Okajima more of a stopper than Rivera?

An interesting stat from Rotoworld.com: "Does anything sum up the 2007 edition of the rivalry better than this? Neither Papelbon nor Mariano Rivera have missed any time due to injury this season, yet the Red Sox's backup closer now has more saves (four) than the Yankees' future Hall of Famer (three)." Meanwhile, Papelbon boasts of 13 saves, good for fifth in the American League, though he has the lowest ERA (1.86) of anyone else in the top five.

Hinske's Big Night

Source: MLB.com

Sox Knocks: Drew and Beckett out

The Boston Globe is reporting today that J.D. Drew will sit out of tonight's game after crashing into the wall in right field in last night's loss to the Tigers, resulting in a bruised back. This after The Boston Herald's Jeff Horrigan reports that Josh Beckett is unlikely to make his next start (scheduled for Friday), after suffering an avulsion (cut resulting in a skin flap) on his right middle finger in Sunday night's game against Baltimore. These are just the first two bumps along the road for the Sox (Mike Timlin's two disabled list stints would mean a lot more if the Sox bullpen wasn't tearing up the league), and how they manage on the field during the absence of their best starter and their number five hitter will go a long way to show just how deep and committed to winning this team is.

Picture courtesy of BostonHerald.com

Kudos, Litsch

The Toronto Blue Jays, reeling from an unruly number of injuries (nine players on the disabled list, including starters Roy Halladay, Gustavo Chacin, John Thomson, and Victor Zambrano) brought up former Tampa Bay bat-boy Jesse Litsch to start today's game against Baltimore. Litsch didn't wilt under the pressure of his major league debut, responding to the call-up by going 8 2/3 innings deep and allowing one run to earn Toronto (and Litsch) the win. Said Litsch after the game: "It's probably the best day of my life. I never thought it would happen that way but it's a great experience." Having gone 5-1 with a 0.96 ERA in his six double-A starts this season, it's very possible that the Jays have found themselves something to be happy about in this disappointing first quarter of the season.





Photo courtesy of MLB.com
Source: ESPN.com

Holy Crap! Sox come back.

In one of the craziest ninth inning comebacks ever, the Sox managed to overcome their 5-0 deficit to the Orioles on Sunday, giving those fans who opted to stick around in Fenway Park (my unfortunate sister not included) a run for their money. It all ended on a Julio Lugo ground-ball that turned into a walk-off error by former Sox first-baseman Kevin Millar (though the error should technically belong to the pitcher for his poor catch - Millar's throw was on target). Just insane, and all the drama any Sox fan could ask for.

051307_balbos_bos_9th_home_tp
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Sox wrap up Angels series in style

Though the four-game series is technically not over until the two teams make up the game that was rained out yesterday, the Red Sox still managed to defeat the Angels in three games this weekend, scoring 25 runs to LA's three. Today's 7-2 win put the icing on the cake, capping off the series with a homerun for David Ortiz and some nice defense from Julio Lugo, who made perhaps the best play of the young season for Boston when he made this sliding catch in center field. The Angels are hardly the worst team in the league, and the offensive breakout of the Sox (coupled with the slew of injuries in the New York's already-weak starting rotation) gives more evidence of the fact that the Sox are the team to beat in the league this season.

There can only be one reason why I'm grinning like this...

I got Red Sox tickets for tomorrow! I'm gonna see Daisuke in his Fenway Debut! :-D So stoked. Watch for pictures.

It's just opening day, people!

Dan Shaughnessy is extremely pleased with himself, isn't he? He's probably the only man in Boston who's happy to see Curt Schilling struggle in his opening day start against the Kansas City Royals.

"Where to start? Blogmaster Schilling threw like a man suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, yielding five runs on eight hits and two walks in just four innings. 38pitches? That's almost how many Schill needed to get out of the first inning, when he threw 33 and walked home a run. It was his shortest outing since July 2001 and hardly a good start to his 2007 campaign for a new contract."

While Shaughnessy is mostly right about Schilling, and I'll agree that Curt is mostly a tool and runs his mouth too much, this whole war between the pitcher and the journalist has gotten a bit out of hand. Shaughnessy's obsession with Schilling is wholly unprofessional and will only give the Globe a bad reputation among athletes. Schilling's constant rebuttals via his 38pitches blog and elsewhere show that he's spending a bit too much time listening to the media and not focusing on his gameplay.

That said, you never see Schilling fail to log at least five innings in a game. For all you Boston fans who are currently freaking out because you think the season is over based on one game, just calm down. Even if Schilling sucks this season, the rotation does not rest on his shoulders (no matter what he seems to believe). You're going to see some big years from a couple guys named Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett, so just quell the riots, will ya?

