As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE Red Sox fan, I will be starting this dynasty in 2005 and trying to repeat from '04, and of course going beyond that.
Opening story coming next.
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As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE Red Sox fan, I will be starting this dynasty in 2005 and trying to repeat from '04, and of course going beyond that.
Opening story coming next.
Early prediction: they come in last place :D
Just kidding. Good luck, even with that team
Red Sox look to Repeat in '05
Yes, that headline does say "Red Sox look to Repeat in '05", you are not hallucinating. For the first time in 86 years the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series, and they will look to repeat on that magic and glory in '05.
Much of the team that won it all last year is returning including Curt Schilling, the man who endeared himself to all of New England with the infamous Bloody Sock game, Trot Nixon, ALCS MVP David Ortiz, World Series MVP Manny Ramirez, Captain Jason Varitek, Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller, Gabe Kapler, Tim Wakefield, Mark Bellhorn, Keith Foulke, Doug Mirabelli, Johnny Damon, Mike Myers, and Chad Bradford.
The team does not remain completely unchanged, however. They made key off season additions in Edgar Renteria, Matt Clement, David Wells, Wade Miller, and Jay Payton. They also lost a key figure from the team in Pedro Martinez.
The team is not without its flaws and new GM John Monahan, assigned to the post after Theo Epstein retired saying his life was complete after they won it all, will likely look to resign key players like Ortiz try to add some pieces to better prepare them for what lies ahead this season and to improve the team.
AL Preview
AL EAST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - New York Yankees (98-64)
2nd - Boston Red Sox (93-69)
3rd - Baltimore Orioles (77-85)
4th - Toronto Blue Jays (76-86)
5th - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (71-91)
The Red Sox are certainly going to have to make some moves to overthrow the Evil Empire at the top of the division. If they can add a true ace that will go a long way towards toppling them however. The latter 3 teams don't figure to play a factor other than spoiler. There is a strong possibility of the AL Wild Card coming from this division in the person of either the Red Sox or the Yankees.
AL CENTRAL:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Cleveland Indians (94-68)
2nd - Chicago White Sox (82-80)
T3rd - Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers (78-84)
5th - Kansas City Royals (53-109)
The Indians should win this division handily considering the overall lack of talent throughout the rest of the division. However, look for the Twins, with Santana and Hunter, and the White Sox, under the tutelage of Ozzie Guillen, as dark horses in the division. The Royals are looking like an early favorite for the the #1 pick in next years draft and may boost the teams in their division due to divisional play and the sheer inadequacy of the team.
AL WEST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
T1st - Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A's (93-69)
3rd - Texas Rangers (76-86)
4th - Seattle Mariners (71-91)
This is going to be a dogfight between the Angels and A's all year, with a slight possibility of the Rangers playing a factor. Look for this one to go on until possibly the final week of the season without anything decided.
AL Playoff Teams based on Proj. Standings:
AL East Champions - New York Yankees
AL Central Champions - Cleveland Indians
AL West Champions - Los Angeles Angels/Oakland A's
AL Wild Card - Boston Red Sox/Oakland A's/Los Angeles Angels
NL Preview next.
NL Preview
NL EAST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Florida Marlins (92-70)
2nd - Philadelphia Phillies (89-73)
3rd - New York Mets (86-76)
4th - Atlanta Braves (84-78)
5th - Washington Nationals (76-86)
This division is wide open. Every team in the division has a shot at winning this division, even the Nationals although to the least degree, and all have very strong teams. This will be a tough division to win and a trade could swing it to one team in an instant.
NL CENTRAL:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Chicago Cubs (94-68)
2nd - Houston Astros (85-77)
3rd - St. Louis Cardinals (84-78)
4th - Pittsburgh Pirates (73-89)
T5th - Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers (64-98)
This is three horse race that could very easily become a one or two horse race if the Cubs come out smoking and the Astros and/or Cardinals struggle at first. Outside of the top three teams this is a very poor division and will likely have 3 of the top 10 picks in next year's draft.
NL WEST:
Projected standings based on Projected W-L:
1st - Arizona Diamondbacks (88-74)
2nd - San Diego Padres (83-79)
T3rd - Colorado Rockies and San Fransisco Giants (80-82)
5th - Los Angeles Dodgers (75-87)
This division is just as open as the NL East. The Diamondbacks are the clear favorites, but all the other teams in the division will be contenders and will give them a run for their money.
NL Playoff Teams Based on Proj. Standings
NL East - Florida Marlins
NL Central - Chicago Cubs
NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card - Philadelphia Phillies
The Sox are in danger of becoming the next Evil Empire.
Uhm....go Orioles? :)
Red Sox Come Out of the Gate Fast
The Red Sox have started the season off on the right foot, despite a rash of injuries. Third basemen Bill Mueller, ace starter Curt Schilling, slugger Manny Ramirez, starting right fielder Trot Nixon, starters Wade Miller and Tim Wakefield, and setup man Matt Mantei all have missed, or are missing, time due to injury, it hasn’t slowed the Red Sox at all however. After one month of play the Red Sox record stands at 16-9, 2.0 games back of their rival New York Yankees in the AL East and 2.0 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Wild Card, despite all the injury problem to their prominent players.
