Red Sox 07 Game 99 Recap

Press Pass ♊ Recap ♊ Box ♊ Play by Play

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

W: J. Lester (1-0) L: J. Westbrook (1-6)
HR ⇛ Cle: G. Sizemore (18)

☼ The Sun - Lester is the feel good, but Coco is lighting it up so he gets my Vote
☁ The Cloud - Westbrook - 5 runs in the first two innings

Idle thoughts!

Coco is boiling at the plate as he went 4 for 5 with three runs scored last night. In his last ten games he is batting a robust .462/.512/.692. Will take those stats from the lead off hitter!

Lugo watch - 1 for 4 and maintaining his .225 BA.

Drew watch - 1 for 5 and at .252, of course his one hit extended the lead to 3 - 0 in the first inning.

Lester looked good, in fact he was better than I thought he would be last night. His only troubles really came in the third (2 run home run) and the fourth when he loaded the bases on walks (no freaking surprise) after a lead off double. Fortunately he was able to strike out Sizemore to end the inning without in runs scoring. Good for the kid. Now, give me one more start that is just as good and I will be even happier.

Daisuke tonight!

Later - When all else fails get a bigger hammer!

Red Sox 07 Game 99

			@
J. Lester		0-0, 0.00		J. Westbrook		1-5, 6.07
Red Sox		59-39		Indians		58-40

Monday, July 23    Jacobs Field  7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	59	39	-	5-5	60	38
New York	51	46	7.5	8-2	58	39
Toronto	48	50	11.0	5-5	50	48
Baltimore	44	53	14.5	6-4	48	49
Tampa	38	60	21.0	4-6	37	61

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Red Sox: Lester will conclude his difficult road back to the Majors in this one. In September 2006, Lester was diagnosed with anaplastic cell lymphoma, a form of cancer that required six stages of chemotherapy throughout the fall. Declared cancer-free on Dec. 5, Lester began his return to baseball and had nearly recovered his normal playing weight by Spring Training. He made 11 starts over two months at Triple-A Pawtucket, going 3-4 with a 2.70 ERA. Lester's return marks the end of Julian Tavarez's tenure in the Red Sox rotation.

Indians: The Indians view Westbrook's performance as one of their keys to staying in contention down the stretch, But he's been surprisingly inconsistent. In his last start against the White Sox, he had trouble commanding his sinking fastball, and he gave up four runs on seven hits with two walks, three strikeouts and a home run over six innings. Westbrook has had trouble maintaining his mechanics from pitch to pitch this season. He is 3-1 with a 4.23 ERA in five career appearances against Boston.

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

Hitting History vs Westbrook

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
C. Crisp	4	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.750
D. Pedroia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
D. Ortiz	7	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	.000
M. Ramirez	13	6	0	0	0	1	0	1	.462
J.D. Drew	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
M. Lowell	8	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.250
K. Youkilis	6	4	1	0	0	3	1	1	.667
J. Varitek	5	3	1	0	0	1	1	0	.600
J. Lugo	21	5	2	0	0	1	2	2	.238
Totals	66	23	4	0	0	6	9	6	.348

A pretty good line up with good history vs Westbrook, with Manny leading the way. I expect that Eric Hinske will start tonight with Manny DH'ing again. Eric is 5 for 10 with two doubles. Sliding him into Ortiz's line up slot increases the batting average to .406.

This game has all the makings of a slug fest. Let us hope that the Sox bats continue their hot hitting.

Historical Pitching Lines

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Lester	1	0	0	0	6	8	3	1	1	3	4.5	1.5	6
Westbrook	5	3	1	0	27 2/3	38	13	1	13	11	4.23	1.84	5.53

Jon's game vs the Indians last year was one of his better games. Six innings while only allowing three earned runs. It also was one of his four quality starts last year.

The question is how good will his stamina be tonight. Last year he only went six plus inning in six of his fifteen starts, the question is can he do at least as well this time around.

Westbrook has made five starts with three of them being quality starts. He faced the Sox twice last year, pitching 13 innings and allowing eight runs. Most of those runs came in his last start when he allowed six runs but still got the win.

