No Reason To Panic; However, Embree Must Go

Curt Schilling said his splitter "was the one pitch I was not worried about coming off my rehab because my split was as good as anything down there. I was very comfortable with it. It felt good in the 'pen." But: "I threw two, as bad splits as I can throw, on back-to-back pitches. Sheff hit a split that I left up. He hammered it. I came back and hung a split on the next pitch to A-Rod. I certainly felt I was going to have more out there tonight than I did."

In the bottom of the ninth, Mariano Rivera struck out Johnny Damon, Edgar Renteria and David Ortiz -- all swinging -- to close it out. It was Boston's ninth defeat in their last 14 games. The Yankees won for the eighth time in nine games. Out in Seattle, Baltimore won 5-3, so the Orioles are one game out, the Yankees 1.5 back.

There is no reason to panic. I can't stand either Sheffield or Slappy, but both of those SOBs can hit the baseball. And while Schilling's velocity still seemed low, he did retire the next three guys. ... I wonder if there was any thought in the Sox dugout to intentionally walking Slappy and facing Matsui?

Gordon Edes notes the reaction to Schilling's appearance from ESPN and NESN:

ESPN2 had switched to Sox-Yankees at the conclusion of the White Sox victory over the Indians. [Rick] Sutcliffe, a former standout pitcher, immediately pointed out Schilling wasn't pushing off the pitching rubber ("no drive at all") with his surgically repaired right ankle. "I'd be surprised if he's thrown in this role again. He's not ready to pitch at this level." And, on NESN's postgame show, studio analyst Dennis Eckersley noted the damaging hits against Schilling by Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez both came on splitters. "Throwing the splitter shows there's no confidence in your gas [fastball].

A few notes from watching the YES broadcast:

* It sure looked like a pink-shirted fan interfered with Trot Nixon as he reached into the stands to try and catch what turned out to be a Jason Giambi home run in the second inning, but Nixon said the fan "didn't interfere in any way, shape, or form."

* Anyone else see Joe Torre pump his fist in celebration when Mike Mussina struck out Mark Bellhorn with the game tied at 5-5 and runners at first and third in the sixth. I can't remember the last time I saw Torre do anything like that. And that was only the second out. Mussina then struck out Damon on seven pitches to end the inning. It was on Damon's at-bat that the home plate ump really showed how the strike zone had changed from the early innings. Whereas both Mussina and Arroyo had to thread a needle to get a strike called, now balls clearly on the outside corner -- like the first and second strikes to Damon -- were being called strikes.

* And Boston allowed Mussina to retire the side in order in both the fourth and fifth innings on a total of 15 pitches. He had thrown 66 pithes through the first three innings and that hacking let him to stay in the game for six innings, until the better arms in the pen could take over.

* Michael Kay is an idiot. In the first inning, he mentioned that Fenway's left field pole is now called the Fisk Pole because in the 1975 World Series, "Fisk wrapped a home run around the pole."

* Horrible plays in the outfield from Manny Ramirez and Damon. Manny's slide on Robinson Cano's first-inning double was incredibly pointless, though it did serve as a good deke that allowed Manny to throw out Cano trying for a triple. (Though looking at the replay of Manny's quick, sidearm fling to third makes me think he wasn't actually trying to throw out Cano, it was just a very accurate toss.) And Damon leapt and banged into the center field wall on a fly ball by Sheffield in the third. The ball hit very high off the wall. Even if Damon was 12 feet tall, he still would have had no chance.

* Terry Francona made a huge blunder when he allowed Alan Embree to start the eighth inning. Tito had brought in the useless lefty with one on and one out in the seventh. Hideki Matsui creamed Embree's first pitch to deep right that Nixon had to leap at the warning track to catch. Then Giambi grounded out to second. Francona should have known he had dodged a big bullet, had gotten two outs from Embree and been happy with that, and gone to either Schilling or Mike Timlin for the eighth.

But Tito played a little Gradyball and sent Embree back out. Jorge Posada lined his first pitch into the left field corner for a double. ... Now Francona made the switch to Timlin, who of course, allowed the runner to score, on a double by pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra. Stupid, stupid, stupid managing. (Embree must go, because Francona will continue to misuse him if he is out there.)

* Timlin's first pitch to Sierra was inside and low and Sierra reached down and grabbed his right knee as if he had been hit. He even hopped up and down a little bit. No one was fooled.

* The five Red Sox relievers -- Mike Myers, Chad Bradford, Embree, Timlin, and Schilling -- faced one, two, three, four, and five batters, respectively.

In addition to the back page of the Daily News, check out the Post, which splashed A-Rod across both the front and back pages. (link only good for today)

Chien-Ming Wang was put on the disabled list with an inflamed right shoulder, but because Wang was sent to an orthopedic surgeon after an MRI, there were rumors of a season-ending torn rotator cuff. Tim Redding will start tonight in Wang's place. The Yankees are eyeing Colorado's Shawn Chacon and maybe Al Leiter.

Joe Kerrigan is now an advance scout for the Chokers. Kerrigan will not be part of the uniformed coaching staff, though I wonder if he is a possible replacement for Mel Stottlemyre.

Wells / Redding at 7:00.

G88: Yankees 8, Red Sox 6

I really though Papi's shot in the seventh would be the difference. But then Tito fucked up by having Embree start the 8th and Schilling had a rough start (to put it midly) in the ninth. But that rough start meant a loss.

Millar has been annoying the hell out of me lately, but he was on base in all four of his plate appearances tonight: single, double, and two walks.

Box Score Oddity: The five Red Sox relievers -- Myers, Bradford, Embree, Timlin, and Schilling -- pitched to one, two, three, four, and five batters, respectively.

Sheffield To Red Sox: Don't Touch Our Jewel

Curt Schilling and Chad Bradford will both be in the Fenway bullpen tonight when the Red Sox and Yankees open a four-game series. Kevin Youkilis and Scott Cassiday were sent down to Pawtucket. With games scheduled for the next 14 consecutive days, the Sox will go with a 12-man staff.

The Yankees have changed, writes Kevin Kernan of the Post: "The days of the Red Sox challenging [Alex] Rodriguez physically or verbally, ... are done. The Yankees finally have A-Rod's back at Fenway and everywhere else." Garry Sheffield opens his yap:

We're going to bring our gold, our jewel in there, which is A-Rod. We're going to see how the chips fall this time. That's our man and we know he's our man. We're going to look out for him when he's in a situation like that. ... When he's in a hostile environment, we've got to make sure he's comfortable because it helps our team. [And if something like the Varitek incident happens again?] That's why I say it's going to be different. We're going to make sure that Alex is taken care of.

Kernan adds:

Rodriguez is appreciative of the backup. "We've been through a lot together, a lot of guys don't know half the stuff we've been through as a team," he said, offering a rare view inside the Yankees' closed world.

Rare view? How does that quote offer -- in any way, shape or form -- a glimpse into the Yankees' closed world? Slappy says nothing, hints at nothing, offers no insight.

A decidedly mellow George Steinbrenner said (through his spokesman): "I'm looking forward to the Red Sox series. It's a tough team and I hope the Yankees do our very best." ... That's all he's got? He hopes the Yankees do their best?!? Sad. Very sad.

There is a nice feature on David Ortiz in the Times:

Since the beginning of 2003, Ortiz has batted .335 with 12 homers and 33 runs batted in against the Yankees. No one has hit more homers against the Yankees in that period. ... Ortiz has had 164 at-bats against [the Yankees] in the past two and a half seasons and has not been hit by a pitch. ... "He used to have holes on the inside," [Mariano] Rivera said. "You'd go outside? Holes. Now they're not there anymore."

While Boston limped into the break by losing eight of its last 13 games, New York has won seven of its last eight games, prompting one Post columnist to talk about a sweep. ... A more realistic look can be found here: "[D]on't forget, this is only the start of a make or break 11-game trip that moves to Texas and finishes in Anaheim. Making the sojourn extremely slippery is a suspect Yankees' pitching staff and the Yankees' 17-21 road ledger."

After this series, Boston hosts Tampa Bay (3) before hitting the road to play the White Sox (4) and Devil Rays (3). ... The Red Sox will play 43 of their remaining 75 games at Fenway Park. Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Boston is 132-68 (.666) at home.

Arroyo / Mussina at 7:00.

Godpapi

Now this is a shirt! Simple, cool design in black, white or red. Plus: nothing on the back. Perfect! ... My David Ortiz Fan Club shirt from 2003 (with a picture of Esther Rolle on the breast pocket) is old and I've retired last year's "Why Not Us?" shirt. This will be my new game-watching shirt for the rest of the season.

Good Boston showing in the All-Star game last night, as the American League won its 8th straight game.

Damon: 1-for-2, single, run scored
Ortiz: 2-for-3, RBI
Varitek: 1-for-1, single, walk, run scored
Ramirez: 0-for-2 (GIDP, K)
Clement: 1 IP, 1 BB, 1K, 4 BF, 15 pitches

Stupid Buck/McCarver Comment Of The Night: After Ichiro replaced Damon in center field in the fourth inning, Buck said, "Hairdressers across the country are turning their sets off." ... More media stupidity than you can shake a stick at is here.

