Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
In what was perhaps the most important game of the year for the Red Sox, the Yankees found a way to win, coming-from-behind against Curt Schilling, and then Jonathan Paplebon, and beating Boston 8-5, in 10 innings. It should come as no surprise that the game last well over four hours. Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada led the way with the sticks (oh, and Bobby Abreu had two more hits and another walk, too), while Scott Proctor and Mariano Rivera performed well enough out of the pen. The Yankees have won the first four games of this five-game set with the Red Sox, and now lead the AL East by five-and-a-half games. There is still another game to play, the Yankees have not secured a playoff spot yet, nor have the Red Sox been illiminated from contention. That said, you'd be hard-pressed not to be thrilled and delighted if you are a Yankee fan this morning.
The only major cause for concern involves Mike Mussina, who left the game after the fourth inning with a strained groin. This is not the first time Mussina has felt discomfort in his groin this season. After rain delayed the game following the second inning, Moose only returned for two more innings before bowing out. The Yankees can only hope that he won't be lost for a serious amount of time. Nuts as it sounds, Carl Pavano can't return soon enough. (In other injury news, it doesn't appear as if Kyle Farnsworth is seriously hurt.)
The loss was a crusher for the Sox, who held leads of 3-0, 4-3, 5-3, and 5-4. David Ortiz had a strong game, as did Manny Ramirez, who scorched the ball all weekend when he wasn't being walked. Giambi hit a three-run dinger off Schilling in the third, and drove in Johnny Damon with a long sac fly in the eighth. Paplebon was now in the game--finally--and he struck out Posada and Robinson Cano with the bases loaded to escape further trouble. He almost pulled another trick out of his hat in the ninth, but got burned. Melky Cabrera led off with double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. But Bernie Williams and Damon struck out and the Yanks were down to their last out when Jeter dunked a single into right field to drive in the tying run. According to The Boston Globe:
"We're not catching any breaks," Papelbon said. "It's very simple. That's basically it. Prime example tonight, I go out there and try to execute a pitch to Jeter with two outs and he bloops one in there in front of our right fielder. There's nothing really you can do about that. You go out there and you try to execute a pitch and that's all you can do. You can't control the rest."I was 100 percent tonight. I felt good. I went out there and it was going to be a battle. I knew those last six outs were going to be the toughest six outs of the ballgame. I went out there and tried to get my strikeouts and get my pop flies when I had to. It's very simple for us right now. Things aren't going our way and we've got to find a way to get things going our way."
Fenway came alive in the bottom of the ninth when Ortiz doubled and then Ramirez was intentionally walked to start the inning. Kevin Youkilis sacrificed and Ortiz was cut down at third. But then Rivera threw a wild pitch and suddenly Ramirez and Youkilis were on second and third. Mike Lowell was walked intentionally and Eric Hinske pinch-hit. The crowd was really juiced now, with the winning run just 90 feet away. But Rivera struck out Hinske and then got Doug Mirabelli to tap a grounder to the mound. Money.
Giambi lined a solo home run off Craig Hansen to kick-off the tenth, and two batters later (Rodriguez whiff, Cano double), Posada snuck a two-run shot around the Pesky pole in right field. Rivera allowed a harmless, two-out single to Mark Loretta in the bottom of the inning, and retired Ortiz on a fly ball to right to nail down the save and the win.
