Hacks with Haggs

The Epstein/Francona tree is beginning to bear fruit

2009-10-30T13:34:00Z

It took seven years, but the Red Sox tree has finally begun to shed a couple of its valuable leaves.

After building up one of the best organizations in Major League Baseball and winning a pair of World Series titles together, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona have constructed quite the baseball machine with structure and success working in concert on the field and an impressive collection of baseball minds putting the pieces together off it.

It was only a matter of time before Boston finally began to lose some of their coaching and managerial pieces to other organizations hoping to catch a little bit of the baseball lightning in a bottle the Sox have enjoyed since 2003. First, after several interviews with different teams over the last two years, Sox assistant general manager Jed Hoyer was hired last week by the San Diego Padres to run their small market organization.

The challenge will be a change for a baseball executive reared amid a big market atmosphere capable of absorbing a misstep here or there, but it's also an organization with some past history of success. Only four years ago, the Padres qualified for the playoffs out of a weak NL West Division for the second straight season -- and San Diego won 89 games as recently as 2007.

But the Padres had fallen off the table in the last two seasons, and Hoyer replaces outgoing Pads general manager Kevin Towers, who has reportedly been offered a position in Boston’s front office under Epstein. In a concurrent move, Ben Cherington has been named assistant general manager of the Red Sox replacing Hoyer. Hoyer and Cherington will be forever linked to Sox lore after they replaced Epstein as co-GMs when the Sox executive bolted the Sox amid a contract squabble and left his two most trusted advisors. The move also gives Jason McLeod and Mike Hazen complete autonomy in their fields of scouting and player development after Cherington had enjoyed a strong voice in both departments.

“[Hoyer’s] combination of analytical ability, feel for the game, interpersonal skills and creativity helped make us tick, and he played a role in virtually every major decision we have made,” said Epstein. “His loyalty and friendship will be missed, and we know he will continue to make us proud.”

Just days later, the Houston Astros conducted a third interview with Sox bench coach Brad Mills and Francona’s right hand man since 2004 became the newest manager of a rebuilding Astros organization. Mills routinely carried out messages from Francona to the players, and it was also the Sox bench coach that called the famous Jonathan Papelbon pickoff play of Matt Holliday during the 2007 World Series against the Colorado Rockies.

"Whatever was supposed to get done got done,” said Francona during an interview on WEEI 850. “Millsy had a lot of responsibility here, and he earned that. And it was great. It was good for him and it was tremendous for me.”

Similar to a well-run New England Patriots squad that has watched a bevy of assistant coaches’ move on to head jobs of their own; the Sox are new enjoying the ultimate form of flattery. Bill Belichick's assistants were wooed away from Foxboro with opportunities to run their own programs, and now Epstein and Francona must simply watch with pride as some of their valued consensus-makers start building their organizations.

Opposing major league teams are now attempting to copy the kind of consistent success that Epstein and Co. have conjured up on Yawkey Way for seven years and counting -- and you can't really blame them given the Red Sox success story.

Delcarmen's Fifth Annual Bowling Event

2009-10-23T19:11:29Z

Boston Red Sox Pitcher Manny Delcarmen to “Bowl Strikes for Schools” During Fifth Annual Charity Event
The Pride of Hyde Park to “Roll” With a Line-Up of Boston Sports Stars to Raise Money for Boston Public Schools at Kings Back Bay

WHO: Boston Red Sox star Manny Delcarmen; members of the 2008/2009 Boston Red Sox team; local celebrities & personalities; children from Boston Public Schools; sports fans of all ages.

WHAT: The homegrown hero returns to host his fifth annual “Bowlin’ Strikes for Schools” fundraiser at Kings Back Bay. Manny will trade in his cleats for a pair of bowling shoes to roll out a day of fun, sports and entertainment when he bowls alongside friends, teammates, local celebrities, and die-hard sports fans to raise money for a good cause.

In addition to bowling, the stars will participate in an audience Q&A session, mingle with the crowd, pose for photos and sign autographs. On top of a silent auction featuring sports memorabilia, everyone in attendance will automatically be entered into a drawing to win a pair of tickets to a 2010 Red Sox home game.

Past “Bowlin’ Strikes for Schools” events have drawn some of the biggest sports personalities in the city including Red Sox players Kevin Youkilis and Curt Schilling and former New England Patriots tight end Christian Fauria.

All proceeds from “Bowlin’ Strikes for Schools” benefit the Boston Public School system.

WHEN: Saturday, October 31, 2009
               Noon (registration)
               1 p.m. (bowling begins)

WHERE: Kings Back Bay
                  50 Dalton St.
                  Boston

HOW: Event pricing:
·$15      Kids General Admission (12 & under)
·$30      Adult General Admission
·$75      Individual Bowler
·$450    Bowling team (6 people total)

For tickets and more information log onto www.MannyD17.com or call 617-268-0001.

ABOUT BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Boston Public Schools serve more than 56,000 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students in 135 schools, and in 2006 won the Broad Prize for Urban Education as the top city school district in the country. For more information, visit www.bostonpublicschools.org.

Red Sox have plenty of work in store this winter

2009-10-15T16:34:00Z

The Red Sox front office became well acquainted with the ballclub’s flaws during the 2009 baseball season, and then watched as they all mercilessly appeared while Boston was quickly swept by the Angels during the ALDS. Boston was prone to long, uninspiring slumps while away from Fenway Park and no longer bragged the kind of dynamic middle-of-the-order power bat capable of punishing Major League Baseball’s best pitching.

Boston’s team defense isn’t quite what it used to be, and some of their aging stars – Mike Lowell and David Ortiz chief among them – aren’t able to carry the team offensively as they once did in their primes. The Sox experienced tremendous difficulties at the catcher position when it came to throwing out base stealers and controlling the running game was a major weakness that the Angels were able to exploit.

“If you look back at this year’s club, we weren’t the defensive club that we wanted to be – team defense and defensive efficiency – and offensively we didn’t hit on the road this year. The disparity in our offense between home and road was a bit extreme,” said Sox GM Theo Epstein. “We’ll take a look at see if we can improve that a little bit. Those are the two areas that we’re going to look at.”

These are challenging times in Boston as there aren’t many areas on the team where the Sox can free themselves of contractual obligations, and the one hitter they’d really like to retain – Jason Bay – is set to become one of the best offensive players available on the free agent market.

It was also fairly telling that the Sox organization handed the ball to 25-year-old lefty Jon Lester in Game 1 of the playoffs, and planned on coming back with the big southpaw again on short rest had the series made it a Game 4. In many ways, the raw-boned, durable lefty has surpassed Josh Beckett as the staff’s ace, and was the starter most entrusted with the team’s fate once the playoffs bullets began flying.

Jonathan Papelbon had another All-Star season pitching among a wildly talented collection of power arms in the bullpen, but trade whispers are cropping up and surrounding Sox closer after his numbers declined slightly from their past greatness. The question of trading Papelbon has more to do with his contractual status two years away from the big money of free agency than anything else, but the 28-year-old closer is clearly at a crossroads after finally proving himself all too human in blowing Game 3 of the ALDS.

