May 14, 2008
5/14: Enough is enough...shuffle up and deal...
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Boston Red Sox (24-18) @ Baltimore Orioles (20-19)
Jon Lester (2-2, 4.06) @ Daniel Cabrera (3-1, 3.54) 3:05 PM EDT | Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore, MD) TV: NESN RADIO: WRKO 680, SBN 1150 |
GAME NOTES:
Day baseball in Maryland today is guaranteed to produce an inefficient day at the office for most New England businesses. While the fans are slacking off at work, lets see if the Red Sox themselves come to the "office" with a sense of urgency having slipped out of first place in the American League East. A win today ends a ten day road trip at .500. Time to build some momentum to come back home with.
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Discussion
34 Comments on "5/14: Enough is enough...shuffle up and deal..."
#1
Posted by Tim Daloisio, May 14, 2008 1:44 PM
Red Sox
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Alex Cora, SS
9. Jon Van Every, CF
SP - Jon Lester
Orioles
1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Jay Payton, LF
3. Nick Markakis, RF
4. Aubrey Huff, 3B
5. Kevin Millar, 1B
6. Ramon Hernandez, C
7. Luke Scott, DH
8. Adam Jones, CF
9. Freddie Bynum, SS
SP - Daniel Cabrera
Van Every’s making his MLB debut with Coco still sidelined with an upset stomach.
#2
Posted by Tessie's Dad, May 14, 2008 1:56 PM
If we score three in the top of the first again, I'm just gonna turn it off right then. Don't tell me how it ends.
#3
Posted by radiohix, May 14, 2008 2:38 PM
sorry guys, but I lOOOOOOOve day games, why? because it's 9 pm in my country !
on another not, lester has some up and downs, hopefuly he could get his s**t together today, We need a W today!!
#4
Posted by Mostly Running., May 14, 2008 4:10 PM
That was one of the best plays I have ever seen Manny make. Did anyone else think he high fived the guy in the stands?
#6
Posted by Tessie's Dad, May 14, 2008 4:16 PM
Absolutely, MR - Manny gets several million style points for high-fiving a fan (a fan in a Sox jersey, no less!) between outs of a 7-4-3 DP. All-Time Web Gem.
#7
Posted by Shane, May 14, 2008 4:18 PM
Wow, even if Manny didn't high five the guy there is no way he's going to say it was unintentional now.
#9
Posted by Mostly Running., May 14, 2008 4:21 PM
That bottom/top pretty much exemplifies why I love this team so much right now. Would have love for the pedophile to let Ellsbury execute a straight steal, but meh, it's all good.
#11
Posted by Mostly Running., May 14, 2008 4:28 PM
I think it's Lester, but Millar pranked him before the game and said that Joe Morgan was calling it and he had to show "grit" and "intangibles" if he was going to get any notice.
#12
Posted by Tessie's Dad, May 14, 2008 4:29 PM
Hey, Colin. We cool? No hard feelings from last night? Still wondering what a f***stick is, though. ;)
#14
Posted by Tessie's Dad, May 14, 2008 4:32 PM
Uh oh. Now we're up 3-0. I'm gonna go hide under the bed.
#16
Posted by Colin, May 14, 2008 4:34 PM
Yeah we're cool. I was just pissed like you were so there's no hard feelings.
fuckstick (noun): 1. Another word for moron, dickhead etc. Used to describe someone who is generally clueless.
2. Generic insult, most commonly used as a witty retort.
#17
Posted by radiohix, May 14, 2008 4:38 PM
WOW Lester pitchin' is still pretty low !! Nice, very nice, but i'm still worry about that strike percentage: give me those 7 innings you hear me?
#19
Posted by Colin, May 14, 2008 4:52 PM
Quick! Somebody make it 4-2! Three is not a good number for the Red Sox!
And who the hell switched the Jon Lesters back from new to old?
#20
Posted by radiohix, May 14, 2008 5:05 PM
Colin,
i think it's me!! evrey time i make a comment on his performance, he switshes to old-lester mode!!! so i will stop
#22
Posted by Sean O, May 14, 2008 5:33 PM
Red Sox: not such a good team right now.
Well, before the season started, I said we didn't have a chance at the division, since the wunderkind decided on mediocrity (Mike Lowell's glorious 3.2 WARP3) over Cabrera or Santana.
Honestly, if the Baby Rays can somehow keep the Yanks out of the division championship, I'll consider this a pretty successful year.
#23
Posted by Colin, May 14, 2008 5:44 PM
Holy motherfucking shit (pardon my Irish)!
What the hell has happened to our Red Sox?!? What the hell?
This up and down bullshit is getting tiresome. Bullpen, pull your head out of your collective ass now!
#24
Posted by Colin, May 14, 2008 5:51 PM
Craptacular. That's what this game ended up being...craptacular.
I could fill the comment board about our highly inconsistent bullpen, but I think I'll also pin the blame on Lester's return to old Lester in the 6th and the constant DPs. Unacceptable guys...unacceptable.
#25
Posted by Daniel Rathman, May 14, 2008 6:07 PM
Jay Payton, of all people. Jay mothertrucking Payton. Unbetruckinglievable.
#26
Posted by Sam, May 14, 2008 6:36 PM
Our whole team has become the Jekyll & Hyde show ... up and down up and down ... it sucks ... I guess that's baseball
#27
Posted by Daniel Rathman, May 14, 2008 6:55 PM
Pardon this rant...
The bullpen pitched like sh*t, but part of the blame for this loss is on Brad Mills' shoulders.
