Sunday, August 31, 2008

watching sox ... chicago white vs boston red

today's starting lineups ... for the chicago white sox <> orlando cabrera (ss) <> nick swisher (rf) <> carlos quentin (lf) <> jim thome (dh) <> paul konerko (1b) <> ken griffey, jr (cf) <> alexi ramirez (2b) <> joe crede (3b) <> toby hall (c) ... and for the boston red sox <> jacoby ellsbury (cf) <> jed lowrie (3b) <> david ortiz (dh) <> dustin pedroia (2b) <> mark kotsay (rf) <> jason bay (lf) <> jeff bailey (1b) <> alex cora (ss) <> kevin cash (c) ... the pitching matchup ... chicago's 25 year old stud gavin smith (14-6, 3.70) vs boston's 42 year old knuckleballing veteran tim wakefield (8-8, 3.60)

top of the 1st inning ... old friend orlando cabrera begins the game flying into the sun and out to jacoby ellsbury in center field ... nick swisher flies out to ellsbury ... carlos quentin doubles high off the green monster ... jim thome hits a home run just inside the pesky pole in right ... quentin scores ... thome scores ... rhode island's own paul konerko flies out to jason bay in left ... following last night's first major league victory over the chicago white sox (8-2) ... by a kid who grew up a chicago cubs fan ... 21 year old michael bowden made the return trip down the merloni highway after the game ... last evening's major league debut was bowden's last start of the season ... for the immediate future he will work out of the pawtucket bullpen during the pawsox international league playoff run ... but with major league rosters expanding tomorrow ... bowden should be back in boston soon to provide reinforcement in the big league bullpen ... chicago 2, boston 0

bottom of the 1st ... jacoby pops out to ramirez at 2b ... jed lowrie flies out to griffey, jr on the warning track in center ... big papi lines a single over the shift in right ... clean-up hitter dustin pedroia pops a single into short right field ... ortiz moves over to 3rd base ... pd steals 2nd base while mark kotsay bats ... kotsay walks loading the bases ... jason bay lines out hard to joe crede at 3b ... tomorrow is the 1st day of september ... and september is the final month of the 2008 baseball season ... it sure looks like the september battles will be boston (79-56) and tampa bay (83-51) for the east division title ... chicago (76-59) and minnesota (76-60) in the central ... and chicago or minnesota, boston or tampa bay for the wild card ... out west los angeles (83-52) has a 18 game lead over texas ... and a magic number of 9 to win the division at the start of play today ... chicago 2, boston 0

top of the 2nd ... griffey, jr lines out to bay in left ... ramirez skies out to jbay in left center ... joe crede pops out to bailey at 1b ... a quick, efficient inning for wakefield ... looking at the september schedules of the east division contenders ... boston will play 26 games ... 17 at home (including the final 7 games) <> baltimore (3) <> tampa bay (3) <> toronto (4) <> cleveland (4) <> new york (3) ... and 9 on the road <> texas (3) <> tampa bay (3) <> toronto (3) ... tampa bay will play 27 games ... 10 at home <> new york (3) <> boston (3) <> minnesota (4) ... and 17 on the road (including their final 8 games) <> toronto (3) <> boston (3) <> new york (3) ... baltimore (4) <> detroit (4) ... all things considered ... you'd think final month scheduling favors the red sox ... the question will be does it favor the red sox by as much as 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 games ... chicago 2, boston 0

bottom of the 2nd ... bailey strikes out swinging ... cora singles to left center ... cash flies out to center ... jacoby doubles down the right field line ... cora moves over to 3rd base ... jed lowrie flies out to center ... september schedules of the central division and wild card contending white sox and twins ... chicago will play 26 games ... 13 at home <> los angeles (3) <> toronto (4) <> detroit (3) <> cleveland (3) ... and 13 on the road (including 10 in a row toward month end) <> cleveland (3) <> new york (4) <> kansas city (3) <> minnesota (3) ... minnesota will play 25 games ... 12 at home <> detroit (3) <> kansas city (6) <> chicago (3) ... and 13 on the road (including 10 in a row mid month) <> toronto (3) <> baltimore (3) <> cleveland (3) <> tampa bay (4) ... chicago 2, boston 0

top of the 3rd ... hall flies out to ellsbury ... orlando cabrera singles to left ... nick swisher strikes out swinging ... quentin singles to center ... cabrera moves to 2nd base ... thome flies out to jbay in left ... before jim thome's 1st inning home run today ... red sox pitching had held the white sox homerless for 3 straight games ... no small accomplishment considering chicago leads the major leagues in home runs hit this season 198 (17 more than philadelphia) ... and has home run power throughout their lineup <> carlos quentin (36) <> jermaine dye (32) <> jim thome (28) <> nick swisher (22) <> joe crede (17 in only 94 games) <> ken griffey, jr (16 and 609 in his career) alexi ramirez (15) <> paul konerko (13 after 41, 40, 35 and 31 the last 4 years) ... chicago 2, boston 0

