Red Sox 07 Game 132 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box Score ✠ Play - by - Play ✠ Game Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0		3	7	1
New York	2	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	X		5	7	0

W: A. Pettitte (12-7) L: D. Matsuzaka (13-11) S: M. Rivera (21)
HR ➢ Bos: M. Ramirez (20), J. Varitek (12) NYY: D. Jeter (9), J. Damon (9)

☼ Sun - Damon - Two run home run in the seventh seals the deal.
☁ Cloud - Matsuzaka - once again he gives up home runs in a close game that causes the loss.

Game thoughts!

Daisuke continued his troubles against the Yankees. This time the offense did not bail him out. Daisuke started off the game by giving up two runs in the first. A problem that he has had too many times this year reared its head right away.

After allowing a single to Damon and a excuse me swinging bunt ground out by Jeter he walked Bobby Abreu. The very next pitch was to the rib cage of A-Rod and the bases were suddenly loaded with only one out. Another excuse me swing led to a force out at second with Damon scoring and then Posada doubled down the left field line to score Abreu. The Sox were immediately in the hole and would never get the lead.

High lights for the Sox were the home runs hit by Manny and Varitek. In between those bombs was a lead off triple by Lugo, who scored on Papi's SF in the third. Papi's rbi tied the game at two and Varitek's home run tied the game at three (Jeter's home run in the fifth being the difference). So, the Sox kept on coming back but could not get the lead as Pettitte just refused to give any ground. Still, I would rather be seven games up instead of games down.

Factoid - since 2003 the record in Red Sox / Yankee games is 44-45 Yankees (including tonights game). During that time period the Yankees lead the Sox 15 - 12 in August and September.

Lugo watch - 1 for 4 - up to .240

Coco watch - 0 for 4 - down to .270

Drew watch - 0 for 4 - down to .259

♊ - Morbid and creepifing I can handle as long as we do it quiet like.

Red Sox 07 games 132, 133 and 134

			@
Red Sox		80-51		Yankees		72-59

August 28 & 29 & 30  ✠  Yankee Stadium 7:05, 7:05 and 1:05 p.m. ET

American League (8/28/07)

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Boston	80	51	-	7-3	18	19	83	48
New York	72	59	8.0	5-5	11	17	77	54
Toronto	66	65	14.0	4-6	23	20	70	61
Baltimore	58	71	21.0	2-8	10	24	61	68
Tampa	51	80	29.0	5-5	16	15	51	80

ESPN.Com previews Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Yahoo's previews Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday..
ESPN.Com after the game Tuesday Recap, Wednesday Recap, and Thursday Recap..
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Tuesday Scouting Report, Wednesday Scouting Report, Thursday Scouting Report.

Matsuzaka: Dice-K held the Rays to a single hit through his first 5 1/3 innings then watched as his hard work went to waste in the form of a two-run homer in the sixth that handed both he and the Red Sox a loss. The Japanese rookie has often fallen victim to poor run support and Wednesday was more of the same as his teammates mustered just one run in his defense. Matsuzaka said afterward that he was disappointed with too many "wasted pitches," but the lone obvious error was the home run ball.

Beckett: The right-hander will be going after a career-high win No. 17 in this one. Beckett was far from his best in his last start, giving up seven hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings. But he still managed to get the win, downing the White Sox by a score of 11-3. This is Beckett's final start in August, a month in which he's gone 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts. Beckett is 1-0 with a 5.54 ERA in two starts against the Yankees this season. This is Beckett's first start of 2007 at Yankee Stadium, where he's 2-1 with a 7.53 ERA in the regular season.

Schilling: has won his last two starts. He downed the White Sox in his last outing, holding them to four hits and a run over six innings. Schilling is 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA in three starts against the Yankees this season. He is 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA lifetime at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte: When the Yankees need a big win -- say, on days immediately following a loss -- Pettitte has been their guy. There are no bigger games, win or lose, than the hyped contests vs. Boston, and Pettitte draws the assignment to open the Yankees' against the Red Sox. The left-hander has won five straight starts, the last of which coming on Wednesday against the Angels, as he spun seven innings of one-run ball. Pettitte is 1-1 with a 5.01 ERA in five games (four starts) against Boston this year.

Clemens: The energy level at Yankee Stadium should be high for this one, as The Rocket takes on his former team for the first time since rejoining the Yankees. Clemens saw a two-start winning streak go by the boards when he allowed six runs in five innings to the Tigers on Friday. In the outing, he battled a blister on his right foot that may have impeded his delivery.

Wang: Citing a mechanical tweak that sped up his delivery some, Wang overcame a so-so start to best the Tigers on Saturday. Trusting his sinker more by throwing to the heart of the plate -- thus letting his natural movement do the work -- Wang went eight strong innings, holding Detroit to two runs. He is 2-1 in three starts against the Red Sox this season, working Boston to a 4.50 ERA.

