It’s been awhile since we’ve shared the Weekend Hangover Headlines.  Perhaps it’s because we’re lazy, or perhaps it’s because the coverage has just been so incredibly thorough we haven’t needed them. I know which way I’m leaning (lazy), but I’ll let you decide.

Once again, we’re finding all of the weekend headlines… so you don’t have to.

The Games

Friday vs. Twins (Losers) 2-9

Saturday vs. Twins (Winners) 4-0

Sunday vs. Twins (Winners) 9-5

The DL List

It was only a matter of time before Red Sos players found their way to the disabled list, and this week the parade began! Junichi Tazawa is still on the DL. If that’s a name you don’t recognize, it’s because he’s been on the DL with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (go ahead and google that we’ll wait) and is on the 60-day DL. He’s expected to start rehabbing soonish and may find his way into Fenway sometime in July. Perhaps.

Joining Tazawa on the DL are pitchers Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler. Dan Wheeler has a calf strain, and Bobby Jenks has a right bicep strain. Perhaps Wheeler/Jenks have legitimate injuries, or perhaps Tito has just shipped them off the the island of misfit pitchers. We’ll see. Moving Jenks/Wheeler to the DL made room for All-stars (heh) Rich Hill and Scott Atchison to join the bullpen… overjoyed. Really.

Also joining the disabled list? Marco Scutaro. Scutaro has an injury to his left side, with an oblique strain. The good news is that his MRI returned no significant injury and he should return to swinging a bat in seven days or so. While it’s sometimes fun to poke at players who end up on the DL, I won’t poke fun at the SS who played through several injuries last season, while his teammates were injured. He’s a league veteran and if he’s hurting enough to go to the DL after being a trooper all season, I’m alright with that. Get well soon, Marco.

Here Comes Jose Iglesias!

Because of Scutaro’s move to the DL it freed up a roster spot for Red Sox top-prospect Jose Iglesias. Does the call up seem a little premature? Why, yes it does… but with Lowrie filling in potentially at other positions when needed (he can play anywhere! sorta) a backup short stop seemed necessary. Why not Navarro? Well, he has an oblique strain as well, which is a shame because he’s a much more logical choice for big-league appearances at the moment. Get well soon, Navarro.

Iglesias played his first major league inning yesterday and recorded the final out for the Red Sox in their victory of the Minnesota Twins. He was greeted with hugs, smiles, and pats on the back. The outing went pretty smooth for the youngster… once he found his glove that teammate Marco Scutaro hid from him.

Francona Ejected, Possible Suspension

So, Francona got upset. Probably the most upset I’ve ever seen Francona when home plate umpire Angel Hernandez called a balk on Tim Wakefield Friday night. Wakefield faked a throw to third, then threw to first and had an apparent out. Francona argued the balk call, knowing that it meant an automatic ejection just by leaving the dugout. The thing that set him off more? Third base umpire Joe West butting in and getting in his face, instead of allowing him to have words with Angel Hernandez (whose strike zone was horrific) instead.

West put his hands on Francona, grabbing him by the jacket, getting pushy and shovey and shouty. After the game, Francona had more to say about Joe West, none of which was flattering

“Joe, as we all know, always wants to be in everybody’s business,” Francona said. “That was me and Angel. Joe didn’t have anything to do with it.”

There’s a chance that Francona will face suspension, but the powers-that-be have not handed down a decision yet.

Game 33: Red Sox (16-18) 9, Twins (12-20) 5 Box Score

The Red Sox love your Mom, I mean, They win this one for herÂ

It’s had been a week since Matsuzaka’s last start, aside from one inning pitched during Wednesday night’s baseball marathon game versus the Angels. Today’s game? Typical Daisuke patented game Sometimes terrible, sometimes dominant.

He (Daisuke) allowed four runs on five hits and two walks, striking out four. His health seemed to be fine after right elbow tightness ended his last start, on April 29, after one batter in the fifth inning, when his velocity seemed to drop sharply. His fastball sat at 90 mph in a 102-pitch performance Sunday, and he reached 91.

