Posts Tagged ‘JD Drew’
Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
I’m not particularly high-strung (especially for a Red Sox fan) but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the Thursday night news of Jason Varitek going on the disabled list didn’t set me off just a bit. I didn’t expect the Sox to fold and from Friday out lose every game they played but it just felt like the universe was telling Red Sox fans to sit tight and enjoy the season without getting any high expectations. Of course, Friday night the universe poked us in the ribs and said “See? This is still going to be fun!”.
Thanks to the quick pace of both Tim Wakefield and Baltimore’s Brad Bergesen, the game clocked in at two hours and seven minutes. If you watched the game on NESN Friday night, by 9:20pm you could have found something else to do. Bergesen gave the Sox a run for their money but Wakefield did just a bit better, going eight innings and not touching 100 pitches. Two home runs by JD Drew, a pinch hit, RBI single from Daniel Nava and Papelbon in acting like the Papelbon we love and. poof, game over. Thanks, in part, to Joba Chamberlain choking up a lead in the 8th yesterday afternoon at Yankee Stadium (our former, beloved Alex Gonzalez hit the single that put the go-ahead run on the board in the 11th inning!) and the Red Sox now sit a half a game out of first place (and a Tampa Bay loss puts them two games out of first).
Congratulations to Tim Wakefield on his MLB-leading 201st start at Fenway last night. So happy he got a win out of it!
In spite of (or, hey, maybe because of) all the injuries that have attacked the team, last night’s win was doubly exciting. It might not always be easy but it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Kyle Snyder. Just because. Courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
Not writing about last night’s game. Won’t do it. As a matter of fact these few words are the last I will mention that game. We’re done. Okay, one thing: They won the battle (beating Ubaldo Jimenez) and lost the war (losing the actual game). This doesn’t make me feel as good as I thought it would. Now, we’re really done. Let us never speak of this again.
What I wanted to write about and what I meant to write about during the game last night is Terry Francona and the fools he has to suffer. Yesterday on the WEEI Full Count blog, Sam Dykstra posted the transcript of Tito’s appearance on the Dale and Holley Show. Now I’m not listening to the broadcast for fear I might break my computer so I don’t know who asked this question, but here it is (in regard to Mike Lowell):
You’re doing really well right now without him so why not release him?
They’re doing “really well right now”? Someone who covers sports professionally actually phrased a question that way? The Sox are tied for second place so they should just be happy that the wheels aren’t falling off and give into the wishes of a player because nothing else could possibly happen that would make having Mike Lowell on the team a good backup plan, right? The stupidity of the question is mind boggling but, as usual, Tito is ready with the response:
Well first of all, I would never talk about that with a player, especially on the radio. I can’t do that. But I think you’re being a little short-sighted. What if Youk twisted an ankle tonight? How good would that look? … It’s something that’s not making Mikey very happy, but it’s a long season and as you kind alluded to a minute ago, we’ve gone through a lot of players. It doesn’t always work out perfect for the players’ personal goals. We understand that, and the timetables are a little different sometimes. That’s why we just do the best we can.
I am genuinely amazed that Tito has yet to begin a response to one of these questions with “Are you a friggin’ idiot?”. I dig Mike Lowell and I hate the situation he’s in. Well, I hate some of it. I get that he wants to play and I get that he feels like he’s good to go but I also get that he’s being paid a lot of money to sit on that bench and possibly make it to the playoffs. Money shouldn’t always be a factor and I often argue with people who want to say things like “For the money he’s making…” but it’s tough to garner sympathy (although Lowell has said straight out that he is NOT looking for sympathy) for a guy who spends his days at a park and pockets lots of cash to do so. On the other hand, Lowell has done a lot for this team and seems to be a good guy so I feel sorry that he’s seemingly so miserable.
Having written all of that, I think anyone who suggests the Red Sox should just give him his release or trade him in a package that would benefit him more than the team (there is no reason I can think of that it would be a good idea to get rid of him just because he wants to go) is out of his or her mind. Why should the Red Sox do anything that would benefit him more than the team? It’s only June. The season has already been insane with injuries…why put the team in a position to be short a decent back up infielder and/or DH just because he’s a nice guy and wants to leave? Also, if the Sox lose another player they end up paying to play somewhere else, I just might have to visit Fenway Park and set it on fire. It is not my desire to see Mike Lowell wither away during what is most likely his last season in MLB. It is ALSO not my desire to see the Red Sox hamstrung because they took the feelings of a beloved player into consideration over what was best for the team. Sometimes, as lousy as it is to acknowledge, we have to remember that baseball is a business.
