Thursday, April 24, 2008

Cursed Ortiz Jersey Sold to Highest Bidder

I'm a little behind, but for those of you who haven't yet heard, the cursed Ortiz jersey sold on eBay for a whopping $175,100. And even better, shipping was free. I wonder if that contributed to the high bids.











Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Another win for the Sox

After last night's victory over the Los Angeles Angels, the Sox are 9 and 1 when Ellsbury leads off. Ellsbury homered off the fifth pitch of the game and scored the winning run when Pedrioa hit a ground ball off Angels' pitcher Scot Shields.

After Ellsbury's lead-off homer, the Angels were up 5-1, but Lugo had an RBI single in the fourth, Youkilis tied it up with a 2-run homer, Pedroia broke the tie in the eighth with a RBI double, and Papi singled to bring Pedroia home.

Replacing Beckett (who's battling the flu) was emergency starter David Pauley, called up from Pawtucket. Starting in his fourth major league game, Pauley gave up five runs during 4 1/3 innings.

Timlin got the win before Papelbon came in to achieve his eighth save. The final score was 7-6.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Sox sweep Rangers

Buccholz, now 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA, pitched six shutout innings during yesterday's victory over the Rangers. It was also the ninth game in which the Red Sox scored at least five runs.

The Sox were able to defeat the Rangers even though Manny had the day off (somewhat surprising after getting ejected from Sunday's game for arguing what he thought was a bad call). After a horrible start to his season, Ortiz managed two doubles and three RBIs...not too shabby.

Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Lugo all had multi-hit games, contributing to eight runs scored in the fourth and fifth innings. All Sox runs were scored against Texas reliever Dustin Nippert, who replaced Kason Gabbard after just two innings. Nippert gave up nine hits and eight runs in less than three innings.

Rookie Jed Lowrie (who I personally have had my eye on since his start last week) pushed down a bunt in the fourth, advancing J.D. Drew who had walked to first. Both of them scored.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Red Sox will go green on Earth Day

The Boston Red Sox will sport a special green logo on the left sleeves of their uniforms to mark Earth Day when they play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

Earth Day plans also include a pre-game presentation of an Environmental Merit Award to the Red Sox by officials from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Red Sox said.

(The green logo shown at right will be worn only for this game, a Red Sox spokesman said.)

The award recognizes the Sox for environmental initiatives at Fenway, which include the installation of solar powered trash compactors around the park and the installation of solar panels that will soon help heat water at the park, the club said.

EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson and John H. Adams, founding director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, are scheduled to take part in a ceremonial first pitch, the Red Sox added.

In September, the Sox, in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, announced a five-year plan to bring green practices to Fenway Park; the plan is scheduled to culminate in 2012 in time for Fenway's 100th anniversary celebration.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Status Update: Alex Cora

Cora at bat against the Yankess last April (Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis)


Francona announced Alex Cora (utility infielder extraordinaire and University of Miami alum) will not return to the line-up until he has fully healed. Cora went on the disabled list April 10 after spraining his right elbow.


Click here to access his player page.

Friday, April 18, 2008

"Yankees Curse" Jersey for Sale

Remember that Ortiz jersey buried at the Yankees' new stadium? The Jimmy Fund is auctioning it off on eBay, with the current bid at $36,300. Check it out here.

Another Win for Beckett

Thanks to Manny's two homeruns (nos. 494 and 495 in the second and third, respectively), the Sox beat the Yankees 7-5 last night. And Beckett was throwing fire, almost for an entire game. Over the course of eight innings, he allowed six hits and three runs, walked one and struck out five.

Yankee reliever Kyle Farnsworth (who came in for Mussina) almost hit Manny with a pitch at the top of the seventh, but it went behind his back. I guess that was payback for Aardsma hitting A-Rod the night before.

Even still, Manny was able to pass Lou Gehrig and Frank McGriff landing in 24th place on the all-time homerun list. Getting in shape has really paid off for Manny, who's batting .343 so far.