The Good:
-The Red Sox are getting great production from the first 3 spots of the lineup. Johnny Damon, Edgar Renteria, and David Ortiz are batting a combined .313 with 15 homers, 6 steals, 62 runs, 65 runs knocked in, and an OBP of .384.
-Rookie second basemen Hanley Ramirez has been very good. He is hitting .282 with 3 homers, 9 steals and only 1 caught stealing, 25 runs, 11 runs batted in, and an OBP of .345.
-Matt Mantei has provided a great bridge to closer Keith Foulke. He has allowed only 3 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings pitched, to earn an ERA of 2.53, and has shown he can get a K when he needs one by striking out 14 already.
The Bad and the Ugly:
-The Red Sox lineup and pitching staff have been decimated by injuries, as detailed above, and they may be in first if not for key players like Manny and Schilling having extensive injuries.
-The pitching has been downright awful. The Red Sox are carrying a team ERA of 4.97, a rotation ERA of 5.42, and a bullpen ERA of 4.87. Do not be surprised if there is a trade made to address this clear weak point of the team.
-Outside of Damon, Renteria, Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez the lineup has been downright awful. The rest of the lineup is batting a mere .221.
I'll do a league update with league and division leaders and what not tomorrow when I get home.
The Red Sox acquired 26 year old flamethrower Ben Sheets from the Milwaukee Brewers, in exchange relief prospects Craig Hansen and Cla Meredith, and starting pitcher prospects David Pauley and Lenny Dinardo and cash considerations.
Ben Sheets brings a high 90's fastball, clocked as high as 100 and sitting in the 95-97 range, a devastating 12-6 curveball, a solid sinker and a developing change. So far this season he has been very poor, with an ERA of nearly 8 and an opposing batting average of .333, but he should bounce back nicely after going 12-14 with a 2.70 ERA and 264 strikeouts last season, on a very poor Milwaukee Brewers team. He could anchor the Boston rotation for years to come.
The Brewers acquired some great prospects in the deal however. Cla Meredith operates in the low to mid 80's with his fastball, but has great movement and control with a great sinker and frisbee slider, he projects to be phenomenal closer and would be ready to relieve for a Major League team now. Dinardo has similar stuff to Meredith and projects as a solid 2 or 3 on a contending team. Pauley could become a decent 4 or 5 and Hansen has a high 90's fastball and a good slider and could become a decent closer, or a great setup or short relief pitcher.
This move was made, on the Boston side, due to the unreliability of the rest of the staff and the injury to staff ace Curt Schilling.
Ive been waiting for a Red Sox dynasty, definitely reading
I agree with that Trade 100% Very Smart Trade.Quote:
Originally Posted by YEAH DAAAAWG
I got Sheet to the Sox in 1 of my 2000 Red Sox Game in 2000:)
League Summary
http://www.whitesox1.de/images/mlb-logo.jpg
AL Division Standings:
AL EAST
New York Yankees (18-7)
Boston Red Sox (16-9) 2 GB
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (11-14) 7 GB
Toronto Blue Jays (10-16) 8.5 GB
Baltimore Orioles (8-17) 10 GB
AL CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox (15-10)
Cleveland Indians (14-11) 1 GB
Detroit Tigers (13-12) 2 GB
Minnesota Twins (10-15) 5 GB
Kansas City Royals (10-15) 5 GB
AL WEST
Seattle Mariners (17-8)
Oakland A's (14-11) 3 GB
Texas Rangers (11-15) 6.5 GB
Los Angeles Angels (9-16) 8 GB
AL WILD CARD
Boston Red Sox (16-9)
Cleveland Indians (14-11) 2 GB
Oakland A's (14-11) 2 GB
Detroit Tigers (13-12) 3 GB
NL Division Standings:
NL EAST
Washington Nationals (14-11)
New York Mets (14-11)
Atlanta Braves (12-13) 2 GB
Philadelphia Phillies (12-13) 2 GB
Florida Marlins (10-15) 4 GB
NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals (16-7)
Chicago Cubs (14-11) 3 GB
Cincinnati Reds (13-11) 3.5 GB
Houston Astros (13-11) 3.5 GB
Pittsburgh Pirates (10-15) 7 GB
Milwaukee Brewers (9-15) 7.5 GB
NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks (17-8)
Los Angeles Dodgers (13-11) 3.5 GB
San Fransisco Giants (13-11) 3.5 GB
San Diego Padres (10-15) 7 GB
Colorado Rockies (6-18) 10.5 GB
There are a few surprises of note after a month of play, most notably the success of the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners were projected to finish 71-91 at the beginning of the season and finish last in the division, so far this season they are 17-8, tied for the second best record in baseball behind the Yankees, and lead their division and are already nearly 1/3 of the way to their projected number of wins. It may be a fluke, however, since they have a team ERA near 6 and are outscoring their opponents by only 7 runs and their Pythagorean W-L is only 13-12, it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up. Also surprising is the inadequacy of the Los Angeles Angels. They were projected to finish tied for first in the division and have one of the bottom five records in baseball and sit at 24th in the Power Rankings.
