-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
TEAM UPDATE
APRIL
PITCHING
Code:
Player Name Team Starts W L ERA IP K SV CG OBA OOPS K/9 BB/9
Radke, Brad BOS 6 5 0 2.70 46.2 36 0 3 .207 .598 6.94 1.54
Clemens, Roger BOS 6 5 1 3.44 36.2 31 0 0 .239 .606 7.61 1.72
Moyer, Jamie BOS 6 3 3 5.51 32.2 30 0 0 .262 .771 8.27 3.58
Suppan, Jeff BOS 6 1 4 7.22 28.2 17 0 0 .292 .859 5.34 3.45
Stanton, Mike BOS 0 0 1 5.40 16.2 9 1 0 .299 .890 4.86 2.16
Belinda, Stan BOS 0 0 0 3.38 13.1 14 1 0 .226 .658 9.45 2.70
Slocumb, H. BOS 0 0 0 8.10 10.0 8 0 0 .417 .967 7.20 7.20
Garces, Rich BOS 0 0 0 0.96 9.1 13 7 0 .231 .568 12.54 2.89
Shouse, Brian BOS 0 0 0 0.00 8.1 2 0 0 .214 .527 2.16 3.24
Maddux, Mike BOS 0 1 0 11.74 7.2 7 0 0 .378 1.155 8.22 2.35
Henry, Butch BOS 0 0 0 0.00 0.0 0 0 0 .000 .000 0.00 0.00
The top two of Clemens and Radke has been really solid; Radke has even looked like a possibility for Cy Young at this early stage of the season. Otherwise, we've been shaky. Moyer has had some really, really good starts (three starts with 2 ER or less) but he's also had some really, really bad starts (two starts with 6 ER). And aside from Suppan's first start of the season he has just been horrendous. Just take a look (not including his first start):
The bullpen has also been spotty at best. Garces has been dominant as closer, but everyone else has been downright awful. Maddux was an All-Star last year and our most dependable bullpen arm, and so far this year he's got an ERA a tick under 12.00! I do have hope for him, though, because he started the season like this last year too, and ended up being extremely dependable for us. However, I'm not so confident anyone else will be able to find themselves.
BATTING
Code:
Player Name Team AB H HR R RBI Avg OBP SLG OPS SB SB%
White, Rondell BOS 105 36 5 23 18 .343 .389 .552 .941 2 100.0
Garciaparra, N. BOS 104 34 3 16 15 .327 .375 .462 .837 0 0.0
Larkin, Barry BOS 98 22 3 20 13 .224 .300 .418 .718 2 50.0
Olerud, John BOS 87 37 5 19 27 .425 .514 .701 1.215 0 0.0
Bonds, Barry BOS 87 26 5 28 18 .299 .407 .575 .982 2 66.7
Boone, Bret BOS 86 23 4 13 19 .267 .343 .500 .843 0 0.0
Nixon, Trot BOS 83 23 2 13 14 .277 .355 .410 .765 1 100.0
Cirillo, Jeff BOS 81 23 2 9 13 .284 .368 .407 .775 0 0.0
Ausmus, Brad BOS 78 16 2 11 7 .205 .287 .308 .595 0 0.0
Frye, Jeff BOS 7 2 0 1 2 .286 .444 .429 .873 1 100.0
Oliver, Joe BOS 5 1 0 0 0 .200 .200 .200 .400 0 0.0
Clark, Phil BOS 4 1 0 0 0 .250 .250 .250 .500 0 0.0
The offense has been simply fantastic. I don't give out monthly awards for my team, but if I did Olerud would definitely get MVP for the month of April. I acquired him for his glove, and I definitely didn't think he'd be tied for team lead in homers, and leading in RBI's, as well as the triple slash stats (BA, OBP, SLG, OPS). Bonds has also been good of late. He started slow, but in his last ten games he has an OPS over 1.000, two homers, and 10 RBI's. Ausmus has been simply pathetic at the plate, but I don't mind because I got him for his glove and not his bat (and I think the relative success of the starters to this point is largely due to his influence behind the plate).
(Gonna start displaying the stats every month this way because it allows me to display more stats, and stats other than the basic BA/HR/RBI and W/ERA/IP stuff.)
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
SPIDERMAN AND ROCKET UPDATE
APRIL
Nomar hasn't gotten off to quite the start this season as he did last season in his rookie year, but it's not often that a guy is going to hit .400+ in the first month of the season multiple seasons in a row, and regardless of that he's still been a very valuable piece of the lineup. His rankings on the team are as follows:
- 3rd in Batting Average
- 4th in On-base Percentage
- 5th in Slugging Percentage
- 5th in OPS
- T-3rd in Homers
- 5th in Runs
- 4th in RBI's
- 3rd in Hits
- 2nd in AB's
Again, he hasn't been quite as good as he was to start last season. That said, Nomar's the type of hitter whose liable to go on a massive hot streak at any moment. Last season that happened in the first 4-8 weeks of the season, and this season it just hasn't happened yet. I fully expect his numbers to skyrocket by the end of the season, and I'm expecting him to have a legitimate case for league MVP, and if not team MVP. He's also going to benefit greatly now that Bonds is finally starting to hit, and his RBI total will start rising once Larkin starts hitting. I'm hoping that with a full-season under his belt he'll be able to crack 200 hits, 100 RBI's (again), 30 homers, and a .900-1.000 OPS.
Like Nomar, Clemens hasn't gotten off to the same start he did last season, but he's still been very, very effective. Team rankings:
- T-1st in Wins
- 2nd in ERA
- 2nd in IP
- 2nd in K's
- 2nd in BAA
- 2nd in WHIP
Every one of those categories he's second in, he's second to Brad Radke, whose had a Cy Young season so far. I think that if anyone on this staff is going to win a Cy Young this season it will be Radke and not Clemens, but I am still expecting big numbers from Clemens. I'm also very, very surprised to see that he's only given up two homers this season. He hasn't allowed single-digit homers in a full season since 1990, and that's the only time he's done it in his career.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 1
Red Sox (15-9) @ Blue Jays (11-14)
Red Sox 9 - Blue Jays 4
Although Clemens pitched beautifully in this game, it wouldn't have made too much of a difference if he hadn't. That being said, Clemens went seven, gave up eight hits, walked one, struck out eight, and allowed one earned run. Barry Bonds is trying to make up for lost time, as he goes 2-4 with a walk, three runs, two homers, and four RBI's.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-5, R, RBI/7 IP, 8 H, BB, ER, 8 K
WP - Roger Clemens (6-1)
LP - Juan Guzman (0-4)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Bonds 2 (7), John Olerud (6)
May 2
Red Sox (16-9) @ Blue Jays (11-15)
Red Sox 4 - Blue Jays 8
Not one of Radke's more impressive performances. He started the game well, allowing just one run through the first five innings he was on the mound, but he blew up and allowed five runs in the sixth before getting a single out. Offense was pretty hard to come by, too. Halladay held us to four hits, two walks, and two runs over the first seven innings.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, 2B/DNP
WP - Roy Halladay (2-2)
LP - Brad Radke (5-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Bonds (8), Rondell White (6)
May 3
Red Sox (16-10) @ Blue Jays (12-15)
Red Sox 3 - Blue Jays 5
Jeff Suppan.....implodes.....again. This time out he allowed 11 hits and five runs in just 4 1/3 innings. The bullpen pitched well in relief of him, giving up no runs in 3 2/3 innings of work, and allowed us to stay in the game. We mounted a small rally in the ninth by putting up two runs and bringing the tying run to the plate, but we just couldn't get it across.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-5/DNP
WP - Pat Hentgen (2-2)
LP - Jeff Suppan (1-5)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A
Thoughts: Ayeyaiyai. We are really not playing well right now. We've dropped two of three for three consecutive series. All of which were against teams we either should beat or need to beat. We're just lucky the Indians have been playing like sh*t too or else we'd be digging ourselves a deep hole. We need to step it up soon, because we have a three game set against the Indians in less than two weeks.
Although, there is some good news. Barry Bonds has DEFINITELY remembered how to hit a baseball. In his last ten games he's hitting .351/.415/.919/1.334 with five homers and 12 RBI's. The recent hot streak has brought him to .320/.430/.660/1.090 with eight homers and 23 RBI's for the season.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
FUTURE HALL-OF-FAMER MOLITOR REACHES HIT MILESTONE
Future Hall-of-Fame first baseman/designated hitter Paul Molitor reached a significant milestone in his illustrious career, logging hit #3,000 of his career.
CLARK LOGS RBI #1,000
Rangers first baseman Will Clark also reached a milestone recently. He knocked in 1,000th run of his career. Although it's still too early to tell, Clark also looks like a possible future Hall-of-Famer. At just 33 years old he already has 1,700+ hits, 200+ homers, 1,000+ RBI's, and a career OPS near .900!
RANGERS TAKE WILD CARD LEAD
With the Boston Red Sox reeling and going just 3-7 in their last ten games, the Rangers have managed to take control of the Wild Card race. The Rangers took the lead from the Red Sox, and they currently lead them by one game.
NL EAST FEATURES THREE 20-WIN TEAMS
We have a rather unprecedented level of dominance being displayed by the National League East division so far this season. Approximately only 30 games into the season and the division already has three teams with 20 or more wins. The Braves lead things at 22-7, New York places second at 21-8, and Philadelphia comes in third at 20-10.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 4
Orioles (11-16) @ Red Sox (16-11)
Orioles 7 - Red Sox 8
This game feature a lot of early scoring, and then practically none later in the game. The teams combined for 14 runs in the first 2 1/2 innings, but just one the remainder of the game after that. Moyer managed to get the win in spite of giving up six runs in five innings. The game also featured two grand slams, one by John Olerud (which proved to be the game-winning hit), and one by Mike Deveraux that actually made it a game.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, 1B, K
WP - Jamie Moyer (4-3)
LP - Scott Erickson (1-3)
SV - Rich Garces (8)
HR - John Olerud (7), Rondell White (7)
May 5
Orioles (11-17) @ Red Sox (17-11)
Orioles 2 - Red Sox 5
Due to a number of off days in April, Butch Henry didn't make his season debut until this game. The large amount of time off didn't seem to affect him however, he went 8 innings, gave up only two runs, and struck out four. We did need a late rally, however. With the game tied at two going into the eighth Ausmus singled to lead off the inning, and was then sacrificed to second, singled over to third, and then driven on a Nomar RBI single up the middle. We managed to tack on two more runs of insurance after that as well.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 3-4, 2 R, RBI, GW RBI 1B
WP - Butch Henry (1-0)
LP - Roger McDowell (0-4)
SV - Rich Garces (9)
HR - Barry Larkin (4)
May 6
Orioles (11-18) @ Red Sox (18-11)
Orioles 4 - Red Sox 8
It's nice to see a sweep for a change! Bonds and Boone had a lot to do with this win. They combined to drive in seven of our eight runs, both homered, and both had two hits in four at bats. Clemens got victimized by the computer pulling him out too early when he really wasn't pitching that badly. But regardless, the 'pen managed to hold it down and let us get the win.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 4-4, 3 1B, 2B, 2 R/4 IP, 6 H, BB, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 K
WP - Mike Stanton (1-1)
LP - Rick Bauer (1-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Bret Boone (5), Barry Bonds (9), Trot Nixon (3)
Thoughts: The sweep vaults us over Cleveland and puts us in first place by 1 full game! This is just about the perfect time for us to start picking it up again, because we've got six games before we play the Indians again. Hopefully we keep doing work over these next six games and can go into the Indians series strong, and hopefully they keep falling on their faces.
