IP H R ER BB K BF PITSingles by Crisp and Ramirez brought in a first-inning run. Brilliant play by Coco on Ortiz's grounder to second. Crisp hit the deck and Polanco couldn't reach him with the ball in his bare hand for a force. So Polcano threw to first for the out, but because of the Papi shift, 3B Inge was hanging around second near Coco. Crisp waited 2-3 seconds, then took off for third uncontested.
Tavarez 7 4 1 1 4 3 28 104
Okajima 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 13
Papelbot 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 13
(There has been talk at Chez Sock about possible similarities between the 2007 Red Sox and the 1998 Yankees. Nine years ago, it seemed that if the Yankees' opponent made even the slightest mistake, at bat or in the field, the Yankees pounced and exploited it. We're seeing the Sox do the same thing, mostly recently with the Mother's Day Miracle and with Coco's opportunistic dash to third today. (I wouldn't be too annoyed with 114 wins, either.))
An infield error, Ortiz's walk and Youkilis's second hit of the game made it 2-0 in the third.
The Tigers got their run in the fifth, but Lips was able to retire Ordonez with the bases loaded to keep it at 2-1. He was at 85 pitches, but was able to get the side in order in the sixth on only six pitches, giving himself the chance to come out for the seventh. And making it easy to use the Jeemer & the Bot to close it out.***
Zach Miner (2007 debut) / Julian Tavarez (6.60, 66 ERA+)
First of two today!
Zach Miner -- not Mike Maroth (stomach flu, didn't have a pleasant night last night, apparently) -- gets the start for the Tigers. He made his big-league debut against the Red Sox last June, giving up home runs to Alex Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis.
Doug Mirabelli catches the first game.
From today's Hartford Courant:
ReplyDelete"The main thing is staying healthy," Tavarez said. "You will see in October. We will be in the World Series if we stay healthy. We have everything we need out here. We have one of the best closers in baseball, good starting rotation, good bullpen, a hell of a lineup, 38,000 fans every single game. What else can you ask for? You can't ask for anything else."
http://www.courant.com/sports/baseball/redsox/hc-nuredsox0517.artmay17,0,4671784.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports
Let's just hire Sexy Lips as official team spokesman and keep him off the mound. Dude is awesome.
ReplyDeleteDidn't we recently see a play where the fan interfered in the same spot, with the other team up, and the umps called it a double, and Remy said, "You can't assume the guy wouldn't have made it to second, they have to take the easy way out and just say it's a double"? And today, Remy says, "I agree with the ump, it should've been only a single." Terrible job.
ReplyDeleteIf it's the ump's call, then a single is the right call. No way Manny goes to third on that.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, the SWHB sucks.
ok i didn't appreciate seeing wily mo in that situation.
ReplyDeleteand why can't fans learn the game? don't interfere with plays. just don't do it.
it would have been a single, true. but...its still annoying and i'd rather see the play out.
ReplyDeleteSEXY LIPS IS GOD
ReplyDeleteokajima is BLACK MAMBA.
ReplyDeletehehe ;)
DeSalvo may be coming apart for the Yanks in Chicago (single-HR-walk-walk). White Sox 3-0.
ReplyDeleteI spoke too soon re: DeSalvo, who got out of the inning fine.
ReplyDeletemy mlb.tv just stopped working. Anyone else having this problem?
ReplyDelete"If it's the ump's call, then a single is the right call. No way Manny goes to third on that."
ReplyDeleteNot my point. If Remy's saying the thing to do on that exact play is to assume the double (which I kind of agree with, because you can't tell me the ump knows exactly where that ball's gonna bounce off that wall), why is he changing it today to "Oh, it definitely would've been a single."
I think if they call that a double, Leyland argues less than Tito did about it being a single.
Terrible job by the asshole who still doesn't know not to interfere with a ball in play.
My mlb.tv is fine, but I think Hawk Harrelson is malfunctioning.
ReplyDeleteSOX WIN, SOX WIN.
ReplyDeleteGreat game, Tavarez and the pen pitched like studs. Amazing.
My mlb.tv became a slideshow in the eighth, which is unusual for me.
ReplyDeleteDeSalvo did come out in the fourth for Vizciano, who gave an IBB and faces bases loaded with two outs.
And the thought comes up: do you use Okaji twice in one day? Papelbon, probably not.
ReplyDeleteSEXIEST LIPS
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if Jeemer might pitch the 8th and 9th, but the Bot was already up.
There has been talk at Chez Sock about possible similarities between the 2007 Red Sox and the 1998 Yankees.
ReplyDeleteDefinite similarities.
I'm curious, would you all be annoyed if JoS expounded on this? Would the non-hateful Yankees content cancel out any possible interest?
I've wanted to mention it several times, but held back.
****
I heart Jeemer + Snuffer.
My mlb.tv is fine, but I think Hawk Harrelson is malfunctioning.
ReplyDeleteHa. How could you tell?
Mets score five in the bottom of the ninth to come back from 5-1 to win.
ReplyDeleteThe chatter over at Replacement Level is through-the-floor pessimistic after Yanks fail to score in the top of the fifth after a leadoff double by Posada. They're only down four runs.
You should expound on it, not me.
ReplyDeleteBeyond what I said, I don't have much else.
I want the MFY at least 10 GB by Monday morning.
ReplyDeleteDOUBLE FUCKING DIGITS!
It can be 9.5 after tonight if all goes well.
Then we bury them next week. BURY.
I want NYY fans to look back on being only 8 GB as the good old days.
