Calling on the Ghost of the Bambino to Smote the Red Sox

Seriously, can we get a little help here? The Rays were seven outs away on Thursday night of reaching their first World Series. We already had the Red Sox obituary 90% written when Boston came back from a 7-0 deficit to force a game 5.

Then it was Josh Beckett last night, fighting off a strained oblique, to hold the Rays to two runs on four hits in five innings. Let us make this clear- we don't like Beckett, but he's gained our respect. Something his big mouthed teammate with the ketchupy sock will never get from us. Beckett says he's not hurt, but he clearly is. He doesn't have to point out to the media how much he aches and what he has to do to compensate for it or how big his bowel movement was that morning. He just goes and pitches, and he's become one of the best big game pitchers in baseball.

Another big veteran on this Sox team, which is John Sterling's words, "gutty" and "gritty", is catcher Jason Varitek. The Sox captain could very well be playing his last days in a Red Sox uniform. He's a free agent to be and wants a Jorge Posada like contract (5 years). But Varitek hasn't hit in a month of Sundays. He still calls a great game, but swings a wiffle ball bat against 95-mph fastballs. But last night Varitek reached into the past and hit a James Shields delivery into the seats in right field to put the Sox ahead for good 3-2.

A Jason Bartlett throwing error contributed to an insurance run and then the biggest difference, besides experience, between these two teams came to the forefront. The Red Sox were able to send out Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson, and Jon Papelbon to combine for four hitless, scorelss innings to even the series up at three games apiece.

The finale is tonight at the Trop with Jon Lester facing Matt Garza. We don't have to tell you who we think will win tonight's game. Now if some spectral force could have an impact...

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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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The Pennant Race - 9/23

The Mets players may deny they are uptight about the last week of the season, but who can blame them. After last year's momentous collapse, the Mets are on the brink of blowing another playoff opportunity. Last night, for the second time this season, the Mets were burned by an opposing pitcher's grand slam. The Cubs' Jason Marquis joined the Mariners' Felix Hernandez in the Mets record book by taking rookie starter Jon Niese deep with the bases loaded. The Cubs went on to a 9-5 victory, which dropped the Mets lead in the wildcard to a half-game ahead in front of the Brewers.

The Phillies also pushed their advantage in the NL East to 2.5 games ahead of the Mets with a 6-2 win over the Braves. The game was tied 2-2 in eighth inning when the Phillies went ahead on a fielder's choice. Pat Burrell then put the game away with a 3-run home run, his 33rd long ball of the season. Chase Utley also picked up his 100th RBI, the fourth year in a row the second baseman has achieved the feat.

Brandon Webb picked up his 22nd win and the Diamondbacks moved to within 2 games of the idle Dodgers in the NL West with their 4-2 defeat of the Cardinals. Stephen Drew reached the 20 home run mark for the first time in his career and Brandon Lyon escaped a 2nd and 3rd, nobody out, jam in the eighth inning.

The Rays moved 2.5 games in front of the Red Sox in the AL East with a 4-2 win over the Orioles. Jason Bartlett's RBI double snapped a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning. Last year's number one amateur pick, David Price, made his first major league start, going 5.1 innings, with one earned run allowed.

The Indians' Zach Jackson won his first MLB game in two years in the Tribe's 4-3 win over the Red Sox. Jamey Carroll and Shin-Soo Choo singled in runs off of Josh Beckett in the fifth inning to give Cleveland the lead for good.

News and Notes

The Indians' Fausto Carmona (6 games) and the Tigers' Gary Sheffield (4 games) were each suspended for the role in the bench clearing brawl between the two teams on Friday night. Indians' Victor Martinez and Asdrubel Cabrera also were suspended for 3 games each.

The Red Sox J.D. Drew received a cortisone shot for his bad back, but it remains to be seen if he'll play again this year. Teammate Mike Lowell could be back in the lineup this week though.

Speaking of bad backs, Rays' closer Troy Percival will be getting a second epidural this week.

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Breathing for One More Day

The Yankees staved off official elimination tonight, because Zach Jackson won his first game in two years and the Cleveland Indians beat Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox, 4-3.

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Great Pitching Joba Fires up Yankees

The Yankees won the first game of the big three game series at Fenway Park, 1-0, tonight behind outstanding pitching by Joba Chamberlain and a huge five out save by Mariano Rivera. The Yankees couldn't get more than one clutch hit off of Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, but the Red Sox couldn't do much of anything in 7 innings against Chamberlain.

