October 10, 2005

The Red Sox bid for a second consecutive World Championship ended on Friday at the hands of the Chicago White Sox. As was the case in Game 2, the Red Sox lost the game in the middle innings. In Game 2, Tony Graffanino's error led to the winning runs. In Game 3, the Sox failed to score after a bases loaded, no outs situation in the sixth inning. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez of all people retired Varitek, Graffanino and Damon to preserve a 4-3 White Sox lead (which eventually became a 5-3 ChiSox victory). The Sox were essentially one fielding play (Game 2) and one big hit (Game 3) away from taking a 2-1 series lead into Game 4, but it wasn't meant to be.

The Red Sox problems in the ALDS mirrored their problems in the second half of the regular season. Six or seven players carried the Red Sox through the final month of the season (Ramirez, Ortiz, Wakefield, Wells, Timlin, Papelbon and, to a lesser extent, Damon). In the playoffs, it was pretty much the same cast of characters getting the job done while the rest of team failed to pull its weight. Friday's game was ridiculous as the combo of Ortiz and Ramirez homered three times while no one else could muster any offense. Even a mediocre contribution from the rest of the lineup would have given the Red Sox games 2 and 3. The Red Sox failed to score after the sixth inning in the three games. It is hard to believe that this is the same team that averaged 7.3 runs per game between August 1st and September 1st.

But, as they say in the GEICO commercials, there is good news. The Evil Empire was eliminated in the first round as well. Thank you, Angels. The best part of last night's game was A-Rod grounding into a double play in the ninth inning. The Yankees didn't belong in the playoffs in the first place and it would have been an even greater injustice had they advanced to the second round or beyond. The Yankees final payroll was $202 million, $76 million more than the Red Sox and well over double the league average. Despite the payroll, they needed to win game #161 just to make the playoffs and couldn't get out of the first round of the playoffs. They Yankees have spent close to a billion dollars in the past five years on All Stars and former MVPs yet have not won a single championship. That is truly pathetic. On a dollar-adjusted basis, the Yankees are probably one of the ten worst organizations in all of pro sports.

If the Red Sox had to lose, I'm glad it was the White Sox who beat them. The Red Sox streak of 86 years without a title has received most of the attention over the past twenty years, but the White Sox hadn't won a playoff series in 88 years. I really hope the Chicago Southsiders win it all. They don't have many fans, but the ones they do have are very loyal. It would be nice to see their patience rewarded. By the way, the Houston Astros have never played in the World Series. This could be another historic year.

Back to the Red Sox. By itself, this was one of the most difficult Red Sox seasons ever. The lack of production from the corner infield positions, the late inning collapses, the injuries, the ups and downs of the starting rotation, Manny being Manny, the bad defense and the questionable managing/third base coaching would have been enough to send Red Sox Nation over the edge if not for last year's championship. I think most Red Sox fans are still too caught up in the 2004 season to be overly bothered by what happened in 2005.

The Good News:

• Ortiz and Ramirez, who provided the Sox with one of the best 3-4 combinations in baseball history. The Dominican Duo combined for 92 homeruns, 292 RBIs and 231 runs. Imagine the numbers they would have put up had Renteria been on base more often.



• Tim Wakefield, who could have won 20 games with a little luck and some run support. Wake finished 16-12 with an ERA of 4.12. This was probably his best all around season since 1995.



• The future is bright. What an unbelievable job Jon Papelbon did in his brief stint with the Red Sox this season. Jon was 3-1 in the regular season with a 2.65 ERA and a 2/1 strikeout to walk ratio. In two playoff appearances, Papelbon gave up just two hits (and no walks) in four innings of work. In his final seven appearances, Papelbon pitched 10 innings, giving up no runs on 6 hits (plus 2 walks). He excelled in some very tense situations. Red Sox fans can also look forward to seeing the very talented Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen on next year's roster.



• Jason Varitek, who had a great offensive season through the end of August. He batted only .173 with a homer and seven RBIs in September, but that is not surprising given all of the games that Varitek has caught over the past two seasons.



• Mike Timlin, who appeared in 81 games as a setup man and a closer. The 39-year-old held together what turned out to be the worst bullpen in the league this year. He won seven games, saved 13 and had a 2.24 ERA despite slumping a little bit late in the season.



• Johnny Damon, whose bat was white-hot for most of the season. Damon finished the season with a .316 average, 117 runs and 75 RBIs. He actually tailed off in the second half (.282 vs .343) but it was a great season nonetheless. There was about a two month stretch where Damon reached base in every single game.

The Bad News:

• The bullpen. The Red Sox bullpen, which was so solid at the end of 2004 with the combination of Embree, Timlin and Foulke in the late innings, was a disaster in 2005. Foulke was terrible, then was lost for most of the season with an injury. Embree lost everything seemingly overnight. Matt Mantei was great early in the season, then pitched badly, then went on the disabled list for good. Gonzalez, Halama, Harville, Neal and Remlinger all had ERAs above 6.00. Mike Myers and Chad Bradford were average at best in the second half. Schilling and Timlin were mediocre in the closers role.



• A tale of two Clements. In the first half, Matt Clement was 10-2 with a 3.85 ERA and a nearly 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. In the second half, he was 3-4 with a 5.72 ERA and a 1.5:1 strikeout to walk ratio. That doesn't include getting shelled by the White Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS. Last season with the Cubs, Clement's ERA was 2.91 in the first half and 5.09 in the second half. Would the real Matt Clement please stand up?



• Injuries. Johnny Damon's injury problems probably contributed to the drop in his production in the second half of the season, but for the most part the Sox offense was healthy in 2005. The real injury problems occurred on the mound. Wells and Clement missed some time, but it was really the loss of Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke that changed everything for the Red Sox. In 2004, the Red Sox were 25-7 in games started by Schilling. In 2005, the Red Sox were only 17-16 when the hobbled Schilling and his replacements took the hill. That's a difference of 8 1/2 games. Keith Foulke was 5-3 with an ERA of 2.17 and saved 32 of 39 games last year. This season, he was 5-5 with a 5.91 ERA and saved 15 of 19 games. Schilling had two losses and two blown saves as the closer. Mike Timlin had two blown saves (one of which was a loss) after taking over for Schilling as the team's closer.



• Power outage. Last season, Red Sox players other than Ortiz and Ramirez hit 138 homeruns. This season, the non-Ortiz/Ramirez contingent hit only 104 homers. The corner infield positions for the Red Sox hit only 27 homers this season as compared to 38 last season.



• Edgar Renteria's defense. The new Sox shortstop committed a league-high 30 errors this season (in 153 games). Renteria made only 27 errors in the previous two seasons combined. The Red Sox as a team committed nine fewer errors this year than in 2004 though it seemed that they were much poorer defensively this season. I think that's because they improved so much defensively last season with the midseason acquisition of Orlando Cabrera.



