The Sox finally return home…

Game 7 v. Tampa Bay (4/13/12): It was a perfect day in Boston for the home opener at Fenway. During the introductions Bobby V was loudly booed by the crowd. Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield threw out the ceremonial first pitches and it was finally time to “Play Ball”.  Josh Beckett (coming off of a disastrous outing in Detroit) started against the Rays’ tough lefthander David Price. In the early going, Beckett allowed a double to Carlos Peña and three long fly ball outs. The Rays got on the board in the second when Zobrist singled and came around to score on Keppinger’s double. While it looked like Price was sailing through the first two innings, his pitch count was awfully high. In the third, Price began to falter. Kelly Shoppach was hit by a pitch leading off and moved to third on Ellsbury’s double to left. Gonzalez then singled in Shoppach to tie the score, going the opposite way against the shift. With the bases loaded, Youkilis hit a sacrifice fly to right and Ellsbury came in with the go-ahead run. Ortiz then went the other way against the shift with a single to the left side of the infield that scored Pedroia to make it 3-1, Sox. Beckett then began to settle into a groove. Price was finished after three as Maddon turned things over to Badenhop. With one out in the fourth, Shoppach doubled off the Monster and came around to score on Ellsbury’s base hit to right. Pedroia then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Ellsbury injured his shoulder when he collided with Reid Brignac. It appeared as if Brignac fell directly on Ellsbury’s shoulder as they collided at second base. It looked as if Ellsbury hyperextended his shoulder, which is certainly bad news. Shoppach stole the first base of his career in highly comical fashion as he slid about 10 feet short of the bag, got up and avoided the sweep tag and fell on top of the base. Luke Scott (who had earlier referred to Fenway as a “dump”) pinch hit for Brignac in the seventh and really heard it from the crowd when he stepped up to the plate. After recording his only strike out of the day in the eighth, Beckett was finished. He may have not pitched like the Beckett of old but he was a country mile better than his first start of the year. In the bottom of the eighth, the Sox exploded for eight runs. Darnell McDonald (who made a great diving catch of Jennings’ line drive in the top of the inning) doubled off the wall and moved to third on a wild pitch. Ross and Aviles then walked. Shoppach followed with a double into the corner in left, scoring McDonald and Ross. Ryan Sweeney then hit a blooper to left and two more runs scored, making it 8-1. Pedroia reached on an infield hit, diving head first into the bag. Gonzalez then hit a short pop to left that fell in to load the bases. Youkilis singled up the middle, driving in two more and putting the Sox ahead, 10-1. Ortiz lined a single to left that one-hopped the wall and Gonzalez scored. McDonald walked to re-load the bases and them Ross hit a sacrifice fly to center and it was 12-1. Melancon came on to pitch the ninth and gave up a long home run to Zobrist, but the horse had long since left the barn.

All in all, it was a wonderful day to celebrate spring, baseball and the return of the Hometown Nine. The Sox’ hitters certainly did their part to send everyone home happy. The only dark cloud was Ellsbury’s injury.

…Prior to Saturday afternoon’s game, the news came down on Ellsbury and it was not good. He was placed on the DL with a subluxation of the right shoulder and may possibly be available in 6-8 weeks. Ouch! Or if after rehab, it is determined that he needs surgery then he’s done for the season.