Noted Red Sox writer/fans, Seth Mnookin and Bill Simmons consider what has gone wrong in Boston:
A few days ago, Mnookin wrote:
It's hard to look objectively at this year and see a team that had decided to throw in the towel. The 2006 Red Sox have a $120 million payroll. Among this year's new acquisitions, there's Mike Lowell, a $9 million third baseman. The Sox spent $5.5 for two middle relievers, and a combined $6 million for a shortstop and second baseman. That, right there, is higher than the Florida Marlins payroll, and more than half of that of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Instead of Mike Lowell, Alex Gonzalez, Mark Loretta, and Kevin Youkilis — a $15 million infield — the Sox could have had Andy Marte, Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, and Youkilis — a $1.25 million infield (slightly more if you factor in the money the Sox sent to Atlanta in the Renteria-Marte deal). Instead of Rudy Seanez and Julian Tavarez, the Sox could have begun the season with Sanchez and Hansen, for a savings of about $5.5 million. Instead of Beckett, they could have begun the year with a rotation of Schilling, Wakefield, Clement, Wells, and Papelbon, with Foulke out there as the closer, Lenny DiNardo as a backup starter, and Arroyo sent packing for Wily Mo Pena, who would have been the team's full-time center fielder. That, my friends, would have been a rebuilding year.Instead — and despite the fact that the Sox were basically held together in 2005 by spit, luck, Damon, Ortiz, and Ramirez — Boston made a series of moves it thought would both allow the team to compete in 2006 and compete down the road. (I'm not going to argue the Damon non-signing again. The Sox couldn't have re-signed Damon unless they'd offered him a seven-year deal. And I still think within a year or two we'll all be glad Johnny's not picking up his annual $13 million check from Yawkey Way.)
So what happened? Well, where do you want to start? Jason Varitek hit like a shell of his former self; then he got injured. Trot Nixon hit for less power than at any point in his career; then he got injured. Matt Clement, David Wells, Tim Wakefield, and Keith Foulke all spent (or are spending) serious time on the DL. Coco Crisp got injured and had a harder time adjusting to Boston than was predicted. Mike Timlin got injured and stopped looking like an ultra-durable 33-year old and started looking more like the 40-year old he actually is. Seanez and Tavarez were both busts. That's a whole mess of crappy luck. The real mystery isn't why the Sox are sucking right now; the real mystery is how they managed to do so well for so long with so much going wrong.
To which Simmons adds:
Here's what I like [about the Red Sox]: Big Papi, Manny, Schilling, Papelbon, Youkilis, Lowell and Gonzalez on the left side of the infield; Jon Lester's potential; Wily Mo in any game where the Red Sox are leading or trailing by four runs or more.Here's what I don't like: Everything else.
Bottom line: They overachieved in the first half because of Papelbon (who was simply out of his mind) and Big Papi (who probably swung 6-7 games in Boston's favor it had no business winning). Now the Sox are underacheiving. It's probably a 92-win team at best. And I could spend the next 3,000 words ranting and raving about the unacceptable performance of the Henry/Theo regime since they won the World Series -- the catastrophic Renteria/Clement signings; lowballing Pedro/Damon, then half-heartedly renewing talks at the last second; overvaluing Beckett (a genuine disappointment) and Crisp (a colossal disappointment); undervaluing their own prospects (Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez) in the Beckett trade; freezing at this year's trading deadline; dealing Arroyo without knowing about the health of Wells and Foulke; allowing 40-year-old Mike Timlin to pitch in the WBC (he's a walking corpse now); letting Roberts and Cabrera go; handing Beckett that unconscionable $30 million extension (I yelped out loud when I saw the headline); and we haven't even mentioned last winter's soap opera with Theo yet -- but I don't want to ruin my chances of getting a key to the office next season. So let's just say that everyone did a swell job and I fully support every moronic decision that was made. Now where's my key?
Boston still has a chance to salvage the last game of the series today with the rubber-armed Boomer Wells going up against Corey Lidle. Both teams are headed out west tonight.
Just no Proctor or Villone today.
"I don't want to be teammates with guys who want to pitch some of the time."
I walked to work today, through Times Square and Herald Square to Madison Square Park...and I don't think my feet hit the ground once.
There is absolutely nothing that will ever take way the horrible memory of the 2004 ALCS collapse. History can not be erased -- there is no denying that. But this, The Boston Massacre Pt. II, finally takes away a little bit of that stinging feeling of 2004. Miraculously, that four game collapse suddenly seems like a long, long time ago.
Torre will undoubtadly sit some of regulars today, but given the chance he will go for the jugular...stick the knife in deeper and twist, twist, twist.
Yes, 'tis a beautiful day in New York.
Proctor has thrown more pitches than any other reliever in baseball; Villone is third.
Today Red Sox Nation media are killing Francona for allowing Timlin and Lopez to load the bases before calling on Papelbon. On the radio they're also replaying Mike Timlin's remarks from last week to the effect that the pitching staff has (had) been getting the job done but the offense just wasn't scoring enough runs. (!)
i got 3 hours of sleep.
i am ecstatic.
that said, i hope moose is alright and that lidle can eat some innings today.
this isn't over yet.
almost 40 games left.