As usual all statistics were found at the day by day database at Baseball Musings and this year at Baseball Reference.

Sox Batting vs Pettitte

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
D. Pedroia	10	3	1	0	0	3	0	0	.300
K. Youkilis	9	5	1	0	1	2	2	1	.556
D. Ortiz	34	11	3	0	1	5	3	9	.324
M. Ramirez	69	29	8	0	3	18	6	6	.420
J. D. Drew	14	6	1	0	2	2	1	5	.429
M. Lowell	11	3	1	0	0	2	1	0	.273
J. Varitek	46	16	1	1	1	6	4	14	.348
C. Crisp	13	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.308
J. Lugo	19	5	0	0	0	0	3	3	.263
Totals	225	82	16	1	8	38	21	41	.364

The question is how does Pettitte have a 14 and 6 record vs the Sox. Well, actually he has struggled this year. In four starts he has had two quality starts, but he has only been able to average 5.58 innings per start with a 5.24 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Oh, yeah, his record is 1 and 1 this year.

Key in the first game will be if Manny, Ortiz and J.D. Drew can continue to hit Pettitte. I think they will, but it should still be a pretty close game. The big guys need some people on base so they can hit them home. Look for a good game!

Sox Batting vs Clemens

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
D. Pedroia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
K. Youkilis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
D. Ortiz	19	4	0	0	1	1	2	5	.211
M. Ramirez	50	9	1	0	3	6	10	18	.180
J. D. Drew	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	.000
M. Lowell	11	2	0	0	0	0	1	4	.182
J. Varitek	19	3	1	0	0	0	2	8	.158
C. Crisp	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	.286
J. Lugo	9	1	1	0	0	0	0	4	.111
Totals	117	21	3	0	4	7	16	44	.179

Clemens dominates these guys. Makes you wonder how he could have a life time record of only 8 and 5 vs the Sox. Especially when you see that he averages over 6 innings per start and has twelve quality starts vs the Sox. I would count on this being a low scoring game for the Sox with those type of numbers. Let us hope that Beckett brings his A++++ game.

Sox Batting vs Wang

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
D. Pedroia	3	3	2	0	0	1	0	0	1.000
K. Youkilis	18	7	3	0	0	1	6	1	.389
D. Ortiz	24	12	3	0	2	8	5	2	.500
M. Ramirez	22	13	0	0	2	5	4	3	.591
J. D. Drew	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Lowell	19	3	1	0	0	0	3	2	.158
J. Varitek	12	1	0	0	1	1	0	2	.083
C. Crisp	17	5	0	1	0	0	1	2	.294
J. Lugo	28	6	1	0	0	1	5	5	.214
Totals	149	50	10	1	5	17	24	17	.336

Looking at these numbers it is easy to see why Wang is only 4 and 4 vs the Sox. There are some good quality numbers posted by some of these guys. The thing is though, Wang has been really hot lately. Maybe the Sox can do their part in cooling him off, of course the problem is that Schilling is the Sox pitcher in this game and he has royally sucked vs the spankees this year. Schilling is going to need to step up big for the Sox to have a chance.

Pitching Comparisions

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Matsuzaka	2	2	0	0	13	13	10	1	5	14	6.92	1.38	6.50
Pettitte	25	14	6	0	164	168	60	6	47	127	3.29	1.31	6.56
Beckett	6	3	2	0	33	41	29	5	21	26	7.91	1.88	5.50
Clemens	19	8	5	0	119 1/3	105	51	7	37	132	3.85	1.19	6.28
Schilling	17	7	6	0	115 1/3	120	62	24	31	96	4.84	1.31	6.78
Wang	9	4	4	0	58 1/3	72	31	6	27	21	4.78	1.70	6.48

Two games for Daisuke and two wins. However with a 6.92 ERA in thirteen innings is not something to be glad about. This is the fourth time that Daisuke will be trying to win his fourteenth win. Is the fourth time the charm?

Of course that is not entirely his fault. In his last five games he is one and three with a 3.62 ERA in thirty-two and one third innings. What is really head scratching is the three losses are against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Beckett has a very high ERA vs the Yankees but this year he has actually lowered that figured. In two games he has went 13 innings with a 5.54 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He is 1 and 0 this year. The good news is that he has only walked five and has K'ed 12 in those two games.

While overall Schilling has decent numbers against the Yankees this year he has been horrible. His outings this year vs the Yankees have been seven innings, six innings and five innings. Overall all he has a 7.00 era in those eighteen innings. What has killed him is the six, that is right six home runs he has allowed.

♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!

Red Sox 07 Game 131 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box Score ✠ Play - by - Play ✠ Game Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	1	0	0	4	2	0	0	4		11	9	0
White Sox	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	3	2

W: J. Tavarez (7-9) L: J.Vazquez (11-8)
HR ➢ Bos: D. Ortiz (24), J.D. Drew (7), B. Kielty (1) CWS: J. Dye (26)

☼ Sun - Tavarez - Six innings of two hit pitching with only one run allowed, the J. Dye HR.
☁ Cloud - J. Vazquez - Six innings pitched with seven earned runs allowed on seven hits.