A little update on the progress of one of our prospects. Reliever turned starter Hideki Okajima has been enjoying great success in his new role at AAA. In seven starts Okajima is 2-2 with an ERA of 2.45, 31 K's, 12 walks, a .241 BAA, and only three homers allowed in 36+ innings.
CLARK GOES DOWN
Just a few days after getting his 1,000th career RBI, Texas first baseman Will Clark goes down for roughly a month with a fractured ankle. This is a major blow to Texas' playoff aspirations. At the time of the injury Clark was hitting at a .923 OPS, and all the success that Texas has had this season has been due to their play at the plate as they don't currently have a starter with an ERA under 5.40. In other words, they need offense to win, and having one of their best hitters go down for a month is not a good way to accomplish that.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
Is tacking on the NOMAR/CLEMENS update with every game a nice touch, do you think? Or is it a little too much? I've been wanting to do it for a while but I haven't been able to figure out a way to do it without it standing out way too much or forcing them into every game synopsis. I still think it sticks out too much, but I just put in there to play around with for now.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 7
Red Sox (19-11) @ Mets (11-21)
Red Sox 4 - Mets 2
Radke made yet another excellent start, allowing just two earned runs over seven innings while striking out four. Wasn't a whole lot of offense to speak of in this game. Bonds and Nomar both hit solo homers, and Larkin and Nixon drove in the other two runs.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, Solo HR, K
WP - Brad Radke (6-1)
LP - Rick Reed (2-3)
SV - Rich Garces (10)
HR - Barry Bonds (10), Nomar Garciaparra (4)
May 8
Red Sox (20-11) @ Mets (11-22)
Red Sox 7 - Mets 8 (10 innings)
Garces got the loss in this one, but I'd really love to give it to Jeff Suppan again. Suppan started the game fantastically. He allowed no earned runs through 6 2/3 inning, but that last out of the seventh was just too much for him apparently, because he allowed six runs with two outs in the inning. Lance Johnson had the game-winning single with Vizcaino on second in the bottom of the tenth inning.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 3-5, 2B, RBI
WP - Mark Fyhrie (2-0)
LP - Rich Garces (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Rondell White 2 (9)
May 9
Red Sox (20-12) @ Mets (12-22)
Red Sox 1 - Mets 3
Moyer actually pitched well in this game (3 ER in seven innings), but he just got outdueled by the reigning NL Cy Young winner Pete Harnisch. Harnisch allowed just one run to us over 6 2/3 innings. We did have opportunities to score, as we had 10 base hits and drew three walks, we just couldn't get the big hit to bring anyone around.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 4-4, 4 1B
WP - Pete Harnisch (2-2)
LP - Jamie Moyer (4-4)
SV - John Franco (7)
HR - N/A
Thoughts: So much for starting to play well I guess. We dropped 2 of 3 to one of the worst teams in baseball. The thing that makes it even more frustrating is that the Indians lost two of three as well and we missed a chance to put some ground between us. At least we can still call ourselves the AL East leaders, though.
Nomar is really tearing shiz up right now. He as twenty hits in his last ten games, and overall is hitting .465/.465/.605/1.070 in his last ten. He only has one homer and five RBI's, but at the rate that he's collecting hits that number is sure to rise rapidly. Even more scary is the fact that he's only made six outs in his last five games, as he's 15-21 in that stretch. The recent hot streak has helped raise his season stats to .371/.404/.510/.914, 53 hits, 4 HR, and 19 RBI's.
NOMAR'S SEASON STATS + LAST TEN GAMES
SEATTLE AND TEXAS FALL INTO A TIE FOR FIRST
Out in the surprisingly competitive American League West, the top two contenders in the division, Seattle and Texas, have fallen into a tie for first place. Texas has managed to make up ground on the Mariners by going 9-1 in their last ten games, in spite of missing first baseman Will Clark for a portion of that time. Colorado also only sits 4 back at 18-16.
NL EAST FLIP-FLOPS AGAIN
The NL East has had a change of division leaders once again. Atlanta relinquished the lead to the New York Yankees by 1/2 game. This division is just amazingly tough. Four of the five teams in the division have 20+ wins (Florida is the only team that doesn't, and they're only two games off with 18 wins), and every team is above .500.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
First question: Do you like the new addition to the regular updates? The new addition being the aforementioned "AROUND THE LEAGUE" part. And also now the "NOMAR/CLEMENS" addition.
Second question: What things do you think I can/should improve on? For example, would you like me to key in on Nomar and Clemens a little more? Am I posting too frequently? Things like that.
Third question: What do you think of my writing/writing style? Is it too predictable or anything like that, for example?
Fourth question: Do you think I went through the off season too quickly? Also, did you think the trades I made were unfair, or do you think I made too many of them?
Just re-posting these because I'd still like some more criticisms. Always looking to get better and improve :).
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 11
Red Sox (20-13) @ Orioles (11-23)
Red Sox 1 - Orioles 9
We could just not get anything going in this game, and a poor start by Clemens didn't help things. We managed just five hits off Mike Mussina, and our only run came on a solo shot by Bret Boone in the sixth inning. Clemens made it through 5 1/3 innings before allowing six runs on eight hits.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-3, BB, K/5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 ER, 2 K
WP - Mike Mussina (2-1)
LP - Roger Clemens (6-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Bret Boone (6)
BREAKING NEWS
Following this game we received news that our starting third baseman, Jeff Cirillo, will miss the next six games with a pulled hammy. Jeff Frye and Nomar will get starts at third base in wake of this injury.
May 12
Red Sox (20-14) @ Orioles (12-23)
Red Sox 1 - Orioles 0 (10 innings)
Quite an exciting game here. Both of the starters pitched into the tenth inning, with Brad Radke getting the ten inning complete game shutout, and Ponson surrendering just the one run in 9 2/3 innings. The lone run of the game came when Phil Clark singled through the left side to score Bret Boone from second.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-4
WP - Brad Radke (7-1)
LP - Sidney Ponson (1-5)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A
May 13
Red Sox (21-14) @ Orioles (12-24)
Red Sox 2 - Orioles 0
I think I just took a trip into the twilight zone. JEFF SUPPAN, of all people, pitched a complete game, four hit, shutout, without walking a batter and he struck out six. David Wells pitched well in opposition too, allowing just the two runs over 8 2/3 innings.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4
WP - Jeff Suppan (2-5)
LP - David Wells (4-5)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A
Thoughts: We've maintained our 1 game lead over the Indians heading into our series against them. We've got an off day before we start the series, and because of that we'll be able to start Moyer the first game, Clemens the second, and Radke the third. I'd like to sweep 'em, but I'll settle for taking two of three.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
JOHNSON NOTCHES K #2,000
Mariners ace Randy Johnson recently hit a significant milestone in his pitching career, striking out the 2,000th batter of his career. He reached the milestone in just ten seasons and 1,730 1/3 innings pitched, making him one of the fastest to do so. You have to think that if he's even close to as dominant in his mid-late thirties, as he was in his early 30's that he'll be a lock for the Hall of Fame when he retires.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
You misspelled "dynasty" in your sig.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
Quote:
Originally Posted by
metsguy234
You misspelled "dynasty" in your sig.
Yeah, I noticed that, I just haven't gotten around to fixing it. :o
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 15
Indians (21-15) @ Red Sox (22-14)
Indians 4 - Red Sox 9
Moyer gave us a solid start to help us win game #1 here! He went 6 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on nine hits. The offense came primarily from the 2-4 hitters of Rondell White, Nomar, and Bonds. White and Bonds homered, and each one of them drove in two runs.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-3, R, 2 RBI
WP - Jamie Moyer (5-4)
LP - Dennis Martinez (1-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Bonds (11), Rondell White (10)
May 16
Indians (21-16) @ Red Sox (23-14)
Indians 2 - Red Sox 3
We take the first two in the series and go for the sweep tomorrow! Clemens pitched brilliantly, going 8 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs without walking anyone and striking out seven. Bonds homered again, while Larkin was 3-3 with a walk and two stolen bases.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-4, 2 K/8.1 IP, 5 BB, 0 BB, 2 ER, 7 K
WP - Roger Clemens (7-2)
LP - Bartolo Colon (3-3)
SV - Rich Garces (11)
HR - Barry Bonds (12)
May 17
Indians (21-17) @ Red Sox (24-14)
Indians 15 - Red Sox 4
Not the way I was hoping to end the series, but I can't complain about taking two of three from my main competition in the AL East. Radke got really roughed up, allowing five runs in four innings on nine hits. The rest of the staff didn't fare any better, as Stanton, Belinda, Shouse, and Maddux combined to give up 10 runs (eight earned) in 4 2/3 innings of work. Bonds had a big game, going 2-4 with two two-run home runs.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-4, R
WP - Jack McDowell (4-2)
LP - Brad Radke (7-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Bonds 2 (14)
Thoughts: I definitely can't complain about where I am right now. 24-15, two games ahead of the Indians, second best record in the American League playing pretty solid baseball. We've got the draft in just a couple of weeks too, so it's time to start thinking about that and looking at who we might be taking.
Barry Bonds is playing like he wants his 4th MVP Award right now. In his last ten games he has six homers and 13 RBI's and a batting line of .289/.341/.841/1.183. His 14 homers rank him third in the AL (just three behind Juan Gonzalez's AL-leading 17), his 37 RBI's also put him third (13 behind Gonzalez's 50), and he's 4th in OPS at 1.105. And in the final game against the Indians he collected his 1000th career RBI!
Not anything interesting to report about so I'll just post the standings.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 18
Orioles (14-27) @ Red Sox (24-15)
Orioles 3 - Red Sox 5
Suppan beats David Wells and the Orioles two starts in a row. Suppan went seven innings and allowed just three runs. Garces then came in in the ninth and got save #12 of the season in a perfect inning, and lowered his ERA to 1.02. Jeff Cirillo homered in his first game back from injury, and Rondell White homered and drove in two runs.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, R
WP - Jeff Suppan (3-5)
LP - David Wells (4-6)
SV - Rich Garces (12)
HR - Jeff Cirillo (3), Rondell White (11)
May 19
Orioles (14-28) @ Red Sox (25-15)
Orioles 9 - Red Sox 4
Not the best game Jamie Moyer has ever pitched. He allowed five runs in only three innings on four hits and four walks. Unfortunately Stan Belinda and Mike Stanton didn't help to keep it close either, as they pitched an inning a piece and allowed two runs a piece. Brad Ausmus provided us with our only big hit, a two run homer in the third inning.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, K
WP - Scott Erickson (2-3)
LP - Jamie Moyer (5-5)
SV - John Parrish (1)
HR - Brad Ausmus (3)
May 20
Orioles (15-28) @ Red Sox (25-16)
Orioles 3 - Red Sox 6
Larkin homered to lead off our hitters, and we didn't look back from there. We also got homers out of Boone, a two-run shot, and from Bonds, a solo shot. Roger Clemens went seven innings and allowed only three runs on six hits and struck out five. Rondell White went hitless, but he did manage to hose Bobby Bonilla trying to tag up and score from third for his seventh outfield assist of the season, good for second in all of baseball.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4/7 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 5 K
WP - Roger Clemens (8-2)
LP - Garrett Stephenson (1-1)
SV - Rich Garces (13)
HR - Bret Boone (7), Barry Larkin (5), Barry Bonds (15)
Thoughts: We managed to put another game between us and the Indians to extend the lead to three games. We close out the month pretty easy, with four against the Brewers, three against the Pirates, and three against the Blue Jays.