Tony Massarotti (Herald) and David LeFort (Globe) present their first half report cards. ... Gordon Edes (Globe) answers some questions about the second half.

Home Run Derby

After opening the first round by hitting 24 home runs, it seemed appropriate that Bobby Abreu won the whole thing. ... David Ortiz hit 17 HR in the first round, but only three in the second round. Naturally, I blame Dale Sveum. [Or maybe Bellhorn.]

I figured I'd try scoring the HRD in case Ortiz won the whole thing. Here's Tizzle's first round (x is no swing, O is an out and H is a home run):

xxxxHxOxOxxxxxxxxxxOxxOHxOxHxOxxxHxxxHxx
xHxxxxxHxHxOxOxHxHxxHxHxHHxOxxHxxHxHO

Second Round:

xxOxxxHxxOxOxxHxOxxxxxxOxxxxOxxxOHxOxOxxO

Not Quite A News Flash: Chris Berman is a self-absorbed idiot. Hearing his "back back back" shit during a game is annoying; hearing it in a home run derby is torture. Berman actually referred to Ortiz as "Big Pappy" and told us that Andruw Jones was born in the "Netherlands".

Why did Berman feel the need to yell "That one's all the way to Kalamazoo" on a couple of homers that landed only about 10 rows deep in right? Shouldn't the ball have to be hit, oh, I don't know, out of the frigging ballpark to deserve a "description" like that?

Meanwhile, Joe Morgan was all serious, analyzing the batters' swings, explaining about bat speeds and why some players weren't hitting as many home runs. He refrained from describing the various pitches being thrown.

Disgraceful: The ESPN trio of Berman, Morgan and Reggie Jackson blathering nearly all the way through -- and barely acknowledging the existence of -- Hee Seop Choi's first round swings. They actually cut away and missed some of his swings. At one point, one of them said they didn't mean to shortchange Choi's swings, then went right back to the off-topic conversation, with a distant Choi in an inset box on the screen.

G87: Orioles 4, Red Sox 1

Bah.

Sunday's lone highlight (though it was a stupid decision): David Ortiz stole his first base since July 22, 2002. "I hope you guys enjoyed that one because you're not going to see too many. ... I looked in the dugout and I saw Tito, 'What the [heck]?'"

Limping into the break, the Red Sox scored two or fewer runs in six of their last 13 games (5-8). And they let the Orioles -- who came into the series have lost 11 of their last 13 games -- back into the East race. ... Rodrigo Lopez is 10-4, 3.54 in 20 games against Boston since the start of 2002. The 10 wins are more than any other pitcher.

Damon had a ninth-inning bunt single to extend his hitting streak to 25 games. ... Latest trade rumor: Kevin Millar to the Astros for reliever Chad Qualls (3-3, 3.89 ERA).

Curt Schilling is ready. On Sunday, he threw a scoreless eighth inning for the PawSox (16 pitches, 11 strikes), allowing a leadoff single, a pop-up to third, a strikeout and a flyout to left. "I feel good and ready to go. If they're ready for me to get back, I'm ready to get back there. ... I felt stronger than I did [on Saturday]."

Mid-season report cards from: Tony Massarotti (Herald) and David LeFort (Globe). Gordon Edes (Globe) answers questions about the second half.

Tentative matchups for the Red Sox/Yankees series: Arroyo/Mussina, Wells/Wang, Clement/Johnson and Wakefield/TBA.

HR Derby? Go Ortizzle!

G86: Orioles 9, Red Sox 1

Everyone agrees that Luis Matos's home-run robbing catch off David Ortiz in the third inning was the turning point. It would have given the Red Sox a 4-1 lead. Matos: "I got goose bumps after I caught it."

Miguel Tejada went 5-for-5 (two singles, two doubles, one triple), Rafael Palmeiro drove in six runs and Sandy Koufax Bruce Chen shut down the Boston bats. Johnny Damon got two singles, though, extending his hitting streak to 24 games.

Steven Krasner says Johnny Damon's shoulder is a ticking "time bomb" for the Red Sox:

He noticeably winced after reaching up to catch a line drive and bumping against the wall two weeks ago. He gave it the alligator-arm reach for a ball in the left-center gap a week ago at Fenway Park. At the plate, there were some swings and their resulting follow-throughs that hurt him so badly, he had to take the next pitch, even if one of them was a called third strike ... [H]earing him talk about the intense pain he was feeling after the catch in Texas is alarming because Damon has played through a lot of pain over the years and has always downplayed it.

Curt Schilling pitched a perfect ninth inning on only seven pitches in Pawtucket's 12-3 victory over Syracuse last night. The Globe has a detailed recap. Schilling: "I went curveball, split, fastball to the first hitter. I went fastball, fastball, split to the second guy, and fastball in" to the third batter. ... Coverage from the Syracuse Post-Standard and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Matt Clement was added to the AL All-Star team after Roy Halladay broke a bone in his left leg Friday. Francona disclosed that he has chosen Halladay to start the ASG.

Manny Ramirez has hit his 20 grand slams in 176 at-bats with the bases loaded. ... News on the three winners of the World Series ring raffle. ... A Q&A with Fred Lynn. ... Baseball in 1858.

The Yankees lost 8-7 to Cleveland -- Slappy made the final out with the tying run at third -- so Baltimore is 3 games out and New York is 3.5 back.

Best & Worst Lineups

It's hard to argue with any of Rob Neyer's choices for All-Time Lineup:

Joe Morgan, 2B
Honus Wagner, SS
Ted Williams, LF
Babe Ruth, RF
Willie Mays, CF
Lou Gehrig, 1B
Mike Schmidt, 3B
Josh Gibson, C
Roger Clemens, P

David Schoenfield offers the worst lineup post-1950 (min. 2,000 PA):

Tom Goodwin, CF
Hal Lanier, 2B
Todd Benzinger, 1B
Aurelio Rodriguez, 3B
Jim Wohlford, LF
Mike Hershberger, RF
Bobby Wine, SS
Mike Ryan, C
Dean Chance, P

(With Rafael Belliard, Doug Flynn and Darren Lewis on the bench)

Sox Blogs

I've trimmed the list of linked blogs a little bit, but it's still (probably) the most complete list of Red Sox blog links you'll find anywhere.

Three plugs: Randy, at Over The Monster, has a ton of minor league information. 12eight, from Andrew in Toronto, is also good. The Yankee Despiser has plenty of material this season.

Notes: Schilling, Foulke, Bradford, Kapler

Regarding the recent "brush fires" in the Red Sox clubhouse, Terry Francona says: "I didn't really consider them to be burning the building down."

Trot Nixon agrees ("I don't think what's going on right now is a distraction") as does Gordon Edes of the Globe, who writes that this team "has yet to stir up even a touch of trouble worthy of its predecessors."

On the first day of spring training, the Red Sox recommended that Keith Foulke have knee surgery. Foulke declined, a decision he now regrets. Foulke hopes to be back in mid-August.

Re the Payton for Bradford deal: news from the Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News, and San Francisco Chronicle. Everyone in Oakland is pretty quiet and Payton's agent says that while the teams are talking, no deal has been completed.

Francona said having Schilling in the bullpen for next week's series against the Yankees at Fenway Park is "realistic." ... Johnny Damon's 23-game hitting streak is the longest by a Red Sox outfielder since Dom DiMaggio hit in 27 straight in 1951. ... Gabe Kapler could be returning to the Sox.

Even in Baltimore, Francona caught flak for Thursday night's split-squad-esque lineup. "I got bombarded a couple times at CVS today. I was trying to buy toothpaste, some lady was all over me."

Game of the Week: Last Wednesday night in Florida, Marlins pitchers struck out 22 Brewers and retired the last 28 Milwaukee batters. Florida won the game 5-4 in 12 innings. AJ Burnett struck out 14 in six innings (by innings: 322 232).

G85: Red Sox 7, Orioles 2

The A team was back on the field last night and the result was a nice, relaxing win. The Red Sox were on the bases all night long, collecting 15 hits and seven walks and leaving 15 men on base.

Johnny "23 game hitting streak" Damon got four hits and a walk, David Ortiz collected a single, double, three walks and two RBI, Manny Ramirez singled twice and drove in three runs (he now has 80), Bill Mueller singled three times with two RBI and Mark Bellhorn singled twice and scored two runs. Bellhorn also notched his 100th strikeout of the season.

Bronson Arroyo pitched 7.2 innings and was pulled after Rafael Palmeiro belted a solo home run in the eighth (his 2,995th career hit). Before that, the last Baltimore hit had been Sosa's single in the third. Jeremi Gonzalez and "Wayne" Embree finished up.

In New York, Mariano Rivera narrowly averted blowing New York's 5-4 victory over Cleveland. The Yankees' sixth straight win moved them past the Orioles into second place, 3.5 games behind the Sox.

Miller / Chen at 1:00.

"We're in first place! What the F is going on in this clubhouse? Damn!"

That's a very good question, Mr. Ortiz.

