Results tagged ‘ Mike Lowell ’
Youk in the Wrong, Tazawa Overshadowed
Now, I was there firsthand tonight. However, as I was working, I am not sure how everything transpired. I know Miguel Cabrera got hit near the wrist OR on the knob of the bat area. I know Victor Martinez was not happy getting an inside fastball thrown to him. The first inning and a half took so long to go by, that all I knew it was 8pm.
A fan seated in the last row of the 3rd base field box seats had just stopped me to buy some ice when Youkilis got plunked and all bedlam broke loose. Youk charged the mound, the whole park was on there feet as dugouts and bullpens emptied out. Chants of: “Youk, Youk, Youk.” From my view, it look like Youk had a nice take down and the excitement was electric in the little band box. The umpired then held a conference as another chant of “Throw him out” went up. The umpires then through out Porcello.
A little later, another on-field fracas took place when Terry Francona came out to agure with the 2nd base umpire after he called Drew out trying to steal second. Francona was hot, and as he turned to head back to the dugout, he got tossed by the ump. Francona went off more, and the crowd started a “Terry” chant. Any replays I saw, showed that the play was CLOSE, but I think the umpire got the call right.
After I got home, I caught some of the discussion on MLB Tonight. Mitch Williams and Joe Magrane were discussing the incident. Both of them agreed that Porcello did not throw intentionally at Youk. Williams had said the pitch was a two-seam fastball. Magrane or Matt Vasgersian (I think it was Matt) said wouldn’t you throw a four seam fastball if you were going to hit someone. Williams said, “Yes, plus it would hurt more.” Now, I don’t really know the difference between a 2 seam and 4 seam, but in my opinion, he was not trying to hit Youkilis. They also made note of Porcello’s reaction after he threw the pitch. You can tell from his reaction, that he is upset that the pitch hit him. I agree with Williams and Magrane, after further review.
During this discussion, MLB Tonight showed the incidents in last night’s game where Brad Penny hit Cabrera. This was followed by Edwin Jackson hitting Youkilis in the ribs with a pitch. That was OBVIOUSLY intentional. Youkilis would have been less in the wrong charging Jackson. However, Jackson isn’t a 20 year old rookie, so maybe Youkilis was a little apprehensive about charging Jackson.
Even worse for Youk, he got tossed down to the ground by the rookie. I was actually looking forward to be able to see the incident when I got home, because it looked like it was a good take down by Youk from my view along the 3rd base line. Unfortunately, Youk was wrong to charge the mound, and ended up getting thrown down and I would judge as the loser in the brawl. Finally, to add insult to injury, the Sox are going to lose his bat for anywhere from 5 – 8 games.
Oh yeah, one last thing. This incident overshadowed the performance of rookie pitcher Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa got his first career win. He went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. He was probably a Nick Green error (another one?) from allowing zero runs, thus probably being able to got 6 or 7 innings. In the first, Tazawa got Carlos Guillen to ground into what seemed like an inning ending double play. However, Green’s throw was terrible, and the Sox weren’t able to even get 1 out, never mind the 2. This allowed a run to score, and eventually 2 more scored.
However, Tazawa pitched well despite the errors, and shut down the Tigers the rest of the night. This is looking like a nice signing for the Red Sox. He pitched well in his debut in New York, despite giving up the game losing HR. He’s got good stuff, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from him.
In the end, even though Youkilis was wrong to charge, that incident may have been a spark plug because later that inning, Jason Bay CRUSHED (and I mean CRUSHED) a 3-run HR to tie the game. Also, luckily, for the Sox, they may end up being able to absorb Youkilis’ upcoming suspension with the likes of Mike Lowell. He may be showing the lingering effects of his hip injury, but the guy can still hit. He and Tazawa (along with Bay’s bomb) were the stars of the game, but the Youkilis brawl stole the show and is what everyone will be talking about the next day or so.
Go SOX!
PS. Sorry for my long absence. You may read more about that in the future. 
