I may be the only Red Sox fan who thinks this way, but Kevin Youkilis was in the wrong charging Rick Porcello tonight. In my opinion, he was not the only Red Sox in the wrong either.
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.
Think about this. The highest paid player on your team doesn’t play versus left-handed pitchers. Could you imagine Albert Pujols sitting or Manny Ramirez sitting (well, yes I can imagine him sitting, that’s not a good example) or A-Rod sitting? Or, how about Ryan Howard, Carl Crawford, or Ichiro Suzuki? However, when you are this guy:
You don’t start versus left-handed pitchers anymore. Against the first two LHP opposing starters the Red Sox have faced, Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders, manager Terry Francona has opted to start Rocco Baldelli instead of J.D. Drew. The 14 Million Dollar question is why?
I can see once in a while, to get Rocco some at bats, that he’d replace Drew, Ellsbury, or even Ortiz against some LHP. But 2 LHPs in a row Drew sits for Baldelli?
J.D. Drew is a career .260 hitter versus LHP. Last year, he hit .284 versus lefties but in 2007 he hit .224 against southpaws. In his career versus Kazmir, he was 1-7 with a triple a walk and 3 strikeouts. I can see sitting him versus Kazmir, who is notoriously tough (career .212 BA against vs LH batters) on lefties. In his career versus Saunders, he is 1-5 with a double and a walk. Not a large sample against either pitcher, but Saunders is not tougher on lefties like Kazmir is.
If you compare Drew to Ortiz, Big Papi is a career .268 hitter versus LHP. Last year, though, he hit a paltry .221 against lefties, obviously his injured wrist played a factor in this. In 2007, Ortiz hit .308 versus LHP. In the years 2003 through 2006, Ortiz hit .216, .250, .302, and .278 against LHP.
Now, I’m not saying that Ortiz should sit instead of Drew against lefties, not at all. I’m just using Ortiz as a comparison, as their numbers versus lefties aren’t far apart. However, I would have to think that it is very rare that a team’s highest paid player becomes a platoon player. In Drew’s defense, I do not think he should be sitting versus lefties, however, if his at bat versus Brian Fuentes to end Sunday’s game is any indication, maybe Francona knows what he is doing.
It was nice to see the Red Sox and Angels come together in fellowship on this Easter Day:
Should make for an interesting series when the Sox return back to Anaheim in May. Hopefully, they won’t let as many opportunities to score slip away then, like they did this week. And, hopefully they’ll be able to slow down the Angels on the basepaths. It was nice to see Varitek throw out Figgins trying to steal second, though.
Now it is onto Oakland, before returning back to Fenway for the RED HOT Orioles. I think the Sox will take 2 of 3 from Oakland in this series, but I am not looking forward to those 10 PM start times. Oh well.
The news that rocked baseball, the tragic, senseless death of Angels rookie pitcher, Nick Adenhart and his two friends early Thursday morning, has been on the minds of everybody associated with baseball. However, the Angels are back in action as I type, after postponing Thursday night’s game.
I can’t imagine what it must be like losing a teammate in that fashion, but it must be a bit therapeutic to be able to get back on the field and play the game that you love, and the game that Nick loved. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of Nick and his three friends (two of who also died) and I hope the drunk driver never see the light of another day.
I was going to post a blog yesterday, after I returned from the Rays – Red Sox series finale, but when I logged onto MLBlogs, that is when I found out the news. So, I think I was going to write a blog titled Two Left Feet or something similarly unwitty to follow up my Right Foot post. Anyway, all thoughts left my brain after seeing the MLBlogs home page.
So right now, the Red Sox are currently playing the Angels. The first game since the passing of Adenhart. The Angels are making it a track meet, which usually happens when Tim Wakefield puts runners on base. I may be able to steal a base off of Wakefield. Wakefield has been a bit of Jeckyll and Hyde tonight. A good inning, a bad inning, and so forth. He just went J&H in the same inning. He loaded the bases with no outs, and gets out of the jam just as quickly as he got in it.
A few noteworthy items tonight. The Red Sox are not where there usual road uniforms. They look like they’re wearing their (Do I have the correct they’re/there/their usuage?) Spring Training uniform, except for a new cap with the Sox in place of the B. Not sure how I like it yet, maybe if they were winning, I’d probably love the new look. Haha.
Next, Jerry Remy is missing from the booth tonight. The Red Sox are going with a musical chair of color guys tonight, each chipping in 2 innings of work. First up was Sean McAdams, from the Boston Herald. He was followed by Angel’s color man, Rex Hudler. Hudler was great to listen to in the booth, recalling many stories of his time as a player under Terry Francona in Philly. Currently, Fox’s Ken Rosenthal is in the booth. He has always been a quality baseball reporter. Tony Masserotti of the Boston Globe will be finishing the night in the booth, that should be interesting.
