Building Dynasties in Boston, Part II

[BostonRS14]

July 13, 2008

MLB Announced All Star Rosters

The Major League Baseball All Star Game, an annual traditional where the best and brightest of today's stars gather to celebrate their accomplishments will take place this year at

Two superb ballclubs will take the field to determine home-field advantage for the 2008 World Series.

American League:

SP Ervin Santana (ANA), 3B Chone Figgins (ANA),
RF Nick Markakis (BAL),
SP Daisuke Matsuzaka (BOS), CL Jonathan Papelbon (BOS), DH David Ortiz (BOS),
CL Bobby Jenks (CHA), C A.J. Pierzynski (CHA),
C Victor Martinez (CLE), CF Grady Sizemore (CLE),
3B Carlos Guillen (DET),
1B Billy Butler (KC),
SP Kevin Slowey (MIN), CL Joe Nathan (MIN), 1B Justin Morneau (MIN),
SP Joba Chamberlain (NYA), 3B Alex Rodriguez (NYA), 2B Robinson Cano (NYA),
CL Huston Street (OAK), SS Bobby Crosby (OAK),
CL J.J. Putz (SEA), RF Ichiro Suzuki (SEA),
LF Carl Crawford (TB),
SP Kevin Millwood (TEX), CL Joaquin Benoit (TEX), CF Josh Hamilton (TEX),
SP Roy Halladay (TOR).

National League:

CL Brandon Lyon (ARI), RF Justin Upton (ARI),
SP Rich Harden (CHN), MR Carlos Marmol (CHN), C Geovani Soto (CHN), CF Jim Edmonds (CHN), 1B Derrek Lee (CHN),
SP Johny Cueto (CIN), 1B Derek Anderson (CIN),
CL Manny Corpus (COL),
CL Takashi Saito (LA),
C Russel Martin (LA), RF Andre Ethier (LA),
LF Ryan Braun (MIL),
SP John Maine (NYM), SP Johan Santana (NYM), LF Ryan Church (NYM), SS Jose Reyes (NYM),
SP Kyle Kendrick (PHI), CL Brad Lidge (PHI), 2B Chase Utley,
1B Adrian Gonzalez (SD),
CL Brian Wilson (SF), 2B Ray Durham (SF),
1B Albert Pujols (STL), CF Rick Ankiel (STL),
SP Bartolo Colon (WAS), 3B Ryan Zimmerman (WAS).

A couple of interesting observations:

• Atlanta (48-47), Pittsburgh (48-47), Houston (42-53) and Florida (36-60) have no representative, but Washington (37-59) has two.
• All 14 American League teams are represented.
• SP Bartolo Colon (6-3, 2.24 ERA) is the only All Star to have changes teams this season after being claimed off waivers by Was from the Red Sox.
• The Chicago Cubs lead the rosters with five selections, followed by the Mets (4), Red Sox (3), Twins (3), Yankees (3), Rangers (3), and Phillies (3).
• First Time All Stars: E. Santana, K. Slowey, J. Chamberlain, D. Matsuzaka, J. Beonit, H. Street, J. Hamilton, B. Crosby, C. Figgins, N. Markakis, B. Butler, J. Cueto, R. Harden, J. Maine, K. Kendrick, B. Lyon, C. Marmol, M. Corpas, B. Wilson, R. Church, G. Soto, R. Zimmerman, J. Upton, R. Braun, A. Gonzalez, D. Anderson, R. Ankiel, and A. Either
• 3B Alex Rodriguez was named to his 12th All Star team, leaving him two behind C Ivan Rodriguez and one behind former teammate Ken Griffey, Jr. for most amongst active players. Since 1986, Cal Ripken, Jr. leads baseball with 16 appearances.

[BostonRS14]

July 13, 2008

Sox Head to Break with Win Over O's
Boston 7, Baltimore 3

Heading into the All Star Break, the Red Sox should be feeling good about themselves. Top starter Josh Beckett looked impressive once again in holding the Orioles to just one run over seven innings in leading Boston to their sixty-fourth victory of the season, tops in baseball.

After being passed over for the annual All Star Game, Beckett went out and dominate the O's, allowing one run on a Scott Moore forth inning double before settling down and keeping the Orioles in check.

David Oritz got the Sox started early with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first against Adam Loewen. With one-out, Kevin Youkilis lined a double to the left-field corner before Ortiz took the young left-hander deep to center for his twenty-first home run of the season.

In the third, J.D. Drew added a RBI-double to put Boston ahead by three before the O's cut into the lead. A pair of two-out doubles by Aubrey Huff and Moore brought the O's within two with the tying run at the plate, but Beckett was able to strike out Adam Jones on three pitches to end the threat.

"They kept threatening, but Becks kept shutting the door," manager Terry Francona said afterwards. "Josh is our ace, we go where he takes us, and games like this, to bounce back from yesterday, are great for the guys. We head into the break on a good note, get refreshed and come back to the ballpark looking to keep going."

In the 5th, the Sox broke open the tight game on a two RBI single by Dustin Pedroia. With one run already in and the bases loaded, Pedroia slapped a single past Brian Roberts at second base to score Ortiz and Mike Lowell.

With a five run lead, Beckett cruised over the final two innings, before turning the game over to Hideki Okajima, who surrendered a pair of solo home runs in the eighth to Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff to cut the lead to 6-3. A Jason Varitek solo shot in the bottom of the eight raised the cushion back to four runs as Okajima pitched a perfect ninth to close out the game.

W: Beckett (9-4) L: Loewen (1-3)
Player of the Game: Josh Beckett (7.0 IP, 5 Hs, R, 5 K's, BB, 103 PI)

Around the League:
...The Florida Marlins traded 1B Mike Jacobs (.157 avg., 2 HRs, 11 RBIs) to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for All Star 2B Ray Durham (.362, 7 HRs, 40 RBIs)...Boston DH David Ortiz (.500, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs) was named AL Player of the Week. Rafael Furcal (.560, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs) was named NL Player of the Week...

[BostonRS14]

July 14, 2008

Cape Cod Baseball League Opening Day

How sweet it is. Cape Cod Baseball starts play today!

The early favorite this year has to be the Bourne Braves, who are led by pitcher Christian Friedrich, SS Gordon Beckham and 3B Pedro Alvarez.

The Cape Cod League features teams in Bourne, Cotuit, Falmouth, Hyannis, Wareham, Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, Orleans and Yarmouth-Dennis.

Some current alumni in the majors include Jason Bay ('99), Lance Berkman ('96), Pat Burrell ('96), Jacoby Ellsbury ('04), Nomar Garciaparra ('93), Todd Helton ('94), Tim Lincecum ('05), Mike Lowell ('94), Justin Masterson ('05), Brandon Morrow ('04-05), J Putz ('97-98), Brian Roberts ('98), Ben Sheets ('98-99), Mark Teixeira ('99), Chase Utley ('98-99), Jason Varitek ('91-93), Kevin Youkilis ('00) and Barry Zito ('97-'98).

[BostonRS14]

July 15, 2008

MLB All Star Game
Yankee Stadium, New York, NY

Blogging here from Yankee Stadium, site of the 2008 Midsummer Classic. Of course, this is the final time Yankee Stadium will host the game, as next season it is set to be replaced by a new stadium across the street. 56,831 fans in attendance tonight looking for the AL to continue their amazing winning streak, having taken ten of eleven games since 1997. (2002 ended in a tie)

Starting lineups have been announced:

National League: 1. Jose Reyes, 2. Andre Either, 3. Chase Utley, 4. Albert Pujols, 5. Drew Anderson, 6. Ryan Church, 7. Rick Ankiel, 8. Geovany Soto, 9. Ryan Zimmerman.

American League: 1. Ichiro Suzuki, 2. Robinson Cano, 3. Josh Hamilton, 4. Alex Rodriguez, 5. David Ortiz, 6. Justin Morneau, 7. Victor Martinez, 8. Nick Markakis, 9. Bobby Crosby.