According to the Herald's Jeff Horrigan:

Payton got into a shouting match with Sox manager Terry Francona and bench coach Brad Mills in the late innings of Wednesday night's 7-4 win ... [Payton] was upset about losing a potential at-bat when Francona did a double-switch with John Olerud after inserting both players as defensive replacements in the seventh inning ... Payton laid into Francona and Mills in front of the entire team in the visitors' dugout and he was summoned into the manager's office after the game and told to return home rather than accompany the team to Baltimore.

In that game, Olerud went into the leadoff spot replacing Damon, while Payton replaced Millar in the #6 spot. It meant that Olerud batted third in the eighth inning and if the Sox had gone down in order in the 9th, Payton would have ended the game in the on-deck circle. However, he did get a plate appearance and flew out to center field.

Theo Epstein said (see here and here) that Francona told Payton to grab his luggage and get off the team plane. Then Tito called Theo and told him he wanted Payton shipped out. There is apparently a deal in place (for Oakland's Chad Bradford) which will be announced after the All-Star Game.

Francona also spoke to Johnny Damon about his comments regarding Curt Schilling. Damon: "He just pretty much called me a dumbass and told me to keep my mouth zipped." The implication is that Damon didn't realize how far away from being an effective starter Schilling is. (Or was it the scarves?)

Dave Heuschkel of the Courant quoted David Ortiz and Bronson Arroyo as confirming

that there are players upset with Schilling volunteering to pitch out of the bullpen. "It's true," Ortiz said.

Pitcher Bronson Arroyo took it a step further. "I know Johnny, Wake [Tim Wakefield] and [Mike] Timlin don't think he should be down there," Arroyo said. ... Arroyo said he doesn't have a problem with Schilling closing ["I think the guy would be a lights-out closer."]

Down in Pawtucket, Schilling spoke to the Herald's Steve Buckley: "I haven't talked with Johnny, so maybe what he said and how he said it was different than how it came out, which is probably the case. Johnny and I are good friends. ... Again, I'm going to go under the assumption it didn't come across the way it read, which happens a lot."

Schilling allowed two runs and two hits in his one inning of relief for the PawSox (the AP called it "sloppy"). After getting the first out, he gave up a single, a stolen base and a triple. An error allowed an unearned run to score before Schilling ended the inning. He threw 13 of his 14 pitches for strikes and is expected to pitch this weekend.

Kevin Millar basically said Peter Gammons's report was all wrong. "I haven't said anything. I don't know where it came from. ... I love it here. ... It's actually better with [Olerud] and I here."

David Wells expressed his support for Kenny Rogers: "I'm glad he did that. He needed to vent. ... The cameraman wasn't hurt. He went to the hospital, pretending to be hurt. He's winking at another guy, saying, 'I'm going to get paid.' That guy's a [expletive] idiot."

The best news of the night came from Pawtucket and Portland. Jon Papelbon went six innings, allowing three hits and one run in his AAA debut. He struck out seven while walking none. ... Anibal Sanchez (promoted from A to AA) made his Sea Dogs debut yesterday (on three days rest). He shut out Trenton for four innings, striking out six and allowing two hits and two walks on 53 pitches. ... Manny Delcarmen (in his PawSox debut) struck out five while pitching two relief innings on Wednesday.

If the rain lets up in Baltimore, it'll be Arroyo / Ponson at 7:30.

G84: Orioles 3, Red Sox 1 (6)

Just Trot being Trot?

Imagine the shitstorm if Trot Nixon was regarded as one of the "lazy" players on the Red Sox? Getting picked off second with the bases loaded in a 2-1 game with the rain falling hard and fast?

Jaw-droppingly stupid, head-banging-on-desk frustrating, and completely bone-headed for the gritty, grimy, gamer. Said Mr. Pine Tar: "I just got too far off the bag. ... I was trying to get that extra lead, that extra little jump. It probably lost the game for us."

Nixon does many of the same things Manny Ramirez has been (and continues to be) slammed for -- falling asleep on base, forgetting how many outs there are in the field and taking somewhat questionable routes on fly balls -- but he receives a fraction of the criticism in the Boston media. ... Nixon did have two of the Sox's three hits, including a double that nearly cleared the right field fence. It was after that double that he was picked off.

When I first saw the night's lineup, I assumed it was a gag. However, while there were various reasons for the players to get the night off, but I wish Francona had gone to that talent-heavy bench (Damon, Renteria, Ramirez, Varitek, Youkilis) in the top of the sixth. It was pretty clear that was going to be the last inning, so I wanted the Sox to play it like the ninth. Instead, we watched Olerud, Mirabelli, Stern and Bellhorn do nothing.

The differences in pitch counts between David Wells and Daniel Cabrera was striking:

Cabrera  10 25 28  17 26     = 106
Wells     8  8 13   6 14 14  = 63

The one run the Sox did score came in an inning with three walks and two wild pitches. And no hits.

But it seemed like the rain-shortened game was the least interesting part of the day. [Tito: "At the pace we're going, by Sunday we'll have 32 more [roster] moves."] ... More on that later.

Update from Gammons (WEEI)

SoSHer Soxscout has the poop on Old Hickory's appearance on WEEI this afternoon. I cut some of the points and reordered the ones I'm including, so check out the thread for the whole deal:

- The players are trying to make losing the front office's fault, winning the players' doing
- Damon doesn't know what he is talking about
- Players aren't upset over anything, it's just Damon
- Millar "outraged" that Olerud is on the team, no one wants him, "not going to happen"
- Foulke out a month, he's a weird guy, knee has been bothering him for 2-3 years; tries to be funny but it always comes out wrong
- Payton had an outburst last night, he is gone now and "he is going to Oakland"; Oakland has a deal in place with him; Sox want a pitcher back, A's could do that. Cardinals and Dodgers are interested. Billy Beane called about him this weekend.
- Kapler expected to be back, "he is out of his contract"
- Doesn't see Sox adding a SP
- Papelbon could pitch 6 weeks in Boston bullpen
- Delcarmen is taking off the last six weeks [pitching really really well], Paw Sox player told him that he was unreal last night
- Sanchez, Moss, Lester, Pedroia, Ramirez, Papelbon will not be traded

When Gammons says the team is not upset (only Damon), I assume he's referring to the Schilling decision. It's kind of weird to then read that Millar is outraged and Payton had an outburst.

Gordon Edes had a story in the Globe a few weeks ago on Kapler, saying how unhappy he was in Japan and how he'd love to return to Boston. ... Does Gammons mean that Papelbon could pitching in the Sox pen within six weeks?

Millar: Asking For A Trade?

 AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS
.248  .309  .299  .608

Those stats are Kevin Millar's numbers away from Fenway Park this season. Overall, he's slugging .260 against LHP this season. Slugging.

Millar had a good June, but that came only after two horrific months that would make Rey Ordonez blush.

         PA*  AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS
Mar/Apr  93  .253  .394  .307  .701
May     105  .224  .274  .327  .601
June     67  .377  .420  .574  .994

*: AB + BB + HBP

During Tuesday's NESN broadcast, Jerry Remy said that Olerud would be getting more playing time as the weeks went on. Francona's reasons were (paraphrasing) putting the best lineup on the field and wanting to win. It was not the usual spiel.

And now comes the news that Millar has apparently asked the Red Sox to explore the possibility of a trade. Last night, Peter Gammons said on Baseball Tonight:

Now you turn to Kevin Millar, he's been disappointed. The Red Sox have been playing John Olerud a lot. He asked Terry Francona last weekend, look it, see if you can trade me. They looked around, they talked to Houston, that rumor was out there, that isn't happening. So far there's nothing there but you know with Youkilis and Olerud, you know, playing time is diminished.

And Johnny Damon was quoted in today's Globe as saying:

They've been trying to get rid of Millar since the beginning of the season. Well, guess what? His numbers are the same as last year. Then he caught fire. Now he's definitely looking over his shoulder a little more because we've got a very good backup first baseman in Olerud.

First of all, this is not a case of Millar bitching to the media, demanding "play me or trade me." Someone apparently leaked the in-house discussions to the press.

I haven't seen any comments from Millar, though he did say (when Olerud first joined the team) he didn't have a problem with splitting time, as opposed to the mini-fit he threw last year when Malphabet came on board.

Millar is one of The 25 -- he drew The Walk -- but I won't be upset if/when he goes. He's an incredibly streaky hitter who hasn't really caught fire this year, he's been (for the most part) brutal in the field, and I don't put much stock in his clubhouse intangibles.

Gammons is supposed on WEEI this afternoon and will undoubtedly talk more about it. ... Coupled with assorted players not thrilled with Curt the Closer, it seems like there is a fair amount of unhappiness in the clubhouse.

Also: Jay Payton DFA'd; Ramon Vazquez traded to Cleveland for Alex Cora (.205/.250/.288). Umm ... yay? Actually, Cora can play a decent 2B and SS, has some speed, and isn't hurt. Maybe he can fill the "Pokey" role this year. Cora should be with the team in Baltimore for tonight's game.

G83: Red Sox 7, Rangers 4

Keith Foulke will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee today in Boston. He will be out four to six weeks. Curt Schilling is scheduled to pitch one inning of relief for Pawtucket tonight (Jon Papelbon makes his first AAA start). Schilling will likely rejoin the team after the All-Star break -- when the Red Sox host the Yankees for four games.

