Projo Sox Blog

Any realistic chance the Sox had of overtaking Tampa Bay probably disappeared with their 4-3 loss to the Indians, the account of which starts with Paul Kenyon advising fans to begin making travel plans to Anaheim next week. That loss, coupled with the Rays' 4-2 win over the Orioles, puts Tampa Bay up by three in the loss column with six to play . . . except that, since the Rays hold the tie-breaker edge if the teams finish with the same record, the lead is really four with six to play. It would take a complete Rays collapse for the Red Sox to overtake them now.

And a frustrating night it was, for, as the Boston Globe's Tony Massarotti points out, it was a truly maddening defeat for many reasons. (Not the least of which, reports the Boston Herald's Rich Thompson, was the ball-hitting-the-umpire, two-runners-winding-up-on-the-same-base gaffe in the sixth inning, top, that cost the Sox at least one run.) It ended fittingly -- with poor Jed Lowrie, who had a miserable night (more on that below), striking out with the winning runs in scoring position, which drew loud cheers in the visitors' clubhouse at Camden Yards (St. Petersburg Times) -- and, as we said, it all but ended the Sox' hopes of repeating as division champs.

ANOTHER VIEW: But as the Sox hit last night on the verge of clinching their fifth postseason appearance in six years, it prompted a look back on the season and the realization it was a year that should be bathed in the light of laudable achievement, not failed expectations. Joe McDonald reports the team had 15 players on the disabled list at various points during the season -- and they weren't marginal guys, either, not with names like Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell (twice), J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo et al -- and the players are proud of the way they banded together and fought through the trouble. And as Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe puts it: "The important thing is to get in. By any means necessary. The wild card road is harder, sure, but the wild card road is doable."

The celebration Chad Finn expected last night will happen sooner rather than later; maybe tonight. And, on further review, it is something worth celebrating.

BETTER NIGHTS AHEAD: At least Jed Lowrie hopes so. McDonald reports the one he had last night couldn't have gone much worse.

FOR ME, TOO: He didn't fail in as many crucial spots as Lowrie, but Kevin McNamara says Josh Beckett (right) wasn't any happier with his own performance.

HELP ME OUT, PALS: Beckett, though, knows he'll be one of the Sox' top-of-the-line playoff starters. Paul Byrd's spot in the postseason starting rotation could depend on how he pitches against his old team, the Indians, tomorrow night. (Boston Herald)

THE DAILY MEDICAL REPORT: Kenyon has word that Coco Crisp is suffering from a sore left foot, which explains why the carcass of Mark Kotsay -- hitting .155/.234/.207 since Aug. 31 (baseballmusings.com) -- remains in the lineup. Kenyon also has the regular-as-clockwork Mike Lowell/J.D. Drew updates; the Sox continue to express hope that both will be back soon.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: McDonald reports there's been a time change for Saturday's game against the Yankees from 7:05 p.m. to 3:55 p.m. Click the link to find out why.

A DIFFERENT LOOK: The Latin tinge that has marked the Red Sox during their recent run of success is much less pronounced now that such franchise icons as Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez are elsewhere, and the Globe's Keith O'Brien reports the Latino community is a bit saddened by that. But the Sox, in the person of assistant GM Jed Hoyer, says the talent procurement process of the current administration "has been -- and will always be -- completely colorblind."

REALLY? Joe Posnanski writes that most sports fans prefer "scrappy players, gamers, hard workers, the fundamentally sound, the overachievers, the athletes who play the game right" and "rebel against extraordinary talent." I would agree with that, but I would disagree with the Red Sox example he uses: "For a while, in Boston, it was Duston Pedroia vs. J.D. Drew. Pedroia scraps, while Drew coasts. Pedroia battles while Drew malingers. Pedroia plays for love, Drew for money. Pedroia plays every day, Drew needs breaks. J.D. Drew infuriates us, and exasperates us, and disappoints us. Pedroia is what we see in ourselves. Drew, though, was putting up the better numbers until he wrecked his back."

I don't know, Joe; I don't think he was. Well, he was until Pedroia hit warp speed in mid-June, but that had nothing to do with Drew's back. As of right now, Pedroia has earned 23 Win Shares to Drew's 16 this season, and that's a pretty accurate assessment of their overall value.

Note: Kevin Youkilis leads the Sox in Win Shares, with 24.

DARN YOU, STEVE SILVA: I made the mistake of clicking on the You Tube link and now I can't get that ridiculous ditty out of my head. ("There'll be no playoffs for you. There'll be no playoffs for you . . . ") (Boston Dirt Dogs)

PITCHING A DIFFERENT GAME: There apparently is nothing John McCain has ever done that Curt Schilling won't praise to the heavens, and it's made the "comments" section of his blog a must-read. Schilling's latest post, in which he attempts to blame the Democrats for the nation's financial crisis (and, in the end, lauds McCain for co-sponsoring a bill "that would have averted this mess"), draws some pretty pointed responses from people who are, shall we say, more impressed with his pitching than they are with his grasp of economics and public policy.

PRICE IS RIGHT: David Price, the crown jewel of Tampa Bay's abundant farm system, made his first big-league start last night and acquitted himself well in the Rays' win over the Orioles. (Tampa Tribune)

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: On the other side of the field, MASN's Roch Kubatko reports Orioles manager Dave Trembley had very little good to say about his team, or the effort it put forth, last night.