(then the playoffs...)
but, i gotta say, this feels pretty darned nice this morning.
"The disparity between the Yankees and the Red Sox in money is enormous, writes Nick Cafardo, and this year, that may make a difference.
Here's the thing on that, though. The Red Sox may not spend as much as the Yankees, they may not believe that they should. But consider the incredible sources of income for the team -- perhaps the best local revenue streams of any club, with NESN and tremendous local radio coverage and advertising; the expansion of Fenway Park; the highest seat prices in the majors; the surprising and enormous dollars that every team is getting for the success of MLB.com; dramatically increased concessions, with dozens of additional beer taps in the park to charge big money for the brew. It is apparent that the Red Sox are grossing enormous amounts of money.
The Red Sox have basically held to their budget since they won the World Series in 2004. I don't have access to their books -- the next writer who does will be the first -- but this does beg a question: Where is the additional money going?
George Steinbrenner has rightly been criticized over the years for exorbitant spending, for crazy financial decisions on mediocre players. But he plows a lot of his profit back into the team.
Are the Red Sox doing that?
The new ownership group has been wonderful for the franchise, a blessing, and has worked overtime to make sure that a fan's experience at Fenway Park is enhanced.
Are they spending the extra money needed to make sure they have a left-handed reliever or two down the stretch, or to make sure that Johnny Damon doesn't sign with the Yankees?
This year, they didn't.
When the Yankees play the Minnesota Twins, or the Oakland Athletics, it is a David vs. Goliath type situation. The Twins cannot compete with the Yankees' resources, and they'll never have multi-million dollar middle relievers and bench players.
I don't begrudge any privately owned company the right to make money, and keep it. The Red Sox are a terrifically run business. They can spend or not spend as they see fit; that is their right.
But let's not be fooled here. The Red Sox have money."
Undisputed MLB Co-MVP's 1996-2006. They're every bit as great as we'll remember they were 20 years from now. When we tell our grandkids about them we won't be exaggerating. Amazing.
Giambi is a monster, and even if the ESPNers won't acknowledge it, he's every bit as dangerous as Boston's crushers. He's hitting like the MVP slugger he was before the Yanks signed him, except the doubles he used to smack are now home runs and looooong sacrifice flys. Pretty soon the Giambi shift will be 8 guys along the warning track in right. I love watching this guy.
The way this lineup has been hitting I think our old pal Boomer gets slapped around Fenway today.
Hello, M. Pamplemousse. Hello Sawx fans. Giambi smashed a ball against your star closer that would've been a grand slam at Yankee Stadium, indeed at most ball parks, and that almost went out in Fenway. Y'all should've been trailing by 3 runs in the 8th.
Meanwhile, I find it hilarious that Simmons still like AGon on the left side. For chrissakes, the guy can't field or hit. Dude, wake up. There's a reason he's been platooning with Ale Cora of all people, and has sat for the last 3 games. Excuses about a bad knee aside, the dude sucks, and Cora is a better option.
the yankee hitters HAVE to be exhausted, though. think about it, and i'm not trying to be a jerk, but they've been running all weekend.
both teams have to be wiped out. they've played a week's worth of baseball this weekend.
do you think anybody got any good sleep last night?
i couldn't.
...and i'm not papelbon or JoPo...
this could go either way.
god, i love this game.
I don't think I ever could have imagined such a as* whipping of the Boston Red Sox.
I can't help but think of the Scarface line, "Hey Manolo", Manolo replies, "Yeah Tony?", Tony replies, "kill that piece of sh|t".
Hey Yankees, Kill those pieces of sh|t. Get 5!!!
Can these mutherf#@$ers grind it or what?!?!?!
Damn I love this team!!
Reportedly he then stamped his feet and broke his sippy cup, after which he was sent to bed without dinner...
The general reaction of most Red Sox fans seems to be: "well, the Patriots start playing soon..." I really hope that nether team makes the playoffs, and the entire fanbase jumps into the icy January Atlantic. Is that too morbid?