Theo Epstein:

We think this is the best thing for Schill. He really hasn't been consistent with his velocity and he has not been able to be consistent with high-caliber stuff over the course of a game.

Terry Francona:

Timlin and Schill are going to, more often than not, pitch at the end of games. Schill's not going to go every day. This is going to be a little bit unique. ... This is not permanent. Whether it's two weeks, two months, it's not two years. We don't know what's going to happen. Two weeks ago we weren't having this conversation. We're trying to do the best we can. I don't think we have leeway to not win.

The few Red Sox players who spoke on the record voiced their displeasure at the move. Johnny Damon got the most ink:

I don't think he's ready to be our closer. I think Bronson or Timlin are the choice as the closer. ... The whole team wants Timlin, and if not Timlin, Arroyo. ... [Schilling's] never done it. He throws 60 pitches to get loose for a game. ... Schilling's a little too old and it takes too long to get loose to be in that closer role. ... They're panicking. We're [four] games up and it feels like we're 10 down.

Timlin:

The guy's not a bullpen pitcher. I understand what they're saying, that they can put him in the bullpen and have him help out, but it's like they're saying you can just take a guy and put him out in the 'pen and have him do what we do. It's not just about getting guys out. It's about doing it day after day after day, in all sorts of situations.

Tim Wakefield:

The way our rotation is now, if it doesn't stay healthy, we need another starter. I'd rather have Curt coming in as a starter than having him close and then counting on our rotation to stay healthy for the rest of the year. We were fortunate last year that we all made every one of our starts, all five of us. That's very rare.

An unnamed player said the decision was a "slap in the face" to other relievers.

RHP Scott Cassidy was called up from Pawtucket to replace Foulke on the roster. Cassidy (3.81 ERA in 25 appearances for the PawSox) pitched for the Blue Jays in 2002 (5.73 ERA in 58 games). ... Damon extended his hitting streak to 22 games, the longest of any player in baseball this season. ... Over his last 18 games, David Ortiz is hitting .384 (28-for-73) with 21 RBI. He homered and drove in three runs last night.

Matt Clement pitched 8.2 innings last night, throwing a season-high 122 pitches. Alan Embree got the final out: "Warming up I felt great again. It was like, 'OK, well here's your chance to make up for some of the crap you did earlier.' You can print that."

In Baltimore:

Thursday: David Wells / Daniel Cabrera, 7:00
Friday: Bronson Arroyo / Sidney Ponson, 7:35
Saturday: Wade Miller / Bruce Chen, 1:00
Sunday: Tim Wakefield / Rodrigo Lopez, 1:30

Tito: Schilling Moving to Bullpen

SoxScout at SoSH (12:37 pm):

Schilling to the Bullpen Per Tito on WEEI

When he is activated he will be working in the bullpen. He is pitching out of the Pawtucket bullpen tomorrow.

He is having trouble repeating his delivery for 6-7 innings.

"Schilling, Foulke, Timlin goodluck..." - Francona

Very interesting.

Opinions in the thread are all over the map, ranging from "makes perfect sense" to "seems like a major misuse of resources" to "a drastic move for a team that is 3.5 games up."

It's way too early to even speculate whether this could a long-term thing like Smoltz in Atlanta, since the news is only about 30 minutes old. But I agree with the poster that said "Schilling could be Gossagesque in the closer role" -- meaning he could pitch three or four innings.

Having the regular starter go five or six innings and have Schilling finish the game could (a) be devastating to the opposing team and (b) give everyone else in the pen the day off perhaps twice a week.

G82: Red Sox 7, Rangers 4

About three hours before last night's game, it was announced that Keith Foulke had taken Terry Francona's advice and was heading back to Boston to have MRIs done on both of his knees. Foulke did not have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee over the winter, and now his right knee is also acting up because he has been favoring it. A DL stint seems likely.

How bad was Foulke's outing on Monday? Kevin Mench, who got the Rangers' game-winning hit, said: "I was thinking he was going to throw me a changeup, and I got a fastball in." So Mench got what should have been a much quicker pitch than he was expecting and still pulled it solidly to deep left field.

Tim Wakefield threw eight fantastic innings (eight hits, four runs, one walk, 5 strikeouts, 114 pitches) last night for his 122nd victory with the Red Sox, tying Luis Tiant for fourth place in team history.

Mike Timlin pitched the ninth inning, throwing six pitches (all strikes) for a 1-2-3 inning. He got the first two Rangers on one pitch each. The second out was caught by Johnny Damon, who made a diving catch in shallow center, landing on his shoulder and bouncing on the turf. "I kind of popped some body parts out of place, but they put them back. It's all taken care of." I wouldn't be surprised if he takes tonight off.

As a side note to the bullpen mess, David Wells thinks he might be able to close, though no one has asked him. "I've done it before and I could do it again, but it just would take me longer to get ready. I'd have to know exactly when I was going to pitch. I suppose I could do it."

That may sound crazy, but it's a lot more sane that whatever is going through Lou Piniella's head down in Tampa. According to Rotoworld:

Casey Fossum won't start Wednesday. After watching his bullpen struggle again tonight, manager Lou Piniella said he plans to use a reliever initially and then bring in Fossum later on. ... "People are going to think I'm crazy, but we're just going to try it. Starting tomorrow, I'll bring in whatever reliever I feel like starting the game with, and I'll bring my starter in in the third inning and we'll play nine innings of baseball that way."

Damon extended his hitting streak to 21 games, John Olerud did not record a putout at first base until the ninth (though he had three assists in the first) and Manny Ramirez hit his third grand slam of the season.

               GS     AB
Lou Gehrig     23   8,001
Manny Ramirez  20   5,858
Eddie Murray   19  11,336
Robin Ventura  18   7,064
Willie McCovey 18   8,197
Jimmie Foxx    17   8,134
Ted Williams   17   7,706

Curt Schilling called Monday's outing in Pawtucket "frustrating." He'll make at least one more minor league start, perhaps two. The Herald's Steve Buckley writes (while making clear he is not ragging on Clement or Wakefield):

Without Curt Schilling, the Red Sox have no real, live, stop-the-presses, get-out-of-my-way, I-can-lick-any-man-in-the-bar No. 1 starter. ... [W]ithout a tough, healthy, on-top-of-his-game Curt Schilling, the Red Sox simply aren't that scary. ... Until Schilling is back with the big club, and winning, October is just a fantasy for the Red Sox.

No. We don't need scary, we need good. And we have good. October would be nicer with Schilling pitching and winning, but getting there without him is not a pipe dream.

The Red Sox -- even with all of their problems -- lead the AL East this morning by 3.5 games. It's their largest lead of the season.

Did Sox Accuse Jays of Cheating?

Sox Say Jays Cheated

That was the headline in the Toronto Sun on Tuesday morning. I'd chalk it up to poor headline writing at the Sun, but in his story, Mike Ganter wrote basically the same thing:

In the wake of taking two of three from the Red Sox, the local nine were accused of a little cheating by their hosts.

According to Sunday's losing pitcher, Bronson Arroyo, the Jays were relaying signs from second base to their hitters at the plate. ... Midway through the second inning, Sox catcher Jason Varitek also assumed the Jays had broken their code and trotted out to confer with Arroyo and change the signs.

"Tek came out after Orlando Hudson's second inning double down the left field line," Arroyo told reporters. "He was like, 'Man, they got them already.' It only took three pitches ... We had to switch up the signs."

How is that cheating? How is that even a "little" cheating?

Relaying signs from the basepaths is not cheating. Telling your teammates how an opposing pitcher is tipping his pitches is not cheating.

No Red Sox player -- in this story or any other -- ever used the word "cheating" or accused the Blue Jays of not playing honestly.

G81: Rangers 6, Red Sox 5

Foulke had nothing -- absolutely nothing -- and he knew it.

Terry Francona played it right pretty much all night, though he did have some luck. He stayed with Wade Miller through a horrific first inning (and a fairly crappy third), squeezing 121 pitches out of him in six innings. Jeremi Gonzalez came in and got two men out in the seventh, then John Halama got the third. On the offensive side, Manny Ramirez's bomb to dead center in the top of the eighth gave the Sox a 5-3 lead. Mike Timlin gave one run back in the eighth, before Alan Embree (with the tying run on third) shut the door.

In the ninth, Francona pulled Embree and went with Keith Foulke. Because he's the "closer" -- that's what you do. However, Francona did have Mike Myers warming up as Foulke began the inning. If Foulke got into trouble, would Tito actually pull him and have Myers face (perhaps) Hank Blalock, the inning's fourth hitter?

Foulke had nothing on his pitches, and he was throwing them right over the plate. He got Dave Dellucci to foul out to third, but then gave up a triple to Michael Young and a double to Mark Teixeira. (I wish Jay Payton (instead of Trot Nixon) had been playing right field in the ninth. He might have been able to catch Teixeira's double.) Tie game, winning run on second.

Myers for Blalock? Nope. (So why did Tito have him warming -- just for show?) I wish he had brought him in. I have a hunch he wanted to, but may have not wanted to get second-guessed for removing his closer, no matter how badly he had pitched.