Team Stats After One Month
Pitching Stats:
HTML Code:Player Name W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA Team Starts
Clement, Matt 3 3 6.39 38.0 32 0 0 .273 BOS 7
Wells, David 3 1 5.81 31.0 16 3 0 .321 BOS 2
Papelbon, Jonathan 2 1 5.00 18.0 14 1 0 .278 BOS 0
Bradford, Chad 2 0 3.71 17.0 9 0 0 .258 BOS 1
Sheets, Ben 1 2 7.71 18.2 22 0 0 .333 BOS 4
Miller, Wade 1 1 4.70 23.0 25 0 0 .261 BOS 4
Arroyo, Bronson 1 1 4.22 32.0 24 0 0 .288 BOS 5
Wakefield, Tim 1 0 2.25 8.0 7 0 0 .185 BOS 1
Myers, Mike 1 0 5.40 13.1 10 0 0 .283 BOS 0
Foulke, Keith 0 1 5.40 11.2 13 5 0 .277 BOS 1
Mantei, Matt 0 1 2.53 10.2 14 0 0 .211 BOS 0
Batting Stats:
HTML Code:Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS
Kapler, Gabe BOS 18 8 2 9 .444 .474 .889 0 0
Mirabelli, Doug BOS 5 2 0 1 .400 .400 .400 0 0
Millar, Kevin BOS 100 35 3 28 .350 .414 .540 0 0
Payton, Jay BOS 81 28 3 14 .346 .384 .531 3 0
Damon, Johnny BOS 112 37 3 22 .330 .385 .536 4 1
Renteria, Edgar BOS 97 31 2 14 .320 .394 .474 2 0
Ortiz, David BOS 104 30 10 29 .288 .373 .644 0 0
Ramirez, Hanley BOS 103 29 3 11 .282 .345 .427 9 1
Youkilis, Kevin BOS 61 17 0 8 .279 .348 .344 0 0
Varitek, Jason BOS 99 21 3 13 .212 .284 .354 0 0
Nixon, Trot BOS 81 16 4 12 .198 .327 .370 0 0
Ramirez, Manny BOS 15 1 0 0 .067 .176 .067 1 0
Bellhorn, Mark BOS 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0
Olerud, John BOS 12 0 0 1 .000 .333 .000 0
Red Sox and Ortiz Agree to 5 Year Extension
The Boston Red Sox and David Ortiz have agreed to a 5 year contract extension. The deal is reportedly worth an estimated 10.2 million dollars per year over the next 5 years with a limited no-trade clause.
Ortiz was an integral part of the Championship team last year and has become one of the most feared hitter in baseball since joining the Red Sox. He won the ALCS MVP with his clutch and walkoff hits to help the Red Sox come back against the hated New York Yankees in historic fashion, becoming the first team in Major League history to rally from a 3-0 series deficit to win the series, and batted .301 with 41 homers and 139 RBI's in the regular season.
By the way, feel free to ask questions concerning this dynasty and the league and I'll try to answer them ;) :).
Ken Griffey Jr. Traded to the Bronx; Delgado Headed to the Braves
In a rather surprising deal the Cincinnati Reds have sent star outfielder, and future Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr. to the New York Yankees for top second base prospect Robinson Cano. Griffey was hitting almost .380 with the Reds at the time of the trade and has struggled since joining the Bombers. Cano is a great prospect who will be ready by the end of the year and projects as a high batting average guy.
In another deal, the Braves acquired first basemen Carlos Delgado, pitcher Valerio de los Santos, second basemen Luis Castillo, and SS Alex Gonzalez, in exchange for pitchers Mike Hampton and Macay McBride, and outfielder Brian Jordan. This is a great deal for Atlanta, they acquire 3 All-Star caliber players for an oft injured and overpaid Hampton, a no better than solid RP, and an old washed up Brian Jordan.
Red Sox Pull Into First, Lose Sheets
The Red Sox pulled into first place into the AL East on the strength of a 20-8 mark in April and a 3 game sweep of the Yankees at the end of the month. They continue to have to play with injuries to important players on the team. In the past month new staff ace Ben Sheets was injured with a chipped knee cap, he had been dominant since coming to Boston posting a 2-0 record with a 2.45 ERA a CG and 23 K's in 22 innings, along with starting right fielder Trot Nixon, Sheet's replacement David Wells, and reliever Alan Embree. With third basemen Bill Mueller and Curt Schilling continuing their stays on the DL. Trot Nixon is due back in 8 days, Mueller in 4, Sheets in about two weeks, and Schilling will be out for about another month. Even despite all the injury problems they continue to be a dominant team and sit atop the division by two games, this will be a team to truly fear once everyone gets healthy and steps back into their roles.
The Good:
- Whats better than grabbing first place in the division?
- The 1-5 in the lineup is killer. Johnny Damon, Edgar Renteria, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Kevin Millar are hitting a combined .300, with 41 homers, 12 steals, 163 runs, and 177 RBI's. The rest of the lineup has been solid also.
- The pitching has vastly improved, on a whole, also. The team ERA is just above 4, as opposed to near 5 at the end of last month.
The Bad and The Ugly:
- INJURIES. 5 opening day players are currently on the DL, along with recently acquired ace Ben Sheets.
- Despite great improvement to the pitching, some are still struggle. Matt Clement has an ERA over 5.50 and Mike Myers has an ERA over 7 out of the 'pen.
