Mariners Domintate Listless Red Sox

Let's take a brief look at yesterday's analysis here of the opening game of the Mariners - Red Sox series. Last night's game held low confidence. There were concerns about the Red Sox overall emotional recovery from the night before, as well as facing a team on a losing streak, with their number one starter on the mound to break the streak. There was one last key point, that the depleted lineup (particularly Manny's hamstring and Ellsbury's wrist) would hurt the offense quite a bit.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, those assessments came true. Felix Hernandez pitched an effective game last night, throwing 6 shutout innings, and the Red Sox lineup (apart from JD Drew and Sean Casey) looked as lifeless as Count Dracula in the middle of a sunny day. JD Drew continues to shred opposing pitchers, going 2 for 3 last night, and Casey followed suit, going 3 for 4 with a double. But, with both Big Papi and Manny Ramirez out of the lineup, there was no clout to take advantage of the base runners. We had the battle-weary Coco Crisp in the lineup, who can add speed in Ellsbury's place, but Crisp never even reached base.

Brandon Moss rejoined the team, and as usual, played with a smile. He got a hit, and provided solid left field defense, and looked like he has not missed a step after his appendix surgery just last month. But Brandon was not enough of a spark to recharge the Red Sox batteries last night.

Bartolo Colon was off of his game as well. We knew he would not win every game all season, and if you are going to have an off day on the mound, you might as well do it on a night the offense has no interest in scoring runs. Losing 1-0 is much more frustrating than losing 8-0, like they did last night. Colon looked mortal last night. His fastball was, on average, a little slower than it had been, and he was getting it up in the zone too often. His other pitches were not as effective as usual, but he was able to battle reasonably well and left the game after 5 innings behind 6-0. Now, before his next start, can the coaches work with Colon on throws to second base? He made two throwing errors last night, one would have started a double play, and the other was a pick off attempt. Both throws ended up in center field!

David Aardsma gave up the other two runs, but the surprise pitcher was Javier Lopez. Terry Francona saw this game was getting out of reach, and did not want to deplete the entire bullpen. He needed someone to hold their ground, and eat up a few innings. Enter Lopez. Javier pitched the final three innings of the game, only allowing two base runners from one hit and one walk. Very impressive, and that saved the bulk of the bullpen to be ready today.

The brawl review committee has quickly sent down their punishments. Not surprisingly, the cheap shot Rays got hit the hardest, with 5 players earning suspensions. The Red Sox had three suspensions handed down. Coco Crisp got 7 games, not a big surprise, but the other two Sox players were more of a surprise. Sean Casey will be suspended for three games, and Jon Lester for a ridiculous five games! Further review of the melee showed that Casey threw a few punches and was an active participant in the battle. Okay, so we can see that punishment. But Jon Lester???? Lester did not join in the fray, which is wise for your starting pitcher, and he was never ejected from the game. Lester hit two batters, Carl Crawford with a curve ball (obviously not intentional), and Iwamura got grazed with an inside pitch. The umpire never saw intent, and no warnings were issued to Lester. So where the heck does MLB come off deciding that Lester needed to be suspended.

All players suspended can appeal their suspension. If Lester appeals, I think he'd have a good chance of reducing it. Now, Lester is a starter, and starters only pitch once every 5 days. They may have preferred to suspend Lester for one game, but for a starter, that does nothing. They simply take the suspension on a day they are not pitching anyway. So, the 5 day suspension is basically a one day suspension for a starter - they are forced to miss their next regular start, but would probably just pitch the next day on an extra day of rest. But, MLB should not have been suspending a pitcher who was not involved in the brawl, and received no warning or ejection from the umpiring crew!

Today, hopefully Manny and Ellsbury can rejoin the team and help generate runs. Tim Wakefield takes the mound, and has been pitching well of late. you never can predict what you'll get out of Wakefield, but you know you'll always get 100% effort, and it is tough to ask for more than that. I still think the Sox need to find a way to get back on the emotional track they had laid out prior to the foolish brawl. Sit Coco, let him spend a day with his therapist and get it all behind him, and let Ellsbury burn up the bases so Manny can drive him in.

