1 Sox, 0 Rays

Thank God for Dustin Pedroia because I did not want to stay up any longer to be honest. It was 16 innings, 5 hours long and once Papelbon closed the door in the 16th, I could finally go to sleep.

This game shouldn't have gone this long to begin with, 1st the Tampa Bay relievers walked 10 batters, and in the 9th A Gon popped out in a clutch situation and in 10th he grounded out to the shift.

Josh Reddick made a stellar catch in the 10th robbing Justin Ruggiano that certainly would have been an extra base hit.

Josh Beckett and Jeff Niemann both looked great, giving up a combined 3 hits over 8 innings apiece. It's good to see Beckett is over that devastating "knee injury".

Pedroia To Have Surgery?

Very interesting report has surfaced today saying that Pedroia might need to have surgery on his right knee. He is having it checked out today in Boston, and they are going to put a camera into his knee to see the extent of the damage. If there are major problems he could have surgery on it as early as tomorrow.

CBS Sports has an unnamed Red Sox official that says that he doesn't expect Pedroia to need surgery and that "Pedey is overly dramatic," the Boston Herald quotes an anonymous source. "At this point, I honestly think we're just being cautious."

Pedroia has really struggled this year hitting only .241 with 4 HRs and 22 RBIs. I have wondered all along if it is his foot. I still think it is, and I am not really buying this knee thing either. It just seems like he is looking for an excuse for why he is playing so bad, and he has such a big ego that he need to think it's physical. Bottom like is that he won't be 100% until he gets that screw out of his foot after the season ends.

Guess I'm Not The Only One Worried About Pedroia

A couple days ago I wrote about how I was worried about Pedria (click here for post). Well, apparently I'm not the only one who is worried...

"Gammons also noted that second baseman Dustin Pedroia is "not going to be right all year with that screw in his foot." Pedroia missed a game after spraining his ankle in Monday's loss to the Indians but returned in Wednesday's 14-2 romp with a home run and three RBI.

"It's amazing what he's done considering how often he plays in pain," Gammons said. "His OPS is down about 190 points. His slugging is down from like 490 to 313 going into [Wednesday], but he plays through it. He never complains about it. The great thing about Dustin is he shows up at the park and says, 'If I can't do this, I'll do this [instead] and try to win.' There aren't athletes in too many places like him who show up every day and try to find a way to win. That's what he does (WEEI)."

I know he went off yesterday (who didn't though), but I am concerned about his foot. In the field I haven't really noticed it, but his stats are down across the board at the plate (as Gammons noted). As long as that screw is in his foot agree with Gammons that I don't think he will be a the player we have been seeing the last couple of year.

Pedroia plans to have that screw removed after this season.

Anyone Worried About Pedroia?

Because I have to say I'm starting to...

"Pedroia slipped while rounding second base in the eighth inning of last night’s 3-2 loss against the Indians and fell face-first on the rain-soaked infield at Progressive Field. Pedroia did not immediately try to get up. He struggled to his feet, then left the game escorted by a trainer, walking cautiously (Boston.com)."

This is the 2nd time Pedroia has had a scare with that foot that he has a screw in. What made me more nervous this time was his comment "“When I do something like that, my leg goes kind of like a stinger like you get in football. It took a little while to get the feeling back in it,’’ he said. “Anaheim was perfect, I got the feeling back in a minute. It took five this time.’’ Maybe I am reading into too much, but when they were playing in on WEEI and he kept saying how he loses feeling it just made me nervous. The Sox can't afford to lose him, and for this team to hit on all cylinders they are going to not only need him to be healthy but hitting a lot better then .246 (2 HRs 11 RBIs).

They are saying he will get tonight's game off (which they say was scheduled anyways), and be out there the next game. Still at what point to be start getting worried that he isn't 100% after looking at his stats this year?