- The replacements to the injured are not playing well, for the most part. Wakefield has done well filling in for injures starters, but the hitters haven't fared so well, hitting barely .250 with 3 homers 24 RBI's.
League Summary
http://www.whitesox1.de/images/mlb-logo.jpg
AL Division Standings:
AL EAST
Boston Red Sox (35-17)
New York Yankees (32-19) 2.5 GB
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (26-27) 9.5 GB
Toronto Blue Jays (21-31) 14 GB
Baltimore Orioles (17-35) 18 GB
AL CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox (29-24)
Cleveland Indians (26-25) 2 GB
Minnesota Twins (25-26) 3 GB
Detroit Tigers (20-31) 8 GB
Kansas City Royals (18-33) 10 GB
AL WEST
Texas Rangers (29-22)
Oakland A's (28-23) 1 GB
Seattle Mariners (27-24) 2 GB
Los Angeles Angels (9-16) 5.5 GB
AL WILD CARD
New York Yankees (32-19)
Oakland A's (28-23) 4 GB
Seattle Mariners (27-24) 5 GB
Cleveland Indians (26-25) 6 GB
NL Division Standings:
NL EAST
Washington Nationals (28-24)
Atlanta Braves (27-24) .5 GB
New York Mets (26-26) 2 GB
Philadelphia Phillies (26-26) 2 GB
Florida Marlins (23-28) 4.5 GB
NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals (32-19)
Houston Astros (31-21) 1.5 GB
Cincinnati Reds (27-25) 5.5 GB
Chicago Cubs (25-26) 7 GB
Pittsburgh Pirates (23-25) 9.5 GB
Milwaukee Brewers (21-30) 11 GB
NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks (32-20)
San Diego Padres (27-25) 5 GB
Los Angeles Dodgers (24-27) 7.5 GB
San Fransisco Giants (23-27) 8 GB
Colorado Rockies (21-31) 11 GB
Maybe you should sign John Olerud!
He was on the roster to begin with. But Millar has been smoking this season, .343 BA (leads team), 7 HR's (2nd behind Ortiz, who has 19, on the team), and 41 RBI's (also second to Ortiz, who has 48), .412 OBP (leads team), so he hasn't hardly seen the field at all.
A Look at the Draft
The Boston Red Sox had a strong draft. They added a possible front of the rotation starter, a solid looking 1B, and a solid looking RP.
The Crown Jewel of the draft was easily Cornelius Farmer (56/97). He is a 17 year old left handed starter who can touch 100MPH but sits in the 96-98 range. He is still very young so he doesn't have another standout pitch, but his secondary pitches consist of a circle change and a sidearm curveball. He projects as an ace pitcher who will strike a lot of guys out. The thing that may prevent him from reaching his potential is poor control and movement, but he is still young and he will look to correct that, and lack of a good secondary pitch, which will come in time.
Second round pick Simon Nielsen (56/82) looks like he could become a solid 1B. He has offensive upside, but his defense is very poor and may lead to a career as a DH or a switch to the outfield or possibly catcher. He has good power potential, in particular, and could become a consistent 30 homer guy.
Fourth rounder Scott Wedge (60/85) is a lefty reliever that sits in the low 90's with his fastball, but he brings a devastating curve to the table along with a developing circle change. He looks like he could be a decent closer, but an excellent setup or short relief man.
PS - I didn't do any of the draft except the first round. I wanted to but I had it in commish mode, my scouting is horrible and I didn't want to mess up the draft, and I forgot that it made me select for the other teams and I didn't feel like doing that.
Uh, the computer is horrible at drafting for the human. Last time I played, it was the draft and I did the first round and skipped the rest. For my second pick, the AI picked some catcher who was like 61/73.
Team Stats After Two Months
Team Batting Stats:
HTML Code:Player Name Team AB H HR RBI Avg OBP SLG SB CS
Damon, Johnny BOS 245 76 5 42 .310 .382 .461 9 4
Ortiz, David BOS 237 61 20 52 .257 .342 .570 0 0
Renteria, Edgar BOS 227 64 6 28 .282 .356 .432 4 4
Millar, Kevin BOS 222 78 7 47 .351 .417 .527 1 0
Ramirez, Hanley BOS 221 56 5 20 .253 .310 .407 14 1
Varitek, Jason BOS 200 46 9 34 .230 .322 .425 0 0
Ramirez, Manny BOS 121 36 5 24 .298 .415 .512 1 0
Youkilis, Kevin BOS 112 30 1 14 .268 .382 .357 0 0
Payton, Jay BOS 100 33 3 16 .330 .362 .490 4 0
Kapler, Gabe BOS 95 25 2 14 .263 .327 .400 1 2
Mueller, Bill BOS 39 15 1 6 .385 .467 .513 0 0
Olerud, John BOS 25 4 0 5 .160 .432 .200 0 0
Mirabelli, Doug BOS 23 5 0 3 .217 .357 .261 0 0
Stern, Adam BOS 4 1 0 1 .250 .250 .250 0
Team Pitching Stats:
HTML Code:Player Name Team Starts W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA
Clement, Matt BOS 13 4 3 5.85 72.1 60 0 0 .276
Arroyo, Bronson BOS 11 4 2 4.46 70.2 49 0 0 .271
Miller, Wade BOS 10 4 2 3.62 64.2 52 0 0 .240
Wells, David BOS 3 5 2 5.07 49.2 24 3 0 .291
Sheets, Ben BOS 7 3 2 4.87 40.2 45 0 1 .283
Wakefield, Tim BOS 6 3 2 3.96 38.2 26 0 0 .245
Papelbon, Jon BOS 0 4 1 3.21 33.2 28 2 0 .200
Bradford, Chad BOS 3 4 0 3.62 32.1 22 0 0 .225
Foulke, Keith BOS 2 2 2 3.64 29.2 26 13 0 .233
Myers, Mike BOS 0 2 3 8.44 26.2 14 0 0 .351
Mantei, Matt BOS 0 0 2 5.04 25.0 26 0 0 .265
Schilling, Curt BOS 4 2 0 5.32 23.2 22 0 0 .288
Gonzalez, Geremi BOS 0 0 1 4.42 18.1 6 1 0 .164
Halama, John BOS 1 1 0 3.68 7.1 6 0 0 .192
Embree, Alan BOS 1 0 0 1.69 5.1 5 0 0 .158
Sox Lose Renteria for 4 1/2 Months
Injuries continue to burn the Red Sox, and first year Red Sox player is just the first in a long line of players to get hit with one. Renteria will miss the next 4 1/2 months, 132 days precisely, due to severe elbow tendonitis in his throwing arm.
