April Fools

Not in the wildest of dreams, of the most loyal Red Sox fan could what is happening to the New York Yankees have been dreamed. Yet here we are. One month down and five to go and the New York Yankees are in last place in the American League East 6.5 games behind Boston. Boston has beaten New York five times in six outings this season. Coming into 2007, many still picked New York to win the division, though it wasn't as one sided as it has been in the past. New York had a devestating offense on paper and a bullpen even more devestating. But something happened in the first four weeks of the season. We learned paper doesn't matter. Boston's bullpen has been it's biggest strength, the rotation not far behind and at time the offense has been inept, but overall its among the best in baseball just as it had been in 2003, 2004 and 2005. With the downward spiral of the Yankees theres been calls for Joe Torre's head and his days appear to be numbered in the Bronx. Yankee fans are looking forward to the next two weeks, they play no one besides Texas and Seattle and thats enough to make anyone drool. But what happens if New York sports a losing record over the next two weeks? Will Torre be gone? Brian Cashman? Will Roger Clemens even consider joining them in June or will his list be narrowed to Boston and Houston? So many questions hang over Yankee Stadium and we haven't even brought up Alex Rodriguez's status. Will he be a bomber next year? Or could he be hitting bombs against them 18 games a season from the friend confines of Fenway Park? All we know for sure right now is Boston has the largest end of April lead ever for an American League East team and that the New York Yankees are Fools.

Josh Hancock 1978-2007

Sure his career in a Red Sox jersey was brief, but it did occur. Sadly Red Sox Nation has lost one of its own with the tragic untimely death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock who died in a car accident early Sunday morning. His Red Sox career lasted all of 7 1/3 innings in 2002 after having been drafted by Boston in the 5th round of the 1998 amateur draft. His lone season with Boston was respectable as he closed out 2 games allowing just three runs and striking out six. He posted a 3.68 ERA in three games. His lone decision came in his only start on September 26 against the Chicago White Sox. Hancock allowed just five hits that day and three runs in a 3-2 loss, it would be his final appearance for Boston. Among his highlights in that game would probably be topped with the strikeout of Frank Thomas looking just before giving up a 2-run homer to Magglio Ordonez. His career however would have many highlights after he left Boston including winning the World Series with the Cardinals last season. In his career he went 9-7 in 102 games with Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and St. Louis, he pitched three innings the afternoon before he died in a loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Down On The Farm: Pawtucket - AAA

As the month of April nears its end lets take a look down on the farm to see how the future stars of Boston are performing. Our first stop is Pawtucket, home of the Red Sox AAA affiliate. The Paw Sox have come out of the gate rather slow with a 9-10 record through Saturday, that places them in fourth place in the International League North Division. The roster is a mix of veteran players who are at the ready if injuries in Boston require there call and young stars on the way up who are within grasp of making the parent club. Some like George Kottaras are looked at as possible future starters in place of hometown heroes like Jason Varitek, while others may find there future in other franchises as Boston tries to solidify there roster for today. Pawtucket is the only stop in the Boston system without a 2006 draftee on its roster, but Bryson Cox hopes to change that very soon. After the jump you will find the statistics through Friday's games.

2008 ALCS Game 1 Recap

You just had a feeling this would happen when Alex Rodriguez jumped ship from New York after last seasons monstrous year. You just knew he would come back to bite New York right on the ass! Rodriguez homered twice last night including a 3-run walk off shot off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth. Its the third time this season A-Rod has hit a walk off home run off the Yankees, and the second time Rivera has been victimized. David Ortiz also homered for the Sox who took a 1-0 series lead with the 9-6 win. Curt Schilling pitched 6 solid innings before the bullpen allowed the Yankees to take a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the eight when Ortiz and Rodriguez hit back to back shots. J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek added singles in the inning but Boston left the bases loaded heading to the ninth with a 6-6 score. Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the ninth. Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis singled around a Julio Lugo strikeout and Ortiz put one to the warning track to advance the runners to second and third with two outs. Up came Rodriguez who nearly won the triple crown this season batting .376 with 58 home runs and 145 RBI. He took the first two pitches for strikes before sending the 0-2 pitch onto the Mass Turnpike for the game winner. After the game Red Sox manager Terry Francona said that he was happy with the performance of the team and that he's glad A-Rod is in his dugout now. Theo Epstein who was criticised for the Rodriguez signing showed plenty of smiles from the owners box throughout the game. Boston won their second consecutive American League East title this season while the Yankees took home second place and the wild card. Game two tonight promised to be another great game as the Yankees send Philip Hughes to the mound against CY Young hopeful Josh Beckett who went 24-6 this season with a 2.23 ERA. Hughes was an impressive 19-7 during his first full season in New York and is the favorite for Rookie of the Year.