Tonight starting pitchers, for the American League, Toronto's Roy Halladay and, for the National League, Chicago's Rich Harden.

Top 1st: Utley opens scoring...

Roy Halladay opened the game with a three pitch strikeout of Jose Reyes before Andre Either sinlged to center. Chase Utley followed with a towering fly ball, barely escaping a leaping Ichiro at the wall for a two-run home run...Albert Pujols walked and Drew Anderson singled to left...Ryan Church, after a passed ball advanced the runners to second and third, struck out on a splitter in the dirt...two outs...Rick Ankiel followed with a grounder to short that deflected off the glove of Bobby Crosby, allowing Pujols and Anderson to score...Halladay strikes out Soto for the three K of the inning, but four runs put the NL ahead early...

Bottom of the 1st: Harden makes easy work...

...Ichiro, leading the AL in batting, leads things off with a single back up the middle...Ichiro got stealing second, soto to Reyes for the easy out...Harden induces easy groundouts from Cano and Hamilton to Utley to end the inning.

Top of the 3rd: Halladay out, Nathan in:

Terry Francona used a quick hook on his starting pitcher, lifting Roy Halladay after two unimpressive innings. Halladay's line: 2 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 48 pitches thrown....Nathan sent Ultey, Pujols and Anderson down 1-2-3...

Bottom of the 3rd: Lidge in for NL, AL gets first run

Following Francona's lead, manager Clint Hurdle made the call to the 'pen, brining in Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge after two shutouts innings by Rich Harden...Lead off BB wastes as Crosby lines into DP, Utley to Pujols...Ichiro singles to left...Cano with a long drive to right...Either races to the wall, and its off the top. Suzuki takes third and he'll cross the plate as Cano collects a standup double...4-1 NL...Hamilton with a lazy fly to Either for the third out.

Bottom of the 4th: Marmol uneven, but escapes trouble

...Alex Rodriguez leads off with a base on balls...advances to second on a fielder's choice by David Ortiz...Morneay lines a single over Utley's head, runners on the corners, one out...Victor Matinez up next...lines a shot down the left field line...Rodriguez in easily, Morneau around second, but holds up at third. RBI double for Martinez...Markakis strikes out, two down...Crosby grounds out to Zimmerman, AL manages to add a run...4-2, NL...

Top of the 5th: NL Threatens, Street Holds On

...An errant throw by Martinez looks costly, as Reyes advances to third with one out on the stolen base attempt...A strikeout by Either has Street looking confident...Ohh...long shot by Utley...Ichiro racing back to the warning track...and he makes the grab...AL still trails this game, 4-2...

Top of the 6th:

...Story of the game so far has to the be the American League bullpen. Halladay surrenders four runs in the first inning, then Nathan, Putz, Street and Benoit combine for four hitless innings of relief...

Top of the 7th:

...Matsuzaka keeps NL off the board, but Soto gets first hit since first inning for the NL...

Bottom of the 7th:

...Nick Markakis leads off with a walk against Arizona's Brandon Lyon and is lifted for a pinch runner, Anaheim's Chone Figgins...Grady Sizemore pinch hits for Crosby...First pitch running for Figgins, and he's into second ahead of Soto's throw...Sizemore walks, go-ahead run at the plate in the form of Carl Crawford...Crawford pops out to Pujols..one down..Robinson Cano slaps a liner over Utley's head, Figgins takes third and heads home...A run-scoring single by Cano...Hamilton up next, 0-3 tonight....A grounder to Zimmerman, throw to Utley at second for one, to first...and he's...safe! Sizemore takes third..Carlos Guillen pinch hits, a easy fly out to Ehtier in left...and he makes the grab...two runners left one. the National League is still in front, 4-3...

Top of the 8th:

Bobby Jenks follows Matsuzaka with a 1-2-3 inning...Excitement growing in Yankee Stadium as the AL tries to rally back...

Bottom of the 8th:

...Quite a scene on the mound, as New York Met John Maine takes the mound to a loud round of boos...And cheers, as Boston DH David Ortiz lines a double down the right-field line past a diving Albert Pujols..,Francona leaves Ortiz in to run at second, A.J. Pierzynski's the pinch hitter, Billy Butler the only hitter left on the bench...Wild pitch by Maine, Ortiz to third...Pierzynski down on strikes...Victor Martinez pops out to Reyes behind third base...two down...Bartolo Colon in to pitch to Chone Figgins, ground ball left side, Durham to Pujols..three down..AL wastes a golden opportunity, trail 4-3...

Top of the 9th:

...Joba Chamberlain in to pitch in front of the home crowd..Pinch hitter Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres leads off for the NL...long drive, headed toward the gap in deep right...Hamilton turns and races back, but he'll watch it go...399 feet and Gonzalez got all of that one..Martin and Ankiel followed a flyout by Derek Anderson, runners at the corners, one out...sharp line drive by Soto, drops in front of Crawford, Martin in to score...Francona to the mound, out comes Chamberlain...Ervin Santana the new AL pitcher...Zimmerman with a liner, Crawford there in time...two away...Reyes grounds out to Figgins, three down...The NL grabs two runs to push their lead to 6-3...

Bottom of the 9th:

...AL down by three now, with Takashi Saito on the mound for Clint Hurdle's NL squad...Magglio Ordonez, second behind Ichiro in the AL in batting, leads off...Saito with the 1-2 pitch...Ordonez couldn't check his swing, one down...Crawford with a sharp liner down to third, Zimmerman snares it...to first, Crawford is out...two away...Cano with a fly ball to short left, chasing it is Either...and he reels it in...that's the end of the game...National League wins it, 6-3.

Roy Halladay with an uneventful performance to take the loss. Brad Lidge is credited with the win in relief. MVP Honors go to Chase Utley, who was 1-3 with two RBIs on a first inning home run off Halladay.

That's all from Yankee Stadium, until next time...

[BostonRS14]

July 17, 2008

MidSeason Report

No time like the All Star Break to check in on the sox and see how they are performing. The Red Sox currently have the best record in all of baseball (64-33, .660) and are comfortable 6.5 games ahead of the Yankees (57-39) in the American League East. In fact, the Sox are currently 12.5 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles (51-45), who are in second place in AL Wild Card standings behind New York. A playoff shot is not guaranteed, but it certainly will be of epic proportion if the Sox did not qualify at this point.

With such a lead, there shouldn't be too much room for complaining. Certainly fans in Toronto (39-56) and Tampa Bay (43-52) would relish the chance to be in the Red Sox place. But, Red Sox Nation being Red Sox Nation, fans are finding dents in the Sox armor. Since starting the season 43-15, the Red Sox are just 21-18 since June 1st.

The major area of concern is the drop in production of Sox batters. Overall, the Red Sox are 3rd in the AL in runs scored with 490, or 5.05 per game. With a team ERA of 3.69 (best in the AL), the Red Sox have been success in outscoring their opponents, but their margin of differential has dropped as the season has progressed.

But, the Red Sox, as evident in the chart above, have seen their runs per game output drop from 5.74 to 4.92 for the first half of June. In the same time period, the pitching staff has seen their runs allowed increase from 3.89 per game to 4.92 per game. Despite the increase in runs allowed, the Sox don't appear to be in a panic mode, as their starting five have performed constantly well and their bullpen has only one pitcher (mopup Bryan Corey) with an ERA higher than 3.00.

"The weak arm in their rotation appears to be Buchholz," one rival talent evaluator said, "and even he is better than most team's #3 starters. With Daisuke and Beckett at the top, and Wakefield holding in there, they have time for the kids to learn on the job. If it gets worse, they go out and get a Sabathia, a Byrd, or even a Peavy or Carpenter."

Offensively, the Sox are beginning to show some signs of life after watching their bats go cold all at once in June.A large reason for that has been the slump endured by J.D. Drew, who has been teatering on losing his starting spot in the lineup. Manager Terry Francona's loyalty to his veteran players is one of the few reasons Drew is still in possession of his job since he has batted .206 (.400 obp, 4 HRs, 14 RBIs) since the first of June. Only because of the lack of consistent output by Brandon Moss, Jacoby Ellsbury and Willie Bloomquist does Drew still have a spot in the starting lineup.