Game thoughts!

It was the Julian Tavarez show as he came out and shut down the White Sox, while the offense just brutalized the White Sox pitching. This game was just brutal as it seemed like the pale hose just rolled over and gave up. As for the offense, let us hope they do as well vs the spankees!

Lugo watch - 1 for 5 - down to .240

Coco watch - 1 for 4 - stays at .273

Drew watch - 1 for 3 - up to .262

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 130 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box Score ✠ Play - by - Play ✠ Game Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	8	1		14	15	0
White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0		2	6	1

W: T. Wakefield (16-10) L: M. Buehrle (9-9)
HR ➢ CWS: P. Konerko (26)

☼ Sun - Wakefield - Seven innings of shut out pitching to record his sixteenth win.
☁ Cloud - CWS Bullpen - Eight runs in the eighth, ouch!!

Game thoughts!

Believe it or not this was a close game for the first five innings. Buehrle and Wakefield were both putting up zeroes on the scoreboard with the Red Sox looking especially inept as Buehrle facing only two batters above the minimum in the first five innings. Then the bats decided to wake up for the Boston players.

Dustin started the inning off with an infield single, think about that for a minute, an infield single for probably the slowest player on the Boston team. After a line out by Crisp, Ortiz doubled to deep left field and Ramirez was intentionally walked. The next three batters plated one, one and two runs and the rout was on for the Red Sox. Ten players came to the plate. Ten in one inning after only two runners in the previous five innings. This game was over!

Lugo watch - DNPMD

Coco watch - 2 for 4 - stays at .273

Drew watch - 0 for 1 - down to .261

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 129 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box Score ✠ Play - by - Play ✠ Game Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	0	0	5	4	0	0	0	0		10	13	0
White Sox	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	5	1

W: C. Schilling (8-5) L: J. Danks (6-12)
HR ➢ Bos: D. Ortiz(2) (23), K. Youkilis (13) CWS: J. Uribe (14)

☼ Sun - Schilling - six innings - three hits - one earned run allowed with three K's and one BB's.
☁ Cloud - Danks - five earned runs in three and a third innings.

Game thoughts!

Second game of a day night double header can be one of those screwy games, for the Sox it was not that way though. After Schilling gave up the home run to Uribe, the Sox decided to put this game away in the fourth.

Ortiz homered for two runs. Lowell doubled for another run scored. Crisp lashed one down the left field line to score Lowell. Cash then singled to score Kielty. Five to one after four innings and it would only get worse for the Chicago nine.

Schilling had a 1-2-3 inning in the third, fourth and fifth innings. His last inning he gave up his only walk after the first two were retired. He then finished off the inning and his appearance by getting Konerko to fly out to center. A good quality start by the man that needs to do better each time out to prevent second thoughts about his effectiveness.

Lugo watch - 0 for 5 - down to .240

Coco watch - 1 for 5 - stays at .271

Drew watch - dnpmd

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 128 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box Score ✠ Play - by - Play ✠ Game Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	2	4		11	15	0
White Sox	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0		3	9	1

W: J. Beckett (16-5) L: J. Garland (8-10)
HR ➢ Bos: J. Varitek (11) CWS: J. Fields (16)

☼ Sun - Beckett - Started off the game allowing a double and three walks but only one run scores.
☁ Cloud - Garland - Similiar situation to Beckett in the fourth, but he gives up the four runs.

Game thoughts!

Josh started off with a rough first in which he walked in a run (three straight BB's), only to limit the damage to that one run. So, while he struggled and the Sox got his pitch count up, he was able to minimize the damage and give the Sox a good solid outing (1 out short of a quality start).

Bobby Kielty makes his presence felt by pitch hitting for J.D. Drew in the eighth with bases loaded and scorches a sacrifice fly to deep center that allowed everybody to move up one base. One inning later he smoked another sac fly to drive in one more run. Good to see the bench contribute to the cause.

Lugo watch - 2 for 6 - up to .243

Coco watch - 1 for 5 - down to .271

Drew watch - 0 for 3 - down to .262

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 128

			@
J. Beckett		15-5, 3.15		J.Danks		6-11, 5.30
Red Sox		76 - 51		White Sox		56 - 70

Wednesday, August 23      U.S. Cellular  ✠ 8:11 PM ET

Game Postponed!!
♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!

Red Sox 07 Game 127 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box Score ✠ Play - by - Play ✠ Game Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	9	1
Tampa Bay	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	X		2	4	1

W: E. Jackson (4-12) L: D. Matsuzaka (13-10) S: A. Reyes (19)
HR ➢ TBA: B.J. Upton (18)

☼ Sun - Upton - Two run home run in the sixth completed the nights scoring.
☁ Cloud - Batting Futilitiy - Fourteen men left on base, fourteen men left on base!

