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Game on!

Tonight's game will start at 8:55.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 8:22 PM | Permalink

That's the Rule!

Since we're in a rain delay at Fenway Park let's have a little bit of fun.

I'm thinking we can make this a permanent thing with obscure rules of the game. So here we go. I'll post two questions now and the answers later, but if you think you know the answer you can email me (jmcdonal@projo.com) or place your answer in the comments section on this site. This will be on the honor system, so don't go checking the rule book.

1) If a batter hits the ball off the rubber on the pitcher's mound, and nothing else, and rolls into foul territory before first or third base, is it fair or foul?

2) How many legal outs can a team get in one half of an inning? Explain why.

Good Luck.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Weather update from Fenway Park

Per the Red Sox:

The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) as of 7:30 p.m. in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for rain showers to move out of the area between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m..

Based on that current forecast, the Red Sox anticipate that tonight’s game with the Chicago White Sox will be played but will not begin until at least 8:15 p.m.

The Red Sox will do everything possible to make certain tonight’s game is played. However, the Red Sox would like to alert our fans to the current forecast and the possibility of further delays this evening.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 7:41 PM | Permalink

Weather update from Fenway

Per the Red Sox:

The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) as of 6:30 p.m. in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for rain showers to move out shortly to be followed by a period of relatively dry conditions.

Based on that current forecast, the start of tonight’s game with the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park will be delayed. No starting time has been set.

The Red Sox will do everything possible to make certain tonight’s game is played. However, the Red Sox would like to alert our fans to the current forecast and the possibility of further delays this evening.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:36 PM | Permalink

Maybe he was playing too shallow

BOSTON -- There’s been a lot of talk of late concerning how shallow Manny Ramirez has been playing left field. It has cost Red Sox pitchers a few runs over the last week, but Wednesday night he was back to normal depth.

Francona admitted yesterday he spoke with Ramirez after Tuesday’s game where he cost Tim Wakefield two runs.

Francona said he felt Manny kept creeping in a little of late, but not purposely.

''He actually took some routes (Wednesday) that were very aggressive and he did a good job,'' said the manager.

''He’s always aware of not allowing teams to score on base hits to left, which is good. There are a lot of different ways to approach our left field; you always try to take away something. But at different times of the game you have to be aware of what can hurt you worse, or what you want to take away.''

-- JOE McDONALD

Posted by Peter Phipps  at 6:07 PM to Projo Mannybeingmanny | Permalink

Clubhouse confidential

BOSTON -- If you looked at the previous post you'll notice the struggling J.D. Drew is out of tonight's lineup. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said the left fielder's hamstring, which has hampered him for much of the season, is acting up again so the club thought it best to take a night off.

''He’s kind of stuck in between,'' said Francona. ''He wants to play and we want him to play; it hurts.''

Francona said Drew slipped when catching a fly ball during Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.

''We’re trying to do what’s right and it’s not very easy,'' added Francona. ''We’d love to play him, but at the same time we don’t want to hurt him. We’re going to do the best we can, and I don’t know if that means he plays tomorrow.''

The manager said the situation is a little perplexing because Drew doesn’t know the status of his hamstring, either.

''This is something that we don’t want to linger,'' said Francona. ''We want him to be okay. We thought we got there [last month], but evidently we didn’t.''

Francona was asked if he thought it was best to give the right fielder extended time off, possibly placing him on the disabled list, but the manager doesn’t think that’s an option.

''He feels that’s not necessary,'' Francona said. ''We thought about playing him today, so it’s that close.''

----
Curt Schilling threw a side session on Wednesday, and long toss yesterday, with no set backs and will be ready to make a rehab start for the PawSox on Saturday.

-- JOE McDONALD

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 5:24 PM | Permalink

Tonight's lineups

CHICAGO
Jerry Owens, 8
Tadahito Iguchi, 4
Jim Thome, DH
Paul Konerko, 3
A.J. Pierzynski, 2
Jermaine Dye, 9
Rob Mackowiak, 7
Josh Fields, 5
Juan Uribe, 6
Javier Vazquez, SP

BOSTON
Coco Crisp, 8
Dustin Pedrioa, 4
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, 7
Kevin Youkilis, 3
Mike Lowell, 5
Jason Varitek, 2
Wily Mo Pena, 9
Julio Lugo, 6
Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 4:53 PM | Permalink

Latest weather update from Fenway

The Red Sox just released this statement:

The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for rain showers to move through the area this evening.

The Fenway Park gates will open at the regularly scheduled time of 5:05 p.m., and the Red Sox will do everything possible to make certain tonight’s game with the Chicago White Sox is played. However, the Red Sox would like to alert our fans to the current forecast and the possibility for delays this evening.