Red Sox 9 Angels 5

Red Sox wore Weaver down, something no team had been able to do all season. I was at the game last night, and one of the best at bats I have ever seen was Dustin Pedroia fouling off 9 pitches in a 13 pitch at bat. At the end of the at bat Pedroia had put the Sox in the lead with a 2 run single. It's hard to explain how awesome it was, but you could just see Weaver lose all the gas he had left in the arm, and at that point you just knew the Red Sox had it.

Buchholz pitched OK, not great he went 6 innings allowing only 2 runs, but also let up 8 hits and only had 2 Ks. He seemed like he was still having problems keeping the ball down, and never really looked all that confident. Still, it was a quality start and I'll take it since I really didn't give the Red Sox much of a chance to win this game.

Boston put the game away in the 7th inning scoring 6 runs. Two of them coming off an Ortiz HR, which is good because he has lacked his power stroke lately. Boston is getting on a little bit of a roll now. They have beaten two of the ALs top pitchers in the last 2 days (Weaver, Hernandez), and are just two games away from .500. I know that's odd to say, but with how bad they had been playing you have to look at the positives.

MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (Hitting)

The Red Sox scored the 2nd most runs in baseball last year. They were 2nd in homeruns, 3rd in OBP, 2nd in slugging, 1st in OPS. In other words, they were pretty good at the plate. And they should be even better in 2011.

Adding Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez were the big stories of the off-season. Not to mention the returns of Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, who only played in 102 and 75 games last year, respectively. These newcomers and returning producers should more than offset the loss of Beltre and Victor Martinez.

The middle of the lineup will be fierce. Gonzalez, liberated from San Diego's pitcher friendly park, should hit over .300, with an OBP close to .400, slug near .600, and approach 40 homers. Youkilis should hit nearly 30 homers, with an OBP well over .400, and slug around .570.

Putting Crawford and Pedroia ahead of them will result in abundant runs. Gonzalez could knock in 120, and Youkilis should easily surpass 100 RBI.

JD Drew's contract is up, so I think he'll actually play more than 140 games and produce. Then there's Ortiz, whose 32 homers and 102 RBIs were impressive in 2010. But he really struggled against lefties. Drew also can't hit southpaws. So against righties, the Sox will have an excellent 5-6 to keep the pressure on. Against lefties, you'll see plenty of innings ended by Drew and Ortiz.

The bottom of the lineup will be solid enough. I like Ellsbury as a 7th or 9th hitter, either keeping the middle of the orders' rallies going, or helping Crawford and Pedroia start a new one. He should hit .300, with a .350 OBP that keeps him from being a good leadoff option. Minimal power, but plenty of speed.

Scutaro had a decent year last season. But we've all sort of forgotten. So did Lowrie. Having both of them as options is a nice luxury. Both play good defense, and neither are easy outs. That's all you really want or need from the 8th spot in your lineup.

Speaking of easy outs, we come to Varitek/Saltalamacchia. They'll ground into so many double plays. That is, if they even make contact with the ball.

Anyway you stack it, this lineup is pretty sick. Mike Cameron can fill in for Drew against lefties. And the speed of Crawford and Ellsbury can help keep the whole batting order from slumping. And even if a tough lefty is on the mound, guys like Youkilis (.404 against LHP last year), can still give them problems.

The Sox scored 818 runs last year, or 5.05 per game. If they stay healthy, they'll score over 900.

You have an amazing offense, and suspect pitching. I'm reminded of the Cleveland Indians from 1995 to 1999. They'll be fun to watch. They'll win 100 regular season games. And they'll lose the World Series to a team with superior pitching. I'm thinking the Phillies. 1946 all over again.

-The Commodore

Pedroia Finds Interesting Way To Test Foot

Traveling back from vacation with his family, along with the family of Dodgers' outfielder Andre Ethier, Pedroia was having a difficult time getting his entire group through customs, making it difficult to make its flight on time.