Despite the problems and areas that cry out for repairs, the Sox are also in a very good spot on many different fronts. Lester, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia are locked in to club-friendly long-term deals and J.D. Drew finished last season among the AL’s top five outfielders in OPS. Victor Martinez flourished in Boston amid the Sox’ collection of professional hitters, and also showed the kind of leadership qualities revered by Sox manager Terry Francona.

Jacoby Ellsbury had his best season as both a leadoff hitter and centerfielder, and Clay Buchholz took a big step forward in his development as a No. 3 starter behind Beckett and Lester. Daniel Bard was another treasure from Boston’s player development machine that developed at the big league level last season, and could be the heir apparent once Papelbon has left the Fenway building.

Francona saw all that talent in action last season, and still has a hard time believing that Boston’s season has already come to an abrupt end.

“Every year I guess is a little bit different,” said Francona. “A couple years we've been fortunate enough to be celebrating. A couple years we've been heartbroken. This year's a harder one to figure.”

Things aren’t ideal within the walls of Fenway this winter after falling short of their World Series goals for the second consecutive season, but many of the pieces are in place for another 95-win team next season – the third straight year the club would reach their annual regular season benchmark. The team’s offseason “to do” list should be about finding that spark, that game-changing force, that will push the Sox over the top when the baseball titans begin colliding during the playoffs.

That elusive offensive force was the biggest missing ingredient in the just-concluded season, and it’s the top priority of the winter for those in the corner offices on Yawkey Way.

Papelbon, Red Sox simply didn't get it done

2009-10-12T14:03:00Z

Jonathan Papelbon had always been some sort of playoff Terminator throughout his career with the Red Sox.

The 29-year-old reliever entered Sunday’s Game 3 with a string of 26 scoreless postseason innings through his first 17 playoff appearances, and openly revealed that the record was “very near and dear” to the outspoken closer. Well, it’s time for the four-time All-Star to start a new record after sitting at the center of an epic Sox bullpen collapse in Sunday afternoon’s Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

It wasn’t just the Boston closer, obviously, as the Sox fell with hardly a whimper to the Halos in a three-game ALDS sweep, and finished things off with a 7-6 loss before a stunned-silent crowd at Fenway Park.

The loss capped off a second-straight season with no World Series glory, and a rather unceremonious exit from the postseason after taking the Tampa Bay Rays to seven games in the ALCS last season.

Aside from the bullpen struggles on Sunday, the Sox offense managed only 14 hits in the entirety of three games and finished with the third fewest hits in the history of division series play. The problem was much more pronounced on the road where the Sox could do nothing while Jon Lester and Josh Beckett pitched effectively, and was just one facet of a very flawed baseball team ultimately coming to its demise. Jason Bay, David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis were effectively silenced at the plate by Anaheim's pitching and magnified all of the other problems Boston was suffering throughout the three games.

“I don’t think anything that occurred in this series came completely out of the blue, either. There were times this year when we struggled hitting on the road,” said Sox GM Theo Epstein. “There were times this series when we struggled hitting on the road. There were certain things that went down this series were foreshadowed during the regular season as well.

“That said, I think we were a team capable of winning the World Series. Had we come out and played better, I think we’d still be playing right now.”

But they’re not playing right now. The season is over and it's time to diagnose the flaws that gnawed away at this team and revealed themselves over a 162-game assessment period.

Papelbon coughed up three runs and four hits in his inning of work, and saw his scoreless string officially end at 27 innings pitched, which was the longest stretch of playoff scoreless innings since Papelbon’s idol, Mariano Rivera, recorded 33 1/3 scoreless innings to begin his career.

The Sox closer wasn’t shying away from the tough questions following Sunday’s loss, and said that his outing came down to missed location and a little tough luck. Papelbon might have added that throwing a first-pitch strike to Vlad Guerrero – a notoriously undisciplined free-swinger.

“In postseason play, my job is to, when I get called upon is to get all the outs I’m called on to get,” said Papelbon. “I think things happened quick, more than anything. I wasn’t able to stop the bleeding.

“Your team fights and puts you in that situation, to call upon you, and you let them down. Your team expects you to pull through and preserve that win for you and then you don’t, it’s definitely not a good feeling.”

The Sox closer now has an entire winter to replay the eighth and ninth innings in his head while building toward next season, and use the rare playoff blown save as fuel for his competitive fire. Three times Papelbon had two strikes on a batter with two outs, and he simply couldn’t get out of the situations when the lead was still intact.

“[The Angels} scrapped hard in the late innings, and we weren’t able to put guys away,” said Sox GM Theo Epstein. “We had a lot of guys 0-2, two strikes, and just weren’t able to put guys away, didn’t make a couple plays.”

Papelbon is no longer an indestructible postseason force, and there’s little doubt that realization will make him only stronger and more determined when baseball in Boston begins anew next spring.

Ortiz's simple message: "We are troopers"

2009-10-10T13:16:00Z

David Ortiz has a couple of messages for his Red Sox teammates now that his team stands on the brink of elimination down 0-2 to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The first is pretty simple: “Hit the damn ball.”

The second is more a team-wide rallying cry after things went about as bad as they possibly could have against an Angels team they’d dominated over their last three playoff meetings. Nobody is saying much about 9 out of the last 10 now. The Boston hitters looked eerily similar to the impotent outfit that carried a 31-inning scoreless streak into Yankee Stadium during the month of August, and went through maddening boom and bust stages during the season.

The Sox finished third in the American League in runs scored (872) behind only the Yankees and the Angels, but they’re hitting a paltry .131 (8-for-61) in the first two games of the postseason. The Sox averaged an American League-best 5.9 runs per game in their home ballpark this season, and are always a more dangerous offensive team within their home confines.

“We’ve been playing better at home all year-round,” said Ortiz to reporters in Anaheim. “Hopefully going back home can help us turn things around and get us back here [to Anaheim for Game 5].

“The pitching is good, man. Good pitching is going to stop offense. They’ve done a good job of holding us down.”

While the Red Sox hex over the Angels appears to be over and down with, the Halos still struggle at Fenway Park and a group of Boston ballplayers now have their backs hiked up against the wall. There have only been four instances when a team has climbed back from an 0-2 deficit during division series play, and the Sox own two of those teams after having pulled it off in both 1999 against the Cleveland Indians and 2003 against the Oakland A’s.

Many of Boston’s key players have been in this position before, and Ortiz is sending out the rallying cry that it ain’t over until Big Papi says its over.

“We are troopers. We just fight back. We don't really care about being like we are [down in the series] or whatever happened in the past,” said Ortiz. “This series isn't over until it's over.

“We just know how to feel things out and fight back, you know. It's like I tell you guys always, doesn't matter what we did in the past against these guys. They have a good team. We really need to focus on that and come out and play.”

The Sox boasted the second-best home record in baseball this season with a 56-25 record at the Fens, and Ortiz and Co. will have to bring a lot of that home cooking into play if Boston’ season is to continue for another day.

A few thoughts from the TBS talking heads on Sox/Angels

2009-10-09T20:00:00Z

Here are some earmarked takes from the on-air baseball analysts TBS is using for the American League Division Series between the Angels and the Red Sox. Pretty standard stuff, including Cal Ripken telling us "that you can't steal first" but not telling us that you "that you can steal money" as a TV analyst.