This forecast is of course subject to change as the day progresses. Additional updates will be provided as necessary.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 4:51 PM | Permalink

Game Story: PawSox comeback falls short

PAWTUCKET – As the sold out crowd began leaving McCoy Stadium yesterday after Ottawa had taken a 9-1 lead by scoring three runs in the top of the eighth inning, Pawtucket showed the fans that stayed why it should no longer be considered a team that is going to roll over and go away quietly after falling behind in a game.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jeff Bailey hit a three run home run, Bobby Scales hit a two run home run, and Alex Prieto hit a solo home run to cut Ottawa’s lead to 9-7.
But the PawSox offense stalled there and they suffered a 9-7 loss to the last-place Lynx.

“It got real exciting there towards the end,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said. “I think that was one of our better innings offensively this year as far as driving the ball. That was something special right there.”

Johnson said that the PawSox showed a lot of courage by nearly pulling off what would have been a remarkable comeback.

“It was just one of those things where we gave up a few too many and came up just a little bit short at the end but I was real proud of the ball club,” Johnson said.
Scales went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI to lead the PawSox offense.

“You’d like to do it in a win,” Scales said about hitting two home runs against his former team. “We had opportunities to win the game and that is the main thing. I know this is the minor leagues and I know that we are here for development purposes but as long as they keep a scoreboard, the aim is to win the game.”

With the score tied 1-1, Ottawa took control of the game in the top of the sixth inning. After Gary Burnham put Ottawa on top, 2-1, with an RBI single, the Lynx loaded the bases for Jim Rushford who hit a grand slam home run on a Mike Burns (2-7) changeup. It was Rushford’s first home run of the season.

“That was probably the longest drought I’ve been in and I was starting to think that I wasn’t going to hit one all year but I came up in the right situation, got a pitch that I could handle, and put a good swing on it,” Rushford said.

Ottawa added three insurance runs in the top of the eighth on Danny Sandoval’s RBI double and Pedro Swann’s two RBI single.

Burns did everything asked of him in the first five innings, limiting Ottawa to just one run on two hits.

“He actually dominated through the first five innings of the ball game,” Johnson said. “His pitches were very low.”

Ottawa, however, batted through the order and exploded for five runs on five hits against a tiring Burns in the momentum-turning sixth inning which forced Johnson to pull him.

The game was close prior to the sixth inning.

Ottawa jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Joe Thurston hit a one out double to deep right-center field. Jason Jaramillo drove him in with a single hit up the middle. Burns calmed down and got the next two batters to ground out and end the inning.

Burns (5 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 6 runs, 2 strikeouts) did not give up another hit until sixth inning, but the PawSox couldn’t amount much of an offense either. Pawtucket didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning. Scales, who entered yesterday’s game tied for third place in the International League with a .316 batting average, sent the first pitch of the PawSox fifth into the bullpen in left field for a solo home run, tying the score, 1-1.

Pawtucket, however, only got one more hit off of Ottawa starter J.A. Happ (2-4), who pitched six innings and limited Pawtucket to just one run with six strikeouts.

“Happ, he’s pretty good,” Scales said. “He wasn’t doing anything particularly tricky, but he’s got a surprise fastball. You see it, you feel like you’re on it, but then you get beat by it. He’s pretty good.”

--ROB LEE

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 4:43 PM to PawSox | Permalink

Tarp on the field

With a 50 percent chance for rain tonight at Fenway, the grounds crew just put the tarp on the field. In fact, a light rain just started so we'll have a weather update as soon as it becomes available.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 3:18 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk: Is it officially a slump?

Is it officially a slump? Art Martone and Sean McAdam discuss the recent Red Sox slide on today's edition of projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the audio file.

Also, continuing to look at the upcoming Major League Baseball trade deadline, they discuss the now unlikely scenario that onetime trade target Jermaine Dye will trade his White Sox for red ones.

Posted by Pam Cotter  at 11:34 AM to Martone | Permalink | Comments 4

Baseball Today: Thursday, July 19

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE . . . 2004. At least that's what the Red Sox hope. Or 2002. That's what they fear.

Sean McAdam notes that in both those seasons, the Sox got off to a quick start, followed by a long stretch of mediocrity. In '04, they pulled out of it and went on to win the World Series. In '02, though, they never did and finished out of the playoffs. So what of 2007? Last night's 6-5 loss to the Royals (Joe McDonald game story, projo.com) cut the Sox' A.L. East lead to seven games, six in the loss column, over the surging Yankees and dropped their record to 20-23 since May 30. In and of itself, neither fact should spark much worry, despite the concerned look of Mike Lowell, right (reacting to making an out in the eighth inning last night; Journal photo by Bob Breidenbach).

Boston's first-place lead is still the biggest in baseball -- twice as big as anybody else's, in fact -- and, as Sean notes, each of the last four World Series champions had an in-season stretch of 40 or more games in which they played under .500. (To wit, as noted in a front-page graphic in today's Providence Journal sports section: The 2003 Marlins went 19-29 from the opening of the season to May 22; the 2004 Red Sox went 39-41 from May 1 to August 1; the 2005 White Sox went 20-24 from August 10 to September 27, and the 2006 Cardinals went 27-37 from July 24 to the end of the year.) But worry there is, mostly over an underperforming lineup that, Sean says, will barely break the 800-run barrier for the season at its current pace. Worse, he quotes a baseball executive as saying, ''There’s nothing out there to fix what’s wrong,'' which would seem to preclude a Garciaparra-type blockbuster trade at the deadline. They had targeted Jermaine Dye as their main trade objective, but McAdam reports Dye has told the White Sox he doesn't want to go where he won't play every day, which eliminates Boston. (projo.com) They may still go after a right-handed hitting outfielder, but right now their main focus is on bullpen help; the Pirates' Damaso Marte and Salomon Torres are on the radar at the moment.

