After getting swept for the second series in a row, the Red Sox look as if they are used to the late season beat down, getting blown out by the Blue Jays, 12-0, Wednesday night.
Roy Halladay went the distance last night, while Tim Wakefield let up five in only three innings of work. Joey Gathright gave the Red Sox a few brief moments of hope, but the Doc had a quick cure for those, namely six strikeouts over nine innings and only three hits.
GAME NOTES: Well, the Sox lost last night… but clinched the Wild Card. Whatever works, I guess. Scrub lineup tonight, check the comments for it. Please note I will be holding live chats for every playoff game the Red Sox are in.
New Poll Question: Who should be considered the No. 3 starter?
In the wake of Clay Buchholz’s poor start in Toronto, it’s a legitimate question. We determined Dice-K should be the No. 4 starter in a previous poll, but should he jump up a notch?
As always, new poll is up to the right…vote away and argue it out in the comments.
Drafted out of The Citadel in the 2009 amateur draft, Red Sox prospect Chris McGuiness had at age 21 what could be termed a successful transition to pro ball with a .255/.374/.434 line in 196 at-bats for Single-A Lowell.
Playing first base, McGuiness admitted the process that landed him with Boston was stressful. “As a player, you are unsure of and really have no choice on who picks you and in what round.”
The who? Boston. The round? 13, which was high enough for McGuiness to forego his senior year at The Citadel, a five-minute drive from where he grew up.
Adam Lind and the Blue Jays came out firing, beating Clay Buchholz and the Red Sox, 8-7, on Tuesday. However, the Red Sox will cry themselves all the way into the post season, as the Angels worked their magic on the Texas Rangers, sealing a wildcard playoff berth for the Bo Sox.
After a dominant start to the month, Clay Buchholz recorded his second less than stellar start, going eight hits and seven earned runs over five innings. Toronto took advantage of his missteps, launching five home runs off the young righty, with six bombs overall for the evening.
Two items for today’s laundry list:
1) Hope that Lowell’s hip heals
2) Pray to Pedro Serrano’s voodoo gods (yeah, that crazy guy from “Major League”) that if he doesn’t, Casey Kotchman’s bat will rise from its slumber.
Mike Lowell came into this season on the heels of a revolutionary labrum surgery, one so new that it is yet to be named (that Lowell, incidentally, hopes will be named after him). As a result, he’s already had one DL stint this season due to the hip and received another Synvisc injection Monday.
Wrapped in the title “player’s manager” is both a complement and an insult. Personable and charismatic as to relate to players, these managers are too cowardly to make tough personnel decisions, too soft to win championships.
Yet, what is often overlooked, is that many of the greatest skippers in baseball history have managed in this style. Arguably the two best managers of the last decade have been of this “undesirable” type: Terry Francona, winner of two World Series titles since installed as Red Sox skipper in 2004, and the legendary Joe Torre, manager of the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees, and Dodgers during his storied career.
Terry Francona, in many ways, can be considered a latter-day Joe Torre. Francona, in particular, faces many of the unique challenges that Torre did, while also being among the best at managing personalities and egos in his MLB clubhouse…
Michael Bowden was stretched too thin, giving up five hits and five earned runs in just over two innings of work. The bullpen did not help matters, as Hunter Jones handed the Blue Jays another four on the way to an 11-5 loss.
Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz would not go silently into the good night, but the pitching, or lack thereof, proved to be a bit too much to overcome, especially in a rain-shortened game.
GAME NOTES: Josh Beckett has been scratched with mild back spasms with Michael Bowden taking his place. We looked so good going into October: a great bullpen, a good 1-4 rotation and a clicking offense. Now? Our top two pitchers are hobbled and our offense looks feast or famine. Good times.
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