Added bonus: TBS has smartly supplied all of their on-air talent with Twitter accounts, so now you can check in on all the Eck-isms and caveman grumblings from David Wells. You can follow Eckersley at @MLBonTBSEck David Wells at @MLBonTBSBoomer and Cal Ripken at @MLBonTBSCal

Hopefully Boomer finds time to get in a gratuitous shot or two at his favorite target, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Here are the quotes from TBS's talking baseball heads:

Eckersley on Boston Red Sox’s John Lester’s pitching performance: “(Lester) has so many weapons to work with. He has a major fast ball, a change up and a curve ball that he uses occasionally. But he’s absolutely dominant; a dominant left-hander. After the line drive to the knee, it still remains to be seen if he has fully recovered. It remains to be seen if he is the Lester that he was before he got hit in the knee.”

Wells on Red Sox pitcher John Lester: “John Lester got lucky. He got hit right on the outside of his knee. You can’t go out there thinking you are going to get a line drive back at you. You have to just go out there and pitch your game.”

Ripken on the Angels' overall performance for the series: “They have a little bit more power in the middle of the line up now, believe it or not. They score runs really well. They do run the bases extremely well. The problem they are going to come into is that they can’t steal first. It all hinges on (Josh) Beckett and (Jon) Lester if they have shutdown stuff. If you start peppering them a little bit and they get on base, they can score runs."

Prediction: Red Sox will handle Angels in five games

2009-10-08T22:21:00Z

There’s already been plenty of breakdowns and ballyhoo about yet another ALDS battle between the Red Sox and the Angels, so we’ll spare you the Brad Mills quotes about neutralizing the Halos running game. And we’ll let you off the hook if you were looking for indignant thoughts from Torii Hunter about Boston’s 9-out-of-10 game winning streak against the Angels in postseason games dating back to 2004.

Bottom line is these are two tremendously different baseball teams than the squads that met in 2004, 2007 and 2008. Much of the personnel has changed and some of the traditional figures are older and in much different stages of decline. The Sox had never thrown out an MLB-worth 13 percent of base stealers before this season and the Angels had never toted the fourth-worst bullpen ERA in the American League during their other playoff editions. This is a very different series than each of the previos three go-rounds between the two teams.

Instead, I'll post a simple position-by-position breakdown between the Angels and Red Sox along with a key stat – and, of course, who the edge goes toward. Look for that later on tonight as the game is going on.

My prediction: Josh Beckett is going to be much closer to 2008 vintage than 2007 after getting three cortisone shots in his back just prior to the playoffs and Clay Buchholz might have few growing pains during his first playoff experience. Despite that, the Red Sox will take advantage of a leaky Angels bullpen and score enough runs to support a dominant Jon Lester. It won’t be as easy as in year’s past and perhaps the Fenway hex will finally be broken a little bit, but the Sox will eventually down the Halos in five games.

Then it's to the Bronx for a whole other headache. But that's a breakdown for another day.

Limited amount of Red Sox playoff tickets on sale

2009-10-06T03:54:00Z

On Tuesday, October 6, fans who were selected from a pool of online postseason registrants will have the chance to purchase tickets to any 2009 American League Championship Series games that may be played at Fenway Park. The random drawing for the opportunity to purchase ALCS tickets took place on Friday, October 2 and winners will be notified via email Monday, October 5.

For fans who do not have internet access, or those not selected in the online random drawing, a limited number of tickets will be set aside for purchase via our automated telephone ticketing system (while supplies last) beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6 at (888) RED-SOX6. No tickets will be available at the Fenway Park ticket office.

Fans with disabilities may also call (877) RED-SOX9 beginning at noon on Tuesday, October 6 to purchase accessible seating (while supplies last). Hearing impaired patrons may call the TTY line at (617) 226-6644.

Please know that we will continue to accept random drawing registrations for the World Series via www.redsox.com. Fans who register after 12 noon EDT on Friday, October 2 will still be eligible for the World Series drawing provided that they have selected to be included in the ticket opportunity for that series.

Please see the schedule below:

POSTSEASON REGISTRATION PERIOD BEGINS:12 noon EDT, Tuesday, 09/15/2009
ALDS REGISTRATION PERIOD ENDS:12:00 noon EDT, Monday, 09/21/2009
ALDS RANDOM DRAWING:Monday, 09/21/2009
ALDS WINNERS NOTIFIED VIA E-MAIL:On or about Tuesday, 09/22/2009
ALDS SALE FOR WINNERS:12:00 noon – 9:00 p.m. EDT, Friday, 09/25/2009
ALCS REGISTRATION PERIOD ENDS:12:00 noon EDT, Friday, 10/02/2009
ALCS RANDOM DRAWING:Friday, 10/02/2009
ALCS WINNERS NOTIFIED VIA E-MAIL:On or about Monday, 10/05/2009
ALCS SALE FOR WINNERS:12:00 noon – 9:00 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, 10/06/2009
WS REGISTRATION PERIOD ENDS:12:00 noon EDT, Friday, 10/09/2009
WS RANDOM DRAWING:TBD
WS WINNERS NOTIFIED VIA E-MAIL:TBD
WS SALE FOR WINNERS:TBD

Sale dates for potential 2009 World Series games played at Fenway Park will be announced at a later date. Such winners will be selected from the pool of registrants for each subsequent drawing and notified via email with instructions on the ticket purchase process including dates and times for these sales.

Reddick likes the taste of the Major Leagues

2009-10-04T17:13:00Z

It’s been a whirlwind season for Josh Reddick, a southern Georgia boy that’s made some pretty big strides in only a couple of years of pro ball. Reddick was raking for the Portland Sea Dogs when he was called straight up to the big leagues after Jason Bay went down in July, and he’s managed to accumulate plenty of life experience this summer during his time hopping between Portland, Pawtucket and Boston.

Though he’s had to make due without his beloved Waffle House while playing in the Northeast corridor for much of this summer – and is already daydreaming of double chocolate chip pancakes when he gets home following the conclusion of the season – it’s been a year that’s given him a taste he eagerly wants more of. Reddick has sampled the big league experience in spot duty for the Red Sox, and will be working out in Fort Myers with Dusty Brown just in case anything happens to any of the players during the postseason.

That means he's one errant fastball away from potentially taking part in playoff baseball after starting the year at Double-A. Pretty heady stuff.

Reddick has big plans for bulking up and adding muscle to his athletic frame this winter, but is intent on finishing this one out string first. The 22-year-old took some time out and talked with Hacks with Haggs about life in the big leagues, his amazing family story and similarities to Kevin Youkilis that he’s trying to change.

What’s the big league experience been like for you after jumping from Double-A? JR: It’s unreal. I never realized how big everything is until I showed up here and experienced it first hand from the field and the dugout. I’d say it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever been a part of in my life.

Have many guys talked to you about what to expect, or how to handle things? JR: Not really. I think they’re just letting me take it all in myself and see how I handle everything myself. I’ve had some pretty good confidence issues in the minors and there are issues I’ve head to deal with in my life while I was playing, so I’ve found ways to cope with things. Take a few deep breaths and step back, and just try to enjoy the game like I have for so long.