Chamberlain cruised, with the help of a Melky Cabrera diving catch and a Robinson Cano started double play, through the first 3 innings, before running into a two out jam in the 4th. David Ortiz singled with one away and after Chamberlain retired Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell walked. But Chamberlain struck out J.D. Drew to escape trouble.

The Yankees failed in the clutch with two on in the 1st inning against Beckett, with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi both striking out. They put the only run across home plate in the 3rd when Bobby Abreu and Rodriguez stroked two out singles and Giambi's check swing chopper went through the vacated hole on the left side of infield created by the defensive shift to the right side. Beckett retired Cano on a lazy fly to left to end the inning.

The Red Sox rallied in the 8th against Kyle Farnsworth, putting the tying and go ahead runs on base. Rookie Jed Lowrie singled to right and one batter later Coco Crisp hit a dribbler along the 1st baseline, that Farnsworth couldn't handle, for an infield single. Joe Girardi decided to go right to his closer for a five out save.

Rivera struck out Jacoby Ellsbury looking and retired red hot Dustin Pedroia on a comebacker to get Farnsworth off the hook. Kevin Youkilis stroked a one out single in the 9th, but Rivera got Lowell looking on a pitch that appeared to be out of the strike zone (Lowell was ejected for arguing), and got Drew looking as well to pick up his 26th save in as many chances.


News and Notes

The Yankees were just 1-8 with runners in scoring position.

Robinson Cano was 1-4 to extend his hitting streak to 7 games, but his multi hit game streak ended at 6.

Johnny Damon was 1-3 with a walk in his 4th game back from the DL, and stole his 14th base in 21 attempts.

July 25, 2008

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

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	3	0	1	0	1	1	0	.315
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.285
Abreu, RF	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.277
Rodriguez, A, 3B	4	0	2	0	0	2	2	.320
Giambi, 1B	4	0	1	1	0	3	3	.255
Sexson, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.216
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.265
Cabrera, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.248
Molina, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.217
Gardner, LF	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.153
Totals	34	1	9	1	1	9	15
BATTING TB: Damon; Jeter; Abreu 2; Rodriguez, A 2; Giambi; Cano; Cabrera. RBI: Giambi (58). 2-out RBI: Giambi. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Cano; Cabrera; Jeter. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Damon (14, 2nd base off Beckett/Varitek). CS: Cabrera (2, 2nd base by Beckett/Varitek). FIELDING DP: (Cano-Jeter-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Chamberlain (W, 3-3)	7.0	3	0	0	1	9	0	2.30
Farnsworth (H, 11)	0.1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3.32
Rivera (S, 26)	1.2	1	0	0	0	3	0	1.17

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, LF	4	0	0	0	0	2	2	.259
Pedroia, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.320
Ortiz, DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.252
Youkilis, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	2	2	.311
Lowell, 3B	3	0	1	0	1	2	1	.287
Drew, RF	4	0	0	0	0	2	4	.287
Lowrie, SS	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	.294
Varitek, C	3	0	0	0	0	2	1	.215
Crisp, CF	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	.252
Totals	32	0	6	0	1	12	14
BATTING TB: Pedroia; Ortiz; Youkilis; Lowell; Lowrie; Crisp. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Youkilis; Drew; Pedroia. GIDP: Lowrie. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Pedroia (11, 2nd base off Chamberlain/Molina). FIELDING DP: (Youkilis).

Boston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Beckett (L, 9-7)	7.0	9	1	1	1	6	0	3.83
Lopez	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.84
Delcarmen	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	4.46
Okajima	1.1	0	0	0	0	2	0	2.63

WP: Beckett.
Pitches-strikes: Chamberlain 103-69, Farnsworth 9-7,
Rivera 26-20, Beckett 110-76, Lopez 5-3, Delcarmen 6-3, Okajima 14-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Chamberlain 7-5, Farnsworth 0-1,
Rivera 1-1, Beckett 6-7, Lopez 1-0, Delcarmen 0-0, Okajima 0-2.
Batters faced: Chamberlain 24, Farnsworth 3, Rivera 6,
Beckett 29, Lopez 1, Delcarmen 1, Okajima 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Rivera 2-0.
EjectionsBoston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell ejected
by HP umpire Marty Foster. (9th).
Umpires: HP: Marty Foster. 1B: Derryl Cousins.
2B: Angel Hernandez. 3B: Eric Cooper.
Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:04.
Att: 37,744.