Game 8 v. Tampa Bay (4/14/12): Despite Ellsbury’s injury the big question was how effective Clay Buchholz would be after getting slammed in Detroit his last time out. He got off to a slow start last year before going down for the season with a back injury. The first inning was not good for Buchholz as Jennings walked and scored on Peña’s double. Luke Scott later hit a three-run job and the Sox were already down 4-0 before getting up to bat. Jeremy Hellickson started for the Rays and he beat the Sox twice at Fenway last year. Jarrod Saltalamacchia put the Sox on the board in the second with a two-run shot to make it 4-2. In the third, Matt Joyce doubled for the Rays and came across to score on a double by the villainous Scott. The Sox cut the score to 5-3 in the bottom half of the inning on Pedroia’s bomb over everything in left.  The Sox loaded the bases in the fourth with two outs before Aviles grounded out. While Aviles was batting, Hellickson appeared to have balked but the home plate ump didn’t see it that way. Bobby V came out to protest the call to no avail. A replay indicated that Hellickson did indeed balk, which would’ve brought in a run. In the fifth, Youkilis singled with two outs and then Big Papi hit a mighty blow into the Sox’ bullpen to tie the score. Hellickson was relieved by Burke Badenhop to start the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the seventh, Mike Aviles put the Sox ahead with a leadoff homer into the Monster Seats.  J.P. Howell relieved Badenhop with one out in the seventh. Gonzalez doubled off the wall and Youkilis walked. Ortiz then walked to load the bases. Cody Ross then doubled off the wall (just as the Caps Backstrom scored the goal in the second overtime to tie the series 1-1), scoring Gonzalez and Youkilis to make it 8-5. Franklin Morales relieved Buchholz to open the eighth. After a disastrous first inning, Buchholz settled down and pitched pretty well. Morales retired the side in order on a strikeout and two ground ball outs. De La Rosa came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth and walked McDonald to start things. Aviles then bounced a double off the wall. Pedroia then reached on an infield hit when De La Rosa failed to cover the bag. Gonzalez then bounced into a 4-2-3 twin killing. Youkilis then singled to load the bases and Big Papi struck again, this time with a bases-clearing double off the wall to make it 11-5. Cody Ross followed with a two-run bomb to left and by the time the smoke cleared, the Sox hung an ugly crooked number on the board and went ahead 13-5. In the ninth, Che-Hsuan Lin made his major league debut in center and Aceves set down the side in order. It was the first time the Sox won back-to-back games since August 27, 2011…Aviles had a big day in the leadoff slot, going 3-5 and scoring two runs. Papi en fuego, as he went 4-5 with 5 RBI. The Sox scored 25 in two days. Wow!

Game 9 v. Tampa Bay (4/15/12): Sunday afternoon was MLB’s annual Jackie Robinson Day in which every player wears Jackie’s #42. Felix Doubront started for the Sox against the Rays’ All-World rookie lefthander, Matt Moore. In the Sox’ second, Youkilis singled leading off and Ortiz then rocked a line drive over the rightfielder’s head that one-hopped the low wall. Ross then launched a bomb onto the parking garage across Landsdowne Street. In the Rays’ fourth, Keppinger bounced a ground-rule double to right but Doubront retired the next three batters. In the bottom of the fourth with runners on first and second, Shoppach doubled off the wall, scoring Ortiz but Ross was thrown out at the plate trying to score. In the top of the fifth, Gimenez ripped a base hit to left that ate up Youkilis. Jennings followed with hard hit single to left. Peña (who previously struck out twice) then thought that he homered over Pesky’s Pole but a video replay determined that the ball went foul. He then lined a two-run double that escaped Repko’s dive to make it 4-2. Longoria then hit a ground rule double into the bullpen and Peña scored the Rays’ third run. Luke Scott opened the sixth by homering over the bullpen to tie the score. In the bottom of the sixth, Youkilis walked with one out and Ortiz ripped a bullet line drive off the centerfield wall and Youkilis came across with the go-ahead run. Aviles led off the seventh with a line drive home run to center to give the Sox a huge insurance run. Aceves came on to pitch the ninth and retired the side in order, which included a nice sliding catch by Repko of Keppinger’s twisting line drive. Aceves finished with a flourish by striking out Zobrist swinging. That’s three in a row!

 After Sunday’s hard-fought win, the manager put his foot in his mouth when he criticized Youkilis’ performance and work ethic in a media interview. It was a firestorm of controversy in the local media on Monday morning. Needless to say, it caused a lot of consternation in the clubhouse and the players were unhappy. Say whatever you will about Youkilis’ slow start but his work ethic and emotional makeup has never been an issue. The manager apologized and hopefully  the whole thing will blow over, but it’s just another manifestation of how things under Bobby V are so much different than when Francona was running the ship. For whatever it’s worth, Punto is in the lineup today at third and batting seventh while Youkilis is sitting this one out.

Game 10 v. Tampa Bay (4/16/12): On to the traditional 11:00 Patriots’ Day game, in which the Sox usually get clobbered. It’s timed in such a way so fans can witness the marathoners as the cross the finish  line as the game nears completion. Ever since the Marathon became a professional event years ago, I’ve lost interest. It’s been decades since an American last won.