Not all the blame falls on Drew. Dustin Pedroia is only hitting .247/.294/.406 in 91 games in his sophomore season. Coco Crisp has a .327 obp out of the top of the lineup. Julio Lugo (.228 avg.), Kevin Youkilis (.269), and Mike Lowell (.261) are all batting below expectations as well. Only Manny Ramirez (.325, 16 HRs, 56 RBIs) and David Ortiz (.313, 21 HRs, 67 RBIs) have hit consistently all season long.

If the Sox could find a taker for Lugo's or Drew's contract, they would be in the market for a big bat, but, with the trade market yet to heat up, it appears a minor deal for some bench support is more likely.

"They have the ammunition to pull of something big," ESPN's Peter Gammons recently commented. "Buchholz, [Justin] Masterson, [Michael] Bowden, [Bill] Rowell, Lars Anderson, Oscar Tejada. They all have been mentioned by other GMs as being not on the off-limits list, so the Sox could be big players come deadline time."

Down in the minor leagues, the Red Sox affiliates have not been performing particularly well, mostly due to the graduation of their top prospects (Pedroia, Jon Lester, Buchholz, etc.) the last few seasons. The Red Sox minor leaguers have quietly put together the third best overall record in MiLB at 242-205, .541. Pawtucket (48-52, .480) and the short-season Lowell Spinners (14-15, .483) are the only two clubs with records under .500. Portland (52-46, .531), Lancaster (59-37, .615), Greenville (52-45, .536) and the Gulf Coast League Red Sox (17-10, .630) have all been successful this season, highlighting the hard work of the team's scouting department.

One of the many highlights coming out of the minors this season has been the signing of Costa Rican free agent Lucio 'Oats' Serrano. The 18 year middle infield is currently with the Lowell Spinners after a short stay with the Gulf Coast League team. In 15 games with Lowell, Serrano is batting .357/.393/.429 with 20 hits in 56 at bats. While he is still a few seasons away from Fenway, Serrano could be a superstar if he figures it all out...with "true impact potential." Also drawing attention has been Justin Masterson in Pawtucket. Masterson would probably be in the Sox rotation right now if Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz weren't holding their own. Sandwiched around his one start with the Sox (6.0 IP, 4 Hs, 1 R, 2 K's v. Orioles), Masterson has started 21 games with the Paw Sox, posting a dissevering 6-5 record, mostly due to a lack of run support. His 2.49 ERA, 139 strikeouts and 37.3 VORP are all second best in the International League.

According to its last report, Baseball American had the Sox, led by Serrano, Buccholz, Lars Anderson, Jacoby Ellsbury and Masterson, ranked second in baseball on the strength of their minor league system, trailing only the Tampa Bay Rays.

• The Sox are a remarkable 21-6 against lefites this season.
• The Red Sox are 301-7 (.638%) at home and 34-16 (.680%) away from Fenway.
• The Red Sox are averaging 5.05 runs per game (5.23/home, 4.88/away), while allowing 4.0 (4.19/home, 3.82/away).
• Oakland (258-181, .588) and Florida (247-199, .554) are the only two organizations with better overall minor league records. Arizona (173-276, .385) is the worst, with not a single team playing above .500.
• Jonathan Papelbon's 99 saves currently rank third all-time amongst Red Sox pitchers, trailing Bob Stanley (132) and Dick Radatz (104).
• David Ortiz (299) is currently 7th on the Red Sox all-time home runs list, one behind Mo Vaughn (230). Manny Ramirez is 5th with 270. Ted Williams holds the club record with 521.
• Only the New York Yankees (Joba Chamberlain, Mike Mussina, and Chien-Ming Wang) have more 10 game winners than the Red Sox (Matsuzaka, Wakefield). The Mets (Maine, Sosa) and Cardinals (Wainright, Lohse) also have two a piece.

Against their division rivals, the Red Sox have faired fairly well, posting a 23-26 record against the American League East.
Baltimore: 6-6 overall (3-3 home, 3-3 road)
New York: 5-4 overall (2-1, 3-3)
Tampa Bay: 7-5 overall (3-3, 4-2)
Toronto: 5-1 overall (2-1, 3-0)

The Sox come out of the break with a six game road trip through Anaheim and Seattle before returning home to face the Yankees and Angels at Fenway leading up to the trade deadline on the 31st of July.

[BostonRS14]

Anaheim Angels v. Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park, Boston, MA

The Red Sox (64-33, .660) return from the All Star break refreshed, looking to capitalize against the Anaheim Angels, who have struggled this season. Picked to be a contender in the AL West, the Angels are 46-49 (.484), 5.5 games behind the Texas Rangers (52-44, .542). The Angels are currently 10.5 behind New York in the Wild Card race.

Injuries have been a key part of the Angels' struggles. Kelvim Escobar has missed the entire season, Francisco Rodriguez missed eight weeks with a strained back muscle and Jeff Weaver has made two visits to the disabled list with a strained Achilles tendon and an inguinal hernia. #1 starter John Lackey has a respectable 6-3 record in 13 starts, but his 2.69 ERA is deceptive as opponents are batting .308 on balls put into play against the veteran. Jon Garland, in his first season with the Angels, is just 4-10 with a .495 ERA and Japanese import Fumiya Nishiguchi is 2-6 with a 5.50 ERA. One bright spot has been Ervin Santana. The 25 year old has seemed to have put together his potential, as he has emerged as a Cy Young candidate with a 10-2 record to go along with a 2.33 ERA and 124/27 K/BB ratio.

Offensively, the Angels are led by the duo of Vladimir Guerrero (.278, 15 HRs, 62 RBIs) and Chone Figgins (.310, 5 HRs, 31 RBIs, 60 Rs). But, regulars Mike Napoli (.178, 9 HRs, 25 RBIs), Kendry Morales (.215, 2, 15), and Torri Hunter (.221, 7, 29, .253 obp) have not helped matters for the Angels. Overall, the team's .267 batting average ranks 7th in the AL.

The Red Sox enter the series coming off taking two of three against the Orioles before the All Star break.

Pitching Matchups:

7/18: Josh Beckett (9-4, 3.68 ERA) v. John Lackey (6-4, 2.80)
7/19: Daisuke Matsuzaka (12-5, 3.50) v. Jon Garland (4-10, 4.96)
7/20: Tim Wakefield (10-6, 4.05) v. Ervin Santana (10-2, 2.33)

Against the Red Sox this season, Anaheim is 1-2.

[BostonRS14]

July 18, 2008

Sox Jump on Lackey, Take Opener from Halos
Boston 9, Anaheim 4

The Red Sox offense took their much needed rest and came out rejuvenated for the second half, jumping on Angels ace John Lackey for six runs in just one-third of an inning.

After retiring Coco Crisp to lead off the game, Lackey allowed the next seven Red Sox batters to reach before being lifted by manager Mike Scioscia. Kevin Youkilis started things off with a single and moved to third on a David Ortiz double. A walk to Manny Ramirez loaded the bases for Mike Lowell, who doubled home two runs to open the scoring for the Sox. Dustin Pedroia, Brandon Moss and Jason Varitek all followed with RBI-singles before Chris Bootcheck entered the game. After allowing Julio Lugo to drive home the sixth run of the inning, Bootcheck retired Crisp and Youkilis on flyouts to center that ended the inning.

"We took advantage of a guy who didn't have his best stuff," Jason Varitek said. "Next time out, I'm sure he'll be throwing bullets. That's the type of guy [Lackey] is, we just got lucky today and took advantage."

The Red Sox added two more in the fifth on a couple of sloppy plays by Anaheim. After striking out to start the inning, Manny Ramirez was allowed to reach first when the called third strike got away from Mike Napoli. Pedroia followed one batter later with a double down the right field line into the corner that scored Ramirez easily from first. Bradon Moss, starting in place of J.D. Drew, knocked a routine grounder to short that Maicer Izturis bobbled and threw away, allowing Pedroia to score with the 8th run of the night for the Sox.