Power Outage
After the month of April who would have guessed this line would belong too? Normally, maybe him:
That would have been a good guess, but he only has played 2 games this April. Plus, he is normally not know for power.
How about this fella:
Again, not a bad guess. He has had several 20 homer seasons, but it is not him. He’s had a decent start, going deep 4 times so far.
Would you be surprised to find out that those numbers belong to:
Probably not, if you have been following the Red Sox closely this season. This is the big news with the Red Sox. When Nick Green has more HRs and a higher slugging percentage than David Ortiz over the first 22 games, then something is the matter.
What is WRONG with Big Papi?
- Past his prime, good years are behind him.
- Lack of protection in the order; missing Manny behind him.
- Wrist still hurts.
- All of the above.
- Nothing, give the guy a break!
I don’t know the answer myself, but I can say it is not from lack of protection in the order. People who think because Manny is no longer batting behind Ortiz that this is the reason are sort of clueless. I mean Ortiz is hitting between the 2008 MVP and the 3rd Place finisher for 2008 MVP! Anybody else have protection like that in MLB?
This is the first time since Ortiz joined the Red Sox that he has not at least 1 HR in a month where he has not been injured.
Dating back to last season, Big Papi has now gone 25 games (in which he as gotten at least 1 AB) with out a HR. That is the longest cold streak since he came to Boston.
He has had two 19 game homerless streaks, 1 occured last season and the other occured in 2007.
So, what is the problem? Will he ever get out of this funk? Will he be the Papi of 2004 – 2006? So many questions, so little answers.
I think the problem is in Papi’s head. I recall hear him complain about lack of protection (isn’t that a bit insulting to Kevin Youkilis) in the batting order. However, Sean McAdams (I believe) has stated numerous times that the two seasons Manny packed it in during September, Ortiz had the best OPS (this coming from listening to talk radio, I haven’t research these numbers myself) during the month of September. So he wasn’t missing Manny then.
However, now that Ortiz doesn’t have it in the back of his head that Manny will be back, I think he is using it as an excuse (for a lack of a better term) when it is more of a combination that Ortiz may be thinking too much and having some erosion of his skills. Ortiz also mentioned a while back that he isn’t getting any fastballs to hit. I seem to recall plenty of fastballs in the mid to upper 80s that he is not catching up to.
Hopefully, it is more of a mental funk than a physical / skill erosion problem. The Red Sox are going to NEED Ortiz, especially when Youkilis, Bay, and Lowell cools down from their hot starts.
C’mon Big Papi, work it out.
Go Sox!
P.S. This could have been about Josh Beckett too. Since the Abreu incident, Beckett has not been himself.
The Right Foot
It’s only one game in the scheme of it all. However, it is always great to get out of the gate with a win. The best part of the day, was that Josh Beckett was DOMINANT! Will be nice to have the real Josh Beckett this season, provide he remains healthy. Nice looking line:
7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 Ks. All on only 93 pitches thrown.
Dustin Pedroia picked up right where he left off. A home run in his first AB. Kevin Youkilis with 2 hits. Everybody seeming to chip in today. Jason Varitek with a HR. Mike Lowell and RBI double. Jason Bay an RBI. JD Drew with an RBI as well and he didn’t leave the game with an injury which is always a plus.
The only real blemish on the day was Hideki Okijima’s performance. Remember two years ago, what happened to Okijima on Opening Day in KC. If the same patterns follows, we’ll be happy with him come August.
As for me, I was at the ballgame. It is always great to be at the park, especially on Opening Day. Even when it is a cold day. I didn’t see any of the pre-game festivities, as I was underneath the RF grandstands, selling programs. However, I did get to see a lot of the game, since the product I was selling during the game wasn’t a hot item to sell today.
Game two tomorrow night, should be another good one. Jon Lester against Scott Kazmir, two of the top lefties in MLB.
Let’s build a streak!
Go Sox!
