Sports of Boston » Jacoby Ellsbury

Breaking the (Piggy) Bank: Moving Red Sox Payroll

Nick Bohlen — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:29:57 +0000

When the New York Yankees went ahead and revamped their starting rotation, trading for 23-year-old pitching phenom Michael Pineda and signing Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal, they immediately became the favorites to win the AL East again in 2012.

On paper, that is. (Allow me this one glimmer of hope, please and thank you. September 2011 was not kind to me.)

It of course prompted immediate speculation on how the Red Sox would respond. What would rookie-GM Ben Cherington do to answer Boston’s biggest rival? Would the Red Sox continue to sit pat? Would they make a play for Roy Oswalt, purportedly only asking for a one-year contract in the range of $8 million?

According the WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox would reportedly have to move payroll in order to meet Oswalt’s contract demands. Yup, the team with player salaries already topping $170 million, the same ownership group that signed off on $142 million worth of Carl Crawford, aren’t willing to take the luxury tax hit. Apparently John Henry maxed out his credit card buying $300 headphones to massage his players’ egos and eardrums.

With Kuroda, Ryan Madson, and Oswalt all available for what amounts to the spare change rolled up in the tarp at Fenway, the Red Sox remain remarkably and ridiculously steadfast (read: stingy) in keeping together a team that squandered a nine-game lead in less than a month. (So the Red Sox are shooting for that newfangled extra wild card spot? Is that it?)

For the sake of argument, let’s say Cherington comes to his senses and realizes how desperately he needs a reliable frontline starter to hedge his bets on Aaron Cook, Carlos Silva, and Vincente Padilla. On a scale of “No Way, José Valentin” to “Manny Being Manny,” who would the Red Sox unload to make the numbers work?

Sawx Foh-evah

Clearly Cherington won’t unload any cornerstones of the franchise, particularly the homegrown talent that has been central to Red Sox success in recent years. That means Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholz with their long-term, team-friendly deals won’t be going anywhere. Nor will Adrian Gonzalez, who cost the Red Sox a pretty prospect. No way, no how for any of those guys.

If Julio Lugo and Edgar Renteria had a Child…

On the other side of untradeable, these are the terrible players and their monster contracts that not even Frank McCourt pre-divorce would try to take on. I’m talking about you, John Lackey ($15.25 million per year), Carl Crawford ($19 million), Daisuke Matsuzaka ($10 million), Bobby Jenks ($6 million), and yes, even you, Josh Beckett ($15.75 million). They’re all immovable objects, and not just because of their beer guts.

That is, unless Cherington can convince the San Diego Padres to reopen negotiations on John Lackey. But without a Red Sox secret agent at the helm, it may be tough to pull off another heist like the Gonzalez trade (Anthony Rizzo almost lasted a full year before they deemed him a bust!).

Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned

This possibility makes me want to let Carl Everett headbutt me until it makes sense, but it can’t be overlooked: Jacoby Ellsbury.

I’m well aware that he just finished second in the 2011 MVP voting and that he is the sexiest player this side of El Guapo. But his salary arbitration will skyrocket every year if he keeps it up, or he’ll merit a lucrative long-term deal (if Crawford got $142 million, what will Ellsbury command?!). And if the Red Sox can’t even shell out $8 million to Oswalt this year, how do they expect to hang onto Ellsbury in the future? Could it be that they trade him for a serious haul of top-level prospects?

My suspicion (call it a conspiracy theory) is that the Red Sox are actually refusing to go after Oswalt in order to reset their luxury tax payments and reserve that money for signing Ellsbury to a massive extension. Let us pray.

The Real Deals (To Be Made)

Now, obviously the small contract guys like Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Sweeney, Mike Aviles, Franklin Morales, and company can be written off because they don’t even make a splash next to John Henry’s yacht. Seriously. They probably make as much as Henry’s seaward butlers.

