Another Three Zip Lead

Well, the Sox again started off three zip, this time after three innings at a run apiece. However, after a few more innings, the Jays chased Rubby de la Rosa and tied the score at three. I'm thinking, 'not again', but the Hose had a couple of surprises in store for me and thee from that point on. They picked up another run to take the lead at 4-3--then allowed the Jays to again tie the score. Hey, guys--forget about courtesy and consideration! Get the lead and screw the other team!  Anyway, from that point through the 10th nothing they did was enough to take the lead again and possibly win. Then came the 11th.
Led by Nap and Craig, the Sox put two in the cheaps. Nap's was an unbelievable shot, landing in the fifth (no typo here) deck and plating three runs. A couple of batters later, Craig put his out with a man aboard. Between them that accounted for five Sox runs in the 11th. Add in a pair of others for good measure and the Sox had snatched another fragment of last season and placed it squarely into 2014.  In doing so, they dropped the Jays to .500 for the first time since mid-May. The Sox are now still 18 back and thirty to go.
While we're at it, Pedey also had a homer, his second in two nights.
Sox leaders last night were Holt, Pedey, YoBaby, and Nap, each with at least a pair of hits, Yo getting three. And while we're on Yo, he picked up another ribbie as well, leaving him at 87 and withing shouting distance of team leader and 2d in the AL, Papi. Since coming to the Sox, Yo's looking as if he may be a real RBI machine of sorts, and could make it to the century mark on the season. That would likely give the Hose their first pair of 100 RBI guys in the same season since Manny left.
Sox pitching also gets some of the credit. Layne, Mujica, Badenhop and Taz collectively threw 4 1/3 shutout innings, with Taz getting the W and dropping his ERA under 3.0 again. Had his successor not allowed three runs in the home half of the 11th, the Sox margin would have really been more of a laugher.

Sox Break Skid--Defeat Jays

Well, tonight started off with the Sox getting a three zip lead (sound recently familiar) in the 5th on homers by Betts and Pedey, coupled with some excellent pitching by Bucky going through the 8th. K's were not very high, but the way he was getting the powerful Jays lineup to beat the ball into the ground more than made up for the relative lack of K's. Came the 9th--Bucky got the first batter he faced; then gave up consecutive singles and a walk to load the sacks. On comes Koji. He quickly dispatches with the first hitter he faces on a fielder's choice grounder that scores a run, but is the second out, and leaves runners at the corners. The next guy up drills a two bagger to left scoring both runners, tying the score and giving Koji another BS (though he ultimately did get the W), a total that's getting uncomfortably high in recent weeks. Then he closes out the inning, score: three all. I'm thinking, "Shit, not again! Oh me of little faith! Sox 10th: Holt gets a one out infield single, steals BOTH second and third and waits for new Sox outfielder YoBaby (Cespedes) to single him home, which he does. Sox back on top! Jays' 10th and we get the closer who used to be--long, long ago--at least it feels that way (2012 for the A's)--Breslow. He puts away two of the first three batters, sandwiched around the tying run on a freebie, then closes out the Jays and the game on a foul pop to Craig at first--Game Over--So's the Streak!! Sox creep back to within 17 below .500--Ugh! Now I'm not at this stage going to put my rose colored glasses back on and say the Sox could still pull it off.  But, hey--the reverse is how they missed the playoffs in 2011 when it was such a sure thing.  I can hope, though!
In addition to the two Sox shots, YoBaby got a pair of hits, one getting home the winning run, as did Nava.  Overall, YoBaby's gotten 19 ribbies since arriving in the trade for Les, seven of those ribbies giving the Hose the lead at the time. Overall, the Sox had eight hits, so the runs all came on three of them. Papi sat out the game due to a bruised foot suffered against Seattle when he fouled a ball of the foot. Farrell hopes he'll be back in the lineup tomorrow. We do to, but only time will tell.

Well, as previously noted, the Sox were getting deeper into their latest losing streak, and it hit 8 in a row with the weekend sweep at the hands of the M's at the Fens. seems no matter what the Sox did to grab a lead or come from behind to tie and then take a lead, the Mariners went them one better. I think the one that hurt the most was Friday's loss to the guys from Seattle when the Sox, armed with a three zip lead into the 9th gave up five and the game, the M's getting to Koji wholesale. As I've previously noted here, I went elsewhere in Sox Nation history Friday night while this was going on. Went to see the local San Rafael minor league team, the Pacifics, featuring former Sox hurler Bill 'Spaceman' Lee. He was supposed to be retiring that night, but also got into the game as a PH, and grounded out. I seized the opportunity, went down to the dugout and got a selfie of he & I together. As we snapped the pic, he said make sure to tell all of RS Nation he's still rooting for the old team. Here's the pic. Enjoy!

