Orioles 5 Red Sox 7

This was a very odd game. I thought Berken and Byrd were going to get lit up, but that didn't happen. Both pitchers pitched at least 5 innings and neither let up more then 3 runs. The game was tied going into the bottom of the 7th. Then Francona brought in V-Mart to pinch hit. He responded with a double scoring 3 runs, on the first pitch! The crowd went wild (yes I was at the game).

Papelbon had to pitched an 1 1/3 to get the save, and even though he let up a run you can't argue with the results which was a another win for the Red Sox, and his 35th save of the season. The Sox are still just 2 games up in the race for the Wild Card, which looks like it will go down to the wire with the Rangers playing very good baseball right now.

Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 0

After a 10 month hiatus, Paul Byrd's return to the Sox rotation was more than impressive. He scattered 3 hits and 3 walks over 6 shutout innings, and helped propel the Red Sox past Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays. The victory gave the Sox their first series sweep since they took 3 from Baltimore in Camden Yards at the start of August.

Alex Gonzalez is having the hot-streak of his life. He's 10 for his last 23 (.435). He's hit 3 HR and knocked in 11 RBI in only 15 games with the Sox. He was 2 for 3 this afternoon with a double and a triple.

It's just one start, and it was against a weak offense that wasn't prepared to face him, but if Byrd can come up with some Brad-Penny-in-April kind of starts, then things aren't so dodgy at the bottom end of the rotation.

It was apparently Old Timers Day at Fenway. Not only did 38 year old Paul Byrd look solid, 38 year old Billy Wagner was lights out in his Sox debut. He threw 16 pitches, 11 strikes, allowed 1 hit, and struck out the side in the 8th.



The Sox have Monday off before starting a HUGE 3 game series down in Tampa Bay. The Rays lost today, so the Sox are 5 games ahead of them in the loss column. Taking 2 of 3 down there would be a killer blow to the Rays.

Texas also lost, so the Sox have a 3.5 game lead over the Rangers.

-The Commodore

Paul Byrd Comeback Update

"The Red Sox could have Paul Byrd on their big league roster by the end of the month. The veteran right-hander pitched four innings for Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday night, throwing 74 pitches, and said he is closing in on a return. "I probably need one more [start], one more for sure," Byrd told the Providence Journal. "But after that, probably not. I'd like to get my pitch count up into the 90s, I'd like to see that slider get a hair better, and we'll probably go from there (ESPN)."

I don't know about everyone else, but I really don't want to see Byrd back in the a Sox uniform. By the time he is ready Dice-K should be close, and the Wake could already be back in the rotation. Plus I think Tazawa is just as good, though they could be worried about his innings. I don't know, but this just seems like a waste unless they plan on just using him for a start or two to buy a little more time for Dice-K.

Red Sox Sign Paul Byrd

"The Red Sox have signed free-agent righthander Paul Byrd to a minor league contract. Byrd, 38, is expected to pitch in the minor leagues and be ready to join the major league staff around Sept. 1, according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. He has yet to pitch this season (Boston.com)."

I guess he can't be any worse then Penny, Smoltz, Dice-K, and Buchholz, but I really don't like Byrd pitching at Fenway. It seems like he always gets lit up when he pitches there, and in general I don't like soft tossers pitching at Fenway. The Sox need some pitching depth (who would have thought that would be there problem in the beginning of the season?) and Byrd can eat up innings. This signing in insurance in case all the pitchers I named before keep shitting the bed, and Dice-K/Wake can't get healthy.

Sox Offer Varitek/Byrd Arbitration

Varitek - The Sox have really put Tek is a situation now, because if he accepts arbitration, he is admitting defeat, and taking the 1 year offer (I'm not even sure he will be awarded that much). Most likely he will decline the offer, which means the Sox stand to get extra draft picks (most likely a first round pick) if anyone else signs him this offseason. That would be awesome, since not only would the Sox get rid of Tek, but they would get another young guy to add into the ever improving farm system.

Byrd - If he accepts great, the Sox have their 5th starter. If he declines then we get picks. He is the same as Tek, as he will most likely decline, but the reason I think it is different then Tek, is that I actually think the Sox want this guy back. He would be a great 5th starter, and much like Wake, can eat up a lot of innings. That is always a plus for a team that has bullpen issues.

-BMack

Red Sox Offseason Preview: Starting Pitchers

Over the next couple of days I am going to go over where the Sox players stand. Later I will go over possible moves, and what I think may happen. Special thanks to the Globe/Herald for the updates on the players' contract status.