*Update* Bullpen: Snyder to fill #7 slot, Lopez to fill in for Timlin

As I expected because of his lack of options and his performance during spring training, the Sox have opted to keep Kyle Snyder in the bullpen to begin the season. What surprises me a little (after comments made last year by Francona that carrying a lefty specialist can be wasteful and taxing on the manager in late innings) is the decision to allow Javier Lopez to fill in for Mike Timlin while the veteran setup man is on the shelf with on oblique strain. Of course, the team projects Timlin to be back on the roster by the April 10th home opener, so Lopez won't be with the team for long, but I still would have expected them to carry Bryan Corey or Manny Delcarmen before Lopez. Is this Francona's way of saying that he doesn't have as much confidence in newly acquired lefty J.C. Romero as needed?

Wang to hit DL, Pavano to hit rubber

In anticipation of ace Chien-Ming Wang beginning the season on the disabled list, the Yankees have named a new opening day starter. Mussina? No. Pettite? No. Uhhh...Igawa? No.

Yup, Joe Torre has announced that because of scheduling issues, neither Mussina not Pettite will be able to open the season. That leaves an unproven rookie or a somewhat proven veteran who hasn't pitched in almost two years. So I guess Pavano was the lesser of two evils in this situation. What a farce. The loss of Wang will prove to be a huge blow to the rotation in New York for the first part of the season, and Pavano's opening day start will prove to be representative of the entire season - roughly patching up a dismal rotation and praying the offense and bullpen can win enough games to get the Yankees into the post-season. It's worked in the past, and in all likelihood will work again --- but one has to wonder how long their division-winning streak will last.

Duhhhh....

Hey I finally figured out how to correct the timestamp on my blog so it doesn't post Pacific time! Now my posts aren't three hours off. hurray!

This and that...

So I finally finished all those Red Sox v. Yankees pieces, and it only took two months! What a difference a vacation from work makes.

-This Manny Ramirez grill business is ridiculous. The grill didn't even belong to him (it was his neighbor's), and the fact that bids for it on eBay reached the website's highest possible sum of $99,999,999.99 makes me think I just puked a little bit in my mouth. Luckily eBay pulled the grill from the site, as Ramirez's ownership of it could not, indeed, be verified. Gee, if I'd known that any item that a superstar gets his picture taken next to is immediately worth $100 million I'd have started my collection long ago...

-David Wright an MVP favorite? On Cold Pizza this morning, Jay Crawford referred to talking head (and Met's third baseman) David Wright as a favorite for the MVP vote. Now I'm as big a fan of Wright's as anyone this side of the Connecticut border, but I find it hard to believe in him as the favorite for MVP over Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols. Top ten in voting? Absolutely. Number one? Not likely.

-La Russa the sleep-driver. You idiot! You may or may not be one of the best managers in baseball, but for God's sake, man! If you've had to much to drink (or anything to drink, or even if you're sober) get a damn limo. Even if you're too cheap for a limo, get a damn cab! Way to go ruining your name and reputation for all the fans in St. Louis, smart-guy.

-Top cops bully Biggio into removing pin. C'mon Commissioner's Office! You're telling me that with all the negatives going on in baseball today, this is what you're actually going to show some real action on? If he was wearing the pin during the regular season, that would be a different store. But it's the gosh-flashugnah Grapefruit League! He wasn't hurting ANYONE, he wasn't improving his play AT ALL, and he was in fact representing a good cause! Score one for the tough guys.

*Update* Bullpen: Papelbon to close it out

As I mentioned earlier, and as has been suggested by ESPN all day, Terry Francona announced today that Jonathan Papelbon will indeed be the Red Sox closer for at least the 2007 season. Paps says that closing games is what he wants to do for the rest of his career, but there's no telling what the Sox will do with him after this season, especially regarding the development of Craig Hansen and Bryce Cox. As for who will take Papelbon's slot in the rotation - well that will be former #5 starter Tim Wakefield. Duhhhhhh. Filling Wakefield's #5 slot is going to be Julian Tavarez, at least to start the season. This makes me think that the Sox are going to go extra hard after Roger Clemens as it seems like there is more of a need for him with Papelbon in the bullpen. Keep an eye on The Baseball Beat for further updates.

PS: At the risk of tooting my own horn a bit, I'd just like to point out that I actually scooped the Boston Globe on this story. My "rumors and speculations" post earlier today came at about 1:00pm (10:02am PT as seen in the timestamp) while the Globe made no mention of the Sox's intentions to move Papelbon into the bullpen until a 2:26pm post in the Extra Bases blog.