In Renteria's first season as a member of the Red Sox, after signing as a Free Agent, he was hitting .277, with 7 homers and 34 RBI's, both more than half what he had last season in only 68 games.
Red Sox All-star Break Report
All-Star Break Summary:
Exactly one week after the All-Star break the Red Sox sit at 55-37 with a one game lead over their rival New York Yankees, after splitting a 4 game series with them directly after the All-star Break.
The Red Sox have managed to stay afloat in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, despite having a new injury literally almost every other week to a key contributor, largely due to the contributions of designated hitter David Ortiz, center fielder Johnny Damon, left fielder Manny Ramirez, first basemen Kevin Millar, and third basemen Bill Mueller. Damon, Ortiz, Ramirez, Millar, and Mueller are hitting a combined .323 with 67 homers, 284 runs, 296 RBI's, and an OBP of .407 on the season, which accounts for more than half of the team's run production, while no one else in the starting lineup is hitting better than .264.
The pitching has been a whole different animal. Besides Papelbon, Foulke, Delcarmen, and Bradford in the 'pen the pitching has been downright miserable, to the tune of a 4.83 team ERA, thus far. Prior to getting injured recently Wade Miller had been the only starting pitcher on the team with an ERA below 4.00, with a 3.93 mark. The starting rotation has a collective ERA of over 5.00 and the bullpen has an ERA of 4.57. However, much of that could be attributed to injuries. Opening day starter Curt Schilling missed about 2 months to start the season with a broken tibia, and was pitching quite well before the injury, has been shaky since returning from the DL, Ben Sheets, acquired in a trade with Milwaukee after the Schilling injury, was pitching wonderfully, with an ERA of just above 2, since joining the Red Sox until he got knocked to the DL with a chipped knee cap has been average at best since returning. Starters Matt Clement, David Wells, Tim Wakefield, and Wade Miller have also missed time this season due to injury and were replaced by journeymen starter Geremi Gonzalez and John Halama, or one another. The bullpen, on the other hand, has been fairly reliable, despite the high bullpen ERA. Closer Keith Foulke has 18 saves with a 3.49 ERA, rookies Jon Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen have respective ERA's of 4.01 and 2.89, and Chad Bradford has an ERA of 3.89. The rest of the bullpen has been quite mediocre, however. Matt Mantei has an ERA over 5.00, and the last spot in the bullpen has been juggled by Alan Embree, Tim Wakefield, Mike Myers, John Halama, and Geremi Gonzalez, none of whom have done well. Look for the Red Sox to try to add yet another starting pitcher, in addition to Sheets, before the deadline.
The Red Sox have also gotten key contributions from rookies Hanley Ramirez, Jon Papelbon, and Manny Delcarmen. American League Rookie of the Year award contender Hanley Ramirez is hitting .245 with 6 homers, 19 stolen bags, and 60 runs from the 9 spot in the batting order, and is almost functioning as a second leadoff man due to the steals and runs hes piling up. While Papelbon and Delcarmen have ERA's of 4.01 and 2.89, respectively, to combine for an ERA of 3.45, along with a combined 70 IP, 54 K's, and an opposing batting average of only .240, out of the 'pen.
Team MVP at the half: David Ortiz (.276BA/27HR/84RBI/.361OBP) and Johnny Damon (.326BA/11HR/14SB/87R/61RBI/.391OBP)
Without the both of these two in the lineup the Red Sox would be no where near where they are now. Damon has been a key part to Ortiz being able to drive in runs, and Ortiz has been key to Damon scoring, thats why they both earn the award.
Team Cy Young at the half: No one.
The pitching has been downright awful, no one is deserving of this award right now.
