Yamaico Navarro Can't Sit Still

G139: Rays 14, Red Sox 5

Rays    - 002 462 000 - 14 12  1
Red Sox - 200 000 030 -  5  7  1

Missed it by that much.

David Price / Daisuke Matsuzaka

Scutaro, SS
McDonald, CF
Martinez, C
Beltre, 3B
Ortiz, DH
Lowell, 1B
Lowrie, 2B
Drew, RF
Hall, LF

Drew #8?!? That's the lowest spot in the lineup of any of his 114 starts this year. ... Michael Bowden has been called up, bringing the roster count to 33.

Amalie Benjamin, Globe:

Ask Amalie: What's next for Red Sox?

We finally have our answer. The Red Sox will not be going to the postseason this year ... All hope is gone, at least where it concerns the rest of the Red Sox season.

She is mostly likely right, of course, but I really don't like it when people state an uncertainty as a concrete fact. There are many ways to communicate that the chances of any Red Sox baseball after October 3 is mighty slim; why not use one of them? Writers (and fans) in Boston and New York declared the 2004 ALCS over after three games -- and they all ended up looking like fools. (Jeez, even Jim Donaldson gets it, admitting he was "stunningly wrong" in 1999 and 2004.)

So: Cool Standings is up an entire percentage point (2.1%).

BP has the Sox up to 3.6% (+1.5%!), 1.4%, and 2.9%.

Mojo is serious stuff, so here is today's Pop Sensation cover:AL East: Orioles/Yankees, 7 PM

September 7:

1935 - Cleveland leads Boston 5-3 at Fenway, but the Red Sox have the bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the ninth. Joe Cronin lines a pitch off the side of the head of Cleveland 3B Odell Hale. The ball caroms to SS Bill Knickerbocker, who throws to 2B Roy Hughes, who throws to 1B Hal Trosky to complete a triple play and end the game.

1996 - Marlins LF Joe Orsulak throws out three Expos at the plate in a span of five batters. He throws out two runners on consecutive plays to end the third inning, then guns down another in the fourth. Montreal wins 2-1.

"Why Pitchers Averages Mean Nothing"

M.G. Lloyd, Ph.D., on pitchers' win-loss records:

The method at present in vogue in professional baseball leagues for rating pitchers is crude, unjust and almost ridiculous. ...

It is true that more responsibility rests upon the pitcher than upon any one other man, but he has not as much power to decide the game as have the other eight combined. Any man on the team may throw away a game by his poor play, and many a pitcher has done work that would ordinarily win a game, only to have it lost by another player's errors. This is such common experience as to need no specific illustration. ...

Even supposing the pitcher received perfect support from the fielders, he is powerless to win a game by pitching alone. To win, it is just as essential that his team shall do good work during their innings at bat ...

Especially where pitchers are changed during a game is the present method unsatisfactory ... The entire game must be credited to one pitcher, and very often to the one who has had least to do with it. ... [I]t is really surprising to find such a primitive method applied in a sport which has been the foremost for so many years.

How should a pitcher's average be determined? ... He should be judged solely by the effectiveness of his own work, regardless of whether his team is able to win the game.

Baseball Magazine, November 1908

G138: Red Sox 12, Rays 5

Rays    - 101 000 300 -  5  8  0
Red Sox - 330 500 10x - 12  9  0

An early burst of runs -- back-to-back home runs from David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre in the first and RBI hits from Victor Martinez and Ortiz in the second -- coupled with Ryan Kalish's grand slam in the fourth carried the Red Sox to victory.

Lester (6-4-2-3-10, 94) allowed baserunners in only the first and third innings. He stranded two in the first and left the bases loaded in the third. The pen stumbled in the seventh -- Robert Coello (in his major league debut) issued two bases-loaded walks and Dustin Richardson added another -- but things settled down after that. Boston has walked in seven runs in the last two days.

In addition to the four-run homer, Kalish singled, walked, stole two bases, and scored three times. J.D. Drew singled twice and walked and Daniel Nava walked twice and singled. Lars Anderson went 0-for-4; all 12 pitches he saw were strikes.

Baltimore beat the Yankees 4-3 during the afternoon, so Boston gained a game on both teams. The Red Sox are 6.5 GB in the WC and 9 GB in the ALE.

