For the record, I’m not all that convinced that the Red Sox are really that much worse off with Jason Bay on this team instead of Manny Ramirez. Bay had a great ALDS and was solid, both at the plate and in the field as a member of the Sox down the stretch this year. Add to it the fact that half the team, or at least Curt Schilling (who at least talks more than half the team) wanted him out and the deal was a no-brainer. Yes, the Sox had to pay for his salary for the rest of the year, but they are effectively saving $12.5 million on this deal by having Bay next year instead of the option on Manny. So it didn’t even really cost them that much, not that I really care how they spend my beer money anyway.

No, its the fact that Manny forced the Sox to do this. It’s the fact that he quit, not just on his team, but on every Red Sox fan and is giving baseball a bad name. He’s shown that he doesn’t care about anything other than getting paid a hundred million dollars. But can we blame him for that? YES! I blame him, personally. I don’t want to hear any of this crap about how Scott Boras is manipulating him and all that. He signed him as an agent and he listened to every word he said about how to act and how to create a situation where he will get paid this off season. He rolled the Red Sox, he rolled the fans, the game, and most importantly, you and I. I am angry and you all should be too. Even Dodgers fans should be a little upset. Granted, they are winning now because of Manny, but he’s going to roll them over as well. He’ll play hard this year and win all their hearts, and then most likely will be signing with the cross-town Angels or some other big budget American League team so he can continue to be lazy and play as a DH.

But we do have one hope left. It’s called the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. Manny, AKA Greedy Baseball Playing Bastard, is on the cover. And this means the Dodgers are going to lose. At least I hope so. I’m angry, and I feel like I have every right. And I expect everyone else to be angry too, especially if we are forced to Boo Manny when he comes back to Boston in the World Series. Maybe we’ll be smart and bean him with the first pitch. Maybe Philly will do that tonight. We can only hope.

After all, he is one of the best hitters of all time, at least when he tries. And that’s the point - he tries for them when he didn’t for us. And for that, I’m appalled.

Share:

Hide Sites

View the Photo Album

Share:

Hide Sites

Yes, its this guy we put in with the game on the line. Not that I’m really suggesting there was any other alternative. I guess Chris Smith was ready to pitch, but who is that?

Instead, we had to go with Mike “I’m not making the playoff roster” Timlin last night. I can barely even think about that game without getting angry - both teams should have won the game long before the 14th inning.

Well, here comes Toronto.

Share:

Hide Sites

Tonight, the Red Sox celebrated their 456th consecutive home sell out. But did this mean you couldn’t find tickets day of the game? Of course not. Everyone who waited in line on Landsdowne St. had a ticket and was in the park by about 6:30 today. Tickets were available to anyone who needed one walking up to the window.

My suggestion: Try again tomorrow - Daisuke vs. Kazmir is going to be another great pitching matchup, just like Jackson vs. Lester was today.

Share:

Hide Sites

Oh, those pesky Rays of Sunshine.

Who would have ever thought that this early September weekday series against the Rays would be one of the toughest tickets in town? And no, its not just becuase the Sox are beating the consecutive sell out record either, which is generally a bad thing for anyone wanting to see a game.

No, this series is important becuase the Sox have the potential to take first place back from Tampa for the first time since June 28. They would need to sweep in order to be in first place at the end of the day on Wednesday, which isn’t necessarily likely, though it remains very possible. Either way, with Tampa coming off a sweep by Toronto to start out their franchise-defining road trip, its looking more and more like they are finally starting the fade that all the experts have been predicting for so long.

Its not really that surprising either. Evan Longoria is looking to be the Rookie of the Year, yet is injured and has missed significant time. Un-retired Troy Percival is feeling his age and in fact blew his first game back since spending time on the DL. BJ Upton is playing with a torn labrum, and the starting pitching that has carried them so far this year is faltering. Its not surprising though, as pretty much all of their starters are either injured or throwing the most innings they ever have before.

Let’s take a look at the 3 starters we’ll be seeing in this series:

Edwin Jackson is just 24 years old (He’ll be 25 tomorrow, the 9th) and has a 4.07 ERA in 159 innings thus far this season. His previous high in IP was 161, which was accomplished last year. Assuming he makes it out of the first inning tonight, he’ll be passing that. He’s struggled lately, recording just 2 strikeouts in each of his last 3 starts and hasn’t pitched in to the 8th inning since July 4. He did win 4 out of 5 starts in August, but got shelled by the Yankees last time out giving up 6 earned runs while getting only 10 outs. That game may have just been a fluke of course, but for a guy pitching more than he ever has before, he seems pretty risky. Look for regression from Jackson in September, starting with tonight’s start.

