May 28, 2009

G48: Red Sox 3, Twins 1

Red Sox - 000 010 200 - 3  6  0
Twins - 010 000 000 - 1 5 0
Jason Varitek hit two solo home runs -- the second on a long bomb deep into the upper deck in right-center -- and Josh Beckett (7-3-1-4-8, 111) turned in another fine performance.

Jacoby Ellsbury went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch, ending his 22-game hitting streak. Lyndon popped to left in the first, grounded to second in the third, flew out to left in the fifth, and was hit on the wallet in the seventh. He was in the on-deck circle when Julio Lugo made the final out of the top of the ninth.

Beckett struck out the first four batters, then allowed a dong to Joe Crede and walked the next two Twins. A double play got him out of that inning and he allowed only a single and a walk over the next four frames. A one-out double and two-out walk in the seventh were also stranded.

The seventh inning featured the ejections of both managers and both catchers. Ron Gardenhire and Mike Redmond were tossed for arguing a play at the plate in which Jeff Bailey scored Boston's third run on Dustin Pedroia's line drive to right field. The replay seemed to show Redmond tag on Bailey's left arm a split-second before he touched the dish. Bailey may have also missed the plate with his hand; no replay that i saw gave clear evidence either way.

In the bottom of the inning, Beckett and Varitek were steamed at a non-strike call to Brendan Harris. The pitch was nothing special, off the outside corner, but Tek was given the heave-ho pretty quickly and Terry Francona soon followed. I'm not sure how or why things escalated so quickly. Post-game interviews may shed a little light.

The bullpen cleaned up handily. Hideki Okajima allowed a two-out single in the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon gave up a one-out single to Harris before getting Delmon Young to line out to right and striking out pinch-hitter Brian Buscher.

The Yankees are off today, so the Red Sox moved 0.5 GA in the East.

***

Josh Beckett (5.01, 97 ERA+) / Anthony Swarzak (0.00, 2nd career start)

Jason Bay is not in the lineup for the first time this season.
Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Drew, RF
Youkilis, 1B
Lowell, 3B
Ortiz, DH
Varitek, C
Bailey, LF
Lugo, SS
RHP Swarzak, 23, made his major league debut last Saturday against the Brewers. He threw seven shutout innings (7-5-0-2-3, 98). It was the first time in Twins history that a starting pitcher went seven scoreless innings in his debut. (Mike Fornieles pitched a nine-inning shutout on September 2, 1952, when the Twins were known as the Washington Senators.)

BP 2009:
Swarzak has apparently gotten past the drug use that earned him a 50-game suspension in 2007, but his effectiveness didn't come with him. Unlike most Twins pitching prospects, he actually has impressive stuff, but he's also a fly-ball pitcher short of a strikeout pitch. Right now, he has a fastball and curve down pat, but might need a third pitch to make it as a starter in the bigs. His results at Triple-A were obviously greatly improved [1.80 ERA in 7 starts after 5.66 in 20 AA starts], but the low strikeout rate [26 in 45 IP] and still lower BABIP [.266] argue for some sample-size cynicism.
The Star Tribune reported that the "drug of abuse" was marijuana.

230 comments:

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Rob said...

Well I don't discount him being suspended 50 games for smoking the wacky tobaccky, but let's all be clear that it's not a performance enhancing drug.

The only time it'd be a performance enhancing drug would be if he were an outfielder or an infielder and the baseball was actually a bag of cheetos.

Rob said...

To further the short discussion on Dice from the very end of yesterday's thread:

One thing to consider about his performance in the WBC is the competition he faced. I don't remember exactly who he faced - didn't he face USA? There is something about him pitching to major leaguers that makes him slow things down and mess around the strike zone. Or perhaps he pitches the same way and the MLBers are more patient.

But in comparison the hitters in the WBC, especially from South Korea, were helping him out some by not being as patient.

Rob said...

Ron Coomer in the booth with Don today, it looks like.

Rob said...

Unless of course Dave Roberts is waiting behind the scenes somewhere. But they did a chat in the booth with Don and Coomer.

No idea. Haha. Wait until 1!

allan said...