"would you all be annoyed if JoS expounded on this"
ReplyDeleteFunny you should ask.... before I read your comment, I was gonna say, Let's just pick any other franchise to compare this team to, if we must make comparisons:)
You'd said Allan kept saying "they can't keep this up," yet they did, back in 1998. And I was in the same boat as him. I kept saying things like "this is the worst 100-win team in history!" And maybe they are similar to our team now, but I just can't see it, because of seeing one from the extreme opposite angle as I did the other.
I do remember it seeming like any time a team scored against those Yanks, they'd come back and match it, or re-take the lead, the NEXT INNING. Man, I don't even want to think about that team. Freakin' Brosius.
I commented on Crisp taking third uncontested because of the shift in April, took him long enough!
ReplyDeleteI want NYY fans to look back on being only 8 GB as the good old days.
ReplyDeleteme: chuckles evilly
This is what kind of lead I want: http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1912/Y_1912.htm
ReplyDeleteAs he did in the fourth, Matsui kills a two-on one-out rally with a DP again in the sixth.
ReplyDeleteIs it wisdom to resist exuberance? Or should we just not worry and be happy?
And Villone's in for the Yanks!
ReplyDeleteHe was actually very good last year -- for a while.
Then we bury them next week. BURY.
ReplyDeleteGod love ya! You are making me chuckle at work.
The lead may get bigger, it may get smaller.
ReplyDeleteMight as well enjoy it now.
***
I am thrilled that the MFY series is during the week and not something like F-S-S, when I work. I want to post some fun tabloid covers!
Before we hammer them, I want the Mets to sweep them this weekend.
ReplyDeleteJere: Those 1912 Sox went 19-2 against the future Yankees, including 10-0 in New York. The Highlanders played at Hilltop Park near where we used to live in Washington Heights.
ReplyDeletemets scored 5 in the 9th to beat the cubs. hey that's our move!
ReplyDeletei liked tavz in the press conference talking about manny petting his head... he said manny knows it puts him to sleep. ha ;D
aw jeah (thaaaaa) yankees lose. 9 GB. party!
"Before we hammer them, I want the Mets to sweep them this weekend."
ReplyDeleteDon't get your hopes up on that one... I always trust the Sox to beat the Yanks, but the Mets always seem to crap their pants at the sight of the interlocking arachnid.
dietcoke: Zen had you by an hour and nine minutes on that Mets thing ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat to see Abreu leading off and batting his weight. Where's Damon?
ReplyDeletejere: haha so what? ;p
ReplyDeleteSO WHAT!! *brandishes hattori hanzo sword* ;D
Johnny was resting for game two. ha.
ReplyDeleteI always trust the Sox to beat the Yanks, but the Mets always seem to crap their pants at the sight of the interlocking arachnid.
ReplyDeleteSo true. That's because the Mets Suck.
****
So re '98 comparisons, is Jere speaking for Joy Nation?
The '98 Yankees are the team of my heart, and they always will be. I had never followed a team so closely in my life, or been so rewarded for it. Plus my life - my real life, outside of baseball - was very difficult at the time, and they pulled me through. I can only look back on that team with joy and gratitude.
Now the 2007 Red Sox are reminding me of them, more and more, with every game.
That can't be a bad thing, given 114 wins and a ring.
But if Joy Nation would rather I not talk about it, I'll respect that. So far it's only Jere. Not that Jere's opinion is not important - it is, very. I'm just wondering if his opinion reflects the general mood.
Is it wisdom to resist exuberance? Or should we just not worry and be happy?
ReplyDeleteNever postpone joy. There is only now.
Shouldn't a slinger of zen know that? :)
From the AP recap:
ReplyDelete-
Yankees OF Johnny Damon continues to deal with a sore left calf, which has bothered him all season. He was not in the starting lineup Thursday. "It's that strain I had on opening day," said Damon, who is batting .256 with two homers and 13 RBIs. "It's still kind of there but I'm all right." Melky Cabrera got the start in center.
-
I think his back still hurts as well, but that's been the case since the bases-loaded SO with which he ended his career (am I mistaken?) in Beantown.
I'm all for the joy in the present moment. But no good Buddhist banks that things will stay as they are. There's the tension.
ReplyDeleteRight. Makes sense. But luckily Buddhists believe in reincarnation, so you might have expected the results in '04.
ReplyDeleteMy $0.02 - I'd rather compare us to one of those crazy good Seattle teams, but... if we must be the 98 Yankees, then, okay. I hated them then, but in retrospect they were certainly a lot more tolerable than the more recent years' crew of mercenaries.
ReplyDeleteI would also love to see the Yankees 55 GB at the end of the season. (55!)
in retrospect they were certainly a lot more tolerable than the more recent years' crew of mercenaries
ReplyDeleteOf course I think so, but then, the team of mercenaries is part of what drove me away.
I'll try to keep my comparisons down to a dull roar.
Seattle! spit!
yeah, that's what I mean... if we *have* to be compared to the Yankees, I'd much prefer being compared to the 98 team than the current crop.
ReplyDeleteI'm holding out hope that the 2007 Sox will be so awesome that comparisons to other teams will be unnecessary and, ultimately, inferior.
Oh yeah Jackie, I knew what you meant. But we don't *have* to be compared to anyone. Like you said, we should just set the new standard!
ReplyDeleteI was at the day game...boy was it a lot of fun! I had low expectations with Tavarez on the mound, but he was great.
ReplyDeleteI think his back still hurts as well, but that's been the case since the bases-loaded SO with which he ended his career (am I mistaken?) in Beantown.
ReplyDeleteI was mistaken. He struck out again in the ninth. But his bases-loaded SO in the sixth was so frustrating because we loaded the bases with no outs. Varitek pinch hit for Mirabelli: popup. Graffanino popped up. Then Damon's SO.
Game 3 of getting swept by the White Sox in 2005. Not a high point.