Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

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

First Pitch: Monday 6:35, Tuesday 6:35, Wednesday 4:05

Arms: Monday: A.J. Griffin, RHP  (2-00, 2.25 ERA)  vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (1-0, 4.50 ERA)

Tuesday: Bartolo Colon, RHP (2-0, 3.32 ERA) vs. Alfredo Aceves, RHP (1-0, 6.28 ERA)  

Wednesday: Brett Anderson, LHP (1-3, 5.95 ERA) vs. Jon Lester, LHP (3-0, 1.73 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 12-7 (2nd AL West)	Record: 12-6 (1st AL East)
On road: 6-3	At home: 5-4
Streak: L3	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Smith (.388)	Average: Ortiz (.625)
Homers: Crisp (5)	Homers: Middlebrooks/Nava (4)
RBI: Lowrie/Moss (14)	RBI: Napoli (20)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Milone (3)	Wins: Buchholz (4)
ERA: Griffin (2.25) | Cook (0.87)	ERA: Buchholz (0.90) | Wilson (0.00)
K's: Milone (21)	K's: Dempster (33)

Last time

The Red Sox got their asses handed to them in Oakland to kick off the month of September of 2012. The Sox were outscored 33-5 in the series with a 20-2 loss to kick off the series. Much like the recent recaps of series from 2012, we don't want to be reminded of any more details.

This time

Laser Show: Mike Napoli

Mike is an RBI machine. He is 3rd in the majors with 20 RBI, and even with the low .267 average, Napoli is going to up that average number while driving in some more runs. Want some stats to back that up? How about a .400 and .375 batting average against Anderson and Colon, respectively. Throw in a .900 SLG% coming out to a 1.471 OPS against Brett Anderson, and we a bit more backup for a potential big series for Mike Napoli.

Pitch Around: All the former Sox players

Here is why:

Coco Crisp: Leading the team in homers with 5, batting .328, and leads the team with 6 steals.

Jed Lowrie: Second on the team with a .382 BA, and tied for the team lead in RBI with 14.

Brandon Moss: Tied with Lowrie in RBI with 14.

Josh Reddick: Only batting .113 with a homer and 8 RBI, but the potential for damage is there.

Don't Fall Behind: A.J. Griffin

Clearly the best of the 3 Oakland starters going in the series. Though, Bartolo Colon is pitching pretty well for a senior citizen. So, watch out for Colon as well.

How we see it goin' down

Coming off of a disappointing Sunday, the Sox are looking to come up with another winning streak as we all try to normal around the city. The Sox have the pitching advantage in game 3, though the A's have the upper hand in the first two matchups. David Ortiz has started his season hot, but it may not be enough if Colon and Griffin continue their hot starts. I am going to have to give the series to Oakland with the Sox salvaging the final game.

First Pitch: Monday 6:35, Tuesday 6:35, Wednesday 4:05

Arms: Monday: A.J. Griffin, RHP  (2-00, 2.25 ERA)  vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (1-0, 4.50 ERA)

Tuesday: Bartolo Colon, RHP (2-0, 3.32 ERA) vs. Alfredo Aceves, RHP (1-0, 6.28 ERA)  

Wednesday: Brett Anderson, LHP (1-3, 5.95 ERA) vs. Jon Lester, LHP (3-0, 1.73 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 12-7 (2nd AL West)	Record: 12-6 (1st AL East)
On road: 6-3	At home: 5-4
Streak: L3	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Smith (.388)	Average: Ortiz (.625)
Homers: Crisp (5)	Homers: Middlebrooks/Nava (4)
RBI: Lowrie/Moss (14)	RBI: Napoli (20)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Milone (3)	Wins: Buchholz (4)
ERA: Griffin (2.25) | Cook (0.87)	ERA: Buchholz (0.90) | Wilson (0.00)
K's: Milone (21)	K's: Dempster (33)

Last time

The Red Sox got their asses handed to them in Oakland to kick off the month of September of 2012. The Sox were outscored 33-5 in the series with a 20-2 loss to kick off the series. Much like the recent recaps of series from 2012, we don't want to be reminded of any more details.

This time

Laser Show: Mike Napoli

Mike is an RBI machine. He is 3rd in the majors with 20 RBI, and even with the low .267 average, Napoli is going to up that average number while driving in some more runs. Want some stats to back that up? How about a .400 and .375 batting average against Anderson and Colon, respectively. Throw in a .900 SLG% coming out to a 1.471 OPS against Brett Anderson, and we a bit more backup for a potential big series for Mike Napoli.