Coomer? ...

Rob said...

Yeah I'm guessing they were just talking to him. He does color for the Twins broadcast right?

Rob said...

Yup. Coomer in the NESN booth with Don today.

allan said...

He was not in the booth last night, but was like a sideline guy -- I guess they have two of them. He was on only a couple of times.

Jays off, so ..... NESN!

ACK - COOMER!!!

Looks like Kruk.

L: "Eating well, I see."

Rob said...

Should be interesting though.

laura k said...

Hi all. Back from my swim and ready for baseball. My first full game this week!

laura k said...

Did Ish just use the expression 'wacky tobaccky'? Time warp over there in Maine I guess. ;)

Rob said...

L, there's a segment on an afternoon radio show at 4:20 called the Golden Bong Award. Also known as the Binger Break. Basically stupid news. Someone does something stupid like leave their ID at a convenience store robbery or something.

But the DJ says "We give this award to person who's been smoking too much of the Wacky Tobaccky."

Unknown said...

I remember archers getting caught for smoking pot because it apparently steadied their hands a little bit. But I can't see that being the case in baseball.

laura k said...

I guess I'm not up on the Maine slang :)

Rob said...

Youkilis was HYPER pre-game! That was hilarious. Really getting into the... what was it, a fish race? Similar to the sausage races.

Rob said...

Funny the little things you pick up. I chuckled when Coomer said, "Now he has to go through the heart of your lineup."

Zenslinger said...

"...and the baseball was actually a bag of cheetos."

Haw haw haw!

Rob said...

Good start!

allan said...

Coomer said his first star in Minn was against the Unit, walked on 4 pitched first time up, then came up with 2 on, 2 out.

Let's see: First game at Minn was against the Royals on August 5, 1995.

He faced Johnson in Home Start #7, August 16.

He did walk his first time up, but on 6 pitches. He said today that he did not swing the bat, but he swung and missed strike 2.

Next at-bat, with one on, he homered. Strange he did not mention that to Don.

Unreliable!

Rob said...

Strikes out the side!

Zenslinger said...

Is it too soon to hope for the Fuck Train to get warmed up?

Rob said...

Well the Fuck Train IS getting warmed up... But does it warm up all the way?

allan said...

nice hit

Rob said...

4

Rob said...

Damn. Haha.

4 straight K's and then a dong.

Star Wars theme song!

Rob said...

Minor hiccup on the Fuck Train.

Jere said...

Coomer in the booth.
Did Don take the time to greet
him with a "Hi, Coo"?

Zenslinger said...

Chug chug...chug...ugh.

allan said...

Wouldn't he be Coomy (he's been talking about Gardy)?

allan said...

wait - i just got it, jere. i think.

Jere said...

nice.

Rob said...

Took me two looks to get that it was a haiku.

allan said...

from the side, redmond's left nostril scares me.

laura k said...

I hear I missed haiku night on the thread. Thank goodness, as I actually like that poetry, freals.

laura k said...

Coomy is a such an ass kisser.

Rob said...

L we weren't putting down the haikus. I thought [most] they were rather tasteful.

Jere said...

Hey, those "real" poets should try coming up with that shit on the spot relating it to the game before the next play happens.

laura k said...

Cheers to Coomer for only saying "after losing Manny Ramirez" without gratuitous Manny bashing thrown in.

laura k said...

Ish, I know you weren't putting down haikus. It's a great tradition, baseball haikus.

I just really love haikus, and I know they are more than counting out syllables. So I don't care for the on-the-spot syllable-counting version.

laura k said...

Maybe former players are less likely to player-bash than professional baseball pundits.

Zenslinger said...

Nice damage control there, Josh.

Now let's hit that ball a few times.

Rob said...

Wow. Bat broke three inches from the hand!

Jere said...

Did we just actually witness that thing we heard so much about Jim Rice--that he was so strong he broke his bat on a check swing?

Rob said...

Eric Gagne is playing for Quebec in the Can-Am league. Chuckle chuckle.

Zenslinger said...

The ever elusive one-two-three inning!

Rob said...