• Bronson Arroyo, who was a great disappointment this year. His 14-10 record and 4.51 ERA is hardly terrible but I expected much more. I can't help but wonder if Bronson is letting his music career get in the way of his pitching career.

What's Next:

If I had to guess, I'd say that the following players will definitely be back: Ortiz, Varitek, Nixon, Mirabelli, Schilling, Papelbon, Wakefield, Timlin, Foulke and Renteria. Renteria will be back only because no will want to absorb the remaining $30 million of his contract.

I think the following players have somewhere between a 50% and 80% chance of being back next season: Ramirez, Damon, Clement, Graffanino, Olerud, Myers, Bradford and Wells. The Ramirez situation of course is based solely on what the Red Sox can get in return for him. They are not going to give him away.

I'm pretty certain that Millar, Miller, Arroyo, Harville and Gonzalez will be elsewhere next season. With Papelbon moving to the rotation, either Wells, Clement or Arroyo needs to go. Wells has the best chance of staying because he is a lefty. Arroyo is more likely to be traded than Clement because he is cheaper and probably more marketable.

Either Kevin Youkilis or Bill Mueller will not be back. The Red Sox cannot leave Youkilis in the minor leagues or on the bench any longer. He needs to play every day, either in Boston or someplace else. The Red Sox may even dump both Mueller and Youkilis and pick up a new third baseman.

That brings me to the Red Sox needs for next year. Obviously they cannot go through another year getting only 27 homers out of the corner infield positions. They also need a legimate bat the follow Ortiz and Ramirez in the lineup. If Damon leaves, the Sox will be left without a centerfielder or a leadoff hitter. If all goes well with Schilling's recovery, he could anchor a staff followed by Wells, Papelbon, Clement or Arroyo and Wakefield. A free agent signing could be in the mix though. The bullpen will need a lot of work even if Keith Foulke is healthy. Hansen and Delcarmen will have a good chance to start the season in the pen. The Red Sox will probably seek a lefty to join or replace Mike Myers. Of course, if the Red Sox make a blockbuster deal involving Manny Ramirez, who knows what the team could look like next season.

October 5, 2005

The 2004 championship season may have ended "The Curse" but I'm not sure it reversed it. The black cloud that hung over the Red Sox between 1919 and 2003 seems to have returned in 2005. Well, maybe it's a different cloud or a different curse. Wednesday's game against the White Sox was a throwback to 1946, 1978, 1986, 1999, 2003 or any number of seasons in between. David Wells was solid and the Red Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead through three innings. Things were going exceedingly well until the fifth inning when a double off the chalk, a seeing-eye single, and an error by the normally sure-handed Tony Graffanino set the stage for a two-out, three-run homer by White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi that gave the ChiSox a 5-4 lead they would never relinquish. I'm not sure but I think "Tadahito Iguchi" means "Bucky Dent" in Japanese. Just to make things a little more painful, Edgar Renteria made the final out of the game with a man in scoring position and Mr. Clutch, David Ortiz, on deck.

The good news is that the series is returning to Fenway and the Sox have been great with their backs to the wall over the past three seasons. In the last nine games in which they have faced elimination, the Sox are 8-1. Of course that record could easily be 9-0 (thanks, Grady).

Ortiz and Jason Varitek were both 3 for 8 in Chicago. Manny Ramirez was just 1 for 7, but drove in a pair of runs in the first inning of Game Two. Bill Mueller was 0 for 8. I don't have to tell anyone how bad Matt Clement was in the first game. Jon Papelbon pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in his first postseason action. The White Sox outhomered the Red Sox 6-0 in the two games. The White Sox outhit the Red Sox only 20-18 and Red Sox pitchers surrendered only one more walk (3 in all) than Chicago. Both teams made only one error, but Boston's cost them a game. The most interesting stat: the White Sox left only five runners on base in the two games. FIVE! They put a total of 27 runners on base in the two games (20 hits, 3 walks, 3 HBP, 1 error) and 19 of them scored. That's an amazing ratio. By contrast, the Red Sox pushed home only six of 21 base runners.

October 2, 2005

For the third year in a row, the Red Sox will be the American League's Wild Card entry. The Sox won yesterday to force a tie at the top of the American League East at 95-67 but officially the Yankees will be given the division title because of their 10-9 advantage over the Sox in the season series. It would have been nice to see the Sox take home the division crown for the first time in ten years, but for the most part, it doesn't matter. Division titles are not as meaningful as they once were and because the two teams finished tied, I don't really consider the Yankees to be AL East Champions. In fact, taking the Wild Card rather than the division may be a blessing in disguise. New York has to travel across the country to face the red hot Angels while the Sox travel just one time zone to face a White Sox team that was ice cold before winning their final five games of the season. On the down side, the fact that New York gets credit for the division title means that the Monees would have home field advantage should they meet the Sox in the ALCS for the third year in a row.

For now, I'll take my chances with the ChiSox for four reasons. First, as I said, the Angels are playing better baseball than the White Sox. Los Angeles of Anaheim (I really hate that name) is 14-2 since mid-September while Chicago is about a .500 team since mid-July and 12-11 since the first week of September. Second, the #1 starter in a five game series is so critical and I think the Angels have the better ace. Bartolo Colon is 10-2 in his last 12 decisions. Jose Contreras is 9-1 with an ERA of just over 2.00 since the beginning of August, but I would rather face Contreras than Colon in a playoff game (or two). Third, the Angels have Vladimir Guerrero. The White Sox top slugger is Paul Konerko. Advantage Angels. Fourth, and most importantly, is the closer spot. Anaheim has a playoff-tested first rate closer in Francisco "KRod" Rodriguez. Closing for the White Sox in the playoffs is the inexperienced Bobby Jenks.

The Wild Card round should be great. I can easily see Boston-Chicago, New York-LA and Houston-Atlanta going five games. I would be surprised if the Padres take more than one from the Cardinals, but you never know. One hot pitcher can transform an entire series and Jake Peavy is certainly capable of shutting down the Redbirds.

If there was even any doubt that the Yankees are the most arrogant self-absorbed organization in professional sports it was erased when the Yankees complained because the Texas Rangers pulled some of their stars out of the final game of the season in the third inning, helping the Angels to beat Texas and grab home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. ARod, a former Ranger, led the whine parade. This is amazing considering that Joe Torre pulled Mike Mussina from the Sunday start against the Sox, who battered replacement starter Jaret Wright. So according to ARod, the Yankees can rest players when Cleveland has a playoff spot on the line, but Texas cannot remove their starters when New York merely has home field advantage on the line. To his credit, Yankees GM Brian Cashman did not complain about Buck Showalter's decision to remove Young, Teixiera and Blalock early in the game.

