Pedroia Captures AL MVP

When Dustin Pedroia first came on to the scene early in the 2007 season he looked completely over matched. But GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona knew better. Pedroia went on to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award as well as a World Series title. Now he has an MVP award to go along with it.

We can't stand the little gnat, but we do respect the way he plays and it's that play that helped him beat out Justin Morneau for the MVP award. With David Ortiz banged up and Manny Ramierz being Manny, Pedroia helped lead the Red Sox back to the playoffs with a .326 average, 4 points less than the batting title winner, Joe Mauer.

Pedroia added 17 home runs, 83 RBI, 20 stolen bases and led the league in runs scored (118) and multi-hit games (61). He also became the fifth second baseman in baseball history with 200 hits, 50 doubles, 100 runs scored, and at least 15 home runs. He took 16 of the 28 first place votes.

Morneau, who we would have selected, carried an offensively inept Twins team for much of the season. The Twins came up short in the AL Central and Wild card races, but they wouldn't have been close without Morneau, who won the MVP award in 2006. The first baseman hit .300 with 23 home runs and a second league best 129 RBI. He received 7 first place votes and finished 60 votes behind Pedroia.

Kevin Youkilis and Joe Mauer each received 2 first place votes, while Francisco Rodriguez picked up 1. Alex Rodriguez was the top Yankees finisher with 45 votes, good enough for 8th place, while Mike Mussina finished 19th with 3 votes. How in the world did Mariano Rivera not get one vote?

As usual, our pre-season pick, Curtis Granderson, received no votes.

2008 AL MVP Award Voting
Player, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Dustin Pedroia, BOS	16	6	4	1							317
Justin Morneau, MIN	7	7	6	3	3	1	1				257
Kevin Youkilis, BOS	2	4	4	9	2	4	1	2			201
Joe Mauer, MIN	2	8	1	3	4	3	3	2	1		188
Carlos Quentin, CWS		1	4	8	4	4	4		1	1	160
Francisco Rodriguez, LAA	1	2	6	1	6		3	2		2	143
Josh Hamilton, TEX			2	2	3	7	3	2	4	3	112
Alex Rodriguez, NYY					1	1	4	1	4	7	45
Carlos Pena, TB			1		2		2	3	2	3	44
Grady Sizemore, CLE						2	1	5	6	1	42
Evan Longoria, TB						2	2	5	2	1	38
Cliff Lee, CLE				1	1	1	1		1		24
Miguel Cabrera, DET						1		1	4	1	17
Vladimir Guerrero, LAA							2	2	1		16
Jermaine Dye, CWS					1			2		2	14
Aubrey Huff, BAL						1			2	3	12
Milton Bradley, TEX						1	1				9
Jason Bartlett, TB					1						6
Mike Mussina, NYY								1			3
Raul Ibanez, SEA										1	1
Ian Kinsler, TEX										1	1
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA										1	1
Mark Teixeira, LAA										1	1

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A Ray of Sunshine

If you didn't get to see last night's game 7 of the ALCS, you missed out on a tense, well played nail-biter. The Rays emerged with a 3-1 victory to gain their first shot at a World Series title and in the process prevented the Red Sox from a possible World Series repeat.

Some big game performers emerged last night, both in victory and defeat. Matt Garza garnered the ALCS MVP after he won his second game of the series to go along with a 1.38 ERA. He allowed a first inning home run to Dustin Pedroia, but only allowed one more hit through 7 innings plus a batter in the eighth.

Then Joe Maddon mixed and matched his way through the final two innings. Jason Bartlett, who made a crucial error in game 6, committed another misplay on Alex Cora's grounder to start the eighth. Joe Maddon sent for Dan Wheeler, who gave up a single to Coco Crisp before getting Pedroia to pop out to left for the inning's first out. J.P. Howell came on to get David Ortiz to bounce into a force out for the second out, but Chad Bradford issued a walk to Kevin Youkilis to load the bases. Maddon then went to his stud rookie prospect, David Price, to go up against left-hander J.D. Drew. After mixing off-speed pitches with 96-mph fastballs, Price got Drew on a check swing strike three for the final out of the inning.