No, the Red Sox have two players they might be able to move to clear space for Oswalt: J.D. Drew Kevin Youkilis and Marco Scutaro. I’ve already outlined why I think Youkilis could make a decent trade chip. To recap, he has value as one of few power-hitting third basemen in the major leagues and is relatively affordable at $12 million this year. The Red Sox could get a decent return on such a trade, and it’s not like he has been extremely reliable on the field or in the clubhouse for Boston the last two years. He’s also 33.

Scutaro is also on the back-end of his career, in the last year of his contract before Jose Iglesias presumably takes over. That makes his $6 million option eminently expendable, with no long-term role on the team. His trade value probably isn’t as high, but Scutaro is a reliable starting shortstop with decent fielding and the second-best batting average among players at his position in 2011.

Who wants to make a deal?

Paper-Thin Dreams

Unfortunately, the Red Sox traded the one player best primed to take over for either Youkilis or Scutaro, shipping Jed Lowrie to Houston for reliever Mark Melancon. Mike Aviles could presumably serve as a suitable replacement for either player, but that would figure to be a significant downgrade offensively.

Still, to essentially trade Youkilis or Scutaro for Oswalt’s consistently sub-4.00 ERA (career 3.21), strong strikeout-to-walk ratio (over 3 to 1), and pedigree as an ace unafraid to pitch under pressure? Might not be a bad idea.

On paper, that is.

Verlander’s MVP Season Compares to Pedro in 1999

Matthew Bond — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:00:56 +0000

The news earlier this week that Justin Verlander had won the Most Valuable Player created a bit an uproar throughout the world of baseball, after all there had been a relative understanding that pitchers had their own award with the Cy Young, whereas MVP belonged to everyday position players. An examination of the participating of a starting pitcher in the baseball regular season shows that Verlander had just as much of an impact as any everyday player, if not a greater impact on his team in terms of value. In New England, we can make a comparison between the success of Verlander this past season and that of Pedro Martinez in 1999, who did not take home the MVP trophy despite a very similar statistical season.

Pitchers as Most Valuable Players

Baseball experts and analysts across the country have standpoints on all sorts of the issues that makes the sport perfectly imperfect. With the 2013 movement of the Houston Astros to the American League West and the consequential adjustments to schedules and playoff formats, more discussions will rise as to how Major League Baseball should format their league. The debate to whether starting pitchers are deserving of an MVP award is inevitably raised with Verlander this season. Starting pitchers are immediately deemed less valuable to a team because they only pitch once every five games, as compared to position players who get multiple at bats everyday and play defense to help their team win. Starters winning MVP are also very rare, the last to do so was Roger Clemens in 1986, making position players winning a norm.

Value

A closer look at what value really means in baseball shows that perhaps pitchers should win the award more often. The easiest way to do this is to think about the impact of one at bat. A hitter gets up to bat three or four times every game and makes some impact on the game, but not as much to impact the outcome as much as the starting pitcher does. It is logical to think that even the best hitter on a team makes the equivalent impact of a starter on a given day in about three or more games. Hitters are not as important or valuable to teams as pitchers, and that is seen when teams are built around a strong starting staff.

Therefore, the value of a position player everyday is nearly equal to that of a starting pitcher every five days. Another way to look at this comparison is to think of the only commons statistic between the two sides, which is plate appearances or number of batters faced by a pitcher. In 2011, Verlander faced 969 hitters, whereas a position player like Jacoby Ellsbury, who finished second in MVP voting, only batted 732 times at the top of the Boston order. It is even easier to accept pitchers as MVP candidates when thinking about the other ways they affect the game. In 2011, Verlander pitched four complete games, which means four games in which the Detroit bullpen was given a day off, and in 26 starts he completed at least 7.0 innings. Position players can’t come close to that type of value, as Verlander’s success comes alongside the pitchers behind him getting rest to become even more effective. There should be little doubt he is worthy of his title, but looking at his situation compared to Pedro Martinez in 1999 shows similarities and major differences.