Starting Pitchers:
Josh Beckett
Becket is signed through next season the Red Sox hold a club option for 2010. Next year he will be making 10.5 million, and the option (which they will almost certainly pick up) is worth 12 million. Beckett had a tough season, and he needs to get healthy, but what people forget is that he came into this season out of shape. I would hope next season he would learn from his mistakes. DP also made a good point, it seems like this guy has a good season every other year. I would expect that if he is to have a good year next year (which I think he will), that the Sox will sign him to an extension, probably 4-5 years in length.

Jon Lester
Best lefty in the AL, and the Sox have him tied up for very low money through 2012 (Awesome). Though I expect if he has another great year, that they will give him a contract to keep him happy. This kid has the determination, and stuff to be a great pitcher for the next 10 years. He doesn't seem to be injury prone, and looks like a guy that will be able to eat up innings. The best part is that he is a lefty, and great lefties are hard to find. Overall, Lester will be a Red Sox for a very long time.

Daisuke Matsuzaka
The Sox have signed through 2012 for about 9 million a year. Not a bad deal for the Sox at all. Dice-K had a great year record wise, but I think everyone can agree that they would like to see him let up more hits, if it meant he could extend his outings into the 7th inning (he just tries to be too perfect). Overall you can't complain about his season, and we saw a lot of growth out of him since 2007. So, hopefully that means he will be even better next season. If he could find a way to limit his pitches every inning this could be a guy that could throw a lot of complete games, as he is able to throw 120-130 pitches a game.

Tim Wakefield
As of right now the Wake is a free agent. The Sox hold a club option for next year worth about 4 million. I see them picking it up, since he still eats up innings, and he is a team leader. The only thing with Wakefield is that you need to have a starter behind him, because at some point in the season his back will act up, but for 4 million that's still a good deal.

Curt Schilling
Basically ripped the Sox off for 8 million, but whatever he got us two rings, and he is now gone. Most reports say that he will retire, but I expect that he will pull a Clemens and come back half way through a season. It will not be in a Sox uniform, and I would think most likely it will be to a NL team.

Paul Byrd
He is a free agent, and most likely he will not be back. I think the Sox are going to go after another pitcher, or try Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden in the rotation. Still there is a part of me that thinks they could use a 5th starter that is durable and can eat up innings. Only problem is I don't like a guy who lets up a lot of hits, because at Fenway a lot of hits can be a lot of HRs very quickly.

Clay Buchholz
He is tied up much like Lester. Clay had a tough year, and I actually blame some of that on the Red Sox. They played with this kid too much, changing his arm angle, and pitches. I am starting to wonder if he can take the pressure of playing in Boston, and I have been hearing rumors of the Red Sox talking to the Rangers for a possible deal that would include Buchholz for one of their stud catching prospects. I will get more into that in a later post about possible deals.

-BMack

Red Sox Beat Indians 5-4

The Red Sox destroyed Carmona in the very first inning tonight. Boston scored 4 runs in the 1st on an RBI double by Ortiz, and then 3 RBI singles by Kotsay, Varitek, and Carter. That chased Carmona from the game, but the Sox offense was quieted by the Indians bullpen for much of the game. Paul Byrd blew a 4 run lead, and let up 11 hits, 4 runs in only 5 innings of work. This is not the final outing that Byrd wanted to having going into the postseason. This really leaves the door open for Wakefield to take the 4th spot in the playoff rotation.

The Sox bullpen stepped up must like the Indians did, and shut them down for the rest of the game. Boston was able to get a run in the 8th on a Mark Kotsay RBI double, and that was all the Sox needed as Delcarmen came in and got the save. Delcarmen looked dominant as he has strikeouts on two of the three guys he faced. Boston was hoping to gain a game on Tampa Bay, but the Rays are winning 11-6 over the Orioles in the bottom of the 8th, so that doesn't seem like its going to happen. Either way, other than Byrd's struggles, the Sox have to be very happy with the way they played, as the bullpen looked great, and J.D. Drew was able to get in a couple at-bats.

-BMack

Sox Beat Jays 4-3

Boston got the win tonight with timely hitting, and solid pitching. The Sox were down 2-0 going in to the top of the 5th, when they were able to score 3 runs, one came off a Youk RBI single to score Varitek, and then Sean Casey hit a deep double off the right field wall to add two more runs. Toronto didn't waste much time coming back as they tied it up in the bottom of the 5th, but the Red Sox were able to put the game away on a fielder's choice, hit by Jason Varitek.

