Red Sox Out-Pitched and Out-Managed in Loss to Rays

Do you miss Big Papi yet? The Red Sox sure do. Last night they were once again unable to get any real offense going in a 3-1 loss to the surging Rays. They are batting like zombies up there! Either Tampa Bay pitching is better than advertised, or the Sox need a rest. For the second night in a row, Rays pitching retired each batter in the Red Sox lineup in order the first time through. Two nights in a row the first 3 innings go 1-2-3. Last night, there were no solo home runs to tease us into thinking the offense was about to get going. As the key was turned in the ignition to get it started, the offensive engine sputtered, choked, coughed, and let out a sigh as it collapsed, refusing to start.

Even JD Drew, the hottest batter this past month for the Sox, was unable to get it going. JD went 0-3 with 2 strike outs, the worse of those coming in the 8th inning. With one out and runners on first and second, the Red Sox had the makings of a rally started, but JD stood there and watched three straight pitches go by, each one of them called a strike. JD, wake up - you have to swing at least once! To JD's credit, he was credited with the Sox' only RBI of the night in the 4th inning. Jacoby Ellsbury had singled advanced all the way to third base when he hit a dribbler that catcher, Dioner Navarro, threw past first base for an error. JD Drew managed to hit a sacrifice fly to score Ellsbury from third, and that ended the Sox' offense for the evening.

Manny Ramirez remained silent at the plate, also going 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Even Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis were cold, both of them going 0-4. In games like this, the manager will try to shake things up with a timely pinch hitter. Terry Francona tried to shake things up, but failed in two ways. First, he fell for a little bait and switch by Rays' manager, Joe Maddon. Joe sent starter, Matt Garza, who had already thrown 102 pitches, back out to the mound to start the 8th inning. Joe knew that Tim Wakefield was most likely done for the evening, and that meant that the lead off batter for the Red Sox that inning, catcher Kevin Cash, was likely to be pinch hit for. He played Francona like a fiddle. Terry went for the bait and sent in left handed hitting Sean Casey to bat for Cash. As soon as he saw the move, Maddon marched to the mound and made the move he was planning all along. Maddon sent in the left handed reliever, JP Howell, in to replace Garza.


Then, Tito proceeded to make his second mistake. The Sox had only 3 players on the bench last night with Coco Crisp serving his suspension. That left Sean Casey, Jason Varitek, and Julio Lugo, who was getting a night off. We all love Varitek, but he has been mired in a slump lately and looks terrible at the plate. Meanwhile, Sean Casey is batting .358. But, Casey bats left handed, so shouldn't that favor NOT sending him up to face Howell? It might, but Casey is batting .350 this season against left handed pitching! So, who gives the Sox a bigger chance to create a spark for the offense? You say Sean Casey? Terry did not think so, and he pulled Casey, now ineligible to return to the game, and sent Varitek up to bat right handed. Varitek watched the first pitch go by for a strike, then swung at and missed the next two pitches. Then, in the 9th inning, with two outs and Alex Cora on second base with a double, the batter was again Jason Varitek, facing the right handed Grant Balfour. This would have been a sweet spot to have Casey batting, but alas, we again got to see Varitek strike out on three straight pitches to end the game.

Meanwhile, poor Tim Wakefield, who went 7 innings, allowing only 2 runs (one of them unearned), got saddled with the loss. It is nights like that when you realize how meaningless wins and losses can be as a meaningful statistic on the effectiveness of a pitcher. Wakefield pitched even better than we could have expected, and not only doe not get the win, but adds another loss to his name. Has to be frustrating.

The Red Sox have yet to win a game in Tampa this season. Can they break that streak tonight with Daisuke Matsuzaka facing off against Scott Kazmir? Kazmir is a tough lefty that will cause trouble for the Sox who have largely left handed outfield and bench. Ellsbury, Moss, and Drew will all have their work cut out for them, and Casey will be forced to ride the pine again. it would be a nice time for Manny Ramirez to get his fire going again, and for the Dice Man to keep them in the game long enough to get past Kazmir and start working on the bullpen. A loss would send the Sox on to face the Yankees trailing the Rays by 3 1/2 games. A win would cut the Rays' lead to only 1 1/2. Let's work on a win!

