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Main page June 28, 2008
Red Sox-Astros lineupsBOSTON Ellsbury LF HOUSTON Bourn CF
Posted by Sean McAdam Rays -- and their fans -- unhappy with the reduction in Crisp's suspensionThe news that Major League Baseball cut the length of Coco Crisp's suspension from seven games to five for his role in the brawl between the Red Sox and Rays early this month was not well-received in central Florida, especially since Akinori Iwamura's appeal to have his three-game penalty reduced was denied. From the St. Petersburg Times: "I’m kind of baffled by it," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. Added pitcher James Shield, who sat out six games for hitting Crisp with the pitch that triggered Coco's charge to the mound: "I'm not happy about it at all . . . He's the one that instigated the whole thing (with his slide into second base the night before the brawl)." From the Tampa Tribune: Jonny Gomes, one of the more enthusiastic participants in the fight that broke out, declined comment. Maddon said: "We're not going to cry about it, we're not going to raise a stink over the fact that the Red Sox were reduced and we were not." The crying was left to the bloggers. Such as Rays Index, which said, "Huh wha?!? Crisp was the one that bowled over Aki. Crisp was the one that charged the mound. And he had his suspension reduced? By two games? Unfortunately Crisp will miss the upcoming Rays-Red Sox series at the Trop. We would love to see that idiot get another ball in the backside."
Posted by Art Martone Late Red Sox notesBY SEAN McADAM HOUSTON -- Some postgame tidbits . . . -- Kevin Youkilis enjoyed the first four-hit game of his career last night with three singles and a double. Strangely, despite the four-hit effort, Youkilis didn't score or knock in a run. Over his last 11 games, Youkilis is hitting .432 (16-for-37). -- Dustin Pedroia had his second straight three-hit game and is hitting .514 since June 18. -- J.D. Drew's homer in the third snapped an 0-for-14 slump. -- The Red Sox became the first team in the majors to reach the 50-win plateau this season. -- Games in NL parks are usually shorter, but last night's clocked in at 3:22. "When the Red Sox come to NL parks," said Drew, "things change. We have a lot of fans coming to see us and we want to give them an extra 45 minutes or so."
Posted by Sean McAdam Sox ground Astros, 6-1BY SEAN McADAM HOUSTON – Last weekend, when Daisuke Matsuzaka was shelled for seven runs and failed to get a single out in the second inning, the Red Sox maintained they weren’t concerned. The Sox preached patience, claiming Matsuzaka’s poor start was merely the result of some mound rust after a three-week stay on the disabled list, and not, as some feared, a sign of lingering shoulder issues. Last night, they were proven correct as Matsuzaka tossed five shutout innings, during which he allowed just two hits, in leading the Sox to a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros. "The ball came out of his hand real good, nice and crisp," said Terry Francona. "Much better," said catcher Jason Varitek, comparing this start to Matsuzaka's last. "He had a good feel through the zone with his fastball and his breaking stuff. It was nice to have the same guy back." Matsuzaka left after five innings as the Sox want to be careful to slowly rebuild his arm strength. Of his 87 pitches, he threw 54 strikes. He walked three, two in his final inning when two walks and a single by Houston catcher Humberto Quintero loaded the bases. He managed to leave them full when he got David Newhan to pop to short, but by then, he was "gassed," according to Varitek. Matsuzaka struck out the side in the first, with each strikeout swinging, and through the first four innings had allowed just two Astros to reach against him. He improved to 9-1 and is a strong candidate to be selected for the upcoming All-Star Game in New York on July 15. Matsuzaka got the only offensive support he would need in the third when, with Coco Crisp (walk) and Dustin Pedroia (double) on base, J.D. Drew hammered his 11th homer this month, a deep belt to right. The 11 homers match Drew’s total for all of last season, his first season with the Sox. Moreover, the 11 homers are tied for the third-most during the month in Red Sox history and the most in June since 1979. Jackie Jensen holds the franchise mark with 14 in June of 1958. Drew, who will surely be named American League Player of the Month, came into last night leading all major-league hitters in homers, total bases, extra-base hits and slugging percentage. He drove a slider from Astros starter Runelvys Hernandez out for his 15th homer of the season. "It’s been a nice month," said Drew. "I’ll just try to transition into the rest of the season when it’s over." Drew sat Wednesday night against Arizona lefty Randy Johnson and said the two consecutive days off were helpful. "That was huge," he said. "I was hanging in a little bit and I think Tito knew that. I was able to regroup a little bit and come back and keep things nice and simple." The homer continued a pattern from last season, when Drew seemed to enjoy his best games in National League settings. He spent his entire major league career in the N.L. before signing with the Red Sox. Until the seventh, Drew’s blast was all the Red Sox had to show for themselves on the scoreboard. Then Pedroia (three hits) singled to center with two out, scoring Julio Lugo with the fourth run. The Sox added two more in the ninth on a bases-loaded single from Mike Lowell Craig Hansen pitched a scoreless sixth and when Manny Delcarmen followed with a perfect inning of his own in the seventh, the Sox seemed on their way to their second straight shutout and ninth of the season. But after Hideki Okajima recorded the first two outs of the eighth on flyouts, he gave up a mammoth homer to Reggie Abercrombie, followed with a hard line single off the wall for Miguel Tejada. The run ended the Boston’s bullpen string of 12 straight scoreless frames and represented the first run scored against the Sox pitching staff in 22 innings. Francona said Okajima was having difficulty "finishing" his split-finger fastballs. Jonathan Papelbon came on to strike out Lance Berkman with the potential tying run on deck and recorded his 24th save of the season.
Posted by Sean McAdam June 27, 2008
RED SOX PREGAME: Notes on Casey and Ortiz, and an ominous statBY SEAN McADAM HOUSTON -- On the flip side of the suspension coin from Coco Crisp is Sean Casey, who completed his three-game suspension Wednesday at the end of the Red Sox homestand and is eligible to play tonight. He's not, however, in the starting lineup. -- David Ortiz is on the trip and hit again off a tee this afternoon. The plan is for him to gradually increase his workload, making sure that he suffers no pain and risks a setback as he returns from the wrist injury he suffered at the end of May. -- Ominous stat of the night: The Sox are 2-10 under a roof this season, permanent or retractable.
Posted by Art Martone RED SOX PREGAME: Francona catches up with Astros GM Ed WadeBY SEAN McADAM HOUSTON -- Terry Francona spoke for several minutes on the field with Houston general manager Ed Wade during batting practice. Wade was attacked by Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon earlier this week in a clubhouse confrontation. The Astros released Chacon Thursday for insubordination. Wade was the Phillies GM when Francona was fired as the team's manager, but the two have always enjoyed a good relationship. "It happened," said Francona of the dust-up. "It could happy to anybody."
Posted by Art Martone RED SOX PREGAME: Crisp will play tonight in advance of his suspensionBY SEAN McADAM HOUSTON -- The Red Sox thought that Coco Crisp's suspension -- five games, reduced from seven after an appeal hearing earlier this week -- would begin tonight. But in an an apparent effort to keep Crisp out of the entire Tampa Bay series which begins Monday at Tropicana Field, Crisp's suspension won't begin until tomorrow and run through next Wednesday. Eligible for one more game, Crisp is back in the lineup tonight before his mandated five-game suspension begins Saturday. "That just makes the most sense," said manager Terry Francona, who added that Crisp wasn't originally going to play tonight. "It's better than seven," said Crisp of the reduction. "They could have easily said seven."
Posted by Sean McAdam LineupsCrisp CF HOUSTON Bourn CF
Posted by Sean McAdam Crisp's suspension reduced to five gamesBY SEAN McADAM HOUSTON -- The Red Sox announced moments ago that Coco Crisp's suspension for rushing the mound in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays has been reduced from seven to five games. Crisp will begin serving the suspension Saturday, and thus will miss all three games of the Sox' series in Tampa Bay next week. He will miss the final two games of the series against the Astros and all three against the Rays. He will be eligible to play again on Thursday, July 3 in New York against the Yankees. Crisp's appeal was heard earlier this week.
Posted by Art Martone Baseball Today: Friday, June 27
'A TEAM WITH NO CENTER': In years to come, when we reflect on this slice of the Red Sox tale, many names will be inextricably linked to the history-altering success of the 2004-and-beyond teams. David Ortiz. Manny Ramirez. Curt Schilling. There are some we'll remember at one end (Kevin Millar, Keith Foulke) and some at the other (Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon). Yet one name that probably won't come up is Mike Timlin. Timlin has been here since 2003. He has begun to work his way onto the franchise's all-time lists in select categories. (Did you know, for instance, that only Bob Stanley, Tim Wakefield, Derek Lowe and Roger Clemens have pitched in more games for the Red Sox?) But his role -- setup reliever -- is a secondary one, and his contributions get overlooked, or lost, in the grandiose moments we'll never forget. Like Dave Roberts' stolen base, or Big Papi's extra-inning heroics, or Foulke's strikeout of Tony Clark, or J.D. Drew's grand slam, or Papelbon's pickoff of Matt Holliday, or . . . well, you get the picture. Timlin, however, didn't just have a front-row seat to history; he helped shape it. In a fascinating conversation with Joe McDonald last night at McCoy Stadium, where's he rehabbing with the PawSox, he talked about how -- and why -- things finally changed: "When I played against Boston" -- Timlin, don't forget, had been around for 12 years before he ever got to Fenway, and had competed against the Sox as a member of the Blue Jays, Mariners and Orioles -- "it was a team with no center. Guys would just go out and play and then scatter in the wind. When I first got here in 2003 it was more of a collective agreement among guys that we need to change things. All the guys who were there in 2003 started working together and it started showing. Things started to go in the right direction . . . " Did they ever. And Timlin says he knows why. I'm not one to overemphasize the importance of character and spirit and togetherness towards a team's success; talent is almost always more important, and there's no question the 2003-to-the-present Red Sox had/have plenty of that. But I'm not one to underemphasize it, either, because there were lots of Red Sox teams in my lifetime that had talent. These are the ones that cashed in on it. Timlin's 42 years old now, and his days with the Sox are coming to an end. This is his second Pawtucket rehab stay this year -- the first was in April (above) -- and, truth be told, there's no guarantee he'll be part of an another October run this time around. His pitching this year has been so erratic (that's a kind way of putting it, eh?) that the Sox may not have a roster spot for him come playoff time. But after it's over for him, I'll still remember Mike Timlim. And maybe I'll remember him most for the attributes he talked about to McDonald last night, attributes that led to one of the touching moments of the 2007 postseason: Yes, they talked the talk. And then they walked the walk. "We didn’t just verbalize it," Timlin said. "We did it." Yes, they did. THE TRUE LEGACY: And if Timlin had anything to do with this, then his memory will really live on at Fenway Park: LOOKING AHEAD: The Red Sox sit where they sit this morning -- 49-32, first place in the A.L. East -- not due to the contributions of 42-year-olds, but in great part because of the success of pitchers at the other end of the age spectrum. Steven Krasner takes a closer look. JUST DANDY: That could be what the J.D. actually stands for in Drew's name. Krasner tells us why. CASHING IN: The Sox hope the home run he hit Wednesday night in an indication they'll soon be getting more power from Kevin Cash, who shows plenty of it in batting practice. (Boston Herald) EASING INTO THINGS: This doesn't figure to be a smooth road trip for the Sox -- they play the Rays and the Yankees next week -- but Krasner says it's starting in just the right place: Houston. The Astros have begun the process of attempting to release Shawn Chacon (Houston Chronicle); resistance is expected from the Major League Baseball Players Association. (Bugs and Cranks reports Chacon's banishment means there are no longer any active MLB players who were born in Alaska.) The Houston Press blog Ballz thinks the problems in the team's clubhouse go far beyond Chacon, and wonders how much culpability management deserves for all this. The Astros did manage to put the whole smelly episode behind them for a night as they beat the Rangers, 7-2, in advance of the Sox' arrival. (Houston Chronicle) COMING OF AGE: Josh Byrnes, one of Theo Epstein's assistants from 2003-05, is running a very successful operation these days in Arizona. Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, two of Epstein's current aides, could be on the short lists of teams looking for GMs this offseason. Epstein talks to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald and says he hopes Hoyer and Cherington -- and others in the Sox' front office -- soon get the chance that he and Byrnes received. THE GRADES ARE IN: And any one of us would be proud to receive a report good as the one Chad Finn gave the Red Sox.
THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING: Life is good in Tampa Bay. The Rays closed to within a half-game of the Red Sox as Matt Garza allowed no hits through the first six innings before settling for a one-hitter in a 6-1 dispatch of the Marlins. (Tampa Tribune) It was, reports the St. Petersburg Times' Marc Topkin, the sixth series sweep of the year for the Rays, a franchise record. To top it all off, Carlos Pena will return to the lineup tonight when the team plays in Pittsburgh. (Tampa Tribune) BACKSTOPPING THE WHOLE THING: Gary Shelton of the St. Pete Times calls catcher Dioner Navarro "the most improved player on the most improved team in baseball." DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS: Interleague play (mercifully) concludes this weekend, and in New York that means the final four games of Mets-Yankees. The New York Daily News reports the teams are coming into the series from opposite directions. RAIN AND FURY: The Yanks were rained out last night after starting the game against the Pirates (and jumping out to a 3-1 lead), and Mike Mussina voiced the anger of many Yankees when he blasted . . . well, someone (even he wasn't sure who) for not scheduling yesterday's game in the afternoon in light of the fact the Yanks have a day-night, separate-stadium doubleheader today. (New York Daily News) The weather was beautiful all day and the game would have been played without incident, but the Pirates wanted the game to be at night for greater television ratings. THE SWORD SWINGS BOTH WAYS: Players/coaches/managers aren't the only ones to be disciplined by Major League Baseball for on-field disputes. Umpire Brian Runge was handed a one-game suspension for his actions during a dispute with Mets manager Jerry Manuel the other night. (New York Post) CHANGE IN PLANS: First he wanted to manage the Mets. Now, angry because they didn't hire him, Gary Carter wants to manage someone else "and beat the heck out of [the Mets]." (New York Times) STILL FLYING: Those waiting for the annual Orioles collapse -- like me -- are still waiting. Yesterday the O's beat the Cubs, handing Chicago a rare series loss at Wrigley Field. (Washington Post) THE SWEETEST REVENGE: Joe Posnanski says baseball has kicked the Royals in the teeth for the last 20 years, so it's time for them to kick back by signing Barry Bonds. SHOOTING FOR THE STARS: Carlos Zambrano says he hopes to be recovered from his shoulder woes in time to pitch in the All-Star Game. (Chicago Tribune) STAR SWITCH: If Zambrano is able to make it back in time, he'll be joined in New York by his manager, Lou Piniella, who yesterday was named to replace Willie Randolph on the N.L. coaching staff by this year's National League manager, Clint Hurdle. (Denver Post) MLB, meanwhile, is trying to figure out a way that Randolph can still participate in the activities. (New York Post) 'THE MEAT HAS AGED. IT'S BETTER MEAT': That was Charlie Finley's chortle when he raised the price on some of his players during his Kuhn-aborted attempt to sell off his stars in 1976. The present-day A's, though, might be saying the same thing about Rich Harden after his dominant performance last night against the Phillies. (San Francisco Chronicle) HERE AND THERE: The A's and Rockies could be cooking up a multiplayer deal involving Matt Holliday (San Francisco Chronicle) . . . The Pirates have placed Ian Snell on the disabled list (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . The Nationals swapped pitchers on the DL, putting on Shawn Hill and taking off Odalis Perez (Washington Post) . . . Ryan Church has begun to work his way back to the Mets (New York Post) . . . The Yankees may have to put Hideki Matsui on the disabled list. (New York Post) AND FINALLY . . . Many thanks to Tim Daloisio and Paul Testa, who invited me to be a guest last night on one of their Fireside Chats on the blog Fire Brand of the American League. I had a great time, guys, and hope we can do it again soon. -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone June 26, 2008
Timlin makes rehab appearanceRed Sox reliever Mike Timlin began his rehab stint with the PawSox tonight at McCoy Stadium. The veteran right-hander worked the top of the eighth inning against Richmond and retired the side in order. He threw 10 pitches, seven strikes. He reached 92 MPH on the radar gun.
Posted by Joe McDonald Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Halfway homeClick the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Sean reflects on the first 81 games of the season and considers what some of the big hurdles will be for the Red Sox in the second 81. Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments: The club's biggest concern:: "I think in the regular sseason it's going to be mostly about getting the seventh and eight inning in the bullpen taken care of. ... Certainly if they get more innings like they did out of Manny Delcarmen in the eighth last night, where he just overpowered people, some of those issues will go away." On next week's stern test: "Starting Monday, seven road games against I think the two teams that they really are focused on, at least in the short term, for the division: the Rays and the Yankees. ... The Rays continue to hang with the Red Sox halfway through and show that they're a legitimate contender, and the Yankees -- although they have not had the best week -- have been able to creep a little closer and get above .500, and I think show people that they're still in the conversation for the second half. So playing those two teams back-to-back to kind of wind down the first half will go a long way I think in setting things up for post-All Star break."
Posted by Mike McDermott Baseball Today: Thursday, June 26
HALFWAY THERE: They hit the 81-game mark last night, the exact midpoint of the season, and while it may not seem like the Red Sox have done what former Packers running back Travis Williams once (delightfully) described as "anything fantabulous," they're on pace for 98 wins. That's how they'd finish if they repeat their 49-32 first-half record, a mark they reached with a 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks that, Joe McDonald writes, was the result of some stout pitching by Tim Wakefield and a nice performance from his personal catcher, Kevin Cash. Cash's contributions included a put-it-away three-run homer in the eighth -- for which he received congratulations in the above picture -- that put the game into the "safe" category. As impressive as 49-32 may be, it's actually a game behind the 50-31 record they had at the midway point in each of the last two seasons; in neither year were they able to maintain that performance over the second half. But there's a big difference this time around. They played their 81st game this year on June 25. Last year they didn't play No. 81 until July 2. In 2006, it came on July 4. And that's pretty much when it always falls -- July 4 in 2005, July 6 in 2004, July 1 in 2003, etc. The fact that it came more than a week early this year means there's a lot of air built into the second-half schedule . . . time the Sox can use to a) rest their everyday players, b) get extra days off for their starters, c) better manage their bullpen, etc. Did you realize that the longest consecutive-day stretch the Sox have from now until the end of the year is 13? (They'll do that twice, from tomorrow to July 9 and then again from Aug. 8-20.) They'll be off on 10 of the remaining 14 Thursdays this year (counting today), and 3 of the remaining 13 Mondays. These Sox aren't particularly old and creaky, but some of the regulars do show some age; the more time off they can get, the better. And Peter Gammons had a particularly telling quote on this topic during his last ESPN Radio appearance -- more on that in a moment -- when he said: "I’m still firmly convinced that the reason the Red Sox won the World Series was the 50 less innings pitched that Josh Beckett threw as opposed to C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. I think those guys just hit the wall in that series and Josh Beckett was pitching in the World Series like it was April 20." The more rest you have now, the more energy you have later. That's why it may be easier for the Sox to continue to play at their current pace in the last three months. IT STARTS NOW: Speaking of rest, the suddenly slumping J.D. Drew got some last night; McDonald gets Terry Francona's reasoning. Drew was replaced by Brandon Moss, and perhaps there's no more telling sign of Randy Johnson's mortality than the fact that the Red Sox were willing to start a rookie left-handed hitter against the Big Unit. Can you imagine that happening in 1997 or so? AS FOR THE GAME . . . Steven Krasner breaks it down, with explanations of Wakefield showing why he's more than just a knuckleballer, how Manny Delcarmen benefitted from following Wake's soft tosses with some heat of his own, more failed strategy from Arizona manager Bob Melvin and a Red Sox rally that wasn't in the fifth inning. BACK IN ACTION: Kevin Youkilis returned to the lineup last night, missing only a day after getting hit in the eye with the Mike Lowell throw on Monday. (projo.com) STILL WAITING: The Sox have yet to receive word on the appeal of Coco Crisp's suspension. But the Boston Herald's Jeff Horrigan reports the Red Sox should be covered if Crisp's ban begins this weekend because it looks as if Manny Ramirez is good to go in left field. THE FIRST STEP ON THE LONG JOURNEY: David Ortiz took 25 easy swings off a tee Tuesday night. Krasner reports it went as well as expected and that Big Papi is two or three weeks away from returning. IT'S POSSIBLE: Curt Schilling thinks he'll be able to pitch again if he wants to following successful shoulder surgery. (projo.com) He's still unsure if wants to, though. NOTHING'S OVER UNTIL I SAY IT'S OVER: If you thought the end of Schilling's season, and perhaps his career, would at least put his feud with Dan Shaughnessy on hold, guess again. Schilling updated his "Not a thing in the world to be upset about" entry on 38pitches.com to call Shaughnessy a liar over a specific piece of Shaughnessy's farewell column the other day -- in which Dan said Schilling announced his impending surgery on WEEI Radio without telling Red Sox management he was doing so -- and then went on to a number of remarkably personal insults, which, if nothing else, will play spectacularly to Schilling's target online audience. Your serve, Mr. Shaughnessy. THE CUTTING EDGE: Peter Gammons' latest appearance on ESPN Radio, as reported by Joe Haggerty on his Hacks With Haggs blog, deals with the Red Sox' strengths in protecting their pitchers and in helping players adjust to the big leagues once they arrive in Boston. KNOCKING ON THE DOOR: Clay Buchholz doesn't want his stay in Pawtucket to be a long one, apparently. Paul Kenyon reports he was dominant last night as he pitched the PawSox to their sixth straight win, 10-1 over Richmond. Speaking of the PawSox, McDonald has news that Mike Timlin will throw an inning for them tonight. DUELING POLLS: The Red Sox are No. 1 in SI.com's power rankings, but sit third, behind the Cubs and Angels, on foxsports.com. DEDICATED TO THE ONES I LOVE: One of Chad Finn's most entertaining features on his Touching All The Bases blog is the Random Baseball Cards. Writing for Baseball Analysts, he composes An Ode To Baseball Cards and he concludes with something I've always thought: "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading, and Bubble Gum Book is a literary classic and should be taught in all high schools throughout the United States and certain parts of Canada." FISH FRY: James Shields won his first game in more than six weeks last night, but that news got lost in a barrage of hits and runs as the Rays romped to a 15-3 win over the Marlins. The bad news in Tampa Bay: Troy Percival's balky hamstring is still barking and it "could limit his availability indefinitely." (Both stories St. Petersburg Times) SIGN OF THE TIMES: Our friend Terry Nau, the sports editor of the Pawtucket Times, is a Yankee fan. So what does it say when he writes the Rays are a bigger threat to the Red Sox this year than the Yankees? FORESIGHT: It's a hot topic today, but Joe Maddon was warning us about maple bats back when his team was still known as the Devil Rays. I had to go to Google to get the cached version of a Tampa Tribune story from July 24, 2007, in which he raised the issue "because I really believe somebody's going to get hurt if there's nothing done about it." JOBA RULES: "The debate is over," declares Peter Abraham (LoHud Yankees Blog), and it certainly appears that way after Joba Chamberlain pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings in picking up his first win as a starter as the Yankees blanked the Pirates, 8-0. (New York Daily News) The Yanks, point out Abraham, have won four of the five games started by Chamberlain (even though last night was the first time he got credit for the victory) and the evidence is incontrovertible that the best utilization of his skills is in the rotation. Now, he adds, all they need to do is find another starter. THE LINE FORMS HERE First up in the audition: Sidney Ponson, who will pitch Friday night against the Mets. (New York Daily News) The New York Post says reports of Ponson's being loud and drunk in a St. Petersburg bar the night before he pitched for the Rangers against the Rays last month are greatly exaggerated. WAS THAT HANK WHO JUST WALKED BY IN THE 'GOT RINGS?' SHIRT? After hearing Hank Steinbrenner say he might feel different about rehiring Willie Randolph had Randolph gone off to manage the Red Sox, ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra asks, "Does anyone else find it disturbing that the owner of the biggest franchise in American sports sees the world in such a simple, provincial way?" If Hank's father felt that way, we'd have been spared the sights of Wade Boggs, Don Zimmer, Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon in pinstripes. Not to mention Alan Embree and Mike Myers. Or Joe Kerrigan. SO SORRY: Umpire Brian Runge apologized to Jerry Manuel for his actions during their argument, which led to Manuel's ejection, Tuesday night. (New York Post) 'MAYBE IT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED': That's about as close to remorse as Shawn Chacon would get after he was suspended for grabbing general manager Ed Wade by the neck and throwing him to the ground during an argument that ensued over the Astros' removing Chacon from their starting rotation. (Houston Chronicle) The Chronicle's Jose de Jesus Ortiz, writing on his blog, thinks "[in] time, I really believe Chacon will regret his actions, but all sides agree there's no way Chacon will ever play in Houston again. On ShysterBall, Calcaterra had a more succinct reaction: "Forgive me for being a lawyer, but when I read [Chacon's comments] . . . I think 'wow, Wade's lawyer could win this one on summary judgment right now!' " HECK, NO, I WON'T GO: There's no independent-league stint in Barry Bonds' future, according to his agent, Jeff Borris. (espn.com) HAH? It doesn't appear as if Jim Thome will reach the 664 plate appearances he needs to guarantee his 2009 contract, but he says "stuff like that doesn't cross my mind." (Chicago Sun-Times) 'THAT'S A FIRST': So says Jim Leyland to the news Brandon Inge is headed to the disabled list because he reinjured his oblique muscle while fixing his 3 1/2-year-old son's pillow. (Detroit Free Press) 'THE AGES' IS A RELATIVE TERM: The Rockies made a comeback for the ages last year in reaching first the postseason and then the World Series. Thanks to their puny N.L. West foes, Tracy Ringolsby thinks another one could be in the offing. (foxsports.com) ONE OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD: SI.com's John Donovan thinks the Mets may be helped by last week's change of managers, but the other two firings -- by the Mariners and Blue Jays -- won't make any difference at all. THEY LIKE MIKE: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports has a nice feature explaining the success of Mike Scioscia with the Angels. IN DEFENSE OF JOE MORGAN: Joe Posnanski knows it will make him an Internet pariah, but he explains -- and defends -- Morgan's aversion to statistics. HERE AND THERE: The Nationals have offered Christian Guzman a two-year contract extension (mlb.com) . . . Andy Phillips is the latest big-leaguer to spend time in both New York boroughs as the Mets claimed the ex-Yankee off waivers (foxsports.com) . . . The Pirates have acquired Denny Bautista from the Tigers (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . Francisco Liriano took another step backwards last night, allowing nine hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings in a start for Rochester against Louisville (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle) . . . Scott Proctor's elbow is apparently why he was "(bleeping) pathetic" (self-description) the other day, and he's headed to the disabled list. (Los Angeles Times) Incidentally, the blog Fifth Outfielder looks into the numbers and is astounded at the love Joe Torre has shown Proctor in both New York and Los Angeles, considering what Proctor has actually delivered when he's pitched . . . Looks like all the optimistic talk was just that, as now the Mariners say Felix Hernandez will miss at least one start because of the sprained ankle he suffered Monday (mlb.com) . . . Hank Blalock's hand is still swollen and he doesn't know when he'll be able to return to the Rangers. (Dallas Morning News) OLD FRIENDS: Carlos Pena is joining Rhode Island's Rocco Baldelli in Sarasota on rehab (St. Petersburg Times) . . . Jay Payton hit a pair of home runs off Ted Lilly (and is now 10-for-20 in his career against veteran left-hander) in the Orioles' loss to the Cubs (Baltimore Sun) . . . The Dodgers have moved Gary Bennett to the 60-day disabled list (Los Angeles Times) . . . Josh Bard is still at least two weeks away from returning to the Padres. (San Diego Union-Tribune) AND FINALLY . . . All those "Hi Don and Remdawg!" signs don't cut no mustard in Cleveland, where Orsillo and Remy -- unable to ride Manny Ramirez' coattails, apparently -- had a tough time getting into Jacobs Field one day: -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone June 25, 2008
Pregame notes: Drew not playingBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox manager Terry Francona has decided to give J.D. Drew the night off. The Sox’ right fielder had been scorching at the plate this month – until his last five games. Drew is hitless in his last 13 at-bats, but has hit safely in 17 of 22 games in June with 10 homers and 23 RBI. During the club’s recent home stand, Drew is 2 for his last 19. “I thought it was the right thing to do,” said Francona. “The two days will be huge for him.” Francona does a good job giving players a day off here and there. It’s not like he wakes up in the morning and makes that decision. He will discuss it with the player and his staff before making a lineup change. Giving players a day off don’t always work for everyone’s benefit. When Francona was managing in Philadelphia in the late 90s, he spoke with Scott Rolen a week before he wanted to give him a certain Sunday game off. The two agreed it would be the best thing for the player and the club. Well, the day before Rolen approached Francona and explained the Phillies had scheduled Scott Rolen Bobblehead Day in Philadelphia. Francona, knowing Rolen desperately needed a day off, didn’t relent and stayed with the original plan. The manager was criticized for sitting the fan favorite, but he earned more respect from Rolen and the rest of the players in the clubhouse.
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Timlin to make rehab appearanceBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox reliever Mike Timlin (knee tendinitis) will make a rehab appearance for the PawSox on Thursday. The right-hander will throw one inning. According to manager Terry Francona, Timlin had a really good bullpen session on Tuesday. The manager said pitching coach John Farrell was pleased with the session and it’s time to get Timlin going again. “I think it will be great for him,” said Francona referring to the minor-league rehab. “I think it will be great for him to pitch a little bit. Sometimes you can take advantage of some time to make something better.” In 24 games for Boston this season, Timlin is 3-3 with a 7.06 ERA.
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Papelbon bruises armBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ When Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon walks by with a huge bruise on his right arm, it’s very difficult not to notice. In the clubhouse this afternoon the right-hander, who earned his 22nd save of the season on Tuesday, said he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Sean Casey during batting practice last Saturday. Red Sox manager Terry Francona was standing and talking with Papelbon behind the second-base screen when the closer got hit. “I’m glad it hit him and not me,” Francona said jokingly. “Until I saw it was his right arm.” Papelbon said he's fine.
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Youkilis back in the lineupBy Joe McDonald BOSTON -- Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is back in the starting lineup tonight. He did not start on Tuesday, but was a ninth-inning defensive replacement. Youkilis was drilled in the right eye when a ball thrown by third baseman Mike Lowell during between-inning warmups on Monday took a short hop and hit Youkilils. Youkilis suffered a contusion and says he’s fine. He sent manager Terry Francona a text message this morning and said he was ready to go. “That was good news,” said the manager. “He still looks like he got beat up.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Ramirez ready for the outfieldBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez has been bothered by a sore right hamstring for a while, which makes the upcoming interleague series with the Astros at Houston a little more interesting. During the recent interleague series at Fenway, Ramirez was able to serve as the club’s designated hitter due to American League rules. When the Sox travel to the National League Park there will be no DH, so Ramirez will have to play left field with the sore hamstring. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said the chances are good that Ramirez will be able to play left field. The slugger’s hamstring is feeling better, and the off-day on Thursday will also help.
Posted by Joe McDonald Starting Lineups, June 25RED SOX Ellsbury lf Wakefield p DIAMONDBACKS Byrnes lf R. Johnson p -- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner Ortiz Swings LightlyBy STEVEN KRASNER BOSTON -- David Ortiz, on the disabled list because of a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, took 25 light swings off a tee Tuesday night. It was the first time Ortiz had swung a bat since he suffered the injury on May 31 in Baltimore and had to leave the game in the middle of an at-bat. "It's not ready. It's just weak," said Ortiz a few minutes ago in the Red Sox clubhouse. "There's a little bit of pain, but it's better than when I hurt it. Then I couldn't even hold onto the bat. I didn't take a full swing. It was very light. I was trying not to miss it," he said. The session gave Ortiz and the Sox' medical staff a baseline for where he is in his recovery. That information will be helpful in determining at what pace Ortiz will be able to rehab the injured wrist. Ortiz said he thinks he's probably "a couple, three weeks away" from playing in a game, and he acknowledges that he will need some at-bats in rehab games in the minors before he'll be able to rejoin the Red Sox. "We're pretty much where they expected," said Ortiz of his medical staff. "I was a little disappointed. I want to be playing. There's not too much I can do about it but wait. It's a healing process. It's better than what it was." Ortiz is expected to join the Red Sox on their trip to Houston, Tampa Bay and New York, which begins with a night game against the Astros on Friday night. He was batting .252 with 13 homers and 43 RBI when he suffered the injury. Manager Terry Francona was pleased with the session, taking it for what it was, a first step. "His swings were not real aggressive. There's got to be a place to start. Before we go on the road the (medical staff) wanted to see where he was. It's slow at first, but everything is going as planned," said Francona. "David did what he was supposed to. Players want to go from zero to 100, which they can't. Down deep, David knows it went pretty well. He wants to be in there now. We'll build up his reps and intensity leading to soft toss, batting practice and eventually into some games," said Francona.
