Over the Monster

Red Sox 3, Rays 4: Quick Reaction

2012-05-27T21:48:56Z

0-0, 10-10, 11-11, 21-21, 22-22, 23-23.

If we follow the pattern, that means the Sox will play badly for a while and then only make their way back to .500 at 32-32.

So we've got that to look forward to.

The Sox have made an art form out of disappointing their fans in the most painful way possible since that terrible September. It's almost disappointing, frankly, that they've been harping on this .500 thing for so long. Have they run out of ideas? Or is that what the walkoff was about, raising hopes for the storybook turnaround (as evidenced by my reaction last night) before dropping another painful game?

At the very least, they're switching up their in-game method, hitting you where you don't expect it and throwing in the dramatic comeback for kicks. After Clay Buchholz put together by far his best game of the year today, throwing seven innings of two-run ball as he commanded his curveball and changeup, striking out six batters, walking one, and having one of his runs come across partially due to an errant throw from Adrian Gonzalez in right.

Adrian, for his part, made up for his defensive gaffe at the plate, taking the 2-0 deficit the Sox faced after Clay's night and turning it into a 3-2 lead, following up a leadoff walk and single in the seventh from David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis respectively with a home run into the Monster seats just to the right of the pole.

Franklin Morales and Vicente Padilla put together an impressive eighth inning, turning it over to Alfredo Aceves who had been completely dominant since that terrible meltdown against the Yankees. After three days off, though, he just didn't have it. Starting the inning with a walk to Ben Zobrist, Aceves would eventually give Sean Rodriguez a pitch to hit, and the shortstop sent it over everything in left to give the Rays the 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.

A depressing finish to what could have been another very energizing win. Clay Buchholz did well, but it's hard to really remember back to that after the ninth inning.

Also, just an addendum, Angel Hernandez is a terrible umpire. The loss is hardly his fault, since he had an awful strike zone for both teams, and for all I know was even worse for the Rays. But between that and his penchant for ejecting those who disagree with his terrible calls, he's kind of a disgrace.

Game 47

2012-05-27T17:25:09Z

Let's give this another go.

Clay Buchholz

#11 / Pitcher / Boston Red Sox

Height: 6-3

Weight: 190

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Aug 14, 1984

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - Clay Buchholz	4-2	9	9	0	0	0	0	49.1	67	45	43	11	27	27	7.84	1.91

Jeremy Hellickson

#58 / Pitcher / Tampa Bay Rays

Height: 6-1

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Apr 08, 1987

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - Jeremy Hellickson	4-1	9	9	0	0	0	0	56.0	50	22	17	9	19	38	2.73	1.23

Lineup

BOSTON RED SOX	TAMPA BAY RAYS
Mike Aviles, SS	Carlos Pena, 1B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B	B.J. Upton, CF
David Ortiz, DH	Matt Joyce, LF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B	Ben Zobrist, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, RF	Luke Scott, DH
Jarrod Salalamacchia, C	Sean Rodriguez, SS
Will Middlebrooks, 3B	Drew Sutton, 3B
Daniel Nava, LF	Will Rhymes, 2B
Scott Podsednik, CF	Chris Gimenez, C

Go Sox!

Red Sox Minor Lines 5/26: Ryan Kalish Lives

2012-05-27T15:00:53Z

Pawtucket W 8-5

Box Score

Alex Hassan: 1-4, K
Ryan Lavarnway: 1-3, HR, BB
-Amazingly just Lavarnway's third on the year. His slugging remains under .400.
Lars Anderson: 0-3, BB, 2 K

Daisuke Matsuzaka: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
-Lots of flyballs, but still, hope.

An inauspicious day for Xander Bogaerts after the jump.

Portland Game 1 W 4-3

Box Score

Jeremy Hazelbaker: 2-5, 2 K, SB
Bryce Brentz: 0-4, BB, 3 K
Chris Balcom-Miller: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
-Still not looking very CBM-like.

Portland Game 2 W 4-3 (In 7)

Well that's a familiar result.