Jeff Neimann / Jon Lester

Nava, LF
Drew, RF
Martinez, C
Ortiz, DH
Beltre, 3B
Lowrie, 2B
Kalish, CF
Anderson, 1B
Navarro, SS

Lars Anderson makes his major league debut. Josh Reddick has also been called up. Pawtucket's season ended yesterday.

Everyone knows Boston's post-season chances are thisclose to nil -- the projections at BP (2.1%, 0.9%, 1.7%) and Cool Standings (1.1%) reflect that. Plus, the White Sox's weekend sweep pushed the Red Sox into 3rd place for the wild card.

Back on September 1, YFSF looked at the rest of the season:

If I were a Sox fan who had not yet given up on this season, I would be hoping the Sox can get through next week's home series against the Rays and return home on September 16 from their 6-game stint in Oakland and Seattle no more than 6 back of the Yankees. The Yanks will be entering arguably their toughest stretch of the year ... Boston would be banking on making up the bulk of ground in those final two weeks.

But ... what if the Red Sox swept the Rays? They would be 4.5 GB Tampa Bay with 22 games to play. Would that do anything for you?

Since that post last Wednesday, the Red Sox have not helped their cause at all, going 2-3 and losing another two games in the standings. ... Being 6 GB on September 16 wouldn't guarantee a damn thing, of course, plus it would involve picking up 4.5 games in 10 games (11 days) -- and continuing to steamroll. ... Yeah, a 1.3% shot seems about right. ... Just win one game, tonight's game, and all that, etc.

Anyway ... Neimann was on the DL (right shoulder strain) for most of August. He has made two starts since returning -- allowing 17 runs in 8.1 innings -- and seen his ERA rise by nearly a full run, to 3.97.

Pop Sensation

AL East: Orioles/Yankees, 1 PM

Lars

First baseman Lars Anderson has been called up to the Red Sox.

His 2010 stats:

               GMS   AVG   OBP   SLG    OPS
Portland AA     17  .355  .408  .677  1.085
Pawtucket AAA  113  .262  .340  .428   .768

He was an 18th round pick in the 2006 amateur draft. He turns 23 on September 25. And he reads. Like, actual books.

NESN Lunch Special: Nothces With Extra Cheese

NESN, reporting on Bill Lee's outing for the Brockton Rox, fails to run spellcheck.

The headline is fixed, but the url remains the same.

Jere was at the game and took pics.

NESN's Mission: Annoy All Its Viewers All The Time

We recently saw (thanks to Laura) how many commercials and advertisements NESN packs into every Red Sox broadcast. The network added a new wrinkle Sunday afternoon in its relentless drive to annoy its viewers with as much non-baseball crap as possible.

Nearly every time Don Orsillo read an in-game commercial or promo, Jerry Remy offered some commentary. He told us how much he loves the sponsor or how he was reminded to use a particular product or visit a store or he wanted to encourage us to visit the store.

Every time Don started a spot, I waited for Jerry to chime in. And he did! Every. Single. Time. I cannot recall hearing this kind of forced banter before. Usually, Orsillo reads the bits and we get back to the baseball game. While I found it utterly amazing, especially as I was waiting for each one in the middle innings, it also made the broadcast virtually unlistenable.

What follows is most of the incidents. It's disgraceful that NESN is forcing its announcers to perform addendums to the commercials instead of calling the game and discussing the Red Sox -- and Orsillo and Remy should have enough clout to object to this embarrassing behaviour. (Either they did not object or they lost the battle with the network.) I'm sure NESN hopes that Orsillo's and Remy's popular booth banter will disguise the advertisements somewhat, but that plan was an utter failure on Sunday.

Start of top of 2nd, (Dunkin Donuts):

Remy: I love that apple pie!

Orsillo: Really?

Remy: Oh, delicious!

Orsillo (suppressing a giggle as Remy seemed a bit too excited): I'll have to try it out.

Top of 2nd, Kotsay batting (NESN program with Charlie Moore):

Remy: Ahh, that should be fun, from beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee.

Bottom of 2nd, after Hall walks (CVS Pharmacy):

Remy: I have to stop in at CVS after the game. I got a few things to pick up before we head out on the next road trip.

Orsillo: I already did today.

Remy: Yeah, I know!

Top of 3rd, Rios batting:

Remy: I was thinking about that Overstocked promo, you know, where they get to flip the numbers on the scoreboard. That's the Ultimate Fan Experience. I think the Ultimate Fan Experience would be able to sit in the dugout during a game, wouldn't you say?