"They wanted me, who just got cleared to job, to sprint to the gate, which is on the other side of the airport, to hold the plane up," Pedroia said. "So I'm sprinting, testing out my foot with my shoelaces untied, holding my 30-pound son -- by the way, my foot felt phenomenal -- sprinting through the airport, and I get to the gate, and I'm like, 'Ma'am, did the flight leave?' She said, 'I'm going to give you three minutes.' I'm like, 'There's no way.' Andre's kid is a little bigger than [Pedroia's son] Dylan and he's running everywhere. Two seconds later, the pilot comes off the plane and goes, 'We've got a situation.' I thought, 'Jeez, now we're definitely staying here.'

"She pulls off this couple. Some woman was beating the [expletive] out of her husband on the plane. They pull those two off. This guy has a bloody face. He must have smarted off or something. The flight was delayed 30 minutes, and we got to get on the flight. I almost high-fived everybody. It was awesome."

"It was out of control. We ended up getting on. I was more pumped my foot felt good from sprinting with a 30-pound kid on me. We got on the flight. I was pumped. It was a good day."

Asked how the foot felt after the unexpected exercise, Pedroia came away optimistic.

"I woke up and wanted to go run more, but I've got to kind of take it easy," he said. "But it was fun (WEEI)."

Sorry for the long copy there, but it's a pretty funny story. Anyways, it's good that he felt no pain that his foot, and that he feels like he will be ready for spring training. Pedroia went on to say that he has talked to Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury, and he has said that they all agreed that they don't care where they hit.

"I actually texted Tito [Francona]," he said. "I said, ‘Tito, I’ve been with the Red Sox four years now, and this might be the first time you have to manage. You might have to think about the lineup you’re going to throw out there."

Hilarious. I buy it that Crawford and Pedroia don't care, but Ellsbury has thrown a hissy fit in the past when his position has been changed, and I would imagine that he'd get pissy they took him off of the leadoff spot. Then again, what do I know? Hopefully this is true. I just can't wait for Spring!

Red Sox 6, Angels 0

Where would the Sox be without Clay Buchholz? I remember before the season, that Buchholz was supposed to be the 4th or 5th guy, that could be good. And any contribution from him would be a bonus. 14 Wins, 14 Quality Starts later, and he's the Ace of this staff. And arguably the MVP of the team.

Buchholz wasn't razor sharp, but he pitched out of trouble. That's something he struggled with when he first came up. But he doesn't get nervy anymore. He keeps the ball low, induces ground balls, and maintains control of the game.

The big hits of the night came off the bats of the #8 and #9 hitters. Darnell McDonald blasted a solo shot in the 3rd. Ryan Kalish hit his 2nd career homer, and first career Grand Slam in the 4th.

Dustin Pedroia returned, and was 0 for 4. But I have to believe that having a guy with his kind of fight and desire can only help this team. It's nice having players who want to play. And yes, that's a veiled criticism directed at Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Sox need to keep winning against teams like the Angels. Lackey opposes Scott Kazmir tonight. Lackey has done well against his former team. Kazmir has often baffled the Red Sox.

-The Commodore

Pedroia Back Next Week

Dustin Pedroia has already been taking ground balls and running getting prepped for his rehab stint, and could return to the Sox line up as early as next week.

This will be a huge boost as the Sox continue to tease us with potentially making the playoffs. Pedroia is one of our leaders on the team and it will be refreshing to see him in the line up and playing second compared to Jed Lowrie or Bill Hall. Pedroia will add a spark in the clubhouse and hopefully on the scoreboard as the Sox need some consistent offense.

This also makes me hate Jacoby Ellsbury even more for taking his time with his BS rib injury (Don't tell me about rib injuries, I don't give a fuck, Ellsbury is a pussy Boras client and I hope he's cut this offseason. Yea thats right, cut. Not traded, Cut.) Pedroia has been wanted to come back and play seemingly forever, and it was cool to see him taking grounders with his foot elevated on a stool.

Dustin Pedroia Injury Update

Dustin Pedoria is inching closer to a return and could be back in the lineup when the Red Sox return from a road trip early next week. Pedroia had another positive workout on Sunday and he was able to jog around the bases. "Three days ago I thought I was out for the year, now I feel like I can play soon," Pedroia said. "Every day is getting better." Pedroia will try running at full speed later this week in Toronto (ESPN).

