Game 38/162, Red Sox Beat the Yankees Using Power

Red Sox 5, Yankees 3

Red Sox  - 000 200 300 - 5 9 1

Yankees - 000 020 011 - 4 8 0 

redsox.mlb.com

The Red Sox had a familiar strategy to win the game on Friday, power and good pitching. Buchholz pitched the best he had all season, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 7 Ks in 7 IP against the powerful Yankee lineup. 

Bard came in in the eight, giving up a triple to Granderson and letting him score on the wild pitch. Later in the inning, after walking A-Rod and hitting Cano, they had a double steal to try to get the win. Then luckily Swisher struck out on a high pitch and Posada  grounded out to second.

In the ninth, after getting two quick outs, Papelbon gave up a single to Jeter with two strikes and Granderson had a nice hit to left. Later they advanced to second and third. If Teixeira got a hit they Yanks would tie, and a homer would win it for the Yanks but happily, he popped out to third to end the game. 

As for the Red Sox offense, Adrian Gonzalez hit a deep, high homer that made me think it might get outta the park, but it didn't. Then Youk got on after a drop third strike and later, with the bases loaded, he came home on a ground out by Drew.

In the 7th inning, Salty got a hit and Joba came in. Ellsbury got on with a fielders choice and stole second. He later scored on Gonzalez's sac fly. Then with Pedroia on, Youk hit a two run homer to right and while in the dugout, you could easily read his lips: "I love this park". Probably referring to the short porch out in right.

Just for fun: Adrian Gonzalez leads the league in RBIs. The Red Sox are three games behind the Yankees and 5 games behind the Rays in first place.

Game 36/162, Rogers Centre Proves Unlucky For Red Sox

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 6

Red Sox   - 010 120 011 0 - 6 16 0

Blue Jays - 300 011 010 1 - 7 9  2

Rogers Centre, over the last 12 games has been Fenway North for the Red Sox, who entering last night’s game the Red Sox were 10 for 12. Friendly Rogers Centre could not overcome 
unlucky game 13, as the Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays 7 to 6.


The Red Sox last night just did not have enough to overcome the Blue Jays last night; not enough hitting and not enough pitching to win the game. Last night’s game the Red Sox frustrated me as they failed to reach the .500 mark, fall to 17 and 19.


Frustrating best describes the game last night; Lester could not keep the Blue Jays hitters from scoring runs, Lester could not hold off the Jays’ hitters through 5 and a third innings. Lester had a twenty five pitch inning, frustrating. Red Sox reliever Rich Hill kept the game from spinning out of control when Lester was pulled with one out and two runners on in the 6th inning. Frustrating night.


Adrian Gonzalez smashed 2 homers and David Ortiz knocked another homer you would think the Red Sox would bring enough offense to the Rogers Centre to win. Frustrating. When the Blue Jays brought in a mouth full of consonants, reliever Marc Rzepczynski, who would eventually give up a double to Jed Lowrie, who doubled in the run that tied the game 5 to 5.


Bard would give up an uncharacteristic home run pitch. Then in extra innings off of Sox reliever Matt Albers gave up a single to Rajai Davis, then he stole second base and then third. Davis would score the game winner or a sacrifice fly by David Cooper.


Frustrating night. There was just not enough hitting and not enough pitching for the Red Sox to reach the .500 plateau. 

Article by George Cosmo

Game 34/162, Red Sox Get the Win on Mothers Day

Red Sox 9, Twins 5

Twins     - 300 100 010 - 5  8  3

Red Sox  - 014 020 20x - 9 14  0

On Sunday, the Sox get the win. Dice-K got the win. He started off badly in the first inning and got better as the game went on. 

The Red Sox got on the board after Youkilis doubled and Drew grounded out with the RBI. In the third, the Red Sox really got into the attack with 5 hits in the inning, getting 4 runs. 

In the top of the fourth, Danny Valencia, (who I saw play in the minors a few times) hit a homer that was disputed and then checked by instant replay. After the Replay, the umpires confirmed the homer.

In the fifth, Gonzalez homered, showing some power over the last few days. Also, Drew hit into a force out and Youkilis scored on the error.

Lowrie also hit a two run double in the seventh to finish out the game. He has hit .229 on this current homestand. 

