Red Sox @ Rays Preview

The last time the Red Sox visited Tropicana Field, Matt Garza helped the Rays end their season. Tonight the Sox will look for some redemption as Beckett and Garza face eachother.

Beckett so far this season has been unimpressive. He is 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA, and really hasn't dominated at all other then the first start of the season. The good news is that the Rays have been struggling so far this season, and their bats (other then Pena) don't look as tough as they did last season.

I see Garza much like I see Beckett. He has the stuff to be dominant when he wants to, but he seems to string together some below par stats at times. So far this season Garza is 1-2 with a 4.97 ERA. He started off the season real hot, but over his past two starts he given up 10 runs.

I think one of these pitchers is due for a great name. my hope is that it is the Sox, but Boston could be having some trouble with their lineup as Youk might still be out with a bad back and DL Drew has been in and out of the lineup too...

Game starts at 7:08pm on NESN.

Pat Burrell To Rays

Ken Rosenthal of Fox News has reported that the Tampa Bay Rays and Pat Burrell are close to agreement on a 2 year $16 Mil deal.
This is a pretty good move for the Rays as they were looking to get some more power in their lineup. And thats gotta be a bit scary for the rest of the AL east because this guy can hit, and now that hes gonna keep the glove off and be in the DH spot, he can concentrate on just hitting. The 32 year old went through some rough times last year, but came through huge in the post season.
As a Phillies fan, i appreciate all he has done for the organization, but it was obvious he was gonna leave town and even more obvious that hes little good to any team in the field, so the AL was destined to receive Pat the Bat.

Very Long Weekend Ends With Sox Embarrassment

Saturday night's tough extra inning defeat, coupled with the Patriots' hardships in California were made bearable because Jon Lester was pitching on Monday. Jon Lester would make things good again for Boston sports fans. Jon Lester would shut down the Rays, and the Sox would be up 2-1 in the ALCS.

Jon Lester came, he saw, he got knocked around.



He dominated the first two innings. The Rays drew a cheap run in the 2nd thanks to a missed strike call, a passed ball, and a bloop single. But Lester fell apart in the 3rd, giving up a single, a double, and a pair of homeruns. He put himself together and pitched well after that, but sufficient damage had been done.

Why was 5 runs enough to end a game in the 3rd inning?

Because this offense has decided not to hit, or at least not to hit at the right times. Ortiz + Youkilis + Drew = 1 for 12 with a single and 5 Ks. Ellsbury is 0 for his last 20. Ortiz is 1 for his last 17. It's one thing to have Varitek and Cora struggling, it's something entirely different to have your leadoff hitter and middle of the lineup slugger unable to do anything at the plate.



The offensive woes have been frustrating. But the starting pitching has given two very shabby performances the last two games. Had Beckett made a solid start Saturday night, the Sox would be up 2-1, not down 1-2. Playoff baseball is won and lost by pitching, not hitting. And for the last 19 innings, that pitching has been dreadful.

The news doesn't get much better. Andy Sonnanstine takes on Tim Wakefield Tuesday night. Sonnansitine pitched 13 innings against the Sox this year without allowing an earned run. Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, and Youkilis are a combined 10 for 55 (.182) against him. Wakefield, on the other hand, was 0-2 against Tampa, with a 5.87 ERA.

But anything can happen. And at the very least, we won't have to suffer through 4 Jason Varitek at-bats. And at least none of our pitchers worship Satan.



Finally, did you know that Rocco Baldelli is from Woonsocket, RI? You'd think the TBS guys might have mentioned it at least once.

Commandor
Boston Blood

Red Sox vs. Rays Game 3 Lineups

Only major move is that Cora will be at SS instead of Lowrie, and I guess Drew felt like playing today.

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2 .Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mark Kotsay, 1B
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Alex Cora, SS

Jon Lester, SP

Rays

1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. B.J. Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena,1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Willy Aybar, DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Rocco Baldelli, RF
9. Jason Bartlett, SS

Matt Garza, SP

Game is at 4:37pm

-BMack

Sox vs. Rays Game 2 Lineups

No J.D. Drew tonight, Coco will play instead. Francona says its not because of injury, but rather for his 1 for 7 with three strikeouts and a walk stat line vs. Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir. I don't know if I believe that, because I don't see them wanting to take out one of their best weapons out of the lineup. Anyways here is the rest of the lineups...