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Sox Sweep Rays as Emotions Boil Over

Yesterday I wondered if Joe Maddon would follow in Lou Piniella's footsteps and retaliate for Coco Crisp's hard slide into second base the night before, or if Joe would keep a level head and focus on leading his Rays to a win over the Red Sox to regain first place in the AL East. That question was answered quickly last night when Coco came up to bat in the second inning. Tampa starter, James Shields, fired his first pitch right at Crisp, grazing his leg as Crisp jumped out of the way. Crisp was waiting for that, and charged the mound setting off a bench clearing brawl. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the scuffle that ensued. Who is right and who is wrong in all of this? I'll tell you. Everyone was wrong, no one involved was right.

Let's start with Coco. When he slid into second base last night and shortstop, Jason Bartlett, blocked the bag with his leg, Coco jammed his thumb. Bartlett's blocking of the bag with his leg was not incredibly honorable, but not illegal. If the runner slides in feet first, you won't see it happen. However, I don't believe Jason was trying to hurt Crisp in any way, he was only trying to ensure the out. Crisp over-reacted, and for some reason let that mild offense just eat at him. Later in the game, he had set his mind on revenge. Now, on his next attempted steal, if Bartlett was again covering the bag, and Crisp slid in hard to take him out, that would not be so bad - eye for an eye. I don't even think Bartlett would have been surprised, and as long as no one got hurt, it probably would have ended with a few choice words. But, Iwamura covered that bag, not Bartlett. This did not matter to Coco - he jammed his thumb - someone was going to pay. First big mistake. Coco did slide in hard, and the Rays took offense, BUT, no one got hurt, Crisp made his point, and the Rays got to tell the world what a jerk Crisp was.

That brings us to last night. Joe Maddon obviously gave the green light to plunk Crisp. A win last night would have put the Rays in first place. Perhaps Joe thought back to the battle between Jason Varitek and A-Rod a few years ago and how that seemed to spark the Red Sox. Maybe. But Joe, throwing at a batter intentionally, and knowing it would incite a riot, would surely get your starter ejected from the game. Why do that in the second inning? Why not wait until late in the game? As it went, Shields did get ejected, and Maddon had to use 6 pitchers to get through the game - a convincing 7-1 spanking. Lucky the riot did not injure anyone Joe! Shields did do one thing right. He threw at Crisp's thigh area - not his head.

Why Crisp got so hot headed over all this is a mystery. He has generally been very calm and rational since joining the Red Sox. Crisp let it eat him up the day before and carried in to last night's game, just waiting for the fireworks to begin. Either he has a bad temper that rarely comes out, or he has some pent up issues that have been waiting to burst out (sharing time with Ellsbury maybe?). Crisp also knew that he'd be ejected. With Big Papi already out, and Manny Ramirez nursing a sore hamstring, why get yourself thrown from the game? He could have taken the first base, stolen second (feet first) and third and scored. At that point you glare back to say - "take that!". But, no, he goes and gets thrown out of the game, and will likely be suspended.

The bizarre night continued when Manny and Kevin Youkilis got into some kind of fight between innings in the Red Sox dugout and had to be separated. We may never learn what incited that one, but something odd is going on here. If not for that foolish incident, I may have crowned Manny the hero of the game. He did go 2 for 3, hit a 3 run home run, and a two RBI single filling in for Big Papi as the DH. But, fighting in the dugout strips you of that award. Manny was also removed in the 7th inning when he tweaked his hamstring jumping back from an inside pitch. He went to first and wanted to stay in the game, but Francona wisely pulled him, just to be safe. Apparently, he is doing okay, and I expect he'll be in the lineup as DH again tonight.

But the hero of the game, in my book, was Jon Lester. Lester pitched a very nice game, allowing only one run in 6 1/3 innings, giving up 8 hits. but no walks and 5 strike outs. Lester wins the hero award, not only for pitching well, but for playing with intensity, but appearing oblivious to all the craziness around him. Case in point...in the fourth inning, Cliff Floyd came up to bat. Lester threw a pitch inside that came close to hitting him. Floyd jerked back and avoided the pitch with relative ease, but with tensions already stretched, that was the sort of thing that could set another melee in motion. Floyd squared his shoulders, puffed up a bit, and glared at Lester taking a slight move towards the mound - trying to judge Lester's intent. Lester was a rock. He stood his ground, stared right back, but not with an malice whatsoever. He stared back as a competitor, as if to say, "are you done now, can you get back in the box so I can strike you out?". Lester was not to be intimidated, and Floyd saw that. He crawled back into the batters' box and did indeed strike out. On his return to the dugout, he glared at Lester the whole way. Lester did not even notice - he had a game to play. "This is not hockey", he thought, "this is baseball. I'll do my talking with my pitches". He kept up his intensity all game. He even hit two batters as the game progressed, but made it clear through his demeanor that neither was with intent. Hero of the game, Jon Lester.