Tito showed he is also on the side of the people I don’t want to punch when he answered the question about Stephen Strasburg being in the All Star Game:
Oh my goodness, no. Maybe the Triple-A All-Star Game. I understand what this kid means to the game and what his potential is, but no, that’d be so disrespectful to a lot of good players. This kid’s made three major-league starts. I think that’d be setting a horrendous precedent. Again, no disrespect for the player, he’s got a chance to be one of the best pitchers in the game, but he’s got a chance. He’s got three starts under his belt. You can’t do stuff like that.
Strasburg has now made 4 starts in the majors (he took his first loss last night against the Royals). He has pitched 25.1 innings in the Bigs. While his numbers are impressive there are plenty of other pitchers who have put in more time this season (I know he’s good, but 25 innings is still a bit of a small sample size, IMO). I think Tito is spot on here as well. It’s a terrible precedent to set just because MLB wants to use this kid to help repair their image. I don’t see it happening but if it does it’ll just give me another reason to root against the National League.
Roster change will be happening tonight. Daisuke Matsuzaka will be coming off the DL and starting tonight’s game. There is much speculation over at WEEI.com (the site is oddly obsessed with the Mike Lowell situation. I know coming from the woman who is still holding out hope that Kyle Snyder gets one more shot at playing baseball talking about someone else’s “obsession” is the pot calling the kettle black, but still…) that Mike Lowell could be involved in the roster move. Me? Unfortunately, I think it’ll be JD Drew to the DL…but I’m hoping I’m totally wrong.
EDIT at 2:40pm: I’m really off my game. Never saw them putting Lowell on the DL as an option. This makes my brain hurt. I suppose I get why they’re doing it and I still stand behind what I wrote about the needs of the team coming before the wants of any one player but it’s almost to the point where it feels like they’re purposely torturing this guy and it’s becoming painful to watch unfold.
Watching JD play makes my heart happy. I hope he's not too badly hurt. Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
…is the major league debut of Felix Doubront ending with his getting his first “W” in the bigs! Felix pitched his five innings to be in line for the win and gave up six hits and five runs (three earned thanks to an error by, of all players, Felix Doubront!) in his debut. He matched his walks and strike outs with two each. Those strike outs? Andre Ethier (he of the .330 average) and Matt Kemp. Not too shabby, Felix.
As impressive was the work Scott Atchison did in relief. (A brief side note: Boof Bonser, we hardly knew ye.) Last night, Atchison threw three perfect innings and struck out a career-high five batters (including, yes, Manny Ramirez watching strike three go by to end the 7th inning). Atchison came up big for the team on national television last week when he was the literal last-minute starter replacing Daisuke Matsuzaka and I’m sure more than a few fans expected to be in the hole 10-0 when his work was done. They weren’t. Against Philly, he pitched the first three innings, struck out two and gave up two runs on two hits (the Sox went on to with the game 10-2). Lately, he’s been a solid, go-to guy out of the bullpen and it pleases me to see the Sox using him like they did last night.
Another home run from Papi, the third of the “hitting the knee” homers from Adrian Beltre and a Green Monster home run that was originally called a double but overturned after watching the replay for JD Drew. These things also made the game a fabulous one to behold. There’s no word yet on JD Drew and his hammie (pulled while making a catch to put out Manny) but all in all not a whole lot to complain about is there?
The Yankees and the Rays both cooperated last night by getting beaten by the Mets and the Marlins, respectively. This means………wait for it…………that the Red Sox are one game out of first place. The Red Sox have the exact amount of wins that both the Rays and Yanks do and have two more losses. Exactly a month ago today the Sox were 8.5 games out of first place (with not only the Yankees and Rays ahead of them but the, currently, 4.5 games out of first place Toronto Blue Jays ahead as well.
Back then, I posted a quote on my Tumblr page from Mitch Williams (currently working on the MLB Network) as told to Dan Patrick for Sports Illustrated:
You cannot win the division in April but at the end of the year the Red Sox are going to be able to testify that you can dang sure lose it in April because I think their season is over.
That a former baseball player could so easily fall into the trap of becoming a knee-jerk reacting talking head is sad. The Red Sox certainly haven’t won the division in June but they ‘dang sure’ didn’t lose it in April did they, Mitch. Say goodbye to your credibility.