Price walked Jason Bay to start the ninth, but struck out Mark Kotsay and Jason Varitek, and induced a game ending ground out from Jed Lowrie. Second baseman Aki Iwamura snared the grounder and took it to the bag himself to send the Rays into celebration.

Lost in the game was another outstanding performance by Jon Lester, who was arguably the Red Sox best starter this season. He scattered six hits over seven powerful innings. But with Carlos Pena on first and two out in the third, he hung a pitch to Evan Longoria who smacked into the right field corner. It bounced around enough to get Pena home just ahead of the relay from J.D. Drew to tie the game at one apiece.

Willy Aybar led off the fifth inning with a double and Dionner Navarro reached on an infield single in the hole at shortstop. A field good story was then in the making when Rocco Baldelli singled in what proved to be the game winner. Lester beautifully worked out of a possible bigger inning to keep it a one run game.

Aybar struck again with a huge home run in the seventh that provided a much needed insurance run. Then it was all down to the bullpen, and unlike game 6, they were up to the task.

* * * * *

Don Zimmer threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.

There were 40,000 plus fans last night. We wonder where they were all year.

Now we can relax while watching the WS. Don't really care who wins, though we will probably root for the Rays.

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Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

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Rays Sacrifice to Stay Alive

It's difficult to say a team has their backs to the wall after the first game of a seven game playoff series, but that was really the case for the Tampa Rays last evening. Going back to Boston down two games to none, would have created a nearly impossible feat even for an experienced playoff team. But the Rays won't have to worry about that situation. Last night they pulled out a see-saw battle with the Red Sox on B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly in the 11th inning.

If Terry Francona has made a mistake in this playoff, it's keeping Mike Timlin on the post-season roster. While the thinking was probably not use Timlin in a big situation, Francona had no choice last night after having used five relievers, including his closer Jon Papelbon for 1.1 innings.

Timlin walked Dioner Navarro and light hitting Ben Zobrist to start the inning. Jason Bartlett's sacrifice bunt moved the runners up a base, forcing the Red Sox to intentionally walk Aki Iwamura to load the bases. That brought up B.J. Upton, who hit a fly to shallow right. The Rays gambled that J.D. Drew, running hard on the play, would not be able to set himself for an accurate throw home. The gamble paid off when speedy pinch-runner Fernando Perez slid home with the winning run ahead of an off the target throw by Drew.

The Rays would not have been in position to win if not for the relief work of veteran Dan Wheeler and rookie David Price. Wheeler had to bounce back after his wild pitch allowed the Red Sox to tie the game in the eighth inning. But he tossed a scoreless ninth and tenth before leaving with one man out in the 11th and runner on a first. Price, the number one overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft, walked Drew, but struck out Mark Kotsay looking and got Coco Crisp to bounce into an inning ending ground out.

Neither starter pitched well, with Boston's Josh Beckett fighting a strained oblique and Tampa's Scott Kazmir continuing his '08 struggles against the Red Sox. Boston struck first against Kazmir, who was 0-2, 9.00 in four starts against the Sox this season. Kazmir's control problems came up to bite him in the first inning when he issued a two out walk to David Ortiz. Kevin Youkilis followed with a single and Jason Bay brought them both home with a double. Kazmir walked Jed Lowrie, but struck out Jason Varitek to escape further trouble.

The Rays came right back though when Evan Longoria smacked a 2-run home run, his third of the post-season, in the bottom half of the first. The tie only lasted until the third when Dustin Pedroia smashed a solo home run to left. That lead would last an even shorter amount of time when Upton crushed a 424-ft solo shot in the bottom of the third. Longoria stroked a one out double and came home on Carl Crawford's single for a 4-3 Rays lead.

Tampa extended their advantage to 5-3 when Cliff Floyd led off with a solo home run to straight away center field. But Kazmir wouldn't stick around to try to get the win. Pedroia's second solo shot of the game and Youkilis' own solo blast one batter later knocked Kazmir from the box and tied the game at 5-5. Bay greeted Grant Balfour with another solo home run to put the Red Sox ahead 6-5. Balfour then walked Lowrie and Varitek before J.P. Howell came on to work out of the jam.

