September 3, 2007

G138: Red Sox 13, Blue Jays 10

Not a pitchers' duel.
Blue Jays - 100 008 100 - 10 16 1
Red Sox - 302 503 00x - 13 16 1
Through four innings, both Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia had scored three runs each. Toronto battled back, battering Dice and Javier Lopez in the sixth, but Boston immediately regained enough of its cushion for relievers Hideki Okajima, Mike Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon. (box)

Mike Lowell reached base in all five of his plate appearances, including a three-run dong in the first (which gave him 100 RBI) and singles in the sixth and seventh. Every hitter in the starting lineup had a hit -- and everyone but Coco Crisp scored a run.

7 GA and a Magic # of 18 (any combination of Boston wins and MFY losses totalling 18 = Red Sox winning the East title). ... Watch out for jumpers on the George Washington Bridge!

***

This afternoon in the Bronx: Seattle 7, New York 1. Billy: 4-8-5-1-2, 62. Followed by Mussina: 3.2-7-2-0-1, 62. For the Mariners, Felix went 7-5-1-4-5, 114.

Red Sox 6.5 GA.

***

Jesse Litsch (3.40, 136 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (3.88, 117 ERA+)

In 10 starts since late June, Litsch (whose Gameday photo frightens me) has a 2.48 ERA. Last Tursday, he held Oakland to two runs and four hits in six innings.

Matsuzaka allowed five runs in 6.1 innings aganst the Yankees in his last start. The Red Sox have lost each of his last four starts (5-6, 5-6, 1-2, 3-5). Matsuzaka has walked a lot of guys lately -- 25.1 IP, 20 H, 14 BB, 22 K, 4.97 ERA -- but only three of those 14 walks have scored. Opponents are hitting .222/.330/.367 against Dice.

The Chokers (6 GB and closer to third place than first) begin a series at home this afternoon against the Mariners, who have lost nine in a row after winning seven of eight. It's Felix Hernandez (4.08, 104 ERA+) / Fat Billy (4.15, 104 ERA+). New York is 2 GA of Seattle and 3 GA of Detroit in the wild card standings; Toronto lurks 5.5 GB. The Tigers are off today.

346 comments:

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allan said...

ERROR

Jere said...

Hey I thought we were done playing the Orioles.

nick said...

billy!

laura k said...

it's a laugher and it's only the 4th!

s1c said...

Not so that they can buy more of his crap, but because more goes into the mlb players retirement fund.

allan said...

red sox going all LHO on kennedy

laura k said...

deep enough jd!

Jere said...

Not the best camerawork by NESN, as we find out at the last second Papi was easily safe. It's okay, 10 to freakin' 1.

charlie pioli said...

I feel a little sorry for the low budget teams in the MLB, like the Rays or Orioles, because they can't compete with the Sox or the Yankees, and their fans get tired of never winning.

allan said...

not that i believe the LHO myth ... but ...

s1c said...

Omg!! Werd has two SF's. who are they going to complain about on Weei.

laura k said...

Before the season, if someone told me Mike Lowell would have more RBI's than Papi in september, I would slap them.

Charlie, Joy of Sox has a "Papi Walkoff" contest - Allan was giving away a copy of Papi's book for guessing when he'd hit his first walkoff. None of us guessed there'd be no winner...!

andy said...

the toronto bullpen will be deflowered tonight

nick said...

hey all. got home a bit ago from my food co-op's labor day picnic. I played softball for the first time in over a decade. I've got a gimpy left foot (it hurts to walk), but I got a single, double, and solid fly-out in 3 innings. It was a lot of fun and the skill-level was solidly low like my own.

laura k said...

way to go nick :)

Jere said...

"and their fans get tired of never winning."

Yeah, I can't imagine going that long without win-- hey, wait!

allan said...

charlie, not too long ago, the orioles had the highest payroll in baseball (1997 i think). they are run by morons, so the $$ did not help them.

andy said...