Game thoughts!

Fourteen freaking men left on base. A game of absolute frustration as inning after inning, nine innings in all the Sox left at least one man on base. The left on base stats almost look like a binary code. 122121212. The game was just gnashing of the teeth.

Of course the biggest frustration was having Tek end the third with two on base, the fifth with two left on base, the seventh with two left on base and the ninth with two left on base. That was eight men left on base to end four different innings. Grinding of the teeth.

It also didn't help to have Ortiz thrown out at home for the second out of the fifth inning on a Mike Lowell single to center. It should have been first and third with only one out, instead it was a man on second with two outs. Just grinding of the teeth.

Lugo watch - 1 for 4 - up to .242

Coco watch - 1 for 4 - down to .272

Drew watch - 2 for 4 - up to .264

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 126 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box ✠ Play/Play ✠ Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	2	0	0	5	0	0	1	0	0		8	11	1
Tampa Bay	2	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	0		6	4	1

W: J. Lester (2-0) L: A. Sonnanstine (2-9) S: J. Papelbon (30)
HR ➢ TBA: C. Pena (28), A. Iwamura (4)

☼ Sun - Ortiz - Triple and single with 2 runs scored. His 1st inning triple started the team off right.

☁ Cloud - Sonnanstine - one week after muzzling the Sox bats he was hit hard for seven earned runs in five innings.

Game thoughts!

This game got off on the right foot thanks to David Ortiz. Following a one out double by Youkilis, Ortiz hit a triple to left center that made the score one zip. A sacrifice fly by Manny plated David and the Sox were ahead at the end of the top of the 1st. Unfortunately, Jon "Houdini" Lester gave the lead right back in the bottom half after walking B. J. Upton with two outs he gave up a home run to Carlos Pena on the first pitch of his at bat. Houdini then shut down the Rays allowing only one baserunner in the third (a walk), until the fifth inning.

The Red Sox Offense though scored big in the fourth when Ortiz started off the inning with an infield single to the vacant third base bag (thank you shift). After a Manny strike out, a Hit by Pitch to Lowell and a single by J. D. Drew the bases were loaded and the Captain came up to bat. A bloop single over the outstretched glove of the shortstop and the flood gates opened. Crisp followed with a double down the right field line and Lugo finished the scoring by doubling to center. Seven to two and the Sox had a lead that they would never give up.

Good thing too, because in the bottom of the fifth Lester gave up another Home Run after a fly out, single, walk and a fielders choice brought Iwamura to the plate with two runners on. Making it a two run game, but Lester escaped further damage by getting Upton to K after a Crawford single. The bull pens then came in to the game and both pens did a very good job finishing this game.

Lugo watch - 2 for 4 - up to .242

Coco watch - 1 for 4 - down to .273

Drew watch - 1 for 4 - down to .262

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 126

			@
J. Lester		1-0, 5.14		A. Sonnanstine		2-8, 6.17
Red Sox		75 - 50		Devil Rays		47 - 77

Tuesday, August 21      Tropicana Field  ✠ 7:10 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Boston	75	50	-	6-4	18	18	77	48
New York	70	55	5.0	6-4	11	16	76	49
Toronto	63	61	11.5	5-5	22	20	66	58
Baltimore	57	65	16.5	5-5	10	24	62	60
Tampa	47	77	27.5	3-7	15	14	46	78

ESPN.Com Preview .
Yahoo's Preview .
ESPN.Com after the game Recap.
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report

Red Sox: Lester dazzled the Fenway faithful in his return home after rehabilitation from cancer, throwing seven innings of two-hit ball against Tampa Bay. He had started his previous four games on the road. This time, he'll pack his bags for Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, where he'll face the Devil Rays for the second time in less than a week. In 13 2/3 career innings against Tampa, Lester has allowed five earned runs and just eight hits.

Devil Rays: Sonnanstine snapped an eight-decision losing skid Wednesday afternoon with a quality start against the Red Sox in which he allowed three runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Rays right-hander went back to what made him successful earlier in the season by using his fastball to set up his other pitches while locating away from the middle of the plate. He is 0-4 with a 6.08 ERA at Tropicana Field.

To those of you who actually stop by, I Know I know, I let you down for a few games. The truth is that I have had some problems being able to type. Ever since the "incident" it has been either a tingling or numbness in the left hand. This makes it hard to really blog or do any other type of things on the computer. Makes it hard to touch type and I really must double check everything.

No batting breakdowns or pitcher comparisons today. The only thing I have to say is that the Sox need to put down the hammer. You can not count on any team to help vs the Yankees. Just win games boys, just win games.

In case you've forgotton, Sonnanstine is the guy who made like Cy "freaking" Young last week. Let's bring out the bats tonight boys.

♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!

