Dustin

Holy Dying Birds, Bat-Men!

/ Sara / 2 Comments

14-2 is just depressing. If you’re the Orioles, that is. Clearly, the Sox have Liz’s number. They killed him last time, and they really killed him this time. The Red Sox brought the bats to bear again, and again, and again, finishing the game with 20 hits, even with the “JV” team in and Cash pinch-hitting to basically bring up his average in a game that was over in the 4th, pretty much.

Lester made a strong start for the month of September, allowing only 1 run on 6 hits in 5 innings. While he usually goes longer, with the Sox ahead 11-1, no reason to tire him out.

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The only dark side of the night was I almost had to cheer for the Yankees. As much as it pains me to say that…nope. screw it. I won’t cheer for the Evil Empire, I will cheer for a Tampa Bay Rays loss. Which actually happened, so yay for the Sox!

One more game for the Sox-Os series, at 135 tomorrow. Dice-K vs. ? (no, seriously, it says TBD)

Hopefully Youk won’t have to scratch this game (please let the back spasms be something small and fleeting!) but does he get the number 4 spot back from Dustin? That is, of course, up to Tito, but Dustin hits well no matter where he is in the line-up. The offense looked much tighter tonight as opposed to last night, as the Sox battered Liz for 9 runs, then went to work on the bull pen for 5 more.

In other news, Youk has been nominated to receive the Roberto Clemente Award, which awards players who are great sports, with great community involvement, where their individual accomplishments are geared towards aiding the team, and who best exemplifies the game of
baseball. Youk’s charity, Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids, as well as his constant work for the Jimmy Fund, have already earned him awards from the organization itself.

See you tomorrow, Sox fans!

30 Days Has September…

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…and I think the Sox will be there (knock on wood and cross my fingers, do not be angered baseball gods!)

Right now, the Sox are 5 games back of the Rays, and 3 games ahead of the ChiSox/Twins (tied for the lead in the AL Central and for 2nd in the Wild Card) the Yankees, in 3rd for the Wild Card at 7 games back, still wait, ready to ruin someone’s playoff hopes. I know that they are not likely to make it to October, but they are the Yankees, and you can never say never.

A few good things are happening this week: the return of Josh Beckett (hopefully to last year’s sept-oct form), the possible (likely) return of Mike Lowell, and later we might see JD Drew, Colon, and maybe even Buchholz. Also, the Red Sox play mostly at home (even though it is against mostly decent teams), while the Rays, Yankees, White Sox and Twins play mostly on the road (Yay!). This might not necessarily make much of a difference, but it is a lot harder to win on the road and it’s a lot harder for the Sox to lose at home (it happens, but our chances of winning double when we play at home).

I just want to say how proud I am of the way they’ve played this year. The Red Sox have been through the ringer this year (not as bad as ’06, but not good) We lost Manny; Big Papi, Mike Lowell, JD Drew, Dice-K, Wake and Beckett have all had stints on the DL. Youk and Ellsbury have missed a smattering of games with random minor injuries and illness, Ellsbury has been having a hard time batting in the number 1 spot (his bat is inconsistent),  Lowrie, Pedroia,  Bailey, Casey, Youk, Lowell, Lugo, and Cora have all put in time in the infield, with only Pedroia playing daily at his spot. And to top it all off, the Captain has been like an automatic out at the plate (though he is hitting much better recently)

That’s all the bad that’s been the summer months of the 2008 season. Now for the good:

 
pedroiarun.jpg-JD Drew being Mr. June and winning MVP of the All-Star game (where the Sox were well represented)

 -Dustin Pedroia (pictured). Building on a fantabulous rookie season, Dustin has become an RBI machine, with an astounding on-base percentage and playing like he’s at home in every stadium. Excellent fielding, fast runner, and very good at adapting to other situations, he should be a candidate for MVP.

    -Jacoby Ellsbury. Despite his struggles with the bat this season, that boy has wheels. He
    steals bases like a kid snagging candy from a 7-11. He makes great catches, mostly
    because he can make it from one area of the outfield to another in seconds and goes for it     every time.

    -Jason Bay. JBay fits in at Boston like he was meant to play here. He hits, he makes
    plays, and most importantly: we have a left-fielder who’s play gets him more headlines than
    his attitude and his antics. (Sorry Manny, I will always love you, but I am looking forward to
    Bay playing all of September)

    -Jon Lester. In the years to come, he just might be the best pitcher in baseball. He threw a     no-hitter, he’s beaten cancer, and according to Varitek, who is an excellent judge in
    pitchers, we’ve only begun to see what he can do.
 