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)

Orioles Avoid Sweep - Knock Out Okajima in 8th

Last night, the Orioles saved some face in front of the home town crowd by beating the Red Sox 6-3. With Tim Wakefield on the mound for Boston, Baltimore decided to steal a page from Jacoby Ellsbury and come out running. With one out in the first inning the running started. Brian Roberts, who had reached first base on a single, stole second base, and quickly proceeded to steal third base, setting himself up to score. Melvin Mora ended up walking and Orioles' clean up batter, Aubrey Huff, stepped in. Huff worked the count to 2-2, and then struck out looking at the next pitch. But on that very pitch, Mora took off for second and was gunned down by Kevin Cash for the third out. The running game was putting pressure on the Sox, but it was not effective at scoring runs yet.

In the second inning, Luke Scott hit a single to right field, and thought he'd avoid the whole steal situation by stretching the single into a double. But, JD Drew is no longer suffering the effects of vertigo has had last week and gunned down Scott at second base. The O's manufactured two runs in the 4th inning, but that is all they would get from Tim Wakefield, who had a good night, lasting through the 7th inning, kindly giving the bullpen a much needed rest.

Meanwhile, the Sox had slowly managed to inch their way back into the game. Manny Ramirez got the first run on the board when he hit a solo home run in the 6th inning (didn't I tell you Manny would go on a tear for a while?). In the 7th, Kevin Cash hit a double that scored Alex Cora from first to tie the game. The Sox threatened to blow the game open in the 8th inning. Kevin Youkillis started the inning with a walk, Manny singled, and a passed ball moved them up to second and third. A Mike Lowell single scored Youkilis and sent Manny to third base. Then, JD Drew hit a ground ball to short, and Manny took off for home, only to be gunned down for the first out. Coco Crisp walked to load the bases for Alex Cora, but Alex ripped a ground ball to third base that Melvin Mora converted into an inning ending double play.

With the Sox now on top 3-2 heading into the 8th inning, it looked like a good situation. Hideki Okajima will pitch the 8th, and Papelbon will get a save in the ninth, right? Well, games are played on the field, not on paper, and this one did not look like it did on paper. For whatever reason, Okajima just did not have his stuff last night. He started off the inning surrendering back to back to back singles to load the bases with no outs. Kevin Millar followed with a sacrifice fly to center field that tied the game at 3. The next play was interesting. Luke Scott hit a grounder to Youk who fired to third baseman, Mike Lowell to trap Melvin Mora between home and third. Mora was out, the score was still tied, and the Sox now had two outs. Just one out away from keeping the score tied. Unfortunately, Okajima was not up to the task last night, and Terry Francona was unable to recognize that. Okajima walked the next batter to load the bases for Adam Jones. Jones launched a screaming double that cleared the bases and ended the Sox hopes to come back to Boston 5-5 on the road trip.

Instead, they return 4-6 on the trip and find themselves 1 1/2 games behind tonight's opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays. The Sox now get to battle the Rays in a fight for first place on their territory. The Sox, without Daisuke Matsuzaka, will turn once again to Justin Masterson, hoping he holds on to his rookie magic. Masterson has been called up twice for the Sox this year, and has pitched well in both starts. But, Tampa will counter with Matt Garza, who is having himself a very nice year, currently boasting a 4-1 record.

The Sox will also be without their slugger, David Ortiz, who will be sent to the Disabled List (DL) for the first time this season. Ortiz had an MRI on his strained wrist and doctors discovered a partial tear in a tendon sheath. Not good news, and tendons are slow healers. The optimistic expectation is that Papi will be out for two weeks, but could be a month. With Dice-K currently on the DL, the Sox had called up Jeff Bailey from Pawtucket to add some batter power to the bench. Bailey would have been sent back to the PawSox tonight to make room for Masterson. However, with Papi out, the Sox can keep Bailey in Boston, or they could opt for another swap and call up Brandon Moss, who has had success with Boston earlier this season.