I must say I am enjoying the free preview of the MLB package on cable. Today, I caught the end of the Tigers blowout in their home opener. I then caught some of the Yankees – Royals game. The Yankees should be undefeated opening up against the last place teams of the AL East and Central. I then flipped between the Mets – Marlins game, which was quite the contest ending in a dramatic game-winning (I’m not a fan of “walk-off”) single by Jorge Cantu, and the Astros – Cardinals game before the Sox game started. I love baseball.
Finally, speaking of the Yankees and their supposed easy opening schedule. It is interesting to take a look at the current standings in the AL East:
It’s funny how things happen early in the season, only to have the cream rise to the top. Most people are expecting that to be reversed by the time the season ends:
Oh well, you get the point!
Top of 7, Sox still down 3-1. Let’s see if they can get their first comeback victory tonight.
Word out of Hollywood is that producer Garry Marshall (A League of Their Own, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork & Mindy) is reviving a sit-com that he had originally adapted from Neil Simon’s award-winning play.
This version starred:
Tony Randall as Felix Unger ~ the neat-freak, a fastidious, hypochondriac professional photographer (portraits a
specialty) whose marriage is ending.
Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison ~ the slob, a slovenly, recently divorced sportswriter.
However, in this reincarnation, Marshall is going to be putting more of a baseball twist on the characters. The setting will move from New York City to Miami, as well. While in the original sit-com, Oscar and Felix lived together after marital woes in this updated version, Felix and Oscar will be rooming with each other during spring training.
So, starring as the updated Felix Unger (neat-freak) ~ the suave, metro-sexual, ladies man, GQ cover boy, bachelor shortstop:
And, starring as the updated Oscar Madison (slob) ~ the gritty, grubby, short and stubby, video-game playing, married second basemen:
Apparently, their agents originally had a Bosom Buddies updated project pitched to them. While Jeter was more than willing to take on that project, especially not minding the cross dressing required for the role of Kip Wilson (originally Tom Hanks), Pedroia said there was no way in hell he’d be dressing up like a chick for the role of Henry Desmond (originally Peter Scolari).
Seriously, though, who would have pictured it? Jeter and Pedroia buddies? A life long Yankee and a life (shorter) long Red Sox buddies? C’mon, would we ever have seen Carlton Fisk and Thurmon Munsion like this:
According to Michael Silverman’s Sunday notes column that appeared in the Sunday Boston Herald:
A budding mutual admiration has been forged between Pedroia and Jeter since becoming teammates on Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Even Terry Francona chimed in:
“I could have called that one,” Francona said. “They kind of gravitated toward each other last year at the All-Star Game in New York.”
When asked whey they are bonding, Francona answered, “How do you not gravitate toward Pedey? And Jeter, he respects the game so much, how do you not gravitate towards Jeter? You can tell that Jeter likes Pedey’s personality. … That’s an easy one.”
Who would have thought? I do have to admit though, I have always like Jeter. The Yankees haven’t been as hate-able as they were in the 70s. When you have a core of Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Bernie Williams, I mean how could anybody really hate them? Even a Red Sox fan.
In other Red Sox news:
Pedroia’s injury is not the dreaded oblique muscle after all, but an abdominal pull. So that’s good news. Apparently, he’ll only miss a few days, now. However, I say, “TAKE YOUR TIME!!!”
Jon Lester finally signed his long-term deal. Congrats to both Lester and the Red Sox. It’s nice to have another GOOD (not just at the game of baseball) young player locked up.
The Red Sox have finally traded centerfielder Coco Crisp. They shipped him of to Kansas City (poor Coco) for reliever Ramon Ramirez.
At first I was a bit disappointed, because I thought, “Who the hell is Ramon Ramirez.” But after look him up at Baseball-Reference, I saw that he is a quality middle reliever / set-up guy. This definately addresses on of the needs the Sox have in the bullpen. Additionally, this will allow Terry Francona the flexibility of having Justin Masterson go back into the rotation.
For Coco, it now gives him the chance to start everyday in center field. It also hands the Red Sox center field job to Jacoby Ellsbury, and will hopefully allow him to relax a bit knowing he doesn’t have a player of Crisp’s caliber waiting in the wings for failure.
Crisp was a good player for the Red Sox, and I enjoyed watching him roam center field. In 2007, I definetly think he was robbed of a gold glove award. Injuires played a factor in some of Crisp’s medicore offensive output during some of his time here, but I hope he does well in Kansas City (poor Coco.)