Red Sox
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Mark Kotsay, 1B
9. Coco Crisp, CF

Josh Beckett, SP

Rays
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. B.J. Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Cliff Floyd, DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Gabe Gross, RF
9. Jason Bartlett, SS

Scott Kazmir, SP

-BMack

Sox Take Game 1 (2-0)

Everyone seemed to be saying last night before game 1, and I agreed. If the Sox win game 1 they will take this series. I know it's only one game, but I really don't have much worry about this series anymore.

Last night was a strange night. In the first inning it was business as usual, as Dice-K walked the bases loaded. In typical Dice-K fashion he got the next batter to ground out to 2nd, yet from this point on something changed. This wasn't a normal Dice-K outing. The innings went by, and I have to admit I didn't notice till about the 4th. I refused to say anything, instead just turned my computer to a friend and pointed at the stat line. There had been no hits. Could he do it? Would Francona let him if his pitch count got too high? All these questions raced though my head.

While Dice-K was dominating the were struggling against James Shields. It wasn't until the 5th inning that the Sox got something going, as Jason Bay started the inning with a walk. Then Mark Kotsay (who I am liking more and more) ripped a double to left field, putting bay at 3rd. Lowrie did his job and got the sacrifice fly, scoring Bay, but then Varitek came up and couldn't do what he was supposed to and grounded out to 2nd. I really don't understand how Tek can't get the ball to the outfield in that situation since all he does it pop out to the outfield. He has an uppercut swing, and he is the captain, but whatever we move on.

Dice-K just kept rolling, but there was a weird feeling in the air, that Dice-K was going to have one of "those" innings. He made it all the way to the 7th with the no hit attempted. In the 7th Crawford singled to right, then Floyd singled. My stomach started to sink, "this is it, we needed that run from Tek, Dice-K's not going to be able to do it". Next batter...pop out, then Gabe Gross (still don't know why he was even playing) strikes out. See this wasn't the normal Dice-K outing. He was hitting his spots, almost every time, and he seemed to have this confidence that I usually don't see from him. So, with two outs he gets Jason Bartlett to ground out, and the Sox moved into the 8th.

In the 8th the MVPs for the Sox went to work. Pedrioa got on, and stole 2nd, then Youk drove him home. How many times have we seen that this year? Later in the inning Drew was hit by a pitch. It was unintentional, but I was worried we may had seen the last of J.D. Glass, but he got up and stayed in the game. So, the Sox are up 2-0, but the question remained about, what to do with Dice-K. Do you bring him back out? He was at about 110 pitches, but this was a guy who can pitch 130 easy. They decided to bring him back out, but after two quick singles he was pulled for Okajima. Okajima did his job and got Carlos Pena to pop out, and I really thought that Francona would keep him in after getting one of the most dangerous hitters on this team out, but instead he pulled him for Masterson. I guess Francona knows his stuff, as Masterson got rookie of the year Longoria to ground into an inning ending double play.

Papelbon came in for the 9th, and we all knew it was over. He struck out 2 out of 3 batters, and the Sox took a 1-0 lead in the series. I really believe you are going to see a very good outing from Beckett tonight, and Lester has been dominant. So, I really think the Sox have control of this series. Game 2 is tonight at 8:07.

-BMack

Red Sox vs Rays Lineups

Red Sox
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mark Kotsay, 1B
8. Jed Lowrie, SS
9. Jason Varitek, C

Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP

Rays
1. Akinroi Iwamura, 2B
2. B.J. Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Cliff Floyd, DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Gabe Gross, RF
9. Jason Bartlett, SS

James Shields, SP

-BMack

Pitching Matchups For Sox vs. Rays

Game 1: Dice-K vs. James Shields

Game 2: Josh Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir

Game 3: Jon Lester vs. Matt Garza

Game 4: Tim Wakefield vs. Andy Sonnanstine

This sets up Beckett and Lester for games 6 and 7. The Wake got the 4th spot, because Francona said it was easier to move Byrd to the bullpen. Problem is the Rays running ability will be on full display against Wakefield.

