Cool Stat on Paps

from a.j. lavinius

Jonathan Papelbon recorded a rare "super-save" last night, striking out three consecutive batters to end the game with the tying run at third base. It was the first such save in 20 years and only the fifth since the save rule was instituted in 1969.

The batters who fanned against Papelbon were Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton, and Carl Crawford, who have batted in the same inning 422 times. This was only the sixth time that all three struck out.

Red Sox LFs: An Unprecedented Run

The Red Sox have had 8 LFs since 1939:

Teddy Ballgame (1939-1960)
Carl Yaz (1960-1975, moved to 1B/DH)
Jim Rice (1975-1987)
Mike Greenwell (1987-1996)
Wil Cordero (1997)
Troy O'Leary (1998-2000)
Manny Ramirez (2001-2008)
Jason Bay (2008-present)

Very impressive considering two of the eight played 3 years or less.

Oh, those Red Sox left fielders! Circa 2007

John W. Henry to enter into holy matrimony...again

Red Sox owner John Henry is getting married again. Henry, whose divorce from his second wife, Peggy, was finalized last year, proposed to Linda Pizzuti (inset) in New York, and the pair is planning to get married in June. "We are happily engaged," the raven-haired bride-to-be confirmed in a text message to us yesterday. It will be the first marriage for Pizzuti, who has been dating the millionaire businessman since she was introduced to him last summer at Alibi, the bar at the Liberty Hotel. Henry, the 59-year-old founder of the Boca Raton-based investment firm John W. Henry & Co., has one daughter from his 14-year marriage to Peggy. He was also married once before.

Pizzuti, 30, is from Lynnfield, and she and her family are in the real estate development business.

Hope negotiating the pre-nup was easier than Tek's contract

Red Sox Top 11 Prospects: From Baseball Prospectus

Future Shock
Red Sox Top 11 Prospects
by Kevin Goldstein


BOSTON RED SOX

Five-Star Prospects
1. Lars Anderson, 1B
2. Michael Bowden, RHP

Four-Star Prospects
3. Josh Reddick, RF
4. Daniel Bard, RHP [side note: Cooch has seen this guy pitching for the Sea Dogs; dude hit 101 on the radar a couple of times and his heat was consistently in the 98-100mph range. However, he had zero control over his breaking balls.]

Three-Star Prospects
5. Ryan Westmoreland, CF
6. Casey Kelly, RHP/SS
7. Michael Almanzar, 3B
8. Nick Hagadone, LHP
9. Junichi Tazawa, RHP
10. Bryan Price, RHP
11. Ryan Kalish, CF

Just Missed: Derek Gibson, SS; Yamaico Navarro, SS; Stolmey Pimentel, RHP

Ranking Challenges:
Anderson was a clear choice to top this list, and Bowden edges in behind him at second by being a touch ahead of the two four-star prospects. There are difficulties with all of the players from there on down, as they have a wide, even array of attributes and faults; youth, upside, and a lack of experience, as well as injuries to players like Westmoreland, Hagadone, and Kalish (and the last still has lingering concerns about wrist surgery he had before the '08 season). Tazawa's circumstances are unusual as well, as he's a Japanese player who is not quite ready for The Show, and has a performance record that is impossible to evaluate accurately. From the fifth spot to the last, it's all about the scouting reports, and based very little on the respective performances.

Theo Epstein keeps streak alive

With Papelbon signed, Theo keeps his streak alive of never going to arbitration in his career as Red Sox GM.

As of today...

the Sox do not have a catcher on their active roster.

(then again, you could have made that argument last year. Nyuck nyuck!)

WHAT THE FUCK...

...IS MIKE TIMLIN DOING ON THE ALCS ROSTER?

Bring on the Rays!

Man what an intense series! I was on the edge of my couch and pacing my living room. When I was out at a bar for game 2, I was screaming at the TV as if I was home.

Sox looked like they were gonna cruise to a series win after taking the first two in Anaheim. Then they came back home and dropped game 3 in a game where the final score didn't indicate how badly the Angels dominated that game. Game 4 with Lester on the hill you had to feel confident. He was dominant yet again pitching 7 innings of scoreless ball. He's now gone 21+ innings in the post-season without allowing an earned run. He's turning into a dominating post-season pitcher before our eyes, seemingly taking on Beckett's role this year.

In the series-concluding game 4, the Sox took a 2-0 lead into the 8th. Lester at 109 pitches was done for the evening, under his own admission. Okajima comes in. He retires Figgins and Anderson on ground balls. Two outs, nobody on, Teixiera comes up. Inexplicably Oki walks him on four pitches. An absolute NO-NO in a 2-0 game especially with a guy coming up with the ability to tie the game on one swing. Oki is pulled at that point for Masterson.