Box Score

Juan Carlos Linares: 2-4, 2B
Bryce Brentz: 1-2, 2B

Anthony Ranaudo: 6 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Josh Fields: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Salem L 3-5

Box Score

Jackie Bradley: 2-4, 2B, K
Sean Coyle: 0-4, K
Ryan Kalish: 2-4, HR, 2 K
-It's been a long time since we've seen Mr. Kalish here. That's a good way to reintroduce yourself.
Travis Shaw: 1-4, HR,
-Travis Shaw's second homer of the year give Dylan Bundy his first earned runs after going 30 scoreless innings in the SAL.
Xander Bogaerts: 0-4, 3 K
Christian Vazquez: 0-4

Greenville W 15-10

Box Score

Keury De La Cruz: 0-6, K
Garin Cecchini: 5-6, 2B, K, E
-Now hitting .348/.435/.543 in May.
Henry Ramos: 2-5, 2 K
Blake Swihart: 2-5, K
Jose Vinicio: 2-5, 2 E

Red Sox 3, Rays 2: Quick Reaction

2012-05-27T03:23:41Z

From despondency to joy, Jarrod Saltalamacchia took a frustrating night and turned it into the best win of the year with one big swing of the bat.

After the first six innings, things were looking good for Boston. Josh Beckett had allowed all of one baserunner--a single in the third--as he continued his domination of the Rays. The Sox, meanwhile, had finally broken through against David Price in the bottom of the sixth, with Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz reaching base to start the frame. Dustin Pedroia would get thrown out at home on a great throw by B.J. Upton, but Ortiz would end up scoring on what was either a Will Middlebrooks single or Sean Rodriguez error (it was officially scored a hit) to give Boston the 1-0 lead.

Things went wrong in the seventh, unfortunately, with three ground balls finding holes, and Daniel Nava making an ill-advised throw home on a deep sacrifice fly rather than holding the runner at second, ultimately allowing two runs to score and the Rays to take the lead.

Adrian Gonzalez was even out of the game by that point, having been pinch-run for by Che-Hsuan Lin after picking up the hit that saw Pedroia thrown out at home.

But oh, so much can be forgiven with a win. Daniel Nava worked an excellent at-bat to draw a walk--this game saw a good few long at-bats put on by the Sox--and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, after missing the first fastball he saw, took a huge hack at an inside heater and left it past the bullpen and a few rows deep in right-center. It was the sort of walkoff shot deserving of the somewhat slow trot to first Salty allowed himself, with the celebration starting while the ball was still en route.

The Sox could have been two games back of .500 with their momentum robbed and one of the few feathers in their caps so far--their winning record against the Rays--gone. Instead, even if they still don't have that winning record, they end tonight with one hell of a celebration and a lot of good feelings. This was a big one.

Game 46

2012-05-26T23:04:25Z

Oh Josh Beckett, please come and save us from the evil cult of the Devil Rays as you have so often before.

Do not allow the evil Joe Maddon, who fabricates history and plays the victim while scheming to inflict grevious harms, to emerge victorious!

Cast off the pall of last night's debacle and bring your comrades back to a place of respectability!

Win a damn baseball game. Come on.

Josh Beckett

#19 / Pitcher / Boston Red Sox

Height: 6-5

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 15, 1980

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - Josh Beckett	4-4	8	8	0	0	0	0	49.1	48	24	24	9	15	40	4.38	1.28

David Price

#14 / Pitcher / Tampa Bay Rays

Height: 6-6

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Aug 26, 1985

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2012 - David Price	6-3	9	9	1	1	0	0	59.1	54	20	19	5	18	52	2.88	1.21

Lineup

BOSTON RED SOX	TAMPA BAY RAYS
Mike Aviles, SS	Carlos Pena, 1B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B	B.J. Upton, CF
David Ortiz, DH	Matt Joyce, LF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B	Ben Zobrist, RF
Adrian Gonazlez, RF	Luke Scott, DH
Will Middlebrooks, 3B	Drew Sutton, 3B
Daniel Nava, LF	Sean Rodriguez, 2B
Kelly Shoppach, C	Jose Molina, C
Marlon Byrd, CF	Elliot Johnson, SS

Go Sox!