Top of 3rd, Quentin batting (Monster Money/Mass State Lottery):

Remy: I play that all the time. Haven't hit yet, but will continue to play.

Orsillo: You can't win if you don't play.

Remy: I said I play it all the time!

Orsillo: I know, that's what I'm saying. You got to keep playing.

Bottom of 3rd, Ortiz batting (NESN show Pocket Money):

Remy: You know, I've got to start to watch all three of those shows. We just haven't had time.

Orsillo: I know, with the day-night doubleheader and everything else, the road.

Remy: Ten o'clock tonight, I've got to put on Pocket Money. And I need to see the other two new shows, too. I have not seen them yet.

Orsillo: Shining City and, of course, After The Game.

Remy: Right.

Orsillo: You're all over it tonight, though.

Remy: Yeah, there's nothing on tonight.

Start of top of 4th (Cumberland Farms):

Remy: Really good stuff. Really good stuff. 79 cents -- can't beat that.

Orsillo: Cannot beat it. The Chill Zone.

Bottom of 4th, Vizquel batting (Beth Israel Deaconess First Aid Stand):

Remy: Let's hope you don't, but if you do, you are in good hands.

Orsillo: Right here at the ball park, in case you need it.

Start of top of 5th (Red Sox Monster Mondays):

Remy: That's basically a whole half-hour of Tom Caron at 5:30, leading up to the pre-game show.

Orsillo (very quietly): It's not all Tom Caron.

Remy: Wha?

Orsillo: It's not all Tom Caron.

Remy: Well, it's an awful lot of Tom Caron.

Orsillo: There's a segment at 5:35 that isn't Tom Caron. It's 2-1, White Sox on top of the Red Sox.

Remy (Kif Krokeresque): Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh ...

Orsillo: As we head to the bottom of the fourth inning. Bill Hall.

Remy: Yes, make sure you tune in early, because --

Orsillo (laughing): Really early.

Remy: Don Orsillo is on very early. His hit is at 5:36. ... So be sure to tune in early.

Top of 5th, after Rios grounds out (Boston Globe):

Remy: You know, I went all through that Globe today, this morning, from front page to back page. And I looked at the jobs, just in case. You never know what might happen.

Bottom of 5th, Lowrie batting (Red Sox online shop):

Remy: I check that every day, I'm looking for that perfect gift.

Bottom of 5th, Ortiz batting (NESN Daily):

Remy: I actually saw you on that show one time. You did a hit for it. Saw it on the website.

Top of 6th, after Ramirez grounds out (three NESN shows (again)):

Remy (excitedly): Oh! Well, that works out just perfect, because after the game, I'm going to have some dinner.

Orsillo: Where you gonna eat?

Remy: I can't say.

(Right! Because the restaurant hasn't ponied up some $$$ to NESN!)

Top of 6th, Beckham batting (Covidien/Red Sox Foundation "helping to address health needs in our communities"):

Remy: And they do a wonderful job!

Bottom of 6th, after Lowell grounds out (Benjamin Moore Paint):

Remy: You know, I didn't know about that stain until we started reading the promos this year. So I tried it out on the deck in the back of the condo I have.

Orsillo: Outstanding?

Remy: Unbelievable. And the way it holds up to the water is incredible.

There were a few others, though they were minor. Remy noted that the Dunkin' Donuts Dugout had "good seats" and he informed us that you could "follow his [Don's] every move" on NESN's website.

And I swear Remy also noted that there was "nothing like a cold Sam Adams" at some point in the first 45 minutes of the game (I posted about it in the game thread), but I could not find it in the archived broadcast.

This "banter" pretty much stopped in the top of the seventh. It looked like NESN started off slowly, maybe one per half-inning, before cranking it up in the middle innings. Then they left the last few innings alone, on the off chance they were eventful or tense.

NESN is making a huge mistake if it continues overshadowing the game with advertising. It was glaringly apparent what was going on and it detracted greatly from the broadcast. Its very existence was annoying enough, but Remy's stupid banter was the exact opposite of his on-air personality. What will NESN's next great idea be -- adding a whooping sitcom laugh track to the play-by-play?

You can contact NESN at sports@nesn.com or 617-536-9233.

G137: White Sox 7, Red Sox 5

White Sox - 010 000 204 - 7 13  1
Red Sox   - 002 000 210 - 5 11  2

Jonathan Papelbon threw 48 pitches and blew his seventh save of the season. After he allowed two hits with two outs to tie the score at 5-5, he, Dustin Richardson, and Robert Manuel combined to walk four straight Chicago batters to give the White Sox the lead, the win, and the series sweep.And I'm like, Fuck You.

