Overheard. Tim Kurkjian, in the May 10 issue of ESPN Magazine: "Curt Schilling's all-about-me attitude is already grating on teammates. 'If I had one big game to pitch, I'd take Schill over anyone I've ever played with,' says one. 'But every other day, I want to kill him." ... And SoSHer Harry Hooper writes: "Gammons was on WEEI this afternoon and said some interesting stuff. He said Torre has a great deal of respect for Wakefield. Torre hopes Tim has 8-9 wins by mid-season, so that Torre can pick him for the ASG."

The SoSH Game Thread reports a tornado watch in Arlington, Texas. "Showers and thunderstorms likely [tonight]. Some of the storms could be severe, with heavy rain. Chance for precipitation is 70%. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind 9 to 16 mph becoming west." ... Arroyo's start would be the best one to skip, but I hope they can play this one.

All Smiles. Byung-Hyun Kim: "First time out, I felt good. As the number of pitches I am going to get [increases] and the number of starts [increases], I am confident I will get better." The only hit Kim allowed in his 5 innings was an absolute scorcher by Tino Martinez that ended up costing the Rays an out and a baserunner when it grazed Jose Cruz's back, who was running from first to second.

Mirabelli caught Kim: "I hadn't seen him in Florida, so I was a little nervous about it. But as soon as I saw him throw his first fastball -- he kind of threw a get-me-over fastball first to make sure his feet were all right -- but his next pitch was 'foooom,' right where he wanted it to be. ... It was crisp. His problem is throwing strikes sometimes. He gets a lot of swings at balls, but when he's at a point when he needs a strike, it's always kind of been, 'I hope I can throw a strike.' Today it was, 'I can throw a strike whenever I want to throw a strike.' "

The Red Sox -- now 15-6 -- have won six in a row and nine of 10. Their scoreless inning streak ended when Derek Lowe allowed a first inning run in the night game. The longer shutout streaks in team history are:

39 innings -- September 8-12, 1919
34 innings -- June 20-24, 1916
33 innings -- August 24-27, 1990

The bullpen's shutout streak is still alive -- 32.1 innings. It's the longest streak in MLB since the St. Louis bullpen went 34 innings in 2002. ... Also the bullpen has an 0.24 ERA in the last 13 games (1 ER, 37 IP).

Lowe was not sharp in the second game. Carl Crawford banged his first pitch off the Wall for a double; then Lowe made an error on Julio Lugo's bunt. Three pitches and Tampa had runners at 1st and 3rd. A Rocco Baldelli groundout scored one run and Robert Fick's double made it 2-0. Lowe allowed another run in the 5th when Crawford doubled and Lugo tripled. But with no one out in the inning, Lowe got out of trouble with the score 7-3.

Boston answered Tampa with 7 runs in the bottom of the first, in an inning that began to feel like the 14-run explosion against the Marlins last year. Johnny Damon walked, Bill Mueller singled, David Ortiz singled, Damian Moss threw a wild pitch, Manny Ramirez singled, Jason Varitek hit a 3-run home run and David McCarty singled. Mark Bellhorn struck out looking, but Gabe Kapler doubled and Pokey Reese singled in two runs. Damon and Mueller made the final two outs.

With two outs in the bottom of the 3rd, Kapler bunted for a hit. I didn't hear it, but apparently one of the Tampa Bay announcer (Joe Magrane) began whining about how Kapler shouldn't have bunted with such a big lead (7-3 in the 3rd inning). He was pretty much calling (hoping?) for Tampa to bean Kapler in his next at-bat. Since Lou Pinella isn't a colossal idiot like Magrane, nothing happened. Now if Hal McRae was still managing, who knows? ... Lowe didn't have great stuff -- to that point, he had allowed one walk, 2 singles and 2 doubles, as well as a line drive that was headed for the right field corner before Kapler speared it in midair. Did Magrane think the Devil Rays couldn't score four runs over six innings?

Nomar Garciaparra spent 15-20 minutes fielding ground balls between games of the doubleheader. He also sprinted in the outfield. While his Achilles tendinitis is improving, it will likely be June before he returns. ... David Ortiz hit a 3-0 pitch to dead center in the afternoon game, but managed only a single in the nightcap, ending his strike of games with an extra-base hit at nine. ... Johnny Damon grounded into his first double play in 71 at-bats. ... Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram noted that in each of the last four seasons, the Red Sox have been 14-6 after 20 games.

Friday: Bronson Arroyo/Ryan Drese
Saturday: Pedro Martinez/Joaquin Benoit
Sunday: Tim Wakefield/R.A. Dickey

All three games start at 8:05 pm.

Isn't That Cute? The link in the quote is from me, not the New York Times:

"Despite the grave nature of much of the questioning about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, members of the commission said there was frequent laughter during the questioning of Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. James R. Thompson, the former Republican governor of Illinois, said the president could be a 'bit of a tease' in his dealing with commissioners and over all praised Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney for 'five-star performances.'

"Mr. Lehman said Mr. Bush would sometimes get a 'twinkle in his eye' to make clear that he was acquainted with some of the more heated moments of past public hearings by the commission, in which Democrats on the panel had harshly interrogated administration witnesses. 'He let us know that he had read some of the more, shall we say, impassioned statements of some of the commissioners, that he was aware of some of the public utterances,' Mr. Lehman said. 'The president got off a couple of good shots. Some of the commissioners got off a couple in return.'"

Red Averages 4, Devil Rays 0. The afternoon game is in the books. Boston has won 5 in a row, 8 of 9, 10 of 12; they have the best record in baseball: 14-6. Box.

Red Sox opponents have not scored in 32 innings (and have scored only 4 runs in 48 innings):

0423 New York:  000 000 200
0424 New York:  000 100 100 000
0425 New York:  000 000 000
0428 Tampa Bay: 000 000 000
0429 Tampa Bay: 000 000 000

David Ortiz is apparently close to signing a contract extension. A bit of the Babelfish translation (of this):

"The agents of David Ortiz and the main executives of the Red Averages every time are next to the culmination of a pact that will maintain by several years to the player in the equipment. ... 'Everything shines to indicate that I will remain here by many years in Boston. My lawyers almost are concluding an agreement by several temporadas', said the strong batter. Ortiz is very optimistic of which the multiannual contract by several million dollars will be crystallized in a moment. ... In his race of big leaguer, he has dispatched two quadrangular ones in a party during eight occasions. He has a quadrangular one with the bases full. And in three opportunities leaving to bat of emergent he has shot of home run. ... The year last David Ortiz had a magnificent campaign, mediating for 288, with 31 quadrangular, 101 towed races, with 39 doubles, writing down 79 times. And to the field he returned to play the wonder, just by an error."

Well, there you have it! ... Ortiz belted another quadrangular this afternoon, crushing a 3-0 pitch from Victor Zambrano into the center field bleachers. He also doubled twice (and walked) to extend his consecutive games with an extra-base hit to nine. ... Tampa pitchers struck out 13 Boston batters: Manny (3), Mirabelli (3), Millar (3), Bellhorn (2) Crespo and Mueller. In Ramirez's first 2 AB, he saw 7 pitches (6 strikes) and did not swing at any of them. Yuk.

The day's big story was Byung-Hyun Kim. He looked sharp for five inning (70 pitches), allowing only one walk and one hit -- to consecutive batters in the 2nd inning, Jose Cruz and Tino Martinez. Two other Devil Rays reached on errors, including Carl Crawford, who then stole second and took third on a wild pitch. He was the first batter of the game and the only Devil Ray Kim allowed past first base. ... Tim Wakefield (2 innings), Mike Timlin (1.1) and Alan Embree (.2) carried the Sox the rest of the way, extending the bullpen's scoreless innings streak to 30.2.

Boston has pitched three straight shutouts eight other times in team history. The last time was August 24-26, 1990 when the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays in Toronto 2-0, 1-0 and 1-0.

Lowe/Moss at 7:05 pm.

Schilling, Varitek Deep Six Devil Rays. Excellent outing for Curt Schilling last night. His worst inning was the first, when he allowed two one-out singles. However, Schilling got Robert Fick to pop up and struck out Tino Martinez. Schilling was able to throw his fastball and slider to both sides of the plate and he had his curveball and splitter working. He said it was his best outing of the year. There were at least four pitches in the first few innings that looked like strikes, but were called balls. Schilling seemed to have struck out Carl Crawford in the first, Toby Hall in the second and Martinez in the fourth. Nothing disastrous happened -- Crawford flied to center, Hall singled (but was stranded) and Martinez ended up striking out anyway -- but it did force Schilling to throw more pitches. His last pitch of the night -- #106 -- was clocked at 97 mph.

Jason Varitek broke an 0-17 string with a long two-run home run over the bullpens in the 4th inning. He also singled home a run in the 7th. ... In a related story, Derek Jeter is now 0 for his last 32; he has gone 8 days without a hit. ... NESN continues its tradition of running too many commercials and causing fans to miss pitches. Last year, they missed a Manny home run during one game because Ramirez pounded the first pitch over the Wall. Last night, NESN failed to show the first pitches in Boston half of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th innings. There is no excuse for this.

Boston's Alan Embree and Lenny Dinardo extended the bullpen's scoreless streak to 26.1 innings. The Red Sox starters have not allowed a run in the past 23 innings, going back to the seventh inning on Saturday. ... The only first inning run Boston has allowed was by Pedro against the Orioles on April 15. ... Tony Massarotti: "After winning only nine times last season in games during which they scored four runs or fewer, the Sox already have won six such games this year. In their 13 wins, Sox pitchers have a 1.68 ERA." ... The Red Sox recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since May 17 and 19, 2000.

Also: Nomar Garciaparra did some light running in the outfield Wednesday. ... David Ortiz doubled, giving him at least one extra-base hit in eight consecutive games. ... Schilling's eight strikeouts gave him 2,581, tying Bob Feller for 21st place; he is two behind Warren Spahn for 20th place.

John Harper, New York Daily News: "Convinced that Contreras was somehow tipping his pitches the first time, Stottlemyre had him alter his windup for the second start. It turned out he may have had the right diagnosis but the wrong cure. At least that's how Jeff Brantley, the former pitcher and now ESPN analyst, saw it. On ESPN's Baseball Tonight, Brantley showed via videotape how Contreras was holding his hands in different positions while in the stretch, depending whether he was throwing a fastball or a curve.

"Working last night's game at the Stadium for ESPN, Brantley said he had no doubt it was a factor in the Sox beating up on Contreras in the two starts. 'They knew what he was throwing,' Brantley said. 'I knew that for sure when I saw (Kevin) Millar swing at a first-pitch curveball, a bad one that he missed, and then he stepped out of the box and had this little smile on his face. Then he got another curveball and hit it out of the ballpark. I wasn't surprised. It wasn't hard to see what Contreras was doing.'"



Byung-Hyun Kim reminds us that he is starting the first game today -- at 1:05 pm. To make room on the roster, Phil Seibel was optioned to Portland. ... Derek Lowe will pitch the 7:05 nightcap.

9/11 Dog and Pony Show Hits The Road. Dan Froomkin reminds us that the Bush/Cheney meeting with the 9/11 Commission this morning is taking place in the Oval Office. "There will be no recordings or transcript, just note-taking. No one will be under oath." Also here. ... More Lies: "The White House today claimed that commission interviews with Bill Clinton and Al Gore were not transcribed. But in fact, CBS News has learned, those sessions were recorded and will eventually be transcribed." (video) ... Leno on the Commission meeting: "Right now they're finalizing the seating arrangements, should Bush sit on Cheney's right knee or left knee?"

Scenes From A Mall. Here is a better picture of Sunday's march in DC and a short review of how the "liberal media" reported on this huge anti-Bush gathering, which was also the largest demonstration in US history.

More 9/11 Commission Bullshit. The White House will not allow the 9/11 Commission to record the private testimony given tomorrow morning by George Bush and Dick Cheney. The New York Times reports: "The panel said it did not press for a formal transcription of the session, letting the White House decide." ... So for the umpteenth time, the cowardly Commission bows to pressure and allows the White House to dictate the terms of its investigation. Naturally, Bush refuses to explain to Americans (1) why he needs a babysitter during the sessions and (2) why he's deadset against having a transcript.

By contrast, the testimony of both Bill Clinton (4 hours) and Al Gore (3 hours) -- which was given to the Commission in separate sessions, by the way -- was recorded. ... Reuters also notes that "Clinton's appearance before a grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky scandal was recorded on video tape and later released." ... Because true patriots know that lying about a blow job is more serious than what caused the murder of 3,000 people and the total destruction of the two World Trade Center towers.

From the AP: "President Bush's supporters see his and Vice President Dick Cheney's upcoming testimony to the Sept. 11 commission as a form of closure, enabling them to show maximum cooperation and get on with other business. ... The testimony of Bush and Cheney will not be under oath, but they will 'tell it exactly how it happened,' [Bush's chief spokesman Scott] McClellan said. McClellan said he expected Bush -- not Cheney -- to do most of the talking. ...

"Bush first opposed creating the commission and then opposed extending its life. He also initially opposed having Rice testify in public. And he at first said he would only meet with the chairman and vice chairman of the panel, and only for an hour. But he relented on all counts. ...

[Me: Just more Kerry flip-flops. Move along. Nothing to see here.]

"'Unless a president really messes up, the sense that you're being forthcoming I think helps in this case,' [Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute] said. 'If Bush says something really foolish, that could be a negative. But I doubt very much that that's going to happen. And the odds of that happening with Cheney there are less.'"

I'm Getting Antsy. I watched some of Saturday's 12-inning win against the Yankees on tape yesterday -- but it's not the same. I need baseball -- live baseball! ... Tim Wakefield volunteered to skip his start because of the rainout. And while it's not official, Byung-Hyun Kim will start the day game on Thursday, instead of making a final rehab start. Kim will still be on a 75-80 pitch limit, so Wakefield will likely get a few innings out of the bullpen. Then he'll start Sunday night in Texas. ... The current rotation/match-ups:

Tonight: Schilling/Abbott
Thursday Day: Kim/Zambrano
Thursday Night: Lowe/Moss

Against the Rangers: Arroyo, Pedro and Wakefield.

Trot Nixon played for the Gulf Coast Red Sox Tuesday. From the Fort Myers Free-Press: "He play [sic] three innings in the outfield and batted five times. In the informality of these games, Nixon was permitted to bat every inning. He reached base in four of his five plate appearances. He was hit in the shoulder by the first pitch he saw and followed that with a looping line single to center; a hard, one-hop smash to first that was turned into a force out; a fly ball to left; and a walk."

Nomar Garciaparra took groundballs for about 10 minutes yesterday at Fenway Park and is at least two weeks away from returning. ... Brian Daubach is back and will see more action with Ellis Burks out for about six weeks. In 10 games with Pawtucket, he hit .350 with five homers and 11 RBI and 13 runs scored. He'll probably play in the day game Thursday -- he's 6-11 with a .643 OBP against Zambrano.

Nine hours until Curt's first pitch ...

Manny Being Manny. Sunday's home run off Vazquez was a thing of beauty. The replay angle showing Ramirez from the side was fantastic. He strides into the pitch (which wasn't all that bad) as though he's expecting a fastball. But once the ball leaves Vazquez's hand, he realizes it's not a fastball. There is a split-second hesitation in his stride -- adjusting ever-so-slightly to the breaking pitch -- and then he just destroys it. You could tell immediately (from the center field camera) by the angle it left the screen that was a moon shot. Exhilarating.

Manny's website is up and running. ... Here's his comment about the home run from his Game Log: "[Vazquez] fired the fastball away and I fought it off two times, but this time I had a better count. On the last pitch, I was looking inside, but at the last moment something told me the change-up was coming. I held up my swing just a bit, until I saw the ball clearly, and I was right. That's how this game is. He's a very good pitcher and got me the first time, but I was lucky the second time around."

I'm thrilled Manny is still in Boston. I love watching him hit and it's great to see him enjoying himself so much. Gammons notes the transformation. Remember how stunned and amazed he seemed by the Fenway crowd's intensity and energy after last year's wild card clinch? Like he was familiar with cheering crowds, but this was something else. ... It's clear to me that he wants to experience that again and he knows he's got a really good chance this year. I think a lot of the Red Sox players (Manny included) know how much fun this season could ultimately be -- and yet they also know that they truly have no idea how much fun it could be. And that makes everything more exciting.

Byung-Hyun Kim will pitch for Portland (AA) on Thursday before being activated from the disabled list. ... Ellis Burks will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks after arthroscopic surgery today to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. Brian Daubach will likely be called up from Pawtucket. ... The Red Sox pitching staff has the lowest ERA (3.36) in the AL and the 2nd lowest in MLB (after Florida); the bullpen has a 2.15 ERA.

PSF: "Listening to the radio yesterday afternoon, I heard one of the most amazing statistics. Before last nights game, Barry Bonds had seen something in the neighborhood of 250 pitches (I don't remember the exact numbers of pitches and swings, but I'm close). Of all those pitches, he had swung 61 times. Total. ... Of those 61 swings, he has missed the ball 6 times. And he has hit 8 balls out of the park. So he is averaging a home run every 8 SWINGS." ... I'd like to know if this information is out there, without going through Bonds's game logs. Anyone? ... Bonds in 2004:

GM  AB   R   H  BB  K   AVG  OBP   SLG
19  44  17  22  30  5  .500 .703 1.227

Matthew Namee looks at the before/after performances of players who have had laser eye surgery. ... Because of my trip to Toronto, weekend work schedule and the blackout for the seven Yankee games, I haven't watched a game on NESN in almost two weeks (April 15). The drought ends tonight -- Wakefield/Abbott at 7:05 pm.

Choice. More than one million people marched on Washington Sunday, protesting the Bush administration's deplorable record on women's reproductive rights. I was proud to be there -- with my partner and Yankee fan Laura. ... There were many baseball caps in the crowd and the majority of the ones I saw were Red Sox caps. Was I just seeing a lot of people from Massachusetts? Are the Sox becoming cool? I prefer to think that progressive people are more likely to root for Boston. ... If you look closely at the photo, you can see me in the middle distance -- wearing my cap and a shirt that says "I had an abortion."