TIME TO LOOK AHEAD: The blog Outs Per Swing ponders the Rays' potential playoff roster.

'DON'T DROP THE BAY, STUPID'! Apparently, Fox' Jeanne Zelasko has referred to the Rays as the "Tampa Rays" often enough this season to raise the hackles of the locals. So she's apologizing in an e-mail sent to the St. Petersburg Times' Tom Jones.

JOE MADDON = JIM LARRANAGA: Dick Vitale says the Rays remind him of the George Mason team that advanced to the Final Four in 2006. (Big League Stew)

M-V-WHAT?? The folks at Fire Joe Morgan reacted like you'd expect the folks at Fire Joe Morgan to react upon hearing the news that the Tampa Bay writers had selected Jason Bartlett as the Rays' MVP.

JUST TRYING TO PROTECT YOU: Roger Clemens' friends say he was "heartbroken" at being ignored by the Yankees during their closing-down-the-joint party Sunday night (New York Post), but Yankee officials say they didn't invite him to be part of the ceremony, nor acknowledge any of his achievements during the numerous video tributes, because they weren't sure how the fans would react and they "didn't want boos to be the last memory of Roger at the Stadium." (New York Daily News)

MAYBE IT'S NOT THE END: The Yankees won't pick up the $22 million option on his contract, but they're not ruling out bringing back Jason Giambi at a reduced price. (New York Post)

SOME CCs OF PESSIMISM: SI.com's Jon Heyman examines the Yankees' postseason options and reports "there's a divergence of opinion" on whether or not they'll be able to land CC Sabathia, who is said to want to a) stay in the National League and b) play on the West Coast.

HOW'S THAT AGAIN? Questions are being raised about why the Yankees are being allowed to sell -- and pocket the profits from -- Yankee Stadium memorabilia, since the stadium legally belongs to the taxpayers of New York. Craig Calcaterra of ShysterBall is wondering about that, too.

SCAVENGER HUNT: The New York Post reports 18 arrests were made Sunday night of people trying to steal items from Yankee Stadium during the final game there.

LOOKING BACK . . . The blog Vegas Watch examines some preseason predictions. PECOTA did well, not so Steve Phillips.

A.L. RACES: Yesterday, wrote Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, was "the calm before the storm" as the White Sox and Twins had a day off prior to their three-game Central showdown in Minneapolis, which begins tonight. The Sun-Times lays out all the possible scenarios in the series, which begins with Chicago leading by 2 1/2 . . . The Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Patrick Reusse says no matter how it ends, this has been a successful season for the Twins . . . Minnesota will play these games at home after having 24 of the last 30 on the road, which the Star-Tribune's Joe Christensen says did the team no favors . . . The Angels welcomed Howie Kendrick and Juan Rivera back into the lineup and posted a 2-1 win over the Mariners that lowered their magic number for clinching the best overall record in the A.L. to four. (Riverside Press-Enterprise)

INVISIBLE RED: They're both going to the playoffs, and it's the Angels who have the better record -- and, seemingly, the better chance for postseason success -- but the Los Angeles Times' Bill Dwyre says L.A. is a Dodger town.

N.L. RACES: The Cubs clinched home-field advantage throughout the N.L. playoffs with a 9-5 win over the Mets (Chicago Tribune) . . . The Mets' loss (New York Daily News) dropped them 2 1/2 behind the Phillies in the East and lowered their wild-card lead over Milwaukee, which didn't play, to one game . . . Philadelphia was a 6-2 winner over the Braves (Philadelphia Daily News) . . . Brandon Webb won his 22nd game as the Diamondbacks moved to two games back of the idle Dodgers in the West with a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals. (Arizona Republic)

THIS IS WHY WE GOT YOU: Johan Santana pitches tonight, and Yahoo! Sports' Gordon Edes says it "it could be his defining start as a Met."

NOW HERE'S A SHOW I'D WATCH: Suspensions were handed down (mlb.com) in the Gary Sheffield/Fausto Carmona/Victor Martinez to-do of last week, and Sheffield is warning everyone involved that it isn't over. (Detroit Free Press) "[When] you bother me, it's on. It could be on or off the field," he said. David Pinto of Baseball Musings suggests "ESPN should assign a camera crew to follow Sheffield around so they can get the future brawl on tape. It could be a great reality show, The Hunt for Fausto in October."

SIMPLE ANSWER: The Detroit News' Lynn Henning says look no further than the pitcher's mound if you want to know why the Tigers are where they are.

SHOOTING THE BULL: They may be doing just that soon. Ron Shelton thinks he has an idea for a sequel for Bull Durham. (timesunion.com)

HERE AND THERE: John Maine says he's ready to pitch again for the Mets (mlb.com) . . . If you go to the last Brewers' regular-season home game on Thursday, you'll get a free ticket for a game in 2009 (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . It looks like Joe Crede is done for the season (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . This is probably Raul Ibanez' last week with the Mariners. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

OLD FRIENDS: Brewer players and coaches would like to see Dale Sveum stay on as manager, but it appears his future is tied to whether or not the team makes the playoffs (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Hanley Ramirez hopes to play again before the end of the season. (Miami Herald)

AND FINALLY . . . My friend Repoz doesn't think Porter, Sandy and Bud Ricks could save the Marlins. (Baseball Think Factory)

-- ART MARTONE