Daniel Bard started against James Shields in the finale. Bard was looking to rebound from a poor start in Toronto and got through the top of the first unscathed, though Longoria hit a rocket to center that was tracked down by Cody Ross. In the second, Bard hit Zobrist with a pitch and walked Keppinger but Molina flew out to right. In the fourth, the Rays put two runners aboard before Keppinger grounded into a 1-6-3 twin killing. Bard ran into another jam in the fifth as Jennings doubled and Pena walked with two outs but Bard came back to strike out Longoria (his sixth K so far). The Rays broke the ice with two outs in the seventh as Bard allowed three walks and a single. Bard was then pulled after 111 pitches in favor of Justin Thomas. On the whole, Bard had a pretty good outing but those seven walks were a killer. Thomas avoided further damage by getting Luke Scott to fly out to right. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Shields walked Pedroia and was relieved by the flame throwing Fernando Rodney. Shields had a great outing, walking only two and allowing four hits. Gonzalez then grounded out to first with Pedroia moving to second (only the second time a Sox’ baserunner made it that far all day). The Mighty Big Papi strode to the plate and…received a free pass (smart move). That left it up to Cody Ross and he…struck out looking to end it. Rodney placed three pitches on the outside corner of the strike zone and Ross was helpless. A replay indicated that Rodney’s pitches were noticeably outside the zone and the home plate ump blew the call. Ross slammed down his helmet in disgust. This the type of game in which you tip your cap to the opposing pitchers and move on to the next game. Shields and Rodney were simply outstanding today. It’s a kick in the pants to lose 1-0, but that’s the way the ball bounces. Bard was done in by the base on balls.

…the vultures in the media still couldn’t let go of the Valentine-Youkilis mess. They’re worse than gossiping school children rushing back and forth between the player, manager, general manager and player’s agent, “Oooh, did you hear what Bobby said?” Do these people have nothing more in their lives with which to concern themselves?

Texas Two-Step

Game 11 v. Texas (4/17/12):  The 8-2 Rangers came to town for a brief two-game set at Fenway. John Lester made his third start of the year against Colby Lewis (1-0). Ian Kinsler lined a base hit to center to lead off the ballgame. With runners on first and third, Beltre grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Lester was able to get out of the jam. Aviles led off the bottom of the first by lining a single to left. Pedroia then launched a shot into the Monster Seats and the Sox took a quick 2-0 lead. Nelson Cruz doubled into the triangle with one out in the second and Napoli followed by crushing one over everything in left to tie the score. Napoli owns Lester, going 6-10 with two homers. Torrealba then walked and Gentry lined a base hit up the middle. Lester then walked Kinsler to load the bases. Elvis Andrus then reached on an infield dribbler and Lester held onto the ball…and there was stirring in the bullpen. Cody Ross then dropped a routine fly by Hamilton to left and Gentry scored. That was ugly. Beltre then had a 12-pitch at bat before lining a base hit up the middle to load the bases. That was a 49-pitch inning for Lester. In the third, the Rangers put the first two batters aboard. After Lester walked the next batter to load the bases, that was the evening for him (2+IP, 8H, 7ER, 4BB, 2K). It was his shortest outing since 8/20/10. Atchison came on and Kinsler scalded a grounder to third that handcuffed Youkilis. His only play was to dive and force Napoli at third. Kinsler walked to reload the bases. Andrus hit a long fly to right that Sweeney chased down but a run scored to make it 6-2. Hamilton then singled to right and Gentry scored. As a sign of the way things were going, Ross reached on an infield hit with two outs in the fourth. Repko followed by lining a base hit off the wall but was thrown out trying to stretch things into a double. Young homered into the bullpen with two outs in the sixth to make it 8-2. Melancon came on to pitch the eighth and the first two batters reached on a double and a walk. Josh Hamilton then rocked a three-run bomb way, way over the bullpens in right to make it 11-2. It was one of the longest homers out to right in a long time, absolutely crushed. The announcers stated that the ball landed one row shy of Ted’s red seat, which would make it historic. Adrian Beltre then homered to straightaway center. There were a lot of high hopes for Melancon when Cherington traded for him over the winter but so far he’s been a disastuh. Oh, my, Nelson Cruz lofted a two-run homer to center and it was 14-2. After that fateful pitch, Bobby V mercifully put an end to this with the hook. Melancon just stood there with a deer-in-the-headlights look. There’s no way that this kid can cut it in the AL. Justin Thomas came on and allowed a double. Who’s left in the bullpen? Aceves, Morales and Padilla will not be used in a blowout. Gentry singled and Napoli moved to third, with one out. Alberto Gonzalez pinch hit for Kinsler and he grounded out to short with Napoli coming in the back door. Andrus then doubled off the wall and Gentry scored the Rangers’ 16^th run. And Thomas walked another batter…With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Gonzalez launched an utterly meaningless home run into the alley that separates the grandstand from the bleachers. Padilla was forced to pitch the ninth and allowed a base hit to David Murphy. With one out, Napoli hit a curling fly that wrapped around Pesky’s Pole for a two-run homer. This was an uncharacteristically bad night for Lester and it rolled badly downhill from there. Normally, a game like this is an outlier, a throwaway game. But in 10 days, the Sox have suffered two losses of more than ten runs. The Rangers are a terrific team, sure. But to get embarrassed like this with your #1 starter on the mound does not portend good things for the Hometown Nine. Best to skulk away from this one quickly and silently…