SCOUTING REPORT: One A.L. scout's take of the Red Sox, as reported by the New York Daily News: ''They're not a good offensive team right now. And without a healthy (Curt) Schilling, their pitching isn't great. (Daisuke) Matsuzaka isn't dominating anybody -- he's just a solid No. 3 starter. Their bullpen is very good, but as a team, they're not playing with the confidence I saw early in the season.''

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE: In his look at what teams need to do at the trading deadline, FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry says the Red Sox don't need to do anything.

NOTHING LEFT: One of the Sox' real problems offensively is that David Ortiz (left, Journal photo by Bob Breidenbach) is struggling mightily against left-handers. In Inside The Game, Steven Krasner takes a closer look at Big Papi's problems vs. lefties this year (a .250 average with no home runs), part of which Ortiz blames on himself. But the team's offensive problems go beyond any one player, though Terry Francona thinks it will all even out in the end. (Boston Herald) One thing that won't happen in an attempt to re-start the attack, however, is the return of the suddenly red-hot Julio Lugo to the leadoff spot (Boston Globe). ''It's more of a matter of us swinging the bats than me putting the lineup in a hat and shuffling it,'' said Francona.

EASY DOES IT: The Sox are forcing Daisuke Matsuzaka to work less hard than usual, hoping to keep him fresh for the second half. (Boston Herald)

YUCK: SI.com's Tom Verducci puts Dustin Pedroia (''little man with a big man's swing'') on his list of players with the ugliest swings in baseball.

OUT OF THE RUNNING: In the election for president of Red Sox Nation -- one of the more contrived gimmicks of the usually savvy P.R. department -- Jerry Remy did a very public trashing of old friend Bill Simmons' nomination (Boston Dirt Dogs), leading some to believe there was bad blood between RemDawg and The Sports Guy. But on last night's broadcast Remy said he and Simmons are friends, having worked together in radio some years back, and that it was all in fun.

STANDINGS? WHAT STANDINGS?: The Yankees claim they're not paying attention to no stinkin' standings, not at this stage of the season, but they're inching closer nevertheless. Last night's 6-1 win over the Blue Jays (New York Daily News) was their 11th win in 14 games and pushed them four games over .500 for the first time all season. Alex Rodriguez provided some of the late-inning heroics, which prompted the Pavlovian cry of "SIGN HIM!!!'' from the New York Post's Jay Greenberg.

FROM THE OTHER DUGOUT . . . : We feel your pain, Tao. And that was before the Blue Jays parlayed 10 hits through the first seven innings into one run, and watched the Yankees blow things open in the seventh and eighth.

AND THE GOOD NEWS -- FOR THE YANKEES, ANYWAY -- JUST KEEPS ON ROLLING: Phil Hughes, who threw four innings for the Trenton Thunder last night, says he's 100 percent physically and on track for a late July return to the Bronx. (New York Post)

WELL, IT'S NOT ALL GOOD: Kyle Farnsworth may have finally pitched himself out of the main setup role in the Yankee bullpen. (New York Daily News)

VOICE OF SUPPORT: Tom Gordon said that, unlike Gary Sheffield, he had no problem with Joe Torre during his time with the Yankees. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

KILLING THE MESSENGER: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Tony La Russa ''[finds] it more convenient to jump a media person rather than hold his players accountable. It continued a season-long pattern: La Russa initiating a conflict with the media while waving off his players' lapses in the commitment to fundamentally-sound baseball.''

OFF THE MARKET: The Astros now say they won't trade Brad Lidge. (Houston Chronicle)

DON'T BE FOOLED: Dontrelle Willis may or may not be available from the Marlins; if he is, he'll certainly be the most sought-after starter at the deadline. But Baseball Musing's David Pinto thinks that, right now, Willis simply isn't very good. The Miami Herald's Greg Cote agrees, saying D-Train ''is off the rails.''

BLAST FROM THE PAST: The Braves, as expected, signed Julio Franco. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) His ex-Mets teammates don't sound like they'll miss him too much. (The Journal News)

WHISPERS: Troy Glaus has heard the rumors that have him heading from Toronto to the Dodgers, but says he hasn't been approached about waiving his no-trade clause (Toronto Sun) . . . The Cubs are said to be interested in Royals' left-hander Zack Greinke (Daily Southtown) . . . Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes says reports that Arizona was showcasing Conor Jackson for the White Sox are ''ridiculous'' (East Valley Tribune).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:03 AM | Permalink