« Reaction from the Red Sox clubhouse
Main
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: The future of the Sox-Yanks rivalry »
July 26, 2007
AP photo / Mark Duncan
RUNNING JOKE: If the Red Sox end up losing out on the division title by a game (not out of the question given the Yankees' surge), this is one that we might be looking back at. Sure, Fausto Carmona, the guy whom the Sox lit up when he was trying to close out games at Fenway last year, was absolutely brilliant, throwing hard and getting excellent movement on his pitches. But it's the late blunders that we'll remember about this game. First there was Coco Crisp, getting nailed at the plate trying to score from second in the sixth inning on David Ortiz's single, which got no farther than second baseman Josh Barfield, playing deep in the shift. Then there was Jason Varitek getting thrown out because of a missed hit-and-run sign by Alex Cora. Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez also threw out Julio Lugo trying to steal. After the game, Cora was distraught (projo), while Crisp was not around for comment.
STAND-UP GUY: Meanwhile, Josh Beckett, who threw his first complete game since 2005, when he was a member of the Florida Marlins, was not interested in passing the blame to his teammates (SoxBlog).
FOOTSTEPS: Out in Kansas City, the Yankees closed the gap to six and a half games by winning their sixth straight, 7-1 over Kansas City (N.Y. Daily News). A-Rod hit home run number 499 and tonight will face Jorge De La Rosa, the same pitcher who surrendered Rodriguez's 400th carer home run in 2005.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB: Backup catcher Jose Molina is expected to make his Yankee debut tonight, when the Bombers go for the sweep in Kansas City (Newsday). This same story mentions that the Yankees remain somewhat interested in getting Mark Loretta from Houston.
THE BAD NEWS: Peter Abraham, in the LoHud Yankees blog, reports that David Szen, the Yanks' traveling secretary since 1981, is under investigation by the IRS for possible tax evasion and has been placed on paid leave.
ANOTHER MILESTONE IN THE MAKING: While A-Rod moved one step away from the 500-home run club, Tom Glavine got one win away from 300 on his career (projo stats).
NOT SO GREAT SCOTT: The Kansas City Royals yesterday released pitcher Scott Elarton (Kansas City Star), who gave up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings of work against the Yankees on Tuesday. It has been a horrible year for Elarton, who has struck out 13 batters while surrendering 12 home runs. On The Soul of Baseball blog, there's a look at other pitchers who gave up nearly as many long balls as they had strikeouts.
MINOR LEAGUE REPORT: Joel Pineiro accepted his assignment to Triple A Pawtucket, and promptly threw three no-hit innings as a starter against Toledo (projo). In Portland, pitcher Justin Masterson struck out 10 en route to a victory over New Hampshire. Since being promoted from Class-A Lancaster, Masterson has started four games, and won all four.
DONNELLY UPDATE: Brendan Donnelly (forearm strain) has played catch at 90 feet for the last couple of days (projo).
THIS KID HAS A FUTURE: In his Triple-A debut with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 21-year-old Yanks phenom Joba Chamberlain struck out 10 batters while walking only one in five shutout innings (N.Y. Daily News).
A NEW NAME: The Globe reports that the Sox are talking to Tampa Bay about Ty Wigginton, an infielder with decent pop (15 home runs and a .275 batting average so far this year), though a trade is not close to happening. The story also says that Boston is interested in Dodgers third base prospect Andy LaRoche, who is at Triple A Las Vegas.
TEIXEIRA TALKS: The Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers and Braves are deep into discussions about a trade involving Mark Teixeira.
OK, TAKE HIM: The Post reports that the Tigers might be interested in taking Kyle Farnsworth off the Yankees' hands.
CURT'S CONCERNS: Curt Schilling not only has steroids on his mind (projo); he is giving a lot of thought to his online gaming business as well (Globe).
TOUGH NIGHT: First, he was thrown out at first base by Houston right-fielder Luke Scott after hitting what appeared to be a single. Then, in the fifth inning, he had to leave the game because of a pulled groin. A frustrating evening for Derek Lowe, who threw his glove the length of the Dodgers dugout after coming off the field (projo stats).
OUCH AGAIN: Jose Contreras, who was allowed to stay into the eighth inning last week in Boston and ended up giving up 10 runs, surrendered nine runs on 12 hits in 4.2 innings yesterday against Detroit, caughing up two leads along the way. Safe to say Contreras' trade value is waning, if it has not completely evaporated.
PEDRO'S ROAD BACK: Pedro Martinez will pitch a simulated game on Friday and is expected to make a minor-league rehab start on Wednesday in Port St. Lucie. (N.Y. Post)
AND HANLEY'S: Florida's Hanley Ramirez, nursing a partially dislocated shoulder, fielded ground balls yesterday, but has yet to swing a bat since suffering his injury over the weekend (Miami Herald).
UNIT REVIEW: A day after saying that his career might in fact be over, Randy Johnson told the Diamondbacks that he would throw another bullpen session later in the week (projo stats).
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 9:07 AM to Projo Sox Crawl
| Permalink