-BMack

White Sox Stay Alive With 5-3 Win

John Danks is turning into the White Sox best pitcher, and he just extended their season for at least one more game. The night didn't start well as the Rays jumped out to an early lead, but the White Sox would not go quietly as they tied the game 1-1 in the 3rd inning. In the 4th, the White Sox got 3 runs on the board, 2 of which came off a two run double by no name Dewayne Wise. Wise is a guy who has been surprisingly starting over Nick Swisher, and well now Guillen looks like a genius. Dank cruised through the next couple of innings and finished going 6 2/3 allowing 3 runs on 7 hits with 7 Ks. The White Sox bullpen was able to hold the lead, and combined to throw 2 1/2 scoreless innings, capped off with a Bobby Jenks save. The next game will be tomorrow in Chicago where the White Sox Gavin Floyd will be facing Tampa Bay's Andy Sonnanstine.

-BMack

Rays Win Game 1 (6-4)

Hello World meet Evan Longoria...

That was the story in this game as Longoria belted 2 home runs, and led the Rays to their first postseason win ever. Longoria didn't waste much time as he homered in his first two at bats, and people really have to wonder if he didn't get hurt, he may have won AL MVP. Anyways, the Rays won this game surprisingly by out slugging the White Sox. I would have thought that guys like Griffey, Thome, and Dye would have been the ones hitter HRs, but they combined to go 1-12, as Shields rolled through 6 innings of work. The only inning that he had trouble was in the 3rd when Wise hit a 3-run homer, but Shields bounced right back, and the Rays bullpen looked fantastic going 2 1/2 innings letting up only 1 meaningless run in the 9th. Rays certainly look dangerous, especially with Crawford back on the field. Pena left the game with an eye injury, but I guess it happened at home, and isn't considered serious.

-BMack

Rays vs White Sox

Initial Thoughts: I’m going to start this off by heaping more praise upon these feisty Rays. In late August/early September the Red Sox were charging hard and looked to take a stranglehold on the AL East. They had Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett coming back as well as David Ortiz rounding into form while the Rays were without Carl Crawford and (for the most part) Troy Percival. The way they not only hung in there in September but managed to add to their lead. The events of September lead me to believe this team very well could be in line with the 2001 Patriots or ’69 Mets as a team of pure destiny. The White Sox had to use their ace in John Danks to sneak in to the playoffs with a 1-0 win last night over the Twins. They’re going into this series with Javier Vasquez (4.67 ERA) as their opening game starter. When you’re as big of an underdog as the White Sox are, game 1 is crucial and Vasquez’s maddening inconsistency doesn’t bode well for their chances in this series.

White Sox Strengths:

One area the White Sox trump the Rays is at the end of the game. Having a healthy Bobby Jenks to close games is a major asset….Post season experience will help too; Mark Buehrle pitched very well in those tight September games and has gone through this before.

Jim Thome in the post season is always scary because of his ability to draw walks and, oh yeah, hit some prodigious homeruns. The amount of production he and Jermaine Dye give the South Siders will help decide how long this series will go.

Ozzie Guillen: The man can obviously coach but the way he motivates players is his calling card. If he can get this team to the ALCS, it’ll be his greatest triumph yet.

Concerns:

Tiring starters. Unlike ’05 when their pitching was rested and ready to run through the playoffs, their pitching is tired from trying to hold off the Twins down the stretch. Gavin Floyd was great all year (unlike Freddy Garcia) but this was his first full major league season. He wore out in September to a degree and Chicago won’t have Danks going until game 3 at the earliest.

(They’ll Always Be Devil to Me) Rays Strengths:

Destiny: As I said before, this team also reminds me of the ’99 Red Sox in that the whole team is greater than the sum of its parts. There is no rhyme or reason as to why they won this division. Curt Schilling’s favorite night club dancer might be on the Rays’ side this post season.

A healthy Carl Crawford will make this team even better. He fielding, energy and what he can do on the base paths will make things easier for the rest of the lineup.

Kazmir, Shields and Garza. I’m not as high on Garza as I am the other two but having three quality, hard-throwing starters at this time of year is huge. Past those three, they have Andy Sonnanstine, a soft thrower who somehow baffles the Red Sox every time he faces them. The once pitching-depleted Rays now have a rotation that is talented, young and not going away.

I know Carlos Pena didn’t quite have the year he did last season but he’s locked in for a big series. Mark it down.

Concerns:

Closing games out. The Rays had Dan Wheeler as their closer at the end of the year due to Troy Percival’s health concerns. To go back to my earlier point about Jenks, having an established closer is important and the Rays don’t have a healthy, reliable reliever to finish off games right now.