Scott Kazmir will go tomorrow for Tampa, opposing Daisuke Matsuzaka. Kazmir is the definition of a Red Sox killer as he has beaten us consistently over his career. In fact, from 2004-2007 Kazmir compiled a 2.93 ERA against the Sox in 15 starts, though he only won 5 times. In 2008 so far, he’s started twice against the Sox and has been hit well, allowing 7 earned runs in 9 total innings pitched. Granted, the first one of those starts was his first of the year and he was a bit rusty, but either way, the Sox have shown they can hit him this year. He hasn’t given up an earned run in his last 2 starts and has been pitching very well, but the patient hitting of the Sox proves to be a real test. The good news for Rays fans is that he has only thrown 131 innings this year and is probably the best thing they have going right now. Look for a pitcher’s duel in this one.

On Wednesday, Andy Sonnanstine will continue his slow steady decline opposite Josh Beckett. Sonnanstine has been consistently mediocre all year, seeing his ERA move between 4.0 and 5.0 all year. He’s pitched in to the 8th inning just 3 times all year, with 2 of those coming in April. He’s thrown a total of 168 innings thus far this year, after throwing just 130 last year. He doesn’t strike a lot of guys out (5.4K/9 IP) and is overall, very hittable in that he doesn’t walk a lot either (only 30 BB this year). The Sox haven’t seen him yet this year, though last year he gave up 20 earned runs in 4 starts. Up against Beckett, I wouldn’t be betting on this guy either.

In the end, the Sox look to have the pitching advantage as well as a hot-hitting team. The Sox have scored 49 runs in their 6 September games so far compared to just 21 by the Rays. This is why we are 5-1 this month to the Rays 1-5 record.

This “race” is going to be all but over if the Sox can sweep. But even if we don’t, its just a matter of time becuase once the Red Sox are back on top of the division, its very unlikely they are going to give it back to these Rays of Sunshine.

It all start tonight!

Share:

Hide Sites

You’ll find very few people who are as excited to have Josh Beckett back tonight than I am. Watching him go down against Toronto back on August 17 was painful. Especially since I was sitting out in the Bleacher Seats sporting my favorite Josh Beckett jersey. I won’t say that I’m glad he was injured, but at least we had a reason other than he just isn’t as good as I thought. It’s kind of like being stuck in traffic and then finally passing a car accident - you’re not exactly happy about what happened, but at least the whole situation makes more sense.

I can’t say as though I really understand what the injury was, or if its even a real injury. His ulnar nerve was aggrivated I guess - but how do you un-aggrevate it? Let’s hope rest was the best medicine and its not going to be a recurring thing (first it was the blisters, now a numb arm and hand - this guy has some weird injuries).

He won’t be back at full strength tonight - we’re looking at 60-70 pitches which is maybe 5 innings. But at least he’s back now - at the beginning of September so he can be at full strength come playoff time.

Speaking of playoffs, this is the first time I think I’ve officially said/typed anything assuming the Sox are in, but the way Minnesota is losing lately, it looks like a pretty sure bet. Whether we catch Tampa or not, we should be in. Though I’d much rather have the White Sox in round 1 than the Angels, I’m confident we stand up to either team.

That confidence is now fully restored knowing that Beckett is back. I can’t wait to see him pitch tonight - should be at full speed and fun to watch against a free-swinging Rangers team.

Share:

Hide Sites

Mark Kotsay is officially a Red Sox. It became very obvious yesterday that the Sox were going to need to bring in an extra outfielder once J.D. Drew went on to the disabled list.

All Atlanta is getting back is a single-A player named Luis Sumoza. This is probably because Kotsay has proven to be a huge disappointment in Atlanta this year. He’s the guy that was supposed to come in and replace Andruw Jones, and he did no such thing. He’s played in 88 games yet only has 6 home runs and 37 RBIs. He does have a decent on base percentage at .340 with 25 walks, but rarely runs and at 32, probably won’t be getting any faster.

Overall, this is a move just to keep some veterans on the team during this pennant race and not have to rely on Joe Thurston and Jeff Bailey to carry us through J.D. Drew’s absence.

Personally, I don’t think Kotsay should have any guaranteed playing time, as Coco is swinging a hot bat and Ellsbury is a guy you have to keep in your lineup. I’m sure we’ll see Kotsay either tonight or tomorrow starting in right since there is a day game following tonight’s in Yankee Stadium.