So, later this week when he runs full speed with tell us everything we need to know. If he feels pain then the foot hasn't healed, and he will most likely miss the rest of the season. If he doesn't, it means that he is good to go, will have a quick rehab stint, and will be back with the Sox within 2 weeks.

After losing last night I think the Sox season is over. Don't get me wrong, there is enough time, I'm just not buying it with this team and the injuries they have. I hope I'm wrong, but either way Pedroia is a big part of this offense, and the sooner he is back on the field the better.

Bunch Of Red Sox Injury Updates

Ton of injury news coming out today from the Red Sox camp.

- Pedroia has been told by doctors to slow down his comeback a bit. He tired running yesterday and his foot is still sore. The Sox (and doctors) don't want him doing anything that causes him pain. If he was to reinjure his foot it would most likely knock him out for the year, and could cause long term problems. Still, Pedroia still thinks he can come back soon, just probably not by Aug 6th like originally planned.

- Mike Lowell hit three homers and drove in five in a rehab game for Triple-A Pawtucket. This was Lowell's 4th game in the minors. Lowell played third base yesterday and could be activated by the Red Sox as soon as this weekend, when the Sox return home. The 3 HRs will hopefully help his trade value, and the fact he was playing the field can't hurt.

- JD Drew will have an MRI on his hamstring at some point today. The Sox hope they can have him back by Friday, but I'm not holding my breathe. Drew says his hamstring has been bothering him for the past 3-4 weeks. The only good news is that if he does go on the DL we might be able to see Sox prospect Ryan Kalish (who is having a hell of a year) brought up to the majors.

- Holy shit, there has been an Ellsbury sighting... Ellsbury went 1-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in his second rehab game. The plan is to have him make 2-3 more rehab starts at the lower levels before bringing him up to AAA.

Dustin Pedroia Injury Update

The Sox are hoping to get a lot of guys back soon. Well, they are off to a good start as Pedroia was proclaiming to anyone who would listen that he will be back sooner than later at the All-Star game. Dustin Pedroia will have a CT scan of his broken foot Friday that will help doctors determine when the infielder can return to the Red Sox lineup. The hope is that he will be activated sometime during the club's 10-game road trip that begins July 19.

Pedroia has stayed busy while on the disabled list, fielding ground balls from his knees and taking batting practice with his foot rested on a stool. I know a lot of people say this is all an act, but to be honest I think Pedroia is just one of those guys that is all about baseball 24/7. Anyways, Boston needs him (V-Mart, Buchholz, Beckett, Ellsbury) back as soon as possible, because this division could run away in a hurry.

We also get some news on the injured pitchers today...

The Red Sox have scheduled three more minor-league rehabilitation appearances for injured pitchers. Here is the schedule:

Thursday: RHP Manny Delcarmen (right forearm) will start a rehab assignment with Double A Portland at New Britain.

Friday: RHP Clay Buchholz (left hamstring) will start for Triple A Pawtucket at Syracuse.

Saturday: RHP Josh Beckett (back) will start for Pawtucket at Syracuse.

The rotation at this point in the majors is:

Thursday: Tim Wakefield vs. Texas
Friday: Felix Doubront vs Texas
Saturday: John Lackey vs. Texas
Sunday: Jon Lester vs, Texas
Monday: Daisuke Matsuzaka at Oakland (Boston.com)

Sox Leave Their Health in San Francisco

The good news is that the Sox took 2 of 3 from the Giants. The bad news is that injury took 2 or 3 Sox from the field.

Pedroia went down on Friday, after fouling a ball off his ankle, breaking his foot. He's likely to be out for 6 weeks, which would mean the Sox would have to play sans-sparkplug until August. Pedroia was in the midst of an insane hot streak. In his last 53 at-bats, he was hitting .490, slugging .849, with 4 homers, 13 RBI and 17 runs. I think he's been the MVP of the Sox to this point, and playing without him will be a struggle.

