Game 58/162, It Takes the Red Sox 14 Innings and a Walk-Off But a Win is a Win

From a four-run lead in the top of the ninth, the Red Sox made the game much harder to win that expected. Pedroia could have ended the game with a double play but slipped up, adding 5 innings of free baseball to the game. With a four-lead, Papelbon gave it all up. Varitek was frustrated and was quickly ejected. After Conor Jackson's two-run single of of Youk's glove to tie the game, Papelbon's frustration got to him after a few inconsistencies by the ump calling balls and strikes and was ejected. Pap claims that he was talking to Salty but the Ump thought he has talking to him.

"I more or less was just trying to get Salty out here and say, 'Hey, you know, come talk to me, let's figure out this zone so I know how to go about this,'" Papelbon said. "Cause I had no idea what his zone was. I don't know, I guess he may have jumped to the conclusion that I was talking to him, and then I felt like he threw his arms up in the air, for no reason, towards me."

In the bottom of the 11th after the Athletics scored in the top half, Jacoby Ellsbury had a crucial, game changing double to score Salty and tie the game.

The Sox went on to walk-off on JD Drew's RBI single to right center. They won but it became a much harder victory due to the overuse of the bullpen which is now tired. Beckett gave up three runs in 6 IP. Hottovy, a new addition to the roster pitched 2/3 of an inning in his debut. Pap was charged with 3 ER in 1/3 IP. Alfredo Aceves got the W pitching 4 late innings and giving up the one run in the 11th.

Notable Players:

Jacoby Ellsbury, 4 for 7 with a double and an RBI

Carl Crawford, 4 for 7 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI

Adrian Gonzalez, 3 for 5 with a homer and 1 RBI

JD Drew, 2 for 7 with a walk-off single and 2 RBI 

Game 53/162, Red Sox Can't Pull off Sweep of the Tigers

Game two:


After winnings game one, 4-3, the Red Sox were 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees. Last night, the Red Sox offense was not able to get going off Justin Verlander from the start. In the first inning, the Tigers had a runner on first who scored on an RBI double by Brennan Boesch to make it 1-0. Soon after, Miguel Cabrera singled, bringing in Boesch to score and making the score 2-0. Neither team scored again until the 8th inning, Don Kelly singled right back up the middle to make it 3-0. Josh Beckett gave up 2 runs in 6 innings (not bad) but was handed the loss. He is now 4-2 with a 1.60 ERA. Now, the Red Sox will travel back to Fenway for Jon Lester (7-1/3.36/70) to challenge Jake Peavy (1-0/3.00/14).

Notable Players:

Josh Beckett- Beckett gave up 2 runs in 6 innings, but he had no run support

Rich Hill- a scoreless inning of relief

Jacoby Ellsbury- 1-3 with a walk

J.D. Drew- 2-3

Jason Varitek- 1-3 with a double

Games 52/162, Red Sox Win in Game One off of Pinch Hit Homer for Ortiz

Game 1:


The Red Sox started off the day 1 game ahead of the Yankees. In Game one, Gonzalez started off the scoring with a sac fly. In the second, Cameron lined a solo homer to deep center. Pedroia later made the score 3-0 with a solo homer of his own. The Tigers would also have two solo homers by Dirks and Boesch to make make it 3-2. To tie the game, Peralta singled in Miguel Cabrera. In the top of the ninth, Francona had a nice call for Ortiz to pinch hit for Salty. This move would be crucial as Ortiz hit a homer off of Jose Valverde to make the score 4-3. Ortiz has 11 homers this season. Ortiz is 2-2 with 2 homers and 5 RBI in his career against Valverde. Clay Buchholz did okay allowing 3 runs in 6 IP. He is now 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA.

Notable Players:

Matt Albers- 2 scoreless innings and the win

Jonathan Papelbon- his 10th save of the year with a scoreless inning

Dustin Pedroia- 1-4 with a solo home run

Jed Lowrie- 2-4

Mike Cameron- 2-2 with a solo home run

David Ortiz- 1-1, homer 

Red Sox Game vs Tigers Postponed (Rain)

Thanks to the heavy rain yesterday, the Sox play a double header today. The first game is at 1:05 PM with Buchholz pitching. The second game is at 7:05 PM with Beckett pitching. Carl Crawford has 3 homers in his last few games. Buchholz has pitched fine this season but not as well as last season. On the other hand, Beckett has pitched much better this season than in any of his last few injury riddled seasons. You can expect Ellsbury to do well again as he is on a hot streak. JD Drew is expected to play today and Gonzalez has been doing well as of late. Also, one surprising thing I noticed lately was that Ortiz is hitting .305 this season with 10 homers which is much better than expected by anyone. Also, remember to put all your Red Sox players into your fantasy lineups as they are playing 2 games today. Also, the Red Sox can use today to get a much larger lead over the Yankees who are trailing the Sox by 1.5 games.