Notable Players:

Jacoby Ellsbury - 3 for 5 with a double and a run - extends hit streak to 17 games

Adrian Gonzalez - 3 for 5 with a homer and 2 RBIs

Kevin Youkilis - 2 for 4 with 4 runs and an RBI

Starting Pitcher:

Dice-K - 6 IP 5 H 4 ER 4 Ks 

Game 31/162, Bad Game, 'nough said

Red Sox 0, Angels 11

Angels    - 003 330 200 - 11 18  0

Red Sox  - 000 000 000 -  0  7  1

Terrible game all around. John Lackey became the second pitcher in Red Sox history to allow 8+ ER twice in 31 games. No offense, no pitching, no big post by me!   

Game 30/162, Red Sox Lose in Extras After Long Delay

Red Sox 3, Angels 5

Angels   - 000 000 201 000 2 - 5 12 2

Red Sox - 000 000 012 000 0 - 3 11 2

At 2:45 AM, after a long rain delay, Dice-K unfortunately gets the loss after his first major league relief appearance. He pitched the 13th inning in which the Red Sox lost. He gave up a lead-off single and then two pop outs. Just when he was almost out of it, he gave up another single, a walk to load the bases, and then a two run single to Bobby Abreu.

In the ninth, the Red Sox rallied to tie the game. With two on, the ball got away from Hank Conger (catcher of the Angels) and he fired it trying to get someone out but it bounce off of the umpire's leg and went to shortstop. Lowrie scored but Cameron was out on the tag at third base. After Crawford's double and Varitek's fly out, Ellsbury lined a single into right to tie the game.


In the 11th, Youkilis almost won the game for the Red Sox with a high fly ball of the top of the Monster two feet away from being a walk-off homer but was denied of it as it bounced off the top of the Monster. He was held to a double and Scutaro, who was on first didn't score.

Sorry for the Unexpected "Removal"

I am truly sorry that the last few days, you couldn't get on to this site due to its "removal". I was just a Google bot error and I hope it doesn't happen again. I have to admit, it scared me a lot. While this blog was down I created a similar one at soxbaseball360.blogspot.com just in case this didn't work for good. I am sorry you missed my articles and I will now post the articles you missed on this site. So if it happens again, go to soxbaseball360.blogspot.com.

Red Sox April Recap

The first month of the season is over and lets see how they did:


In the first 26 games of the season, the finished last place in the AL East with an 11-15 record. They started 2-9 and then won 8 out of 9 next few games but never reached .500 after dropping the next couple series against Baltimore and Seattle 1-3.


Batting   GM   AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS
Road       15    .224   .302   .333   .635
Home      11    .268   .370   .444   .814


In April, the Red Sox hit .262 with RISP but only .226 with nobody on.


Jed Lowrie led the team with a .368 average and slugging pct. Youkilis has also been productive with only a .218 average but a whopping .392 on base pct. Adrian Gonzalez (.314 average)and Jacoby Ellsbury (.266 average) have been hitting better as of late.


The weak spots in the lineup have been the lead off position which has a .303 OBP, the worst spot in the lineup except for 8th and 9th. Ellsbury has done better so that might change in May. Also Crawford has a .155 average to start the season but has been getting some nice hits lately which is exactly what the Sox need.


The catching spot is also weak with Salty hitting .216 and Varitek hitting .111. This might mean that its time for Theo to look outside the organization for a catching solution. Soon I will be writing about possible solutions for their catching situation.


The starting pitching started off terribly but when the Red Sox went 8-1 the starters' ERA went to 1.08. The Red Sox haven't been too bad pitching since they allowed 4.35 runs per game and the league average is 4.33. Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler have been disappointing so far this season.  

Game 28/162, Red Sox Bats Come Alive After Weaver Leaves

Red Sox 9, Angels 5

Angels   - 001 010 021 - 5 13 1

Red Sox - 100 020 60x - 9 11 0

After Weaver left the game, the Red Sox demolished the Angels bullpen, scoring six runs in a span of 7 pitches. 

The at-bat of the game was Pedroia against Weaver in the fifth. The Red Sox were losing 2-1, and the Red Sox had guys on first and third with two outs:

01 - Ball 1

02 - Foul, strike 1

03 - Ball 2

04 - Foul, strike 2

05 - Foul (Ellsbury off with the pitch)

Activity in the Angels' bullpen

06 - Foul (Ellsbury off with the pitch)

LAA visit to the mound

Throw to first

07 - Ball 3 (Ellsbury steals second)

08 - Foul

09 - Foul

10 - Foul

11 - Foul

12 - Foul

13 - Line drive single into CF, Crawford and Ellsbury score, Boston leads 3-2

joyofsox.blogspot.com

After that nice at-bat, Gonzalez felt he had an obligation to save the game. So when Torii Hunter was on second and Alberto Callaspo hit a grounder to him, he fired to third and got the out.