Team RoY at the half: Hanley Ramirez (.245BA/6HR/19SB/60R/38RBI/.307OBP)
Hanley has been like a second leadoff man at the bottom of the order with all his steals and runs. Manny Delcarmen has the better stats, relative to being a pitcher, but only has 18 IP so far.
Sox Lose Miller; Acquire Perez
A few days after finding out that they would be without Wade Miller for most, if not all, of the regular season with severe elbow tendonitis in his throwing arm, the Red Sox made a deal to acquire southpaw starter Odalis Perez from the Dodgers. The Red Sox will send RF Trot Nixon (83), RP's Matt Mantei (82) and Alan Embree (79), and OF prospect David Murphy (69/80) to the Dodgers for lefty starter Odalis Perez (83) and prized SP prospect Theo Albermarle (51/93).
Perez's contract expires after the season and at the time of the trade he is 6-5 with a 4.55 ERA and 76K's in 97 IP. Perez should provide some solid innings from the #5 spot in the rotation for the remained of the season. Albermarle joins Cornelius Farmer as the top two prospects, both pitchers, in the Red Sox organization.
Nixon had been relegated to the bench, with Kevin Youkilis forcing his way into the lineup as the starting RF'er, and Mantei had been unspectacular after starting strong, while Embree was toiling away in AAA. Murphy is not considered to be a high ceiling prospect and is still at least a year away.
In what should be the Red Sox final trade of the season they acquired sidearming, left handed relief pitcher Brian Fuentes from the Colorado Rockies for pitching prospects Kason Gabbard and Abe Alvarez, and 25 year old outfielder Adam Stern.
Gabbard projects as a solid #2 or #3 starter, while Alvarez projects as more of a #4 or #5. Stern is probably a 4th outfielder or pinch runner at best.
The Red Sox haven't let go of the division lead since gaining back approximately two months ago, and they now have the biggest lead they've had all season at 4 full games over the second place New York Yankees, despite playing barely .500 (28-24) ball over the past two months. The development of the lead has is due, in large part, to the strength of the offense. The Red Sox rank 3rd in the AL in team batting average (.284), 2nd in homers (129), 1st in runs scored (653), 1st in OBP (.365), 1st in runs scored per game (6.27), 1st in OPS (.879), and 2nd in SLG% (.464). The pitching, in comparison, has been rather abysmal, they rank 7th, out of 14 teams in the AL, in ERA (4.86) and runs allowed (532). Despite the pitching woes the Red Sox are projected to finish 96-66 and tie Philly for the best record in the Majors.
The Good:
- The team is beginning to get healthy and could be poised for a big run to make the lead insurmountable.
- The bullpen has been good, despite the struggles of the starting rotation, and have a cumulative ERA of 3.99, good for 5th in the AL.
- Odalis Perez has been solid since coming to Boston. Since joining the Red Sox he is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 15 K's in 14 IP.
The Bad and The Ugly:
- The rotation has been simply awful. They have a 5.02 rotation ERA, which ranks them 8th in the AL out of 14 teams.
- Since returning from the DL Ben Sheets has an ERA of 4.77, prior to going on the DL he had an ERA of just over 2.00 with the team.
- Jon Papelbon has an ERA of 6.75 in his last 10 appearances, during which time he has allowed 9 runs in 12 IP and has a BAA of .320.
The Good: John Olerud is on the team.
League Summary
Teams in italics would make playoffs if season ended today.
AL Division Standings:
AL EAST
Boston Red Sox (63-41)
New York Yankees (59-45) 4 GB
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (54-52) 10 GB
Toronto Blue Jays (52-52) 11 GB
Baltimore Orioles (41-64) 22.5 GB
AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins (56-48) Would go to 1 game playoff with Cleveland
Cleveland Indians (57-49)Would go to 1 game playoff with Minnesota
Detroit Tigers (50-54) 6 GB
Chicago White Sox (49-55) 7 GB
Kansas City Royals (36-69) 20.5 GB
AL WEST
Texas Rangers (57-48)
Los Angeles Angels (54-51) 3 GB
Seattle Mariners (51-53) 5.5 GB
Oakland A's (51-53) 5.5 GB
NL Division Standings:
NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies (63-43)
Atlanta Braves (57-48) 5.5 GB
New York Mets (55-55) 7.5 GB
Washington Nationals (51-54) 11.5 GB
Florida Marlins (48-56) 14 GB
NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals (64-40)
Houston Astros (60-45) 4.5 GB
Chicago Cubs (56-49) 8.5 GB
Cincinnati Reds (51-54) 13.5 GB
Pittsburgh Pirates (46-59) 18.5 GB
Milwaukee Brewers (42-64) 23 GB
NL WEST
San Fransisco Giants (58-46)
Arizona Diamondbacks (57-50) 2.5 GB
Los Angeles Dodgers (48-57) 10.5 GB
San Diego Padres (46-59) 12.5 GB
Colorado Rockies (41-65) 18 GB
Lol. Hes doing pretty well too, .273BA/.396OBP/.455SLG%/.851OPS/4HR/19RBI in 46 games off the bench so far this season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach Owens
Red Sox Relinquish Lead
http://content.answers.com/main/cont...ng_Umpire2.jpg
August was a highly disappointing month for the Boston Red Sox, posting a 9-29 record over the course of the month, as they relinquished the division lead, but not to the New York Yankees, to none other than the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Red Sox entered the month was a .606 winning percent, a 4 game lead over the Yankees, and with a solid month would've all but put the division away, however, they come out of August with a .545 winning percent and sit two games back of the division leading Devil Rays and its going to take a good month just to get into the playoffs. As has been the story of the season the offense was godly, but the pitching was terrible this month. They put up a total of 171 runs in August, 6.1 per game, but they allowed 192, an average of approximately 6.9 per game. Including allowing 32 runs in a 3 game series to the normally offensively anemic Twins, and 27 runs in a 3 game series to the 44-88 Kansas City Royals. If the Red Sox are going to make the playoffs their pitching will have to come around at least to some degree.
