Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Recaps: Sox split in Detroit

After David Ortiz rallied the Red Sox to a dramatic win in game 1 of today's doubleheader, Justin Verlander shut the door on any possibility of a sweep. 

Verlander scattered four hits in 7 2/3 innings, ratcheting up his fastball to hit 98 regularly in his last few batters. His last pitch of the game, a ball that very nearly shattered every bone in Jacoby Ellsbury's foot, touched 100 mph. 

Josh Beckett was good, but not to that level. He had trouble with control, walking five batters, but managed to keep the Tigers to two runs over 6 IP. The biggest pest was old friend Victor Martinez, who slapped three singles -- one to right, one to left, and one to center -- against his former battery mate.

Verlander was the real story though. He held the Sox 2-7 hitters to a combined 0-for-21. While some Sox hit the ball hard -- Pedroia sent one pitch to the warning track in right field -- it was almost always right at a Tiger defender.

The first game was, of course, a different story, thanks to the dramatic pinch-hit homer by Papi. It was Ortiz's second career at bat off Valverde, and also his second home run (though Valverde retired him in game 2).

Game 1's starters Clay Buchholz and Andrew Oliver dueled to even performances -- 3 runs on 6 IP -- and the middle relievers held strong, including two solid innings from Matt Albers, whose ERA is down to a respectable 3.54. Jed Lowrie and Mike Cameron each registered two hits...and then each were benched for game 2. (Of course, two games in the same day would have immediately sent Lowrie to the 60-day DL.)

Gonzalez, Youkilis, Crawford, and Sutton were held hitless in both games. Rough day at the park.

The Yankees and Rays both won, leaving the Sox a game up on the division, with the Rays a game and a half back.

Game 1 box score | Game 2 box score

Your Morning Dump... where Bard's friend has been found.

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.

Daniel Bard usually talks to or texts with his childhood friend Matt Hill every couple of weeks. The Red Sox reliever keeps in touch with Hill as much as he does with any of the guys he grew up with.

Bard and Hill, an Indians fan, exchanged texts Monday before the start of the Sox' three-game series in Cleveland. Hill, a groomsman in Bard’s wedding, gave Bard some good-natured flak.

That was the last time Bard heard from Hill.

Hill, the director for Campus Outreach at George Washington University, has been missing since Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C. He was last dropping off a student he mentors and no one has seen or heard from him since. Hill’s debit card was charged at a gas station around 11:30...

...“It’s not easy,” Bard said. “I think the toughest day was [Thursday], the day I found out about it, because it just kind of hit as a shock and now it’s become kind of a . . . mystery we’re all trying to figure out. There’s so few clues that we’ve seen. So we're just trying to figure out. I’m trying to figure out myself. Guys on the team have been great, supportive, talking to me about it.

“I haven’t considered leaving [the team] or anything, but at the same time I don’t think I can go two minutes without thinking about it. But I’ve done as much as I can to help, including trying to get you guys [the media] involved a little bit. They’re trying to keep some things close to the chest as far as the investigation goes, but I . . . think you can spread his name and his story and his car information out and I think we need to get that information out as much as possible.”

CSNNE:Bard asks for help to find a missing friend

There is some good news to report this morning. According to the Find Matt Hill Facebook page, Matt has been found alive and unharmed. Obviously a huge relief to Bard and to all those close to Hill.

It had to have been tough on Bard trying to be ready to go into the game while having that on your mind. At least he had people in the clubhouse that were able to help ease some of the worries.

In other news, if you were planning on watching the second game of the double header tonight, think again. There is a clause in ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball contract with MLB stating that no other games can be on the air during ESPN's broadcast. So watch the day game on your lovely HD set and then bust out the radios for tonight!

Globe:Real life drama affects Bard|Sox getting good returns on smaller investments|Yankees go up against age old question|Herald:Zero-sum game|Sox richer and pourer|Bard's mind not on game, thinking about missing friend|Aceves learns to Mo em down|CSNNE:Bard asks for help to find a missing friend|Sox/Tigers Game 2 not on TV|Notes:Rough start forgotten as Sox take first place|WEEI:Bard asks for help|Jacoby best leadoff hitter in MLB?

 

 

Sox - Tigers Rained Out

Tonight's matchup between the Sox and Tigers was postponed after a nearly hour and a half rain delay.  The two will play a double-header tomorrow at Comerica Park - game one at 1:05 and game two starting at 7:05.

Here's some fun rain delay hijinks to help ease the pain:

 

Your Morning Dump... Where Ellsbury's on fire

AP

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.

Jacoby Ellsbury’s speed led to the Sox' first run. His power gave them their second run, as they beat the Tigers, 6-3, Friday night.

He led off the third with his sixth home run of the season, to tie the game. It was his second home run in as many games. Ellsbury went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, raising his average to .299. He is slugging .463 with a .365 on-base percentage.