Since his performance was lackluster, it was time for the “Super Offense” to pick up the slack… and they did just that. In amazing fashion, really. Birthday boy Adrian Gonzalez went opposite field for  his 3^rd HR during this home stand (4^th total). Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 17 games (since Ethier’s streak ended last night, Ellsbury is the current longest streak) and Carl Crawford keeps his bat “en fuego” hitting his first triple of the season (with a little help of the wall).

The bright spot award of today? Matt Albers. If you told me that Matt Albers was going to be a dominant pitcher, a pitcher that could come in tight situations and come out unharmed I would’ve said “yeah right”…because I’ve seen him pitch before. However, he’s been pitching solidly without showing fear in a tough situation.

Second bright spot? Jose Iglesias. The short stop prospect made his big league debut today in the ninth inning replacing Jed Lowrie. He handled a ground ball, which he fired to Gonzalez to record the final out. The Red Sox organization has a lot of faith that this kid will be the next-great thing at short stop, and will hopefully resolve the revolving door issue at SS which was created when Nomar Garciaparra was traded to the Cubs in 2004.

It’s always nice to have a glimpse into the future.

Also as an aside, since today is “Mother’s Day”, I’d like to say Happy Mother’s Day to my mom. Like me, she’s Chilean, and was born in the northern part of the country.That part of the country was packed with Americans who were in Chile because of Saltpeter in the late XIX, then Copper in the early-mid XX Century.

In the town where my mom used to live there was a Diamond where workers and bosses used to play Baseball after the work day was over. She used to go to watch because my uncle played, but until this day my mom doesn’t understand the game. Every time we watch a game together I try to explain her the rules but it’s impossible. Weirdly enough she likes it (I think she likes to be with me, baseball is an extra).

I love you mom for those kind of things, spend time watching something you don’t understand with the sole purpose of spending time with me.

Bob Dylan "approves" this post (Edited by Ignacio Cifuentes)

Game 31: Red Sox (14-18) 2, Twins (12-18) 9 Box Score

Second straight loss, second awful straight loss.

In a matchup that seemed to heavily favor the Red Sox, one of the worst teams in baseball beat the Red Sox. Which is frustrating.

Minnesota is a struggling ball club, but even a blind squirrel with an injured catcher can find a nut. Wonder-kid Mauer is on the DL. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Hit Man Jim Thome and Delmon Young also on the DL.

Along with injury comes one of the worst run differentials in the game (with the White Sox a close second)… but yet they still managed to score 9 runs tonight, more than they scored in the last four games combined.

Veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield started in Matsuzaka’s stead as he recovers from a late-night 13th inning relief bender (and loss) and well, he didn’t do too well. In Wakefield’s defense he didn’t have a lot of help from Angel Hernandez behind the plate (more on that to follow).

» Continue reading “Too Much Of Nothing”

In honor of my good friend Nick Tavares and anyone else who plans to take their mother to Fenway Park for Mother’s Day

Some of you are great children. Some of you are great children of mothers who just so happen to love baseball.

When tickets went on sale early this season, you parked yourself in the virtual waiting room with one game of great importance: Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, which just happens to be Mother’s Day.

You purchased two tickets, one for you, the other for mom, in preparation of one of the most special days of the year: and a spring afternoon with the woman who gave you so much in your life… and the Boston Red Sox.

You were so enthused as the week’s probable pitchers played out after an extra day of rest for Beckett and Matsuzaka last week. You were excited when you did the math in your head: Jon Lester (possibly your favorite) would be the Mother’s Day pitcher… and all seemed right in the world.

You called your mother and told her not only would she get to see her favorite player (David Ortiz, moms like his smile), but also ace-pitcher Jon Lester.

Mothers love Jon Lester.

» Continue reading “The Red Sox Hate Your Mother”

Game 31: Red Sox (14-17) 0, Angels (18-14) 11 Box Score

Most days, I have the benefit of working from home.

Sometimes it’s a bit boring without all of the human interaction, but during baseball season it’s glorious. I don’t have to worry about the boss popping in my office and closing the Gameday screen as quickly as possible… I just leave my flat-screen television tuned into baseball All. Day. Long.