Posted by Steven Krasner 1912 Red Sox World Series trophy soon to be auctionedJune 25 (Bloomberg) -- A trophy commemorating the Boston Red Sox' 1912 World Series victory and bestowed to the manager by John F. Kennedy's grandfather will be auctioned in the next four months. The 11-inch sterling silver piece was given to Jake Stahl, who managed the Red Sox and played first base, and is inscribed with his name. John Fitzgerald, the Boston mayor known as "Honey-Fitz," presented Stahl with the award and hosted a reception honoring the team at Faneuil Hall. Boston capped its first year at Fenway Park by defeating the New York Giants to capture the championship, the second in franchise history. It's not an official World Series trophy because Major League Baseball didn't begin giving those out until 1967. Arlan Ettinger, president of New York auction house Guernsey's, which is conducting the sale, said he's not sure how much the piece will sell for because there is nothing comparable from that era. "It's impossible to say," Ettinger said in an interview. "For the team that gets the most fan interest up there, this is like the Holy Grail." World Series trophies have sold for varying amounts at auction because prior to 2000, teams would produce replicas for owners, players and club executives. A Pittsburgh Pirates' World Series trophy from 1960 sold for $8,600 at auction, while the club's 1979 trophy went for $25,066. Mike Heffner, president of the auction house Lelands Inc., said the Red Sox trophy has "a little more pizzazz to it," though it's not worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Red Sox spokeswoman Abby DeCiccio didn't immediately comment. A Second Trophy The trophy was in the Stahl family's possession until 1996, when it was sold at an estate auction, said Ettinger, who is selling the piece for an unidentified collector. A second trophy awarded to Red Sox owner James McAleer is believed to be lost, he said. A photograph of the championship club featuring Hall of Fame players Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper accompanies the item. Boston beat New York in eight games in the 1912 Series, with one of the contests ending in a tie due to darkness. The Red Sox defeated a Giants squad led by pitchers Christy Mathewson and Rube Marquard, who were both inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Posted by Mike McDermott Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Varitek busts outClick the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Mike Lowell's clutch-hitting prowess; Jason Varitek's slump-breaking, game-winning single; the slumping Drew brothers; and tonight's meeting with Randy Johnson. Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments: On Lowell: "While he missed essentially three weeks and didn't hit his first home run until the first week of May, he has made a number of his hits come at particularly critical times for the Red Sox, and last night was no exception." On Varitek: "He has always been a very up-and-down guy at the plate. His swing tends to get a little long when he's not going well -- certainly 0 for 24, 4 for 47 is the very definition of not going well. But he's always working at it, even though it's sometimes difficult to find time for him to staighten things out at the plate because he has so many responsibilities behind the plate as a catcher, kind of calling the game, and preparing and looking at scouting reports. ... Then you add in the fact that he's a switch hitter and almost has to approach each side of the plate individually in terms of his swing, mechanics everything else. It's been a pattern throughout his career that when he gets into a free fall it lasts for a while, but the flipside of that is that he can get hot for an extended period, and maybe ... it is starting to turn around for Varitek." On Johnson: "Even though he's 6-10, throwing in the 90s, that slider doesn't have the sharp break to it that it once did. The fastball has lost a few miles per hour on the radar gun. He's still, I would imagine, not very fun to hit against, but he's not the dominant guy that he was, and clearly were seeing the winding down of a Hall of Fame career."
Posted by Mike McDermott Projo blogs upgrade set for SaturdaySaturday morning we plan to upgrade the active projo blogs to a new version of the Movable Type software. All blogs will remain available during this process. Afterwards you’ll see a new look and some new features, and we’ll welcome your comments about them.
Posted by Sheila Lennon Baseball Today: Wednesday, June 25 CAPTAIN CRUNCH: "It’s frequently said about [Jason] Varitek," writes Sean McAdam, "that his main contribution comes from behind — not at — the plate and that any offense he provides is purely a bonus. But this was getting ridiculous." That it was. According to calculations from Baseball Musings' Day By Day Database, Varitek entered last night's game hitting .127 (10-for-79) in the one-month period since May 24, with correspondingly horrid on-base (.198) and slugging (.190) percentages. Those numbers didn't get any better in his first three at-bats, either, as an 0-for-3 dropped Varitek to 10-for-his-last-82 (including 4-for-his-last-47). So when Mike Lowell walked to the plate in the eighth inning with runners on second and third, two outs, and the Diamondbacks holding a 4-2 lead, a lot of people -- yours truly among them -- expected Arizona manager Bob Melvin to defy baseball dogma and intentionally walk Lowell, putting the go-ahead run on base, because the on-deck hitter was Varitek. But Melvin, writes Steven Krasner in his Inside The Game feature, didn't bite, and he paid for it: Lowell doubled off the wall, tying the game. (Had he been up on his stats, Melvin might have been even more reluctant to pitch to Lowell.) And then, reports Joe McDonald, Varitek came through anyway with a single to right (above), driving in Lowell and giving the Red Sox a come-from-behind 5-4 win. McAdam says the relief in the stoic Varitek's demeanor was almost palpable after the game, and there's no questioning how happy Terry Francona was. You don't have to hit much when you're as valuable to a team in as many ways as Varitek, but you do have to hit something. Last night, that "something" enabled the Red Sox to come away with a victory on a night when, reports Krasner, they were baffled for the first seven innings by the soft-tossing Doug Davis. AND THE BENFICIARIES WERE . . . Justin Masterson, who avoided being saddled with a loss after six laborious innings, and Chris Smith, who got his first major-league win with two sterling innings of relief. Krasner and McDonald have the details.
SWEET: There are people around here who are getting sick of it, but the nightly Sweet Caroline chorus is really something to people -- like the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro -- who've never heard it. Check the column on the right for his take. IT'S REACHED THESE EARS . . . That Jerry Remy isn't too thrilled with NESN's latest hire, Heidi Watney. At least that what Baseball Musings' David Pinto is hearing; he passes it along in a post saluting Remy, who -- as you know if you watched any of last night's broadcast -- was honored by NESN and the Red Sox yesterday. You can see some pictures from the ceremony, and the game, in last night's projo.com slideshow. HOW FAIR IS THAT?? The blog Fire Brand of the American League isn't happy about the disparity in the quality of interleague schedules for the Red Sox and Yankees; taking away their common opponents (the Reds and Astros), the Sox' N.L. foes are a combined 27 games over .500 and the Yanks' are 17 games under .500. Maybe so, but it's hard to muster much outrage since the Sox are 9-5 in interleague play this year and the Yankees are 7-5. MINOR MONSTERS: In case you haven't noticed, the Pawtucket Red Sox are having quite the season. Rob Lee tells us about it. HOME RUNS: Ex-Sox star Mo Vaughn is buying two threatened apartment complexes in Boston as part of his expanding campaign to preserve low-cost housing. (Boston Globe) WALKING THE WALK: The Rays were the beneficiaries of a pair of two-out, bases-loaded walks in the eighth inning, which enabled them to take the lead, and then survived a four-walk peformance in the bottom of the ninth by closer Troy Percival as they beat the Marlins, 6-4, in a sloppy game in which some uncharacteristic Tampa Bay defensive lapses aided almost all of Florida's rallies. (Tampa Tribune) Joe Maddon wasn't basking in any all-that-counts-is-the-final-score glow afterwards, warning his young troops that "we're not going to beat the Red Sox, and the Yankees as they're coming on, and all these really good teams, if we continue to make these kind of mistakes. They've got to go away. Mistakes of assuming. Mistakes of assumption. Just mistakes (that) have to be eradicated. Mental mistakes." (St. Petersburg Times) But Maddon didn't escape criticism, either; the blog DRays Bay chided him for sticking with Percival during the closer's ninth-inning walk on the wild side. TIMING IS EVERYTHING IN LIFE: And it appears the Rays will survive the anticipated serving of Akinori Iwamura's suspension this weekend just fine thanks to the return of Ben Zobrist and the fact that Jason Bartlett's wife will have their baby in time for him to get back to the team by Friday. (St. Petersburg Times) SPIRIT OF '60: The Yankees hadn't played a game in Pittsburgh in nearly 48 years; the last time they were there, Bill Mazeroski was homering over Yogi Berra's head in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Seven to give the Pirates one of the most improbable World Series victories of all time. (baseball-reference.com) But there was no revenge forthcoming last night, as the Bucs -- who trotted out Mazeroski to throw out the first pitch (mlb.com) -- routed Darrell Rasner and coasted to a 12-5 victory. (New York Daily News) Joe Girardi, for one, wasn't very pleased. (New York Post) EVER HEAR OF REASSESSING YOUR OPTIONS, JOE? While Peter Abraham admires Joe Girardi's loyalty to (or, as he puts it, "blind faith in") his players, he thinks continuing to send Kyle Farnsworth out to pitch the eighth -- in the absence of any evidence Farnsworth is actually good at that particular job -- is getting ridiculous. (LoHud Yankees Blog) DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME: Sidney Ponson's already tarnished reputation was marred further by recent goings-on in Texas -- prompting the pitching-poor Rangers to a) release him and b) say they were better off without him no matter how well he was performing -- but he's with the Yankees now (actually, with their Triple-A team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) and he promises "to be low key . . . a ghost if possible." (New York Post) ON PROBATION: Phil Allard of NYYFans.com hands out his midseason Yankee report card. I doubt it's going to be pasted on anyone's refrigerator. ONE OF US: Hank Steinbrenner says that if Willie Randolph "had left [the Yankees] to [manage] the Red Sox, maybe I would have had a problem with that." But it was only the Mets, so Hank says Randolph -- "a Yankee, and he'll always be a Yankee" -- can have a job with the Yanks any old time. (New York Post) WELL, THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG: The love-fest that seemed to be building for Jerry Manuel in Mets Nation over the weekend came to a screeching halt after back-to-back drubbings at the hands of the woeful Mariners, and now Manuel is warning that "tough decisions" are in the offing if things don't improve very soon. (New York Post) It looks one of those tough decisions may be determining the fate of hitting coach Howard Johnson (New York Daily News), whose job can't be too secure after Manuel declared the Mets are a "bad offensive club." FIRED UP: At least the Mets -- or some of them, anyway -- are still playing with passion. Carlos Beltran got tossed for arguing balls and strikes and called umpire Brian Runge's actions "weak" and "brutal," adding that "[if] I get suspended, he also should get suspended." (New York Daily News) KID STUFF: First he angered the Mets by appearing to angle for Willie Randolph's seat when Randolph was still sitting in it. Now he's taking on the Yankees, claiming Joe Girardi's main qualification for their managing job is "[the] pictures . . . [he] must have on Steinbrenner." (New York Post) In these politically correct times, Gary Carter is a breath of fresh air . . . or something. COINCIDENCE . . . OR NOT: The epidemic of broken maple bats was addressed by MLB yesterday -- or at least MLB started to address it -- with a conference call in New York of baseball's Safety and Health Advisory Committee to discuss player and fan safety. Among the results: The committee will consult with bat manufacturers and experts in the field, conduct field studies, conduct laboratory tests of bats, and gather information about protective measures in Major League ballparks. And then last night, to underscore just how urgent this issue is becoming, umpire Brian O'Nora was hit in the head by a piece of a broken maple bat in the Kansas City-Colorado game and had to be taken to the hospital for observation. (Both stories mlb.com) EVERYTHING'S OKAY IN MY WORLD: The New York Daily News has a nice piece on Astros farmhand Koby Clemens, who isn't letting his father's troubles distract him as he strives to reach the major leagues. 'GETTING RIDICULOUS': That's Pinto's take on the gap between the American League and the National League, as A.L. teams now have a 109-76, .589 edge in this year's round of interleague play. GET YOUR CHECKBOOKS READY: With the state of pitching being what it is in the major leagues, any decent starter figures to make a killing on the open market. And so it is that Ben Sheets announced yesterday he has every intention of becoming a free agent after the season. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) WELCOME BACK: It's hard to say who was more emotional, Omar Vizquel or the Indians fans, as the veteran shortstop returned to Cleveland for the first time since his 11-year run with the Tribe ended in 2004. (Cleveland Plain Dealer) NEVER HAPPENED: Adam Dunn says that, prior to reports out of Toronto, he didn't call J.P. Ricciardi to discuss Ricciardi's swipe at him on a radio show last week. (Cincinnati Enquirer) Nor, he says, does he intend to. HOW DARE YOU? The blogosphere, particularly in Chicago, is up in arms over Joe Morgan's insinuation on national television Sunday night that Ernie Banks' career home-run total was inflated by the "basket" placed atop the bleacher walls at Wrigley Field (Walkoff Walk blog) The "basket," they point out, wasn't put up until 1970, only a year before Banks retired, and some, like Bleed Cubbie Blue, want Morgan fired. HERE AND THERE: It's official: Nick Johnson is out for the season (Washington Post) . . . More bad news for the Nationals: Shawn Hill appears headed for the DL (Washington Times) . . . Josh Hamilton left last night's game because of left knee inflammation, but even though it's the same knee on which he underwent surgery in 2006 the Rangers don't seem to think it's anything serious (Dallas Morning News) . . . Erik Bedard may be headed back to the disabled list because of a bad back (Seattle Times) . . . Jon Lieber, wasting away in the dustiest corner of the Cubs bullpen, is talking retirement at the end of the year (Chicago Tribune) . . . Like Curt Schilling, John Smoltz isn't quite ready to say he's all done (Atlanta Journal-Consititution) . . . The Astros' Kaz Matsui is headed for the disabled list. (Houston Chronicle) OLD FRIENDS: Johnny Damon's foot hurts and he admits he may need to go on the disabled list (New York Daily News) . . . Bronson Arroyo's been talking recently like he doesn't want to leave Cincinnati, and he may not have anything to worry about anymore. His trade value is probably negligible today after he was pounded for 11 hits and 10 runs in one-plus innings as the Blue Jays routed the Reds, 14-1 (Dayton Daily News) . . . The rehabbing Eric Gagne pitched a perfect inning for the Nashville Sounds last night (oursportscentral.com) and will make one more minor-league appearance before rejoining the Brewers . . . There was a rare Andy Marte sighting in the Indians game last night, and rotoworld.com thinks Cleveland needs to figure out what to do with the one-time phenom . . . Speaking of the Indians, they signed Tony Graffanino to a minor-league deal (Cleveland Plain Dealer) . . . Phil Dumatrait, who was placed on the disabled list by the Pirates on Sunday, has been diagnosed with left shoulder bursitis (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) . . . For the second time in a month, Julian Tavarez appeared to accept, but then ultimately rejected, an assignment to the minor leagues. This time he turned down Milwaukee's request to go to Triple-A Nashville and is now once again a free agent. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone June 24, 2008
Postgame notes: Pedroia going yardRed Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia crushed a solo home run in the first inning and now has three homers in the last nine games to bring his season total to seven. He also has six homers in his last 33 games after just one through his first 45 games this season. Pedroia's roundtripper Tuesday night landed in the Monster Seats.