In the 7th inning, the Red Sox were leading 3-2. Varitek singled and Ellsbury doubled so he went to third. Then Pedroia was walked by the new pitcher (Francisco Rodriguez). When the bases were loaded, Adrian Gonzalez crushed the ball off the Monster to clear the bases. Then Youkilis hit an RBI single to score Gonzo. Then Ortiz hit a two run homer to finish the attack. 

Game 27/162, Red Sox Walk-Off With a Win After an Error and a Nice Hit by Currently Slumping Carl Crawford

Red Sox 3, Mariners 2

Mariners - 000 002 000 - 2 4 0

Red Sox  - 002 000 001 - 3 8 2 

On Sunday, the Red Sox avoid the sweep by walking off in the ninth. So far, May has been a good month for the Red Sox. Buchholz couldn't make Sunday's start due to a stomach ailment so Tim Wakefield took over and did well not giving up a run in 5.2 IP. Then, it all changed when slumping Jenks came in and gave up two runs to tie the game. 

The Red Sox scored 2 runs off of King Felix in the third. In the ninth, with one out, Lowrie hit a high fly ball deep to right. Ichiro lost it in the sun and just like that, Lowrie was on third (not considered an error?) with a triple. The next batter, Carl Crawford who had been slumping, hit a sharp single up the middle to win the game for the Red Sox. 

Players Quotes About the Triple (Joy of Sox):

Ichiro:

The moment that ball hit the sky, I couldn't pick up anything, it just disappeared. It's close to impossible to catch that ball. The decisions were look to the side so the ball could get deeper into myself and maybe hit me, or run back and let it fall down for a single. But ... late in a tight ballgame, you want to make that effort. You don't want to let that ball fall in and make it look like you aren't trying.

Lowrie:

When I hit it, I knew I got it good. He plays a really deep right field, the wind was blowing straight in and I saw him and thought he was camped right under it, which he was. But then the sun. ...

Jamey Wright:

I could tell he didn't see it. He actually came a lot closer than I thought he would. I thought it was going to sail right by him. I had a chance to get out of it with the ground ball, but I threw a cutter to Crawford that got a little too much of the plate. I was trying to get a shoe or glove or something on it, but he hit it too hard.

Players Quotes About the Single to End it (Joy of Sox):


Crawford:

Everything I hit, it seems like it's an out. To see it get through, it was like a big weight was off my shoulders. ... It's a new month.

David Ortiz:

Me and Gonzo, we had a race. I heard Gonzo say, "Man if he gets a hit right here, I'm going to hug him so hard." And then next thing you know, it's like, "OK, that's a good idea," and bam.

Adrian Gonzalez:

[We] just keep telling him that we believe in him. I wouldn't want anybody else in left field. He's the man. ... I keep telling him that the greatest thing for where you're in right now is that you're probably going to hit .330, .340 for the rest of the year. Good things will happen.

Ichiro's Speeches Helping AL Win - Vote Ichiro for the All Star Game

The AL All-Star team has won every game (except last year's) Ichiro has played in since 2001, when Ichiro joined the team. Coincidence? I don't think so. 

The tradition began in 2001 when Ichiro made his first All-Star appearance. Many people thought Ichiro could barely speak English or couldn't at all. He proved them wrong. Ichiro has been making a speech to the All-Star team every year which seems effective and I see why. As you know, the best of the Bigs are chosen every year to represent their league in front of tons of fans. This can be tense and stressful for the players but Ichiro loosens them up with his speech. 

After the manager talks to the team, Ichiro, the little 5 foot 9, 190 pound man filled with enough energy to fuel a rocket, bursts out of the locker room and in English continues to bash the National League All-Stars with all slang he knows. Most players don't remember exactly what he is saying because they are laughing too hard.

   Morneau:

            

           “If you’ve never seen it, it’s definitely something pretty funny,” Morneau said. “It’s hard to explain, the effect it has on everyone. It’s such a tense environment. Everyone’s a little nervous for the game, and then he comes out. He doesn’t say a whole lot the whole time he’s in there, and all of a sudden, the manager gets done with his speech, and he pops off.”