What do you take away from watching and observing players at the big league level? JR: Probably the level of competition and the intensity that these guys have every single game. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody as intense as Josh Beckett when he comes in after a bad inning, or what he says is rough inning but we got out of it. He comes in and starts yelling at himself and you’re like ‘Wow’. You don’t see that kind of stuff on TV and you don’t see that kind of intensity. That’s one of the biggest things you learn at this level is to see the ways guys are going about their way competing and the intensity that they do it at.

Does that raise your intensity level? JR: I’ve always had a bunch of different emotions going through me playing this game. If I feel like I miss pitches and I get myself out in an at bat, then I’ve always shown that frustration on the field after the at bat. I’ve tried not to do that here and I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ who shows all this anger in the dugout. Just trying to see how these guys handle it and not be the loud guy in the dugout. Just come out and do your job.

Is that something that’s important to have success in the big leagues is to bottle up that emotion, and not show it in the dugout? JR: That’s been a big issue since I first signed. I had Gabe Kapler as a manager down in Greenville one of my first years, and he always used to pull me aside and tell me that I reminded him of Kevin Youkilis, who will get like that whenever he’s here. I’ve seen that so I know where he’s coming from.

It’s calmed down a lot for me because I used to hit a ball hard and get out, and I’d come in and slam my helmet and throw my bat. Now it’s like ‘Man, I hit the ball hard, but I hit it right at somebody’ or if I miss a pitch or hit a slow ground-out it’s really upsetting. But I’ve come up here and realized I don’t want to be that guy, and come up here and make Tito look bad by showing my anger back in the dugout. Especially when you never know when the camera is on you. If you need to [vent] some anger you can always go into the clubhouse or the batting cages, somewhere they can’t see you and you can take it that way.

What have you seen at the big league level that you want to take away from this experience? JR: For me, it’s basically about keeping my mouth shut and not trying to be the guy that talks too much. Just sit back and observe and watch the way these guys conduct themselves with the media and during interviews, and I’ve watched the guys walking around the locker room, and how they handle themselves. Get in, get my work done and then get out of the way for the big guys. Like if I’m about to take BP and I see five guys in front of me like David or Victor, I’ll come back in the locker room and wait and be that last guy. If they’re doing something, I’ll just be patient and wait.

Speaking of Youkilis, you seem to really have that all-out, bust your ass type hustle that he shows no matter what the score or situation in the game. Have you always been that way? JR: Yeah, that’s something I have to thank my father for. He always pounded it into my head that it’s not worth being on the field if you’re not going to give it your all. It goes back to that saying ‘leave it all on the field.’ That way you don’t wake up the next day, look in the mirror and realize that you didn’t give 100 percent. You never know when that infielder on a soft ground-ball might double-pump and you could beat it by a half-step or whatnot, and you never know if that could be the difference on a game-winning play when you bust it down the line. That’s just how I was brought up.

What’s your dad’s name? JR: Kenny Reddick.

Have you talked to him a lot about your time in Boston this summer? JR: They’ve come up to see me play in Boston, and they met me in Tampa. Our house is about six hours from Tampa, so I got to see a lot of the people from the family take it all in down there. I got to talk to him and get some stuff off my back. I talk to him pretty regularly. If not every day then every other day.

He’s coached all the way back from when I was young, and it’s amazing that I can tell him what I’m doing at the plate – like if I’m popping up -- and he knows exactly what’s wrong with my swing. He’s like ‘all right, you’ve got to keep your foot down and your down, and you’re jumping at it’ and I’m like ‘Wow’ he just loves the game and loves watching me play that much that he can break it down from hundreds of miles away.

He can break down your swing, I’m sure. Was he a ballplayer? JR: He was until shortly after I was born. He got hurt and he got electrocuted when I was a year old. He worked for the power company and he got electrocuted by a line and lost half his left arm and two fingers on his right hand. He has limited use of his fingers and no hand on his right arm, it’s just a nub. That happened five days before my first birthday, and he still had all the love of the game and taught me how to hit and play the game. It’s worked out for me.

So he passed down all of that love for the game right down to you? JR: That’s what he did. It makes for a pretty cool story because I know he has to feel an accomplishment for him to see me doing well. Because that’s a devastating injury and he’s in his mid-40s and it’s about to hit him hard. It has hit him hard already about not being able to work and get a job like normal people because he loved doing that job.

During rainstorms if it was thundering and lightning out and there was a power outage, he’d be the first guy that would want to climb that pole. He said he had a feeling of freedom up on that pole looking down on the world from way up high. It was kind of an amazing feeling. He’s coached my brother, me and my little sister and he’s still coaching my little sister in our home state.

Could you see the pride in your dad’s eye that first time he saw you play in a big league game? JR: I think it was during batting practice, actually. I saw him walking around with my brother and a bunch of his buddies, and he was kind of looking around. He didn’t say anything, but you could tell he was thinking to himself ‘wow, this is the real deal. This is a lot different than the other places I’ve been playing.’ He didn’t try to show it, but I could see it in his eyes. It’s hard to hide, and I could imagine that feeling.

Theo has talked a bit about you adding a little more “finish” to your game after watching you this season. What do you need to do this offseason? JR: I think I just need to keep working on my plate discipline, which is something that I’ve been working hard to improve during my career. I think I’ve shown improvement and getting called up is proof of that. I also need to add a little bit more weight and concentrate of hitting the gym with a purpose this winter when I’m working out. If I do that and control the anger, then I think I’ll be all right.

Red Sox roll out 'Fan Appreciation Series'

2009-10-02T12:30:00Z

The Boston Red Sox today announced that the final series of the 2009 regular season will be celebrated as the Red Sox “Fan Appreciation Series” as a way to thank the team’s fans for their continuous support. The Red Sox “Fan Appreciation Series” will take place October 1-4, 2009, during the series against the Cleveland Indians, before the Red Sox head to their sixth postseason appearance in the past seven seasons.

“This is a chance for us to say thank you to our most ardent fans,” said Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino. “John, Tom, Theo, Tito and I along with the rest of our organization and our players appreciate the dedication and loyalty we are so privileged to experience with Red Sox Nation. It is no accident that the Red Sox have owned one of the best home records in all of baseball for the past few years. It is due in great part to the passionate support of our fans who have been here throughout the season and will be at Fenway Park this weekend.”

Fans at Fenway Park will enjoy various giveaways and events on all four days of the series. The Official Red Sox Team Store on Yawkey Way will offer a special 20% discount on all items (with the exception of memorabilia) purchased during the game (after the gates open two hours prior to the scheduled start until closing). ARAMARK vendors will also be providing lucky fans, selected randomly throughout the ballpark, with complimentary peanuts and Cracker Jacks during the 7th inning stretch of each game.

The Red Sox will have the following special giveaways or activities on each of the four days during the series:

Friday, October 2 – On-Field Photo Day – Fans will have a chance to get a photograph with a player before the game during On-Field Photo Day. Fans will be invited to head to the warning track on the field as soon as the gates open at 5:10 p.m. Players will come out to the field and greet fans for approximately one hour.