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

Red Sox 07 Game 98 Recap

Press Pass || Recap || Box|| Play by Play

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

W: Wakefield (11-9) L: Garland (7-7) S: Papelbon (22)
HR ► Bos: M. Ramirez (15), M. Lowell (15)

☼ The Sun - MBM is the obvious, but I think it goes to Okajima for stranding 3 in the 7th
☁ The Cloud - Garland - 2 home runs, 3 runs each

Idle thoughts!

29 runs, since the team meeting that is the number of runs the Sox scored in three games. Whatever was said by Francona, he needs to bottle it and save it for those days when it will be needed.

Lugo watch - 1 for 3 and maintaining a .225 average, with a run scored. He is definitely looking comfortable at the plate. More importantly, the team is headed to a park where he has batted .324/.366/.649 the last three years.

Drew watch - 0 for 4 with a walk and a run scored. Right now he is on schedule to have his worst year since 2002. Still, the power numbers are improving and he was robbed by a dandy stab at third in his last at bat.

Coco watch - 3 for 4 and only one of the starters who did not score, of course he made up for that by knocking in three runs. His .277 average is only 5 points below his career average. This is the Crisp that Theo wanted when he made the trade for him in 2005! Last three years at Jacobs field - .289/.335/.433, another one who should feel comfortable in Cleveland.

Papelbon was rusty and it took him awhile to warm up. His ball four to Cintron was his first pitch to break 95 mph. Once warmed up he made short work of Thome and Konerko.

Okajima continues to be the MVP of this team. Look for his numbers and for Francona's confidence to continue to rise.

Delcarmen finally allowed inherited runners to score, but I still think that Tito will use him for the seventh inning bridge to Papelbon.


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

Lester Called Up, To make start on 7/23/2007

As reported by the Boston Globe Extra Bases: Jon Lester has been called up from Pawtucket and will start tomorrow nights game vs the Indians. Tavarez will be moving to the bull pen.

Good for Jon who is 4-5 with a 3.89 ERA in Pawtucket.

Red Sox 07 Game 98

			@
J. Garland	7-6, 3.88					T. Wakefield		10-9, 4.69
White Sox	43-53					Red Sox		58-39

Saturday, July 21    Fenway Park | 3:55 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	58	39	-	5-5	59	38
New York	50	46	7.5	7-3	56	40
Toronto	47	50	11.0	4-6	49	48
Baltimore	43	52	14.0	6-4	47	48
Tampa	38	59	20.0	4-6	38	59

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White Sox: Despite battling the flu and needing 122 pitches to get through six innings, the right-hander still gave the White Sox a chance to win Tuesday night in Cleveland. Garland allowed three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking three, but finished with a no-decision in the 6-5 loss in 11 innings to the Indians. Garland has a 3-3 record with a 4.76 ERA against Boston and has a 1-2 record with a 4.25 ERA at Fenway Park.

Red Sox: Wakefield got his 19th straight decision to start the 2007 season on Tuesday night, but it wasn't the kind he wanted. He gave up six earned runs and nine hits over 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Royals. Since May 1, Wakefield has an 8-6 record with a 5.47 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 Garland.

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
C. Crisp	18	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	.167
D. Pedroia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D. Ortiz	17	6	0	0	2	4	4	2	.353
M. Ramirez	17	9	3	0	2	6	4	3	.529
J. D. Drew	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500
M. Lowell	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
K. Youkilis	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.143
D. Mirabelli	7	2	0	0	0	1	1	3	.286
J. Lugo	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000
Totals	77	22	3	0	4	12	9	17	.286

Pretty good average and results, with Manny leading the way. Hmm, the way he is hitting right now, we may see two more home runs from him against this pitcher.

Today would be a good day to give Mike Lowell a rest. Hinske also has good success against Garland as he is 10 for 27 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs. Overall with Hinske batting instead of Lowell, the batters would have a .327 average.