Blalock (0-for-11 against Foulke) walked on a full count. Was Foulke pitching around him, hoping to set up a DP with the free-swinging Alfonso Soriano up next? I have no idea, but the idea of BBI-ing Blalock did occur to me.

Soriano fell behind 0-and-2 before Foulke hit him in the left shoulder blade. That loaded the bases and pushed the winning run to third. Foulke then left a BP fastball out over the plate and Kevin Mench pounded it to left to win the game.

Foulke's body language after Young's triple -- and continuing throughout the inning -- practically screamed no confidence. He knew he had nothing and he knew he was going to blow the game. Let's get this over with.

Something has to do done. And I think something will be done. Tonight has to be the last straw.

Timlin is the logical man to close, but he hasn't exactly been lights out either (though he has been better when starting an inning). Gonzalez looked sharp and could be used to set-up. There has been talk of Arroyo moving into the closer's spot when Schilling returns, but it's hard to gauge how much the front office is talking about it. Those are the in-house possibilities. There are also potential trades, etc.

Honestly, I have no answer. I'd switch Foulke and Timlin right now, maybe also try Gonzalez in Timlin's old spot. But whatever happens, until Foulke gets his stuff together -- whether through pitching in lower-leverage situations or taking a stint on the DL (knee trouble?) -- he cannot be allowed to throw any more games away. And with his confidence at what must be an all-time low, that is almost assured if Francona keeps him in his present spot.

And so to bed.

Wayne's World

The Red Sox will have four players in the All-Star Game starting lineup: Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. It's the most starters for one team since the Reds in 1976. Tizzle led all players with 4,138,141 votes.

New voting procedures left Francona with only five choices, four of them pitchers. And because every team has to have at least one representative, both Matt Clement and Mike Timlin were left off the roster. Francona said the decision "crushed" him. Timlin was also upset: "This is the only time in my career that I've actually had the numbers to go. It'll never happen again for me. Ever. I've got no shot. It doesn't happen for a middle reliever."

Speaking of Timlin, his ERA may be a puny 1.57, but he's allowed 11 of 18 of inherited baserunners (including two yesterday) to score -- a whopping 61%. ... Curt Schilling makes his second rehab start (85-95 pitches) in Pawtucket this evening.

It's annoying when out-of-town sportswriters think they can gauge the mood of Red Sox fans. They almost always get it wrong. Today's ignorant writer is Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I don't listen to talk radio of any kind, but I believe he grossly exaggerates the degree of worry among fans. We certainly are not overly concerned with the Yankees, even though LeBreton writes:

Boston stands five games ahead of the hated New York Yankees. And apparently that worries all of New England. Yankees in a rearview mirror are always closer than they appear to be.

This sentence got me laughing about LeBreton's penchant for accuracy:

Red Sox Nation doesn't understand, however, why Francona has been so devoted to Wayne Embree (7.68 ERA).

Well, LeBreton's got a point there. I don't understand Tito's devotion to Wayne either.

In Texas:

Monday: Wade Miller / Ricardo Rodriguez, 8:00
Tuesday: Tim Wakefield / Chris Young, 8:00
Wednesday: Matt Clement / Chan Ho Park, 8:00

G80: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 2

In which the Red Sox offense (wrapping up a 2-4 homestand) undergoes another LOB-otomy:

1st inning, 1st & 3rd, no outs: Manny pops to second and Nixon grounds into a double play.

5th inning, 1st & 2nd, no outs: Mueller flies to center, runner advances to third.

5th inning, 1st & 3rd, 1 out: Bellhorn strikes out looking, Damon grounds to pitcher.

6th inning, bases loaded, no outs: Nixon flies to center (1st pitch), Renteria then thrown out at home, Varitek flies out to left (1st pitch).

9th inning, bases loaded, 1 out: Bellhorn pops to second, Damon pops to second.

This crap is unbelievable. Especially the 6th inning, bases-loaded, no-outs rally that went poof in only two pitches. Two! ... And what's with that ninth inning tease of a rally (after Emblin shit the bed, letting Toronto expand its lead to four runs)? Just lose the game already!

Damon's first-inning single extended his hitting streak to a career-high 19 games. It's the longest Red Sox streak since Todd Walker's 20 games in 2003 (May 10 to June 5).

Boston is now 20-of-21 in stealing bases: Damon 8-of-9, Renteria 8-of-8, Bellhorn 2-of-2, Nixon 1-of-1 and Ramirez 1-of-1.

Roster moves, according to Tito on NESN (by way of SoSH): Ramon Vazquez and Abe Alvarez down to Pawtucket; Lenny DiNardo and Jeremi Gonzales will (I guess) join the team in Texas.

Day-by-Day Database

How in the hell did I not know about Baseball Musings' Day by Day Database until now? ... David Pinto: "You can now compare players across time periods. You can come up with any combination of dates, home-road, vs. team, on team and park. And you can sort by any numeric field."

So when I read this morning that Manny Ramirez is hitting .348 in 29 games since May 28, I went to see how that stacks up against all other MLB hitters in that same time frame.

It turns that Manny's batting average is 17th-best since May 28 (among batters with 100 plate appearances (the PA cutoff is also adjustable)). ... Teammates David Ortiz (.356) and Johnny Damon (.352) have higher batting averages. Tops is Derrick Lee (.429); worst is Cesar Izturis (.144).

So ...

Most hits since the beginning of the 2001 season? Ichiro has 1,023. Albert Pujols is a distant second (892).

Most RBIs in road games from July 2, 1995 to July 2, 2005? Ramirez with 580.

Best and worst ERA against the Red Sox since 1990 (min. 50 IP)? Bill Wegman (1.95) and Jason Grimsley (7.34).

Most balks since 1974? Charlie Hough with 39.

Best and worst rates for walks per 9 innings since 1974 (min. 500 IP)? Bob Tewksbury (1.45) and Mitch Williams with (7.08 - yikes!).

They also have extensive game-by-game logs. For example, here is Tim Wakefield's entire career.

You could lose a lot of hours on this site. A lot.

G79: Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 4

Followed last night's win online at work for six innings, missed Manny Ramirez's two-run homer and David Wells's ejection on my way home and watched the final innings and a half on NESN.

Not much to report. With the bullpen in the state that it is, I'm sure Terry Francona did not want to pull Wells in the fourth inning, even though he began the frame: double, groundout, walk, single, single, single. Boston trailed 4-0 at that point, Wells had thrown 82 pitches and (I think) Abe Alvarez was warming up. But Wells suddenly got it together, retiring 10 of the next 11 batters on only 32 pitches.

Keith Foulke, who surrendered two two-out singles last night before closing the door, has changed his entrance music from Danzig's "Mother" to Hank Williams Jr.'s "Country Boy Can Survive." Foulke: "It's the beginning of a new [era]. If you listen to the words of the song, you'll understand." Some of those lyrics:

I live back in the woods, you see
A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive ...

Because you can't starve us out
And you can't make us run
Cause one of 'em old boys raisin' ol' shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma'am
And if you ain't into that we don't give a damn

"Mother" still seems more appropriate:

Tell your children not to walk my way
Tell your children not to hear my words
What they mean
What they say

Matt Mantei has three options for the ligament sprain in his left ankle (injured April 25 at Fenway Park against the Orioles): surgery (which would end his season), a less invasive arthroscopic procedure (six to eight weeks) or a cortisone shot (three to four weeks) to reduce the inflammation. Mantei: "I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. It's not going to heal itself."

The Herald has a lengthy transcript of Michael Silverman's recent interview with Pedro Martinez.

MS: So is the negativity here [in New York] different than Boston?

PJM: Hmmmm, I don't think Boston should be (negative) anymore.

MS: There's not so much now.

PJM: It's got to be boring in Boston nowadays.

MS: They've cut them some slack.

PJM: They're in first place and they won last year, they have a real good chance of repeating. Must be boring, the media must have nothing to do.

Arroyo / Halladay at 2:00.

Mantei On DL - High Grade Ankle Sprain

SoSHer says WEEI reports:

Mantei has been DL'd with a high grade sprain in the ligament in his ankle – this is more than a 15-day DL stint. Guys on the radio said that they had taken an MRI a month ago that revealed the injury, but Mantei and company wanted to pitch through it –- bad idea.

6:00 Update: Rotoworld reports the same thing and says Abe Alvarez has been called up from Pawtucket. No word on MLB.com or the Globe's site yet.

G78: Blue Jays 15, Red Sox 2

Silver Lining Dept.: In six of the nine innings, the Blue Jays managed only two baserunners and did not score. ... The Yankees lost to Detroit, so the Chokers now rest all alone in fourth place.

The Matt Mantei Experiment must end. In 26.1 innings, he's walked 24, allowed 23 hits and plunked five batters. In the seventh inning last night, he walked the bases loaded, gave up a two-run double, then walked another batter. ... And John Halama should be shown the door as well. ... The top two spots in Toronto's order drove in 12 of the 15 runs.

As NESN showed fans streaming out of Fenway before the debacle was complete, LateRally wrote in the SoSH Game Thread:

So what does this say about those of us who are still sitting here in front of the computer watching a 15-1 shellacking? Are we among the most dedicated and loyal of fans, or are we a bunch of masochistic geeks?

