SoxSpace News

Twas The Night Before The Playoffs by Jared Carrabis
And All Through The Nation...

‘Twas the night before the playoffs and all through the Nation, Sox fans were wondering what’s going on with our rotation. Well, I’m not going to finish this poem, but I will tell you the latest on our playoff rotation. Although there is no chance of Josh Beckett starting game one of the division series, manager Terry Francona has told the Boston Herald on Monday that Beckett’s strained oblique “does feel better” which is a good sign to those who were skeptical if Beckett would take the ball at all for game three, never mind be able to perform well.

In his press conference held on Tuesday in Anaheim, Tito spoke highly of Beckett’s progress “Beckett started at sixty feet and made thirty throws, moved back to ninety, made twenty throws then came back to sixty. The ball came out of his hand real well. Everything was very encouraging.” Beckett will throw a bullpen session on Thursday in preparation for his start in game three on Sunday at Fenway Park. “He’ll long toss tomorrow, side day...READ MORE!

Published on September 30, 2008 See Comment(s)

Beckett Pushed Back by Jared Carrabis
Lester To Take The Ball In Game One

Whether or not you've heard the rumors or not, they are true. The original rumor was that Josh Beckett was going to miss the American League Division Series all together but in a press conference last night, manager Terry Francona announced that Josh Beckett will be pushed back from starting game one in Anaheim to game three in Boston. In a bullpen session on Friday in Boston, Josh Beckett was throwing in the bullpen and in doing so he strained his oblique. Why they would have Josh Beckett out there throwing a bullpen session in the rain to begin with is anyone's guess but certainly not a wise move on the Red Sox part.

Josh Beckett was hands down going to start game one of the playoffs for the Boston Red Sox until the oblique strain but after suffering his minor injury, the Red Sox are taking the precaution of moving him to start this Sunday as opposed to this Wednesday. Jon Lester instead will be taking the ball as Boston's game one starter against the Los Angels Angels of Anahei...READ MORE!

Published on September 29, 2008 See Comment(s)

The Sox Go Wild: Fans Do Not by Jared Carrabis
Sox Take Wild Card, No Repeat In East

What a mess, and I mean that in all aspects that it could possibly be meant in. The field was a mess, the playing conditions were a mess and the game itself was a huge mess. Rain fell all day and into the night here in Boston and the inclement weather may have cost the Red Sox another day of fighting to win the AL East division crown.

Manager Terry Francona had originally penciled in David Ortiz to make his first start of the season at first base on Friday night but later scratched him so that he would not be playing under poor conditions. Due to the delay at the start of the game, Daisuke Matsuzaka was no longer to take the mound for the Red Sox after an delay of an hour and 31 minutes (not to mention a second delay later in the game).

Why this game was even played in the first place is a mystery to me but after the game finally got underway Mike Lowell was removed from the lineup after tweaking his injured hip in his very first at bat. Call it mailing it in if you want but ...READ MORE!

Published on September 27, 2008 See Comment(s)

Division Dreamin' by Jared Carrabis
Sox Win, Rays Lose. Boston Still Has Pulse In AL East Race

So it was Wednesday night that I was scrounging for tickets when out of no where I received a message from one of the best bloggers on SawxHeads, SportsGal. In our message exchange she was telling me of her experience at Fenway Park the night before and went on to say "I've got two tickets for the very same section for tonight's game and if you want them, you can have them." The smile on my face was from ear to ear as I messaged her back asking how much they would cost. "Knowing how much you would love to be at Fenway, I don't want any money. If I can't go--which I unfortunately can't--I'd just be happy knowing that a fan like you could be there for me. Seriously: You want them, they're yours." I wanted to jump through my screen and hug her until her faced turned blue.

So off to Fenway Park I went and immediately after entering the ballpark, I ran into the Vice President of Red Sox Nation, 'Regular' Rob Crawford who was walking aro...READ MORE!