    -Bailey, Lowrie, and all the other new additions: The Paw-Sox were beastly this year. And     every time the Sox called up a player to the Show, they’ve done well. Especially Bailey and     Lowrie. (Lowrie has finally made Sox fans secure in who was playing at short. We weren’t     worried about the errors.) Plus the players we’ve added over the season, everyone has         been pulling their weight.

    -Youk. Kevin Youkilis should be the AL MVP this year. He’s played first, he’s played third,     he’s been an RBI machine. He’s moved into Manny’s spot and taken on the burden of             hitting after Papi. But don’t tell him about the MVP, he would much rather have a ring.


Now, to recap the game.

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Byrd hung in there to get his third win, but the O’s hung around until the last inning, threatening to take over, but Paps hung in there to notch another save. It was not a good night for the bats. We left 12 men on base. 12. Despite back to back HRs by Tek and Bailey, the Sox had a hard time producing with men in scoring position.
A W is a W and on a night where the Rays were idle, it was a good  win to make up some ground on the AL East leading youngsters.

A good night for Boston, despite a shaky performance. That game should have been a blow-out. Up tonight is  Lester vs. Liz.  Last time the Sox took on Liz, they hammered him, scoring eight runs and knocking Liz out of the game in the 3rd. Lester has had a shakier month in August compared to some of the other months he’s pitched, but his version of shaky is losing 2 decisions in six starts, and having one game where he didn’t go 6+ innings. He bounced back after that particular start to hold the Yanks to just 2 runs, walking none and striking out 8. He is 2-0 against the O’s this season.

As September gets going, look for the Sox to call up some players and have all their injured men come back from the DL, ready to make a strong push for October.

MVP! MVP! MVP! (And Welcome, Michael Bowden)

/ Sara / 1 Comment

I can’t help myself. Everyone is catching MVP fever. Especially Sox fans, because we have Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. I will suspend a recap of tonight’s game momentarily because I feel like pushing DP and Youk as the MVPs for the AL.

Let’s discuss.

Youkilis. He is a beastly hitter (the average is down, but he still scares pitchers. Actually, he kind of scares everybody.) He plays third, he plays first, and the play is SOLID. He loves the game and would rather have his team win a world series than win any special honors for himself. Yay!

Pedroia. Aside from lying about his height (5’9″? I don’t think so. He can’t be taller than 5’7″. Not that we mind.) he’s a solid second base-man and he is 8-8 in the past two games, hits on the road well, hits at home well, and leads the majors in batting average since June (with at least 220 at-bats).

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Okay, so this pic is horrible, but it was taken while the loveable Mr. Pedroia was making one of his many great catches for the night. (Note, the ChiSox easy “falling” catch is on replay for top play, but Pedroia’s crazy good grabs? Nowhere. Travesty!) He played out of his mind. And hey, Pedroia has gone two games in a row hitting perfectly.

Now seems to be the perfect time to transition to a game recap. Welcome to the majors, Michael Bowden. He pitched a solid 5, and the bull pen looked decent. I feel like I’m writing that phrase more and more these days…as opposed to “I hate our bull pen” or blogging about my fears of Lopez and Delcarmen (note, these feelings have not vanished, but they have decreased significantly)

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Yay for a great rookie outing, backed by awesome offense. And how ’bout when they intentionally walked Tek???? I have never seen anyone throw the ball like that for an intentional walk. And our pitchers got the chiSox to ground into 3 double plays. Then Ellsbury (or Wheels, as we so fondly call him) went 5-3, and our young guys looked good on a night where most of the older vets were not playing (Youk sick, Lowell on the DL, brand new pitcher, etc.)  It was a good night overall. Next week (barring rain-outs) the Red Sox will break the consecutive sell-out mark. That, to me, is almost sweeter than this night could have been had the Rays not pulled a win out of their butts against the Orioles (if that comeback doesn’t highlight bullpen trouble, I don’t know what will.) Oh well. At least the Yankees lost.

In other news:
Cincinnatti WR Chad Jackson changed his name (officially) to Ocho Cinco. (His last name, anyway) Wack-a-doodle.

Goodnight, Sox Fans, see you tomorrow!

