Red Sox interested in Marlon Byrd

 

ESPN's Buster Olney believes that the Red Sox and Nationals could have interest in trading for Marlon Byrd.

The Cubs are in a rebuilding mode, and Byrd is entering the final year of a three-year contract that will guarantee him $6.5 million this season. Olney mentions that Byrd could be used as one piece of the Theo Epstein compensation with the Red Sox, but that is not considered likely to happen. Coming off a disappointing season, he would satisfy a short-term need for the Nationals  stats

Sox sign Hill to Minor League deal

 

 

Rich Hill's minor league contract has a prorated salary of $725,000 in the majors.

Hill was non-tendered earlier this month, but Boston decided to bring him back even though he underwent Tommy John surgery in June. He is not expected to be available until the middle of the 2012 season, or later.   stats

Buckner returns to Cubs organization

CHICAGO -- Bill Buckner is back with the Cubs.

Buckner, 62, was officially named the Class A Boise hitting coach on Friday. He returned to coaching last season as the manager of the Brockton Rox, and led the team to a 51-42 record in the independent CanAm League.

Buckner replaces Desi Wilson, who was named the hitting coach for the Cubs' Class A Daytona team.

Buckner rejoins the Cubs for the first time since playing for the big league team from 1977 to 1984. He won the 1980 National League batting crown and earned a spot in the 1981 All-Star Game. A 22-year veteran, he was the White Sox hitting coach in 1996 and 1997, and also was a hitting coach in the Blue Jays' Minor League system.

Buckner played for the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, Angels and Royals, hitting .289 with 174 career home runs and 1,208 RBIs. He played in two World Series: 1974, with the Dodgers, and 1986, with the Red Sox.

Red Sox pick up option on scutaro

As expected, the Boston Red Sox on Sunday picked up shortstop Marco Scutaro's $6 million team option for 2012.

Scutaro, who had a $3 million player option if the Red Sox had passed, hit a career-best .299 for the season with seven homers and 54 RBIs. He also posted a .358 on-base percentage and a .423 slugging percentage, both career highs.

He was one of the few Red Sox players to step up their game during the team's 7-20 September slide. Scutaro hit .387 in the final month of the season, third best in the American League. Over the last 10 years, only Manny Ramirez (.396 in 2002) and David Ortiz (.396 in 2007) have posted a higher September average for Boston. The strong final month gave Scutaro a .781 OPS that rivaled his final season in Toronto, which is considered to be the best of his career.

"Scutaro had a really good year and we believe he'd be very coveted this offseason if he got into the market," general manager Ben Cherington said at his introductory press conference last week.

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Pedroia goes for a ride at Disney

The Red Sox are apparently a bunch of beer-guzzlin' goons. But here's wholesome second baseman Dustin Pedroia, enjoying a ride at Disney with his buddy, Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier.
Pedroia and Ethier were college teammates and remain good friends. Their families often vacation together. This does not necessarily mean Andre will play for the Red Sox someday. But it doesn't hurt.

Ben Cherington takes over

New Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington: 'There will be changes'

Three hours after the Cubs introduced former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein as their new team president, the Red Sox today introduced Ben Cherington as the team's 11th general manager in a press conference at Fenway Park. Cherington takes over during a trying time for the Red Sox organization, but he also takes over for one of the most successful executives in team history.

"We've let our fans down in some important ways recently," said Cherington, who sat on the podium next to Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino. "The last few weeks have been painful and difficult. But what I'm left with is an incredible conviction that the Red Sox will be the best organization in baseball."

Cherington wished Epstein well and said it would be his job to balance what the Red Sox already do well with a need to move forward from a troublesome year.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/10/red_sox_to_intr.html

Adrian's two blasts pave the way to 11-4 win

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Adrian Gonzalez homered twice, Jacoby Ellsbury made an immediate impact in his return to the lineup and the Boston Red Sox finally won a game in Texas with an 11-5 victory Tuesday night.

Ellsbury led off the game with a single, stole second base and scored on the first homer by Gonzalez, putting the Red Sox ahead to stay. The All-Star center fielder had missed three straight games after getting hit in the back with a pitch. click here to continue

Sox rained out.

Red Sox have been rained out in Boston. As we all know, early April weather can be brutal at times. Heavy rains and winds today. I was all set to make some Philly cheese steaks today. Would have had to pick up some fresh rolls this morning. Philly Cheese Steaks are not part of Boston tradition, but I just wanted to have my favorite food on opening day.

Every so often, we'll cook up some Italian Sausages and load em up with onions and peppers during the games... reminding us of those great sausage sandwiches a number of food vendors sell outside 'Fenway Pock'. They smell so delicious. I guess that I'll get stuck watching the Yankees this afternoon and rooting against them, of course. True Red Sox fans really despise the Yankees and I am no exception.

