Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Recap: Quintana dominates in White Sox win

The White Sox handed Boston its second straight loss in a 3-1 win at US Cellular Field. 

Chicago starter Jose Quintana dominated, holding the Red Sox hitless into the 7th inning before unraveling. He gave up three straight hits (including a David Ortiz broken-bat single that opened things up) and was pulled from the game in favor of reliever Jesse Crain, who I still always think is on the Twins because it seems like he's been on the Twins since 1974. Crain got the job done, striking out Will Middlebrooks and Stephen Drew (on a nasty breaking ball) back to back to get out of the inning.

Still down 2-0, the Red Sox entered the 8th looking to put together another run. Salty walked and Ells singled. After a flyout by the pinch-hitting Mike Carp, a wild pitch put them both in scoring position. An Alexei Ramirez error allowed Dustin Pedroia to reach base and a run to come in, with Ortiz in a position to tie things up. Instead, Papi GIDP'd and that was that. #clutch

The White Sox added an insurance run and Addison Reed shut the Red Sox down in a soaked 9th to close it out.

Felix Doubront actually pitched quite well, as he had a one-hitter of his own in the 5th. A ground ball that could have been the third out got under Will Middlebrooks' glove and the White Sox pounced on the opportunity, scoring twice on a Jeff Keppinger home run before Felix could get out of it. Despite being efficient (I'm as shocked to type that as you are to read it), Doubront only lasted six innings, as John Farrell decided the one strong inning after the hiccup in the 5th was a good time to pull him. Farrell also noted in his postgame comments that Doubront's stuff wasn't looking as sharp, and Chicago had right-handers due up in the lineup. 

The Red Sox only got four hits, so not much to say there, although Jacoby Ellsbury did provide one of them. So...that's something?

Clay Buchholz takes on Hector Santiago tomorrow to avoid the series sweep.

Box score

How we see it goin' down: Sox - Sox series

First Pitch: Monday 8:10, Tuesday 8:10, Wednesday 8:10

Arms: Monday: Jon Lester, LHP (6-0, 2.72 ERA)  vs. Dylan Axelrod, RHP (1-3, 4.27 ERA)

Tuesday: Felix Doubront, LHP (3-1, 6.03 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana, LHP (2-1, 3.97 ERA)  

Wednesday: Clay Buchholz, RHP (6-0, 1.78 ERA) vs. Chris Sale, LHP (5-2, 2.53 ERA)

                              Yard: U.S. Cellular Field   Watch it: NESN   Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 27-17 (2nd AL East)	Record: 19-23 (4th AL Central)
On road: 14-7	At home: 8-9
Streak: W5	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Ortiz (.364)	Average: Rios (.301)
Homers: Middlebrooks (8)	Homers: Rios (10)
RBI: Napoli (35)	RBI: Rios (25)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Buchholz/Lester (6)	Wins: Peavy/Sale(5)
ERA: Buchholz (1.78) | Wilson (1.26)	ERA: Sale (2.53) | Crain (0.93)
K's: Buchholz (69)	K's: Sale (61)

Last time

In one of the few positive series from 2012, the Red Sox took 3-of-4 from the White Sox at home in mid-July. The Red Sox played two 4-game sets with the other Sox and won them both in 2012. Surprising, right? Even more surprising, the Red Sox out-scored the White Sox in the season series 45-20. I wish I could remember those GOOD moments from 2012.

This time

Laser Show: David Ortiz

Big Papi has thrown up some decent numbers against the White Sox in his career. His 26 homers are second most against any non-AL East club. In addition, Ortiz has 74 career ribbies and a .952 OPS against Chicago. Coming off of an 8-for-13 series against the Twins will provide pretty good momentum going into Chicago.

Pitch Around: Alex Rios

The team's Triple Crown leader and biggest threat by far. There is Adam Dunn, but he is having another all-or-nothing season. Alex Rios is the one guy on the White Sox that should be of concern to Sox pitching.