No, I’m not talking about the 1 for 28 the Phillies are with runners in scoring position for the first two games of the World Series. Although, 1 for 28?, that is AMAZINGly inept.
I am talking about the missed opportunity of having this man pitch in Fenway Park in Game 2 of the World Series:
Brett Myers.
Oh, the chants the Fenway Faithful could have launched while he was on the mound. To the always effective “Rogahhhh, Rogahhhh” and “Toriiiiii, Toriiiii” (well, maybe that Torii chant didn’t work out to well) and “Steroids, Steroids” for our friend Jason Giambi and other juicers, the “Wife Beat-er” chant could have been epic.
We, here in Boston, don’t take to kindly to big, tough athletes beating up their wives or girlfriends. Just ask this guy:
I was glad to see the Rays beat defeat Myers last night, to even the World Series at 1-1. I’m not sure if I posted my prediction here, but I am taking the Rays in 6. I see Tampa getting to the elderly Jamie Moyer on Saturday, with the only other game they will drop is Game 5 against Cole Hamels.
In some Red Sox news, the team is bringing back the entire coaching staff with the exception of Luis Alicea. Alicea was the first base / infield coach for the past couple of season. Apparently there was a “philosophical” disagreement between him and manager, Terry Francona that has led to this departure. No word on who will replace him.
I get my son into bed and back downstairs ready to watch the game at about 8:40 or 8:45. I turn on the TV, flip over to TBS and it is the top of the 2nd and the Rays already have a 2-0 lead. Christ! I sit down at the PC and head to ESPN.com to see how it happened. Iawmura hit followed by another Upton HR. Damn! The Sox get a couple on against Kazmir, but can’t deliver. Kazmir seems to be pitching okay. Certainly not the Kazmir of old, but definitely not the Kazmir of recent either. However, it’s just a matter of time before the Sox get to him…right?
Top of the 3rd, and Upton gets another hit. Can we get this guy out yet? Pena HR, next. Longoria HR next. Gawd! Well, when 1 team is hitting on all cylinders and out pitching the opponent, what are you going to do? You just have to give credit to the Rays. It’s not going to be the year this year.
I check with the wife, see if she wants to watch a show. We’re both tired (my wife works nights, and worked Wed night, so she’s way more tired than me. But you know how it is with kids, your ALWAYS tired.), but I pull up the DVR and see what we have waiting to watch. How about Survivor? Great! We watch the Fang tribe (which could be like the Rays of old, or the Pirates, always losing) lose both challenges and GC get voted out. The wife’s ready for bed, so she curls up on the couch with a blanket and is off to dreamland as I turn the game back on. It is the Top of the 7th, and Delcarmen just walked the 2nd of two batters, so the Rays have 1st & 2nd with nobody out and Upton (him again?) coming up. Francona, in a desperation moves, brings in Papelbon. However, after a double steal, runs are at 2nd and 3rd. Papelbon works back to a full count on Upton, but gives up a wall ball double that extends the lead to 7-0. That just about sealed up the MVP for Upton. I get back on the PC, as I’m thinking about going to bed, and type up a little blog to congratulate the Rays, as I’ll probably type up more in the morning.
However, even though I am tired, it is a bit early for me to go to bed. I am a night owl. I like to stay up late. Not sure why, but I’ve always been that way. Sometimes I regret it in the morning, but most times I’m fine.
So, I start surfing the net, checking out some other blogs. I went to a message board that I frequent. I played a few games, all as the game was still on.
Maddon decides not to bring Kamir out for the 7th, and goes with the flame thrower Grant Balfour. Lowrie crushes a ball to RF, that just misses a HR. However, that gets you to take notice. Then when Varitek and Kotsay fly out, oh well. However, Crisp lines a single, but too hard for Lowrie to score. Pedroia then singles, and the Sox are on the board. At least they won’t be shut out.
Now, up comes Papi. He crushes one deep into the night.
Fenway is rocking again, and now your thinking how HUGE those 2 runs the Rays just got in the top of the inning are. That HR could have made it 5-4, but Upton gave the Rays plenty of breathing room at 7-4. Maddon brings in Wheeler, and Youk flies out to end the inning.
Papelbon comes out and gets the Rays 1-2-3 in the 8th. Sweet!
Then, a 4 pitch lead-off walk to Bay, and you can just see how tightly Wheeler is squeezing that ball. Drew crushes a HR to right, and WOW! But, your still thinking how HUGE those 2 runs the Rays got in the top of 7th are. Walks will kill you. But, the Sox are now down a run. If you’re going to lose, if you’re going to get eliminated, this is the way to go out. Not some pathetic 7-0 loss. Wheeler gets Lowrie and Casey, and is almost out of the inning. But here is where some “weird” things happen:
- Kotsay’s line drive goes off the glove of B.J. Upton in CF )who has been tracking down EVERYTHING) for a double.