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Round 1

Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway

Joba Chamberlain vs. Josh Beckett

LINEUPS

Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C
Gardner LF

Pedroia 2B
Youkilis 1B
Ortiz DH
Ramirez LF
Lowell 3B
Drew RF
Lowrie SS
Varitek C
Ellsbury CF

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Around the Horn - 5/14

Good NL East battle last night between the Braves and Phillies. Atlanta jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the 1st, but Jayson Werth came up big in 3 spots for a 4 RBI night in the Phillies 5-4 win.

The Phillies victory moved them to within a game and a half of the first place Marlins after Florida lost to the Reds 5-3. Josh Hamilton is leading the AL in RBI, but no one in Cincy is complaining about the deal that brought them Edinson Volquez. The 24-yr old improved to 6-1 last night and has a 1.12 ERA. The news wasn't all good for the Reds though. Starting shortstop Jeff Keppinger broke his kneecap after fouling a ball off of it. Keppinger was hitting .324 and was third in the NL with RISP.

The Mets got a big time performance from rising star John Maine, who limited the Nats to 2 hits over 6 innings. The Mets took the game 6-3 thanks to Ryan Church's 4 RBI. There was a lot of criticism from Mets fans when the team dealt Lastings Milledge for Brian Schneider and Church, but there's nary a peep now. Church is in the top 10 in the NL in RBI and is hitting .324.

Sean Estes hadn't won a major league since 2005 and hadn't even seen a major league mound in 2007. But that all changed last night when he got the start and the win in the Padres 4-3 victory over the Cubs. Khalil Green's 3-run home run gave Estes the support he needed. Alfonso Soriano homered for the 2nd straight game for the Cubbies and is 8-14 over the last 3 games.

Ryan Braun stayed red hot, doubling in a pair of runs in the 5th to put the Brewers ahead for good in a 5-3 win over the Dodgers. Eric Gagne returned to the closer's role with mixed results. He nailed down the game without allowing a run, but did give up a hit and a walk.

The Pirates are within a game of .500 after pasting the Cards 8-4 in 10 innings. Adam LaRoche drove in 3 runs and Nate McLouth hit his 10th home run. That's tied for 4th best in the NL. The Cardinals have dropped 6 of 7.

Stephen Drew hit a 3-run home run to help Randy Johnson win his 287th career win in the Diamondbacks 8-4 win over the Rockies.

Matt Cain homered and went 8 innings to help the Giants snap the Astros 4-game winning streak.

Ryan Garko hit a 3-run home run and Paul Byrd tossed 7-plus innings in the Indians 4-0 over the A's. The Indians starting staff hasn't allowed an earned run in 34 innings.

Mark Teahen's 8th inning single snapped a 2-2 tie and the Royals sent the Tigers to their 8th loss in 11 games.

Hand Josh Beckett a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning and you figure the Red Sox have themselves a win. That wasn't the case last night when Luke Scott belted a 3-run home run and the Orioles pulled out a 5-4 win. The Sox have dropped 3 straight and 4 of 5.

Ramon Vazquez drove in 2 runs to help the Rangers beat the Mariners 5-2. The loss dropped them M's 11 games under .500. Eddie Guardado pitched the 9th to pick up his first save since 2006.

Jesse Litsch improved to 5-1 and Matt Stairs homered in the Blue Jays 5-3 win over the Twins.

John Danks and Jered Weaver (7 IP 1 H) hooked up in a good pitcher's duel as the White Sox and Angels were scoreless through 7.5 innings. Mike Napoli and Rob Quinlan each drove in a run in the 8th inning to give the Angels 2-0 win.

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American League Around the Horn - 4/28

We can't think of too many people who would have predicted they would wake up on April 28 and the Tampa Rays and Baltimore Orioles would be atop the AL East. Or the Detroit Tigers would be in the AL Central basement. Or for that matter, the Oakland A's would be six games over .500 and tied with the Los Angeles for first place in the AL East.

The Rays are riding the hottest streak now. They went into Boston and took three straight and have won six in a row overall. The Red Sox were starting to roll, a six game winning streak of their own. Then they lost a pair in a row before the Rays came to town and out did them. The Rays (11-6) and Yankees (9-8) are the only teams with winning records against their AL East foes.

