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It's set in stone, the Red Sox will host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Southern California Pacific Valley Disneyland Tinseltown Orange County (or LAAASCPVDTOC for short).

Here's the schedule:

Wednesday Oct 3 @ Boston (Beckett vs. Lackey)

Friday Oct 5 @ Boston

Sunday Oct 7 @ LAAASCPVDTOC

Monday Oct 8 @ LAAASCPVDTOC

Wednesday Oct 10 @ Boston

The Red Sox secured the best record record in baseball on Saturday and thus were awarded the 8-day series (vs. the 7 day series the Yanks/Indians will be playing).  This means the Red Sox can trot out their # 1 (Beckett) and # 2 (probably Schilling) starters twice in the ALDS.

2 days rest can only do good things for people like David Ortiz (cortisone shot on Saturday), Kevin Youkilis, Coco Crisp, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, Manny Ramirez and the rest of the crew that has bumps and bruises.  The Angels are saying the same thing of course.\

Some interesting stats from the regular season:

.324 BA Mike Lowell

.317 BA Dustin Pedroia

.332 BA David Ortiz

.279 Red Sox team average good for 6th place tie

.362 Red Sox team OBP good for 2nd (behind NYY)

.444 Red Sox team SLG good for 6th

166 HR for Red Sox good for (are you ready for this) 18th best in ML (Milwaukee Brewers # 1 with 231).

867 runs good for 4th behind NYY, Phi and Det

689 walks good for 1st

3.87 ERA, good for 1st in AL, 2nd in ML.

1149 K's for Red Sox pitching staff good for 6th

13 shutouts good for 2nd (San Diego had 20!)

1350 hits allowed good for 2nd

All team stats/rankings are for ML unless otherwise noted.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Red Sox broke a 13 year death grip on the AL East title tonight.  Good for them.

For those local, it was an interesting experience via NESN.  The Red Sox won at 9:50 pm or so and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Yankees at 10:57 pm.  Red Sox fans stayed at Fenway to watch the Orioles/Yankees game on the big screen for over an hour (as did many at home).  NESN didn't have the rights to the O's/Yanks game, so they showed the crowds (in both Fenway and the clubhouse) and provided game updates after each at bat.  Tom Caron and NESN cameras probably broke MLB's TV rules against "redistribution" by showing TV's and scoreboards showing the actual game.

It was a great scene.  The only negative, and it was a light hearted, yet scaring negative, was when the NESN cameras went into the Red Sox clubhouse to watch the celebration.  Jonathan Papelbon decided to prepare for the event by wearing very little below the belt.  He must have known the NESN camera's were there as well as the NESN reporters.  I guess he just wanted to make a statement.  I'm not sure I will recover from that sight.

I didn't see Manny Ramirez at all during the celebration which leads me to believe he hightailed it home right after the game not realizing there was a chance to clinch.

Of course we needn't focus on the disturbing, but rather the fact the Red Sox did indeed hold on and didn't blow a 14 game lead.  A fun night for the Red Sox and a great issue to have settled with 2 regular season games left.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Manny's back.  Youkilis is still out.

2b - Pedroia

lf - Ramirez (hmmm, hitting 2nd, probably to get more PAs)

dh - Ortiz

3b - Lowell

rf - Drew

c - Varitek

cf - Crisp

1b - Hinske

ss - Lugo

Curt Schilling vs. Chad Guadin @ Fenway

Also of interest, Roger Clemens was scratched from his start today.  In fact, he'll miss the entire series against Tamba Bay.  The Yankees have to be wondering just how long his hamstring strain will last.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The Red Sox earned a playoff spot tonight beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a come from behind (after blowing the lead) win.  They are the first team to secure a playoff spot.

A few thoughts:  The Red Sox initially decided to keep the clubhouse closed off from the media to celebrate their playoff birth.  I was thinking just how different this team is than another local team, the New England Patriots.  The Pats are so secretive about this while the Red Sox, and baseball in general, is far more open to media cameras and microphones.