Since they are getting him before September 1, he will be playoff roster eligible, though its not likely he comes along if J.D. Drew’s back is OK by then.

Share:

Hide Sites

First off, its not just that uniform #24 is suddenly available and Theo misses seeing it being used in the outfield. I honestly don’t think there is anything about a #24 that the Red Sox miss right now, even if Manny is cranking home runs out of Dodger Stadium at a record pace.

But there has to be a reason, right? I mean, they do still have 4 outfielders with both Coco and Ellsbury still on the team, so why would this team be going after Giles? Don’t we still have Bobby Kielty, who hit every World Series pitch (1) he ever saw as a home run?

And if we claimed him this morning, how did he manage to pinch hit today?

Well, the answers are both simple and complex at the same time. The short version of this story is that waiver claims are not binding and they only did it so Tampa couldn’t get him.

The long version deals with the logistics of waivers and how it works, and what it means and how the player, especially in this case, can influence it. Players, literally hundreds of them, are put on waivers all the time now that the trade deadline has passed. The trade deadline is actually only the non-waiver trade deadline. You can still trade players, but you have to give every team a chance to get them. Basically, its a rule meant to protect against collaboration between teams.

The first step is that the Padres have to decide they want to trade him. Not really sure why they’d want to do that, but I guess with the emergence of Chase Headley so far this year, they feel like they can move Giles out of the starting lineup and use him or someone else as a 4th outfielder. I doubt they would really be giving up on the season, especially since they NL West is so bad. So they are probably willing just to let him go and grab a prospect, as its possible nobody will sign him after next year and they wouldn’t get a draft pick. So its nothing or at least something from their perspective.

The national league teams all get a chance to claim him first, in order of worst record to best. He cleared NL waivers, meaning no team decided they wanted to trade for him. Then he hit AL waivers, again, in order of worst record to best. If he had cleared waivers, the Padres would be free to trade him to anyone, but now, since the Sox claimed him, they have to trade him to us or nobody.

This is where it gets interesting. Obviously the Sox don’t need him, and since Giles has a no-trade clause in his contract that can block a trade to Boston (Boston is 1 of 10 cities he can choose not to be traded to), it’s unlikely he will end up here. Even if Giles was willing to come here (unlikely since he won’t start), the Sox could still offer very little in the way of a trade in order to not get it done.

They have 48 hours, so we will see how this plays out, but in the end, it really looks like the Sox are just blocking the Rays from getting that 4th outfielder veteran that they could use in their run for the playoffs.

I say, good move, becuase I’d hate to see Brian Giles push the Sox into third place.

Share:

Hide Sites

This story has been confirmed by nobody. It was reported nowhere. It is officially off the record - so far off that all it really is is my own pure speculation. But I’d bet on it. This is how these things work. You weigh decisions and pull the trigger once you reach the “have to” point.

Bottom line is that the Red Sox got totally screwed by Manny Ramirez, and he cared about nothing, absolutely nothing, more than getting his own contract. But I ask you - can you blame him? Wouldn’t you screw your employer over if it meant, or at least you thought it meant, getting $100 million?

You see, the Red Sox (this begins the speculation part) have dealt with the Marlins in the past, obviously, because their last big trade was with the Red Sox (Lowell-Beckett for Hanley). So when the Marlins expressed interest in Manny, Theo and the gang were pretty sure they would be sending him there. They actually asked Manny specifically for permission to go to the Marlins, and then only later did they ask for blanket permission to go anywhere. So stage 1 was we are sending him to Miami, no matter what. The problem is, the Marlins were wise to this. They saw through it, realized the Sox 100% had to trade Manny, and saw an opportunity to gouge the Sox.

So once the deal was in place, they asked for, and even demanded, a second prospect and additional cash. From their perspective the Sox had no choice. They had us by the proverbial gonads, and were going to take as much as they could. But the Sox had better ideas. Once the asking price of the Marlins was too much, the Sox were ready to enact their contingency plan.

The contingency plan was to go all “Gary Sheffield” on Manny’s ass. I think they were ready to tell him that either you play, play hard, and play every day, or we pick up your option for 2009 and then trade you in the offseason. This would be a good plan. When Sheffield left the Yankees, instead of letting him walk, they chose to pick up the option and trade a 1 year contract of Sheffield to the Tigers and get more than nothing. This is what would have happened to the Sox. All Manny wants is more money, and the Red Sox could have pulled a power play on him making him play this year out to secure his release.