Published on September 26, 2008 See Comment(s)

Berth Day Party by Jared Carrabis
Sox Clinch Playoff Berth, October Bound In Title Defense

For the fifth time in the past six seasons, the Boston Red Sox are bound for October. For the second time in those five postseason appearances the boys from Boston have a World Series title to defend. The 2008 Red Sox have kept their core from the 2007 championship team but have the perfect blend of new names and faces. Some young, some experienced, but regardless of any of the player's pasts, they all share the same collective goal: a World Series Championship.

With the Red Sox magic number dwindled down to one entering Tuesday night's contest between Boston and Cleveland, Red Sox fans were scoreboard watching as the New York Yankees were ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 late in the game. A Red Sox win or a Yankee loss would do it and after the Yankee game went final, Boston knew they needed a victory if any bottles were to be popped at Fenway Park.

Starting from the beginning, the Red Sox were facing one of their toughest obstacles all season long in needing to defeat the gua...READ MORE!

Published on September 24, 2008 See Comment(s)

Forever Immortalized by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox To Retire Number 6 In Honor Of Mr Red Sox Himself, Johnny Pesky

According to a Red Sox team source, the Red Sox organization will be retiring the legendary Johnny Pesky's number six this weekend in the final series of the 2008 season. On April 14, 1942, John Michael Paveskovich made his Major League Debut with the Boston Red Sox. 66 years later, the very same man known more famously as Johnny Pesky still remains with that very same team and still dresses for every game. Known to the organization and it's fans as "Mr. Red Sox", the 88-year-old Red Sox legend will now become a Red Sox immortal among the likes of Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin and Carlton Fisk when his number six will be the seventh number to be retired in team history.

Johnny Pesky played seven and a half seasons with the Boston Red Sox and finished his career with 1,455 hits and a .307 career average. Pesky was selected to the 1946 All Star team representing the Boston Red Sox in the very same year the Red Sox won the pennant. Pesky scored 867 runs in h...READ MORE!

Published on September 23, 2008 See Comment(s)

Home Sweet Home by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox Ready For Final Home Stand

155 games down, seven to go. The last seven games of the regular season for the Boston Red Sox are set to be played all at Fenway Park where the local nine hold a 55-22 record. The Red Sox welcome the Cleveland Indians to Fenway Park for four games followed by the final series of the season to be played against the New York Yankees. The Red Sox have a chance to clinch a playoff spot Monday night at Fenway Park that would end a postseason run by the New York Yankees that has seen them enter October every season since 1993 (not counting 1994 which was cut short by the player's strike).

The Red Sox last played the Cleveland Indians in a series in the middle of April. The tribe has not yet paid a visit to Fenway Park in 2008, thus making this four game series their first trip to Fenway Park since the 2007 American League Championship Series. Ironically, the Red Sox celebrated on their home field in the previous game these two teams met in Boston and if all goes according to plan, it v...READ MORE!

Published on September 22, 2008 See Comment(s)

Man On Fire by Jared Carrabis
Ortiz Power Surge Not Enough / Rays Widen The Lead In The East

For those that haven't taken the Rays seriously all season long, what about now? The team with the second lowest payroll in all of baseball behind the Florida Marlins are in first place with ten games remaining in the regular season. Not only are they in first place but they hold a two game lead over the Boston Red Sox. Having taken the season series between the two teams, Boston now realistically is three games back of the Rays who now need to lose the division by a full game in order to be handed the Wild Card.

Tampa Bay, we read you loud and clear: you are no longer a team that is to be underestimated. You are no longer a "bye series" on the schedule and the Trop is no longer a place for Tim Wakefield to pad his season stats. The Rays pounded Tim Wakefield who is usually the equivalent to Pedro Martinez in 1999 at Tropicana Field. Wakefield lasted just two and a third innings and gave up six earned runs on six hits. Three of those six hits were bombs into the stands by Wily Ayb...READ MORE!

