Presuming its DL stint, will they call up Buchholz to get his starts??? Any other options until Smoltz is ready?
Buchholz apparently tweaked his hamstring in his 1st minor league start. Its said to me minor but I'm sure the Sox will becareful with him. The Sox could always use Masterson and could also call up Michael Bowden for a start or 2. I doubt they'd call up Tazawa but he could be an interesting choice but its unlikly. Smoltz is targeting a June return.
By the way I have a bad feeling about todays game. The pen is shot and unless the put Matsuzaka on the DL and call someone up, Wake must go at least 6 because Lopez and Masterson are locks to sit out this game.
They could certainly move Masterson into the rotation and call up Daniel Bard from Pawtucket. The problem with this scenario is they'd be losing their most versatile arm in the pen.
Sad to say because he's my favorite player all-time (have an autographed 8X10 of him on my office wall) but I think Smoltz is done. I hope I'm wrong, but overcoming the type of arm injury he has at his age will be extremely difficult.
Word is they're moving Masterson into the rotation and called up Hunter Jones (lefty reliever to take Masterson's bullpen spot). I guess they wanted Bard to get more work in Triple A, which I could agree with. By the way Wakefield was money today. The bullpen needed a big rest and the guy came through and pitched beautifully. Wake is probably the most unappreciated member of the Sox, I know I don't appreciate him enough.
Alright...at least my A's avoided the no-no. I did not see it but from the box score it looked like a tight game until my bullpen came in with their gas can and box of matches. How did the kid (Brett Anderson) look? 7 innings of 5 hit ball is alright although, 109 pitches is VERY high in my opinion for a young arm at this stage of his career...very Dusty Bakerish of Geren to leave him in there for that many.
Anderson has good stuff, the Sox just waited him out and made him throw tons of pitches and finally got to him. If I were an Oakland fan I'd be excited about the kid. The Oakland hitters were just up at the plate hacking, Wakefield I think threw his 40th pitch in the 5th inning. They just kept popping the balls up for easy and quick outs.
Believe me...I'm VERY excited about him. With him and Cahill they could have two "ace types" in a couple of years. Good enough to make a 3 year run and have to tear it down and rebuild again...LOL!
To say the Sox needed this win in the worst way is an understatement. Down 7 to 0 in the 2nd inning and they come back to win, just a great victory. Hopefully this is the wake up call the team needed. It's funny because on the radio they were talking about the Mother's Day Miracle game in 2007 when they came back from 7 runs down in the 9th to beat the O's and after that game the team just clicked. Hopefully the same will happen this year too.
I would say "eggggghhhh, its the O's" but since they took 2 out of 3 from the Yanks, I will keep my mouth shut and simply say....."congrats!" Looking forward to the first series of '09 between us shortly.
Well the Red Sox are certainly on fire right now after a poor start. They made a trade an got Kason Gabbard back from Texas for a player to be named later or cash. He's going to be pitching in Triple A and I doubt this was anything more than roster depth. If Gabbard pitches in the Sox rotation for more than just a spot start than this team is in big trouble. Anyway the Yankees are in town and I'm honestly not that fired up about it. I think the rivarly has lost a little over the years but I'm sure I'll be sucked in at game time. Saturday's game looks great on paper with Beckett/Burnett but tonight's Lester/Joba looks like it could have potential too. Should be interesting to see if Joba throws at Youkilis again.
Frooze our rear ends off at Fenway on Wednesday night, but saw a good game. We were out in the bleachers. Did you have good seats Brown?
Wow what an ending to that game. Bay hit an absolute bomb off of Rivera tonight and then Youkilis, who's becoming an elite player in the AL. Yankees had a tough day not only losing the game but it looks like Wang, Ransom, and Bruney are all headed to the DL.
The seats weren't bad we were sitting in the left field bleachers almost close enough to touch the green monster. I will say it was cool watching all the homeruns go over the monster from where I was sitting. We left during the 7th inning stretch right before they called the game.
had to take my daughter to a retreat for her First Communion at church this morning. lad y next to me saw my Sox hat and asked if knew how the game turned out, because she went to bed after Bay's longball. is it a sin that i enjoyed telling her about Youkilis's walk off homerun so much at the church hall signing in my daughter?
Do the Sox and Yanks ever play just a simple game. I didn't see it just the highlights, but did I read Beckett gave up 20 hits and 8 walks, in 5 innings. Yikes..
It felt like 20 hits but it was only 10 and 4 walks I believe. Francona left in him 1 inning too long again. He should have been out of the game once the Sox went ahead but he let him go back out with over 100 pitches to face the top of the order. Not the best moment for Francona this year. you're right these Sox/Yank games are painful to watch. They're way too long and sometimes boring. I wish they could just play a nice under 3 hour game. But hey, a win is a win. It wasn't pretty but we're playing with house money tonight. I just hope Masterson can go deep into the game because I'm sure Papelbon is unavailable tonight along with probably Delcarmen and Ramirez. I just wish Francona would use Hunter Jones in a tight spot so we can see what he can do because Javier Lopez's days are numbered with the Sox.