Pedro in ’99 vs Verlander in ’11

In the 1999 season, the New York Yankees swept away the Atlanta Braves in the World Series for their second championship in a row. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers took home the American League MVP award after a terrific season in which the Rangers won the West with a 95-67 record, 8.0 games ahead of the second place Athletics. On the other hand, the Red Sox won the AL Wild Card with a 94-68 record and were led all season by the right arm of Pedro Martinez, who took home the Cy Young award. His 23-4 record and 2.07 ERA in that season are easily comparable to that of Verlander, who finished 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA in 2011. In fact, most of the stats for each pitcher are similar, yet Martinez finished second in voting and Verlander actually won the award. Their differences come when looking at true value and the realization that the comparison between the two starts with the fields of players they competed against.

Pedro Martinez wasn’t snubbed from MVP voting in 1999, he simply finished second behind Rodriguez. In fact, Martinez received one more 1st Place Vote than the Texas catcher, and only finished 13.0 Vote Points behind him. The more interesting study is that of Verlander, who simply exceeded his competition in every way imaginable. He pitched 251.0 innings and struck out 250 batters, all the while only walking 57. He surrendered 24 home runs, which is higher than expected for a Cy Young winner, but only allowed 73 total runs, meaning base runners against him were rare. In fact, his 0.920 WHIP was the smallest WHIP to lead a league since Pedro had a 0.949 WHIP in 2005 with the New York Mets. While players like Jose Bautista and Curtis Granderson put up great seasons to finish towards the top of the MVP race, Verlander truly outdid them all and earned the right to be only the second baseball player ever to have won Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and the Most Valuable Player awards, and he’s only 28 years old.

Red Sox Fire Strength and Conditioning Coach, Assistant Trainer

Nick Bohlen — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 06:35:53 +0000

According to a report by WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox have fired strength and conditioning coach Dave Page as well as assistant trainer Greg Barajas.

The move hardly comes as a surprise after players admitted to drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse this past season. There were also allegations of players neglecting to work out and gaining weight.

Was this move by new general manager Ben Cherington justified? Or was this just a knee-jerk (over)reaction to the firestorm of leaks and media reporting in the aftermath of the September collapse?

At first glance, it appears Cherington had no choice to fire members of a staff who allowed players to drink beer and eat fried chicken (even if it was in moderation, instead of like college freshmen). Allegations of players, specifically starting pitchers, missing workouts and training certainly reflects poorly on the staff responsible for their conditioning, just as their poor play reflected negatively on manager Terry Francona. Even if such reflections are unfair.

Ultimately, how much can a strength and conditioning coach and an assistant trainer do to challenge someone like Josh Beckett or Kevin Youkilis? Making millions of dollars a year in the limelight of the Boston media, how much would star players, literal All-Stars, heed the motivational words of someone like Barajas? Players need to earn their salaries and be able to motivate themselves. It is their responsibility to train hard and work hard to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities.

That said, the Red Sox have seen an abundance of players end up on the disabled list in recent years, including Youkilis, Beckett, Jon Lester, and Dustin Pedroia. It seems the Red Sox medical staff has been hard-pressed to prevent injuries from derailing the Red Sox season each of the last two years.

Even worse, the Red Sox saw Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz spend extended periods on the DL because of misdiagnosed and mistreated injuries. Ellsbury missed all but 18 games in 2010 when the Red Sox didn’t initially discover that his ribs were cracked. This past season, Buchholz made just 14 starts after what was initially treated as a muscle injury in his back actually turned out to be a stress fracture in his spine (surprise!). In both cases, their injuries proved to be worse than expected or more severe than originally identified, setting both players back in their recovery and costing the Red Sox wins by inhibiting two key players from contributing on the field.

Taking all these factors into account, the Red Sox reportedly (and predictably) plan to reconfigure their strength and conditioning programs and their medical approach for the 2012 season. Just as Theo Epstein decided to fire Cubs manager Mike Quade to start with a clean slate, Cherington had to fire Page to truly revamp Red Sox training. It’s unclear why Barajas also had to go (after all, he was just an assistant trainer) but – and this is pure speculation – perhaps he was suspected or involved as one of the anonymous sources in the bevy of leaks springing from Fenway Park.