Have a nice weekend!

Red Sox 2011 Fan Photos Contest

This year, many of us are going to go to MLB games or have already gone. Here is what to do to enter:

1. Take a picture at the game. This can be of the field, of a player, etc.

2. Email the picture to me (redsox360blog@gmail.com), or upload it to our Facebook or Twitter page.

Rules:

1. Must be taken by you, not found on Google or you will be disqualified.

2. You can only upload two pictures so make sure they are good.

All of your pictures will be on our Fan Photos Page. If its not their, email me and notify me so I make sure it is entered in the contest.

Prizes!!!

The winner will win either a pair of Red Sox sunglasses, a Red Sox Mr. Potato Head, a Red Sox arrow sign, or a Red Sox logo baseball.

Pictures of the Cleveland Indians vs Boston Red Sox Game I Went To, Score 14-2

Its too bad I forgot my good camera and camcorder. :(

Game 50/162, Red Sox 14, Tigers 1, Red Sox Win Through 7 1/2 Innings (Rain)

Hey guy, I haven't been here for a while as the Sox are destroying because as some of you might know, I was in Cleveland for the past few days at the Wednesday 14-2 win over the Indians at Progressive Field. I haven't made the post and uploaded the pictures yet because of technical difficulties but I'm hoping those will be up soon. By the way, Cleveland is way further from me that I thought.

Now, getting back to topic, the Red Sox have scored 14 runs in the last two games. This is the ninth time the Red Sox have scored 14+ runs in two consecutive games. The last time was in 1998 vs the Expos and White Sox.

Aceves pitched very well, going six strong innings and giving up 1 ER. Crawford went 4 for 5 and has gone 8 for 9 in the last two days. Ellsbury did well again with a three run homer to right.

Josh Reddick (who I saw playing in Rochester) went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI after replacing Darnell McDonald. Drew Sutton also did well and hit 2 doubles and had 2 RBI.

Crawford had two triples while in Cleveland, he only needed one to complete the cycle a day earlier. 

Here are the AL East current standings!

                W   L   PCT   GB
Yankees     27  21 .563    ---
Red Sox     28  22 .560    ---

I hope I can get those photos up by tonight!

The Year of the Pitcher - Buchholz and Masterson

What a night for New England fans clicking from the Bruins Lightening Stanley Cup playoff game number four to the Red Sox game where Clay Buchholz faced the Tribe's Justin Masterson; Masterson and Bucholz, both sporting their playoff hockey beards pitched a great game. With more aggressive drug testing MLB and the rise of great young pitchers throughout the MLB it has become the year of the pitcher. Last night was a mix of great pitching and some great hitting.A pitcher's duel or maybe better described as a duel draw. Masterson pitched 7 2/3 innings, Buchholz 7 1/3 innings, Masterson and Buchholz each allowed 2 earned runs, both men allowed 4 hits and 2 walks, Masterson struck out 3 and Buchholz punched out 4. A shame that Masterson neither ace got the decision.

This game epitomizes how the absence of "steroids" has changed baseball; pitching, especially young pitching now dominates the game. A team like the Tampa Bay Rays with good young pitching and timely hitting has kept the struggling Yankees and slow starting Bosox from dominating the American League East. Last night the starting pitchers were equal almost to a pitch, both teams matched home runs, and in the end the Indian's Joe Smith was just that much better than the Red Sox's closer Daniel Bard who has struggled this season to find his pitching grove. Pitching will separate the great teams from the very good teams. Last night the Red Sox pitching and Bard were not good enough. 

When the Sox signed Carl Crawford I was temporarily reconciled to the loss of Victor Martinez. When Crawford plays and hits well as he did last night I begin to forget what an important part of the Sox's success came from V-Mart's play behind the plate and as a big bat. Perhaps Crawford will help us forget.

Last night was fun. What a night for New England fans clicking from the Bruins Lightening Stanley Cup playoff game number four to the Red Sox game where Clay Buchholz faced the Tribe's Justin Masterson; Masterson and Bucholz, both sporting their playoff hockey beards pitched a great game. With more aggressive drug testing MLB and the rise of great young pitchers throughout the MLB it has become the year of the pitcher. Last night was a mix of great pitching and some great hitting.