The Revenge Of The Sox

Daisuke Matsuzaka did what Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett did before him, just enough to win. The bullpen did just enough to get it to the ninth and Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door shut to complete the sweep of the Bronx Bombers 7-6 Sunday night at Fenway Park. It marked the first series sweep over the Yankees at Fenway in 17 seasons. The Red Sox scored all their runs with the long ball and the Yankees starter Chase Wright only lasted three innings. In the third inning Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek all went deep in consecutive at bats, it was the 10th time in Major League history that's been accomplished and the first since last September when Drew and the Dodgers accomplished it. Dustin Pedroia, who I have nicknamed dPod made a spectacular stab of a low line drive to preserve the lead in the eighth collected two hits in four plate appearances. Matsuzaka wasn't spectacular but wasn't horrible either, he walked a batter and hit two others and gave up some soft line drive hits. He allowed a career high six runs and struck out seven including Alex Rodriguez twice. He came out in the eighth to pitch to Rodriguez but surrendered a lead off soft line drive single to Rodriguez who extended his hit streak to 22 games with the hit. Matsuzaka got the fans cheering as he hit Alex Rodriguez in the first. He tipped his cap to A-Rod to show it wasn't intentional. Matsuzaka would later plunk Jeter. The Sox bullpen continues to be one of the best in the American League pitching 2 scoreless innings. The Sox collected saves in four consecutive games. Lowell added a 3-run homer in the seventh as the game winning runs. Manny Ramirez may have finally found his stroke going 3-5 with the home run. Boston welcomes Toronto to town tomorrow for a brief two game series followed by the Orioles for two, then its off to New York next weekend.

A-Rod Is Money In A Contract Year

Sure, it's not a guaranteed contract year, but there's no way Alex Rodriguez doesn't opt out of his contract after this season. He can't be happy in New York and he has a few teams who will be willing to hand him a bundle of money this offseason. Rodriguez has been on fire this season hitting 12 homeruns in his first 16 games which tied a Major League record. He has eight more games to hit three more to set the record for most April homers currently held by Albert Pujols at 14. But we wonder, would Rodriguez be on fire like this if he couldn't opt out after the season? We'll never know but it is an interesting question. Does Rodriguez play less passionatly for New York before this season because his heart isn't in New York? Perhaps, again short of a confession we'll never know. He performed great in his first two seasons in Texas while he was presumebly happy, playing in a atmospher of his choosing, in his third season his production dipped as perhaps the losing finally got to him. Two of his three seasons in New York have been far below Rodriguez's normal performance level, is it because of the atmosphere? Will the Boston Red Sox be one of those teams who will make a run at him if he opts out this winter? Probably, they nearly had him after the 2003 season before the MLBPA balked at the restructuring of his contract Boston and Rodriguez agreed to and the Yankees swooped in and stole him. Would Rodriguez still want to play in Boston? And would Red Sox nation want him now? This offseason could be a very interesting one for many teams. And here is the rest of it.

Red Sox Mo Down Rivera & The Yankees

Spectacular comebacks seem to be what Boston prefers these days. After the great comeback win in Toronto yesterday the Red Sox once again pulled the trick against the hated New York Yankees. Mariano Rivera was once again victimized at Fenway Park by the hometown boys as the Sox rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth capped with Alex Cors's single that scored Coco Crisp who tripled in the at-bat before him. Curt Schilling pitched a decent game but was taken deep by Alex Rodriguez twice. The bullpen was once again strong. Hideki Okajima closed the game for his first Major League save as Jonathan Papelbon was unavailable after throwing 46 pitches the last two days in Toronto, but is noq available Saturday if needed. Rodriguez hit his 11th and 12th homeruns of the season including one that Coco Crisp made a heroic effort at landing in the bullpen. Jason Varitek went 3-4 including his first homer of the season and J.D. Drew added three hits for the Sox. Pedroia was 0-2 before being replaced by Wily Mo Pena who struck out in his only at-bat. Tomorrow Boston sends Josh Beckett against rookie Jeff Karstens on FOX. Sunday night on ESPN it will be Daisuke Matsuzaka against another rookie Chase Wright. The Red Sox honored Red Auerbach before the game and Bob Cousy tossed the first pitch. The celebration delayed from last week was the reason for the green jerseys. Cousy visited the WRKO booth during the game and had some laughs with the radio crew and Cousy left with some decent joke material to use against Danny Ainge from his baseball days. Auerbach passed away on OCtober 28, 2006, he was a Boston sports legend leading the Celtics to numerous World Championships including coaching them to nine titles in 10 years in the 1960's. Kevin Youkikis wears a Virginia Tech hat during pregame warmups. Alex Cora driving in Coco Crisp with the game winning run in the 8th inning. Youkilis and Crisp celebrate the game winner. Hideki Okajima worked the ninth for his first career save. The team celebrates the big comeback win 7-6. Mariano Rivera took the loss to the delight of Sox fans. Jason Varitek takes Andy Pettitte Deep. Coco Crisp went into the bullpen trying to grab a A-Rod homer.

