Rangers - 000 210 010 - 4 9 0Wilson (6.2-3-1-5-10, 113) kept a tight lid on the offense -- the Red Sox got one runner past second base in the first eight innings -- and Lester (8-9-4-3-6, 118) was not as sharp as usual.
Red Sox - 010 000 001 - 2 6 1
The Sox took a lead on Kevin Youkilis's single and Adrian Beltre's double, but Texas scored twice after two were out in the fourth (an error by Beltre brought the second run home) and pulled off a double steal to grab a run in the fifth.
Mike Cameron homered to start the ninth and Bill Hall reached on an error, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. But Kevin Cash and J.D. Drew struck out swinging and Marco Scutaro lined out to short.
The Yankees beat the Rays 9-5, so Tampa Bay is back to 3 GB and Boston is 6.5 GB.
The Red Sox fly to Oakland tonight.
Michael Bowden has been called up from Pawtucket and Gustavo Molina has been designated for assignment.Scutaro, SS
McDonald, RF
Ortiz, DH
Youkilis, 1B
Beltre, 3B
Cameron, CF
Hall, 2B
Nava, LF
Brown, C
Rays/Yankees, 1 PM
1882 - Louisville's Tony Mullane ("The Apollo of the Box") is the first major leaguer to pitch both left- and right-handed in the same game. (He was mostly a right-hander.)
1916 - With the Cubs and Dodgers tied 4-4 in the 10th, umpire Bill Byron forfeits the game to Brooklyn when Chicago pitcher Hippo Vaughn protests alleged sign stealing by baserunners and refuses to pitch.
1975 - Jim Rice hits a home run over the centerfield wall at Fenway Park, to the right of the flag pole. Owner Tom Yawkey calls it the longest dong he's ever seen at Fenway*. It's the 6th time a homer has been hit to the right of the pole: Detroit's Hank Greenberg, on May 22, 1937; Boston's Jimmie Foxx, on August 12, 1937; Yankee Bill Skowron, on April 20, 1957; Boston's Carl Yastrzemski, on May 16, 1970; and Brewer Bob Mitchell, on September 29, 1973.
* Hiyooooo!
1990 - A day after the Twins turn two triple plays against the Red Sox, the teams set a record for most double plays in a game, with the Twins turning six and the Red Sox turning four.
FKR - 3
ReplyDeleteMFY -
Pena 3-run dong off HGHorseface
Price for the Rays
Game on.....
ReplyDeleteBe Wicked, Lester.
FKR up early. Go you satanic Rays, go!
Damn Yankees close it to 1 on a Cano triple. 3-2
ReplyDeleteandrus's first hit since july 8 - he was 0 for 26.
ReplyDeletepicked off: 13634
ReplyDeleteleather.
ReplyDeleteThe pick-off was nice, but not so sure about 2 hits to start the game :(
ReplyDeletelester in first:
ReplyDeleteallowed 2 hits
faced 3 batters
threw 8 pitches
Nice. Lester allows 2 out of 3 batters to reach, but still only faces the 3. Don't imagine that happens too often. And not something I'd want to rely on happening the rest of the game.
ReplyDeleteLester-mini-dini
ReplyDelete1990 - A day after the Twins turn two triple plays against the Red Sox, the teams set a record for most double plays in a game, with the Twins turning six and the Red Sox turning four
There were two triple plays in one game???
Yet again, NESN cannot be bothered to include the junior announcers' last names. (Jack Whoever tosses in a "Kevin Yoooooooooookilis"!)
ReplyDelete(Someone doesn't read my posts)
ReplyDeleteThe Petite One (sic) walks 2 in the 2nd, but they are stranded.
ReplyDeleteAs Orsillo said, LH are batting a mere .096 against Wilson (9-for-94), with a .294 OPS!
ReplyDelete(But those LH also have a very low .129 BABIP; RH at .279)
is vlad walking as rare as a bengie triple?
ReplyDeleteAnyone listening to the radio broadcast? They are talking about Castig's former interns, which include many now-famous people, including Don Orsillo. OB: "I know you don't want to single anyone out at the expense of the others. But you always said Don was the best eater."
ReplyDeleteCastig: "Oh, no question about that."
vlad BB probably not as rare, but almost! he rarely sees a pitch he doesn't want to swing at
ReplyDeleteYook 1B + Beltre 2B = 1-0!
ReplyDeletePettitte leaving with 1 out in the top of the 3rd; injured?