Pitching Comparisions (all Appearances)

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Garland	7	2	3	0	45 1/3	50	24	7	19	29	4.76	1.52	6.00
Wakefield	16	5	10	0	116 1/3	124	70	21	52	91	5.42	1.51	6.10

Pitching Comparisions (as Starters)

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Garland	7	2	3	0	42	42	20	5	17	28	4.29	1.40	6.00
Wakefield	16	5	8	0	97 2/3	106	61	18	46	69	5.62	1.56	6.10

In the last five starts against Chicago, Mr. Wakefield's numbers (as bad as they are) look even better than his total starts as he has given up 20 earned runs in 32 2/3rd innings for a 5.51 ERA. That has led to a 1-4 record in those five starts. Only Texas has better numbers against Wakefield (9-14 with a 5.66 ERA).

As bad as Wakefield has been against Chicago, Garland has been almost as bad for his team against the Sox, this includes a 4.25 ERA at Fenway. Even though this is his best year since 2005, he has a 6.17 ERA in four starts this July. He was pummeled by Minnesota on 7/6 and the other three were good quality starts. His record in those starts was 2 and 1. The question is whether the bats can continue to produce like they have the last 2 days.

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

Red Sox 07 game 97 Recap

Final

Press Pass l Box Score l Play-By-Play l Recap

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

W: K. Gabbard (4-0) L: J. Danks (6-7)

☼ Sun - Coco - his single in the second started the run barrage.
☁ Cloud - the White Sox bull pen - three straight bases loaded walks that put this game in the blow out status.

Game thoughts

Kason Gabbard can not be called the K kid or various other names, not when he goes out and pitches 7 innings of three hit ball with only one strike out. Still, he seems to have answered the question about being able to put back to back strong outings together. In the last two games he has went sixteen innings only allowing six, that's right six hits and only two walks. Oh, yeah, he also only allowed that one "earned" run in the second inning of today's game in those sixteen innings.

Coco is really on a roll. Since 6/1 in 41 games he is batting .320/.374/.480 that is in 150 at bats so it is a pretty good sample size. Way to go Coco!

J.D. had another strong outing with the bat as he stroked another double and drew two walks for the day. Its good to see the five hole producing. Let us hope it continues.

No Papi, no problem just move Manny up to the three hole and slot mr. grind out every at bat Youkilis in the number four hole. Seemed to work well today any way.

This was actually a close game until the seventh, but Mr. Hinske led off the inning with a single and stole second on Lugo's strike out. When Pedroia struck out it looked like we might see the Bot in the ninth as the game was still in doubt. That was when the dark clouds appeared for the White Sox.

For some reason, Guillen intentionally walked Manny only to see four straight walks issued by the bull pen. Now the game was out of reach and with that 40 minute inning there was no way that Kason was going to pitch the eighth.

So, the Sox now have a chance to win six games in this home stand. All they have to do is win tomorrow.

As for the "earned" statement earlier. Mr. Cement Glove misplayed another ball and thanks to lobbying by the Soxes (both teams) the error was changed to a hit. No way was that a hit.

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

Red Sox 07 Game 97

			@
J. Danks		6-6, 4.81		K. Gabbard		3-0, 3.38
Chicago White Sox		43-52		Red Sox		57-39

Saturday, July 21    Fenway Park | 3:55 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	57	39	-	4-6	58	38
New York	48	46	8.0	7-3	54	40
Toronto	46	50	11.0	4-6	48	48
Baltimore	43	52	13.5	6-4	47	48
Tampa	38	57	18.5	4-6	38	57

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White Sox: The rookie southpaw evened his record Monday at Jacobs Field, thanks to 11 runs from his offense. Danks threw 102 pitches over 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, striking out four and walking one. He was also touched up for home runs by Victor Martinez and Franklin Gutierrez, giving him a team-high 18 allowed this season. Danks has never faced the Red Sox, but he has a 3-3 record on the road.

Red Sox: On Monday night at Fenway, Gabbard served notice that he could be in Boston for the long haul. For nine sparkling innings, he silenced an underrated Kansas City offense, allowing no runs on three hits and striking out eight. The performance wowed a packed Fenway house and had coaches and teammates giddy after witnessing his two-hour, 18-minute clinic. Gabbard's breakout, on the heels of a strong performance in Detroit before the All-Star break, has set up an interesting rotational dilemma with Curt Schilling's impending return from injury.