Don't Fall Behind: Chris Sale

Sale is a big strikeout guy and is coming off of two very good great starts. Chris Sale pitched a complete game, 1-hitter against the Angels last Sunday. Then, followed that up with another strong start against the Angels, going 7 2/3, giving up only 3 hits and strike out a dozen. Game 3 will be some pitching duel. 

How we see it goin' down

Our Sox are hot, the others are just okay. If the Sox can continue to swing the bats well, they will have a good shot at winning the series. They will need to scored a few more runs against Chicago, as Minnesota's pitching is inferior compared to the White Sox. Boston has the offensive advantage, and have a slight advantage in the pitching column. The Red Sox will come away with another series, though, I doubt a sweep will be likely.   

Your Morning Dump...where White Sox moves could affect the Red Sox

 

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 didn't take long for Rick Hahn to make his first move as the general manager of the White Sox. Four days after officially introducing Hahn as GM, the team announced a two-year, $29MM contract extension with Jake Peavy. The deal will keep Peavy in Chicago through 2014 and includes an option for 2015.

MLBTradeRumors | White Sox extend Jake Peavy

The White Sox announced that they have exercised the 2013 club option on the contract of right-hander Gavin Floyd while declining 2013 options on right-hander Brett Myers and third baseman Kevin Youkilis.  Floyd will earn a base salary of $9.5MM in 2013.  Myers will receive a $3MM buyout instead of his $10MM option while Youkilis will get $1MM in place of his $13MM option.

MLBTradeRumors | White Sox exercise option on Floyd, decline on Myers and Youkilis

The White Sox joined the Tigers among super-active teams early in the offseason.

And their moves in a way affect the Red Sox. Jake Peavy was a guy some were speculating could be a good fit for the rotation here -- high potential, but due to injury risk and age, not requiring an enormous contract. I think most Red Sox fans would have been happy with Jake on a two-year deal, but I can't say I blame him (or the White Sox) on finding a way to continue their relationship now that they've seen some success.

And of course there's Youk, who everyone loves to speculate about. I agree with the CSNNE piece (in the links below) that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Youk is, obviously, in decline, and if the Red Sox are looking to move forward both in performance and in clubhouse makeup, it's probably not a great idea. I can see them revisiting it if they get priced out of other 1B and Youk for whatever reason isn't snapped up by anybody, but I'd say it's a long shot at best. I think Ben Cherington is more likely to be looking for the next David Ortiz-style acquisition -- trying to find somebody cheap and hope to hit it big. Obviously, there aren't a whole lot of Papis out there, but if he can even do something similar to the Cody Ross rental to fill the 1B hole, I think we'd all be satisfied.

Herald | Brian Butterfield back with John Farrell | 3 Orioles win Gold Gloves; 9 1st-timers, not Trout | ESPNBoston | Decision 2013: Starting rotation | CSNNE | No Gold Gloves for Sox; Reddick earns one at RF | Are Sox interested in free agent Kevin Youkilis?

Recap: Ross & Gonzalez haze rookie Pedro Hernandez, Red Sox win 12-1

             

Even with the most consistent hitter making a trip to the DL, the offense is doing more than enough to pick up the slack. Tonight it was Cody Ross's best game as a member of the Sox: going 3-for-5 with two three-run home runs that led the way to an easy 10-1 victory.

Ross hit both homers off of Pedro Hernandez, who made his major league debut. He took an inside fastball over the Monster in the third and then took a hanging change up into the Monster seats in the fourth.

Cody wasn't the only one with a hot bat tonight, as Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-4 as well, one of those being a solo home run after Ross's second blast in the fourth. He got four RBI's and is 7-for-12 in this series. For those who feel that playing right field hurt him at the plate have more evidence suggesting that as he's hitting .404 since he returned back to first base full time.

Jacoby Ellsbury was just trying to get on base as quick as possible as he only took seven pitches and it worked tonight. He went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Between him & Crawford (1-3, two runs scored) they're making lives difficult for opposing pitchers since they've returned. This lefty one-two punch at the top of the lineup is finally coming together.

As for the pitching, Felix Doubront had himself a good game going six innings, allowing just one run & four hits, to get his 10th win of the year. The combination of Matt Albers, Mark Melancon, and Andrew Miller threw three perfect innings of relief to finish off the game. 

