GRAPEVINE, Texas. Die-hard Red Sox fan and blogger, Laura (AKA Ellesie99), has suffered a setback in her rehabilitation efforts after experiencing heart palpitations, faintness, and a possible case of “the vapors”. She attempted to get through Monday night’s game in Oakland but lost consciousness sometime after the Athletics took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. She revived briefly after the game but felt her energy lag even further after learning that the Sox and rookie Kason Gabbard had suffered a 9-0 loss.
Laura did not feel that she had the energy or fortitude for tonight’s game, even with Josh Beckett getting the start for Boston. She kept herself updated of the score via phone and ESPN’s Baseball Tonight from a training facility near her home in Grapevine, Texas.
Medical personnel have not yet determined the cause of Laura’s problems or even diagnosed her condition. One popular theory is that the Red Sox fan is suffering from a broken heart as her team has lost 20 of their last 28 games this month. Possible causes of the blogger’s heartbreak include David Ortiz’s recent hospitalization, Manny Ramirez’s recent knee soreness, Wily Mo Peña’s aching wrist, Jason Varitek’s knee injury and subsequent surgery, Trot Nixon’s bicep strain, or Tim Wakefield’s fractured rib.
The blogger exhibited signs of stress and exhaustion in the days preceding Boston’s five-game series against the New York Yankees. However, concerns were dismissed as such feelings are typical when the pin-stripers darken the dugout of Fenway Park. She had hoped that the change of scenery and weather of the Sox’s current west coast road trip might improve her condition, but despite a promising visit to Anaheim, a subsequent sweep in Seattle and another two losses in Oakland have offered no respite.
The prognosis is not good, and there have been rumors that Laura has lost her will to blog. Although Laura was unavailable for comment, her spokesperson vigorously denied those claims. However, if improvements are not seen during Boston’s upcoming homestand against the Blue Jays and White Sox, Laura’s and the Red Sox’s season may well be over.
During tonight’s Red Sox game at Tampa Bay, Rays TV broadcasters Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane encouraged fans to avoid long lines at the box office by going to devilrays.com to purchase their game tickets. Now, of all the problems facing the Devil Rays franchise, are long lines at the box office that high up on the list?
The Red Sox avoided the sweep at the hands of the Devil Rays in rather vehement fashion. The game featured four home runs for Boston (in addition to three for Tampa Bay), including by David Ortiz, and a ninth inning in which the Red Sox scored as many runs as they had in the first two games of this series put together.
Boston got off to a quick start against Rays pitcher James Shields. Lead-off batter Kevin Youkilis was hit by a pitch in his first at bat, and Manny sent him home with a two-run home run later that inning. Through three innings, Sox starter Tim Wakefield allowed just two walks, with no hits or runs scored. Aubrey Huff led off with a homer in the top of the fourth, but Doug Mirabelli came back with one of his own in the next inning. Papi brought the Boston lead to 5-1 with a two-run shot a few minutes later.
Wakefield struggled some in the subsequent innings, allowing two more home runs (first to Carl Crawford in the fifth and then another to Jorge Cantu after a Huff double in the sixth). He was relieved by Craig Hansen at that point who did fairly well, allowing only two walks in the next inning and two thirds. Javier Lopez took over in the seventh with two outs, after Hansen allowed a lead-off walk to Julio Lugo. When Lopez gave up a single to Huff, Lugo scored and brought the D-Rays within one run.
In the eighth, both bullpens held their opponents hitless, but things took a turn for the worse in the top of the ninth after Shawn Camp took the mound for Tampa. He struck Mirabelli out for the final out in the eighth, but gave up consecutive singles to Alex Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis to start the next inning. After that, Mark Loretta drew a walk, bringing Papi up to the plate, and he came through to get some insurance runs for Jonathan Papelbon by providing a grand slam. Still with no outs, Camp had a second chance when Ramirez came to the plate with the bases freshly cleared. He gave up another single to Manny and a walk to Trot Nixon before getting his first out of the inning, striking out Mike Lowell. After Camp walked the bases loaded with a base on balls to Coco Crisp (who was 0-4 on the night), Joe Madden decided it was time to make the call to the bullpen and bring Travis Harper in. Another run scored when Mirabelli hit into a fielder’s choice that forced Nixon out at third. Gonzalez, who had led off the inning with a single, came back up with an RBI double before Youk struck out to end the inning with the lead up to 12-5.