The Good:
- Despite the struggling of the pitching staff on a whole Curt Schilling has been quite good, including a perfect game against the Tigers August 28th, he is 4-2 with a 4.34 ERA 65 K's and 9 BB's in last 10 starts.
- The team is, for the most part, finally healthy. Only a few injuries remain, Wade Miller could return for the playoffs, if we make it that far, Arroyo will be out for the rest of the season, and Renteria and Ramon Vazquez are the only players with injuries remaining. Renteria could conceivably return for the World Series, if the Red Sox make it that far.
- Hanley Ramirez has been on fire lately. He is hitting .357 (15-42), in his last 10 games, to go along with 13 runs, 2 homers, 9 RBI's, and 7 stolen bases.
The Bad and The Ugly:
- The pitching has been downright miserable. They currently have a team ERA of 5.14, and even the normally solid bullpen has an ERA of 5.04.
- Their 9-19 slump has caused them to slip from 3rd in the Power Rankings, all the way down to 21st.
- Matt Clement has an ERA of 6.60, enough said.
League Summary
AL Division Standings:
AL EAST
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (75-59)
Boston Red Sox (72-60) 2 GB Would have tiebreaker with loser of AL Central
New York Yankees (71-62) 3.5 GB
Toronto Blue Jays (68-64) 6 GB
Baltimore Orioles (44-89) 30. 5 GB
AL CENTRAL
Detroit Tigers (72-60)
Cleveland Indians (73-61) Would have tiebreaker with each other
Minnesota Twins (69-64) 3.5 GB
Chicago White Sox (63-69) 9 GB
Kansas City Royals (44-88) 28 GB
AL WEST
Texas Rangers (78-55)
Los Angeles Angels (70-62) 7.5 GB
Seattle Mariners (64-68) 13.5 GB
Oakland A's (64-68) 13.5 GB
NL Division Standings:
NL EAST
Philadephia Phillies (79-54)
Atlanta Braves (75-58) 4 GB
New York Mets (72-60) 6.5 GB
Washington Nationals (69-64) 10 GB
Florida Marlins (64-69) 15 GB
NL CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals (78-56)
Houston Astros (75-57) 2 GB
Chicago Cubs (69-64) 8.5 GB
Pittsburgh Pirates (61-73) 17 GB
Milwaukee Brewers (58-75) 19.5 GB
Cincinnati Reds (54-79) 23.5 GB
NL WEST
San Fransisco Giants (72-60)
Arizona Diamondbacks (71-64) 2.5 GB
Los Angeles Dodgers (65-68) 7.5 GB
San Diego Padres (52-80) 20 GB
Colorado Rockies (52-81) 20.5 GB
The Red Sox are 2005 AL East Champions!
The Red Sox posted an 18-10 mark in September, but it would all come down to the final game of the season. The Red Sox needed one win in the final series of the year against the rival New York Yankees, but they dropped the first two and appeared to be on the verge of a historical collapse. The Red Sox would send journeyman starter Geremi Gonzalez to the mound against lefty Eric Milton, with the division on the line, and Gonzalez pitched the game of his life. Gonzalez allowed 1 unearned run in 7 1/3 IP on 9 total baserunners (7 hits and 2 walks) and 5 K's, Eric Milton, in comparison, wouldn't even make it through the 4th before allowing 5 runs on 4 homers. The Red Sox bullpen almost coughed it up, though, as Fuentes and Bradford combined for 2/3 of an inning 5 runs, 4 hits, and 3 walks.The Yankees came up with two in the 9th to make it 8-6 Boston, but thats where it would end, and Foulke came in to shut the door and give the Red Sox their first AL East Crown since the 90's.
Playoff Preview
New York Yankees (90-72) @ Detroit Tigers (90-72)
Game 1: NYY Kevin Brown (15-6, 3.49) @ DET Jeremy Bonderman (14-10, 3.77)
Game 2: NYY Jaret Wright (5-12, 7.32) @ DET Nate Robertson (12-13, 5.10)
Game 3: DET Mike Maroth (9-6, 3.87) @ NYY Carl Pavano (3-2, 5.21)
Game 4 (if needed): DET Matt Ginter (2-0, 6.05) @ NYY Eric Milton (9-10, 6.36)
Game 5 (if needed): NYY Kevin Brown (15-6, 3.49) @ DET Jeremy Bonderman (14-10, 3.77)
Prediction: Tigers in 5, on the strength of their pitching
Texas Rangers (89-73) @ Boston Red Sox (91-71)
Game 1: TEX Chris Young (12-9, 4.06) @ BOS Ben Sheets (11-12, 4.88)
Game 2: TEX Chan Ho Park (13-5, 4.32) @ BOS Curt Schilling (7-3, 4.53)
Game 3: BOS Wade Miller (6-4, 3.93) @ TEX Ryan Drese (11-11, 5.43)
Game 4 (if needed): BOS Odalis Perez (11-10, 5.22) @ TEX Justin Thompson (7-12, 7.09)
Game 5 (if needed): TEX Chris Young (12-9, 4.06) @ BOS Ben Sheets (11-12, 4.88)
Prediction: Red Sox in 5, how could I pick against myself?
