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Pitching in place
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Mike Fine
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With tonight’s rainout, the Sox will maintain their pitching order, i.e. Daisuke Matsuzaka will pitch Game 1 Saturday at 3:55 while Tim Wakefield will go in the 8:35 nightcap (good luck getting that one started on time). Josh Beckett is scheduled to pitch the Sunday (1:35) game. Sox manager Terry Francona says the team has a plan in place for the next series, a four-gamer beginning Monday against Kansas City. Complicating matters is the loss of Clay Buchholz (split fingernail), but look for Bartolo Colon to get a start Tuesday, after Jon Lester’s Monday start.
The game was called after a delay of an hour and 25 minutes. There’d been some hope the rain would let up, but once it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen, the rescheduling wheels were set in motion. There were complications, including the fact that the Brewers won’t be in again this season. Also in play was the fact that both weekend games were scheduled for national TV broadcasts, Saturday’s by FOX and Sunday’s by TBS. So there were problems with starting times and exclusivity. Sox GM Theo Epstein called Brewers GM Doug Melvin to explain the situation. Often, the player’s union gets involved in rescheduling issues, but not this time.
By the way, NESN will carry the Saturday evening game.
On another note, Sox manager Terry Francona explained his reasoning for choosing Tigers manager Jim Leyland and Yankees manager Joe Girardi as his All-Star coaches. He’s known Leyland for years, and was treated well by a young manager Leyland when he was young player in the minors. “And he makes my dad feel like the most important person in the world.” Girardi was chosen because the All-Star Game will be played at Yankee Stadium, which will be shut down after this season.
One more thing: This was the first rainout of the season for the Sox.
Tonight’s Game Postponed
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Mike Fine
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Which means that the teams will play a split doubleheader tomorrow. The first game will begin at the regularly-scheduled time of 3:55 with the second at 8:35. Tickets for tonight’s game are good only for tomorrow’s second game.
Rain delay notes
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Mike Fine
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A few notes during the rain delay:
–When they do play, it’ll be the first meeting between the Sox and Brewers since June 6-8, 2003 at Miller Park.
–This is Milwaukee’s first trip to Boston since 1997, their last season in the A.L.
–This is the first of 18 interleague games for the Sox. St. Louis and Arizona will come to Fenway, while the Sox will travel to Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Houston. All series are three games.
–The Sox went 12-6 in interleague play last season and they’re 105-88 all-time against the N.L. The Sox are 28-8 in interleague the last two seasons.
On other fronts:
–The Sox are only 7-7 in May, blowing a 3 ½-game A.L. East lead and falling a game behind Tampa Bay.
–The Sox have blown three straight 3-0 leads and lost four straight overall.
–The last time they lost three straight 3-0 leads was May 19-21, 1995.
–Sox manager Terry Francona returned to the club after missing the two-game series at Baltimore due to his mother-in-law’s passing.
–Gabe Kapler returned to Fenway with his new team, the Brewers, after giving up his managing job with the Greenville Drive, Boston’s Single A minor league affiliate, last season. “I feel like the Red Sox always had my best interests at heart,” he said. “I think they understood that it was a tough decision and it was an intuitive decision and I think they respected that.”
–The Sox announced tonight that minor leaguer Anthony Rizzo, a first baseman at Greenville, has been diagnosed with Limited Stage Classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He’s being treated at Mass. General Hospital and will return to his home in Miami shortly. The treatment is expected to take 6-8 months.
Yeah, it’s raining again
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Mike Fine
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It’s raining pretty good, too, but Sox PR chief John Blake says it’s supposed to let up some after 7, but come down heavier again later. There is no game plan for a makeup date, but considering that this is the first interleague game of the season and the Brewers don’t return, could a Sunday doubleheader be in the works? Doing that Saturday would be difficult because the teams play a 4 p.m. Fox game.
At any rate, this game will be delayed, so maybe we can all sit back and watch the start of the Celtics-Cavs game.
Home Again
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Mike Fine
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The Red Sox are back and begin interleague play tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers. The beauty of their return is that they’re getting healthy again, with Julio Lugo (mild concussion) and JD Drew (sprained left wrist) back in the lineup.