Kevin Youkilis added a solo home run, his 12th of the year, off Scott Shields in the sixth to cap the Red Sox scoring.

But, Anaheim wasn't done just yet. In the eight, Casey Kotchman drove in two runs on a single to center that put Anaheim on the board and broke up Beckett's shut out. Josh Fields would later add a two-run home run off of Bryan Corey in the ninth, but it proved to be not enough as the Sox held on for their third victory in four games against the Angels this season.

After the game, both Chris Bootcheck and Tony Graffanino were placed on the 15-day disabled list with what the team are calling minor injuries.

W: Beckett (10-4) L: Lackey (6-5)
Player of the Game: Josh Beckett (8.0 IP, h Hs, 2 Rs, BB, 9 K's, 124 PI)

Around the League:
...Washington signed MR Odalis Perez (2-4, 5.84 ERA) to a 5-year contract extension worth a total of $2.1m...Florida signed 32-year old free agent CF Cheng-en Li (.203/.288/.305 w/ Jiangsu, CBL) to a one-year contract worth $390k...Cincinnati remain silent, but reports are that C Javier Valentin (.231, 3 HRs, 13 RBIs) is requested a trade...

Manchester United Sign Vicente

The news coming out of England has Manchester United opening up their wallets in a bid to win another European Championship. In an unexpected move, Man U bought Spanish left winger Vicente from Valencia for $103m ($73m euro).

The former Levante player, who joined Valencia for $6.25m in 2000, has represented Spain forty times in his career.

Bruins finally nab Perry, FA period winding down

Free agent Corey Perry has accepted the Bruins' offer, agreeing to join the club for 3 yrs. at $1.32m p/y. A former first round pick (28th overall) of the Ducks in 2003, Perry has scored 49 goals in 213 NHL games over three season with Anaheim.

"We see Corey contributing immediately," team president Christian Franklin said in announcing the signing. "Peter and his scouting staff have liked him for awhile now, and the opportunity to sign a blossoming player at this point for us was worth the cost."

Perry is likely to start the season on the Bruins third line, behind Dustin Brown and Peter Bergeron on the Boston depth chart.

Notable NHL Signings:

• Jose Theodore signed with the San jose Sharks for 3 yrs., $8.25m
• D Darius Kasparaitis signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets for 2 yrs., $2.9m
• Patrice Brisebois signed a 1-yrs, $775k contract with the New Jersey Devils
• D Jason Smith signed with the St. Louis Blues for 3 yrs., $6m.

[BostonRS14]

July 19, 2008

Matsuzaka throws CG Gem over Angels
Boston 3, Anaheim 0

Daisuke Matsuzaka continues to show the promise that made the Red Sox invest $100m for his services in November of 2006.

Against the Angels last night, he kept a potent, although struggling, lineup off balance for nine innings to earn his second shutout, and fifth complete game of the season.

"He's developing into a horse out there," catcher Jason Varitek said afterwards. "From this year to last, he really has come around and challenged hitters better and he's trying to be more economical in his pitch selection."

While he may be challenging hitters more, he's hardly economical in his approach. Matsuzaka's 114 pitches marked the seventh straight start that he has gone over the century mark. In fact, Matsuzaka has reached 100+ pitches in all but three of his twenty-two starts this season.

With Matsuzaka holding the Angels in check, the Sox struggled early against Jon Garland, managing just two base runners over the first four innings. In the fifth, though, Boston got on the board. With one out, Garland surrendered a one-out single to left to Julio Lugo. After stealing second, Lugo advanced to third on a ground-out by Coco Crisp. Kevin Youkilis followed Crisp with a two-run home run, his second in as many days.

Youkilis would score the third Red Sox run in the 8th when, after singling to lead off the inning, he scored on a Dustin Pedroia single to right field.

The victory was Matsuzaka's 13th, leaving him one behind the American League leader Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees.

W: Matzusaka (13-5) L: Garland (4-11)
Player of the Game: Daisuke Matsuzaka, (9 IP, 7 Hs, 2 BBs, 2 Ks, 114 PI)

Around the League:
...The Red Sox claimed MR Zach Miner off waivers from Detriot and assigned him to Pawtucket...Texas C Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 5-5 to lead the Rangers past the Twins 8-3...New York signed SP Andy Pettitte to 3-year contract extension worth $4.14m ($1.38/per)...

[BostonRS14]

July 20, 2008

Anaheim Avoid Sweep, Delcarmen Blows Save in Angels Win
Anaheim 3, Boston 2

Tim Wakefield, snub for the All Star team in his final season, went head-to-head with Ervin Santana, throwing seven solid innings while holding the Angels to just two runs on seven hits over seven. But, Manny Delcarmen, coming off nine days of rest, was not sharp enough to hang onto the lead as the Angels avoid the sweep at the hands of the Sox in their final visit to Anaheim this season.

"I'm not sure we could have asked for more out of Josh [Beckett], Daisuke [Matsuzaka], and Timmy [Wakefield]," said manager Terry Francona afterwards. "We got seven plus innings out of our starters in all three games and we walked away with two of three from a tough opponent."

The Sox challenged early in the second inning, loading the bases on a pair of errors, but were unable to capitalize. With two outs, Santana managed to induce a weak pop off the bat of Kevin Youkilis to hold the Sox scoreless.

In the bottom half of the inning, Garret Anderson, a career .268 hitter against Wakefield, hit a solo home run into the right field bleachers to put the Angels ahead 1-0. Anderson would later added a RBI-single in the 6th against Wakefield to put Anaheim ahead by two.

Ervin Santana, meanwhile, was proving to the Sox why he made his first All Star appearance this season. The twenty-five year old held the Sox in check for the first six innings, not allowing a runner to advance to second base after the second inning. In the seventh, though, the Sox finally broke through. Julio Lugo led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a pair of groundouts by Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia. Facing a 3-0 count, David Ortiz put a fastball from Santana into the center field seats to tie the ballgame at two runs a piece.

After Wakefield sent the Angels down in order in the seventh, Terry Francona turned the game over to the bullpen, calling on Delcarmen. Chone Figgins led off the bottom of the eight with a double to the right-center gap and scored easily when pinch hitter Juan Rivera slapped a single through the infield. With his speed, Figgins scored easily without a throw to put Anaheim ahead 302.

Francisco Rodriguez came on in the ninth and retired the Sox, three up, three down to hold on to the win for Anaheim, who have fallen 5.5 behind the Texas Rangers in the West.

W: Shields (4-2) L: Delcarmen (4-2) SV: Rodriguez (12)
Player of the Game: David Ortiz (2-5, HR (22), 2 RBIs)

Around the League:
...Greg Golson (Reading, AA) extended his hitting streak to 25 games...Texas C Jason Saltalamacchia earned the AL Player of the Week award. Orlando Husdson of the Arizona Diamondbacks won in the NL...Washington placed SP Shawn Hill (4-6, 5.82 ERA) on the 15-day disabled list

Chivas outpaces Revs in 3-2 victory
Chivas USA 3, New England 2

Matt Reis has been the MVP of the Revolution so far this season. Despite the press that Taylor Twellman and Edison Buddle get up front for scoring goals, Reis has kept the Revolution in contention with a 1.13 GAA.

Against Chivas USA last night, Reis didn't have this best game and his defense was not any help either, allowing Chivas' front line to control of the action early with two goals before the 20th minute.

"We let them control the pace of the game, which isn't our style," Reis said afterwards. "I let the guys down by not backing them up like I should."

Trailing 2-0, the Revs battled back with a goal from Wells Thompson in the 26th minute to go into halftime trailing but just one goal despite controlling the ball only 45% of the time. Matt Pickens, Reis' counterpart on Chivas, stopped twenty of twenty-two shots from the Revs.