Regardless, the combination of embarrassing reports and the rash of injuries undermined the credibility of the training and the medical staff. Cherington had no choice but to hold someone accountable.

It was the only way to leave the ghosts of September behind.

Red Sox Survive Orioles 8-7, Remain Tied for Wild Card

Taylor — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:01:53 +0000

The Boston Red Sox escaped disaster on Tuesday night, topping the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Boston remains tied with Tampa Bay atop the American League Wild Card standing with just one game remaining. The lineup produced a quartet of home runs while Alfredo Aceves earned his 10th victory of the year.

Lavarnway Shines

In his first career start behind the dish, Ryan Lavarnway carried the Red Sox offense, smacking a pair of home runs and four RBI in a 2-4 performance. Lavarnway blasted a Zach Britton offering for a two-run home run in the fourth before hitting his second of the night, a solo shot in the eighth off Zach Phillips.

Offense Productive

The Red Sox received production up-and-down the lineup. Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5, HR, 2 RBI, run) belted his 32nd homer of the year with a two-run shot in the the third, while Marco Scutaro (2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs) collected his seventh of the year with a two-run blast in the sixth.

Dustin Pedroia (2-4), David Ortiz (1-4, run), Adrian Gonzalez (1-3, run), Darnell McDonald (1-2) and Carl Crawford (1-4, 3B, run) all reached with a hit in the win.

Pitching Ineffective Again

Despite solid offensive production, the Red Sox staff’s recent struggles remain a cause for concern as the regular season conclude. Eric Bedard tossed just 3-1/3 frames, allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out six for the no decision.

Aceves earned the win after 3-2/3 innings of one-run ball. Aceves allowed three hits and issued no walks with one strike out. Daniel Bard had a rough eighth inning, allowing a pair of runs on three hits before Jonathan Papelbon collected his 31st save of the year. Papelbon allowed a run and had the tying run at second, but induced a harmless 5-3 groundout to end the contest.

Orioles Strike First, Red Sox Counter

Baltimore jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first, starting a two-out rally with a Nick Markakis walk. Cleanup hitter Vladimir Guerrero took advantage, roping the Bedard pitch to deep center to plate Markakis for the first run of the game.

The game remained 1-0 until the third when the Red Sox struck twice to gain a 2-1 edge. Scutaro extended the inning with a two-out double to deep left, and scored when Ellsbury homered to center to give Boston the lead.

The Red Sox added to their advantage in the fourth, scoring three times to lead 5-1. Ortiz led off with a single and advanced to third with one-out on a Gonzalez single. Lavarnway stepped in and smashed his first career home run, a three-run shot.

Orioles Cut Deficit, but Boston Pulls Away

Baltimore wasted no time in trimming Boston’s lead in the bottom half. Guerrero singled to lead off and was plated instantly when Matt Wieters homered to center to bring the score to 5-3.

The squads traded home runs in the sixth, with Scutaro and Adam Jones both going yard for their respective clubs. Crawford reached base with a two-out triple to bring Scutaro to the plate, who gave Boston a 7-3 lead with a long ball to left. In the bottom half, Jones made it 7-4 with a one-out solo shot.

Lavarnway added to the Boston advantage in the eighth with his second home run of the night to give the team an 8-4 lead.

Bard, Papelbon Close It Out in Scary Fashion

Bard entered the eighth blessed with a 8-4 lead, but surrendered two runs to allow Baltimore back into the game. Wieters singled to lead off and advanced to second with a routine Jones ground out. Following a Mark Reynolds strike out, Chris Davis singled home Wieters to bring the O’s within three. Batting next, Nolan Reimold tripled to right, scoring Davis to bring the score to 8-6. Bard escaped the inning by retiring Robert Andino with a fly out to left.