Of Dice and Men and Perfect Pedroia

/ Sara / 1 Comment

Dice-K had an astounding outing yesterday against the visiting chiSox. Which, I have a temporary complaint: we live in southeastern VA. I realize and understand that WGN is Chicago-based, but it is unnerving and annoying to watch a home game from the visitor’s side and I HATE Harrelson. Rem-Dawg (NESN) is clearly biased, but no one, I mean NO ONE is as bad as the guys who do games for the White Sox. If I have to hear something repeated/hear “he gone” one more time, I will strangle someone.

(Sorry, I’m watching the game right now, and I am so tempted to mute the TV and pull up gameday audio with WRKO so I don’t have to listen to these guys!)

Dustin was fantastic, going 4 for 4, and Papi, Youk and Tek had great nights. Talk about Tek, he has brought his batting average up, like .010 in a week and a half. (Note, this stat may not be so surprising for everyone, but for Tek, especially this year, that is great!)

Okay, game is on and commercial is over, I’ll write again when the game is over (though, I have to say, I’m loving our bats tonight!)

PS – anyone see the beautiful bit of acting the Captain  tried after catching a crazy in-and-out of the crowd bouncing foul? LOVE him! LOVE him!

Ehem…Aboot The Red Sox

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Hello all. So, as I said in my blog last week, the Olympics have taken over my life. That, combined with the wedding I was in, moving my sister into school, getting ready for school myself, and actually attending a Red Sox game have made it difficult to find time to blog. I went to game 2 of the Sox-Os series, had great seats, and sat next to a kindred spirit. If you don’t know by now, I’m a HUGE Tek fan. I jump to his defense the minute someone says something bad about him. Well, what do you know but I was sitting next to another huge Tek fan who swears the reason for his slump was because she hadn’t seen him play this year. At first, I thought “yeah, right” but then the captain, in his first at-bat, ripped one to left center for a solo shot. He’s hit a home run in his last three games. Even when he flew out, it wasn’t a weak popper to the infield or right to the outfielder, no, it was a long, almost out of the park beauty that the O’s had to chase. Hopefully he’s working his way out of the slump.

Dustin got tossed from the game after having a few choice words with the Ump (mind you, the strike zone was TERRIBLE) and Tito must have come out to argue at least three or four times. But lets talk about Dustin, and if we talk about Dustin, we must mention Youk. The two of them are absolutely fierce. I mean, if Youk continues his performance he could be in talks for the MVP, which he totally deserves. (I think) They are having great at-bats now, they’re hard to get out (most of the time), they hit homers, doubles, triples, sac-flies, RBIs and lots of singles. They spark rallies. They are great fielders. And the best part is, they’ll be great for years to come because they’re not that old (crossing fingers, praying for no injuries and/or trades).

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He is just too cute!

Mikey and Drew are still out (sad face!) but Byrd looked good last night. He got rocked a little, but he got good back-up from the bats (and the lower part of the order too!) So if we have Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Byrd and Wake (when he returns) then Colon, Masterson, Paps, Smith, Lopez, and Okajima, we’ll actually have a pretty good pitching staff. (bull pen is still a little scary, but if the starters can go six or seven without getting rocked too hard, we’ll manage) If we just keep that offense chugging, keep Lugo on the DL and get everybody healthy, we have a very good shot at the post-season.

A Rays collapse wouldn’t hurt either. And a Twins collapse. And if the Yankees start losing even more ground, I wouldn’t complain.

My boy is pitching today, so bring on the Jays!

Wheels, Deals and Happy Meals

/ Sara / 1 Comment

In the course of one weekend, I went from hating the game of baseball, deciding the fat lady had sung on the Sox season, and giving up on baseball all together for about 24 hours to being impressed with the team and hoping for another championship. There is only one team in baseball that can do that with all of their fans so effectively: the Boston Red Sox. Its like one of those movies where you are so angry at the characters that you get up to leave, but once your out, you can’t stand to leave in the middle, so you just go to the bathroom and head back in, only to see the characters completely turn things around.

Lets not talk about the first two games, where the Yankees hot streak clearly got the better of the issues Boston has with leaving men on base, the bullpen, and the lineup. I’m sorry, when Josh Beckett pitches out of his mind and you can’t get him any runs to help out? That is not good. But that’s all I’m going to say about Friday and Saturday. On to Sunday.

