As Red Sox Nation collectively holds our breath, Beckett is not looking like the ace starting pitcher we all came to know and love from the past 2 years. In his last start (2 1/3 innings, 8 runs, 8 hits against Toronto) he felt a tingling feeling in his pinky and ring finger, and Tito had said that had something to do with his location, and we are all hoping the same.

Apparently this tingly feeling had come from Beckett sleeping on his arm the wrong way the night before, yet he told redsox.com writer Ian Browne that it is something he had been dealing with off and on this season but he had no idea what it was, or where it was coming from.

Now with his next start pushed back until Tuesday against the Yankees in New York, the Bronx Bombers are licking their lips hoping Beckett is not right and they can slip back into the playoff picture, as their window is getting more slim while the days pass.

The problem with his feeling seems to be minor, but with multi-million dollar investments, you can never be too cautious. However, with the Red Sox playoff berth far from a sure thing, we can be sure to all be biting our nails as the rest of the season and our starting pitching dilemma transpires.

Buchholz Looking to Right his Pitching Wrong

It is no secret that young phenom Clay Buchholz is not having the year that everyone expect. It is not his fault, however, that he is not living up to the hype given off of last year’s no-no in his second major league start. It’s tough to forget such a milestone for fans like us. But the season can still be saved for Buchholz.

Pitching coach John Farrell and Clay have seemed to find a flaw in the young guy’s mechanics which may be causing his pitches to drift over the plate and contributed to his 6.35 ERA and 90 hits in 73 and 2/3 innings, including 11 home runs over that time.

Texas Gal over in Center Field turned us on to the idea that Buchholz has been “drifting” in delivery, as show through the PitchFX diagrams in her post. Hopefully with this new light bulb over Clay’s head he will return to his form and help the Sox finished the sweep over the Orioles, more for the kid’s confidence than the team.

Wakefield Plays a Little Toss

After spending 10 days on the DL, Tim Wakefield has got the ball back in his hand and played catch with pitching coach John Farrell for the first time since going on the disabled list with tightness in the back of his right shoulder. The Sawx are hoping after a few more side sessions Wake will be ready to take back to the mound.

Colon to Pitch for Pawtucket this Week

After leaving his third rehab start for the PawSox after one inning with a case of the stomach bug, Bartolo Colon will continue his trail back to Fenway this week against Syracuse Chiefs. David Pauley is listed as the probable starter for tonight on the PawSox website, but Colon could end up getting the start.

Contrast that with the show Jason Bay put on last night in Fenway, and maybe this move wasn’t such “downgrade”, if you want to call it that. Last night, all Jason Bay did was score the lone 2 Sox runs, hit a key triple in the 12th inning, and later scored on Lowrie’s slow bouncer to win the game. Not to mention he made a key sliding catch in left field (a ball Manny never would have caught up to) and played the Green Monster wall pretty well.

It’s only been a couple days, but Manny Ramirez feels he’s where he wants to be.

“I like this city, the environment, the energy in the fans. I think that I’ll play here for the remaining of my career.”

This is such a load of bull I can’t even begin to explain. Ramirez is an odd character…always has been. After a press conference and one, single game, he’s ready to stay in LA all the way to his retirement? Tell me if I’m wrong, but I believe we’ve heard that statement before. Hasn’t LA realized Ramirez cares for one thing and one thing only, the money?

After the debacle with the Red Sox over the past couple of weeks, Ramirez showed his true character as a person, player, and businessman.

At least one good thing has come out of this, we’ve received a solid player in return. I’m not sure what it would take to get Jason Bay in the offseason, but now that he’s here, hopefully he can help contribute to another championship in Boston.

As for Manny, at least it’s looking like he has to cut his Milli Vanilli mop-top, per order of one Joe Torre.

“I told him that if the rule is to get a haircut, then I’ll get one because I don’t want any special privileges,” Ramirez said. “But Joe replied by saying that I should get an apartment and take care of my personal stuff first, after which I should see a barber.”