In other fun news, Nomar recently had a huge rating spike. He went from an 86/95 with a contact rating of ~88 and a power rating of ~80 to a 90/98 with a contact rating of 94 and a power rating of 84.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Again nothing interesting to report, so I'll just show you some MLB leaders instead.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 21
Red Sox (26-16) @ Brewers (19-26)
Red Sox 3 - Brewers 1
One helluva game by Brad Radke. He held the Brewers hitless through 7 2/3 innings, and he might have actually thrown the no-hitter if an error by Bret Boone that would've been the third out of the inning hadn't extended the inning. Anyways, Kevin Seitzer was the one who broke it up with an RBI double. Radke went eight innings, allowed one unearned run on a hit and a walk, and struck out seven. Nomar, Cirillo, and Ausmus drove in our only three runs.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-4, RBI, SB
WP - Brad Radke (8-2)
LP - Cal Eldred (1-2)
SV - Rich Garces (14)
HR - Jeff Cirillo (4)
May 22
Red Sox (27-16) @ Brewers (19-27)
Red Sox 2 - Brewers 4
Well this time it was us getting the loss after being held hitless late into the game. Kevin Ritz held us hitless through 6+ innings until Larkin managed to hit a single to left-field to break it up. In spite of the near-no-hitter, we had opportunities to score and win this at the end (bases loaded in the 8th + Olerud at bat + two outs = pop out) but just couldn't get the one or two big hits we needed.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-3, BB, RBI, 3B
WP - Kevin Ritz (4-3)
LP - Jeff Suppan (3-6)
SV - Al Reyes (8)
HR - N/A
May 23
Red Sox (27-17) @ Brewers (20-27)
Red Sox 4 - Brewers 0
Nomar and Bonds go hitless, but eight shutout innings by Jamie Moyer help us win in spite of that. Olerud had a two-run single in the fifth that proved to be the biggest hit either team would get all game.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-3, BB, R, 2 K
WP - Jamie Moyer (6-5)
LP - Ben McDonald (3-5)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A
May 24
Red Sox (28-17) @ Brewers (20-28)
Red Sox 8 - Brewers 5
The only game in this series that didn't feature a near-no-hitter or a great outing by one of the pitchers. Henry got the win after going six innings and allowing four runs. Bonds was our big stick, going 3-4 with a walk, three runs, a steal, and a triple, while Cirillo and Larkin drove in two runs a piece.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, BB
WP - Butch Henry (2-0)
LP - Steve Avery (0-5)
SV - Rich Garces (15)
HR - N/A
Thoughts: We're looking great right now, and taking three of four from the Brewers helped us extend our lead over the Indians to five full games. We're clicking on all cylinders right now. We're hitting well, pitching well, closing out games the best we have all season, and (aside from Bret Boone) playing superb defense.
Unfortunately after our last game against the Brewers we discovered we'd be without #4 starter Jamie Moyer for a while. Moyer, coming off a start in which he threw eight shutout innings, will miss the next 18 days with a sprained finger, which should work out to about three or four starts. Not sure whose gonna get the call yet, but the most likely candidates are lefty Hideki Okajima or righty Brian Rose. Moyer better hope that whoever starts in his place doesn't pitch too well, because the way he's pitched this season I would have no second thoughts about pulling him from the rotation.
ANGELS FIRST BASEMAN CHILI DAVIS HITS #300
Chili Davis, in his 17th big league season, has hit his 300th career home run. No one will ever mistake Davis for a Hall-of-Famer, but nevertheless he has been a very solid, consistent player in the Major Leagues. Davis has hit 20 or more homeruns in 9 of his 17 major league seasons, and made the All-Star team in '84, '86, and '94.
LOFTON SWIPES #300
Star Indians center fielder Kenny Lofton is now the most recent player to reach the 300 steal plateau. Lofton is one of the most prolific base stealers in the game today, swiping 30+ steals in every one of his full five seasons prior to this season, and stealing 50 or more in all but one of them. He's well on his way to that mark again this season, as #300 for his career marked #11 on the season.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 25
Red Sox (29-17) @ Pirates (23-25)
Red Sox 1 - Pirates 4
The Pirates keep doing what they've done all season - make us look foolish. Clemens put in a really solid start, seven innings of three run ball, but Zane Smith was just untouchable, allowing just one run over eight innings without walking a batter and giving up seven hits. Our only scoring play was Barry's fourth inning homer.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, SB/7 IP, 7 H, BB, 3 ER, 4 K
WP - Zane Smith (6-2)
LP - Roger Clemens (8-3)
SV - Ricardo Rincon (7)
HR - Barry Bonds (16)
May 26
Red Sox (29-18) @ Pirates (24-25)
Red Sox 5 - Pirates 6
Nomar gives us two homers and four RBI's, and Radke gives us 6 1/3 solid innings of four run ball, and we still find a way to lose. This time that way was letting Mike Maddux pitch. Up a run in the eighth Mike Maddux was on the mound with Rich Aude at the plate and a man on base, and Mike Maddux promptly serves up a meatball that turned into a Rich Aude two-run homer and the Pirates lead. We managed to put two in scoring position in the ninth to give Pirates fan indigestion, but Bonds couldn't bring them around.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 4-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, SB
WP - Marc Wilkins (1-0)
LP - Mike Maddux (1-1)
SV - Ricardo Rincon (8)
HR - Nomar Garciaparra 2 (6)
May 27
Red Sox (29-19) @ Pirates (25-25)
Red Sox 4 - Pirates 5
We're destined to never beat the Pirates again I think. This time we were leading into the eighth inning but they tied it with a Jeff King RBI. And then they won it by putting a run on the board in the bottom of the ninth when former Red Sox first baseman Reggie Jefferson singled.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-4
WP - Marc Wilkins (2-0)
LP - Brian Shouse (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A
Thoughts: Why can't we beat the Pirates? Honestly. We should have won the last two games of that series, and we blew it late in the game both times. If we had won those last two games we'd be up by five or so games still, but instead the Indians made up two games on us and they're just three games back now. We don't play them again until the end of June, so hopefully by then we'll have built up a good, solid cushion in the division.
Rich Garces has been absolutely filthy as our closer lately. He leads all of baseball in saves with 15, and has yet to blow a save. in 21 innings he's struck out 24 batters and walked just seven, as well as giving up just 15 hits (BAA of .192). And best of all, in those 21 innings he has allowed just two runs to cross home plate, giving him a staggeringly low ERA of 0.86.
MILESTONES IN CHI-TOWN
On consecutive days we have iconic players in the city of Chicago hitting significant career milestones, for two different teams I might add! In Cubs land Ryne Sandberg collected RBI #1,000 of his career, and on the south side Harold Baines got career hit #2,500. Sandberg has built up quite the resume, playing his whole career with the Cubs, and looks like a borderline Hall-of-Famer, putting up superb offensive numbers at a traditionally defensive position.
Baines spent his age 20-30 seasons with the White Sox, before defecting to Texas, Oakland, and Baltimore. He rejoined the White Sox last season and has been as good as ever, hitting 27 homers in his first season back with the team.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 28
Blue Jays (26-24) @ Red Sox (29-20)
Blue Jays 3 - Red Sox 10
Brian Rose put in a surprisingly good start in place of Moyer. He went seven innings and allowed only one run on five hits. If he gives us more starts like that while Moyer's on the DL he'll stand a good chance of keeping his spot in the rotation. We also managed to put up 10 runs, which is always good. The big inning was the eighth when Barry Bonds and John Olerud went back-to-back with home runs. Bonds' was a three run shot, while Olerud's was solo. We also found out that Barry Bonds will miss a few games due to shoulder bursitis after this game.
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .267
R. White (CF) 5 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .291
N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 .344
B. Bonds (LF) 4 2 1 3 1 3 0 0 .303
J. Olerud (1B) 4 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 .315
B. Boone (2B) 5 3 0 1 0 3 0 1 .255
T. Nixon (RF) 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .247
J. Cirillo (3B) 5 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .268
B. Ausmus (C) 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 .216
TOTALS 41 18 3 10 2 9 6 1
2B: B. Ausmus (7), B. Boone (11), J. Cirillo (6), R. White (7)
3B: N. Garciaparra (4)
HR: J. Olerud (8), B. Bonds (17)
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Rose 7.0 5 2 0 1 1 3 100 1.29
B. Shouse 2.0 3 1 0 2 2 3 48 2.76
TOTALS 9.0 8 3 0 3 3 6 148
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-5, 2 R, 3B
WP - Brian Rose (1-0)
LP - Roy Halladay (4-3)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Bonds (17), John Olerud (8)
May 29
Blue Jays (26-25) @ Red Sox (30-20)
Blue Jays 3 - Red Sox 7
We managed to win this game in spite of Butch Henry not making it through the fifth inning. The top of the lineup performed admirably, as both Larkin and Cirillo went 3-4 with an RBI, with Larkin scoring three times and Cirillo once. Olerud also managed to drive in two runs without collecting a hit.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-2, 2 BB
WP - Heathcliff Slocumb (1-0)
LP - Jason Frasor (2-1)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A
May 30
Blue Jays (26-26) @ Red Sox (31-20)
Blue Jays 8 - Red Sox 9
We won in spite of a six earned runs allowed by Clemens in five innings. Belinda allowed the other two runs in the eighth and actually allowed them to tie the game before we got a run in the eighth as well to reclaim the lead. Nomar had a fantastic game at the plate, accounting for 2/3 of our runs by scoring three times and driving in three runs.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 3-3, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI/5 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 6 ER, 6 K
WP - Rich Garces (1-1)
LP - Mike Timlin (1-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Nomar Garciaparra (7)
Thoughts: A great month for us at 17-11. We're still four up on the Indians, and we actually have the second best record in the AL. We trail the Mariners by just 1/2 game in that department. Unfortunately we're starting to get hit with injuries. Bonds went down for three games with shoulder bursitis, Moyer's hurt, and we even just found out that Mike Stanton is gonna miss 10 days with shoulder separation. We also have some guys on our team getting, which is a problem since we don't have an off day until June 21st. Hopefully we can weather the storm and our bench can give us some good play when I have to rest guys.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Monthly update coming up next, no need for this this time.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
STANDINGS AND LEADERS
MAY
AMERICAN LEAGUE
DIVISIONAL
WILD CARD
BATTING LEADERS
PITCHING LEADERS
THOUGHTS ABOUT AL STANDINGS/LEADERS
Very surprised to see Texas doing so well. They've got a great offense, but I didn't think they had the pitching to hang around. I'm not so sure I believe that they're gonna stick around the rest of the season, but it's nice to see them doing well, even if it's just the first couple of months. It helps that they've still got Juan Gone hitting like a machine, though. It's also nice to see some Red Sox representing in the league leaders. And how 'bout the year Randy Johnson is having? 114 K's in 77 IP.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
DIVISIONAL
WILD CARD
BATTING LEADERS
PITCHING LEADERS
THOUGHTS ABOUT NL STANDINGS/LEADERS
The Braves put some ground between themselves and the Yankees, which is a little surprising to me. Although I suppose you can expect that level of dominance when four of your five starting pitchers are in the top 10 in ERA. I'm thinking they're easily the favorite for the World Series at this point, but who knows what happens the rest of the way. Los Angeles is handling the west a little too easily, however. Might do a little bit (more) realignment and/or relocation to fix that for next year.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
TEAM UPDATE
MAY
PITCHING
Code:
Pitching Stats GP GS REC SV ERA IP H R ER HR BB K DICE WHIP PIT RUNSUP QUAL
B. Radke 12 12 8-2 0 3.21 87.0 81 32 31 8 13 59 3.29 1.08 1090 6.1 6
R. Clemens 13 13 8-3 0 4.26 80.1 81 40 38 8 17 69 3.21 1.22 1406 5.4 9
J. Suppan 12 12 3-6 0 6.09 65.0 78 52 44 7 22 41 4.15 1.54 1041 4.8 3
J. Moyer 11 11 6-5 0 5.49 62.1 69 38 38 7 25 48 4.12 1.51 1036 5.4 5
M. Stanton 23 0 1-1 1 5.74 26.2 31 17 17 5 8 17 5.06 1.46 451
S. Belinda 17 0 0-0 1 3.91 25.1 22 13 11 1 9 23 2.76 1.22 467
R. Garces 21 0 1-1 15 0.76 23.2 19 2 2 0 7 27 1.61 1.10 407
H. Slocumb 23 0 1-0 0 5.73 22.0 30 16 14 2 15 19 4.50 2.05 471
M. Maddux 16 0 1-1 0 7.06 21.2 31 22 17 5 8 15 5.72 1.80 413
B. Henry 3 3 2-0 0 3.86 18.2 21 9 8 2 4 10 3.96 1.34 279 6.7 1
B. Shouse 14 0 0-1 0 2.76 16.1 18 5 5 2 9 10 5.02 1.65 296
B. Rose 1 1 1-0 0 1.29 7.0 5 1 1 0 2 3 3.00 1.00 100 10.0 1
Pitching Totals: 52 52 32-20 17 4.46 456.0 486 247 226 47 139 341 3.76 1.37 7457 5.6 25
Clemens and Radke have been the only two in the starting rotation worth their salt, and even Clemens has been having a down year (by his standards). Radke's been great, and although he's slotted at #2 he's really been the ace of the staff. As you can see, he ties for the team lead in wins, leads in ERA, places second in K's, and has the fewest walks in the starting rotation. Radke's looking like a really good candidate for Cy Young right now, assuming Randy Johnson ever stops striking people out.