Posted by Joe McDonald Casey Sitting OutBy STEVEN KRASNER BOSTON -- Sean Casey is sitting out the second game of his three-game suspension for his part in the June 5 brawl with the Rays. Watching the first game wasn't easy, on two counts, for Casey, who dropped his appeal on Monday. "It was weird because you feel alienated from the team," said Casey, the Sox' backup first baseman. "That's the way it will be for a couple of days." Adding to Casey's restlessness was the fact that starting first baseman, Kevin Youkilis, had to leave the game before the start of the fifth because an errant throw during infield practice from Mike Lowell struck him under the eye. That thrust rookie Brandon Moss into the game. Moss, normally an outfielder, was making his big-league debut at the position, and his inability to come up cleanly with a grounder in the seventh gave Arizona what proved to be the winning run. "When that happened to Youk I wondered if I could re-appeal my appeal," said Casey with a laugh. Casey could sympathize with Youkilis. "I never got hit in the eye like that, but I've been hit on the lip," said Casey. "You know, it's between innings, you're not really grinding to go out and make that "pick" and boom, something like that happens." Casey will return to the active roster on Friday, in Houston. "You've got two more days and then out of jail," good-naturedly yelled Alex Cora to Casey in the clubhouse this afternoon. "Eating pizza, drinking beer and watching a game. That would be nice."
Posted by Steven Krasner Photo: Sliding home -- and the game hasn't even started
Posted by Andrea Panciera RED SOX PREGAME: Youkilis -- his eye swollen and his vision blurred -- out of the lineupBY SEAN McADAM BOSTON -- First baseman Kevin Youkilis remains out of the lineup, a day after leaving mid-game when he struck in the right eye by an errant throw during between-inning warmups. Youkilis was struck in the eye by a throw from Mike Lowell Monday night and immediately suffered significant swelling. Today, the eye remains swolen and because of watering in the eye, he's experiencing some blurred vision. The Red Sox have sent him to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary to be examined, where it's expected the eye will be dilated. "He looks like he got beat up," said manager Terry Francona. The swelling and blurring "would make it hard to hit," said Francona, so the Sox hope that by Wednesday, he'll be ready to return to the lineup. Brandon Moss, who made his major league debut at first Monday night, is the starting first baseman. Alex Cora is the backup option, with Youkilis unavailable and Sean Casey serving the middle game of his three-game suspension.
Posted by Sean McAdam RED SOX PREGAME: Still no word on status of Crisp's suspension appealBY SEAN McADAM BOSTON -- There is still no word about the status of Coco Crisp's appeal of his seven-game suspension. The fear is that, even if Crisp gets some reduction, he might have to start serving the suspension this weekend in Houston, where, without the use of the DH, the Sox will need to put Manny Ramirez (hamstring) back into the lineup. Without Crisp, that would leave Moss as the only extra outfielder. If Ramirez felt any tightness, that would put Moss in left and leave the Sox with only Alex Cora and/or Julio Lugo as outfield possibilities. If the team needs to summon an outfielder, it could choose from among Jonathan Van Every or Chris Carter from Pawtucket.
Posted by Art Martone RED SOX PREGAME: Ortiz to make road trip; Sox to proceed slowly with ColonBY SEAN McADAM BOSTON -- David Ortiz (wrist) will travel with the team to Houston, Tampa Bay and New York when the club departs Wednesday night for its 10-game road trip. Before he leaves, Ortiz might take some swings off a tee Wednesday, so doctors can evaluate him before the road trip. Ortiz has had the cast removed from the wrist but is still two weeks from returrning to the lineup. * * * "We're going to slow (his rehab process) down for another week," said Francona, "just to make sure we don't have a problem like last time." Colon had an oblique strain earlier this season, but suffered a setback that slowed his progress.
Posted by Art Martone Sox-D'backs lineupsBOSTON Ellsbury LF Masterson SP ARIZONA Byrnes LF Davis SP
Posted by Sean McAdam Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Bats silent at FenwayClick the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: whether the Red Sox are missing David Ortiz more now than a week ago, the odd situation at first base last night, and the prospects of a trade for a second starting pitcher. Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments: On missing Ortiz: "I think it is starting to catch up to them. They seemed to be OK for the first couple of weeks. They were certainly riding J.D. Drew for the first couple of weeks of June, as he slid into that number-three spot and for a while at least there was no dropoff. But I suppose that it's inevitable that if you take a run producer of that magnitude out of the lineup for this long, it starts showing some effects, and I think we've seen it in the last week." On the market for starting pitching: "Last year and the year before there was virtually no quality starting pitching available [at the trade deadline]. This year it looks like there's going to be a number of guys, including a number of left-handed guys, who are usually at even more of a premium. There will be some opportunities if the Red Sox want to upgrade. It will not be cheap of course. ... There will be plenty of teams looking -- the Yankees, Philadelphia, a number of teams are going to be in the market for starting pitching, and the Red Sox have to, like every other team, weigh the cost."
Posted by Mike McDermott Baseball Today: Tuesday, June 24
FACEOFF: They say reality never matches anticipation, but that wasn't the case last night. We figured we'd get quite a pitching duel between Josh Beckett (above left) and Dan Haren (above right), and did we ever. In the end, reports Joe McDonald, Haren was just a shade better as he pitched the Diamondbacks to a 2-1 win over the Red Sox, but it wasn't easy. He escaped a second-and-third, two-out jam in his final inning, the seventh, by striking out Jason Varitek. Then, in the eighth, after reliever Tony Pena had surrendered the only Boston run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by J.D. Drew, Manny Ramirez almost beheaded Mark Reynolds with a scorching line drive that, writes Steven Krasner, knocked the Arizona third baseman to the ground; Reynolds, however, held on for the final out, preventing the tying run from scoring. The Diamondbacks scored both their runs in the seventh, which Krasner says was the result of a good piece of hitting by Chris Young and a good piece of strategy by manager Bob Melvin. Not to mention some good Arizona fortune; Kevin Youkilis was forced from the game in the fifth after a bounced throw from Mike Lowell during pre-inning warmups hit him in the eye (projo.com) and the inexperience of his replacement, Brandon Moss, may have been a factor in the Diamondbacks' second run. And Moss was only in there because Sean Casey last night began serving his four-game suspension for his role in the fight with Tampa Bay earlier this month. (projo.com) In the end, it lived up to its billing. And how often does that happen? OCTOBER IN JUNE: The Diamondbacks came to town on the heels of three straight losses to the Twins, and perhaps for that reason they were reveling in last night's win a bit more intensely than you'd expect. Or maybe it was just because it came against the defending World Series champions at one of baseball's shrines. Whatever, the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro said that, for the D'backs, the victory "felt nearly as meaningful as any playoff victory." On his Diamondbacks Blog, Piecoro talks more about how much some of the young Arizona players were soaking up the atmosphere at Fenway . . . and he seemed awed by it himself, particularly during Ramirez' at-bat in the eighth inning. SAVIOR: Thanks to Daisuke Matsuzaka's one (inning)-and-done on Saturday, and the 13-inning game Sunday, the Boston bullpen had a severe case of the shorts last night. The Sox needed Beckett to give them a long outing, and he delivered. (Boston Globe) FEELING IT AT LAST: Baseball Musings' David Pinto notes the Red Sox have scored only 25 runs in their last seven games and wonders if David Ortiz' absence is finally catching up with them. FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS: You hardly ever hear anyone say surgery went worse than expected, so Dr. Craig Morgan was a true baseball traditionalist when he announced that Curt Schilling's shoulder operation "was a success." (projo.com) The Herald's Rob Bradford was in Delaware with the Schillings and has a more detailed report. YAY, CURT! Terry Francona tells McDonald he's never really thought whether or not Schilling belongs in the Hall of Fame, but says he'd be "a cheerleader for [Schilling's candidacy] because he’s pitched for me for so long." YEA, CURT: Tim Marchman of the New York Sun delivers another 'yes' vote in the Schilling-for-Cooperstown debate. NOW WHAT? The news that Schilling is finished for the season, and maybe forever, prompted everyone to look back at his sterling career. Now Sean McAdam looks ahead and asks if, with Schilling gone, the Red Sox will be in the market for a No. 2 starting pitcher at the trade deadline since you can't help but wonder if they "have enough experienced starting pitching to withstand three rounds of baseball in October." This is, of course, based on the notion that Jon Lester is still battle-untested, at least when it comes to the postseason (Game Four of last year's World Series notwithstanding), and they have absolutely no idea what to expect out of the riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma that is Dice-K. SLOW IT DOWN: On his Hacks With Haggs blog, Joe Haggerty talks with pitching coach John Farrell about Lester. Among the more interesting tidbits: The Sox may lessen his workload in the weeks ahead to bring down his innings total; right now he's on pace to throw 211 this year, and they think that might be too high. FAREWELL TO THE BIG LUG: No one can accuse Dan Shaughnessy of being Curt Schilling's best friend -- or vice-versa -- but Shaughnessy gives Schilling his props in a goodbye column. (Boston Globe) And at the risk of offending "the fragile psyches of Schill-o-phants, blog-boys, and others who worship at the altar of Curt," that goodbye includes inquiries to ownership as to whether they regret the $8 million contract they gave him last November, for which they received absolutely nothing. BEST WISHES: Also on Schilling's not-my-best-friend list is Randy Johnson, his partner at the top of the Diamondbacks' starting rotation in the early part of the decade. But the Herald's Steve Buckley reports the Big Unit also has nothing but good wishes for Schilling, and even hopes he'll be able to return so he can "go out on his own terms, like I’m doing." THE NEW TRADITION: From here on in, we can be fairly certain a weather delay at Fenway Park will mean only one thing: A showing of the Jonathan Papelbon/Manny Delcarmen video "Blame It On The Rain." Haven't seen it? (Don't worry; you will.) Well, it you can't wait, check it out on Ian Bethune's Sox and Dawgs site. ENOUGH, ALREADY: The nationwide backlash against Boston's recent sporting fortunes -- and, more specifically, the fans who are basking in it -- is reaching epidemic proportions, which prompted Red Sox fan Russ Smith (who lives in Baltimore) to offer a defense for his fellow Nation members. Shysterball's Craig Calcaterra thinks the bandwagon fans will abandon the Sox eventually and says "it's those marginal fans ["I spent two years of grad school in Boston, so I'm a total Sawx fan!"] who are the most annoying." ACCURACY IN POLLING? Derek Jeter, the most overrated player in baseball according to SI's player poll, is playing like it so far this year. (New York Daily News) MELK DELIVERY: Steven Goldman, writing for the New York Sun, thinks the Yankees may have gotten about all they're going to get out of Melky Cabrera and says they should trade him for pitching. IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE It's possible Carl Pavano will be pitching again for the Yankees before Phil Hughes. (New York Post) THE INSIDE STORY: SI.com's Jon Heyman takes a closer look at what went into the firing of Willie Randolph. Meanwhile, Mets owner Fred Wilpon defends the move and the man who made it, Omar Minaya. (Newsday) WATCH YOUR MOUTH: The 'fertilizer' incident has taught new manager Jerry Manuel there are things he can say, and things he can't say, now that he's managing in New York. (New York Daily News) CAN'T WIN FOR LOSING: Three innings after becoming the first American League pitcher to hit a grand-slam home run since 1972, Felix Hernandez suffered an ankle injury that forced him out of the Mariners' game at Shea Stadium. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) The M's still beat the Mets, though, and Hernandez vows he won't miss a start. WHAT IT'S LIKE: Our friend Jason Rosenberg of the blog It Is About The Money, Stupid has a fascinating interview with player agent Matt Sosnick. Among the interesting tidbits in Sosnick's remarks: That there's no organized conspiracy to keep Mitchell Report players out of baseball ("the risk doesn’t equal the reward"), that the level of competition and bitterness between agents competing for players is incomprehensible ("worse than you can ever imagine") and what's the most important character trait to be a successful agent ("character, not deception"). A very good read, and well worth the time to click the link. LAYING IT OUT THERE: Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reaches no conclusion as to whether they will or not, but he examines all the factors that would go into the Indians' deciding whether or not to trade C.C. Sabathia. FIRST UP: As McAdam noted, there could be a lot of big-name pitchers -- Sabathia, Erik Bedard, Rich Harden, Roy Oswalt, Greg Maddux -- available next month. That being the case, expect to hear about many teams lining up to acquire them. Beating the rush and getting right in line: The Phillies (Philadelphia Inquirer) and the Cubs (Chicago Tribune).