Pitch Around: All the former Sox players

Here is why:

Coco Crisp: Leading the team in homers with 5, batting .328, and leads the team with 6 steals.

Jed Lowrie: Second on the team with a .382 BA, and tied for the team lead in RBI with 14.

Brandon Moss: Tied with Lowrie in RBI with 14.

Josh Reddick: Only batting .113 with a homer and 8 RBI, but the potential for damage is there.

Don't Fall Behind: A.J. Griffin

Clearly the best of the 3 Oakland starters going in the series. Though, Bartolo Colon is pitching pretty well for a senior citizen. So, watch out for Colon as well.

How we see it goin' down

Coming off of a disappointing Sunday, the Sox are looking to come up with another winning streak as we all try to normal around the city. The Sox have the pitching advantage in game 3, though the A's have the upper hand in the first two matchups. David Ortiz has started his season hot, but it may not be enough if Colon and Griffin continue their hot starts. I am going to have to give the series to Oakland with the Sox salvaging the final game.

First Pitch: Monday 6:35, Tuesday 6:35, Wednesday 4:05

Arms: Monday: A.J. Griffin, RHP  (2-00, 2.25 ERA)  vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (1-0, 4.50 ERA)

Tuesday: Bartolo Colon, RHP (2-0, 3.32 ERA) vs. Alfredo Aceves, RHP (1-0, 6.28 ERA)  

Wednesday: Brett Anderson, LHP (1-3, 5.95 ERA) vs. Jon Lester, LHP (3-0, 1.73 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 12-7 (2nd AL West)	Record: 12-6 (1st AL East)
On road: 6-3	At home: 5-4
Streak: L3	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Smith (.388)	Average: Ortiz (.625)
Homers: Crisp (5)	Homers: Middlebrooks/Nava (4)
RBI: Lowrie/Moss (14)	RBI: Napoli (20)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Milone (3)	Wins: Buchholz (4)
ERA: Griffin (2.25) | Cook (0.87)	ERA: Buchholz (0.90) | Wilson (0.00)
K's: Milone (21)	K's: Dempster (33)

Last time

The Red Sox got their asses handed to them in Oakland to kick off the month of September of 2012. The Sox were outscored 33-5 in the series with a 20-2 loss to kick off the series. Much like the recent recaps of series from 2012, we don't want to be reminded of any more details.

This time

Laser Show: Mike Napoli

Mike is an RBI machine. He is 3rd in the majors with 20 RBI, and even with the low .267 average, Napoli is going to up that average number while driving in some more runs. Want some stats to back that up? How about a .400 and .375 batting average against Anderson and Colon, respectively. Throw in a .900 SLG% coming out to a 1.471 OPS against Brett Anderson, and we a bit more backup for a potential big series for Mike Napoli.

Pitch Around: All the former Sox players

Here is why:

Coco Crisp: Leading the team in homers with 5, batting .328, and leads the team with 6 steals.

Jed Lowrie: Second on the team with a .382 BA, and tied for the team lead in RBI with 14.

Brandon Moss: Tied with Lowrie in RBI with 14.

Josh Reddick: Only batting .113 with a homer and 8 RBI, but the potential for damage is there.

Don't Fall Behind: A.J. Griffin

Clearly the best of the 3 Oakland starters going in the series. Though, Bartolo Colon is pitching pretty well for a senior citizen. So, watch out for Colon as well.

How we see it goin' down

Coming off of a disappointing Sunday, the Sox are looking to come up with another winning streak as we all try to normal around the city. The Sox have the pitching advantage in game 3, though the A's have the upper hand in the first two matchups. David Ortiz has started his season hot, but it may not be enough if Colon and Griffin continue their hot starts. I am going to have to give the series to Oakland with the Sox salvaging the final game.

Red Sox acquire Godfrey, clinch World Series title

The Red Sox received Graham Godfrey from Oakland today, completing their trade of Sandy Rosario a few weeks ago. 

Here's an unofficial phone transcript of the call when John Henry called Bud Selig to inform him of the deal (I'm really good at hacking into corporate telco systems):

JH: Commissioner, we've agreed to acquire Graham Godfrey as the PTNBL from Oakland.

BS: That's great, John. And why are you calling me? I don't make $20 million a year to handle day-to-day transactions.

JH: Well, I thought you'd want our ring sizes.

BS: What's that?

JH: Yeah. I mean, it's Graham Godfrey, so obviously we are championship bound. I thought you might get a better deal on those World Series rings if we could give you everybody's size now, maybe you could order them in bulk. Hang on, I have the list right here. Let me get my reading glasses. Ready? OK, David Ortiz is a...