19 I don't get that either. Though in fact, of course, he did come to bat again. Ortiz did.
20 Not my interpretation -- to me it means he's taking it well, making a little joke, has the proper perspective, etc. If he weren't Senor Clutch himself, he could be called out for not taking things seriously enough, but obviously he's completely immune to that criticism.
And yeah, all eyes are beginning to turn to the Pats here in New England....
10 God I"m so glad to hear someone else say that. There's absolutely no excuse for the Sox to plead poverty, because they can print money if they want. (In fact, I'll add one other factor to Olney's list: the Sox own Fenway and the land it's on.) They should never let money alone stand in the way of making a move, but they do it all the time. They didn't get Abreu because they weren't willing to take on his contract; the Yankees were. They didn't get ARod because they wanted to trade their own $20 million player for him, they wanted Texas to pick up salary, and they wanted Rodriguez to renegotiate his contract - all money issues. (And whatever you think of ARod's clutchitudeness, take him off the Yankees and put him on the Red Sox, and the last couple of years look very different.)
As far as Jeter's "lucky hit", he's one of those guys that intentionally tries to shoot those little flares into right field. He's been doing it his whole career. It's not exactly pretty but I'll take it.
"You know, I don't think there's anything to say," Mussina said. "That's what he does and that's why he's the best that's ever been and I'm glad he's on our side."
And I won't insult anybody by explaining who he was talking about.
Lets go Yankees!
Proctor played a big part in winning this series nicely.
I knew the Yankees were reserving their real skills for this weekend, now I just hope the Yanks try and save some breath in them for the next series.
Don't know about the weather in the Fens, but in the Franklin MA area its very cloudy right now. Matches the mood of the populace very well.
Whatever the Yanks do against the Mariners, it's a safe bet that the Sawx, and their devestated bullpen, will be crushed by the Halos.
By this time on Friday, the Yanks will either have an even larger lead in the AL east or at the very least, an equal one.
Having said that, i think Torre's gameplan for today is have Lidle give him as much as he can and then hand the ball over to Karsten and Dotel -- win or lose.
This team has always been mismanaged- both on and off the field, and now they're simply returning to their old habits. Call it hard luck, call it a curse, call it a defeatist attitude, but make no mistake - it's back.
if moose is really hurt, we might be seeing a couple of those ourselves.
Bryan Corey has been called up.
Who doesn't like playing with house money?
With that said, last night's game might have been our best I've seen all year. Game 1 was amazing offensively, but the way we played last night, it's going to take a whole lot to stop this machine. Go Yanks!!
1. Melky Cabrera, LF
2. Derek Jeter, DH
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Craig Wilson, 1B
7. Bernie Williams, CF
8. Sal Fasano, C
9. Nick Green, SS
P -- Cory Lidle
1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Mark Loretta, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Eric Hinske, 1B
6. Mike Lowell, 3B
7. Wily Mo Pena, RF
8. Javy Lopez, C
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS
P -- David Wells
We have the best backup shortstop in baseball, and when our SS is out, he still plays third...ponderous.
Had you projected an August 21st Yankees lineup with those names on it back in March you would have been laughed off the Bronx Banter.
House Money prediction:Fasano hits a 3 run shot off Wells.
More realistic prediction: Damon, Giambi, and Posada will enter the game.
Unreal.
I am estatic that they took at least 4 out of 5; that does not mean I have to agree with the way substitutions are handled.
OK what is the prediction:
1. Horrible scrubs get blown out.
2. Horrible scrubs hang in but squander opportunities, keeping the game close and compelling Torre to bring all the starters, as well as Proctor, Villone, and Mo into the game?
46 I'm probably exaggerating, but it does seem like the 'jump off a bridge' mentality has returned.
49 Alex - how do you enter the posts? My suggestion would be to work them up in an application that DOES have spell check, then simply cut n' paste. I'm lucky enough to work in Safari on a Mac (built in spell check), but there's no accounting for my redundancy or bad grammar sometimes...
;-)
I don't think Wilson has ever played CF. He's okay in the corners, but they don't think he has the range to play CF.