Sox go at it again at 4:10pm ET today. Yankees play at 1:10pm and Rays at 7:10pm. Today could be the day the Sox sit atop the division after so many said it was over in May. Make them all eat their words, BoSox.
Bill Hall and Darnell McDonald greeting the fans yesterday (the rest of my photos from the day are over at my Flickr account - accessible using the button at the top right of the blog!)
First things first:
Lights on the field so the teams can play night games
Artificial turf
The designated hitter
Interleague play
The All Star Game’s outcome having meaning
(Many others)
None of these things were in the original game that was major league baseball but they all are now because things change and MLB needed to grow with the times. (You’ll notice I didn’t include minorities playing. To me that goes way beyond MLB having to change with the times and gets into the ugliness of the world back then and is a separate subject for another entry.) We have the technology available to make sure the correct calls get made and we should be using it. Don’t give me the “purity of the game” crap or the “human element is what makes it fun” stuff. I don’t care if it means longer games, what’s more important to me is that it would mean games that were actually called correctly. Maybe we don’t need robot umpires just yet but instant replay on close calls or maybe more specifically calls that affect the outcome of the game (like, say oh the last out of the game). If you don’t want to allow it for every play or call make specific rules but expand those rules to the entire game not just home runs. Why is it such a big deal? Just use the damn replay and get the call right.
Okay, I’m done for now.
Yesterday was a great day at the park and I have the sunburn to prove it! Sure it didn’t end the way we wanted but it was still a really good game and a lot of fun to watch. Since that three-game losing streak that ended with that horrible extra innings game in New York, the Sox have split a series with New York, won each series against Minnesota and Philadelphia, swept Tampa Bay, split with Kansas City and won the series against Oakland. They won 12 out of those 17 games with half of those wins being on the road. So, sure, it was a little disappointing that they didn’t sweep the A’s but I’ll take the series win any day.
It was the last day of the Red Sox fan appreciation homestand and the Sox ended it on a high note with “picture day”. Some of the players, coaches and Tito walked around the field shaking hands, posing for pictures and interacting with the fans. John Lackey seemed genuinely excited to get to meet folks and talk. Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall and Adrian Beltre posed with, I’m guessing, every person in the park. Mike Cameron not only posed for photos but was taking them for folks as well.
A digression: I wanted a hug from Mike Cameron. I didn’t know this until I saw him across the field. There is something genuinely dynamic about his personality and I asked Kelly if it was odd that I didn’t want a picture with him, I just wanted a hug. He ended up being the last player on the field and security was rushing him away but he was trying to get photos in with those fans who were left. As he turned to finally walk away Kelly called out to him and asked if “we could get a hug”. He came bounding over to us and gave me a big hug and I got to wish him well. It was teenage fun for a few minutes and I really appreciate the Red Sox doing it.
I know many other teams do stuff like this a lot, but the Sox don’t so it was pretty special. I also got a picture with JD Drew which made for a nice start to the day. Drew was great. Engaging the kids in conversation, posing for everyone, talking to folks. I know I favor him but yesterday proved that favoritism well-placed. It really was a great way to begin the day and I hope they consider making it an annual event (this is the second year they’ve done such a thing at Fenway).
Wanting to be at another weekday afternoon game, I bought the ticket for yesterday’s game last week and did something I never do – I bought a standing room only ticket. Cost me $8. I figured that, at the very least, I’d be in the park and I could worry about where I might possibly sit later. I ended up sitting on the aisle in the first row of the grandstand behind the visitor’s dugout. Good seat and, aside from the woman who had a two year-old she let play in the middle of the aisle so people walking the stairs had to step over or around the kid, had a good crowd around me. By the fifth inning, I was sitting in what was an empty seat in one of the field boxes thanks to a text from Kelly alerting me to the open seating. It never rained until well after the game, the team was doing it’s best to come back and win, I had a good seat and friends all around the park…a win would have made the day perfect but it was damn well close to perfect anyway.
Now the Sox are on the road and can hopefully build on their good record. In spite of the absolutely obnoxious and embarrassing promo on NESN calling the Orioles the “doormats of the AL East”, playing the Orioles is always tough for the Sox, so I don’t automatically assume anything, I just hope for a good series! Sadly, at 9:30 this morning, the Orioles are scheduled to announce the firing of their manager Dave Trembley. Along with my hating to see folks lose their jobs, I hate seeing a team lose their manager mid-season, regardless of the state of the club. This wrinkle will certainly make this weekend in Baltimore a bit more interesting. Juan Samuel, Baltimore’s third base coach, will be the interim manager. In the time that Peter Angelos has become the principal owner of the team, the O’s have gone through eight managers. Samuel will be the 9th in 17 years. I wonder if it has occurred to Mr. Angelos that maybe the managers aren’t the problem with this team?