I was eating when the one who ran on top of the ticket walked the one who ran with him. I was thinking of the irony as well.

charlie pioli said...

l-girl:


I know, how he go from hitting like 5 walk-offs last year to none this year, and the sox are doing better without it, too!

laura k said...

I feel sorry for fans of losing teams like KC, whose owner has tons of money but doesn't spend any on the team. That would drive me nuts.

charlie pioli said...

Redsox:

Well then I guess I'm talking about teams like the Marlins, Royals, A's. I don't know, look at how much Barry Zito got payed. Only a small percentage of teams could aford to sign a big free agent like that.

Correct me if I am wrong.

laura k said...

Allan and Joy of Sox were all over the baseball news with his walk-off stats. I think the post is linked on the right side of the blog.

allan said...

if clement could pitch in this game, we'd have "honest abe" to go with the other presidents!

laura k said...

And we had Nixon for a long time, a much better player than president.

nick said...

This is a nice game to come home to. We'll be back up to 7 GA.

I don't like the way they cut away from showing who the bat boy/girl gives the ball to. The one they just showed she passed by an excited young girl to give it to....? It's a perpetual peeve for me. I can stand not seeing Dice-K's back for another second or two.

allan said...

Correct me if I am wrong.

Unfortunately, we have very little idea how much money various baseball teams make. Almost all of them claim to be losing money, but they refuse to offer any proof.

andy said...

I never really thought about how political the Redsox were before tonight

allan said...

I don't see why those little kids get all the balls. Guys go to games for decades -- never get a ball -- then they see some little snot-nosed punk get a ball at his 1st or 2nd game!

It's bullshit, man!

laura k said...

Blue Jays camera work is as bad as their pitching tonight. It's hard to tell what's going on until you see the replay.

Rob said...

I feel sorry for fans of losing teams like KC, whose owner has tons of money but doesn't spend any on the team. That would drive me nuts.

That's a situation where I've always wished Major League Baseball would have a larger hand in how teams spend their money (especially revenue). But RS is right. You don't know for sure how much each team makes, just like you don't know how much of their revenue goes toward their payroll, etc.

andy said...

How they can make more money is to seal a nationwide fucking broadcast deal with the major networks like football. Like ESPN can do games here and there and CBS does National League and Fox does American League. Every Saturday there would be games and every fucking weekday there would be games to watch. I know all of them wouldn't be Sox games but fuck can I at least see some of the america's pastime games more than once every other week?

allan said...

loaded for lyndon!

andy said...

This could be like re-election

laura k said...

Ish, I agree. Revenue sharing or luxury tax without a requirement that the money is put back into the player development or salaries is ineffective.

I personally think salaries should be completely confidential. We don't know what the owners make, why should we know what the players earn?

laura k said...

..but then the media and the owners couldn't feed fans' resentment of the players.

Jim said...

Charlie: Three things you need to know about owners of baseball teams:

1. None of them need the income from the team to balance their cheque-books.

2. All of them could kick more money into the team if they wanted to.

3. They only tell the truth when it suits them.

andy said...

takes 0-2 like a youk

laura k said...

smart man, that woti

charlie pioli said...

If you read Moneyball you can tell that the A's don't have much money, because their owner's are assholes. I'm sure that is the case for most teams.


The Mlb does enforce income tax on high payrole teams.

nick said...

I don't know the details of it, but when I was out there recently, I heard some stories about the Seattle Supersonics (basketball). The new owner is planning on moving the team to Oklahoma City after making demands on stadium funding the city of Seattle will not go for. This after the previous owner had been trading off all the higher-cost, experienced players and making up a team of cheap youngsters.

I'm sure there's more to the story and I doubt my own accuracy, but there ya go.

laura k said...

But Charlie, the luxury tax doesn't have to go back into building the team. The owners of the Royals can take their money from Steinbrenner (or sometimes from John Henry, etc.) and buy a new house for themselves, or take a cruise.

allan said...

tiz - .373 with bases loaded

charlie pioli said...