Ride, Captain, ride on your mystery ship!

Jere said...

ride it ish

laura k said...

CAPTAIN DONG!!!

Zenslinger said...

Nice. At this pace, he'll hit the most HRs than he ever has (25 in 2003).

Amy said...

OK, I have been watching but unable to thread so this is a belated...

TEK!!!!!

Amy said...

Nine dongs for Tek. Who'd have thought he'd be second on the team in dongs?

Amy said...

LBJ 0 for 3. Uh oh.

allan said...

lyndon may need to bunt

laura k said...

LBJ should have another two chances to collect today's hit.

laura k said...

geez, that's friggin annoying! (nice catch)

Amy said...

This game is so much better than last night's game. DiceK really is driving me nuts.

Freeze cam??

Jere said...

There's the Rice comparison. It took the outside announcer to come up with it.

Amy said...

Is that freeze cam a new thing?

allan said...

Frazee cam?

Jere said...

No Amy, every game

allan said...

yeah but -- broke a bat over his back? wtf?

Jere said...

I think he meant after swinging it broke when it hit his back. Why didn't they notice that it was a check swing? Don just acted like he swung and it broke.

Amy said...

I am so lucky I have never noticed that freeze cam before. How annoying.

allan said...

The Rice legend is a check swing.

Who even knows if it's true? Anyone ever find contemporary evidence for it?

Zenslinger said...

Beckett is actually on the Fuck Train right now (defined as two OTT innings in a row).

Amy said...

Beckett definitely looking like Beckett today.

Jere said...

Well to me, it was just proven that it can be done. So I gotta believe Rice did it. Who knows, maybe when he broke it it swung around and hit his back and that's what Ron meant? I'm just glad he brought up Rice in that situation. Rice is in studio today so hopefully he'll clear it up.

allan said...

Maybe the bat(s) had tiny cracks in them already

Jere said...

Ooh! Jim answers the question here. He says it really did happen.

Jere said...

yeah, it could just mean you had a pre-broken bat.

allan said...

don't worry, don, when mauer starts declining as a hitter, you'll hear talk about his great catching skills.

Jere said...

Cafardo, in 1995, in an article about ballplayers getting bigger:

"Roger Clemens used to be among the biggest Red Sox; now he's well down the list. Remember how imposing and intimidating Jim Rice was? Remember the home run he hit when he broke his bat with a check swing? Huh. Rice is a little guy here."

Jere said...

oh wait, that was the one where he hit the ball.

allan said...

well:

(a) that's 10 years after rice played

(b) it's cafardo

Jere said...

not quite 10 years. But I think the check swing HR is well documented. But I don't know.

Amy said...

HOLY SHIT!! I LOVE HIM!

Rob said...

We're riding again!

Ride, Captain, Ride on your mystery ship!!!! TEKKKKKKKKK.

laura k said...

OMFG!!! Tek is ON FIRE!

Jere said...

holy shit that person did not think she'd catch a dong today.

Jere said...

did you see that HUGE breath he took right before the pitch?

Rob said...

Wow.

laura k said...

Double bubble!

Jere said...

okay, we should get another run here now

Rob said...

HAHAHA!

Jere said...

Fred Lynn refeerence coming

Zenslinger said...

I go get lunch and come back to see that our offensive powerhouse of a catcher has struck again.

Damn. I had faith in some resurgence on his part, but this is...really nice. Hope he can keep it up.

laura k said...

So Tek is our offense today.

laura k said...

Jesse Crain, on the All Bird Team, and the Construction Team, too

Jere said...

still in the box, move along gardy

Jere said...

Jesse also on the all Cheers team

Jere said...

because of Frasier Crane

allan said...

this could be lbj's last ab.

Jere said...

along with Norm Cash, Cliff Johnson, Sam Jones, Oil Can Boyd, Art Howe, etc.

Zenslinger said...

Can't Henn be on the All Bird Team, too?

Jere said...

only need 2 more baserunners and he gets 2 AB

Zenslinger said...

"holy shit that person did not think she'd catch a dong today."

This comment is priceless if read in the right state of mind.

laura k said...