Opening Day & Eve
Wooooooohooooooooooooo! FINALLY!!!!!! OPENING DAY IS HERE. However, the forecast is for rain, which is scheduled to begin around game time. Doh!!!!!!!! Let’s hope it can hold off for 3 or 4 hours. How disappointing.
However, what wasn’t disappointing was yesterday’s beautiful day that I spent at the olde (really OLD) ball park. I went to Fenway yesterday for 2 reasons.
1) Pick up my uniform:
Oops. That’s not my uniform. I wish.
Check. Look for me on TV. It’s funny though. Whenever I am watching a game on TV, I am always trying to notice fellow vendor’s working in the stands. The yellow shirts just stand out so much.
2) Try and meet up with Julia of Julia’s Rants and other bloggers she was trying to get to meet outside Fenway. Unfortunately, I did not make it in time to meet up. When I was finally finished picking up my uniform, I called Julia and she and Scott from I’m Not a Headline Guy were on top of the Prudential Building. Here is a picture of them:
No, really, they are up there. I was on the phone with her exactly at that moment, as I was standing behind the Red Sox dugout.
Since I was at the ballpark, I’d figure I might as well take in the Red Sox workout. It was a gorgeous day for baseball; warm and not a cloud in the sky. Since I brought my camera, I figured I might as well take a few (or 20 or 30) pictures. Here are some of them:
The view from the RF boxes next to the visitor’s bullpen:
Justin Masterson:
Dice-K:
John Smoltz:
Jonathan Papelbon:
Big Papi:
Dustin Pedroia:
Big Papi & Kevin Youkilis:
Evan Longoria: (thanks to Rays Renegade for the ID)
Theo Epstein (well, the back of his head, anyway):
Mike Lowell (talking with Longoria (l.) and Pat Burrell (r.) thanks to Rays Renegade again on ID of Rays players)
Jason Varitek:
Finally ~ View from the Budweiser section in upper RF:
It was quite a blast. It seemed like I had the whole park to myself. There were a couple of tours going on. Also, there were some other Red Sox employees who had their children there, but the greatest perk of working at the park is being able to be there without any fans.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I noticed the lower (field level) and upper box (red) seats seem to have brand new seats in there. The actual seat parts have padding. I sat in one, and it was pretty comfortable. However, the only problem is that back rest seems to be the same height. So, now with a cushion there, the
back rest is on the lower part of your back which probably won’t be as comfortable as the game goes on. I think these new seats are only in the infield box seat sections. It looks like the RF boxes, grandstand (blue seats) and bleachers have the same crummy seats.
I talked to Boston Globe reporter, Tony Masserotti for a few minutes. Mostly about how much he misses (note sarcasm) being on the Big Show on WEEI sports talk radio.
As I was leaving, I almost walked right into a Tampa Bay Ray coming out of the Red Sox clubhouse. I am not sure who it was though. Maybe B.J. Upton, (did he travel up north with the team while being on the DL?) but I am not sure at all. He was just wearing some shorts and a T-shirt and not a name tag.
All and all, it was a great day. Quite the opposite of what I am looking at through my window as I type this. I better bring my galoshes with me, as I am on my way to the ball park just after I finish posting this.
Josh Beckett vs James Shield. Should be a great game!
Go Sox!!!
Photos:
Red Sox Jersey courtesy of MLB Stores
All others property of Red Sox Ramblings
Busy Night in Boston
Last night, the Boston branch of the Baseball Writers Association of America held their annual awards dinner last night. At the dinner, Dustin Pedroia picked up his AL MVP Award:
Also, at the awards dinner, Rocco Baldelli picked up the Tony Conigliaro award, along with his BRAND NEW Red Sox jersey.
The Red Sox signed Baldelli, formerly of the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays, to a 1-year contract. He will see the majority of his work as the 4th outfielder. He could see considerable time in either CF or RF depending on Jacoby Ellsbury’s progress and J.D. Drew’s injury status.
Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon (AL Manager of the Year) and Tampa Bay reliever Dan Wheeler (New England [born] Player of the Year) were also honored. Reportedly, the Red Sox tried to sign those two at the dinner, but were rebuffed.
It was also confirmed that the Red Sox have indeed offered a 1-year contract to former Atlanta Brave Cy Young Award winner John Smoltz. Reportedly, the base contract is for around $5 million with incentives based on time on the active roster that could double the value. John Smoltz is coming off an injury, but hopefully there is still some juice left in the arm.
I was actually hoping that Smoltz and Tom Glavine would both retire. No. Not because I do not think they can not or should not pitch in the major anymore. It is because along with Greg Maddux, who just announced his retirement last month, it would be quite a sight to see an induction ceremony of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz 5 years from now in Cooperstown.
How many times do 3 pitchers of this caliber actually pitch for 1 team for a LONG time? Very rarely. How many times have 3 pitchers of this caliber that were teammates been inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame together? NEVER! That would be quite historic.
I’ve been a Braves fan (they’re my NL team although not as much now), ever since our family first got cable as teen. I actually hated the Braves at first, because their games (and they were terrible), would always interrupt my 2 hours of NWA / WCW wrestling on Saturday nights. However, after watching them play, I grew attached and then enjoyed my wrestling / baseball double feature on Saturdays.
Anyway, now that I returned from detour down memory lane, it will be very strange to see Smoltz in a Red Sox uniform after spending his entire Major League career in a Brave uniform. Hopefully, he will ended up healthy and could be a surprising big contributor down the stretch. Looks like he will also fill the mantle left void by Curt Schilling, as the elder pitching statesmen for this team.
Finally, it looks like Mark Kotsay may return to the team. While normally an outfielder for most of his career, I envision that Kotsay will fill the Sean Casey role on the 2009 club. Mostly, he’ll be the back-up for Youkilis and Lowell (at 1b only, Youk will move over to 3b when Lowell needs a rest), but could see time in the OF depending on the health of Drew and Baldelli. I like Kotsay, he has always be a solid player, but wonder if he will be happy in this role.
Since the Sox recently signed Brad Penny and Josh Bard, it’s nice to see the Hot Stove getting a tad bit warmer.
Go Sox!!!
Manny Who?
Jason Bay’s 2-run homer in the 6th propelled the Red Sox to a 4-1 victory in Game 1 of the ALDS versus the Angels. The blast also had me saying “Manny Who?”, as it sailed over the wall in left field. Chip Carey must have heard me, as he repeated the question on the TBS broadcast, but I’m sure it was sentiment echoed throughout Red Sox nation. Bay also doubled in the 8th to go 2-4 in his first post season game. I don’t know how much pressure Bay really felt coming into this game, but while he is not Manny Ramirez, he is a more than suitable replacement for him. However, Bay was not the only hero on the night.
With is defense, at the plate, and on the base paths, Jacoby Ellsbury picked up 
where he left off last post-season. Ellsbury was 3-5 with a double, an rbi, a run scored, and 2 stolen bases. He lifted his average in the post-season from .360 to .400. However, the play of the night may have been his spectacular catch on Mark Teixeira’s 8th inning blooper. That prevented the lead-off man from reaching, which proved especially important when Vladimir Guerrerro and Torri Hunter followed with singles. More on that later, though.
This could almost be a hockey blog, because the 3rd star of the night for the Sox was undoubtedly Jon Lester. He continued his ascension to becoming a #1 Ace with his performance tonight. 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 unearned run are the numbers for him. More importantly was the poise with which he performed. Unshakeable, he over came the rare Jed Lowrie error that extended the Angels 3rd, allowing Hunter to knock in the games first run. I thought (if you call yelling at the TV thinking) that Bay could have dove to catch Hunter’s single, as it practically dropped at his feet, but I guess it was smart to be cautious. After that 3rd inning, Lester allowed just 3 singles over the last 4 innings. He retired the last 7 batters in a row he faced, striking out 4 of them. If Lester is going to continue to pitch like this during the post season, Boston is going to be a happy town.
