From the Associated Press:
David Wells was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday night amid indications that the Boston Red Sox were close to trading the left-hander to a contender.
Wells’ locker was nearly empty and four cartons were stacked in front of it before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Reliever Julian Tavarez was picked to start in his place.
Ouch. The “contender” referred to in the article is the San Diego Padres, which is of course Boomer’s home town where he has already seen a tour of duty, and a team that won the division with a .500 record last year. If the Red Sox were in the NL West, global warming and tectonic drift would have really run its course. Also, Boston would be tied for the best record in said division, three games up on also mentioned “contender”.
Instead, you loyal Boston fans get to watch Julian Tavarez face Roy Halladay. Here’s your place to comment on tonight’s game. Hang in there, Sox Fans. Baseball is a great game, and we play 162 for a reason, though that might not be such a consolation at this particular moment.
107 comments… add one
Here are the lineups:
Blue Jays
R. Johnson lf .329
F. Catalanotto dh .316
V. Wells cf .319
T. Glaus 3b .257
L. Overbay 1b .308
G. Zaun c .270
A. Rios rf .290
A. Hill 2b .284
J. McDonald ss .220
Red Sox
C. Crisp cf .260
A. Cora ss .257
M. Loretta dh .299
K. Youkilis lf .288
M. Lowell 3b .288
E. Hinske rf .258
J. Lopez c .257
C. Pena 1b .200
D. Pedroia 2b .138
Glaus grounds out to short to end the inning. Tavares needs a DP and 21 pitches to get out of it.
A half-inning and this is the first post. what does that say about us?
Other Sox-related news today: Jason Johnson signs with the Reds and Rudy Seanez signs with the Padres.
So, Sox fans, whose bandwagon are you jumping on from here?
Me, I’m taking the White Sox.
Anyone else?
Covelli reaches on a bunt single with the first pitch of the game.
Makes me believe Tito will be doing everything he can for a while to manufacture runs.
“Take my Sox. Please.”
Henny Youngman. Always a crowd favorite.
Covelli steals second, Cora Ks.
Tek is to catch 5 innings Friday and 7 innings Saturday at P’tucket. Then he’s expected back.
Catcher arriving too late to save the sinking ship.
Yooks walks w/2 out.
I am starting to worry that a .500 finish might not even be in the cards.
Lowell homers!!!
3-0.
Thanks for putting us on your shoulders, Mike.
Bill, I’m having trouble with that very question, though by proximity alone, I should root for the Mets. Maybe I’ll support them if the Astros don’t make the postseason.
By elimination: not Oakland (though they were my guess to win it all at the year’s beginning–of course I also thought Cleveland would do well…), not Detroit (I’d be okay with the White Sox, and fairly happy with Minnesota), not the Yankees.
Not St. Louis, not the Reds, not the Dodgers, not the Padres.
I guess it would be Minnesota in the AL and Astros/Mets (in that order) in the NL.
Wells is dealt to the Padres.
It’s 3-1 Sox after the stupid 2-out single-into-triple from Coco and a wallball double. Tavarez gets a K for the 3rd out.
2 quick outs from the Sox.
9 pitches from Halladay, 3 outs from the Sox.
Tavarez K’s Johnson on 4 pitches for the first out.
Walks Catalanotto.
Vernon Wells walks.
K’s Glaus. No balls in play yet this inning. Walks and strikeouts.
And BANG…double. Tie game.
And BANG…double. Tie game.
Whoops, sorry ’bout the double post.
Gets out of the inning. This whole downward spiral thing is kinda funny viewed in the right light.
Julian demonstrating maximum suckage.
Matt Cassel your starting QB tonight.
Patsys 7, NYG 0, end 1.
Loretta’s avg. drops below .300.
I’ve a feeling that Lowell homer is going to be the Sox highlight of the evening…they go down uneventfully (though it does take 17 pitches) to Halladay in the 3rd.
Bryan Corey takes over on the bump.
On Wells: Good riddance. The Red Sox dynasty ended the day that Theo decided that Wells was a suitable replacement for Pedro or Derek.
Can we send Theo to the West Coast for a player to be named later, too? I’m pretty sure he’d clear waivers.
Mmmmmmmkaaaay.
Runner on 2nd, 2 outs for the Jays.
Done 3.5 innings.
I’m with you, Devine. I appreciate what Wells did for us. I hope he can help us in the future.