Eliza Dushku Naked in Nobel Sun

Some great news today out of Hollywood. Apparently Eliza Dushku will be taking her clothes off in the indie movie Nobel Sun coming out on Friday (3 weeks ago). Dushku has long been a favorite of ours, but she’s even more exciting these days as she prepares to star in Joss Whedon’s new show Dollhouse, which starts up this coming February.

We’re sure some photos will pop up on the net. But until then here is one of our favorite Eliza Dushku pictures:

Eliza is the girlfriend/former girlfriend of newly acquired hurler, Brad Penney for the Red Sox.

Sox sign agreement to stay in Fort Myers for 30 years

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox will keep their spring training home in the Fort Myers area for 30 more years after signing an agreement on Saturday with Lee County, Fla.

The Red Sox have played in the 7,290-seat City of Palms Park since moving from Winter Haven in 1993, selling out 73 straight spring training games there. The team had a buyout that would have allowed it to leave in 2010, and it talked with Sarasota about moving to the Cincinnati Reds' former home.

Instead, the Red Sox and Lee County will work together on a new complex that would open in 2012. The Lee County Commissioners approved the plan this week.

Red Sox back in first

Before the Red Sox began their series against the Minnesota Twins last Monday (July 7) it looked like the battle for the Wild Card was about to start. They were 5 games in back of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Sox swept the Twins and took two out of three; the Rays meanwhile ran off on a six-game losing streak, coming back down to earth. The Red Sox ended Sunday ahead of the Rays by 1/2 game. Amazing.

Tough Week ahead for Sox

Hopefully, it'll be a tougher week for the Tampa Bay Rays and the N.Y. Yankees.

The Red Sox have come to a critical juncture this coming week. Having tail-spinned into second place, 1/2 game behind the Rays and 5 games ahead of the week, the Red Sox are in what amounts to must-win situations. They Rays just will not go away and apparently, they are for real. The Yankees are close behind and making a run at the Red Sox, who will play 4 important games in Yankee Stadium

Monday's matchup:

Boston Red Sox (50-34) at Tampa Bay Rays (49-32) .... Rookie Justin Masterson (4-1 3.43) goes up against James Shields (5-5 3.76) for the Rays. Big Papi is still on the DL, where it looks like he will remain until after the All Star break. Pedroia is smokin, J. D. Drew has done a great job taking Ortiz' place in the 3 spot and has had a great month...Youk has been hot at times. Manny has cooled off the past couple weeks, but he put one out today and our pitching staff is okay at times, middle relief being the big problem right now.

Red Sox Players losing ground in All-Star Voting

Get your Ya-Ya's out, people!!

The Red Sox haven't exactly lost their grip. But as indicated by the latest weekly voting update, announced Monday afternoon, they have lost two significant edges, and their hold on a couple of other positions is looser. At catcher, Minnesota's Joe Mauer culminated a furious charge of several weeks by finally overtaking Boston's Jason Varitek. A 323,000-vote week catapulted Mauer into a 44,775 lead over the Red Sox veteran.

Meanwhile, Derek Jeter zipped past David Ortiz to grab the lead in overall votes. The Yankees captain attracted more than 424,000 votes last week to jump his total to 1,988,251, giving him a slim lead of fewer than 6,000 over the Boston designated hitter. Ortiz extended his lead at DH to more than 750,000 votes over the Yankees' Hideki Matsui, and while three of Big Papi's teammates also maintained their position leads, they are shrinking.

At first base, Kevin Youkilis' edge over Mauer's teammate, Justin Morneau, is down to fewer than 270,000. At second base, Texas' Ian Kinsler made up more than 50,000 votes on Dustin Pedroia to creep within 166,000. And among the outfield leaders, No. 1 Manny Ramirez continues to lead the Rangers' Josh Hamilton, but his cushion is down to less than 126,000 votes

Jon Lester's last 11 starts

Jon Has Gone 5-1 with a 2.13 ERA in His Last 11 Outings

.................score.IP H R E W K
Jun 22..St.Lo....W 5-3 7.1 9 2 2 1 3
Jun 17..at PHIL..W 3-0 7.0 6 0 0 1 5
Jun 12..BAL......W 9-2 7.0 7 2 2 1 3
Jun 5...TB.......W 7-1 6.1 8 1 1 0 5
May 31..at BAL...W 6-3 5.0 7 2 2 3 4
May 25..at Oak...L 6-3 5.0 7 4 3 2 3
May 19..KC.......W 7-0 9.0 0 0 0 2 9
May 14..at Bal...L 6-3 6.0 5 2 2 2 4
May 9...at MIN...L 7-6 5.1 8 5 3 1 2
May 4...TB.......W 7-3 6.0 4 1 1 3 5
Apr 29..TOR......W 1-0 8.0 1 0 0 4 6

Youkilis Hits Walk-off in 13th; Sox Win 5-3

June 22, 2008. BOSTON, MA Kevin Youkilis socked his second home run of the game in the bottom half of the 13th inning, giving the Red Sox a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. After leading off the 10th, 11th and 12th innings with doubles and failing to score, Kevin You-Killed-Us hit a two-run home run off of Mike Parisi in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday.