Upton led off the fifth with a walk and promptly stole second base. Carlos Pena singled off of Beckett to tie the game and came home on Longoria's second double, and third extra base hit, of the ball game. Fracona finally yanked Beckett from the game, but Crawford laced reliever Javier Lopez's delivery to right for an RBI single and an 8-6 Rays lead. Manny DelCarmen was next out of the Boston pen and he finally quelled the fire.

Pedroia drew a one out walk in the sixth, but Howell struck out Ortiz looking. Joe Maddon went to the pen again for right-hander Chad Bradford, but Bradford gave up back to back singles to Youkilis and Bay to cut the Rays lead to 8-7.

After a scoreless seventh, only the second scoreless inning of the game, Pedroia singled off of Bradford to start the eighth. Maddon sent for lefty Trevor Miller to face Ortiz, but Big Papi drew a walk as well. Wheeler came on and got a big double play grounder from Youkilis, but then threw a fastball a mile over Navarro's head to allow Pedroia to score the tying run.

Box Score

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The Pennant Race - 10/10

ALCS Preview

The Rays and Red Sox are just about set to begin game one of their best of seven ALCS series. The Rays are trying to keep their amazing ride going after making the post-season for the first time in their history. The Red Sox are looking to build a mini-dynasty, which arguably could happen should they win a third World Series title in five years.

The Rays played hard-nosed baseball right from the start of the season (see Francisco Cervelli). They've got a manager in Joe Maddon who does a good job of balancing a team of younger players, sprinkled with a handful of key veterans. He hasn't been afraid to show who's boss, benching star player B.J. Upton during the stretch drive due to a lack of hustle.

His counterpart on the Red Sox, Terry Francona, has come a long way in his five years in Boston. He was ostensibly hired to mollify Curt Schilling. Francona was shredded by fans and the media part way through his first season in 2004, but soon he was at the helm of the greatest comeback in playoff history and was lauded as the man who had broken the "Curse of the Bambino". He's now attained hero worship status not only because of winning a title last year, but also the way he conducts his business.

The Red Sox have physically had a rough year. Injuries to Schilling, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo had a major impact on the team. There was the whole Manny Ramirez mess, a disappointing year by Clay Buchholz, and like many teams, difficulty in building a steady bullpen.

But outstanding years by Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester, and the steady performance of Josh Beckett led the rotation. Jason Bay stepped in big time for Ramirez, and Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis had outstanding seasons. Bottom line: Boston is still a very dangerous team.

The Rays have a balanced line up, mixing speed and power. They have a shooting superstar in rookie Evan Longoria and a solid veteran core in Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Cliff Floyd. But the key to the Rays' amazing turnaround has been their pitching staff. A starting rotation of Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, and Edwin Jackson combined to go 64-45.

The big blow to this team is the loss of Troy Percival, who recorded 28 saves before myriad leg problems caused him to miss time, including the ALCS. The removal of Percival has made the pen weaker, because there's one less setup man to build the bridge to the ninth. Dan Wheeler has stepped up with 13 saves, but he doesn't exactly give you a great feeling of confidence. Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, and Chad Bradford will need to continue to step up if the Rays are to stand a chance.

The Rays won the season series 10-8, but the Red Sox have to be considered the favorite here.

Probable Pitchers

Game 1 (10/10) - Dice-K vs. James Shields
Game 2 (10/11) - Josh Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir
Game 3 (10/13) - Matt Garza vs. Jon Lester
Game 4 (10/14) - Andy Sonnanstine vs. Tim Wakefield
Game 5 (10/16) - James Shields vs. Dice-K
Game 6 (10/18) - Josh Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir
Game 7 (10/19) - Jon Lester vs. Matt Garza

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We Sucked

Those were Hank Steinbrenner's words last night as he left the Stadium. It says it all.