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

Sox Batting vs Danks.

The Sox have never faced Danks, another one of those games where you hope the pitcher really struggles, so that you are in the drivers seat early.

Pitching Comparisions (last 5 games overall).

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Danks	5	3	0	0	29	31	19	6	8	23	5.90	1.34	5.80
Gabbard	5	3	0	1	29 1/3	21	11	2	14	25	3.38	1.19	5.87

Overall, Danks has done better in his last 10 games as he has a 5.37 ERA with a 4-2 record. His WHIP and IP / GS is worse though as he has a 1.62 WHIP in those games and only averaged 5.37 innings per start.

Still he is a lefty and the Sox have been struggling against the lefties since June 1st. Since that date they are 4-10 against left handed pitchers. That is not a good trend.

Danks has a medium fastball, low 90's but has an above average curve ball. In his last five starts he has only 1 quality start and last 10 starts only 2.

Gabbard has done well in his last two starts and has faced the White Sox once, last September 5, in Chicago. That was a well pitched game as he went 7 innings giving up 3 hits, k'ing 6 and walking only 2. That was the first win of his career and he had to be good, since the Sox were only able to score only one run vs Vasquez. This will be his tenth start in the majors.

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

Red Sox 07 game 96 Recap

Recap || Box|| Play by Play

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

W: Beckett (13-3) L: Contreras (5-12)
HR ► CWS: J. Thome (16) Bos: J. Lugo (6)

☼ The Bright - So many bright moments but this one goes to Coco for his 3 run triple.
☁ The Cloud - Contreras - 10 runs, count them, 10 runs!

Idle thoughts

Luckiest man in Boston is Tim Mcclelland who blew J.D.'s home run in the first. Fortunately, the bats stayed alive and came back to finish this game.

Key moments, the aforementioned double that should have been a 3 run home run, Thome's blast in the third in which it looked like the wheels might come off, Coco's triple, which reminded me of his hit against Mariano way back in April (another triple) and of course the coup de grâce Lugo's grand slam in the eighth.

I wonder what was said in the meeting before the game? Will be interesting to see if anyone breaks the silence and tells us what was said. Don't hold your breath though.

For once, Tito got thrown out of a game when he should have. When Mcclelland blew the home run call in the first, especially after last night's poor performance by this man in blue, not only was being rang up the right move, it was the necessary move. Way to go Tito!

Clean innings by Timlin, Okajima and Piniero sealed this game. Good job by all, now keep it up.

Chow

Red Sox 07 Game 96

			@
J. Contreras		5-11, 5.32		J. Beckett		12-3, 3.35
Chicago White Sox		43-51		Red Sox		56-39

Friday, July 20    Fenway Park | 7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	56	39	-	3-7	57	38
New York	48	45	7.0	7-3	54	39
Toronto	46	49	10.0	4-6	48	47
Baltimore	42	52	13.5	5-5	46	48
Tampa	37	57	18.5	4-6	36	58

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White Sox: Although his velocity jumped a bit from 89 or 90 mph in his last start to between 92-94 mph Sunday at Camden Yards, Contreras still fell to 1-7 in his last nine starts with the 5-3 defeat. Contreras yielded five runs on 10 hits over six innings, striking out three and walking two. Since last year's All-Star break, the big right-hander has lost 20 times. Contreras has a 3-4 record with an 8.56 ERA over nine games in his career against Boston. Contreras also has posted a 2-3 mark with a lofty 9.69 ERA at Fenway Park.

Red Sox: Beckett, a big, hard-throwing righty, is often at his best when he dominates under the radar. He did that again on Sunday, shutting down the Blue Jays for eight quiet innings, scattering seven hits and allowing two second-inning runs. This time, the Boston lineup couldn't help him to a league-leading 13th win, despite managing 11 hits.