Masterson gets ahead of Vladdy 0-2...one strike away from getting out of the inning. He ends up walking Vladdy putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Hunter is the next batter. Sox are still in good shape, just gotta retire Toriiiiiii. Another inexplicability takes place as Masterson and Tek get crossed up (Tek was expecting slider, Masterson threw a fastball) and the ball goes to the backstop, advancing the runners. Now all of a sudden two walks and a wild pitch has runners on 2nd and 3rd.

At this point, I was not feeling good about things. My fears were realized when Hunter singled through the right side which scored both runners and tied the game. Just like that, they seized the momentum and I had thoughts of the series going back to Cali.

The Sox went meekly in the bottom of the 8th. Top of the 9th Masterson is back out there. Future HOF candidate Kendry Morales leads off the inning with a double. The runner is bunted over to 3rd giving LAAA a runner on 3rd and one out. Tito's seen enough and yanks Masterson. In comes Manny Delcarmen who to his credit has found a nutsack since getting vilified by L&C. His juevos would be needed now more than ever in this situation. They had to keep this run from scoring, or the series could very well be tied 2-2 going back to their crib with all the momentum on their side and the season resting on an erratic Dice-K. MDC had to come through here.

Welp, enter Michael Scoscia, Angels manager, who the TBS cameras loved panning into the dugout of every 30 seconds, but that's another story. He thought it would be a good idea to employ a suicide squeeze in that situation with Erick Aybar. On a 2-0 pitch, they tried pulling it off. Aybar whiffs on the bunt and pinch runner Reggie Willits is caught in no-man's land between 3rd and home. Tek immediately runs at him and chases him back towards 3rd. He pump fakes but decides to keep the ball and applies the tag just before Willits got back to 3rd. The ball popped out of Tek's glove, but the tag had already been applied.

The Sox seized all the momentum back at that point. We all know what happened in the bottom of the 9th. Bay's bloop double which went in the stands, Kotsay's scorching liner which found its way into the diving Teixiera's glove, and my man Lowrie's single through the right side just out of the reach of Howie Kendrick with two out which scored Bay who slid home with the winning run.

Phenomenal series. Pins and needles the whole time. It was only appropriate the Sox beat the Angels on a walk-off.

Now it's a date with the Rays for the AL championship.

Manny speaks candidly about Boston

It's not what Sox fans want to necessarily hear, but I appreciate his honestly. A lot of this stuff doesn't come as a surprise to knowledgeable Sox fans.

"Every day I thank God I came here and had the chance to show people who I really am," he says. "The guy you see here -- that's who I am."

"The first time I stepped foot in Boston, I said to myself, 'Whoa.' I told Pedro Martinez, 'Damn, man, I just want to get traded and get out of here; this place is not me.' I was unhappy for eight years in Boston but still put up great numbers."

"Baseball in Boston is like a Sunday football game, but played every day," he says.

"We lose in L.A., I go to breakfast and people say, 'Well, you'll get them tomorrow.' In Boston, it's 'Hey, what's going on, the Yankees are coming.'

"It's just a different atmosphere. The fans in Boston got your back no matter what, but I'm talking about the people who write all this bull because it means so much to them. If your happiness depends on Boston winning or losing, you have to get a life."

"I would bring my kids to the park and I want my kids to be kids, but there'd be people trying to interview them. That's so stupid," Ramirez says. "I'd go to the parking lot after the game and 20 people I didn't know would be offering food, CDs and things -- then wanting something in return.

"Here the game ends, I go to the elevator, my car and no one bothers me."

Things went so sour in Boston, the team insisted on medical tests when he said he could not play. He didn't always run hard, and there was suspicion he struck out on purpose.

"I love to hit, to compete and would never do that; that's just people looking for stuff," he says, while admitting he now runs everything out in L.A., "and I don't even have to think about it."

That suggests he wasn't running everything out in Boston, and while he tries to explain, he's interrupted. There's no explanation for such behavior after signing a contract and being paid $20 million a year to give his all.

"You're right," he says. "You're right."

He wants to leave Boston behind, but a few weeks back Curt Schilling felt it necessary to let everyone know Ramirez is no team player. Funny, some say the same about Schilling.

"I don't wish him anything bad, although it did make me madder and play harder to show everyone who I am," Ramirez says. "I don't disrespect or takes shots at anyone. I don't want someone going to one of my sons and saying your dad is a punk and talks bad about people behind their backs."

"In many ways I'm like my mom, who doesn't curse, is always laughing and having fun. I strike out three times, and while I'm upset in my mind, I don't show it. I just tell myself I will come back the next day and go three for four."

"People think I don't take this seriously, but then why am I up early every morning working with the strength coach? I'm just playing around to keep everyone loose. When I was in Cleveland I asked a sportswriter if I could borrow $50,000 to buy a motorcycle. He wrote it like I was serious.