After Marshall Leonard energized the Revs with a late goal in the 73rd minute to tie the match up, Ramon Nunez and he Chivas came right back down and left the Revs stunned as he carried down the left side of the pitch and put a long shot into the net from outside the box.

Edson Buddle wasn't in the locker room after the match. Reports had the striker being treated for an injured elbow after landing awkwardly late in the match. Buddle will be treated at the club, and is likely to miss between one and three weeks of action.

The loss dropped the Revolution four points behind the Kansas City Wizards in the Eastern Conference.

[BostonRS14]

Boston Red Sox v. Seattle Mariners
Safeco Park, Seattle, WA

Boston heads north from Anaheim to Seattle for a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

Seattle (46-52) is currently in fourth place in the AL West, trailing Texas by 6.5 games. Offensively, they rank 4th in batting (.272 avg.) and 9th in runs scored (437). Led by Ichiro (.350, 3 HRs, 48 RBIs, 73 Rs) as always, the Mariners average 4.5 runs per game. In addition, Adrian Beltre (.249, 9 HRs, 48 RBIs) has contributed, but otherwise, the offense has been lacking. The Red Sox have five batters with more RBIs than Ichiro/Beltre. (Ortiz, 69; Pedroia, 63; Youkilis, 57; Ramirez,56; and Lowell, 53).

Their starting staff has pitched better than expected thanks to the continued growth of Felix Hernandez. The young ace has developed in his fourth season, despite what his record (7-8, 3.55 ERA) might show. Hernandez is joined by veteran Eric Bedard (7-8, 4.01) in an otherwise unremarked rotation. J.J. Putz (24 svs., 2.23 ERA) leads the bullpen that has a 3.97 ERA (11th best in AL).

Pitching Matchups:
7/21: Jon Lester (9-5, 4.01 ERA) v. Carlos Silva (4-6, 4.52)
7/22: Clay Buchholz (8-4, 4.58) v. Jarrod Washburn (5-10, 5.59)
7/23: Josh Beckett (10-4, 3.59) v. Felix Hernandez (7-8, 3.55)

So far this season, the Sox and Mariners have split their six meetings, 3-3.

[BostonRS14]

July 22, 2008

Lester Falls to M's in Fourth Bid for 10th Win
Mariners 7, Red Sox 2

Jon Lester managed to hold Ichiro Suzuki to just one hit in five at bats, but it was a two-run home run by DH Mike Morse that gave Seattle starter Carlos Silva enough support to lead the Mariners over the Red Sox in the opener of a three game series in Seattle.

Lester struggled from the beginning, surrendering two runs in the bottom of the first after a pair of singles by Ichiro and Yuniesky Betancourt, followed by a RBI-single by Jose Video and a sac fly by Adrian Beltre. Lester was able to hold the M's to just the two thanks for two strong defensive plays by Coco Crisp as he robbed by Raul Ibanez and Kenji Johkima of extra base hits with running catches against the outfield wall.

In the second inning, it was Morse's turn to do the damage. With Jeff Cirillo on second after a one-out double, Morse drilled a 2-0 fastball over the left-field wall to put Seattle ahead 4-0. The Mariners loaded the bases in the third, but Lester escaped after allowing a RBI-single to Ryan Raburn with a strike-out of Cirillo.

By the time the Sox bats woke up, Seattle had already pulled ahead by seven. In the top of the eighth, Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell put together a pair of RBI-singles but, with runners on the corners and two outs, J.D. Drew struck out to end the threat.

W: Silva (5-6) L: Lester (9-6)
Player of the Game: Jose Vidro (3-5, 2 Rs, HR, 2 RBIs)

Around the League:
...Detroit CF Curtis Granderson (.250, 8 HRs, 26 RBIs) was placed on the 15-day disabled list...

Thompson signs new New England deal

Wells Thompson has signed a new contract with New England. The deal will keep him at the club until December, 2011.

Although not considered a regular at Gillette Stadium, Thompson has been enjoying a run in the New England first-team of late.

[BostonRS14]

July 22, 2008

Sox Lose Paps, Overcome Beltre Cycle for Win Over M's
Boston 7, Seattle 6

Clay Buchholz labored through five innings of work, surrendering five runs on six hits, but five Sox relievers combined to work four shutouts innings out of the bullpen for the Sox to secure the victory.

The Sox opened the scoring on the first when Coco Crisp singled to lead off the game. The speedy centerfield advanced to third when, while attempting to steal second, Crisp beat the throw from Jeff Clement, which bounced in front of second baseman Jeff Cirillo and into centerfield for the one base error. Kevin Youkilis followed with a grounder to short that Adrian Beltre ranged far to his left to field the ball, but threw away from the throw to first to allow Crisp to score easily from first.

In the second, the Sox added two more runs off of Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn. With one out, J.D. Drew doubled to center and Dustin Pedroia followed with a RBI-triple, his third of the year. After striking out Jason Varitek, Washburn surrendered a single to Julio Lugo to put the Sox ahead by three.

In the bottom of the second, Beltre led off with a triple down the right field line off of Buchholz, the first of his four hits on the night. Beltre would score one batter later on a Jeff Clement groundout. Beltre would hit a solo home run in the fourth to cut the Sox lead down to just one run.

In the sixth, the Sox pulled ahead for good when David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez went back-to-back off Washburn to push the Boston lead to four. After Youkilis led off the inning with a four pitch walk, Ortiz sent a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left field for his team leading 23rd home run of the season. Ramirez, marred in a 18 game drought, put his 17th long ball of the season into the centerfield stands to chase Washburn from the game. Since his last home run on June 27th against Houston, Ramirez's batting average has dropped twenty-eight points and his OPS has dropped from 1.002 to .913.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners battled back as they seem to have done all season against the Sox. After a led off double by Ichiro, Clay Buchholz came unglued, plunking Raul Ibanez with a first-pitch fast ball before Beltre hit a RBI-double to right-center to end Clay's night after five plus innings. Javier Lopez entered, striking out Jeff Clement before Mike Sweeney and Ryan Raburn hit a pair singles to put the M's down by one. Facing Yuniesky Betancourt with the tying run on second, Lopez induced an inning-ending double play to shut the door on the rally.

In the 8th, Adrian Beltre finished off the cycle with a single off Manny Delcarmen and advanced to second on a single by Jeff Clement, but pinch hitter Jose Vidro and Raburn couldn't deliver against Hideki Okajima, as the Mariners left the tying run in scoring position.

As he has all season, manager Terry Francona turned to his All Star closer Jonathan Papelbon to shut the door on the Mariners. Pinch hitter Kenji Johjima grounded out to short stop Julio Lugo for the first out, but it was a Tony Gwyyn, Jr. ground out that proved troubling. Covering first base for Youkilis, Papelbon stumbled as the took the throw from the first baseman and collided with Gwynn, ending up on the ground grimacing in pain.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon reacts to retired Jojhima one batter before before being injured against the Mariners

Lee Gronkiewicz relieved Papelbon and closed the door on Ryan Klesko to save the win for Buchholz, but the news afterwards wasn't good.

Before the team even left the ballpark, general manager Theo Esptein had issued a press release announcing that Papelbon was bound for the disabled list with what the team was called a stained shoulder. Manager Terry Francona did not make himself available for comment after the game.

W: Buchholz (9-4) L: Washburn (5-11) SV: Gronkiewicz (3)
Player of the Game: Adrien Beltre (4-4, 2B, 3B, HR (10), 2 Rs, 2 RBIs)

Around the League:
...Boston purchased the contract of SP Justin Masterson from Pawtucket...

[BostonRS14]

July 23, 2008

Sox Blow First Game without Paps, Drop Series to M's
Seattle 11, Boston 10

It is going to be interesting for the Red Sox the next week to week and a half. Manager Terry Francona has yet to announce his closer in the wake of Papelbon's shoulder injury. The Sox are saying two weeks and he'll be back, but you have to wonder if this will push Theo Esptein to improve his bullpen.

With Josh Beckett and Felix Hernandez facing off in the series finale, fans must have been expecting a pitcher's duel, but, what they got instead, was an offensive back-and-forth battle.