The Red Sox clearly gave NESN orders not to show any players jumping, drinking, or doing anything of a celebratory nature.  All we say was Tina Cervasio doing some interviews (which were far from the celebration).  By the way, I like Tina, but her questions are fairly lame.  Things like "what are you feeling right now" and " what thoughts are going through your head" just don't work for me.  It is a difficult gig she has, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

Tonight was a game where many of the most maligned Red Sox players really came through.  Jason Varitek (game tying home run), JD Drew (2 run HR), Julio Lugo (go ahead 2 run HR) and Eric Gagne (2nd consecutive scoreless inning) chipped in big time.  Good signs indeed.

As I mentioned many times, I hope the Red Sox go for the jugular and win the AL East.  Their rotation is set no matter what and there hopefully Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez will be available Monday or so.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Cheers to Terry Francona for using Eric Gagne in an appropriate capacity Friday night.  Gagne recorded his 2nd "clean" inning as a Red Sox.  Expect to see Gagne in meaningless to semi-meaningless roles over the next 6 days or so and if he succeeds, then expect to see him again in important positions.

Gagne is a wild-card, pardon the pun given the Red Sox quest for an AL East crown.  If he can regain solid stature from here on out, the Red Sox bullpen, along with Jonathan Papalbon, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Clay Buchholz and Javier Lopez, look to be "pretty good" (to quote J. Peterman).

Stats through 9/20/07: 

Gagne:  9.00 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 1-2 record

Papelbon:  1.96 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 1-3 record

Delcarmen:  2.27 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 0-1 record:

Okajima:  2.28 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 2-4 record

Buchholz: 1.59 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 3-1 record

Lopez:  3.03 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 2-1 record

Aside from Gagne, that's a fairly impressive pen.  Of course Gagne has a far greater track record than most of the guys on this list, so his inclusion could end up being significant.  But he has to prove his worth over the remainder of the season.

Mike Timlin (3.66/1.22/1-1) and Kyle Snyder (3.88/1.41/2-3) deserve mention as they have been ok.  Julian Tavarez has seen some serious action too, but having not pitched since the 12th of this month, I have to assume he is an after thought.

Anyway, good W for the Red Sox.  Tampa Bay is usually good medicine for a losing streak.  Despite striking out 17, they still gave up the win.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

...that Red Sox management pays close attention to what I say.  After recommending the Red Sox shut down Hideki "Don't Call Me Irabu" Okajima for a few days, the Red Sox have done just that(ESPN filed this news item under the "NFL" theme, not sure why).

As for Wednesday's game itself, the Red Sox are basically grabbing some ankle and inviting the Yankees to take the AL East.  Jonathan "I'm too good to be called Jon" Papelbon gave it up in the bottom of the 8th.  He came in for Mike Timlin who loaded them up and gave up a grand slam.  That's 4 runs Jonathan and made the already 2-1 deficit even more difficult to overcome.

Way to go.  Of course, I am slightly annoyed and taking it out on some key contributors.  Please give me that.  Papelbon has been great, but it is very frustrating to watch a good team roll over and play dead.  Injuries, a lack of intensity and the possibility of blowing an enormous lead in the AL East is eating at me.  I called it way back this year that NY would never go away.

Consider the line-up tonight:

Drew

Varitek

Hinske

Kielty

Lugo

Those were your 5-9 hitters in Wednesday's line-up.  While Lugo has been fine since the break and Drew for 2 weeks, these 5 guys are not what a $140m roster should yield.  Come on.

This is downright embarrassing.  Coughing up such a lead is not good for one's psyche and could (or perhaps not) send Boston into the playoffs on a major down note.  1 1/2 games people.

UPDATE:  Baseball Tonight highlighted Julio Lugo failing to run hard on an infield grounder that temporarily eluded the shortstop.  Lugo was thrown out just barely.  ESPN showed that he half-assed it to first for the first 45 feet and only kicked it into gear when he say the bobble by the shortstop.  This is inexcusable.  Terry Francona better sit him down next game to send a message to the team that the season is not over.  If they continue to humiliate themselves for the rest of the season, Francona is to blame.  Time to be a manager and deal with this Terry.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBacks (0)

Eric Gagne can't become a free agent fast enough for me.  He, for whatever reason, has been terrible and I think tonight was the final blow.  The Red Sox were in need of a win and had one in their grasp, but Eric Gagne self-destructed and lost the game for Boston.