I mean…he was very much fine last year, and he was the best pitcher we had in a month of suckage recently. I appreciate his not retiring and trying to help this team after that brutal line drive to the recently-repaired knee.
The Sox have loaded the bases on Halladay on 2 hits and a walk. Unfortunately, Javy Lopez is batting. 2-2 count.
Fenway finally alive after Lopez fouls off the first 2-2. Some life in the audience. Come on, now, people. Think of the ballgame, not the big picture.
DP. Score the go-ahead, but that’s the only good news.
Done with the 4th, Sox up by one.
Wells’s stats (15-7 in 2005, etc.) were fine, but he represented the deep problems in the Red Sox’s front office:
The Sox waved goodbye to two popular pitchers with deep roots in the team, and replaced one of them with a troublemaking loudmouth who spent too much time publicly wishing that he was with the Yankees.
It illustrated the folly of Moneyball: Moves that look fine on paper don’t necessarily work when put into practice. And Wells was no stealth troublemaker on his way in. Hopefully the team will consider him to be a lesson learned.
Glaus singles after 2 outs.
Overbay strikes out, so Corey’s done his part thus far.
Still 4-3 after Delcarmen takes ‘em down in order.
First 2 are on for the Sox in the bottom of the 6th. Halladay has thrown 95 pitches.
What a weird play. Grounder to 2nd, Youkilis running from first slows down to not get tagged. Then the ball is thrown to 1st (?!), Youk in a rundown, eventually gets back to 1st. Runners at the corners, 1 out. Would have been a DP, with a proper throw to 2nd. Guess the 2nd baseman thought the tag was a sure thing and made a mental mistake?
But it’s moot even after Youk moves to 2nd. Grounder to 1st, pop out to left by my favorite Javy Lopez.
Scored more through four innings than they did against Oakland in three games.
Unless you think Derek Lowe (5+ ERA in 2004, grumbling about not not being originally a postseason starter) would somehow have kept the Sox from spiraling into this nosedive, I think it’s best you turn your venom away from Wells.
There’s a lot of selective memory when it comes to Lowe on Sox sites. His 2004 postseason success was the most surprising individual performance of that miraculous run. He was terrible in 2004, after being sliughtly less so in 2003. There was — and remains — no indication that Lowe would have been any better here in 2005 or 2006.
I have my problems with Wells’ attitude, but by all indications, he was well-liked in the clubhouse and he pitched his butt off every fifth day. Anybody who does that for you is a valuable player, period.
Delcarmen has got people striking out looking and swinging tonight. Curveball and fastball have both been well-located.
Seriously, WHY is Tavarez still on the roster?
I know it does not matter (season over, etc.) but it is insulting even to see his face on GameCast.
UGH.
Coco Crisp is not a good centerfielder.
Tie game after the infield hit by Vernon Wells (Cora gave it a good effort but had to rush the throw and Pena couldn’t pick it).
Derek Lowe had loads of trouble in 2004, but was arguably a contender for MVP of the Sox postseason.
P.S. Tie game.
Why am I watching? Why?
Yes, but what I’m saying, Hudson, is that his performance in the postseason tends to overshadow in many minds the fact that he really wasn’t good in 2004 at all, and that was the culmination of a several-season slide… It was time for him to go — he was the most obvious free agent to let walk after that season, imo.
Pena hits a leadoff double! Somebody drive him in! I’m numb to loss, but I’d like to remember winning again!
Who on this team do we expect to return next year? Trying to think…
— Tek
— Schilling
— Youkilis
— Beckett
— Papelbon
— Manny
— Big Papi
Other than that, I think pretty much everything’s up for grabs. (And knowing Theo there will be yet another round of shopping Manny.)
Lester — health willing — may be in the mix, I suppose.
Foulke? I don’t know his contract situation. Probably the Sox will be paying him, but what are the chances of him actually playing much?
Both Lowell and Loretta exceeded expectations, at least until recently, but I wouldn’t bet on either of them returning.
Wily Mo? Trot?
Cora? Pedroia?
Seems to me we may have a pretty unrecognizable lineup yet again next year, and a brand new round of bullpen roulette.
Ugh, they got him at 3rd on the bunt Halladay fields. I HATE bunting people over when they’re on 2nd with no outs. It’s stupid.
Oh, and I forgot Gonzo, Kapler, Delcarmen, Hansen… None of them likely returns, except maybe Little Manny.
From contenders to a sub-Kansas-City-quality team in how many weeks? Can this get any uglier?