Henn is definitely on the all-bird team.

Jere said...

well, he got "hit" anyway

Amy said...

Hmm, HBP is not a hit. Oh,well. Maybe he will get another AB.

laura k said...

Shit! This might be LBJ's last AB and no hit.

Jere said...

and now we only need one more baserunner! If no DP

Jere said...

basically, if Dustin doubles here, Jacoby will get another chance.

Amy said...

SAFE!!

Rob said...

GUMBALL!!! Taking the catcher with him!

Jere said...

oh thank moses we needed that run

laura k said...

Safe and an instant ejection!

Jere said...

i thought hand was down, glove on top

Lord Lynch said...

Hello everyone....nice to see a game where I don't have to prise my eyelids open...

laura k said...

There he goes... we all saw that coming.

laura k said...

Oh shit, he never touched the plate, did he?

Rob said...

So Mauer's going to have to catch which means they'll lose the DH too!

Amy said...

Well, maybe not safe...

Zenslinger said...

Describe the Drama, please!

Jere said...

Don! YOu're so wrong! SAFE! Tag not there and hand DID touch plate! What are they watching???

laura k said...

Hi Lord Lynch! I just saw mail leave for you.

Rob said...

L it looks like he got his left hand in there under the tag.

allan said...

henn up 4th next inning!

laura k said...

To me it looked pretty clear that he didn't touch the plate.

I'm very bad at describing drama, Zen. Hopefully someone else can?

Jere said...

DOn said "out" on a replay where you absoultely couldn't tell if the tag was on him or way in front of the hand, and once it was in his head, he assumed out. Then they show Bailey's hand, and it did touch the plate, I thought.

Amy said...

Hey, Lord. Must be almost bedtime there, no? But not the middle of the night, like it usually is.

Jere said...

I want a second opinion on that. We'll see what TC and Rice say later. Or maybe they'll look more on the commercial.

Rob said...

Zen there was a liner to right field, Bailey tagged came home. The play was so close but it appeared Bailey tagged the bag with his left hand underneath the tag.

Redman gets up and argues quickly and vehemently with the home plate ump and bumped him. He was ejected. Gardenhire came out, argued, got ejected.

Twins lose DH because DH Mauer has to catch.

Amy said...

I didn't think he touched the plate either. I cannot tell if he was tagged though. But his hand seemed not to brush the plate.

Whatever. We get the run.

allan said...

good throw from RF. ball was therein time. bailey slid away from the field side, replay showed redmond getting his glove on bailey's left arm a split-second before his hand touches the plate, hjis hand was hovering right above it. also, his hand may have been bumped and he may not have touched plate. l thought he missed it, i could not tell.

Lord Lynch said...

I just got Allan's e-mail.... cheers so much!

Lord Lynch said...

Amy - 20 past 8...... so not my bedtime.

My night usually consists of waking up. getting the score on the phone and sleeping for an hour then repeat!

And as the wife is a Yankee fan, and a much sounder sleeper than I, she doesn't get to know the scores until the morning!

Lord Lynch said...

On my MLBTV, the incident to which you refer has just been shown! This is fun. 5 minutes behind!

allan said...

went to p-off today, not yesterday as possibly promised!

Amy said...

Wow, that is dedication, Lord. I am impressed.

(I forgot that you are also in an "interfaith" marriage---sort of a challenge, but never dull!)

laura k said...

Holy cow, everyone's getting tossed!

Lord Lynch said...

Amy. Sweeping the Yankees twice... wife was NOT, I repeat NOT pleased.

Rob said...

So! Things are getting evened up!

Each catcher gets ejected and each manager!

allan said...

we may run out of players!

Amy said...

Oh, great, we just lost our offense. :)

Both catchers, both managers---perhaps it is the umpire at fault.

Rob said...

Coomer's getting hot in the booth too!

Rob said...

Yeah well we still have our DH.

Lord Lynch said...

These latest ejections to be shown at Christmas judging by my transfer speed....

laura k said...