bottom of the 3rd ... big papi strikes out swinging on a check swing david doesn't think is a swing ... does he ever ... pd grounds out to the pitcher ... kotsay grounds out to second ... so the white sox finally get pd out after he had reached base 11 consecutive times this weekend ... friday night ... hitting in his usual 2nd spot in the batting order ... pedroia had 5 at bats <> 4 hits <> 1 walk <> 3 runs scored <> 2 stolen bases ... and lead the red sox to an 8-0 win ... saturday night ... hitting clean-up in place of kevin youkilis who was down with the flu ... pd had 5 at bats <> 4 more hits <> 1 walk <> 2 runs scored <> 2 double plays ... and the red sox scored 8 more runs and won 8-2 ... chicago 2, boston 0

top of the 4th ... konerko flies out to a twisting in the bright sun mark kotsay in right ... griffey, jr bounces out to jeff bailey at 1b ... ramirez flies out to right ... another quiet inning for wake ... with jonathan papelbon, jon lester, clay buchholz and now michael bowden having made their major league debut at fenway park each of the last 4 years ... who will be next in 2009 ... and then in 2010 ... let me toss out the names daniel bard and his 100 mph fastball in 2009 and nick hagadone post tommy john surgery in 2010 ... both bard (2006) and hagadone (2007) were 1st round draft picks of the red sox... chicago 2, boston 0

bottom of the 4th ... jason bay fouls out along the 1st base line ... bailey singles to left ... cora flies out to right ... kevin cash singles to left ... bailey moves to 2nd ... jacoby singles to right ... jeff bailey scores ... cash moves around to 3rd ... jed lowrie bats and jacoby steals 2nd ... after a long at bat lowrie strikes out swinging ... chicago 2, boston 1

top of the 5th ... crede strikes out swinging ... hall pops out to first ... cabrera flies out to kotsay in right ... chicago 2, boston 1

bottom of the 5th ... ortiz grounds out to shortstop ... pedroia grounds out to short ... kotsay grounds out to second ... a very quick and quiet inning for chicago starter gavin floyd ... where would the 2008 white sox be without carlos quentin and gavin floyd ... chicago stole the 25 year old quentin from arizona in 12/2007 for a minor leaguer of no renown... quentin has only hit 36 home runs <> scored 96 runs <> knocked in 100 runs <> with an ops of .972 <> and put himself in the middle of every mvp conversation ... gavin floyd was aquired by the white sox in the trade that sent starting pitcher fredie garcia to philadelphia on 12/2006 ... and he has become the white sox top starter this season ... pitching 160+ innings with a 14-6 record and 3.70 era ... chicago 2, boston 1

top of the 6th ... swisher flies out to right ... quentin grounds out to short ... jim thome hits a ground rule double to left ... as wake pitches to konerko, manny delcarmen is warming in the red sox bullpen ... konerko doubles to left ... thome scores ... griffey, jr strikes out swinging ... inning over and wakefield's day is most likely over ... the red sox will continue to be cautious with wakefield after his recent shoulder soreness ... chicago 3, boston 1

bottom of the 6th ... jbay strikes out ... bailey grounds out to short ... cora grounds out to first ... after 3 straight offensive outbursts against the white sox (5-1, 8-0 and 8-2) ... gavin floyd has quieted red sox bats on 96 pitches so far this afternoon ... being this is the last day teams can trade for players who have cleared waivers in august before playoff eligible rosters are frozen on 9/1 ... it wouldn't surprise me if the red sox added depth at shortstop (david eckstein or omar visquel) or in the bullpen ... we shall know soon enough ... chicago 3, boston 1

top of the 7th ... manny delcarmen has replaced wake to pitch the seventh ... tim wakefield's pitching line for the day <> 6 innings <> 6 hits <> 3 runs <> 0 walks <> 3 strikeouts <> 82 pitches ... certainly a good enough performance for a win if his teammates can score some runs ... ramirez grounds out to short ... crede grounds out to second ... hall grounds out to third ... 8 pitches ... 3 soft ground balls ... 3 outs ... the seemingly inconsistent manny delcarmen does his job perfectly for the second day in a row ... chicago 3, boston 1