…The first order of business prior to Wednesday night’s game was the prompt dispatching of Melancon to Pawtucket. Junichi Tazawa was recalled. It was really a shame about Melancon, but his few outings rank among the worst in modern Red Sox history. Maybe he gets his mechanics back together in the minors and comes back soon.  …And after making a public stink last week, the former manager changed his tune and decided to attend Friday’s 100^th birthday bash at Fenway. It’s good to hear that he’ll be in attendance and should receive a warm ovation from those in attendance. Congratulations to the Rockies’ Jamie Moyer for becoming the oldest pitcher to win an MLB game at the age of 49+ years.

Game 12 v. Texas (4/18/12):  Things couldn’t get worse than last night, could they? In the finale, Josh Beckett (1-1) went up against left hander Derek Holland. Youkilis (who struck out four times last night) was dropped to sixth in the order. Josh Hamilton singled with two outs in the first but Beltre grounded into a 6-4 force. Mike Aviles walked and stole second to open the bottom of the first and moved to third on Pedroia’s grounder to short. Holland came back to strike out Gonzalez and Ross. Ortiz doubled into the corner in left leading off the second and then Youkilis rocked one off the light tower in left to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. Kinsler walked and stole second with one out in the third. Andrus then lined a bullet of the wall but Darnell McDonald fired a perfect strike to Pedroia and gunned down Andrus. Hamilton reached on an infield hit and Kinsler came in to cut the score to 2-1. Beltre then ripped a base hit to left. There’s not an easy out to be had in the Rangers’ lineup. Beckett came back to strike out Cruz but was already up to 57 pitches over the first three innings. Murphy singled leading off the fourth and then Napoli gonged one into the upper rows of the Monster Seats to give Texas a 3-2 lead. It was a pitch right down the heart of the plate and Napoli just yanked it out of the yard. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Kelly Shoppach doubled to the gap in right center.  Holland then retired the next two batters and that chance went by the boards. Beckett was finished after seven and had a competitive night’s work (7IP, 7H, 3ER, 1BB, 7K), It was that one bad pitch to Napoli that was the difference maker. Morales came on to pitch and gave up a base hit to Hamilton with one out. Beltre was then intentionally walked. Cruz then received an unintentional walk (as Morales was nowhere near the strike zone). Morales then hit Gentry off the ankle with a pitch and Hamilton came in to make it 4-2. Napoli then rapped a double off the wall and two more runs scored. Mitch Moreland was then walked intentionally and Bobby V made that long walk from the dugout to the mound. Do you think he’s rethinking this whole managing business? Albers entered in relief and got Snyder to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Alexei Ogando came on to pitch the eighth and he throws high octane gas. The top of the order went down in feeble succession. Former Twins’ closer Joe Nathan was brought in to finish things off and he struggled. First, he walked Ross and with one out, Youkilis reached on Beltre’s throwing error. Ryan Sweeney then hit a short pop to right that landed in for a single and Ross scored. Saltalamacchia then lined a hard shot to first for a game ending double play. Tough way to lose a ballgame. Thank goodness tomorrow’s an off day.