Similar situation in the bullpen. Garces has been fantastic, and Shouse and Belinda have been solid, but the rest of the 'pen stinks to high heaven. Every time Maddux, Slocumb, or Stanton enters the game I just want to look away. And unfortunately I don't currently have great depth in the bullpen, so there's not really anyone I think would do any better if I called them up. Hopefully they'll start pitching like Major Leaguers (and stop pitching like little leagues) soon, so I don't have to make any moves.
BATTING
Code:
Batting Stats AVG/OBP/SLG GP GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS wOBA GIDP RC/27 HBP
B. Larkin .276/.343/.435 51 51 214 41 59 13 3 5 26 22 28 9 4 .341 2 1.18 0
R. White .290/.327/.495 50 50 214 39 62 7 2 11 37 10 39 3 0 .353 6 1.27 2
N. Garciaparra .350/.393/.514 52 52 214 33 75 6 4 7 30 11 17 4 0 .395 6 1.56 4
B. Boone .258/.332/.453 51 51 190 23 49 12 2 7 33 16 45 1 1 .342 3 0.97 5
J. Olerud .308/.418/.503 52 52 185 33 57 10 1 8 40 31 25 0 0 .405 7 1.38 4
B. Bonds .303/.421/.674 50 50 178 50 54 11 2 17 43 36 29 4 1 .455 8 1.88 0
T. Nixon .243/.323/.362 49 49 177 25 43 7 1 4 21 21 23 1 0 .308 8 0.77 0
B. Ausmus .217/.274/.337 48 48 166 23 36 7 2 3 17 12 23 0 1 .272 5 0.54 1
J. Cirillo .279/.350/.394 47 47 165 18 46 7 0 4 21 17 20 0 1 .333 5 0.82 1
J. Frye .364/.417/.409 6 6 22 2 8 1 0 0 4 2 4 2 0 .374 1 0.16 0
P. Clark .100/.100/.100 5 5 20 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 1 .090 0 0.00 0
J. Oliver .200/.200/.200 4 4 15 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 .180 0 0.03 0
D. Hosey .300/.364/.400 3 3 10 2 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 .342 0 0.05 0
Batting Totals: .281/.352/.458 52 52 1770 290 497 82 17 66 273 179 262 25 9 .355 51 17
We've got some real, real bright spots on offense. Most notably, Nomar, Bonds, and White. Nomar started a little slow, but really tore it up by hitting .373 in the month of May. Similar story with Bonds as 12 of his homers came in May. White actually faltered in May, hitting about .239, but I can't complain about 11 homers. Bonds has also been walking like he has a laser eye for the strike zone. But unfortunately, for every bright spot there's another dark spot. Ausmus has been epically bad (.609 OPS), as has Nixon (.685 OPS).
Although I have noticed that we've been offensively deficient on the road, which has led to a poor road W-L record. We're a .239/.309/.366 team on the road, as opposed to .306/.362/.535 at home. The aforementioned Ausmus, for example, is a .308/.341/.513 hitter in Fenway Park, as opposed to being a .163/.196/.245 on the road. Even Bonds falls from .353/.463/1.029 at home to .281/.397/.614 on the road. The startling difference in offense on the road has led to us having a 22-5 record at home and being 10-15 away from home.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
SPIDERMAN AND ROCKET UPDATE
MAY
Season expectations: I'm hoping that with a full-season under his belt he'll be able to crack 200 hits, 100 RBI's (again), 30 homers, and a .900-1.000 OPS. I'm also hoping to see him finish in the top 5-10 in hits and batting average.
Nomar TORE SHIZ UP in May. He hit at a .373/.410/.564 clip in May, as well as belting four long-balls and driving in fifteen runners. He collected a team leading 41 hits in the month and stealing four bases. His play in the month of May brought him to 75 hits, seven homers, 30 RBI's, and a line of .350/.391/.514/.905 for the season. A big reason for the step up in his play, in my opinion, is the ratings spike he saw about half way through the month, going from 86/95 to 90/98.
After May he ranks the following on the team:
- 1st in Batting Average
- T-2nd in Steals
- T-4th in Homers
- 5th in RBI's
- T-3rd in Runs
- 3rd in On-base Percentage
- 2nd in Slugging Percentage
- 3rd in OPS
Additionally he ranks at the following in the American League:
- 5th in Batting Average
- 3rd in Hits
And he's not too far off the leader board in slugging percentage and OPS. He's well on his way to hitting most of the expectations I have for him. As of now it looks like he'll fall a little short on the homers and RBI's, but he's looking like he'll nail the other ones.
Nomar's Game of the Month
HTML Code:
May 26th vs. Pirates
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 4 0 2 2 4 1 1 .350
Season expectations: I'm not expecting another twenty win, high 2.00's or low 3.00's ERA from Clemens again. However I do think it would be reasonable to expect 14+ wins, an ERA around 3.50 to 4.00, and 200 innings pitched.
Clemens has taken a step back since last year. Unlike Nomar, Clemens is getting old and a small decline is expected in his case. He's still pitched at a very good level, however. May was a little rough on Clemens, though. His ERA for May was 4.95. He did lead the team in innings pitched and strikeouts for the month, with 43 2/3 and 38, though.
Ranks on the team for the season:
- T-1st in Wins
- 2nd in ERA
- 2nd in IP
- 1st in K's
- 2nd in BAA
- 2nd in WHIP
Ranks in AL this season:
Again he comes in second to Brad Radke in all those categories. Though he is looking good for hitting my expectations for him. His ERA might be a little high, but I would expect that to come down by the end of the season.
CLEMENS GAME OF THE MONTH
HTML Code:
May 16th vs. Blue Jays
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
R. Clemens 8.1 5 0 1 2 2 7 129 3.82
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
May 31
Red Sox (32-20) @ Angels (23-31)
Red Sox 6 - Angels 8
We kinda blew this one. Going into the bottom of the fourth we led 5-0, but the first of two Jim Edmonds homers in the game changed that quickly. After that we didn't score again until the top of the ninth on Nomar's solo homer. Edmonds and Anderson really killed us. They combined to hit three homers and drive in seven runs in the game.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-5, HR, 2 RBI
WP - Lou Pote (3-0)
LP - Mike Maddux (1-2)
SV - Troy Percival (9)
HR - Trot Nixon (5), Nomar Garciaparra (8)
====================================================================
June 1
Red Sox (32-21) @ Angels (24-31)
Red Sox 12 - Angels 4
Wowza. Bonds doubles and drives in three runs in his return from injury, Olerud also doubles and drives in three runs, everyone but Nixon gets a hit, and the list goes on.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 4-6, 3 R, 2 RBI
WP - Jeff Suppan (4-6)
LP - Mark Langston (2-7)
SV - Brian Shouse (1)
HR - N/A
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 6 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 .276
R. White (CF) 5 3 1 3 0 1 1 0 .290
N. Garciaparra (DH) 6 4 0 3 0 2 0 0 .360
B. Bonds (LF) 4 2 1 2 0 3 0 1 .308
J. Olerud (1B) 4 2 2 0 0 3 0 0 .314
B. Boone (2B) 4 1 2 0 0 2 1 0 .254
T. Nixon (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .245
J. Cirillo (3B) 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .280
B. Ausmus (C) 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .221
TOTALS 41 15 7 12 0 12 3 1
2B: J. Olerud (12), B. Bonds (12)
3B: B. Larkin (4)
HBP: B. Ausmus, B. Bonds
GIDP: J. Cirillo
====================================================================
June 2
Red Sox (33-21) @ Angels (24-32)
Red Sox 8 - Angels 2
Another fantastic game out of the offense. Larkin led off the game with a homer, and then Bret Boone whacked a three run bomb in the same inning. Brian Rose also gave us another great start, allowing just two earned runs over seven innings and striking out four.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 4-5, HR, RBI
WP - Brian Rose (2-0)
LP - Chuck Finley (2-5)
SV - N/A
HR - Bret Boone (8), Barry Larkin (6), Rondell White (12), Nomar Garciaparra (9)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 4 3 1 2 1 2 0 0 .284
R. White (CF) 5 3 0 2 1 2 1 0 .297
N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 .370
B. Bonds (LF) 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 .308
J. Olerud (1B) 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .307
B. Boone (2B) 5 1 0 1 1 3 0 0 .252
T. Nixon (RF) 4 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .250
J. Cirillo (3B) 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
B. Ausmus (C) 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .215
TOTALS 41 15 4 8 4 8 6 0
2B: T. Nixon 2 (9)
3B: B. Larkin (5)
HR: B. Boone (8), B. Larkin (6), R. White (12), N. Garciaparra (9)
GIDP: R. White
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Rose 7.0 6 1 2 2 2 4 103 1.93
B. Shouse 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 3 25 2.78
TOTALS 9.0 7 1 2 2 2 7 128
====================================================================
June 3
Red Sox (34-21) @ Angels (24-33)
Red Sox 8 - Angels 6 (10 innings)
Fantastic game. We got a run in the ninth to tie it, follow a Joe Oliver single after John Olerud was bunted into scoring position, and then Rondell White came off the bench and hit a pinch-hit-bases-loaded double for three runs as the game-winning hit. Olerud homered in the first for three runs to give him nine homers for the season, as well.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, K/7 IP, 8 H, BB, 4 ER, 3 K
WP - Heathcliff Slocumb (2-0)
LP - Troy Percival (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR - John Olerud (9)
====================================================================
Thoughts: Can't complain about taking three of four from anyone :). This puts us 5.5 up on the Indians and keeps us 1/2 game back of the best record in the AL.
