« Game Story: Royals 6, Red Sox 5
Main
Projo SoxTalk: Is it officially a slump? »

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