X-Factors: Eighth inning guys can be as important as closer sometimes. Grant Balfour has had an amazing year but his name doesn’t pop up too often on ESPN; it will after this post season because everyone outside of Tampa will now see how filthy his stuff is…The White Sox really need a contribution from Griffey to have a shot at this series. He doesn’t need to hit 5 homeruns and act as though it’s 1995 but they definitely need him to be productive.

Who Will Win: Shields throws a gem in game 1 while Kazmir and Garza pitch well enough to hold early leads .Rays have an easy time with this veteran, tired White Sox team and sweep them as Ozzie Guillen blows a gasket and starts throwing bats at reporters.

Baseball News

Yesterday the Tampa Bay Rays clinched a play-off spot in the AL and probably are going to win the East. At first I didn't take the Rays seriously, but after the continuously beat the Sox, I am scared shitless of this team. They remind me of the 03 Florida Marlins, have sick pitching and have a bunch of young guys who are fast and awesome. They are a very fundamental team and that scares me.

It's their year.

Rays Blowout Sox 10-3

The night started well as the Sox took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, as David Ortiz hit a 2 run HR. The good times didn't last long as Tampa came back with a 3 run bottom of the first. It didn't get any better for the Wake tonight as he up only lasting 2 1/3 innings while surrendering 6 runs. The bullpen did an OK job the rest of the way (except Pauley), but the Sox still lost 10-3. Ortiz was the only source of runs, as he added another HR in the fourth. Boston is in need of some other players stepping up, as there is still no word on when J.D. Drew will be back, and Mike Lowell was held out of today's game with pain in his hip. It will be interesting to see how long Lowell is going to be able to handle the pain, or if he is going to have to shut it down for the season. The Sox are going to make the playoffs, but I am not sure who is going to be left to play. The Sox may want to start resting guys, and get ready for the post-season instead of running wildly after the Rays.

-BMack

Rays Beat Sox 2-1

The game came down to the bottom of the 9th. Masterson was on the hill, Barlett hit a single, then Pena walked, which was very questionable since the Sox would have had 2 strikes on him, but a ball came onto the field and time was called (yet no one seemed to know other than the 3rd base umpire). So, there was a man on 1st and 2nd with no out. Masterson was able to get Longoria to strikeout (3rd time today), but Masterson couldn't keep the momentum as he hit Cliff Floyd with a pitch to load the bases. So, with 1 out and bases loaded Dioner Navarro hit a deep fly ball to center field. Ellsbury new it was too deep to have a chance to throw Barlett out at the plate, so he let it go and the Rays beat the Sox 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th. The Sox now are no longer tied for 1st, and can't do any better than tie the Rays when this series is over (since it ends after tomorrow's game). The Rays have to be pumped to get this win, since they are back into 1st, and they end their slide. It was really a wasted effort by the Sox, as Beckett went 8 innings allowing only 1 run on 3 hits with 7 Ks. So, at least it seems like Beckett is ready for the playoff push. The bad news is that Mike Lowell really looked like he is hurt, and I am beginning to question how much longer he is going to be able to play through this injury (torn labrum). Lowell can barley run to first, and after making a bare handed play in the field, he was grimacing, and limping noticeably. As always we will keep you updated on Mike Lowell's status, as more information becomes available.

-BMack

Red Sox Tied For AL East Lead With 13-5 Win Over Rays

A game that on paper looked like a pitching duel, quickly turned into a HR derby (for the Red Sox that is). Scott Kazmir, who is Tampa Bay's stud ace, got lit up tonight for 9 runs in just 3 innings of work. The Sox got HRs by David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, and Jacoby Ellsbury. It started in the very first inning as the Sox went up 4-0 on a 3 run HR by David Ortiz, which was followed by solo HR by Mike Lowell. The Rays were able to cut it to 4-1 in the bottom of the 3rd, but the Sox quickly put this game away with 7 runs in the top of the 4th. The offense was just firing on all cylinders and the Sox easily strolled to a 13-5 victory.

Dice-K did his thing getting is 17th win of the season, and now stands at an incredible 17-2 on the season. This had to be one of the oddest seasons I have ever seen from any pitcher in MLB history. Dice-K will be very close (if not have) to 20 wins this year, but the guy can't win more than 5-6 innings. All is well now, but it does worry me a little bit, since the Red Sox are not going to want to rely on this shaky bullpen in the playoffs. That being said, the reason they play is to win, and Dice-K just gets it done.