There were some classically pitched games in the series. The Red Sox Clay Buchholz had a 1-hitter going entering Saturday's 8th inning. Two seconds later he was losing 2-1 when Dionner Navarro singled and Aki Iwamura hit his first home run of the season. On Sunday, Josh Beckett gave up 4 hits and struck out 13 in 7 innings, and lost! James Shields threw a complete game 2-hit shutout to beat him.

The Mariners lost 2 of 3 to Oakland after doing the same with the Orioles. Felix Hernandez was dominating the A's on Sunday, but gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning to take the loss in a 4-2 game.

The Rangers were involved in another blow out, except this time they were on the winning end. Vincente Padilla blanked the Twins, who had scored 12 runs on Saturday, 10-0.

The White Sox and Orioles had a great pitcher's duel on Saturday. Sox starter John Danks had a perfect game through five innings, before Adam Jones singled and eventually scored. Guillermo Quiroz then hit his first major league home run. Orioles starter Brian Burres allowed just 3 hits in 8 innings for the win. The White Sox Carlos Quentin managed to get with the bases loaded in both games to get a pair of bruises and RBI.

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Around the Horn - 4/23

The Mets have to be glad to be their series with the Cubs was only 2 games. The North siders thumped the Flushing crew for the second straight game, this time 8-1. Ronny Cedeno belted a grand slam and drove in 5 to help Ted Lilly earn his first win of the year.

Eric Gagne blew his 4th save already, but the Brewers pulled the game out, 9-8, in 12 innings on Gabe Kapler's RBI single.

Xavier Nady drove in 2 runs to give the Pirates a 3-2 win over the Marlins and Paul Maholm his first win of the season.

The Diamondbacks overcame a 3-0 deficit to make Brandon Webb the first 5-game winner in the majors. Webb helped his own cause, delivering a 2-run double in the Dbacks 5-4 win over the Giants. Barry Zito dropped to 0-5 for the Giants.

John Smoltz (3-1, 0.78) picked up his 3,000 career strikeout, but despite allowing just 1 run in 7 innings, also picked up his first loss in the Nationals 6-0 win over the Braves. John Lannan went 7 innings for his first win of the year.
Jerry Hairston Jr. celebrated his recall from the minors with a 4-hit, 3 RBI day as the Reds thumped the Dodgers, 8-1. Edinson Volquez improved to 3-0, 1.21 with the win.

Pat Burrell drove in 3 runs, giving him 22 RBI for the month of April, and Jayson Werth homered in the Phillies 8-6 win over the Rockies.

Jose Valverde blew his 3rd save this month, but the Astros scored 4 times in the bottom of the 8th for an 11-7 win over the Padres. Miguel Tejada remained red hot, going 4-5 to raise his average to .370. Jake Peavy allowed 4 run in his 6 inning start for the Padres.

C.C. Sabathia finally got his first win with 6 innings of shutout ball. The big left-hander struck out 11 and the Indians pounded the Royals 15-1. Casey Blake was 4-4 with a grand slam and 6 RBI.

Justin Verlander picked up his first win too in the Tigers 10-2 drubbing of the slumping Rangers. Verlander allowed 1 run in 6 innings to send the Rangers to their 5th straight loss. Ramon Santiago hit his first home run in 4 years and Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez also went deep. Ordonez picked up his 1,000th career RBI in the process.

The Red Sox won their 6th straight, and has become custom lately, won it late. Dustin Pedroia doubled in the go-ahead run in the 8th to give the Sox a 7-6 win over the Angels. David Pauley was the emergency starter for Josh Beckett who was scratched with a stiff neck.

Craig Monroe hit a game tying home run in the 8th and Jason Kubel singled in the game winner in the 9th in the Twins 5-4 win over the A's. Monroe was hitting just .231 entering the game, but capped off his 3-hit day with his first home run of the year.

Arthur Rhodes won his first game in two years in the Mariners 4-2 win over the Orioles. Jose Vidro's 2-run single in the 8th snapped a 2-2 tie. Mariners starter Felix Hernandez was effective (7 IP 2 ER 7 K), but got no decision.