Red Sox 07 Game 119

			@
S. Kazmir		9-7, 3.58		J. Lester		1-0, 6.43
Devil Rays		45 - 73		Red Sox		71 - 47

Tuesday, August 14      Fenway Park  ✠ 7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Boston	71	47	-	5-5	17	17	72	46
New York	67	51	4.0	9-1	11	15	73	45
Toronto	59	58	11.5	6-4	20	19	62	55
Baltimore	54	63	16.5	4-6	10	23	58	59
Tampa	45	73	26.0	4-6	13	12	45	73

ESPN.Com Preview .
Yahoo's Preview .
ESPN.Com after the game Recap.
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report

Devil Rays: Kazmir continued his friendly rivalry with teammate James Shields after he hurled six shutout innings in a 8-1 win against the Tigers. Shields did his part (seven innings and one run) in his start against the Tigers, and Kazmir was equal to the task, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Kazmir is 5-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 13 career starts against the Red Sox.

Red Sox: After a strong performance his first time out, Lester has gotten progressively worse, giving up four runs in 6 2/3 innings, then four runs in five innings and finally five runs in 3 1/3 innings on Wednesday against the Angels. In that last outing he gave up eight hits and walked three, only escaping a loss when the Red Sox able to tie the game after he left. Lester faced Tampa Bay in his second outing, also a non-decision. This will be his first game at Fenway Park since being diagnosis with lymphoma.

As usual all statistics were found at the day by day database at Baseball Musings and this year at Baseball Reference.

Hitting History vs Kazmir

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
D. Pedroia	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.500
K. Youkilis	18	3	1	0	0	0	4	8	.167
D. Ortiz	32	5	1	0	1	4	4	9	.156
M. Ramirez	34	4	1	0	1	1	3	11	.118
J.D. Drew	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Lowell	14	4	0	0	1	2	2	2	.286
J. Varitek	17	4	1	0	0	2	4	5	.235
C. Crisp	15	4	1	0	0	0	1	4	.267
J. Lugo	5	2	0	0	0	2	0	3	.400
Totals	141	29	5	0	3	11	18	43	.206

Want to know why the Sox struggle vs Kazmir? Just look at the two big guns of Ortiz and Ramirez, they are a combined 9 for 66. That is a minuscule .136 BA and they strike out almost once every three at bats. Not good numbers for the home team. In fact no body on this team has an over .300 BA that has 10 or more at bats.

Still, they have a good chance against this pitcher to do some damage.

Historical Pitching Lines

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Kazmir	13	5	3	1	77 2/3	60	22	5	35	83	2.55	1.22	5.97
Lester	1	0	0	0	6 2/3	6	4	2	1	3	5.4	1.05	6.67

The last five starts Kazmir is only 2 and 2 against the sox. At Fenway he is 0-2. This game is at Fenway. In fact in 7 starts at fenway he is 3 and 3 with a WHIP of 1.46 and a 3.63 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. He has only went six innings in three of those starts and averages 5.67 IP /GS at Fenway. Look for a similar repeat tonight.

Lester had just the one start vs the Rays and that was earlier this year on 7/28. That was the game where the Bot blew the save and Snyder won in twelve innings. It was a decent start, but the Home Runs killed him. Look for him to be psyched tonight since this is his first start at Fenway this year.

♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!

Red Sox 07 Game 118 Recap

Final

Box ✠ Play/Play ✠ Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Tampa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	2	0
Boston	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	X		3	8	0

W: T. Wakefield (14-10) L: J. Shields (9-8) S: J. Papelbon (28)

☼ Sun - Wakefield - 8 innings of two hit ball
☁ Cloud - This type of game there really isn't one. Good well pitched game on both sides

Game thoughts!

Tim Wakefield owns the Rays and he proved it last night. Two hits and two walks were all that he allowed in his eight innings of pitching. The first Devil Ray hit came in the seventh. Loved it, Loved it and Loved it.

Papi delivered the only run that Wake would need in the first with a double that was crushed to center field and barely missed clearing the wall. Lugo, even though he had to wait to see if it would be caught, was able to score from first because that ball was hit so hard.

The only thing that really bothers me is the RISP problem. Last night 2 for 10. However, they did only leave four men on base.

Lugo watch - 3 for 4 - up to .238

Coco watch - DNPMD

Drew watch - 0 for 3 - down to .262 (however his walk in the eight put Manny in scoring position).

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 118

			@
J. Shields		9-7, 4.32		T. Wakefield		13-10, 4.81
Devil Rays		45 - 72		Red Sox		70 - 47

Monday, August 13      Fenway Park  ✠ 7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Boston	70	47	-	5-5	17	17	71	46
New York	66	51	4.0	8-2	10	15	72	45
Toronto	59	57	10.5	6-4	20	19	62	54
Baltimore	54	62	15.5	4-6	10	22	58	58
Tampa	45	72	25	4-6	13	12	44	73

ESPN.Com Preview .
Yahoo's Preview .
ESPN.Com after the game Recap.
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report

Devil Rays: It's not easy to shut down the Tigers, but Shields did just that for the second time in as many starts against Detroit on Wednesday. He allowed just one run and five hits over seven innings in a 7-1 Tampa Bay win. He also pitched a complete game against the Tigers on May 30. He struck out nine against the Tigers and gave up his only run on a solo homer. No other batter reached third base. Now Shields will face the Red Sox, a team he is winless against with a 5.87 ERA over three career starts.