Meanwhile, Coco Crisp (ill) had tests done this morning and “everything was negative,” according to manager Terry Francona (who has returned from a leave because of a death in the family). “He feels better. I don’t think he feels terrific. Whatever he had, it hit him pretty hard.”
Lugo was cleared to play Thursday after sitting out five straight games after getting accidentally kicked in the head in Minnesota. Drew was also cleared Thursday and is feeling fine.
Meanwhile, it appears that Bartolo Colon is on a fast track to make his debut for the Sox Tuesday against Kansas City. He’s coming off a great 65-pitch, six-inning effort for Pawtucket. It’s just that the Sox don’t want to make any annoucements yet, feeling they need to kick it around a bit. Heaven forbid they should tell us that that’s the plan, even if it’s not set in stone.
Francona had been away for a few days, so he wouldn’t bite when asked about Manny Ramirez’s nice catch, high five of a fan, and relay to the infield for a double play in Minnesota. The manager said he saw the play on TV but didn’t realize it was a double play.
He also talked about the return of Gabe Kapler with the Brewers. “I came up to the weight room and it was like the same sight,” he said. “He’s always the first guy in there. I told him the Brewers are welcome, but you’re not.”
The tarp went on the field at about 3:15, but it’s not raining hard and isn’t expected to, although there could be intermittent showers throughout the evening.
The starting lineups: Boston: Ellsbury cf, Pedroia, 2b; Ortiz dh; Ramirez lf; Lowell 3b; Youkilis 1b; Drew rf; Variterk c; Lugo ss; Matsuzaka p.
Milwaukee: Weeks 2b; Cameron cf; Braun lf; Fielder 1b; Hart rf; Brady ss; Dillon dh; Hall 3b; Kendall c; Suppan p.
–Mike Fine
Manny happy returns, Sox win 7-3
Posted on May 3, 2008 by Mike Fine
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OK, so the game’s pretty much in hand. Jonathan Papelbon is on for the top of the ninth, the Sox are up 7-3, having scored once in the eighth when Varitek’s double pushed across Moss. But with the bases loaded and two out, Manny Ramirez got to the plate and–struck out. Tough night for Manny. He struck out three times, lined out and grounded out. He was the only batter who didn’t reach safely. Youkilis was the only other player without a hit, but he walked.
Hey, no biggie. Papelbon closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth and the Sox took a 7-3 win. (No save for Papelbon, though).
Saturday morning
Posted on May 3, 2008 by Mike Fine
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Y’know, after all the quick games played around here lately, you’d at least hope for another one tonight…er, this morning, but after starting at 9:32 following the rain delay, it’s now 12:21, in the top of the 8th. There are probably no more than 2,000 fans remaining at Fenway, although it looks like less.
The Sox had a secure 6-1 lead but gave back a couple in the seventh, when Julio Lugo overthrew Kevin Youkilis on a Gabe Gross grounder, kicking off a two-run Tampa inning. Both runs were unearned. Manny Delcarmen, who’s really been struggling, almost added fuel to the fire when he relieved Javier Lopez and gave up a walk and a single, but neither led to a run. He escaped with a punch-out of Evan Longoria. Hideki Okajima just got three outfield fly outs and the Sox are coming up in the bottom of the eighth, up, 6-3.
Funny thing is, Neil Diamond’s singing, and despite the few people in the park, they sound pretty loud.
Buchholz busts out
Posted on May 2, 2008 by Mike Fine
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The tremendous string of starting pitching performances continued from Buchholz tonight. Although he lasted only 5/1 innings, he gave up only five hits and a run as his team went up on the Rays, 6-1. The only run he allowed came across on a wild pitch. He was replaced by Javier Lopez.
The Sox are looking good on both sides of the ball. Lugo just beat out the team’s 10th hit, a bunt, and they’ve also flashed some leather. They escaped the fifth with a 5-3-2 double play.
The only problem with this thing is the time. The scoreboard has already informed fans of the last trains to Clarksville–and elsewhere on the MBTA route maps. Heck, it’s 11:49, in the bottom of the sixth after the pre-game rain delay of 2:27, and the park is now maybe 1/8 full.
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