He doesn’t want any special privileges? You mean he will be unable to sit out games vs. the likes of Joba Chamberlain and Felix Hernandez?

Joe, I’m sorry, but let the headaches begin. One thing we know for sure is that manager Terry Francona can now get a good sleep at night.

Enjoy LA, Manny.

Two money-hungry souls. Hey Nomar, how’s your hammy? back? ankle?

]]> http://www.ondeckfantasy.com/boston-red-sox/manny-wants-to-retire-a-dodger/feed/ http://www.ondeckfantasy.com/fantasy-baseball/welcome-to-massachusetts-the-bay-state/ http://www.ondeckfantasy.com/fantasy-baseball/welcome-to-massachusetts-the-bay-state/#comments Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:45:29 +0000 Dan Dumont http://www.ondeckfantasy.com/?p=100 Who would of thought it would come down to this? Manny Ramirez literally threw himself out of Boston with both his mouth and actions. It started by a slap to Kevin Youkilis’ face, proceeded with a shove to the team secretary, and continued with his big mouth to ESPN DePortes.

Today marks the end of the Man-Ram era in Boston, and to be quite honest, it’s sad. Granted the Red Sox needed to get him out of the organization; it’s just a shame it had to happen like this. Manny Ramirez was one of the most loved Red Sox to date. Ramirez’ eight-year run brought 2 world championships to Boston, a feat that was missing for 86 years.

(Fellow writer Mike Comtois probably said it best when he said losing Ramirez is like losing a girlfriend. It’s true, it’s just hard to picture a Sox team without Ramirez in the lineup. Personally, it’s all I’ve known since 2000 when I was just 14 years old.  But hey, everyone must move on)

It’s tough to tell how Jason Bay will do in Boston. Sure, he’s coming to a much tougher American League, but he is now in the middle of one stellar lineup. Hitting between Youkilis and Ortiz will provide Bay with the much needed protection he was missing in Pittsburgh. Hitting between Ryan Doumit and Doug Meintkiewicz isn’t what we would call “ideal”. Bay had a tough ‘07, but his numbers have turned around this year. Fenway Park is a hitters ballpark certainly to a right-handed batter like Bay.

So what’s next? Now that the Red Sox clubhouse has been rid of the cancer, maybe the post All-Star break struggles are about to turn around. We sure hope so.

One thing is for certain, Manny Ramirez will never be forgotten. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it, most of us enjoyed watching him roam left field, high-five fans, become a cut-off man in center field, and smash many home runs over the Monster. We thank you Manny, and hope Joe Torre and the Dodgers can deal with you.

“Well, you know, we’ve been down this road so many times. And, you know, this is probably going to be one of the final times, I mean, it’s over. Whether it’s over tomorrow, or whether it’s over at the end of the season. I think it’s going to be a mixed bag. You’re going to have players come out and say, “What a great job he did for us, he helped us win two championships”. On the other hand you’re going to have some guys quietly say, “Thank you very much”, because they were not happy when he didn’t play in those two games. One against Seattle and the other against the Yankees. And basically, enough is enough.”

Remy continued about how he and Ramirez talked in the clubhouse:

“You know, I walked by him briefly and he said, “Have I been traded yet?” I said, “You still got two more days.” I said, “You don’t really want to go?” He says, “Yes I do, I want to find peace.”

Either way, it seems Manny’s days in Boston are nearing end. Nuisance or not, Ramirez did help bring two championships to Boston. You can’t take that away from him.

Tune in below to check out D&C’s Full Interview with Remy earlier this morning.

(h/t to D&C and WEEI.com for the audio interview)

“Good time’s never seemed so good….so good! so good! so good!”

Sure, good time’s have absolutely never seemed so good, especially when your boys are in the midst of being no hit by one of the ugliest men in baseball, John Lackey. If it wasn’t for Pedey, the Sox may have hit the lowest point of the season thus far.