OLD FRIENDS: The St. Petersburg Times lists Eric Hinske as one of the four unheralded Rays who've helped Tampa Bay so far this year . . . The Rays think Carlos Pena is still a week away from returning to the lineup (Tampa Tribune) . . . The Cardinals are moving Matt Clement to the bullpen due to his inconsistency as a starter during his rehab. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) AND FINALLY . . . Our thanks to Pinto for tipping us off to this incredible catch by a ballgirl at a minor-league game:
Word is filtering in that it's a fake, but so what? It's still worth watching. -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone June 23, 2008
Arizona 2, Boston 1By Joe McDonald BOSTON _ It was slated as a pitchers’ duel. It was a pitchers’ duel. The Sox’ Josh Beckett and the Diamondbacks’ Dan Haren painted masterpieces. The pair of right-handers entered lMonday night's interleague game at Fenway with matching 7-4 records. Haren was slightly better in the ERA department with a 3.26 compared to Beckett’s 3.87. The clash was everything it was hyped up to be – and then some. In the end, however, it was Haren who was a little bit better as Arizona barely defeated Boston, 2-1. Haren completely dominated and finished seven solid scoreless innings and allowed just two hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He threw 98 pitches, 61 for strikes. “I’ll tell you what, he can reach back for a fastball when he needs it and his off-speed stuff is so good, along with the deception he creates in his delivery, he really did a good job against us,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. Beckett was almost equally impressive with his eight-inning performance. He allowed only two runs – both in the seventh inning – on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He threw 115 pitches, 75 for strikes. “He’s tough,” said Beckett referring to Haren. “It don’t matter who he is pitching against. He throws the balls on the black pretty much the whole time with all of his pitches. That’s why he is regarded as one of the best.” Both hurlers were bringing it from the start to thrill the 37,694 in attendance. “Sometimes it’s better when we score nine,” said Beckett as Boston combined for only four hits. “It seems like we win a lot more of those games. It’s fun to sit over there when you’re pitching because you’re more locked than any other day when you’re not pitching. It’s fun to watch a guy work like that, obviously it’s a little more fun when you’re on the winning end.” Beckett, making his 14th start of the season, allowed only three hits through the first six innings until he surrendered a pair of runs in the seventh as Arizona gained a 2-0 advantage. Haren completely kept the Red Sox off balance all night. He retired the first six batters he faced before he allowed his first hit of the game to Sox’ Jason Varitek in the third inning. Varitek doubled to snap a 0-for-24 skid, the longest slump of his career. It went for naught, however, as he was left stranded. The only other hit Haren allowed was a single in the seventh inning to Mike Lowell. Haren was done after seven full innings, but the Diamondbacks’ bullpen couldn’t keep the Boston bats quiet for long. After Beckett retired the side in order in the top of the eighth, the Red Sox loaded the bases on Arizona reliever Tony Pena. With one out, the right-hander walked Julio Lugo and surrendered back-to-back singles to Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. J.D. Drew drove in Boston’s only run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field before Manny Ramirez lined out to third. That ball was hit so hard it was as though he shot it out of a Civil War cannon. Fortunately, Diamondbacks’ third baseman Mark Reynolds was able to snare the scorching liner before it decapitated him. “Manny’s at-bat was a great at-bat,” said Francona. “You’ve got a guy throwing 97 and Manny hit a ball about as hard as you can hit it. He almost hit it through the third baseman. It was disappointing it was an out, but not disappointing in his approach.” Pena was out of his jam, but Boston’s deficit was cut to one, 2-1. Another reason Beckett’s eight-inning performance was key for Boston was due to its overly taxed bullpen, which had worked a total of 13 innings on Saturday and Sunday. So, Red Sox reliever David Aardsma was given the ball in the top of the ninth. The hard-throwing right-hander loaded the bases, including a single, walk, sacrifice bunt and intentional walk. With one out, Aardsma struck out back-to-back hitters, both on 97 MPH fastballs to end the threat. "He's always had the arm and there's a lot to like," said Francona. "Now he's starting to throw the ball where he wants to a little bit more. We're seeing some pretty good results." Former Red Sox reliever and Diamondbacks closer Brandon Lyon retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to hold on to the win. The only thing missing in this pitchers’ standoff was the Old Western music playing in the background as Beckett and the Red Sox lay on the ground with Haren and the Diamondbacks standing over with a smoking gun – Haren’s right arm. “That was a good one,” said Francona of the pitchers’ performances. “Beckett was outstanding, also. That was two really good pitchers.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Late Red Sox NotesJ.D. Drew drove in the only Red Sox run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. It was Drew's 23rd RBI in 21 games this month. Drew, however, had his second straight hitless game...Arizona, which swept the Red Sox in interleague play back in 2002, is now 4-0 in four games at Fenway. The Diamondbacks are the only team the Sox have hosted at Fenway and never beaten...When Dustin Pedroia struck out in the third inning, it snapped a stretch of 72 straight plate appearances without striking out, the longest active streak in the major leagues. His last strikeout had come back on June 4 against Tampa Bay.
Posted by Sean McAdam Postgame: Aardsma Becoming Mr. KBy STEVEN KRASNER BOSTON -- David Aardsma was pitching on fumes. But the right-hander ignored his fatigue, took the ball and blazed his way out of trouble in the ninth inning, racking up a couple more dominant strikeouts with his blazing fastball. Aardsma worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam by whiffing Justin Upton and Eric Byrnes. His last pitch, a 97 mph heater that was up, simply blew away Byrnes, keeping it a 2-1 deficit. It was yet another in a string of eye-popping performances by Aardsma. He was working for the third time in four days, and he had been up and throwing lightly in the bullpen in the 13th inning of Sunday's game, though he didn't get into that one. Aardsma worked a spotless inning on Friday night against St. Louis, whiffing all three batters he faced. He did the same the next day against the Cardinals. And last night made it an amazing eight punchouts in his last three innings, running his season total to 38 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings. He has been impressive of late, working a total of 7 1/3 scoreless innings in his last seven outings. Aardsma has 12 strikeouts over that stretch, which has lowered his earned-run average from 3.18 to 2.52. "I thought what we asked from Aardsma tonight was pushing it a little bit but obviously he wasn't backing off on his velocity," said Boston manager Terry Francona. As he sat in a chair in front of his locker, ice packs on several parts of his body, Aardsma admitted he was tired. "I'm absolutely wiped out," said Aardsma. "You just want to go out there and give everything you have. I don't feel fresh, obviously. I've thrown a decent amount lately. But if they were going to get a hit, it was going to be off my best stuff." Aardsma had a simple explanation for his rash of Ks recently. "Getting ahead of the hitters helps out a lot," said Aardsma. "A lot of the strikeouts were on pitches that were out of the strike zone when I was ahead in the count."
Posted by Steven Krasner Postgame notes: Youkilis updateBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis was removed from Monday's game after being hit in the eye by the baseball. He suffered a contusion under the right eye and was taken for a precautionary CT scan. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said after the game the test came back negative. In between the fourth and fifth innings, Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell short-hopped a throw to Youkilis. The ball bounced off the clay and drilled him in the right eye. Youkilis was attended to by team trainer Paul Lessard and Francona and removed from the game. "His eye was getting puffier and puffier pretty much by the second," said Francona. "By the time I got out there he wanted to stay in, he always wants to stay in. The way it was swelling, and as quickly as it was swelling, there's was no way we were going to let him go hit." Youkilis will be examined again Tuesday morning. "If it get too swollen it will certainly limit his eye sight, which wouldn't be good to play him (Tuesday night), so we'll see how he's doing." Because backup first baseman Sean Casey began his three-game suspension Monday night for his involvement in the bench-clearing brawl with the Tampa Bay Rays on June 5 at Fenway Park, he was unavailable to replace the injured Youkilis. "The timing. . . that's the way it usually works," said Francona. So, Brandon Moss was inserted into the game. An outfielder by trade, the Red Sox began to work him out as a first baseman late last season. This year in Pawtucket he played 32 of his 37 games for the PawSox at first. Monday night was his first MLB game at first. "We're fortunate we had him here tonight," said Francona. "We would like to see Moss play more, but we have Casey here. We didn't have Casey tonight, but at least we had somebody to play first." dfue
Posted by Joe McDonald Postgame: Moss Blames HimselfBy STEVEN KRASNER BOSTON -- Brandon Moss knew he was the backup plan at first base because Sean Casey dropped his appeal of a three-game suspension for his part in a brawl with the Rays and began serving it last night. "I didn't expect anything to happen," said Moss. "That always when something happens." That "something" turned out to be a bruise under first baseman Kevin Youkilis's right eye, the result of a bad hop during infield practice before the fifth inning, costing the Sox the services of the Gold Glover. So Moss was thrust into the game at first base, his major league debut at the position. And Moss was unable to make a play in a key spot in the seventh inning, costing the Red Sox a run that proved pivotal in Boston's 2-1 loss to Arizona. The Diamondbacks, leading by 1-0, had runners at second and third with one out. The infield was in. Chris Snyder hit a broken-bat grounder to Moss, with Mark Reynolds taking off from third base on contact. Moss bobbled the ball and was forced to settle for the out at first when he finally latched onto it. He was kicking himself after the game. "I took my eye off it. I looked up and saw the runner going home," said Moss, an outfielder by trade who didn't start playing the position until last winter and had 32 games of experience at the position in Pawtucket. "As soon as I did that, the ball got away from me. If I field that ball cleanly, I know I'll (throw him out) at home," said Moss. And while it appeared as if the ball had a lot of spin on it, a function of being hit off the end of the bat, Moss was having none of that as an excuse. "It was a candy hop I got," he said. "It couldn't have been an easier grounder to field. It was right to me. I tried to do too much too soon. It's a shame the game turned out the way it did. It ended up being the freaking winning run. That's my responsibility."