Player of the Week: Manny Ramirez, who completed a great year with a great week. Manny batted .409 in the final week of the season with 4 homers, 9 RBIs and 6 runs.

Player of the Month for September: David Ortiz, who smashed 11 homers and drove in 29 runs in the month of September. He also batted .320 for the month and scored 19 runs. He also hit three game-winning homeruns. Honorable mention goes to Manny, who batted .288 in September with 9 HR and 23 RBI, Tim Wakefield (2-1, 1.99 ERA, 34 K, 7 BB) and Jon Papelbon (3-0, 1.35 ERA in 13 1/3 innings).

September 27, 2005

The Red Sox missed a golden opportunity to not only move into the lead in the AL East but to move to within one game of the Chicago White Sox for the best record in the American League. Tim Wakefield put together another great performance in the day portion of the day-night doubleheader but Curt Schilling could not hold onto a three-run lead in the nightcap. The Sox were able to use Papelbon and Timlin to lock up the win in the first game. Terry Francona did not use Timlin or Papelbon in the nightcap as the bullpen gave up the game in the eighth and ninth. I can't really blame Francona for keeping his two best relievers out of the nightcap after pitching in the early game. Monday's weather, which forced Tuesday's doubleheader, may have cost the Sox a game, but there is really no way to know for sure. The key to yesterday's games were walks. In game one, Sox pitchers walked only two batters. Last night, the Sox bullpen alone walked four batters. Toronto's leadoff batter walked in the eighth and ninth innings. In both cases, the batter that walked scored on a sac fly.

The split moved the Sox into a tie with the Yankees in the AL East and a tie with the Yankees and Cleveland for first place in the Wild Card. The Yankees lost to the Orioles 17-9. I'm not sure that this weekend's Jets-Ravens game will match that scoring outburst. Chicago lost again and Anaheim won again to clinch the AL West. Only three games separate the White Sox, Red Sox, Indians, Yankees and Angels. According to my calculations, there are still 48 different AL Playoff possibilites (teams and seeding).

First the good news. Tim Wakefield continued his outstanding work, giving up just three hits and one unearned run in seven innings. Wake is 8-2 since his last start in July, including a 1-0 loss to the Yankees. He's given up just nine earned runs in five September starts (1.99 ERA). On the negative side, Curt Schilling gave up four runs or more for the fifth time in seven starts since moving back into the rotation.

The offense has also gone south. Last night was a prime example as the Sox didn't score after the fourth inning. In their last ten games at Fenway, the Red Sox have averaged only 3 runs per game. Ortiz (.286, 10 HR, 25 RBI) and Ramirez (.290, 8 HR, 21 RBI) have been putting up MVP-type numbers in September. Graffanino (.308, 11 runs) has also been excellent this month, but the rest of the offense is not pulling its weight. Other than Ortiz and Ramirez, no Sox player has more than two homers since September 2nd. The September batting averages are not very good -- Damon (.275), Renteria (.230), Varitek (.171), Nixon (.260), Millar (.283), Mueller (.281) and Olerud (.255). Olerud is batting only .213 since a 3-for-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI day on September 1st. Someone on this list needs to step up over the next five days.

September 25, 2005

The Red Sox hadn't swept a road series since late June (the Phillies) before going into Baltimore and taking three crucial games from the Orioles. It helped that Red Sox Nation turned out in full force this weekend at Camden Yards. It must have felt like a home game for the Sox who edged above .500 on the road (41-40) for the eighth consecutive season. The sweep moved the Sox into a tie with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Both teams trail the Indians by one-half game in the Wild Card standings. The three teams are tied in the loss column. The White Sox are three games ahead of Boston and New York. Here are the schedules for this week.

    Red Sox -- Toronto (4), New York (3)
    Yankees -- at Baltimore (4), at Boston (3)
    White Sox -- at Detroit (4), at Cleveland (3)
    Indians -- Tampa Bay (3), Chicago (3)

Obviously, the Red Sox are in better shape than New York because they play all seven games this week at Fenway where they are 50-24 this season. The Yankees are on the road all week where they are only 38-36. On the other hand, Toronto is a much better team right now than Baltimore. The Orioles were 28-13 at the one-quarter mark. They are 42-72 since. The Jays are 9-5 against the Red Sox and may have single-handedly ruined the Red Sox season. The Sox can change all of that with a sweep this week.

The LA Angels, who are two behind the Sox and Yanks, are four ahead of the A's as they travel to Oakland for a four-game series. The Angels can clinch merely by winning two of four games in that series.

The Red Sox could wind up in a very strange situation if they clinch the division before next Sunday's game but the Yankees are still in contention for the Wild Card. By resting their starters the Sox might be helping the Yankees into the playoffs. It would be an interesting predicament that the Yankees could also face. If that scenario does occur, it's not likely to occur until next Sunday because I doubt that either the Sox or the Yankees will pick up three full games over the next five days.

Player of the Week: There is no doubt that it's Manny Ramirez. Manny popped five homers and drove in ten runs this week. He batted .296 (8 for 27) and scored 8 runs. Manny and Papi have now combined for 87 homers and 275 RBI this season. No Sox tandem has put up numbers like this since 1949 when Ted Williams and Vern Stephens combined for 82 homeruns and 318 RBIs.

September 22, 2005

The horror, the horror. That is the best way I can describe the last four days for the Red Sox. While the Yankees were winning four in a row against Baltimore (three by one run), the Sox were busy losing two of three to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (despite outscoring the Rays 26-17 in the series). On Wednesday night, the Red Sox went from a division leader with home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs to a game behind Cleveland for the Wild Card. Following Thursday's games, the Red Sox were still on the outside looking in but also just three games behind the fading White Sox for the best record in the American League (which comes with home field throughout the AL Playoffs). What a crazy year in the American League.

Thursday's day off was the first one the Red Sox have had in exactly one month. They desperately needed it. The Sox are 10-10 since beginning the month of September with a 7-4 win over Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox offense has been sluggish of late but they put on a show on Tuesday in Tampa Bay. Ortiz and Ramirez both hit two homers, the Red Sox had 18 hits through five innings and at one point, the 3-4-5-6 hitters in the lineup were 15 for 16.

For more on the Sox, Yankees, Indians and the MVP race, please take a look at my latest version of Random Notes.

September 18, 2005

The Red Sox were 4-3 last week enabling the Yankees to cut their lead in the AL East to a mere 1 1/2 games heading into the final two weeks of the season. It's looking more and more like the three game series between the Yankees and Sox to end the season will mean something. The Yankees are at home for all seven games this week (4 vs Bal, 3 vs Tor) while the Sox are on the road for six (3 at TB, 3 at Bal). Next week, the situation reverses. The Sox play their final seven at home (4 vs Tor, 3 vs NY) while the Yankees are on road (4 at Bal, 3 at Bos).