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

Sox Batting vs Contreras

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
J.D. Drew	3	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.333
D. Pedroia	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
D. Ortiz	19	4	1	0	1	5	3	3	.211
M. Ramirez	18	3	1	0	1	3	1	7	.167
K. Youkilis	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	3	.286
M. Lowell	6	2	0	0	1	1	0	2	.333
J. Varitek	14	3	1	0	1	1	1	6	.214
C. Crisp	19	8	1	0	1	3	4	3	.421
J. Lugo	14	4	0	0	0	1	4	3	.286
Totals	98	25	4	0	5	15	16	27	.255

A .255 BA against this guy, and yet he has generally sucked vs the Red Sox. The way this team has struggled hitting in runs lately its time to make a line up change. If I was Francona I think I would have the following:

Lead off Pedroia - 2nd Youkilis - 3rd Ortiz - 4th Ramirez - 5th Varitek - 6th Lowell - 7th Drew - 8th Lugo - 9th Crisp. Its time to do something to shake the doldrums.

Bench Players against Contreras -
Cora - 4/10
Hinske - 4/13 (1 double)
Mirabelli - 1/5
Pena - never faced contreras.

If Tito starts Cora for Pedroia I would slot him as the lead off, if he was using my line up, if he's not using mine but his normal line-up then I would bat him 8th.

Pitching Comparisions

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Contreras	8	3	4	0	41	48	39	11	27	45	8.56	1.83	4.96
Beckett	2	1	0	0	9 2/3	12	5	3	2	12	4.66	1.45	4.83

Contreras has won three of his last four outings against the Sox. All of those starts have been as a White Sox. As a White Sox he is 3 and 0 with a 3.86 ERA, with a 1.29 WHIP and averaging 6.42 innings per start.

As a Boston Red Sox, Beckett made 1 start, his best start, at Chicago, where he went six innings giving up five runs (3 home runs). Well, maybe it wasn't his best start, from a run stand point, since his first start vs the White Sox was as a Marlin where he went 3 2/3 innings and gave up zero runs.

So, basically from a career stand point both pitchers have sucked vs these teams, but I give the advantage to Contreras since as a White Sox he has sparkled vs the Red Sox.

Later - (When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!)

Red Sox 07 Game 95 Recap

Final

Press Pass l Box Score l Play-By-Play l Recap

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

W: J. Vazquez (7-5) L: D. Matsuzaka (11-7)
HR CWS: P. Konerko (21)

► Hero - A.J. Pierzynski - 3 rbi's
► Goat - Matsuzaka

Game thoughts

Another game where the offense left plenty of men on base (9). This team has to start knocking in some runs.

Nibbler killed us again by issuing six, thats right six freaking walks. Of course this being nibbler he has to bunch them all together so that a hit will score more than one like in the sixth. He's lucky that Delcarmen picked him up by stranding the two runners on base when he came into the game.

Disgusted, is what I am now. Flat out disgusted.

Chow!

Red Sox 07 Game 95

			@
J. Vazquez		6-5, 3.77		D. Matsuzaka		11-6, 3.94
White Sox		42-51		Red Sox		56-38

Thursday, July 19    Fenway Park  7:05 PM ET 

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	56	38	-	3-7	56	38
New York	48	44	7.0	8-2	54	38
Toronto	45	49	11.0	4-6	47	47
Baltimore	42	52	14.0	5-5	46	48
Tampa Bay	37	56	18.4	4-6	36	57

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White Sox: A streak of two straight complete games came to an end for Vazquez, as he lasted 5 2/3 innings against Baltimore. Although the White Sox lost in extra innings, Vazquez finished with a no-decision after allowing four runs on six hits, while striking out six. Vazquez has a 1-4 career record with a 4.02 ERA against the Red Sox and has posted a 0-3 record and 4.50 ERA over four lifetime starts at Fenway Park. The right-hander lost a 1-0 decision in Boston on Sept. 5 of last season, yielding three hits in eight innings, while striking out 11.

Red Sox: Matsuzaka's troubles with making adjustments resulted in a second straight mediocre start on Saturday night against Toronto, but the Red Sox right-hander still got his 11th win after squandering a 4-2 lead. He allowed nine hits, including four doubles and two home runs, but held the Blue Jays to four earned runs in six innings. He has yet to face the White Sox.