Other runs were scored by Ellsbury, Ortiz, and Youkilis (2).

Beckett got the win, Mussina got the loss (what a shame).

Thursday, April 17, 2008

A Forgettable Night

Not since 1954 have the Yankees scored that many runs against the Red Sox in New York. Ouch.

Both starting pitchers, Wang and Buccholz, succumbed to the other team's offense and were gone early in the game. Buccholz only pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up eight hits and seven runs.

The Sox were trailing 3-1 by the first inning after Bobby Abreu's two RBIs and A-Rod's solo shot that landed in Boston's bullpen.

But Wang wasn't looking so hot either, so the Sox were able to keep up with nine hits and eight runs before the fifth inning.

Tavarez, however, couldn't fend off the Yankees, giving up an RBI double to Jorge Posada and an RBI single to Robinson Cano.

Once Timlin came in (and threw nothing but garbage, might I add) the Yankees were able to score four more runs.

Scoring for the Sox were Pedroia (2), Ortiz (finally), Ramirez, Youkilis, Drew (2), Varitek, and Casey.

The Sox and Yankees are tied for first in the AL East.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Sox sweep Indians

Jed Lowrie hits a two-run single in the seventh inning (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)


Last night was Jed Lowrie's first major league game (after being called up from Pawtucket last week), and he made quite an impression. He drove in three runs. His first hit was a two-run single, giving the Sox a 3-2 lead. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of this guy.



Kevin Cash caught for knuckleballer Wakefield, but Varitek came in during the ninth inning to hit the third pinch-hit homer of his career and his third homer of the season.



Youkilis' RBI single cemented the Sox victory over the Indians, 5-3.



Tonight the boys head to New York for a two-game series against the Yankees. (Didn't we just take a Yankees series 2-1?)



Okajima pitched the ninth inning and got his first save. David Aardsma got the win.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sox come from behind to win

Mark Duncan/AP


The Sox and Indians were tied 4-4 in the 9th when Dustin Pedroia hit a sacrifice fly to the left, allowing Lugo to score.

However, it was Big Papi and Manny Ramirez who stole the show last night. Papi's at-bat in the 9th resulted in a bloop (what a term, huh?) that landed in front of the Indians' left fielder. Ellsbury came in to pinch-run for Papi and made it home after Manny slammed one over the left wall, tying up the game, putting the Sox in the lead. They won 6-4.

Manny's two-run homer was number 493 of his career, tying him with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for the 24-spot on the career list. Way to go, Manny! And my man Papelbon got his 5th save of the season, not too shabby.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Yankees will donate once-buried Red Sox jersey to Boston-area charity


Yankees will donate once-buried Red Sox jersey to Boston-area charity

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A construction worker's bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot.

After locating the shirt in a service corridor behind what will be a restaurant in the new Yankee Stadium, construction workers jackhammered through the concrete Sunday and pulled it out.
The team said it learned that a Red Sox-rooting construction worker had buried a shirt in the new Bronx stadium, which will open next year across the street from the current ballpark, from a report in the New York Post on Friday.

Yankees president Randy Levine said team officials at first considered leaving the shirt where it was.

"The first thought was, you know, it's never a good thing to be buried in cement when you're in New York," Levine said. "But then we decided, why reward somebody who had really bad motives and was trying to do a really bad thing?"

On Saturday, construction workers who remembered the employee, Gino Castignoli phoned in tips about the shirt's location.

"We had anonymous people come tell us where it was, and we were able to find it," said Frank Gramarossa, a project executive with Turner Construction, the general contractor on the site.
A worker at the new Yankee Stadium pulls a David Ortiz jersey out of the concrete. A Red Sox fan had placed the jersey in the concrete beneath the stadium in the hopes of jinxing the Yankees.

It took about five hours of drilling Saturday to locate the shirt under 2 feet of concrete, he said.
On Sunday, Levine and Yankees CEO Lonn Trost watched as Gramarossa and foreman Rich Corrado finished the job and pulled the shirt from the rubble.