House of Blues. There wasn't much love in Yankee Stadium this weekend. Derek Jeter extended his string of hitless at-bats to a career-worst 25. He's hitting .175 -- which is still better than Bernie Williams, who is in a 2-26 slide and at .167. ... New York (8-11) has a league-worst .217 team batting average and has scored three runs or fewer in 12 of their 19 games. Their longest "streak" of scoring more than four runs is two games. ... The Yankees did not have a lead once this weekend. ... Is it the Curse of Donnie Baseball? ... Beginning Tuesday night, New York will face Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.



Howard Bryant, Boston Herald: "[L]et it be known that Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams ... were booed off the stage yesterday at Yankee Stadium. These weren't boos mixed with cheers, the kind that let you know you still have some support out there. These were the kind of boos that said not only are the Yankees letting their insanely privileged fans down, but that no one is immune. ... Torre said he hasn't felt this low since his first year with the Yankees in 1996, when the Orioles made a run at New York."

Sayeth the Post: "'He doesn't know what to do,' a Yankees insider said of Steinbrenner's mind-set. 'He wants to rant and rave and then he doesn't. But hearing Yankee Stadium booing Derek Jeter was too much for him. He wasn't going to New York, but now he is. He is bothered by Derek getting booed.'" That Jeter was booed yesterday moved Steinbrenner to the point where he changed his schedule. He is due to arrive today in Manhattan."

There is a rumor "roaring through baseball" that the Yankees are going to trade Jason Giambi to the A's for Tim Hudson. When told about it, all Hudson could do was laugh: "It's probably somebody from Boston starting it, trying to get turmoil going before we go there." ... Another rumor has the Yankees pursuing Pittsburgh's Kris Benson.

A SoSH thread asks: "Should the MFY be in panic mode?" Most posters said No; some thought the whole idea might offend the mojo gods. But if we don't believe in a curse, we can't (truly) believe in mojo (though it is fun in the game threads). The idea of gloating now actually affecting Boston's chances in September and October is absurd. ... I'd say the Yankees should panic. Yes, it's only April, but they are losing these games and nothing is going right. So let's have some fun:

Tyler Kepner, New York Times: "Almost a month into the season, the Yankees have built a tower of misery. They lost yesterday to Pedro Martinez, capping a dreary weekend at Yankee Stadium in which they batted .152 ... This weekend, the Red Sox were not so much ancient rivals as bystanders to a roadside wreck."

Jack Curry, New York Times: "Martinez has been scrutinized this season because he has not had his usual velocity of about 95 miles an hour and has been throwing a fastball that averages about 89. But Martinez also throws a changeup, a curveball and a cut fastball, and he is extremely savvy. ... He began the game by tossing modest fastballs, but Martinez spotted them so crisply that the Yankees did no damage. Once the Yankees looked for fastballs, Martinez incorporated his breaking pitches ..."

Ian Browne, MLB: "The last time the Red Sox had swept the Yankees, Pedro Martinez started the fun with perhaps the most dominant start of his career. He was magnificent on that night of Sept. 10, 1999, striking out 17 and pitching a one-hitter in the first of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Nearly five years later, Martinez was Boston's finisher as they broke out the brooms Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 victory in the Bronx."

John Harper, New York Daily News: "More than anything, you noticed the looks of surprise and even disbelief from the Yankee hitters. As much as any team in baseball could make such a claim, the Yankees have owned Pedro Martinez over the years, even at the height of his dominance. Yesterday they looked as if they'd never seen the guy before. Five times Yankee hitters struck out looking against Pedro, a few times in critical situations, all of them when they were fooled by his curveball or changeup. So much for the notion that Pedro can't dominate without his 96 mph fastball."

Ken Davidoff, Newsday: "There is gloom in the clubhouse, anger in the stands, dread in the front office. To throw Pedro Martinez into that equation, as the Red Sox did yesterday, was like tossing a piano to a drowning man."

Joel Sherman, New York Post: "In the final 23 innings of the Red Sox's three-game sweep, Rodriguez was 5-for-8; the rest of the Yanks were 4-for-68. ... Boston should be bolstered by being more resourceful, poised and emotional than the Yanks. The Red Sox won the past two days despite going 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position, and not even scoring a runner on the lone hit. Torre showed his desperation to win this finale by not only starting Javier Vazquez on short rest, but using his three best relievers to protect a 2-0 deficit after Mariano Rivera (46 pitches), Tom Gordon (30 pitches) and limping Paul Quantrill (16 pitches) all pitched Saturday. ... The Red Sox did walk, run, hit and defend all over the Yanks. Boston left the Yanks looking slow, old and emotionally distant. Heck, even the presence of Martinez did not spark them. This is all great for the Red Sox. The Yankees? Maybe they need to Cowboy Up."

The 5th Starter. Kim threw 60 pitches in four scoreless innings Saturday for Pawtucket. Kim struck out two, walked one and allowed two hits against Syracuse. His fastball topped out at 88 mph in his third rehab appearance. Francona says when he's healthy, he'll replace Arroyo as the #5 starter.

Mueller got his first day off Sunday. ... Bellhorn drew his league-leading 19th walk. ... Ramirez hit his 20th career home run at Yankee Stadium, which ties Rafael Palmeiro for the lead among active Yankees opponents. ... The other other team in the last 30 years to go 0-19 with runners at second or third (as Boston did on Saturday) was the Pirates, who lost to the Padres 4-1 on June 11, 1977.

Manny Speaks: "I ain't going to think, 'Oh, they put me on waivers, they don't want me.' ... It's not that I have any problem with the media. Like I always said, maybe like me, Pedro (Martinez) and David (Ortiz), our English is not that good and we don't know how to express ourselves that good. So that's why I'm like that, almost quiet. I don't like to talk or whatever. ... I never think (the Red Sox) didn't want me. I just go out there and play the game. I don't care what people say about Manny this or that. ... Everywhere I go, I want to be good."

Boston has beaten New York in six of their first seven games, something they have not done since 1913. From Retrosheet, here are the results of all the Red Sox/Yankees games that season:

 Date      #    Opponent  Result   Record   Starter    Opposer
 4-14-1913      Vs NY     W  2- 1     1-2   Wood       Caldwell
 4-15-1913      Vs NY     L  2- 3     1-3   Hall       Keating
 4-26-1913      At NY     W  8- 5     5-8   Leonard    McConnell
 4-30-1913      At NY     W  8- 1     6-8   Bedient    Schulz
 
 5-24-1913      At NY     T  3- 3    14-19  Wood       Keating
 5-26-1913      At NY     W  3- 1    15-19  Bedient    McConnell
 6- 2-1913 1    At NY     W  4- 3    17-22  Leonard    Fisher
 6- 2-1913 2    At NY     W  8- 6    18-22  Wood       McConnell
 
 6-25-1913      Vs NY     L  2- 5    31-28  Wood       Ford
 6-27-1913 1    Vs NY     W 10- 3    32-28  Leonard    Keating
 6-27-1913 2    Vs NY     W  6- 4    33-28  Bedient    Fisher
 6-28-1913 1    Vs NY     W  9- 6    34-28  Collins    McConnell
 6-28-1913 2    Vs NY     L  6- 7    34-29  Hall       Schulz
 
 9- 1-1913 1    Vs NY     W  6- 0    60-61  Moseley    Schulz
 9- 1-1913 2    Vs NY     W  4- 3    61-61  Collins    Ford
 9- 2-1913      Vs NY     W  4- 2    62-61  Bedient    McHale
 9- 3-1913      Vs NY     L  4-11    62-62  Anderson   Caldwell
 
 9-29-1913 1    At NY     L  1- 3    76-68  Bedient    Keating
 9-29-1913 2    At NY     L  1- 5    76-69  Anderson   Fisher
 9-30-1913 1    At NY     W  3- 2    77-69  Leonard    Ford
 9-30-1913 2    At NY     W  3- 0    78-69  Moseley    McHale

Red Sox/Devil Rays:

Tuesday: Tim Wakefield/Paul Abbott
Wednesday: Curt Schilling/Victor Zambrano
Thursday: Derek Lowe/Damian Moss

Shooting Blanks. The Red Sox bullpen has not allowed a run in 24.2 innings over its last eight games. In the last 10, opponents are hitting .086 (8-93).

Ron Chimelis of the Springfield Republican realizes that the "committee" approach is alive and well. "Fast-forward to Saturday. Scott Williamson escaping a jam in the seventh. Alan Embree facing right-handers in the ninth. Keith Foulke in a non-save situation. Mike Timlin getting the save. A huge, 12-inning win over the Yankees. And yesterday, a two-inning save for Williamson. Isn't this what bullpen by committee was supposed to be all about? ... [F]or all the derision it received, there was always logic to bullpen by committee. To do it, the relievers must be able -- and willing -- to be versatile, since they may not be used the same way (setup, closing, lefty-lefty) each night. You need that one closer who stands above the rest [Foulke], whether he's used in the ninth inning or not. You also need a manager willing to embrace this new concept. Last April, the Red Sox had none of the above. This year, they seem to have all of the above. What seemed like an ill-advised experiment now looks doable, even preferable."

Francona: "We have four guys who have been in ninth-inning situations. The concept is to win. I don't believe in saving a guy if we have a chance to win now." ... The Herald offers some remarkable numbers.

Red Sox 2, Yankees 0.



Manny detonates a 4th inning bomb, Pedro throws 7 strong and Swilly finishes it up. Boston sweeps three in the Bronx and leads the season series 6-1. Next meeting -- June 29.

            W   L   PCT   GB
Boston     12   6  .667   -- 
Baltimore  10   7  .588  1.5
New York    8  11  .421  4.5
Tampa Bay   7  10  .412  4.5 
Toronto     6  12  .333  6

As Dylan nearly sang about El Rey: "He's got everything he needs, he's an artist, he don't look back."

Red Sox 3, Yankees 2 (12 innings). I was at work and had to follow along via MLB and SoSH, but it was still quite a nailbiter. The media has referred to these games as "October in April" and today's battle was certainly worthy of the hype. I look forward to watching the tape on Monday. ... So many wasted opportunities and blown chances in the late innings for both teams. Boston left a man on 3rd in the 9th, a man of second in the 10th and the bases loaded in the 11th. New York left two on in the 9th and the bases loaded in the 10th.

Boston went 0-19 with runners at second or third and scored all three runs on sacrifice flies to center. The last one was hit by Mark Bellhorn and scored Manny Ramirez, who had opened the 12th with a double to deep center. Recaps here and here. ... Bronson Arroyo allowed only 1 hit (a solo Rodriguez home run) through six innings. He faltered at the start of the seventh, but the bullpen of Scott Williamson, Alan Embree, Keith Foulke and Mike Timlin threw six no-hit innings. The pen has not allowed a run in its last 22.2 innings.

The final out of the game was made by Derek Jeter, who has zero hits in his last 21 at-bats and last 23 plate appearances. His average has dropped to .184 (Pokey's hitting .216). Yankee blogger Larry Mahnken writes that perhaps "Jeter is trying to lower his regular season rate statistics to make his postseason stats look more clutch."

Pedro/Vazquez at 1:05 pm tomorrow.

Red Sox 11, Yankees 2. It's nights like Friday that make me wonder if Theo Epstein made a big fuss over Hideki Contreras knowing he might well turn out to be a bust for the Yankees. Probably not, but in their first trip to Yankee Stadium since last October, the Red Sox once again treated Contreras like a batting practice pitcher. The Cuban Con Man: "Of all my outings, this is the worst I've felt after one because aside from the fact I usually work hard, I worked extra hard and prepared myself." ... Could he still be tipping his pitches? Maybe he just sucks.

He pitched well to the first four batters -- six batters, if you're feeling charitable. In the first, he struck out Damon and got Mueller to pop to third and Ortiz to fly to center. He caught Manny looking to start the second, allowed a single to Burks and made a nice play on Varitek's little grounder to the far side of the mound. Burks had stolen second base (!), so at that point Contreras had two outs and a man on second. He walked Millar on five pitches and surrendered an RBI-single to Bellhorn on another 3-1 pitch.

In the third, Contreras walked Damon (who realized if Burks could steal a base, so could he (Reese swiped a bag in the 4th)). He walked Ortiz, but retired Ramirez and Burks to keep the score at 1-0. By this time, he had thrown 69 pitches. Contreras began the fourth by striking out Varitek (after falling behind 3-0). Then he fell apart. Millar clubbed an inside fast ball over the left field fence and Bellhorn followed three pitches later with a liner over the right field wall. Reese singled to right and stole second, and Damon walked. And that was that. ... Donovan Osborne came in and Mueller pounded his 1-1 offering to deep left for a 3-run homer and a 6-0 Boston lead. The Red Sox added a run in the 6th when Damon and Ortiz both doubled. Reese drove in two runs with a double in the 7th when Crosby fell down in center; Damon added a run-scoring single. Manny hit an opposite field solo homer in the 8th.

Contreras allowed 5 runs in 3.1 innings and actually lowered his career ERA against Boston -- from 20.24 to 18.00. He has pitched well against Tampa Bay and Detroit, but when it comes to top-tier lineups, Contreras has shown no evidence he can consistently compete. If batters recognize and avoid the splitter -- and Boston has done that every time out -- they can sit on the fastball. Also, with men on base, Contreras is less inclined to use his splitter, fearing a passed ball. The Yankee media can't stop talking about what great "stuff" he has, but I've never seen it. Maybe it's mental; maybe he is unable to shut out past performances (whether his last outing or the last batter) and push forward. All I know is that he is lousy against the Red Sox.

Lowe needed one inning to get into a groove. Crosby led off by grounding to second. [Torre has Jeter, Rodriguez, Giambi, Sheffield, Matsui and Williams in his lineup, but he bats Bubba Crosby at the top. Amazing.] Jeter lined to right, A-Rod blooped a double down the right field line, Giambi walked on 4 pitches and Sheffield lined out to Damon in left center. Not a very Lowesque inning, but he settled down. After Sheffield's liner, there were no outfield putouts until the final out of the seventh. In his last 4.2 innings, Lowe got 12 groundball outs and 2 strikeouts. ... In the sixth, Jeter struck out on four pitches, Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop and Giambi grounded out to first. All three players were heavily booed.

Boston led 10-0 after 6½ innings and it was raining. Lowe had thrown only 92 pitches, so Tito sent him out for the seventh. Sheffield singled and Matsui homered into the right field bleachers. Mike Timlin came on and retired the next 3 hitters. Timlin, who did not work in Toronto because of an upper respiratory condition, also pitched the 8th, allowing one single, but notching two strikeouts.

Lenny DiNardo made his major league debut in the 9th. Sheffeild grounded to third (Bellhorn, who had moved over in the 8th, made a strong throw from the foul line), Matsui struck out swinging and Williams grounded to third. ... DiNardo: "I can't even describe what I'm feeling right now. I come to ballpark and it's not even like a job. It's like fantasy camp for me, hanging out with all these guys. It's a dream come true."

New York is now under .500 (8-9) after 17 games for the first time since 1997, when they were 7-10. Because the Yankees have an off-day on Monday, Javier Vazquez will oppose Pedro on Sunday afternoon on three days rest, something he has done only once before in his career. On September 25, 1999, while with Montreal, he allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits in six innings to Atlanta.

Trot Nixon faced both left-handed and right-handed pitching yesterday in Florida and could begin his minor league rehab assignment in Sarasota (A) next week. ... Nomar Garciaparra did some running and will rest today. ... Ramirez may DH today, with either Kapler or Crespo in left. ... Arroyo/Brown at 1:05 pm.

Sox In The City. The match-ups for Round II:

Tonight, 7:05 pm: Lowe/Contreras
Saturday, 1:05 pm: Arroyo/Brown
Sunday, 1:05 pm: Pedro/Vazquez or Osborne, but not Leiber

Derek Lowe loves pitching in Yankee Stadium. "I don't know if I'd say that if I didn't play for the Red Sox. ... You know if you go in there as a Boston Red Sox pitcher and you win, you pitched a great game. It's a great feeling to beat them, especially there. ... Once you get out there, it's going to be electric from the time our bus rolls up to Yankee Stadium. Pitching in these games is kind of hard to explain what it's like because it's a feeling. It's not just work. It's a completely different feeling when you step out at Yankee Stadium than any other stadium."

Lowe has posted a 4.33 ERA in 6 games at Yankee Stadium in 2001-03, allowing a .308 batting average in 27 innings. ... In an effort to get back into his regular routine, Lowe threw twice in between starts. "Hitters take extra (batting practice). I needed the work. Last time, I struggled to find a consistent arm slot. I think I figured some things out."

Howard Bryant: "Think about it: Jose Contreras started it all. Think about the battle between Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman back in December 2002, about Epstein buying up all the rooms on Contreras' floor in the hotel in Nicaragua, just to make sure the Yankees couldn't get to him. Remember how the Yankees and Red Sox played musical chairs back then, jousting and elbowing for Bartolo Colon, Kevin Millwood and especially Contreras, the jewel of the three. Think about George Steinbrenner -- after Cashman passed on acquiring Millwood -- threatening to fire his GM if the Red Sox signed Contreras. ... Nearly 18 months later, that $32 million might be the best money the Red Sox never spent. Contreras, for all his frightening velocity and movement, is teetering on the brink of being the biggest Yankees pitching bust since Kenny Rogers. He is, right now, a project, unable to be counted on when these two teams meet."

Monday's New York Times: "Yanks Still Believe Contreras Is Too Good to Be This Bad" ... Newark Star-Ledger: "Wednesday's bullpen session with Contreras went so well that Stottlemyre could barely contain himself. He said he wouldn't get specific, but he spoke in general terms about adjustments -- both mechanical and psychological." The Yankees also believe that Contreras may be tipping his pitches and so Stottlemyre has apparently tweaked Contreras's delivery to remove any advantage Boston may have. ... Also here, here and here. ... And although the Daily News cautioned "Hey, Boston, It's Only April!" after the Red Sox took 3 of 4 last weekend, Joe Torre called New York's lone victory an "important win" and Alex Rodriguez called it "big".