Mark Buehrle / Josh Beckett

McDonald, RF
Lowrie, 2B
Martinez, C
Ortiz, DH
Beltre, 3B
Lowell, 1B
Hall, LF
Navarro, SS
Kalish, CF

The Red Sox have called up right-handed reliever Robert Coello from Pawtucket.

Marco Scutaro will have an MRI tomorrow on his right shoulder.

Jason Varitek is scheduled to catch roughly half of Pawtucket's game this evening. He plans on DHing on Monday (the PawSox's last game of the season) and rejoining the team on Tuesday against Tampa Bay.

AL East:

Blue Jays/Yankees, 1 PM
Rays/Orioles, 1:30 PM

September 5:

1914 - Providence Grays (International League) pitcher Babe Ruth hurls a one-hitter and hits his first professional (and only minor league) home run. It comes at Toronto's Hanlan's Point in a 9-0 victory.

1918 - Babe Ruth pitches a six-hit shutout as the Red Sox beat the Cubs 1-0 at Comiskey Field in the first game of the World Series.

1978 - A major-league record 45 players see action as the Expos beat the Cubs 10-8 (nine innings).

Youkilis: This Is Old News

Kevin Youkilis was asked about Manny Ramirez's recent apology for an incident in the Red Sox dugout way back on June 5, 2008:

That was a long time ago. That was old news. I know you guys are going to make a lot about it. ...

Manny doesn't like to talk about a lot of stuff. He likes to keep things personal. Maybe that's something he had to get out, get off his shoulders, express to people. ... Manny and I were cool after that anyways. It wasn't a big deal. ... I have more stuff in my life to worry about than getting angry at someone in here. ...

There were some days he probably wasn't feeling 100 percent and probably didn't run out stuff, things like that. But he's not the only guy in the league who does that. You don't run out things sometimes. ...

There's a lot of frustrations all the time. It doesn't have to deal with just Manny or whatever. If you're here for 162 games in the same room with 25 guys, there's all kinds of stuff that happens.

G136: White Sox 3, Red Sox 1

White Sox - 001 000 200 - 3  6  0
Red Sox   - 000 010 000 - 1  6  2

The two runs today were the fewest runs scored by the Red Sox in a doubleheader in more than 34 years.

Lackey (7-4-3-2-7, 116) had allowed only two hits through the first six innings, but he allowed a single and a double to start the seventh. One run scored on Ryan Kalish's throwing error on the double and a sac fly brought in the other run.

Boston had baserunners in eight of the nine innings, but got only two runners past second base. Kalish walked to begin the fifth and singles by Bill Hall and Marco Scutaro brought him around. The Red Sox had men at first and third with no outs in a 1-1 game at that point. But just as they did in the fifth inning of the afternon game, they wasted their chance. J.D. Drew chased a high 1-2 fastball, Victor Martinez popped to short center, and David Ortiz grounded to first.

At a time when the Red Sox need to win every game on the schedule, and hope for either New York or Tampa Bay to skid, they have flopped. They are 10-11 since August 11 -- and have lost five of their last seven games, by the scores of 3-2, 5-3, 5-2, 3-1, and 3-1.

With 26 games to go, they are 7.5 GB in the WC and 10 GB in the East.

Gavin Floyd / John Lackey

Scutaro, SS
Drew, RF
Martinez, 1B
Ortiz, DH
Beltre, 3B
Nava, LF
Saltalamacchia, C
Kalish, CF
Hall, 2B

Game 2 of the day-night doubleheader.

Doubleheaders: 1915, 1921 Red Sox; 1928 Braves

On this date in 1928, the Boston Braves began a streak of nine consecutive doubleheaders. They played one game on September 2 and it wasn't until September 17 that they would do so again.

September 4 vs Brooklyn: 2-3 (10) and 2-9
September 5 vs Brooklyn: 9-2 and 7-1
September 7 at Philadelphia: 0-4 and 4-3 (11)
September 8 at Philadelphia: 6-10 and 0-4
September 10 vs New York: 1-4 and 0-11
September 11 vs New York: 6-11 and 6-7
September 13 vs New York: 2-12 and 6-7
September 14 vs New York: 2-6 and 1-5
September 15 vs Chicago: 5-2 and 1-6

Boston went 4-14, including being swept by the Giants in an eight-game series! ... From August 31 to September 24, the Braves played on 22 days -- and 15 of those days featured doubleheaders. ... They played a total of 32 doubleheaders that season.

