Papi Magic On The Farm?

In his time in Boston, David Ortiz has become known as the best clutch hitter in baseball with several walk-off hits to his credit. While 2007 has been a down year for Mr. Ortiz while he struggles along with some injuries that will require off-season surgery and plenty of rest, the kids of the future were channeling some Papi Power Saturday. In the first game between the Red Sox short-season affiliate Lowell of the New York-Penn Leauge and the Hudson Valley Renegades, the score was tied at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Luis Segovia led off by being hit by a pitch, he was followed by Carlos Fernandez-Oliva, who laid down a sacrifice bunt moving Segovia to second. After a pop out Jorge Jimenez hit a line drive over the head of Hudson Valley right fielder Angel Fermin to drive in the game-winning run as Lowell clipped Hudson Valley in a 2-1. Not to be outdone by their younger comrades the Portland Sea Dogs would have there own magic in the second game of the double-header. Jay Johnson would have the big hit in this game as Portland rallied back twice against the Harrisburg Senators. Trailing 12-9 going to the bottom of the ninth, Portland got a lead off single from Andrew Pinckney and was followed by a walk to Iggy Suarez. Zach Borowiak sacrificed them over as Portland was playing for a tie and possibly extra innings at the very least. Jeff Natale followed the sacrifice by getting walked. Following a pitching change Portland's Jay Johnson hit a bases clearing, game winning double. In other games today Boston beat Baltimore 6-2 behind a stellar performance by Josh Beckett who became the majors first 15-game winner. Greenville lost 10-1 while Pawtucket won. Lancaster is still playing, but plated five in the first inning.

Meet Bobby Kielty

This post of course in a few days could be meaningless as Bobby Kielty has the option of getting out of his deal with Boston if not added to the major league roster within a week of his signing. But let's get to know him anyway. Kielty was born in Fontana, California on August 5, 1976 and signed with the Boston Red Sox the day after his birthday on August 6, 2007... Happy Birthday! Kielty attended the University of Southern California and the University of Mississippi with a stop in between at Riverside Junior College. He began his professional career in 1999 after signing with the Minnesota Twins. Quad City River Bandits In 1999, Kielty began his minor league career with the Quad City River Bandits of the Midwest League. An eye problem forced him to miss more than a month of action (May 21-June 24), and he was disabled with a strained right hamstring (August 25-September 3). In only 69 games, Kielty batted .294 with 13 HR and 43 RBI and 12 SB. He homered in 3 consecutive games from August 14-16. New Britain Rock Cats Kielty was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League in 2000. He hit a grand slam against Portland on April 8, and another against Erie on May 26. He played in the Eastern League all-star game held in Bowie, Maryland. Bobby led the team in home runs (14), was 2nd in RBI (65) and 3rd in hits (118). His 98 walks led the league. He also had a .262 batting average for the season. Salt Lake Stingers/Edmonton Trappers On August 26th, Kielty was promoted to the Salt Lake Stingers of the Pacific Coast League, where he played in only 9 games, and hit .242 with 2 RBI. He was rated the Twins 8th best prospect, and the 9th best prospect in the Eastern League. Kielty then began the 2001 season with the Twins newly relocated Pacific Coast League team in Edmonton with the Edmonton Trappers. Then in early April, the Minnesota Twins selected his contract and Kielty made his major league debut on April 10th against the Detroit Tigers. On April 13th, he got his first major league hit off Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox. The Twins optioned Kielty back down to Edmonton on April 21st, but was recalled by the team on July 31st. He hit his first career home run off Chris Carpenter of the Toronto Blue Jays on August 2nd. Bobby then found himself in Edmonton again on August 17th, but then returned to the Twins on September 3rd when he was recalled by the team again and played in 28 of the Twins last 37 games. Overall with Edmonton, he finished with a .287 average, 12 HR and 50 RBI, while with Minnesota he hit .250 with 2 HR and 14 RBI. Minnesota Twins Kielty once again started the 2002 season in Edmonton, but only appeared in 2 games (.429, 0 HR, 0 RBI) before the Twins called him up. On April 14th, he hit a 2 run pinch homer against Detroit. On May 17th against the New York Yankees, Kielty recorded his first career 4 hit game, and on June 26th against the White Sox, he had his first ever 4 RBI game. Kielty made his post-season debut against the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS, going 0 for 4 in the series. He then went 0 for 3 with a walk and RBI in the ALCS against the Anaheim Angels. After the season, he won the Bill Boni Award as the Twins most outstanding rookie, and he finished 4th in the American League for AL Rookie of the Year. Kielty finished the year with a .291 average, 12 HR and 46 RBI in 112 games. After the Twins traded right fielder Matt Lawton to the New York Mets midway through the 2001 season, the Twins frequently used a platoon of Kielty and Dustan Mohr in right field. Twins fans were so accustomed to seeing one or the other player in right field that they dubbed the duo "Dusty Kielmohr". This situation persisted until midway through the 2003 season. Kielty began the 2003 season with a 12 game hitting streak with the Twins, and had his first career 2 homer game on April 17th against Detroit. On May 16th against the White Sox, Kielty had a career high 5 RBI game, and on May 27th against Oakland, he hit a game winning pinch hit 3 run homer in the 8th inning off Barry Zito. On July 16th, Minnesota traded Kielty to the Toronto Blue Jays for LF Shannon Stewart. Toronto Blue Jays Bobby made his Blue Jays debut the next day against the Boston Red Sox, going 3 for 4 with a home run and 3 RBI. On September 21st against the Baltimore Orioles, he had his first career 2 stolen base game. Kielty's final Twins stats were a .252 average, 9 HR and 32 RBI, then in Toronto he hit .233 with 4 HR and 25 RBI. His combined stats were .244, 13 HR and 57 RBI. In the off-season, the Blue Jays traded Kielty to Oakland for starting pitcher Ted Lilly. Oakland Athletics Bobby was the Athletics opening day left fielder in 2004, and through May 19th, he was hitting .250 with 4 HR and 14 RBI. After then, he hit .190 with 3 HR and 17 RBI for the rest of the season, ending up with a .214 average, 7 HR and 31 RBI. All 7 of his home runs gave the A's the lead. Kielty hit his first career walk off home run on June 1st against the White Sox. Kielty rebounded in 2005 by hitting .263 with 10 HR and tied his career high with 57 RBI. On May 20th against the San Francisco Giants, Kielty went 4 for 4 with 3 runs scored. However, he missed 3 weeks in September due to an oblique injury. In the 2005 season Kielty, along with other members of the team, grew out his hair and refused to cut it. He earned the nickname "Ronny Mac" due to his similarity to McDonalds mascot, Ronald McDonald. Before a game at McAfee Coliseum, Kielty dressed up in full Ronald McDonald attire and amused the crowd. Many fans wore ginger wigs to the game in dedication to Kielty. Kielty cut his hair in the 2005 off-season, and began the 2006 season with the Athletics Triple A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. He spent 10 games there, batting .222 with 1 HR and 4 RBI before being recalled by the A's. As of August 15th, Kielty has a .266 average with 5 HR and 23 RBI, along with 2 SB's. In the 2006 season as a backup player for the A's, Kielty hit his first career grand slam. On September 19, he hit a grand slam against the Indians off pitcher Cliff Lee. Coincidentally, Lee and Kielty are very good friends as their wives were good childhood friends. On July 23, Kielty was designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics to make room for closer Huston Street. *Team career recaps are from Wikipedia entry for Bobby Kielty.

