Barry Bonds might be the most notorious cheater to involve the long but infrequent history between the Red Sox and Giants. But by all indications he’s not the first.
The last time the team currently known as the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox met in Boston, the result was a tense, back-and-forth eight-game cauldron to decide the 1912 world champion. The series featured tremendous pitching from two of the greatest pitchers to ever live — and likely a little cheating.
Game 7 in particular appeared to be tainted, as incensed Red Sox
players, who had played tight ball all series long, were shelled. Sox
players had been infuriated by club owners’ decisions not to share
receipts of the packed house that views Game 2’s 11-inning tie. With no
winner or loser, baseball’s owners said, there could be no winner’s or
loser’s share. Meanwhile, before Game 6, Boston president James McAleer
forced Sox manager Jake Stahl to start Buck O’Brien over Smoky Joe
Wood. With the Sox already leading the series three games to one, and
Wood (34-5, 1.91 ERA in the regular season) pitching tremendously,
McAleer feared a six-game series would not bring in enough money.
O’Brien, predictably, lost the game — likely because he was hung over,
having not received word of the change until the morning of the game.
Wood — so enraged over being passed over the day before, he went
after O’Brien with a bat before the start of the game — is suspected
of throwing Game 7, a shabby affair remembered most for the
inexplicable revocation of the Royal Rooters’ customary bleacher seats,
and that group of fans’ subsequent storming of the field. The future
Hall of Famer who that year won a still-standing club-record 16 straight games gave up
seven hits and six runs on 12 pitches. The Sox’ defense — among the
best in history, thanks to the outfield troika of Duffy Lewis, Harry
Hooper and Tris Speaker — booted the ball all game, at one point
muffing an attempted pickoff at second that scored every runner on base
as the ball rolled toward the center field wall.
With fans so disgusted following two straight terribly played
losses, Fenway Park was only half full when the Sox won Game 8, kicking
off a string of four World Series championships in seven years.
Ninety-five years later, the Giants have returned to Fenway. They
wrap up their series this afternoon, with Matt Morris — who knows
something about losing to the Red Sox in a World Series — facing Tim
Wakefield, who has won 27 more games in his Red Sox career than old
Smoky Joe.
Coco Crisp sits, with Wily Mo Pena in his place. Manny Delcarmen is
in the bullpen, with Brendan Donnelly on the DL. Comment away!
(Red Sox Century is the primary source from which I based this description of the 1912 World Series. Unable to find the book amid all the boxes, I found this excellent summary.)
Lineups:
Sox:
- RF J.D. Drew
- 2B Dustin Pedroia
- DH David Ortiz
- LF Manny Ramirez
- 1B Kevin Youkilis
- 3B Mike Lowell
- CF Wily Mo Pena
- C Doug Mirabelli
- SS Julio Lugo
SP Tim Wakefield
Giants:
- CF Dave Roberts
- LF Randy Winn
- 2B Ray Durham
- DH Barry Bonds
- C Benji Molina
- 1B Ryan Klesko
- 3B Pedro Feliz
- RF Nate Schierholtz
- SS Omar Vizquel
SP Matt Morris
Hey, Coco’s finally hot (he’s gotten on base like 7 of his last 12 PAs), let’s sit him!
The mind of Tito never ceases to amaze. That bottom 1/3 of the lineup is just gaggy.
Bottom of the first, bases loaded, no outs. Come on Manny!
Manny with a stupid swing, Morris can’t find the plate and Manny hacks on the first pitch, GIDP. 1-0 Sox. Not good.
sox load the bases. and manny unloads them…..with a dp. 1-0 sox. deserved more there.
Youk picks up Manny, with a wallball single. 2-0.
23 pitches for morris in the first. no thanks to manny.
klesko is jack parkman from major leagues.
WMP actually seeing some pitches, making Morris work. He’ll probably still K, though.
And he does. Man, he’s just not a good hitter.
Mirabelli down on three pitches.
Honest question: is Wake a better hitter than Mirabelli?