Well, today I wish I worked in an office…because that Red Sox game was Ugly. Capital “U” ugly.

The ugliest of ugly? John Lackey.

Lackey pitched just 4 innings, giving up 10 hits, 8 runs.

But wait. There’s more.

He hit Bourjos with a pitch, who eventually scored. He gave up a home run to Trumbo, and we walked 3 batters.

But wait. Still more.

Lackey recorded just one strike out, and there seemed to be a problem with his velocity throughout the outing.

According to BrooksBaseball.com (and their Twitter account, @BrooksBaseball), who tracks all of the pitchf(x) for games, there seems to be a big drop in velocity during his outing, which in a veteran is typically a sign of injury. If he’s injured that’s an explanation for a terrible outing, but only time will tell. At least in post game interviews Lackey, the pitcher who does no wrong, summed it up pretty nicely to the press after the game… “I pitched bad.”

Well, at least we won’t have to hear anyone talk about how much Lackey dominates the Angels every time he faces them… because positivity sure gets old.

In other news, Jed Lowrie and Kevin Youkilis both rough themselves up on the same play. Lowrie dove for a ball and planted firmly on the wrist that has been a nuisance his whole career, Youkilis also jammed a hand as he barrel rolled in the path of an oncoming Angel, to try and make an out covering 2nd base, while playing 3rd. I’m all for an aggressive defensive, but in a game that already has an 8 run deficit, it will be very disappointing if such gallant and elaborate displays keep them from playing in other outings this week. Both remained in the game and seemed okay… but after the 2010 season of injuries, color me skeptical.

Joel Pineiro, who largely did nothing with his time on the Red Sox, had a terrific outing today, allowing just 3 hits in 5.2 innings. Though the Red Sox managed to get 7 hits in total, they finished the game scoreless…and probably very exhausted, after last night’s 2:45 am finish.

In case you haven’t heard, Jenks and Wheeler are on the DL now, with Scott Atchison and Rich Hill joining the bullpen. Atchison looked rusty today, but Rich Hill looked alright, striking out 2 in his 1.1 inning pitched.

The only thing left to say? Thank god that game is over.

Red Sox face off tomorrow against the ever-struggling Minnesota Twin who are Mauerless and though Morneau is in the lineup, he’s not exactly contributing. Since Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched in last night’s 13-inning-baseball-a-thon, he’ll miss the start, likely in favor of Alfredo Aceves.

Red Sox (14-16) 3 – Angels (17-14) 5 Box Score

Captive, free to escape, but no one dared move.

Okay, so actually 29,000+ decided it was okay to leave, but the Fenway faithful remained, and the rest of us? We remained glued to our televisions as the game developed.

A lengthy rain delay lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes.

Then, even after the lengthy wait, the Red Sox tie the game in the bottom of the ninth (thank you, Jacoby), sending the game to extra innings. The bullpen was all used up, that even Daisuke Matsuzaka got to test out his relief ability (which turns out to be… not so good).

It’s hard to believe this game actually started as a no-hitter, if you can call it that. I don’t like the idea of a communal no-hitter… this isn’t communism, yanno? But, it was a communal ho-hitter until a Jed Lowrie (go figure) hit in the 7th.

Tonight's Red Sox Bullpen

The Red Sox bullpen had a busy night, with Beckett not returning after the extremely long rain delay. Albers, Wakefield, Papelbon, and Bard kept the game competitive, but Wheeler showed signs of struggling, giving up the lead in the 7th inning with a 2-run-homerun to Vernon Wells. I’m not sure Angels fans know who Vernon Wells is yet… I imagine them calling him “that guy who isn’t Carl Crawford.” Sweet irony, right?

The Red Sox had the opportunity to win this game twice, but they blew it both times. I don’t want to exactly…. blame Tim Bogar, but I will say that he was involved in both instances and may or may not have aided in these out situations.