The Sox and Indians now have the same record. This will obviously become important if the Yankees pass the Sox in the standings. The Indians still have a chance to win the Central. They are only 3 1/2 behind the White Sox heading into a three game series in Chicago this week. The Tribe needs to win two of three to have a realistic chance to catch Chicago. The two teams play each other the final weekend in Cleveland.

The American League races have been pretty dull in recent years but not this season. The second place teams in all three divisions are within 3 1/2 games of first place and the Yankees are within 1 1/2 games of Cleveland in the Wild Card standings. In each division, the top two teams will play each other over the final two weeks. Cleveland and Chicago play six times, Oakland and Anaheim meet four times and Boston and New York, of course, play three more times.

The NL division races have pretty much been won by St. Louis, Atlanta and San Diego. The Wild Card race is still heated with Houston, Philadelphia and Florida all within two games. Washington is hanging by a threat four games back.

It is hard to find anything more frustrating right now than Aaron Small's 8-0 record. How in the world did this happen? The 33 year old had won 15 games in his career coming into this season with an ERA of 5.49.

Player of the Week: It has to be Big Papi once again. Ortiz batted .385 (10 for 26) with five homers and nine RBIs this week. He's batting .310 in September with 7 HR, 14 RBI and 10 runs.

September 14, 2005

For the third time in just eight days, David Ortiz hit a game-winning homerun in the late innings of a tie game. On Wednesday in Toronto, Papi broke up a 3-3 tie with an eighth inning blast. On Monday night, he homered in the eleventh inning to give the Sox a 6-5 win. Last Tuesday, he hit a walk off homer to beat Scott Shields and the Angels, 3-2. I am not a big believer in the "clutch hitter" phenomenon. Over a 162 game schedule, the top players are going to get some big hits which bring the big Sportscenter highlights but when they fail you rarely hear about. For example, Derek Jeter is known as a clutch hitter, but I have seen him fail in key situations many, many times (and I don't watch that many Yankee games). Reggie "Mr. October" Jackson is career .278 hitter in the postseason. For most players, bring "clutch" may be nothing more than the law of averages. David Ortiz, however, has come through in big situations enough times to warrant official "clutch hitter" status. Many of those big hits have been homeruns and he's had the game-winning hit in the late innings of at least four different playoff games in the past two years. He's so good that guys are actually pitching around him to get to Manny Ramirez, who is arguably one of the ten greatest hitters of all-time.

When September began, I really didn't think Ortiz had much of a chance to win the AL MVP. A-Rod has put up slightly bigger numbers and Vlad Guerrero is the lone big weapon on a possible division winner. Even more importantly, both guys play the field and are quite good at it. Given what's happened in the past couple of weeks, I'd say that A-Rod remains the likely choice but Ortiz now has a very good chance. Papi has six homers and 12 RBI this month already. He's also batting .345 with runners in scoring position and .370 with runners in scoring position and two outs. A-Rod's numbers are .276 and .278 in those two situations, respectively. I'm guessing that most of the MVP voters are still undecided and Big Papi is making a great case for himself.

What is it with umpires and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? It seems like the lowly Rays are always getting hosed by the umpires. Tonight, with the score tied 4-4, Derek Jeter appeared to have struck out with the bases loaded and two outs. The umpires ruled, however, that Jeter checked his swing. He was given a second life and promptly drove in two runs which proved to be the difference in a 6-5 Yankee win. In a game at Fenway earlier this season, Lou Piniella nearly lost it after an umpire reversed his call on a key play in the late innings (I think Tampa ended up winning anyway). It makes you wonder if the umps have it in for Lou. Either that, or they are amused by his antics when he doesn't like a call.

September 11, 2005

Heading into last Thursday's game, the Red Sox were on the verge of pulling away from both the Yankees in the AL East and the Angels in the race for home field in the first round of the playoffs (aka. the "2 seed"). Now, four days later, the races have tightened. The Yankees pulled to within three in the AL East and LA's surprising sweep in Chicago moved the Angels to within two games of Boston. The Sox lack of clutch hitting on Thursday and Sunday and poor defense on Friday cost them a chance to pull away from the competition. They still have the inside track for the AL East title and home field in the first round, however. The Sox play 11 of their final games 20 at home and will play the Yankees at Fenway in the final weekend of the season. The Yanks play only seven of their final 20 at home.

It was a shame that the Red Sox wasted such a great effort by Tim Wakefield on Sunday. Wakefield may have pitched his best game of the year but the Sox couldn't push across the tying run. They did nothing against Randy Johnson in the first seven innings but had plenty of chances in the final two innings. In the eighth, the Yankees botched an infield popup but luckily for them, Adam Stern was on first base, so they were able to get the force play at second. With two outs and two on, Johnny Damon came within two feet of tying the game, but his drive off of Mariano Rivera was just foul down the rightfield line. He then grounded out to end the eighth. Edgar Renteria led off the ninth with a hard line drive ticketed for centerfield, but Rivera stabbed the ball with an outstretched arm. The Sox then put two more men on base, but Rivera was able to strikeout Olerud to end the game. Rivera was very shaky but luck was on his side. Had Damon's drive been two feet to the left or Renteria's drive a foot to the right, he blows the save. I don't call them the Luckees for nothing.

The Red Sox offense has cooled a bit over the past week and a half. They have averaged 4.0 runs per game over their last ten. In the ten prior to that, the Red Sox averaged 7.1 runs per game. On the other had, the Red Sox pitching has been better of late. Boston opponents have scored 25 runs in the last eight games (3.1 per game). Sox pitching had given up 6.5 runs per game in the previous ten contests. The starters have been particularly good lately and have given the bullpen some much-needed rest. Sox starters have gone eight innings or more in six of the last nine games. The rotation's ERA is 3.00 over that time. Mike Timlin is surely grateful. He's worked just once in the past eight days.

It was not a great week for the offense: Damon (5 for 17), Renteria (6 for 29), Ortiz (5 for 20, 1 HR), Ramirez (5 for 23, 1 HR), Millar (5 for 19, 1 HR), Olerud (4 for 12, 1 HR), Varitek (2 for 18), Nixon (5 for 24), Graffanino (7 for 20, 1 HR), Mueller (6 for 20).

Player of the Week: Tim Wakefield, who was 1-1 this week but deserved two wins. He pitched two complete games (17 IP), gave up just 11 hits and 3 earned runs. He struck out 19 and walked just 4. Had he won today, he would have had a chance to win 20 games.

Here is the likely rotation for the remainder of the season. Obviously, the rotation will change if the Sox clinch the division title prior to the last game of the year.

