Entries Tagged 'Papi' ↓

Thank you, Josh. It’s been a hard time watching your team falter in the last couple of weeks. And, to be fair, you threw way too many pitches for six innings, but you ARE the Cy Young winner this year. No doubt about it. You just clinched it, man, as well you should.

Notatoes:

• Varitek and Lowell had frustrating nights until they hit home runs. Nice power when we needed it!
• Kazmir is a fantastic pitcher and if he were on a big-market team he’d be a #1 or #2. The Red Sox would love to have his services.
• Looks as though the party is over for Barry in San Francisco. Good. Now that he’s not protected by his boss, we’ll see some action on the legal front.
• Ellsbury was MONEY with that catch in the bullpen. Why, then, did he keep looking over at the guys in the ‘pen with that look on his face that suggested he’d be talking to them later in the clubhouse?
• Gagne had a perfect inning! Gagne had a perfect inning!
• Nice work by Papi coming into the game and hitting a dinger and a double. The guy was supposed to have the night off! I love the commitment.
• They really do need Manny and Youk back in there… this is seriously frustrating.

Salvage that series and they’re on their way to the weekend with the Bronx Bombers (and, to be honest, they’re lately bombing the competition). As fans, we’re certainly not afraid of NY. They can’t capture the division this weekend, even if they were to sweep it.

Sounding off:

• Watching Papi hit a game-winning home run became quite a norm last year and we were completely taking it for granted. His production in the clutch this year hasn’t been anywhere near his capabilities due to shoulder and knee problems. I think we all recognize that if he makes it to the off-season, he’ll go through the scope and heal just fine for Spring Training.
• Manny will be back this weekend for the series against the Yankees. It’ll mean a lot, since his bat has sorely been missed. This, by the way, is not because of his production (down this year), but because of what his presence means to the opposing pitching staff.
• Francona should get an extension. Now. Not when the season is over. How can the Front Office let this guy get to the post season without a new deal? That’s ridiculous. (Of course, if he pulls a Grady Little during the ALDS or ALCS or WS, The Nation would want his head in a basket.)
• J.D. Drew remains an enigma, but how about Varitek? He has left just as many people on base this year as Drew. Aside from his spectacular and well-deserved status of Captain, ‘Tek needs to get his head around the pitches he’s seeing (or not seeing at the moment).
• Youk is in a horrible slide as well. His production has dropped in the last three weeks to the point where his BA is below .290. Not good, no matter how many times he looks like someone hit his dog when he’s called out on strikes.
• Wake is hurt more so than he cares to let on.
• Tavarez did an outstanding job of coming in to the game in long relief.
• Lowell deserves to finish his career with the Sox. He’s been durable, dependable and has quiet leadership in the clubhouse. His articulate responses to questions surrounding anything from his teammates dogging it to the manager’s future have been incredible, if not unheard of in the Hub. Add to the fact that he’s multi-lingual and has had a resurgence in his offense and you not only have someone playing for his contract, but someone who would be appreciative once a deal is done and continue to perform next year.

Finally, a note of appreciation to my former father-in-law, who passed away over the weekend. Your family will miss you, but we will celebrate your memory with kind and warm thoughts based on your generosity and commitment to family.

The dynamic duo had their 45 minutes together last night for the first time in a couple of weeks and then Mirabelli strains his hammy coming across first after his only at bat. Great. Enter: Kevin Cash, the quiet, yet interestingly weak-hitting catcher who seems to be the only “other” person in MLB to employ the soft hands required to receive the knuckle ball.

If you keep your eyes on the next two years, we’ll see the emergence of George Kottaras as the starter and Cash as the Wakefield binky. Kottaras is a highly-regarded prospect and good catchers are becoming hard to find these days.

Notes:

• I will be seriously amazed if Youk doesn’t get the Gold Glove. He is ONE game away from breaking the AL record for most consecutive starts at first base without an error. He’s already shattered the club record.
• Dice-K thinks Pedroia should be the Rookie of the Year. So do I. But, then again, I’m biased at the moment. His play during the last few weeks has been nothing short of spectacular. The only problem is, aside from Jon Donovan of SI.com, he hasn’t gotten that much national attention.
• Papi hit his 200th home run with the Red Sox. Why didn’t we know about this kid when he was with Minnesota!? Wow. What an amazing free-agent find.
• Buchholz loves kicking the collective butts of the Orioles. He’s now held them scoreless in consecutive outings. Nice.
• Rick Ankiel, Cardinals phenom for the second time after converting from pitcher to hard-hitting outfielder, has his name on a list of people who purchased HGH in 2004. I can’t wait to hear all 45 names from this list. Expect to see Nomar and a couple of other former (and current?) Sox players.

The Red Sox sweep the Windy City Sox on their way to NY with a 7.5 game lead. This couldn’t have worked out any better for the Fenway Faithful. They can relax and play good fundamental baseball without looking over their shoulder. As a matter of fact, the best-case scenario is to walk out of the Bronx with a series win and a 10 game lead heading to their home stand.

Notes:

• Tavarez did a great job today. He made the White Sox look like they were batting against Pedro (2nd edition).
• Papi Power: Keep Rolling, baby.
• Gagne didn’t gag and he left the team feeling a little more confident.
• This is the first time since 1950 since we’ve scored 10 or more runs in four straight games. Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio were on that team. It was the last time the Sox hit over 300 as a team.
• What’s wrong with Youk? This is a recurring theme. First half: great. Second half: stinky. Not good.
• Have I mentioned that we are back to a 7.5 game lead? I know that doesn’t secure anything at this point, but this is turning out to be a very solid pitching staff (front and back).

Papelbon has done something no other closer in the history of the Red Sox has done: Recorded back to back seasons with 30 or more saves. This stat is odd to me in that I couldn’t believe that it hadn’t already been done. Tom “Flash” Gordon didn’t do it (46 amazing saves in ‘98, but only 11 in ‘99 in split closing duties with Wakefield). Heathcliff Slocumb didn’t (31 in ‘96 and only 17 in ‘97).

Dick “The Monster” Radatz came closest to hitting this milestone when he had 29 saves in ‘64 and followed with 22 saves in ‘65. I find some baseball statistics downright ridiculous, but this one for Papelbon is impressive due to how many dominant pitchers there have been in and out of the Sox historic bullpens.

Notes:

• Dice-K gets a chance to slap around the Rays tonight. Let’s hope the new icing techniques and lower pitching counts help him and not hurt him. Tom Verducci of SI.com thinks the Sox are already babying him. Maybe.
• It looks as if George Mitchell has some of the names he needs to continue the steroids investigation. I assume that since it’s so close to the end of the season we won’t hear anything about this 12-month book report until after the World Series.
• Papi has wheels. First, he’s selling his $169,000 custom ride on eBay, and then uses his manuals to take a triple last night. Go Big Papi, Gooooo!
• The Sox are back to a 6 game lead after the Yankees got beat up in LA. Nice. The fact that our schedule seems lighter than theirs for the stretch run makes me extremely happy.
• I missed half the game last night due to a reunion with some former cow-orkers. Nice time had by all. Special note to the wait staff at the Not Your Average Joe’s in Burlington, Massachusetts: You guys were awesome. Nice job.
• Spinners are 2.0 games back in the division. C’mon, guys! You can do it! Oneonta wants to be owned. I can tell.
• I would love to see all farm clubs and the major league team win their perspective divisions. I wonder if that’s ever happened for the Sox in the same year.