Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Ortiz sits, Martinez to DH

Via ESPN Boston

Victor Martinez  will DH tonight as the Red Sox go for a sweep against the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Terry Francona said Wednesday on WEEI’s “Dale & Holley Show.” 

David Ortiz was Boston’s designated hitter on Monday night, but continued to struggle. He walked and scored the game-tying run in the second, but also bounced into a double-play, popped to center, and, in the eighth, with lefty Scott Downs on the mound, two outs, bases loaded -- got lifted for pinch-hitter Mike Lowell.

The Sox are struggling trying to sort this whole thing out.  We might see a million different combinations by June before this is all squared away.

More Ways The Evil Empire is Screwing Baseball

Will Leitch, over at NYMag.com, has a very interesting take on the Phillies recent resigning of Ryan Howard, and how the Yankees have impacted not only that resigning, but baseball contracts as a whole:

When Mauer signed with the Twins before the season, he received the opposite of a hometown discount: The Twins had to pay Yankees prices for him.  Mauer is a great player — better than Howard — but if that deal blows up, the Twins are toast.  The same thing for the Cardinals if they re-sign Pujols for $32 million a year for the next decade. The Phillies had to sign Howard because they need to be seen as a franchise that takes care of its guys, the way the Yankees have...

But those teams aren't the Yankees. The Yankees' financial advantages so dwarf every other team that trying to be the Yankees every decade or so, with one guy, plays right into their hands. The guy you mortgaged your whole future for, the one you were absolutely convinced that if you didn't sign him forever your fan base would abandon you? Yeah, the Yankees have five guys like that. And because everyone knows the Yankees aren't going anywhere, and that even if they don't sign Matt Holliday or Jason Bay they'll be just fine, they're dictating the terms. Ryan Howard is making more money from the Phillies than Mark Teixeira — a better player! by far! — is getting from the Yankees. Think about that. With the overwrought Howard contract surely skewing the free-agent market for first basemen — of which there are several, from Pujols to Prince Fielder to Adrian Gonzalez — the Teixeira deal, which was seen as a shockingly large contract at the time, is already starting to look like a bargain.

Leitch makes some very excellent and interesting points.  In a world dominated by dollars and agents, teams need to overwhelm their "superstars" to prevent them from going to bed with visions of pinstripe-clad dollars dancing in their heads.  Had the Phillies let Howard test the free agent waters, there's no doubt that there would be rumors of the Yankees offering stupid money for Howard to come to NY -- even if it's nothing more than leaked nonsense to drive up the asking price, the fact that the Yankee's bank account is always in play makes it nearly impossible to lock up a superstar-caliber player for a reasonable price.

Which makes what Theo Epstein has been able to do so impressive.  Locking up Youk and Pedroia to reasonable, long-term deals looked good at the time, but are tremendous steals today.  And, by all accounts, we did get one of those rarely-seen "Hometown Discounts" when we locked up Beckett (he of the 7.22 ERA) - even if the discount came in years, not dollars.

Interesting, however, that Leitch didn't even mention A-Rod - a player that obtained one of these massive contracts from the Rangers - a contract so large that they couldn't build a team around him.

We all know how that nonsense ended. 

Kason Gabbard returns to McCoy on a cold, wet night

 

Lefty Kason Gabbard found his way back to the Red Sox organization when he was acquired from the Rangers for cash last April.  With Fabio Castro off of the Pawsox roster, Gabbard was the answer and flew in from Ft. Myers where he was pitching in extended spring training. Gabbard woke up to 70 degree temps, flew from Florida to Rhode Island, and took the mound when temps were in the low 40s. Kason threw 4 1/3, giving up 4 hits, 2 runs (2 ER), 5 walks, and 5 strikeouts.  

Former Sox outfielder Brandon Moss returned to McCoy, but on the other side as the starting right fielder for Indianapolis (Pittsburgh).  Moss went 1-4, scoring two runs and getting hit by with a fastball from Gabbard in the first. 