We'll find out about those moves prior to tonight's 7:05 start time, which is also last call for the DVD Giveaway Contest! So, if you want a shot at winning this great DVD, get an entry in before the first pitch.

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Red Sox Power Past Orioles 9-4

In yesterday's post, I speculated that Manny Ramirez would be able to relax and start terrorizing pitchers after finally getting home run number 500 behind him. It only took one day for Manny to back that up, going 3 for 5 with a single, an RBI double, and a two run home home, his 501st. Once Manny gets comfortable and just focuses on hitting, he is dangerous. Mike Lowell rode on Manny's tailwind in the 4th inning following Manny's home run with one of his own.


The other offensive surge came from JD Drew. Drew had been out for a couple of games trying to shake off a case of vertigo. It appears he shook it off just fine going 2 for 3 with a 2 run home run of his own in the 7th inning to seal the game for Boston. JD also drove in the first run of the game in the second inning with a sacrifice fly. I hope Red Sox nation has put JD Drew's sub-par 2007 season behind them and noticed that he has been very steady this season and a key contributor, both offensively and defensively.

I also speculated yesterday that Bartolo Colon would be allowed to reach 100 pitches. In fact, he went to 103 pitches before being relieved in the 7th inning, and earned his third win in three starts this year. His stuff was not quite as electric in this outing, and he had some trouble keeping the ball down in the zone. But, the results were good, and if he bounces back with no ill effects from the 103 pitch outing (his longest of the year, including in Pawtucket), then the signs are good that he may be able to contribute at a high level all season. Let's keep our fingers crossed, because we all know how valuable a solid starting rotation is - just ask the Yankees.

Through all of this, the Red Sox are still stuck in second place behind the surging Tampa Bay Rays. Who would have predicted that the upcoming series against Tampa would be so meaningful? Good time to remind you to join in on the contest to win a free Red Sox DVD - but your entry in the contest must be received by the first pitch of the Tuesday night game against Tampa Bay. It is a fun set up, so I hope you join in! The DVD is well worth it too!

Tonight Tim Wakefield gets to prove, yet again, why he belongs in the starting rotation. The Red Sox have the Orioles against the ropes. It is always hard to sweep a four game series, but this one feels ripe for the sweeping!

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Red Sox Win with Power and Speed

The Red Sox won their second straight game, 6-3, over the Baltimore Orioles last night. Manny Ramirez stole all the headlines in the 7th inning when he launched a 410 foot home run, the 500th of his career. Manny has been anxious about getting past this historic milestone, and admitted he has been swinging for the fences to get it over with. Now that he has accomplished the feat, I assure you, he will relax, settle in to his swing, and start terrorizing opposing pitchers for a while!

The game had been an interesting back and forth battle. The Orioles scored first, squeezing in two runs off of Red Sox starter, Jon Lester. The Red Sox countered with back to back solo home runs by Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz in the top of the 3rd inning. Brian Roberts hit a solo home run off of Lester in the 5th inning to regain the lead for Baltimore, but the Red Sox answered right back when Jason Varitek singled home Kevin Youkilis in the top of the 6th inning to tie the game at 3.

Jacoby Ellsbury was, once again, a terror on the bases. Unfortunately, the Red Sox have been failing to take advantage of the opportunities Ellsbury has given them. I have the feeling that Baltimore starter, Garrett Olson, had been obsessing about Ellsbury's speed prior to the game. He was so worried about Ellsbury getting on, that he walked him on four straight pitches to start the game. Once on first base, the left handed Olson could hardly focus on the batter, staring down Ellsbury, and firing pick off attempts to first. Olson's fourth pick-off attempt sailed away from Kevin Millar and Ellsbury was handed second base on the error. Having Ellsbury at second changed the defense for Baltimore. With David Ortiz at the plate, Baltimore will shift the defense towards the right, with the third baseman basically playing shortstop. However, with the threat of Ellsbury stealing third, the third baseman had to cheat back to third, leaving a huge gap at short for Ortiz. Additionally, the shortstop had to hover around second base to try to keep Ellsbury from getting too big of a lead. None of this would end up mattering, as Ortiz watched the next pitch go by for a (terrible) called strike, and Ellsbury took off with the pitch and stole third base easily. After all that work to get to third base, Manny Ramirez flied out to (deep) center field to end the inning.