This is very frustrating.  What is worse is if Gagne has a soft free agent market and accepts arbitration from Boston.  That would be bad.

What was equally frustrating was Francona letting Gagne get himself into trouble and then allowing him to walk the plank.  Come on Terry, you've seen it before with this guy.  Kyle Snyder would have been a better option.  Anyway, I have to assume this was the icing on the cake and Gagne will NOT be on the Red Sox playoff roster (Jerry Remy said on the broadcast that this appeared to be an audition for Gagne).

It's now 2 1/2 games.  I am getting the feeling Terry Francona and Boston management are (or is it "is") just fine with winning the wildcard and not the AL East.  Way to stagger into the playoffs guys.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Leave it to the Red Sox to make things interesting.  Jerks.

With about 11 games left, the Red Sox hold a 3 1/2 game lead on the Yankees in the AL East.  Their magic number is 9 (combo of Red Sox wins and Yankee losses needed to clinch the AL East). For those who think it possible the Red Sox lose the divisional title, fear not, they are 7 games up on the 2nd place wild card Detroit Tigers (which I think makes their playoff magic number 2).

But as predictable as cool weather in the fall, leaves falling on dewy grass and the delightful tanginess of warm apple cider, the Red Sox are blowing chunks late in the season.  I'll give you delightful...

Manny has decided that September baseball games aren't as satisfying as September baseball practice.  Kevin Youkilis is hurt and the pitching and offense seem out of whack.  Other than that, things are great.

And picking up from my last post, JD Drew deserves closer examination.  He has been getting on base and is on pace to score more runs this year than he did last year (85 vs. 78 so far this year).  But check out some of these doosies:

Late and Close -

17(H)/54(AB), .286/.386/.356.  Not bad you say?  Well he has 2 RBI in those 54 at bats.  So he is getting on base but hitting for no power and generating little run production.

2 out Runners in scoring position (RISP) -

14/71, .197/.400/.380.  Another sub .400 slg stat but in this case with 18 RBI.  Still not good overall.  He needs to move runners along.

9th inning -

5/27 - .185/.333/.296, 0 RBI.  Can you believe that?  0 RBI's in the 9th inning all year?!?

Clearly he has been a disaster, but get used to Drew as his contract means he will play and start next year.  Things can only get better though and many talented players have struggled year 1 in Boston or New York (think Carlos Beltran).  There is hope, just maybe not this year.

Another scary development (a development suggests a recent trend, but his is more of a season long trend) is Jason Varitek's strikeouts.  He has 114 so far.  He has always struck out often, but unlike 2004 when he K'd 126 times, he isn't hitting for power or average.  He has a .296/.390/.482 in 2004 and has a .251/.357/.394 in 2007.  He has 13 doubles all season.  The next worse double output on the team amongst starters is 27 (Drew and Crisp).

I've pointed out nothing but worries, but that's because the Red Sox are losing ground in the standings.  They do have some positives to point to.  Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell, Dustin Pedroia, Julio Lugo (.296/.331/.411 in the 2nd half), David Ortiz in the 2nd half, Josh Beckett and his 19 wins, Manny Delcarmen and Jonathan Papelbon.

The Red Sox remain a very talented team, but they need to fix a few things and get a few people healthy.

A few notes on Terry Francona.  He has been great and I'm glad he is the Red Sox manager, but he needs to acknowledge and accept the fact that both Hideki Okajima and Daisuke Matsuzaka are tired.  He did take one step in giving Matsuzaka an extra 3 days off before his next start, but he needs to mothball Okajima for a 3-4 days to allowing him to A.)  rest up and become effective again and B.)  prepare him for what hopefully will be an extended playoff run.  It's one thing if Okajima was tired but still pitching well and Francona kept trotting him out there, but he is tired and pitching very poorly (5.06 ERA in August and 11.57 thus far in Sept) yet Francona is still trotting him out there.  He's an Okajima addict.  12 steps Terry, 12 steps.

Line-ups aren't in yet, but don't expect Youkilis and Manny.  Tonight is Lester vs Burnett.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Wow, nice to see Big Papi win the game for Boston Wednesday night.  A walk-off dinger is something else and David Ortiz perfected it in 2006.  But for some reason, the magic had left him in 2007.  He made up for it Wednesday.