“I think he’s a good player,” manager Terry Francona said. “He's good. Like always, we're thrilled when anybody hits a home run. But whatever he does powerwise is great but we don't want to talk about it. He’s a strong kid and those will come when he takes enough good swings. When he gets on base and disrupts the game that's what’s important. Those home runs are going to come though.”

After missing all but 18 games last season because of fractured ribs, Ellsbury is low-key about his solid start this season. “I go out there and try to help my team win every single night and prepare to play every day,” he said. “So it’s been nice to see and how well we’ve been playing as of late.”

CSNNE - Ellsbury downplays success

I think he's a good player too, Terry. 

Ellsbury hasn't been the most popular player in town since his odd behavior last season.  Well, except for the ladies.  They love them some Ellsbury unconditionally.  Unfortunately for him, he got himself a bad reputation - both as bad teammate, and as being injury-prone.

The injury-prone label, as I'm stated here many times, is stupid.  He got hurt by taking Beltre's knees to his ribcage, came back too early, and hurt his ribs again.  The two previous season he suited up for 153 and 145 games.  For comparison, JD Drew has NEVER played in more than 146 games in a season.  So it's silly to paint him as injury prone.

For the bad teammate rap, I think we can place that solely on Scott Boras - Ellsbury surely wasn't calling the shots during his extended leave of absence from the Sox.  But it still left a bad taste in people's mouths.  Sox fans wanted him traded.  Which, when you think about it, is pretty shocking.  We never turn our backs on anyone donning the 'B'.  Even the Sox brass floated his name a few times in potential trades this past offseason.

Flash-forward to this season, and Ellsbury is having a career year.  He's on pace to have career-highs in hits, runs, doubles, home runs, and RBI's.  He's also on pace to have career-highs in strikeouts and times caught stealing, but I'll gladly take that if he can produce runs like he has.

I haven't heard of any lingering clubhouse issues surrounding Ellsbury (and while some people still think he's overrated and the Sox should sell high on him), I think it's pretty safe to say that he's going to be a Red Sox for the next several years.  Ladies, rejoice.

On Page 2, Wake does it again

Adrian Gonzalez's unlikely minor-league friendship

When the Red Sox traded for Adrian Gonzalez this offseason, part of the reason given for the steep price paid (both in prospects and the eventual extension) was for his strong character. He's well known for being a devout Christian -- he chose number 28 with Boston due to its symbolism in the Bible, which I won't pretend to know -- and for leading a quiet, family-first life outside the ballpark.

The next-best AL first baseman (/scoffs at Mark Teixeira) has a slightly different off-the-field story. Miguel Cabrera spends his free time drinking scotch out of the bottle and pulling the "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" routine with Miami police. 

Despite these differences, it turns out that the two were best friends at early points in their career, when they were both coming up in the Florida Marlins minor-league system.

“We were best friends at those times — in Rookie ball, in A ball,” Gonzalez recalled Thursday. “We were roommates, hung out together all the time. We got to know each other’s families. We were always talking, whether it was baseball or non-baseball related.”

[...]

“He’s a good friend of mine — he’s very important to me,” Cabrera said. “He’s always there (for me). It was the same way in Rookie ball. We (went) everywhere together, spent a lot of time together. As soon as he signed the contract, I called and said congratulations. I was so happy for him. He’s a great person.”

The whole story is excellent -- go read it now. Morosi has some great anecdotes of Gonzalez letting Cabrera live in his house when Cabrera broke in with the Marlins (and hopped over him on the organizational depth chart). I found the reference to Gonzalez's religiosity -- really embracing Christianity in 2003 -- interesting as well. Perhaps some wild times were had before then, Curt Schilling style, but that would be speculation.

Either way, Gonzalez comes off like a selfless leader even back then. Driving other players around, lending his house out, translating for them -- the guy did it all. If you can't tell, I'm enjoying his first year, where we gush about him. It'll be annoying in three years when the Boston media just starts taking potshots at him for no reason, but let's enjoy this time while we have it.

Steve Buckley: 'I told you so'

Steve Buckley gets to say "I told you so" to the nay sayers of Carl Crawford, including Greg Dickerson. Dickerson's out was, 'I haven't seen you in like three months', so there is no way he could have bashed Crawford. The other tool, Gary Tanguay, knew it all along and always knew that Carl Crawford was going to be an awesome player. I forgot that they are never wrong. Buckley slightly put him back in his place and said that everyone didn't know that. Buck is the only one of that bunch that believed in Crawford.

Your Morning Dump...where we're starting to see the real Carl Crawford

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.

“It feels real good just to be able to hit the ball and play like yourself,” [Crawford] said. “I haven’t felt that way in a long time. So to have that feeling back for a few days feels great.

“Just feeling a little bit more comfortable at the plate, trying to really get my pitch to hit and not missing it when I do get a chance to drive the ball.”