Coomer keeps saying all Tek was doing was "protecting his pitcher". But we don't know what Tek was doing, because we can't hear him. He may have said a magic word or two. Or arguing balls & strikes, which is automatic tossing.

Rob said...

I'm pissed though. I wanted to see Tek get that third dong!

Jere said...

Yeah I have no idea what he means about protecting the pitcher there. Or why he was pointing to third base.

allan said...

the pitch was nothing special, either, just off the outside corner.

Rob said...

L, it almost looked like the ump said something Tek didn't like. Umps can say magic words too.

But they're both wearing masks. How are we supposed to know what they're saying?

Rob said...

Cuddyer on deck to hit for Henn.

Amy said...

Wasn't Tek arguing balls/strikes? Why was the announcer (Coomer?) suggesting he should not have been ejected? I thought that was automatic ejection, no?

Amy said...

OK, I guess everyone else is also confused (after reading your comments). At least it's not just me...for a change.

Anonymous said...

Uh oh what happened to Tek??

laura k said...

Amy, I think Coomer's the one who's confused!

Anonymous said...

The ejections were late being listed on the ESPN game tracker.

laura k said...

meuniermr, how do we pronounce your name? even tho it's just online, I like to know!

Edward Lee said...

Watching the Twins feed here. I'm pretty sure it was Beckett who unleashed an audible stream of profanities before Varitek turned around to face the umpire and got tossed.

laura k said...

Thanks EL. That squares w/ Beckett's body language and gestures on NESN.

allan said...

but but but coomy said beckett has been super great at "keeping his composure".

Rob said...

EL, Beckett did shout something while turning his head to the left. Varitek immediately stood up and got into the ump's face. But it also looks like the ump said something to Tek. So who knows.

Anonymous said...

Like the fish dinner...My family's name comes from Quebec.

I'm guessing Brad Mills is the manager right now?

laura k said...

I thought it might be French or Quebecois. But I have no idea what fish dinner that is or how that is pronounced.

laura k said...

But Ish, the ump can say whatever he wants. That doesn't figure in ejections.

Jere said...

gonna take one guy getting on in the ninth for Jacoby to get his chance.

Amy said...

So maybe Tek WAS protecting the pitcher, as Coomer said. Perhaps the ump was about to threaten Beckett for whatever Beckett said.

You probably know me said...

Tek and tito watching from the hot tub - that ump sure has a short fuse . . .

Anonymous said...

Oki please.

Jere said...

Just put on the radio real quick, and Castig was confused about Tek, too. Then O'B said it was almost as if Tek was saying "don't talk to my pitcher, talk to me," which explains why he was pointing back behind him.

Rob said...

L, what I mean about umpires saying things and magic words... He could have said something that bothered Varitek and caused him to stand and face him.

But after all of this extensive review my conclusion is he was protecting Beckett.

Amy said...

That makes sense, Jere. It's also consistent with Beckett mouthing off. And with Coomer saying he was protecting the pitcher.

Amy said...

By the way, who IS Coomer??

You probably know me said...

I think Tek got tossed for touching him - the replay shows that it looks like he touched the ump - not aggressively but to make a point - guess we just gotta hope that Oki can hold it together - I am NEVER pleased to see Oki with anything less than 6 run lead so he can go to bases loaded, clear them and we can bring in Ramon or Manny in time to preserve the lead . . .

laura k said...

Ron Coomer, used to play for the Twins, now works for the broadcast team.

allan said...

... my conclusion is he was protecting Beckett.

The legend continues.

laura k said...

"I am NEVER pleased to see Oki with anything less than 6 run lead so he can go to bases loaded, clear them and we can bring in Ramon or Manny in time to preserve the lead . . ."

Huh? What team have you been watching this season?

Amy said...

Thanks, Laura. So we stole one of their "players"? At least he is a bit more lively than Dave Roberts.

Score some insurance runs!

Amy said...

More catcher power.

You probably know me said...

I dunno L-girl - the one I'm watching right now? Oki is like Dice-k - makes ot WAAAAAY too interesting . . . Paps is making it way to interesting too lately. He might be getting saves, but imho a closer is not a guy who gives up 2 run jacks throwing fastballs down the middle

Jere said...

yes! avoid DP and Jacoby gets up

allan said...

