SoxSpace News

Sliced And Diced by Jared Carrabis
Daisuke Dazzles Over Eight Innings

If the outing turned in last night by Daisuke Matsuzaka was something that you could physically touch, it would have immediately been placed in a museum because plain and simple it was a masterpiece. The Boston bats may have put on a show, but Friday night was all about Daisuke. For the second straight start against the Chicago White Sox, Daisuke Matsuzaka baffled the bats of the windy city. In eight complete innings of work, Matsuzaka gave up just two hits and struck out seven in his shutout effort against the "other" Sox.

Daisuke Matsuzaka left the game after the eighth inning having thrown 106 pitches (65 for strikes) and most importantly, he left with a lead of 7-0 that quickly became 8-0 in the bottom half of the inning and eventually the final score. The Dice-man picked up his sixteenth win of the season to bolster his record on the season to an incredible 16-2. The two-hit shutout lowered his opponents batting average to .211 on the season.

The Red Sox offense continue...READ MORE!

Published on August 30, 2008 See Comment(s)

Farewell Tour Part III by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox Exit Stadium Forever

Ah, Yankee Stadium. Home of the overly abused curtain call. I'd be lying if I said I was going to miss you. In a game that the Red Sox should have had, the Yankees found a way to walk off with the win in the only fitting way to say goodbye to the Red Sox/Yankee rivalry at the Stadium. No one but Red Sox fans themselves will remember that Boston dominated the first two games of this series. The only highlight that will be shown thirty years from now when the New York media reflects back on the final season of Yankee Stadium will be Jason Giambi's walk off base hit against Jonathan Papelbon in the bottom of the ninth.

Jon Lester pitched beautifully in six and two thirds innings of work, striking out eight men in pinstripes and kept the bombers to just five hits. Lester gave way to Hideki Okajima in the seventh inning with a man on for the lefty/lefty match up against Jason Giambi. The hero of the day slammed a two-run shot to deep center field to tie the game to eventually set himse...READ MORE!

Published on August 28, 2008 See Comment(s)

Farewell Tour Part II by Jared Carrabis
Pedroia Slams Yanks, Sox Win Big

The curtain is now two thirds of the way closed on the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry at Yankee Stadium and so far on this Farewell Tour, it's been all Boston. The Red Sox poured on an offensive attack even more impressive than the seven run, fourteen hit attack they unleashed in game one. They may have had one hit less in game two but they were a whole four runs better thanks to the first career grand slam off the bat of Dustin Pedroia. The grand slam was Pedroia's fifteenth home run of the season to conclude yet another three-hit night for the Red Sox second baseman.

Even with Pedroia hitting the grand slam, Jason Bay also was a big part in leading the way in this run scoring parade. Jason Bay was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple to go along with his four runs batted in. At the time, his four RBIs were the most crucial runs of the game before the Red Sox offense really broke things open. Jacoby Ellsbury was a great table setter for the big sticks with two hits and two runs scored...READ MORE!

Published on August 27, 2008 See Comment(s)

Farewell Tour Part I by Jared Carrabis
Sox Open Series With A Bang

We've got a lot to tackle today so let's get right down to it. The curtain is on third of the way closed on the Red Sox and Yankee rivalry at Yankee Stadium. The two teams clashed in the Bronx last night in game one of three in their final series to be played in the legendary stadium. For the Red Sox, it was a game they needed to win to inch closer to first place, for the Yankees it was a game they needed to show the rest of the baseball world that they were still playing for this year. Well, we're still not convinced.

The Red Sox scattered fourteen hits all around the House that Ruth Built and played seven runs in their double-digit hit effort. Legendary Yankee-killer, David Ortiz, was one of many offensive leaders in last night's win over the Bombers. Ortiz went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two walks knocking in a run. In Jason Bay's rivalry debut, he did not disappoint. Bay collected two hits in four at bats and drove in two runs for the Red Sox.

The other big offensive he...READ MORE!

Published on August 26, 2008 See Comment(s)

Big Win by Jared Carrabis
Pedroia's Clutch Home Run Seals The Deal

Define: Big win…well, when you’re in the same division as the Tampa Bay Dev--excuse me, Rays, every game is a must win in order to keep pace with a red-hot ball club. With the Rays and White Sox duking it out in the windy city, every game is critical for the Boston Red Sox for an opportunity to pick up a game in either the AL East or Wild Card standings. With the Red Sox battling for first place in the AL East with the Rays now four games back and holding a slim lead on the White Sox in the AL Wild Card standings, Red Sox Nation has started their annual scoreboard watching.