The Red Sox went ahead by three in the first on a RBI-single by Kevin Youkilis and a two-run home run by J.D. Drew, but the Mariners came right back as they did all day long. A pair of wild pitches and an error in the bottom of the second tied the game at three a piece.

In the third, the teams once again traded three runs, as a wet field seemed to play into four Red Sox errors, a season high.

"I was surprised they kept the roof open with the rain," Josh Beckett said afterwards. "I know it was tough to get a grip out there tonight, but I just couldn't locate when I needed to."

Beckett managed to last five innings while allowing seven runs, four earned, on eleven hits. Hernandez lasted only two and two thirds, surrendering seven runs on six hits.

After Beckett left after five, Bryan Corey and Hideki Okajima combined to pitch three solid innings of relief, allowing just two base runners until Francona turned the game over to Manny Delcarmen to start the ninth.

After retiring the first two batters, Delcarmen fell apart, surrendering three straight singles on three straight hits by Jeff Clement, Jose Vidro and Ryan Rayburn to cut the lead to one. With first base open, Francona decided to intentionally walk Mike Morse, a star of the first game of the series, to face Tony Gwynn Jr. with the bases loaded. Ahead 2-1 in the count, Delcarmen served up a juicy fastball over the center of the plate that Gwynn lined down the right field line to bring home the game-winning run.

The loss marked the Sox first with Delcarmen closing games in Papelbon's absence but rumors coming out of the Sox front office has Epstein and Francona considered putting starter Justin Masterson into the closer's role until Papelbon is healthy.

"They brought the kid up and his stuff was strong early in the year," an opposing scout said. "They could use his arm in the 'pen, as they won't move Lester or Buchholz out of the rotation. Plus, who is going to be worried facing Delcarmen or Gronkiewicz in the ninth."

W: O'Flaherty (1-4) L: Delcarmen (4-3)
Player of the Game: J.D. Drew (2-5, HR (10), 2 Rs, 3 RBIs)

Around the League:
Troy Glaus (StL) his his 300th career home run off of Milwaukee CL Luis Pena...Houston signed SP Hidetaka Kawagoe (3-7, 6.47 ERA w/ Orix) to a minor league contract...

Torino to bid for Parkshurt

A national football website reports that Torino are about to offer $3m for New England's defender Michael Parkhurst.

Whether the Rev's will be prepared to let the 24-year old Parkshurt leave, however still remains to be seen. He is currently a first teamer at Gillette Stadium, appearing in all 16 matches this season.

[BostonRS14]

July 24, 2008

Around the Majors with Buster Olney

The first big move of the trade deadline went off today, as the Milwaukee Brewers moved free agent to-be C.C. Sabathia to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league center fielder Demond Jennings and catcher Nevin Ashley. This is a surprising move by both teams, as you normally don't see a player of Sabathia's caliber move from one small market to another at the deadline.

Taking a look at the prospects that Milwaukee gets, they clearly didn't get the return they were hoping for when they put C.C. on the market last month. After giving the Indians 1B Matt LaPorta, RF Michael Brantley, and CL Rob Bryson, the best the Brewers could do is two B-level prospects in this market.

You'd have to think that the Brewers kick the tires with the Yankees, Sox and Angels, and came up empty. It is surprising that someone of C.C.'s pedigree wasn't interesting to them, especially the Yankees who just lost Chein-Ming Wang for six weeks.

Despite their best efforts, the Brewers just couldn't get a deal done to their liking, but then why not wait the season out and take the draft picks as compensation?

As for the Rays, interesting move for a team that is 20.5 games back in the division and 15 back in the Wild Card. At 46-56, the Rays are shooting for their first winning season since their debut in 1998. They are just 6-13 this month, but adding Sabathia sould help stop that slide.

And, if they can keep C.C. off the market after this deal, it may be the steal of the season. A rotation of Sabathia, Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza and David Price would be tough to beat for the Sox and Yankees. Their bullpen already has the second best ERA in the American League and Trevor Miller (0.55 ERA) and Logan Kensing (0.82) are both pitching ridiculously well.

So, if the Brewers were willing to move Sabathia so cheaply, how did the big market teams strike out?

• You can probably rule out the Mets and Cubs off the bat. Chicago has a 14.5 game lead over the Pirates despite missing Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly for most of the past month. With Rich Harden's 1.95 ERA, the Cubs appear poised to get in the playoffs with ease. The Mets, on the other hand, are in a battle for their lives with the Phillies (-1.5 GB), but just don't have the prospects after adding Johan Santana during the offseason. Word is both Fernando Martinez (AAA) and Jonathon Niese (A) are untouchable.
• The Red Sox have a strong 1-5 in their rotation, but its tough to imagine that Theo Esptein and his staff couldn't get creative in fitting the big lefty into the staff some how. Clay Buchholz would have been the obvious candidate for demotion if he wasn't included in a deal, so you have to wonder if the Sox felt it better for their youngster to take his lumps this year with Beckett and Matsuzaka taking most of the attention at the top of the rotation, rather than send him to Pawtucket to sulk.
• The Yankees just put Chien-Ming Wang on the 15-day disabled list with an inguinal hernia, not something that is going to heal easily. Their replacement: Sidney Ponson. In his second tour with the Yanks, Ponson pitched well in his only start with the club this season, a 8-6 victory over the Rays back in April. Clearly, Sabathia is a much better option, but Brian Cashman has to be watching his prospects, knowing this may not be the season with Jeter, Hughes, Wang and Damon all on the DL right now. The Yankees must be hoping Sabathia hits the open market, where they are obviously the front runners for his services.
• The Braves already tied up significant payroll in Mark Teixeria. Can't see them being able to keep Sabathia past this season, an, despite being only 3.5 behind the Phillies for the WC, playing without Yunel Escobar, Chipper Jones, Jeff Francouer and John Smoltz will eventually catch up to them in the surprisingly deep NL playoff field.
• Arizona and Minnesota have small leads in their divisions (+3.0 and +1.5, respectively) and their payrolls are both over their budgets (-$209k for Ari and -$4.85m for Min)

Clearly, the market for big money pitching isn't there, which is surprising. Figure teams like Chicago, Detroit, Anaheim, Los Angeles or Philadelphia would be interested. All have room in their rotations and none is out of the playoff race by any means.

Should be an interesting week leading up to the deadline.

[BostonRS14]

New York Yankees v. Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park, Boston, MA

The Red Sox come home from their post-All Star Game road trip having split their six games with Anaheim and Seattle.

The always intense series between New York and Boston has lived up to that billing this morning. The teams have met up nine times so far in 2008, and the Red Sox have prevailed in five meetings, despite actually being outscored by the Yankees on average 6.2 runs per game to 5.0 for the Sox.

Boston (67-36) enters the series with a 5.5 game lead over the Yankees (61-41), who lead the American League Wild Card race by 4.5 over Baltimore (57-46) and 9.5 over Oakland (51-50).

New York currently ranks first in the AL in both runs scored (561) and batting (.284 average). In addition, their pitching is second in runs allowed (424), with a 3.82 ERA from their starters (1st) and 3.87 from their bullpen (9th). The Red Sox, on the other hand, 8th n batting (.264), 3rd in runs scored (522), 2nd in starters' ERA (3.97) and 1st in bullpen ERA (3.02).

Both teams are without key parts of their pitching staff this time around. The Sox placed closer Jonathan Papelbon on the DL during the Seattle series with a dislocated shoulder. The Yankees have not fared as well. Currently, Chien-Ming Wang (inguinal hernia) is on the DL along with Carl Pavano, CF Johnny Damon (strained rotator cuff muscle), SS Derek Jeter (fractured arm), Philip Hughes, and Jonathan Albaladejo (heart disease).

Led by Alex Rodriguez (.319, 24 HRs, 81 RBIs) and Rookie of the Year shoe-in Joba Chamberlain (14-7, 2.99 ERA), New York has won 11 of their last 17.