When Jonathan Papelbon came out of the bullpen in the bottom of the inning, the crackerjack broadcasting team from Rays TV announced his current season record of 25 saves in 27 attempts before telling us “We’re doing some research, but this does not seem to be a save situation. Papelbon probably just needs the work, as he has not appeared in the previous three games of this series.” The Sox, sadly, had not had a ninth-inning lead in the current series, and Francona probably did not need to call upon Papelbon, with his 0.42 ERA just then with a seven-run lead (we checked, and it turns out that is not a save situation), but the closer was loosened up and did his thing nonetheless. He retired the side in order and struck out his forty-second batter in forty-two and two-thirds innings. It was not a save, but it was a win for a Red Sox team that has dropped four of their last seven games.
For the second consecutive game, David Ortiz has come through for his teammates with a game-winning hit in overtime. Saturday afternoon, it was a two-run shot off of Tom Gordon in the bottom of the tenth inning. After Sunday’s game was postponed due to rain, Ortiz came back today and sent Kevin Youkilis home for the game-winning run against Clay Condrey in the twelfth.
It was a well-pitched, close game for over five of the first nine innings. Through the middle of the sixth, Philadelphia and Boston combined for just seven hits and two walks. In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Sox got things going quickly with a lead-off walk for Big Papi and a base hit for Manny Ramirez. They burned through three pitchers with a six-run, seven-hit inning.
That six-run lead was not safe for long, however, as Tim Wakefield had his own share of problems in the top of the seventh. Lead-off batter David Dellucci reached on an error by Mark Loretta who had just taken over defensively at second base after pinch hitting for Alex Cora in the previous inning. Wake struggled with his control, hitting Shane Victorino with a pitch and walking David Bell. Rudy Seanez took over with three men on and promptly gave up a single to Chris Coste and a bases-loaded triple to Jimmy Rollins. By the time Mike Timlin got the ball (after the Phillies had batted back around and Javier Lopez relieved Seanez), the lead had been shaved down to a single run, at 6-5.
In the top of the ninth, Jonathan Papelbon allowed a lead-off homerun to Chase Utley for the second blown save of his career (and the first that was clearly his fault). The Sox were not able to battle back in the bottom of the frame, sending the game to extra innings once more.
The Boston bullpen, sending Julian Tavarez, Manny Delcarmen, and Craig Hansen was less than impressive. Tavarez gave up a single, walk, and wild pitch in the tenth, and Delcarmen had a walk, single, and sacrifice hit in an inning and a third. When Hansen took over in the top of the twelfth, Victorino was already on second. He advanced on Coste’s ground ball (properly fielded by Loretta this time) and scored on Rollins’s double.
Fortunately for Hansen, former Boston closer Gordon could not get the job done this afternoon. Coco Crisp started off with a ground-rule double against him. With two outs, Youkilis sent him home on a base hit. He made it to second on the throw home. With the score tied back up, he was ready in scoring position when Ortiz came to the plate. For the second time in as many days, Papi delivered. In the past week, he has had nine RBIs, with three homeruns- including Saturday’s game winner and Wednesday’s grand slam. Not a bad week for Ortiz or his team, now riding a nine-game winning streak into a series (at home) against the best team in the National League and the city of New York.
Okay, let's try that again. Sorry for the technical difficulties (also known as cut-and-paste errors).
No, I’m not talking back about Johnny Damon’s return to Fenway Park in a Yankees uniform, although that attracted most of the media attention in tonight’s game. For me, the real excitement was the reunion of backup catcher Doug Mirabelli with battery-mate Tim Wakefield. I don’t know how long Theo Epstein has been working on this deal; hell, I do not know why they dealt Mirabelli away in the first place. However, the timing of his return could have hardly been more dramatic. His arrival to Fenway, via police escort from Logan Airport half an hour before Wakefield took the mound in the season’s first game against the Yankees, could have been written for a movie.