Box Score

Recap: Sox rally but come up short against Chicago

Kevin Youkilis provided the punch the White Sox needed in tonight's 7-5 win. Batting 2nd for Chicago, Youk hit a three-run homer in the 4th inning that pushed the White Sox out of reach. Boston rallied in the 8th, with Will Middlebrooks driving in Carl Crawford and then Kelly Shoppach homering. That was as far as they could get, however.

Jon Lester got tagged with the loss, going just four innings. His stat line is nasty -- six runs, seven hits, three walks. I have no idea what's going on with him. I'd expect we'll have more on this in the dump.

Some positives: The Red Sox still scored five despite being without David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. Junichi Tazawa pitched a solid four innings out of the pen, saving Bobby V from having to waste several relievers on a loss. And best of all, Crawford added three hits and had three steals -- he's looking like the guy we paid all that money to. Great news.

Box score

Recap: Adrian spoils Youk's welcome back party as Red Sox win 5-1

In a night that had Kevin Youkilis' return to Boston & the season debut of Carl Crawford, the biggest return was Adrian Gonzalez's power.

Gonzo took a high fastball from Leyson Septimo into the monster seats for a three run home run that helped give the Red Sox a 5-1 victory.  

It did "spoil" Youkilis' return as he recieved a standing ovation in the first and he had himself another three hit night. It was only Youk & AJ Pierzynski who were even able to get a hit off of the Sox pitching. Aaron Cook had his sinker going, getting fifteen groundball outs. He allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings. Vicente Padilla got the win after a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth and Alfedo Aceves finished it off in the ninth. 

Now I wanted to get in all the good news before some bad: David Ortiz hurt himself rounding the bases during A-Gon's home run. Bobby Valentine said postgame that he tweaked his Achilles but he did NOT tear it. So he'll be out for a couple of days, maybe not long enough for a trip to the DL. The Sox just can't have something good happen without something bad happening. Ortiz said it best: "This fucking team is cursed!"

Box Score

 

How we see it goin' down: Sox - Sox series

First Pitch: Monday 7:10, Tuesday 7:10, Wednesday 7:10, Thursday 7:10

Arms: Monday: Dylan Axelrod, RHP (1-2, 6.16 ERA) vs. Aaron Cook, RHP (2-2, 4.37 ERA)

Tuesday: Philip Humber, RHP (3-4, 6.01 ERA) vs. Jon Lester,  LHP (5-6, 4.49 ERA)

Wednesday: Jose Quintana, LHP (4-1, 2.60 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (9-4, 4.41 ERA)

Thursday: Jake Peavy, RHP (7-6, 3.12 ERA) vs. Franklin Morales, LHP (2-2, 3.16 ERA)

                                          Yard: Fenway Park   Watch it: NESN  Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 49-39 (1st AL Central)	Record: 45-44 (T-last AL East)
On road: 25-17	At home: 22-24
Streak: Won 1	Streak: Won 1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Danks (.364)	Average: Ortiz (.315)
Homers: Dunn (28)	Homers: Ortiz (23)
RBI: Dunn (65)	RBI: Ortiz (58)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Sale (11)	Wins: Doubront (9)
ERA: Sale (2.11) | Septimo (1.93)	ERA: Morales (3.16) | Tazawa (0.00)
K's: Peavy (113)	K's: Doubront (97)

Last time

The Red Sox dominated the other Sox in late April in Chicago. The Red Sox got off to a hot start winning the first two games by identical scores, 10-3. Youk homered for the good guys in the first game accompanied by a pair homers from Salty. David Ortiz and former Sox' outfielder Darnell McDonald homered in the second 10-3 win. Jon Lester won the pitchers duel opposed by Jake Peavy in game 3 with a 1-0 shutout. A Gonzalez RBI single was the only difference in that game. Chicago salvaged the final game with a 4-1 win. Adam Dunn's 2-run homer was all Chicago needed to spare some dignity.

