Without Manny, Sox Have No Answer for Joba

Yes, I was at the game last night. Unfortunately, the results were not what I was hoping for, but for the most part, it was an interesting and well played game. This was our first look at Joba Chamberlain as a starter, and he looked good. As expected, he fed Sox batters a steady dose of fast balls, topping out at 100, but not very frequently. In addition, he mixed in a slider and a curveball to keep batters from sitting on the fastball. Joba lasted 7 innings and baffled Sox hitters all night, recording 9 strikeouts while only allowing 3 harmless singles and one walk. The only time it looked like the Sox might get to Joba was in the 2nd inning. Mike Lowell lined a soft single to left field, then JD Drew came up and ripped a shot to center that Melke Cabrera dove for and made the catch. Had he not come up with that, Lowell would have been on third, and they might have gotten something started.

Last night David Ortiz made his debut from the DL. Papi has been hitting minor league pitching well, but it is a big jump from minor league prospects to facing Joba's fastball. Papi looked like he needs a little more time to get his timing down. Meanwhile, there was little excitement while the Sox were at bat until the 7th inning when Joba, AGAIN, almost took Kevin Youkilis' head off with a pitch. Joba has twice before thrown at Youk, once at his head, and once behind him. Joba was precise in his command all night, only walked one batter, and hit no batters. So, could it be coincidence that this one pitch that gets away from Joba all night happens to be against Youk, and happens to go right at his head? Only Joba knows for sure, but I have to say, the game situation just did not make sense for it to be intentional, unless Joba is a complete idiot. At the time, the Yankees were leading 1-0, and Youk was leading off the 7th inning and had a 2-0 count. It just would not make sense for Joba to want to let the lead-off man get on base.

Counterpoint...If Joba does have it in for Youk, and wants to plunk him for some reason we don't know, but he sure makes obvious, then when would he do it? Well, he would not do it early in the game and risk getting thrown out, right? If he was going to do it, it would be late in the game when his turn to pitch was nearly over, like maybe the 7th inning? Joba's pitch count was in the 90's, he knew this would be his last inning, and his last chance to face Youkilis for the series. It was now or never. The way he was mowing the batters down, I'm not sure he was worried about getting through the inning with Youk on first, and if he made it looks accidental, he made not have been ejected for the first offense. Hmm, now that you put is that way, maybe it was not accidental at all! Now, what the hell does Joba have against Youk?

Josh Beckett pitched well, but not as dominating as Joba. Beckett also went 7 innings, striking out 6 and only walking one, but be gave up 9 hits, all of them singles. Beckett allowed the Yankees to get runners on base, but stayed enough in control to prevent anyone from crossing the plate. That is except for the 3rd inning. With 2 outs, Bobby Abreu and A-Rod hit back to back singles to put runners at 1st and 3rd. With Jason Giambi coming up, the Sox put the shift on moving Dustin Pedroia out into shallow right field and shortstop, Jed Lowrie, shifted over to stand behind 2nd base. Giambi swung at and barely connected with an 0-1 fastball that lazily rolled out to where the shortstop normally plays. With the shift on, there was no one there to get the ball in time to make a play, and Abreu scored the only run from third base. Not Beckett's fault, but what can you do?

The Red Sox big chance came in the 8th inning when Chamberlain left the game and Kyle Farnsworth came in. I had all the confidence in the world that the Sox could at least score one run off Farnsworth and most likely send the game into a late night extra inning battle. This was a Yankee game, after all, and we all expected it to last at least 5 hours, and this one looked like it was on track to end in a mind-boggling 3 hours! The inning started with Jed Lowrie getting a single, a feeble looking Jason Varitek popping out, and Coco Crisp getting a single off of a swinging bunt. The top of the order was coming up with two men on and only one out. Things looked good! But, if we knew the Yankees were in trouble, you'd expect their manager would know it too. Sure enough, Joe Girardi spoiled all the fun when he realized that if he wanted to steal a 1-0 win from the Red Sox in Fenway Park, he was going to have to nail it down right now. That meant a call to Mariano Rivera to get 5 outs. It only took Rivera 6 batters to get those 5 outs.