ReplyDeletePettitte knocked out in the 3rd
ReplyDeleteYes, sounds like an injury.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe he punched a door like his teammate.
Pettite outta the game in the third. Hoo.
ReplyDeleteWTF no replay of that??
ReplyDeleteI hate it when Castig and OB question a player's drive. If only Burnett and Bossman Junior took their advice, they would be better than they are. *sigh*
ReplyDeletegotta go to commercial asap!!!
ReplyDeletereplay when they return, probably.
ROFL
ReplyDeleteAsian Heidi!
ReplyDeleteRobertson wiggles out of it, but you have to think it's advantage Rays at this point (1-run lead, Price vs. Yanks 'pen).
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to convince myself that's a good thing for the Sox - the Rays winning, that is.
pettitte = leg injury
ReplyDeleteHi All,
ReplyDeleteJust got back from the beach, ate lunch, kids (son, nieces, nephews) are all out. I'm by myself!!! I found some decent internet service and am listening to the game on the computer and watching the MFY on mute.
Radio says Horseface left with a leg injury.
I know we're supposed to want the Rays to lose because it helps our wild card chances, but I can't do it. The Yankees are in first, I hate that, and I want them to lose, period.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wish somehow they could both lose. Maybe they can get into a brawl and break some bones...
ReplyDeletea guy can dream.
welcome back!
ReplyDeletea yankee getting hurt? aft.
Patrick, me too. I caught that re Burnett, too. Full of talent but hasn't been able to make it work for him - lacks something mentally.
ReplyDeleteThere really is no way to root for the Yankees.
ReplyDeleteYankees tie it at three.
ReplyDeleteAs discussed:
ReplyDeleteFKR - 300
MFY - 201
***
so did they ever show that lester comebacker replay?
crap x 2
ReplyDeleteWhat is with everyone throwing it away lately!!
ReplyDeleteremy, talking about alliagtor alley and some 3 hour rain delay they had during a spring game: this is before your time at nesn, but we used to do just about every single spring training game.
ReplyDeletedon: wow.
remy: it was *terrible*!
...
don: you must have been a lot of fun to work with.
don: you must have been a lot of fun to work with.
ReplyDeleteha ha, very good.
gotta go work while i listen. see you all later.
Not what I wanted to come home to. Still plenty opportunities to cme though. DP sure would help
ReplyDeleteNot that anyone asked me, but I'm not pulling for the Yanks so we have a better shot at the WC. I'm pulling for the Rays because I want us to win the AL East! (Of course that whole "it's the Yankees" thing comes into play a bit as well)
ReplyDeleteShit. Steals home. Double shit
ReplyDeleteWhat a gaping black hole we have at the bottom of our order right now. I'm still holding out for a pennant chase, but we've got to start getting healthy soon.
ReplyDeleteBengie Molina hits a triple and Jhonny Peralta gets an inside the prak home rnu. Things you thought you'd never see. But in Jhonny's case, someone had to crash through a bullpen door.
ReplyDelete(Someone doesn't read my posts)
ReplyDeleteI read the post. That's why I was copying it with disbelief.
GBA brought to you from Bangor Maine, where I work!
ReplyDeleteWho stole home?? Where??
ReplyDeleteJulio Borbon stole home against Lester and Brown in the 5th to give them the extra run.
ReplyDeleteThat's weird I have had the sound on all the time and never heard that
ReplyDeleteWe sure made Wilson look good today. Let's hope we don't do the same favor for the pen.
ReplyDeleteI was gone for a while, and that's the description GDGD gave of the play when I returned and scrolled back to see how the run scored.
ReplyDeletebatter struck out, andrus took off for second and as soon as he saw brown throw, he slowed up. borbon took off for home once brown threw. scutaro took the throw and fired home, but it was late (and maybe in the dirt). safe -- and andrus went into second.
ReplyDeletetwo out magic, do it!
ReplyDeleteGee thanks, Bangor.
ReplyDeleteThey talked about the steal of home a lot, referencing LBJ, etc. etc.
Here we go now....
but no
ReplyDeleteand today David Price decides to have a bad day.
ReplyDelete2nd straight long wait for lester.
ReplyDelete16 minutes before 7th
19 minutes before the 8th!
Get him out of there Francoma
ReplyDeleteSafe or out? What do the replays show?
ReplyDeletereplay - no idea.
ReplyDeletecannot tell when the glove actually pressed against his chest. safe is not a bad call.