The top two of Barry Larkin and Rondell White are really getting the job done right now. In his last ten, White is hitting .341/.372/.512 with a homer and nine RBI's, and in Larkin's last ten he's hitting .341/.396/.964 with a homer, eight RBI's, and three steals.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Draft post comin' up.....:D
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
TOP TEN PICKS, FIRST ROUND,
AND OTHER NOTABLE PICKS
#1 - OAKLAND A'S
2B Akinori Iwamura (73/96)
#2 - MINNESOTA TWINS
SP Johan Santana (78/90)
#3 - KANSAS CITY ROYALS
SP Brandon Webb (79/87)
#4 - SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
CF Norris Hopper (78/86)
#5 - DETROIT TIGERS
SP Bud Smith (65/98)
#6 - MILWAUKEE BREWERS
1B Ryan Shealy (77/85)
#7 - NEW YORK METS
1B Lance Niekro (67/93)
#8 - TEXAS RANGERS
RF Jorge Piedra (77/85)
#9 - TORONTO BLUE JAYS
C Eliezer Alfonzo (76/84)
#10 - MONTREAL EXPOS
CF Tim Raines (75/83)
HTML Code:
10. Pirates Koyie Hill (C)
11. Phillies Chris Aguila (RF)
12. Reds Terry Tiffee (3B)
13. Braves Chris Roberson (RF)
14. Cubs Tommy Murphy (CF)
15. Padres Alay Soler (P)
16. White Sox Chip Ambres (CF)
17. Marlins Garrett Atkins (3B)
18. Cardinals Carlos Maldonado (C)
19. Orioles Humberto Quintero (C)
20. Rockies Jason Dubois (LF)
21. Astros Sean Green (P)
22. Angels Clay Hensley (P)
23. Red Sox EDITED OUT FOR SECRECY (XX)
24. Mariners Humberto Cota (C)
25. Indians Juan Brito (C)
26. Dodgers Kevin Cameron (P)
27. Yankees Juan Uribe (SS)
1B Kevin Youkilis (65/87) - Round #2, 46 overall, Florida Marlins
SP Erik Bedard (69/84) - Round #2, 50 overall, Houston Astros
SP Mark Buehrle (67/84) - Round #3, 68 overall, Philadelphia Phillies
1B Ryan Howard (64/81) - Round #4, 87 overall, Kansas City Royals
CF Rick Ankiel (67/79) - Round #4, 89 overall, Detroit Tigers
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
RED SOX DRAFT REVIEW
There really wasn't a whole lot left that I was interested in when it came to my pick in the first round. The guy I was really hoping for was Garrett Atkins, and he went six or so picks before mine. Regardless of the fact that Dunn wasn't really who I originally wanted, I still consider this a good pick. I drafted him as a left fielder but immediately converted him to right. I figure Bonds is entrenched at left for the foreseeable future, and Nixon not so much so in right due to his struggles this season. Anyways, Dunn already has a great eye for the strikezone and prolific power, plus he's healthy as an ox. His fielding and contact may not be up to par, but I mostly drafted him for his power anyways. I'm hoping he can turn out to be a .260 hitters with 40+ home runs.
Again wasn't much there that I was all that interested in, but this is who I went with in the end. Looks like Greene can turn out to be a really good defender with some good pop. He's not very fast, and he lacks plate discipline and contact, but short stop is a position I always look for defense first, and if he develops as expected he could very well be a future Gold Glove winner in the Major Leagues.
I reached for Beltre a little bit with this pick. There were some guys with higher peaks available, but I like Beltre a lot, and I figured he probably wouldn't make it to me in the next round, so I snatched him up while I could. The thing that really sold me about Beltre is his glove. If he can make it to the majors, his glove will win him some awards and get him a lot of recognition. Although his bat isn't as good as his glove, he still looks like he'll be a very strong hitter, probably good for .280 and 20 homers. I'll take that with Gold Glove defense at the hot corner any day.
REMAINDER OF MY PICKS
4TH ROUND, #108 OVERALL
C SERGIO LARRINAGA (63/79)
5TH ROUND, #136 OVERALL
CL Justin Wayne (52/75)
6TH ROUND, #164 OVERALL
SP Ian Ayson (47/71)
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 4
Rockies (27-29) @ Red Sox (35-21)
Rockies 2 - Red Sox 4
If not for an error this would've been a complete game shutout for Radke. But as it was, Radke still got the complete, allowed two unearned runs on eight hits, and struck out six, dropping his season ERA to 3.21. The offense was pretty spread throughout the lineup. However, Barry Larkin did go 3-4 with a double, a run, and his tenth stolen base of the season.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-3, BB, R
WP - Brad Radke (9-2)
LP - John Thomson (0-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Brad Ausmus (4)
====================================================================
June 5
Rockies (27-30) @ Red Sox (36-21)
Rockies 7 - Red Sox 3
Oyve. Somehow a guy with an ERA near 8.00 managed to shut us down for seven innings in this game. Roger Bailey held us to just two runs on eight hits over the first seven innings. We got guys on base against him, we just couldn't bring them around. Jeff Suppan also lost his 7th game in 14 starts this season (he only lost 6 in 26 all of last season), after allowing four runs in 4+ innings.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-4, K
WP - Roger Bailey (3-2)
LP - Jeff Suppan (4-7)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Bonds (18)
====================================================================
June 6
Rockies (28-30) @ Red Sox (36-22)
Rockies 1 - Red Sox 16
Talk about offense! We scored in every inning we batted in except the 7th and 8th (we didn't bat in the ninth), including 13 runs between the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings! Barry Bonds homered and drove in five runs, to help him cross the 20 homer and 50 RBI threshhold for the season, and Larkin drove in four as well. Everyone got at least one hit, and everyone but B-Lark scored.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-5, 2 R
WP - Brian Rose (3-0)
LP - Bryan Rekar (1-2)
SV - Brian Shouse (2)
HR - Barry Bonds 2 (20), Rondell White (13)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 5 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 .298
R. White (CF) 6 2 0 2 1 2 0 1 .292
N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .362
B. Bonds (LF) 5 4 0 3 2 5 0 1 .315
J. Olerud (1B) 4 3 1 2 0 0 1 0 .316
B. Boone (2B) 2 2 1 3 0 1 0 0 .263
T. Nixon (RF) 4 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 .254
J. Cirillo (3B) 4 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .286
B. Ausmus (C) 5 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 .216
TOTALS 40 19 3 16 3 16 3 2
2B: J. Olerud 2 (14), T. Nixon (10)
3B: B. Ausmus (3)
HR: B. Bonds 2 (20), R. White (13)
HBP: B. Boone, J. Cirillo
GIDP: T. Nixon
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Rose 6.0 9 2 0 1 1 4 99 1.80
B. Shouse 3.0 2 2 0 0 0 3 46 3.29
TOTALS 9.0 11 4 0 1 1 7 145
====================================================================
Date
Rockies (28-31) @ Red Sox (37-22)
Rockies 0 - Red Sox 3
What a splendid start by our #5 starter, Butch Henry. Henry went eight innings without allowing a run. He allowed just two hits, walked four, and struck out four. Rich Garces came in and got the save by pitching a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Nomar fell just a home run short of hitting for the cycle for the second time in his career (and the second time in as many seasons). Gubicza also pitched well on the other side, allowing just three runs over seven innings, but it wasn't enough to beat Henry on this day.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 3-4, 2B, 3B, R, RBI
WP - Butch Henry (3-0)
LP - Mark Gubicza (8-3)
SV - Rich Garces (16)
HR - N/A
====================================================================
Thoughts: Apparently the Indians are starting to heat up. Even after taking three of four from the Rockies, we still remain 5.5 games up. Nevertheless, we continue to play well at home, winning 25 and losing just 6 in the confines of Fenway Park, which is why it's so important that we not only win the division, but finish with the best record in the American League. Currently we hold a 1/2 game lead in that department.
Juan Gonzalez is the clear runaway MVP award winner right now, but should he ever return to planet Earth, Barry Bonds will be right there waiting for him. Gonzalez's .362/.428/.742/1.170 with 27 homers and 67 RBI's dwarfs Bonds numbers. But Bonds .314/.428/.686/1.114 with 20 homers and 54 RBI's dwarfs everyone elses. I personally think there's no way in hell Gonzalez keeps up the pace he's on, and if that happens I think there's a really good chance Bonds will win his fourth MVP award, and first in the American League.
DRABEK INKS ON THE DOTTED LINE
Astros starter Doug Drabek, coming off a 20 win season, recently agreed to a new deal with the team. Drabek's deal takes him through the 2000 season, and is worth 3,000,000 a year over that time frame.
TALKS OF RELOCATION AND EXPANSION TRICKLING DOWN FROM COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE
Recent rumblings from the Commishes office suggest that the league will be expanding following the completion of either this season or next season. The two sites that are reportedly to be agreed upon are Tampa Bay and Arizona. Not only that, but there is also talk of relocating the Florida Marlins. The most likely site at this point appears to be Salt Lake City, Utah. If such a thing were to happen, the Marlins would then become a member of the NL west, and would give the Dodgers some serious competition in that division.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 8
Pirates (31-29) @ Red Sox (38-22)
Pirates 0 - Red Sox 3
Fantastic start by Clemens to help us win our first game of the season against the Pirates. Clemens pitched the complete game shutout, allowing only three hits, and striking out two. Bret Boone gave us our big hit in the fifth with his two-run homer.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-3 BB, R/9 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 2 K
WP - Roger Clemens (9-3)
LP - Denny Neagle (5-3)
SV - N/A
HR - Bret Boone (9)
====================================================================
June 9
Pirates (31-30) @ Red Sox (39-22)
Pirates 3 - Red Sox 4
Awwwww yeahhhh, two in a row over the team that has been my bane so far this season! Radke gives us his second complete game in a row, allowing three runs on nine hits and striking out five this time. The game did come down to the ninth inning, however. With two men on, Jeff Cirillo came to the plate and ripped the walk-off double into left-center field.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-4, R, 2 2B
WP - Brad Radke (10-2)
LP - Dan Miceli (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Larkin (7), Barry Bonds (21)
====================================================================
Date
Pirates (31-31) @ Red Sox (40-22)
Pirates 4 - Red Sox 2
We managed to mount a late rally, but we didn't get quite enough for the win. We had the winning run at the plate with one out in the ninth inning, but Bret Boone grounded in to a double play to end the game. Still can't complain about taking two of three from a team that I hadn't beaten once in six or nine games prior to this series though.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-4, 2B
WP - Francicso Cordova (4-3)
LP - Jeff Suppan (4-8)
SV - Ricardo Rincon (10)
HR - N/A
====================================================================
Thoughts: The Indians picked up a game on us, but we're still sitting in the driver seat at 4.5 ahead. Next up we've got games on the road against the Cardinals and Rockies, before we come home and play the Angels and Mets. Fortunately we've only got 10 more days until our off-day on the 21st. We really need it because we've got a lot of guys who are tired and sore. And they're guys we need in the line-up too, like Larkin and White. I've also got a tough decision on my hands. Jamie Moyer is due to return to us in our next game, but Brian Rose has been studly since his call-up. In three starts he's 3-0 with an ERA of 1.80. I'm thinking about pulling Suppan from the rotation, sticking him in the bullpen, and Moyer can take his spot.