Saturday, October 3 – Shirts-Off-Our-Backs – The players will take part in a Shirts Off Our Backs promotion where fans will be randomly chosen during the later portions of the game to receive an autographed Red Sox jersey immediately following the end of the game.

Sunday, October 4 – Run the Bases – On the final day of the regular season, kids will have a chance to Run The Bases after the game. Throughout the game, announcements will be made reminding interested fans to line up in the Big Concourse behind the bleachers if they’d like to participate. All participating fans will be brought out onto the field approximately 40 minutes after the final out of the game.

All promotions and giveaways are open only to ticketed Red Sox patrons for that particular game. Any in-seat promotion will require fans to be in their own seats and have a valid ticket stub for that seat.

Red Sox and Theo Epstein honored by Sporting News

2009-09-28T18:34:00Z

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, who in nine seasons has never not surpassed a .300 average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, is Sporting News‘ Major League Baseball player of the decade.

The honor is part of a 14-page tribute to the athletes, coaches and teams of the 2000s in the new issue of the magazine, which arrives this week at all Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets. SN honored one athlete in each sport and enlisted the help of teammates, coaches and legends to make a case for both the winner and runner-up.

Said Cardinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock of Pujols: “There’s an adage in baseball that the sound of the bat dictates how well a guy is going to play. His first time in spring training, when Albert hit a ball, everyone stopped. All eyes turned to him. That sound just jerked you around. That in itself gave us a great indication of what was going to happen. The sound is hard to explain. It’s just different—like I hear people talk about when Tiger Woods hits a golf ball and it’s unlike anything they’ve heard. Babe Ruth, I’m told, had that sound. You don’t hear that sound in every decade.”

Pujols was SN’s player of the year twice this decade, winning in 2003 and ’08.

His pick for his favorite moment of the decade? “Nothing was more special than winning the World Series (in 2006),” he told SN. “Seeing Adam Wainwright strike out Brandon Inge to make the last out was one of those moments I will never forget. I have had some big games, but nothing was more important than that game. We played as a team that whole series and proved all the people wrong who did not think we had the team to win.”
SN chose Pujols over Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. “His last 10 years have been as good as anyone’s,” teammate Derek Jeter said.

Other SN MLB honors:
— Manager of the decade: Joe Torre, Dodgers/Yankees

— Team of the decade: Red Sox

— Executive of the decade: Theo Epstein, Red Sox

— Performance of the decade: White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle’s perfect game against the Rays on July 23, 2009. Buehrle also threw a no-hitter on April 18, 2007, making him the only pitcher with two no-hitters this decade.

— Game of the decade: Game 7, 2001 World Series, Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2.

— All-decade team:
C Joe Mauer
1B Albert Pujols
2B Jeff Kent
SS Derek Jeter
3B Alex Rodriguez
OF Barry Bonds
OF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Manny Ramirez
DH David Ortiz
SP Randy Johnson
RP Mariano Rivera

Dice-K authors surprise start at Fenway

2009-09-16T15:55:00Z

Daisuke Matsuzaka has grown quite a bit during his time in Boston with the Red Sox, and never was that more apparent than his long-awaited return to the Fenway mound on Tuesday night.

The 29-year-old Japanese hurler made his first Red Sox start since June 19 after undergoing a rigorous three-month shoulder-strengthening program, and he did it in something of a high-pressure environment facing an Angels team that’s a likely opponent in the American League Division Series.

“Daisuke is Daisuke,” said Sox catcher Jason Varitek. “There were a lot of encouraging things going on out on the field tonight, and Daisuke was a big part of that.”

Matsuzaka proved to be up for the task in the first game of the series against a Halos offense that leads the big leagues with a .286 team batting average, and David Ortiz once again looked like he still might just have a few playoff tricks left up his Big Papi sleeve.

David Ortiz smacked an RBI single in the sixth frame off John Lackey – with another hard-luck loss at Fenway Park -- and then smacked his 270th career home run at the designated hitter position in the eighth inning in Boston’s 4-1 win over the Angels. The home run allowed Ortiz to pass Frank Thomas for the Major League lead in career home runs hit by a designated hitter.

With many eyes watching on that were curious how the right-hander would respond after a nearly complete throwaway season, Matsuzaka was brilliant like he is in so many huge situations. The hurler threw six innings of shutout ball and was aggressive in the strike zone with his fastball all night while scattering three hits and three walks while fanning five hitters.

Sox pitching coach John Farrell said he hadn’t seen true power and precision from Matsuzaka’s fastball like that since his rookie season in 2007, and that the pitcher “surpassed their expectations” in his first start back. The righty notched his first Major League win since June 2 against the Detroit Tigers, and secured his first victory at Fenway since last season.

“It looked he had some life on his fastball without effort,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “It’s a huge shot in the arm for us. He really stayed in his delivery. I think we feel like it’s realistic that he can come back in his next start and -- not necessarily match the numbers -- but be the same pitcher.”

The allusion to his next start is a frank admission by the Sox coaching staff that Matsuzaka remains strongly in the running for a spot in a potential playoff starting rotation, and that decisions will be made based on which arm is pitching the best when September ends. Matsuzaka could be look awfully good lumped in with a starting trio of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz all seemingly locked in for postseason duty, and he still feels like there’s plenty to prove in something of a lost season.

“On the road back, I’ve been a burden on my teammates more than anything, and I feel that I owe them,” said Matsuzaka through translator Masa Hoshino. “There’s not much left in the season, but in the limited time – and the limited opportunity that I do have – I want to show my appreciation to my teammates and the fans by contributing in a positive way.”

The Dice-K Speaketh

2009-09-12T22:49:00Z

Here are some brief words from Daisuke Matsuzaka on Saturday afternoon speaking about his impending Tuesday night start at Fenway Park against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It'll be Matsuzaka's first start for the Red Sox since landing on the 15-day disabled list back on June 19 with a slightly strained right shoulder.

The start gives Matsuzaka a fresh beginning after a series of false starts this season, and could allow the Japanese righty to issue a huge statement about his worthiness for a starting rotation spot on a potential Boston playoff roster. All questions and answers were translated through Masa Hoshino.

How excited are you to make this start coming up? DM: Of course, I’m excited.

How excited are you pitch with the Red Sox after working on so many things over the last few months? DM: I know that it took me some time to get here, but I also feel that I was able to use that time to get prepared really well. I just hope that I can apply all those things that I was preparing for in the start.

Can you feel a big difference stuff-wise with what you’re taking to the mound stuff-wise now as opposed to when you were going to the mound in May or June? DM: I wouldn’t say that it’s THAT big of a difference, but I would say that the stuff I have now is a little bit better.

Is it one of your goals to be pitching for the Red Sox in the playoff if they do make the postseason? DM: I don’t think it’s really necessary to think that far ahead. Right now I’d like to focus everything I have on my upcoming start.

Was it important to get back before the end of this season? DM: That had been my intent all along through the entire process.

Do you think you have anything to prove that you can pitch effectively at this level? DM: I think it’s less having something to prove than it is we’re at a point in the season where every win is so important and as long as I can contribute to the team in a way that helps us win – that’s the most important thing right now.