Bangor always aims to please.
ReplyDeleteFans really on the umps!
ReplyDeleteYeah, really ragging the ump it sounds like.
ReplyDeletewe got three catchers.. nobody even blocking the plate?.. both plays could have been changed with just sticking a foot or leg in the direct route. Not only that they were skinny runners.. give up the bod for the out. I almost wanted to have contact when I was catching..
ReplyDeleteObie sees it that way too - could have gone either way.
ReplyDeleteRemy on the replay: "You look at it from a different angle and it looks different."
ReplyDeleteLester's having a great game but I see a healthy Tek blocking the plate and Lester would still be in tie game. Time for some late inning heroics.
ReplyDeletecash had to reach out to his left to get the ball and then come back to the plate -- no real chance to block anything (and still catch the ball).
ReplyDeleteThe Red Sox need to hold some extra infield practice I think.
ReplyDeletebowden in
ReplyDeleteTo bad Sox had to get a first place hot team to start after the All Star break..next week west coast swing. Hopefully they can be road warriors and keep the cellar dwellers in their place.
ReplyDeleteBowden: thumbs up!
ReplyDeleteCameron, Hall, Cash.....
ReplyDeleteNot exactly a rally machine, but hey, we can hope
Camidong!
ReplyDeleterally killer
ReplyDeleteTo bad Sox had to get a first place hot team to start after the All Star break
ReplyDeletetexas got swept in four games by the orioles at home before the break, though they seem to be over that now.
snakes alive!
ReplyDeleteRally Caps!!
ReplyDeleteThe plot thickens
ReplyDeleteKevin Cash, want to be a hero? Now's the time.
ReplyDeletejust don't gidp, cash, okay?
ReplyDeleteWe have a 3rd catcher why no PH???
ReplyDeleteCould have used some chching from the Cash machine :(
ReplyDeletethank you, kevin.
ReplyDeletecome on, o. f.
SoSock, I keep waiting to type Ka-Ching for Cash. Still waiting.
ReplyDeleteactually, we dfa'd molina when we brought up bowden, so we had only 2 catchers today.
ReplyDeleteAgua limpia. blah
ReplyDeleteGo ahead and drink the water. It is clean.
ReplyDeleteHurrah, another game that our moronic manager gifts to the other team. Until a single synapse fires in his vacant head and he realized that Kevin Cash should not ever start in the first place and when he does he should be replaced in every instance of importance, and that Darnell McDonald and Eric Patterson are not top-half-of-the-order hitters, he is a drag on this team. All that "Tito's best year" shite is false--this team has scored runs in spite of him, not because of.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm a little bitter. xD
ReplyDeleteFirst: Cash did not start.
ReplyDeleteSecond: Do you want Brown batting as the tying run in the 7th?
If yes, and he makes the third out, one might ask WTF? Why not Drew?
If no, Cash is the only other catcher you got. Which makes it hard to pinch-hit for him in the 9th.
Patterson and Shealy were the only guys on the bench. So send one of those guys up for Cash ... who catches if the game goes to the 10th? (Same deal if you hit Shealy in the 7th and maybe Drew in the 9th. Who catches?)
ReplyDeleteI guess Hall could catch and Patterson goes to 2B, but this is not WS Game 7, so ...
Main problems: Lester was not sharp and Wilson took care of the bats.
In hindsight, yes I would rather have Brown in the 7th than Cash in the 9th. Without that, I can see how the choice is a difficult one. But my rant, though inspired by the game, is more directed at Tito's management in general this past month and a half or so. And while Cash didn't start, he shouldn't be on the team. Even minor leaguers like Exsposito can be quite reasonably expected to outperform him.
ReplyDeleteNot without cause.
ReplyDelete(Considering the restraints of the roster, the in-game and long-term implications of his decisions, and looking at him in the context of both the other 29 MLB managers and previous Red Sox managers, I would be curious to hear your "Francona is a Moron" argument, if you are serious.)
FKR - 300 000 101 - 5 12 0
ReplyDeleteMFY - 201 041 10x - 9 11 1
Yesterday's gains are lost.
MFY ---
FKR 3.0
BOS 6.5
TOR 11.5
BAL 29.0
Moronic manager? How is any of this Tito's fault? Apart from quibbles here and there, since it's safe to assume you'll have quibbles with any manager.
ReplyDeleteBut my rant, though inspired by the game, is more directed at Tito's management in general this past month and a half or so. And while Cash didn't start, he shouldn't be on the team.
