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July 16, 2007
NOW HERE'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE EVERY DAY: Prior to yesterday, the Red Sox had lavished plenty of offensive support on Josh Beckett: 6.8 runs per start, the highest of any Boston pitcher. But that wasn't the case on a windy, sunny Sunday afternoon at Fenway, as the Sox squandered chance after chance and fell to the Blue Jays, 2-1, making a hard-luck loser out of their ace. (Above, Alex Cora reacts to being wiped out on a double play in the third inning; Journal photo by Bob Breidenbach.) Strange, too, because the night before the power was on in a 9-4 victory. Another sight you don't see every day: Doug Mirabelli being allowed to bat in the ninth inning with the game on the line. But, as Steven Krasner explains in Inside The Game, Jason Varitek was still hurting from a tough Saturday night and manager Terry Francona said using him wasn't an option. (All stories projo.com)
AS ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS: A frustrated Brendan Donnelly is headed to California to try and find out what's wrong with his ailing forearm. But his job is being handled nicely by Manny Delcarmen, so the Sox bullpen hasn't missed a beat. (Both stories projo.com)
COME SEE THE FUTURE: Clay Buchholz makes his PawSox debut tonight at McCoy Stadium. (projo.com) If you can't make it there, come here; we'll post live blog reports from Joe McDonald.
MBM, AGAIN: Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer shares some Manny being Manny stories from Ramirez' days in Cleveland.
NEW MEANING: Writing for foxsports.com, Chad Finn says MBM really means Manny Being Mediocre.
DO IT: Writing this time on his own blog (touchingallthebases.blogspot.com), Finn says if the Rangers offer Mark Teixeira for Jon Lester, Theo Epstein shouldn't hesitate to say yes.
WHAT IF . . . all the transactions the Red Sox talked about in the 2003-04 offseason had happened? Then, Seth Mnookin points out, the Sox would currently have a 3-4-5 batting order of Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Magglio Ordonez. (sethmnookin.com)
IT COULD STILL HAPPEN: At least the A-Rod-to-Boston part could, according to the blog Fire Brand of the American League.
WE MADE IT: The Phillies finally lost their 10,000th game. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
HERE WE COME . . . AGAIN: The Twins, who made stirring second-half comebacks in 2003 and 2006, think another one's in the offing. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
AND HERE WE COME: The Yankees now trail the Red Sox by nine games (eight in the loss column) after yesterday's 7-6 win over the Devil Rays. (New York Daily News)
YOU TELL ME, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW: Writing on the LoHud Yankees Blog, Peter Abraham wonders why the Yankees continue to use Kyle Farnsworth in tight games.
NO SURPRISE: Joe Torre tells the New York Daily News this has been the toughest of his 12 seasons as Yankee manager. It didn't get any easier when Kenny Lofton backed up Gary Sheffield's assertion that Torre treats black players different than white players. (New York Post)
BUYER BEWARE: Brad Lidge, the subject of many trade rumors (including some that have him landing in Boston), will likely have to wear a knee brace for the rest of the season. (Houston Chronicle)
YOU'RE ONLY AS OLD AS YOU FEEL: The Braves are interested in 48-year-old Julio Franco. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) And the more he thinks about it, AJC beat writer Dave O'Brien likes the idea.
FATHERLY PRIDE: Cecil Fielder follows the exploits of his son Prince closely, even though the two are estranged. (Florida Today)
HERE AND THERE: Worcester's own Tanyon Sturtze, known as WOTS on various bulletin boards and who was front and center in the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry of 2003-04, could be resurfacing with the Braves very soon (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Elijah Dukes has been away from the Devil Rays for three weeks dealing with personal issues, and it doesn't sound like he'll be back anytime soon (Tampa Tribune) . . . Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News says it's time for Giants GM Brian Sabean to clean house . . . Brewer ace Ben Sheets may miss his next start because of an injured middle finger (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . The Astros are easing Craig Biggio out of the lineup, and Baseball Musing's David Pinto thinks that's a good idea.
TAKE ME HIGHER: Baseball Reference now has a tool in which readers can place players' seasons and careers into different historical environments, so Joe Posnanski took some of the greatest individual years in history and placed them in Coors Field, 2000. (thesoulofbaseball.blogspot.com) Among the highlights: Barry Bonds would have hit 98 home runs in 2001, and Stan Musial would have hit .429 in 1948.
WHISPERS: Jose Contreras says the swirling trade speculation doesn't bother him (Chicago Tribune) . . . The Rangers' Kenny Lofton and Sammy Sosa are beginning to draw trade interest (Dallas Morning News) . . . The Royals' Octovio Dotel is raising his trade value (Kansas City Star) . . . The Tigers are on the prowl for relief help (Detroit Free Press) . . . The Padres are looking for a starting pitcher and a bench player (San Diego Union-Tribune) . . .
OLD FRIENDS: Eric Wedge is about to get a contract extension from the Indians (Cleveland Plain Dealer) . . . A four-hit day yesterday lifted Edgar Renteria's overall average to .327, and his average in day games to .385 (Tlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . John Wasdin has been designated for assignment by the Pirates (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . Doug Mientkiewicz probably won't return to the Yankees until mid-August (Newsday) . . . Pedro Martinez is close to being ready to pitch in a minor-league game (New York Daily News) . . . David Eckstein says his bad back is feeling better (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 7:19 AM | Permalink