When it rains, it pours. 10 game winner Clay Buchholz was forced to leave Saturday's game because he hurt himself running the bases, of all things. That's just a really bad beat right there. Fuck the NL, and fuck the idea of pitchers hitting. But I guess the potential sacrifice of a Cy Young candidate is worth seeing pitchers bunt foul for strike 3. The diagnosis is a hyper-extended knee. The prognosis is that he may miss a start, but it doesn't look like a DL stint will be called for.

Bad things happen in threes. Victor Martinez fractured his thumb in Sunday's game, thanks to some foul tips. He's not expected to hit the DL, but it's perhaps still too early to tell. He'll be evaluated again today. V-Mart had also been playing well as of late, hitting .359 in June with a .409 OBP.

So some bad luck, and the stupid, antiquated, boring bad rules they have in the NL all add up to some key injuries for the Sox.

-The Commodore

Sources:
WEEI
Rotoworld


Photo Credit:
Getty Images

Red Sox 13 Rockies 11

Ugly game, but a win is a win. All the credit can go to Dustin Pedroia and his 3 HRs. Dice-K started the game, and he had a normal Dice-K line (5 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks), but he also added an RBI single in the 4th.

This game should've been a blowout for the Sox, but their bullpen was just horrible. Delcarmen and Okajima combined to go 2/3 of an inning surrendering 6 runs. That is completely unacceptable. Then going into the 9th, up by two, Boston once again turned to Papelbon who promptly blew his 2nd save in as many nights. The Sox were lucky that Pedroia is on fire going 5-5 with 3 HRs and 5 RBIs.

There is going to be a lot of concern about Papelbon after this game. I am still not overly worried, but this bullpen in general needs to get a lot better, and Boston might have to start considering making a move to bring in another arm.

Anyways, Papelbon was able to calm down in his 2nd inning of work for a 1-2-3 10th inning. With the win the Red Sox are still 2 games behind the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.

Red Sox 9 Yankees 7

Wow, what an amazing start to the season.

ESPN/NESN must be pumped that this game turned out the way it did. Even casual baseball fans would've been glued to this game. Tough, the game didn't start well for the Sox. Beckett let up 5 runs in under 5 innings, which put the Sox in an ugly 5-1 hole. I have to admit with CC on the mound I really thought the game was already over. Yet, this is a pesky lineup the Sox have, and the newcomers made themselves at home at Fenway.

Scutaro started the comeback in the 5th with an RBI, but you still couldn't feel real confident as the Sox left the bases loaded. It was in the 6th that the Sox really started to wear down CC (who seems to look BIGGER every year). CC walked Pedroia and then let up a double to V-Mart, then Youk hit an improbable triple, because Swisher forgot that you can't just recklessly run at a fly ball. Beltre enjoyed his first game as he knocked in Youk tying the game at 5.

I always this Ramon Ramirez is eventually going to be good, but he loves to prove me wrong. He had a very shaky inning walking Tex, and then letting up a double to A-Rod. Okajima came in as he let those 2 runs score, and the Sox were back in a 2 run whole. The good news is the Yankees bullpen isn't all that great, and Pedroia blasted a 2 run HR off Chan Ho Park to once again tie up the game. Boston took the lead on a pass ball by Marte.

Pedroia was the hero in this game, and once again he put another run on the board in the 8th hitting an RBI single to left. Papelbon came in for the 9th allowed 1 single and the game was over.

This is the first game of a 162 game season, so you can't read too much into anything. What I did see if the Sox have a very solid lineup top to bottom, but like I said a lot will change come October.

Pedroia Injury Update (UPDATED)

Red Sox 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia left yesterday's game against the Twins after only the 1st inning, suffering a mild left wrist sprain after landing awkwardly on it while diving. Here is what Francona had to say...

“It was the back of his wrist,’’ manager Terry Francona said. “He had limited swelling. We’re going to get him X-rayed in the morning, just because we should. Their doctor came over. I don’t think there’s a problem. He might be a little sore tomorrow. Hopefully that’s all it is.’’