We Paid Top Dollar For This?

David Murphy, Kasson Gabbard and Engel Beltre for this? In four appearances covering 3⅓ innings Eric Gagne has given up six runs while he ERA has balooned by nearly a run per game. Two weeks ago this game would have been won by Boston with Hideki Okajima starting the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon pitching the ninth, instead we saw another appearance by Gagne that was just plain pathetic.

Future On Display

Beggining tomorrow and lasting throughout most of the remainder of the season, the future of the Boston Red Sox will be on display at Fenway Park. Portland and Lowell will both play games at Fenway on Saturday while the Sox are playing in Baltimore. Portland will play the Harrisburg Senators (Washington) while Lowell plays the Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay). The Lowell game is at 12:05 followed by Portland. In just a couple weeks a handful of top prospects could find themeselves with a September callup. Jacoby Ellsbury is one who is very likely to get the call to provide speed off the bench down the stretch. Should he continue his solid play from earlier this year when he was up he could also find himself on the bench in the playoffs. Boston won't discount the importance of a speedster on the bench, its the very reason they won the World Series in 2004. George Kottaras could also find himself in Fenway park in September. He is the only minor league catcher on the Sox 40 man roster and they would love to have a third catcher around to give Varitek added rest, assuming the division race isnt close. There are no infielders on the 40 man roster who aren't already in Boston. The Red Sox do have 2 spots on the 40 man roster open and also can move Brendan Donnelly to the 60-day disabled list if they needed another spot. We know Bobby Kielty likely will be called up sooner then later and that would require a spot, though his arrival would depend on Wily Mo Pena's departure which would clear another spot. Another spot to be taken on the 40 man will be for Clay Buchholz and that could be as soon as next week when the Sox play a double header. Buchholz has been dominant in the minors this year and could join a powerful young rotation next year that will include Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester. Other pitchers who could see time in Fenway in September are Javy Lopez who was recently sent down to make room for Curt Schilling, Craig Hansen who has been very good the past several weeks and Craig Breslow could provide another solid left handed arm from the bullpen. Brandon Moss could join Ellsbury in the outfield mix in September after a recent three day stay with the Sox in California.