How difficult has this year been while going through DL, minor league stints, everything that’s been involved? DM: I think it was a difficult season, but I also firmly believe that the experiences I had this year are going to help me going forward.

The Legend of V-Mart continues to grow

2009-09-11T14:55:00Z

Slowly but surely Victor Martinez is carving out a man-sized niche for himself in the Red Sox clubhouse, and becoming a new legend of the Boston fall in the process. Martinez was looked at as a nice, solid offensive addition to a team that badly needed a more dangerous hitter behind the plate when he was acquired for Justin Masterson and prospects on July 31 – but V-Mart has been so much more than that in a short time.

The numbers are indisputable: Martinez is hitting at a .326/.411/.534 in roughly 150 at bats since arriving on the Sox scene Aug. 1, but what’s been even more notable is the timing of so many of those hits. Nobody is saying that David Ortiz needs to hang up his award as the Greatest Clutch Hitter in Red Sox History, but Martinez is beginning to trend in a Big Papi-like direction with his uncanny timing and steely nerves while the game on the line.

“It’s all about being a tough out,” said Martinez. “That’s it. I always say that this game is tough enough without putting any pressure on yourself. The pitcher is out there doing his job and you’re up there doing your job. Some days he’s going to get you, and some days you’re going to get him.”

The switch-hitter has flashed a penchant for the clutch hit during that short time, and is quickly becoming Boston’s most dangerous man when the game is on the line in the late innings. He's been doing a lot of the "getting" as of late.

“He’s a professional hitter for starters and it’s a feather in his cap that he can catch as well. You don’t see catchers that can hit like that very often,” said Sox outfielder Jason Bay, who was in the very-same situation as the new kid in Boston when he arrived via trade last season on Aug. 1. “He’s a switch-hitter and an unbelievable clubhouse guy. He’s the loudest guy in the dugout, no question. He’s an easy guy to cheer for.

“He’s come in and – I came into the situation of getting traded over and moving right into a pennant race – he’s done it a few years ago in Cleveland as well, but when you’re new into a situation you want to impress your teammates as well as everybody else. He’s really done that.”

Props to New Bedford Standard Times Sox reporter Jon Couture for unearthing this statistical nugget: In 15 at bats with the Red Sox in the seventh inning or later with a runner in scoring position, Martinez is hitting .467 with three home runs and 12 RBIs with a 1.333 OPS since arriving.

Those are off-the-charts type numbers in the clutch, and there’s more than enough anecdotal evidence of V-Mart’s burgeoning legend as well. Martinez has already collected 4 game-winning RBIs in less than two months of Sox duty, and still has a few more chapters to write in the middle of a playoff chase with the postseason still looming.

To wit:

--On Aug. 9 Martinez crushed a two-run homer to left field in the eighth inning of a 1-0 ballgame at Yankee Stadium, and finally erases a 31-inning scoreless streak that had reached epic levels. That bomb put the Sox up by a 2-1 score and was huge at the time, but the Sox bullpen gave it up in the bottom of the eighth inning and capped off a four-game sweep at the hands of the Yanks. The home run did begin to flash a glimpse of Martinez’s consistent ability to come through in those key late inning scenarios for Boston.

--On Aug. 14 in the first game of a huge series against the Texas Rangers and down one run against the Texas closer in the ninth inning, Martinez hit a two-out, two-strike, two-run double to right field that scored the tying and go-ahead runs and sparked a six-run ninth inning uprising. That two-out rally led to a key 8-4 win over a Rangers team that still sits only two games back in the AL Wild Card. Without Martinez’s heroics that night, Boston and Texas would be tied in the wild card standings at this point.

--On Aug. 18, Martinez launched a double off Brian Tallet in the top of the eighth inning at the Rogers Centre in a back-and-forth game that ended in a 10-9 win. Martinez’s RBI double that scored Alex Gonzalez ended up being the game-winning RBI in yet another victory for Boston.

--On Aug. 25 against the Chicago White Sox, Martinez pinch hit for Alex Gonzalez and smoked an RBI single to left-center field in the seventh inning that tied up the ballgame, and then added an RBI double in the eighth inning that helped pad the lead in an eventual 6-3 win for the Red Sox.

--On Aug. 29, Martinez drew a bases loaded walk in the sixth inning that ended up being the game-winning run in a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Not a clutch hit by any means, but another game-winning RBI for V-Mart.

--On Sept. 6, Martinez crushed a three-run homer in the ninth inning of Octavio Dotel in a tight 3-1 ballgame at US Cellular Field, and gave the Sox bullpen all the breathing room they would need in another important victory.

--On Sept. 9, Martinez pinch-hit for Jason Varitek in the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded in a tie ballgame, and jumped all over the first pitch for a three-run double that rolled to the Green Monster in left-centerfield wall. It's just another game-winning RBI for Martinez in what’s quickly becoming a mystical final two months of the baseball season for the offensive backstop.

Buchholz paying off for Sox in No. 3 spot

2009-09-09T06:56:00Z

BOSTON -- Pardon Clay Buchholz if he experienced a little déjà vu whole toeing the rubber against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

The 25-year-old Sox hurler was handed a generous lead by the Sox offense and asked to simply throw strikes, keep the game moving and gather outs against an offense battling out of an 8-0 hole after the first three innings.

Dustin Pedroia smashed a pair of home runs in his first career multi-home run game and J.D. Drew, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz also added their own four-baggers to the home run party in a 10-0 whitewash victory for the Sox.

The Texas Rangers swept a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, and – despite the Sox victory – moved within two games of the AL Wild Card race with four weeks left to go in the season. Armed with a big lead, Clay Buchholz pitched seven innings of shutout ball to earn his fifth win and lowered his ERA to 3.92 on the season.

It was eerily reminiscent of an Aug. 2 game against the O’s that Buchholz started at Camden Yards, but that game didn’t quite go according to plan.

The game took place just days after the Major League trade deadline and Buchholz was handed a seven-run lead after three innings courtesy of an energized offense brought to life by the newly acquired Victor Martinez. But the center didn’t hold for Buchholz on that muggy afternoon, and he couldn’t calm down the offensive storm around him and simply throw strikes.

Buchholz walked four batters and was cuffed around for seven runs in an eventual 18-10 Boston win that was due in no part at all to the starting pitcher. Buchholz had a 6.05 ERA after that debacle in Baltimore, but that’s proving to be something of a rock-bottom this season.

It’s no stretch to say that Buchholz has come a long way since that fitful afternoon.

“When he pitches like that – and I’m trying not to get ahead of myself – it’s amazing how good the organization feels about the future,” said Sox manager Terry Francona, clearly admiring Buchholz’s total command out on the mound. “You look at him up there putting up zeroes and the way he can do it, it’s very exciting.”

The young hurler obviously learned his lessons well in that situation, and erased thoughts of the enormous run cushion right out of his head this time around against the Orioles. He attacked within the strike zone with all three of his pitches, and conjured up images of former big league greats within the mind of Baltimore manager Dave Trembley after the game.

“He probably looked like a combination of Don Drysdale, Warren Spahn and Sandy Koufax when he got an 8-0 lead,” said Trembley of Buchholz. “He kept pitching.”