This time

Laser Show: David Ortiz & Adrian Gonzalez

David Ortiz is as consistent as anyone can be. All aspects of his game are firing on all cylinders, creating skid marks on the tighty whities of the opposing pitchers.

Adrian Gonzalez assured us the back is not an issue, by going 2-for-4 yesterday. Gonzo needs to take advantage of the rest and make the middle of the lineup intimidating again.

Pitch Around: Adam Dunn, A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, & Kevin Youkilis

Adam Dunn is a huge home run threat, but he strikes out A LOT! Don't let him work 3-ball counts, because you can count on the ball landing in or over the bullpens.

Konerko and Pierzynski are just great overall hitters., hitting for average and power. Konerko has the advantage in the average column. Add in a rejuvenated Kevin Youkilis who will likely have overwhelming success against the Sox because that's just how things work, resulting in a great potential for big numbers for the bleached Sox.

Don't Fall Behind: Jose Quintana & Jake Peavy

Jose Quintana is a young pitcher in his first year in the majors that not many people know much about. Same goes for opposing hitters. Quintana has started his major league career hot and the Red Sox better do their homework before another young pitcher gets the best of them. Here is a quick scouting report. Quintana is a 23-year-old lefty who throws high 80's - low 90's fastballs. He is not a big strikeout pitcher, averaging 4 K's per outing. Mostly reliant on the fastball, Quintana gets near equal amounts of fly-ball and ground-ball outs. What does this mean? If the Sox are on point, they will drive him from the game early.

The Red Sox beat Peavy in their last meeting, but he was still great. He IS a big strikeout pitcher and the Sox could be in for a repeat performance. 

As for Phil Humber, I don't think the Sox have to worry about him. It's not like he has done anything impressive this season that should be noted.

How we see it goin' down

The White Sox are much better than the last time these two team met and the Red Sox have not changed at all. This series has disappointment written all over it, as did the Rays series, and they proved us wrong. Boston's offense will be close to complete with the return of Crawford tonight, and they have to jump on every mistake made by Chicago. Pitching has to be in top form as well. I have a lot of confidence in this team and I should go with a series split, but I feel a 3-1 series win for the Red Sox.

Your Morning Dump... where Bobby V is just speaking his mind.

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.

This morning, Valentine initially spoke innocuously about the return of Youkilis until he was asked about their relationship and any “friction” that may have existed.

”I think that’s a joke,” Valentine said. “I wasn’t here last year. There was no friction in spring training. So I think that’s a joke. But I’ll take all that. I think the comment that I made early, he made a big issue out of and I don’t think he ever wanted to get over it.”

Valentine was asked how his relationship was with Youkilis after the Channel 7 comment.

”I have no idea,” he said. “It’s whatever he wanted it to be. Like I said, we didn’t have any strained relationship in spring training and I wasn’t around last year.”

By invoking last season, Valentine is apparently referring to the notion that some players on the team believe Youkilis was the source of the story regarding drinking in the clubhouse during games.

”Yeah, I was aware of that,” Valentine said. “I was a newcomer. I inherited that situation, didn’t cause it.”

Globe: Youk never got over April remark

Well then.

This has (sadly) become a rare sighting in Boston but Bobby Valentine is giving a strong opinion about how he feels about a player. And this time he didn't go too far!

It's not in the usual tradition of smearing a player but instead it was some good old fashioned honesty. It just re-assured that they didn't see things eye-to-eye. Youkilis never wanted Bobby Valentine or anyone else taking Terry Francona's job. He was really close to Francona and even said thank you to him in his letter to Red Sox nation. Bobby V's April comments just gave Youk something else to get mad at.

Bobby will look like the bad guy in this situation regardless of the recent comments but at least he's doing the one thing everyone thought he would do.Youkilis is on the opposing team so no need to defend him anymore. He was a beloved figure but trading him was the right thing to do and it's looking even better now that Middlebrooks is getting back on a hot streak. Once the White Sox leave, we don't have to hear about it about it again for the rest of the year....

Unless they face each other in the playoffs. Then just avoid all sports media altogether.