The Red Sox are now tied for first place in the AL East, and have a commanding 7 game lead in the Wild Card race. All is well, at least for one night, in Red Sox Nation.

-BMack

Rays About To Get Better?

Over the past couple weeks the Sox have worked their way back in the AL East race. They had a chance to take the lead in the division before dropping a couple games to the Rays. The question all season has been whether or not this Rays team was going to have what it takes to string together a good season all year. Tampa is very good, but also very young, and many people thought (myself included) that they would fall off, but today the Rays may have got even better. All-Star rookie Evan Longoria is back, and they have also called up David Price, who might be the most highly touted prospect in the entire MLB. Langoria is obviously going to do what he does, but the addition of Price might be the thing that pushes the Rays over the top.

Here is what the official Minor League Baseball site says about David Price:
"He's got tremendous stuff, with a plus fastball, slider and above-average change up, excellent command of his pitches and the kind of leadership on the mound that screams "future ace." Price has great makeup and is extremely competitive. Add in the fact that this enticing package all comes in a left-hander".

If this guy is what all the scouts are are saying that he is, then the Sox are going to have a tough time taking back the AL East.

-BMack

Sox Inch Closer, Beat Rays 3-0

This just in Jon Lester is a stud!!! Tonight he brought the Sox to within 1/2 game of the Rays for the lead in the AL East. The Sox did all their scoring in the first inning, but that is all they would need as Lester went 7 2/3 scoreless innings allowing 6 hits with 9 Ks. It was exactly what the Sox needed as they seem to be peaking at the right time. Boston scored their runs in the first inning off an RBI double by David Ortiz, and RBI single by Youk, and a solo HR by Jason "Bay State". The Sox defense was great, but Lester stole the show. He did get into some trouble in the 8th inning. There was a man on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Since Lester was already at 119 pitches, the Sox decided to bring in Papelbon to end the game. Papelbon did the job and got the 4 out save to give the Sox 85th win of the season.

Lester is now 14-5 with a 3.23 ERA. He will not win the Cy Young, but with the innings he has eaten this year, there should be a serious argument that he has been the most important pitcher for the Sox this season. Papelbon got this 36th save of the year, and looks like he is all geared up for the playoffs. I was a little worried that they had been over using him, but he has just been awesome. To make it an even better night it sounds like Drew might be back for the Toronto series later this week.

-BMack

Crawford/Longoria Land On DL

Yesterday we saw the Rays put Carl Crawford on the DL with a hand injury. Today, the news was no better, as they had to put their All-Star younger Evan Longoria on the DL with a broken right wrist. Crawford I think will be back in time to have an impact on the remainder of the season, but I think Longoria's year may be over. Wrists are hard to come back from (ask Ortiz or Nomar), and there isn't much time left. It is interesting to see all these guys going on the DL. The Sox lost Wakefield, the Yanks lost Joba, the White Sox lost Contreras, and the Rays have now lost Crawford and Longoria...and this all happened within a week. Wow, but I have to say that this really opens the door for the Sox to take the AL East if they can figure out what they are going to do about Wakefield and Buchholz spots in the rotation.

-BMack

Jason Bay Is A Ray?

The Rays are going to acquire right-handed hitting outfielder Jason Bay for prospects including shortstop Reid Brignac and right-hander Jeff Niemann, according to MLB.com.

Fuck. This means two things, 1. Manny isn't going anywhere, 2. The Rays are serious, and just got a lot better offensively. Reid Brignac is a good SS prospect and Jeff Nieman is a pitcher who will be in the Pirates Rotation immediately.

(Update: Obviously didn't happen)

Red Sox vs Rays

This is what happened last time the Sox faced off vs Rays.

Tonight Justin Masterson is going against arch rival, Shield, in what is cracked up to be the battle for the best record in the MLB. I don't expect a brawl to happen again, but Papelbon said that "it's not over" and Manny has been practicing fighting Red Sox employees so he should be ready to go. I actually think it'll be a decent score tonight. My prediction is 5 to 4 Sox, with Jacoby coming up big for the Sox and B.J. Upton coming up big for the Rays and 2 hit batters.