Although catching a knuckleball pitcher is hardly an enviable task, the return of Wakefield’s partner in crime for the past several seasons was a welcome relief after Josh Bard got off to an extremely rough start with ten passed balls in four games. Things got off to a pretty start with the first three Yanks (beginning with Johnny Damon) going down in order against Wakefield.
In the bottom of the first, Kevin Youkilis, the Greek God of Walks, led off and lived up to his reputation. David Ortiz got to work quickly sending Youk home with a single to give the Sox a 1-0 lead to get things going. Wake got roughed up a bit in the fourth, after loading the bases with a lead-off single to Derek Jeter and consecutive walks to Jason Giambi and A-Rod. Hideki Matsui drove in Jeter to tie the score, and Robinson Cano hit a single to put the Yanks up 3-1.
Boston came back to tie it in the next inning with Alex Cora bunting his way on and Youk hitting a single. Cora was erased on Mark Loretta’s fielder’s choice, but Papi singled to load the bases for Manny. He and Trot Nixon each batted a runner in to get the score back to 3-3. Wake had to settle for a no-decision when he left after seven innings. He allowed just the three runs on four hits and three walks.
Things got out of control for Aaron Small in the eighth, though. After walking Cora, he hit Youk and sent him to the plate. Tanyon Sturtze took over from their, giving up an RBI single to Loretta. At that point, Joe Torre decided to try his luck with a former teammate of the Sox, their left-handed specialist Mike Myers, to face Big Papi. Ortiz got ahead of Myers before working the count full and then knocking the 3-2 pitch out.
Damon went back to the wall (which probably still has strands of his hair caught on it from his head-first dives) trying to run it down, but he had no chance. Jonathan Papelbon grabbed it as he was warming up in the bullpen. The three-run homer eliminated his save opportunity, but Papelbon tossed the ball into the stands and resumed his throwing. He retired A-Rod, Matsui, and Posada in order, striking out Rodriguez and Posada, to exceed fifteen scoreless innings and put the lid on an 7-3 victory in the first game against the Yankees of 2006.
I wish I could rise above, as Northsider recommended, be the better (wo)man, and applaud Damon in his return to Fenway. I'm not sure I would've had it in me, though. I have to admit I was glad to see him go 0-4, not so much for reasons of spite as just wanting the Sox to come out on top.
Did any of the rest of you get nervous when you saw the David Ortiz press conference (yesterday) announcing his contract extension? I had heard the news (in the “leak” and the official story in my boston.com news alerts), but did not actually see the conference initially. They did show footage from it during the NESN coverage of the home opener today, though. They talked about how Papi could have gotten more money if he waited out his current contract into free agency before inking a new deal. The reason he gave for signing now (and potentially for less money) was for the good of Red Sox Nation.
Is it just me, or does this sound too much like the Bronson Arroyo deal three months ago? I cannot imagine that Theo & Co. would be stupid enough to deal another guy who could credibly (not talking about Johnny Damon) be described as the heart of the franchise and who is definitely the heart of their lineup and one of the first designated hitters to have a genuine case for MVP. Of course, they are the same group that sent Nomar to Chicago, but if the World Series wasn’t proof enough that we were better off without him, hindsight has confirmed that he was played out. On the other hand, where would we be without Big Papi?
Clearly I am a cynic (should go without saying for a Sox fan) in thinking the worst when a new deal is announced. More likely, this was good publicity on an off day before the home opener. If Ortiz ends up in Cincinnati, though, consider me an expatriate of the Nation.
I find it slightly distressing that most of my thoughts about baseball have been focused on the Yankees. I've been scrounging for some interesting Red Sox news for inspiration, but the pickings are slim.
The Lead Story on redsox.com announced that Mark Loretta, if he inherits Edgar Renteria's 2-spot in the Boston lineup, should score a lot of runs batting ahead of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz (that article, at least, avoided the omnipresent speculation as to whether Manny will remain in Boston through this season). How’s that for news? Hell, I could score a surprising number of runs batting ahead of Manny and Papi. I’m not promising 100 runs scored, but at five feet even, have fun finding my strike zone. Even if I can’t smack in too many base hits, I could probably get on base enough to score some RBIs for the Dominican duo.