Turns out these missed opportunities came back to haunt the Red Sox, as they fell 5-3 to the Angels of Anaheim. That’s okay. They deserve at least one win a season, might as well be this one.

Though it was only 3:00 pm in Japan when Daisuke Matsuzaka entered the game, the “afternoon” start did not work in his favor. The rain had stopped, but the field was wet. The little guy looked sleepy on the mound, and he didn’t have adequate time to mentally and physically repair. Overall, he sucked.  Matsuzaka loaded the bases, then game up a 2-run single to Bobby Abreu. In the end, it was insurmountable for the tired Red Sox in the bottom of the 13th.

» Continue reading “A 7 Hours And 45 Minutes Hostage Situation”

Game 29: Red Sox (14-15) 7, Angels (16-14) 3 Box Score

So, this is what winning feels like.

The Red Sox are a better team than their 14-15 record shows, but the glimpses of the team finally putting the pieces together send a message to other teams in the league: when the Red Sox are hot, it’s going to be tough to stop them.

Even facing elite pitchers, the Red Sox are heating up.

Sunday’s victory came off of reigning  Cy Young Award Winner, Felix Hernandez. Carl Crawford’s walk-off single avoided the sweep, and started this three-game winning “streak.”

Then on Monday, the Red Sox faced one of the toughest pitchers this year, Jered Weaver who entered the game 6-0 with a .99 ERA. The Red Sox won 9-5, preventing Weaver from breaking a Randy Johnson (7-0 in the first 29 games from 2000).

The offensive dominance continued yesterday, against Dan Harem and the Angels with a 7-3 victory.

The Red Sox are rapidly approaching .500, and have bested the Angels 6 times this season, which begs the question: why can’t the Red Sox play the Angels every night?

Last night’s game was a pitchers duel until the 6th inning, when the Red Sox started to capitalize on opportunities, with clutch hits that sent runners across home plate. Until late innings, the game looked as though it could go either way.

Jon Lester looked sharp, who had great command of his pitches, especially the placement of his fastball. Lester had 11 strikeouts, and just one walk.

Dan Haren, an effortless pitcher with a huge pause in his motion that drives me insane, had 8 strike outs, and was in command for most of the game.

Perhaps most surprising was Haren’s return to the mound in the 8th inning with 107 pitches, who gave up a homerun to the first batter he faced. Bad decision, Mike Scioscia. His next decision, to bring in Takahashi wasn’t much better. Takahashi gave up 2 home runs as well, one of which Scioscia argued had fan interference on the monster (an argument he lost).

The Red Sox do it all again tonight with a well-rested (and healthy) Josh Beckett. The Angels present Ervin Santana, who didn’t have much fun last time he faced the Red Sox–with nine hits and five runs in seven innings. David Ortiz loves when Santana is on the mound, as he’s hitting .308, with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Get it, Papi.

Game 28: Red Sox 9 (13-15), Angels (16-13) 5 Box Score

For such a special day in our country, following the death of Osama Bin Laden, Fenway had plans to pay homage to those who have fallen.

There was a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11 and those who have lost their lives in the subsequent wars.

The giant flag that was used on Opening Day that drapes over the Green Monster was rehung and the Brocktoon High School marching band played the National Anthem, as service men and women stood on the field.

But perhaps no moment of tribute was quite as spectacular as David Ortiz’s home run in the 7th inning.

In a rally inning in which the Red Sox scored 6 runs, David Ortiz lifted a ball over the Green Monster, to a very appreciative crowd. After series and series of runners left on base, seeing the team create a chain-of-offense was a welcome improvement.

According to Yahoo’s Big League Stew

The soldier in the picture above is Army Ranger Sgt. Lucas Carr. The South Boston native threw out the first pitch before the Red Sox’s 9-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels and also led the crowd in chants of U-S-A! U-S-A! during the game.

Later, the man they call Big Papi treated him to Fenway’s version of the Lambeau Leap because of an encounter the pair experienced earlier in the game.

From the Associated Press:

Ortiz said the soldier gave him a patch from the uniform of a buddy that “went down” after the slugger walked back earlier in the game.