On July 5-7, 1915, the Red Sox swept three doubleheaders from the Washington Senators, giving Boston six wins in three days.

July 5 - 5-0 and 6-0
July 6 - 5-1 and 4-1
July 7 - 9-4 and 1-0

The 1915 Red Sox had a crazy three-week period, where 14 of their 15 games were played as part of doubleheaders: June 26, 28, 29 (only 1 game), 30, July 3, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 17.

From June 26 to July 17, 20 of Boston's 26 games were part of doubleheaders..

Six years later, the 1921 Red Sox endured the flip side of that accomplishment, losing four consecutive doubleheaders, with no single games in between.

June 29 at NYY - 5-8 and 3-5 (10)
July  2 at NYY - 3-5 and 1-5
July  4 vs WSH - 1-4 and 3-7
July  5 vs WSH - 5-7 and 1-4

And the Sox kept playing twinbills!

July  6 vs WSH - 2-1 and 0-1

After a single game on July 8, a 6-3 win in Detroit, it's two more doubleheaders!

July 11 at DET - 6-1 and 7-3
July 12 at CLE - 1-7 and 4-6

G135: White Sox 3, Red Sox 1

White Sox - 010 100 100 - 3 13  0
Red Sox   - 000 010 000 - 1  7  0

Buchholz (5-6-2-1-2, 95) threw a ton of pitches early, 22 in the second, 32 in the third, and 26 in the fourth. He left the game trailing only 2-1, but the Red Sox bats were helpless.

Boston loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Danks (7-6-1-3-5, 103) fanned Bill Hall and got Darnell McDonald on a force out. A single by Hall, a walk to McDonald and Marco Scutaro's single gave the Red Sox a run in the fifth, but the 2-3-4 hitters squandered a chance at a big inning. J.D. Drew flew out to center, Victor Martinez flew out to left, and Adrian Beltre lined to left.

John Danks / Clay Buchholz

Scutaro, SS
Drew, RF
Martinez, C
Beltre, 3B
Ortiz, DH
Lowell, 1B
Lowrie, 2B
Hall, LF
McDonald, CF

Game 1 of the day-night doubleheader.

The Red Sox last played the White Sox on September 7, 2009.

In his last four starts (28.1 IP), Buchholz has allowed a total of one earned run. He has the best ERA in MLB -- 2.21 -- and in 17 starts since May 14, he has a 1.70 ERA.

AL East:

Blue Jays/Yankees, 1 PM
Rays/Orioles, 7 PM

September 4, 1971 - The Reds lose to the Dodgers 2-1 in Los Angeles -- and almost lose shortstop Woody Woodward. A 10-pound sack of flour falls from a passing airplane, and lands 10-15 feet from where Woodward is standing in the ninth inning.

Manny: Everything Was My Fault

Manny Ramirez met with the media at Fenway Park this afternoon.

Everything was my fault, but you have to be a real man to realize when you do wrong. ... You look back and say I did this wrong, but what's done is done. All you can do is go and play the game and finish your career good.

Ramirez said he would have approved a trade to the Red Sox had they put in a waiver claim.

Hey, I gotta come and see what I could do for them. What I did here in the past is in the past. They way they are playing, why should I say no to them?

G135: White Sox at Red Sox, PPD

Update from the Red Sox:

Tonight's Red Sox-White Sox game at Fenway Park has been postponed due to this evening's weather forecast for heavy rain and strong winds associated with Hurricane Earl.

Tonight's game has been rescheduled as the first game of a day-night doubleheader, tomorrow, Saturday, September 4, beginning at 1:05 p.m. The regularly scheduled game between the Red Sox and White Sox will be played at 7:10 p.m. Saturday evening.

John Danks / Clay Buchholz

This is the first game against the White Sox this season. In the season's remaining 28 games, there will be seven against Chicago.

Buchholz, the AL Pitcher of the Month for August, has allowed one earned run over his last four starts (28.1 IP, 0.32 ERA). He has the best ERA in MLB -- 2.21 -- and in 17 starts since May 14, he has a 1.70 ERA.

AL East:

Blue Jays/Yankees, 1 PM
Rays/Orioles, 7 PM