Fenway’s 100^th Birthday Bash

The birthday party planners couldn’t have asked for a better day as the weather was perfect on Friday afternoon. Hundreds of former players attended from all living Sox Hall-of-Famers to the obscure. John Williams composed a theme for the day, which was performed by the Boston Pops. The fans in attendance set a Guinness World Book of Records for the greatest number of people to toast an event, as each attendee received a small cup of sparkling grape juice to hoist.  Kevin “Cowboy Up” Millar and Pedro Martinez offered the toast. The celebration lasted nearly an hour and it was time to play ball. Both the Yanks and Sox were resplendent in their vintage 1912 throwbacks which featured no numbers on the back. Talk about confusing: in one week we go from all the players wearing one number to all the players wearing no numbers. All that was needed to cap off a perfect day would’ve been a Red Sox victory. But the Yanks had other ideas…

Game 13 v. NY Yankees (4/20/12):  Clay Buchholz started against Ivan Nova and Buchholz really stunk as he allowed five solo homers and the Yanks cruised to a 6-2 win. Jeter opened the ball game by reaching on Pedroia’s fielding error, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on A-Rod’s base hit.  The Yanks made it 3-0 in the second on solo shots by Swisher and Chavez. Ortiz cut the lead to 3-1 with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the second. Chavez homered again in the fourth and A-Rod homered in the fifth to make it 5-1. The Sox scratched back with another run in the bottom of the fifth when Ross and Aviles doubled.  Russell Martin capped  off the scoring in the sixth with yet another solo homer.  Buchholz was putrid today (6IP, 9H, 5ER, 2BB, 2K). The Yankee bullpen with Wade and Robertson clamped down in the seventh and eighth and Rivera slammed the door shut in the ninth. On what started out to be a day of celebration ended with a disappointing thud.

Game 14 v. NY Yankees (4/21/12):  Now that the festivities have concluded it was finally time for this team to buckle down and get serious about baseball. In Saturday afternoon’s “Game of the Week”, Felix Doubront started against Freddy Garcia. Jeter started off the game with a single but was erased on Swisher’s double play ball. The Sox picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as doubles by Sweeney, Gonzalez and Ortiz gave the Sox an early 2-0 lead. The Sox added three more runs in the second as Ross singled, McDonald doubled and then Aviles singled in Ross. Sweeney brought home McDonald with a sacrifice fly and then Aviles stole second and scored on Pedroia’s base hit. Garcia was then relieved by Clay Rapada at that point. Ortiz led off the third with a single and David Phelps relieved Rapada. Phelps plunked Youkilis off the knee with a pitch and Saltalamacchia singled to load the bases. With one out, McDonald hit a sacrifice fly to center and Ortiz came across to make it 6-0. Aviles then singled to right and Youkilis scored. Youkilis was later replaced at third by Nate Spears. In the fifth, Cody Ross hit a two-run shot and the Sox were comfortably ahead, 9-0. In the sixth, Teixeira put the Yanks on the board with a solo homer to left. Padilla came on to pitch in the seventh and nearly gave up the farm. Martin and Nunez singled with one out and Jeter walked. Swisher then hit a grand slam to make it 9-5. After Cano doubled, Padilla was relieved by Albers. A-Rod reached on Aviles’ fielding error and Teixeira hit a three-run bomb to left and it was 9-8, in the blink of an eye. Morales entered in relief and Granderson singled to right. Andruw Jones then struck out swinging. Then we came to the eighth inning…and the bullpen utterly melted down. It’s not necessary to recap the action. The Yanks scored seven more runs and took a 15-9 lead. Every time Valentine came out to change pitchers he was booed mercilessly by the angry crowd. Aceves couldn’t retire anyone, it was a complete disgrace. Ross struck out looking to end the game. Remind us again why we sit through these games?  

Sunday’s game was thankfully rained out as CC Sabathia was scheduled to pitch against Daniel Bard. After yesterday’s debacle, it was announced that the Sox acquired one-time All-Star Marlon Byrd and cash for Michael Bowden and PTBNL. Byrd is presently batting a robust .040, so maybe Theo is trying to exact a little more revenge on the Red Sox. Now, it’s time to hit the road again and possibly time to right the ship.