Well I think I'm going to go see the Portland Beavers (Padres AAA) last game of the season. I'll see you guys later.

laura k said...

Good for Seattle for not caving.

I assume everyone knows this, but for all the scoop on stadium ripoffs, see Field of Schemes. Neil deMause and Joanna Cagan wrote the book (literally) on this issue, and they are The Experts.

charlie pioli said...

Yeah the supersonics are about to move to Okalahoma city.

allan said...

bases loaded and 0 outs -- no runs.

easier to take when we're already up 10-1.

nick said...

interesting looking site, l-girl. thank you. There's also an item on the main page from Aug. 28th about the Sonics goings-on.

laura k said...

i'm always glad to publicize that site, they do great work. (plus demause once helped me get my money from a publisher who was refusing to pay me.)

allan said...

rance getting excited because it's 10-2. already talking like glaus will hit a dong and make it 10-5 and "make it interesting"

allan said...

dear dice: feel free to record an out or two.

allan said...

oh fucking hell.

i guess the jays ARE getting the wild card.

fuckin troy

nick said...

ack. I walk outta the room to get my laptop's power cord and the jays cut the lead from 1/5th to 1/2 our score.

allan said...

rance just said the word "irregardless"

except that is not actually a word

idiot

allan said...

mdc up

tunameltzer said...

I really can't wait to watch him next year when all of these "kinks" are worked out.

nick said...

yeah, an out would be nice. I'd even be cool with 2 or 3.

allan said...

buffy now talking as though the jays are up by 5 not down by 5.

tunameltzer said...

There are games where he is more enigmatic than the gyroball. Thank goodness for the big lead.

nick said...

from a Village Voice article about the new Yankees/Mets stadiums linked to on "Field of Schemes":
On average, baseball teams have hiked tickets by 41 percent their first year in new homes. This is, of course, in addition to all the tax breaks and other incentives funded by the tax-payers (and fans).

Rob said...

It certainly feels like squandering a bases loaded, 0 out situation always comes back to bite you a little bit, even if it is a 9 run lead.

But I'm not worried one bit. It's a little disconcerting about Dice-K, but he's been like this the entire season. It seems obvious to me that he just doesn't use the fastball enough, but I'm not the pitching coach. Or 'Tek. Or Dice.

Certainly nothing to worry about tonight, though.

allan said...

The Baltimore Ravens (NFL) got taxpayers to buy them a new stadium near Camden Yards and the city agreed to an attendance guarantee.

If not enough fans bought tickets to the games, the city was forced to fork over the $$$ to make up the difference -- so the fans (and non-fans) ended up paying ticket money anyway.

One of the more outrageous stories from FoS (which Laura reminded me of just now).

allan said...

buffy saying it sure is getting quiet here in fenway park ... as the crowd chant of "let's go red sox" gets louder and louder.

OUTS - FUCKERS!!!

Rob said...

10-8.

Looks like the party atmosphere is long gone.

nixon33 said...

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!

laura k said...

Well, I've been up since 5 a.m. and I start a new job tomorrow. I better watch the rest of this game from bed.

When I wake up tomorrow morning, I'm expecting a SEVEN GAME LEAD!

allan said...

i am a little annoyed.

but

we are up by 2 and we get to bat four more time.

"millions of dead blue jays" in to pitch.

tunameltzer said...

I want to see killer instinct.

nixon33 said...

jesus christ

allan said...

buffy thanking "fans" who turned off their sets at 10-1 and may have come back to watch.

thatdietcokegirl said...

unbelievable.
i just don't buy it when stuff like that happens. not to teams like us by teams like them.

tunameltzer said...

What a bleeping joke by this pitching staff.

nick said...

redsock said...
buffy thanking "fans" who turned off their sets at 10-1 and may have come back to watch.