Lugo Ks, side strikes out. Pathetic inning.
Well, Bronson Arroyo has become very hittable this season– I still think it was worth the gamble on the part of Theo.
Man, these Giants suck. This game shouldn’t even count as a win for the Sox;)
Wake throws batting practice to Vizquel, he doubles in a run, then steals third as Wakefield does nothing to hold him on. More bad baseball. The Sox have these moments where it’s like they aren’t coached at all, just play aimlessly.
Winn doubles in Vizquel, all tied up. Wakefield has lost it this inning, like he is prone to. Meanwhile, WMP in center can’t cut off the hit, and it goes to the wall. Can we please, PLEASE get rid of WMP? Can we just write that one off? He’s just not a good baseball player and will not develop playing once a week. At least Coco can field…
(WMP is my SLFRS, by the way)
‘Belli with the passed ball (to go on top of an earlier WP). Why is he on the team, again?
funny, he’s my second favorite.
JD on again, walking.
Droid pushes a bunt up first base line, not a bad bunt but probably an out if Klesko fields it well. Official scorer gives Dustin a hit.
Papi rips one into the RF corner for a GRD, this costs the Sox a run as Pedroia would have scored easily. Tough break.
Probably would have been a triple, too.
Manny hacks at the first pitch again, and grounds to Durham, who makes a very nice play to save a run, DP scores from third, Papi advances. Need to pick up this run.
Youk singles to right, 5-2 Sox.
Sorry, to left.
Lowell hammers one off the wall, and Youks scores from first! 6-2. Morris totally unglued here. Bochy with a very slow hook – nobody warming, no visits to the mound.
Fine by us.
‘Belli drives in Lowell! Wow!
You know Morris sucks when Doug Mirabelli drives in a run off him. That’s Belli’s FIFTH RBI of the year. FIFTH. Man.
Lugo continues to inspire little confidence, first-pitch groundout. Great inning thoufh. That Drew-Pedroia 1-2 looks very good right now. If Drew hits like he can with Pedroia smacking the ball all over the field in front of Papi, that’s just potent to the extreme.
Wake with more BP to Feliz, a monster dinger makes it 7-3. The Sox need to plate a couple more, you just never know with Wake.
Lugo with a bad throw on an infield squib by Schierholz. May have been safe, may not have been safe, but Lugo’s bad throw seals the deal.
WMP: One more AB, then we better put Coco in for defense. Get it done, Tito.
Also. Trade him to someone who believes in his potential and get a superior 4th OF in return. Ryan Church of the Nationals would work, as far as I’m concerned, especially as Bowden is a good target for such a trade.
damn. bonds goes deep, for 748
Oh well. I remember back when he was athletic.
Craptastic job by Wake, staked a 5 run lead he can’t even get through the sixth.
For Wake, at least, his counterpart was even worse.
Manny with 4 RBIs today with a Solo Shot added in the 7th inning.
Lugo with a pop out bunt attempt. 0-4 today
Crisp caught stealing third, Belli advances to second. Drew walks again.
Gamecenter says the Pedroia grounds out to right. Either just on the green or Pedroia tripped and could not get up.
Crisp was caught being ridiculously overanxious while the Sox had both runners in motion on a full count.
everyday okajima sits down three straight to end the game and complete the sweep.
not that it really had any effect on the game but….lugo not getting down the bunt in the 8th might just be the final straw for me. i know damn well a-gonz, on his worst day, could have handeled the task. i’m gonna bet cora can too. i was all for giving lugo till the end of july before making up my mind on him, but my patience is gone. there’s a $36 million dollar bullet to be bit.
Too early for me to claim psychic ability for calling Drew and the lineup’s impending resurgence and Morris’ hittability? Heh…
I still say Lugo rebounds a bit, because he pretty much can’t get any worse. I’d love to know what goes through a player’s head in this situation. Is it a mechanical flaw? Something in his approach? Did he squirt sunscreen in his eye ala Dan Johnson last year? Nobody seems to have any real idea of what’s happened since that trade to Los Angeles.