Yardbarker: Dustin Pedroia

MLB Sets New Interleague Attendance Record

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:36:12 -0500

Major League Baseball has set new records for total and average attendance during Interleague Play (8,893,312 and 35,573, respectively), eclipsing the previous marks (8,795,939 and 34,905) set last season. It marks the third straight season that MLB has set new highs for attendance during Interleague Play and the fifth straight year that the total Interleague attendance has increased. One Interleague game still remains (the July 10th make-up of the June 26th NYY-PIT rainout). The 2008 Interleague average of 35,573 per game is 15.9 percent higher than this season’s current intraleague average of 30,689 per game. Since its inception in 1997, Interleague Play has drawn 12.5 percent more fans than intraleague games; Interleague Play has averaged 33,250 fans per game, compared to the intraleague average of 29,563 fans per game during the same span. Overall this season, MLB’s cumulative average attendance is 31,687 fans per game (38,784,809 fans over 1,224 dates), representing a 0.6 percent increase over the same date during the record-breaking 2007 season and currently putting MLB on track for a fifth consecutive year of record overall attendance. Thus far, the American League has posted 149-102 record in Interleague Play, marking the fifth straight season in which the A.L. has won the season-series and extending its all-time Interleague lead to 1,536-1,419 (.520). Eleven of the A.L.’s 14 Clubs finished over .500. A.L. Clubs collected a .275 batting average with 1,247 runs scored, 276 home runs and a 3.69 ERA, compared to the N.L.’s .251 batting average, 1,010 runs scored, 251 home runs and 4.56 ERA. With a 2.44 team ERA, the Minnesota Twins earned the top Interleague record with a 14-4 (.778) mark, followed by the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals, both of whom went 13-5 (.722). Overall, A.L. Central Clubs went 58-32 (.644) in Interleague Play, with four of its five Clubs going 12-6 or better. The New York Yankees, who were 10-7 in Interleague Play this year, have baseball’s best all-time Interleague record at 123-86 (.589), followed by the Oakland Athletics (10-8) at 123-89 (.580). The Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets tied for the N.L.’s best Interleague mark with 9-6 records. The Florida Marlins, who went 5-10 in Interleague Play this year, still have the National League’s best all-time Interleague record at 110-91 (.547). Interleague Play’s all-time statistical leaders include Albert Pujols with a .350 batting average; Derek Jeter with 278 hits; Jim Thome with 55 home runs; Carlos Delgado with 153 RBI; Mike Mussina with 21 wins; Johan Santana with a 2.49 ERA; and Mariano Rivera with 55 saves. The Interleague leaders in 2008 were Aaron Miles of the St. Louis Cardinals with a .463 batting average; Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox with 36 hits; Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox with eight home runs and 23 RBI; Mark Buehrle (4-0) of the White Sox, Andy Sonnanstine (4-0) of the Tampa Bay Rays and A.J. Burnett (4-1) of the Toronto Blue Jays with four wins; Jair Jurrjens of the Atlanta Braves with 0.00 ERA (min.: 1.0 IP per team’s games played); and George Sherrill of the Baltimore Orioles and Joakim Soria of the Kansas City Royals with seven saves apiece. Select Read More to see additional statistical data on 2008 Interleague Play.

FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:36:12 -0500

Many of the American League races will hinge on the final days of balloting for the 79th All-Star Game, which will be played on Tuesday, July 15th at Yankee Stadium. Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, Boston Red Sox teammates Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who is vying for the third starting outfield slot, cling to tight leads.Mauer (1,632,338 votes), who has an edge for the second straight week, leads Boston’s Jason Varitek (1,487,390) by less than 145,000 votes. On the right side of the infield, the pair of Red Sox continues to hang on in their bids to make their Midsummer Classic debuts; Youkilis (1,915,376) is in front of Minnesota’s Justin Morneau (1,641,467) at first base and Pedroia (1,669,216) is outpacing Ian Kinsler (1,485,530) of the Texas Rangers at second. Suzuki, an A.L. All-Star in each of his seven Major League seasons and a fan-elected starter six times, leads a crowded pack in contention for the final starting outfield position with 1,397,460 votes. Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero is fourth with 1,187,273 votes.The two leading American League vote-getters comprise the left side of the infield of the host New York Yankees. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who was Major League Baseball’s most popular choice in last year’s All-Star balloting, has vaulted to the top of this year’s A.L. totals for the first time with 2,518,067 votes. Right behind him is his teammate, shortstop Derek Jeter, with 2,507,534 votes. Rounding out the top five most popular American Leaguers are designated hitter David Ortiz (2,482,981) and outfielder Manny Ramirez (2,409,388) of the Red Sox along with Major League Baseball’s RBI leader, outfielder Josh Hamilton (2,327,467) of the Rangers.With the in-stadium phase of balloting at Major League Baseball’s 30 ballparks complete, final votes can be cast exclusively on MLB.com and all 30 Club Web sites via Monster All-Star Online Balloting, which closes at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2nd. The 2008 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be revealed on Sunday, July 6th on the “MLB All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevy,” televised exclusively on TBS at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) with Ernie Johnson as host and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken as analyst. The American League All-Star Team will have nine starters elected via the fan balloting program, while the National League All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads – 23 for the N.L., 22 for the A.L. – will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers – American League skipper Terry Francona of the Boston Red Sox and National League manager Clint Hurdle of the Colorado Rockies – in conjunction with Major League Baseball.Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will have the opportunity to select the final player for each League's 32-man roster at MLB.com. The Monster 2008 All-Star Final Vote will provide fans the opportunity to cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over a four-day period. For the fourth year, fans will be able to vote for their Final Vote selections on their mobile phone. Both winners of the Monster All-Star Final Vote will be announced after the voting has concluded on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, fans once again will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the 79th All-Star Game’s Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet via the Monster All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com.The 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, being held at Yankee Stadium in its final season, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT). ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage that will also be available on XM Satellite Radio, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage.The remaining updates will be released as follows: BALLOTING ANNOUNCEMENT SCHEDULE Tuesday, July 1st NL Balloting Release #6 Sunday, July 6th: Starters Reserves Announced Select Read More (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=2311 Itemid=1) to see details of the final American League All-Star Game voting update

Was that a clutch hit by the Red Sox!? Sure was...