August 27, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	7	0		11	13	0
NY Yankees	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1		3	8	0

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, RF	5	2	2	0	0	2	0	.264
Pedroia, 2B	5	3	3	4	0	1	0	.317
Ortiz, DH	3	1	2	0	2	0	0	.267
Youkilis, 1B	4	1	1	1	1	1	4	.318
Bay, LF	4	1	2	4	0	0	1	.295
Lowrie, 3B	3	1	1	0	2	1	2	.296
Varitek, C	4	1	1	0	1	1	1	.224
Cora, SS	4	0	0	1	0	0	1	.267
Crisp, CF	4	1	1	1	0	1	0	.263
Totals	36	11	13	11	6	7	9
BATTING 2B: Ortiz (20, Ponson), Bay (27, Ponson), Lowrie (16, Ponson). 3B: Bay (4, Veras). HR: Pedroia (15, 8th inning off Robertson, 3 on, 1 out). TB: Ellsbury 2; Pedroia 6; Ortiz 3; Youkilis; Bay 5; Lowrie 2; Varitek; Crisp. RBI: Bay 4 (88), Youkilis (91), Cora (8), Crisp (33), Pedroia 4 (68). 2-out RBI: Bay 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cora; Lowrie. SF: Bay; Cora. GIDP: Youkilis. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING DP: (Pedroia-Cora-Youkilis).

Boston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Byrd (W, 9-11)	6.0	5	2	2	2	5	0	4.55
Delcarmen (H, 17)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.18
Timlin	2.0	3	1	1	0	0	1	5.09

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.313
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.294
Abreu, RF	3	1	0	0	1	0	2	.296
Rodriguez, A, 3B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.310
Giambi, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	1	2	.247
Nady, LF	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	.327
Matsui, DH	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.311
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	1	0	2	2	.268
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.280
Totals	34	3	8	3	2	7	13
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez, A 2 (31, Byrd, Byrd). HR: Giambi (26, 9th inning off Timlin, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi 4; Nady; Matsui; Cano. RBI: Rodriguez, A (79), Cano (59), Giambi (78). 2-out RBI: Rodriguez, A; Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Rodriguez, I. GIDP: Rodriguez, I. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING Outfield assists: Abreu (Bay at home). DP: (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ponson (L, 7-5) 4.2 7 4 4 4 3 0 4.80 Ramirez 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.49 Marte 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.26 Veras 0.1 3 5 5 2 0 0 3.64 Robertson 0.2 3 2 2 0 0 1 6.31 Britton 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.02

Pitches-strikes: Byrd 106-66, Delcarmen 17-9, Timlin 21-15, Ponson 89-51, Ramirez 8-4, Marte 19-13, Veras 23-9, Robertson 18-10, Britton 10-9. Groundouts-flyouts: Byrd 4-9, Delcarmen 0-1, Timlin 5-1, Ponson 6-4, Ramirez 3-1, Marte 1-0, Veras 0-1, Robertson 1-1, Britton 1-0. Batters faced: Byrd 25, Delcarmen 3, Timlin 8, Ponson 23, Ramirez 4, Marte 3, Veras 6, Robertson 5, Britton 3. Inherited runners-scored: Ramirez 2-0, Robertson 2-2. Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Gary Cederstrom. 2B: Fieldin Culbreth. 3B: Jim Reynolds. Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, R to L. T: 3:16. Att: 55,027.

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Pedroia Breaks Up Lackey No-No

The Los Angeles Angels already had a tremendous day going, having acquired Mark Teixeira earlier today. Tonight, pitcher John Lackey nearly made history in attempt to no-hit the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Lackey entered the 9th inning having allowed just one walk through 8 innings. He struck out Jacoby Ellsbury to start the 9th, but Dustin Pedroia ripped a single through the left side to break up the no-hitter. Kevin Youkilis then ended Lackey's shutout bid with a 2-run home run.

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The Wang Way is the Right Way

Chien-Ming Wang struggled last September, got thrashed in the '07 ALDS, and was pretty much mediocre this spring. Some fans thrashed out at him even though he'd won the most regular season games the last 2 years. They felt it was a fluke and that he wasn't truly an ace. We wonder what those dopes think now.