Red Sox Minor Lines 5/25: Power Show

2012-05-26T15:00:32Z

Pawtucket L 4-5

Box Score

Jose Iglesias: 1-3, BB, SB, E
Ryan Lavarnway: 0-3, BB, K
Lars Anderson: 0-4, K, E
Alex Hassan: 0-3, BB, K

Alex Wilson: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Xander taps into the power after the jump.

Salem W 13-2

Box Score

Jackie Bradley: 0-1, 3 BB
-Bradley walks in about 20% of his plate appearances. How is he still in Salem?
Xander Bogaerts: 1-5, HR, 2 K
-Just Xander's second homer in May. Also just his fifth extra base hit in what was actually a very slow month.
Christian Vazquez: 1-5

Drake Britton: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
-The runs scored on three ground ball singles, so actually a very good game for Britton.
Keith Couch: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Greenville W 12-6

Box Score

Keury De La Cruz: 2-5, HR, K, E
-That's homer number eight for De La Cruz. His .903 OPS is a undermined a bit, however, by 44 strikeouts in 182 at bats to just ten walks.
Garin Cecchini: 0-3, BB
David Renfroe: 1-5, 2 K
Henry Ramos: 2-4, HR, BB, K

Miguel Pena: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
-With 53 strikeouts and 7 walks in 47 innings, Pena can't be far from joining Mr. Barnes up in Salem.

Weekly Recap for May 26th

2012-05-26T13:00:33Z

Nothing like a Friday night tilt at Fenway to remind you of your priorities. We've all expended a lot of energy since last September hating the Orioles. And fairly so, with First Enemy Robert Andino in the field and bean-happy Buck Showalter in the dugout. But last night, we all got reminded of the real fun in fan hatred: Tampa Bay. Ever since the good old days, when Tampa was terrible and started fights because they were really annoyed about being terrible, Tampa and Boston have had a particularly feisty rivalry. It's especially fun now that Tampa's come to the final stage of their long-game strategy of being terrible for a decade and striking on just enough draft picks to look good for a few years.

Yep, I might be a little bit bitter at the moment. Honestly, it's not even really about the Rays, as much as they annoyed me last night. It's that last night marked the Red Sox' fifth attempt to get over .500, and their fifth failure to do so. Which obviously matters in the standings, but at this point I think we can all agree that it's mostly a psychological thing for us. A team that's 23-22 and on the upswing is something we can all be (mostly) happy about. A team that's 22-23 and on the upswing just isn't quite there yet, and it's absolutely infuriating.

But, .500 or not, Boston's spent a few weeks now looking like a team that might be worth watching the rest of the year, and it's been a lot more fun writing about them lately. So we did a lot of it this week. Let's flip through it, shall we?

Someday, there will be a week where I type up this recap, and the word "injury" will never once appear on the screen. This, alas, is not that week. On Friday, I wrote this:

Cody Ross left the game after fouling a ball off his foot, in a play that looked frighteningly similar to the one that put Pedroia on the shelf in 2010.

So yeah, this one's on me. Well, really it's on the whimsical nature of fate and baseball, but I'm easier to yell at. Ross did in fact break his foot, and now resides upon the DL, along with every other individual who has ever played the outfield for Boston. Marc covered some of the options the Sox had for replacing Ross. There were good outfielders, middling outfielders, and trade options galore. And thus, the Red Sox called upon... Scott Podsednik. Who hit a home run in his first start. So now the world's going to end, because Cody Ross broke his foot. Thanks, fate. Matt Kory did a great job covering exactly how screwed up this has been. Read it and be enlightened. Or at least amused. Hopefully both.