The consensus was "both". Hell, I was still dutifully scoring the damn game.

This morning's rumors are that Mantei may be headed for the disabled list, tonight's starter David Wells may be questionable because of his plantar fasciitis and Curt Schilling's may return after (not before) the All-Star break.

I'll update if necessary.

Blue Jays Visit Fenway To Begin July

Despite his success in the rotation, Bronson Arroyo remains the top candidate to go to the bullpen. Arroyo:

My arm can take the pounding. I can pitch two or three innings every other day. Whether I think I can flourish in that role, I have no idea. ... You have to change mentally a little bit. It's a totally different vibe, man. When you're warming up in the bullpen, you don't know how your stuff is, because all you care about is getting yourself loose to get into the game. I definitely don't enjoy that aspect of it. ... I'm comfortable with whatever they decide to do. The only reason I care about being in the starting rotation, honestly, is monetarily.

Arroyo's contract includes a $25,000 bonus for reaching these innings pitched totals: 180, 190, 205 and 215. Arroyo has pitched 94 innings so far this season.

The Red Sox bullpen is the worst in all of baseball in allowing inherited runners to score (40-of-92, 43.5%). By contrast, the two best teams are the Angels (10-of-63, 15.9%) and Mets (24-of-98, 24.5%). First batters have an on-base percentage of .367. Individual Sox pitchers:

           % of IR     1st Bat OBP
Myers   4-of-22  18.2%    .276
Embree  8-of-21  38.1%    .294
Foulke  2-of- 5  40.0%    .314
Mantei  6-of-12  50.0%    .424
Timlin  9-of-15  60.0%    .379
Halama  7-of-10  70.0%    .417

From the Globe: "Nine months after World Series win, newest Sox fans are coming to life" (Umm, Pedrina?!?)

The Orioles host Cleveland, the Yankees visit Detroit and the Blue Jays are at Fenway (plenty o' stats here):

Friday: Matt Clement / Ted Lilly, 7:00
Saturday: David Wells / Gustavo Chacin, 7:00
Sunday: Bronson Arroyo / Roy Halladay, 2:00

Today's Reading Assignments

Baseball Digest Daily has a three-part interview with Bill James (1 and 2 and 3).

And SOSHer Shaun Kelly recalls his brief experience covering the Red Sox in spring training in 1978.

Schilling's Rehab Outing

Nazz45 has pitch-by-pitch data for all five innings at SoSH. Box score included.

Well, whatta you know? Gary Sheffield was fined and suspended for two games for "aggressive actions" in Sunday's game against the Mets. The story mentions the helmet-throwing, but not the ump-bump. Still ... amazing.

Rumor Mill

Radar Online:

... On June 20, after a throwing error from Jeter to Rodriguez handed the Yankees a 5-4 loss to the last-place Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a TV producer says the sluggers came to blows in the clubhouse.

"I was doing an interview in the locker room and saw them go at it," says the source. "A-Rod walked past Jeter's locker and mumbled something about his throw, then Jeter told him to go fuck himself and all hell broke lose [sic]. Their teammates were pulling them away from each other."

Here is the game in question, which snapped the Yankees' six-game winning streak.

Steve Lombardi of Yankee blog Was Watching:

FWIW, after seeing this story, I asked my friend in a position to know if this story is true. Their answer was yes. I'm still trying to find out more.

David Pinto of Baseball Musings comments:

I believe this story is bogus. ... I just spoke to a beat writer covering the Yankees who's never heard a word about this.

If this TV producer was doing an interview, there was likely other press nearby. It seems hard to believe something like this would go unreported by any of the tabloids. And wouldn't the TV producer also have a camera going for this interview? If "all hell broke loose" nearby, wouldn't there be some footage of this commotion?

I'd love it if this story was true, but I have my doubts.

Sheffield -- Biggest Tool In The Shed

Upon hearing about a possible trade from the Yankees to the Mets (something that apparently was never even seriously discussed), admitted steroid user Gary Sheffield showcased more of that restraint for which he is so well-known:

I would go play for them. It doesn't mean I'm going to be happy playing there. And if I'm unhappy, you don't want me on your team. It's just that simple. I'll make that known to anyone. ... I have to deal with what they dish out, they got to deal with what I dish out, period. ... You're going to inconvenience me, I'm going to inconvenience every situation there is.

Such a class act. And this comes only a few days after bumping an umpire while screaming about being called out at first base. I've seen no news of a fine or suspension, though when "Yankee Bob" Watson is in charge of MLB discipline, current Pinstripers have little to worry about.

In his ESPN blog, Buster Olney writes:

[W]hen Sheffield is unhappy, he simply shuts it down, like flipping the switch on a motor. I covered Sheffield in his last days with the Padres, in the midst of their 1993 fire sale, and angered by the situation, the man stopped competing, like a 100-meter sprinter who decides he's only running 40 meters.

Ground ball just to his left? He wasn't diving; ole. Runner at third base and one out? He wasn't worried about contact; he just swung as hard as he could, and if he struck out, too bad. ... [W]hen he wanted his deal renegotiated or when he wanted an extension and he wasn't getting his way, he went from All-Star to Also-Ran.

Sheffield had similar attitude problems in Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Atlanta. Wasn't there some incident in which Sheffield admitted intentionally making errors while playing in Milwaukee? I did some digging on the internets.

According to a post at Bronx Banter, the Sheffield quote appeared in the Los Angeles Times on September 1, 1992. About his time in Milwaukee, Sheffield said:

The Brewers brought out the hate in me. I was a crazy man. ... I hated everything about the place. If the official scorer gave me an error, I didn't think was an error, I'd say, 'OK, here's a real error,' and I'd throw the next ball into the stands on purpose.

Sheffield later backed off, saying he had spoken "out of frustration" and innocently wondering "Why would a player purposely make mistakes?"

Times writer Bob Nightengale did note in that 1992 article that "Sheffield said the only time he may have made an error purposely out of anger was when he was in the Brewer minor-league system."

May have? ... Either he did or he didn't. There's very little middle ground.

Jay Jaffe at Futility Infielder has a lengthy post about Sheffield from last August which discusses all of this stuff in greater detail, including what the Brewers play-by-play data reveals about Sheffield throwing games.

G77: Red Sox 5, Cleveland 2

Curt Schilling threw 78 pitches (57 strikes) over five innings for Pawtucket last night against the Charlotte Knights. He allowed one run on five hits, struck out three and walked one. He retired seven of his final eight batters and, according to the Globe, consistently topped 90 miles per hour on his fastball. Schilling's next start will be on July 4, also against the Knights.

Schilling said when he "was warming up in the bullpen, I felt phenomenal." However, in the first three innings, "I felt like I was forcing the issue, pressing a little bit. But in the fourth and fifth innings, I really started to feel good, started to get in a groove. ... In the last two innings, I tried to relax and pitch."

In Boston, back-to-back home runs by Doug Mirabelli and Mark Bellhorn boosted the Red Sox to victory yesterday afternoon, as did Tim Wakefield's seven innings of pitching (114 pitches). After Keith Foulke threw 47 pitches the night before, giving the bullpen a breather was paramount and Wakefield's quick 10-pitch seventh inning was key.

Wakefield recorded five outs in the top of the third. After Casey Blake walked, Travis Hafner struck out. Then, while Victor Martinez was batting, Wakefield picked Blake off first base twice -- but umpire Fieldin Culbreth blew both obvious calls. Martinez struck out and Jose Hernandez grounded back to the mound.

When Matt Mantei relieved Wakefield to start the eighth, he tried some new mechanics, but after throwing six consecutive balls, Mantei went back to his old style and retired the side on nine additional pitches.

John Olerud got his 1,200th career RBI in the third inning. He's hitting .405 with the Sox (15-for-37), with five doubles, a homer and seven RBI in 22 games. ... Could Bronson Arroyo be the Sox closer, if necessary? (I hope not.)... Q&A with Fenway's PA man Carl Beane.

The Herald's Michael Silverman talks to Pedro Martinez, who has two baseball cards -- a World Series MVP card of Manny Ramirez and an ALCS MVP card of David Ortiz -- displayed on his Shea Stadium locker:

I appreciate so much being a Boston Red Sox for seven years. I established, I think, a small legacy when I was there. ... I miss my [Red Sox] teammates - a whole bunch of crazy dudes, the 'Idiots' that I had behind me. I miss the fans, I miss the atmosphere ... Fenway is different, without a doubt, it is different. Tradition, the history of the team ... I miss a lot of that but I don't miss the media - at all ... Don't miss any of the negativity that was around there. ... Everything else, you can say I miss.

A belated look at the Red Sox 9-0 west coast road trip from 1977:

Date                    WP        LP
0729 At Cal  6- 5 (10)  Campbell  Miller
0730 At Cal  3- 0       Tiant     Ryan
0731 At Cal  1- 0       Aase      LaRoche
0802 At Sea  3- 2 (10)  Campbell  Montague
0803 At Sea 12- 4       Paxton    Wheelock
0804 At Oak  3- 1       Jenkins   Blue
0805 At Oak  1- 0       Tiant     Coleman
0806 At Oak  2- 1       Aase      Torrealba
0807 At Oak  5- 2       Wise      Langford

This streak came a few weeks after Boston had lost nine in a row to New York, Detroit and Baltimore (June 24 to July 3). A combined crowd of 21,080 attended the three games in Oakland.