Being more comfortable, more relaxed at the plate makes a big difference for a hitter.

“I don’t disagree with that,” Francona said. “I think it’s hard when you’re [struggling].  It’s like when we were 2-11 or 2-10, we talked about it all the time: You got to be strong enough to look up there and realize that we’ll straighten this out. But it takes some patience and all of a sudden you get in that mode and you want to go 3-for-1 as a hitter. It doesn’t work.

“But these last couple of days, they’ll do him a world of good. Regardless of what you’re hitting, [if] you feel like you’re going in one direction, it’s better. And he certainly feels that way. The weather’s warmed up somewhat [and] I think that helps him. He’s got his legs under him. You can see the swings he’s taking. They’re good swings. But I think now he can go out and play.”

CSNNE | Crawford finally getting comfortable

It took a while, but Crawford's finally putting it all together. It looks like hitting in the 6th spot is working out for him though. JD, you might have to slide down.

Don't get too excited -- he's still had a lousy year. Despite these last few days, Carl's OBP is still .277, which is positively Lugoian. 

But he's headed in the right direction, and he and Francona both see a major change in his approach. He couldn't possibly less comfortable than he was early in the year, when he was close to copyrighting the three-pitch strikeout. If he can sustain this, while our other spending spree, Adrian Gonzalez, continues his MVP-caliber play, we're going to stay at the top of the division for a while.

Related: Herald | Carl Crawford's surge real three-for-all

On page 2, Gammons discusses a guy who's been almost as bad as Carl Crawford.

Recap: First Place!

AP

The Sox felt so good about their 14-2 win yesterday, they figured they would do it again. The Sox pound on the Tigers, 14-1 in a rain shortened 7 1/2 inning game. The Sox are now in a virtual tie for first with New York as they are off today and we can enjoy first for a full day.

Carl Crawford went 4-for-5 and has gone 8-for-9 in the last 2 games. Crawford was a triple shy of the cycle yesterday, so he decided to hit 2 triples today to make up for it. I think he is officially out of his slump. Every batter in the Red Sox lineup recorded a hit and everyone but Tek crossed home plate at least once. Josh Reddick assured the Sox that his call up was a smart one by going 3-for-5 with 3 RBI. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a 3-run shot in the second inning for the games only home run.

The Sox chased Detroit's best pitcher, Max Scherzer, from the game after only 2 innings and 7 runs.

Alfred Aceves pitched very well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K) and got plenty more support than his last outing. The rain saved the bullpen as Albers was the only pitcher to come out and throw just 1 inning.

I don't care that we have to share first with New York, it is still sweet.

Box Score

Taking Stock: Sox - Indians series

After each series, we'll be taking stock in each player's...and maybe manager's...performance. If we like what we see, we're buyin'. If we don't, we're sellin'. Or maybe we'll just hold onto our stock until we see more next game.

David Ortiz: Big Papi has jumped into the team lead in homers with 10 and is now batting .303. Ortiz batted .357 (5/14) with a solo homer in the series and is hitting righties and lefties well.

Carl Crawford: This may have been his breakout series. Crawford batted .545 (6/11), with 2 home runs, 3 RBI, 6 runs, and 14 total bases. This was the performance that all of Boston was waiting for.

Josh Beckett: He keeps pitching gems and gives the opposition no chance. Beckett is now 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA (3rd in majors), and has an opponent batting average of .186. Beckett is doing it with all of his pitches and is showing no faults in his starts.

Jon Lester: After a few rocky starts, Jon Lester got back to pitching like himself. Lester now leads the majors with 7 wins and leads the team with 70 K's. The Beckett/Lester duo may be the best 1-2 punch in the majors.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Salty is hot, 4 homers and 7 RBI in his last 6 games. We know it won't last but everyone is getting on the train right now.

J.D. Drew: Now on the DL, as expected, J.D. Drew went 1-for-8 in the first two games before going on the DL. He just sucks, I don't feel like elaborating any more on that.

 

Dustin Pedroia: I am almost ready to start buying, but I want to see a little more from Pedey. He gave us a little scare with a minor foot injury, but missed only 1 game then went 3-for-9 in the series, with a homer and 4 RBI. Pedey is having a little trouble getting over the .250 hump and is currently batting .249. The productivity will come, but when?

McDonald to DL; Reddick called up from Pawtucket

Darnell McDonald has been placed on the DL with an injured quad. He sustained the injury when pinch running for Ortiz on Tuesday night. With J.D. Drew also on the DL, as usual, the Red Sox have called up the hot bat of Josh Reddick from Pawtucket. Reddick will be in the lineup today, batting 8th.

Josh Reddick is batting .248, with 12 homers, and 29 RBI. Reddick is also running the bases well, and is 4-for-5 in stolen bases this season with the Pawsox.