Sorry, but it won't go in upright. Wonder if that's the effect of the two guys in the pic or the glass of beer.

Sox Comntinue to Sink; Blow 3-0 Lead in 9th

Well, tonight there are two different things Sox to report. Unfortunately, one of them is tonight's game against the Mariners. The other was a brief trip back in Sox history to the Spaceman. But more on that in a moment. Tonight, against a guy who is arguably one of the half dozen best pitchers in the AL, "King" Hernandez, the Sox took a three zip lead midway through the game on a couple of hits followed by a shot by Cespedes that cleared everything in left, the Monster and everything else, giving the Hose that 3-0 lead. The Sox pitching was just as solid, staring with the Hose starter and continuing through the guys from the pen. Of the latter, Badenhop and Layne tossed 1 1/3 hitless, allowing only a single freebie between them. Enter the 9th with Koji on the mound. Should be lights out, no? Exactly! NO! At least not tonight. Koji worked it to two outs and a man on, the Sox still holding that three zip lead--and then he surrendered five (count 'em) runs, and the game. Too bad. This was a real waste. In a twinkling he went from almost untouchable to unbelievably touchable. That's the way the season's gone for our team.
The only good news today was the aforementioned Cespedes shot, and Papi's continued consecutive hit streak, now six for six, counting yesterday's four for four. Away from the Fens, some good news for the Sox: maybe very good news. The Sox won the bidding war among eight teams, including the Evil Empire, for Cuban outfield superstar Castillo. Seven years for a total deal of about $78 million, most of it back loaded. Next year could be an interesting year in the Hub outfield--Havana northeast.

Now for the other bit--Sox history with the Spaceman.  For those of you old enough to remember the Sox of the late 60's through the 70's, one of the outstanding characters was a southpaw by the name of Bill Lee. Better known as "Spaceman" due to his antics and outspokenness on a wide variety of issues from baseball to politics, to counterculture issues, he was a pretty damn good starter, probably a number 2 or 3 on one of today's rotations in MLB. His career stats were 119-90 and a 3.62 ERA, with 713 K's. The career lasted until early 1982, and of the roughly thirteen years he was in the Show, Spacemen pitched for the Sox for ten years. He also was an All Star in 1973. He is a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame, holding the record for most games pitched by a lefty (321), and the third highest total W's by a Red Sox southpaw at 94. He's also written four books on baseball, the general tack of them being the more 'unusual' stuff and people ijn baseball from his point of view. So, you ask, what has Bill Lee got to do with Sox baseball today? Well, simple. At the age of 65, a time when most former MLB players are showing up aty old timers days, if anywhere, Lee at age 65 signed a contract a couple of years ago to pitch for the San Rafael Pacifics, an independent minor league team. Tonight, at age 68, the Pacifics had a Bill Lee Retirement night, and the Spaceman actually pinch hit during the game.  Figuring Sox Nation citizens would find the news interesting, I snuck down to the Pacifics 'dugout' and walked up to Lee between innings. I introduced myself as a "Boston native', whereupon the Spaceman grabbed ny hand for a good solid shake. I asked if he'd do a selfie for the Duffys Cliff site and he was happy to oblige. Keep your fingers crossed; it should be up tomorrow. Tried to upload tonight and no luck, but we'll get it done tomorrow.

Papi Joins Teddy Ballgame

Well, looks as if I spoke too soon about the Sox' appearance of returning to the methodology and success that marked last year's wonder season. Since then, they've lost four in a row and are mired deeper than ever in last in the AL East. However, that doesn't mean nothing positive's happening. Papi has in recent days propelled himself into the lead in RBI's not just in the AL, but all of MLB. With last night's rocket into the cheaps, he now has 93. More interesting, that shot was Papi's 30th of the year, leaving him in third in the league. BUT it also allowed him to tie the all time great Sox hero, Ted Williams, for the most seasons of thirty or more homers. The total is eight seasons.  I'm not suggesting that Papi is the equal of Teddy Ballgame--nobody could be--but Ted had 521 career homers in his military shortened career. Papi's blow last night is his 461, and counting. He has averaged 36 homers per year for his career. Last night's shot came as part of a 4-4 evening, which raised his BA into the mid-.260's. Unfortunately, it was the final Sox run in an otherwise disappointing evening and one more loss for the Hose.