Published on September 19, 2008 See Comment(s)

Flop At The Trop by Jared Carrabis
Vintage Beckett Didn't Phase The Rays

For the second time in a week, the Red Sox were in position to reclaim first place over the Tampa Bay Rays. This time Boston had hoped for different results but was fed more of the same. Give all the credit in the world to the Tampa Bay Rays, this team can hang with the big boys, but after getting an outing to the extent that Josh Beckett turned in on Tuesday night this was a game that the Red Sox could have won. The resilient Tampa Bay Rays gave the Red Sox a battle all night long to the point where they looked like an entirely different team that Boston had faced the night before when the Sox pounded the Rays into the ground, 13-5.

The Boston ace was in true October form in the second game of this series and was dealing from the first inning on. Josh Beckett retired the first thirteen batters out of the gate before giving up a single to Cliff Floyd but still no damage had been done. The Red Sox gave Beckett a run to work with in the top of the sixth when Kevin Youkilis hit a sac...READ MORE!

Published on September 16, 2008 See Comment(s)

The Numbers Game by Jared Carrabis
Separating The Legends From The Greats

I want to tackle a little debate that has been going on here in Red Sox Nation the past few seasons. The Red Sox that we have all been fortunate enough to have witnessed win two World Series titles in four years are not the Red Sox that your father grew up watching and they're not the Red Sox that his father grew up watching. Over a century of Red Sox baseball has been played here in New England and over that span of time we have seen some of the greatest players of all time wear the Red Sox uniform. Now the question is, where do we draw the line between great and legendary?

By legendary I of course am implying the retirement of a jersey number. A player having such a tremendous impact on the Boston Red Sox that no other player will ever don that number ever again on their back. Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk and of course Jackie Robinson all fit that description.

In the Red Sox recent run at a "dynasty" there have been numerous players al...READ MORE!

Published on September 15, 2008 See Comment(s)

A Game Apart by Jared Carrabis
Thanks Yanks! Sox Get Within A Game Of Rays

After splitting the day/night double-header against the Jays on Saturday, the Red Sox set their sights on taking the series in a game that had all the ingredients to be a classic pitcher’s duel. Roy Halladay, who was pitching on three days rest in an attempt to keep Toronto’s postseason dreams alive, took the ball for the Jays in the final game of the series. Opposing the Doc was the lefty and fellow innings eater, Jon Lester.

The game would turn out to be just as advertised as the two battled in a nail-biter at Fenway Park. In the top of the first, the Jays jumped out in front on a solo home run off the bat of Jose Bautista. Boston got that run right back in the bottom half of the inning by playing a little small ball. Runs don’t come around very often against Roy Halladay, so the Red Sox manufactured a run perfectly to even up the score.

Jacoby Ellsbury singled to start the inning and with Dustin Pedroia at the plate, Ellsbury swiped his league leading forty-eighth base of ...READ MORE!

Published on September 14, 2008 See Comment(s)

Keep The Jays At Bay by Jared Carrabis
Sox Welcome Jays For Four

After a desperately needed day off for the Boston Red Sox following a difficult series (both physically and mentally) the Sox are set to welcome the red hot Blue Jays to Fenway Park for a four game series. With the enormous payroll of the New York Yankees along with all the big names on their roster, everyone expects the Bronx Bombers to make the playoffs every season. Of course if they Yankees some how don't make the postseason then that normally means that only one team from the AL East will be advancing to the first round of the playoffs, not this year.

This season we have seen the emergence of the Tampa Bay Rays as not only one of the most elite teams in the division, but in all of baseball. Now, as we all watch the Yankees fall further and further away into an impossible hole to climb out of, the Toronto Blue Jays have filled the void that New York had once possessed. The late season surge by the Toronto Blue Jays has put the Yankees in fourth place at lightning speed and wit...READ MORE!

Published on September 12, 2008 See Comment(s)

Mr 501 by Jared Carrabis
Everything Goes Sox Way In Opener

You could not have scripted a better win for the Red Sox on Friday night. Realistically everything went right on all four cylinders. Starting with the outing by Boston starter, Tim Wakefield. Wakefield, who was making appearance number 501 with the Boston Red Sox, was looking to move on from his abysmal 500th appearance.
An outing that saw the knuckle-baller last just an inning and two thirds giving up seven runs on four hits to go along with four walks

In true Tim Wakefield fashion, the 42-year-old veteran bounced back with his best outing of the season. Number 49 baffled the red hot Toronto Blue Jays for eight shutout innings of work. Wakefield danced his knuckle ball under, over and around the bats of a team that is hitting over .300 as a team in the month of September. The shutout turned in by Tim Wakefield was the fifteenth by the Red Sox as a team overall and those fifteen shutouts leads all of Major League Baseball.