In shreds from the jackhammers, the shirt still bore the letters "Red Sox" on the front. It was a David Ortiz jersey, No. 34.

Trost said the Yankees had discussed possible criminal charges against Castignoli with the district attorney's office.

"We will take appropriate action since fortunately we do know the name of the individual," he said.

A spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said Sunday he did not know whether any criminal charges might apply.

"It's typical Yankees," Castignoli told the Boston Herald on Monday. "It's not like I snuck in there. It didn't do any structural damage. I didn't put anyone in harm's way."

Castignoli, 46, said he became a Red Sox fan during his childhood in 1975 when he idolized slugger Jim Rice.

As construction began for the new Yankee Stadium, Castignoli said his union got after him to work on the project. The Red Sox fan was reluctant.

"I would not go near Yankee Stadium, not for all the hot dogs in the world," he told the Herald.
But he relented, and hatched the plan to plant the jersey. He said he worked just a single day at the stadium project.

"It was worth it," he said.

Levine said the shirt would be cleaned up and sent to the Jimmy Fund, a charity affiliated with Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Along with that, New York will send a Yankees Universe T-shirt, which is sold to benefit Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

"Hopefully the Jimmy Fund will auction it off and we'll take the act that was a very, very bad act and turn it into something beautiful," he said.

Spotlight on Dice-K (courtesy of espn.com)


Dice-K improved to 3-0 on the year with a win against the Yankees on Sunday, but it sure wasn't pretty. Here's a breakdown of win No. 3 for Matsuzaka:


• Tied a career-high with six walks

• Became the first Red Sox pitcher in team history to post his third victory of the year before April 14

• Improved to 4-0 in last five starts dating back to last season

• Improved career record against Yankees to 3-1

Another Win for Dice-K



Although Dice-K was a little off last night (he walked six batters and only pitched through the fifth inning), the Sox ended their series with the Yankees on a high note. Newbie David Aardsma came in to pitch two scoreless innings and was followed by Timlin (who didn't do such a great job--he gave up a homerun to Giambi in the eighth), Javier Lopez, and Manny Delcarmen.

Despite sub-par pitching by both Dice-K and Timlin, the Sox went on to defeat the Yankees 8-5.

Manny played DH, giving Ortiz, who hasn't been himself lately, the night off.

Scoring for the Sox were Ellsbury, Drew (2), Manny (2), Youkilis, Casey, and Crisp.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

BOS/NYY rivalry at it's finest?

Not only did Chien-Ming Wang pitch an entire game last night at Fenway, but the Sox only managed two hits, eventually losing to the Yankees 4-1.

Wang got the win (obviously), and Timlin (acitvated Friday from the disabled list) started off the 2008 season with a loss.

Papi still isn't looking too sharp, he's off to a 3 for 39 start. Both he and Manny were hitless last night and struck out three times.

Wang's only allowances were J.D. Drew's homer and Coco Crisp's two-out bunt single.

Scoring for the Yankees were Giambi, Matsui, Molina and Gonzales. Can I get a collective "ewww"?

Friday, April 11, 2008

Pilot grounded after Fenway flyover

Pilot grounded after Fenway flyover
National Guard deems maneuver improper
By James Vaznis
Globe Staff / April 11, 2008

Three F-16s roared toward Fenway Park, flying wingtip to wingtip. Suddenly a fourth F-16, trailing behind the formation, caught up, flew under the three F-16s, then looped up and over the formation to take its rightful spot for a perfect V formation.
more stories like this

The maneuver, performed during the Red Sox Opening Day game Tuesday, came just as the Boston Symphony Orchestra finished playing the national anthem. It elicited roaring applause and cheers from the full-capacity crowd, which clearly appreciated what it thought to be great showmanship. But as it turns out, the maneuver was improper and the Vermont Air National Guard grounded the pilot this week.

"I understand the crowd liked it, but you won't see it again," said Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Goodrow, a Guard spokesman.