The real story in this game was the pitching for both teams. A.J. Burnett has been one of the most underrated pitchers in the MLB this year, and is finally looking like the pitcher he was supposed to be when he got that big contract (a lot of that has to do with him staying healthy). Tonight, Burnett went 7 innings allowing 3 runs with 6 Ks. Byrd had a very solid outing for the Sox, as he went 6 innings allowing 3 runs (only walking 1). This is why I like Byrd, you know exactly what you are going to get from him.

The Sox bullpen was outstanding in this game, as Lopez, Delcarmen, Okajima, and Papelbon combined to go 3 scoreless innings allowing only 1 hit. That is exactly what the Sox are going to need while guys like J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell are out. The Sox now have 90 wins, which 6 is 6th time in 7 years that the Red Sox have had at least 90 wins.

The loss ended Toronto's chances of winning the AL East. Another loss, or a Boston win and the Blue Jays would be eliminated from playoff contention.

-BMack

Wakefield or Byrd?

The playoffs are coming, and the Sox have decisions to make before the October madness begins. Obviously, the Sox are going to need to get healthy. The health of players like Mike Lowell, and J.D. Drew will have a lot to do with how far the Sox will go in the playoffs, but it isn't the only thing that has to be decided. The Sox have a lot of things going on with their pitching. One, is who will be the setup man for Papelbon. My huntch is that it will be Okajima in the 8th, with Masterson/Delcarmen taking over the 7th. I only say that since Francona tends to trust guys who have done it for him before (Okajima got it done for him last year). The next situation in what they are going to do about the 4th spot in the rotation for the playoffs. We all know it will be Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K, but after that it gets very shaky. This is not a major issue, since very few teams can say they have 3 solid starts, let alone 4, but still this will be an issue that could make or break a series. So, basically it will be Wakefield and Byrd (outside shot for Colon, but I doubt it) fighting for that final spot. The guy who loses will most likely still be on the roster, but he will be the long reliever coming out of the bullpen.

Well here is the case for both:

Wakefield:

Why he should be the 4th starter:
The Wake has been on this team forever, and he is a nice person to throw between Beckett and Lester, since he gives a different look for hitters. Also, the knuckleball can he hit or miss, but when he is on it can be unhittable.

Why he shouldn't be the 4th starter:
As unhittable the knockleball can be, it can also get crushed, and put the Sox out of a game before the 1st innings is over. The Wake has also worked out of the bullpen a lot of times for the Sox, and he might be more comfortable doing that than Byrd would be. Even thought Varitek is having a horrible year, I would rather have him out there then Kevin Cash. Wakefield is also struggling with injury problems and got absolutely crushed in his last outing.

Byrd:

Why he should be the 4th starter:
Byrd does not walk guys. I know he lets up a lot of hits, but when you don't walk guys you tend to not let up the "big inning". Byrd has also gone at least 5 innings in every outing since June 17th. The Sox are 4-2 in games that Paul Byrd has pitched. Varitek will catch him, and that adds a little to the lineup over Cash.

Why he shouldn't be the 4th starter:
Byrd lets up a lot of hits, and if the Sox have to play a team like the Angels or White Sox that could be a serious problem. Guys like Vlad/Thome would eat this guy alive. You also have to wonder if the Sox have the same faith in him as they do with Wakefield. Once again, that Francona "trust factor" always has to come into play.

Prediction:
I think there is still something wrong with Wakefield. He just hasn't seemed right, and I am really worried that he will have one of those bad Wakefield outing, and the Sox don't have the offense to be able to overcome huge deficits. In years past the Sox could put up 11 runs, but this year I think you are going to see the Sox play a lot more "small ball", and using the speed that they have on this team (especially if they have Coco out there instead of J.D. Drew). I think the Wake will have a role in the postseason, but I don't think it will be in the rotation. The Sox will trust their defense, and they will get a lot of action with Byrd on the mound. Either way it will be interesting to see how this will all play out.