"It's just great here; I don't feel like I'm in a cage. The fans in L.A. are unbelievable -- never in my 16 years have I received such a reception."

Full Article

Byrd vs. the Birds: Redux

Guess what? Byrd will be matched up against Toronto again. Friday....

Tris Speaker, Wade Boggs, and Dustin Pedroia

Who are the only Red Sox members to have 200 hits and 50 doubles in the same season?

Cash is STILL Money

Byrd vs. the Birds

With his start today against the Blue Jays, Paul Byrd will have faced the Blue Birds in 4 of his last 7 starts. He is 2-1 w/ a 4.03 ERA against the Jays this season.

Youk...

Youk is the Sox' official team leader in HRs (25) and RBIs (97). Jason Bay has actually hit 26 HRs, but only 4 official AL HRs.

Theo: You da man!

You had a ticking time bomb in Manny Ramirez and got us Jason Bay for him. In the same deal, you dumped the enigmatic Craig Hansen and a decent spare outfielder in Brandon Moss that didn't fit into the equation. In the process you fixed that little thing called "clubhouse chemistry" and the team is 21-9 since the trade as of this post.

You resisted temptation with Johan this past spring and instead held onto our talented youngsters Lester, Masterson, and Lowrie. You drove the price up for the Yankees to the point the Twins traded him out of the AL.

You picked up Bartolo Colon from the scrap pile and he ended up giving us some nice starts before he got injured.

You picked up Paul Byrd in a waiver wire transaction for a box of David's sunflower seeds when the back of our rotation was either injured (Wakes, Colon) or just dropping deuces on oneself (Buchholz). What an improvement he's been over the former Mancrush V.2.

You picked up Mark Kotsay for three Slim Jim's and a Powerbar and the early returns are good on that as well.

Gotta say that Sean Casey has been great for the bench and the clubhouse as well.

Just to put into perspective the job Theo has done; last year the Sox used the DL nine times. This year, the Sox have used it 20 times. Rather than fold or use it as an excuse, the team is playing its best ball of the season, and appear to be a virtual lock for a playoff berth with a five game wild card lead.

Here's to you, Theo!

Dice-BB

Number of times Dice-BB has walked:

0 batters in a game: 3
1 batter in a game: 1
2 batters in a game: 6
3 batters in a game: 6
4 batters in a game: 2
5 batters in a game: 5
6 batters in a game: 2
7 batters in a game: 0
8 batters in a game: 1

A little Dustin Pedroia for MVP love

AL RANKS

BA: .327 (1ST)
RUNS: 107 (1ST)
HITS: 185 (1ST)
DOUBLES: 42 (T-3RD)
OBP: .374 (18TH)
OPS: .863 (21ST)
RBI: 70 (T-29TH)

Dude gets serious consideration based on the first four cats listed, but he checks in with very respectable marks in OBP, OPS, and RBI.

Just checked his game log and I counted 57 multi-hit games! :O

Paul Byrd: "I can't say enough about my second baseman. This guy, in my opinion, is the MVP of the league. He's unbelievable. I didn't know he was that good when I came over here."

Ozzie Guillen: "A lot of people talk about Manny [Ramirez] leaving. I wish Pedroia was leaving" (Pedroia went 9 for 12 in a recent series against the Pale Hose)

From 9/1's post-game recap: Pedroia, who hit .374 in August and closed the month going 9-for-12, scored 33 runs last month, the most for the Red Sox since Dom DiMaggio and Billy Goodwin had 35 in 1950, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Bulldog. Intimidator.

August 18, 2008: MDC still sucks

Lavinius: Stuff-wise he's about an 8. Head-wise he's about a 3.
Fucker drives me crazy.

Cooch: About as reliable a a 1994 Yugo.

Lavinius: and a 2007 Lugo.

RED SOX DON'T WANT THIS SERIES TO EVER END

he Red Sox concluded their three-game series against the Rangers with a 10-0 win. Boston had a 10-0 lead in the first game and an 8-0 margin on Wednesday. It's the first time in Red Sox history that they've had a lead of 8-0 or more in each of three consecutive games, and over the last 46 seasons the only other team to do that was the Indians in September 1986. (Maybe it was those three games that convinced Sports Illustrated to call the Indians the "best team in the American League" in its 1987 baseball preview issue.)

The Red Sox scored 37 runs in the series against Texas, tying the most by any major league team in a three-game series this season. The White Sox had 37 against the Pirates in June and the Tigers had 37 vs. the Rangers in April.

The Red Sox have scored that many runs in a three-game series only one other time over the last 55 seasons, when they had 45 in a series against the Marlins in June 2003.

From Elias Sports Bureau