The pilot, whose name was not released, conducted the maneuver to slow down after he raced to catch up with the formation already in progress, Goodrow said. But the pilot, he said, was flying at an altitude too low for such a maneuver: about 1,100 feet, rather than the sanctioned 5,000 feet or higher.

"Our highest responsibility is safety," said Goodrow, although he quickly added: "At no time during the flyover was anyone in jeopardy. . . . He's a very professional pilot, and he was in control of the plane at all times."

He also emphasized that the maneuver was not acrobatic, as it has been characterized by some spectators.

The pilot's sudden maneuver concerned at least one fan, Gina Reitano, a 39-year-old Fall River resident who sat behind the bullpen on Opening Day.

"I thought that maybe he was having trouble with the plane," said Reitano, noting she has seen four other flyovers previously that didn't include such a dramatic maneuver. "I didn't think there was any imminent danger but just that maybe something was wrong."

"The people around me were drunk so they just went, 'Whoaaa,' " she added.

John Blake, Red Sox spokesman, said the team fielded no complaints about the maneuver and hasn't had a chance to talk to the Guard about it.

"I'm not an expert on flyovers," Blake said.

"If something was amiss, I wouldn't have known."

The pilot will go through remedial training before being allowed to fly again.

Amalie Benjamin of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Sarah M. Gantz contributed to this report.

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

Lowell to DL

Mike Lowell sprained hs thumb during the first inning of Wednesday night's game, and, after undergoing an MRI at Mass General Hospital, he was put on the 15-day disabled list.

The "Iron Man" played through a sprained left thumb last season, only missing a few games, but this seams to be an injury he can't shake off. This sprain is apparently way more severe than last season's.

As a result, Sox called up up Jed Lowrie from the triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. This will probably mean more playtime for Youkilis at third base and Sean Casey at first.

According to today's Metro, although both Youkilis and Casey are defensively above-average, "the injury removes a middle-of-the-order bat from Boston's lineup and breaks up their Gold Glove bookends at first and third."

In other news, the Sox have moved up from the bottom of the barrel and now trail both Baltimore and Toronto with 4 wins, 5 losses. The Bronx Bombers visit Boston this weekend for the first Sox/Yankees match-up this season. Tonight, Buccholz (0-1) will face Yankee pitcheer Wang (2-o). The game begins at 7:05pm.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Opening Day at Fenway

Click here to see my Flickr photos.

I can't think of a better way to spend an April afternoon than watching the 2007 World Champion Red Sox come home with my Dad, in town to take me to the opener. Not only did I meet Peter Gammons (and Bill Mueller's first cousin, but that's neither here nor there), I got to hold a replica World Series trophy and ring. That didn't hold a candle, however, to watching the boys get their rings and raise the 2007 World Series banner over Fenway.

The festivities began with some of Boston's most revered World Champs entering the stadium with their hardware. Bill Buckner's return and the incredible welcome he received mean all is finally forgiven, as it should've been from the beginning.

The Boston Pops played the national anthem, and the ceremony concluded with an Air Force flyover. And finally, Johnny Pesky was called on to utter those two words we all love to hear: "Let's play ball!"

Steven Tyler returned to the town where his band started to dedicate his rendition of "America the Beautiful" to both the Red Sox and our troops abroad, and a pre-recorded rendition of Neil Diamond performing the Sox anthem, "Sweet Caroline," played during the 8th inning.

Oh yeah, and there was a game.

Dice-K returned to the mound more at ease than he was last season, pitching 6 2/3 innings and striking out seven, en route to his second win and a 1.47 ERA. Youkilis, Ramirez, Drew, and Lugo all scored, and Manny hustled for a rare head-first slide triple.

Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima closed out the 5-0 shutout, leaving the Tigers 0-7.

And our beloved Gary Sheffield went 0 for 4.

FINAL: Boston 5, Detroit 0

Monday, April 7, 2008

OPENING DAY IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!!