Phil Mushnick, New York Post: During last Saturday's Yankees-Red Sox game, "Michael Kay noted that Gary Sheffield said he was left stunned in right, the night before, by the profanities screamed at him all game by Red Sox fans. Kay then wondered aloud how people can behave so badly in front of kids." ... Kay apparently kept whining about this all weekend long. Is it possible he has no idea that fans at Yankee Stadium also sometimes yell unpleasant things at opposing players, especially outfielders (and especially Red Sox)? If he wasn't so recognizable, I'd love to watch Kay walk around the Stadium tonight (or sit in the bleachers) wearing a Red Sox shirt and cap. I wonder if any people would behave badly and shout profanities.

Gump 2.0? Probably not, but more than a few fans had a twinge of deja vu when Terry Francona left his starter in last night's game way past the point of effectiveness. David Heuschkel wrote: "All the signs were there that Curt Schilling was on fumes. His pitch count was up and his velocity was down. And he was leaving pitches up in the strike zone, clearly an indication he was tired." Then Schilling hung a splitter to Toronto's #9 hitter and Chris Gomez hit a grand slam that gave the Blue Jays their first win at home this season. Heuschkel adds that the Boston bullpen "didn't get a chance to do its job despite not having allowed a run in 13.1 innings over four straight games."

I saw both of Boston's wins at Skydome (the 19th major league park I've been to) this week. Pedro looked great and had exceptional control on Tuesday. The Skydome gun had him at 87-89 all night with a few at 91-92. Varitek thought Martinez threw harder than that. Pedro: "I felt a lot better inside here than I did last time. I felt looser. I didn't have a hard time warming up. I had my breaking ball back. I had my normal routine back. That was the difference." ... Martinez threw 42 of his first 59 pitches for strikes (his first five innings); he faltered in the 7th inning, walking his only two batters of the night and throwing 30 pitches.

Hohler: "It turns out there is a reason beyond baseball why Pedro Martinez has been less outgoing than usual. His uncle, Florencio Paulino, died suddenly last month while he was returning home to Providence on a flight from the Dominican Republic. Paulino, 67, left 12 children, including Franklin, who is Martinez's right-hand man, and Nelson, who is manager of the Sox team in the Dominican Summer League. Martinez also lost another uncle about the same time. 'He's been kind of down because Franklin's dad died,' Manny Ramirez said after asking Martinez why he has been reluctant to talk to the media. 'That really [affected] him a lot.'" ... Don't count on this fact stopping some Boston mediots from acting like dicks when it comes to Pedro's refusal to answer their cliched questions.

Other stuff from the week: During the team's photo day last weekend, where fans were allowed onto the field before the game, Ramirez hung out for more than 30 minutes, signing autographs, posing for photos and chatting on one kid's cellphone. "I spoke to his mom. I said, 'Hi Mom, how you doing?'" ... Nomar's recovery remains slow and his initial return time of early May seems unlikely. Nixon is making much better progress and Kim will make another rehab start for Pawtucket this weekend. ...

"Thursday morning, he was sitting in a hotel room in Rochester, 'just minding my business,' and preparing to make his start that night for the Pawtucket Red Sox. Yesterday, in the sixth inning at Fenway Park, he was summoned from the Boston bullpen snd asked to get out Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui. ... Meet Phil Seibel. 'Yeah, the last few days have been a little ... crazy.'"

The Red Sox acquired 26-year-old LHP Brad Thomas from the twins. In 2001 and 2003-04 with Minnesota, Thomas was 0-3 with a 9.89 ERA in 11 games. In 891.1 minor league innings, Thomas is 53-51 with a 3.87 ERA. After posting a 16.87 ERA in three appearances with the Twins this year, he was designated for assignment on April 13. Theo: "If things click, he could be an effective lefty in the big leagues in a variety of roles. He definitely has big-league stuff. It's just a matter of improving his command." Ortiz: "The guy is nasty. He's got good (stuff) but his fastball was all over the place at the beginning. I think he'll make it."

Tito plans to use Monday's off-day to give all five starters an an extra day of rest.

Back On Friday. Off to Toronto. Seeing Pedro on Tuesday and Wake on Wednesday. ... Should be able to listen to most of today's game on the drive from Buffalo. Go Bronson!

Yankees 7, Red Sox 3. Bleech. ... Every pitcher, except for 1999-2000 Pedro, has at least one stinker every season. I'm putting Lowe's Sunday outing in that category. I don't know whether it's fair or accurate, but there it goes.

This was simply one of those games where the team couldn't get started. After the disasterous third, they roared right back with two runs, but once Contreras was gone, the bats fell asleep. Three hits and one walk over the next (and final) 6.2 innings. Bellhorn was sore from being hit on Saturday, so Boston was stuck with Crespo/Reese in the 8-9 spots.

As I mentioned on Opening Night, the Red Sox are going to lose around 60 games this summer. That first game in Baltimore was one of them and we saw another one today. ... Malaska did well and although Seibel walked two guys in both the 7th and 9th innings, he didn't crumble and allow himself to get beat. And who would have figured he'd pitch the most innings (3.2) of anybody on either side? ... Manny continues to smoke the ball (his blast to the triangle on a 3-0 pitch in the 3rd brought home two runs) and Mueller had two singles and a walk.

Outside of that 3rd-inning burst, the Yankees struggled. In their other 8 frames, they went 4-28 (.143); Jeter's single with one out in the 5th was their last safety. And although they were also given nine walks, they scored only one additional run. Rodriguez is 0-12 in the series and his average has dropped to a Pokey-esque .156. ... The Yankees play one more game in Fenway (Arroyo/Brown at 11 am tomorrow) and then go to Chicago before meeting up with the Red Sox for three games in the Bronx beginning on Friday night.

Dontrelle Willis. I meant to mention him yesterday, but he probably deserves his own little note. In addition to pitching 12.2 scoreless innings in two starts against the Expos (9 hits, 5 walks and 12 strikeouts), Willis is also 6-6 at the plate. On April 8, he singled three times (once each to left, center and right) and on April 14, he singled, doubled and hit a 3-run homer. Willis faces the Phillies on Tuesday.

Odds And Ends. The Boston Herald reported that of his first 90 pitches aganst Baltimore on Thursday, Martinez threw only one fastball that resulted in a swing and miss. Why did the Herald stop counting at 90? Maybe because Jay Gibbons swung and missed pitches 91 and 92. And why only fastballs? Here's Pedro's called, swinging and foul strikes, balls and balls in play, by inning:

      C  F  S   B  IP
1     5  5  1  10   3
2     2  2  0   9   3
3     3  3  1   3   4
4     6  3  1   7   5
5     3  3  4  12   5
Tot  19 16  7  41  20

Pedro:

      After 3 starts    End of season
2002    1  0  6.91      20-4  2.26 (led AL in ERA)
2003    0  1  5.12      14-4  2.22 (led AL in ERA)
2004    1  1  4.82          ?

Manny Ramirez's home run yesterday was his 350th, tying him with Chili Davis for 68th place on the all-time list. ... Giants pitcher David Aardsma has ended Hank Aaron's 50-year reign atop the alphabetical list of big league players. ... Tony Massarotti wonders if the Sox starters perform better with four days of rest or five. He posts their 2003 stats:

            Four days   Five+ days
Martinez    6-2  2.19   8-2  2.92 
Wakefield   6-5  3.94   3-2  4.23 
Schilling   4-7  2.92   4-1  1.52 
Lowe        9-2  4.86   6-5  4.00

Schilling's and Lowe's "four days" stats should be Exhibit A in "Why Run Support Distorts W/L Records".

Mel Stottlemyre doesn't usually whine: "I think there were two strike zones out there today. That's all I want to say about that. Moose was at fault partly, of course, but I can't blame it [four walks] all on him." ... Schilling: "I would love to tell you four walks were due to a bad strike zone, but they weren't. The guys that I walked, I walked. I thought Mark was consistent. That's what you ask for from an umpire -- big or little [strike zone], I want consistency. I don't want ball one to be strike three, or vice versa."

Memo To Sox re Contreras: "Keep doing what you're doing. Lay off the splitter and pound the fastball."

2003   IP  H   ER  BB  K   ERA    AVG
0520  1.1  2    5   3  1                Loss, Sox 10-7
0829  3.0  6    7   3  6                Loss, Sox 10-5
      4.1  8   12   6  7  24.92  .421   Both games at Fenway

Sox hitters v the Cuban Con Man:

        AB   H   
Damon    3   0   3K
Mueller  2   2   HR, 4 RBI, BB
Ortiz    3   2   double, 3 RBI 
Ramirez  0   0   BB
Millar   2   0   2K
Varitek  2   0   BB, K
Kapler   2   1   double, RBI

Michael Holley, Boston Globe: "You know we're going to hear from him soon. I say George Steinbrenner emerges before the first runner leaves Hopkinton tomorrow morning. How long before he releases one of his breathless memos? The ones where he quotes General MacArthur and assures all that the Yankees will not go down without a fight?"

Lawrence Rocca, Newark Star-Ledger: "Okay, okay, it's only 11 games, but what if the Red Sox really did win the winter? What if these first two games up here aren't just prelude to the same old story? What if A-Rod is going to struggle all year and Curt Schilling is going to win the Cy Young Award and, well, at what point is it no longer too soon to be more than just a hunch? ... You can bet the big guy in Tampa was thinking that yesterday, no matter how many 'it's not how you start, it's how you finish' press releases he's got planned for this week."

Jeter on the Fenway jeers: "You hear most of it, unless you're deaf." ... Late inning chant: "Po-key's better!"

Why Does The Truth Hate America? AP: "Following an important meeting on Iraq war planning in late 2001, President Bush told the public that the discussions were about Afghanistan. He made no mention afterward about Iraq even though that was the real focus of the session at his ranch. 'I'm right now focused on the military operations in Afghanistan,' Bush told reporters after talks on Dec. 28, 2001, with top aides and generals. ... In a Washington speech last month, Franks said he discussed with the president on that day the 'growing storm' and the need to revise a long-standing military contingency plan for Iraq."

Also: "Franks presented a list of assumptions that were behind the plan. They included that Iraq would be the main effort of the United States and would get priority on resources, and that the Afghan operation and the global fight against terrorism would provide a noise level under which Iraq operations could proceed." ... In other words, divert everyone's attention with Afghanistan, which was only a smokescreen for their real plan. How can anyone still support these war criminals?

"The first part of April has been the bloodiest period so far for US troops in Iraq. There were 87 deaths by hostile fire in the first 15 days of this month ... The last time US troops experienced a two-week loss such as this one in Iraq was October 1971, two years before US ground involvement ended in Vietnam." ... European Union external relations commissioner Chris Patten: "The comparison ... that Iraq could become as difficult an issue as Vietnam is misplaced, because I think it is arguably much more serious." ... I found these quotes last night. The April death count is now 93. Number of US dead since Bush cried "Bring them on": 488.

"If You Said to Me, Name 25 Million People Who Would Maybe Be President ... He Wouldn't Have Been in That Category" ... How To Build a Watch.

Bush Knew, Part 573. Re David Schippers, conservative Chicago lawyer and the House Judiciary Committee's chief investigator in the Clinton impeachment trial. "On Sept. 13, 2001, in an interview with Pittsburgh radio station WRRK, Schippers alleged that federal authorities had received information about Middle Eastern involvement in the attacks at Oklahoma City and plans to strike buildings in lower Manhattan. He had tried contacting Attorney General John Ashcroft, the White House, even the House managers with whom he had worked. But nobody returned his phone calls. ... "'I was trying to get people to listen to me because I had heard that the terrorists had set up a three-pronged attack': an American airplane [TWA 800, according to Schippers], the bombing of a federal building in the heartland and a massive attack in lower Manhattan, he said.

"'People thought I was crazy. What I was doing was I was calling everybody I knew telling them that this has happened,' he said. "I'm telling you the more I see of the stuff that's coming out, if the FBI had even been awake they would have seen it." Schippers' intelligence indicated the original plan was to set off a 'dirty nuclear bomb,' a bomb containing conventional explosives and nuclear waste material, in lower Manhattan." ... Schippers said (in an October 2001 interview) it was FBI agents in Chicago and Minnesota who told him about an upcoming terrorist attack in lower Manhattan.

Red Sox 5, Yankees 2. Haven't had a chance to watch the tape of the game, but although Schilling put up a decent line (6.1-6-1-4-8), he'll likely be pissed at his performance. He didn't want to come out of the game in the 7th, but he had thrown 122 pitches. His count rose because of several long at-bats: 11 pitches to Matsui in the 4th, 8 to Giambi in the 6th and 9 to Jeter in the 7th (his last batter). He threw at least 5 pitches to 12 of his 28 batters.

Timlin came on and after a walk to his first batter, he got five quick outs. Foulke pitched the 9th. ... When he needed outs, Schilling got them:

2nd inning: Two outs. Matsui walks. Posada doubles to right. Clark is caught looking on a 2-2 pitch.

3rd inning: With two outs, Williams doubles down the right field line. Rodriguez strikes out on 3 pitches (called, swinging, called).

4th inning: Schilling strikes out Giambi, but walks Sheffield and allows a single to Matsui (11-pitch AB). He then gets Posada to hit into a first-pitch, 4-6-3 double play.

5th inning: Clark homers to open the inning, but the next 3 hitters (Wilson, Jeter, Williams) go out on 12 pitches.

6th inning: Schilling strikes out Rodriguez to begin the inning, but he walks Giambi on 8 pitches and after Sheffield fouls out to third, Matsui singles to left. Schilling falls behind Posada 3-0, gets 2 called strikes, but ends up walking him. Boston is up 4-1 and Clark (who homered last inning) is the go-ahead run at the plate. He grounds out 3-1 on the first pitch.

Boston was extremely patient with Mussina and forced him to throw 71 pitches through the first 3 innings (14-38-19). Three walks, a HBP and a single added up to two runs in the 2nd and another Jeter error, singles by Varitek and Bellhorn and a Kapler FC brought home a run in the 3rd. ... Manny hit a bomb to center to start the 5th (I am so glad he's still in Boston!) and Damon doubled home Pokey for the fifth run in the 8th. ... The Red Sox also lined into two double plays: Bellhorn in the 5th and Varitek in the 7th. Fortunately, they did not blunt any necessary rallies, and so merely offered more evidence that the team is hitting the ball well.

Bellhorn was on base in 3 of his 4 trips (walk, single, HBP), raising his OBP to an even .500 -- higher than the Yankees' winning percentage! ... A-Rod went 0-4 for the second consecutive game, though he did manage to hit a ball out of the infield today -- a fly to deep center to close out the first inning.

Coming Tomorrow. Sunday Times: "The attacks of Sept. 11 seemed to come in a stunning burst from nowhere. But now, after two weeks of extraordinary public hearings and a dozen detailed reports, the lengthy documentary record makes clear that predictions of an attack by Al Qaeda had been communicated directly to the highest levels of the government."

As it becomes obvious that the 9/11 Commission will be finding plenty of fault with the Bush Gang and knowing how thin-skinned they are to even a whiff of criticism, I'm not surprised to hear Delay and others trying to smear the Commission as partisian, hoping to pre-emptively blunt the impact of the Commission's report. The wing-nuts have apparently forgotten that AWOL appointed a majority of the Commission's members, including its Chairman, and set most of its rules.

Red Sox 6, Yankees 2. Was Tim McCarver crying? Some highlights:

The first inning. After Wakefield set down the Yankees in order on only 8 pitches, the Red Sox bat around and score four runs. Two errors (Giambi and Jeter), two home runs (Mueller and Manny) and a 4-pitch walk to Mark "OBP" Bellhorn spelled trouble for Vazquez. ... Bellhorn drew another walk in the 8th (he now has 14); his OBP is .476.

The catcher. Tito says he won't fall into the trap of having Mirabelli catch only/all of Wakefield's starts, but he was in there last night. And he reached base in all four plate appearances, inluding a 1st-pitch home run in the fourth and a RBI double into the left field corner in the 6th. The double came on a 3-0 pitch. In the previous inning, Vazquez had gone 3-0 on Ortiz and then poured in a mid-80s fastball that Ortiz took (but was drooling at). I can only assume the Sox felt Vazquez might do the same thing with Mirabelli. Green light -- good call.

The Empire. Rodriguez went 0-4 and did not hit the ball out of the infield. He looked particularly bad on a strikeout in the 4th, waving at a 61 mph pitch that was way outside. He also was gunned down on an ill-advised attempted steal of third in the 6th. Sheffield was the tying run at the plate at the time -- with only one out and Posada (who had already homered) on deck. But Mirabelli caught Rodriguez and then Sheffield stared at strike three and the inning was over. ... Lofton made outs in all five of his at-bats, hitting the ball (in order) to shortstop, third, second, first and the pitcher.

I listened to the Yankee radio broadcast while watching Fox on mute. McCarver and Buck were apparently as horrid as usual. The visuals were also pathetic. Coming back from commercial for the bottom of the second inning, Fox posted the score as 5-1 Boston and 1 out. It was actually only 4-1 and there were no outs -- Damon was leading off. It took two batters (and 7 pitches) for Fox to finally figure out what was going on. ... And I'd be shocked if even one person watching thought that talking cartoon baseball was a good idea (explaining what a fastball is??). Just horrible -- and when Fox ran one of the animated bits for the second time, they completely missed Wilson's ground out in the 3rd. ... The stop light-colored bar showing a runner's lead at first was equally useless.

Anyway, the radio. Charlie Steiner made a couple of comments about the poor Red Sox defense -- this after two first-inning errors on extremely playable balls by the Yankees. Just the idea of a Yankee announcer criticizing another team for poor glovework is absurd. Also, Steiner and Sterling kept wondering if the cold weather would affect Wakefield's knuckleball. It didn't. Wouldn't it affect pitchers who rely more on breaking stuff -- one reason why Pedro has had so much trouble with his curveball in two of his three starts? The cold may have bothered Vazquez, particularly in the first inning, but S&S never mentioned it. I guess the Yankees are impervious to intemperate weather. ... Finally, Sterling referred to a Red Sox bench player as "Felipe Crespo."

Notes: Byung-Hyun Kim will pitch three innings for Pawtucket on Monday. Nomar is expected to play catch over the weekend and possibly take some grounders. Nixon will be reevaluated Monday and could begin working out at the Fort Myers facilities. ... ... Ramirez has hit safely in seven straight games at a .419 (13-31) clip. ... Schilling/Mussina at 1:00 pm.