Rumors and Speculations 1.0

Closer problem solved? ESPN is reporting that an announcement could be made after today's exhibition game against the Phillies that Jonathan Papelbon is indeed headed back into the bullpen. I'm not sure who would be the fifth starter, but there's no denying Papelbon's value closing out games. He would be a definite boon in the biggest question mark the Sox face this spring.

A-Rod to Boston? The Yankees are saying they have no intention of extending A-Rod's contract and will not enter a bidding war with other teams if he decides to opt out of his contract after this season. Mike Lowell's contract is up at the end of the year, and the Sox will be looking for a third-baseman. Chances are A-Rod will not play for the Sox and may even wish to change back to his natural shortstop position, but a boy can dream, right?

Trade possibility null? The Phillies have been shopping starter Jon Lieber all spring, and yesterday announced that Lieber would start the season in the bullpen. Well it wasn't long before Freddy Garcia hurt his right bicep, leaving the Phillies with no choice but to slot Lieber back into the rotation. True, the Sox have previously said that they were not interested in picking up Lieber, but that was before this business about moving Papelbon back into the bullpen began to heat up again today.

Wells has Diabetes

David Wells, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Not that I'm incredibly surprised that an overweight 43-year old would end up with the disease, but this is never good news. I've known plenty of people with diabetes (overweight or no) and it's not a fun disease to live with. I wish Wells the best both in his upcoming season with the Padres and in controlling his diabetes in the future.

A picture really is worth a thousand words...

I know I'm getting a little behind on this thing, it's just been really crazy at work and etc. lately (and I've been playing with my new phone too much lately.) However, I promise my last two Sox vs. Yankees pieces (DH and bullpen) will be posted before the season starts, as well as my picks for the 2007 season.

In the meantime, I saw this picture on Over the Monster and thought it was hilarious.
Thank goodness for those clever photo- graphers down in Florida.

*Update* NESN broadcast schedule

Probably because of all the media attention focused on new Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka down in Fort Meyers, NESN has decided to air the annual Red Sox vs. Boston College exhibition game. Dice-K is scheduled to start the game; chances are the network will air the innings he pitches and that's about it, just as ESPN did in Roger Clemens' first minor league start last season. Watch for the Japanese sensation to pitch March 2 at 6:00 pm on NESN.

JSUK: Red Sox Televised Exhibition Schedule

Feb 28, 7:05 pm - vs. MIN on NESN
Mar 3, 1:05 pm - vs. PHI on NESN
Mar 7, 1:05 pm - vs. NYM on NESN
Mar 12, 7:05 pm - vs. NYY on NESN
Mar 17, 1:05 pm - vs. CIN on NESN
Mar 18, 1:05 pm - @ BAL on NESN
Mar 21, 1:05 pm - @ PIT on ESPN
Mar 22, 1:05 pm - @ PHI on ESPN
Mar 26, 1:05 pm - @ CIN on ESPN
Mar 28, 7:05 pm - @ MIN on NESN

Foulke's Joke: $5 Million? No Thanks.

Keith Foulke will never be able to top his great performance in the 2004 postseason and throwing the final pitch of the World Series. That's because today he's going to announce his retirement from baseball; this, after signing a $5 million dollar contract to contend for the Cleveland Indian's closer job.

"I'm not going to be a middle bullpen, 5.00 ERA guy," Foulke told reporters at the Boston Globe. "Either I can come back and be a dominant pitcher, or I'll take it to the house." Apparently he felt discomfort in his throwing elbow during his first day of spring training, and then and there decided to shut himself down. I was a huge fan of Foulke and his finesse style of pitching. I used to get chills watching him throw a fastball for strike one, another fastball for strike two, and then his famous changeup for strike three. I can't count how many times I saw that happen -- baseball's three and out -- yet it never got old. I'm sorry things turned out this way for Foulke, and I hope he finds success in whatever he decides to do.

Bye, Bye Lenny!

The Sox yesterday lost a real dirt dog when left handed pitcher Lenny Dinardo was claimed off waivers by the Oakland A's. Lenny has by no means been the most spectacular pitcher for the Sox since they acquired him from the Mets in the 2003 rule-5 draft. Yet for some reason I've always liked the guy. He did anything the Sox asked of him, constantly shuttling between Pawtucket and Boston and between the rotation and the bullpen. I have it on good authority that Dinardo is pissed about the move, and he may even retire rather than pitch for Oakland. It's a shame that the front office should take such a cold approach with such a nice guy and a good pitcher. We'll miss you buddy!