Projo Sox Blog

Boswell's classic lead from the 1978 Boston Massacre works once again, only this time in the Red Sox' favor. The details of last night were different, of course; it's the outline that's exactly the same. Paul Kenyon tells of a night in which the Sox once again feasted early on the turkeys who comprise the alleged Texas pitching staff and, like Wednesday, got quality pitching of their own -- this time from Daisuke Matsuzaka -- in making the lead stand. In the end, they were once again all smiles; the final was 10-0, completing a three-game sweep in which Boston scored 37 runs and had the reeling Rangers eager to leave town. (Dallas Morning News)

The road gets a lot tougher tonight because, as the Boston Herald's Tony Massarotti points out, the Toronto Blue Jays -- this weekend's opponent -- can actually pitch. And none of them is likely to put forth a performance as poor as the one Ranger rookie Tommy Hunter turned in last night, a performance panned by Steven Krasner in his Inside The Game feature.

TIME FOR A CHANGE: Instead of getting frustrated beyond words at his lack of command and his propensity to walk hitters and his sky-high pitch counts -- guilty as charged -- Krasner and Kenyon suggest it's time to look at Matsuzaka in another way: As someone who is "uncanny in getting the big out in a tough spot."

I'VE WALKED IN YOUR SHOES: Speaking of pitching, Jon Lester says he knows how Clay Buchholz feels during this difficult, breaking-into-the-majors period. (Boston Globe)

READY TO FLY: And to continue this pitching talk, Maureen Mullen has a nice piece on Paul Byrd -- who makes his Red Sox debut tonight -- that includes a close-up look of what he went through last October 21, the day his Indians lost to the Sox in Game Seven of the ALCS at the same time news broke of his involvement in the HGH scandal. (itemlive.com)

WHAT WE EXPECTED: Terry Francona says Jason Bay is everything he was told he'd be.

REAL VALUE: Everybody wondered how they'd hit without Manny Ramirez, but Massarotti says David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis have become a pretty good 3-4 punch. Jeff Goldberg of the Hartford Courant thinks Youkilis (above) is making his case for the MVP Award.

LETTER OF THE LAW: Ramirez gave in to Joe Torre's request to cut his hair -- sort of -- by having about an inch taken off his dreadlocks. (mlb.com; AP Photo at right) Said Torre when asked if he'd ask Ramirez to cut them again: "It's a process."

DEAL WITH THE DEVIL: While the Dodgers continue to bask in the post-Manny glow -- now we have Jeff Kent giving Ramirez credit for his recent offensive upswing (mlb.com), a bit of "protectionism" that ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra shoots down -- Jayson Stark raises cautionary warnings in an ESPN column about the long-term effects this smelly episode could have to the entire industry: "If Manny Ramirez wanders into the free-agent market this winter and gets anything close to the four years and $100 million he believes he'll get, think about the message that would send, the precedent that would set. It would, in effect, be an open invitation to every selfish superstar in baseball to pull a Manny. Act up. Stop hustling. Stop trying. Refuse to play. Make up an injury. Whatever you have to do to get back out there on the free-agent market. It's all worth it."

WILD RIDE: Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com handicaps the A.L. East race and concludes the Rays will win the division, the Red Sox will win the wild card, and the Yankees are dead.

THE ULTIMATE INDIGINITY: It's not so much that the Red Sox remain fourth in SI.com's Power Rankings; it's that they sit behind two National League teams.

ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN: The Angels remain atop those rankings, but FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says contractual issues may prevent Los Angeles of Anaheim from keeping this particular group together.

STEADY AS SHE GOES: They keep losing players -- this time it was closer Troy Percival yet again (Tampa Tribune) -- but they also keep winning games. Yesterday the Rays rallied for a 7-6, 12-inning victory in Oakland (Tampa Tribune) that kept the wolves at bay at least for another day. The local highlight: Rocco Baldelli made a highlights-reel catch in right field. (St. Petersburg Times)

BAD FOR US, GOOD FOR ME: If the Rays falter with Evan Longoria on the sidelines, as many expect, Gerry Fraley of SportingNews.com thinks it will help his chances for the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

NEVER SURRENDER: The old-school Yankees, like Andy Pettitte (New York Post) and Derek Jeter (New York Daily News), are still talking bravely about the Yanks' chances of getting into the postseason.