In the ninth, Papelbon allowed a pair of singles and a run, but escaped with a 8-7 win. JJ Hardy singled to start things off and reached third with one-out on a Guerrero single. Wieters plated Hardy with a ground out to Lavarnway for the second out, but Papelbon retired Jones 5-3 to end the game.

Looking Ahead

Boston returns to action tomorrow to battle Baltimore in the rubber match of this three-game set. Jon Lester (15-09 3.49 ERA) will try to advance the Red Sox to the post season on just three days rest, opposed by Orioles starter Alfredo Simon (4-9, 4.85 ERA) at 7:05 p.m.

In Tampa, David Price (12-13, 3.35 ERA) toes the rubber for the Rays at 7:00 p.m. The Yankees have not announced their starter.

Ellsbury’s 3-Run Home Run in 14th Downs Yankees

cchirichiello — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:20:09 +0000

Ellsbury Lifts Red Sox

As the Red Sox playoff hopes are dwindling by the minute, Jacoby Ellsbury kept the Red sox head above water late Sunday night belting a three-run home run in the top of the 14th inning to down the Yankees 7-4.

Lackey Slow Start, Strong Finish

John Lackey took the mound in the biggest game of his Red Sox career and allowed three runs in the first inning. It looked like it was going to be another bad night for the Red Sox, but Lackey settled down pitching six plus innings allowing four runs (three earned), five hits while walking three and striking out four.

Bullpen Was Brilliant

The real story of the night was the Red Sox bullpen. Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard, Jonathan Papelbon, Franklin Morales and Felix Doubront combined for eight scoreless innings while striking out seven Yankee batters.

Bottom of the Order Contributes

As the Red Sox trailed 3-0, it was the bottom of the order that got the rallied started with Jed Lowrie, J.D. Drew, Marco Scutaro and Jason Varitek.

Sox Maintain Lead

In a must-win game, the Red Sox battled all night maintaining a one-game lead in the Wild Card race with three games to play. The Sox will look to Beckett in Game 1 versus the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

Red Sox Split Doubleheader with Orioles, Still Lead Rays By 2

KC Downey — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 05:37:03 +0000

The Red Sox started the day just 2.0 games ahead of the Rays in the AL Wild Card race, and after 18 long innings of baseball against those pesky Orioles, the Sox remain just 2.0 games up with eight games to go.

Game 1: Orioles 7, Red Sox 6

W: Jeremy Guthrie (9-17) - 6.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 3 Ks
L: Kyle Weiland (0-3) – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 5 Ks
SV: Jim Johnson (7)

Weiland Isn’t Ready

It’s not Kyle Weiland’s fault. The Red Sox are without Clay Buchholz, Erik Bedard and Daisuke Matsuzaka in the starting rotation. So, the Red Sox have been forced to call on the rookie in must-win games down the stretch. He started off Game 1 OK, allowing no runs or hits during the first two innings.

He then had trouble in the third and fourth innings and couldn’t get out of the fifth. In the end, he allowed 6 runs (5 earned) on five hits and two walks. He allowed three home runs and took his third career loss.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, Felix Doubront (1.1 scoreless IP) and Alfredo Aceves (3.0 scoreless IP) saved the bullpen. They would be needed in Game 2.

Crawford Scratched, McDonald Attempts To Fill In

Carl Crawford was scratched shortly before the game with a stiff neck he suffered during batting practice. In his place was Darnell McDonald, who had a bit of an adventure out in left field in Game 1.

With a runner on first and one out in the third inning, McDonald muffed a fly ball in the outfield. His error led to runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, a situation which the Orioles capitalized on when Matt Angle singled home both men to give the O’s a 2-0 lead.

McDonald atoned for his error a bit in the next half inning, hitting a solo HR off righty Jeremy Guthrie.

Ortiz’s Line Drive…Foul?

Ortiz lined what would have been an RBI double right off the wall below Pesky’s Pole in the fifth inning. Or did he?