It looked like some trouble might be brewing in the 9th inning. Oritz lead off with a soft fly out to right, but Youk followed that with a single to left. With Mike Lowell and JD Drew due up next, things looked promising. That is until Yankee catcher, Jose Molina, slipped the umpire a little something. Mike Lowell was waging a battle for the ages against Rivera. The first two pitches were a ball and a called strike. Then Lowell fouled off three straight fastballs, watched ball two go by, and then fouled off another fastball. The eighth pitch of the battle was a fastball, but clearly (on replays) not a strike. Lowell let it go by to bring the count to 3 balls and two strikes (in his mind), and then, as the umpire remembered the Molina bribe, called out strike three instead. Lowell could not believe his ears. He leaped about 3 feet into the air, spilling out Cuban curses on the way up, and at the peak of his leap, slammed the bat down to the earth, and I swear we felt the vibration out in right field. I have never seen Lowell lose his cool like that, and he went after the home plate umpire as if he had just parked in his parking space after Lowell spent an hour shoveling the snow out of it.

We all figured Lowell ought to get this off his chest and go ahead and get thrown out. Maybe it will fire up his teammates! So, Lowell got sent to his room for a time out, and JD Drew stepped up. Drew has been swinging a hot bat, and one good swing could end this one, right? Well, with one ball and two strikes, instead of being inspired by Lowell, Drew decided to emulate him and sat there watching strike three go by without a swing. This one was not a ball, this one was a strike. Game over.

So, a 1-0 loss. Anyone think Manny Ramirez might have helped in that game?

Red Sox Forced to Settle for Series Split With Yankees

It played out just the way Tampa Bay hoped it would. The Rays were about to start playing Kansas City, a team they should be able to dominate, and their closest competition, the Red Sox and Yankees, would be playing each other. The Rays were happy to watch the Sox and Yanks beat each other up in a futile effort to move up in the standings while they racked up wins against the Royals. So, the Sox and Yanks split their four game series, and the Rays won three straight from KC, resulting in the Rays increasing their lead by 1.5 games over both the Red Sox and the Yankees. The Rays now hold a 5 game lead, and appear to be setting the dial to cruise control.

The Red Sox lost the last two games of the series in well fought, close games. In both, they managed to get Mariano Rivera on the ropes, and both times failed to connect with the knock out blow. Last night, Terry Francona seemed to have made the smart moves to put his guys in position to win. In the top of the ninth, with Rivera on the mound, Sean Casey lead off with a single. Preferring more speed on the bases, Tito sent in Brandon Moss to pinch run for Casey, and Coco Crisp nicely bunted him over to second base. One out, and a man in scoring position.

Tito then made an interesting decision. The next batter was Julio Lugo, who has not been batting so well lately. So, Tito pinch hits for him - not a bad idea, BUT he sends on Jason Varitek to hit for him. Varitek has been in a terrible slump lately, but you just have to hope he gets the bat on the ball in that spot. Tito was probably hoping for at least a sacrifice fly to get Moss over to third. Instead, Varitek broke his bat on the first pitch, weakly grounding out to the pitcher, holding Moss at second base.

So, Tito goes for the big gun, and sends in Manny Ramirez to hit for Kevin Cash. Again, a very smart move that did not play out. For some bizarre reason, Manny went up to the plate and watched three straight change ups to go by, all of them called strikes! He never once took the bat off his shoulder! Even Rivera could not believe it. "I was kind of surprised, yeah, definitely," Rivera said. "Yeah, I was kind of surprised he didn't take the bat off his shoulder. I don't know what he was thinking. That's Manny." No one knows what Manny was thinking. I can't imagine he was being uncooperative because he wanted the whole night off, but that's what it looked like.

Having squandered their chance, the game went into the 10th inning, where the Yankees were able to sneak in a run off of Jonathan Papelbon. With a runner on second and two outs, Paps immediately worked the count to 0-2 against Brett Gardner, but could not get the 3rd strike. Garder ended up hitting a perfectly placed grounder up the middle that Cora tried to knock down, but it hit the lip of the grass and Cora could not come up with it.