Here is my best guess of his speech:

           

           "Bleep... bleep bleeep bleep... bleeeeeeeeep bleepin.... National.... bleeeep bleeepin... All- bleeeep Stars bleep bleep National - bleep bleep ...!"

When asked how much it helped them win, Ichiro said:

           “I’ve got to say over 90 percent,” he said. 

After Tejada moved from the American League to the National league this season, he said    

             

           “I hope Fukudome does it this year,” Tejada said.   

Fukudome's response:

             

           “I have no plans for that,” Fukudome said.      

Ichiro talks to many first basemen (2279 hits) but his speeches still find a way to surprise them.

Feel free to comment!

Game 23/162, Red Sox Take a Hard Loss

Red Sox 4, Orioles 5

Red Sox - 000 000 04x - 0 0 0 
Orioles  - 000 310 01x - 0 0 0 


Today Becket pitched a good game to the 5th. After the dropped fly ball to shallow right-center, Becket gave up two homers and it unraveled from there. Beckett gave up 4 runs in 7 IP. Then Wakefield pitched a scoreless inning.


The Red Sox couldn't put anything together all night long. In the 8th, the Red Sox new they had to get something started. First, the Speedy Elf single to lead off the inning. Then Pedroia walked and Adrian Gonzalez hit a single which scored the Speedy Elf. Then Then Koji Uehara was called in to pitch and immediately gave up a three run homer to Youk, tiing the score, 4 to 4. 


Then in the bottom of the eight, Daniel Bard block the plate on a passed ball to get an out but Guerrero single so it didn't matter. The Orioles took the lead 5-4. 


In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox couldn't get anything started and loss.

Game 18/162, Dice-K Pitches Well Again

Red Sox 5, Angels 0

Red Sox - 011 021 000 - 5 11 0

Angels   - 000 000 000 - 0  2  0

Last night, Dice-K pitched well again. He went 8 innings giving up only 1 hit on the liner off his head. After his torrid start, the Monster of the Heisei Era (see the glossary tab) has had two great pitching performances. In his last two starts, he has gone 7+ innings pitched and allowed 1 hit  in his last two starts. He is only the third Red Sox pitcher to do this. The other two were Howard Ehmke and Pedro Martinez. (joyofsox.blogspot.com)

The Red Sox have also hit well, with Youkilis hitting a homer and Crawford getting out of his recent slump with two hits, one being a double. Also another big change is the Ellsbury has recently been put into the lineup as the lead-off hitter. Yesterday, he got two hits and stole second after each one. Lets see if this continues. 

Interesting facts: the Red Sox starting pitching rotation has had a 1.01 in the last eight games, the Red Sox are 7-1 in their last eight games, the Red Sox are now tied for third place and will be in second place if they win tonight and the Rays lose, the Red Sox are only 3.5 games behind the Yankees.

Notable Players: Dice-K, 8 IP 9 Ks and 1 hit allowed

Kevin Youkilis, 1 for 5 hit a homer and 2 RBIs

Jacoby Ellsbury, 2 for 5 with 2 hits, 2 SB and 2 runs

Carl Crawford, 2 for 5 with a double and a run

Not even gonna mention Lowrie's stats, take a guess 

Game 18/162, Adrian Gonzalez Helps the Sox Win in 11

Red Sox 4, Angels 2

Red Sox - 000 002 000 02 - 4 8 0

Angels   - 000 000 200 00 - 2 4 0

The Red Sox won in extras on Thursday against the Angels. They didn't hit very well but they got the one hit that mattered. Josh Beckkkkket pitched his third great start. In his last three starts, he has a 1.08 ERA in 23 IP. He pitched a season high 125 pitches which was enough for 8IP. He let up two runs on a mistake pitch to Torii Hunter which tied the score, 2-2. The Red Sox couldn't cash in on many opportunities. The only one being Ellsbury's two run single in the 6th. Boston wasted several scoring chances throughout the game:

1st: 1st/2nd, 1 out - Kevin Youkilis 6U-3/DP

2nd: Man on 3rd, 1 out - Carl Crawford 3U, Jason Varitek K

3rd: 1st/2nd, 2 outs - Marco Scutaro F8

4th: 1st/2nd, 2 outs - Ellsbury F7

7th: 1st/2nd, 0 outs - Gonzalez P5, Scutaro K, David Ortiz K

8th: Bases loaded, 1 out - J.D. Drew K, Dustin Pedroia P4

joyofsox.blogspot.com

In the 11th, Gonzalez won it for the Sox with a go- ahead double, probably his biggest hit in a Red Sox uniform. Then in the bottom of the 11th, the Birthday Boy closed it out for the save.

