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Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Schilling's swipe at Theo »
June 26, 2007
SAILING AWAY: For 4 1/2 innings, the Sox were following the formula -- tight pitching, timely hitting -- that's served them so well so far on this road trip . . . and, indeed, as Bill Reynolds points out, this season. But it all came unglued in the fifth inning. A wild throw by Julian Tavarez (shown getting away from Kevin Youkilis above, AP Photo) gave the Mariners runners at second and third with no outs and they took it from there, scoring five runs and going on to a 9-4 win over the Sox. (projo.com) It was Tavarez' first lemon in quite a while -- he'd gone 5-0 with a 3.17 ERA in his last seven starts -- and the relievers, Kyle Snyder and Mike Timlin in particular, were no better. If nothing else, Youkilis got his name into the record books. (projo.com)
HE SPEAKS! Curt Schilling apologizes for his nearly two weeks of silence with a brief entry on 38pitches.com in which he says his shoulder ''feels fine.''
DID HE EVER: Whether he intended to be or not, Schilling was far more controversial while talking to reporters before last night's game. He took what could only be interpreted as a swipe at general manager Theo Epstein while discussing his time on the disabled list, countering Epstein's assertion that Schilling could benefit from some rest by saying, ''[It's] easy to analyze that when you’re not in uniform and you’ve never been in one.'' (projo.com)
Schilling was answering a question in terms of whether he agreed with Epstein, who said going on the DL was ''an opportunity to get (Schilling) rested, rehabilitated and strengthened so he can be in peak condition in the second half,'' or with manager Terry Francona, who said, ''it’s different when you’re in uniform and not in uniform -- I don’t think Schill necessarily sees it that way.” (Boston Herald) He may not have meant it the way people are going to take it -- then again, he may have -- but I have a sense, or maybe it's a fear, that we're on the doorstep of yet another two-day, talk-show controversy.
JUST WAIT: Tony Massarotti mulls what's going to happen when the Red Sox finally start hitting. (Boston Herald)
STILL NUMBER TWO: The Sox remain second in SI.com's Power Rankings.
ONE STEP BACKWARDS: Jon Lester was routed last night in Louisville, which may justify the Red Sox' decision to keep him in the minors after Schilling got hurt. (projo.com)
QUICK HITS: Sean McAdam makes some observations about the Sox, including who belongs on the All-Star team and whether or not the Mark Buehrle trade will happen. (projo.com)
BUEHRLE WATCH: The Newark Star-Ledger reports the Mets are still interested, though they'd be more likely to part with top prospects for Jose Contreras if they were going to trade for a White Sox pitcher. The Ledger also says the Yankees have yet to involve themselves in the Buehrle chase. According to the New York Post, the Mets will only pursue Buehrle if they get a 72-hour window to sign the free agent-to-be.
WRONG MOVE: The Chicago Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti thinks the White Sox should sign Buehrle, not trade him.
FUENTES WATCH? The Denver Post says the Red Sox are among the teams that have an interest in Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes.
WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO . . . The New York Daily News thinks the Yankees' ''new policy of not dealing prospects for quick fixes will be tested as attractive rental players such as Jermaine Dye hit the trade market.''
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE: The New York Post's George King is adamant: ''Anyone who looks at the AL East race and believes the Yankees have a shot at their 10th straight title should be drug tested.'' So colleague Mike Vaccaro urges the Yankees, and their fans, to forget the Red Sox and focus on the Indians, who currently lead the wild-card race.
DOWN AND UP AND DOWN: Bobby Abreu is slumping again. (New York Daily News) The New York Post goes into more detail.
THE REAL IDIOTS: NYYFans.com's Phil Allard calls the signing of Johnny Damon ''one of Brian Cashman’s greatest follies''.
PALS AGAIN: John Smoltz and Chipper Jones say they've smoothed over their 'misunderstanding'. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
END OF THE LINE: Veteran infielder Jeff Cirillo announces this will probably be his last season. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
'MY BAD': That was the extent of Paul LoDuca's apology to Marvin Hudson after going, in the words of the New York Daily News' Vic Ziegel, Tasmanian Devil on the umpire and earning a two-game suspension.
PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN: The blog Mike's Baseball Rants examines American League dominance in interleague play.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Joe Posnanski gives us the 'director's cut' of last month's fascinating story on Bo Jackson. (thesoulofbaseball.blogspot.com)
WHISPERS: The Cubs may trade Jacque Jones today; the Rangers, Padres and White Sox are interested (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . The Blue Jays are listening to offers for Troy Glaus (foxsports.com) . . . Dontrelle Willis is ignoring all the trade talk (Miami Herald) . . . The Rockies have inquired about Royals closer Octavio Dotel (Denver Post).
OLD FRIENDS: The Dodgers are moving Nomar Garciaparra to third base (Riverside Press-Enterprise) . . . Many people in Cincinnati are blaming Bronson Arroyo's poor season on a 129-pitch outing May 16, but the blog On Baseball and the Reds studies the issue and isn't so sure.
-- ART MARTONE
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