Yes, it can.
Wakefield. Wakefield will be back. At least that’s one thing to feel 100% good about.
SOMEHOW that’s a home run! Gotta see the replay.
Ouch for Rios. Off the glove, off the attempted barehand, bang, it’s in the stands. 6-4 Sox.
Holy cr@p, a Cora home run.
My dream this year is to beat the Blue Jays for the season series. I think the Sox are 4-7 against them at the beginning of tonight?
Maybe Wily Mo should go out to console Rios.
I mean, that ball was ten feet from the wall. Not even to the track. Rios volleyball-served it into the stands.
Okay, I lied. It was around the lip of the track. Still, that was NOT a home run by any stretch.
Timlin, surprise, gives up a hit to start.
Pedroia makes an AMAZING stop at 2nd for the DP!!!
Timlin in, carrying a can of gasoline in either hand, and a Bic lighter in his teeth.
There should have been runners at the corners for that flare hit to no-man’s-land if not for Pedroia. Instead, we now have 2 outs and a runner at 1st and Papelbon is coming in.
New strategy for the rest of the season:
Starter By Committee.
Stolen base off Javy Lopez. Surprise!
KAPLERRRRR!!! Another SICK play by the D to keep the lead intact!
One of the many bummers of this second-half slide (more like an avalanche) is that Papelbon was headed for a 50-save rookie year.
Yeah, he stumbled in his own right, but he’s had very few opportunities of late to even try to get a save. And that has got to hurt his pitching, not working more regularly.
Gostkowski with a 54-yard FG. NYG 17, Patsys 13.
According to the Globe, the Wells trade is now official, but the Sox’s take is just “a player to be named later,” i.e., someone from AA if they’re lucky.
No word on who picks up the bonuses, etc., that I’ve seen.
Hopefully the worst Red Sox month in my memory will end with a win.
Kapler bunts for a single with 2 out.
Two outs, so Lopez can’t hit into a double play.
To the 9th. I…think…we…might…win…this…game.
OK, Paps. Your turn to remind us of the good ol’ days.
Papelbon’s ERA is still below 1. If he can finish below that and with 40-45 saves, I’d be pretty darned happy.
One away, a K.
K to start it!
Trot played 7 innings in P’tucket tonight. He’s to play Friday and Saturday, too. Maybe we’ll see him by Sunday.
AND … YES. K!
2!
Okay, so is Alex Cora now our new power hitter?? And can you believe that the Sox lost a gem of a game that Beckett pitched the other day but are probably going to win this one which was started by old rubber lips himself???
Good play by both Cora and Pena! Two down.
Well, yes. I can believe it.
Well, if this continues the Sox will nail down second place!
Catalanotto has fouled off three straight 0-2 pitches.
I can’t Bill, after a solid two weeks where the Sox simply could NOT hold any lead…I can’t
Catalonotto doubles to left off the wall.
Nothing surprises me. …
good AB by Catalanotto.
Not Vernon Wells, anybody but that guy.
It’s that ‘Hey Vern’ guy.
C’mon, Paps, strike him out!
If Paps finishes with a sub-1 ERA and 40 saves, he still the ROY?
I say yes.
Full count.
I forgot what it was like to win.
At the risk of sounding like at Tampa fan, that was the most satisfying Red Sox win in weeks.
GOT HIM AT 1ST!!!
SWEET VICTORY!!!
GAME! The Red Sox win a game!!
… win games that don’t matter, that is.
Yes, I’m reduced to celebrating this hard at this point. Now, I’m gonna go get trashed, as I am just leaving work.
That felt very very good, even though I was at work and at dinner for most of it…
Never woulda believed the Sox coulda won a game started by Julian Tavarez…
We’re No. 2!
We’re No. 2!
We’re No. 2!
We’re No. 2!
We’re No. 2!
I think he can still win the ROY with sub 1.00 era and 40+ saves. Most of the rookie pitchers are pitching themselves out of it. However if Justin Verlander wins 20 games, Papelbon may have needed the .60 era and 50 saves to win.
Paul, and AGAINST Doc Halliday.
Pats’ rushing D not too good tonight. But Childress with 166 receiving yards from Cassel.
Verlander won’t win 20 though. The league’s figuring him out and he’s tiring… He’ll robably finish with 17-18 with a mid-threes ERA. Very good, but not as good as a season-long sub-1 and the rookie saves record…