Red Sox: Tuesday was not one of Wakefield's better outings as he flirted with danger all game, retiring the side in order in only one of four innings. Given a 4-2 lead, Wakefield was unable to retire a single batter in the fifth as the Angels sent 11 men to the plate. Wakefield gave up seven runs -- six earned -- on seven hits and three walks over four innings. He faces Tampa Bay for the third time this season, winning both previous starts. Lifetime, Wakefield is 15-2 against the Devil Rays.

As usual all statistics were found at the day by day database at Baseball Musings and this year at Baseball Reference.

Hitting History vs Shields

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
J. Lugo	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	.000
K. Youkilis	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000
D. Ortiz	8	3	1	0	2	3	1	1	.375
M. Ramirez	7	1	0	0	1	2	2	4	.143
J.D. Drew	3	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	.667
M. Lowell	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.500
A. Cora	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333
D. Mirabelli	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	1.000
E. Hinske	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	35	9	1	0	3	7	4	10	.257

Led by David Ortiz's .375 average, this team has been able to hit Shields in the past. With Mirabelli playing instead of Varitek and Hinske instead of Crisp the average is .257, as opposed to .275 for the normal starters. Still, with his low innings per start vs the Sox, you have to like the teams chances tonight. Let us just hope that the bats show up tonight.

Historical Pitching Lines

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Shields	3	0	1	0	15 1/3	15	10	4	6	19	5.87	1.37	5.11
Wakefield	24	17	2	0	173 1/3	137	57	17	56	118	2.96	1.11	6.39

So we are looking at Shields numbers vs the Sox, they are not very pretty. He has started three games in the last two years vs your Boston Red Sox with a good strikeout record per nine. He is not going very far into the game though.

Three starts and he has went 5 innings twice and 5 1/3 innings the other time. Look at the 5.87 ERA though. The last time he faced this team was back on 7/28/2007. He has never pitched in Fenway park.

One other thing about Shields, he is averaging 11.15 K's per nine innings vs the Sox. This year he is sixth in strikeouts and is just three ahead of Beckett. He can get big K's when he needs to.

There are two Wakefields vs Tampa, there is the lights out at tropicana field Wakefield and then there is the Fenway Park Wakefield. Do you know what I think? I think that I will take either Wakefield. In twelve starts at Fenway Tim has pitched 77 1/3 innings with a WHIP of 1.16, a very good 6.44 IP / GS and an ERA of 3.72. Oh, yeah he is 8 and 2 in those starts. Not bad for a man with an unreliable pitch.

He has won four of the last five starts vs this team also. Earlier this year (7/4/2007) he went 6 1/3 innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits (1 home run) while walking two and striking out two at Fenway Park. His second start (7/27/2007) this year was at tropicana where he went six innings allowing six hits, one earned run and three walks. Like I said, I will take either of the Tims.

♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!

Red Sox 07 Game 117 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box ✠ Play/Play ✠ Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
Boston	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	11	2
Baltimore	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3		6	10	0

W: C. Bradford (1-4) L: K. Snyder (2-3)
HR ➢ Bos: M. Tejada (11), K. Millar (11)

☼ Sun - Millar - 3 run walk off home run on a hanging 2-2 curve.
☁ Cloud - Gagne - seven runs in four innings in seven games.

Game thoughts!

Schilling was very good, only allowing an unearned run in the second inning. Five hits in six innings, no walks and no K's. He took the lead given him and carried it through the sixth where he turned it over to the bullpen. In two of the six innings he put the Orioles down 1-2-3 this included the bottom of the third which was huge since the Sox had scored two runs in the top of the inning to take the lead.

The only other time that the Orioles even got a man to third was in the sixth, when Tejada reached with two outs. Millar had two of the five hits, scoring in the second and reaching second in the fourth. Like I said, a very winnable game as far as the start went, but the game is longer than six innings.

Missed opportunities:

2nd inning J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell led off with singles, only to have Roberts make a very good play on Varitek's grounder. Drew and Lowell moved up a base, but with one out Hinske hit a sharp ground ball to the pulled in first basemen and Lugo was out on a diving play by Mora on his sharp liner. 2nd & 3rd 1 out - no runs (2 LOB ISP).

3rd inning After doubling in two runs Manny tried to take third on a passed ball, only to be thrown out at third. 2nd base 1 out and no other runs scored (3 LOB ISP)

4th inning Varitek led off the inning with a double and one out later Lugo doubled him home. 2nd base 1 out and agains no other runs scored (4 LOB ISP).