1. He took Lester out after 86 pitches, which was OK considering that he'd just given up two runs, but still somewhat debatable.
2. He put Javier Lopez in, let Lopez get two quick outs, and then took him out after a junk single that Pedroia probably should've gotten for an out.
3. He took Lopez out to bring in Craig Hansen in a high-leverage situation. Two problems: 1) Hansen is a righty and Brian Roberts is better against righties, 2) Hansen has no business pitching in a high-leverage situation until he's proven he can be consistent at the ML level. Especially with Okajima and Paps rested and ready.
4. After Roberts walks, he brings Okajima in to face Jay Payton, who's far better against lefties than righties. Another matchup disaster, especially considering -- as Zach pointed out -- that Okajima has struggled with inherited runners this year.
Put that together and you get a craptacular loss.
#28
Posted by Tessie's Dad, May 14, 2008 7:03 PM
I hate it when I'm right. What is with this team and 3-0 leads?
Why does it seem like Ellsbury the only guy on the team who can score without hitting a HR? Seriously, advancing the runners is a lost art with this team. It's like watching the 1970s Sox all over again: get guys on base and wait for a three-run shot that never comes. Over the course of this exasperating 10-game road trip, the Sox have scored 54 runs but left 90 (90!) men on base. (Seems like more, doesn't it?)
In addition to a fearsome yet oddly unproductive offense, we have starting pitching that looks very shaky. 2008 Beckett looks more like 2006 Beckett than 2007 Beckett. Matsuzaka has his usual bad innings but might actually be the de facto ace. Lester got lucky today for a while, but his control seemed to disappear after four innings. Buchholz is a deer in the headlights, and don't get me started on Wakefield. Help us, Bartolo Colon, you're our only hope. (Star Wars reference for our Tunisian friend.)
We also have a bullpen that, other than Papelbon, can't be trusted. Aardsma has been unexpectedly good, and Lopez, too, but after that it's just a mess. Okajima, despite his 0.98 ERA, has allowed 11 of 14 inherited runners to score (79%); MDC's ERA is over 6 and Timlin's is 9.00. Yikes.
Lastly, we have a defense that includes Julio Lugo. Enough said. (Not quite enough: he's on a one-error-every-three-games pace, or 54 in 162; thankfully he won't be playing 162 this year.)
Hopefully a day off followed by some NL patsies will get things rolling again.
#29
Posted by Zach Hayes, May 14, 2008 7:25 PM
I was originally pretty angry at Mills (its amazing that he manages 2 games and is already on my bad side) for some decisions today, namely pulling Lopez so soon after just a junk single and bringing in Okajima in a situation where he obviously has major problems.
But now that I've cooled off, you can see where he was coming from. Remember, Hansen's AB vs. Roberts was a battle....Roberts fouled off two excellent 97 MPH fastballs from Hansen before the fourth ball. Okajima and the inherited runners deal I thought originally was a fluke, I even wrote so in my article last week. Why is he such a different pitcher? Is it mental? Plus, Jay Payton sucks. If you can't trust Okajima to retire Jay Payton, this bullpen has major problems.
Which it does.
I don't even know if that makes sense, or if I even have faith in humanity at this point.
The Rays are in first. Where am I?
#30
Posted by Daniel Rathman, May 14, 2008 7:51 PM
Zach:
I'm not sure that Okajima's a different pitcher, I just think he needs to start innings, not finish them. Even last season, there were signs that he wasn't a "get out of someone else's mess" type of reliever. The first batters he faced batted .290 off Okajima last year, far better than the hitters he faced afterward.
My issue with Mills' managing was that he knew Payton was coming up, and with one on and two out, it was perfectly reasonable to let Lopez pitch to Roberts. He, in effect, wasted two relievers -- and still didn't get the desired result. If he wanted to pull Lopez, fine...but then Hansen should've been left in to face Payton. The sequence he used was just insane.
No way Tito, even on a bad Tito day, would've done what Mills did in that situation.
#31
Posted by Tessie's Dad, May 14, 2008 8:52 PM
Here's a crazy thought that contradicts what I wrote earlier (hey, I'm confused, upset, and grasping for answers):
Maybe we need Lugo back.
With Lugo, the Sox are 21-14, .600 WPCT
Without Lugo, 3-5, .375
Just sayin'.
#33
Posted by Daniel Rathman, May 14, 2008 11:00 PM
Whoa...that whole comment just got eaten...
Basically, I think we need to bring Lowrie back...unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's going to happen without another injury.
I'd honestly be OK with eating the rest of Lugo's contract and DFA-ing him. Lowrie should be just as good on defense and more helpful at the plate -- and he'll cost next to nothing for awhile. It's $9M a year thrown away regardless; at least this way we'd get some performance out of it.
If we could somehow, miraculously, deal Lugo and some dough for bullpen help, that would be ideal.
#34
Posted by gerry, May 15, 2008 12:36 AM
This regression to pre-2004 Sox is obviously a time to be patient. The eternal 'road trip' is finally, officially, over and we came out pretty broken but just 1/2 game out of 1st. The reality is, with a bounce or a catch here and there, we could have won all of those games. We all saw it. This team is good at handling adversity, will figure it out, and shine again.
After this tough first quarter, we also have a smarter, deeper team (you gotta love Lowrie, Masterson, Hansen, Aardsma, Moss, Pauley, van Avery, Casey, Cora, Cash. Looking forward to adding Colon, Carter, Zinc, Gronk to the mix. ) Welcome home Red Sox. Get some home cookin' and breath that ocean air. It's time to regroup, recoup, and repeat.
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