Polls.

"And as to whether or not I make decisions based upon polls, I don't. I just don't make decisions that way...If I tried to fine-tune my messages based upon polls, I think I'd be pretty ineffective." George W. Bush, April 13, 2004

"One [White House] adviser said the White House had examined polling and focus group studies in determining that it would be a mistake for Mr. Bush to appear to yield" and apologize for mistakes. New York Times, April 15, 2004 [Also, Bush's obsession with polling]

Illegal. Bob Woodward: "The end of July 2002, they need $700 million, a large amount of money for all these tasks. And the president approves it. But Congress doesn't know and it is done. They get the money from a supplemental appropriation for the Afghan War, which Congress has approved. ... Some people are gonna look at a document called the Constitution which says that no money will be drawn from the treasury unless appropriated by Congress. Congress was totally in the dark on this." ... "Powell felt Cheney and his allies [including Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith] and what Powell called Feith's 'Gestapo' office -- had established what amounted to a separate government."

One Sentence, Three Lies. Bush in his press conference: "They could still be there [WMD in Iraq]. They could be hidden, like the 50 tons of mustard gas in a turkey farm." ... Afterwards, the White House announced that the actual figure was 26 tons, they were found at various locations (not at a turkey farm) and there was no mustard gas at all. ... As Reagan once said, "Facts are stupid things."

"But there was nobody in our government, at least, and I don't think the prior government that could envision flying airplanes into buildings on such a massive scale." George W. Bush, April 13, 2004 ... In the same press conference, Bush said "part of [the reason I requested the PDB] had to do with the Genoa G-8 conference I was going to attend" in July 2001, where he was warned that bin Laden-connected terrorists were plotting to fly airplanes into buildings. Bush spent the night on a military ship because of the danger.

Oh, It's On.



Yankees Media
MLB
Newsday
New York Post
New York Daily News
New York Times
Bergen Record
Hartford Courant
Newark Star-Ledger
Staten Island Advance

Other non-Rivalry news: Byung-Hyun Kim pitched two perfect innings in his first rehab start for Sarasota (A). He threw only 14 pitches and struck out two. ... Lenny DiNardo threw 48 pitches in three innings for Pawtucket, giving up 3 hits, no runs and striking out four batters. ... Terry Francona says LHP Phil Seibel, who made his major league debut last night, will be an innings-eater rather than a LOOGY. ... Trot Nixon's batting-practice session on Wednesday at the University of Miami went very well. ... In preparation for his Patriots' Day start on Monday (11 am) Bronson Arroyo is going to bed as early as possible the next few nights, possibly around 11 o'clock, with a wakeup call set for 8 a.m. "I have to get my body used to it. If I don't do that, it will feel like I'm pitching before breakfast."

Sunny Day, Sweeping The Clouds Away. Pedro/Ponson go in the one-game series at 7:05 pm. And then ...

Fri 4/16 Wakefield on 7 days rest
Sat 4/17 Schilling on 5 days rest
Sun 4/18 Arroyo on 9 days rest
Mon 4/19 Lowe on 10 days rest

Francona: "[W]e're all in agreement that this is the best way for our ball club to move forward and have success. ... We actually talked about moving (Martinez) back and he was fine with that, too, but with the way we're set up, I think our rotation sets up better if he pitches (tonight)." ... This way, Pedro stays on his normal rest, Schilling sticks very close to his schedule, Wakefield is able to be slipped in between Martinez and Schilling (which Francona wants to do), and Lowe doesn't have to pitch on the carpet in Toronto. ... It sets up Lowe, Arroyo and Martinez for the following weekend in New York.

Trot Nixon's herniated disk is improving. "It's more of a nag. On a scale of one to 10, it's about a 1-1½ right now." Nixon is determined to not rush his return, but he believes he'll be back in Boston in late April or early May. he is taking some batting practice today

Bobby Jones and Brian Daubach were optioned to Pawtucket. Daubach will join Pawtucket in Syracuse tonight and lefty Phil Seibel is expected to be fill Jones's spot in the pen. ... Byung-Hyun Kim will make his first rehab start tonight for Sarasota (A). If all goes well, he'll pitch in Pawtucket on April 23. ... This weekend's series gets some play in Gotham.

More Lying Liars. So why did CIA Director George Tenet lie under oath in front of the 9/11 Commission? ... He told the Commission that he never met with George Bush in August 2001 because Bush was on vacation in Texas. Now the word is that Tenet misspoke and did in fact travel to Crawford on August 17. Looking at the White House website, Tenet was apparently also there on August 24, but I haven't seen that mentioned in the news yet.

Why would Tenet lie about something so easily verifiable? Beats me. One big reason would be to avoid the obvious follow-up question: "What were those briefings about?" ... I keep saying "lie" because I refuse to believe that George Tenet, making his second public appearance before the Commission, at a time when the August 6 PDB and the threats/warnings have been all over the news, would "forget" that he briefed Bush in Texas. ... The idea of fewer briefings would imply less urgency, but that's hard to spin at this point, since the now-famous "hair on fire" comment was used to describe Tenet himself.

I think the administration believes if they can control the tickle of truth and let it seep out reeeeallllly slowly, most people (getting no help from the media, of course) won't be able to remember all the corrections (or even know the corrections were made). (The mustard gas in a turkey farm being a brand-new example.)

Slate reports that another story has changed. "The official story about the PDB is that the CIA prepared it at the president's request. Bush had heard all Tenet's briefings about a possible al-Qaida attack overseas, the tale goes, and he wanted to know if Bin Laden might strike here. This story is almost certainly untrue. On March 19 of this year, Tenet told the 9/11 commission that the PDB had been prepared, as usual, at a CIA analyst's initiative. He later retracted that testimony, saying the president had asked for the briefing. Tenet embellished his new narrative, saying that the CIA officer who gave the briefing to Bush and Condi Rice started by reminding the president that he had requested it. But as Rice has since testified, she was not present during the briefing; she wasn't in Texas. Someone should ask: Was that the only part of the tale that Tenet made up? Or did he invent the whole thing -- and, if so, on whose orders?"

The Bush Administration's Top 40 Lies About War and Terrorism. ... No Turkee for Time.

Art. A photomosaic of Bush using snapshots of Americans who have died in Iraq. Rumsfeld too. ... Ashcroft's face made entirely of porn. ... And Bush again, this time with pictures of human sphincters. Thanks to TMW

Wednesday Notes. Johnny Damon and Scott Williamson would have been set to play Wednesday, but the Red Sox were rained out for the second straight night. ... Byung-Hyun Kim is scheduled to make his first rehab start in Sarasota tomorrow. Trot Nixon is ready to take batting practice. ... How Terry Francona makes decisions. ... On baseball blogs.

More reasons to hate Fox: "For its nationally televised game between the Yankees and Red Sox from Boston Friday night, Fox Sports will introduce Scooter, an animated, talking baseball [using the voice of 'SpongeBob SquarePants'], to explain the types of pitches to young viewers. It also will utilize enhanced graphics that will trace the arcs of pitches and hits and use changing color zones for runners' leads."

More Rain. I think the rotation looks like this:

Thursday  Orioles Pedro     ( 4 days rest)/Ponson
Friday    Yankees Schlling  ( 4 days rest)/Vazquez
Saturday  Yankees Arroyo    ( 7 days rest)/Mussina
Sunday    Yankees Lowe      (10 days rest)/Contreras
Monday    Yankees Wakefield (10 days rest)/Brown

I want baseball, dammit!

9/11 Timeline. The latest update is here. The Timeline's main page is here.

Damning. Headline: "Panel Says Bush Saw Repeated Warnings":

"By the time a CIA briefer gave President Bush the Aug. 6, 2001, President's Daily Brief headlined 'Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US,' the president had seen a stream of alarming reports on al Qaeda's intentions. So had Vice President Cheney and Bush's top national security team, according to newly declassified information ...

"In April and May 2001, for example, the intelligence community headlined some of those reports, 'Bin Laden planning multiple operations,' 'Bin Laden network's plans advancing' and 'Bin Laden threats are real.' ... It noted that operatives might choose to hijack an aircraft or storm a US embassy. Without knowing when, where or how the terrorists would strike, the CIA 'consistently described the upcoming attacks as occurring on a catastrophic level, indicating that they would cause the world to be in turmoil...'"

[During his press conference last night, Bush explained how he was kept appraised of the terrorist threat: "I was dealing with terrorism a lot as the president when George Tenet came in to brief me. I mean, that's where I got my information. ... I wanted Tenet in the Oval Office all the time. And we had briefings about terrorist threats. ... I met with Tenet all the time."]

Again from the 9/11 Commission: ''Reports similar to these were made available to President Bush in the morning meetings with Tenet."

Sticking To The Script. Mike Allen, Washington Post: Mr. President, why are you and the vice president insisting on appearing together before the 9-11 commission? ...

Bush: ... because the 9-11 commission wants to ask us questions, that's why we're meeting. And I look forward to meeting with them and answering their questions.

Allen: I was asking why you're appearing together, rather than separately, which was their request.

Bush: Because it's a good chance for both of us to answer questions that the 9-11 commission is looking forward to asking us. And I'm looking forward to answering them. ... I've got some must-calls. I'm sorry.

Also:

Q: In the last campaign, you were asked a question about the biggest mistake you'd made in your life, and you used to like to joke that it was trading Sammy Sosa. ... After 9-11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have learned from it?

Bush: I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it. ... You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet. ... I hope -- I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.

Blog Watch. A new one: Red Sox Cup. ... Dirt Dog has posted these Yankees match-ups:

Friday: Wakefield/Vazquez
Saturday: Schilling/Contreras
Sunday: Arroyo/DePaula
Monday: Lowe/Mussina

Info here. ... That means I'll see Pedro and Wakefield in Toronto.

At 9:03 am on the morning of September 11, 2001, George Bush was told a second plane had hit the World Trade Center and "America is under attack". What did he do for the next five minutes? Click here. In a Wall Street Journal story published on March 22, 2004, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett says that Bush remained in the classroom for seven minutes after being told of the second plane. Some reports filed by journalists in the classroom say Bush stayed for as long as 9 minutes. The WSJ confirms that video exists of the entire photo-op.

Red Sox-Orioles; Rained Out. Tonight's game has been rained out and will be made up later in the season. The rotation now looks like this:

Tue April 13 vs Baltimore  Rained out
Wed April 14 vs Baltimore  Lowe 
Thu April 15 vs Baltimore  Pedro 
Fri April 16 vs Yankees    Wakefield 
Sat April 17 vs Yankees    Schilling 
Sun April 18 vs Yankees    Arroyo 
Mon April 19 vs Yankees    Lowe 
Tue April 20 at Toronto    Pedro 
Wed April 21 at Toronto    Wakefield 
Thu April 22 at Toronto    Schilling 
Fri April 23 at Yankees    Arroyo 
Sat April 24 at Yankees    Lowe 
Sun April 25 at Yankees    Pedro

Upon Further Review. Bobby M. Jones threw only 8 pitches and walked two batters in the 11th inning of Sunday's game, but he did not pitch badly. Watching my tape of the game this afternoon, I'd say Jones threw 4 balls and 4 strikes (maybe 3 and 5).

His first pitch to Hudson was right over the plate and low; the exact same pitch was called a strike on a Red Sox hitter an inning or two earlier. The second pitch was a ball. With a 2-0 count, Jones threw a great pitch that caught the outside corner, but was called a ball. The count was 3-0, but it should have been 1-2. Ball four was again over the plate and just a wee bit lower than his first pitch to Hudson; the call could have gone either way. ... Jones's first two pitches to Gomez were definitely balls -- inside and low. His last two pitches, however, were strikes: another pitch that grabbed the inside corner and another strike at the bottom of the knees.

Home plate umpire Tim Tschida's judgment on at least half of Jones's pitches were about as accurate as his call on Knoblauch's non-tag of Offerman in the 1999 ALCS.

"Japanese Determined to Attack the United States in the Pacific" Jim Pinkerton of Newsday: "If you knew that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had received a memo a month before Pearl Harbor [with that title] and that he had done nothing about that information, would that knowledge change your perception of FDR as a wise war leader? Roosevelt received no such memo, of course, but President George W. Bush got a blunt warning five weeks before 9/11 and he did little or nothing. He even presided over a stand-down in preparations, concentrating on other concerns."

The warning came on August 6, 2001. News reports at the time say Bush quit work early that day and went fishing (he was on a month-long vacation after all). What did he do the following day? He went golfing at the Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Texas. The Washington Post: "Bush seemed carefree as he spoke about the books he was reading, the work he was doing on his nearby ranch, his love of hot-weather jogging, his golf game and his 55th birthday. ... His staff said at the time that by far the biggest issue on his agenda was his decision on federal funding of stem cell research, followed by education, immigration and the Social Security 'lockbox.'"

Bush: "[The Aug. 6 PDB] included the fact that the FBI was conducting field investigations, which comforted me. You see, it meant the FBI was doing its job, the FBI was running down any lead. And I will tell you this, Scott, that had they found something, I'm confident they would have reported back to me. That's the way the system works. And whoever was the Acting FBI Director, had they found something, would have said, Mr. President, we have found something that you need to be concerned about in your duties to protect America. That didn't happen."

Amazing. Simply amazing. ... Also at that link: "Only George W. Bush could study a memo titled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US", and then blithely assert that it "said nothing about an attack on America." Note to the President: "US" is a common abbreviation for "the United States of America", the country we live in and of which you are the highest elected official, a country also often referred to in shorthand as "America." Good luck with that whole national security thing from hereon out."

One of my new favorite political blogs is by David Sirota, who also does work for the Center for American Progress. Go now.

Two New Blogs. Lost in Sox and A Red Sox Fan in Pinstripe Territory.

One Week In. The Red Sox have a 4-3 record after the first week of the season, which is good enough for a share of first place in the AL East. And considering that they are playing without Nomar and Nixon, and missed Damon for two games, that's pretty good. And while I recently suggested laughing at people who rely on small sample sizes, today's papers are full of to-date stats, so I'm posting some of them.

Boston's team batting average is .236; only the Blue Jays (.217) and Yankees (.208) are worse. Boston's slugging percentage of .364 is 13th in the AL (.001 ahead of Toronto) and the team's OBP is .336 (10th). Some numbers:

          AVG   OBP   SLG
Manny    .414  .469  .621
Ortiz    .304  .467  .739
 
Mueller  .182  .229  .182  (0-last 19)
Varitek  .190  .433  .333  (9 BB, 2nd in MLB)
Bellhorn .174  .424  .348  (10 BB, leads MLB)

The Red Sox pitching staff has a 3.56 ERA -- 2nd best behind Oakland's 3.11 and 1.45 points lower than the Yankees, who are 10th at 5.01. The starters are 3-1, 3.20 and the bullpen is 1-2, 4.24. Theo: "We'll be OK if we don't play two 12-plus-inning games a week the rest of the year. If we do, we might have to go with a 15-man staff." ... The Red Sox staff has issued 32 walks and one-quarter of them have come from Bobby Jones -- in only 3.1 innings.

Theo on the first week: "There have been lots of injuries and atypical performances in some respects. But the bottom line is we're only going to play better as we go forward. ... We haven't been able to develop a rhythm yet with our personnel or with game situations. ... It's been an unusual set of circumstances. The first week of the season, we have seven guys on the DL and another unavailable."

Gerry Callahan on the pulling of Pedro: "Ped-ro! Ped-ro! they chanted, and you couldn't help but wonder if he would finish the job. ... He wouldn't get the chance. Not this year. Not with this manager. ... Francona signaled to the bullpen before he reached the mound ... A funny thing happened on this night, though. No one seemed to mind. ... 'I told him he pitched a whale of a ball game,' Francona said, 'and Foulke will finish up for him.' ... The Red Sox made a number of upgrades in the offseason, and this is certainly one of them. Francona doesn't have to be a genius. He just has to make sense."

Mussina and Contreras could be flip-flopped on Friday, in which case Mussina would face Schilling. ... Alex ".172" Rodriguez heard some boos on Sunday in Yankee Stadium.

Pitchers for the Orioles series:
Tuesday: Lowe/Kurt Ainsworth
Wednesday: Wakefield/Sidney Ponson
Thursday: Pedro/Matt Riley

First Yankees Series -- No Pedro. Terry Francona will not use today's off-day to give Pedro Martinez an extra day of rest. Which means Martinez will not pitch against the Yankees this weekend. Instead, the Sox will skip Bronson Arroyo's spot and Pedro will pitch against Baltimore on Thursday. ... Francona: "It doesn't mean the season's over. ... We're not skipping him. We're just pitching them in order."

Does anyone else think there will at least one New York media yahoo who will claim Martinez is ducking the Yankees after last fall's ALCS? Hell, we'll probably hear it on Fox this Friday night. Will this/these mediots realize that if Martinez faced the Yankees this Friday, he would miss the series the following week at Yankee Stadium? Will they realize that by setting up his rotation this way, Francona is pitching Martinez in the Bronx -- on April 25 in the series finale -- and not in Fenway? I have my doubts, but we'll see.

The match-ups (once we get through playing the Orioles again):

Friday: Schilling/Contreras
Saturday: Arroyo (7 days rest)/Mussina
Sunday: Lowe/Brown
Monday: Wakefield/Vazquez

Steven Krasner notes that Ortiz could have been "a spectator by the time his spot in the batting order rolled around in the 12th if Francona had gone by the mythical 'book' used by most managers." In the 8th, with a man on first and one out and the Sox trailing 4-2, LHP Valerio De Los Santos was brought in to face Ortiz. De Los Santos had struck out Ortiz the previous night, but Francona kept Ellis Burks on the bench. Ortiz singled to right, part of the rally that closed the gap to 4-3. ... In the 9th, Ortiz faced LHP Jason Kershner with a runner at second and two outs. He flew out to deep center.