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

Hitting History vs Vazquez

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
J.D. Drew	23	9	2	0	3	4	2	5	.391
D. Pedroia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
D. Ortiz	15	4	1	0	1	2	2	5	.267
M. Ramirez	16	4	0	0	2	3	0	7	.250
K. Youkilis	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000
M. Lowell	40	12	5	0	2	6	2	10	.300
J. Varitek	10	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	.000
C. Crisp	10	3	0	0	1	3	0	1	.300
J. Lugo	21	7	1	0	1	4	2	7	.333
Totals	140	39	9	0	10	22	9	43	.279

This team has some pretty good history vs Javier. What would make it even better is if Mirabelli was playing, especially since he is 4 for 11 with 2 home runs and 1 double. Come on Tito, play Dougie!

Historical Pitching Lines

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Vazquez	6	1	4	0	40 1/3	40	18	8	11	43	4.02	1.26	6.44
Matsuzaka	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0

In six starts Javier has four quality starts. When he has been good he has been very good including his last start vs this team last year on 9/5/2006. When he lost a 1-0 game to Kason Gabbard.

What I would do if I was Theo / Tito - Put J.D. on the DL to heal his hammy and call up Ellsbury.


Chow!

Red Sox 07 Game 94

Final

Box Score l Play-By-Play l Recap

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

W: Perez (5-8) L: Tavarez (5-8)
HR Bos: M. Ramirez (14)

► Hero - Billy Butler - the go ahead run came on his double in the 5th
► Goat - Tavarez - "I think I changed my game plan" in the fourth, Tavarez said. "I wasn't attacking the hitter like I was doing earlier."

Game thoughts

Even though Tavarez had struggled in his last four starts, I really felt good about this game after the Sox went ahead 4 to 2 in the bottom of the fourth. Especially since it had came after a two run inning for the Royals. Alas it just was not meant to be as the Royals sent seven men to the plate in the top of the fifth.

Where is the fire in the belly? Except for Pedroia and Youkilis I really did not see anybody playing with salt and vinegar in their steps. Where is the fire?

Want to know why they are less than .500 in 1 run games start with this fact:

►Runs scored on 5/13 in 9th - 6 runs.
►Including tonight Runs Scored in 9th inning - 26 runs.

Runs scored in the fifth inning by the opposing team - 72. That is almost 1/5th of all the runs scored by opposing teams.

Since 2002 the Sox are 24 and 18 against the Royals. Six games above 500 against a team with an abysmal record for the last 15 years. Un-Freaking-Believable.

Chow!

Red Sox 07 Game 94

			@
O. Perez		4-8, 5.68		J. Tavarez		5-7, 5.15
Royals		40-53		Red Sox		56-37

Wednesday, July 18                 Fenway Park  7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	56	37	-	4-6	56	37
New York	47	44	8.0	7-3	53	38
Toronto	45	48	11.0	5-5	47	46
Baltimore	42	51	14.5	5-5	46	47
Tampa	36	56	19.5	3-7	35	57

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

Royals: Perez, in the first game after the break, lasted just 4 2/3 innings at Cleveland on Friday night. For Perez to be effective, he has to hit his spots, and his aim was errant in that start. Although he walked just two, his pitch count had reached 95 when he was lifted. He'll be making this start on the one-month anniversary of his last victory -- June 18 over the Cardinals in KC. Perez lost to the Red Sox in the second game of the season, giving up three runs in the first inning.

Red Sox: Tavarez was roughed up by a healthy Blue Jays lineup on Friday, yielding 12 baserunners and four earned runs in just four innings of work. After a stretch of above-average pitching out of the No. 5 hole through June, Tavarez hasn't gotten the same results in three July outings. He has allowed 26 hits and seven walks in just 14 1/3 innings spanning those starts, as his ERA has ballooned back over five.

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

Hitting History vs Perez

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
J.D. Drew	10	4	2	0	0	3	1	4	.400
D. Pedroia	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
D. Ortiz	8	4	1	1	1	3	1	0	.500
M. Ramirez	10	3	1	0	0	2	2	3	.300
K. Youkilis	7	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	.286
M. Lowell	16	3	1	0	1	4	5	1	.188
J. Varitek	7	2	1	0	0	0	1	2	.286
C. Crisp	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.250
J. Lugo	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	.000
Totals	72	20	6	1	2	12	14	15	.278

They've seen him and they have hit him and in most cases they have hit him hard. I would like to think that will continue tonight but with this team who freaking knows. They are getting hits they just aren't stringing them together.