“Maybe it was good luck,” he said, smiling.

It was a touching moment, indeed.

Perhaps fueled by the patriotic celebrations, the Red Sox greatly out-performed the Angels and showed a spirit and energy that has been lacking most of the season and beat the Angels 9-5 in a much needed win. The Red Sox are now 7-6 in games at Fenway. At least they’re .500 somewhere.

Clay Buccholz had his first quality start, Carl Crawford had two hits, and the Red Sox went 5-8 with RISP. Such huge improvements in all areas for the struggling ball club.

Jered Weaver, who is now 6-1, came close but did not take Randy Johnson’s 7-0 title in the first 29 games record away from him. There’s always next season.

Just as the rotation started to find their groove, things have been thrown into a bit of an upheaval.

A word the Red Sox staff (and fans) seem to avoid after the 2010 season is injury, so we won’t call the latest upheavel injury… we’ll just call it unfortunate.

It all started with a bit of elbow tightness for Daisuke Matsuzaka, followed by stomach problems (which we don’t want to know the details of) for Clay Buchholz. Couple that with exhaustion from Josh Beckett being stretched to 125 pitches in his April 21st outing, and well… that’s 3/5 of the starting rotation.

Luckily, Tim Wakefield was able to step in yesterday for Buccholz in the 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners (led by King Felix). Though Wakefield had only pitched a few innings since the season started, the oldest active player on the MLB had a very successful outing, even though Bobby Jenks didn’t do him any favors in securing the win.

So…what does all of this mean for the rotation? Well good news, no one is on the DL yet.

The pitching lineup for this week should be as follows:

Monday: Clay Buchholz

Tuesday: Jon Lester

Wednesday: Josh Beckett

Thursday: John Lackey

Friday: Daisuke Matsuzaka

Clay Buchholz is feeling better after the stomach “issues” and he’s ready to pitch tonight. Hopefully Clay really is feeling better, as Angel’s pitcher Jered Weaver enters tonight’s game 6-0 with a .99 ERA Weaver is also returning to the rotation after some stomach issues, and if he wins the game tonight he’ll become the first starter to go 7-0 in his team’s first 29 games since Randy Johnson of the D-backs did it in 2000.

The plan for the rest of the week is that everyone’s feeling better and the rotation returns to normal. Jon Lester will pitch on Tuesday, and pending that the side sessions continue to go well for Beckett, he will return on Wednesday. John Lackey is presumably healthy and ready for Thursday. Daisuke is set for Friday, which gives him a full week’s rest after his partial outing against the Mariners.

So, so far it seems okay. The rotation setbacks seem minor, and hopefully remain that way. It’s just always a bit unnerving when Matsuzaka and Beckett aren’t feeling up to par, as they are notorious for being slow-healers who can easily spend time on the 15-DL.

The good news is that the bullpen for the Red Sox is adaptable, there’s depth at the AAA-level, and pending any injuries or short DL stints, the team could be fine.

The decision to stretch Josh Beckett to 125 pitches against Anaheim on April 21st is not without consequences.

His next start has been pushed backed to make sure that he’s healthy. He’s not expected to pitch until Wednesday at the earliest.

Beckett’s last outing was in Baltimore on Wednesday, in which he threw 92 pitches and had a less-than-stellar outing in comparison to his first few this season. Beckett pitched 6 innings, giving up 7 hits and 4 runs. He struck out just 4 batters. The Red Sox lost that game 5-4 to the Orioles in Baltimore.

No one is saying whether or not Beckett has an injury or if he just needs some rest, but it doesn’t sound too serious.

The decision to stretch Beckett to 125 pitches on the 21st was surprising to some, but through 8 innings of work he looked strong and in command of his arsenal of pitches. Quality starts are important to this rotation, as some of the bullpen pitchers have been unpredictable and lacking (see: Jenks).

The Red Sox face the Angels tomorrow, with Clay Buchholz ready to pitch after missing his start today with illness. Jered Weaver, who also missed a start this weekend due to illness, is scheduled to pitch tomorrow as well.