So that was that - the Dodgers aren’t giving up Matt Kemp and the Marlins want too much. The Sox, at probably like 3:40, 20 minutes before the deadline, were ready to fight a war with Manny, keeping him on the team. They couldn’t get better by moving him, so they were keeping him.

But at that point, around 3:45, it was announced that Jason Bay was going to Tampa for their top 2 prospects. The Rays were ready to go for broke. Though this may have been a bluff, it wasn’t seen as such at the time and once Epstein realized he was going to say no to a deal and watch the Rays become the hands-down best team in the AL East while he rolled the dice with Ramirez, everything changed.

So there you are. You are Theo Epstein and basically, you have been given a clear choice. Since you said the price was too high for Jason Bay, he’s going to beat you playing on the Rays, and you are at least potentially stuck with Brandon Moss as your everyday left fielder assuming Manny continues to tank and sit out.
Or, you can overpay for Bay and keep him away from the Rays. Just preventing the Jason “I’m a Ray” Bay calls my Chris Berman every time he hits one out of the Top is probably worth it, but I’m sure they looked beyond that. Theo saw a chance to at least stay about the same when the Rays were staying about the same instead of getting worse, by having a phantom-injured Manny while Bay is driving in runs for Florida.

So that was it. Because the alternative was Bay as a Ray or Manny gone, it was Manny gone.

We definitely gave up too much to see Manny go. I mean, Manny for the rest of this year and then for 09 and 2010 is the best deal you could have. But he screwed us. He checked out and went out of his way to make sure those options would never get picked up. That happened about last week.

From there, the Red Sox really had no choice but to either go to war against him (which I really think they were ready to do) or pay to get rid of him. Given the circumstances, I think the Red Sox did the best they possibly could in getting Bay in return.

Don’t blame the front office for bringing in a top 20 outfielder for Manny - blame Manny for whining and crying and doing his best TO impersonation and rolling the Red Sox and forcing their hand. Part of the reason he got so much money up front was these 2 option years. And he stole them from the Red Sox, and more importantly, he stole 2 years of me being able to cheer for one of the best hitters in the game.

Screw you Manny, you’ve tarnished yourself as far as i can see. You care about nothing other than your new contract and another $100 million. It’s a sad day for baseball, because greed won.

But at least we got Jason Bay, and I hope you, like me, will line up for a Sox t-shirt that says Bay on the back.

Welcome to the Back Bay Jason. May you hit 30 home runs every year and retire a Red Sox. After all, we need a new legacy in Left Field.

Share:

Hide Sites

Yes, yes, we all know he’s no Manny Ramirez. But all that means is that he’ll actually run to first, play when he can, and hit nearly as well. This deal is by far not a good deal for the Red Sox - clearly they are giving up the most to make this work. But that’s just Manny being Manny I guess. He got what he wanted, like a little kid throwing a fit in a candy store, just yelling I want it as loud as possible. It would have been much more beneficial to keep Manny through his option years, but since Manny is such a little whining @#*&% that wouldn’t work. Once it was decided that the Red Sox had to trade Manny, it was over and you knew they would. The question then was who are you going to get, and Bay is by far the best you can do. Just a couple days ago I was saying how there is no way the Sox could get Bay, but I’m glad they proved me wrong.

And just so you know, Jason Bay is Awesome! This guy was considered one of the top 10 outfielders in the National League up until last season when he had a horrible second half and only hit .247 on the year with only 21 home runs. But this year, he’s already past that point, with 22 HR already and an average right on par with his career at .281.

Some will argue that his numbers aren’t as good as Manny, and though that is probably true, its a lot closer than you realize. Bay comes with an OPS of .894 which is very comparable to Manny at .927. This is on base + slugging percentage, which is basically a measure of how often you get on base, and when you do get hits, how much power you have. He can probably make up for a lot of that just by playing hard (something we all know Manny didn’t do much).

Jason Bay was also the Rookie of the Year in 2004 and a 2-time All Star. Not that that really matters since it all happened years ago. He is under contract through next year, and is a lot cheaper at just $7.5 million compared to the $20m Manny would have gotten. Look for the Sox to make a run at Mark Teixera in the offseason with the extra Manny money combined with Schilling’s $8m coming off the books. Overall, the Sox are not as well off this year as they would have been with a motivated, healthy Manny, but since he basically quit on the team in these past couple weeks, I think they did the best they could. Good job Theo.

Share:

Hide Sites