The Red Sox past two visits to Toronto have not been ones to remember having been swept on both occasions. With a thrilling eleven inning victory over the Blue Jays, the Red Sox managed to take two out of three from a team that has given them trouble not only this season but in recent seasons as well. The White Sox walked off with a win against the Rays to inch the Red Sox closer to first place in the divisi...READ MORE!

Published on August 24, 2008 See Comment(s)

Exit Stage Left by Jared Carrabis
Buchholz Bombs Again For Boston

Well, I guess it really was a make or break start for Clay Buchholz last night. The right-hander failed to make it out of the third inning in last night's embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Buchholz was touched up for five earned runs through two and a third innings and was handed his seventh loss in his ninth loss of the season and his seventh loss in his last eight starts. Buchholz is 0-7 in his last ten starts and in those 42 innings pitched he has an ERA of 9.21 having given up 43 earned runs in that span. Control has also been an issue for Buchholz as he has walked a total of 27 batters in his last ten appearances and last night threw 60 pitches while only 30 of them were for strikes.

Immediately after the game, Clay Buchholz had been notified that he had been demoted to double-A Portland and had the following to say, "People have tough games. I've had a tough season. Down there is where you develop. Up here it's a pennant race. If you ask if the decision was right, ...READ MORE!

Published on August 21, 2008 See Comment(s)

The Captain's Back by Jared Carrabis
Varitek Goes Deep, Sox Win Big

If you read my blog yesterday, you knew that somewhere back home in Boston I had a big smile on my face when Jason Varitek hit his second home run in as many games last night in Baltimore. The captain had himself a nice 2-for-5 night in Boston's 7-2 win over the Orioles. A game in which that was started by potential Cy Young Award candidate, Daisuke Matsuzaka. With the win, Matsuzaka improved to 15-2 on the season but he did so in typical Daisuke Matsuzaka fashion by lasting just five innings, throwing 105 pitches and walking five batters.

You may have noticed that Matsuzaka has a thing for getting himself into jams and then pitching out of them flawlessly. The Japanese right-hander got himself into a bases loaded jam twice last night and pitched out of both jams with zero damage being done. Hitters are now 0-for-14 against Daisuke Matsuzaka in a bases loaded situation on the entire season. Matsuzaka gave up just six hits in his five innings of work to keep his opponents batting a...READ MORE!

Published on August 20, 2008 See Comment(s)

Bombs A-Bay by Jared Carrabis
Jay Ray Bay Goes Yard Twice In Sox Win

The Red Sox powered their way to a victory in the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. In arguably Jason Bay's best game since his debut with the team, the former Pirate blasted two home runs to lead the Red Sox offense to a 6-3 victory. A shaky outing by Manny Delcarmen made things interesting in the late innings, but Jonathan Papelbon held the lead and racked up save number 33 of the season. In Papelbon's last ten outings he has not let up one earned run in eleven and a third innings of work while striking out eleven batters. However, in his last ten appearances he has only four saves so it was good to see him collect another last night.

The struggles of Jason Varitek this season have been heavily noted and have been quite frustrating to watch. The captain's offensive struggles have been going on for quite some time now hitting just .208 since the All Star break, .209 in the month of August and .167 in his last ten games. Varitek may be hitting .189 on the road this seas...READ MORE!

Published on August 19, 2008 See Comment(s)

Texas Range-saw Massacre by Jared Carrabis
Sox Put Up Ten, Blank Texas

The Red Sox are now winners of their last four straight games and are 7-3 in their last ten games played. The trade of Manny Ramirez is a thing of this past and this new and improved ball club has found their form as a team and are punishing the opposition with their lethal and relentless offense one through nine. Backed by great starting pitching at the top of the rotation and not so good pitching down the bottom (even though with this offense it didn't really matter) the Red Sox swept the Texas Rangers up and out of Boston. The Boston bats pounded Texas pitching averaging over twelve runs a game in the three game set.