Interesting quote by Peter Gammons:


"I think one of the things that's killed [the Red Sox] is that Jacoby Ellsbury has forgotten what his job is in baseball, which is to get on base and run. His four home runs, to me, are one of the worst things that's happened to this team early in the season, because I think it's encouraged him to get wider and wider with his swing. ... They need him to get on base 37 percent of the time or 38 percent of the time. I think he's kind of gotten away from that. ... The guy who's supposed to hit lead-off isn't getting on base."

With the win, the Red Sox improve to 7-11 on the season, and they are 4 games behind the 1st place Yankees and 1.5 games behind the 2nd place Rays.

100 Year Anniversary Plans for Fenway Revealed

This past Wednesday, 99 years ago, the Red Sox beat the Yankees (then known as the Highlanders) in Fenway's first professional baseball game. They won in 11 innings 7-6. The game was delayed two days earlier due to rain. The first game at Fenway was on April 11th during a snowstorm in which the Red Sox beat Harvard University. 24,000 people were at the first game and since then, Fenway has gotten some big upgrades and a lot more visitors.


On Wednesday, the Red Sox announced some of their plans for the anniversary. Fans can go to Fenway Park 100 to see year by year photos and watch more than 30 videos of historic monuments at Fenway for instance the Green Monster, Pesky's Pole and the lone red seat.

Game 17/162, Red Sox Win by Way of the Long Ball

Red Sox 5, Athletics 3

Red Sox  - 010 102 100 - 5 10 0

Athletics - 100 000 011 - 3 12 1

The Red Sox played a nice game today to make their record 6-11 to start the season. Today the Red Sox snapped two streaks, both bad ones. One, the Red Sox were 0-7 on the road so far this season and two, the Red Sox were scoreless on the road for their last twenty innings. Clay Buchholz pitched well, 5 and 1/3 innings pitched giving up 1 ER on the homer to Coco Crisp (doesn't that name sound familiar). Then in the sixth, after Buchholz loaded the bases, Bard was brought in to put out the flame which he did successfully. 

            "I think he owes me a dinner," Bard joked after saving the game.

Papelbon worked out of two jams to earn his 3rd save of the season. In the last four innings, the Athletics left 9 men on base. Crawford got the Red Sox on the scoreboard by scoring Youkilis on his RBI single to left. In the fourth, Youkilis homered to lead off and in the sixth, Jed Lowrie, whose been incredibly good to start the season, hit a two run homer which was his third of the season. JD Drew hit his first homer of the season in the seventh.

Notable Players:

Jed Lowrie, 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and a homer

Kevin Youkilis, 2 for 4 with an RBI and a homer

Game 17/162, Crawford Looks to Get Out of Slump, Help the Red Sox Win

Today, Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz will pitch up against Gio Gonzalez of the Athletics. This game will start 3:35 PM ET in Oakland. Buchholz has struggled to start the season going 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA. Last year, Buchholz pitched very well and was almost good enough to win the Cy Young award. Gio Gonzalez has had an incredible start to the season, going 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA. 

Carl Crawford, who has the most at-bats out of anyone on the Red Sox, is only hitting .143 to start the season. He does have 2 doubles but only 9 hits to start the season. This is what Crawford said about his struggles:

"I want to end with saying something to Red Sox Nation," it read. "Everybody has been telling me to relax, so I guess I can say that. Just know that everything is the worst it can be right now. There is only one way to go now, it's up. I haven't talked to that many fans yet here in Boston. I've been kind of secluded right now. I won't even stop and get gas. But that's all I can say, things are at their worst right now and I think we can only go up from here."

        After Jed Lowrie's recent hot streak, Manager Terry Francona is not afraid about using bench players. He wants to put in whoever he thinks will give them a better chance to win. 

 "Well, if we had one or two lineups, that meant everything was going right," Francona said Sunday. "I don't know that makes sense right now. I've talked a lot about trying to be consistent. I don't know, we're trying to do whatever we can to play as well as we can and put guys in the best position, so we'll see. I do know as we get into the season, things normally settle down."