G76: Cleveland 12, Red Sox 8

Looks like it's time for Keith Foulke to head back to Alabama for more barbeque.

Foulke relieved Mike Timlin in the eighth inning (Sox up 8-5) and allowed two inherited runners to score. Then, in the ninth, he blew the save by allowing a double and a single, letting Cleveland tie the game at 8-8.

With two outs, home plate umpire Larry Young (the latest addition to the Red Sox's Lead Pipe List) began forcing Foulke to thread a needle to get a strike call. With a 2-and-1 count on Grady Sizemore, Foulke threw what looked like two strikes. Young called them both balls. Foulke then appeared to have struck out Casey Blake three separate times, but Young called all three of those pitches balls. That loaded the bases. Alan Embree was ready in the bullpen -- Foulke had faced nine batters and thrown 39 pitches at that point -- but Francona stayed with Foulke.

Foulke got two strikes on Travis Hafner, then threw an inside fastball (at only about 80 mph). Hafner turned on it and put it in the first or second row past the right field pole -- just about the shortest distance for a home run in Fenway. But that grand slam gave Cleveland a 12-8 edge.

Bob Wickman threw only three pitches to retire the Sox in the ninth. Three outs on three pitches. Clearly, the Sox were ready to call it a night. ... Which was too bad, because the Sox had rallied from three runs down in the middle innings. They scored two runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth (opposite field singles from both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were the highlights).

Foulke was booed as he walked off the field after finally getting that third out (a long fly ball hauled in on the center field warning track by Johnny Damon). "Of course I heard it. I'm not inviting them to my World Series celebration, either. They have all the right. They can boo me. They can cuss me and tell me I suck. Go ahead. If they don't want me to do the job, tell them to tell management. I've done a lot of good for this team."

Foulke refused to blame Young. Talking about a good pitch that would have struck Blake out and send the tie game to the bottom of the ninth, Foulke said Young "didn't call it a strike, so I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for one pitch. I had plenty of opportunities to get the guys out. If you don't make pitches in the right location, they get hit or you walk people."

True enough, but Young's strike zone was a mess most of the night. And when a pitcher is unsure of where the strike zone is -- when it changes pitch to pitch -- then he's forced to throw stuff right down the middle and hope the batter doesn't rip it. With Foulke's velocity down about 3-4 mph, there was little change of the Cleveland batters missing the opportunity.

Another annoyance lost in the Foulke Flameout: Tito left Wade Miller in for 118 pitches (in 5.1 unexceptional innings). I thought something similar happened on Sunday with Wells. Even after Wells seemed to hurt his heel in the fourth, Francona left him in and watched as he allowed six of the first seven batters to reach in the fifth -- just hoping he'd get that final out to qualify for the win, it seemed.

It's obvious that Francona (a) has no faith in more than half the guys out in bullpen and (b) dreads having to make that phone call in the fifth or sixth inning. While I can't blame Francona -- I feel the same way -- and I understand why Foulke is pissed -- at himself, at the fans' idiocy for booing him, at the game of baseball itself -- when are things going to get straightened out? July begins on Friday. It's past time.

Brian Roberts belted Mike Stanton's only pitch of the game for a home run in the last of the 10th, giving Baltimore a 5-4 win over New York. The Yankees had led 4-1 in the sixth. The Orioles are 1.5 games behind.

Sox try to avoid a sweep this afternoon. Wakefield / Elarton at 1:00.

A Visit From The Future

Shortstop prospect Hanley Ramirez was in the Sox clubhouse last night, checking out his future place of employment. "I want to stay here right now, I don't want to go back [to Portland]."

Renteria told the Globe that he'd change positions to accommodate Ramirez. "I don't mind that he plays my position. He has the talent to play, if there are ways for him to make it -- for him to move to another position or me to move to another position. ... I don't know another position. But if I have to, I'll do it."

Interesting. There has been talk of moving Hanley to center, but the front office seems content to keep him at shortstop. Renteria could play second perhaps, but Dustin Pedroia could be starting at second next spring. If Edgar moves to third, Kevin Youkilis might be moved to first.

I believe the contracts of Mueller, Bellhorn and Millar are all up at the end of this season. It seems unlikely that they will be back in 2006. For all the talk of how 2004 was the last hurrah for a large group of Sox, there was very little turnover on the roster from last year (though Pedro and Lowe were high profile departures). There will be a much bigger change in personnel from 2005 to 2006.

G75: Cleveland 7, Red Sox 0

Sloppy.

Mark Bellhorn's error on a potential inning-ending double play ball hit to Bill Mueller led to three runs for Cleveland in the third inning; a fly ball tipped off Trot Nixon's glove and into the visiting bullpen in right field, giving Grady Sizemore a two-run homer in the seventh; and Ramon "Why Is He On The Roster?" Vazquez booted a simple grounder, though that ninth-inning miscue did not lead to any more runs.

It would be nice if a team could somehow get its sloppy play for the week out of its system in one game, but that's not how the game works.

The Red Sox could do nothing with Kevin Millwood. Their best shot at scoring came in the first inning. Johnny Damon singled and stole second, Edgar Renteria walked, Damon went to third on a fly ball, but both Manny Ramirez and Nixon grounded out to end the rally.

Boston's only other base runners were Renteria's single and Ortiz's walk in the third, and Bellhorn's single in the fifth. Millwood and two former Socks -- Bob Howry and Scott Sauerbeck -- retired the last 14 Red Sox batters.

My overall reaction to this ugly game is a perfect example of my new mood as a fan, post-2004. A 7-0 loss sucks, obviously, and I vented plenty at the TV as the game went on, but any anger at the team's sloppy play was pretty much gone by the time I went to bed. The team still has its lead in the division and there was another game tonight.

Last year, every loss gnawed at me long past the point of rationality because that night's defeat (be it by shoddy fielding, noodle bats, poor relief pitching, managerial slipups) might be the one that ended up keeping the Sox out of the playoffs. When things got rough, I had to keep telling myself that you cannot manage a club like it's Game 7 every single night.

Simply put, there is less anxiety now. In that spirit, here are Three Good Things: Boston stole three bases (Damon, Renteria and Bellhorn); John Halama pitched 2.1 innings in relief of Bronson Arroyo, saving the other arms in the pen for tonight and Wednesday afternoon; and Boston has still won 12 of its last 14 games.

Miller / Lee at 7:00.

G74: Red Sox 12, Phillies 8

Life is good.

Manny's 19th career grand slam gives Boston a 7-0 lead. Wells sweats it out through five innings, leaves with a 8-5 advantage. Embree and Vazquez do bad things and the Phillies tie the game in the seventh at 8-8.

Then the Red Sox bat in the top of the eighth:

Damon - first pitch single.
Bellhorn - first pitch double, Damon scores, 9-8.
Ortiz - first pitch single, Bellhorn to third.
Ramirez - first pitch sac fly, 10-8.
Nixon - first pitch force play, Ortiz out at second.
Varitek - called strike, ball, two-run home run, 12-8.

Eight pitches, four runs.

Boston leads Baltimore by 2.5 games in the East. They have won 12 of 13 and are on a roll not seen since last October. They are home tonight against Cleveland. Life is good.

Whooping Ass

The Red Sox have won 11 of their last 12 games. During that run, they have outscored their opponents 84-28. Boston's starting pitchers are 9-0 with a 1.78 ERA in 81 innings.

David Ortiz:

What do you want me to tell you about the offense? That we're whooping ass? I think we are. We're swinging the bat good. I'm telling you, this team, when we start swinging it, that's how we do it. Everybody puts it together.

G73: Red Sox 7, Phillies 1

The Mighty Red Sox keep rolling.

They chased Philadelphia starter Vicente Padilla after only two trips through the batting order, getting 10 of their first 18 batters on base -- three singles, five doubles, two walks -- scoring five times and making Padilla throw 80 pitches.

Matt Clement pitched seven innings, tiring in his final frame when he allowed three hits and one run. He went to only two three-ball counts and did not walk anyone. Clement saved the Red Sox pen some work by throwing only six and seven pitches in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

Atlanta edged Baltimore 5-4 and the Mets walloped the Yankees 10-3.

Boston (43-30) leads the Orioles by 1½ games and the Yankees by 6½ games. If the Blue Jays beat the Nationals, New York will tumble into fourth place.

I Love Jhonny Peralta's Dog

Matt Clement gets the ball this afternoon for the Red Sox, who have won 10 of their last 11 games and are in first place for the first time since April 22. ... Everyone swears there is no connection, but Tim Wakefield has been an ace since Doug Mirabelli came back from his disabled list stint:

           IP   H  ER  BB   K
0612 Cubs   7   4   1   0   3
0618 Pitt   7   7   0   3   5
0624 Phil   8   2   0   2   6
           22  13   1   5  14  0.41 ERA

In those three games, Mirabelli has gone 5-for-11. ... Terry Francona said last night's start was Wakefield's best outing of the year.