After 18 days it'll be nice to have the boys home. I can't wait to see Dice-K pitch tomorrow (his 3rd start of the season) agains the Tigers (0-6). He's 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against the tigers.

Hopefully there will be a repeat performance by Dice-K, who only allowed two hits and struck out nine during his stint against the A's.

Pitching for the Tigers tomorrow will be Kenny Rogers, who's only 0-1 so far this season and 11-8 with a 4.81 ERA in 47 career appearances against the Red Sox. Considering how poorly the Tigers have played this season, there really won't be any excuse if they defeat the Sox... especially on OPENING DAY.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Sox swept by Blue Jays

Beckett just couldn't make it happen today (his first game after being activated from the DL).

Ellsbury homered in the top of the 3rd, Varitek homered in the top of the 5th, J.D. Drew homered in the top of the 7th, and Youk scored when Big Papi singled in the top of the 8th. Clearly offense wasn't the problem.

In his 4 2/3 innings, Beckett gave up five runs, three hits and four walks; he struck out six. He's just trying to find his stride. He'll be back.

W: Halladay (1-1) L: Beckett (0-1) S: Accardo (3)

Final match-up in Toronto

Click here to buy tickets.

Sox keep struggling in Toronto

Boston pitchers Kyle Snyder and Bryan Corey blew a close game yesterday in Toronto, giving up a total of six runs.

Snyder came in during the 6th and walked the first two batters, and during Corey's trip to the mound Toronto shortstop David Eckstein hit a two-run single, followed by an RBI double and an RBI single.

To make matters worse, DH Frank Thomas finished the Sox off with two-run shot on a 3-2 pitch. It's a lot of a adding, but I'll make it simple...Toronto 10, Boston 2.

W: Litsch (1-0) L: Buchholz (0-1) S: (0)

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Blue Jays win home opener

Wellll, you can't win 'em all. The Sox lost 6-3 to the Blue Jays last night, but it was the Jays home opener, so I'll give it to them. Shaun Marcum got the win for Toronto; new acquisiton David Aardsma got the loss.

The Sox had six scoreless innings until J.D. Drew hit a three-run homer on a 2-2 pitch in the seventh.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Sox victorious in Oakland

Photo: espn.com

Papi finally came through (was there ever any doubt?) with a homerun last night, just when we needed it most. He broke the scoreless tie with the A's by hitting a 2-run homerun and paving the way for an eventual 5-0 victory. The Old Towne Team is off to a great start, taking the series (both in Tokyo and in Oakland) 3-1.

In the eighth inning the Sox secured a win with five singles that resulted in two runs, giving Lester his first win of the season. First Dice-K, now Lester - hopefully this is just a preview of things to come.

J.D. Drew played for the first time this season, leaving us to wonder who the starting CF will be - Ellsbury or Crisp?

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Papelbon gets second save

Photo: espn.com


Matsuazaka was definitely more "on the ball" in last night's game than he was in Tokyo. During his 6 2/3 innings on the mound he allowed only 2 hits and struck out 9 A's. Okajima came in for a shutout inning, followed by Papelbon, who recorded his second save this season. What would we do without him?

Fan favorite Jacoby Ellsbury got the ball rolling for the Sox when he singled to right to tie up the game, 1-1. Then the captain himself, Jason Varitek, secured the Sox's lead with an RBI double in the sixth (although there was dispute over whether it was a two-run homer).

RedSox.com reported that Matsuzaka made an effort to retrieve the ball after the final out, as it was his first win since his son was born (awwwwww).

Last night's game was also a biggie for Kevin Youkilis, who tied Steve Garvey's Major League record of playing 193 consecutive games at first base with no errors. Way to go, Youk!



FINAL SCORE: RED SOX 2, A's 1
Click here for the box score.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Familiar Match-Up

Dice-K will go up against A's pitcher Joe Blanton for the second time this season when the Red Sox face the A's tonight, this time in Oakland, not Tokyo.

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