All Star Game Coming?

I have read in a few places now that MLB will almost certainly award Boston a future all star game. Of course Red Sox fans remember the 1999 game at Fenway with Ted Williams there and Pedro Martinez striking out 5 of the 6 batters he faced. How soon can a team expect another appearance for the All Star game? Well apparently 2012 is the answer. It will mark the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park. With the close friendship Sox ownership has with Commisioner Bud Selig, sources indicate that its being awarded to Boston is a mere formality.

1967: Matathon At Yankee Stadium

April 16, 1967 The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees played a marathon of a game that was finished off with a 2-out run in the bottom of the 18th inning as New York won 7-6 in front of 19,290 at Yankee Stadium. Carl Yatrzemski had five hits including two triples in the early going, but Boston had to fight back in the ninth to tie it and then fell in the 18th. New York failed to hit anything more then singles all day, yet did just enough to pull the victory off. Tony Conigliaro added five hits and Rico Petrocelli added four as Boston produced20 hits on the day. Jim Lonborg allowed three runs in five innings. The loss dropped Boston to 2-3 on the young season and into eight place in the American League.

1967: Stottlemyre Shuts Down Red Sox

April 15, 1967 A pitchers duel was the highlight of the Yankees 1-0 win over Boston with both Mel Stottlemyre and Dennis Bennett pitching complete games. The crowd of 12,035 witnessed the game at Yankee Stadium. Boston was held to four hits, all singles by Jose Tartabull, Carl Yastrzemski, George Scott and Reggie Smith. Yastrzemski stole his first base of the season and Tartabull was gunned down. The loss dropped Boston into a 4th place tie in the American League.

1967: History Was There For The Taking

April 14, 1967 The road season began on April 14 with a trip to Yankee Stadium to face the New York Yankees. Bill Rohr would make his first Major League start against the boys in pinstripes and boy would it be memorable. The crowd of 14,375 nearly witnessed history when Rohr entered the ninth inning with a no-hitter. With two outs catcher Elston Howard, who ironically would finish the season as Boston's catcher after being the backstop in New York for 12 years hit a single to right field to end the rookies no hit bid. Boston would win the game 3-0. Joe Foy and Reggie Smith homered for Boston.

1967: Sox Falter In Second Game

April 13, 1967 Rico Petrocelli's bat stayed hot, but the team cooled off for atleast one day as the Chicago White Sox fought back with a 5-run ninth inning to take game two of the season 8-5. 3,607 fans witnessed the game in which Petrocelli went 2-3. Carl Yastrzemski continued his slow start.

1967 Opens With 5-4 Over Chi Sox

April 12, 1967 In the beggining of a season in which Boston wasn't expected to be much of a factor coming off their 9th place finish in 1966. Boston would get off to a quick start in 1967 with Jim Lonborg pitching well and Rico Petrocelli leading the offense. Petrocelli would knock in four of Boston's five runs that day when he went 3-3 for a big 3-run himer. Lonborg pitched 6.1 innings giving up three earned runs. 8.324 fans showed up that day for the game on what was the 55th Anniversary of its opening.

Subarashii Matsuzaka-san

Such an exciting day for Red Sox Nation as Daisuke Matsuzaka made his Major League debut. Matsuzaka-san was spectacular through five innings, struggled in the sixth and dominated in the seventh when no one thought he would come back out. And Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door closed for the save. Matsuzaka-san dominated the Royals lineup almost from the start. He struck out 10 and walked just one. His next game will be next Wednesday when he will face fellow countryman Ichiro Suzuki. I was a little annoyed today having to deal with the Royals announcers. I know Home announcers usually get the broadcast for MLBTV but in this case with it being Matsuzaka-san's debut, they should have opted for the NESN guys. The Royals announcers first off are boring and secondly on atleast three occassions they called Matsuzaka-san by the wrong name first Hideo, then Matsui and then Matsuzukee.

Daisuke's Nike Commercial

One of the best Nike commercials ever! More later on his debut.

April 5: Boston at Kansas City

Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his debut today. The Red Sox will also send out the same lineup again. Not much else to pass along right now. We will have complete coverage of the game this evening. For those of you who haven't been paying attention heres the lineup. SS Lugo, 1B Youkilis, DH Ortiz, LF Ramirez, RF Drew, 3B Lowell, C Varitek, CF Crisp, 2B Pedoria.