Manny: "I told David before he went to home plate, I said, 'Hey! Finish this, man. We don't get paid overtime.'" ... Ortiz to Millar in the 12th: "Who are they going to bring in to face me now? All their lefties are gone." ... Francona said he and Dave Jauss had talked about Ortiz "against their left-handers. I felt like the lefties they had were not of a style for us to make a move with David. Jauss backed me up." So Ortiz was still in the lineup against Aquilino Lopez in the 12th. ... All of this is good for me to remember because there were several moves yesterday that had me shaking my head. And I'm determined to give Tito some slack, at least until May 1.

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says Carlos Tosca (who used 7 pitchers yesterday) is overmanaging his pen: "JP Ricciardi cobbled together an experienced relief corps with success in the big leagues. ... Carlos, forget about head-to-head stats. Some of these dudes can pitch an entire inning without screwing up. They did it elsewhere. They can do it here."

Curt Schilling: "My performance? Disappointing. I was disappointed. Coming off the heels of Pedro's gem (Saturday) night, you like to maintain that momentum. But as disappointed as I was when I came out of the game, it's a wash now. It's gone. I pitched today and we won, so it makes it all good." ... Scott Williamson was held out with a sore elbow and Francona was determined not to use Mike Timlin yesterday. Williamson: "It's just been a little tender since (Thursday night), that's all. You can pitch with it. It's just a precautionary thing." (This explains some of Francona's thinking.)

Mark Bellhorn (5-8 lifetime against Jays starter Miguel Batista) led off Sunday. Despite a .174 batting average, ten walks have boosted his OBP to .424. ... Millar's Diary focuses on Manny, who has either scored or knocked in a run in all seven games. ... Byung-Hyun Kim will pitch a two-inning simulated game today in Fort Myers. ... Tests on Ramiro Mendoza's shoulder revealed no structural problems. ... John Tomase notes that Pedro's seven strikeouts came on pitches clocked at: 89, 76, 75, 78, 90, 89 and 91.

Ain't We Lucky We Got Him? David "Florida" Ortiz provides some Good Times at Fenway. His 2-run home run in the 12th gave the Red Sox 6-4 win over the Blue Jays. It also saved the Sunday bacon of Terry Francona who made a few (dare I say it?) Gumpesque moves -- not having Varitek bunt in the 10th and letting Bobby "BM" Jones throw 8 pitches (all of them balls; what a surprise!) to start the Toronto 11th were particularly egregious. Mark Malaska mopped up Jones's mess and kept things quiet until Ortizzle unloaded in fine style. Box.

Any More Questions? That's how Bob Hohler begins his game story. He also quotes Gabe Kapler: "I just hope people recognize that you can't panic when he doesn't have an incredible night. It's unfair to Pedro to take a decent night and turn it into a nightmare. He sets such a high standard for himself that it's difficult for people to appreciate it when he has just an OK night for Pedro, which is a tremendous night for many, many people around the league."

Although only a few of his pitches topped 90 mph, Martinez dominated the Jays. His curveball -- MIA in Baltimore -- was especially sharp. In the 6th and 7th innings, he threw only 8 and 9 pitches, respectively. That allowed him to pitch into the 8th, at which point Keith Foulke needed only 11 pitches to get the final 4 outs. The crowd was roaring -- chanting "Ped-!ro, Ped-ro!" -- and exploding on every strike call. And this was only the sixth game of the season.

Terry Francona was booed when he went to get Martinez after he struck out Catalanotto, but it was the right move. "Even before the inning started I had determined that I would go to Foulke before Wells batted." Francona on leadoff man Cesar Crespo: "I like the idea of a left-handed bat facing Halladay ... Crespo can bunt, he can run, and this way it doesn't throw the rest of the lineup into chaos."

Boston has to place Daubach on waivers within the next 10 days, then another team would have 48 hours to claim him. Epstein said Daubach would be willing to join Pawtucket if he is not claimed. "[I]t's a move we had to make. ... We can't be in a situation where if we go to extra innings, all of a sudden, boom, we don't have anyone to take the ball."

Damon was greeted at the players' parking lot by a group of fans wearing long wigs, fake beards and "Damon's Disciples" T-shirts (with "We have Jesus on our side" printed on them). X-rays of Damon's left knee showed no bone damage. He will likely return Tuesday. ... At the end of Edes's Baseball Notes column is a cool story of how Daubach met his wife Christine in Baltimore. ... Baseball Primer's Looking Forward To 2004: Red Sox and Yankees. ... Statistical analysis in baseball goes back to Henry Chadwick in the 1860s.

A nervous Curt Schilling faces his former Arizona teammate Miguel Batista at 2:05 pm.

This PDB Goes to 11. The White House has released a slightly redacted copy of the August 6, 2001 PDB (pdf). There is some damning information and it exposes some more White House lies, but there is nothing that would warrant the kind of resistance the administration has shown in keeping the memo away from anyone, no matter how high his or her security clearance. Why?

Well, the August 6 PDB might actually be 11½ pages long -- and we are simply being thrown a bone. An October 2002 story in the German weekly Die Zeit states that the PDB was actually 11½ pages long, not the 1½ pages usually reported (and released). ... The article can be read here. A snip:

"Crawford, Aug. 6, 2001. U.S. president George W. Bush is on vacation. He wants to spend the whole month at his ranch in Texas. Every morning, however, he still receives his Presidential Daily Brief, or PDB, wherein the CIA informs the president about the country's security situation. On this morning, the report is straight from the CIA director. His PDB runs 11 and one-half printed pages, instead of the usual two to three, and carries the title, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." Therein the CIA chief explains that al Qaeda has decided to carry out attacks within the United States, and that presumably members of the terrorist organization have been in the country for some time. It is unclear whether the CIA director informed the president about the statements of arrested al Qaeda members. According to their confessions, the terrorist organization for some time has been thinking about hijacking planes and using them as missiles."

Some people have wondered if the article includes a typo -- and 11½ really should be 1½.

First, there is another reference to this PDB being 10-12 pages long in the New York Times of November 11, 2003: "People call it a lot of things: the world's most exclusive newspaper, a supersecret product of the Central Intelligence Agency and a document so sensitive that widespread dissemination would endanger lives. ... Whatever the definition, the document is the innocuously named President's Daily Brief, a 10- to 12-page report produced overnight by the CIA. In recent weeks, it has become the hottest property in Washington. Two powerful bodies are demanding to see it: the nonpartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Senate Intelligence Committee..."

Second, in a discussion of the memo at Democratic Underground, the original German article was found. The key sentence: "Sein PDB-Papier hat statt der sonst üblichen zwei bis drei diesmal elfeinhalb bedruckte Seiten und trägt die Überschrift Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." ... One poster comments: "The elfeinhalb highlighted translates as eleven and a half. Impossible to get a 'one' out of that." Someone else offers a literal translation: "His PDB-Paper has instead of the otherwise usual two to three this time eleven-and-a-half printed pages and bears the title Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."... A third poster: "I speak German not fluently, but enough to get by. It definitely says 11.5 printed pages, normally 2 or 3."

So. What are the chances the media will press the White House to clear up this discrepancy?

I'd also like to see this memo: "One such CIA briefing, in July 2001, was particularly chilling and prophetic. It predicted that Osama bin Laden was about to launch a terrorist strike 'in the coming weeks,' the congressional investigators found. The intelligence briefing went on to say: 'The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties against U.S. facilities or interests. Attack preparations have been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning.' ... (One source says the recipients of the briefing included Bush himself.)"

Quote of the Day: "I will not permit any course that leaves America undefended." Bush, August 29, 2001 speech to the American Legion.

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 1. All is good.

Pedro is The Man! Manny, Ortizzle and Bellhorn all go deep. Foulke nails it down.

WTF? This isn't funny.

Crespo, cf
Mueller, 3b
Ortiz, dh
Manny, lf
Millar, lb
Varitek, c
Kapler, rf
Bellhorn, 2b
Reese, ss

Also, Boston designated Daubach for assignment and called up Lt. Frank Castillo. ... Good god.

A Clean Slate. I could bitch about a lot of things right now. Like Malaska should have started the 8th, Burks shouldn't be hitting third, Kapler should get more time in RF than Millar, and Tito should resist the impulse to overmanage (he may be nervous, which is understandable). ... But I'm going to write off yesterday's loss as an ugly by-product of no sleep and turn the page tonight.

There is a lot of bad news, though. Damon fouled a ball off his left knee yesterday and left the game with a golf-ball size bruise. "I can't move. I'm probably slower than Millar right now." Damon will likely miss two games, but hopes to rise on the third day. ... Mendoza was put on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis and Malaska was called up from Pawtucket. It turns out Malaska last threw in a simulated game on Tuesday (he didn't pitch in the PawSox opener Thursday). He damn well could have thrown more than 10 pitches on Friday.

Arroyo on his start: "I was definitely disappointed, especially knowing those guys got back so early. I wished I had kept the score a little bit lower. If we would have squeaked it out it would have been a little bit better. ... I didn't feel as well as I would have liked ... I didn't have my best stuff out there, but that's going to happen a lot, especially if you go out there 35 times."

It's nice to see the Yankees losing. Brown and Vazquez have been magnificent, but Mussina has struggled, Contreras has never shown he can be consistent and DePaula stumbled out of the gate today. New York managed only four hits and lost their second in a row to Chicago (9-3 and 7-3). They are 3-4.

High praise for the right field roof seats. ... Pedro and Halladay at 7:05 pm.

Wow! Check out these two articles from Asia Times regarding the 9/11 investigation. ... I know most of this stuff from my own research, but it is amazing to see it all laid out in a mainstream venue. ... The US media may one day report these facts, but we'll probably be a lot older or dead when it happens.

One tidbit: Two of the defendants in the $1 trillion lawsuit filed in August 2002 by the families of the victims of September 11 are former business partners of Commission chairman Thomas Kean. One of those men -- Saudi billionaire Khalid bin Mahfouz -- is Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law. Kean severed his ties to bin Mahfouz only three weeks before Bush appointed him to head the Commission.

The August 6 PDB. Washington Post: "The classified briefing delivered to President Bush five weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks featured information about ongoing al Qaeda activities within the United States, including signs of a terror support network, indications of hijacking preparations and plans for domestic attacks using explosives, according to sources who have seen the document and a review of official accounts and media reports over the past two years." ... New York Times: "President Bush was told more than a month before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that supporters of Osama bin Laden planned an attack within the United States with explosives and wanted to hijack airplanes, a government official said Friday.

If you've been paying attention, this ain't news. Way back on May 19, 2002: "The top-secret briefing memo presented to President Bush on Aug. 6 carried the headline, 'Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US,' and was primarily focused on recounting al Qaeda's past efforts to attack and infiltrate the United States, senior administration officials said."

So we see the media reported on this almost 2 years ago, but then promptly ignored it or "forgot" it existed -- one quick mention and then own the meory hole -- covering up for the Bush administration as long as they could. ... Damn liberal media.

The evolution of this document has been fascinating.

1. White House says the document is so sensitive that even the Congressional Joint Inquiry into 9/11 cannot see it.
2. White House refuses to allow the 9/11 Commission to see it.
3. White House agrees to let two members of Commission see it at the White House.
4. White House agrees to let all 10 members of Commission see it.
5. White House refuses to declassify PDB.
6. White House agrees to declassify PDB.
7. White House may release parts of the memo publicly.

And these guys accuse Kerry of flip-flopping?

As Troops Die, Bush Tapes Appearance On Fishing Show. Under a recent headline -- "12 Marines killed" -- we learn that Bush held a 20-minute telephone conference call to discuss the slaughter of Americans in Iraq. See? He is too working! ... "On Saturday, Bush and his father were to go fishing at the ranch's bass pond with a crew from the Outdoor Life Network's 'Fishing with Roland Martin.' The White House approached the network about coming to film Bush, who is eager to cultivate an image as a sportsman with the millions of voters who hunt and fish."

Bush is now on his "33rd visit to his ranch since [taking office, totaling all or part of 233 days] ... Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency."

Catherine Austin Fitts, Former Assistant Secretary of Housing under George HW Bush to Condoleezza Rice: "You are a liar. ... You are guilty of criminal gross negligence. If you want to catch a terrorist today, you need look no further than your own mirror." ... And Uggabuuga on Rice.

Blue Jays 10, Red Sox 5. Annoying -- highly annoying. Arroyo was decent enough, I suppose -- he did leave with a 5-4 lead. I'm curious why Malaska pitched only the 7th (a 1-2-3 10-pitch inning) and an overworked Timlin was trotted out in the 8th to piss the game away (with 37 pitches).

I hope Tito is not of the same "why use two pitchers when you can use four" school as his Predecessor. It seemed that during the Orioles series, he was. Although if Embree was going to come into Friday's game anyway -- was he slotted for the 9th? -- he should have been up in the pen earlier than the seventh batter in the 8th. ... I am confident that, unlike his Predecessor, Francona will learn from his mistakes.

I also hope everyone went to bed early last night. ... More later.

Orioles 3, Red Sox 2 (13). Ugh. Not fun ... but after reading the papers and comments in the game thread, I'm not sure what could have been done differently. Jones got squeezed in the 13th, but couldn't be expected to get any close calls because he simply wasn't throwing strikes. Mendoza was the last reliever in the pen and there was some doubt about whether he was available or not. So Jones ended up being Brenley-ized, working a second inning for the second straight night. His last pitch of the game was his 78th in two days.

There will always be plenty of second-guessing in a 13-inning game. In the 7th, with the game tied 2-2, Francona had Cesar Crespo bat for Doug Mirabelli. Baltimore's starter LHP Matt Riley had begun the inning by walking McCarty and Bellhorn and was up to 98 pitches. Crespo was bunting, something Mirabelli could have done. And if Francona felt he needed to pull Mirabelli, he could have batted Varitek. Crespo failed to get the bunt down and struck out. Varitek batted for the next scheduled hitter -- Pokey Reese -- thus removing Boston's best infielder. Riley walked Varitek to load the bases. BJ Ryan came out of the pen and retired Damon and Mueller on soft line drives. ... Did Francona panic too early? Hard to say, but I think so. However, in his defense, Boston was not hitting. The Sox did not record their fourth hit of the game until the 11th inning.

In the 11th, Ramirez walked with one out. Millar singled to left center and Manny hustled to third. Francona then pulled him for pinch-runner Kapler. Buddy Groom entered the game. Ortiz lined out to second and after Bellhorn walked to load the bases, Crespo struck out. Francona: "I was just trying to win the game. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. ... I figured Kapler would have a better chance to score on a short sac-fly." ... If Ramirez was quick enough to take 3rd on a ball to left center, he was probably quick enough to tag and score.

The other problem was Bobby Jones, Boston's 6th pitcher of the night. He allowed a lead-off single to Bigbie in the 12th, and after Roberts bunted Bigbie to second and Mora flied to center, Jones intentionally walked Tejada and retired Palmeiro on a grounder to second. ... In the 13th, Jones walked Lopez and after Bautista struck out, he walked Segui, Matos and Bigbie. ... Jones: "I wanted to throw him mostly sliders because that's the pitch that I can get lefties to roll over and get ground balls." However, after all those close pitches and walks, though, there is something to be said about simply throwing a strike and making the batter hit the ball.

Francona said it was Jones or bust. "He was our last pitcher tonight." Jones was surpised to hear that: "I wasn't the last guy." The only reliever left in the bullpen was Ramiro Mendoza, but Francona said Mendoza "made it clear to the medical staff that if we could stay away from him, we needed to." Apparently Mendoza was stiff after pitching Wednesday night. But other accounts say Mendoza wasn't stiff and would have pitched if he had been asked.

Two good things: Wakefield pitching out of man-on-2nd/none-out jams in both the first and second innings (neither runner even advanced to third); and Damon making a perfect throw home in the bottom of the 10th to complete an 8-2 double play to save the game. ... Art Martone on Opening Day at Fenway. ... The Red Sox were scheduled to leave Baltimore about 11:30 last night, but the game did not end until 11:44. The team arrived at the airport at 1:00 am, but their charter was then delayed for another four hours because of a mechanical problem.

Matchups for the Blue Jays series:
Friday: Bronson Arroyo/Ted Lilly
Saturday: Pedro Martinez/Roy Halladay
Sunday: Curt Schilling/Miguel Batista

First pitch: 3:05 pm.

Two Thousand Years Of Willie Mays. That's the title of a short Bill James article I mentioned back on April 5. I said that it had appeared in one of his early Abstracts, but it turns out it was published much later, in The Baseball Book for 1992. (And there's a good reason why we need stats; because personal recollections can be way off the mark.) Anyway, the 2-page bit begins:

"What it is possible for a great player to do in a great year? Suppose that a great player, a Willie Mays or a Joe DiMaggio, hits in good luck for an entire season. What kind of stats could he compile? Suppose that he hits in bad luck for an entire year, what then? ... What if he played forever ... What are the limits here?"

It took James "about three days on my little home computer" to simulate 2,000 seasons of Willie Mays. Here are a few of them:

Year#   AB   R    H    AVG  HR  RBI
  29   583  145  201  .345  50  127
 226   562  137  203  .361  45  133
 826   559   88  132  .236  21   89
1203   553   90  141  .255  16   79
1800   580  132  198  .341  50  149

James concludes that it's possible for a player to hit .360 one year and .240 the next just by random chance. Mays's highest HR and RBI totals were 54 and 155, he never came close to hitting .400 and his longest batting streak was 34 games. ... James then ran 1,000 years of both DiMaggio and Wade Boggs. Here are two consecutive DiMaggio seasons:

Year#   AB   R    H    AVG  HR  RBI
  6    592  135  200  .338  38  150
  7    553   96  146  .264  18   79

James: "Suppose that a real player did this ... won the MVP Award if not the triple crown, and then the next year was an ordinary player. Every explanation under the sun would be offered for his decline, and ultimately one explanation would come to be the accepted one -- he got fat and lazy after a winter of celebration, or he was affected by the absence of X, who hit behind him in his big year ... or even that he began pressing after a slow start. Do you suppose that anybody would write that he was the same player, just hitting in tougher luck? That's my point; that when a player has an off year, even a terrible year, there may not be any reason for it. It may just be the breaks of the game."