-BMack

Sox Lose To Jays In First Game Of Double Header 8-1

Paul Byrd looked terrible, and this game got out of hand fast, as the Sox dropped their first game of a double header with the Jays 8-1. Travis Snider was the key to Toronto's success as he drove in 5 runs. Snider was just called up by the Jays, and he made an immediate impact going 2-4 with a HR and 5 RBIs. That would be all they would need as A.J. Burnett was dominant once again 6 innings letting up only 1 run (which was unearned) while striking out 6. Burnett has gone under the radar, but he has had a fantastic season, and now sits with a record of 18-10. The Red Sox offense looked horrible, collecting only 5 hits. To make matters worse Aardsma looked terrible in his first appearance since coming off the DL (3 ER in 1 inning). With the Rays beating the Yankees today the Sox are now 3 games back in the AL East. Sox will try to right the ship tonight, in the 2nd game of the double header vs. the Jays. First pitch is at 7:05.

-BMack

Red Sox Beat Orioles 7-4

Paul Byrd had another "Paul Byrd" outing, and the Sox beat Baltimore 7-4. In case you don't know a "Paul Byrd" outing is about 6-7 innings allowing 3-4 runs, and that's just what he did tonight going 7 innings allowing 4 runs on 7 hits with 4 Ks. The night did not start well for Byrd as he let up a solo HR to Adam Jones (just activated from the DL) in the 1st, but the Sox were able to battle back with 2 solo HRs (Varitek/Bailey). The Sox have to be happy that they are getting some offense from someone else other then Pedrioa (oh but he is still hitting). The lead wouldn't hold as Byrd let up another bomb and the Orioles tied it up 3-3 in the 3rd, and then eventually took the lead in the 6th off an Markakis RBI single. At that point it looked like the Orioles were going to take over the game, as very few fans have faith in this bullpen, but boy did they prove people wrong. The bullpen shutout Baltimore for the final 2 innings (Byrd let up his 3rd HR of the game in the 7th to my boy Kevin Millar), and the Sox lineup heated up scoring 4 runs in the bottom on the 6th. Pedrioa knocked 2 on the runs in with a 2 run single, and the Sox went of to win 7-4, which puts them 5 games behind Tampa Bay for the AL East lead, and 3 games in front of Minnesota for the Wild Card spot.

Paul Byrd got the win, and Papelbon collected his 35th save of the season.

-BMack

Halladay Shuts Down Sox, Jays Win 4-1

Roy Halladay looked amazing last night throwing a complete game, and didn't let up a run till the 9th inning when Little Dusty hit a solo HR. Halladay has been having a hell of a season with a 14-9 record and an incredible 2.64 ERA. The Sox had been hitting the cover off the ball before last night, but Halladay was just too much for them to handle. Paul Byrd played for the first time for the Sox, and he played ok. It was exactly what I expect from Byrd, as he went 7 1/3 innings allowing 4 runs on 10 hits. The good thing about Byrd is that he doesn't walk people, so it is harder to have a big inning off him than it would be to do it against Buchholz. The Sox are now 3 1/2 games back in the AL East, and only 1 1/2 games up in the Wild Card race. The Sox will try to get back to their winning ways when they play the Blue Jays again at Fenway. Game starts at 1:35pm.

-BMack

Red Sox Acquire Byrd

It's just been announced that the Red Sox have traded for journeyman Paul Byrd. The Sox will send a player to be named or cash to the Indians for Byrd.

The former Met, Brave, Phillie, Royal, Brave, Angel and Indian is 7-10 with a 4.53 ERA this season. The earliest he could start would be Thursday. But the Sox will probably push him back to Friday to take Clay Buchholz's start.

This move was a necessity for the Sox. Byrd won't amaze, but he's a solid 5th starter. With Wakefield down, Buchholz struggling, and Colon out indefinitely; Byrd can give the team some solid innings. And unlike Buchholz, he can give the Sox a chance to win some games.

Byrd's also riding a bit of a hot streak. He's 4-0 in his last 4 starts, with a 1.24 ERA.

-The Commodore

Wakefield Going On DL

Tim Wakefield is heading to the DL, with shoulder stiffness. This is the same injury he had last year that made him miss the playoffs. Right now they are saying he will only miss 2 starts, but I am not so sure. The Wake has been having a great year, but he is getting very old, and since this is an injury he had before I am nervous. The real question is who will take his spot. Buccholz (no matter how much the Mick loves him) has been terrible, and looks like he needs to go back down to the minors. So, that leaves us with 2 openings in the rotation. Colon seems to be a long way away has he only last 2/3 of an inning in his first outing in the minors. Masterson is an option, but it will take a little while to strengthen up his arm again, plus the Sox don't like over using young guys. I would look for the Sox to make a move for a guy like Paul Byrd or Jarrod Washburn, since they both just cleared waivers. No matter what this season just got a lot tougher.

-BMack