Pitching Matchups:
7/25: Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-5, 3.30 ERA) v. Joba Chamberlain (14-7, 2.99)
7/26: Jon Lester (9-6, 4.16) v. Dan Giese (9-4, 3.24)
7/27: Tim Wakefield (10-6, 3.96) v. Mike Mussina (11-5, 4.15)

[BostonRS14]

July 25, 2008

Joba Holds Sox in Check, Yanks Take Opener
New York 4, Boston 1

Two contenders for Cy Young met up at Fenway Park and didn't disappoint, as the Yankees held on to took the opener of the three game series 4-1.

Chamberlain has pitched well all season, making himself a double threat for both the American League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards. In his one previous appearance against the Sox, Chamberlain pitched seven innings, allowing one run on two hits to secure an identical 4-1 victory.

This time around, Chamberlain went seven strong, allowing three hits while striking out 8. Mastuzaka, not to be outdone, threw eight innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk. Matsuzaka struck out seven Yankees in suffering the loss.

The game was scoreless until the top of the 4th when Alex Rodriguez slapped a one-out single to left. After advancing to second when Matsuzaka drilled Jason Giambi with a fastball, Rodriguez scored the opening run on a Robinson Cano line drive that fell in front of Coco Crisp in centerfield. Matsuzaka managed to retire both Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu on fly outs before the Yankees could add any more runs.

Chamberlain made the one run lead hold up, as neither team could slap together enough hits to get another runner home. In the bottom of the fifth, the Sox managed to get a runner to third with one out, but Julio Lugo grounded into an inning end double play to end the threat.

In the ninth, clinging to the one run lead, New York managed to add some insurance when Lee Grnkiewicz started the inning off by hitting Jason Giambi. After lifting Giambi for a pinch runner, Cano and Matsui loaded the bases with a pair of singles. A sacrifice fly by Bobby Abreu put the Yankees ahead by two before a one-out single by Wilson Betemit scored Cano and ended Okajima's night. Manny Delcaremn came in in relief and allowed a RBI-single to Melky Cabrera before shutting the dorr on Jorge Posada to end the Yankees effort.

Mike Lowell got the Sox on the board in the bottom of the ninth, when, facing Mariano Rivera, he slapped a single through the infield to score Manny Ramirez from second. With J.D. Drew and Lowell on base, the Sox brought the tying run to the plate twice, but Rivera struck out Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek on four pitches apiece to hold onto the lead.

W: Chamberlain (15-7) L: Matsuzaka (13-6) SV: Rivera (32)
Player of the Game: Joba Chamberlain (7.0 IP, 3 Hs, BB, 8 Ks, 107 PI)

Around the League:
...Los Angeles Dodgers released CF Andruw Jones (.204 avg., 7 HRs, 28 RBIs)...

Mariner delivers Jewsbury warning

Assistant general manager Paul Mariner is concerned at jack Jewsbury's growing unease at the club.

Mariner feels that the central midfielder is on the verge of confronting the club over an improved contract after appearing in twelve of the club's first thirteen matches.

[BostonRS14]

July 26, 2008

Sox Bolster Offense, Acquire Furcal from Dodgers

Theo Epstein has a history of being busy at the trade deadline. In 2003, it was Jeff Suppan from the Pirates. In 2004, it was the infamous Nomar Garciaparra trade for Doug Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera. And in 2007, it was Eric Gagne. With two World Series rings, Epstein has earned a reputation as strong General Manager. This year, with the Sox struggling to score runs and the Yankees creeping back into contention in the American League East, Epstein struck again.

In exchange for shortstop Rafael Furcal and catching prospect Carlos Santana, the Red Sox sent 18-year old minor league shortstop Oscar Tejada, right fielder Brandon Moss, 23-year old minor league catcher Jonathan Still, 19-year old minor league first baseman Bill Rowell and 32-year old third baseman Rob Mackowiak to the Dodgers.

"We picked up a dynamic player at a premium position," Esptein said during a hastily put together news conference this afternoon. "Rafael has played for some strong Atlanta and Los Angeles teams, including six that made the playoffs with the Braves. We feel like he fills a need for our team and should be trouble at the top of the lineup with Coco."

This season, Furcal has hit .297 in 96 games with the Dodgers to go along with 31 2Bs, 6 3Bs, 7 HRs, 49 RBIs, and 87 runs scored. Furcal has managed to get on base at a .343 clip.

A huge hole since the days of Garciaparra, shortstop has become Esptein's Moby Dick. Since 2003, the Sox have employed no less than nine shortstops: Garciaparra, Pokey Reese, Orlando Cabrera, Cesar Crespo, Edgar Renteria, Ramon Vazquez, Alex Gonzalez, Alex Cora, and Julio Lugo.

In getting Furcal, the Sox are hoping to add a spark to their sputtering offense. Boston has dropped to ninth in the AL in batting (.263) despite putting up a .340 OBP (2nd), .424 SLG (4th) and a .764 OBS (3rd).

"We are getting on base with the middle of our lineup, but, overall, the top half isn't getting on base enough to score runs. We felt that our lineup was out of whack. Because we put Youkilis up top with Crisp, the bottom half of our lineup wasn't what we envisioned. Now, we can slot Furcal in second and Youk back in the middle behind David [Ortiz] and Manny [Ramirez]."

The odd man out appears to be Julio Lugo, himself a former Los Angeles Dodger. Signed before the 2007 season to a four year, $36m contract, Lugo has been a disappointment for the Sox. In 243 games over the past year and a half, Lugo has batted just .235 in 893 ABs. In fact, of the 359 players who have at least 100 at bats this season, Lugo's .232 average ranks 294th. His -13.1 VORP is worst on the Red Sox, and the 2nd worst amongst MLB regulars, trailing only San Francisco's Mike Jacobs (-15.4)!

Of course, Epstein and manager Terry Francona now must decide how to find enough ABs to satisfy both Furcal and Lugo. It would seem obvious based upon their production that Furcal would get the majority of the playing time, especially considering that soon enough, the Sox are going to be faced with the decision of whether or not to resign the pending free agent.

In acquiring Furcal, the Sox had to surrender three of their top prospects.

The biggest loss for the Red Sox will be Brandon Moss (.246, 3 HRs, 16 RBIs, .712 OPS), who had seen his playing time increase over the past month. With Manny Ramirez (2009), Coco Crisp (2010) and J.D. Drew(2011) under the contract, Moss wasn't going to get a chance to crack the lineup, especially considering highly touted prospects Jacoby Ellsbury, Ryan Kalish, and Josh Reddick are not far behind in terms of development.

"We liked Brandon a lot, but it came down to what we needed more: a starting shortstop or a fourth outfielder."

In order to fill the void left by Moss's departure, the Sox signed former Dodger Andruw Jones to a one-year contract worth $1m. Jones, released by Los Angeles earlier in the day, had struggled in his first season with the Dodgers, hitting .204 in 201 at bats.

"It's a low risk, high reward situation with Andruw. If he can hit like he did in Atlanta, we won't miss Brandon, but if he doesn't, we'll cut our losses and try something else."

Not to be overlooked in adding Furcal, Epstein also addressed a key deficiency in the Sox system by acquiring Carlos Santana in the deal. Santana slots right in atop the Sox minor league depth chart at catcher, but is not currently expected to be ready for the majors until 2010, leaving the Sox without a catcher for next season if Epstein decides not to resign Jason Varitek. While giving up two minor league prospects in SS Oscar Tejada and 1B Bill Rowell, neither were ranked as the best at their position in the Red Sox system.

[BostonRS14]

July 26, 2008

Sox Rally Late, Can't hang on in 10th
New York 8, Boston 6 (10)

After falling behind 3-0, it looked like another Red Sox loss were the offense never got itself started. Instead, the Sox bats woke up for six runs off of the Yankees only to see the bullpen collapse as New York rallied back to take the first two of the tree game series to pull within 3.5 games.