Red Sox Catching the Catcher Blues: Here Are Some Possible Catching Acquisitions This Season

The Red Sox don't have a very good offensive or defensive catching situation. Lets face it, Boston catchers have never been good at throwing out base runners. They have usually hit for an okay average or for a little power. But, this season, the Sox's catchers haven't been doing anything productive. Jason Varitek is batting .190 and Salty is batting .236 which is an improvement. The two have combined for 52 stolen bases allowed and only 13 caught stealing. Varitek has only caught 13% of runners while Salty has caught 24%. If they continue to play poorly, the Red Sox will have to look for a replacement. Here are some options:

• The first option is Jonathan Lucroy, he has a .320 average in 28 games this season and he is only 25. He has great potential but he has only caught 10% of basestealers (better than Tek)
• Nick Hundley has a .263 batting average which is average for a catcher but he has thrown out a whopping 34% of basestealers. He also is only 27.
• The next solution is Lou Marson who has a good .278 average and has thrown out 33% of basestealers this season. He has caught a high, 40% of basestealers in his career. He is also only 25. ( I hope you've noticed the young theme)
• Wilson Ramos, who will always be a Red Wing to me, is another great option. He has a .289 average with 3 homers and has thrown out 50% of basestealers this season. He is only 23.
• Although he is a little older, Jose Molina would be a good season rental for the Sox. He is 36 but he has a .292 average and has caught 40% or basestealers in his 12 season career.
• Alex Avila has been good, hitting .283 with 6 homers and 24 RBIs. He is 24 and has caught 38% of basestealers.

Besides these options, the Red Sox have other solutions like Luis Exposito and other outside the organization options like Ryan Hanigan, Brett Hayes, JR Towles, Landon Powell, Chris Gimenez, and JP Arencibia.

Please feel free to comment!

Red Sox Rumor: After Injuries to Lackey and Dice-K, Red Sox are Turning to Kevin Millwood

Over the past few days, the Red Sox have been link to free agents starter, Kevin Millwood. This does not come as a surprise after injuries that forced Dice-K and John Lackey to the 15 day DL. The Red Sox called Kevin Millwood to see if he would go to Triple-A Pawtucket and pitch. Kevin Millwood had a 5.10 ERA in 31 starts last year. Although, the year before that he pitched to a nicer 3.67 ERA in 31 starts. The Red Sox hope he can pitch up to that. Kevin Millwood became a free agent after not being called up by the Yankees and opting out of his contract. Millwood is the ripe old age of 36 (no offense to those who are older) so the Red Sox want a minor league deal with him for only this season. 

Lackey is on the DL for precautionary reasons as he has an elbow injury. While, Dice-K's injury seems much more serious as he has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament. This injury sometimes requires Tommy John Surgery if it is too bad. His injury was caught early but it is pretty bad. He had an MRI Wednesday which should stop him from any baseball activities for 4 weeks and at least 4 more of rehabilitation afterward. He will probably not pitch for 2 months which shows why the Sox need pitching help.

As for their current starters, the Red Sox have Alfredo Aceves (who I saw pitch for Pawtucket earlier this season) and Tim Wakefield filling it to pitch for the two injured starters on the DL. They will pitch on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, Pap is up to his funny ways:

"This thing might be contagious, dude.  Keep 'em the hell away from me!"

**Update** The Red Sox have signed Kevin Millwood to a minor league deal. Also the Red Sox acquired  Franklin Morales from the Rockies who has a 4.83 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in the Majors. They had to DFA Okajima to make room for him on their roster.

  

Game 38/162, Red Sox Beat the Yankees Using Power

Red Sox 5, Yankees 3

Red Sox  - 000 200 300 - 5 9 1

Yankees - 000 020 011 - 4 8 0 

redsox.mlb.com

The Red Sox had a familiar strategy to win the game on Friday, power and good pitching. Buchholz pitched the best he had all season, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 7 Ks in 7 IP against the powerful Yankee lineup. 

Bard came in in the eight, giving up a triple to Granderson and letting him score on the wild pitch. Later in the inning, after walking A-Rod and hitting Cano, they had a double steal to try to get the win. Then luckily Swisher struck out on a high pitch and Posada  grounded out to second.

In the ninth, after getting two quick outs, Papelbon gave up a single to Jeter with two strikes and Granderson had a nice hit to left. Later they advanced to second and third. If Teixeira got a hit they Yanks would tie, and a homer would win it for the Yanks but happily, he popped out to third to end the game. 