10 in a row. Great homestand for the Sox. Tonight was definitely the Theo Epstein Draft Show as Ellsbury, Masterson, Jones and Bowden came up big tonight, especially with the pen arms needing a rest, I was disappointed Bowden didn't come out for the 9th. I also really want to see more of Jones instead of Lopez. Another thing that I was thinking about, the Sox have had I believe 4 big come from behind wins already this year and I barely remember any big comeback wins they had in 2008, while they had a bunch in 2007. What does that mean? Maybe nothing but it should give them confidence that no lead is too big for them to comeback from. Always good to beat the Yankees but a sweep is extra nice. Hopefully the Sox keep up the streak because games in April matter. And hey Lugo is back tomorrow!
I'm not a boston fan but man this was pretty.... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q_dI4BSe_E"]YouTube - Jacoby Ellsbury Steals Home! Watch in HD![/ame]
Well, you got the sweep....I threw up in my mouth so many times I stopped counting....not a great start to the H2H 2009 match up, but lots of games remain. Ugly weekend really.
Another great outing from Wakefield, this guy has been just rock solid for years. Jason Bay is off to a great start this year, his agent is licking his chops..
What a crappy way to lose last night, especially on that last play. Sloppy play all night, the bats went dead after the first 3 innings. The pen (minus Lopez) was the only bright spot. Jones is really taking the ball and running with it, it's only a matter of time before Lopez is shown the door and I know it's been 4 starts but I'm not impressed at all by Brad Penny.
I know its only April, but it would be nice if the Sox could put alittle distance between themselves and the Rays in the standings over the weekend. As good as the Bullpen has been (I can't believe how effective Delcarmen has been. But I do worry about the other shoe dropping and him reverting back to his pre-2009 inconsistent self), I've been somewhat disappointed in Saito... I just expected more from him and yes, I realize its still early. Anyone else slightly concerned with Papelbon? He's hasn't blown one yet, but he's been on thin ice during a couple of different occasions and he's getting hit pretty hard.
I would have put money on Delcarmen blowing that game last night. I was very surprised he didn't. If he ever can be effective like all the scouts think he can be the Sox pen will be even better. Ramon Ramirez has been a stud so far this year. I did worry about him coming to Boston from KC and Colorado but he's been great so far. Agreed on Saito and also Papelbon. I'm also concerned with Ortiz too.
What a beatdown... Beckett needs to get his act together. He hasn't been good since opening day and he's been absolutely brutal in these last two outings. And Ray, do you think Ortiz is done? If his .290 OBP is any indication, yes.
Yeah as much as I love Ortiz I can't see him doing anything this year. His bat is slow, he's not driving the ball at all(I've heard he's barely hitting many home runs in batting practice). The Sox will have a big problem moving him down in the line up because he can't stay in the 3 hole much longer. I also think the Sox should just cut Lopez. Even if they don't feel Bard is ready they should bring in a body.
Wow that's big talking. Is Ortiz hurt or just over the hill? I haven't been following much outside of my Marlins, but Boston is my second favorite team so I figured I'd pop my head in.
A little of both maybe. Last year he had a bum knee and then wrist which took all his power away. It also doesn't help that Ortiz is a big boy and that weight doesn't help with much bat speed. Maybe once the weather gets warmer Ortiz will break out but I'm not expecting much out of him this year, of course the same could have been said about Carlos Delgado so we'll see.
Ladies and gentlemen let's give a big hand to the 2009 Boston Red Sox for waking up Tampa Bay and making this year another 3 team race to the playoffs!
I have not been posting much in here but thats gunna change. 1st. Wow we had a real chance to just destroy the Rays hopes and put the in a huge hole. We not only didn't do that, but we gave them hope more than anything. Played horrible v.s. a team that was down 2nd. David Ortiz is done. His bat speed is so slow its really sad. The guy has a decent eye and still gets his walks, But he is a huge double play risk and horrible on the base paths. I don't know how his bat speed just went away like that, but he is hurting the Red Sox a great deal. I think a trip to the DL is what is needed at this point. Just to try and get some Bat speed back while saving him some face (I don't know how he will handle not being in the line-up). We can put easily find someone to DH and have a much more productive line-up. Safe to say that the Red Sox will decline Ortiz's option in 2011 3rd. I really can't stand Julio Lugo (Brad Penny looked like he was gunna kill him when he messed that double play up). 4th. Glad to see Ellsbury outplaying Coco to this point.
Welcome back! Yeah I agree the Rays were playing like crap before the Sox came to town. I don't know why but the Sox just can't beat Tampa, especially in the Dome. It's pretty frustrating. Especially yesterday's game with Crawford running around like a mad man and the Rays' bloopers/broken bat hitting us to death. Lugo did have a tough game but in his defense (something I don't do often), Pedroia's throw to him was low and it was going to be a tough play to make. But the Sox had numerous chances to score and put the game away, especially in the 1st and never did. And yeah Ellsbury is a spark plug, if he gets on base good things happen. I'd like to see him get his OBP like 40 to 50 points higher but he's still young and learning but I'm happy with him so far.