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:24:46 -0500

The Sox finally came through in the clutch last night, winning a 1 run ball game rather than losing it. Manny's RBI single in the 8th gave the Sox a 1-0 lead and a much need victory, but Matsuzaka kept the red hot Twins off the board for 7+... pick your hero...

Red Sox rebound with thrilling win over Twins

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:47:51 -0500

Sox 1, Twins 0 WP:Okajima (2-2) LP: Bass (3-3) SV:Papelbon (26) HRs: None Summary: The Red Sox and Twins engaged in a tense pitcher's duel for 7 1/2 scoreless innings until Manny Ramirez drove in Dustin Pedroia with the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon recovered from last night's loss to nail down [...]

Red Sox and Cubs Each to Send 7 Players to All-Star Game

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:46:07 -0500

The Red Sox and Cubs are the only two teams to send 7 players to the All-Star game. Cubs catcher Geovany Soto is the first rookie catcher ever in the NL and Kosuke Fukodome is the first rookie outfielder since Frank Robinson in 1956. The other NL teams each have two players named to the team. Other Cubs named are Alfonso Soriano, who is soon to come off the DL after a hand injury, Aramis Ramirez and pitchers, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood. Wood is in rare company, along with Rich Goassage, Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz to be named to the squad as a starter and a closer.
The Red Sox had four starters voted in by fans: Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Added reserves are Jonathan Papelbon, Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew.

All-Star Starters In?

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:46:07 -0500

The New York Post is reporting that they have received word of the starters for the All-Star Game, a report that was scheduled to be released tomorrow night on TBS. For the American League, the Post is reporting that their lineup will look as follows:

C Joe Mauer
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Dustin Pedroia
SS Derek Jeter
3B Alex Rodriguez
OF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Josh Hamilton
DH David Ortiz (replaced by Milton Bradley

Cliff Lee will be the starter for the AL and, apparently, Mariano Riviera is slated to pitch the 9th inning

NL

C Geovany Soto
1B Lance Berkman
2B Chase Utley
SS Hanley Ramirez
3B Chipper Jones
OF Alfonso Soriano
OF Kosuke Fukudome
OF Ken Griffey Jr.

Brandon Webb will be the starter for the National League

More analysis to come...

Who has the most All0stars

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:15:30 -0500

There has been debate about who should vote for the All-star teams but in the end, the teams usually end up equally, even if the AL team always wins. This year's voting has been filled with late overtakings including the young wiz kid Ryan Braun overtaking Ken Griffey Jr. This year there are two teams tied for most All-stars at seven, one team having a great season and the other having a somewhat disappointing season currently in second place.

Who has the most All0stars

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:15:30 -0500

2008 American League All-Star Roster: Flubs and Snubs

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:00:19 -0500

The 2008 MLB All-Star rosters were announced today. The All-Star Game will be played on July 15, 2008 at Yankee Stadium, with the league winner securing home field advantage in the World Series. We'll take a look at these rosters, and pick them apart - Who doesn't deserve to go? Who got the snub? Because we know most of our readers likely suffer from ADD, we'll do this in two parts. This article will address the American League roster, and later we'll address the National League roster. So here's how the AL roster looks.......

Boston Red Sox have 7 players on the All-Star team

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:58:56 -0500

In addition to the starting lineup for the AL that I posted last night, the Red Sox have added another 3 players to the All-Star roster. Starters: 1B - Kevin Youkilis 2B - Dustin Pedroia OF - Manny Ramirez DH - David Ortiz Reserves: C - Jason Varitek OF - J.D. Drew RP - Jonathan Papelbon All of the Red Sox reserves were voted on by the players themselves, rather than added by Terry Francona who will manage this year's team for the AL.

2008 American League All-Stars

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:31:58 -0500

The MLB All-Stars aren't supposed to be announced until tomorrow but apparently the geniuses at TBS have a bit of an information leak. The Red Sox have 4 players on the starting roster including David Ortiz who will attend the game but won't be able to play. The full AL starting line-up is as follows..

Here's Hoping: Go America

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:17:32 -0500

Here's Hoping is a list of things we want to see happen over the weekend, but mainly an excuse to post a weekly picture of a drunk athlete. This week it's Sawx second basemen/leprechaun/Holiday Inn fan Dustin Pedroia...

The Red Sox need you to wear your rally caps

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:49:10 -0500

The Red Sox have lost 4 of 5 by one stinkin' run. Leads have been blown, rallies have been squashed... something needs to be done. Red Sox Nation needs to unite and don their rally caps... Together we may be able to turn the tide here... it's can't hurt, right?

The Mid-Summer Mistake: Say No to Cano

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:42:56 -0500

With FOX and Major League Baseball jamming the All-Star game down our throats (It's at Yankee Stadium! The Last One! So Historic!), it's time to look at who is actually going to play in this mid-season celebration of big name fan favorites. We'll examine the AL and NL voting for one position daily. Today: second base...

Fitzy's Wicked Pissah Red Sox Mid-Season Review

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:03:23 -0500

With first half of the baseball season officially in the books, Fitzy takes a candid look at the Sox and their performance on and off the field so far.