As for the Red Sox offense, Adrian Gonzalez hit a deep, high homer that made me think it might get outta the park, but it didn't. Then Youk got on after a drop third strike and later, with the bases loaded, he came home on a ground out by Drew.

In the 7th inning, Salty got a hit and Joba came in. Ellsbury got on with a fielders choice and stole second. He later scored on Gonzalez's sac fly. Then with Pedroia on, Youk hit a two run homer to right and while in the dugout, you could easily read his lips: "I love this park". Probably referring to the short porch out in right.

Just for fun: Adrian Gonzalez leads the league in RBIs. The Red Sox are three games behind the Yankees and 5 games behind the Rays in first place.

Game 36/162, Rogers Centre Proves Unlucky For Red Sox

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 6

Red Sox   - 010 120 011 0 - 6 16 0

Blue Jays - 300 011 010 1 - 7 9  2

Rogers Centre, over the last 12 games has been Fenway North for the Red Sox, who entering last night’s game the Red Sox were 10 for 12. Friendly Rogers Centre could not overcome 

unlucky game 13, as the Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays 7 to 6.

The Red Sox last night just did not have enough to overcome the Blue Jays last night; not enough hitting and not enough pitching to win the game. Last night’s game the Red Sox frustrated me as they failed to reach the .500 mark, fall to 17 and 19.

Frustrating best describes the game last night; Lester could not keep the Blue Jays hitters from scoring runs, Lester could not hold off the Jays’ hitters through 5 and a third innings. Lester had a twenty five pitch inning, frustrating. Red Sox reliever Rich Hill kept the game from spinning out of control when Lester was pulled with one out and two runners on in the 6th inning. Frustrating night.

Adrian Gonzalez smashed 2 homers and David Ortiz knocked another homer you would think the Red Sox would bring enough offense to the Rogers Centre to win. Frustrating. When the Blue Jays brought in a mouth full of consonants, reliever Marc Rzepczynski, who would eventually give up a double to Jed Lowrie, who doubled in the run that tied the game 5 to 5.

Bard would give up an uncharacteristic home run pitch. Then in extra innings off of Sox reliever Matt Albers gave up a single to Rajai Davis, then he stole second base and then third. Davis would score the game winner or a sacrifice fly by David Cooper.

Frustrating night. There was just not enough hitting and not enough pitching for the Red Sox to reach the .500 plateau. 

Article by George Cosmo

Game 34/162, Red Sox Get the Win on Mothers Day

Red Sox 9, Twins 5

Twins     - 300 100 010 - 5  8  3

Red Sox  - 014 020 20x - 9 14  0

On Sunday, the Sox get the win. Dice-K got the win. He started off badly in the first inning and got better as the game went on. 

The Red Sox got on the board after Youkilis doubled and Drew grounded out with the RBI. In the third, the Red Sox really got into the attack with 5 hits in the inning, getting 4 runs. 

In the top of the fourth, Danny Valencia, (who I saw play in the minors a few times) hit a homer that was disputed and then checked by instant replay. After the Replay, the umpires confirmed the homer.

In the fifth, Gonzalez homered, showing some power over the last few days. Also, Drew hit into a force out and Youkilis scored on the error.

Lowrie also hit a two run double in the seventh to finish out the game. He has hit .229 on this current homestand. 

Notable Players:

Jacoby Ellsbury - 3 for 5 with a double and a run - extends hit streak to 17 games

Adrian Gonzalez - 3 for 5 with a homer and 2 RBIs

Kevin Youkilis - 2 for 4 with 4 runs and an RBI

Starting Pitcher:

Dice-K - 6 IP 5 H 4 ER 4 Ks 

Game 31/162, Bad Game, 'nough said

Red Sox 0, Angels 11

Angels    - 003 330 200 - 11 18  0

Red Sox  - 000 000 000 -  0  7  1
Terrible game all around. John Lackey became the second pitcher in Red Sox history to allow 8+ ER twice in 31 games. No offense, no pitching, no big post by me!   

Game 30/162, Red Sox Lose in Extras After Long Delay

Red Sox 3, Angels 5

Angels   - 000 000 201 000 2 - 5 12 2

Red Sox - 000 000 012 000 0 - 3 11 2

At 2:45 AM, after a long rain delay, Dice-K unfortunately gets the loss after his first major league relief appearance. He pitched the 13th inning in which the Red Sox lost. He gave up a lead-off single and then two pop outs. Just when he was almost out of it, he gave up another  single, a walk to load the bases, and then a two run single to Bobby Abreu.