nt play of the night for the Red Sox may have been what happened right after that catch. Guerrero followed the catch with a line-drive single through the left side of the infield against Justin Masterson. On a 1-1 count to Torri Hunter, Masterson got him to pop-up. However, the ball just carried over the outstretched arm of Sox 1b Kevin Youkilis, dropping for a single. Guerrerro, without picking up the stop sign of 3rd base coach Dino Ebel, rounded second and headed for third base. Youkilis was quickly up with the ball and gunned down Guerrero at 3rd base by about 20 feet. Instead of having the Red Sox in a jam with runners on 1st and 2nd and one out, the Angels had a runner at 1st with 2 outs. Howie Kendrick followed with a ground (that may have been a double play ball if Guerrerro didn’t get thrown out, but who knows) out to Lowrie at short, and the Sox had 3 outs left to get, which Jonathan Paplebon did by striking out the side in the 9th.
In their returns to the line-up, Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew each went 0-4 with a strike out. A couple of Lowell’s at bats were not typical Lowell at bats. So we’ll see how both of these guys come back after Thursday’s off-day when Daisuke Matsuzaka is scheduled to pitch against Ervin Santana in what should be another pitchers duel. Only a 9:30pm start to that one, so hopefully I won’t be up as late as last night. But it was worth it.
Will He or Won’t He?
We know if it was up to him, Mike Lowell would be on the playoff roster. However, the biggest decision heading into to tonights opening game between the Angels and Red Sox is if Lowell will be healthy enough to be on the roster.
The last time he played, it didn’t look very promising. Lowell has been playing with a partially torn labrum in his hip. He was taken out of the game after his only at bat the last time he played against the Yankees on Friday.
Terry Francona has a big decision. If he does put Lowell on the roster, and Lowell is still not healthy enough to be a productive batter and fielder he will be down a man. Actually, if Lowell wasn’t healthy enough or re-injured himself, the Sox could place him on DL and put another play on the roster for the series. However, in that case, Lowell would not be eligible for the ALCS if the Sox go on to defeat the Angels.
The post season roster is due to MLB in about 45 minutes, 1:00 pm EDT / 10:00 am PDT. I know I’ll be waiting anxiously to see if Lowell is on the roster. A healthy Lowell is an integeral cog to the Red Sox line-up, both defensively and at the plate.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to stay awake long enough to watch this whole game. Maybe Friday’s game will be on a bit earlier.
Go Sox!
Gasp Heard Through Boston
While the Sox appeared not to want the regular season to end, defeating the Yankees with a Jonathan Van Every bases loaded single in the bottom of the 10th, the bigger news of the day was Josh Beckett.
Apparently, Beckett suffered a strained oblique muscle while pitching a bullpen session on Friday. In his post game press conference, manager Terry Francona announced that Jon Lester would pitch Game 1 vs the Angels followed by Matsuzaka for Game 2, and Josh Beckett for Game 3.
With the status of Mike Lowell questionable as well, those are 2 big injuries that could potentially hurt the Sox chances against the Angels in this opening round of the playoffs. Hopefully the extra days of rest will be beneficial to both Beckett and Lowell. Meanwhile, all of Red Sox Nations holds their breath.
A little tidbit: This is the Red Sox 6th Wild Card Appearance since it was implemented back in 1994. That is the most in all of MLB.
GO SOX!
Dreams Drowned Out. Can’t we flood the domes?
Well, the Sox’ dream of winning the AL East were drowned out last
night, literally, as the Yanks spanked a plethora of pitcher in route
to a 19-8 victory. Hey, that score rings a bell to me. Oh, yeah…I
remember:
We all remember what happened after that game…
Anyway,
congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays on officially winning the AL East
last night. What an amazing season they’ve had, indeed. It is actually
refreshing to see a team other than the Yankees or Red Sox winning the
AL East. I probably wouldn’t be saying that if the Red Sox didn’t
clinch the wild card, but they did finish third in 2005. The Rays are
actually a team I could root for, except for the 2 things:
1) They play in the AL East.