That’s exactly what Buchholz did, and he didn’t stop tossing quality pitches until Sox manager Terry Francona had removed the ball from his hands following seven innings of shutout ball with only one walk and three hits allowed. The young pitcher showed off another step in his maturation while pitching with a lead provided by the Sox offense, and continues to flash potential as Boston’s No. 3 starter behind the rock-solid duo of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

How different did Tuesday night’s start feel as opposed to the early August debacle against the very-same Orioles?

“A world of difference, I guess,” said Buchholz. “The first couple of innings from the last start were good. I sort of let it get out of control. Tonight I tried to pace the game as if it was still a tied game or a close game.

“If they got on base, I tried to pitch the count that would get me a groundball and work from there. I’ve had some failures with that same type of deal and I was able to get out of the inning without letting him score. It’s definitely a big deal for me.”

It’s a big deal for Buchholz, and it’s an even bigger deal for the Red Sox if their 25-year-old pitching product continues to mature right in front of their watchful eyes.

Papelbon is now locked into playoff mode

2009-09-02T14:37:00Z

Jonathan Papelbon hasn’t enjoyed his typical overpoweringly smooth wire-to-wire season closing out baseball games for the Red Sox this summer, but the 28-year-old closer is clearly saving the best for last. Boston’s acclaimed closer appeared for the first six-out performance of any kind in his career since 2007, and entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning in Tuesday night’s win with nobody out and the bases loaded.

It was a dire situation, but it was also the kind of treacherous spot that has made Papelbon such a unique weapon for the Sox over the last four plus seasons. It also marked Papelbon’s first two-inning regular season save of his career in a spot where the Sox really needed him most. Papelbon also closed out the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the 2007 ALCS with a two-inning save, and his performance on Tuesday night just underscores how important it is for the Red Sox to come into Tropicana Field and close out the Rays this season by winning at least two out of three games.

Papelbon has a 1.42 ERA since Aug. 1, and is 6-for-6 in save opportunities with a whopping 19 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings over the time span, and has looked much more like the reliever that's put up historic numbers in his first three seasons at the back end of the bullpen. Those are pretty strong numbers for the fast-talking, hard-throwing closer, and they illustrate that the four-time All-Star has been storing a little bit left in the tank for Boston’s stretch run.

“I feel really good, man,” said Papelbon. “For me this has been the best year body-wise. I think I’ve gotten to the point in my career where I can now know when to push the gas pedal and when to lay off it.

“This is the time of the year that I love, and this is the time of year that gets me excited. Playoff races and postseason is what it’s all about, and this is when it gets to the nitty gritty.”

The Sox were clinging to a three-run lead over a Tampa Bay Rays team scratching and clawing to stay in the AL Wild Card race during that eighth inning call for the closer, and Papelbon was needed to put out a fire started by setup man Hideki Okajima. It doesn't get much stickier than bases loaded with nobody out, but Papelbon was like a surgeon with a bazooka painting the corners with his 95-mph fastball. Papelbon promptly shut the door with three straight outs – including a clutch run-saving catch in centerfield by Jacoby Ellsbury – and averted a potentially disastrous end to the game.

The Sox bullpen ace has now held batters to 1-for-15 with 10 strikeouts in at bats with the bases loaded this season, and Tuesday looked quite a bit like the big game closer that still has yet to allow a postseason earned run in his baseball career.

“Just sticking with my game plan and going with my best stuff, and realizing what my best stuff is,” said Papelbon. “For me it’s all about getting my job done, and when I get in those types of situations I always try to elevate my game and get into a higher intensity.”

That should be a warning to all AL opponents that Papelbon is now stepping on the gas pedal in the final month of the baseball season, and Boston's closer is officially in playoff mode.

Deep thoughts about the Sox entering September

2009-09-01T04:56:00Z

Here are a couple of deep Red Sox thoughts on the eve of a big three-game series between the Olde Towne and a fading Tampa Bay Rays team that really lost some of their momentum when Scott Kazmir – crappy 5 plus ERA or not – was sold off to the Angels.
With the Rays 5 games back in the AL East entering Tuesday night, anything less than a Tampa sweep puts the Little Tampa Train that Could out of its misery – and does it in the House That Ryan Rupe Built, no less.

1. The Red Sox magic number is at 29 games after the Rangers lost again on Monday night. It appears that the Sox have found enough patches to get push them into the postseason barring a September collapse, and could do some real damage with the real Josh Beckett and an ascending Jon Lester at the top of the rotation along with a bullpen quartet of Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima, Billy Wagner and Jonathan Papelbon available just about every night given the typical staggered schedule during the playoffs. They’ve shown enough offense with everybody now healthy and accounted for.

This Sox team is built for the playoffs – much more so than the regular season – and it could set up an interesting little run during the month of October if things break correctly, and Clay Buchholz can step up as Boston's No. 3 starter.

2. Most people just assume that the Sox will roll over the Angels in a potential Division Series just as they did in 2004, 2007 and again last season. There's a line of reasons why Boston should roll over the Angels: The Halos don’t have the starters. They have a mental block against Boston. John Lackey wakes up in a cold sweat when he dreams about Fenway. Brian Fuentes is a so-so closer. Yada, yada, yada.

The go-go Angels are second in Major League Baseball with 130 stolen bases this season, and the Red Sox are ill-equipped to deal with an athletic, aggressive baseball team like the Angels that also enough offensive firepower.

The Sox have nabbed a Major League-worst 14 percent of potential base stealers this season and have nailed only 20 total in 142 stolen base attempts this summer. Some of that is obviously dropped at the feet of Brad Penny, who simply didn’t do anything to slow the running game down, but the catchers are also having trouble.

Jason Varitek has thrown out 15 of 107 base stealers for a 14 percent success rate, and Victor Martinez has also thrown out only 7 of 50 base stealers this season. V-Mart has also already racked up three throwing errors attempting to control the running game in only 16 games in Boston -- and clearly isn’t any better than Varitek.

That’s what you call a potentially bad matchup in a series that many would mistakenly considered to be a cakewalk for the Red Sox.

3. Billy Wagner looked devastating in his Sunday debut with the Red Sox, and it had nothing to do with the afternoon shadows at Fenway. It appeared like hitters were having trouble recognizing the slider out of Wagner’s left hand, and the hard-throwing southpaw got a series of stilted check swings on his offerings.
Varitek brushed aside any thought about the shadows, and instead said it was all about the 38-year-old’s nastiness. He was consistently pumping up 95-mph fastballs along with an 84-mph darting slider, and the middle of the Blue Jays lineup could barely touch him.

“Because Wagner isn’t a vertically imposing guy and because of where he lines up on the rubber, he doesn’t have that effect in the shadows that some left-handers do at Fenway. I got a really good look at everything that came out of his hand, and so did the hitters,” said Varitek. “That was all about stuff. That wasn’t about shadows.”

Beckett problem: a 'long and spread out' delivery

2009-08-28T23:53:00Z

Chatted a bit the other night with Sox pitching coach John Farrell about the recent two-start struggles for Josh Beckett. The Sox ace had allowed 10 home runs in his last three outings, and had allowed an unbelievable 18 hits and 15 earned runs in 13 1/3 un-Beckett innings against the Blue Jays and Yankees.