- Gabe Gross’ throw to home goes straight into the ground, allowing Kotsay to score on Crisp’s single to tie the game. - Carlos Pena (who had ground into only 2 DPs all season) grouned into an inning ending DP with the leading run on 2nd.
- Evan Longoria, one of the best fielding 3B in the league, makes an error. That runner ends up scoring the winning run on J.D. Drew’s game winning hit.
There I am, dancing around the living room while my wife is fast asleep on the couch. Haha. But, who would have thought? Seriously!! Down 7-0 in the 7th?
We go back to Tampa. There is still a lot of work to be done, but ANYTHING can happen, as we just witnessed. There are lots of questions though:
Can Beckett be Beckett?
Is the offense back?
Should Francona swap Lester to game 6 (on normal rest) and Beckett for game 7 (on extra rest)?
Saturday can’t get here fast enough for me.
Whew!
What a night!
Go Sox!
*images from this post courtesey of AP/ESPN and CBS
Drew has replaced Ellsbury at the top of the order, while Crisp has replaced Ellsbury in CF. Ellsbury has been struggling, as he was 0 for his last 20 ABs dating back to Game 3 of the ALDS when he doubled in the 5th inning. Obviously, some sort of change was needed, but I wouldn’t call this Panic. It looks like I like to ask questions in my titles and answer no to them. Haha.
Anyway, Drew batted lead-off 8 times early in the season. He batted .172 (5-29) from the lead-off hole. However, he did walk an impressive 10 times, for a respecatble OBP of .385.
We knew that Varitek would be sitting today, as Kevin Cash is Tim Wakefiled’s personal catcher. However, we shouldn’t expect anything from his bat.
Finally, the Sox will be calling in a Dirt Dog from season’s past as the Red Sox Insider is reporting in his blog that Trot Nixon, THE DIRT DOG, will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch tonight. WELCOME BACK TROT.
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.
Not surprisingly, Silverman gave the top grade of A to: Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, John Lester, Terry Francona, and Theo Epstein. All 3 of those players had career years this season, and Pedroia and Youkilis are the top canditates for not just team MVP, but AL MVP. Lester has emerged as a potential ace, nicely picking up the slack from Josh Beckett’s performance that was muddied due to injuries. Francona may be the best manager in Red Sox history. He’s lead the Red Sox to the play-offs in 4 of his 5 seasons in Boston, winning it all in 2004 and 2007. I think his grade here stems from the Manny circus he had to manage through and around and how he was able to keep the team focused in the aftermath of that mess. Theo’s grade seems to stem from the results from the Manny trade, along with the key additions of Paul Byrd and Mark Kotsay down the stretch. Let’s take a look at the rest of the grades:
A- Grade Jason Bay Javier Lopez Justin Masterson Daisuke Matsuzaka Jonathan Papelbon
B- Grade Kevin Cash Mike Lowell Josh Beckett Paul Byrd
C+ Grade Alex Cora J.D. Drew David Ortiz
C- Grade Jason Varitek David Aardsma
D+ Grade Mike Timlin
D Grade Julio Lugo
D- Grade Clay Buchholz
F Grade Bartolo Colon
For the most part, I think these are right on. Varitek’s grade appears to be a bit high. He was terrible at the plate. However, most of his grade stems from his handling of pitchers. That is a thing that really can’t be quantified and too me is a bit overrated. Varitek gets a lot of the credit with Lester’s success and catching 4 no-hitters over his career, but when Buchholz didn’t perform this season falls more on Buchholz than Varitek. I’m not saying Varitek takes any credit, just talking about how the sportwriters/”experts” give credit.
Finally, Silverman did take a cheap shot by putting Colon in here with an F-grade. Which he admits in his blurb:
“It’s a good thing Colon appeared in the second half, even it was only for one start, since it gives us an excuse to rip his makeup. Any player who decides he is too big – we will pass on the obvious rip opportunity – to accept a different role (Colon was asked to pitch out of the bullpen) is a small-minded prima donna.”
I don’t really remember too much said about this at the time. In fact, I don’t even remember reading or hearing about the team asking Colon to move to the bullpen and him declining. But, it wasn’t a big deal at the time, and quite frankly I think, based on his performance, that it wouldn’t have worked out with bringing him out of the bullpen.
I can’t wait for Wednesday night. What a long too days with out any Red Sox baseball. Although, back-to-back win to move on baseball games is fun.
I was glad to see the Rays 
GremEQ
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