The conventional wisdom on Guiel is the same - good for the corners, not enough range for CF. But I would give him a shot over Bernie or Wilson. He has played CF occasionally in the big leagues, and was used in CF in Columbus sometimes. But I guess with a lefty on the mound, that wasn't an option.
It may not be an option, anyway. Joe doesn't seem to trust Wilson, Abreu, or Guiel in CF.
A-Rod goes yard of Boomer.
Guiel? Karstens?
Of course it's always sweet to kick Boston's butt, but I can't help wondering...are we this good, or are they that bad? Before this series, we were a .500 team since the new lineup solidified.
Their kids learned a valuable lesson about this rivalry this weekend, they were not around in 04 and this is what they know now...
IMO, they rushed him. It wasn't fair to him. He's got a bright future with the Sox, but he's not ready yet.
Yankees through July 31: 61-41 (.598), scoring 5.59 Runs/Game, allowing 4.80 Runs/Game.
Yankees August 1-20: 13-7 (.650), 6.15 Runs/Game, allowing 4.50 Runs/Game.
The difference: Bobby Abreu, batting .397/.526/.500 and scoring 113 runs per 162 games; Cory Lidle, 3.86 ERA in 3 starts. It really is as simple as that. Abreu, now second in the majors in OBP, batted .529/.706/.652 in this weekend's demolition of the Red Sox. Apparently Abreu didn't get the memo about how he wasn't supposed to be a big-game player.
Thanks!
I hope Torre just uses relievers from the following list today:
Karstens, Dotel, Myers, Farnsworth
He really can't use Villone, Procter, or Rivera today, can he?
Papelbon is nasty and will be for a long while...anyone who is ragging on this guy is a fool...
We should be grateful that he isn't starting. But for Foulke's awful early-season performance, the Boston rotation would be pretty d%*$ good right now.
Maybe they wanted Wells not to feel bad and show him someone less athletic looking...we DFA Ponson so Sal "two slices extra cheese" Fasano is all we have
And, 65, I totally agree. Who knows what he'll do in the future, but the guy impressed the hell out of me last night. And as much as I hate to say it, so did Schilling... he is one of my absolute least-favorite players, I can't stand the guy, but damn if he didn't deliver again.
Hilarious
http://www.bostondirtdogs.com/
As the Sawx fans at SofSH have pointed out, his numbers against lefties are dreadful. He simply can't get them out.
He needs to develop a changeup for that. He was trying to in AA and AAA this year, but clearly hasn't yet. I'd say its up in the air whether he develops one good enough to get quality ML lefties out. If he doesn't he'll basically be a ROOGY.
As for Paps, he's clearly an outstanding closer.
However, that's not what the Sawx want from him. They want a top of the rotation starter.
Given that his numbers decline substantially, iirc, when he pitches more than one inning, I'd say it's questionable how good he can be as a ML starter.
I know you pitch differently if you know you only need 3 or 5 or 6 outs, you empty the tank quicker, use fewer types of pitches etc, but Paps as a closer, and Paps as a starter are 2 different animals (tho to his credit, his MiL numbers were much better than Lester's and Hansen's irrc, so maybe he has it in him).
'Save the season' seems ludicrous to me - there's still 40 games to go. A real 'season saver' would be winning a couple of series, not 1 out of 5 after 4 huge, crushing losses in a row.
George as The Emperor zapping Beckett made me laugh too.
Got a new post for the game thread up above. Since it's kinda last-minute I thought I'd point it out.
Meh ... I'll rag on him only because after 20 or so games the Sawx were abuzz about how he's an amazing closer and then the MVP/CY Young talk started floating around in May. Then there were implications and innuendo that he was taking Mo's role as the most dominant closer in baseball.
Nope, won't stand for it.
My personal feeling is that wait until the league gets a good look at him, and if he's still doing this in 2 years with a sub-2 ERA, then so be it.
Like Jon Lester about how great he is, now that BB:K ratio is catching up with him and he's getting rocked.
agreed that the Mo-talk was pure nonsense and hype...also have seen more than 1 closer fizzle after a hot start..he has been around the league a few times now and people have seen him...still sitting on a 1.00 ERA and about 30 saves for a rookie
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