Dionner Navarro made a triumphant return from the DL with a 3-hit, 2 RBI night, and Eric Hinske matched him in the Rays 6-4 win over the Jays. Hinske also homered and James Shields picked up his 2nd win.

News and Notes

Wednesday's Pitching Match up of the Day - Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers. Dan Haren (3-0, 1.80) vs. Derek Lowe (1-1, 2.59)

The San Fran Chronicle reports that the A's are considering bringing back Frank Thomas, who had big year for them in 2006.

Blue Jays 3rd Baseman Scott Rolen has started his rehab assignment, going 0-6 in two games. He returned to the infield after DH'ing the first game.

The Tigers defense wasn't helping their cause any, so they decided a defensive switch was in order. Shaky 3rd Baseman Miguel Cabrera was moved across the diamond to 1st Base, and 1st Baseman, and former shortstop, Carlos Guillen was shifted to 3rd.

Gabe Gross scored the Brewers winning run in the 12th inning yesterday- and then was traded. With a glut of outfielders, the Brewers sent Gross to the Rays for minor league pitcher Josh Butler.

Braves oft-injured pitcher Mike Hampton says he's ready to start a rehab assignment. Good luck with that.

The Star-Ledger's Jeremy Cothran has a feature today on how Carlos Delgado's struggles are dragging down the Mets and his career.

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Yankees vs. Red Sox - April 17

Mike Mussina vs. Josh Beckett is a rematch of last Saturday's fiasco. But at least the weather is beautiful and it's sunny out.

Here are tonight's lineups courtesy of Peter Abraham:

RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
J.D. Drew RF
Jason Varitek C
Sean Casey 1B
Julio Lugo SS
Josh Beckett RHP (1-1, 6.35)

YANKEES
Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Jorge Posada DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Chad Moeller C
Mike Mussina RHP (1-2, 4.15)

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Yankees vs. Red Sox - April 12

We have an afternoon affair in Fenway today, Mike Mussina (1-1, 3.09) going up against Josh Beckett (0-1, 9.64). Courtesy of Peter Abraham, here are this afternoon's lineups:

YANKEES
Johnny Damon LF
Melky Cabrera CF
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Jorge Posada DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Jose Molina C
Alberto Gonzalez SS
Mike Mussina RHP

RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
J.D. Drew RF
Jason Varitek C
Sean Casey 1B
Julio Lugo SS
Josh Beckett RHP

Even though you don't want to sit Damon 2 straight days, Matsui is swinging a pretty hot bat right now. We're not sure we would have left him out of the lineup, even though he's just 3-14 against Beckett.

Red Sox vs. Moose

Coco Crisp 8-24 1 RBI
J.D. Drew 0-7
Julio Lugo 8-30 1 HR 5 RBI
David Ortiz 14-54 (.259) 3 HR 7 RBI
Dustin Pedroia 3-8
Manny Ramirez 24-95 (.253) 6 HR 18 RBI
Jason Varitek 8-60 1 HR 3 RBI
Kevin Youkilis 4-15 2 RBI

Mussina has to be happy that Mike Lowell can't play. The Sox 3rd Baseman is 11-19 (.579) against Moose with 3 HR and 8 RBI.

Yankees vs. Beckett

Bobby Abreu 9-50 2 HR 4 RBI 18 BB 17 K
Wilson Betemit 0-5
Melky Cabrera 7-18 2 RBI
Robinson Cano 7-18 1 HR 4 RBI
Johnny Damon 5-21 4 RBI
Morgan Ensberg 1-6
Jason Giambi 5-15 2 HR 6 RBI
Hideki Matsui 3-14
Jose Molina 0-3
Jorge Posada 6-15 2 RBI
Alex Rodriguez 6-22 1 HR 5 RBI

The always obnoxious FOX broadcast begins at 3:55 EDT.

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But It's Only April

Seriously, it's not even tax date yet and we've already got a Yankees-Red Sox series. We're not ready for this. Of greater concern, we don't think the Yankees are either. To make matters worse, 2 of the 3 games are nationally televised. So we have to put up with Joe Buck's bullshit on Saturday and the not-so entertaining Miller-Morgan show on Sunday.

There's also a story out this morning that some moron Red Sox fan, working as a construction worker on the new Yankee Stadium, buried a Red Sox shirt while cement was being poured. It was his way of creating a new jinx. Burying Red Sox, sounds like a good idea.