In 2,000 years, the longest hitting streak Simulated DiMaggio compiled was 48 games. ... Simulated Boggs made repeated runs at .400. In Year 358, Sim Boggs batted .425, breaking Rogers Hornsby's record by .001. James writes: "Think about it: after trying 357 times to hit .400 but failing all 357 times, the simulated Boggs not only hit .400, but cleared it with fourteen hits to spare. It's a Bob Beamon feat."

James calls this whole thing a "silly exercise," but I've always thought it was pretty cool -- and a fantastic example of what is so instructive and entertaining about James's best work. It may be silly on some level -- but it also shows us that flucuations in performance should be expected. ... Jason Giambi hit only .250 last year, but was still in the top 5 in OBP; his low batting average was nothing more than a random fluke. ... Knowing stuff like this, you can then laugh at (or ignore) broadcasters and writers who go on about 6-game hitting streaks or what some batter did in 10 at-bats against a pitcher over 5 seasons. It's completely meaningless.

This little article has always been, for me, a great reason why James should have published a "Best of" of his Abstracts/Baseball Books. ... I also wish James would reprint his very early (late 70s) self-typed and stapled Abstracts in one volume. While a lot of the information would be quite dated by now, the costs of reprinting would be minimal and I know there are thousands of fans who would snap it up sight unseen.

Shorter Condi Analysis. She lied.

More Sox Blogs. Soxaholix (which uses clip art sort of like Get Your War On) and Genuine Love.

Predictions, Part 8. Some picks from Baseball Prospectus:

                First    Second     Third      Fourth    Fifth
Steven Goldman  Yankees  Red Sox    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays     
Gary Huckabay   Yankees  Blue Jays  Red Sox    Orioles   D-Rays
Rany Jazayerli  Red Sox  Yankees    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Chris Kahrl     Red Sox  Yankees    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Jonah Keri      Yankees  Red Sox    Orioles    Blue Jays D-Rays
Doug Pappas     Yankees  Red Sox    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Dayn Perry      Yankees  Red Sox    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Joe Sheehan     Red Sox  Yankees    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Nate Silver     Yankees  Red Sox    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Ryan Wilkins    Red Sox  Yankees    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Mike Wolverton  Yankees  Red Sox    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
Derek Zumsteg   Red Sox  Yankees    Blue Jays  Orioles   D-Rays
 
World Series
Will Carroll      Red Sox over Cubs
Steven Goldman    Cubs over Yankees
Gary Huckabay     Athletics over Phillies
Rany Jazayerli    Red Sox over Astros
Chris Kahrl       Red Sox over Cubs
Jonah Keri        Athletics over Atlanta
Doug Pappas       Astros over Athletics
Dayn Perry        Yankees over Astros
Joe Sheehan       Red Sox over Phillies
Nate Silver       Red Sox over Phillies
Ryan Wilkins      Red Sox over Phillies
Derek Zumsteg     Athletics over Phillies

Joe Sheehan on the Red Sox: "Their current edges at the back of the rotation--where I expect Bronson Arroyo to be one the season's better stories--and on the bench make the difference. ... Overall, this team is actually better than last year's, with a stronger bullpen and bench, and a deeper rotation less reliant on Pedro Martinez. For the first time since they acquired the skinny right-hander, it's possible to envision a Sox postseason appearance even if Martinez were to miss significant time to an injury. The rest of the team is that good, good enough to be called the best in the American League."

BP's Michael Wolverton says the earned run -- "a lame and counterproductive attempt at solving the pitching/fielding conundrum" -- has got to go. And if the rule was being introduced for the first time today, we'd see right away how absurd it is.

An Astute Observation. This should be an interesting subplot this summer. Schilling: "I have never seen -- and I'm not stereotyping everybody in Boston, there's a lot of good writers, there's good people in the media just like any other market -- but I have never seen more people out to create stories on their own in one space in my career, and that's just in this brief time. They think we're stupid, and they don't think we see and pay attention. I've never seen so many anonymous quotes from people in a shorter period of time than I have in the last three days."

After having failed with runners in scoring positions for two games, the bats finally took advantage of some Orioles mental errors last night. In the second inning, Pokey Reese, with runners at first and second and two outs, grounded a ball to Miguel Tejada's right side. Tejada looked towards third base -- in the hopes of forcing Varitek and ending the inning -- but Melvin Mora was nowhere near the bag. Tejada then whipped a throw to first, but Reese beat it out for a single that loaded the bases.

Tejada got a lot of blame for not going to first base immediately, but starter Kurt Ainsworth also failed over five batters (and 22 pitches) to notch that third out. Damon singled home two runs, Mueller singled home two more, Ortiz walked, Ramirez doubled in two runs when centerfielder Luis Matos lost his deep fly ball in the twilight, and Millar singled in the 7th run of the inning.

Derek Lowe pitched fine with the big lead. He faltered in the bottom of the second, but that may have been due to the 30-minute rally his teammates had. Lowe hit Palmeiro to start the inning and got out of a bases loaded jam when Millar made a nice diving stop and fed Lowe at first. ... Lowe allowed single runs in the 3rd and 6th. He was saved from further damage when Damon robbed David Segui of what would have been a 3-run home run. If Damon didn't reach over the left-center field fence and snag that ball, Baltimore would have closed the gap to 7-5 with only one out in the 6th. ... Lowe allowed only three fly ball outs -- and they all came in his last inning of work.

Bobby Jones took over in the 7th and surrendered a home run to Larry Bigbie on his first pitch. After that, Jones threw two innings and allowed only a walk and a single. Ramiro Mendoza pitched the 9th. He gave up a bouncing single to right to Jose Bautista (his first ML at-bat), struck out Jack Cust and got Luis Lopez to ground into a game-ending double play.

I don't understand why Francona is not having Ramirez bat third. And he's not doing a very good idea of explaining it. Is this only going to happen when Nomar is playing? There are various quotes from Manny saying he likes cleanup, but that he also doesn't care where he hits. One quote had him saying he'd like to hit 6th after Millar, so he'd see a lot of fastballs. I didn't understand that one.

Starters
          IP   H   R  ER  BB   K  BF  PIT
Pedro      6   7   3   2   1   5  26   93
Schilling  6   6   1   1   1   7  24  109
Lowe       6   7   2   2   2   3  26   95
          18  20   6   5   4  15            2.50 ERA

The Courant reports that Trot Nixon could start some baseball activities in the next few days. Terry Francona said Nixon "jogged for 10 minutes and did some pounding and didn't feel any pain." ... Byung-Hyun Kim threw 30 pitches off the mound Wednesday and could start a minor league rehab assignment the middle of next week.

Tim Wakefield/Matt Riley at 7:05 pm.

Red Sox 10, Orioles 3. A 7-run second inning. Lowe throws 6 strong innings. Ortiz smashes a 3-run home run to cap the scoring. And Jesus H. Damon goes 5-5. ... Boston is 2-1 and in sole possession of 1st place. Hallelujah!

More Red Sox Roundtable Discussion. Nine bloggers (including me) answer some more questions. Here are Parts 1 and 2.

Francona: No Pedro Problem. Tito: "I'll tell you, I wasn't that shook up about it. Yes, I talked with him this morning, and it's not an issue. I think he felt comfortable with leaving early. We have a policy, but this is not boot camp. These are grown men who work hard every day." ... And: "He was not called in on the carpet. I just wanted to make sure everyone's on the same page." ... And: "As big a deal as it was [to the media], it wasn't earth-shattering [to me]." ... I think we can put this "incident" to rest -- after some words from Bruce Allen.

Keith Foulke on his nine-pitch 9th inning: "This was more my style of pitching today. That stuff down in Florida, I'm not really sure what that was." ... Kevin Millar suffered a bloodied bridge of the nose and a swollen upper lip after colliding with Johnny Damon. He plans to play tonight. .. Manny Ramirez left yesterday's game with a right quadriceps strain and is "day to day." Ramirez said he hurt himself diving back into second base to avoid a tag after David Ortiz singled in the second inning. "I hit the ground pretty hard." ... Is the Manny batting third era over?

Hardball Times: Five questions for the Red Sox and the Yankees. ... Kaz Matsui became the 18th player to hit the first pitch he saw in the major leagues for a home run. He finished the night 3-for-3 with the homer, two doubles, three RBIs and two walks. ... After diving for a foul pop, Twins rookie catcher Joe Mauer needs arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. ... This just in: Michael Kay is still a total dick.

Derek Lowe/Kurt Ainsworth at 7:05 pm.

Bush Goes AWOL (Again). 32 US dead since Sunday and Condoleezza Rice's 9/11 testimony tomorrow. And George Bush has decided to take a vacation. ... Earlier this week, he banned utensils at a dinner/fundraiser because the tinkling might have disrupted his speech, and in Arkansas, he was his usual insulting and nasty self. ... Note: Before 9/11, the hardest-working sock-puppet in politics had spent 42% of his time in office on vacation.

The White House refuses to provide the 9/11 Commission with a speech Rice was set to deliver on September 11, 2001. The Washington Post reported that the speech "contained no mention of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, or Islamic extremist groups." ... This was a public speech. And presumably, Rice awoke that morning all set to deliver it. It must have been in final (or near-final) form. What possible reason could the White House have for refusing to make it available?

More Lies. On March 9, White House spokesman Scott McClellan: "She [Rice] was more than happy to visit with the commission. Only five members actually showed up, despite the fact that it was scheduled for the entire commission." ... USA Today reports: "What McClellan didn't tell reporters was that on Nov. 21 -- long before Rice met with the five commissioners in February -- the White House counsel's office had sent the commission a letter saying no more than three commissioners could attend meetings with White House aides of Rice's rank."

A Question For Condi. An essay I wrote, now posted at Common Dreams.

More Red Sox Haven Roundtable Discussion. Nine bloggers (including me) answer some questions. Part 2 has been posted. ... Read Part 1 here.

Red Sox 4, Orioles 1. Curt Schilling pitches six strong innings and the bullpen does the rest. But first, take a look at the box score:

"SB: Palmeiro (1, 2nd base off Schilling/Varitek); Burks (1, 2nd base off DeJean/Lopez, J)."

Two stolen bases -- by two 39-year-old players!

Schilling's adrenaline was running high in the first inning. "I over-threw a couple of pitches. ... I realized it right away and tried to settle down. I never felt like I kind of relaxed today and got comfortable." Schilling retired the Orioles in order in the first inning, hitting 93-96 with his fastball. After allowing two singles with one out in the second, he got BJ Surhoff to tap back to the mound for a 1-6-3 double play.

Schilling threw a first-pitch strike to the first 10 Orioles (and 18 of the 24 batters he faced). Baltimore fouled off a lot of pitches (I counted 30) and that was the main reason Schilling's day ended after 109 pitches and six innings. He ended his final inning by striking out Javy Lopez and Jay Gibbons. Schilling's pitch count by innings: 14 11 24 19 20 21.

Alan Embree in the 7th: Segui (bbcf) K, Bigbie (b) F8, Matos 5-3.
Mike Timlin in the 8th: Roberts (bbcbc) 4-3, Mora (bb) F8, Tejada (b) F8.
Keith Foulke in the 9th: Palmeiro (ccb) 6-3, Lopez F9, Gibbons (ccb) K.

On Mora's fly out in the 8th, Damon collided with RF Kevin Millar in right center. Damon hit Millar's nose/mouth with his shoulder. Millar (who hit his first home run of the year in the 4th) seemed only dazed, but he left the game. Manny Ramirez left after 7 innings with a bruised right quad. ... Ramirez, Jason Varitek and Mark Bellhorn walked twice each -- the Red Sox worked a total of 8 walks.

Early Exits. An email from Jen: "I'm almost 100% sure that Pedro left Fenway before a game ended way back in 1999 or 2000. He started the game, and the Sox scored 10 in the first inning. He went the minimum, showered, and left a note for reporters saying that he left the game before it ended to go spend time with his nephews. Reporters even got a kick out of it and quoted the note in their articles. There was no controversy, no indication that he had broken a rule."

This game didn't ring a bell, so I went to one of the greatest sites on the Internet, Retrosheet. I clicked on the 1999 Red Sox game log and looked for any game in which Boston scored 10+ runs and Pedro was the winning pitcher. In a matter of seconds, I was looking at the box score for June 26.

White Sox  0 10  000  000  -  1  3  1
Red Sox   11 03  201  00x  - 17 14  0

And sure enough, Martinez pitched 5 innings for the victory.

Jen later wrote: "I searched the Globe archives and found an article about Pedro written by an intern. ... My favorite line is 'Martinez's early exit from the clubhouse is just the type of bold move he isn't afraid to make. Somehow, the best pitcher in baseball finds a way to make people laugh every day, whether he's in the lineup or not.' Typical. They praise him for leaving the clubhouse early."

That line comes at the end. Some other snips:

"Above Pedro Martinez's locker, the nameplate reads: 'Pedro Zawacki.' Rich Zawacki is the name of the Red Sox physical therapist, but his surname fits the clubhouse prankster for other reasons. Yesterday, Martinez reminded us why for the umpteenth time. It seems like a waste of 17 runs when they come on the day The Protector himself is on the mound and a 1-0 lead probably would suffice. Nonetheless, Martinez turned in a five-inning, three-hit, one-run performance and left the building. For real.

"When reporters gathered in the clubhouse after the game, all that was left of Mr. Zawacki was a note that read, 'I felt good today, both physically and mentally. The day belongs to my teammates for their offensive production. Thank you. Love, Pedro.' And just like that, he was gone. Refusing to take the attention away from his deserving teammates, the grandmaster of gags left the stadium with his major league-leading 14th win, a major league-leading 2.08 ERA, and a major league-leading sense of humor. 'That's funny,' said Jason Varitek, who was 3 for 5 with his ninth homer of the season. 'You gotta love that.'"

Hmmm, it appears the "timeless baseball code" Dan Shaughnessy was blabbing about this morning began in July 1999. I know the CHB wasn't defending said code before Pedro came to town. On the redsox.com message board, "scbosoxfan" posted two old Shaughnessy columns from the mid-90s. In one of them -- dated June 11, 1996 -- the columnist notes, without comment, that a pissed off Roger Clemens left a Red Sox game before it ended:

"It's been a long year for everybody in Red Sox Nation. Each individual has a personal worst memory. For Roger Clemens, the low point came Saturday night when he was pulled from a game in the eighth inning with the Sox leading, 2-1. Boston went on to lose, of course, but Clemens wasn't around for the finish. He bolted Fenway before the bullpen blew the lead. ... 'I think we were still winning when I got out of there,' Clemens said last night. 'I know it's the fastest I've ever left the park. I think I snapped at Lou Gorman on the way out the door.'"

Fat Billy went on to bitch about his teammates and their lack of concentration. He also said this in response to a question about being traded in mid-season (1996 was his last year under contract in Boston): "I haven't thought about that. ... I don't know that I could feel right, other than in search for a ring. I couldn't come through Boston in another American League uniform. National League, maybe. I couldn't see myself with Baltimore or New York."

Rumors in St. Louis. I read that the ovation at Busch Stadium for George W. Bush yesterday was louder than the cheers for Stan Musial. I was skeptical. Knowing Bush's aversion to any crowd that isn't hand-picked with adoring fans, I wondered if the White House had bought out the entire stadium. Then I saw this in the St. Louis Post-Disptach: "A somewhat hostile crowd complained mightily about the problems the presidential motorcade caused with regular fans trying to get into the park. A Cards employee tipped moi that the team was so concerned about Bush being booed that they piped in fake applause when he strode out to the mound. [Team president Mark] Lamping flatly denied it."

Taxigate. That's what BDD is calling it. The fact that Pedro Martinez left Camden Yards before Sunday's game was over seems like a small issue, but it's instructive to see each writer's/paper's spin.

MassLive: "Ace leaves team in the hole" -- "Martinez left the Boston Red Sox clubhouse before the end of Sunday night's season-opening game, an act which could lead to authority problems for the team's new manager ... Theo Epstein told the Boston Globe that "Terry will address the issue, and we'll keep it in-house.""

Hartford Courant: "With Respect To Pedro? Francona Already Feeling The Heat" -- "The criticism aimed at Terry Francona in his first big league managerial job with the Phillies was that he didn't lay down the law with the players. By his own admission, he's already guilty of that in Boston. ... [O]ne game into his first season as Red Sox manager, Francona was put on the hot seat by Martinez. And because Martinez isn't talking to the media, his manager and teammates have to speak on his behalf."

Boston Herald: "Francona takes fall for Pedro's early exit" -- "Francona arrived with a reputation for being a 'players' manager,' and Pedro Martinez officially became the first to test the premise ..."

Boston Globe: "Sox: A situation right off the bat" -- "Francona is a self-professed players' manager; that's the perception of the players, as well. Several said in spring training they appreciated the way Francona treated them, and that they never would test him or take advantage. Now the public is waiting to see how Francona handles this, just as it waited to see how Grady Little handled Manny Ramirez's situation last season."

redsox.com: "Francona takes blame" -- "Aware that Pedro Martinez left Camden Yards before the final out of Sunday's Opening Night loss to the Orioles, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he would discuss the matter with his ace before Tuesday's game. While Francona has a policy about players not leaving before the end of the game, he blamed himself for not communicating this to Martinez ahead of time."

For the CHB, it was manna from heaven: "Why does this stuff always happen with the Red Sox? Why can't it just be about the baseball? Even for one day. ... This act may not seem like much of a big deal to some people, but it's a violation of a timeless baseball code. ... Francona looks weak. ... The manager is covering for his player, which makes for a poor start in some eyes."

Will this become an issue? I doubt it, since Francona, Pedro, Theo, et al. will simply stop talking about it. Of course, various writers may want to harp on it all year long. ... In the words of one Sock, "Nobody said anything about it [Martinez's departure] that I know of. ... I don't think it's a big issue, but I'm sure it will turn into one."

More 9/11 Public Hearings. The 9/11 Commission will be holding additional public hearings next week and will be asking questions of Attorney General John Ashcroft and former FBI director Louis Freeh. Regarding Ashcroft, maybe they can ask him about these decisions:

Newsweek, March 21, 2004: "[I]n the months before 9/11, the US Justice Department curtailed a highly classified program called 'Catcher's Mitt' to monitor Al Qaeda suspects in the United States ... During the Bush administration's first few months in office, [Ashcroft] downgraded terrorism as a priority, choosing to place more emphasis on drug trafficking and gun violence ..."