Posted by Steven Krasner Oakland's Haren Shuts Down Sox
BOSTON -- Matched against Josh Beckett last night, Dan Haren knew he couldn't afford to make many mistakes. So he didn't.
Posted by Sean McAdam Schilling updateBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling underwent successful surgery to repair his damaged biceps tendon and right shoulder this afternoon in Wilmington, Del. The procedure was performed by his personal physician Dr. Craig Morgan. “Everything went well,” said Morgan. The doctor also said Schilling was experiencing some pain after the surgery, and because of the late afternoon hour in which the surgery was completed, Schilling will remain in the hospital overnight and will fly back to Boston on Tuesday. Morgan explained Schilling had a disease in his biceps tendon, which was the primary diagnosis back in January when Morgan first examined the pitcher. Schilling also had a tear in his labrum – similar to the one he had in 1995. He also had “tiny, tiny” partial tear in his rotator cuff, which Morgan fixed with a small stitch and didn’t think it was anything significant. “The rest of the stuff in his shoulder was healthy,” Morgan said. “His prognosis to have all those things heal is good. Now, whether he wants to go through the rehab to be able to pitch at the major-league level at age 41 remains to be seen, and it’s his decision.” Morgan explained the rehab process would be daily four-hour exercises for the next six months if Schilling has a chance to pitch in the big leagues again. If he can mentally put himself through that, then Morgan said Schilling has a good chance to pitch again. Red Sox manager Terry Francona called Schilling yesterday morning to wish him “good luck” before the procedure took place. Schilling suffered the injury sometime during the offseason after he signed a one-year $8-million contract with the Red Sox, which included incentives. The club can not pinpoint exactly when it occurred, but Schilling began to feel the pain when he started to throw in January to prepare for spring training. Schilling was examined by Morgan and the doctor recommended and was quite adamant that Schilling should have surgery. The Red Sox wanted to take the conservative approach of strengthening the biceps and shoulder. The reason Morgan suggested immediate surgery was so Schilling could begin his rehab and possibly be ready to pitch at some point during the 2008 season. “The best treatment was for him to have surgery,” said Morgan. “The rehab would be about six months, which if he would have had in January he would have been able to pitch the last part of the season and probably into the postseason. Now that option is not available for this year.” Ultimately, Schilling and the Red Sox decided to go the conservative route until last week after Schilling experienced discomfort while throwing a bullpen session. Schilling met with GM Theo Epstein, Francona and the club’s medical staff and decided on the season-ending surgery. Epstein admitted last week that when he spoke with Schilling, the three-time World Series champion said he felt like he has already thrown his last pitch. Ironically, at the exact moment Schilling was having the surgery, Francona was in the midst of a discussing with the local media whether or not Schilling should be a Hall of Famer. “I should be better informed because he’s pitched for a long time,” said the manager. “I think it’s more of that I’ve never stopped and thought about it. I kind of get the sense because of the timing of everything – with the surgery – that argument is starting to go up. It’s a fun argument for baseball people and people who care about baseball. I need to look at it better.” Schilling pitched for Francona while the two were in Philadelphia back in the late 90s, and again here in Boston. So, it’s safe to say Francona is hoping some day the big-game pitcher has a plaque hanging in Cooperstown. “I would be a cheerleader for him because he’s pitched for me for so long,” he said. “I haven’t looked at enough stuff to give an unbiased opinion because I’ve never stopped to think about it. Discussing the history of the game comes natural for Francona. He has spent his entire life involved in the game. He is a son of a former major-leaguer, he played, coached, was a scout and has managed, so the game has become his life. To talk about the game is honoring the game. “Our game is the greatest game to talk about in the world,” he said. “There’s so much history, and that’s part about being a baseball fan. . . “There’s so much to argue about, maybe argue is the wrong word, it’s part of what makes our game so special.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Game update: Youkilis injuredBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis has just been removed from the game after being hit in the eye by the baseball. He suffered a contusion under the right eye and was taken for a precautionary CT scan. In between the fourth and fifth innings, Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell short-hopped a throw to Youkilis. The ball bounced off the clay and drilled him in the right eye. Youkilis was attended to by team trainer Paul Lessard and manager Terry Francona and removed from the game. Brandon Moss is now playing first. Moss is a natural outfielder, but the Red Sox began to work him out as a first baseman late last season. This year in Pawtucket he played 32 of his 37 games for the PawSox at first. This is his first time playing first in the majors. The reason Moss is playing first base is due to the fact that backup first baseman Sean Casey began is three-game suspension tonight for his part in June 5 bench-clearing brawl against Tampa at Fenway Park.
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Schilling has surgeryBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling underwent surgery this afternoon in Wilmington, Del., to repair his damaged biceps tendon and shoulder. Rob Bradford of The Boston Herald first reported the story earlier this afternoon, and Red Sox manager Terry Francona just confirmed the veteran right-hander was under the knife. Francona didn’t have an update, but said he called to wish him “good luck” before the procedure took place. Ironically, at the exact moment Schilling was having the surgery, Francona was in the midst of a discussing with the local media whether or not Schilling should be a Hall of Famer. “I should be better informed because he’s pitched for a long time,” said the manager. “I think it’s more of that I’ve never stopped and thought about it. I kind of get the sense because of the timing of everything – with the surgery – that argument is starting to go up. It’s a fun argument for baseball people and people who care about baseball. I need to look at it better.” Schilling pitched for Francona while the two were in Philadelphia back in the late 90s, and again here in Boston. So, it’s safe to say Francona is hoping some day the big-game pitcher has a plaque hanging in Cooperstown. “I would be a cheerleader for him because he’s pitched for me for so long,” he said. “I haven’t looked at enough stuff to give an unbiased opinion because I’ve never stopped to think about it. Discussing the history of the game comes natural for Francona. He has spent his entire life involved in the game. He is a son of a former major-leaguer, he played, coached, was a scout and has managed, so the game has become his life. To talk about the game is honoring the game. “Our game is the greatest game to talk about in the world,” he said. “There’s so much history, and that’s part about being a baseball fan. . . “There’s so much to argue about, maybe argue is the wrong word, it’s part of what makes our game so special.”
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Suspension updatesBy Joe McDonald BOSTON _ Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey has dropped his appeal and will begin to serve his suspension tonight. Center fielder Coco Crisp also had his appeal heard and no decision has been made yet. Both players were involved in a bench-clearing brawl with the Tampa Bay Rays on June 5 at Fenway Park. Crisp was suspended for seven games, pitcher Jon Lester for five games and Casey for three games. Lester already served his suspension. The appeals were heard this afternoon via a web conference.
Posted by Joe McDonald Weather update from FenwayPer the Red Sox: The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for a possibility of scattered rain showers during the afternoon and evening hours.
The Fenway Park gates will open at the regularly scheduled time of 5:05 p.m., and the Red Sox hope that tonight’s game with the Arizona Diamondbacks will begin at the scheduled time at 7:05 p.m. However, the Red Sox want to alert our fans to the current forecast and the possibility of delay.
This forecast is of course subject to change as the day progresses. Additional updates will be provided as necessary.
Posted by Joe McDonald Starting Lineups, June 23RED SOX Ellsbury lf Beckett p DIAMONDBACKS Byrnes lf Haren p -- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner Pregame notes: The tarp is onThe grounds crew here at Fenway Park just put the tarp on the field. The forecast doesn't look too promising. One of the most impressive things to see a pitcher do is play long toss. Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka and pitching coach John Farrell are playing right now in the outfield. Farrell is standing on the warning track just behind Pesky's Pole. Dice-K is standing in left-center field and the throws from both guys are right on target. Pretty impressive.
Posted by Joe McDonald Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Red Sox work overtime to avoid sweepClick the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: yesterday's long afternoon at Fenway Park, Jonathan Papelbon's recent troubles, Daisuke Matsuzaka's disastrous start on Saturday, and the coming series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments: On Papelbon: "I thought he threw the ball very well yesterday. He particularly overmatched the first two guys [he faced]. Ankiel was absolutely no match for Papelbon's fastball when he got it going. I'm more inclined to chalk up yesterday as a bit of an aberration, and perhaps a false first step on Coco Crisp's part to initially come in on Kennedy's ball and then have to scramble back and not get it. That doesn't change the fact that the ball was hit almost 400 feet, but I wouldn't be too concerned about Jonathan Papelbon." On Matsuzaka: "Certainly when a guy who's been sidelined with shoulder problems comes back and is as ineffective as Matsuzaka was Saturday, it raises some eyebrows. So I think all eyes will be on him Friday night, when he makes his second start [in Houston]. On the Diamondbacks: "Arizona is where it is [first place in the NL West] because of starting pitching. The front two of [tonight's starter ] Dan Haren and Brandon Webb are as formidable as any two in the National League, and Randy Johnson has actually been pretty effective since coming back -- he'll go on Wednesday. ... They may be a typical National League team these days, where offense doesn't play much of a part, but their pitching makes them a team to be reckoned with."