Nomar's just going on a tear in every way possible right now. Five of his 11 doubles for the season have come in the last ten games, as well as a home run, a triple, and four RBI's. Over those ten games he's hitting a staggering .476/.511/.714/1.225 to raise his season line to .372/.411/.556/.967! His .372 batting average is also good for first in the American League!
However, he's not the only shortstop on the roster that's tearing the cover off the ball right now. In Larkin's last ten games he's hitting .378/.404/.711/1.115 with two homers, 10 RBI's, and three steals! His play of late has brought his season numbers to .293/.351/.483/.834 with seven homers, 36 RBI's, and 12 steals.
YANKEES TAKE MAJOR BLOW
The New York Yankees suffered a serious blow to their line-up. All-Star center fielder Bernie Williams went down with a fractured foot for two weeks. At the time of the injury Bernie was looking like a good candidate for NL MVP, hitting .349/.410/.606 with 14 home runs and an NL-leading 71 RBI's.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
SOX CLOSE DEAL WITH GARCES
The American League East leading Boston Red Sox came to an agreement with their closer, Rich "El Guapo" Garces. The deal will keep Garces with the team through the 1999 season and will pay him 2.3 million dollars per season.
Garces has been excellent since being inserted into the closers role mid-way through last season. Last season he logged 28 saves in 32 chances and an ERA of 3.31 in 50 games, and this season he's been even better. In 23 games Garces has pitched 25 2/3 innings, logged 16 saves, just one blown save, and an ERA of 0.70. He has also struck out 31, walked only seven, and held opposing batters to a .198 batting average. Additionally, he hasn't allowed a run in his last ten appearances, while collecting six saves and a win in that time frame.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 11
Red Sox (40-23) @ Cardinals (34-29)
Red Sox 8 - Cardinals 2
Well, with this start Brian Rose has cemented himself in the rotation, for the time being anyways. Over seven innings he allowed just two runs on four runs with four K's. Cirillo and Ausmus had big games at the plate, with Cirillo homering and driving in three, and Ausmus doubling twice and driving in three as well.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-4, BB, 2 R, HR, RBI
WP - Brian Rose (4-0)
LP - Matt Morris (1-5)
SV - N/A
HR - Jeff Cirillo (5), Nomar Garciaparra (10)
====================================================================
June 12
Red Sox (41-23) @ Cardinals (34-30)
Red Sox 5 - Cardinals 3
Nixon actually managed to do something with the bat for once in his life, homering and driving in two runs. Butch Henry put in a good six innings, allowing just two runs on a walk and nine hits. El Guapo also notched his 17th save, striking out four in 1 1/3 innings and walking one.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-3, BB, R, RBI
WP - Butch Henry (4-0)
LP - Danny Jackson (4-6)
SV - Rich Garces (17)
HR - Trot Nixon (6)
====================================================================
June 13
Red Sox (42-23) @ Cardinals (34-31)
Red Sox 3 - Cardinals 1
Another strong start by Clemens means we'll be going for the four-game sweep with Radke on the mound in the next game. Clemens went seven innings, allowed just one earned run, gave up six hits, walked three, and struck out four. Larkin continued his hot-hitting, going 2-4 with a homer.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-4/7 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, ER, 4 K
WP - Roger Clemens (10-3)
LP - Danny Osborne (4-4)
SV - Rich Garces (18)
HR - Barry Larkin (8)
====================================================================
June 14
Red Sox (43-23) @ Cardinals (34-32)
Red Sox 4 - Cardinals 2
Three complete games in a row for Brad Radke gives us a four game sweep over the Card's! He allowed only two runs in spite of ten hits, and struck out nine without walking a batter. Nixon and Joe Oliver both drove in runs without getting hits, and Bonds hit home run #22 of the season.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 0-3, BB, R
WP - Brad Radke (11-2)
LP - Andy Benes (4-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Bonds (22)
====================================================================
Thoughts: The sweep helps us put another game between ourselves and the Indians. We currently sit at 5 1/2 games back, and we play the Indians again at the end of the month. If we can keep up this pace through that series we could put the East away very, very early.
You remember that MVP race I was talking about a couple posts ago? Due to Juan Gone hitting just .220/.256/.463/.719 in his last ten games, and Bonds still hitting like a maniac at .361/.439/.833/1.272 with five homers and 10 RBI's in his last ten he's made up some considerable ground! He now trails Gonzo by just five homers, 11 RBI's, and 2 points in OPS.
Nothing too interesting to report about, so I'll hit you with some updated league standings:
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 15
Red Sox (44-23) @ Rockies (30-36)
Red Sox 5 - Rockies 4
Jamie Moyer gave us a fantastic start in his first game back from injury. Moyer went eight innings, allowed only three runs on five hits, walked none, and struck out four. Not a whole lot of offense in the game, but the hit that ended up making the difference was Olerud's fourth inning three run homer.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-5, 2 R, HR, RBI
WP - Jamie Moyer (7-5)
LP - Roger Bailey (3-3)
SV - Rich Garces (19)
HR - John Olerud (10), Nomar Garciaparra (11)
====================================================================
June 16
Red Sox (45-23) @ Rockies (30-37)
Red Sox 8 - Rockies 7 (10 innings)
Olerud's starting to go on a tear. He homered and doubled in this game, as well as driving in half of our runs. Larkin had the biggest hit of the game, however, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the tenth to win the game for us. Overall, Larkin was 4-6 with a homer and three RBI's on the day.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 2-5, BB, R, K
WP - Heathcliff Slocumb (3-0)
LP - Lance Painter (1-4)
SV - Rich Garces (20)
HR - John Olerud (11), Barry Larkin (9)
====================================================================
June 17
Red Sox (46-23) @ Rockies (30-38)
Red Sox 2 - Rockies 6
Mark Gubicza and Vinny Castilla combine to end our winning streak at six games. Gubicza allowed just two runs to us over 6 1/3 innings, while Castilla homered and drove in three runs. We had plenty of opportunities to score (I can think of two or three times when we put Larkin and White on base in an inning, but Nomar, Bonds, and Olerud all made outs and stranded them), but could do nothing with them.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-3, RBI
WP - Mark Gubicza (9-4)
LP - Butch Henry (4-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Trot Nixon (7)
====================================================================
Thoughts: The Rockies bring our winning streak to an end at six games, and help the Indians pick up a game on us and go to 4 1/2 back. Those Indians are really, really hot right now. They're going stride-for-stride with us. I mean, we're 14-3 this month and we haven't gone up more than another game and a half on them compared to where we started the month. If we weren't playing so well right now, we'd probably be looking at a steep hill to climb.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Otis Nixon stole his 500th career base on June 17th, and Mike Henneman logged save #200 on the 10th. Otherwise, nothing interesting going on lately.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 18
Angels (28-43) @ Red Sox (46-24)
Angels 2 - Red Sox 7
Clemens is really starting to look like the Clemens we're used to seeing. This time out he allowed just one earned run over seven innings on five hits and four walks. He struck out only three, but with all the offense we got we didn't need him to register 20 punchouts. Although most of the runs came from the top of the lineup, everyone who played got a hit, except Nixon. Nomar and Larkin were the biggest guns at the plate, combining to drive in five runs and score three.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 3-5, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2B/7 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, ER, 3 K
WP - Roger Clemens (11-3)
LP - Jason Dickson (2-7)
SV - N/A
HR - John Olerud (12), Barry Larkin (10), Barry Bonds (23), Nomar Garciaparra (12)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 4 3 0 2 1 2 0 0 .318
R. White (CF) 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 3 0 1 1 3 0 0 .375
B. Bonds (LF) 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .306
J. Olerud (1B) 4 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 .323
B. Boone (2B) 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .239
T. Nixon (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .244
J. Cirillo (3B) 3 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 .292
B. Ausmus (C) 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .231
TOTALS 37 15 3 7 4 7 4 0
2B: J. Olerud (20), J. Cirillo (13), N. Garciaparra (12)
HR: J. Olerud (12), B. Larkin (10), B. Bonds (23), N. Garciaparra (12)
HBP: B. Bonds
GIDP: B. Larkin
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
R. Clemens 7.0 5 4 0 1 1 3 105 3.59
B. Shouse 2.0 2 0 0 1 1 2 32 3.16
TOTALS 9.0 7 4 0 2 2 5 137
====================================================================
June 19
Angels (28-44) @ Red Sox (47-24)
Angels 3 - Red Sox 5
Radke gave us a good start, allowing just three runs over seven innings without walking a batter, and that basically made the difference, as offense was somewhat sparse in this game. Rondell and Boone drove in a couple runs each, but we only managed seven hits. If they hadn't walked eight of our batters this probably would have been a loss.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-3, BB
WP - Brad Radke (12-2)
LP - Mark Langston (2-10)
SV - Rich Garces (21)
HR - N/A
====================================================================
June 20
Angels (28-45) @ Red Sox (48-25)
Angels 0 - Red Sox 2
So not too long after pulling Suppan from the rotation I have to call on him to make a spot start, and what does he do? He goes 8 1/3 shut out innings, allows only five hits, walks two, and strikes out seven before getting pulled for El Guapo. How we managed to win with Nomar, Bonds, and Olerud combining to go 2-9 with a walk, and Larkin and White starting the game on the bench I'll never know, but we did it somehow.
NOMAR/CLEMENS - 1-3, BB, SB
WP - Jeff Suppan (5-8)
LP - Jim Abbott (6-7)
SV - Rich Garces (22)
HR - N/A
====================================================================
Thoughts: We finally get an off-day for the first time in roughly a month! We have another one after our next series against the Mets, and it's perfect timing for us to have two off-days because we play the Indians in a week. That's sure to be a huge series, as we're currently six games up and a sweep by us would probably put the division out of reach for them, while a sweep by them would make things very interesting. We're also sporting the best record in the AL by a few games over the Mariners, and we've improved our away record to 19-17.
A quick update on our #1 pick of this season. Dunn has played in only four games in rookie-ball so far, but in those five games he has five hits in 11 at-bats and two RBI's. He has an astounding line of .455/.647/.727/1.374 in rookie-ball.
Will Clark collected his 1000th RBI earlier this season, and he's now scored his 1000th career run. Clark is having an excellent season with a nice line of .301/.395/.606/1.001, and is a good bet to make the AL All-Star team.
Not to be outdone, David Cone got his 2000th career strikeout on June 20th. And he did it in spectacular fashion, throwing a complete-game, five hit, shutout with 10K's in the start.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 22
Mets (37-36) @ Red Sox (49-24)
Mets 7 - Red Sox 4
Rose had his first bad start since being called up, allowing five runs over five innings on seven hits. We got some runs near the end, but all they served to do was make the loss less embarassing. Interesting stat-line for Bonds, though, as he went 0-1 with FOUR walks.