BS: /hangs up

ESPN: Andrew Bailey could be available

On a day dominated by the Yankees bringing back old guys, the Red Sox have their own bit of gossip, as Buster Olney tweets of Andrew Bailey's availability.

I would say this one ranks even lower in likelihood than the Lester-for-Myers rumor, mainly because Bailey's value is so low it's incomprehensible that the team would pawn him off. 

Last year, the Red Sox acquired Bailey along with Ryan Sweeney for Josh Reddick. Reddick blew up, smacking 32 homers and 29 doubles as an unlikely key cog on an unlikely successful run by the A's. Bailey was hurt, and then pretty bad, compiling a 7+ ERA over 15 innings. 

Now, we all know the team subscribes to the theory that a sunk cost is a sunk cost, but there's also public perception. The Red Sox are not going to send off Bailey for a middling prospect or two when the year before they gave up a 30-home run hitter for him. And no one's going to trade anything more than a middling prospect, so look forward to Bailey as the closer at the start of 2013.

At the deadline, assuming we're well out of contention? Then you might have a different story.

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

First Pitch: Friday 10:05, Saturday 9:05, Sunday 4:05

Arms: Friday: Aaron Cook, RHP (3-7, 4.76 ERA) vs. Brandon McCarthy, RHP (7-5, 3.12 ERA) 

Saturday: Felix Doubront, LHP (10-6, 4.79 ERA) vs. Brett Anderson, LHP (2-0, 0.64 ERA)

Sunday: Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (1-3, 5.10 ERA) vs. Tommy Milone, LHP (11-9, 3.73 ERA)

                          Yard: Oakland Coliseum    Watch it:  NESN    Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 62-70 (4th AL East)	Record: 73-57 (2nd AL West)
On road: 30-32	At home: 39-27
Streak: Lost 3	Streak: Won 6
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Loney (.412)	Average: Cespedes (.299)
Homers: Saltalamacchia (22)	Homers: Reddick (27)
RBI: Ross (67)	RBI: Reddick (69)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Buchholz (11)	Wins: Milone (11)
ERA: Morales (3.77) | Bailey (1.69)	ERA: Anderson (0.64) | Neshek (2.21)
K's: Lester (141)	K's: Milone (117)

Last time

The Red Sox were swept by the A's in early July. The A's hit 4 homers in the series and they were all by former Red Sox (Moss, Reddick, Crisp). I don't think you want to know any more.

This time

Laser Show: Dustin Pedroia

Pedey is due for a big series, not that it will make a difference, because the pitching staff will find a way to screw it up. 

Pitch Around: Josh Reddick

Josh Reddick makes the trade for Andrew Bailey look worse for the Red Sox with every passing day. Not only that, Reddick has hit 2 homers and driven in 5 against the Sox this season. It's the equivalent of kicking Ben, or Larry, in the balls.

Don't Fall Behind: Brett Anderson
 

Since making his season debut almost 2 weeks ago, Anderson has been shutting the opposition down. Anderson has only given up 1 run on 6 hits in 14 innings of work. He can rack up a good amount of strikeouts and get ahead of batters very quickly. The Sox are going to have a lot of trouble with him.

How we see it goin' down

The Sox are just...not good, and the A's have been rolling since sweeping the Sox in the 4th of July series. This will not work out well for the Sox and we are likely looking at another sweep. Does anybody watch them anymore?

Ghosts of Sox past haunt Dice-K, A's win 6-1.

We're starting to see more of the old Dice-K and that's not a good thing. 

Matsuzaka to get an out in the second inning as he let five straight people get on base, the biggest hit being a three run bomb to Brandon Moss and that's all the A's would need to beat the Red Sox, 6-1.

The Sox started well as Daniel Nava led the game off with a double and Dustin Pedroia brought him home with an RBI single. After that it went all downhill, as another former Sox player Josh Reddick hit a solo shot to tie the game. Then came the disasterous second inning which reliever Clay Mortensen would come in and only give up one of the inherited runners to make it 5-1. 

Mortensen was the star of the night for the Sox, as he saved the bullpen by going five hits of two hit ball. He allowed another run to come via a Brandon Inge sac fly in the sixth but he did more than enough to keep the Sox in this game.

The Sox just couldn't figure out Jarrod Parker, who went 6 2/3, scattering six hits while walking three and striking out three. He gave up just that one extra base hit to Nava to start the game and the rest were singles. Sean Doolittele relieved him and pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings of relief in 28 pitches. (The same amount that Dice-K threw in an inning plus.