In the ninth, the Red Sox rallied to tie the game. With two on, the ball got away from Hank Conger (catcher of the Angels) and he fired it trying to get someone out but it bounce off of the umpire's leg and went to shortstop. Lowrie scored but Cameron was out on the tag at third base. After Crawford's double and Varitek's fly out, Ellsbury lined a single into right to tie the game.

In the 11th, Youkilis almost won the game for the Red Sox with a high fly ball of the top of the Monster two feet away from being a walk-off homer but was denied of it as it bounced off the top of the Monster. He was held to a double and Scutaro, who was on first didn't score.

Red Sox April Recap

The first month of the season is over and lets see how they did:

In the first 26 games of the season, the finished last place in the AL East with an 11-15 record. They started 2-9 and then won 8 out of 9 next few games but never reached .500 after dropping the next couple series against Baltimore and Seattle 1-3.

Batting   GM   AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS

Road       15    .224   .302   .333   .635

Home      11    .268   .370   .444   .814

In April, the Red Sox hit .262 with RISP but only .226 with nobody on.

Jed Lowrie led the team with a .368 average and slugging pct. Youkilis has also been productive with only a .218 average but a whopping .392 on base pct. Adrian Gonzalez (.314 average)and Jacoby Ellsbury (.266 average) have been hitting better as of late.

The weak spots in the lineup have been the lead off position which has a .303 OBP, the worst spot in the lineup except for 8th and 9th. Ellsbury has done better so that might change in May. Also Crawford has a .155 average to start the season but has been getting some nice hits lately which is exactly what the Sox need.

The catching spot is also weak with Salty hitting .216 and Varitek hitting .111. This might mean that its time for Theo to look outside the organization for a catching solution. Soon I will be writing about possible solutions for their catching situation.

The starting pitching started off terribly but when the Red Sox went 8-1 the starters' ERA went to 1.08. The Red Sox haven't been too bad pitching since they allowed 4.35 runs per game and the league average is 4.33. Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler have been disappointing so far this season.  

Game 28/162, Red Sox Bats Come Alive After Weaver Leaves

Red Sox 9, Angels 5

Angels   - 001 010 021 - 5 13 1

Red Sox - 100 020 60x - 9 11 0

After Weaver left the game, the Red Sox demolished the Angels bullpen, scoring six runs in a span of 7 pitches. 

The at-bat of the game was Pedroia against Weaver in the fifth. The Red Sox were losing 2-1, and the Red Sox had guys on first and third with two outs:

01 - Ball 1

02 - Foul, strike 1

03 - Ball 2

04 - Foul, strike 2

05 - Foul (Ellsbury off with the pitch)

Activity in the Angels' bullpen

06 - Foul (Ellsbury off with the pitch)

LAA visit to the mound

Throw to first

07 - Ball 3 (Ellsbury steals second)

08 - Foul

09 - Foul

10 - Foul

11 - Foul

12 - Foul

13 - Line drive single into CF, Crawford and Ellsbury score, Boston leads 3-2

joyofsox.blogspot.com

After that nice at-bat, Gonzalez felt he had an obligation to save the game. So when Torii Hunter was on second and Alberto Callaspo hit a grounder to him, he fired to third and got the out.

In the 7th inning, the Red Sox were leading 3-2. Varitek singled and Ellsbury doubled so he went to third. Then Pedroia was walked by the new pitcher (Francisco Rodriguez). When the bases were loaded, Adrian Gonzalez crushed the ball off the Monster to clear the bases. Then Youkilis hit an RBI single to score Gonzo. Then Ortiz hit a two run homer to finish the attack. 

Game 27/162, Red Sox Walk-Off With a Win After an Error and a Nice Hit by Currently Slumping Carl Crawford

Red Sox 3, Mariners 2

Mariners - 000 002 000 - 2 4 0

Red Sox  - 002 000 001 - 3 8 2 

On Sunday, the Red Sox avoid the sweep by walking off in the ninth. So far, May has been a good month for the Red Sox. Buchholz couldn't make Sunday's start due to a stomach ailment so Tim Wakefield took over and did well not giving up a run in 5.2 IP. Then, it all changed when slumping Jenks came in and gave up two runs to tie the game. 

The Red Sox scored 2 runs off of King Felix in the third. In the ninth, with one out, Lowrie hit a high fly ball deep to right. Ichiro lost it in the sun and just like that, Lowrie was on third (not considered an error?) with a triple. The next batter, Carl Crawford who had been slumping, hit a sharp single up the middle to win the game for the Red Sox. 