A well fought game all around. Wakefield and Joba Chamberlain went toe to toe and came out of it with a draw. Wake went 6 1/3 innings allowing 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 5 strikeouts. Joba went 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 5 strikeouts. So, you see, you can be just as effective with speed as without. The Sox bullpen (Javier Lopez) gave up one run, and so did the Yankee's pen (David Robertson). So, it all came down to the closers. Even then, it was a split decision, with the victory going to Rivera over Papelbon.

The Sox finally get to come back home, and if their usual success in Fenway Park continues, maybe they'll be able to inch closer to the Rays before the All Star Break.

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Around Major League Baseball and Farewell to Curt Schilling

With the Red Sox having a much needed off day to rest and heal up, let's widen our focus for a minute and take a look at what is going on throughout MLB.

The AL East:

The big surprise in the AL East standings is the sight of the Tampa Bay (former Devil) Rays still in second place. We are roughly 45% of the way through the season, and they are only 1 1/2 games behind the Red Sox with a 43-29 record. The Rays are breaking all kinds of team records for wins this year, and are trying to prove they are for real. No one doubts that they have taken a huge step forward, but we all know that MLB is a VERY long season. Doubters still claim the Rays will not last through the summer heat. Personally, I hope they stay in the hunt, it will be good for baseball to have new faces competing in September for a spot in the playoffs. The Red Sox will be travelling to Tampa Bay for a 3 game series that begins June 30. That series will be very interesting as the series could very well be a battle for rights to first place. Following that series, the Sox will not see the Rays again until September when they play 3 games against them in Boston, and 3 in Florida. The question is, will those games also be a battle for first place, or will the Rays have faded into the sunset by then?

The New York Yankees have had a terrible start to their season, spending far more days in last place than the Steinbrenners would care to see. They've also spent too much energy digging up silly t-shirts out of concrete, and not enough time bolstering a ragged starting rotation. However, the players have not given up the fight yet, as evidenced by their current 7 game winning streak. The streak has allowed them to quietly move forward in the AL East standings, where they now sit in third place, 5 games behind Boston with a 40-33 record. they are within striking distance, and still have some offensive firepower. A-Rod has been lighting it up lately, as has Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi. Hideki Matsui is quietly putting together a solid offensive season and has been anchoring the lineup at a steady pace. Their big weakness is pitching, which we all know is what wins championships, so this has got to be a serious concern for them. They have moved star reliever, Joba Chamberlain, from the bullpen to the starting rotation in a seemingly desperate move to strengthen the rotation. The jury is still out on how successful the move will be, but so far so good. Joba has made 4 starts and has increased his pitch count to 100. The Yankees have won 3 out of the 4, but Joba has yet to be credited with a win as all three were the result of late inning rallies with Joba already out of the game. But, Joba's success is countered by the loss of their ace, Chien Ming Wang, who is out until at least September 1st with a foot injury. Lastly, the Yankees, apparently jealous of the red Sox resurrecting the career of Bartolo Colon, have signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal. Ponson was cut from the Rangers due to serious off-field problems all tied to Ponson's well documented drinking problems. The Yankees think they can squeeze out of few good innings from the boozy Aruban. We'll see.

That brings us to the disappointing parts of the AL East. The Baltimore Orioles still cannot quite piece together a team that can compete. They always seem to make improvements in the off season, only to flounder once games get underway. The Orioles will not be a threat this year overall. But, the Toronto Blue Jays had been picked by many baseball experts to take first place this year. At the moment, the Jays are sweeping the basement with a 35-39 record, 10 1/2 games out of first place and currently suffering through a 5 game losing streak. They do have plenty of talent, so I would not write them off yet, but so far they, like the Orioles, don't seem like their talent has a chance to gel into a "team".

Around the AL:

The Angels and White Sox are the other first place teams, and look like they will stick around. The Tigers had been predicted to be a powerhouse, but have turned into kittens so far. But, their inspirational manager, Jim Leyland, may very well have one more kernel of magic corn in his pocket and may be able to rally the troops in time for a late season run at it. Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners, holders of the worst record in baseball at 25-47, have just fired their manager, John McLaren. What looked to be a promising season for Seattle is all but gone.