bottom of the 7th ... cash starts the seventh striking out swinging ... ellsbury works a walk ... lowrie flies out to left ... big papi on his way to the plate ... ozzie guillen on his way to the mound ... gavin floyds day will end here ... ozzie will make the move to lefty matt thornton to pitch to the left handed hitting ortiz ... with david hitting, jacoby steals second for the 2nd time today ... big papi strikes out looking <> the pitching line for gavin smith's outstanding day <> 6.2 innings <> 7 hits <> 1 run <> 2 walks <> 5 strikeouts <> 109 pitches ... back on 7/31/2004 ... theo epstein traded nomar garciaparra ... the face of the franchise and it's veteran offensive superstar ... traded to the chicago cubs ... gone from the boston clubhouse was the sullen, miserable presence of a player who hated the boston media and felt oppressed by red sox fans ... the red sox went on to go 21-7 in a nomar-less august ... and we all know the rest of the story ... on 7/31/2008 ... theo epstein traded manny ramirez ... 1/2 of one of the most prolific run producing tandems in baseball history ... traded to the los angeles dodgers ... gone from the clubhouse was the fun loving but unique presence of a player who had once again become unreliable and unstable in the eyes of his teammates ... and the red sox will end this august with 18 or 19 wins ... team chemistry does matter ... chicago 3, boston 1

top of the 8th ... delcarmen will start a second inning of work ... orlando cabrera starts off by flying out to center ... nick swisher lines out suddenly to delcarmen ... that line drive found manny's glove just in front of his right ear ... carlos quentin walks ... thome strikes out swinging after being ahead in the count 3-0 ... win or lose today, the red sox will finish august 18-9 or 19-8 ... and they played the entire month without former left fielder and slam dunk first ballot hall of famer manny ramirez (traded) ... without starting shortstop julio lugo (dl)... and without reserves (depth) pitcher craig hansen (traded) and outfielder brandon moss (traded) ... they played much of the month without starting third baseman and world series mvp mikie lowell (dl)... without all star mvp and starting right fielder jd drew (dl) ... without starting pitchers tim wakefield (dl) and ace josh beckett (dl) ... and without reserve infielder sean casey (dl)... his hankness should take note down in new york ... see hankie, injuries are a part of the game ... they happen ... well managed teams don't whine about injuries ... they don't quit because of injuries ... well managed teams manage injuries ... they overcome injuries and go on to succeed ... they succeed because they can call on the depth of the farm system (see justin masterson, jed lowrie, clay buchholz, michael bowden and david pauley) ... and add depth via trade as needed (see paul byrd and mark kotsay) ... chicago 3, boston 1

bottom of the 8th ... ozzie will go with octavio dotel on the mound ... pd leads off the inning with a walk ... the red sox have masterson and papelbon now working in the bullpen ... kotsay lines out to left field ... with jason bay at bat, pd steals second for the 2nd time today ... jbay strikes out looking ... bailey strikes out looking ... chicago 3, boston 1

top of the 9th ... justin masterson will pitch the ninth for the red sox ... konerko singles to right ... ken griffey, jr grounds into double play (4-6-3) ... ramirez reaches on bunt single down 3rd base line ... crede doubles to left ... ramirez scores after close play at home ... hall grounds out to cora at short ... with bobby jenks and his 26 saves most likely to pitch the 9th ... the red sox may well lose this one ... if they do ... they will finish august 18-9 ... 5 1/2 games behind the rays who are leading baltimore 10-1 at the moment ... 7 games ahead of the yankees who are losing 6-2 to roy halliday and his blue jays ... and 2 1/2 games ahead of chicago / 3 games ahead of minnesota (assuming they don't let oakland sweep them today) in the race for the wild card ... chicago 4, boston 1

bottom of the 9th ... white sox closer bobby jenks will to win this one for the white sox ... alex cora starts off with a walk ... jonathan van every will pinch hit for cash ... with coco crisp still down with the flu (along with youkilis and beckett) outfielder van every replaced michael bowden on the roster this morning ... van every strikes out looking ... i'd say staring at strike 3 in the bottom of the 9th inning is not what the red sox were looking for from a 28 year old rookie with 4 major league at bats ... you gotta swing at the ball to hit it son ... jacoby singles to right ... cora moves around to 3rd base ... jed lowrie bats and jacoby moves to second on "defensive indifference" ... it is not his 3rd stolen base of the day ... lowrie grounds out to second ... cora scores ... ellsbury moves to third ... so this one will come down to ortiz vs jenks ... big papi walks ... coco comes in to run for ortiz ... now the battle will move to pedroia vs jenks ... cleanup hitter dustin pedroia ... pedroia lines out down the left field line ... game over ... white sox win ... i'm now 0-2 following games here ... so, i'm done ... chicago 4, boston 2 ... winning pitcher <> gavin floyd (15-6) ... losing pitcher <> tim wakefield (8-9)

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