Things get underway this evening with Chien-Ming Wang going up against rookie Clay Buchholz. Saturday's probably a good day to do something else- Mike Mussina vs. Josh Beckett. Sunday finishes the 3-game series off with Phil Hughes against Dice-K. Have we made it perfectly clear how much we hate Fenway and its neanderthal inhabitants?

The Red Sox, like the Yankees, are off to a bit of a slow start. They have an identical 5-5 record and just placed Mike Lowell on the DL with a sprained thumb. There's also no Curt Schilling (HALLELUJAH) for 4-6 months.

David Ortiz is just 3-36 with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Manny Ramirez drove in 5 runs in the 2-game series with the A's in Japan, but has driven in just 3 since. But J.D. Drew, Kevin Youkilis, Julio Lugo, and Jason Varitek are all off to good starts.

Dice-K pitched poorly in Japan, but has been lights out in his 2 starts back in the states. Josh Beckett suffered through back troubles in spring training and had a poor outing his in his first start off the DL last weekend. This will be just the second start of the season for Buchholz.


Red Sox vs. Wang

Sean Casey 1-10
Alex Cora 5-18 1 HR 4 RBI
Coco Crisp 6-23
J.D. Drew 1-11
Jacoby Ellsbury 1-1 1 RBI
Julio Lugo 6-31 1 RBI
David Ortiz 15-30 2 HR 10 RBI 6 BB
Manny Ramirez 13-22 2 HR 5 RBI
Jason Varitek 1-16
Kevin Youkilis 7-21 3 RBI 8 BB

This is Clay Buchholz's first appearance against the Yankees.

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Around the Horn - 3/10

The annual spring training aches and pains are starting to kick in. Red Sox ace Josh Beckett left his last start after 1 pitch due to back spasms. Teammate Coco Crisp has been limited by a sore groin.

The Rockies' Luis Vizcaino returned to the mound on Sunday after missing time with a sore elbow (another victim of Torre overuse?).

The Marlins' Scott Olsen played catcher on Saturday after missing time with a sore shoulder.

The Phillies' Brad Lidge is working his way back from knee surgery. He threw 25 pitches today.

Texas Rangers pitcher Brandon McCarthy got bad news; he'll be out 4-6 weeks with severe inflammation in his forearm. The Rangers also signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal this weekend. What could they be thinking?

Jordan Tata of the Detroit Tigers violated the Kevin Brown-Julian Taverez rule; do not punch hard objects. Tata broke a knuckle after getting upset at 3 straight rough outings. He also has a sore shoulder too boot.

Do not adjust your monitor: Ichiro Suzuki really is 0-14 this spring.

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The Rotations - AL East

Yankees

Guaranteed Spots: Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes

That leaves 2 spots for 3 pitchers - Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, and Mike Mussina.

Management has a number of concerns coming into the grapefruit league. Will Andy Pettitte be affected by his involvement in the P.E.D. scandal? Will Chien-Ming Wang shake off his 2 horrendous playoff performances and show the consistency that made him a 19 game winner two years in a row? How much does Mike Mussina have left in his arm?

But the biggest concern is how to handle the “Big 3” - Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain. The team wants to limit the innings pitched for all three of them, particularly Chamberlain who spent much of the season working out of the bullpen. The debate has waged on all off-season internally as well as between the fans as to what Chamberlain's role should be (if you haven't already answered our poll question in the right sidebar, please do).

The Yankees also want to be sure Hughes can handle a full load after missing much of last season with injuries. Kennedy was a horse last season, throwing 165.1 innings between 3 levels of the minors and 3 starts for the Yankees.

Chamberlain pitching out of the pen of course gives it a huge boost, and allows Joe Girardi to not have to rely so much on Kyle Farnsworth or LaTroy Hawkins to set up Mariano Rivera.

Much of what happens will be directly tied to what the Yankees can get out of Mussina. The ornery right-hander started out a house fire last year, but then burned to the ground. Yankees fans would like nothing more than the young guys to become the established starters, and in our case, Mussina shipped out of town.

At some point, Alan Horne could also have an impact on the rotation, or could join Russ Ohlendorf in an attempt to strengthen the pen.

Red Sox

Guaranteed Spots: Josh Beckett, Dasuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz

Things have changed drastically for the Red Sox before pitchers and catchers even report to spring training. Curt Schilling has a bad shoulder and differing opinions on how it should be treated. For now it’s a cortisone shot and rehab, but no matter what the course of treatment is, the big windbag will miss the beginning of the season.