It wasn't all bad news. We also got to once again hear the soothing sound of "YOOOUUUK"s echoing across Fenway (and Camden, which for these purposes is effectively the same thing). Kevin Youkilis returned to the fold, and did so impressively, providing the only offense the Sox got against Brian Matusz (really?) with a solo shot.

Weirdest thing of all? Despite all the injuries, the Sox offense is still doing really well. Anyone who figured an offense featuring Marlon Byrd and Ryan Sweeney in major roles would be leading the league in multiple categories is probably lying, but the results can't be denied. Even with a borderline Triple-A outfield, the Sox are raking.

More good news: the bullpen. It's... It's actually really good. And it's starting to figure itself out. Ben covered the evolution of the Sox pen from a scattered Boschian hellscape to a well-ordered Mondrian of K/BB efficiency. And their newfound effectiveness may go a long way toward extending the Daniel Bard starting experiment, because he surely hasn't been impressing on the mound of late. The potential's still there, but if that fastball doesn't return, it's going to be a quick trip back to the eighth inning.

The MLB amateur draft is in nine days, and we decided to get into the scouting mood by looking at Boston drafts of the past. I went over the decade of drafts leading up to the Ellsbury/Buchholz/Lowrie bonanza of 2005, and Matt Kory looked at the 2007 draft. With any luck, this year's draft will be much more like '05 and less like '97 (don't look, it will only break your heart).

Matt Sullivan continued to relate the tale of Ryan O'Malley, the Sox fan who's come unstuck in time. I won't spoil the ending, but there may be Trafalmadorians involved. Stay tuned.

Today, it'll be David Price and Josh Beckett. I'm sure it'll be a game of polite gestures, tea cozies, and gentle hugs. Not a whisper of animosity. Enjoy the the quiet, folks.

Red Sox Lose Ugly Game To Rays, Both Teams Debase Themselves

2012-05-26T03:39:15Z

It's an ugly day to be a Red Sox fan.

The game is one thing--a 7-4 loss is certainly a negative in its own right, with Jon Lester being terrible and allowing all seven runs in four innings. The Sox' offense wasn't all bad, but it didn't do what it should have given a stingy umpire and an inexperienced pitcher on the mound.

What really gets me is what's happening afterward.

Jon Lester is blaming the umpire behind home plate, claiming he had to throw the ball through a keyhole. Yes, the umpire was squeezing him in the third. A normal pitcher's response, under the circumstances, is to stop trying to paint the bottom of the strike zone and work with what they're given. Lester instead chose to stare at the umpire for long periods of time and then act put upon. Eventually, with the bases loaded by way of two walks and a single and Matt Joyce ahead in the count 3-1, Lester grooved a fastball and Joyce killed it for a grand slam.

But that's fine, because we can chalk the earned runs up to the umpire and the Red Sox don't take the loss, right?

Amazingly, NESN has taken the opportunity to praise Jon Lester for his maturity in talking to the media and ~~accepting~~ shifting blame for his terrible performance. I guess it stands to reason, since they spent so much time trying to foist Josh Beckett's last bad outing onto his game of golf. When did Lester become Big Brother? Have we always been at war with Mark Carlson?

Then on the other side there's Joe Maddon, trying to act innocent in the benches-clearing "brawl" that was instigated by Franklin Morales plunking Luke Scott in the knee. The coaches ended up being the center of attention as everyone else milled about, shouting back and forth as the players tried to separate them. Oh, and B.J. Upton managed to get into it with a fan.

Now after the game Maddon is pretending that the Rays didn't plunk Adrian Gonzalez last time these teams met for daring to suggest he would hit a home run after a slump had Sox fans and media alike questioning him. It wasn't about showing up the Rays, but either way they hit our guy, so we hit theirs (Luke Scott), so they hit ours (Dustin Pedroia), so we hit theirs (Luke Scott again--which, frankly, shouldn't even need an excuse). Stop acting like this is some egregious offense rather than the standard operating procedure.

Just an ugly night all around. That the team is still stuck without a winning record would be bad enough without the circus that followed.