Royals, on the other hand, are 24-39 so no one's paying attention when they speak. Good thing, because Yankee Universe might be a little rattled by their postgame review of Chamberlain: "Nothing special," "Just a guy throwing hard" and "Nothing we haven't seen before." (New York Post)

TAKE YOUR MEDICINE: Um, all you folks who were ready to bury Jason Giambi in April? Your order of humble pie is ready. (New York Post)

THE BLUEPRINT: Peter Abraham says the Yankees have been handed "an engraved invitation" to make a move in the A.L. East, and tells us why. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

'WE DON'T DO THAT HERE': And making a move is something Jorge Posada expects, because he says "rebuilding" is what they don't do. (yahoo.com) But the writer, Jeff Passan, isn't so sure. And another writer, Joel Sherman of the New York Post, says the Yankees better start wheeling and dealing if they hope to win this year.

THE BEAUTY OF THE INTERNET: About 60 folks who spend time on the LoHud Yankees Blog had a gathering with Abraham in Scranton the other day in which they watched Kei Igawa stifle the Syracuse Chiefs and raised some money for a cancer charity. "It was a real privilege for me to attend," said Pete.

AH, THAT HOME COOKIN': The Red Sox aren't the only team with a skewed home-and-road record. The New York Daily News reports that all across MLB home teams are winning at a record pace.

ALL IS FORGIVEN: We called out Jim Rice for abandoning his blog the other day, so what happens? He apologizes, then looks at home-road split from the other angle: How difficult it is to play on the road. And, no, before you get the wrong idea, I don't think I had anything to do with it.

LET'S SEE: Mark Cuban gets a look at the Cubs' books today as his bid to buy the franchise -- which may or may not be derailed by Bud Selig at the some point in the process -- continues. (Chicago Sun-Times)

HERE ARE WORDS YOU NEVER WANT TO SEE ATTACHED TO YOUR RESUME: Saying he "had disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations that were unbecoming of a teammate" -- don't quite know what that means, but it sure doesn't sound good -- the Rangers abruptly released Sidney Ponson late last week despite the fact that he was 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA and Texas, last in the majors with a team ERA of 5.10, isn't exactly rolling in pitching. (Dallas Morning News) Manager Ron Washington doesn't care; he says the team is better off without Ponson (Canadian Press), which makes you wonder exactly how onerous his behavior was. My guess: Very.

SO WHAT? HE CAN PITCH! None of that has stopped the Houston Chronicle's Jose de Jesus Ortiz from advocating the Astros snap up Ponson before someone else does.

SEASON-ENDERS: Like maybe the Indians and Tigers, both of whom are looking for pitching after Jake Westbrook (Tommy John surgery, story by Akron Beacon Journal) and Jeremy Bonderman (blood clot of the axillary vein due to thoracic outlet compression syndrome, story by Detroit Free Press) were declared finished for the year. The Free Press' Drew Sharpe says it's "important to look at [Bonderman's] injury less as another thing going wrong in a bad season and more that he's a lucky young man that a potentially life-threatening circumstance was discovered before something truly disastrous occurred."

LOCAL BOYS: The blog Outs Per Swing has labeled Warwick's Dan Wheeler 'Cardiac Dan' as he continues to close games for the Rays in Troy Percival's absence.

REALLY LOCAL BOYS: Three Rhode Islanders -- including one from the old alma mater, Cranston West -- were selected in the second day of the baseball draft. (projo.com)

THIS IS WHY YOU ALWAYS READ JOE POSNANSKI: Because in the middle of a post, he'll drop in a great story . . . like this one about how, in writing about a Kansas City golf tournament, he once inadvertently offended Jamie Farr and received three angry messages -- and a subsequent apology -- from Farr. (joeposnanski.com)

RARITIES: Barry Zito got the victory as the Giants beat the Nationals in Washington. (San Jose Mercury News)

WHISPERS: The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers thinks the Mariners may shop Erik Bedard.

HERE AND THERE: Juan Rincon's job in Minnesota may be in jeopardy (St. Paul Pioneer Press) . . . As is Steve Trachsel's in Baltimore, especially after, the words of the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec, Trachsel "failed to close out an eight-run Orioles lead and appeared incredulous when Dave Trembley came to the mound to take him out" . . . Moises Alou says he's ready to return to the Mets' lineup on Tuesday (Journal-News) . . . Tuesday is also the day Matt Holliday returns to the Rockies (Rocky Mountain News) . . . Jake Peavy wasn't pleased with how his 61-pitch simulated game went last week, but he's still on pace to return to the Padres rotation Thursday (San Diego Union-Tribune) . . . Knee surgery will sideline the A's Mike Sweeney for four to six weeks (Costa Contra Times) . . . Chipper Jones' quest for .400 has been halted for a day or two by a slight tear in his right quadriceps. (espn.com)

OLD FRIENDS: Tony Clark's eighth-inning home run off Billy Wagner enabled the Padres to complete a four-game sweep of the Mets (San Diego Union-Tribune) . . . Eric Gagne isn't the only ex-Red Sox reliever struggling in the Milwaukee bullpen. But just as he did with Gagne, Brewers manager Ned Yost is standing behind Guillermo Mota. (mlb.com)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments 1