Surely you can't blame that on Francona.
I'd be very curious to hear your arguments, too. I don't know if you blog, but if you do, maybe you'll direct us to the post. Your vehement belief that this is mostly Francona's fault makes me wonder what I've been missing!
I don't know how much you believe in MLEs (Minor league equivalencies), but they indicate that several of our minor league catchers would be far better than Cash. Now, I know that Tito is not in charge of the decision of who goes up and down, but he does have input. He continues to start inferior players in high spots in the order while better players are at the bottom of the order. For instance, Scutaro, who is always near the top of the lineup, has the same OBP as Cameron and a lower OBP than Drew, with lower power than both of them and worse speed than Cameron. I've also said this before, but the continual presence of Patterson/McDonald in the two-spot is infuriating. Tito's also used Okajima against more righties than lefties. Bard has pitched in more medium-leverage instances (per Fangraphs) than high-leverage, and he's been used just as much against lefties (against whom he has a history of struggles, and though the ERA doesn't show it this season, his K:BB is 13:8 vs. lefties compared to 32:5 against righties).
ReplyDeleteObviously, every manager makes mistakes. My rant there was a lot of fan-frustration coming out in the heat of the moment. But there has definitely been manager stupidity this season, and I stand by my statement that the idea that Tito's management has been the reason for this rag-tag team's run scoring.
I don't know how much you believe in MLEs (Minor league equivalencies), but they indicate that several of our minor league catchers would be far better than Cash.
ReplyDeleteI don't follow the minors as much as I'd like, so I can't say how ready Exposito is. But I am skeptical that he's ready to jump from AA to be the starting catcher for the Red Sox, at least until Victor comes back.
Everyone knows Cash sucks and I see no reason why they would waste time with Cash (or Molina) if they thought one of their own kids could handle the job. There is also the issue of starting the aribtration clock.
He continues to start inferior players in high spots in the order while better players are at the bottom of the order.
This bothers me, too. But Tito has built up a shitload of goodwill and I will cut him a lot of slack and assume there's a lot we don't know -- about where guys feel good hitting, how he wants to space out the lineup, how batting order is not all that important (however much it can frustrate the hell out of me sometimes) ...
AL rank in OBP by batting spot:
#1 - 9th
#2 - 5th
#3 - 3rd
#4 - 3rd
#5 - 4th
#6 - 4th
#7 - 6th
#8 - 2nd
#9 - 7th
Tito's also used Okajima against more righties than lefties.
Only 7 more PA against RH, though.
Bard has pitched in more medium-leverage instances (per Fangraphs) than high-leverage
B-Ref has 86 Hi-Lev PAs, 44 Medium, 36 Low. How does FG measure it?
and he's been used just as much against lefties (against whom he has a history of struggles
Bard has been murdering LHB this year: .108/.205/.122. Which was the opposite of last year. The K:BB is way worse, but that is affected by the fact that he strikes out far more RH than LH.
I think Tito's usage of Jeemer and especially Bard has been affected by the shitty job of other pitchers. He has needed to rely on them more often and for more batters.
Philip said...
ReplyDeleteFor instance, Scutaro, who is always near the top of the lineup, has the same OBP as Cameron and a lower OBP than Drew, with lower power than both of them and worse speed than Cameron.
Not near the top, he leads off......
Scutaro is actually a point higher than Cameron in OBP.
Cameron hasn't run all year and with his injury most likely won't.
I beleive , with the lineup he is just waiting out the DL.
Relax, just when people start to doubt Tito, he manages to fool us all, he knows his team better than some stat may tell you, have a little faith in Tito, he did after all win 2 World Series. ( I actually believe he had something to do with that)
He continues to start inferior players in high spots in the order while better players are at the bottom of the order.
ReplyDeleteI find this overemphasis on batting lineup a bit mystifying. I've heard the arguments - after all, I live with Allan - but IMO it's silly to think tweaking the batting order would make that much of a difference in games won and lost.
Re Cash, I also don't follow the minor leagues, but I do know that highly touted prospects routinely come up to the majors and fail. If there was any alternative to Kevin Cash, wouldn't Theo want him, pronto?
Also, we don't know how much input Francona has in these decision, but I imagine it's not very much. Since the Sox try to make decisions based on rational, measurable factors - as opposed to fan-pleasing but worthless moves - I don't think Francona could be reasonably expected to have much input. That's my conjecture, anyway.