Hopefully this is nothing serious. The would be in a tough spot in Pedroia was out for the start of the season, but this doesn't sound like a big deal and I expect Pedroia to be back in time for Opening Day.


***UPDATE***

X-rays taken today on Dustin Pedroia's left wrist came back clean. He will take batting practice tomorrow and likely play on Friday.

Red Sox Considering Mark DeRosa?

"With the recent news that the Boston Red Sox have asked second baseman Dustin Pedroia if he could play shortstop in 2010 -- and Pedroia loving the idea -- the club may be expanding their infield search to include second-base candidates. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald tweeted this morning that Mark DeRosa is now among those being considered by the Sox, adding fuel to the possibility of Pedroia sliding to shortstop. Boston has also been connected to Adam Everett and Marco Scutaro, and if second baseman are in their sights, perhaps Orlando Hudson, who was not offered arbitration by the Dodgers, becomes a possibility (ESPN)."

If the Sox decided to move Pedroia to SS then I love this for the Sox. DeRosa would give Boston another 20+ HR hitter to their lineup, which is never a bad thing. A source I am reading is saying that this is true and the Sox have actually contacted him, so maybe all this Pedroia stuff is not just some writer's bullshit. We'll keep you posted...

Plus his wife is hot.

Pedroia To SS?

Faced with a vacancy at shortstop following the departure of Alex Gonzalez via free agency, the Red Sox are thinking outside the box.

The team has asked second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who won the AL MVP Award in 2008, if he could play shortstop for the team if needed next season.

"Pedroia They've put it out there and I've told them I'm all for it. I can do it. I can't wait for [Terry Francona] to call me and ask, 'can you do it?' I can do it. I really want to do it.
” -- Dustin Pedroia

"They've asked me if I think I could play shortstop," Pedroia told ESPN's Peter Gammons. "They've put it out there and I've told them I'm all for it. I can do it. I can't wait for [Terry Francona] to call me and ask, 'can you do it?' I can do it. I really want to do it.

Well that's what the Sox think anyways. I'm intrigued by this though, because I'm not worried so much about Pedroia's transition to SS, as much as I'm excited to see who we could get to play 2nd. Imagine if Pedroia committed to SS, and we traded for a guy like Dan Uggla(who is already on the marlins chopping block). That would be a pretty sweet infield. I think a more sensible argument would be flip flopping Youk and Lowell, because Mikey playing 1rst wouldn't be that taxing for his old bones. At the end of the day do I think this will happen? No. but It's fun to dream.

Orioles 0 Red Sox 10

Everything you wanted to see from the Red Sox they did last night, as they rolled over the lowly Orioles 10-0. Clay Buchholz was just awesome last night throwing 7 scoreless innings allowing only 3 hits with 5 ks.

Boston wasted no time demolishing Orioles prospect David Hernandez, as Boston got it first 8 runs by the way of HRs. Pedroia (twice), Youkilis, Gonzalez, and Drew all went deep, and then in the 7th inning Big Papi capped it off with a solo HR of his own. The Sox are just so good when they are playing at home, but they are going to need to find a way to win on the road constantly before playoff time.

Texas won last night, so the Sox are just 2 1/2 games up on them for the Wild Card.

White Sox 5 Red Sox 9

I think Junichi Tazawa time in the majors is just about over. I was at the game last night, and let me tell you the 9 runs he let up don't tell you the whole story of how bad he pitched. The Sox didn't really help him with all the bad fielding, but every out was a laser.

After just 4 innings the Sox were down 9-0. Danks has a solid outing for the White Sox, but the Sox could have put a lot more runs on the board during the 5th inning, but poor base running by Pedroia cost them that chance. The game got so ugly that in the 8th and 9th innings the Sox put Nick Green on the mound, and he actually pitched 2 scoreless innings.

Jacoby Ellsbury left the game after suffering a high ankle sprain in the bottom of the fifth. Francona said he didn't think it was serious, but I really question if he will be able to play tonight.

With the loss the Sox are up just 1 1/2 games in the Wild Card race.