6th inning Lowell singled, Varitek singled with Lowell getting to third, only to have Hinske GIDP 1-6-3 with Trachsel holding Lowell at third. Lugo then popped up to end the inning. 3rd with 0 outs and no runs scored (5 LOB ISP).

7th inning One out single by Youkilis, Ortiz walks and then Manny hits into an inning ending double play (6 LOB ISP).

Gagne sucked, pure and simple. He threw seven straight fast balls to Tejada with the seventh one being right down the middle of the plate which was deposited in the left center field bleachers. Where is that above average change up he is supposed to have?

Okajima also struggled as he faced only two batters walking the first one. Eight pitches thrown and five were for balls. Probably should have kept him in for one more batter.

Delcarmen looked good as he struck out the side on his sixteen pitches. Even better, eleven of those pitches were for strikes.

Even though Snyder threw ten of his thirteen pitches for strikes it does no good if you give up three hits, one being a home run. So out of the five relievers only two were competent. Delcarmen who retired three of four batters and Timlin who retired all three batters that he faced.

Lugo watch - 1 for 4 - stays at .233

Coco watch - 0 for 0 - DNPMD

Drew watch - 3 for 5 - up to .264 (second straight game he went 3 for 5).

Also, Drew in his last 15 games is hitting .299 /.368/.433

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 117

UPDATE: Decided to add some stuff from the Fox Sports site.

Stat	Value	AL	MLB
Runs	600	3	4
RA	468	1	2
BA	.278	5	6
OBA	.251	1	4
HR's	114	9	17
HR A	98	3	6
ERA	4.38	1	2

			@
C. Schilling		6-5, 4.31		S. Trachsel		5-7, 4.88
Red Sox		70-46		Orioles		53-62

Sunday, August 12    Oriole Park at Camden Yards  ✠ 1:35 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Boston	70	46	-	6-4	17	17	71	45
New York	65	51	5.0	8-2	10	15	72	44
Toronto	58	57	11.5	6-4	20	19	61	54
Baltimore	53	62	16.5	3-7	10	22	57	58
Tampa	45	71	25.0	5-5	13	12	44	72

ESPN.Com Preview .
Yahoo's Preview .
ESPN.Com after the game Recap.
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report

Red Sox: Taking the mound for the first time in 59 days, Schilling pitched six strong innings before tiring in the seventh in a 4-2 Red Sox loss on Monday night in Anaheim. Over the first six innings, Schilling yielded only two runs on six hits, striking out five and walking none. In the seventh, however, he seemed to run out of gas, as Maicer Izturis led off the inning with a home run and Jeff Mathis doubled, ending Schilling's night.

Orioles: Trachsel hasn't won in four starts since being activated from the disabled list and has completed six innings in just one of his last seven outings. The veteran posted an ERA over 8.00 in both June and July, but he has allowed just two earned runs in his last two starts. Trachsel didn't attract much interest at the non-waiver trading deadline but could still be moved at some point in August. As long as he remains with the Orioles, he'll likely continue to pitch out of the starting rotation.

As usual all statistics were found at the day by day database at Baseball Musings and this year at Baseball Reference.

Sox Batting vs Trachsel

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
D. Pedroia	4	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	.500
K. Youkilis	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
D. Ortiz	4	2	1	0	0	1	3	0	.500
M. Ramirez	12	4	3	0	1	4	2	0	.333
J. D. Drew	27	6	0	0	1	2	6	6	.222
M. Lowell	32	11	2	0	1	4	4	5	.344
J. Varitek	7	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	.143
C. Crisp	5	1	0	0	0	1	3	1	.200
J. Lugo	8	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	.375
Totals	104	30	7	0	3	13	21	18	.288

Pretty good Batting Average here and that 104 equals a little over two games. Average score would be 6+ runs if the RBI's etc. held up. Six runs, hmmm, I could live with that!

Pitching Comparisions

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Schilling	12	6	4	0	82	82	36	9	13	67	3.95	1.16	6.83
Trachsel	3	1	0	1	19 1/3	13	3	0	12	14	1.40	1.29	6.44

Schilling has a decent record vs the O's. as a Red Sox he is 5 an 1 with a 3.23 ERA in 8 games with a 1.09 WHIP and averaging 6.63 IP / GS. Five of those eight starts have been quality starts. This year he has faced the Orioles twice. The first time was at Baltimore on 4/25 and then again on 5/12 at Fenway park.

His record this year is 1 and 0 with a 3.65 ERA in 12 1/3 innings. His WHIP is a very high 1.46 and he averaged 6.17 IP / GS. So, split results, but the last time he actually lost to the Orioles was on 7/28/2004. Look for Schilling to go six strong innings today as he improves from his last outing.