During the game we found out that Alan Embree had been called up to the big club. Fabio Castro was sent back down to Pawtucket to make room for the 40 year old lefty.  Embree had an initial deadline of 4/15 that extended to 4/30. Here is the final line on Embree in Pawtucket...7.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 2 H, 3 ER, 6 K's, 5 BB.  The numbers are skewed a little due to the one outing where he pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up 4 walks, 3 earned runs, and one hit.  He has posted zeros across the board in his other outings for the most part and looked impressive at points.  I hope he could be a good contributor to the pen.  

After the game, he talked a little about his first start.   Download Kason Gabbard

Torey Lovullo gave his take on the weather, not yet knowing (at the time) that Embree had been called up, and on his teams 7-2 loss to Indianapolis. Download Torey Lovullo42710

Your Morning Dump... Where Clay Comes Up Big

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

On a night in which desperation was evident in their transactions, the Red Sox (and their relievers) were saved by Clay Buchholz. They needed excellence and they also needed innings. They got both.

There was Buchholz, cruising through eight innings of last night’s game, having given up a single run. He was keeping the Sox in it against Shaun Marcum and the Blue Jays. He was proving the Red Sox wise for moving Tim Wakefield to the bullpen, and keeping Buchholz in the rotation. But, far more importantly, he was saving the Sox’ bullpen.

Before the game, manager Terry Francona ticked off the names of the unavailable relievers. There was Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard and Hideki Okajima. None of them would see the mound. That left little wiggle room.

“That was a gutsy performance,’’ Francona said of Buchholz. “I think he threw 80 strikes tonight. The way their guy was throwing, there’s no room for error.’’

“I think Buch was huge. Huge, huge, huge,’’ Mike Lowell said. “Our bullpen’s been taxed a little bit the last couple days, so I think we needed that. I like the fact that he has a confidence."

Globe - Buchholz gets win - and 'save'

There's been a minor debate around these parts as to what exactly Clay is destined to become, as well as where he holds the most value for the Sox.  One performance does not a season, or even a career make, but through four starts, he's been rock solid.

His Game Log, from Yahoo:

Date	Opponent	Score	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K		W	L	SV	BS	HLD	IP	ERA
Apr 27	@ TOR	W 2-1	W	8.0	7	1	1	0	2	4		2	2	0	0	0	24.2	2.19
Apr 22	TEX	L 0-3	L	6.2	6	3	3	0	1	10		1	2	0	0	0	16.2	2.70
Apr 17	TAM	L 5-6	L	5.0	3	4	0	0	4	7		1	1	0	0	0	10.0	1.80
Apr 11	@ KAN	W 8-6	W	5.0	7	3	2	1	2	1		1	0	0	0	0	5.0	3.60
Total				24.2	23	11	6	1	9	22		2	2	0	0	0	24.2	2.19

Not saying he's destined for a Cy Young this year, but if your number 5 starter can give you those types of performances on a consistent basis, it at least gives you the opportunity to win ever 5th game. And when the rest of the rotation is struggling, it's nice to have some consistency.

On Page 2, Fenway isn't just causing problems for players anymore.

Reuters Photo

Buchholz gives the Sox just what they needed

The Sox win 2-1 as Clay Buchholz pitches 8 innings, scattering 7 hits, striking out 4, and only giving up the one run.  Mike Lowell came in to hit for Ortiz in the 8th and came through,sort of, drawing a walk with the bases loading which turned out to be the game winning RBI. 

Shaun Marcum pitched a gem for the Jays going 7 and only giving up the single run in that time but the pen couldn't hold it for them. 

With a pitchers duel comes little highlights on the offensive side. Pedroia went 2-5 tonight and scored the winning run in the 8th.  I am not sure about everyone else but I held my breath when Ramirez came in for the save.  All went well and we will have to take another 1-run win...although this one went better than the rest.

Box Score

(photo:getty images)

Hard Luck Pen

I was listening to music, as I often do, and The Street Dogs came on the ol' iPod.  Those of you who aren't familiar, they're an amazing punk-rock band from Boston.  I was listening to one of their songs, "Hard Luck Kid" and it dawned on me.  This song pretty much sums up the Red Sox bullpen so far this season.