@ Tor (3) - Arroyo, Clement, Wells
  Oak (4) - Schilling, Wakefield, Arroyo, Clement
@ TB (3) - Wells, Schilling, Wakefield
@ Bal (3) - Arroyo, Clement, Wells
  Tor (4) - Schilling, Wakefield, Arroyo, Clement
  NYY (3) - Wells, Schilling, Wakefield  

September 8, 2005

I would say that the bottom of eighth inning of Thursday night's game was the most frustrating half inning of the entire season. The Red Sox, down by three runs, left the bases loaded after Ramirez, Renteria and Ortiz all struck out looking. Ortiz's "backwards K" was on a 3 and 2 pitch. No one should blame the umpire. All three strikeout pitches appeared to be in the strike zone. The ninth inning was nearly as painful. The Sox again left the bases loaded, this time striking out three times swinging (Olerud, Millar, Petagine).

The Sox missed out on a chance to solidify not only their AL East title hopes, but also home field in the first round of the playoffs. A win would have moved the Sox a full six games ahead of the Angels in the race for home field. This week's series with the Angels impacts home field, but also first round matchups. If we assume that the White Sox hold onto the best record in the AL, the Red Sox win the East and the Indians take the Wild Card, the team with the second best record in the AL would face Cleveland with home field advantage. The team with the third best record would play the White Sox without home field (the White Sox would not play the Indians because teams from the same division cannot meet in the first round). What a difference. These would be the matchups if the playoffs were to start tomorrow:

    AL: (3) LA Angels at (1) Chicago White Sox
    AL: (WC) Cleveland at (2) Boston
    NL: (3) San Diego at (1) St. Louis
    NL: (WC) Houston at (2) Atlanta

When Ortiz came up against Shields in the eighth inning with bases loaded, I half expected the Angels to pull a Kelly Leak/Bad News Bears strategy and walk Papi with the bases loaded. As I suspected, Shields threw an off-speed pitch to Ortiz on the 3 and 2 pitch (a rarity with three balls and the bases loaded). Shields was not going to risk throwing a fastball and even if he walked Ortiz, the Angels would still be up 3-1 with two outs facing Olerud. It was great pitch selection.

Though they are no longer in the pennant race, the Devil Rays and Blue Jays have had a huge impact on the AL East race this season. The Jays are 8-3 against Boston and the Rays are 11-5 against New York. The Sox still have six games left with the Jays while the Rays and Yankees meet three more times.

How tight has the Yankees-Red Sox battle been over the past three years? The Red Sox are 33-32 against the Yankees since the start of 2003 including the playoffs (17-15 at Fenway, 16-17 in New York). If the Yanks take two of three this weekend, the teams will have split 68 games. It doesn't get any more competitive than that.

September 4, 2005

The Red Sox finally got some big production from the first base position this week. John Olerud was 8 for 15 (.533) this week with 3 homers and 11 RBI. He also scored five runs. In his three starts at first base this week, Kevin Millar was 4 for 11 (.364) with 3 homeruns and 6 RBIs. Millar and Olerud had combined for just eight homeruns prior to this week.

Since a rough start in Detroit on August 17th, David Wells is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.29 and a strikeout to walk ratio of 8/1. In his last five starts, Matt Clement is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.18.

Big Papi socked another four homers this week to give him 37 on the season. He's also driven in 119 runs, scored 100 and walked 83 times. These numbers give Ortiz a very good chance to win this year's AL MVP award. Here are the main candidates:

• David Ortiz -- .294 with 37 RBI, 119 RBI and 100 runs



• Manny Ramirez -- .285 with 33 HR, 116 RBI and 94 runs



• Alex Rodriguez -- .323 with 40 HR, 108 RBI and 101 runs



• Paul Konerko -- .276 with 32 HR, 84 RBI and 82 runs



• Vladimir Guerrero -- .315 with 28 HR, 94 RBI and 79 runs

I hate to say it, but A-Rod has to be the front-runner going into the final four weeks. His numbers are comparable to Papi's but Rodriguez plays in the field and Ortiz does not. A-Rod's batting average and homer advantage probably put him ahead of Ramirez of ahead. Konerko will get some votes because he is the best hitter on the best team (at least record-wise). Guerrero could win his second MVP in a row if he has a big September and the Angels remain in the race into the final week.

As for the AL Cy Young, it looked like Roy Halladay was the top candidate before an injury ended his season. Bartolo Colon (18-6, 3.24 ERA), Mark Buehrle (15-7, 3.00), Jon Garland (17-8, 3.28), Johan Santana (13-6, 3.07) and Mariano Rivera (35 svs, 1.40 ERA) are my top five right now.

There is some suspense in the NL as well. New Hampshire native Chris Carpenter (20-4, 2.28 ERA) has the inside track over Dontrelle Willis (19-8, 2.55) for the Cy. Roger Clemens (11-6, 1.57) will wind up in top five but his lack of wins will keep him from being seriously considered for the award. Derrek Lee (.344 avg, 39 HR, 95 RBI) could win the NL MVP in spite of the problems the Cubs have had this season. Albert Pujols (.335, 35 HR, 100 RBI) and Andruw Jones (.273, 44 HR, 111 RBI) should join Lee in the top three. Though Jones is far behind the other two in batting average, he is probably the most valueable to his team. It will be an interesting vote.

After playing some weak teams over the past several weeks, the Sox get back into the meat of the schedule. Over the next 14 games, they will play 11 against teams they are battling the Sox for either a playoff spot or home field advantage in the playoffs. The other series during the next two weeks is against Toronto, a team that has given nightmares to the Sox this season. Here are the matchups if the playoffs began tomorrow:

    AL: (WC) Yankees at (1) Chicago White Sox
    AL: (3) LA Angeles at (2) Boston
    NL: (WC) Philadelphia at (1) St. Louis
    NL: (3) San Diego at (2) Atlanta

The Red Sox will move to within three games of the White Sox in the race for home field in the AL if they can win on Monday afternoon. If Chicago wins, they will be five ahead of Boston and very tough to catch.

Player of the Week: John Olerud, for the second time in five weeks.

August 31, 2005

The Sox finished the month of August with a 18-9 record and a 2 1/2 game lead in the American League East. This marks the first time since 1995 that Boston has been in first place heading into September. The pitching was not very good in August, but the offense kept the Sox in first place. The Sox have scored seven or more runs in 13 consecutive home games, an American League record. The Sox are 18-1 in their last 19 games at Fenway. I haven't seen the Sox play this well at home since the "Morgan Magic" days back in 1988. The Sox won a club record 24 in a row at home that season.

Here's an update on the Wells/Clement - Pedro/Lowe comparison. The ex-Sox have an ERA of about a run less than the new Sox, but the new Sox have a pretty solid Win-Loss record and have probably given management more bang for the buck.

Several Red Sox regulars were red hot at the plate in August.

• In 21 games, Tony Graffanino batted .338 with 21 runs.
• John Olerud batted .423 (11 for 26).
• Bill Mueller batted .366 with 13 RBIs and 19 runs.
• David Ortiz batted .284 (.397 OBP) with 11 HR, 30 RBI and 25 runs.
• Manny Ramirez batted .341 (.444 OBP) with 5 HR, 22 RBI and 24 runs.