The direct outcome of Schilling’s injury is the Sox, just like their division rivals, will be looking towards their youth to pick up the slack. Instead of just Jon Lester or Clay Buchholz being part of the rotation, both will be penciled in.

Lester was the feel good story of the year, coming back from cancer treatment to post a 4-0 record in the regular season and the final win of the World Series. Buchholz made a big splash on the scene, throwing a no-hitter on September 1^st before being shut down for fatigue after 2 more starts. The Sox will be monitoring their innings as well. Lester threw a career high 153.2 last season, while Buchholz threw 148.

The Red Sox still have plenty of experience though in Beckett, the incumbent Cy Young Winner, Dice-K who is a sophomore in MLB experience only, and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

Blue Jays

Guaranteed Spots: Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum

Halladay is the stud of the group. A Cy Young Winner with some of the nastiest stuff in baseball. Burnett’s stuff may be even nastier than Halladay’s, but he could be gone by the end of spring training. GM J.P. Ricciardi publicly dissed his injury-prone 2005 free agent signing last year, and Burnett still has 3 years left on his deal.

McGowan finally began to show the promise last season that scouts have talked about for years, posting a 12-10 record with a 4.08 ERA. He also struck out 144 in 169.2 IP.

Marcum stepped up in his role split between the bullpen and starting rotation. His 4.13 ERA in 122 K’s in 159 innings should help the Jays pitch their way to a competitive season.

Jesse Litsch went from being a Rays bat boy to a 24^th round pick in 2004 to jumping from Double-A to the majors in his 1^st season in pro ball last year. After leading the Eastern League with a 0.96 ERA, he put up very respectable numbers- 7-9, 3.81- for the Blue Jays. Right now he has the inside track for the final spot in the rotation.

Gustavo Chacin went 22-13 in his first two seasons before injuries start to befall him. He made just 5 appearances last season. He’ll most likely start the season at Triple-A Syracuse. Casey Janssen was a starter before being moved to a set up role last season where he excelled. Though it would hurt the pen, he could return to a starting spot.

The Jays rotation has the ability to be the best in the division by the end of the season.

Orioles

Guaranteed Spots: Daniel Cabrera, Jeremy Guthrie

The Orioles dealt their ace Erik Bedard to the Mariners last week, leaving their rotation pretty much in shambles.

Cabrera falls in to the category of “if he could only harness his stuff”. Cabrera’s inconsistency has been one of the constants in Baltimore. He threw a career high 204.1 innings last year, striking out 166 in the process. But he topped 100 walks for the 2^nd straight season.

Guthrie showed last year that the Indians gave up too quickly on their former star prospect. Though he tired out down the stretch, Guthrie tossed 175.1 innings, compiling a 7-5 record with a 3.70 ERA.

Adam Loewen missed last season due to Tommy John surgery, but is ready for spring training and could make the rotation. He could very well be the next Erik Bedard for the O’s, though fans must look at that as a mixed blessing.

Brian Burres, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Garrett Olson, and Hayden Penn will compete for a spot, which is why GM Andy McPhail might bring in Josh Fogg and/or Steve Trachsel for a more veteran presence.

Rays

Guaranteed Spots: Scott Kazmir, Jamie Shields, Matt Garza

Kazmir is the stud of the group, and it remains to be seen whether the Rays will be able to keep him long term or if he’ll “Bedard” his way out of town. The left-hander led the AL last season with 248 strikeouts.

Shields had an outstanding rookie campaign, going 12-8 with 3.85 ERA and 184 strikeouts in 215 innings. He also only walked 36 hitters.

Garza was the key to the Rays dealing Delmon Young. He began to show the promise expected of him last season, going 5-7, 3.69 in 15 big league starts.

The final spots are up for grabs for just about any pitcher in camp. Chief among them is the Rays’ number 1 pitching prospect, David Price. The lefty out of Vanderbilt was the top pick of last June’s draft, and though the Rays don’t like to rush their youth, he could have an impact this season.

Rating the rotations:

1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
2. Blue Jays
4. Rays
5. Orioles

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Like it or Not, the World Series Goes on

Yes, there will be a World Series. Yes, there will be a World Series winner. And unfortunately, yes, it will most likely be the Red Sox. While the Rockies have captured our attention with their phenomenal play since the stretch run, 21 wins in 22 games, we're not convinced. The Rocks were a barely .500 team before their hot streak.