But wait, there's more. Also in the 4th inning, Jacoby Ellsbury made a sweet diving catch of a ball hit to center field. As he slid, his glove rolled under, much like what happened to JD Drew earlier in the season, and he sprained his wrist. Ellsbury came out of the game. His wrist is sore but seems to be structurally intact. I expect he'll get a day or so to rest it, depending on how it feels each day. With Manny's hammy hurting, Crisp ejected, and now Ellsbury out, Francona looked down his bench and did not see any outfielders he could send in. So, for the second time this season, Kevin Youkilis was recruited to play right field, Chris Carter (also primarily a first baseman) was already playing left field in Coco's absence. I wager that may be the first time in Sox history the outfield corner positions were both being manned by first basemen.

With the outfield situation looking questionable, the Sox had to, unfortunately, send Chris Carter back to Pawtucket after the game in order to call up Brandon Moss, an actual outfielder. Carter enjoyed his first games ever in the majors. Last night he had two hits and scored two runs, and will hopefully get a chance to contribute some more in the future.

Tonight, our Great Hispanic Hope, Bartolo colon, goes for his fourth win for the Sox. I'm not sure I feel confident about this one. There are a couple of things that worry me. The first is the mental and physical state of the Red Sox. Can they mentally settle back down and get back to solid baseball tonight? And how will Manny's hamstring and Ellsbury's wrist affect the lineup? If they are both out, it will hurt quite a bit. Also, the Mariners are on a 4 game losing streak, and have their best starter, Felix Hernandez, going tonight. Losing streaks always end, and number one starters are usually the ones to end them. Hopefully, the Sox got a good night's sleep, and Brandon Moss comes up with energy to give them a spark to get right back on the attack. The Mariners are in possession of the worst record in baseball right now. Let's keep it that way!

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Sox - Rays Rivalry Heats Up

Over the past few years, under Lou Piniella, the Sox and Devil Rays have had their share of heated scuffles, but the smoldering emotions never quite lit into an all out fire. Those smoldering embers got fanned into a dull red glow last night when Coco Crisp, during an attempted steal in the 8th inning, slid hard into second base with a take out slide of Akinori Iwamura. Coco's slide was intentionally hard, and was done in retaliation for Rays' shortstop Jason Bartlett who blocked second base with a knee in the 6th inning when Coco slid in head first in a successful steal. The dropped knee caused Coco jam his hand and sprain his thumb. He stayed in the game, but may get a night or two off, depending on how the thumb feels today.

Coco had hoped Jason Bartlett would take his own medicine and cover second in the 8th, but Crisp was ticked off enough that whoever was covering was going down. Ray's manager, Joe Maddon, was not pleased and let Crisp know it. Keep your eye on this situation. If Lou was still in charge of the Rays, there would be a price to pay tonight, but I'm not sure what will happen under Joe Maddon. The Rays are trying to convince the world they are for real, and deserve respect. They have been beaten down these past two games as they watched the Red Sox strip them of first place. Their star slugger, Carlos Pena, has just been placed on the DL with a cracked finger bone resulting from being hit by a pitch from Justin Masterson on Tuesday night, they have watched as the Sox have terrorized them on the bases, and now have this situation to deal with. This young team may not be able to contain their composure. Tensions are up, will the Rays handle it and simply play hard to regain first place with a win, or will they blow up and let emotions get the best of them?

And what did manager Terry Francona think of all this? "I went down to the bathroom", said Terry after the game. "I missed the rest of it. I was trying to get my zipper up. It wasn't going as fast as I wanted it to", he added. Man, getting old is tough!

Josh Beckett pitched well, but not great last night. He avoided a scare when his mud-clogged cleat slid on the mound during a pitch. Luckily no damage was done, but out of caution, Terry Francona pulled Beckett after 6 innings with the score 4-1. Three of the Sox runs had come in the 3rd inning, with Jacoby Ellsbury, JD Drew, and Manny Ramirez each driving in one run. JD has been turning up the power with Big Papi out of the lineup. Enough so that Francona inserted him in Papi's #3 spot in the lineup. Drew did not disappoint, going 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 runs scored, and a run batted in.