Even though Trachsel has a microscopic ERA of 1.40 vs the Sox, that is mainly driven by his first appearance back in 2000. That game he pitched a complete game shutout only allowing three hits.

This year he has faced the Sox on 5/12 and 8/1 (both at Fenway). His ERA climbs to a still respectable 2.61 in 10 1/3 innings, but his WHIP climbs to an atrocious 1.84 and his IP / GS falls to a 5/17 ratio. With that trend and the batting averages against that this team has, look for another short outing from Steverino!

♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!

Red Sox 07 Game 116 Recap

Final

Press Pass ✠ Box ✠ Play/Play ✠ Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	0		6	10	0
Baltimore	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2		2	8	0

W: J. Beckett (15-5) L: G. Olson (1-1) S: J. Papelbon (27)

☼ Sun - Lugo - Two run double in the second started the runs.
☁ Cloud - Olson - it is not everyday I can pick a rookie left hander.

Game thoughts!

Beckett was outstanding. 8 2/3 IP and the only time he ran into trouble was in the 9th. A lead off double by Roberts was the first lead off batter to reach against him all day. I thought he was going to be able to get out of trouble when he retired the next two batters but Tejada got a break when Tek dropped the foul tip on strike three and one pitch later it was a 6 - 1 ballgame. Millar followed up with a double that scored Miggie and that finished the day for Beckett.

MDC faced only the one batter, Huff, and after 12 pitches (numerous fouls including another drop by Tek), Huff drew the walk. A tough at bat that MDC barely lost.

The Bot though said enough of this foolishness and went right to work. Two fast balls for strikes and then another fast ball was popped up to Pedroia. Game over baby, and Bot earned his 27th save.

One more game on this trip, and a win tomorrow would mean a winning record on the trip.

Lugo watch - 2 for 3 - up to .233

Coco watch - 0 for 4 - down to .273

Drew watch - 3 for 5 - up to .259

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Red Sox 07 Game 116

			@
J. Beckett		14-5, 3.31		G. Olson		1-0, 3.86
Red Sox		69-46		Orioles		53-61

Saturday, August 10      Oriole Park at Camden Yards  ✠ 3:55 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Boston	69	46	-	5-5	17	17	70	45
New York	64	51	5.0	8-2	10	15	70	45
Toronto	58	56	10.5	6-4	20	19	61	53
Baltimore	53	61	15.5	4-6	10	22	57	57
Tampa	44	71	25.0	4-6	13	12	44	71

ESPN.Com Preview .
Yahoo's Preview .
ESPN.Com after the game Recap.
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report

Red Sox: Beckett worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on eight hits, as he picked up his 14th win of the season Sunday in Seattle. The Boston right-hander walked two and struck out nine as he joined Cleveland's C.C Sabathia, Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs and the Angels' John Lackey as the top winners in the Major Leagues. Beckett had lost three of his previous four starts before picking up the victory against the Mariners.

Orioles: Brian Burres moved back into the bullpen earlier in the week and will likely cede his rotation slot to Olson, who acquitted himself well in two starts earlier this season. The southpaw has gone 9-7 with a 3.16 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk, and Baltimore would like to re-evaluate him and see if he's ready to leap forward and take a rotation slot next season.

As usual all statistics were found at the day by day database at Baseball Musings and this year at Baseball Reference.

Hitting History vs Orioles

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
D. Pedroia	34	7	1	0	0	4	6	3	.206
K. Youkilis	125	38	13	0	3	17	23	26	.302
D. Ortiz	367	97	22	2	20	73	73	74	.264
M. Ramirez	632	199	33	1	31	142	113	136	.315
J.D. Drew	35	10	1	0	1	3	9	3	.286
M. Lowell	127	37	10	1	4	27	15	10	.291
J. Varitek	380	90	23	0	12	57	58	99	.237
C. Crisp	87	23	2	1	1	13	16	10	.264
J. Lugo	230	64	8	1	5	19	26	25	.278
Totals	2018	565	113	6	77	355	339	386	.280

The Sox have never faced Olson, so I put up their career averages vs the Orioles. Not bad for this team. The problem is they have never faced Olson, and he is a lefty. Well, you know how that can go sometimes! Still, even after a tough loss last night, I am still hopeful!

Historical Pitching Lines (Beckett vs Orioles)

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Beckett	4	2	1	0	27	21	10	2	4	22	3.33	.93	6.75

Beckett has pitched very well vs the Orioles. This will be his third start vs Baltimore this year. He is 0-1 in 2007 having went only 4 innings in the Mothers day miracle and having lost his last start vs this team on 7/31/2007. That was the game he started vs Bedard and gave up five runs in eight innings pitched. Still this is Josh "freaking" Beckett. Look for a stopper like appearance from him today!

Olson has never faced the Sox, in fact he has only two major league starts both against the White Sox. Total for those games are 9 1/3 innings with 11 hits, 4 earned runs for a 3.86 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP in an average of 4 2/3 innings per start.

♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!