Washington Post, March 22, 2004: "In the early days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Bush White House cut by nearly two-thirds an emergency request for counterterrorism funds by the FBI, an internal administration budget document shows. The document, dated Oct. 12, 2001, shows that the FBI requested $1.5 billion in additional funds to enhance its counterterrorism efforts with the creation of 2,024 positions. But the White House Office of Management and Budget cut that request to $531 million. ... Ashcroft, working within the White House limits, cut the FBI's request for items such as computer networking and foreign language intercepts by half, cut a cyber-security request by three quarters and eliminated entirely a request for 'collaborative capabilities.'"

I Love Extra Innings. Curt Schilling/Eric DuBose on NESN at 3:05 pm. Schilling says he began looking at Orioles video in mid-December. He should be well-prepared.

Mind-Bogglingly Off The Mark. TPM: "The people who planned and advocated for this war hadn't the slightest idea what they were getting into. All the plans, all the assumptions, all the notions of what would flow from this came from that basic inability to grasp the reality of what they were entering into. ... It was an intelligence failure even more difficult to grasp than the fiasco over WMD -- and in this case it stemmed entirely from administration political appointees in the face of unanimous contrary advice from everywhere else in government. They've never copped to that misunderstanding, even to themselves. That team can't save the situation."

And: "Gloom ... has been building over Iraq. Increasingly, the Wise Heads are forecasting disaster. ... There seems to be no real 'if', just when, and how badly it will hurt US interests." ... Also: It's Condi Rice Week in DC. ... "We Told You So."

Red Sox Haven Roundtable Discussion. Nine bloggers (including me) answer some questions. Part 1 is here.

Two Interviews. An excellent Q&A with Glenn Stout, co-author of Red Sox Century. ... Alex at Bronx Banter has a chat with Bill James. ... He also calls Johnny Damon "a guy who is going above and beyond to cultivate an image as the anti-Yankee; it's good to see that the spirit of Bill Lee is still alive and well in Boston."

Predictions, Part 7.

Diamond Mind. Projected standings, based on the average of 100 simulated seasons run on March 17 (so Nomar, Kim and Nixon were presumably included). I've posted only the AL East (RF & RA: avg. runs for and against; #DIV & #WC: number of division titles and wild cards won (fractions given for ties)):

AL East         W   L   Pct  GB   RF   RA  #DIV   #WC
Boston        102  60  .630   -  890  680  54.5  42.0
New York      101  61  .623   1  899  703  45.5  46.5
Toronto        79  83  .488  23  819  845         1.0
Baltimore      75  87  .463  27  829  872
Tampa Bay      64  98  .395  38  706  874

Tom Tippett reports that both the Red Sox and Yankees "reached the postseason in over 90% of our simulated seasons ... Even so, because the other two division races are much closer, only three AL teams were completely shut out of the postseason in our 100 simulations. ... In our simulations, almost 40% of the races were decided by two games or less, with seven ties for first place. ... For the second year in a row, 13 of 16 National League teams qualified for postseason play at least once."

I'd like to see the best and worst seasons for each team. Which reminds me of a story in one Bill James's early Abstracts, in which he ran simulations of 1,000 seasons for Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays and (as I recall) found that DiMaggio hit anywhere between .240 and .360, based purely on random chance. I'll have to dig that article out.

Sports Illustrated. Boston is ranked 3rd in MLB behind the Cubs and Yankees.

ALE    ALC    ALW    NLE    NLC    NLW
MFY    Min    Oak    Phi    Cub    Arz
Bos    CWS    Ana    Fla    Hou    SFG
Tor    KCR    Sea    Atl    StL    SDP
Bal    Cle    Tex    Mtl    Cin    LAD
TBD    Det           NYM    Mil    Col
                            Pit
 
ALDS: Red Sox over Oakland, Yankees over Twins
NLDS: Cubs over Arizona, Astros over Phillies
ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox
NLCS: Cubs over Astros
World Series: Cubs over Yankees

The Hardball Times. Predictions from 10 writers, including divisional standings, major awards and what happens in October.

AL East          1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th
Alex Belth       BOS   NYY   TOR   TAM   BAL
Craig Burley     BOS   NYY   TOR   BAL   TAM
Joe Dimino       NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
Robert Dudek     NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
Aaron Gleeman    NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
Ben Jacobs       BOS   NYY   TOR   BAL   TAM
Vinay Kumar      NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
Matthew Namee    NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
Studes           NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
Steve Treder     NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
 
Consensus        NYY   BOS   TOR   BAL   TAM
 
October          AL Champs   NL Champs    WS Champs
Alex Belth       Yankees     Giants       Yankees
Craig Burley     Red Sox     Astros       Astros
Joe Dimino       Yankees     Astros       Astros
Robert Dudek     A's         Cubs         A's
Aaron Gleeman    Red Sox     Cubs         Red Sox
Ben Jacobs       Red Sox     Astros       Red Sox
Vinay Kumar      Red Sox     Astros       Red Sox
Matthew Namee    Red Sox     Dodgers      Red Sox
Studes           Red Sox     Cubs         Cubs
Steve Treder     Yankees     Cubs         Yankees
 
Consensus        Red Sox     Astros/Cubs  Red Sox

The Baseball Crank. Yankees win the East; Red Sox take the wild card. Schilling wins the Cy Young. Boston loses to the A's in the ALDS. World Series: Yankees over Cubs.

Orioles 7, Red Sox 2. Hmmm. Not exactly what I had in mind. In the bottom of the second inning, Pedro Martinez had gone through the Baltimore lineup once and this was the result: The Orioles led 3-0, they had runners at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and Bronson Arroyo was getting loose in the bullpen. I was as pissed as I was worried. ... But then Martinez settled down. He struck out the next two batters and escaped further damage. Over the next four frames, he allowed just 3 baserunners and only one of those reached second.

Batters  Out  H   R  BB   K  Pit
 1- 9     3   5   3   0   0   30
10-18     9   1   0   0   3   35
19-26     6   1   1   1   2   27

On a 43 degree night with a 24 mph wind, it was a decent outing. Pedro's velocity was down -- the same gun that had Fat Sidney at 94-96 had Martinez consistently at 88-89. According to me, Martinez didn't top 90 mph until his 29th pitch of the game (I don't think he topped 91 at all). The cold weather also made it next to impossible for him to throw his curveball. Naturally, some writers are stirring the worry pot (warning: the 2nd one is Shaughnessy); an actual Globe headline: "Damon won't panic over a rough start." ... My take? The Red Sox will lose at least 50 games this season. This was the first one.

The biggest reason for the loss? 14 men on base. Here's where they were stranded:

1st:  1B
3rd:  1B  2B
4th:      2B  3B
5th:  1B  2B
6th:  1B  2B
7th:  1B
8th:  1B      3B
9th:  1B  2B

(By the way, could Jon Miller and Joe Morgan have praised the Orioles any more than they did? You'd think Tejada was the second coming of Honus Wagner (or maybe just the Second Coming) and anyone who didn't pick Baltimore to clinch the division by August 1 was an total idiot. ... While discussing the off-season, Miller informed the national audience -- twice -- that Tito's Predecessor had "resigned." The first time, Morgan actually followed up with a fact (!) -- "he didn't get an extension" -- but then slipped back into the inanity for which he's so widely known -- "then I guess he decided it was time to go." ... Yeah, getting your ass dumped by the side of the road might cause a person to stop hanging around his former place of employment. Yeesh.)

Art Martone on Pedro's performance: "You look at the line in the box score, and it's pretty good. ... There was a time, not long ago, when a 6-7-3-2-1-5 was unworthy of Pedro Martinez. ... It was cause for alarm. A 6-7-3-2-1-5 meant he was injured, because if he was healthy he just didn't do that. ... What we're looking at these days, more likely than not, is the emergence of a new Pedro Martinez. ... What is emerging is a pitcher of less power, less dominance, whose pitching skills are such that he can still win -- or keep his team in -- most games."

Art mixes progressive stats, humor and the pulse of the Nation better than any other Red Sox writer. And although it's not easy to offer a reasoned perspective right after an event has occurred, but I think he's jumping the gun here. Pedro Martinez was insanely brilliant in 1999 and 2000. The odds are very good no one reading this sentence will see anything like it again. It is wildly unfair to compare the 2004 Pedro (or any pitcher) to those performances. No one can consistently put up 8-3-0-0-1-14 lines year after year after year. Look at some numbers Art cites:

1999-2000: 41-10, 1.90 over 58 starts
2002-2003: 34-8, 2.24 over 59 starts

They aren't the best stats to evaluate a pitcher with, but those are basically identical. And during the last two seasons, lots of media people (and fans) were claiming that Pedro's arm was dead or dying. (His ERA+ was better in 2003 than it was in either 2001 or 2002.) ... In this high-offense era, Pedro hasn't posted an ERA over 2.89 since 1996. Pedro's ERA compared to his league:

      Pedro   League
1997   1.90   4.21 
1998   2.89   4.61
1999   2.07   5.07
2000   1.74   4.97
2001   2.39   4.53
2002   2.26   4.42
2003   2.22   4.71

That is unprecedented in baseball history. ... Martinez can no longer throw 97 all night long. And while I admit I miss his overpowering performances, where seasoned vets looked like clueless high schoolers, deep down I don't care. All I want is an ace-like performance and so far, Martinez has shown zero evidence that he is incapable of that.

A small bit on Martinez contract status from Tony Massarotti: "According to clubhouse sources, the Sox approached Martinez this spring about the possibility of a contract that could be voided in the event he is injured, a proposal that was not received kindly by the Martinez camp. ... [T]he mere idea of such a tenuous offer may have set negotiations off to a very poor start." ... In Sunday's Newsday, Ken Davidoff wrote that the team's offer was "about two years at $25.5 million."

Terry Francona got to the ballpark quite early Sunday. "On the day he made his debut as Red Sox manager, Francona found himself managing even before he'd opened his eyes. 'When I woke up this morning, I was right in the middle of an inning,' he said. 'That usually doesn't happen until the season starts.' Was he winning or losing in his dream? He doesn't remember. All he knows, there was a lot going on."

Mike Timlin also had a shaky performance last night. In 2003, he walked only six batters unintentionally in 83.2 innings. He started the 7th with a strikeout, then walked Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora. Three consecutive hits brought three more Orioles home. ... Bill Mueller is 15-for-22 (.682) at Camden Yards. ... Steve Silva of BDD: "Following the Red Sox isn't a yearly thing. It's almost hour to hour. There's no offseason, no downtime."

Predictions, Part 6. The Globe's Dan Shaughnessy, Bob Ryan, Bob Hohler and Michael Holley offer their predictions:

               Shaughnessy   Ryan         Hohler        Holley
AL East        Boston        Boston       Boston        Boston
AL Central     Minnesota     Kansas City  Kansas City   Cleveland
AL West        Anaheim       Anaheim      Anaheim       Anaheim
AL Wild Card   Yankees       Yankees      Yankees       Yankees
 
NL East        Phillies      Phillies     Phillies      Florida
NL Central     Houston       Cubs         Houston       Cubs
NL West        Los Angeles   Arizona      San Francisco San Diego
NL Wild Card   Cubs          Houston      Cubs          Houston
 
AL Pennant     Boston        Boston       Boston        Anaheim
NL Pennant     Cubs          Cubs         Cubs          Houston
 
World Series   Boston        Boston       Boston        Angels
                         Game 7: 18 inn.

Lynn Henning, Detroit News: "The Red Sox are going to win it all this season. East Division title. American League pennant. World Series. ... Boston is the best team in baseball this season, much better than even the Yankees. Better lineup. Better pitching. ... The Yankees won't go easily. It'll be a bayonet fight through September. But this time it's the Red Sox."

Steve Bisheff, Orange County Register:
AL: Red Sox, Twins, Mariners, Yankees (wc); AL Pennant: Red Sox; MVP: Keith Foulke
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Giants, Astros (wc); NL Pennant: Cubs; MVP: Jim Thome; World Series: Cubs

From the Chicago Sun Times:

                AL East    Wild Card   Pennant    NL Pennant  World Series
Mike Kiley      Red Sox    Yankees     Athletics  Cubs        Cubs
Doug Padilla    Red Sox    Yankees     Red Sox    Phillies    Red Sox
Toni Ginnetti   Yankees    Red Sox     Red Sox    Cubs        Red Sox
Chris De Luca   Yankees    Mariners    Yankees    Phillies    Phillies
Jay Mariotti    Yankees    Red Sox     Red Sox    Astros      Yankees
Rick Telander   Yankees    Red Sox     Yankees    Astros      Yankees

I'm assuming it's a typo, but if Jay Mariotti's picks actually come true -- the Red Sox win the pennant, but the Yankees win the World Series -- then I'll be convinced there is a curse.

Play Ball!

2004 Red Sox Wins Contest. Clip and save for October 4! In case of a tie -- which looks quite possible -- the person closest to Pedro's ERA (either over or under, this isn't The Price Is Right) will win. If there is still a tie, we'll look at Manny's slugging percentage. Good luck!

                  Wins  Pedro ERA  Manny SLG
 
GD Fox             103    2.12      .599
Damien Lane        103    2.28      .601
James Breitinger   103    2.79      .596
 
Rhavisi            102    2.07      .643    
tist724            102    2.42      .595
 
Redsox1            101    2.24      .620
Steve Schillinger  101    2.46      .639
Joe Knasin         101    2.47      .601
The Sheriff        101    2.55      .650
Ken Mavrogeorge    101    2.97      .625
YankeeGrrl         101    3.10      .552
 
Diana Gauvin       100    2.35      .525
Marc Witkes        100    2.38      .480
Joe L              100    2.88      .575
Aaron Empsall      100    2.89      .648
 
Valmoose            99    2.19      .623
Brian Donovan       99    2.37      .575
Alexander Campbell  99    2.60      .582
Naomi               99    2.97      .578
 
Franco Baseggio     98    2.60      .590 
 
Ben Mahnke          97    2.97      .574
Joe Gionet          97    3.02      .584
 
Jonathan Sandler    96    2.31      .624
 
Bill Desmarais      92    2.31      .642

And me:

Joy of Sox         102    2.50      .630

Opening Night. "And Pedro Martinez is prickly, peeved, petulant, pouting, and feeling persecuted." Gordon Edes says that could be an encouraging sign. ... The time is now. ... "It's hard to recall a season with bigger expectations." ... The Herald has its big preview section today.

Bobby Jones beat out Tim Hamulack for the final spot in the bullpen. ... Lowe and Varitek have no doubts about Pedro's arm or velocity. ... The Globe has a "Dog Fight" between two vendors from Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. ... The Red Sox will have a different Opening Day 2B for the 11th consecutive year. ... Boston is 50-52-1 all-time on Opening Day (29-35-1 on the road). Pedro Martinez has never lost a decision on Opening Day (3-0, 2.43 in 6 games).

Kevin Millar failed to run out a ground ball that he thought was foul and was thrown out at first while he stood a few feet from the batter's box. Francona spoke to him and it blew over quickly. Even Manny joked: "I hope you learned your lesson." More here. Does anyone else think that if Ramirez had done this, it would have been written up that Manny was still out to lunch and still can't play the game the right way? I mean, Ramirez did this once in freakin' 2002 and members of the media still won't shut up about it.

What Planet Do These Writers Live On? Dan Shaughnessy, New York Times: "New England has not yet recovered from the classic fall in the Bronx last October, and the nuclear winter of 2003-4 did nothing to diminish the angst of the Red Sox Nation." ... Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun: "The Boston Red Sox arrived in spring training this year with dysfunction written all over them. ... The Red Sox led the major leagues in offseason angst ..." ... I have found the exact opposite to be true. Fans are insanely ready and beyond excited about this season. Because we all know that It Is On.

What else? ... Andy Pettitte: "The Red Sox offer pretty much blew everybody else out of the water. But I just couldn't see going against the guys that I had won so much with over there and competing against them on a yearly basis, 19 to 25 times a year. And for the New York fans, too. That wasn't me." ... How did the off-season begin? Less than 12 hours since Josh Beckett tagged Jorge Posada, ending the World Series, "the phone in Brian Cashman's office rang. Texas Rangers general manager John Hart was calling, offering an upbeat message ... [Then Hart] shifted gears. 'Hey, listen, while I have you, we're putting A-Rod on the market,' Cashman recalls Hart saying. 'We're meeting Boston at four at the St. Regis. Will you meet with us at six?'"

Peter Gammons will be talking baseball and rock and roll and signing copies of "Hot Stove, Cool Music: Volume 1" at the Best Buy at Landmark Center (2 blocks from Fenway) on Friday, April 9 (the day of the home opener) from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. All proceeds from the sale of the CD benefit the Jimmy Fund. Gammons's rendition of "Carol" is on the CD; other musicans include Kay Hanley, Pearl Jam, the Dropkick Murphys, American Hi-Fi and Trauser (with one Theo Epstein on bass). Visit Hot Stove Cool Music for details or email: info@fenwayrecordings.com

Predictions, Part 5. ESPN's staff picks are here. The relevant parts:

                World Series           AL East    Wild Card
Jayson Stark    Red Sox over Cubs      Red Sox    Yankees
Peter Gammons   Cubs over Red Sox      Yankees    Red Sox
Rob Neyer       A's over Phillies      Yankees    Red Sox
Buster Olney    Cubs over Angels       Yankees    Red Sox
Tim Kurkjian    Red Sox over Phillies  Red Sox    Yankees
Jerry Crasnick  Red Sox over Phillies  Red Sox    Yankees
Jim Caple       A's over Astros        Blue Jays  Angels
John Kruk       Angels over Phillies   Yankees    Red Sox
Tony Gwynn      Red Sox over Cubs      Red Sox    Yankees
Rob Dibble      Angels over Cubs       Yankees    Red Sox
Scott Ridge     Cubs over Red Sox      Red Sox    Yankees
Matt Szefc      Yankees over Cubs      Yankees    Red Sox
Eric Karabell   Yankees over Astros    Yankees    Red Sox
Bob Klapisch    Yankees over Astros    Yankees    Red Sox
Phil Rogers     Yankees over Cubs      Red Sox    Yankees
Alan Schwarz    Red Sox over Astros    Red Sox    Yankees
John Sickels    Red Sox over Cubs      Red Sox    Yankees

Total:
AL East: Red Sox 8, Yankees 8, Blue Jays 1
AL Wild Card: Red Sox 8, Yankees 8, Angels 1
World Series: Red Sox 6, Yankees 4, Cubs 3, A's 2, Angels 2

[By the way, what's up with Caple's picks?]