Once again, the Sox lean on Jon Lester when they are spiraling into a losing streak. Once again, Jonny pulls out a great game and saves the Sox. I had a lot of confidence going into Sunday, because lets face it, Sidney Ponson? Despite the surprising streak he’s been on, his low inning count and high walk rate had to eventually catch up with him. I’m hoping that this loss sparks a whole new Yankees collapse, though I doubt it because yet again, the big money boys have made some big money deals to bring in a bit of help. Sure enough, the combination of the-pillar-of-the-pitching-staff Lester (note, he may not have the most wins, but he always goes deep, and I always feel a little bit safer when he’s on the hill.) He’s the only one I really trust to pull the team out of a losing streak, he’s really good at that, and like Tek said, he’s only going to get better. Coming from Tek, who is probably one of the best pitching judges out there (he should really become a pitching coach when he retires, with all the good he does behind the plate, I think he’d be great as a coach.) that’s high praise.

Speaking of Tek, guess who is still hitting. Yay! And the Papi-Manny Double-Whammy is back in business as of last night. I think Manny is starting to realize that he needs to be on his best behavior if he wants to get a better deal at the end of the season, which I’m sure his agent has been telling him. But that’s all I’m going to say about the Manny Saga. Anyway, Boston’s bats were a’swinging last night with a bunch of doubles and a two-run dinger from none other than Big Papi. I think he needed that.

1217244978_3318.jpgMan, its good to have the big guy back. And with him back, Dustin can be the lead-off man (I know Tito still wants Jacoby in that spot, but I think he’s not ready yet) followed by Youk (anyone else think Joba should have been ejected from the game for that ball he threw at him? I don’t care how stupid the timing was, there is just no way that wasn’t intentional) then the Papi-Manny duo that hopefully will again start to terrify opposing pitchers. I like the batting order now. I like having Jacoby at the bottom, I think he needs some more time in the bigs before he really is an effective lead-off man. I think this visit to the 9th spot will be good for him. Speaking of Jacoby…

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What a catch. I tell you what, with his speed and defensive ability, I don’t care that his arm strength isn’t that good. That boy has wheels. He’ll be stealing bases again in no time, and with him on, a single can turn into a double or triple. We like to call him wheels.

The trade deadline approaches, and no word yet from Theo about anything. Do we make a quick trade to shore up the bull pen or do we work from within, like with Masterson? (who I still think is going to be a solid reliever). Do we trade Coco or keep him? (keep, sorry Coco) Can we please trade Lugo? I mean…come on, won’t anyone take him? What kind of dealing will be done? Will the Pirates continue to let other teams raid their cookie jar? Who knows. Will the Yankees continue to make ridiculous deals to make sure they are contenders? Of course. They’re the Yankees. They must be in the playoff hunt every year. Its a conspiracy, I tell you, the Steinbrenners are paying off the baseball gods…but thats another story for another day.

So, that’s the wheels, the deals…what about the Happy Meal? After deciding the fat lady had sung on the 2008 season, I went and got myself a Happy Meal to bury my sorrow in a little pack of fries, a burger, and a very small diet coke. It was partially the Happy Meal I had for lunch on Sunday and the Sox performance that night that renewed my faith in the boys. (Not that I had ever actually lost it, but in true Sox fan form, I let it go temporarily) What did I have for lunch today? What do you think. Superstition rules all, and the toy I got today was way better than yesterday.

Next up, Dice takes on the Halos. God help us and not them. (Seriously, I know they’re the Angels, but we could use a little help, and if that help comes in the form of a Rays and Yankees collapse or Sox mega-hot streak, I’ll leave that up to You, Big Man.)

Batter up! 

That Old Bull-Pen Magic

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I hate it when Clay Buchholz pitches. Hate it. It makes me very, very nervous. He looked good, though, which was a welcome and pleasant surprise. He looked leaps and bounds better than his first start coming out of the break, he had a lot more control. It was good.

Then we have the bullpen…as a Red Sox fan, especially this season, we are trained to say a Hail Mary and pray frantically when Tito pulls in Delcarmen, Hansen, Okajima or Timlin. Its always iffy. Masterson…I haven’t seen in anything but a start. We got to see almost all of them last night, and let me tell you, I actually dare to hope. Masterson was lights-out. Absolutely fabulous. Delcarmen: solid. Okajima: solid. Paps…came on in relief, and I got worried when he had guys on the corners. But Mikey and Dustin came through to get the double play. (in a side note, why is Dustin Pedroia’s nickname Petey?) Speaking of Paps, what was with that dribbler? I’m not sure Paps would have handled that even if he was using his glove. That thing was possesed.

