http://www.yardbarker.com/users/soxaddict Recent Yardbarker Articles: soxaddict en-us I'm honestly at a loss for words after watching the Red Sox lose to the Yankees tonight by a score of 1-0. Ok, that's not true, I managed to squeak out enough words to shed some light on what I saw in the game. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:02:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295892 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295892 Our good buddy Ian over at Sox & Dawgs has provided gigantic printable PDF pictures of Madonna's face for tonight's game at Fenway. You can print them out, poke out the eyes and show how much you love 'the material girl' (or hate A-Rod.) Another option is to tape it to a stick and wave it around like a crazy man. Both work adequately. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:15:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295668 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295668 I understand that the cost of relievers over the past few years has skyrocketed, but this asking price is a tad bit ridiculous.. The Boston Globe reported last night that the Red Sox were in the mix for former National's reliever Jon Rauch. Rauch has a 2.98 ERA and was dealt to the Diamondbacks for Arizona's #6 prospect, Emilio Bonifacio. Here is where the story gets interesting, Washington asked for Jed Lowrie AND Michael Bowden from the Red Sox. Last year cost the Red Sox big-time (Kason Gabbard and David Murphy) to acquire Eric Gagne. Gagne was only a rental and his contract expired 2+ months after the trade took place yet the Texas Rangers now own 2 ex-Boston prospects for a few more years. This year the Rockies have asked for Clay Buchholz in a potential trade for Brian Fuentes. Fuentes would have been a rental as well and Theo Epstein seems to have decided that the asking price is way too high. If Buchholz for Fuentes was too high, how in the world did Washington think that Lowrie and Bowden for Rauch would be doable? Insanity. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:56:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295423 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295423 This is one of the crazier stories I've ever read. A quick breakdown: during a minor league game between the Midwest League's Dayton Dragons and Peoria Chiefs, there were 15 players and 2 managers ejected, and a pitcher arrested. The inning started with Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo hitting a player in the head, hitting another player, then throwing at the head of yet another player. Somewhere in this whole fracas, he tossed the ball at the dugout of the Dayton Dragons but missed. The ball sailed into the stands and drilled a fan in the face. Julio Castillo, you are indeed a classy guy. (Seriously though.. he couldn't even hit a 20 foot wide dugout?! What kind of future does this guy have as a pitcher?) Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:06:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295393 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295393 We mentioned a while ago that Justin Masterson was being converted into a reliever and last night was his first relief appearance in a major league game. He definitely didn't disappoint. Masterson came on in relief of Buchholz. There were 2 men on base and only 1 out. He proceeded to strike out the next 2 guys he faced to end the inning (one was a righty, one was a lefty.) Justin went another 2 innings, striking out one more guy without allowing a hit or issuing a walk. The poise and maturity of Masterson is just astounding. He's only 21 years-old, began the year in Double-A Portland, started games for Boston, got converted to a reliever, had only a few innings in Pawtucket to hone the skill, and then was thrown directly into the fire against Seattle. Obviously Justin Masterson isn't going to become the next K-Rod but he could definitely be one of the missing links in the bullpen. 7 more days until the trade deadline.. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:46:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294863 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294863 For the second year in a row, the Single-A Lowell Spinners have brought back their politically correct and politically incorrect promotions. In my opinion, minor league teams have the most creative promos out of anybody in the sports world and this one is no different. Check out the link for a full description of both days. Highlights Include: Politically Correct Day: 'Shortstop' is renamed to 'Vertically-Challenged Stop.' Politically Incorrect Day: First 250 women to the park are given potholders to cook dinner for their husbands (like a woman should!) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:28:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294495 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294495 Last night's win over Seattle gave Jonathan Papelbon his 30th save this season. By reaching that mark he has become the ONLY Red Sox pitcher in history to get 30 or more in 3 straight seasons. The 30-30-30 group is now being called 'The Papelbon Club.' Here is what Jonathan had to say about it: "It feels good to be in the Papelbon club. I don't know what to tell you. It is pretty amazing because it doesn't seem like it's that much of a big deal. I don't think it is. The goal is to get every save I can. It feels good to be able to do that and hopefully this is the beginning of a long run. I'm not really satisfied with it by any means." You can always count on Paps for a quote. I give it 5 hours until the NY Daily News puts some form of "It feels good to be in the Papelbon club" on the back page of that tabloid they shamefully call a newspaper. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:15:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294406 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294406 As the trade deadline gets closer, the Red Sox have sent out a few feelers in an attempt to bolster their bullpen. One of the biggest names mentioned has been Brian Fuentes. Brian has taken over the closer role in Colorado and has put up decent numbers in his career (3.50 ERA, 439 K and 168 BB in 398.3 IP) He's done it in a hitter friendly Coors Field but also against weaker NL lineups. Numbers-wise, I think he would be a good puzzle piece for the pen; however, there are some issues surrounding him. His contract is up at the end of the season and with the market being what it is, he could probably command 6-7 mil a year. He'll want a decently long contract and giving 5 years to a reliever is NOT something that the Red Sox do. This means that he'll probably be a 2 month rental player and Theo Epstein isn't a fan of those (last season's Eric Gagne trade only strengthened this resolve.) So the contract issue might be a problem, but there is another road bump to get past. The Rockies are reportedly asking for Clay Buchholz. Buchholz has already thrown a no-hitter in his career and has been ranked by almost everybody as a top 5 pitching prospect in the major leagues. Is a 2 month rental worth giving up a potential future number one starter? I don't think so and I'm betting that neither do the Red Sox. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:27:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293806 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293806 This is one of the more amusing Manny Ramirez stories I've read (mainly because it doesn't involve turning a double into a single, or smacking an old man.) Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:29:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293773 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293773 While Jon Lester was baffling the easily-baffleable Seattle Mariners, David Ortiz was taking another step towards full recovery from his injury. Instead of playing in Triple-A Pawtucket (where he bought the team goat tacos and other gross sounding food), he was taking his swings with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. Big Papi went 2-3 with 2 singles and a walk; and is still on target to return to the Red Sox on Friday to face the Yankees. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:10:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293762 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293762 The Red Sox have lost their one solid point in the bullpen (besides Jonathan Papelbon) for at least 15 days. David Aardsma is suffering from an undisclosed leg injury and has been put on the disabled list. His numbers this season include a 2.75 ERA and an impressive 41 strikeouts in only 39.1 innings. Justin Masterson has been called up to take Aardsma's place on the roster. Masterson was sent back down to Pawtucket a few weeks ago so that he could become accustomed to working out of the bullpen. His numbers as a reliever in Triple-A this year are: 3.1 IP, 2ER, 2H, 4K. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:50:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292884 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292884 I'm not sure what this was about, nor do I care. All I know is that its pretty hot. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:41:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292881 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292881 Big Papi had his first rehab start with the Pawtucket Red Sox last night; however, he had jaws dropping before the game even started. Much like the other night before the All-Star Game, Ortiz took full advantage of his time in the batting cage. He managed to launch 11 balls out of McCoy Stadium with ease, including one that traveled 400+ feet to straight-away centerfield. That transitioned into the game as he went 1-3 with a HR and a walk but that isn't even the best part. The best part is that he didn't grimace during ANY of his swings in BP or the game. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:31:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292155 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292155 The Sox have announced that they have officially signed 1st round draft choice Casey Kelly. Kelly, taken as the 30th pick, was a two sport star (football and baseball) for Sarasota High School and had previously committed to playing for Tennessee. The Sox had faith that they could sign him anyway. It appears that faith was well founded as the Red Sox now have a young SS that has the potential to someday pitch at the major league level. Kelly's numbers at both positions were pretty good in high school (.473, 13 2B, 5HR / 77K in 66 IP.) Theo Epstein plans to start him in Boston's system as a shortstop and possibly move him to a pitching role somewhere down the line. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:40:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291938 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291938 J.D. Drew didn't waste much time before taking advantage of his very first All-Star game appearance. He started off his night by roping a line drive over the wall in right for a 2 run homerun against NL ERA leader Edinson Volquez. Drew ended the night 2-4, adding a single and a walk to his totals. The story doesn't end there my friends. Nobody expected the All-Star contest to go 15 innings and when it did, Terry Francona wasn't sure how much longer he could keep pitcher Scott Kazmir on the mound (he threw 106 pitches on Sunday). If the game had gone another inning, J.D. Drew was the man that would have been called to the mound. Luckily that situation resolved itself when Michael Young drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 15th and Drew didn't have to throw his "sneaky stuff" (yes, that is what J.D. called it.) Without even having to pitch, Drew's line for the night earned him the MVP honors. Not bad for a first time All-Star. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:10:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291080 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291080