That makes a fuckload of sense.

I would be VERY happy to get out of this inning now.

fuck yeah!!!!!!!

allan said...

LYNDON!

Rob said...

LBJ!!! What a catch. Could be a game saver right there!

nixon33 said...

THE KID!

thatdietcokegirl said...

OH YEAH I'M PSYCHED. ONLY 8 RUNS ALLOWED. WOOHOOO!!!

j/k ;//

allan said...

we fucking need 5 or 6 here to fucking shut buffy up.

nick said...

and here we go again...

allan said...

DR. DOUBLES JR.???

Druuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

nixon33 said...

JD! love it!

allan said...

very long wait for josh towers!

allan said...

lay off the high ones, jason.

Rob said...

BACK IN BUSINESS.

allan said...

Capt. Singles.

nixon33 said...

JASON VARITEK IS ALIVE AND WELL

Rob said...

JASON VARITEK IS ALIVE AND WELL

So's my rally cap! :)

allan said...

frasor last pitched wednesday

Spencer Brown said...

was that a squeeze or a bunt for a base hit?

Remy says "not a squeeze".

Interesting choice...

allan said...

gameday says sacrifice

buffy says no, was bunting for a hit, so it's an AB

i say sac,

allan said...

we need one of those

8
8

innings the white sox and mfy had earlier this year

allan said...

BALK!

13-9

Rob said...

The scoring on Lugo's bunt was a sac.

One thing that shouldn't go overlooked was the great job of Hinske at breaking up that DP at second base.

allan said...

jeemer in

allan said...

Dr. 5-2-5!!!

allan said...

wells down by way of the k.

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Oki-doki!

Rob said...

This has been an exhausting game to watch, hasn't it? Physically draining.

Rob said...

I can only imagine how the players are feeling.

nick said...

oooh look a remdawg shirt.

allan said...

lowell's 3-run dong in the first gave him 100 rbi

first sox 3b to get 100 rbi since butch elbow chips hobson in 1977

allan said...

lowell on base 5 out of 5 times.

3 hits, BBI, and E5.

Rob said...

Huge stat here: Uncle Joe just said Mike Lowell is 30 of his last 60.

Rob said...

RS, did you hear Roger Clemens had an MRI on his elbow tonight? He's banged up. Doing a split today during the game didn't help matters much, either. Apparently his elbow is sore and that's why Mussina was brought in.

allan said...

Uncle Joe just said Mike Lowell is 30 of his last 60

fuck yeah!!!

hit machine.

allan said...

Lowell SB!!!!!!!!!!!

..

i did hear that -- seems that billy will miss a start and moose murders is back in the rotation.

yay for us.

allan said...

opposing relievers who come in and give up 4 pitch walks amuse me.

allan said...

getting back to ish's comment, i think a 1-0 or 2-1 game is more draining to watch.

a game like this, if the jays get 4, i feel like so what, the sox will get 6.

nick said...

good effort by hill. Remy and Don commenting on an admittedly-strange looking guy. they're back at it again.

Rob said...

I might just be tired anyways, heh. This has been a grinder, though. Approaching 3.5 hours.

I'm somewhat disappointed with that last half-inning, but what can ya do.

allan said...

yook in now, playing 1b

allan said...

yeah stairs is 4-for-4 but buffy and rance talking like he's ruth, hornsby, williams and bonds all rolled into one.

allan said...

jeemer out -- white flag in for game #1001.

Rob said...

Hornsby + Williams + Bonds = Paul Bunyan

Rob said...

+ Ruth also. My bad. (It's like saying 1+1+1=4)

allan said...

i love how we tie up all those loose ends as the game winds down.

Amy said...

Hi all. Just got home from the Cape. Was listening on the radio. Had a ten minute spell with no radio reception and when the game returned, the score had gone from 10-1 to 10-9. Abd now Timlin is pitching?? Crazy game. At least they are still three runs up at this point.

allan said...

on the newsticker on gameday, mlb is telling me that the pitchers for the 7 pm tor-bos game are warming up.

allan said...