So, I put on my Weird Al Hat (don't ask), and reworked the lyrics a bit.

I now present to you, "Hard Luck Pen", lyrics by Me, music provided by The Street Dogs (I've embedded a youtube clip of the song below, so you can sing along).  Enjoy!

Seems to me you were snake-bitten from day one
With Theo somehow ignoring the big holes in the bullpen
Always searching for retreads in the free agent pool
Opted for Scott Atchison who lacked all the tools

Then he got shipped off to Triple A
Threw his life into a great big mess
But he couldn’t care less.

It's a tale of increasing woe
You know how the story goes
The Sox bullpen has us all asking, “why”?
Once a shine in the Nation’s eyes
Blown games now make us cry
Theo Epstein when will you ever learn?
When will you ever learn?

From Southie to Walpole the fans all screamed for bigger arms
Collective cringes as Schoeneweis was promoted to full time
Kept in step, upped your rep, Spring Training’s where you won your jobs
Now you find yourself in Fenway surrounded by angry mobs

Embree is still locked down in the pen
Probably not part of the big plan
Does he understand?

It's a tale of increasing woe
You know how the story goes
The Sox bullpen has us all asking, “why”?
Once a shine in the Nation’s eyes
Blown games now make us cry
Theo Epstein when will you ever learn?
When will you ever learn?

And I heard Daisuke just got the big promotion
Will he turn into the Red Sox great solution?
Cause I know inside him lies one more shot
Do not be the guy redemption had forgot about, left behind, got passed over by a free agent find
Back to wrong, same old song
Please wake up, get back on top, while you still own some hope

It's a tale of increasing woe
You know how the story goes
The Sox bullpen has us all asking, “why”?
Once a shine in the Nation’s eyes
Blown games now make us cry
Theo Epstein when will you ever learn?
When will you ever learn?

And this is why other teams' fans hate us

Many of you are already aware of Toucher & Rich's "Ask a Pink Hat" segment, in which they interview a Sox "fan" wearing pink Sox gear, along usually with a Jacoby Ellsbury shirt. They ask five easy baseball questions -- What is a run? Who is the Red Sox shortstop? -- and have a caller guess whether the pink-hat fan knows the answer.

(And if you're unfamiliar with it -- what are you waiting for? Switch to 98.5. You won't regret it.)

They had indisputably their best Ask a Pink Hat segment yesterday, interviewing Jonathan Papelbon's biggest fan. Does she know what position he plays? I'll give you a hint: No, no she does not.

Give it a listen. It's so good that T&R fear that it will never be topped.

Your Morning Dump...Where this run prevention thing is becoming a joke

 

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

In a season full of disappointments, Beckett tops the list. Last night he was abominable in a battle of attrition the Red Sox [team stats] won only because someone had to.

He was tattooed for eight runs on nine hits in three innings of a slogging 13-12 victory against the Blue Jays, and he actually pitched worse than his line. Were it not for another train wreck north of the border - the Jays crunched him for eight runs in just 2 1/3 innings back in August 2008 - it would have been the worst start of his career.

A fair question for Red Sox fans to be asking the morning is this: “What the !@#!@%?”

“The numbers tell everything,” Beckett said simply. “They’re not good.”

Herald | Josh Beckett failing to deliver like an ace

I hate to start negative -- I mean, the Sox did win 13-12 (somewhere, Chris Berman is making a Patriots-Argonauts joke). Five Sox had three hits apiece, The Jason Varitek Revitalization Project knocked in four runs, and we got four scoreless innings out of Manny Delcarmen, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon.

But good God does Beckett look off.

Before you go blaming the new contract, check out what Fanhouse's Ed Price (@ed_price) tweeted last night:

#RedSox Josh Beckett: 7.22 ERA, 37 H and 13 BB in 28.2 IP. Josh Beckett in April 2009: 7.22 ERA, 36 H and 16 BB in 28.2 IP.