You be the judge:

Fair or foul? (AP/MLB.tv Image from Yahoo.com Blogs)

The umpires called the ball foul. Ortiz later flied out to center to end the inning, and slammed his batting helmet in disgust. Clearly (at least to me), the umpires got it wrong. That ball hits at least a foot to the left of the foul pole in fair territory. Considering the Sox lost by just one run, this play loomed large in the result.

Game 2: Red Sox 18, Orioles 9

W: Scott Atchison (1-0) – 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 Ks
L: Brian Matusz (1-8) – 1.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 9 Ks

Lackey Horrible Yet Again

In the nightcap, John Lackey was called upon to help the Red Sox win perhaps their most important game of the year. Coming into the game, he had been the worst full-time starting pitcher in the majors. Nothing changed.

Lackey yielded 8 earned runs on 11 hits in just 4.2 innings despite being spotted 11 runs by the Sox bats through three innings. Terry Francona just could not leave him in to “earn” the win as Lackey struggled to make it through five.

“It just got to the point where it’s hard to leave him in,” Francona said. “We needed to stop the runs, now.”

By the end of the year, Lackey will have made more than $15 million this season. With three years left on the deal, what are the Red Sox going to do with the worst starter in the major leagues? For right now, he has to keep going out every fifth day due to the quandary they are currently in. If the Sox are even lucky enough to make the playoffs, they have to seriously consider leaving Lackey off the roster.

Bats Club 20 Hits, 18 Runs

Thankfully the Red Sox still have a pretty good offense, as their starting rotation continues to let them down every single day. Coming off a 3-3 effort in the first game, Marco Scutaro led the charge with three more hits in Game 2, scoring three times and driving in two runs.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez, and Dustin Pedroia also finished with three hits. Ellsbury picked up his 28th HR (the inside-the-park variety) in the 7th inning, and Gonzalez added two walks as part of a 3-3 effort at the plate.

Jed Lowrie, though, saved the Red Sox early. Down 3-1 in the first inning, Lowrie hit a go-ahead, three-run HR to give the Red Sox new life and Lackey another chance to redeem himself. The Sox didn’t look back after Lowrie’s HR.

Conor Jackson even got in on the action, hitting his second career grand slam, clearing the bases in the seventh inning to blow the game wide open.

Michael Bowden pitched the final two innings to give the Sox the 18-9 win.

Looking Ahead

The Red Sox have two more games against the O’s, an off-day, three against the Yankees in the Bronx, and three more against the O’s in Baltimore to close the season. They’re up 2.0 games in the Wild Card with eight to play.

Erik Bedard returns to the bump on Tuesday against Rick VandenHurk.

Red Sox Win Pivotal Game, Push Wild Card Lead to 4 Games Over Rays

cchirichiello — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 14:43:02 +0000

Beckett Returns, Bullpen Strong

Josh Beckett returned in his most anticipated start of the year versus the Tampa Bay Rays in a crucial game in the Wild Card race. Beckett did not disappoint after a slow start, throwing six innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walking one and striking out seven. He earned his 13th victory of the year after Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon combined for eight strikeouts in three innings in relief in the 4-3 win. The real story was Bard coming back after five shaky outings and delivering when the Nation needed him most.

Rays Start Quick, Sox Answer

Desmond Jennings led off the game and tested Josh Beckett’s ankle early, laying a bunt down that led to Beckett throwing it wide of first to allow Jennings to scamper into second base. Evan Longoria did not wait long, launching a two-run homer over the monster to give the Rays a 2-0 lead.

The Sox did not go down quietly in the first. After Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a double, Dustin Pedroia singled Ellsbury home making it 2-1 Rays. After Adrian Gonzalez went down swinging and Pedroia took second on a wild pitch, David Ortiz tied the game 2-2 with a single to left-center.

Longoria Swinging Hot Bat, Ortiz Answers

Longoria answered with a single to right, plating Jennings in the third. Ortiz then doubled to deep right center in the bottom half of the inning, scoring Pedroia tying the game 3-3.

Aviles Makes Up For Blunder

After Mike Aviles bunted into a double play in a crucial time in the game, he brought the Fenway Faithful back to life hitting a ball over the monster giving the Sox a 4-3 lead.