Had a ten minute spell with no radio reception and when the game returned, the score had gone from 10-1 to 10-9.

I find that very funny.

Rob said...

Fortunate ending for Timlin.

Amy said...

Yes, quite funny NOW with them still ahead. At the time I was going, What the F--K? I always feel personally responsible, like if I had been listening, this never would have happened.

I assume Papelbon coming in for the 9th, although I am sure back in the 5th he figured he had the night off.

Amy said...

I could be Remy. He just said what I said re Papelbon.

allan said...

Funny in a "was it really 10-1 or did i imagine that or are they now fucking with me and it's not actually 10-9" way.

Plus, you figure if you miss 10-15 minutes of a game, the score shouldn't change *that* much.

nick said...

at least Youk didn't strike out there.

Amy said...

I still don't know how they scored the first four runs in the 6th...grand slam?

allan said...

jays 6th began:

stairs BB
rios single to short rcf
thomas infield single!, RBI
glaus 3-run dong into sox pen

Amy said...

Thanks. I figured at least one HR given how fast it happened.

allan said...

how did thomas get an infield hit, you ask?

he hit a high chop that dice leapt for, the ball hit off the top of his glove and rolled towards third. no one had a play.

...

SNUFFER!

Amy said...

Poor Dice K. He sure hasn't lived up to all the hype. Not that he has been bad, just not as awesome as expected.

allan said...

i think many fans, including me, expected a bit too much in season #1.

he's been our second-best starter.

allan said...

grab some pine, zaunie.

Amy said...

Second best by what measure? Not games won. ERA? Not Ks, not runs given up. I assume you rate Beckett number 1. Wakefield has been pretty consistent and has more wins than Dice K, but we would never think of him as number 2.

Two Ks for Papelbon, one more out to go and we can sleep easy.

allan said...

ERA+, which is ERA with park factors taken into account.

Pitchers can't really control wins, so that is pretty much meaningless to me. Curt's ERA+ is close to Dice's but he missed time on the DL.

Rob said...

Woot!! 7 and 18!

Rick (f/k/a westcoastsox) said...

Watah!

allan said...

the water is dirty.

7 games dirty.

Amy said...

Lowell makes last put out. Very appropriate.

Guess everyone else went to sleep, huh? Goodnight!

Benjamin said...

Much uglier than it should've been, but we (they) got it done.

nixon33 said...

hey yankees! 7 GAMES MOFOS

CaKeY said...

Finally. Not very pretty, would've been nice to rest some guys, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do... to win.

Rob said...

Ohhhhhhhh. That creepy looking guy Don and Jerry kept looking at during tonight's game is going to be on Sox Appeal.

That kept bugging me all night. Having the TV muted didn't help.

Ron said...

I was looking at baseball reference for quality starts on Dice-K vs. Beckett vs. Wake, but didn't see anything. Is there a list of secondary stats there?

___

s1c - nice pictures. I'm in #4 (Lester playing long toss). I'll circle myself and post it in tomorrow's game thread.

___

We strayed over to the US Open on news that Federer had dropped the first set of his match. Came back to find the 6th inning disaster. Way to keep it interesting guys. Geez.

7 Games Ahead!

Ron said...

Found it at ESPN. Dice-K leads the Sox in Quality Starts (17), followed by Beckett (16) and Wake (14).

allan said...

Not sure about QS. BR has a bunch of nooks and crannies to look in.

I guess you could go through their logs and count 'em up.

Rob said...

Another fun-filled night with you guys and with this fantastic game we call baseball. Until tomorrow!

tim said...

Wow, what a game...was busy settling into the new place while watching this ridiculous affair so didn't have time to chat...

back up to 7, oh hells yeah.

laura k said...

I knew I wake up to a SEVEN GAME LEAD!!

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