Six of Eight--Sox Looking More and More Like 2013!

Well, after losing last night by giving up a pair of runs in the 10th--after coming back to tie at 3, tonight the Sox returned to last year's frequent methodology.  They didn't let the fact that they were down five one early on preclude victory. Starting with a two run shot into the center field cheaps by--who else--Big Papi in the 3d, and then, having fallen behind 6-3, sending nine to the plate in the 5th, accented by another two run shot off Papi's bat, and adding four runs in all to take the lead for good, the Sox pulled away to win 10-7.  Papi also had a hand in the last trey the Sox put on the board. he added a two run two bagger to his totals for the day, finishing with a career tying six ribbies on the day.
Equally important, he wasn't the only show in town--just the biggest.  Danny Nava continued his return from oblivion, going 3-4 with a pair of ribbies and a double to raise his BA to a season high .267--finally respectability!  Pedey and Nap each also had a pair of hits, their BA's respectively rising to .284 and .270.
defensively, the Hose moundsmen did a creditable job after De La Rosa left them behind 6-3 after four. His game WHIP was a horrible 3.25, coming on the combo of nine hits and four freebies he gave up.  But the relief that followed was, overall, awesome! Wilson and Badenhop were each perfect, the former going 2 1/3 and the latter adding in his own 1 2/3 innings, more than covered for the softness today by Layne and Koji. The former faced two men, got neither out and left for Badenhop.  Koji finished up, allowing a homer, but as it wasn't a save situation, it likely isn't an issue. Wilson got the W.
Papi's pair of homers mean that he becomes the third member of the Bosox to have 400 homers in a Sox uniform. The others, naturally are Teddy Ballgame with 521 and Yaz with 452. Both of those totals are also career totals, while Papi has a career total now of 459, the others coming in his prior days with the Twinkies.
Both the Rays and O's lost, so the Sox picked up a game on each of them. The team remains in last in the AL East, but, at the risk of sounding like I'm afflicted with a classic case of Sox Hope, the team still has forty games or so to continue their recent surge.  Who knows?  I mean this is the team that was down three zip to the Evil Empire in 2004 and won it all!

Sox Win 3d In A Row--Conclude Winning Road Trip

Well, it's been a while since I posted and I apologize. Had been on vacation for a while, and got distracted. Anyway, with today's win over the Reds, the Sox have won three in a row and four of their last five. In fact, the only loss in this period was a nineteen inning defeat in Anaheim that Jenn attended.  This morning's win completed a sweep against the Reds, and featured another of the Sox rookie pitchers. It seems that in order to get a sense of a variety of young hurlers they have down on the farm, the Hose have taken to bringing them up for a start and then sending them back to the Pawsox once the game is over. Today's rook pitcher was Tony Ranaudo, who is now 2-0 with the big club. He went six, allowed eight hits a a lone freebie, but scattered them fairly well. Danny Nava continues his steady climb up the BA charts with a pair of hits today that left his average for the year at .25.
Ranaudo's only uncomfortable moment for Sox fans came in the Cinci 4th when both the opposing hurler and Schumaker each had a solo blast to briefly give the Reds a 3-2 lead. However, the Sox wasted no time in remedying that, with Yoenis driving in a ribbie on a single and Nap going yard in their half of the 5th to put the Sox back in the lead, 5-3. Nap's shot complemented his other ribbie for the game. Although the Reds did get back a run in their half of the 5th, the Sox pen made the lead stand up for the W.
It did get nervous again in the bottom of the 9th when the Reds opened with their first two batters getting hits, leaving them with tying and winning runs on and nobody out. However, Sox reliever Mujica got the Reds' leadoff hitter to K on three consecutive bunt fouls. It doesn't come up very often, but a foul ball on a two strike bunt counts as strike three, and so that cut the host team's chances a bit. Then Mujica got the next batter, the very swift Hamilton (think Cinci's answer to former Sox player Jake) to harmlessly fly out to Bradley, followed by a simple grounder back to Mujica by the previously most effective Reds batsmen for the day, Negron. Up to this point, he'd had a pair of hits on the day, including a triple, and scored two of the Reds' runs.