Red Sox 7, Royals 1

Same score, different result. Josh Beckett was solid and the bullpen was nearly perfect as Boston ended it's losing streak at Kauffman Stadium tonight 7-1. Beckett struck out five while allowing just 2 hits over five innings. Kevin Youkilis hit a big two-run homerun and Mike Lowell had a two-run double as Boston collected it's first win of the season. The lone blemish on the night for Boston was Mike Lowell's three errors which is half the total he committed in all of 2006. Boston wraps up the series tomorrow afternoon by sending Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound for his Major League debut.

Pass The Wine List Please

Three Red Sox players have made it onto wine bottles. Click here for more information. And thanks to Yankee Fan in Boston on YF vs SF for the headsup.

April 4: Boston at Kansas City

Boston is going with the same lineup tonight. Josh Beckett gets his first start of the season. It's very cold in Kansas City. According to Boston.com the national media has begun to arrive in advance of Daisuke Matsuzaka's debut tomorrow. For review the lineup is; SS Lugo, 1B Youkilis, DH Ortiz, LF Ramirez, RF Drew, 3B Lowell, C Varitek, CF Crisp and 2B Pedroia. Notes: Gordon Edes has his mailbag today as well as a live chat. Tom Caron also had a mailbag and a new podcast from Boston.com Be back with a recap after the game tonight, enjoy your first win of the season 12-0.

Royals 7, Red Sox 1

For atleast one day Dustin Pedroia can sit back and make Red Sox Nation wonder if they were underestimating him. Pedroia collected two hits as Boston fell to Kansas City 7-1 in the season opener. Curt Schilling (0-1) struggled all day and the bullpen provided mixed results. Boston's lone run came on a David Ortiz double in the first. The Red Sox didnt get another runner to second until the ninth when Mike Lowell slapped a pitch down the left field line. Tomorrow is an offday then Wednesday its Josh Beckett's turn against Odalis Perez.

April 2: Boston at Kansas City

Opening Day is here and Red Sox Nation is prepared. Today's lineup is: SS Julio Lugo 1B Kevin Youkilis DH David Ortiz LF Manny Ramirez RF J.D. Drew 3B Mike Lowell C Jason Varitek CF Coco Crisp 2B Dustin Pedroia SP Curt Schilling Bench: Eric Hinske Alex Cora Wily Mo Pena Doug Mirabelli Bullpen: Javy Lopez Kyle Snyder Hideki Okajima J.C. Romero Brendan Donnelly Joel Piniero Jonathan Papelbon Prediction: Boston 9 Kansas City 1

Playoff Predictions

As promised the final post previewing the 2007 Season. The playoff predictions. American League Divisional Series Boston 3 Texas 1 New York 3 Minnesota 2 National League Divisional Series Philadelphia 3 Milwaukee 2 Colorado 3 New York 1 American League Championship Series Boston 4 New York 2 National League Championship Series Colorado 4 Philadelphia 1 World Series Boston 4 Colorado 2

Predicting The Races

Ok, lets lump them all in one post. No division has a clear favorite this season and that could call for some exciting baseball all season. National League West Order they will finish: Colorado, Los Angelas, San Diego, Arizona, San Francisco Best offensive player: Theres so many good players in the NL West this is hard to call. Matt Holiday may just end up with the best season. Best pitcher: Barry Zito will flourish in the NL this season and finish as the top guy in the division. Biggest dissapointment: Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aarons record. American League West Order they will finish: Texas, Los Angelas, Oakland, Seattle Best offensive player: Each team has a player who is worthy for selection here, but Ichiro in a contract year is going to have a huge season. Were talking an epic kind of season, a Ted Williams kind of season. Best pitcher: No one really stands out here Jared Weaver and Felix Hernandez are probably the best two pitchers in the division, but for now i'm going with Huston Street. Biggest dissapointment: Ichiro will remain in Seattle all season. National League Central Order they will finish: Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinatti, Houston, Pittsburgh Best offensive player: Albert Pujols, duh! Best pitcher: Chris Carpenter is by far the best pitcher in the division if not the league. Biggest dissapointment: Atleast for Astros fans its Roger Clemens doesn't return to the Astros. American League Central Order they will finish: Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City Best offensive player: Justin Morneau edges Travis Hafner here because of his defensive play. Best pitcher: Johan Santana! Biggest dissapointment: That only one team will come out of this division. Unlike last year when the Wildcard came from the central, the division will only see one team advance. Likely scenerio has the top four teams within about 8 games at seasons end, best case scenerio has Kansas City joining them, though they probably don't have the pitching for that to happen. National League East Order they will finish: Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Florida, Washington Best offensive player: Ryan Howard. Best pitcher: No one really deserves to be named here. The pitching in this division is rather pathetic. Biggest dissapointment: Washington. At best there rotation is AAA caliber. This team has no business fielding such a pathetic staff. American League East Order they will finish: Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Baltimore Best offensive player: David Ortiz. Best pitcher: Daisuke Matsuzaka. Biggest dissapointment: David Ortiz will once again be robbed of the MVP award.