Red Sox AM Wrap

Wily Mo Pena Clears Waivers As with several players in August, Wily Mo Pena was placed on trade waivers and cleared them. This means Boston can trade Pena before the end of the month to any team. They can't however option him to the minors, he would have to clear regular waivers for that. Expect Boston to move Pena soon for a player to be named much like the Sox and Orioles did last year with Javy Lopez before finalizing the deal at seasons end when Adam Stern was sent to Baltimore. Moose Season The Seattle Mariners wont discipline the Moose for the incident in Seattle Sunday when he ran into Coco Crisp. No surprise there, the team did apologize to the Red Sox. As I stated before, Major League Baseball needs to step in and ban these kind of events from the field, it creates a dangerous environment for players who teams have millions of dollars invested in. Tough Series In Los Angeles I was expecting another two of three series from the Sox, now I'm hoping for a single win after Boston has lost the first two games of the series. Both games went along well in the early parts only to see Boston lose two games they could have won. Tavarez Days Numbered? Julian Tavarez is the lone weak link in the Sox bullpen. Don't be surprised if Boston designates him before the week is out and replace him on the roster with either Javy Lopez or Clay Buchholz. Drew Front And Center J.D. Drew will make his Sox debut in Center field tonight and his first start their since 2005. Coco Crisp will get the night off. Since Boston elected to put Drew in center that would probably mean Pena will get the start in right field. Had Brandon Moss been getting the start, he likely would have been in center. Barry B*nds Barry Bonds, who has long been wrapped up in a steroids scandal hit home run number 756 of his career last night against the Washington Nationals. Bud Selig was not in attendance for the record breaking home run. Interested in some nice * related merchandise? Check out this site. Let's hope Alex Rodriguez makes this a brief appearance in the record book for Bonds.

756*

Maniac Mascots

Yesterday afternoon in Seattle, Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp was run into by the Seattle Mariners mascot. Major League Baseball needs to step in and protect it's players and ban onfield use of carts and such that could cause injury to players.

Brandon Moss Gets Call

Boston.com is reporting that the Boston Red Sox will callup Brandon Moss for the series in Anaheim. No details of the callup are known yet. Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe points out that Moss has been playing some first base lately. UPDATE: Boston will callup Brandon Moss for the game Monday in Anaheim to take the roster slot of Eric Hinske who will be leaving the team for three days for personal reasons.

Red Sox To Open '08 In Tokyo?

The Boston Red Sox may soon be preparing to open the 2008 season in Tokyo likely against an American League West opponent. According to the report the Sox and whom ever they play in Japan will face each other in a second series on the west coast upon arriving back. "It's going to be exciting," Boston third baseman Mike Lowell said. "We've got some marquee names that are going to bring a lot of attention over there. So in that sense it's great, but I don't think guys are too happy to go 22 hours on a plane to play games that count. It's not the game itself. It's the aftereffects." According to the story from Boston.com the likely opponent would be either the Oakland Athletics or Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Seattle Mariners are also a likely opponent. Should this match up occur I think the best plans for the game would be for Boston and the opponent to break camp and have a series at the west coast teams stadium to wrap up the preseason, this gives the Red Sox a break from travel after flying west from Florida to California or Seattle. Following the couple days there they can then fly to Japan on March 29th or 30th and open the season on March 31st or April 1st. After the series they would then fly back to the west coast taking a day off after arriving before beggining a series at the west coast teams stadium. This would be the best way for the whole week or so to occur to cut down on the large amount of travel the Red Sox would endure. Following the return series Boston should play a series in the midwest such as Kansas City or Minnesota before heading home for a long homestand, or atleast several games in the northeast corridor. The games in Tokyo would likely sell out in a matter of hours with it being a homecoming for Sox heroes Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. Should Seattle be the opponent, the games could sell out in less then an hour with the added names of Ichiro Suzuki and Kenji Johjima as everyday players for them.

Dent, Boone..... Who Cares!

A common theme has emerged this season with the Yankees downfall. Many fans of the Yankees seem to think its fun to post video and comments about Aaron Boone and his walk-off homer to win the 2003 ALCS. Some even go as far as to post video of Bucky "Fucking" Dent and his big hit in 1978. Of course doing that would be fine and all if it weren't for the fact that the last time the Yankees and Red Sox met on the field when it mattered, Boston burried New York in historic fashion. We have seen many walk-off homers in the playoffs before Boone and we will see many more long after his career ends. We have seen other light hitting players hit big homeruns and we will see many more long after Dent is gone. What we never had seen before that series in October 2004 was a team fight back from a 3-0 game hole and win the series. Never before had that been done in baseball, and perhaps never again in the lifetimes of anyone who currently serves as a fan of either team. Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone have long been burried in the sea of irrelelvance. What they both did is long been burried in the minds of Sox fans, but what Boston did to New York in 2004 will long outlive even the youngest of fans.