This is the sixth series opener the Sox have lost in the past seven series and they have lost three of the last four on the road between Seattle & Oakland. So much for all that momentum they gained at Fenway.

Box Score

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

First Pitch: Monday 10:05, Tuesday 10:05, Wednesday 4:05

Arms: Monday: Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (0-2, 4.91 ERA) vs. Jarrod Parker, RHP (4-3, 2.57 ERA)

Tuesday: Jon Lester, LHP (5-5, 4.53 ERA) vs. Bartolo Colon, RHP (6-7, 4.22 ERA) 

Wednesday: Franklin Morales, LHP (1-1, 2.59 ERA) vs. A.J. Griffin, RHP (0-0, 1.50 ERA)

                                 Yard: Oakland Coliseum    Watch it:  NESN    Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 42-37 (3rd AL East)	Record: 38-42 (3rd AL West)
On road: 21-16	At home: 19-19
Streak: Won 1	Streak: Won 1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Ortiz (.302)	Average: Norris (.333)
Homers: Ortiz (21)	Homers:  Reddick (18)
RBI: Ortiz (54)	RBI: Reddick (39)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Buchholz/Doubront (8)	Wins: Milone (8)
ERA: Morales (2.59) | Mortensen (1.20)	ERA: Griffin (1.50) | Scribner (0.00)
K's: Doubront (91)	K's: Milone (63)

Last time

The A's took 2 of a 3-game series in Fenway at the end of April/beginning of May. The Red Sox won the first game, getting homers from McDonald, Aviles, and Ortiz. Josh Reddick homered, and drove in 3, in the A's only loss. The Red Sox did a better job containing Reddick in the final two games but it wasn't enough to hold off Oakland.

This time

Laser Show: Cody Ross

Cody Ross was a thorn in the side of tonight's starter. Jarrod Parker, during their last meeting. Cody has been swinging the bat well and a great start to the series is what the Sox need.

Pitch Around: Josh Reddick

That trade looks worse as each day passes. Josh Reddick is a beast in Oakland and the last thing the Red Sox need is for him to take over in the series. 

Don't Fall Behind: All 3 starters

The A's breed good pitching, and sometime acquire good pitching. All 3 starters are pitching well and the Red Sox need some wins to stay afloat. The Sox handled Parker well in their last meeting and we can only home they can repeat. Colon is still pitching well for an AARP member, and Griffin pitched well in his past (and only) 2 starts. The Sox' offense has to wake up in this series to gain momentum.

How we see it goin' down

I am not confident in the Sox' offense. If they could only score 9 runs in 4 games against the Mariners, what should lead me to believe they will be any better in Oakland? The Red Sox are going to be upset in Oakland, dropping 2-of-3 to the A's.

Taking Stock: A's - Sox series

After every series, we'll take stock of how each individual and group performance affects their overall value.

Offense

Mike Aviles: Aviles had a monster game 1, then was quieted down a little in games 2 and 3. He did have 6 RBI in the series, but as the series went on, Aviles looked to lose his comfort at the plate.

Dustin Pedroia: Pedey did break the .300 mark again (.301) after a 2-for-5 game 1, and then fell below after a combined 2-for-9 games 2 and 3. He missed a big opportunity in a comeback bid in game 2, but did get a big wall-ball double in last night's game to keep the Sox alive. His hot streak is just around the corner, I can feel it.

Adrian Gonzalez: GOOSE EGGS! 0-for-11 with countless opportunities to put tie the game or put the Sox on top. He blew two big opportunities last night, one with the bases loaded and in the ninth following Pedey's double where Gonzo would have been the tying run. His .250 average makes me nauseous.

David Ortiz: Finally, someone that is producing consistently.  Ortiz had the big 2-homer game to start the series, was silenced in game 2 for the most part, then came back with a 2-for-4 game 3. His .391 average is good for 2nd in the AL, just behind Josh Hamilton and his .395 average.

Cody Ross: Ross swung the bat well in game 2, going 3-for4, but that was sandwiched by 0-for-4 performances. Just a little more would have been nice.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: He has stayed around the .240 mark and has been a non-factor for most of the season. We will be lucky if he exceeds the .270 batting average mark.

Marlon Byrd: 3-for-11 isn't that bad, especially for Marlon Byrd. We all expected much less from him.

Nick Punto: I'm glad Middlebrooks was brought up to relieve his .174 batting average. He did draw 4 walks in the first two games so his OBP was great. His last hit was April 10th. He doesn't play very often, but that sucks.