Papelbon Records 30th Save

Jonathan Papelbon came in for the ninth striking out the side recording his 30th save of the year.

The Sox look to push their lead to five games Saturday at 4:10 with Jon Lester on the bump. The Rays will answer with Jeff Niemann.

Daniel Bard Blows Another Game, Blue Jays Win Late

John — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:49:09 +0000

For most of the game, Boston was in firm control, but the 8th inning was rough, as Daniel Bard blew the lead and gave Toronto a 5-4 win. Toronto seized the early lead in addition to the late one, scoring twice off John Lackey. With two on and two outs, Toronto put two more singles on the board to plate the runs. They forced Lackey to throw 31 pitches in the 1st inning alone.

Boston answered back in the 2nd, leading off with a single from Dustin Pedroia. Kevin Youkilis singled himself, then Pedroia advanced to third on a fielding error in center field. Another fielding error at third allowed Ryan Lavarnway to reach before a wild pitch advanced the runners, allowing Jason Varitek to pick up an RBI on a ground-out to tie the score at two.

Jacoby Ellsbury led off the 3rd with a triple and scored on a sac fly from Marco Scutaro. They added another run to make it 4-2 in the 6th on a lead-off homer from Adrian Gonzalez.

Toronto had their chances to do more damage earlier on. They had runners at the corners with one out in the 5th, but Jose Bautista decided not to chance scoring on a fly-out to left. In the 6th, Lackey (back on after 103 pitches through five innings) hit Brett Lawrie to lead off the inning, then Lawrie stole second and also took third on a throwing error from ‘Tek. He also neglected to score on fly-out to center, at which point Lackey left the game after 115 pitches. Franklin Morales then induced a ground ball which came back home. Varitek held onto the ball despite being bowled over for the second out before Morales picked off the runner at first to end the inning.

In the 8th, Bard came on to set things up for Jonathan Papelbon, who worked the 9th anyway despite Bard’s aforementioned collapse. He led things off with two walks, the allowed the next runner to reach on a sacrifice attempt when Bard himself committed a throwing error. A soft grounder scored one runner before a single scored two more, giving Toronto three runs in the inning for a 5-4 lead. A double play ended the inning, but the damage was done; Boston went down in order twice to complete the loss.

Sox’ Stud of the Game: Adrian Gonzalez

Gonzo’s home run gave the Sox an insurance run that didn’t have something to do with errors.

Sox’ Dud of the Game: Daniel Bard

After such a massive win the night before, Boston finally looked to be getting on the right track. But Bard wasn’t having any of that.

Game Notes:

W: Ricky Romero (15-10)
L: Daniel Bard (2-8)
S: Frank Francisco (15)

Tim Wakefield was honored in a pre-game ceremony in recognition of reaching 200 career wins.
David Ortiz was left out of the lineup with back spasms. The prognosis is good for him appearing in Thursday’s game.
Adrian Gonzalez left before the top of the 7th inning due to leg problems. He was replaced by Lars Anderson.
Each team committed three errors on the day. Each team got one unearned run.
Daniel Bard has allowed eight earned runs (nine overall) in his last three outings. This most recent outing was his 5th blown save on the season.

Tim Wakefield Finally Wins 200th Game; Red Sox Top Jays 18-6

KC Downey — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:37:27 +0000

If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try nine more times? Tim Wakefield won his 199th career game on July 24 against the Mariners in one of his worst starts of the year (6.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER). In seven starts (and a relief appearance) since, Wakefield arguably pitched well enough to win at least six of the games, but instead went 0-2 over the stretch as the team struggled to support him and/or the bullpen struggled to protect leads.

But, Tuesday was a different day. Fresh off a horrendous 1-6 road trip and much-needed off-day, the Red Sox exploded for 18 runs, with 12 of them coming after the fifth inning, to help Wakefield become the 108th pitcher in major league history with 200 career victories.