Around the NL:

If you hadn't noticed, Atlanta Braves' Chipper Jones, has been flirting with baseball history over the first half of the season by chasing the incredibly elusive .400 batting average. On April 13 he went 3 for 5 and pushed his average over the line to .408. Amazingly, he managed to remain above .400 from that game right up until June 19, when he went 0 for 4, lowering his average to a mere .394. An exciting run, and a talented batter, but I would be amazed if he could stay at that lofty level far enough to make a real run for it. However, if he can, it would be more intense and exciting to me than the recent steroid induced home run record breaking seasons we've seen.

Overall, the NL seems to be right where it was last year, wishing it could stand up to the ever-powerful AL. In inter league play, the AL is again dominating the AL, as Red Sox fans have seen close up. The Phillies are considered the NL's best team so far, and the Sox won 2 out of 3 this past week from them, on the road, with a severely weakened lineup due to injuries. A fully healthy Red Sox lineup playing the Phillies in Fenway Park would just march over them. To further test the waters against the NL, the Red Sox will face off against two other NL playoff contenders starting tonight in Boston with 3 games against the St. Louis Cardinals, followed by 3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cardinals currently boast a 42-32 record, but are coming off of a 3 game sweep at the hands of the last place Kansas City Royals. Not the sign of a playoff contender. The Diamondbacks hold sole possession of first place in the NL West with a 39-34 record. At the conclusion of these two series, the Sox will have played every top team in the NL, with the exception of the Chicago Cubs. At that point, we should have a good idea of what kind of threat the NL can possibly pose to whatever AL team they'll face in the World Series. MLB hopes the NL representative this year can win at least one game!

Final Note - Fond Farewell to Curt Schilling:

It is true. Curt Schilling has recently experienced a setback in his rehabilitation program, and was re-examined by his team of doctors. The decision was to move forward with season ending shoulder surgery. This decision brings us full circle in the shoulder treatment controversy for Schill. Over the winter, when Schilling developed his current shoulder woes, the Red Sox, under the advise of Dr. Thomas Gill, recommended a rehab program and not surgery to treat the Red Sox ace pitcher. Schilling sought a second opinion from the doctor who had performed prior surgery on his shoulder, Dr. Craig Morgan. Dr. Morgan was firmly convinced that surgery was Schilling's only hope, and that a rehab program would only postpone the inevitable, and ensure he would not be able to pitch this season. his opinion was that, if Schilling had surgery in February, he may be able to recover in time to pitch in September, but a rehab program would guarantee missing the season entirely. Schilling's contract clearly states that Schilling must follow the Red Sox medical staff's recommendations when dealing with injury, and they opted for rehab. Schilling went along, albeit with some doubts. As his rehab went along, there were many encouraging signs, and Curt did make enough progress to recently begin throwing off of a mound. But, ratcheting up that extra notch turned out to be simply too much for the worn out shoulder, and it gave in. Score that one 1-0 in favor of Dr. Morgan.

Schilling will not be able to recover from surgery in time to pitch this season, and Curt's contract with the Sox will expire this fall. Curt has publicly admitted this may be the end of the road for his career, but he ha also stated he does not want it to end this way. If he bounces back and feels strong following the surgery, he may try to squeeze in one final year, if his shoulder lets him. However, don't expect that year to be with the Red Sox. The Sox were hesitant to sign him to a one year deal this past off season anyway. Next season Schilling will be 42 years old and rehabbing from shoulder surgery. The Sox have a pool of terrific young pitching talent. It just does not add up that there would be interest in taking a risk on Schilling next year for the Sox.

Schilling has become a true Red Sox hero. He was signed by the Red Sox prior to the 2004 season, and vowed to break am 86 year old curse. He lived up to that vow as a key component in the 2004 World Series run, and can claim to wearing the truest Red Sock in Red Sox history when he risked an experimental surgical procedure on an injured ankle tendon to allow him to pitch against the Yankees and again in the World Series, blood oozing into his sock in each outing. One of the most dominating post-season pitchers contributed to a second World Series title last year as well. We thank you Curt Chilling for pushing the Red Sox up that last part of the mountain, the part where the rock kept getting the best of us in the past. You are a part of us forever now.

(Baseball Photos Courtesy of ESPN)
(Curt Schilling Photo Courtest of CNN)