Rest of the Links: Globe: Middlebrooks was right choice | Youk never got over April remark | Youk sends letter to Red Sox nation | Herald: Firing up Youk | Sox on right road | Beckett fights off flu |   Crawford ready to go for tonight | CSNNE: Remember this? |  Beckett settles down after shaky first | Youk anticipates an emotional return | WEEI: How can Sox be fixed? | Why Cody Ross wants to stay & why the Sox might want to keep him|

Your Morning Dump...where Youk no longer has what the Sox need.

             

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 was emotional," Ortiz said. "He's my boy. I've been playing with Youk forever. To see him go like that is not easy. It's part of the game. It's like I told him, 'Go out and do your thing.' "

Ortiz said that word had filtered throughout the Red Sox' dugout just prior to Youkilis' final at-bat that a trade was being completed and the infielder would be exiting the game.

"That was the talk in the dugout, that he was coming in and that he just got traded," said Ortiz, pointing to Youkilis' locker, which was already without the nine-year veteran's nameplate by the time the media entered. "Everybody was expecting that.

"How long was he here for, nine years? It doesn't happen every day. He was kind of mad and upset. I don't blame him. He knew it was coming, but it's still tough."

WEEI:Ortiz: To see Youk go like that is not easy

I attended yesterday's game and there was a feeling throughout Fenway that this was it for Youk.  From the standing ovation in the second inning, all the way down to the triple in his final at-bat, fans were saying goodbye even though  Then the players showing some emotion when he got pulled afterwards which gave fans some truth to the rumors.

But the final nail in the coffin was the tribute video played once the seventh inning ended. It was surreal watching all of this happen and it was a grim reminder that even if a trade is the right thing to do, it sucks seeing a player who has done so much get shipped elsewhere.

And it is good for everyone: Youk gets to play third everyday and is closer to home while the Red Sox give Will Middlebrooks the everyday spot that he has earned and hopefully he'll be able to do better than his predecessor. It's a pretty tough act to follow.

Rest of the Links: Globe: Nice sendoff for Youk | Many will miss Youk| Sox 9, Braves 4 | Herald: Youkilis changes Sox | Ross two good in Sox win |  Middlebrooks takes torch at 3rd | Youkilis trade makes sense for everyone|  Buchholz to DL | CSNNE: Kiss him goodbye | Youk leaves a winning legacy|  Punto, Sox react to trade|  Cook uses right ingredients in second start for Sox |WEEI:  A quest fulfilled |  Ortiz: To see Youk go like that is not easy | What we learned on Youkilis' last day as a Red Sox

Youkilis traded to White Sox

Youk says his goodbye to Sox fans earlier today.  (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

It finally happened.  Kevin Youkilis has been shipped out of Boston, and is on his way to Chicago.

In return for Youk, the Red Sox are receiving two players.  25 year old righty, Zach Stewart.  And 28 year old utility man, Brent Lillibridge.  If you want to get excited about these two guys, whatever you do, don't look at their stats on the season.  Just... just don't.

Lillibridge is expected to join the Sox and continue to do various utility-type things.  As far as Stewart is concerned, Cherington said, "He's a good thrower and looks like he can be a major league starter.  He just needs a little more time in the minors."

As far as Kevin Youkilis is concerned, this is by far the best thing for him.  His time in Boston had clearly expired.  He had a chance to earn his job back from Middlebrooks when he came off the DL earlier in the season, but just didn't have enough to do it.  And with the way Middlebrooks has been playing as of late, Youk wasn't going to be sniffing the field too often.  Now he gets a clean slate, and shifts to a franchise where he won't be under such a huge microscope. 

And, from the sounds of it, it seems like he's ready to go. 

"I just got off the phone with him, he's very excited to join our club and he's got a little edge to him that I like," White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said. "I can't tell you exactly what he said, but he wants to come in and prove some people wrong."

Good for Youk, and good for the White Sox.  Also, good for the Red Sox.  While they didn't exactly get anyone great in exchange for Youkilis, they shipped him off before he became a problem and got at least one player with a shot to have an impact on the club at some point.

Which, unfortunately, is more than we could say for Youk.