WP: P. Byrd (6-4, 3.74)
LP: B. Rose (4-1, 4.08)
SV: J. Franco (16)
HR: E. Alfonzo (11), B. Gilkey (10), M. Stairs (14)
Following: N. Garciaparra (2-5)
====================================================================
June 23
Mets (38-36) @ Red Sox (49-25)
Mets 0 - Red Sox 8
Clemens is absolutely ON FIRE right now. This game ends up as another complete game shutout in the books for him, allowing just three hits, walking none, and striking out seven. Pretty good game offensively too, with Nomar homering, andNixon homering and driving in two runs and scoring four, as well.
WP: R. Clemens (12-3, 3.32)
LP: R. Person (2-2, 6.66)
HR: T. Nixon (8), N. Garciaparra (13)
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K), R. Clemens (9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 122 pitches)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 5 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .319
R. White (CF) 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .292
N. Garciaparra (DH) 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 .375
B. Bonds (LF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .298
J. Olerud (1B) 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .314
B. Boone (2B) 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 .231
T. Nixon (RF) 3 3 1 4 1 2 0 0 .257
J. Cirillo (3B) 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .283
B. Ausmus (C) 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 .234
TOTALS 30 8 6 8 2 7 6 0
2B: J. Olerud (21), B. Larkin (21), T. Nixon (11)
3B: B. Larkin (6)
HR: T. Nixon (8), N. Garciaparra (13)
HBP: B. Boone
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
R. Clemens 9.0 3 0 0 0 0 7 122 3.32
TOTALS 9.0 3 0 0 0 0 7 122
====================================================================
June 24
Mets (38-27) @ Red Sox (50-25)
Mets 6 - Red Sox 7 (10 innings)
Not the greatest performance by the pitching staff, as Radke allows five runs in 6 1/3 innings, and Garces blows the save in the ninth. Fortunately we still managed to win it, however, as Jeff Cirillo singled home the game-winning run from second in the bottom of the tenth inning with the game still tied, for his second RBI of the game. Larkin and Olerud also had good games at the plate, as they both drove in a pair of runs, with Larkin's coming on a two-run homer in the third.
WP: R. Garces (2-1, 1.07)
LP: J. Isringhausen (1-2, 2.81)
HR: J. Kent (14), E. Alfonzo (12), J. Cirillo (6), B. Larkin (11)
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-5, 2 R, 2 K)
====================================================================
Thoughts: We've got the Blue Jays for three on the road before we had back to Fenway for our big series against the Indians. Right now we're six games up, and a good six game stretch could prove devastating for the Indians hopes up catching us. We also luck out because Clemens, Radke, and Moyer are already slated to pitch the series without me having to pitch anyone on short rest or stretch out the bullpen.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
BIG news in Seattle. Star Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep him in Seattle through the 2001 season. A-Rod is widely regarded as the best young player in the game today, and at 21 years old he already has a 40 homer season to his name.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 26
Red Sox (51-25) @ Blue Jays (35-40)
Red Sox 5 - Blue Jays 0
Jamie Moyer's turn to turn in a dazzling pitching performance! Like Clemens a few starts before him, he also pitches a complete game shutout, allowing four hits, walking one, and striking out five. Not a whole lot of offense, but Rondell, Olerud, Nixon, and Cirillo each drove in one run.
WP: J. Moyer (8-5, 4.65) - 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 116 pitches
LP: R. Halladay (4-7, 5.48) - 3.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 63 pitches
HR: None
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-4, 1 BB)
====================================================================
June 27
Red Sox (52-25) @ Blue Jays (35-41)
Red Sox 7 - Blue Jays 8
A rough start by Brian Rose gives us a loss and might mark the end of the Brian Rose experiment in Boston. This time out he allowed seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings before the bullpen went to work. The difference making run came in the bottom of the 8th, however, when Carlos Delgado hit a solo homer to lead off the inning and break the 7-7 tie permanently. Nomar had a good game, at least, going 4-5 with a double, a run, and two RBI's.
WP: J. Frasor (3-1, 3.48) - 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 22 pitches
LP: S. Belinda (0-1, 4.15) - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 16 pitches
SV: B. Koch (13) - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 14 pitches
HR: S. Martinez (3), C. Delgado (17)
Stars: N. Garciaparra (4-5, 1 R, 2 RBI), S. Martinez (2-3, 2 R, 4 RBI)
====================================================================
June 28
Red Sox (52-26) @ Blue Jays (36-41)
Red Sox 16 - Blue Jays 5
Yeah, we scored a few runs in this game. I sat Bret Boone in this game due to his OPS dipping below .700, and what does his replacement Jeff Frye do but go 4-5 and drive in five runs! Everyone in the lineup got a hit, and everyone got multiple hits except for Nomar, everyone scored, and everyone but Nomar and Cirillo drove in runs.
WP: B. Henry (5-1, 3.33) - 8.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 108 pitches
LP: P. Hentgen (6-4, 4.87) - 2.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 64 pitches
HR: B. Bonds (24), T. Nixon (9), J. Frye (1)
Stars: B. Larkin (4-6, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB), J. Frye (4-5, 2 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB)
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-6, 1 R)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 6 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 .321
R. White (CF) 6 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .298
N. Garciaparra (DH) 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .373
B. Bonds (LF) 6 2 0 2 1 2 2 0 .301
J. Olerud (1B) 4 2 2 2 0 1 2 0 .323
T. Nixon (RF) 6 2 0 1 1 3 1 0 .253
J. Cirillo (3B) 5 2 1 3 0 0 2 0 .287
B. Ausmus (C) 4 3 1 3 0 2 0 0 .248
J. Frye (2B) 5 4 1 2 1 5 0 0 .368
TOTALS 48 23 6 16 3 15 7 0
2B: B. Ausmus (11), B. Larkin (22), B. Bonds (16)
3B: J. Olerud (2)
HR: B. Bonds (24), T. Nixon (9), J. Frye (1)
HBP: B. Ausmus
GIDP: J. Cirillo, N. Garciaparra 2
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Henry 8.0 7 1 0 4 4 6 108 3.33
S. Belinda 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 4.02
TOTALS 9.0 7 1 0 5 4 7 122
====================================================================
Thoughts: Six games up, offense on fire, and our top three starters going against the team that's chasing us for the division? It's safe to say I like the opportunity we have here. I'm really, really hoping we sweep here, obviously. There would be nothing more satisfying then going 23-5 in June and going into the All-Star Break up nine or ten games.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
June 29
Indians (46-32) @ Red Sox (53-26)
Indians 4 - Red Sox 6
This game wasn't nearly as close as the scoreboard would indicate. Clemens pitched shutout ball until giving up a grand slam to Jeromy Burnitz with two outs in the ninth, and we loaded the bases in our first three batters, and then Barry Bonds brought 'em around with one swing of the bat with a grand-slam.
WP: R. Clemens (13-3, 3.37)
LP: O. Hershiser (4-7, 5.25) - 1.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 53 pitches
HR: J. Burnitz (3), B. Bonds (25)
Stars: J. Burnitz (1-1, 1 R, 4 RBI), B. Bonds (2-3, 1 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB)
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB), R. Clemens (9.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 152 pitches)
====================================================================
June 30
Indians (46-33) @ Red Sox (54-26)
Indians 2 - Red Sox 10
This series could not be going any better for me! We got McDowell out of the game before the end of the second inning by putting five runs on the board against him, Radke went seven and only allowed two, and we actually got a four-hit game from our offensively woeful catcher! Larkin kept tearing the cover off the ball, too, going 2-5 with a homer and three runs batted in.
WP: B. Radke (13-2, 3.29) - 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 112 pitches
LP: J. McDowell (7-5, 4.50) - 1.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 45 pitches
HR: J. Thome (25), B. Larkin (12)
Stars: B. Ausmus (4-4, 1 R)
Following: N. Garciaparra (2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB)
====================================================================
July 1
Indians (46-34) @ Red Sox (55-26)
Indians 9 - Red Sox 3
We couldn't quite complete the sweep, but I still can't complain. Moyer was epically ineffective, allowing seven runs in just four innings, and those seven runs really made the difference. I can't say the offense wasn't at fault though, we had opportunities to score (we got seven hits and four walks), we just couldn't push 'em across.
WP: B. Colon (9-4, 5.77) - 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 122 pitches
LP: J. Moyer (8-6, 5.18) - 4.0 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 75 pitches
HR: G. Pena (6), A. Belle (26), K. Lofton (6), B. Bonds (26), R. White (14)
Stars: A. Belle (2-4, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB)
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-3, 1 BB)
====================================================================
Thoughts: By taking two of three we keep our lead at seven games. We've got just six games to go before we hit the All-Star Break and finally get some good, extended rest. I'm sure we'll have plenty of people on the squad (Bonds, Nomar, Garces, Radke, and Clemens all seem likely to make it), but the guys who need the rest will get it, like Larkin and White and Ausmus. And depending on how these next six games go, we'll also have Bonds representing us in the Home-Run Derby!
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Nothing interesting going on. Just like last season I'll be waiting to do the normal monthly update until the ASB in six games.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
July 2
Red Sox (55-27) @ Orioles (31-51)
Red Sox 8 - Orioles 4
A solid start by Rose and some sloppy play in the field by the Orioles was the difference in this one. The Orioles made three errors in the game that led to four unearned runs. If they don't make those errors, theoretically this is a tied ball game. But fortunately for us they did, and fortunately for us we were able to capitalize with Rondell White ripping a three-run double in the fourth inning.
WP: B. Rose (5-1, 5.32) - 7.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 105 pitches
LP: S. Erickson (3-8, 6.85) - 4.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 86 pitches
HR: R. Palmeiro (18), B. Bonilla (15)
Following: N. Garciaparra (2-5, 1 RBI)
====================================================================
July 3
Red Sox (56-27) @ Orioles (32-51)
Red Sox 11 - Orioles 4
Pretty sloppy game here. The teams combined for five errors and four unearned runs. Anyways, Nomar went 1-6 and extended his hitting streak to sixteen games, while White, Boone, and Cirillo homered and drove in two runs. Suppan gave us a solid start on short notice, going six innings and allowing just one earned run and striking out six.
WP: J. Suppan (6-8, 5.27) - 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 110 pitches
LP: G. Stephenson (4-4, 4.60) - 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 96 pitches
SV: S. Belinda (2) - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 49 pitches
HR: B. Boone (10), J. Cirillo (7), R. White (15)
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-6, 1 R)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 6 3 0 2 0 1 1 0 .320
R. White (CF) 6 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 .306
N. Garciaparra (DH) 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .371
B. Bonds (LF) 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 .302
J. Olerud (1B) 5 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .319
T. Nixon (RF) 4 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 .255
B. Boone (2B) 5 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 .235
J. Cirillo (3B) 5 3 0 2 1 2 1 0 .282
J. Oliver (C) 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244
TOTALS 46 17 2 11 3 10 5 0
====================================================================
July 4
Red Sox (57-27) @ Orioles (32-52)
Red Sox 8 - Orioles 1
Another game, another sweep. This one saw a lot of offense as well, with both Bonds and Nomar homering and driving in multiple runs. Nomar also raised his season batting average to an MLB-best .374, and extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Clemens gave us another excellent start, going 7+ innings and allowing just one run while K'ing five.