Posted by Mike McDermott Baseball Today: Monday, June 23
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL: By the time Kevin Youkilis came to bat in the 13th inning yesterday it was pretty obvious that the Red Sox-Cardinals game was only going to end with a home run; both teams had demonstrated to the satisfaction of everyone there wasn't a clutch hit to be had on this day. (And when there was a semblance of one, like Adam Kennedy's 13th-inning single, someone in the field -- in this case, J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek -- would take care of it; more on that later.) So Youkilis pulled down the curtain on the 5 1/2-hour (rain included) day at the ballpark with a two-run shot into the Monster Seats in left-center, enabling the Red Sox to escape with a 5-3 win that salvaged the finale of the weekend series. Joe McDonald has the details of a long and unfruitful day at the ballpark, which included, among other things: -- The Red Sox wasting leadoff doubles in the 10th, 11th and 12th innings. But, thanks to Youkilis, the Sox were dancing at the end (above). "I know it’s a heck of a lot better hearing the music" -- the trilogy of Dirty Water, Tessie and Joy To The World that accompanies each Fenway Park victory -- "than coming in frustrated after a long day," sighed Terry Francona. STOP THE MUSIC: But the reason the Sox missed hearing the Standells, the Dropkick Murphys and Three Dog Night about an hour-and-a-half earlier may actually have been the news of the day. Jonathan Papelbon blew his fourth save of the year, and the second in his last four chances, and this one was perhaps the disconcerting of them all. Krasner has a detailed breakdown of how it happened; it involved Papelbon abandoning the fastball that had blown away the first two hitters in the ninth and going to his splitter. The result was a four-pitch walk to .234 hitter Chris Duncan and a run-scoring double to Kennedy -- who came to the plate with a .305 on-base percentage and a .306 slugging percentage -- that tied the game. (In Papelbon's defense, Kennedy's ball, as well hit as it was, probably should have been caught by Coco Crisp, who's not throwing the leather the way he did in 2007.) The Globe's Nick Cafardo looks a little closer at the bullpen and notes, "When you couple Papelbon's blown saves and the struggles of set-up man Hideki Okajima, the concerns are clear. " NO, KEEP THE MUSIC GOING: The Herald's Tony Massarotti, on the other hand, thinks the fact the Sox win games like this makes the question not can they win another World Series, but can anybody else beat them? 'DISGUSTING': The good news, bullpen-wise, was the five-up, five-down performance of Craig Hansen, who kept the game tied in the 11th with a three-pitch strikeout of Ryan Ludwick with the bases loaded. Krasner reports Manny Delcarmen judged Hansen's performance as "disgusting." If you think that's a bad thing, you're showing your age. NOT SAFE AT HOME: When Hansen was lifted one batter into the 13th, the Cardinals arose. Duncan greeted Javier Lopez with a double off the wall and Kennedy followed with a single to right, prompting third-base coach Jose Oquendo to wave Duncan home. But Drew and Varitek combined to keep the score tied, Drew with a throw that beat Duncan to the plate by about 15 feet and Varitek by hunkering down and absorbing the knock-him-over, knock-it-out collision without OTHER NOTES OF THE DAY: Crisp's defense yesterday wasn't all bad; he and Ellsbury both turned in some nice plays in the field . . . Lost in the excitement -- or whatever it was yesterday turned into -- was another fine start from Jon Lester . . . Dustin Pedroia had a four-hit afternoon and has lifted his average from .260 to .282 over the last 10 games . . . Krasner has all the details. IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: The blog Bird Land thinks yesterday's was one of the greatest games in Cardinals history. THE BIG PICTURE: Apparently that's a majority opinion in Cardinal Nation. Tony La Russa was proud of the way his team battled over the weekend and Bernie Miklasz -- a sometimes critic of the manager -- thinks La Russa deserves much of the credit because, as he says, "I don't know if we realize how difficult it is for a team to go into Boston and win two out of three." (Both stories St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Which, when you step back and think about it, is true; the only other series the Sox lost at home this year was to the Angels in April. OTHER NOTES OF THE WEEKEND: The series began Friday night with the Sox honoring the Celtics for winning the NBA championship, but -- in a sneak preview of yesterday -- wasting scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity in a 5-4 loss. McDonald recaps it all . . . Saturday was a disaster, Boston-wise, as the back-with-the-big-club Daisuke Matsuzaka was routed in the second inning of a 9-3 defeat. Sean McAdam, though, tells us of Chris Smith's major-league debut, which looks pretty good in the box score but -- in true, other-than-that, how-did-you-like-the-play-Mrs.-Lincoln? fashion -- was marred by a grand slam allowed to the first batter he faced. WHERE THEY RANK: Speaking of the Celtics and championships, Chad Finn ranks the six Boston titles of the 21st century. Not surprisingly, Red Sox 2004 comes in on top. Me, I'd put the 2001 Pats a little higher. END OF THE LINE? Just about the same time we were signing off here last Friday, Curt Schilling was on WEEI Radio announcing the end of his season, and possibly his career. (weei.com) While yours truly had the news, Sean McAdam had the more important piece. He put the Boston portion of Schilling's career into perspective and demonstrated how -- with his fearlessness in big moments and willingness to tackle situations that past Red Sox teams, and players, had shrunk from -- he helped turn Boston into a place where "October isn’t something to dread, but to welcome." The bloody sock (above) is the iconic symbol of all that; it forever reminds us of a night when he limped on one leg into what Theo Epstein called "the belly of the beast" and did something -- beat the Yankees, in Yankee Stadium, in a game that meant everything -- that no Red Sox pitcher, or team, was allegedly capable of doing. The temptation is to attribute too much credit for what's happened here since 2004 to one guy, and that's wrong because Schilling certainly wasn't alone. Nor is it accurate to whitewash Schilling into an heroic knight on a steed; he had plenty of moments when he was more blowhard than braveheart, especially since there didn't seem to be anything he could refrain from commenting on, sometimes inappropriately. But there's no underestimating what he did in Boston, either, and he's inextricably intertwined with the change-of-fortune success the Red Sox have had since 2004. Like him or hate him -- and, truth be told, most Boston fans adored him -- you can't deny him his place in this franchise's history. As we speak today, he's undergoing shoulder surgery; his baseball future hinges on the outcome. Good luck, Curt. We'll never forget you. 'NOT A THING IN THE WORLD TO BE UPSET ABOUT': Sometime Friday afternoon Schilling took to 38pitches.com to say his own goodbyes and said that if this is end, he has no regrets. KNEW IT WAS COMING: McAdam and McDonald report that the Sox, both in the front office and the clubhouse, were saddened, if unsurprised, by the news. GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES: And now the Schilling-In-The-Hall-of-Fame debate begins. The first salvo is fired by The Sporting News' Sean Deveney: He says yes. THE BEST TRADES ARE THE ONES . . . Remember how close the Sox came to picking up Todd Helton? If this story in the Denver Post is any indication, be thankful they didn't. QUIET FINISH: A homestand that picked up steam with a sweep of the Cubs ended on a down note for the Rays, who lost to the Astros yesterday and dropped two out of three in the series to Houston. (Tampa Tribune) HANG ON A SECOND: Yankee fans had double reason to celebrate yesterday: Andy Pettitte beat the Reds, avoiding a three-game sweep, and their favorite whipping boy, Kyle Farnsworth, hurt his finger. (New York Daily News) But the blog River Ave. Blues says Farnsworth isn't "totally useless. Yet." THE DEAD HORSE SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE: The New York Daily News' John Harper says "there is a very real sense these Mets are in good hands with Jerry Manuel taking over for Willie Randolph. Smart, relaxed and self-assured, Manuel's ascension seems to have loosened the atmosphere around the Mets and helped them refocus on baseball." In what may or may not be a related incident, Manuel compares Mets fans to fertilizer. (New York Post) LET'S GO BACK TO BEATING IT ANYWAY: The Daily News' Bill Madden says Randolph had no chance with the backstabbers in the Mets front office. And his former teammates, Jim Kaat, says Willie deserved better. (yesnetwork.com) TURNAROUND: Right after being swept by the Rays, the Cubs come home and sweep the White Sox. (Chicago Tribune) The vanquished manager, Ozzie Guillen, salutes the victors. (Chicago Sun-Times) HE DID IT ONCE (ACTUALLY, TWICE), SO . . . The Blue Jays are giving Cito Gaston the chance to do it again. (Toronto Star) Our pal the Tao of Stieb is aghast. As are we. NUMBER ONE: The Jays won their first game for Gaston -- after two defeats -- yesterday. (Toronto Globe and Mail) One last Jays note: Matt Stairs is happy Gary Denbo was shown the door, along with John McLaren and Ernie Whitt. (National Post) Well, one really last Jays note: Whitt's firing drove the long-time Blue Jay to tears. (Toronto Sun) NOTHING'S CHANGED: His high school graduation was covered live on national radio, and Bob Feller henceforth acted like someone who felt his high school graduation deserved to be covered live on national radio. (Which should be a lesson to all who think athletic self-absorption is a novel concept.) Shysterball reports the years haven't mellowed him any. HERE AND THERE: The Pirates' Ian Snell has a sore elbow (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . After his latest dismal outing, the Dodgers' Scott Proctor described himself as "(bleeping) pathetic" (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . The Astros have lifted Shawn Chacon out of their starting rotation (Houston Chronicle) . . . Mark Teixeira had a three-homer day for the Braves yesterday (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . The Tigers still don't know when Gary Sheffield will return (Detroit Free Press) . . . Moises Alou's career may be over. (New York Post) OLD FRIENDS: Bronson Arroyo has heard the rumors that have him headed to the Yankees and sounds like he's lukewarm about it, since he's come to enjoy life in baseball's slow lane (New York Daily News) . . . Justin Duchscherer has a big fan: Baseball Musings' David Pinto . . . Ken Harrelson talks about his career, and his life, with the Chicago Sun-Times. AND FINALLY . . . It's not really baseball news, but interesting nonetheless: Newsday reports that the end may be near for WFAN's Mike And The Mad Dog show. -- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone June 22, 2008
Postgame: Crisp/Papelbon Blown SaveBy STEVEN KRASNER BOSTON -- Jonathan Papelbon was seeking the save but he hung a splitter and Adam Kennedy crushed it with two outs in the ninth inning. The ball was scalded, and it headed toward Coco Crisp in center field. Crisp did not get a good jump on the ball, maybe even taking a half-step in before trying to track down the ball. The ball, though, sailed over his head, hit the base of the wall and the double knocked in Chris Duncan with the run that tied the game at 3-3. "I was playing deep, no doubles defense," said Crisp of the alignment that pushes the outfielders back so no ball can go over them for extra bases. "He crushed that ball and I didn't see it right away," said Crisp. "I shuffled a bit and when I finally saw it, I had no chance. I ran back and threw my glove up for a prayer, hoping the ball would find it, but I wasn't even close. The ball hit a couple of panels (of padding) to my right."
Posted by Steven Krasner Game updateThe first pitch is scheduled for 2:25
Posted by Joe McDonald Rain delayIt's raining at Fenway Park and the tarp has been placed on the field. The showers are supposed to end soon.
Posted by Joe McDonald Pregame notes: Quiet day at FenwayThe clubhouse is usually quiet when there's a day game after a night game. That's the case this morning. Red Sox manager Terry Francona spent about six minutes talking with the local media this morning. On the agenda were Daisuke Matsuzaka's health, an update on David Ortiz and rookie Chris Smith's major-league debut. Matsuzaka suffered his first loss of the season on Saturday during an awful start where he allowed seven runs in only one-plus innings of work against St. Louis. Both Francona and Dice-K said after the game that the pitcher's health is fine, it was just a bad outing. This morning Matsuzaka was working out. "We always find a way or a time to talk to guys after they pitch, and it won't be any different with him. The day after they throw is real important. I'm not dying to go in and interupt his work day, but at some point we'll visit with him, like we do with anybody. It's our job to do that." Smith, a 27-year-old rookie, made his debut on Saturday and had a interesting day. He worked four innings in relief and allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts. When he replaced Dice-K with no outs and the bases loaded in the second inning, Smith gave up a grand slam to the Cards' Troy Glaus. Smith then retired nine of the next 11 batters he faced. "It was nice to finally get him in a game," said Francona. "It's hard not to route for guys like Smitty. He's been through a lot and you can tell he loves to pitch. He's a polite kid, so it was fun to watch him do his thing. I wish we were up 8-0. That kind of put a damper on the day, but it was exciting to watch."
Posted by Joe McDonald Starting Lineups, June 22RED SOX Ellsbury lf Lester p CARDINALS Barton lf Pineiro p -- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner |
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