I leave you with this: Do you know what the JD in JD Drew’s name stands for? If you didn’t, would you pretend you did and yell it at him when you were in field box seats and close enough for him to possibly hear you? I’ll give you a hint before you Google, it isn’t Jason David. Hell, his initials aren’t even JD. I thought this was, relatively speaking, common knowledge among baseball fans. The guy didn’t even sound like he was being ironic or funny. That coupled with the guy behind me calling him and Fred Lynn over-rated and soft (”Fred Lynn wouldn’t play if he had a hangnail”) AFTER he complemented them both on how fluidly they run/ran through the outfield, proved that even sitting in the good seats brings out some, let’s say “interesting” folks.
Ooh, wait, one more JD story! During the pre-game fan photo thing, some guy kept yelling to Drew “Ruben Amaro is waiting for your call!” He said it at least 3 times. Made a point of addressing JD and getting his attention so he could make sure JD heard him. JD responded by telling him that he didn’t know who “Ruben Amaro” was and the guy scoffed (I swear he really scoffed), said “Of course you do, he’s the GM for the Phillies!”, laughed and walked away. I need it explained to me why you would waste such a unique opportunity to taunt one of the players.
Beat B’More! (Seems more appropriate than chanting “Beat LA” at a Sox/A’s game.)
Welcome back to the rotation, Wake. (Photo taken by me in 2005)
I really enjoy these mornings when watching “Breakfast with the Sox” is something I go out of my way to do. (When the Sox lose, I don’t watch the replays, hell I usually don’t even watch the post-game show!)
As an aside before I start bragging on Clay, Based on feedback I’ve been receiving the past few weeks after each live chat, I’m banging around the idea of a message board connected to the blog as a place where folks can talk baseball (or just random daytime talk before games!) and have game day discussions (with a chat room attached as well). Folks seem a little reticent to use the comments for chatting and some suggestions have come in about having a discussion board to visit. Not sure what the response would be from the masses, though, so I thought I’d throw the idea out there and see what you all think. Shoot me an email or leave a note in the comments section and let me know what you think (emails would be great since then I’d have YOUR email address and could send out invites for the board if folks are so inclined). What say you, folks?
I'd say Clay accomplished his mission last night. Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
The last five games the Red Sox have participated in have been won by one run. The last SIX wins the Red Sox have behind them have bee won by one run. (Baltimore messed things up by beating the Sox by one run on Sunday.) I’m not sure how much more anxiety my body can take this month. Good thing it’s almost over.
What do you say about Buchholz short of the kid knew he had to pitch well and actually DID? I’m not surprised HE pitched well. His last appearance was pretty damn impressive too. It’s just a little surprising to finally see a starting pitcher this season step up so hugely when the team really needs him to. It was suggested on Twitter last night that the team should tell Clay that Bard, Okajima and Papelbon are unavailable to pitch before every appearance – maybe that’s not such a crazy idea? He took the pressure of knowing the team really needed a good (and preferably long) outing from him and responded with giving up seven hits in eight innings along with two walks and four strikeouts. He ended his outing with a career-high 117 pitches (which, admittedly, worried me in the moment) and of those pitches, 80 of them were strikes. His performance last night defines “stepping it up”. I only expect more of this from Clay.
Before the start of last night’s game, JD Drew was batting .286 over the last five games. Last night he went 0-2 with two walks and a strikeout. I’m sufficiently convinced that this means he’s working his way out of his April of suck. I hope the rest of the team keeps up. I think they will. Just felt the need to give JD a shout out since he’s been taking a lot of grief online lately!
Also, I need to give Ramon Ramirez a mention. I certainly did not feel comfortable watching him enter that game in the ninth and he gave me and many others the finger by pitching an 11-pitch, 1-2-3 ninth. Didn’t anticipate that at all. My apologies Ramon!
Tonight we get Jon Lester going up against Brett Cecil. If there is any player on the Sox that I really feel needs to get off their ass and out of this funk, it’s the mad bobcat killer. His last outing was relatively encouraging…let’s hope we get more of that tonight.
Special thanks to everyone who dropped by for the chat tonight. You folks always make the chats enjoyable and I appreciate it!