His fastballs were mis-located and tailing over the plate, and his curveballs have routinely been flatter than 2X4's at a carpenter's convention. The August downturn has become something of a pattern for Beckett over the course of his baseball seasons in a Red Sox uniform, as he's put up an 8-7 record with a 4.77 ERA and 17 home runs allowed in 122 1/3 innings pitched during August. It's easily been his worst month of the year during his time in Boston.

Farrell said that Beckett’s problem was more mechanical than physical, and his action of “reaching back” for a little extra oomph on the fastball and bite on the curveball had thrown of his normal, natural fluid delivery. The Sox pitching guru was expecting an entirely different Beckett on Friday night against the Blue Jays after streamlining Beckett’s delivery in bullpen sessions. The Sox pitching coach was also clear that Beckett's right arm is healthy, and there's nothing injury-related that's affecting the hard-throwing Texan during this August swoon.

Here’s Farrell:
“His delivery got a little long and spread out. He lost a little bit of the downward plane on his fastball and that caused his curveball to be recognized out of his hand early. He also went through a 3 ½ month stretch there where he just basically dominated the bottom half of the strike zone and dominated it in a way with the flight of his baseball going downward on his two-seamer and dominating with the lateral movement.”

What can you do to counteract things when Beckett’s delivery gets a little bit on the long side? JF: This is a case where it’s not a flaw in his delivery, but in his case there can be a little extra exertion to try to get a little more velocity or more bit on his curveball. This can cause his delivery to get long and spread out and it’s not unlike a hitter that’s trying to get a home run every time up there when he flaps on the backside and starts swinging uphill. There are a lot of similarities to that.

So part of it is just getting Beckett to relax and ease up a bit on the pitcher’s mound? JF: We spend a lot of time with every pitcher trying to quiet the mind, and he even has a saying that ‘less is more’. Because when they try to get more that’s when they work against their natural body movements and their delivery is inefficient and they can sacrifice command in an effort to gain velocity.

Green makes it on the mound

2009-08-28T05:50:00Z

BOSTON -- On a night when Red Sox starting pitcher Junichi Tazawa brought little in the way of actual Major League stuff to the mound with him, the Boston bullpen was sure to take a double-hit when the originally designated long man, Brad Penny, asked for his release from the ballclub on Wednesday night.

That left Boston without a suitable Plan B when the 22-year-old clearly didn’t have it after two innings, and – as Sox manager Terry Francona often uses as a go-to phrase – put “them in a bind” in a 9-5 loss to the White Sox.

So after four innings from Tazawa, two innings from Manny Delcarmen and an inning from Ramon Ramirez, the Sox were forced to embrace the unavoidable and tossed a position player in to pitch the final two frames.

It was the second time this season that a hitter has turned pitcher for the Sox, with former outfielder Jonathan Van Every appearing in a game April 30 at Tampa Bay. This time it was shortstop reserve Nick Green, who is blessed with a strong right throwing arm, that got the call.

Green's flight of mound fancy was the only compelling shred of entertaining baseball on a night that was over before it began for Boston.

The hard-throwing Green has consistently flashed some impressive velocity with his arm while manning the shortstop position this season, and had previously told several reporters that he was once clocked as high as 92-mph on a radar gun.

“I feel like I could even throw harder, but I was trying to throw strikes,” said Green, who topped out at 90-mph but also walked three batters in two innings of emergency pitching work. “I just wanted to throw strikes, but my ball was moving all over the place. I was even trying to throw it with movement.”

So Green loosened up with outfielder Rocco Baldelli in the catacombs behind the Fenway Park around the fifth inning of a blowout loss, and then warmed up in the bullpen prior to his eighth inning appearance. While Green only threw 13 of 35 pitches for strikes in the two innings of work, he didn’t allow a single hit and walked only one batter in the two innings. It was the longest pitching stint for a Sox positional player since first baseman David McCarthy hurled two innings for the Sox back in 2005, and it was longest hitless stint for a Sox positional player since the immortal Eddie Lake did it twice during the 1944 regular season.

For the Sox, the positional tandem of Green and Van Every marks the first time that the Red Sox have employed two different position players to pitch since Doug Taitt and Jack Rothrock both pitched in during troubling times for the Olde Towne Team way back in 1928.

“He told me pretty early that I might (pitch),” said Green, who said he hadn’t pitched since roughly 1998. “At first I didn’t want to pitch, but we didn’t really have a choice. If I had to go out there and try to pitch because our pitchers couldn’t go, then that would be my only reason to pitch.

“I told (John Farrell) that I was going to pitch the eighth, and then asked him ‘who was going to pitch the ninth? I didn’t know I was going to pitch two innings. I didn’t know what to expect because I haven’t thrown to a catcher in 11 years. It was something I might never do again in a Major League game, so I had some fun with it.”

The only big problem for Green was the walk to former teammate Mark Kotsay. The shortstop showed a little bit of emotion after walking the White Sox first baseman/outfielder on four pitches.

"I was friggin pissed that I walked (Kotsay)," said Green. "I'll get him later."

Green even hit 90-mph a handful of times over the course of the two frames and impressed the ever-quotable Ozzie Guillen while the Chicago skipper was watching from the visiting dugout.

“I think they’re going to make a change,” said Guillen of Green and the Sox. “They might start having the Japanese guy back in the bullpen. You know, he impressed (me). That was pretty good. I think Francona has found another guy who can help him in the bullpen.”

When and if there’s another spot for Green to show off that golden arm, the shortstop might just pitch again and will be carrying a perfect big league 0.00 ERA right along with him.

Wagner "changed his mind last minute"

2009-08-25T17:46:00Z

Just got an email back from Billy Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, just after the 1:30 p.m. trade-waiver deadline for the Mets and Sox to complete a trade, and he confirmed to Hacks with Haggs that Wagner has waived his no-trade clause after a change of heart right at the last moment. The lure of pitching for jumping off a sinking Mets ship for a potential World Series contender in Boston was enough for the 38-year-old.

"He changed his mind last minute," said Stringfellow in the email.

So, it appears according to multiple reports that Wagner will be coming to the Boston Red Sox for the final five weeks of the regular season in exchange for a pair of minor league players to be named later. Wagner has hit 95-96 mph in his two appearances for the Mets thus far after recovering from Tommy John surgery, and gives the Sox a hard-throwing lefty in the back end of the bullpen they haven't had since Alan Embree left town after the 2005 baseball season.

According to multiple reports, the Sox will pick up more than $2 million of Wagner's remaining salary and maintain the right to offer him arbitration and potentially reap the draft pick benefits if Wagner is a Type A free agent this winter. The Sox did, however, agree to toss out the $8 million team option for next season.

CMSB on their Twitter account indicated that Double-A Portland Sea Dogs catcher Juan Apodaca might be one of the two players to be named later involved in the Wagner. Both players are expected to be mid-level prospect-types from the Double-A squad.

BTW, for all those with Twitter accounts, you can follow me at @HackswithHaggs for all Boston Red Sox and Bruins-related happenings.