Okajima has actually been at his best (by far) this year in high leverage situations.

laura k said...

Amy, I think NESN is doing this in several parks. In Toronto, Rance Mullinex (sp?), former Blue Jay and current Jays broadcaster, is doing the game w/ Don.

Amy said...

So LBJ gets another shot. If no DP.

Zenslinger said...

"Huh? What team have you been watching this season?"

You beat me to it.

Amy said...

Shit. I shouldn't have said that.

laura k said...

Aninterestingman, the facts do not support your assertion.

Jere said...

fuck. no we need a hit from Lugo right here or it's definitely over. The streak.

Zenslinger said...

DP cuts down LBJ's chances.

laura k said...

Come on Lugo, let LBJ bat!

laura k said...

Damn! LBJ streak ends here - because we DON'T want to see him up again.

Jere said...

and nobody root for the Twins to tie it so Jacoby gets a shot in the tenth!! ha

Yeah, I can't take Papelbon either. No runs given up in the postseason ever, best closer in the game, World Series ring, it's JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Amy said...

Oh, well, 22 games is a nice streak. And I do not want to see him bat again this game....

Zenslinger said...

"we need a hit from Lugo right here or it's definitely over. The streak."

Well, not definitely. But I'd rather not see it happen at this point. We need every W on the road we can get, and would prefer to get them in nine innings.

laura k said...

Heh Jere, yeah, I agree.

You probably know me said...

We're watching baseball and facts have nothing to do with it - and what fact was wrong? Oki has a history of putting guys on base - or coming into a game with guys on base and clearing them. Paps last outing resulted in a 2 run jack in a 6-5 win. Time before that he lost the save. Facts are irrelevant - past performance is no indicator of present performance. i played his game too many years not to know streaks change on a dime -

Amy said...

Hmm, we're all on the same page about not getting any more ABs for LBJ today.

laura k said...

"We're watching baseball and facts have nothing to do with it"

Sorry, but around here facts have everything to do with it.

allan said...

Ramirez has the lowest WHIP in the bullpen. You know who has allowed the 2nd fewest fewest base runners -- by far?

Jeemer.

Amy said...

I have already expressed my concerns about Pap. I am not going there again. I'd love to see a full comparison of his performance to date this year with his performance to this point in the last two seasons, but I know he has given up more HRs and walks than usual.

That's it. I am saying no more.

Pokerwolf said...

L-girl: I just really love haikus, and I know they are more than counting out syllables. So I don't care for the on-the-spot syllable-counting version.Haikus are easy
but sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

If you want to have
a haiku about baseball
just read Joy of Sox!

laura k said...

"Facts are irrelevant - past performance is no indicator of present performance."

Past performance, with a large enough sample size, tells you a lot about the probability of future performance over time. Not of individual games, where anything can happen. But over time, large sample sizes.

If you think facts are irrelevant, you will likely not enjoy posting here. And for that matter, I can't imagine you'd enjoy this blog!

Amy said...

One away.

Edward Lee said...

Papelbon's last couple performances have actually been quite all right, imo. Omir Santos hits that 97 mph fastball for a HR maybe once every few hundred swings, and the HR pitch to Mauer had some pretty nasty movement and just grabbed maybe an inch too much of the plate (Mauer is a pretty good hitter, after all).

The outings like the 30-pitch "save" he got at LAA in April are much worse.

Anonymous said...

Well that was ridiculous..

allan said...

Facts don't matter?

In that case, why don't you start ripping Beckett for allowing 15 runs and start moaning about how we are losing 17-0 and are currently in last place -- and have not won a World Series since 1912?

Oh yeah, you're gonna fit in just fine.....

Zenslinger said...

No question that his walks are way up.

Today, Stark quotes a scout who says that Papelbon has perfectly good off-speed stuff but doesn't use it enough.

laura k said...

All closers give up a dong now and again. Red Sox love donging on Mariano Rivera, but that doesn't mean he's not a great closer.

Zenslinger said...

One more, one more.

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