The Sox pen looked good overall, staying perfect for the first two innings of the three innings' relief that it worked. Other than Mujica's pair of hits allowed, the pen gave up absolutely zip, both Taz and Badenhop staying perfect and Taz punching out a pair of K's to boot. This is an improvement over his recent work, and a good sign.
From here, the Sox go back to the Fens, opening Friday night against the Astros. Biggest opposing threat there is the current league leading hitter, Altuve, his BA being at .339. The Sox return to Boston playing sub-500 for the season by double digit numbers. However, there are still 43 games left, and that's enough for a comeback to the post season. I admit chances are thin for that to actually happen based on the yaer to date, but, being a life long Sox fan, never say never. I mean remember 'The Impossible Dream' in '67 and even better, the playoff comeback against the Stripes in '04. As the Stripes' catcher-philosopher once said, "It ain't over 'til it's over.
With that in mind, new Sox outfielder Cespedes has now reached base in every one of the ten games since he's arrived from Oakland. He's also contributed a pair of HR's and eight ribbies over that span. If he can pick it up playing to the Monster once the team gets home, and Papi and Nap continue to follow their recent pace on getting balls in the cheaps, coupled with a continued renaissance from Nava and continued increase in BA by Pedey, the Hose may have a reasonable chance

Sox Beat Yankees

In the first game after the wholesale bloodletting of yesterday and the earlier part of the week, the Sox took an early two zip lead and held off the Stripes for a 4-3 win.  In spite of homers by Beltran and Jeter, the Sox managed to never trail, winning their third straight over the Evil Empire. Starting in the 3d with a trip by Holt, followed by a solid two bagger by Pedey, and then followed in order by one by Papi, the Sox grabbed a quick lead. Papi's ribbie is his 78th of the year.
The lineup was like a new team, Middlebrooks arriving after missing 78 games for a broken finger and starting at third, which allowed Bogaerts to play short, where he's eminently more at ease. Betts, an infielder by trade, did something of a Holt playing center and then right, and showing his natural ability to good advantage with a highlight reel diving catch of Ellsbury's hard drive to center that had extra bases all over it.
All of this supported rookie starter Anthony Ranaudo's first big league start, giving him the W after six innings in which he scattered a mere four hits. He did give up a Beltran homer, but kept things pretty much in control, then allowed the Sox pen to nail it down.  He even got a K off Jeter in the Yankee Captain's final year tour of the Fens. Although Taz allowed a homer by Jeter, he held the Yanks in check until he could pass the ball off to Uehara for his 22d save of the year in a perfect inning, including a single K.
The heavily rookie laden Sox showed well tonight, and it would be sweet if they could put on something of a run at least to respectability over the balance of the season.

And The Players Are????

There used to be a saying, "You can't tell the players without a program." Well, as of yesterday's trading deadline, that is the perfect description of the Red Sox. As they continued to flail around in the depths of the AL East, trade speculation heated up--in fact, was the almost exclusive dominant theme of all local Beantown papers and TV and radio stations. I was "back home" for the past week, just getting back to the Left Coast around midnite last night., and was able to suffer through the activity and speculation first hand.
Anyway, the major players who are still members of the Sox are Pedey, Papi, Nap, Vic and Uehara, along with the bulk of the rookie/soph group of young players who have come up the past 1-2 seasons. The group that has gone, and where, (what we got in return in parens) are Lester to Oakland (Cespedes--a horribly over exaggerated sometime power hitting, BA average .250-ish outfielder who MAY benefit with the Monster--I mean who gives a shit if he wins the All-Star Home Run derby?--It's just glorified batting practice; something Teddy Ballgame would have never even acknowledged, much less participated in.); Gomes (part of the Lester deal); Lackey to St. Louis (we get an outfielder I never heard of and a pitching prospect); Dubront (who appeared to have already thrown in the towel); and Drew to the Evil Empire (a part time infielder). Peavey departed a day earlier for the Angels and has already lost his first start in Anaheim.
Now I understand the need to get some more run production out of the team, but it's a cardinal rule that you build championships with your pitching, then add the hitting to complete the mix--NOT the other way around! When I saw a TV assembled pic yesterday afternoon of Lester in O's Green and Gold, I had to restrain myself from vomiting all over the floor of the Logan airport restaurant I was in at the time.
There is a possibility that Lester could return to the Sox for next year, as he's a free agent at the end of this season, and has publicly stated as recently as this week in the Globe that he'd be very happy doing so, even for less money than other teams might offer. He WANTS to be a Red Sock for the rest of his career, but only time will tell. It's a sad day at the Fens.