The bullpen, barring Hideki Okajima's meltdown a few days ago, has been stellar lately. Last night was more of the same. Manny Delcarmen wiped the Rays out with 3 straight strike outs in the 7th inning. Okajima looked more like his old self in the 8th inning, allowing a leadoff single, but setting the next three batters down in a row. Craig Hansen, giving Papelbon a night of rest, was able to mop things up in the ninth inning with a leadoff walk the only damage done. Hansen continues to look like a valuable addition to the relief corps. The Sox already have a top rate starting rotation. If the bullpen continues to perform as they have this past week, there will be no stopping this team.

Jon Lester takes the hill at an early 6:05 start time, and I am guessing that Coco Crisp will get a night to rest his thumb, Manny will return to left field, and Chris Carter will get his first start for Boston in the DH slot. The Red Sox, in a gracious gesture, have moved up the start time of tonight's game by one hour in deference to game one of the Celtics - Lakers NBA Championship game at 9:00. They are trying to give fans a chance to watch the Red Sox game, without overlapping the Celtics game. The Boston sports scene is simply buzzing. Within 12 months we've had the Sox win a World Series, the Patriots reach the Superbowl on the back of an unbeaten season, the Bruins at least made the payoffs, and now the Celtics are renewing an old rivalry in the NBA Championships.

In the DVD Giveaway Contest, the Red Sox won last night, scoring 5 runs, but had no home runs and Jacoby Ellsbury did not steal a base. While things will certainly certainly continue to change, the leader today remains Insight, with Fenway West in a close second. Rich M and MCG from Spain are right behind. As the stats pile up, those who guessed on the high side will begin to keep into the lead. Stay tuned.

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Red Sox Inch Closer to First Place with Win over the Rays

I was incredibly fortunate to get the opportunity to attend the game last night in one of the corporate luxury boxes on the EMC Level (a million thanks to Jen for the invitation!). It was my first time in a luxury box, and I have to say, it is pretty darned nice! Plenty of great food and drink, comfortable seating indoors with a 50" flat screen TV, and cushioned seats outside with an incredible view that makes you feel like you are hovering right over the field. I could get very used to watching games there! Especially well played games in perfect weather!

Heading in to the game, Tampa Bay was all alone in first place in the AL East, 1 1/2 games ahead of Boston. Today, they are still in first place, but clinging to a scant 1/2 game lead and having to face Red Sox' ace, Josh Beckett tonight. Many people have been doubting how long the Rays can stay in the hunt for a playoff spot, and expect them to begin to fade - but when? To me, it looked like the fade began last night.

Justin Masterson took the mound in place of the injured Dice-K for his third call up from the minors this season. Masterson was not quite as sharp as he had been in his previous two outings, but he was good enough to earn his second win, lasting 6 innings and giving up 4 runs. If it were not for Carlos Pena, Justin's stats would have looked much better. Pena doubled in the 4th on a hard hit to deep right field that hopped the wall and drove in a runner from second base. That was just a prelude to the 6th inning when Pena let loose with an incredible upper cut swing that cleared the right field fence for a two run home run. The only other damage that Masterson allowed was a lead off home run to Akinori Iwamura - the fourth lead off home run of his career - three of those coming against the Red Sox!

The Game had been a back and forth battle until the Sox took charge for good in the 6th inning. In the second inning, Mike Lowell sent a drive into the Green Monster seats with Manny Ramirez on first base to take a 2-1 lead. The Rays tied it at 2 on Carlos Pena's double in the fourth, but JD Drew answered right back with a solo home run that was crushed to right field. The fun thing about that home run is that, after carefully reviewing the replays, I saw that the ball landed right in my usual seats in right field! Doesn't that figure? Pena's homer in the 6th put the Rays back on top, and it looked like Masterson would not get a win for his efforts.

But, the Sox came through in the bottom of the 6th scoring 4 runs. Kevin Youkilis had reached first after being hit by a pitch. Then Manny Ramirez hit a hard grounder to short. We watched in amazement as Manny charged hard to first. His effort must have startled shortstop Jason Bartlett who bobbled the ball before firing to first. The hustling Manny beat the throw by half a step! Rays' starter, Matt Garza, had pitched well, but was tiring. We could see that, but manager Joe Maddon apparently could not. He watched from the dugout as Garza walked JD Drew to load the bases with one out for Jason Varitek. 'Tek singled up the middle to drive in Youk, and Coco Crisp stepped up to the plate. Still no movement from Maddon, but Garza was clearly done. Crisp took advantage and laced a drive the opposite way, down the left field line and off the wall. Two runs scored as Crisp settled easily into second base for a double.