Since the Yankees (great game) and the Red Sox lost last night, the Red Sox remain 4.5 games behind first place and 2 games behind second place in the AL East.

Game 15/162, Dice-K, 'nough said

This game will have an early start, 11:00 AM and Dice-K will be pitching against a relatively good pitcher, Ricky Romero. Dice-K hasn't been pitching well as he has had a few years ago. Since his last win, Dice-K has a 9.36 ERA. Last game, he gave up 7 ERs and 8 hits in 2+ innings. I thought it look like he was throwing batting practice to the Rays. This is what Tito said about is last start:

"[W]hen we got into the second, everything went to the middle of the plate. ... seven balls hit right on the barrel. We love when guys throw strikes, but there were some balls that were middle-middle for the first seven hitters."

After his 2+ terrible innings pitched, Dice-K was probably the most hated man in Boston. As he waked back to the dugout, he was loudly booed.

"Nobody really wants to be booed by the fans. The only way I can change this is to show good results in front of them. ... I watched a video after the game and I noticed a clear difference between when I pitch well and bad. There's something to fix."

I think if I were Epstein, I'd give him this start and if he did well give him another game. But if he does badly, I would trade him for a couple Minor Leaguers and make Felix Doubront the fifth starter.

For the Blue Jays, they have ace, Ricky Romero who has a 1.66 ERA and hasn't given up more that 2 ERs per game this season.

       

In Game Chats are about to Start

During the season, every night (or day) when their is a game on, we can chat about whats going on in the game. This chat will be held in the comments page for the latest article before the game. If your interested, please comment on this article and we will have a chat on tonight's game in this post's comments page. Thanks to you who participate.

Adrian Gonzalez Announces New Contract With the Red Sox

 

After months of speculation, the Red Sox finally signed Adrian Gonzalez to a long term deal. This deal is the ninth  largest in MLB history for 7 years and 154 million dollars. The Red Sox had been looking to trade for Gonzalez since 2008 but they got a deal done this past off season. The Red Sox acquired Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres for four good prospects. It made a lot of sense that they would sign him to an extension at the beginning of this season since they spent good prospects for him. About four months ago after the trade, the Red Sox had a negotiation period before the deal was completed. The deal was eventually done without a new contract but many believe that the contract has been in place with Gonzalez since then but the Red Sox wanted to hold off on the official signing so they wouldn't have to pay luxury tax. This is why many believe he sign during the beginning of the season. Adrian Gonzalez is perfect for Fenway because he has pull but he also hit the ball to left quite often and he will hit many balls off of the Green Monster this season. This is what Adrian Gonzalez said about the contract:


              "I'm a person that for the most part, I want to be in a place where I'm comfortable, where I want to be," Gonzalez said during a news conference at Fenway Park. "This was a place that was a perfect fit for me as well. ... It's a place where I'm going to have a lot of fun. I'm going to really enjoy playing here."


These are Theo Epstein's comments about the deal:


              "Were thrilled to have him here and know he'll be a core member of the organization for a long time. We couldn't ask for more from him as a player and as a person. ... I couldn't be happier about it."


Here are the top 11 most paying contracts: 

Alex Rodriguez   NYY   $275M   2008-17

Alex Rodriguez   TEX   $252M   2001-10 

Derek Jeter   NYY   $189M   2001-10

Joe Mauer   MIN   $184M   2011-18

Mark Teixeira   NYY   $180M   2009-16

CC Sabathia   NYY   $161M   2009-15

Manny Ramirez   BOS   $160M   2001-08

Troy Tulowitzki   COL   $157.75M   2011-20

Adrian Gonzalez   BOS   $154M   2012-18 

Miguel Cabrera   DET   $152.3M   2008-15

Carl Crawford   BOS   $142M   2011-17

Lowrie Doing Well and Seeing More Plate Appearances

Over the last few weeks as the season is starting, the Red Sox are slumping but Jed Lowrie isn't. So far this season, Lowrie has gotten quite a few more appearances than most utility men. In these appearances, Lowrie is hitting .438 and was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles in Tuesday's 2-3 loss. Lowrie was penciled in for Wednesday's game v. the Rays at shortstop but the game was postponed. If Lowrie keeps up his average and adds some pop to his swing, he could very well be the Red Sox new starting shortstop in place of Scutaro. This would be great for the Sox because they would get to trade Scutaro for a reliever. Terry Francona is definitely recognizing Lowrie's good start:


            "Jed's hitting about .480. We don't have a lot of guys hitting .480," Francona said. "[He] swung at a lot more balls out of the zone than we've seen,".  "Maybe some of that's just early Spring Training, but he's a good hitter, and again, we've said that we're trying to find ways to get him in the game."