Dan Giese was strong again against the Sox. After pitching the Yankees to a 8-1 win earlier in the month at Yankee Stadium, Giese held the Sox to just two runs over six innings, before turning the game over to the bullpen.

In the seventh, the Red Sox ran five straight singles through the Yankee infield, to tie the game at three. With the bases loaded and Russ Ohlendorf on the mound, newly aquired Rafael Furcal grounded into a fielder's choice, picking up the go-ahead RBI. Jose Veras relieved Ohlendorf and allowed a two run single to David Ortiz before retiring Manny Ramirez on a double play to end the inning.

With the Sox holding onto a three run lead, manager Terry Francona turned the game over to his struggling bullpen. Justin Masterson was the first to enter the game, fresh off a callup from Pawtucket to fill Jonathan Papelbon's roster spot. After a pair of doubles cut the lead down to 6-4, Masterson managed to get Alex Rodriguez to fly out weakly to center before a single by Wilson Betemit brought New York back within one run.

Hideki Okajima came out of the 'pen next, walking the first batter he faced, Bobby Abreau, to load the bases for New York. Robinson Cano followed, but all he could muster was a weak pop up behind the plate that jason Varitek managed to corral for the second out. Okajima, however, wasn't as successful with Jason Giambi, walking the slugging lefty on four pitches to tie the ballgame at six. Jason Lane followed, but struck out looking to end the rally.

With Okajima out of the game, the Sox turned to Bryan Corey to start the 10th after the teams swapped 1-2-3 halves of the ninth. After a single to Betemit was followed by a double from Abreau, Francona called upon Javier Lopez, his fourth reliever of the night. Lopez pitched well, managing to keep the ball from leaving the infield, but a pair of groundouts by Cano and pinch hitter Austin Jackson were enough to put the Yankees ahead by two.

In the bottom of the tenth, Mariano Rivera worked his second perfect inning of relief to secure the victory for New York.

Jon Lester, who did not factor into the decision for the Sox, pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out 10. The game marked the eighth time in ten starts that Lester has pitched at least seven innings. In addition, his ten strikeouts were a season high after not striking out a single batter in suffering the loss last time out against Seattle.

W: Rivera (1-4) L: Corey (1-2)
Player of the Game: Wilson Betemit (3-5, 2B, 2 Rs, RBI, BB)

Around the League:
...Boston signed CF Andruw Jones to a one-year, $1m contract...Boston traded SS Oscar Tejada, RF Brandon Moss, C Jonathan Still, 1B Bill Rowell, and 3B rob Mackowiak to Los Angeles for SS Rafael Furcal and C Carlos Santana...Tampa Bay traded SP David Price and $650k in cash to the Florida Marlins in exchange for 2B Chris Coghlan and 2B James Guerrero...San Francisco traded SP Kevin Correia to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for 1B Josh Rodriguez...Seattle released SP Eric Cyr...

Revs Bounce Back Against Dynamo

Despite playing the second half a man down after Jack Jewsbury was sent off in the 48th minute, the Revolution bounced back from their loss to Chivas by defeating Houston 2-1 on a late goal by substitute Khano Smith in the 81st minute.

Wells Thompson opened the scoring in the 30th minute, taking a rebound from a corner kick and depositing it into the net to put New England ahead 1-0.

"We played down a few guys tonight, which we weren't happy about," coach Steve Nicols said afterwards. "We have depth for a reason and being able to pull Khano and Sainey off our bench is a great option."

In a rare double carding, Jewsbury was sent off in the 48th minute after arguing a hard tackle by Thompson that resulted in a yellow card for the youngster. With Jewsbury (red card) out and Thompson (fifth yellow card) pulled for disciplinary reasons by Nicols, the Revolution pulled back into a defensive 4-3-3-1 formation to compensate.

After watching Houston tie the game in the 52nd minute, New England controled the flow of action for most of the second half, working the sidelines until Smith found a seem in the Dynamo defense late in the match. Working a give-and-go with Marshall Leonard, Smith broke in on Zack Wells and put the ball over the keeper to put the Revs ahead for good.

Thompson and Jewsbury will miss the next match for the Revolution after earning a mandatory one-game ban for their actions. The MLS disciplinary committee will meet soon to consider extending the ban on Jewsbury. The Revolution has decided to fine the midfielder one week's wages for the incident.

Bruins Complete Free Agent Shopping

Running out of roster spaces and cap room, the Bruins appear poised to enter training camp with their current roster, GM Peter Chiarelli said.

"We've added enough guys now, that it would be overkill to add more pieces."

The Bruins were still reported looking at signing Phoenix sniper Oleg Snapyrin and restricted free-agent goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, but interested has diminished as their roster has filled up.

"We want the guys we have to have a chance to prove themselves in camp. We have enough depth with the guys coming up from Providence like Bourque, Albert and Boyes to show themselves ready. The coaching staff has been great down there developing guys and now its time to prove themselves."

Prominent free agents still available include Saprykin, Scott Gomez, Joe Thornton, Nicklas Lidstrom, Marian Hossa, Paul Kariya and Jaromir Jagr. All are likely out of the Bruins price range at this point.

[BostonRS14]

July 27, 2008

Bullpen Falters Again, Yanks Sweep Sox
New York 4, Boston 3

Even though their 3.91 ERA ranks best in the American League, the Red Sox bullpen has not looked strong as of late, especially with closer Jonathan Papelbon on the disabled list.

The Yankees capitalized once again against the struggling pitching staff and, with the victory, pulled within 2.5 games of the Red Sox in the AL East. Not since June 18th (Sox +3.5), have the Yankees been anywhere near this close in the division.

Trailing 2-0 after two, the Red Sox took the lead after Coco Crisp hit a solo home run in the third and J.D. Drew added a two-run shot in the fourth.

Tim Wakefield made the one run lead hold up over seven strong innings, holding the Yankees to just the two runs on five hits while walking three and striking out four. Mike Mussina matched Wakefield for much of the game, allowing three runs on four hits over seven and two-thirds, but it was the bullpens that made the difference.

Lee Gronkiewicz and Hideki Okajima combined to allow two runs in the ninth to sink the Sox. With one outs, Bobby Abreu and Melky Cabrera singled off Gronkiewicz. After a ground out by pinch hitter Eric Duncan advanced the runners to second and third, Johny Damon singled off Okajima to clear the bases and put the Yankees ahead by one.

In the bottom half of the inning, Manny Ramirez single to lead off the inning, but Kyle Farnsworth induced a double play from Kevin Youkilis before J.D. Drew struck out to end the game.

W: Hawkins (1-2) L: Okajima (2-2) SV: Farnsworth (2)
Player of the Game: J.D. Drew (3-4, 2B, HR (11), R, 2 RBIs)

Around the League:
...Texas Rangers traded 1B Michael Aubrey to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for MR Julio Manon...

[BostonRS14]

Anaheim Angels v. Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park, Boston, Ma

In the midst of a four game losing streak, with the New York Yankees hot on the tails, the Red Sox enter a pivotal stretch with the Anaheim Angels coming to town.

Anaheim (49-55) are currently in fourth place in the American League West, 8.5 games behind the Texas Rangers (58-47) and 14.5 behind the Yankees in the Wild Card race. Their offense has let them down this season, as thy rank 14th in the AL in scoring (441 runs) while their pitching staff ranks 3rd in runs allowed (465) with their starters compiling a 4.10 ERA (3rd) and their bullpen a 3.46 ERA (4th).

Against the Red Sox this season, Anaheim is 2-4.

Boston's struggles this month have been well documented, as their 10-11 stretch this month has cut their lead in the division down to 2.5 games ahead of the Yankees. Despite their slump, the Sox still rank third in the AL in runs scored (532) and 2nd in OBP (.339).

Pitching Matchups:
7/28: Clay Buchholz (9-4, 4.77 ERA) v. Dustin Moseley (4-8, 7.46)
7/29: Josh Beckett (10-4, 3.73) v. John Lackey (7-5, 3.09)
7/30: Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-6, 3.20) v. Ervin Santana (10-2, 2.29)