The Red Sox avoided being swept in a series at home for the first time since losing two contests to the Blue Jays last April. The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead in the top of the 13th off Javier Lopez(2-0), but Chris Duncan was thrown out at home plate by Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew trying to score on Adam Kennedy's base hit. "He hit the ball hard enough to be able field it on a nice run," Drew said. "I was surprised to see him going and it wound up that it was a nice hop to Tek and he had time to duck under."

After the Red Sox scored twice in the eighth to take a 3-2 lead, the Cardinals tied the game in the ninth off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who blew his fourth save opportunity of the season. After striking out the first two Cardinals he faced, Duncan drew a walk and Adam Kennedy doubled to center to tie the game at 3. Joel Pineiro, who hasn't won since April 29, gave up two runs and seven hits over seven-plus innings. In his last three starts, Pineiro has allowed only five earned runs over 19 innings. Lester was nearly as good as Pineiro, allowing nine hits over 7 1/3 innings. It was his 11th straight start in which he has held his opponent to three earned runs or fewer.

This Day in Red Sox History

June 22, 1907

The Red Sox trade Bill Dinneen to the St. Louis Browns for Beany Jacobson and $1000.

June 21, 1916

The first no-hitter ever thrown at Fenway Park was by "little George Foster, the farmer boy from Oklahoma" (as the New York Times described him). The 5'7½" Foster beat Bob Shawkey and the Yankees, 2-0. Foster walked three. The win earned Foster a $100 bonus from Red Sox President Lannin.

This Day in Red Sox History - June 16

In Red Sox history the following events occured on this date:

1982 Pitching one scoreless inning to protect a 1-0 lead, Red Sox reliever Jeff Reardon breaks Rollie Fingers' career save mark of 341.

1965 Denny McLain enters the game in relief in the first inning and strikes out the first seven batters he faces to set a major league record. The Tigers go on to beat the Red Sox, 6-5

May 26, 1976 Ken Brett (White Sox) no-hit bid end with two outs in the ninth, when third baseman Jorge Orta hopes Angels’ Jerry Remy slow roller will go foul. It doesn't and the no-hitter is lost, but George’s brotherwins game in 11th, 1-0.

Forbes Values of Baseball Teams

My Early Days as a Red Sox Fan

I was born back in 1951 in Holyoke, MA which is about 94 miles from Fenway Park. I vaguely recall going to my first games back in 1957 and I know that for two of the games, I saw the Red Sox play Kansas City and Chicago. I checked retrosheet, which lists boxscores of ALL games and I really couldn't determine which ones I first saw. They played each team 22 times back then, but I know that I went during the summertime. Back then my favorite players were Ted, Sammy White, Jackie Jenson, Frank Malzone (considered one of the top 3-4 third-baseman back then), Jimmy Piersall.

It seemed like whenever we went, we pretty much sat out there in left field (nice view of the Green Monster) and there seemed to be something like a New Hamshire Day, Connecticut day, etc. They had their 'pre-game ceremonies' which seemed to take forever for a kid 7-8 years old.

The game I remember the most? I was able to find the box score on Retrosheet, so I sure of the date, etc. I was a member of the Cub Scouts back then and on Saturday, July 11 we all went to see the Red Sox play the much-hated New York Yankees. I wasn't fully aware of the intense rivalry between these two teams yet. But there was only 24,232 people there and the Red Sox just weren't drawing the crowds they do in this era.

Starting lineups were: Yankees
RF Bauer 3B Lopez CF Mantle 1b Skowron C Berra LF Howard SS McDougald 3B Richardson P Maas

For the Red Sox:
SS Buddin CF Keough 2B Avila 1B Wertz RF Jensen LF Williams 3B Malzone C White
P Casale

So anyhow, the game was tied up 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Sox loaded the bases and Don Buddin smacked a grand slam. The place was wild. I checked the stats from the game and Jackie Jenson went 3-5, Ted went 1-3 and Vic Wertz 2-3.

The Sox were behind 3-1 in the 8th, came up with 3 runs. Ted singled and Stephens came in to run for him and then play LF, which was typical back then because Williams was aging. Tony Kubek homered in the 9th to tie it up.

RED SOX TIDBITS

• Boston has won 15 of its last 16 home games and eight of their last 10 games overall.

• Red Sox starter Justin Masterson improved to 3-0. He is the third Red Sox pitcher under 24 with three consecutive wins to start his career in the last 25 years.

• J.D. Drew hit his eighth homer of the season and in his last eight games, Drew is hitting .519 (14-for-27) with 10 runs, four homers and 10 RBIs.