Fast forward to the 5th inning. With one out, Olson again walks Ellsbury, and this time Ellsbury swiped second base. With Ellsbury now in scoring position, Dustin Pedroia flied out to left for the second out. Big Papi came up to the plate, and Ellsbury wanted to increase the odds of scoring, so he quickly stole third base. The kid can sure fly out there! But, alas, Papi followed Pedroia's lead and ended the inning with a fly ball to left.

But, Ellsbury is not one to give up. In the 7th inning, Ellsbury lead off with a long line drive to the right-center field gap that one-hopped the wall. Orioles' outfielders were on the scene instantly, and most mortal players would have held up for a double. But, Ellsbury never even slowed down, leaving a cloud of dust as he passed over second base. He slid into third base, but there was no need. No throw would be coming from the Orioles - Jacoby was safe on third, with no outs. Ellsbury had been stranded on third twice so far, would this be a third time? Dustin Pedroia hit a soft grounder to Alex Cintron at shortstop. Cintron looked Ellsbury back to third and fired to Millar for the first out. Ellsbury began to get concerned. The Orioles sent in left-hander, Jamie Walker, to pitch to Ortiz. Ortiz got a piece of a slider and sent it high into mid-left field, drifting towards the foul line. Left fielder, Jay Payton, had plenty of time to get to the ball, position himself well, and prepare for a throw home. Not a good situation for a base runner. Ellsbury, fearing this may be his one and only chance to score, decided to trust his fleet feet. Payton caught the ball, Ellsbury sprinted home. Payton, in perfect position, threw a perfect throw home that took one short hop to the waiting glove of catcher Ramon Hernandez. 99.9% of players would have been out by a mile, but Ellsbury, somehow, was arriving at the plate at the exact same time as the ball. Just as the ball tried to settle in to the glove, Ellsbury was sliding in. Knowing he had only a fraction of a second to apply the tag, Hernandez rushed, just a bit, and the ball slipped away. Ellsbury was safe - he manufactured his own run, and the Sox now lead 4-3.

Enough drama for one night? Not really. It turns out, Ellsbury could have just waited one more batter and jogged home on the back of Manny Ramirez' 500th home run! Chad Bradford went in to pitch to Manny. He only threw one pitch - an 82 mph fastball right down the middle. Manny's eyes lit up, the bat roared through the zone, and for one split fraction of a second, the round ball was hammered flat. A second later it was on its way to history as Manny sat back and watched it sail through the night sky into the outfield seats. Manny was fortunate to hit the historic home run in front of the Red Sox faithful. That's right, 48, 281 fans were at the game last night, and my rough estimate is that 30,000 of them were Red Sox fans. There were "let's go Red Sox" chants all night long echoing through downtown Baltimore. And when that home run landed and became official, the crowd went crazy - just as loud as it would have been at Fenway Park.

This afternoon, the Red Sox go for three in a row behind the third outing of the season for Bartolo Colon. Colon has looked terrific in his first two starts, both of them wins. As his strength builds, we should see Francona letting his pitch count get higher - possibly nearing 100 pitches tonight, presuming he keeps the Sox in the game.

The one case of bad news for the Sox came in the ninth inning last night as David Ortiz strained his wrist on a swing and had to be replaced by Sean Casey. The injury appears to be mild, but expect Papi to get a day or two off to let the wrist heal.

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)