It should go without saying that this is meant as no slight to Loretta. I don’t actually think I would be better than he will, although the image of a match-up of me versus Randy Johnson, with a height difference of nearly two feet, is quite amusing.
Other Top Stories Out of Boston focus on Manny Ramirez. I still love Manny for his talent, his general demeanor (trade talk notwithstanding), and his contributions to the Sox, but these stories aren’t making him any easier to love. Apparently, he has been granted a dispensation to report to camp after the mandatory deadline for vague, personal reasons; he may also waver on his decision to play in the WBC (that may be good news, depending on your opinion of the tournament / marketing ploy); and, as further proof of how slow the news is, the big story is that David Ortiz is not aware of Manny’s whereabouts but has no doubt that he will report ready to play… eventually. It’s not news, but it is a reminder of how easy it is to love Big Papi.
Steinbrenner Predicts World Series Win After Five Year “Drought" It’s always hard to take George Steinbrenner’s complaints seriously, unless he is telling his players that he expects more for the money he pays them. However, hearing the owner of the most victorious franchise in World Series history whine about a lack of wins is almost laughable. It’s particularly preposterous when you consider the other teams that have won or played in the Fall Classic since the Yankees’ victory over the Mets in the 2000 Subway Series. The reigning champion White Sox and previous champion Red Sox won after droughts (or curses) of 87 and 86 years, respectively. The 2001 and 2002 champion Diamondbacks and Angels had won their first World Series in franchise history, and even last year’s losers, the Astros, were celebrating their first appearance in over forty years of existence.
Plans Approved for New Yankee Stadium As much as I, personally, despise the Yankees (in case you couldn’t already tell), I find it perplexing that a team that has so much history would want to tear it all down and build a new stadium with more luxury boxes and an even lower seating capacity. As a Dallas resident, I understand that there is sometimes a need for a new facility. However, Yankee Stadium has already gone massive cosmetic surgery and is, according to New York fans, one of the greatest places to watch a ballgame. I will reserve judgment on that matter, but whatever…
What I still cannot understand is the blatant disregard for their team history. This is supposed to be the House that Ruth Built. Even as somebody who is of the opinion that the Bambino was something of an overweight ####, it seems like a crime against baseball to turn the field where Babe Ruth and Roger Maris set single-season records for homeruns (I consider the marks set by McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds to be milestones in the history of modern science and not baseball), Lou Gehrig gave his hallowed farewell speech, and where so many championships have been won.
I will say this in (moderate) support of Steinbrenner’s new House: at least the $800 million project is being privately funded by the team and not subsidized with tax dollars.
Johnny Damon Raves about the Yankees, the “greatest franchise in the world”. Johnny D. certainly isn’t the first person to say that the Yankees are the greatest team ever, and I try to respect each person’s right to their own opinions. Is he saying this because the Yankees have won so much or because they are paying him $50 million, though? I seem to recall that when John Henry was signing his paychecks, he couldn’t say enough about how detestable New York was and how much better the ragtag idiots of Fenway were. One would hope that players are supportive of their teams (there’s a hint, T.O.), but don’t assume that the rest of us are all idiots whose memories don’t extend past last October.
Barry Bonds. Well, at least he’s honest… kind of. He admits that he’s fat, reliant on pain killers and/or sleep aids (no mention of performance-enhancing drugs), and that his knees are shot. Now he can’t decide if 2006 will be his last season or if he can keep pushing till he leaves Hank Aaron’s record and any remaining cartilage from his joints in the dust. My guess is that 2004 will be Bonds’ last season (fourteen games and 42 at bats hardly constitute a season). Bonds needs to throw in the towel before he embarrasses himself and further disgraces baseball.
"Basketball, football, baseball- if it has balls, I'm all over it. Puck hockey."
I am a Red Sox fanatic and otherwise sports-obsess ed nut. Favorite teams include: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers; Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots; Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.