At first, it wasn’t so easy. The Red Sox spotted Wakefield a 2-0 lead after the first, but the knuckleballer allowed a three-run HR to J.P. Arencibia in the 2nd. After the Sox got the lead back after the second, Toronto scored two on Jose Bautista’s 42nd homer to take a 5-4 lead. From that point on, it was all-Red Sox.

The Sox scored two in the fourth to re-take the lead again on back-to-back HRs from Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia.

Wake labored through the fifth inning, as the first two hitters reached, but he managed to leave the runners on base and pitch the sixth to leave the game with a 6-5 lead.

The Sox then scored four in the sixth, including a backbreaking three-run HR from Pedroia, his second of the game and 20th of the season. Then, the tacked on another in the seventh inning and seven more in the eighth to blow the game wide open.

Alfredo Aceves pitched 2.0 shutout innings, and Junichi Tazawa completed the ninth in his first major league game since 2009.

Sox Stud of the Game: Tim Wakefield

Yeah yeah, this IS just because he won his 200th game. He’s 45 years old, pitching into September again and actually pitching OK. Yes, he allowed 5 ER in 6.0 innings Tuesday night, but he actually pitched six full innings and didn’t get knocked out, which is more than many Sox pitchers can say recently.

Sox Dud of the Game: Jed Lowrie

David Ortiz was originally penciled in at DH, but could not play due to back spasms. Lowrie was called on in a pinch, and went 0-4 with two strikeouts.

Game Notes:

W: Tim Wakefield (7-6, 200th of his career)
L: Brandon Morrow (9-11)

The Rays lost, meaning the Red Sox have a four-game lead in the Wild Card race.
Ellsbury and Pedroia each went 4-5. Ellsbury now has 27 HRs, and Pedroia has 20.

Red Sox Late Rally Falls Short; Rays Walk Off in 11th

KC Downey — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 05:02:45 +0000

Down 5-3 in the ninth inning and armed with a 2-7 record in September, the reeling Red Sox were in desperate need of a comeback.

The Red Sox got exactly what they needed when Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jacoby Ellsbury each delivered solo home runs off Rays closer Kyle Farnsworth to tie the game 5-5. After Dustin Pedroia doubled and Adrian Gonzalez walked, David Ortiz grounded into a critical, rally-killing double play to end the 9th.

Jonathan Papelbon was absolutely dominant in the bottom half of the 9th, and when the Sox failed to score in the 10th, he pitched another perfect inning of relief in the bottom of the 10th. He did not come out for the 11th inning…

After the Red Sox failed to score in the top of the 11th, Terry Francona called upon Daniel Bard, who subsequently allowed a leadoff triple to Desmond Jennings on a ball that barely fell between Ellsbury and Darnell McDonald. After BJ Upton grounded out, Evan Longoria laced a game-winning walkoff single to center field to give the Rays a 6-5 win and bring them within 4.5 games of the Red Sox for the Wild Card lead.

Rookie Kyle Weiland started for the Red Sox and allowed three runs in 4.0 innings. Alfredo Aceves pitched the next 4.0 innings and allowed two runs on three hits. Aceves was on the hook for the loss until the Red Sox bailed him out in the ninth.

Sox Stud of the Game: Jacoby Ellsbury

Ellsbury has come up big all season, and did so again Saturday night. Down by one run in the 9th, Ellsbury hit a no-doubt home run to right field to tie the game. He now has 26 (!!) home runs this season.

Sox Dud of the Game: Daniel Bard

It’s hard to totally blame Bard, but he did allow Jennings’ triple and Longoria’s single to take his seventh loss this season.

Game Notes:

W: Brandon Gomes (2-1)
L: Daniel Bard (2-7)

Gonzalez homered and drove in two runs to give him 108 RBIs, second in the AL behind Curtis Granderson.
Kevin Youkilis did not play after being diagnosed with hip bursitis and a hernia injury. He will not be available until Tuesday at the earliest.
Jon Lester and James Shields will duke it out in the series finale on Sunday.