Appearance number 501 for Wake was a masterful perform...READ MORE!

Published on September 12, 2008 See Comment(s)

Not Again... by Jared Carrabis
Sox Endure Another Crushing Defeat

This was not the way the Red Sox wanted bounce back from a crushing loss on Tuesday night. I’m almost certain they did not intend to follow up a crushing loss with an even more crushing loss to the most devastating extent of frustration and sense of pure disappointment. Without question the Red Sox could have and maybe should have swept this series away from the Rays but give all the credit in the world to this team. When the pressure was on, they didn’t fold. Not saying that the Red Sox did, but they certainly did not capitalize on golden opportunities that would have led to three victories in this series, not one.

Whether it be managerial mistakes or poor performances when the team needed a big hit or a shutout inning the most, the Rays took advantage of the Red Sox flaws. Instead of sending the Rays packing down a game and a half in the American League East, the Red Sox now find themselves a disappointing two and a half games back of the (still) first place Rays.

As much a...READ MORE!

Published on September 11, 2008 See Comment(s)

So Close, Yet So Far by Jared Carrabis
Sox Lose A Heart Breaker

The Red Sox were so close to first place that they could almost taste it. Just three outs away from returning to where they wanted to be. Tuesday night will go down as the most frustrating, disappointing and cruel losses of the entire 2008 season. On the bright side, there are still eighteen games left to be played. Four of which are against the (for now) first place Tampa Bay Rays.
But let's talk about Tuesday night some more, shall we?

In a game that the Red Sox were so close to winning, in a game that the Red Sox had clawed their way back within inches of victory, the Tampa Bay Rays stunned Red Sox fans with a ninth inning comeback against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon to protect their spot atop the American League East. With the Red Sox down 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth, the Sox offense had gotten within a run thanks to an RBI double by Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell's sixteenth home run of the season (second since coming off the disabled list).

In the bottom ...READ MORE!

Published on September 10, 2008 See Comment(s)

Game Of Numbers by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox Nation Sets New Sellout Streak Record - Boston Claws Their Way Back To 0.5 Back

Baseball is a game of numbers. Stats are an addicting substance that baseball fans all over feed off of from April until October. Baseball at Fenway Park is a whole different game of numbers unfamiliar to teams anywhere else in the game. Sure we love our stats just as much as any other fanbase but here, we talk some numbers that won't be talked about anywhere else.

Here, the mark of greatness is the number 9. The big green wall known as the Green Monster is 37 feet high. In Boston, .406 isn't a channel on your digital cable, it's a legendary accomplishment that lives on forever through the voices of the fans. 2004 isn't just a year in Boston, it' has become a phrase that triggers a feeling of extacy throughout our bodies. These numbers are just a small sample of numbers that are significant in Red Sox Nation.

On September 8, 2008, the Red Sox added one more number to that magical list, 456. On May 15, 2003 in front of a crowd of 33,801, the Boston Red Sox pounded the Texas Ra...READ MORE!

Published on September 08, 2008 See Comment(s)

Beckett's Back by Jared Carrabis
The Ace Is Back In Business

Get excited Red Sox fans, this is where it all comes together if it hasn't already. Today, Josh Beckett is expected to come off of the disabled list and rejoin the rotation getting his first start in game one of a three game set in Texas against the Rangers. The Red Sox have chosen to keep a short leash on Beckett in his first start back from his elblow injury. Beckett has not taken the mound to face a Major League team since August 17 when he gave up eight earned runs on eight hits through two and a third innings.