The Wanger dominated the Red Sox last night in a 2-hit complete game, 4-1 at Fenway Park. Wang threw just 93 pitches and nearly had a no-hitter entering the 9th. Leading 1-0 in the 6th, Wang retired the first two hitters on deep fly outs to right. The next hitter, J.D. Drew sent one even deeper. Bobby Abreu got back to the wall, but his leap was impeded on the way up, when he banged into the wall. The ball glanced off the top of his glove and into the Red Sox bullpen for a game tying home run. Though Coco Crisp's 2-out bunt in the 9th provided the Sox with a second hit, Abreu still felt bad about the play after the game.

"I feel bad. It could have been a chance for a 'no-no' there. ... I gave up the hit.
I should have caught it," Abreu said."

The Yankees had Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz on the ropes in the 5th and 6th innings, but couldn't break the game open. Terry Francona turned things over to Mike Timlin, fresh off the DL, to start the 7th, and he was quickly greeted by a Jason Giambi home run to straight away centerfield. For the slumping Giambi it was just his second hit of the season, both of them home runs.

Jose Molina, who had doubled in the Yankees first run, doubled again off of Timlin. Alberto Gonzalez sacrificed Molina to 3rd and Melky Cabrera brought him home with a sacrifice fly.

The Yankees left the bases loaded in the 8th, but tacked on a run in the 9th off of David Aardsma. Gonzalez doubled, was sacrificed to 3rd by Cabrera and scored on Abreu's infield single.

Two runs would have been enough for Wang though who faced just 29 batters, 2 over the minimum. He retired the first 10 men he faced until Dustin Pedroia ripped one down the 3rd Base line. Alex Rodriguez made a lunging stop, but his throw to 1st Base was high, pulling Giambi off the base. A-Rod was charged with an error on the play.

News and Notes

David Ortiz's season long slumped continued. He was for 0-3 and has just 3 hits in 39 at-bats. Manny Ramirez's 0-3 dropped his average to .256.

Jorge Posada took 20 throws from 90 feet prior to the game, but said he's not ready to return to his catching position. His shoulder does feel better though.

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Pedroia, Braun take ROY Awards

As expected, Dustin Pedroia and Ryan Braun took the AL and NL Rookie of the Year awards. Pedroia won easily, getting 24 of 28 first place votes. Braun edged out Troy Tulowitzki by just 2 points.

AL

Player, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Dustin Pedroia, BOS	24	4		132
Delmon Young, TB	3	12	5	56
Brian Bannister, KC	1	8	7	36
Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS		2	6	12
Reggie Willits, LAA		2	5	11
Hideki Okajima, BOS			3	3
Josh Fields, CWS			1	1
Joakim Soria, KC			1	1

NL

Player, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Ryan Braun, MIL	17	14	1	128
Troy Tulowitzki, COL	15	17		126
Hunter Pence, HOU			15	15
Chris Young, ARI			10	10
Kyle Kendrick, PHI		1	4	7
Yunel Escobar, ATL			1	1
James Loney, LAD			1	1

Voting courtesy of MLB.com

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Welcome to Distraction City

As if there wasn't enough termoil in Yankeeland, tonight's game will be chock-full of additional distractions. A match up of Curt "Schitbag" Schilling and Andy Pettitte should be enough to entice fans, but there's also more to consider.

The biggest of this is the Daily News' report today that Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test within the last 6 months. A first penalty is just continued testing, whereas an additional "flunk" would lead to a suspension. Every day Giambi proves that his contract was a rip off and that he's not a stand up individual.

Curt Schitbag likes to thrown inside and tonight he may do it a little more, especially to Alex Rodriguez. Red Sox 2nd Baseman Dustin Pedroia took exception to a hard slide by A-Rod to break up a double play in the 8th inning last night. Pedroia felt A-Rod threw an elbow in breaking up the double play. Instead of taking care of it between the white lines, the Red Sox rookie decided to shoot his mouth off to the press.

"He went in late and kind of threw an elbow," Pedroia said. “It was a little cheap but no big deal. I'll remember. I play second base. I've got to turn two with the Yankees 19 times a year, so I know now when he’s coming in, my (arm) slot gets dropped to the floor. That's it."

If Schitbag throws at A-Rod or any other Yankee, the Yankees must retaliate whether it be with payback or fists. Joe Torre cannot continue to let the Red Sox throw at his players at will. The imbalance of hit batters between the two teams is absurd- the Yankees coming out on the short end.

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