Will Middlebrooks: I think he deserves a separate mention from the bench. That was a nice first impression we got from him in his major league debut. He swung the bat well and looked like a major league ball player.

The bench: McDonald gave us a flash of brilliance in the first game with the 3-for-4 performance with a homer, then sat for a majority of the final 2 games. He needs to do a lot more. Shoppach is Shoppach and Ryan Sweeney only had 5 at-bats, but he did come up with a hit and walk, so it wasn't that bad.

Starting PItching

Recap: Jarrod Parker stifles Sox offense in A's win

The Sox offense continues to play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Tonight they were...whichever one of those guys is worse. 

Boston managed four hits off Jarrod Parker, who went 6 2/3 innings for the win, 5-3. The Oakland bullpen bent but didn't break, as Mike Aviles drove in two runs in the 9th, but the Sox came up short of a comeback. They didn't Walk Off With The Win (TM, Don Orsillo, All Rights Reserved), and are thus below .500 (11-12) once again.

Cody Ross had the lone extra-base hits for the home team (two doubles), while David Ortiz (he's hot, you may have heard) drove in the other Sox run on a groundout.

It was an uninspiring start for Felix Doubront. Doubront only went four innings, giving up five runs in what I'd like to call a Jonathan Sanchez Special. Doubront struck out eight batters, while walking two and giving up six hits.

It's exactly the kind of start that gives guys plenty of chances in the bigs, because the high-strikeout pitchers are tantalizing. Long is the list of guys who had promised and flamed out; Felix will have to have better command to avoid joining them.

Random stat of the night: The A's stole four bases...and all took place at third base. Rough night for Salty.

Box score

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

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

Arms: Monday: Tommy Milone, LHP (3-1, 2.00 ERA) vs. Clay Buchholz, RHP (2-1, 8.87 ERA)

Tuesday: Jarrod Parker, RHP (0-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (1-0, 4.09 ERA)

Wednesday: Brandon McCarthy, RHP (1-3, 3.23 ERA) vs. Daniel Bard, RHP (2-2, 3.72 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 11-12 (2nd AL West)	Record: 10-11 (Last AL East)
On road: 5-5	At home: 3-5
Streak: Lost 2	Streak: Lost 1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Ka'aihue (.289)	Average: Ortiz (.395)
Homers: Cespedes (5)	Homers: Ross (5)
RBI: Cespedes (19)	RBI: Ortiz/Ross (18)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Colon, Milone (3)	Wins: 3 Tied (2)
ERA: Milone (2.00) | Cook (0.00)	ERA: Bard (3.72) | Tazawa (0.00)
K's: Colon (26)	K's: Beckett (24)

Last time

The Red Sox won a 3-game series at Fenway for one last hurrah at the end of August. Tim Wakefield was smoked in another 200 win attempt which turned out to be a 15-5 loss in game one. The Sox took games 2 and 3 to close out the last winning series of the season.

This time

Laser Show: David Ortiz

His .395 batting average, his ability to dominate lefties and righties, his use of the entire field, and many other factors make Ortiz an easy choice.

Pitch Around: Yoenis Cespedes

This is not a threatening lineup, but Cespedes poses the biggest power threat. His .253 average is good for 3rd on the team, so Sox pitching should be able to over-power this lineup.

Don't Fall Behind: Tommy Milone

The young lefty is having a great start to the season. Oakland continues to come up with great young pitchers, and this one will probably end up elsewhere soon. Tommy Milone can keep the A's in the game, but the Sox could rattle him easily.

How we see it goin' down

The Sox are feeling good and have been able to dominate teams of equal or lesser records. Pitching has built up some confidence and aside from the final game of the White Sox series, the bats have been hot. The Red Sox will knock the A's around and come away with a sweep.

Manny Ramirez in Oakland going... as expected

When Oakland's interest in Manny Ramirez was originally being reported, I repeatedly joked about how it wasn't going to end well for anybody.

I imagined that, once his tour of duty in Oakland was done, we'd see him leaving the city like it was the final scene in every post-Apocalyptic movie ever made.  Manny walking down some dusty road.  Fires and explosions in the background.  Women crying.  Cars made out of scrap metal tormenting the elderly. 

That's how I expected this all to unfold.  And it very well may.  But until we reach that point somewhere between games 9 and 112, we're going to get to enjoy the wacky side of Manny. 

If not Brett Anderson, I hope someone in Oakland turns their Twitter account into a running diary of the Manny Ramirez experience.  That person would crack one million followers by day 3.