2) They play in a Dome.
I
hate domes. For baseball or football, it doesn’t matter, it is just
strange to watch a game in those venues. Basketball is an indoor sport.
Not baseball. Not football. Not too mention, the game should be played
on REAL grass, definitely not turf. It is one of the reasons I am
hoping the White Sox win the Central instead of the Twins. The
Metrodome is one of the ugliest looking places I’ve seen. Thank
goodness Minnesota is getting a new stadium in 2010.
This
playoff race is getting great. Twins still lead the White Sox by a 1/2
game after each team lost last night. The Twins have 2 to play while
the White Sox may have 3 to play. The Mets lost while both the Phillies
and Brewers won, seriously crippling the Mets playoff chances. Phillies
need 1 win in the final 2 to lock up the East, or just need the Mets to
lose again which is the more likely scenario. The Brewers took a 1 game
lead in the Wild Card with 2 games to play. Any Brewers win and Mets
loss clinches the post season for Milwaukee.
I wish I had the MLB Ticket today, 4 must watch games, plus Yankees – Red Sox. I will definately refreshing ESPN MLB Scoreboard quite a bit today.
Anyway,
the Sox will send Beckett out today and Matsuzaka to the hill on Sunday
as it appears they will be setting their post season rotation as: 1)
Beckett, 2) Matsuzaka, 3) Lester, and 4) Depends on if Angels pick
“Series A” or “Series B”. There had been a lot of debate on the
airwaves about whether Lester or Matsuzaka should be the #2 pitcher in
the post season. Most of the arugments stemmed from Matsuzaka’s
performance on the road this season and Lester performance at Fenway
while others argued that your 2nd best pitcher should start #2 no
matter the circumstances.
The biggest news, though, is the
status of Mike Lowell. He left last night’s game after he appeared to
be in a lot of pain. So, his status for the post season remains in
doubt. It will be a big blow if he is not on the roster.
It’s
not raining right now, so hopefully they’ll be able to get in today’s
game and hopefully we can finish the regular season on a good note.
Go Sox!
Where’d August Go???
Wow! A month since my last post. Work and vacation can do that to you. To all my loyal readers (all zero of you, I guess), I apologize for that.
However, the Sox were busy in August. Aside from playing .667 (18-9) ball, they acquired Paul Byrd and Mark Kotsay in trades, while signing David Ross and Jason Lane to minor league deals to bolster their depth.
Despite their great August, they went from 3 games behind the Rays to 5 1/2 games behind as Tampa played an amazing .750 ball in August, winning 21 out of 28 games.
With one month left to play, the Sox will definately have their work cut out for them, to catch the Rays. A lot of “experts”, are expecting the Rays to fold under the pennant race limelight. However, I do not think that will happen. The Rays have solid pitching (in both their starters and bullpen) along with a solid defense. Even if their offense does cool down, their all-round ability should be able to carry them through to the end.
The Sox and Rays are pretty much a lock for the playoffs, as I don’t think the Twins or the White Sox will overtake Boston in the wildcard. That leaves just the Twins and White Sox to battle it out for the Central Division and last AL Playoff Berth.
How about Dustin Pedroia. What a month!!! .374 average, 1.060 OPS, 43 hits, 10 2Bs, 6 HRs, 20 RBIs, 5 SBs without being caught. AL Player of the Week, and likely Player of the Month. Clean up Hitter?? Who would of thunk it.
Pedroia on fire. David Ortiz is heating up. Coco Crisp is almost as hot as Pedroia. Beckett and Lowell back soon from the DL. Youkillis, Bay, Kotsay, Varitek all playing well. Going to be a wild September and October.
Go Sox!!!!
GremEQ
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