Historical Pitching Lines

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Perez	4	0	2	0	24 1/3	21	11	1	9	26	4.07	1.23	6.08
Tavarez (all)	4	3	1	0	25	33	16	5	6	15	5.76	1.56	-
Tavarez (starts)	4	2	1	0	19 1/3	30	15	4	4	9	6.98	1.76	4.83

Overall Tavarez has a pretty decent win-loss record, which just shows how much that can mean. In four starts vs the Royals he has not gotten past 5 2/3 innings pitched. That is not good enough right now. The Sox need Julian to come up big tonight, and with the way he has been pitching lately and his record vs the Royals, well, as Butch Stearns says: "I'm not so sure about that".

Chow!

Red Sox 07 Game 93 Recap

Final

Press Pass l Box Score l Play-By-Play l Recap

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	0	2	1	0	5	1	0		9	13	2
Boston	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0		3	12	0

W: Gobble (4-1) L: Wakefield (10-9)

► Hero - John Buck
► Goat - Tim Wakefield

Game thoughts

In my opinion this game turned in the bottom of the fourth. Ramirez and Youkilis led off the inning with back to back singles only to have Lowell hit a sinking line drive that was caught by a diving Sanders. Of course since it was a line drive the runners couldn't advance. Then Coco and Mirabelli struck out and Nunez was off the hook.

Once again the offense couldn't string any hits together in order to score the runs needed. As is usual, or at least it seems usual, when the offense struggles in this way the pitching fell apart. UGLY does not even begin to describe this game.

Nothing to see here, just move along. The only good thing is that there is another game tomorrow. The bad thing is that it is left hander that they will be facing.

Chow!

Red Sox 07 Game 93

			@
L. Nunez		0-0, ---		T. Wakefield		10-8, 4.47
Kansas City		39-53		Red Sox		56-36

Tuesday, July 17    Fenway Park | 7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	56	36	-	5-5	56	36
New York	46	44	9.0	7-3	52	38
Toronto	45	47	11.0	5-5	47	45
Baltimore	41	51	15.0	5-5	45	47
Tampa	35	56	20.5	2-8	34	57

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

Royals: Nunez was summoned from Triple-A Omaha to take sore-backed John Thomson's spot in the rotation. A former reliever, Nunez appeared in 48 games for the Royals in 2005-06 with a 3-2 record and 6.99 ERA. His left wrist was broken by a line drive in Spring Training; he worked his way back this season through Wichita and Omaha as a starter. In his last start, he pitched five shutout innings against Round Rock. Nunez works his fastball in the 90-92-mph range and also throws a slider and a changeup.

Red Sox: Wakefield was his usual self in his last start, winning his 10th game against the Blue Jays with a six-inning nine-hit effort. Fifteen years of knuckleball-heavy diets have done little to prepare hitters for subsequent at-bats against Boston's ageless wonder, who has a 3.66 ERA in 23 career appearances against Kansas City. "Wakey keeps guys off balance," Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew said. "He's definitely a guy that you don't want to face."

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

Sox Batting vs Nunez

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
J.D. Drew	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
D. Pedroia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
D. Ortiz	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.000
M. Ramirez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
K. Youkilis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
M. Lowell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
C. Crisp	3	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	.667
D. Mirabelli	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
J. Lugo	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
Totals	4	3	1	0	0	2	1	0	.750

There are times when I really wish that Varitek would catch Wakefield. This is one of those times as Varitek is 1 for 2 against Nunez, with that one hit being a grand slam on a 2-0 pitch on 8/4/2005. That home run made a winner of Clement and Schilling got the save.

Still, though in a limited sample the Sox have a decent record against this guy. Even though this will be his first start against the Sox, he has been seen by this team. That is always a plus.