This is what Lowrie said about the beginning of the season:


            "You know what? I'm not focused on that," Lowrie said. "There's enough anxiety in this game -- especially in the role I'm in right now -- to worry about that. I'm just going to continue to do the work, continue to do what I need to do to prepare myself, no matter what they ask me to do. Of course, that's the idea -- go out and make the most of every opportunity you get."


If you would like to share your opinion on who is the better shortstop, please comment.

Game 14/162, Red Sox Have Gotten a Two Game Winning Streak

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 1

Blue Jays - 010 000 000 - 1 7 2 

Red Sox   - 040 002 02x - 8 8 1

Today, the Red Sox had another good day as they won to begin their first two game win streak to start the season. Lester did well as he gave up 1 ER in 6 IP. Lester and Beckett  have been the only two consistent and good starting pitchers that the Red Sox can trust. The bottom half of the lineup really hit well today. Especially Salty and Ellsbury who combined for 6 RBIs. Ellsbury hit a three run homer which is his third homer of the season. Their are two interesting facts about his homers this season; One, he is leading the team in homers and, Two, he already has 3 homers this season while his 162 game average is 10 homers. This means he is gaining power or he is getting lucky. Salty had a RBI single along with two run single later in the game. Hopefully the Red Sox will start to work together to collect wins. This game makes them 4-10 which is 4.5 games behind the Yankees and the Yankees are playing Texas at 8:05 PM ET.

Notable Players:

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs

Jacoby Ellsbury, 1 for 4 with a homer and 3 RBIs

Jon Lester, 6 IP 1 ER and 5 Ks

Please feel free to comment, I appreciate good comments.

2011 Red Sox Game Photos Contest

This year, many of us are going to go to Red Sox games. Here is what to do to enter:
1. Take a picture at the game. This can be of the field, of a player, etc.
2. Email the picture to me (redsoxblog360@gmail.com), or upload it to our Facebook or Twitter page.
Rules:
1. Must be taken by you, not found on Google or you will be disqualified.
2. You can only upload one picture so make sure its good.
All of your pictures will be on our Fan Photos Page. If its not their, email me and notify me so I make sure it is entered in the contest.
Prizes!!!
The winner will win either a pair of Red Sox sunglasses, a Red Sox Mr. Potato Head, a Red Sox arrow sign, or a Red Sox logo baseball.

Buchholz Agrees to a 4 Year Extension with Boston

Today, the Red Sox locked up another great player that has come up through THEIR farm system. Over the past few years, the Red Sox have locked up Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Jon Lester. Over the off season, the Red Sox tried negotiating a contract with Buchholz and used Lester's contract as a starting point. Of course, Lester is better at the moment and the Red Sox got a much better deal on Lester than on Buchholz. Lester got a 5 year, 30 million dollar contract which is one of the most team friendly contracts in baseball especially due to the fact that Lester is a workhorse and is capable of a Cy Young season almost every year. One of the only contracts that is more team friendly that Lester's is Evan Longoria's contract that was made to him right after he debuted due to the Ray's belief that he would be a great player. Clay Buchholz had a no hitter a few years ago that was very nicely pitched. Over the past few years, he has struggled, but last year, the young pitch put together a great season in which he had one of the best ERAs in the AL and almost won the Cy Young.   Over the last few years, Buchholz has been a very highly regarded prospect and has been a very big trade chip but his potential value was greater than what the Red Sox were willing to give up so they kept him. This of course meant waiting a couple years for Adrian Gonzalez and missing out on Roy Halladay but they kept Buchholz and they eventually got Gonzalez for a lower price. Buchholz signed a 4 year, 30 million dollar deal with a few club options. Here are the details:


2011: $550,000 (+ $1 million signing bonus)
2012: $3.5 million
2013: $5.5 million
2014: $7.7 million
2015: $12 million
2016: $13 million team option (or $245,000 buyout)
2017: $13.5 million team option (or $500,000 buyout)
(2017 option increases to $14 million if Buchholz finishes either first or second in Cy Young voting during the contract.)