Johnny Damon was about the only Red Sox batter to cool off in August. Damon batted only .252 during the month. On the pitching side, things were not so rosy in August.

• Schilling: 7.94 ERA
• Wells: 2-1, 4.40 ERA
• Clement: 2-0, 3.60 ERA
• Wakefield: 5-1, 5.18 ERA
• Arroyo: 1-3, 5.40 ERA

The bullpen didn't perform much better. About the only consistent pitcher the Sox had in August was Chad Bradford (15 games, 2-0, 2.25 ERA).

Player of the Month: It would be hard to argue with Mueller, Graffanino, Ortiz or Ramirez. They are all worthy. The slight edge goes to Big Papi. The 11 homers are impossible to ignore.

August 28, 2005

The Red Sox suffered through another disappointing week, going 3-3 against the lowly Royals and the pesky Tigers. The Sox began and ended the week with David Wells victories. Wells pitched 12 innings this week, giving up only two earned runs. In between, the Sox dropped three of four. In Tuesday's game, the Red Sox put a total of 12 runners on base between the fifth and ninth innings but not a single one of those 12 runners scored and Sox lost in extra innings. Three of those innings ended with the bases loaded.

Saturday was even more frustrating. The Sox lost despite leading 6-0 through three innings. Meanwhile, the Yankees scored five (yes, five) in the ninth inning to beat the Royals 8-7. The Royals botched what would have been a game ending double play with the score still 7-3. The Yankees' ability to get lucky breaks in the ninth inning at home has gone from bizarre to Twilight Zone episode. Anyway, in a week where most of us thought that the Sox could gain ground on the Yankees, they actually lost 2 1/2 games in the standings.

The good news is that 22 of the final 34 games are at home, where the Sox have won 68% of their games. The Yankees, on the other hand, play 20 of their final 33 on the road where they are below .500. However, the Sox need to take advantage this week because the Home/Away split will be about even after the Yankees return from this week's trip to Seattle and Oakland. Here's a breakdown of the remaining schedule:

     BOSTON:   Home (22) - TB (4), Oak (4), Tor (4), Bal (3), LAA (3), NYY (3), CWS (1)
               Away (12) - TB (3), Tor (3), Bal (3), NYY (3)
     NEW YORK: Home (13) - Bal (4), Tor (3), Bos (3), TB (3)
               Away (20) - Sea (4), Bal (4), Oak (3), Bos (3), TB (3), Tor (3)

Milestone: The Red Sox recorded their 204th consecutive sellout at Fenway on Sunday. This is the second longest streak in Major League history behind the Cleveland Indians who sold out at Jacobs Field 455 consecutive times between 1995 and 2001.

Tony Graffanino is batting .457 at Fenway since joining the Red Sox. In those 12 games, he has 12 RBIs and 18 runs scored.

Player of the Week: David Wells, who had two of the three Red Sox wins this week. Wells gave up just two earned runs in 12 innings of work. He struck out 12 batters and walked just two.

August 21, 2005

The Sox had a disappointing 3-4 start to the road trip. They could have easily been 6-1, but they could have also been 0-7. Six of the seven games were extremely close.

Between August of last season and May 10th of this year, the Red Sox had gone 14-1 in games started by Bronson Arroyo. Since then, the Sox are 6-13 when Bronson has taken the hill.

Ramirez and Ortiz are on pace to drive in a combined 295 runs this season. As I've mentioned previously, Ramirez and Ortiz could become the first teammate duo in either league to drive in 150 each since Ted Williams and Vern Stephens in 1949.

Curt Schilling will return to the rotation on Thursday. Here are his final closer stats (assuming he doesn't return to that role):

     W-L   SV/OPP   IP     ER   H   K   BB   ERA
     ---   ------   ----   --   --  --  --   ----
     4-3    9/11    24.1   14   25  27   6   5.17

The American League pennant race has essentially come down to seven teams battling for the final three spots (the White Sox have virtually locked up the AL Central). The Sox and Angels lead their divisions. The A's, Yankees, Indians, Twins and Blue Jays are all within five games of the Wild Card lead. Thanks to the White Sox recent skid, the Red Sox are just 4 1/2 games behind Chicago for home field throughout the AL playoffs. The Red Sox are one game ahead of the Angels for what would be home field in the first round of the playoffs.

The National League has a bit more drama. The Cardinals are cruising to home field advantage but 12 of the other 15 teams have a chance to grab a playoff spot. If the playoffs started today, these would be the matchups.

    AL: (WC) Oakland at (1) Chicago White Sox
    AL: (3) LA Angeles at (2) Boston
    NL: (WC) Philadelphia at (1) St. Louis
    NL: (3) San Diego at (2) Atlanta

Edgar Renteria had a good week. He was 10 for 32 (.313) with a homer and 5 RBI. David Ortiz had 5 hits, 3 homers and 8 RBIs against Detroit, but was only 2 for 15 against the Angels. Bill Mueller was 11 for 25 this week (.440).

Player of the Week: Jon Papelbon, who pitched 11 2/3 innings this week and gave up only two runs. The Red Sox were 2-0 this week in Papelbon starts, 1-4 otherwise. The Sox are now 3-0 when Jon has been the starter.

August 14, 2005

The Sox have now won 13 games in a row at home and are 14-2 since losing to Tampa Bay on June 25th. The Red Sox hitting has been the key. They are averaging 7.6 runs per game over the last 16 contests and 8.5 runs per game in the 14 victories. They have scored at least 7 runs in each of their last six games. The Sox picked a good time for an offensive surge because the pitching and defense has not been stellar. Boston opponents have scored at least four runs in all 11 August games.

It is great to see the Sox playing great baseball at Fenway. The Sox play their next 10 games on the road but then end the season with 25 of their last 37 at Fenway (including the makeup with Chicago). The Sox play 13 of their next 17 games against three of the bottom four teams in the American League (Kansas City for 3, Tampa for 4 and Detroit for 6).

The Yankees' 10-3 blowout win over Texas on Sunday marked only the third time in the last 16 games that the Yankees won a nine inning game by more than one run. During that stretch, they are 9-7.

It was a great offensive week for many of the Red Sox. In four games, Tony Graffanino was 9 for 16 (.563) with a homer and 4 doubles. He also drove in 8 and scored 7. Roberto Petagine was 5 for 9 (.555) with a homer and 5 RBIs in three games. David Ortiz was 9 for 21 (.429) with 3 HR, 9 RBI and 7 runs scored. Big Papi reached base 13 of 25 times this week. Bill Mueller was 6 for 14 (.429) with 5 runs. Manny was 6 for 19 (.316) with a homer, 5 RBIs and 7 runs. Edgar Renteria was 8 for 24 (.333) with 7 runs scored.