The Red Sox are 5 up on the Yankees entering the weekend series at Fenway.  The Red Sox have Thursday off while the Yankees have a game against Toronto, so the lead will be either 4.5 or 5.5 unless the Rogers Centre has a cave in (and thus a postponement).

Prior to Wednesday's game, the Red Sox had a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs.  They had a 93.9% chance of winning the AL East.  With each team (Bos and NY) winning tonight, the % improved for Boston as their "magic number" decreased.  As of Thursday AM, Boston's magic number is 12 (a combination of 12 Red Sox wins and 12 Yankees losses equals the AL East).  For those wondering why I am talking about the Yankees, well, check the name of this site and they have won 7 in a row and have, by far, the best record in baseball since the break.  $191m in payroll buys a ton of talent and the Yankees are still in the hunt...

Some nice developments:

Ortiz on a streak:  Ortiz has 17 HR's since the break vs. 14 before the break.  Sure that total is a far cry from the 54 he hit in 2006, but he is hot now and a hot David Ortiz is a good thing.

JD Drew:  He has been terrible I know, but (I was a supporter of him earlier in the year, but his total and complete lack of power has proved scary.) he has a few hits in the last few games.  Big deal?  Probably, but Red Sox fans have to cling to something.  More on JD Drew later.

Dustin Pedroia:  .325/.389/.451.  Pedroia is a possible ROY candidate and has been playing stellar D.  Pedroia has only made 5 errors at 2b, a position that usual yields 15 + error per season.  .991 /.985% (his vs. league avg 2b) fld % and a 4.47/4.56 range factor (vs league).

Mike Lowell:  Lowell has been a more than solid replacement for Manny, I'm taking my annual 20 games off, Ramirez.  Lowell is hitting .360/.418/.476 since the All-Star break through Tuesday.  Lowell has been super and make the idea of losing him in 2008 a painful thought.  He is hitting for average more than power right now (14 HR's first half, 4 second half), but his average (.300 first half, .360 second half) has made up for it.  His 103 RBI is 2 short of a career high.

Josh Beckett:  Beckett has a better ERA since the break than prior:  3.44/3.05.  He has been the best starter on team hands down.

Jonathan Papalbon:  1.55 ERA entering Wednesday, that after posting a 0.92 ERA in 2006.  HR has been steady and has pitched 15 fewer innings than last season (in the regular season).

Boston has many players doing good things and many players doing more than adequate things, but there are still a few more games to be won and no need to coast.  Big series at Fenway this weekend.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Clay Buchholz pitched a no-hitter tonight as I'm sure most of you already know.

Great spectator event indeed, but here was my thought process throughout:

1.)  No way a rookie pitches a no-no in his 2nd MLB start.

2.)  Wow, what a good job Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy (and NESN) did of not saying "no-hitter."  Obviously they had to acknowledge the significance of what was happening, but they skated around saying the phrase, something FOX sports would not do.

3.)  Pitching coach John Farrell shook Buchholz's hand after the 8th, I though that was a bad move as you generally aren't supposed to talk to or address a pitching in the midst of a late-game no-hitter.  At first I thought it might mean they were taking him out, but in the end it was no bid deal.

4.)  Home plate umpire Joe West helped out Buchholz early in the game (i.e. the first pitch) but worked a bit against him in the latter innings.  There were 2 pitches, one a change the other the hook, which West called balls.  In my mind, they were both clearly strikes.

5.)  What great pitchers pitched a no-hitter so soon in their career?  Is this a good career event?  Or does it matter?  I worry that such an event will be the peak rather than a great accomplishment along the way to greatness.

Or maybe I should relax and enjoy this moment.  I have it saved on TIVO and I've already watched the last at bat about 10 times.  Congratulations Clay Buchholz.  Now, get ready for the full body-cast Red Sox management will want to place you in tomorrow.  115 pitches exceded his season high by 21.  He averaged 78 pitches per start in the minors, an indication that management wants to protect this kid.  Maybe he'll start again this year, but I wouldn't be surprised if they say "great season kid, now take 5 months off."

Update:  Aparently ESPN's Rob Neyer wondered the same thing about Buchholz and his place in history.  Neyer seems ok with the notion that this won't have any impact on his future (negatively or positively).

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)