Atlanta Braves (91-71) @ St. Louis Cardinals (98-64)
Game 1: ATL Horacio Ramirez (16-8, 4.75) @ STL Mark Mulder (9-6, 4.18)
Game 2: ATL John Thomson (12-6, 3.19) @ STL Matt Morris (14-9, 4.03)
Game 3: STL Jeff Suppan (13-12, 4.06) @ ATL John Smoltz (8-5, 2.95)
Game 4 (if needed): STL Chris Carpenter (12-2, 3.25) @ ATL Tim Hudson (13-6, 2.75)
Game 5 (if needed): ATL Horacio Ramirez (16-8, 4.75) @ STL Mark Mulder (9-6, 4.18)
Prediction: Cardinals in 4, better all around team
San Fransisco Giants (87-75) @ Philadephia Phillies (99-63)
Game 1: SFG Jason Schmidt (13-10, 3.87) @ PHI Brett Myers (8-8, 3.83)
Game 2: SFG Noah Lowry (6-6, 5.13) @ PHI Randy Wolf (9-9, 5.44)
Game 3: PHI Cory Lidle (10-7, 4.19) @ SFG Brett Tomko (8-9, 5.62)
Game 4 (if needed): PHI Eude Brito (5-4, 4.36) @ SFG Kirk Rueter (10-5, 3.77)
Game 5 (if needed): SFG Jason Schmidt (13-10, 3.87) @ PHI Brett Myers (8-8, 3.83)
Prediction: Phillies in 3, much better offense
I'm doing the playoffs in PBP manager mode, btw.
Pretty good dynasty. Keep up the good work, and I'm wondering, who'll win it all. :)
Good job getting them to win the east. What was tampa's record after september?
Tampa's record in the month of September was 11-15, and they finished 88-74 overall. I'm expecting them to be even better next year though. I'll do my game 1 recap of the LDS in a bit.
Red Sox Crush Texas, Lose Ortiz
The Red Sox dismantled the Texas Rangers, in game one of the ALDS, scoring 8 runs on 10 hits. However, it looked like it may be a long night at first for Sox game one starter Ben Sheets, after allowing a leadoff double to Alfonso Soriano, it would be the exact opposite, Sheets allowed only 4 hits and didn't allow any runs until Rod Barajas hit a solo homer in the top of the 8th. The big bats for the Sox got it done, as the 1-6 hitter (Johnny Damon, Jay Payton, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Kevin Millar, and Bill Mueller) combined to go 9-24 with 3 homers, 7 RBI's, and all 8 runs that were scored. The victory game at a cost, though, as DH David Ortiz will miss the rest of the ALDS and most, if not all, of the ALCS, if the Red Sox make it that far, with a pulled groin that he suffered taking a swing in his last AB of the game.
Player of The Game: Ben Sheets CG 4H 1ER 7K'sHTML Code:Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox
October 4, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Rangers (TEX) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 1
Red Sox (BOS) 1 0 2 0 5 0 0 0 x 8 10 1
TEXAS ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
A. Soriano (2B) 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
G. Matthews (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .255
M. Young (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
M. Teixeira (1B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .307
A. Gonzalez (DH) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
H. Blalock (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .297
D. Dellucci (LF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .283
L. Nix (CF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
R. Barajas (C) 3 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .229
TOTALS 32 4 0 1 1 1 7 0
2B: A. Soriano
HR: R. Barajas
TEXAS ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
C. Young 4.1 5 1 2 5 5 5 100 4.06
E. Ramirez 0.2 4 0 1 3 3 1 26 5.31
M. Tejera 3.0 1 1 0 0 0 2 38 6.41
TOTALS 8.0 10 2 3 8 8 8 164
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
J. Damon (CF) 5 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 .306
J. Payton (RF) 4 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 .284
M. Ramirez (LF) 3 1 1 1 0 1 2 0 .330
D. Ortiz (DH) 4 2 0 2 1 2 1 0 .296
K. Millar (1B) 4 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 .305
B. Mueller (3B) 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .330
D. Mirabelli (C) 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .255
M. Bellhorn (2B) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .216
D. Pedroia (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333
TOTALS 35 10 2 8 3 8 8 1
2B: D. Ortiz, B. Mueller, J. Damon, D. Mirabelli
HR: D. Ortiz, K. Millar, J. Payton
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Sheets 9.0 4 0 1 1 1 7 118 4.88
TOTALS 9.0 4 0 1 1 1 7 118
WP: B. Sheets
LP: C. Young
Temperature: 48F
Hey congrats. Good job so far just finish the job. Tough w/o Ortiz