Hey, maybe it's an April thing!

Actually, over the course of his career, his splits don't reveal an April bias, so that looks to be a misnomer, albeit a frightening one. If his splits are to be trusted, it's the dog days of July and August when we should worry about Beckett.

It sounds like no one knows what's going on, and he's just off. Whatever it is, he needs to figure it out. And now with a few Tek starts under his belt, can't we agree it's not Victor's fault as well?

On Page 2, Dice-K talks about his comeback. Can he be the boost we need to right the pitching staff?

Reuters photo

Red Sox/Blue Jays series preview

Red Sox (8-11, 4th in AL East) @ Blue Jays (10-9, 3rd in AL East)

Probable Pitchers:

Monday (7:10, NESN) - Josh Beckett, RHP (1-0, 5.26) vs. Dana Eveland, LHP (2-0, 1.93)

Tuesday (7:07, NESN) - Clay Buchholz, RHP (1-2, 2.70) vs. Shaun Marcum, RHP (0-1, 4.00)

Wednesday (7:07, NESN) - Jon Lester, LHP (0-2, 6.23) vs. Brett Cecil, LHP (1-0, 5.40)

Who will go off: Mike Lowell will likely be in there to face the lefties.  Lowell is batting .800 in his career against Eveland and .400 against Cecil with 1 homer.  JD Drew has had great success against both lefties as well with a .571 average against Eveland and 1.000 (2/2) vs Cecil with both hits being home runs. Tek rounds out the three with success against Eveland and Cecil.  He is .500 (2/4) against Eveland and joins the 2-for-2 club with Drew with both hits being the long ball against Cecil. Varitek is also batting .400 against Tuesdays starter, Shaun Marcum.  It is very unlikely that you will see Tek face all three pitchers, barring injuries. 

Who needs to be stopped:  Vernon Wells is the usual threat for the Jays.  With seven home runs on the season and a .306 average, he needs to be shut down.  Wells has had the most success against Beckett of all the Sox starters in the series with a .303 average and 5 home runs. Wells has had the least success against Buchholz, with a dismal .167 average against Clay. Game 1 starter Dana Eveland also needs to be stopped.  The lefty has a low 1.93 ERA and has kept lefties batters to a .286 average thus far.  JD Drew should be able to up that number a little this series.

The Sox will lose this series if...they don't blow leads wide open and keep it that way.  They held some good leads in the Baltimore series, but all games being decided by just one run doesn't cut it.  The pen needs to get some holds and keep runners off the bases.  That goes for the starters also, runners on base=TOO MANY STOLEN BASES!

Miscellany: Toronto is tied for the major league lead in home runs with 26 and first in doubles with 52.  They are also last in the AL and 29th in the majors in on-base percentage at .297.  It looks like Toronto will score their runs with the long ball and not have many base runners.  If Toronto does get runners on base, they will steal...no different than other Sox opponents.

Prediction: Sox win series 2-1

(Photo: Getty Images)

Sox sign Cuban Adalberto Ibarra

From MLB Trade Rumors:

The Red Sox signed Cuban catcher Adalberto Ibarra to a five-year Major League deal, according to Cubanballplayers.com.  Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe confirmed the signing with Ibarra's agent Edwin Mejia.  Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the deal guarantees $3MM, "with incentives that could bring the total to $4.3MM."  Silverman says Ibarra will report to the team's minor league complex before they decide where to assign him.

Ibarra, 22, played catcher, first base, second base, and third base in Cuba, but Cubanballplayers.com says the Sox view him as a backstop.  According to Silverman, he hasn't focused on catching until the last few years

Interesting signing considering the other catchers in the farm system. Plus spending a minimum of $3 million on a prospect is risky, but that's the case for all international signings. He can play four positions and in his past two seasons playing in a Cuban league he's hit for .361 and .341 respectively. He's not hitting for power (16 HR in the past 5 seasons) now but it can be developed giving the right strength training. He could develop into a quality catcher, once he focuses on it.