Finally, Joe Maddon (a student of Grady Little no doubt?) decided to go to the bullpen. So, who does he bring in to pitch? Grant Balfour! Of all the unfortunate last names for a pitcher to inherit. you know he asks himself all the time, "why can't our surname be Strikethree?". True to his heritage, Balfour tossed four straight bals (European spelling) to Julio Lugo for a walk to load the bases. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a deep fly to center that allowed Varitek to easily tag and score from third. The score was now 7-4, and would remain that way until the end.

We also got to witness some managerial chess moves in the 8th inning. Joe Maddon saw Jonathan Papelbon warming up in the bullpen and knew the 8th inning would be his last chance to score, so he pulled out all his moves. Terry Francona had sent in the left handed Javier Lopez to start the 8th. Evan Longoria, a right hander, was leading off the inning, but Maddon's lineup had three straight left handed batters up next. Perfect time for Terry to take advantage and send a lefty pitcher in. Lopez walked Longoria, and Maddon made his first move. He replaced Cliff Floyd with switch hitting Willy Aybar to bat right handed. With two more lefties coming up, Francona stuck with Lopez. Maddon's move worked as Aybar hit a single off Lopez. Then, Maddon made his next move, sending the right handed Jonny Gomes to bat for Eric Hinske. By now, Francona had caught on to the pattern, and replaced Lopez with the right handed Craig Hansen. Maddon had one more move to make. Before Hansen could throw a single pitch, Maddon sent in the left handed Carl Crawford to hit for Gomes. With only one player left on the Tampa Bay bench, the moves ended, and so did the inning as Hansen collected three straight outs to get the game moving again.

Maddon was right to fear the ninth. Papelbon came in like Zeus throwing lightning bolts from Mount Olympus. He struck out the pesky Iwamura on four straight pitches of 99, 98, 99, and 99 miles per hour! He followed that up with three pitches to Dioner Navarro that hit 100, 99, and 99 miles per hour. The ball was nearly invisible as it sped to the plate - amazing the hitters could see it at all. Navarro grounded out, and B.J. Upton struck out swinging to prompt Dirty Water to start playing across Fenway and send the crowd home happy.

Late in the game, we got to see a potential NFL running back candidate display his talents. A (foolish) fan leaped the fence near the Pesky Pole in right field and came running across the field. Security guards immediately took off in pursuit, but the fan was fast and had moves. Every time they were about to grab him, he'd zig, zag, and speed out of harm's way. Of course, there is a limited amount of space to run, so as he approached the fence along the third base line (he made it that far!), he leaped the fence, but right into the waiting arms of the law. Hopefully Bill Belichick got an opportunity to review the film so the night in jail was not a waste.

And how about our friends from the Bronx? Last night they opened a new chapter in their storied pitching history as they sent young phenom Joba Chamberlain out to the mound for his first start in a Yankee uniform. Joba has been quite impressive pitching in relief out of the bullpen, but Yankees owner, Hank Steinbrenner, insisted that he would be better served helping out the Yankees' struggling starters. The new chapter turned out to be a short one. Joba the Hut needed 38 pitches to get through the first inning and was removed not too long after, with one out in the 3rd. He gave up 2 runs, and left with the game tied, but did not do much to worry the Blue Jays, who proceeded to stomp on the Yankees' relief squad on their way to a 9-3 victory that give the Yanks sole possession of last place. Tough luck guys. And no, Bartolo Colon is not for sale.

Weather permitting, the Sox will look to jump over the Rays tonight to re-take first place. With Beckett on the mound, the chances look good. Manny Ramirez had been dealing with some hamstring soreness, and took over the DH spot last night in place of David Ortiz. If Manny's legs need more rest, expect more of the same tonight. But, Francona likes to get new guys into the lineup quickly, so I would not be surprised if Chris Carter gets in the game tonight. Carter is not much of a defensive player, but swings a big bat. If Manny is up for playing left field tonight, Carter will likely DH.

Finally, thanks to all the contest entrants, and there are a number of you. Look to the top right of this page to track progress. Although it is meaningless, if we scored the guesses as of today, our pal, Insight would be the winner. We'll see how long he can hold that lead.

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)