The Sox stepped up to bat during the bottom of the 8th, and thus, the music stopped. What really got me was what occured afterwards. As soon as Neil’s song silenced, the Fenway Faithful didn’t want to stop. Instead of observing the game, hoping the Sox can cash in with a hit and maybe put a rally together, I sat  there and listened to thousands of fans sing off-tune to the second verse and chorus of “Sweet Caroline,” all while the game was in progress. (I think Varitek may have been at-bat.)

Is it just me, or is that song plain god awful and annoying? You have tens and thousands of Red Sox faithful, ranting and raving to a song by a native New Yorker and long-time Yankees fan. Such irony…

(off note, I witnessed many members of “The Nation” screw up the words to this song….it’s not “HO! HO! HO!” after the lyrics “SWEEEET CAAAAROOLIIINE!”)

—

To be brutally honest, I was nervous for Lackey; I did wish he would of come through in the 9th. Maybe it would have been some sort of wake up call to Red Sox. A team with a $130 + million dollar payroll should not be no hit, especially at home.

So where do we go from here? Manny is unhappy, Buchholz was just awful, Hansen couldn’t do his job tonight, and Alex Cora, the defensive specialist, didn’t have such a great game at SS.

Before Pedroia’s single and Youk’s HR in the 9th, the best part of the game was Ellsbury’s web-gem in center-field. That’s about it.

—

We must move forward and hope Beckett can put a stop to the bleeding tomorrow night.

Sox & Dawgs - Ian over at Sox & Dawgs talks about Dice-K’s meltdown and provides the NESN video montage of Big Papi & Manny with a little help from Bruce Springsteen.

Hugging Harold Reynolds - Is Michael Phelps the Best the US has to offer? According to HHR, what’s to make of this half merman/half Budnick(Salute Your Shorts) look-a-like?

Open Sports - Open Sports presents the MLB’s All-Time ugly team….and boy…..some of these mugs are in dire need of a fine-tuned makeover.

Sox Addict- Mike over at SoxAddict.org summarizes The Great Manny Debacle of ‘08. Trade him? Let him walk? Receive draft picks? Mike goes over the options.

Red Sox Monster - Yowzers! Looks like the obsession over Heidi Watney is soaring.

Fire Brand of the AL - Manny to Dodgers? I’d gladly trade him for Matt Kemp.

It’s funny. You remember very few details about your own life. But as sports fans, you’ll always remember exactly where you were when your team won a championship.

I’ve had the pleasure of viewing a nice video from Mack Media Productions called “Title Town”.  It’s also a very nice refresher from some level-headed people, unlike the fellas over at ESPN who call Valdosta, Georgia as Titletown. We all know who the real title town is. Starting with the Cinderella Patriots in ‘01, reversing the curse with our Lansdowne 9 in ‘04, and culminating with our boys in Green taking down the Lakers in June, Boston IS Title Town.

As Boston sports fans, we’ve hit the jackpot in this decade.  We are on one helluva ride, and we won’t even realize it until its over. Thanks to the guys at Mack Media Productions, I took a couple minutes to smile and remember “damn, we’re lucky”.  Do the people in Valdosta say that?  Probably not.

Thanks again fellas.  Check out this great video….

Sunday night, Sox are winning big.  Lester seems to be struggling through the 5th inning, especially after giving up a soft chopper down the third base line to Derek Jeter.  Bases now loaded with Bobby Abreau coming up.  But wait, John Farrell steps out of the dugout to talk to his left hander.  It must have been a great pep talk, because Lester went ahead and walked in a run with 5 pitches.  What could he have possibly said to mess up his control that bad?  Hold that thought…

Monday night, Sox are down one, looking to escape a big inning.  The Halos have men on first and third, I believe, and Dice-K is starting to get rocked.  The righty Justin Masterson is warming in the pen, but instead of Tito making his way out to replace the Dice Man, its Farrell again.  Pacing towards the mound to ’settle his pitcher down’… Three pitches later, Torii Hunter cracks a back breaking three run bomb that landed somewhere near the Boulevard in Lowell.