Jayson Stark asks: Can we even comprehend what life might be like if the Red Sox ever won the World Series?" David Ortiz: "I just don't want to be in the city when it happens. I'd be too afraid. If we win the World Series on the road, I'm flying straight from the World Series to the Dominican." [What? And miss the parade?] "I'd just say, 'Send me the tape.'" ... Stark: "Clear your calendar for Halloween week, because ... the Boston Red Sox are going to win the World Series. Really. ... [T]his year, there is no fatal flaw. Go ahead. Try to find one. Good luck."

T.R. Sullivan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "[T]he Red Sox are still loaded. They really need to win the World Series this year. They will."

Peter Gammons, ESPN.com:
AL/NLDS: Yankees over Minnesota, Boston over Anaheim, Houston over Philadelphia, Cubs over Arizona.
AL/NLCS: Cubs over Houston in 7, Boston over Yankees in 7.
World Series: Cubs over Boston in 7.
However, in his predictions for ESPN Magazine, Gammons picks Kansas City over Minnesota, Oakland as the wild card and says the Yankees will miss the playoffs. What's up with that?

Garry Brown, Springfield Republican; Guy Curtright, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; and Gerry Fraley, Dallas Morning News all predict:

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

And Brown says: ALCS: Boston over New York in 6; NLCS: Cubs over Philadelphia in 7. World Series: Boston over Cubs in 6.

Boston over Cubs in 6. Just like in 1918. I like it.

Atlanta 5, Red Sox 0. Boston's spring ends with a 17-12 record.

Boston   000 000 00 -  0   9  0  
Atlanta  000 200 21 -  5  10  0

Losing pitcher Keith Foulke allowed two runs in .1 of an inning and finished the exhibition season having allowed 15 runs in 9 innings ... Tim Wakefield allowed one hit in three scoreless innings. ... Johnny Damon was 2-2. ... And now -- finally -- it's on to Baltimore.

Behind The Curtain. Eleanor Clift: "In exchange for allowing Condoleezza Rice to testify under oath, President Bush gets to bring along his vice president when he appears privately before the commission. A top Republican strategist dubbed the legal document striking the unusual deal 'the Wizard of Oz letter' because it strips away the myth that Bush is in charge. ... With the revelation of the tandem testimony, nobody with a straight face can deny Cheney is a co-president or worse, the puppeteer who pulls Bush's strings. Aside from being fodder for the late-night comics, the arrangement confirms Bush's inability to articulate anything without a script -- or a tutor by his side."

Flip: "President Bush, spending a long weekend on his Texas ranch, gave no ground, and several aides said he will not change his mind on letting Rice testify." AP, March 29, 2004. ... Flop: "Today I have informed the Commission [that] Condoleezza Rice, will provide public testimony." Statement to the Press, March 30, 2004. ... More than 100 Bush flip-flops from CAP and Compassiongate.

White House notes on how to deal with Richard Clarke's 9/11 testimony were accidentally left in a Starbucks by a Pentagon employee. Check 'em out here.

Isn't This A Kind Of Torture? "The Guardian has uncovered more than a dozen instances in which ill or injured soldiers were sent to war by a US military whose resources have been stretched near to breaking point by the simultaneous fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In its investigation, the Guardian learned of soldiers who were deployed with almost wilful disregard to their medical histories, and with the most cursory physical examinations. Soldiers went to war with chronic illnesses such as coronary disease, mental illness, arthritis, diabetes and the nervous condition, Tourette's syndrome, or after undergoing recent surgery." ... When will newspapers in this country report on these stories?

Did you know that as Richard Clarke was testifying before the 9/11 Commission, Bush's top lawyer placed a call to at least one (and probably two) of the Commission's five Republicans? White House counsel Alberto Gonzales called Fred Fielding and may have called James Thompson. Was Gonzalez giving the two men some talking points with which to attempt to discredit Clarke?

9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick on the Bush Gang's refusal to turn over thousands of Clinton's terrorism papers: "We can't afford to have documents that are relevant to our inquiry being withheld on a technicality. This is not litigation. This is finding facts to help the nation, and we should not treat this as if we're adversarial parties here." If this isn't litigation, why is the White House acting like a defendant?

"Take Your President to Work Day" -- The White House must be terrified of what Bush could say to the 9/11 Commission if they are insisting that Cheney be alongside him for the duration of the meeting. I'm no Clinton defender -- but can you imagine the jokes and non-stop coverage if he had refused to testify unless he had a handler or Al Gore sitting beside him? ... Seriously. Can you imagine it? Because I've been trying for hours and I can't.

The Focus Is On Foulke. Last season, Keith Foulke led the AL with 43 saves; he also had a 9-1 record and a 2.08 ERA. This spring, in 8.2 innings, he has allowed 15 hits and has a 13.50 ERA. His fastball has lacked precision and velocity and that has made his changeup less effective. So what's wrong? Theo Epstein: "I don't know." ... Terry Francona: "He's been throwing a lot [on the side] also, trying to make sure he's ready to go, and that's going to have something to do with velocity and things like that." ... Mike Timlin: "Right now I think Keith's trying to do too much. He needs to relax. He's not relaxed when he's pitching. I'm not an expert, but that's how I see it."

Theo is in no rush to finalize the roster. ... Many Sox vets hope Varitek returns in 2005. ... Boston Globe blogger Eric Wilbur picks the Red Sox to win the East.

Spring Stats (Wakefield has one more start tonight):

           G  IP    H    R  ER  BB   K   ERA
Schilling  5  25.2  16   6   6   3  25  2.10
Lowe       7  29    20   9   7   5  12  2.17
Wakefield  5  19.1  19   9   8   4  11  3.72
Arroyo     6  22    21  10  10   6  17  4.09
Pedro      5  16    20  14  12   6  17  6.75

Probable Sunday Lineup:

Johnny Damon CF
Bill Mueller 3B
Manny Ramirez LF
David Ortiz DH
Kevin Millar 1B
Jason Varitek C
Gabe Kapler RF
Mark Bellhorn 2B
Pokey Reese SS

Red Sox 7, Atlanta 3.

Boston   320 011 000 -  7 11  1  
Atlanta  100 100 010 -  3  7  1
W: Derek Lowe (3-1) L: Mike Hampton (2-2)

A nice first inning: Kapler (c) singled. Mueller doubled down the left field line. Ramirez (bbb) homered to left, Kapler, Mueller and Ramirez scored. Ortiz (sc) struck out swinging. Burks (bbsc) grounded out. Millar (bbbcs) flied out to center.

A Reminder -- Enter The Contest. Back on February 11, I posted a contest: Correctly guess how many regular season games the 2004 Red Sox will win and I'll mail you three copies of my book on the 1918 Red Sox. For tie-breaking purposes, please also guess Pedro's ERA and Manny's slugging percentage. ... You have until Sunday noon to enter (or modify your already-submitted entry). ... I will post all the entries on Sunday afternoon. Send your name and predictions to: joyofsox@hotmail.com.

Why Can't Bush Answer Questions On His Own? House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on George Bush having Dick Cheney at his side when he meets with the 9/11 Commission: "[I]t speaks to the lack of confidence that the administration has in the president going forth alone, period. It's embarrassing to the president of the United States that they won't let him go in without holding the hand of the vice president of the United States. I think it reinforces the idea that the president cannot go it alone. The president should stand tall, walk in the room himself and answer the questions."

You Are Not Sufficiently Afraid. Here we go again: "Terrorists might try to bomb buses and rail lines in major US cities this summer, according to a government bulletin issued to law enforcement officials nationwide. The FBI and Homeland Security Department sent a bulletin Thursday night saying terrorists could attempt to conceal explosives in luggage and carry-on bags, such as duffel bags and backpacks."

Former Senator Gary Hart, who co-chaired the US Commission on National Security, says he met with Condolezza Rice on September 6, 2001 to talk about the imminent threat of terrorism: "[M]y brief message to her was, 'Get going on homeland security, you don't have all the time in the world.' ... Her response was 'I'll talk to the vice president about it.' And this tracks with Clarke's testimony and writing that even at this late date, nothing was being done inside the White House. ... She didn't seem to feel a terrible sense of urgency. ... I met with Rice not long after the president was in Crawford and being briefed by CIA officials on the possible use of aircraft against American targets. This was all happening in the weeks before 9/11." ... Some questions for Condi.

William Rivers Pitt notes that Richard Clarke "has joined a long and prestigious line of people who have come forward to bear witness against this White House": Tom Maertens, Roger Cressey, Donald Kerrick, Paul O'Neill, Joseph Wilson, Greg Thielmann, Karen Kwiatkowski and Rand Beers. Pitt (a Red Sox fan) also manages to get in a "cowboy up" at the end of the piece.

The Plaid Adder: Bush's trifecta jokes "reveals something that should be unthinkable: that what was a disaster for everyone else in America actually was a jackpot for the Bush administration. After 9/11, while the rest of us were grieving, the Bush administration began raking in the chips. ... Their immediate response to the September 11 attacks was not, 'What can we do for our suffering people?' but 'What can we get out of this?'"

They Got Letters. About one month ago, Art Martone, the sports editor of the Providence Journal asked Red Sox and Yankees fans to submit comments on Game 7. A sampling of the letters is here. All 200+ responses are here. I submitted a shorter version of this; it's on page 6.

Optimism. Johnny Damon: "This is still the best team out there. It's going to be tougher because of the injuries, but we've got pretty good players filling in." ... Curt Schilling: "I feel every bit as good about this team's chances of going all the way as the day I came here, if not better." ... Terry Francona: "I feel good about everything, I really do. Now it's time to play, regardless of who's hurt or whatever. Our job is to win. We have to find a way to be one run better. Nothing else matters."

Schilling said deferred to catcher Jason Varitek for his entire outing yesterday, letting him call every pitch. "I wanted to see how he worked with my stuff. He gave me a lot of confidence going into the year." Varitek: "It's about working together. It's not about me. It's a trusting building block but it's not up to me. He's the guy throwing the ball." Terry Francona: "That would be the first time I've ever heard Schill never have the last word, in my life. It may be a first and last." ... In five spring starts, Schilling was 2-1 with a 1.91 ERA.

Francona received encouraging reports on Byung-Hyun Kim, who threw off the mound for the first time since March 10, and Pedro Martinez. "Pedro was outstanding. And I heard BK was better. Right before the game, [Dave Wallace] told me, 'You want something to pick up your day? These guys were outstanding.' That was good." ... Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield will start the two exhibitions against Atlanta. ... Francona's one dress code rule? "They just need to not dress worse than me and they'll be fine."

Sarah at RallyCuff says calling David Ortiz "Ortizzle" is "obviously the brainchild of some person posessing a crippling amount of dorky whiteness." She believes the correct translation should be "Orteezy."

Two Red Sox preview sections today: the Providence Journal and the Boston Globe.

The 25-Man Roster. With Nomar Garciaparra beginning the season on the disabled list (along with Trot Nixon and Byung-Hyun Kim), Cesar Crespo will likely make the club. He will join Ellis Burks, Brian Daubach, David McCarty and Doug Mirabelli on the bench. ... After being told he would not make the club, Terry Shumpert exercised an clause in his contract that allowed him to become a free agent.

Tim Hamulack, Bobby Jones and Ramiro Mendoza are fighting for the final two spots in the bullpen. Bob Hohler believes Mendoza will be the long man and Jones (8 games, 0.93 ERA, .156 opponents' batting average) has a slight edge over Hamulack (9 games, 1.74, .093). The rest of the pen: Alan Embree, Keith Foulke, Mike Timlin and Scott Williamson.

The Sports Retort's excellent and lengthy 2004 preview:
Part One: A Look Back at the "Cowboy Up" Sox
Part Two: The 2004 Pitching Staff
Part Three: Player Notes (Pitchers)
Part Four: The 2004 Position Players
Part Five: Player Notes (Position Players)
Part Six: Outlook in 2004 and Beyond

American League East (LA Times)
1. New York: "With a very deep lineup, the Yankees should emerge with a seventh consecutive division title."
2. Boston: "Strengths: Schilling joins what may become a rotation for the ages with the hard-throwing Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, who has a team-high 38 wins over the last two seasons. Foulke ends the closer-by-committee disaster that last season yielded 36 saves among 10 pitchers. An offense that led the major leagues with 961 runs and a .289 batting average returns. ... Weaknesses: Seven players, including stars Martinez, Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra, are eligible for free agency after the season, creating a potential distraction. First-year Manager Terry Francona has a reputation for being too chummy with his players. ... Outlook: The Red Sox matched the Yankees pitcher for pitcher in a classic off-season duel between the archrivals. Boston is poised to end its run of six consecutive second-place finishes but could be susceptible early with Trot Nixon (back), Byung-Hyun Kim (shoulder) and Garciaparra (Achilles' tendon) starting the season on the disabled list."

Bronson Arroyo pitched in the tie with Pittsburgh (the Pirates ran out of pitchers) and will now be off until the home opener on April 9. Terry Francona has said he may get some bullpen action in Sunday's opener. ... The Globe notes that Pokey Reese (.194 average this spring) and Mark Bellhorn (.176) have started only six exhibition games together at the positions they will play during the first few weeks of the season. ... Probable matchups for the opening series in Baltimore:

Sunday, April 4: Pedro Martinez vs. Sidney Ponson
Tuesday, April 6: Curt Schilling vs. Eric DuBose
Wednesday, April 7: Derek Lowe vs. Kurt Ainsworth
Thursday, April 8: Tim Wakefield vs. Matt Riley

Sibel Edmonds. I've written about her before. She tells the Independent: "I saw papers that show US knew al-Qa'ida would attack cities with aeroplanes." This is damning stuff.

Edmonds spent more than three hours in a closed session with the 9/11 Commission, giving them "details of specific investigation files, the specific dates, specific target information, specific managers in charge of the investigation. I gave them everything so that they could go back and follow up. This is not hearsay. These are things that are documented. These things can be established very easily. ... Most of what I told the commission - 90 per cent of it - related to the investigations that I was involved in or just from working in the department. Two hundred translators side by side, you get to see and hear a lot of other things as well. You become aware of other issues relating to other investigations. ... President Bush said they had no specific information about 11 September and that is accurate but only because he said 11 September."

Fox, March 28, Brit Hume talking to Democrats and the families of some American soldiers in Iraq who voiced their disgust with George W. Bush's making light of the "missing" weapons of mass destruction:

"Well, we have a society in which one of the greatest things you can do is a platform (ph) to see victim status, and one of the qualifications for that is that you have these exquisitely tender feelings about things and sensibilities which are easily offended. And in America today, if your sensibilities are offended by something that has happened, you get an enormous amount of credibility and are taken very seriously. My own view of this is, the president's there poking fun at himself over what goes down, I think, as one of his failures. And I thought it was a good-natured performance, and it made him look good only in the sense that it showed he could poke fun at himself. But he certainly doesn't disguise the record on weapons of mass destruction. And you have to feel like saying to people, "Just get over it."

Get over it. ... It's only 601 dead Americans. ... Your son was killed, burned, mutilated and hung from a bridge? Brit Hume has three words for you: "Get over it."

Red Sox 4, Twins 3.

Boston     001 000 201 -  4  9  1  
Minnesota  000 111 000 -  3  6  0

Adam Hyzdu pounded J.C. Romero's full-count pitch over the right-field fence to win the game. Curt Schilling pitched four innings and allowed one run on three hits while walking one and striking out four. ... Johan Santana began the 3rd inning by allowing a single and three walks. A pass to David McCarty with the bases loaded scored Pokey Reese. Jacque Jones homered off Schilling in the fourth. The Twins led 3-1 when Carlos Febles's double to left field tied the game at 3-3. ... Boston has two final exhibitions in Atlanta tomorrow and Saturday.

Busted. WaPo: "On Sept. 11, 2001, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to outline a Bush administration policy that would address 'the threats and problems of today and the day after, not the world of yesterday' -- but the focus was largely on missile defense, not terrorism from Islamic radicals. The speech provides telling insight into the administration's thinking on the very day that the United States suffered the most devastating attack since the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. The address was designed to promote missile defense as the cornerstone of a new national security strategy, and contained no mention of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or Islamic extremist groups, according to former U.S. officials who have seen the text." (emphasis by me)

Rice will go before the 9/11 Commission next Thursday, April 8, and testify under oath for about 2.5 hours.

AP: "The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks isn't getting a full picture of former President Clinton's terrorism policies because the Bush administration won't forward all of Clinton's records to the panel, a lawyer said." Only about one-quarter of nearly 11,000 pages have been turned over. ... Okay, they just finished getting hammered on Rice's testimony and now they are covering up more documents? Could these documents show that, as Richard Clarke has claimed, the Clinton administration was more focused on al-Qaeda than the Bush Gang? What the hell are they hiding?

If the Bush administration had actually done in 2001 what they claim to have done, Bush would have gone before the American people a long time ago and said something like:

"My administration did everything we could to stop those horrific attacks. But we are human and we are not perfect. We did not protect America -- as we were entrusted by you to do -- and for that, for the wound inflicted upon this country, I am deeply, deeply sorry. ... There can be no greater task before us that making sure something like this never happens again. Therefore, every single piece of paper relating to my administration's fight against terror -- as well as the papers of President Clinton -- will be made available to the 9/11 Commission.

"In addition, each and every member of my administration -- as well as every FBI, INS and CIA agent -- will be available to answer any questions the Commission has for as long as is necessary. And in the spirit of America's open democracy, we will conduct as many of these investigative hearings as possible in public. We will do this together. Now, we are grieving together. Soon, we will investigate together how this happened and we will move forward as a nation, stronger and more united, together."

Wouldn't that have been nice?