The short leash that the Red Sox have strapped around the Boston ace has limited him to throwing anywhere from 55 to 60 pitches against the Rangers depending on what the situation is. The Texas Rangers are a team built on offense so 55-60 pitches will likely get Beckett into the fifth inning, maybe even the sixth but no deeper than that.

A three game series with the first place Tampa Bay Rays looms in the near distance and by being down 3.5 games, the Red Sox are g...READ MORE!

Published on September 05, 2008 See Comment(s)

Read 'Em And Sweep by Jared Carrabis
Boston Bats Broom Baltimore

Three games into the month of September, things could not be going more right for the Boston Red Sox. Thanks in part to good starting pitching, a potent offense and above all, the depth that this team has, the Red Sox are at the top of their game so far as this season long marathon is quickly evolving into the final stretch run. Boston is playing their best baseball at the perfect time and it is scary to think that this team is only going to get better upon the return of Mike Lowell, JD Drew, Kevin Youkilis and Josh Beckett.

The Red Sox put the finishing touches on their three game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles to cap off a 5-1 home stand. The final game of this series saw the Boston Red Sox fall behind 4-0 early only to have the score stay that way until the seventh inning when Dustin Pedroia came to the plate. Pedroia got the comeback started by hitting a high fly ball that would eventually come down in the Monster seats to account for his seventeenth home run of the season. Du...READ MORE!

Published on September 04, 2008 See Comment(s)

The Final Month Begins by Jared Carrabis
Sox Gear Up For Playoff Push

We're almost there. One game down and 26 more games to go in the most exciting month of the regular season. Prepare to go cross-eyed as you attempt to watch the Red Sox and three other games with playoff implications at the same exact time. The races are getting tighter, the competition is getting more intense and the margin for error decreases smaller and smaller by the second. October is right around the corner and with the final month of the season under way, not one ticket for October has yet been punched.

The Red Sox have their eyes on the prize in the AL East looking to defend their division crown yet hold a three game lead on both the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. Every win from this point forward is crucial, every run scored and every run taken away could be the difference maker in your hunt for October.

With a 7-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night, the Boston Red Sox picked up a half game on the Tampa Bay Rays who had the night off. Being ab...READ MORE!

Published on September 02, 2008 See Comment(s)

MVPedroia by Jared Carrabis
Pedroia Makes Strong Push For MVP

In 1975, Red Sox center fielder Fred Lynn edged out the man that stood in front of the big green wall, Jim Rice, for the 1975 Rookie of the Year. In 1975 Fred Lynn led the American League in doubles, slugging percentage and runs scored. Lynn was the runner-up for the batting title with a .331 average and was awarded a Gold Glove award for his outstanding defensive play. All of these achievements culminated when he was presented with the 1975 Most Valuable Player Award. Fred Lynn became the first player in the history of the game to take home the Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season and he did it for our very own Boston Red Sox.

As we fast forward to 2006, we all caught our first glimpse of the little shortstop from Arizona State University. In a small sampling of just 31 games, Red Sox Nation set their eyes on the future second baseman of the Boston Red Sox. The 5’9’’ dirt dog from Woodland, California took the baseball world by storm shutting the mouth of every critic wh...READ MORE!

Published on September 02, 2008 See Comment(s)

AL East / Wild Card Shakedown by Jared Carrabis
Standings Aren't What You're Used To Seeing At The Start Of September

If SoxSpace were ESPN and this blog were an episode of PTI, we would be saying "Happy Anniversary" to Clay Buchholz who one year ago today threw a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles. We would also be saying "Happy Trails" to the New York Yankees chances of making the playoffs. The Yankees are losers of their last two consecutive games and 5-5 in their last ten. The Yankees currently sit 12.
5 games out of first place and seven games back of the second place Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox took the season series from the Chicago White Sox 4-3 but failed to complete the sweep on Sunday in a game that they needed to win in order to stay 4.5 games behind the team that seems to never lose, the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox hold a 2.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card race and have no games remaining against either Chicago or Minnesota (Boston's biggest threats for Wild Card contention).

The Red Sox will begin their month of September welcoming the Baltimore Orioles ...READ MORE!

Published on September 01, 2008 See Comment(s)