In the final game of the three-game sweep, Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched his way to his fourteenth win of the season to now be sitting pretty at 14-2 on the season. Matsuzaka hurled seven shutout innings striking out five but also walked five. The Dice man pitched his way out of multiple jams and bases loaded situations to hold all offenses to an 0-for-12 clip against ...READ MORE!

Published on August 15, 2008 See Comment(s)

Wild Fenway Slugfest by Jared Carrabis
Youkilis, Sox Win A Wild One At Fenway

Like pitcher’s duels? Fenway Park was not your place to be last night. In one of the most bizarre and wildly unpredictable games in Red Sox history where by the third inning the fans watching fully understood that they were watching a game where literally anything could happen, the Red Sox walked away both winning the battle but not yet the war. By taking game one, believe it or not, there are still at least eighteen innings to be played between these two teams in the next 48 hours.

In a game that was headlined as being the Major League debut of the 28-year-old knuckleballer, Charlie Zink, the contest was all but that. Zink threw a perfect first inning to get Boston up to the plate in the bottom half and by the looks of it, the game was over before it had even gotten the chance to really start. Seven hits, two walks, an error and a pair of three-run bombs by David Ortiz led to a 10-run start for the Red Sox after just an inning.

Normally, ten runs is enough of a cushion to ...READ MORE!

Published on August 13, 2008 See Comment(s)

Home Sweet Home by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox Return To Fenway

With the Rays winning their past three straight games and the Yankees being losers of their last four straight, the Red Sox gained a split with the Chicago White Sox to land them four games back of the first place Rays and five games up on the third place Yankees. With a record of 68-51, the Red Sox hold a two game lead over the Chicago White Sox in the Wild Card standings but the team is primarily focused on taking the division for the second straight year.

Boston is now coming off their first road trip with a winning record since the middle of June hoping to continue their winning ways at home. The Red Sox are set to open up a six-game home stand starting with a three-game series against Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and the rest of the free swinging Texas Rangers. It has been confirmed that triple-A Pawtucket knuckleballer Charlie Zink will fill the slot of Tim Wakefield in the rotation tonight.

Zink is having a great season down in Pawtucket but the one thing to watch out fo...READ MORE!

Published on August 12, 2008 See Comment(s)

Buchholz Blastoff by Jared Carrabis
Tack Up Another Loss For Clay

May 2, 2008. Does that date ring a bell to you? May 2 was the last time that Clay Buchholz won a game for the Red Sox. Well over three months ago. Buchholz lasted just three innings giving up five earned runs on seven hits. The 3-4-5 hitters of the Chicago White Sox punished the mistakes of Clay Buchholz more than any other part of their lineup by each tagging the right-hander for a home run a piece. Jermaine Dye launched a solo shot before Carlos Quintin and Jim Thome blasted a two-run bomb each. Buchholz looked very flustered on the mound but when asked after the game if he was losing any confidence out there he replied by saying, “It’s more frustration than loss of confidence”.

Buchholz is now 2-8 on the season but feels like he is getting closer to being back to where he wants to be, “I feel like I’ve been getting better and better”. Unfortunately, the Red Sox don’t have time to wait for his return to form. The Red Sox have placed Tim Wakefield on the 15-day disabled list lea...READ MORE!

Published on August 10, 2008 See Comment(s)

Bay Day by Jared Carrabis
Flawless Debut For Jason Bay

For the first time since October 1, 2000, the Red Sox prepared to do battle without Manny Ramirez as a member of the Boston Red Sox. In 2004 Theo Epstein traded away a Boston sports icon in Nomar Garciaparra. His replacement? A feisty shortstop from the Montreal Expos that came into Boston by the name of Orlando Cabrera that hit a home run in his first at bat in a Red Sox uniform. The number on that uniform? Number 44. The result of that season? A World Series victory for the Boston Red Sox.

Fast forward to 2008. Theo Epstein trades away a Boston sports icon in Manny Ramirez. His replacement? A well-rounded outfielder from the Pittsburgh Pirates by the name of Jason Bay. He may not have hit a home run in his first at bat with the Red Sox but just like Orlando Cabrera, he elected to wear the number 44. Orlando Cabrera may have homered in his first at bat in a Red Sox uniform and Manny Ramirez may have blasted the first pitch he ever saw at Fenway Park up and over green monster, ...READ MORE!

Published on August 02, 2008 See Comment(s)