Curt Schilling will make his first rehab start this Wednesday for Pawtucket in Charlotte, NC. He should throw at least 85 pitches and is on pace to return to the big club for the weekend series in Baltimore before the All-Star break.

Jere has some great pictures from Jacobs Field. Remy and Orsillo trying to get into the park is hilarious. ... Does it say "Manny +2" anywhere?

G72: Red Sox 8, Phillies 0

A good night.

Tim Wakefield: 8 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 6 strikeouts (and a single)
Doug Mirabelli: three-run home run
Manny Ramirez: three-run home run (and a great sliding catch in foul territory)
David Ortiz: two-run home run to deep right
Johnny Damon: two singles, two runs scored
Trot Nixon: double and single

Atlanta 7, Baltimore 5
Mets 6, Yankees 4 (Pedro: 8 IP, 6 H, 2R)

The Red Sox are in first place.

Well, There's A Lot, A Lot Of Culture There

Terry Francona returns to Philadelphia, where he was hated. ... Two articles about Johnny Damon.

Roy Halladay beat Baltimore Thursday night (his 11th victory) as the Blue Jays took three of four games, allowing the idle Red Sox to move within one half-game out of first place. In New York, the Devil Rays won 9-4, also winning three out of four. Tampa Bay is now 8-29 on the road and four those wins have come in the Bronx. In fact, Yankee Stadium is the only ballpark in which the Rays have a winning record this year.

            W   L   PCT  GB
Orioles    42  30  .583   -
Red Sox    41  30  .577    ½
Yankees    37  35  .514   5   
Blue Jays  37  36  .507   5½
Devil Rays 26  47  .356  16

In case you were wondering, Yankees blogger Larry Mahnken does not like Tony Womack. Read that post and marvel at the fact that Joe Torre bats this guy #2. He makes Edgar look like Rogers Hornsby. ... And a fellow poster at Larry's blog offers this:

How to build a loser
By SG

A) Sign Jaret Wright
B) Sign Carl Pavano
C) Trade three valuable players for one over-the-hill veteran
D) Sign a below average 2B for two years, then make him your LF

Then wonder "what is wrong?"

Heh.

The nuisance of interleague play finally ends this weekend. Baltimore visits Atlanta and the Yankees host the Mets (Pedro / Mussina tonight).

"Seasons on line"? The small print caption reports that both the Yankees and Mets "are frantically trying to stay in contention in their division races."

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia:

Friday: Tim Wakefield (4.41) / Jon Lieber (4.63), 7:00
Saturday: Matt Clement (3.48) / TBA, 1:20
Sunday: David Wells (4.73) / Brett Myers (2.66), 1:30

Cheesesteak.

G71: Red Sox 5, Cleveland 4

First things first: today's Globe has a long feature on Eric Van, famed SoSH poster/stathead, Ray Davies-lookalike and part-time Red Sox employee. Sidebars here and here, including the calculation that Mark Bellhorn's 177 strikeouts last season cost the Red Sox a total of 0.8 runs. ... Van corrects several errors in the article here.

Last night's win -- the Sox's fourth straight, their ninth in 10 games, and their first sweep at Jacobs Field since May 1999 -- was truly a team effort.

Alan Embree relieved Wade Miller in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and no outs and got a strikeout and a double play (on six pitches, all strikes); John Olerud went 3-for-4 (career hits 2,200, 2,201 and 2,202), homering and driving in two runs; Edgar Renteria homered to deep left (for Boston's only run in the first six innings) and doubled home Jay Payton (who started the ninth with a double and took third on an error) for the game-deciding run; and Keith Foulke shrugged off a long foul ball crushed down the right field by line by Travis Hafner that came mere feet from tying the game and pitched a perfect ninth.

Who else? Johnny Damon came off the bench to pinch-run (and scored in the eighth); David Ortiz belted a pair of doubles; and Mark Bellhorn looked as solid as ever turning that crucial double play in the sixth. ... In light of the victory, I'll not discuss Jason Varitek's sixth inning, bases-loaded strikeout on a full-count fastball up around his forehead (the game was tied 1-1 at the time). How high does one of those pitches have to be before he'll let it go?

Payton: "It feels like we've played with a greater sense of urgency. It seemed like we coasted a little the first couple months." No kidding. ... But now, thanks to Toronto's 3-2 victory over the Orioles, Boston is only one game out of first place for the first time since May 14.

Infield prospect Dustin Pedroia was promoted to Pawtucket and the Globe's Chris Snow has a little recap of Pedroia's career since he was picked in the second round of last year's draft:

Dustin Pedroia was drafted last June, joined the Red Sox system midsummer as a shortstop, and hit .400 at Single A Augusta and .336 at Single A Sarasota. He began this season at Double A Portland at a new position, second base, and was hitting .324 after homering Tuesday night, at which time he received the news: Pack and report to Triple A ... Pedroia, in his year as a minor leaguer, has adjusted remarkably well at the plate. His most telling offensive statistic: In 108 career minor league games he has 48 extra-base hits and just 33 strikeouts.

The Herald's Michael Silverman takes some time to laugh at the Yankees:

They are flops so far, the embarrassing kind. Even when they play the schoolyard bully and beat up the scrawny kid in glasses, they come back the next day and crumble when they lay eyes on the weakling the next time instead of flashing the menacing glare that should be enough.

As incredible as the Yankees' four-home run surge was for the 35 minutes it lasted Tuesday night ... Bernie Williams' comments after the game ("If there was a turning point to the season, this should be it") reflect just how lost and pathetic the Yankees are right now. Turning point? ... You can't have a turning point against the Devil Rays, and the 5-3 Yankees loss against Tampa Bay yesterday is a reminder of both that and just how underachieving this $206 million unit truly is.

The Yankees are 3-6 against the Devil Rays this year, 1-5 against the Orioles, 3-2 against the Blue Jays, 4-5 against the Red Sox.

The Toronto Sun reports that the Red Sox have been scouting Ted Lilly for a possible trade. ... Off day today as the Sox head to Philadelphia.

A Different World

In discussing Randy Johnson's abrupt outing against Tampa Bay Tuesday night, Peter Gammons was asked what's wrong with the Unit?

Gammons said "frustration" and lack of velocity on his slider. Then he added that the American League is "a different world." What exactly does that mean?

I've heard some players (hitters and pitchers) say that pitching patterns vary from league to league, but even those answers don't go into much detail.

And Johnson didn't get lit up by Baltimore, Boston and Chicago. This was the freakin' Devil Rays -- who came to Yankee Stadium to face Johnson with a 5-29 road record.

Gammons cannot be saying that the Devil Rays are so different from any team Johnson faced in the NL. Tampa Bay certainly wouldn't be an elite team -- they'd be doormats over there, too. So what the hell does "a different world" mean?

G70: Red Sox 9, Cleveland 2

I've been remiss. I've gone longer than a week without proclaiming my love for David Ortiz.

The Cookie Monster hit two home runs and a single last night in Cleveland, scored three times and drove in four runs. Boston scored in six of the nine innings and coasted behind seven innings from Bronson Arroyo.

Ortiz: "Everywhere we go, we have fans from Boston who don't live there anymore and they support us. Give credit to those fans because they come out and show us some love. The people really know everything we do out there and they not only appreciate what kind of player you are but what kind of personality you have. I guess people like mine."

Both Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are heating up. In the last eight games, Ramirez and Ortiz have combined to hit .381 with seven homers and 25 RBI. Ortiz is batting .417 (10-for-24) with 10 RBI in his last six games. Manny's batting average is climbing -- it's now at .269, the highest it's been since May 2. He's also reached base in 21 straight games.

Arroyo was suitably impressed with Big Papi: "Ortiz just never stops. Home run after home run. ... All of my wins come from Ortiz' offense. For the last three years, he's been so clutch it's not even funny." ... Arroyo relied more on his off-speed stuff last night. "I threw more changeups tonight than I have all year."

Terry Francona said Curt Schilling's simulated game on Monday could not have gone any better, but the team will not rush him back to the rotation. After throwing in the bullpen today, Schilling will pitch another simulated game Friday in Philadelphia.

The Red Sox have not played extra innings in any of their 70 games this season, which is apparently a record, passing the White Sox's run of 69 games in 2002. ... Johnny Damon will probably get tonight off. ... Edgar Renteria's left wrist has been bothering him for the past week. ... Mike Timlin talks about being a closer.

The Yankees scored 13 runs in the 8th inning last night to beat Tampa Bay 20-11. The comeback obscured a horrible, three-inning performance from Randy Johnson. Lou Piniella left Travis Harper on the mound as he allowed back-to-back-to-back home runs and nine runs to the Yankees in .2 inning. While I understand that Piniella (a) didn't want to waste another pitcher and (b) thought he'd teach Harper a lesson and let him get out of his own jam, I wonder exactly where on the continuum of throwing games Piniella's action lies.

The Yankees lost this afternoon as Jeter, representing the tying run, struck out to end the game. So the Yankees dropped two of three to the basement-dwelling Devil Rays, and in their one victory, they allowed 11 runs.

Wade Miller / Cliff Lee at 7:00.