TWIG TO HIS BRANCH: The Daily News' Bill Madden says Hank Steinbrenner's recent surrender call was something his father never would have done; George, he says, would "be hammering away at the people accountable for this $200 million failure." The Post's Joel Sherman thinks his latest declaration is final proof that "Yammerin' Hank" should be ignored.

MEET THE NEW YANKS, SAME AS THE OLD YANKS: Hank's prediction that the Yankees will win in 2009 goes hand-in-hand with what has become an accepted truth: That the team, which has a ton of money coming off the payroll this winter, will spend like madmen during the offseason and become an '09 powerhouse. But the New York Sun's Tim Marchman crunches the numbers and says "bulk of their money and effort is going to have to go to just holding the line."

NEW RULES: Joba Chamberlain will start throwing again today, and the New York Post reports the Yankees may put him back in the bullpen when/if he returns, at least for the rest of the year, to reduce the strain on his shoulder.

LOST PICK: According to the New York Times, the Yankees' No. 1 pick in the June draft, high school pitcher Gerrit Cole, has chosen to attend UCLA rather than sign with the Yanks.

THE MEMORIES: It's only tangentially related to baseball, but news that Chris "Mad Dog" Russo is leaving WFAN and breaking up the groundbreaking "Mike and The Mad Dog" show (New York Daily News) gave Newsday a chance to outdo the Daily News and the Post with its back-page headline: "Split hits the FAN."

As for me, I'll still occasionally listen to the clip from the beginning of the October 21, 2004 show (above). Hearing the euphoric Russo screeching "RED SOX NATION IN THE SOUTH BRONX!!" -- which he does soon after this particular video ends -- brings it all back.

OPENING SOON: The two new baseball parks in New York will play their first games within days of each other next April. (New York Daily News)

STAYING PUT: Newsday's David Lennon doesn't expect the Mets to fire Omar Minaya.

THEM, TOO: The Mariners couldn't work out a trade for either one of them, so Raul Ibanez and Jarrod Washburn -- both of whom were claimed on waivers earlier this week -- will be staying with Seattle. SI.com reports the Twins claimed Washburn and the Tigers claimed Ibanez; that was confirmed by by the Seattle Times. Nick Cafardo of the Globe says the Red Sox also put in a claim for Ibanez, but lost out because Detroit has a worse record than Boston.

FOURSOME: The White Sox became the sixth team in history to hit four straight home runs -- remember when the Red Sox did it last April against the Yankees? -- when Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe went back-to-back-to-back-to-back in a 9-2 win over the Royals that completed a series sweep. (Chicago Tribune)

QUIETLY WAITING: Writing on his blog (murraychass.com), Murray Chass talks to Chris Chambliss, one of baseball's truly nice guys who's never gotten the chance to manage in the big leagues . . . but who'd relish the opportunity.

COULDA SEEN THIS COMING AT ME LIKE AN ATOM BOMB: Richard Justice, writing for SportingNews.com, tells people surprised at the Tigers' showing this year that they weren't that good to begin with.

TALK ABOUT PICKING THE WRONG FIGHT . . . : Jimmy Rollins' declaration that Phillies' fans are front-runners (Philadelphia Daily News) probably isn't going to go down too well in the Delaware Valley. But the blog The Good Phight thinks Rollins has a point.

HERE AND THERE: Gary Sheffield has cleared waivers; now the question is, is anybody interested enough to trade for him? (Detroit Free Press) . . . Also clearing waivers: Vernon Wells and John McDonald of the Blue Jays (sportsnet.ca) . . . With Brad Penny and Cory Wade headed to the disabled list, the Dodgers turned to another of Joe Torre's old Yankees -- Worcester's own Tanyon Sturtze -- to help fill the pitching void (mlb.com) . . . The Washington Times says there's a rumor the Dodgers have claimed Ronnie Belliard off waivers from the Nationals and that the teams are trying to work out a deal . . . The Padres' Chris Young is hurt again. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

OLD FRIENDS: Kevin Millar and Jay Payton are two of four Orioles -- Aubrey Huff and Jamie Walker are the others -- who have cleared waivers. (Baltimore Sun)

AND FINALLY . . . The biggest news coming out Fenway right now isn't the games. It's the annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Telethon, details provided here by Calcaterra, which began last night and continues until midnight tonight. And if you need a reason to be talked into donating, just read Steve Buckley.

Late update: Jason Rosenberg of It Is About The Money, Stupid has issued a challenge to his readers, a challenge I urge everyone to pick up.

-- ART MARTONE