Player of the Week: Because they were both so great this week at the plate, I'm giving the POTW to both David Ortiz and Tony Graffanino.

Here is a rundown of this year's Players of the Week:

• 4/10: David Ortiz
• 4/17: Tim Wakefield
• 4/24: Manny Ramirez
• 5/1: Johnny Damon
• 5/8: Bronson Arroyo
• 5/15: Trot Nixon
• 5/22: Jason Varitek
• 5/29: Edgar Renteria
• 6/5: Kevin Millar
• 6/12: David Ortiz (2)
• 6/19: Matt Clement
• 6/26: Manny Ramirez (2)
• 7/3: Johnny Damon (2)
• 7/10: David Ortiz (3)
• 7/17: Trot Nixon (2)
• 7/24: Manny Ramirez (3)
• 7/31: John Olerud
• 8/7: Manny Ramirez (4)
• 8/14: Graffanino and Ortiz (4)

August 11, 2005

What a great pickup Tony Graffanino has turned out to be. Mark Bellhorn's replacement has batted .339 with the Red Sox through 15 games. In the Texas series alone, he was 5 for 8 with a homer, 7 RBI and 5 runs scored. He has also played some solid defense and displayed some nice baserunning.

Manny Ramirez is absolutely sizzling at the plate. Since the trade deadline passed, Manny is 13 for 27 with 5 walks (a .563 on base percentage), 4 homers and 15 RBIs. The bad news is that Manny creates problems for management every single year. The good news is that it does not negatively impact his hitting.

Big Papi, by contrast, has cooled off. He's hitting just .209 since the break, though he has blasted 5 homers to go along with 18 RBI over those 26 games. Ortiz has also walked 25 times since the break.

Johnny Damon's 29 game hitting streak ended on July 18th against Tampa. He now has a new hitting streak going at 14 games. Amazingly, Damon has hit safely in 48 of his last 50 games.

It's nice to see the Sox playing good ball at Fenway once again. Prior to the current 11 game home winning streak, the Sox had lost 9 of 12 at Fenway. The Sox have scored 92 runs during the current streak (8.4 runs per game).

If the Yankees end up the playoffs, Mariano Rivera deserves serious consideration for MVP. Since blowing saves against the Sox in his first two outings of the year, Rivera has saved 31 games in 31 save opportunities. He's given up just four earned runs in 50 2/3 innings (0.71 ERA). Since that first series of the year, he has struck out 56 batters and walked just 8. If Rivera had been even average this season, the Yankees would be at least 10 games behind the Sox and hopelessly out of the playoff race. Every time I think this guy is losing it, he comes back even stronger.

Speaking of the Yankees, White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik partially leaped into the leftfield stands at Yankee Stadium on Monday. In the process, he was accidentally punched in the face by a fan. Unlike Gary Sheffield, however, Podsednik did not come up swinging. I'd like to think that Shef learned something from that, but I doubt it.

August 7, 2005

The good news is that the Sox bats came alive in time for them to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins this week. The bad news is that they gave away a win on Saturday night with back to back errors in the bottom of the ninth (first by Mueller then by Timlin). Mueller's error can at least be partially blamed on a bad hop which threw him off balance and probably caused his bad throw to first base. It's ironic that the Red Sox lost patrially because of a bad infield bounce just six days after the Yankees won a game solely because of a bad infield bounce.

Speaking of those Yankees, they had a streak of six consecutive games in which they trailed going into the ninth inning (three with the Angels and three in Cleveland). Unfortunately for Sox fans, they won three of those games. The latest came on Thursday when the Yanks got two in the top of the ninth to beat Bob Wickman. It was a classic case of over-managing as Eric Wedge removed starter Kevin Millwood after eight innings and only 94 pitches. Millwood retired the Yanks in order in the eighth.

Jason Varitek hit his first career grand slam on Thursday. This was Tek's 120th career at bat with the bases loaded. Needless to say, he was due. This was Boston's 11th grand slam of the season which is a club record. The major league record for most grand slams in a single season is held by the 2000 Oakland A's, who hit 14. The Sox are on pace for 16.

The bottom of the ninth inning on the road has been kind to the Sox this season. Six times this season the Red Sox have been tied heading into the bottom of the ninth away from Fenway. On five of those occasions, the opponent won the game in the bottom of the ninth. In the other instance, the Sox failed to score in the top of the tenth inning and lost in the bottom of the tenth. There was also one game in which the Sox led heading into the bottom of the ninth in Texas and lost when the Rangers scored twice against Keith Foulke for the win.

Since Curt Schilling's disastrous debut as the Sox closer against the Yankees, he has been quite effective. During that time, Curt has saved nine games in ten chances and has two wins (along with a loss). He's given up four runs in 15 innings (an era of 2.40). He has struck out 16 and walked 5.

Player of the Week: Manny "Perpetual Trading Block" Ramirez. Despite losing nearly two games to injury, the Sox slugger hit three homers, drove in ten and scored five runs this week. Manny was 8 for 15 this week (.533). He driven in 103 runs in 102 games this season. Imagine what his numbers would look like if he was hitting his usual .315 ...

July 31, 2005

The trading deadline came and went and neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees made any major moves. The Sox picked up some outfield help in the person of Jose Cruz Jr, who they acquired from Arizona for a pair of minor leaguers on Saturday. Cruz batted .213 with 12 homers for the D-Backs this season. Manny Ramirez was rumored to be on his way out of town by in the end, he remained a Red Sox (or is it Red Sock?). The proposed trade rumor, as ESPN reported it, would have sent Ramirez and Danys Baez to the Mets, Mike Cameron from the Mets to the Red Sox, Mets prospects to the Devil Rays, Kelly Shoppach and Anibel Sanchez to the Rays, and Aubrey Huff to the Red Sox. The deal was preposterous because of how little the Mets would be giving up compared to the Sox (a first ballot hall of famer and two top-shelf prospects) and Devil Rays (a marketable closer and an outstanding outfielder). This was the kind of trade proposal that normally could only have come from a diehard Mets fan calling WFAN sports radio at about one o'clock in the morning. I find it very hard to believe that Theo Epstein truly considered it. If he did consider it, things with Ramirez must be worse that we realize.

I love the reaction of the Fenway fans to Ramirez this weekend. By booing him on Friday, they made it clear that they did not approve of his spoiled prima donna act earlier in the week. Ramirez's whining about trades and days off in the middle of a pennant race is inexcusable. By applauding Manny on Sunday, the fans showed him that they are ready to forgive him and move on. Manny's off the field act has grown quite tiresome, but I think most Sox fans realize that they can live with it as long as he produces the gargantuan numbers that he has been putting on the board. The good news is that Manny, though annoying and frustrating at times, is not a clubhouse cancer they way Carl Everett was. Manny is capable of shrugging off last week's soap opera and so are his teammates.