Players Quotes About the Triple (Joy of Sox):

Ichiro:

The moment that ball hit the sky, I couldn't pick up anything, it just disappeared. It's close to impossible to catch that ball. The decisions were look to the side so the ball could get deeper into myself and maybe hit me, or run back and let it fall down for a single. But ... late in a tight ballgame, you want to make that effort. You don't want to let that ball fall in and make it look like you aren't trying.

Lowrie:

When I hit it, I knew I got it good. He plays a really deep right field, the wind was blowing straight in and I saw him and thought he was camped right under it, which he was. But then the sun. ...

Jamey Wright:

I could tell he didn't see it. He actually came a lot closer than I thought he would. I thought it was going to sail right by him. I had a chance to get out of it with the ground ball, but I threw a cutter to Crawford that got a little too much of the plate. I was trying to get a shoe or glove or something on it, but he hit it too hard.

Players Quotes About the Single to End it (Joy of Sox):


Crawford:

Everything I hit, it seems like it's an out. To see it get through, it was like a big weight was off my shoulders. ... It's a new month.

David Ortiz:

Me and Gonzo, we had a race. I heard Gonzo say, "Man if he gets a hit right here, I'm going to hug him so hard." And then next thing you know, it's like, "OK, that's a good idea," and bam.

Adrian Gonzalez:

[We] just keep telling him that we believe in him. I wouldn't want anybody else in left field. He's the man. ... I keep telling him that the greatest thing for where you're in right now is that you're probably going to hit .330, .340 for the rest of the year. Good things will happen.

Ichiro's Speeches Helping AL Win - Vote Ichiro for the All Star Game

The AL All-Star team has won every game (except last year's) Ichiro has played in since 2001, when Ichiro joined the team. Coincidence? I don't think so. 

The tradition began in 2001 when Ichiro made his first All-Star appearance. Many people thought Ichiro could barely speak English or couldn't at all. He proved them wrong. Ichiro has been making a speech to the All-Star team every year which seems effective and I see why. As you know, the best of the Bigs are chosen every year to represent their league in front of tons of fans. This can be tense and stressful for the players but Ichiro loosens them up with his speech. 

After the manager talks to the team, Ichiro, the little 5 foot 9, 190 pound man filled with enough energy to fuel a rocket, bursts out of the locker room and in English continues to bash the National League All-Stars with all slang he knows. Most players don't remember exactly what he is saying because they are laughing too hard.

   Morneau:

            

           “If you’ve never seen it, it’s definitely something pretty funny,” Morneau said. “It’s hard to explain, the effect it has on everyone. It’s such a tense environment. Everyone’s a little nervous for the game, and then he comes out. He doesn’t say a whole lot the whole time he’s in there, and all of a sudden, the manager gets done with his speech, and he pops off.”

Here is my best guess of his speech:

           

           "Bleep... bleep bleeep bleep... bleeeeeeeeep bleepin.... National.... bleeeep bleeepin... All- bleeeep Stars bleep bleep National - bleep bleep ...!"

When asked how much it helped them win, Ichiro said:

           “I’ve got to say over 90 percent,” he said. 

After Tejada moved from the American League to the National league this season, he said    

             

           “I hope Fukudome does it this year,” Tejada said.   

Fukudome's response:

             

           “I have no plans for that,” Fukudome said.      

Ichiro talks to many first basemen (2279 hits) but his speeches still find a way to surprise them.

Feel free to comment!

Game 23/162, Red Sox Take a Hard Loss

Red Sox 4, Orioles 5

Red Sox - 000 000 04x - 0 0 0 

Orioles  - 000 310 01x - 0 0 0 

Today Becket pitched a good game to the 5th. After the dropped fly ball to shallow right-center, Becket gave up two homers and it unraveled from there. Beckett gave up 4 runs in 7 IP. Then Wakefield pitched a scoreless inning.

The Red Sox couldn't put anything together all night long. In the 8th, the Red Sox new they had to get something started. First, the Speedy Elf single to lead off the inning. Then Pedroia walked and Adrian Gonzalez hit a single which scored the Speedy Elf. Then Then Koji Uehara was called in to pitch and immediately gave up a three run homer to Youk, tiing the score, 4 to 4. 

Then in the bottom of the eight, Daniel Bard block the plate on a passed ball to get an out but Guerrero single so it didn't matter. The Orioles took the lead 5-4. 

In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox couldn't get anything started and loss.