Pitching Comparisions

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Nunez	0	0	1	0	1 1/3	4	5	1	3	0	33.75	5.25	0.00
Wakefield (all)	16	10	5	0	130 1/3	117	53	17	44	85	3.66	1.24	6.90
Wakefield (GS)	16	9	5	0	110 1/3	96	48	15	38	67	3.92	1.21	6.90

This is another team that Wakefield has had very good success against. Nine out of his sixteen starts have been quality starts. Anytime you average almost 7 innings in your starts and have a 1.21 WHIP is very good. Look for another type of these starts today.

Chow!

Note - 500th post

Red Sox 07 game 92 Recap

Recap || Box|| Play by Play

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

W: Gabbard (3-0) L: Bannister (5-6)
HR ► BOS: M. Ramirez (13), D. Ortiz (16), D. Pedroia (4)

► Hero - Gabbard - 9 innings 3 hits
► Goat - Bannister - 3 home runs given up

Idle thoughts!

Gabbard became the first rookie to pitch a shutout since Paul Quantrill in 1993. That will make any fans day. This was the 8th shutout for this team this year. The others were on 4/14 (W 8-0 ), 5/14 (W 2-0), 5/10 (W 8-0), 6/7 (W 1-0), 6/16 (W 1-0), 6/19 (W 4-0), and 6/20 (W 11-0). Thats one shutout every 11+ games.

Manny and Ortiz's power outages are over. Couldn't happen at a better time in my opinion. As they along with Pedroia provided all the offense this team needed.

Another game in which the first four batters provided most of the hits. In this game Drew, Pedroia, Ortiz and Manny went 5 for 16 and provided all of the runs. Lugo and Lowell had the other two hits.

Pedroia continues to show he has better range than Loretta with his good glove work in the fifth preserving the shutout. Not bad for a rookie.

The fifth inning was the only time that Kason really faced any trouble as he faced only 12 batters in the first four innings (getting double play started by Pedroia). In fact he had only given up the one hit until the fifth. After the fifth he started double plays in the seventh and the eighth and faced the minimum batters in the last four innings. An A+ game for the rookie.

A couple of more starts where he goes at least six innings and I think he will have cemented his place in this rotation. I look for more to come from this young lefty.

Chow!

Red Sox 07 Game 92

			@
B. Bannister		5-5, 3.71		K. Gabbard		2-0, 4.87
Blue Jays		39-52		Red Sox		55-36

Mondy, July 16    Fenway Park | 7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	55	36	-	5-5	55	36
New York	45	44	9.0	7-3	51	38
Toronto	45	46	10.0	6-4	46	45
Baltimore	41	50	14.0	5-5	45	46
Tampa	35	56	20.0	2-8	34	57

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

Royals: After reeling off a 5-1 record and being named AL Rookie of the Month in June, Bannister ran into a first-inning firecracker on the Fourth of July, when the Mariners jumped on him for four runs. But Bannister, an intelligent pitcher, quickly made adjustments and followed that with six shutout innings. He'll make this start after an 11-day rest period so it'll be interesting to see if he shows signs of rust. Bannister has never pitched at foreboding Fenway Park, either.

Red Sox: Though he didn't get a decision in his last start, Gabbard was on his game against Detroit on July 7. He allowed two runs and only three hits in 6 1/3 innings in Boston's 13-inning loss. His command of his fastball was much improved from his previous starts, so he was able to use the pitch effectively to set up his breaking pitches. It was Gabbard's fourth start of the season, and third since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on June 26.

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

Sox Batting vs Bannister

Nobody on the Sox has faced Bannister except for J.D. Drew who is 1 for 2. Like yesterday, that is not a good sign.

Pitching Comparisions (neither pitcher has faced each team so last 5 starts)

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Bannister	5	3	2	0	31 1/3	33	15	2	12	21	4.31	1.44	6.27
Gabbard	5	2	0	0	25	23	11	2	17	19	3.96	1.60	5.00

Looking at their last five starts this appears to be a pretty even matchup. Gabbard has the edge in ERA and Bannister has the edge in WHIP and IP/GS.

This will be Gabbards third start at Fenway this year. In his previous Fenway starts on 5/20 and 7/2. The lack of being able to go six innings have kept him from getting a quality start. He needs to start getting to the seventh inning if he really wants to help this club. Today just might be that day.

Chow!