Jon Papelbon looked absolutely overpowering at times in his debut on Sunday. Sox fans have every reason to be excited about seeing this guy pitch every five days in 2006 and beyond. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Schilling-Clement-Arroyo-Wakefield-Papelbon rotation next season. Papelbon struggled with control at times, but the gave the Sox just what they needed. Delcarmen, Myers, Timlin and Schilling pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings as the Sox came back to win.

The weekend was great for the Sox, but it was extremely frustrating to see the Yankees "win lucky" on Saturday and Sunday. The Angels' normally untouchable closer Francisco Rodriguez walked four - count 'em four - Yankees in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday before Hideki Matsui drove in the game winning runs. The Yanks scored three runs on just one hit in the bottom of the ninth for an 8-7 win. Sunday was even worse. The Angels led 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth but a grounder through the legs of first baseman Darrin Erstad enabled the Yankees to score three unearned runs and tie the game at 6-6. The Angels scored in the top of the ninth to go ahead 7-6 and it appeared the game would end of a weak Gary Sheffield grounder in the bottom of the ninth. But nooooo. The ball took a funny hop just before it reached shortstop Orlando Cabrera, allowing the tying run to score from third. The Luckees won it in the bottom of the tenth, again by a score of 8-7. If Major League kept a stat called "undeserved wins" the 2005 Yankees would have already broken the major league record. The Yankees no doubt deserved to be swept, but instead they took two of three from the Angels and remained 2 1/2 game behind the Sox.

Player of the Week: I am very happy to give this week's award to the veteran John Olerud. Old "Helmet in the Field" was 7 for 19 this week (.368) with 2 HR and 8 RBI.

Player of the Month for July: Here are the candidates:

• Manny Ramirez -- Manny batted .272 with 9 HR and 25 RBI. He drove in the winning run three times in July, twice with homeruns. He also walked 17 times to give him an on base percentage above .400 for the month. On the negative side, he demanded to be traded and whined about not getting a prearranged day off last week.



• Johnny Damon -- Damon continued his torrid pace in July as he batted .339 with 5 HR and 25 runs. Damon had a 29 game hitting streak which ended in July.



• David Wells -- Wells was 3-1 in July with an ERA of just 3.38. He struck out 24 batters while walking just three. He's 6-1 since the start of June.



• Mike Timlin -- The Sox setup man pitched 12 2/3 innings in July and gave up just one earned run (that's an ERA 0.71). He was 2-0 with a save in July.

The winner is ... Johnny Damon. What a season!

July 24, 2005

The week started and ended badly for the Red Sox but in between, they won four of five games and regained first place. After taking over first place on Monday, the Yankees lost five or six to end the week. Meanwhile, the Orioles are in free fall. They have lost five games in a row and are 8-19 since June 22nd.

The American League has been more competitive this season than it has been in a long time. Eleven of the fourteen AL Teams are within four games (in the loss column) of a playoff spot. The National League is pretty interesting as well with nine teams within three games of the Wild Card.

You can add "the A's starting slow then catching fire at midseason" to death and taxes as certainties in life. The Amazin' A's have won 26 of 32 games and are now tied for first place in the Wild Card standings. Four of five A's starters have an ERA of 4.26 or lower and two relievers - Huston Street and Justin Duchscherer have ERAs below 2.00. The A's offense is heating up as well. Rookie Nick Swisher has 11 HR and 36 RBI since the beginning of June. Oh by the way, Jay Payton is hitting .370 and has three homers in 27 at bats with Oakland.

In his last 35 games, Manny Ramirez is batting .328 with 16 homers and 46 RBIs. He has a .429 on base percentage over that time.

In six appearances as the Sox closer, Curt Schilling is 1-1 with two saves in three chances. Schilling has given up seven hits and three earned runs in seven innings of work. He has eight strikeouts and has not walked anyone.

Each member of the Red Sox current starting rotation has an ERA of between 4.05 (Arroyo) and 4.59 (Wells).

Player of the Week: Manny Ramirez, who was 5 for 19 (.263) with 3 HR and 6 RBIs this week. Thanks to eight walks, Manny reached base 13 of 27 times this week. He had the game-winning homeruns in the first and third games of the Chicago series.

July 20, 2005

Almost nothing has bounced the Red Sox way this season, so it was very nice to see the White Sox gift wrap a victory for the Red Sox on Thursday in Chicago. With the score tied 5-5 in the top of the ninth, ChiSox third baseman Joe Crede decided to get flashy and dropped a routine Manny Ramirez foul popup. Manny deposited the next pitch into the leftfield seats and Curt Schilling nailed down the 6-5 victory by retiring Chicago in order in the bottom of the ninth (though he did surrender the tying run in the eighth).

Strangely enough, this was only the second time in the last 24 games that a Red Sox game was decided by one run. By contrast, the Twins played eight consecutive one run contests between June 10th and June 20th.

Despite his troubles against lefties, Manny Ramirez is on pace to hit 44 homers and drive in 148 RBIs. David Ortiz is on pace for 39 homers and 147 RBIs. Obviously, both players have a great chance to drive in 150 or more runs. Manny and Papi could become the first teammate duo to drive in 150 each since Ted Williams and Vern Stephens in 1949. Since 1950, only eight players have driven in 150-plus runs in a single season. One of those players is Manny Ramirez, who drove in 165 runs for Cleveland in 1999.

The Red Sox have won nine of their last ten games started by David Wells. Wells is 6-1 with a 3.36 ERA over that time with a 36/8 strikeout to walk ratio. Bronson Arroyo is 4-2 with an ERA of 3.31 in his last seven starts.

July 17, 2005

Like the Orioles the weekend before, the Yankees took three of four from the Sox and edged closer to the lead in the AL East. Boston outscored New York 30-21 in the series, but a series of blunders and lack of clutch hitting enabled the Yankees to move to within one-half game of first place. The low point of the series occurred on Saturday when Kevin Millar stopped at third base on a slow single up the middle. Doug Mirabelli, assuming that Millar has scored, rounded second and was promptly thrown out. Bernie Williams wasn't even thinking about throwing to home plate on the play. It was simply ridiculous and cost the Red Sox a run, a potential big inning and possibly the game. The Sox won 17-1 on Friday night. It was the second time this season that Boston has beaten the Yankees by a score of 17-1. On the frustration scale, this series was about a 9.5 (out of 10).

On the plus side, Johnny Damon extended his hitting streak to 29 games on Sunday. He is five games away from tying the Red Sox record currently held by Dominic DiMaggio.

Player of the Week: Trot Nixon, who had two homers (one of the inside the park variety) and eight RBIs against the Yankees. Nixon was 4 for 14 and scored four runs.