Make no mistake though, we will be rooting for the Rockies rooting against the Red Sox. We'll let 2-faced politicos like Rudy Guiliani tell a Boston crowd that he's rooting for the Red Sox in the WS. "I'm an AL fan". Yeah, okay Rudy.

The difference in this series should be Josh Beckett. He's an arrogant little prick, but right now no pitcher is more dominant than he. Beckett actually reminds us of a young Roger Clemens, and we didn't like that guy either.

The lack of a DH in games 3 thru 5 could also have a big impact on the series. You can't take David Ortiz's bat out of the lineup for up to 3 games. And Kevin Youkillis has been swinging the bat well again. Our guess is that Terry Francona's lineup will depend on the series situation. Choosing offense or defense depending on who leads in games and by how many.

We certainly won't be watching much of the series, especially if the Red Sox do as well as we expect. We've also hit our Joe Buck tolerance level for the season.

Win Rockies, Win.

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No Midge, so Go for the Heart

The Yankees had to put up with annoying bugs during game 2 of the ALDS. The Sox should be so lucky. Instead, tonight's starting pitcher, Josh Beckett, will look on as his ex-girlfriend sings the national anthem. Of course, the Indians claim there was no intent.

Source

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A Definition of Ugly

We've seen the scenario against the Red Sox before. Josh Beckett or Curt Schilling or some other tough thrower on the mound and the game turns into a blow out. That was the case yesterday as the Red Sox bounced back from Friday night's bad loss to whip the Yankees 10-1.

Even when things went bad yesterday for the Sox it turned out good. Kevin Youkillis had to leave the game after being hit on the left wrist by a Chien-Ming Wang (ironically it happened moments after FOX showed Joba Chamberlain throwing 2 pitches over Youkillis' head back on August 30) pitch, but his replacement Jacoby Ellsbury drove in 3 runs.

Wang and Beckett, both entered the game with 18 wins and Cy Young aspirations, but only Beckett rose to the occasion. The Red Sox lead 2-1 entering the 6th, having taken the lead an inning earlier. Wang quickly got into trouble as Eric Hinske doubled and Coco Crisp singled to put runners on the corners with no one out. Wang got Julio Lugo on a shallow fly to center, but Crisp stole 2nd to force the Yankees to move the infield in. Dustin Pedroia complied by hitting a grounder to Robinson Cano, who came home with it. Hinske, who's built more like a linebacker than a baseball player, ran over Jorge Posada, but Posada held onto the ball for the 2nd out. (After the game he would go to a nearby hospital to be checked for a concussion - all tests came back negative.)

Wang was 1 out from escaping the inning, but after Pedroia stole 2nd, Ellsbury singled to left for 1 run and David Ortiz doubled in the gap in right-center for a 5-1 Red Sox lead. It also marked the end of the day for Wang, who saw his ERA rise to 3.82. The Yankees bullpen was then torched for 4 runs in the 7th and 1 more in the 8th, and Beckett had his 19th win.

...

Russ Ohlendorf gave up his first runs as a major leaguer, including Hinske's 1st home run since August 2nd.

It took a while, but FOX finally spoke about Kevin Youkillis' habit of diving into the plate, ala Derek Jeter. Youkillis may think the Yankees are throwing at him, but he's been hit by 15 pitches this season. X-Rays were negative on his wrist, leaving him with a bruise and questionable for tonight's game.

Mike Lowell drove in his career high 106th RBI. And the Yankees had Ed Yarnall.

Derek Jeter's 10th home run of the season was his 193rd career HR, moving him ahead of good friend Tino Martinez on the all-time list.

Chien-Ming Wang was up in the zone all day and recorded on 6 of 17 outs by ground out.

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Today's Lineup (9/15)

Chien-Ming Wang vs. Josh Beckett


Yankees

J. Damon lf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
J. Posada c
H. Matsui dh
J. Giambi 1b
R. Cano 2b
M. Cabrera cf

Red Sox
D. Pedroia 2b
K. Youkilis 1b
D. Ortiz dh
M. Lowell 3b
J.D. Drew rf
J. Varitek c
E. Hinske lf
C. Crisp cf
J. Lugo ss

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