Picture 1.pngThen the top of the 12th…Ellsubry got his firt hit of the night (what a clutch hit!). Pedroia grounded out but Wheels got to 2nd, JD took a walk, and Youk got a lucky (but also good) hit. Mikey came through in the clutch with a two-run single, and Casey added to it with an RBI single. And all of Boston started to breathe again. Hansen pulled out a strong save, despite starting a little shakey, and the Sox completed the sweep of the Mariners.

lowell2run.png So now the Sox head home on a day of rest before they take on the Yanks. And here’s the best news I’ll day: (note, if the Rays loose tonight, it will be tied as the best news) Papi is back in the line-up and ready to swing. Yay!

So some interesting things come out of the West Coast swing: the bull-pen looks much better. Its still not great, but it is no longer my greatest fear. Manny is being Manny. This is what he does in July. Go back every year and Manny is just like this, every July. The trade deadline will pass, it will become August and September, and the slugger will be back in form and back to loving being in Boston. I think its some kind of seasonal disorder. Mikey seems to be out of his mini slump, Jacoby can get back deeper in the order when Papi comes back, which will probably help get him out of his slump, Dustin is still on a hitting tear, JD Drew is hitting into fewer double plays, and Tek has a three game hitting streak. That’s right. The Captain may still be struggling with the stick, but he’s looking better all the time. Clay B. picked a batter off…man is he fast. Next up: Skankees. But we’re at the Fens, so all is well.

Bring on the Bombers. 

Aye Aye, Captain

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Jason Varitek hit a 2-run shot to put the Sox over the Mariners last night. I feel like that needs its own headline.

072208_tek329__1216704928_9626.jpgI really hate west coast swings. I mean, the games go so late, and I have to work in the morning. But at least I got to go to bed happy.

Can we just discuss how much of a beast Lester is? I mean, in 103 pitches (which went well into the 8th inning) he threw 18 balls. That’s enough to walk 4 batters. Just 4. And he didn’t walk anyone. That boy is solid. And Pedroia. 22-game hit streak. 22 games. He doesn’t always hit deep or hard, but he’s a staple on base. Now if we could just get Papi back and get JD out of his double-play hitting streak, we’d be good. As for Ellsbury, I’m not too worried, I think he’s just in a slump, and these things happen. We, as fans, just have to keep the faith and hope. We still have one of the best teams in baseball, and we’re fierce down the stretch. I don’t know what has gotten me into such an upbeat mood, maybe its because my boy got a hit…I don’t know.

Lets talk about Tek. Tek is my boy. I have been waiting for him to battle out of this slump for months. And his contract is up this year…I don’t think we should give him a 4 year deal, but I think the dumbest move the Sox could make would be to get rid of Tek. I don’t care what he’s hitting, if he gets into too bad of a slump we can always pinch-hit for him. There is nothing that compares to the defense and intangibles that he brings to the team. You can’t get rid of the Captain…that doesn’t even make sense.

Next up, Dice-K vs. Dickey. Here’s to another late night. 🙂 Go Sox!

Justin Masterson, the Savior of the Bull Pen?

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The righty with energy and a demonic sinker joins the pen today, and hopefully, will help turn around what has been a big struggle for the Red Sox, especially on the road.  Our pen masters, who used to be lights-out, have been struggling this year. But lets not put the blame entirely on their shoulders (though they make a solid contribution to every loss) but we have got to get some bats going. JD Drew, Mikey, Youk, and especially Dustin have been hitting consistently in almost every game. At times, I feel like JD and Dustin are carrying the team, because they get a hit, they get on base, and then…three strikes your out or a infielder fly…we have got to leave more men on base than any other team in the league.

Maybe that will be solved when Papi returns, which even if he doesn’t hit consistantly (which I think he will) he adds that threat. Because then you have Manny,Youk, Mikey, Papi, JD and Dustin. That’s a scary offense. I think they miss the big man on the road more than they do at home.

So maybe Papi will be the savior of the bats on the road, and Masterson will be the catalyst to get the bullpen back to the level it should be: lights out.

Either way, bring on the Mariners. Lester’s got the start and hopefully, the win.

Closing thoughts:

don’t forget, I’m running for Governor of Red Sox Nation for VA, so log on to RedSox.com and vote for me, Sara Hannon, email hannonse@gmail.com, today!