2 nights.  2 failed mound visits.  Luckily, Lester was able to calm himself down and get out of the inning, securing the win for the Lansdowne 9.  Dice K, on the other hand, was not so lucky.  He picked up the loss after getting pulled in favor of Masterson once Torii Hunter did his trademark bat flip and crossed home.

Here’s my question to you… What could Farrell possibly be saying to make matters worse on the mound for an already struggling pitcher?!!  Please leave your comments below….

The biggest story in Boston sports, as of today, is that of the dilemma surrounding Red Sox outfielder, Manny Ramirez. Ramirez has supposedly “challenged” the Sox with a statement that leads many to think he wants out.

“Enough is enough. I’m tired of them, they’re tired of me. After 2008, just send me a letter. You don’t even have to call my agent or whatever.”

Ramirez later went on…

“If the Red Sox think they can find a trade to make the team better, and both sides are going to be happy, I’m going to agree.”

Obviously, Man-Ram is calling out management on this one, but what is the fuss all about? I’m hearing raves and rants bout how Manny should be sent to Philly, the Mets, the Rockies yadda, yadda yadda. The fact of the matter is, Manny will not be traded under any circumstances, nor should he.

No team will be willing to take on the contract and baggage that comes with the future Hall of Famer. Whether it be Matt Holliday, Mark Teixeira, whomever, not one player can come to Boston, fill the shoes of Manny Ramirez and think the Red Sox will be in contention. To make more of it, any team willing to trade for Ramirez will not send a guy like a Holliday, a Pat Burrell, or a Mark Teixeira to Boston. Prospects would be sent to the Red Sox. Manny knows himself the Red Sox aren’t this dumb. On regards to a trade scenario, Ramirez stated:

“That’s not going to happen . . . Boston is not stupid. They’re not going to do it, they can say whatever they want. But when it comes to making a deal, they’re not going to pull the trigger because they know what they’ve got here,”

No matter which way the balls drop, when Ramirez steps on the field, he’s all business. We may have forgotten that amongst this huge dilemma, he did go 3-5 with 2 2B and 2 RBI in the Sox’ 9-2 win last night over the Yankees.

—

So what should we do?

Let Manny be Manny for the rest of the year, don’t pick up his contract, and let the man walk. It’s the best for both sides.

It seems as if the Yankees are preparing to make a strong run at the pennant, acquiring outfielder Xavier Nady and left handed reliever Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh in exchange for reliever Russ Ohlendorf and three minor leaguers. Of the minor leaguers, Jose Tabata, a highly-regarded outfielding prospect, is the most prominent name of the bunch.

Last night witnessed Joba Chamberlain’s best start of his career, as he blanked the Red Sox through 7 innings of work, striking out 9, giving up 0 runs while outdeueling Boston ace, Josh Beckett. Chamberlain is now 3-3 with a 2.30 ERA for the Yankees.

We should think about calling the New York Yankess the best second-half team in baseball. Including this year, the Yankees are 154-81 after the All Star break since 2005. Robinson Cano is easily the best hitter of the Yankee sluggers in the second half. In 209 post-All Star games in his career, Cano’s batting average is at a stellar .339.

The real question is, if the Sox and Yanks were to meet in the ALCS this year, which starters would you rather see out there? Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K? Or Pettitte, Mussina, and Joba? We all know Andy Pettitte is still one of the best playoff pitchers of his time, but my money’s still on the Sox.

*On a side note, was it me or was Mike Lowell absolutely screwed at the plate last night? He has every right to get thrown out after that barrage of calls.*

*Also, Kevin Youkilis is PISSED, when will this Joba/Youk thing come to an end? Is Joba taking it too far? To me, most certainly.*