WP: R. Clemens (14-3, 3.25)
LP: D. Wells (7-9, 3.53) - 3.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 61 pitches
HR: B. Boone (11), B. Bonds (27), N. Garciaparra (14), R. Palmeiro (19)
Following: N. Garciaparra (3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 2 K), R. Clemens (7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 115 pitches)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .319
R. White (CF) 5 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .307
N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 3 0 2 1 2 2 1 .374
B. Bonds (LF) 4 2 1 1 1 3 1 0 .304
J. Olerud (1B) 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .314
T. Nixon (RF) 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .254
B. Boone (2B) 5 3 0 2 1 2 1 0 .241
J. Cirillo (3B) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .279
J. Oliver (C) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .244
TOTALS 40 13 3 8 3 8 6 1
====================================================================
Thoughts: Just four more games until the All-Star Break! Best of all they're home, and it's not exactly stiff competition in the Brewers. We really need those off-days, we've already had Ausmus go down until the end of the All-Star Break with a collarbone injury, and I'm hoping more guys don't get hurt in the next four games.
Just something interesting I noticed, in that if Nixon hits one more home run before the All-Star Break we'll go into the All-Star Break with seven of our nine regular hitters in double-digit home runs. The only two that won't have double digits will be Cirillo (he has seven, so it's possible but unlikely), and Ausmus (he has four and he's out till the end of the All-Star Break, so that one's not possible). I think that's pretty impressive and says a lot about our offense. That will give us the fourth highest homer total in baseball (behind the Indians, Rangers, and Braves), and the second highest slugging average and OPS (to the Rangers).
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
July 5
Brewers (36-50) @ Red Sox (58-27)
Brewers 4 - Red Sox 2
Brewers rookie Ryan Shealy fell just a double short of hitting for the cycle against us in this win by the Brewers, as well as driving in three runs. The computer manager continues to bewilder me, as it pulled Radke after 4 2/3 innings even though he had only given up three runs. Nomar's hitting streak also came to an end at 18 games.
WP: K. Mercker (2-10, 6.85) - 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 97 pitches
LP: B. Radke (13-3, 3.38) - 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 85 pitches
SV: A. Reyes (12) - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 12 pitches
HR: R. Shealy (2)
Following: N. Garciaparra (0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K)
====================================================================
July 6
Brewers (37-50) @ Red Sox (58-28)
Brewers 3 - Red Sox 13
Mucho better game this time against the Brewers. One day after having his hitting streak come to an end, Nomar goes out and gets three hits in five at bats and drives in a run while scoring three times. He wasn't the only one who had a nice day at the plate offensively, though. Everyone in the lineup got one or more hits, everyone but Nixon and Joe Oliver drove in runs, and everyone but Cirillo scored a run. Moyer also pitched a solid six and two thirds innings, allowing just three runs on nine hits while striking out five.
WP: J. Moyer (9-6, 5.10) - 6.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 103 pitches
LP: S. Avery (2-6, 4.66) - 5.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 95 pitches
HR: G. Vaughn (17), B. Larkin (13)
Following: N. Garciaparra (3-5, 3 R, 1 RBI)
HTML Code:
BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Larkin (SS) 6 2 0 3 1 2 0 0 .319
R. White (CF) 5 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 .305
N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 3 0 3 0 1 0 0 .374
B. Bonds (LF) 5 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 .302
J. Olerud (1B) 4 3 1 2 0 2 1 0 .322
T. Nixon (RF) 5 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .257
B. Boone (2B) 4 2 0 1 0 3 1 0 .245
J. Cirillo (3B) 3 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 .286
J. Oliver (C) 4 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .264
TOTALS 41 19 3 13 1 13 6 1
2B: B. Bonds (20), N. Garciaparra (17)
3B: B. Boone (3), R. White (3)
HR: B. Larkin (13)
BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
J. Moyer 6.2 9 0 1 3 3 5 103 5.10
B. Shouse 1.1 2 2 0 0 0 1 30 2.68
S. Belinda 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 3.54
TOTALS 9.0 12 2 1 3 3 7 143
====================================================================
July 7
Brewers (37-51) @ Red Sox (59-28)
Brewers 11 - Red Sox 5
A really shaky bullpen performance cost us the win. Brian Shouse and Jeff Suppan combined to give up seven runs in the top of the eighth inning, which ended up being the difference in the game. Three of our runs came off the bat of Barry Bonds and his two homers, while we got another on a solo homer from Nomar and an RBI single by Jeff Frye.
WP: R. Bones (7-2, 3.62) - 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 111 pitches
LP: B. Rose (5-2, 5.33) - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 89 pitches
HR: M. Matheny (7), B. Bonds 2 (29), N. Garciaparra (15)
Stars: J. Cangelosi (4-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB)
Following: N. Garciaparra (1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
====================================================================
July 8
Brewers (38-51) @ Red Sox (59-29)
Brewers 6 - Red Sox 8
Nomar had a huge game, going 2-5 with a homer and driving in a team-high, game-high four runs. Things didn't look good at the start, with an error leading to a first inning grand slam by Greg Vaughn, but help from Nomar and the rest of the offense turned this into a win and a series split before we go into the All-Star Break.
WP: M. Stanton (2-1, 5.67) - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 27 pitches
LP: C. Carpenter (0-1, 9.53) - 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 18 pitches
SV: R. Garces (23) - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 11 pitches
HR: G. Vaughn (18), N. Garciaparra (16)
Stars: G. Vaughn (1-4, 1 R, 4 RBI, 2 K), N. Garciaparra (2-5, 1 R, 4 RBI)
====================================================================
Thoughts: We're going into the All-Star Break with an eight and a half game lead in the AL East, tied for the best record in the AL, and tied for the second best record in all of baseball. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. We've really got our team going great right now. Everyone's hitting, the top two of Clemens and Radke are doing very well, and even the back of the rotation is doing pretty solid.
====================================================================
AROUND THE LEAGUE
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
With the back end of the Red Sox rotation struggling this year, team brass decided to make a move and bring over lefty Mark Langston from the California Angels. The Angels were actually the ones to initiate talks with the Red Sox, but the Red Sox certainly weren't going to pass up an opportunity to improve their rotation.
California has gone from being a near Wild-Card winner and division contender last season, to being the worst team in the AL West this season. Langston had been struggling mightily in his first 18 starts of the season, going just 3-11 with an ERA over 5.06. That, coupled with the fact that he's 36 and in a contract year led to this trade from their side. For him they'll acquire 19 year-old Sun-Woo Kim (71/86) from the Red Sox.
NEW RED SOX
NEW ANGELS
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
1997 HOMERUN DERBY
HTML Code:
1997 Home Run Showdown
FIRST ROUND (10 Outs)
PLAYER HOMERS
Alex Rodriguez (SEA) 9
Jason Giambi (OAK) 9
Mike Piazza (LAD) 9
Albert Belle (CLE) 7
Sammy Sosa (CHC) 6
Ken Griffey Jr. (SEA) 4
Jon Nunnally (KCR) 3
Jim Thome (CLE) 3
Juan Gonzalez (TEX) 3
David Justice (ATL) 2
SECOND ROUND (5 Outs)
PLAYER HOMERS
Albert Belle (CLE) 4
Alex Rodriguez (SEA) 3
Mike Piazza (LAD) 1
Jason Giambi (OAK) 1
FINAL ROUND (5 Outs)
PLAYER HOMERS
ALEX RODRIGUEZ (SEA) 3
Albert Belle (CLE) 2
WINNER: Alex Rodriguez
I'm not entirely sure why our own Barry Bonds didn't get to participate in this, since he's #2 in all of baseball in homers, and Jon Nunnally, for example, only has 16.
Anyways, Cleveland gets another outfield slugger into the final round of the derby (last year Manny won it), but this time it's the newly-signed Alex Rodriguez bringing home the prize in representation of the Mariners.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
ALL-STAR TEAMS
1997
AMERICAN LEAGUE STARTERS
AMERICAN LEAGUE RESERVES AND PITCHERS
No surprise that we had Bonds, Clemens, Radke, and Garces all make it. I am, however, surprised that Nomar didn't make it. He leads all of baseball in batting average and hits, and ranks highly in a number of other categories, but didn't even make it as a reserve. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that he DH's and very, very rarely plays the field. I still think the offensive numbers should more than make up for that, but oh well. I'm sure he'll start making some All-Star teams sooner rather than later.
NATIONAL LEAGUE STARTERS
NATIONAL LEAGUE RESERVES AND PITCHERS
I can't believe how well O'Leary has done since I traded him over to San Fran over the off-season! 14 homers, 52 RBI's, .320/.381/.543/.924 in 83 games! He probably benefits from the relative short distance from home plate to right field, being a lefty, but still -- DAMN! I certainly don't regret the deal I made, I'm just very, very surprised to see O'Leary doing so well.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
ALL-STAR BOX SCORE, RECAP,
AND GAME MVP
HTML Code:
American League at National League
July 10, 1997
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
American League (AL) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0
National League (NL) 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 x 4 6 1
ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Bonds (LF) 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 .302
R. Alomar (2B) 5 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .321
A. Rodriguez (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .314
J. Thome (3B) 4 1 0 1 1 1 3 0 .324
K. Griffey Jr. (CF) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .272
F. Thomas (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 .311
J. Gonzalez (RF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .317
I. Rodriguez (C) 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .355
W. Clark (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .331
W. Cordero (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
T. Helton (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .334
D. Nilsson (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284
TOTALS 35 8 3 1 1 1 13 2
2B: J. Gonzalez
HR: J. Thome
GIDP: R. Alomar
ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
R. Johnson 1.0 1 1 0 1 1 1 20 2.54
B. Radke 2.0 2 0 1 1 1 1 24 3.38
R. Clemens 3.0 1 1 0 0 0 2 50 3.25
R. Garces 0.1 2 1 0 2 2 0 13 1.01
J. Putz 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 2 24 1.82
TOTALS 8.0 6 3 1 4 4 6 131
ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
D. Jeter (SS) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .337
W. Joyner (P) 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 .339
M. Tejada (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
C. Jones (3B) 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 .260
B. Williams (CF) 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .343
M. Piazza (C) 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .314
S. Sosa (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .317
L. Gonzalez (LF) 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .323
T. O'Leary (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320
G. Jefferies (1B) 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 .366
C. Biggio (2B) 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .298
M. Alou (P) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324
J. Damon (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .315
J. Lopez (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
TOTALS 29 6 3 4 1 4 6 0
2B: B. Williams, W. Joyner
HR: L. Gonzalez
ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
J. Rijo 2.0 3 0 0 0 0 5 39 2.98
T. Glavine 3.0 3 0 1 1 1 4 70 3.14
G. Maddux 2.0 1 1 0 0 0 2 37 2.21
K. Ligtenberg 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 2 21 1.80
T. Hoffman 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 19 1.95
TOTALS 9.0 8 3 1 1 1 13 186
WP: J. Rijo
LP: R. Johnson
SV: T. Hoffman
Temperature: 87F
Wind: 5 MPH (out to left)
Attendance: 50,000
Time: 3:10
HTML Code:
American League at National League
July 10, 1997
TOP OF THE FIRST
Jose Rijo takes the mound for the National League.
Barry Bonds struck out. <--->
Roberto Alomar singled back through the middle. <--1>
Alex Rodriguez struck out. <--1>
Roberto Alomar stole second. <-2->
Jim Thome struck out. <-2->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the first, the game is tied at 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Randy Johnson takes the mound for the American League.
Derek Jeter flied out to left field. <--->
Chipper Jones walked. <--1>
Bernie Williams doubled down the left field line. <32->
Mike Piazza flied out to center. <32->
Chipper Jones tagged up and scored. <-2->
Sammy Sosa struck out. <-2->
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the first, leads 1 to 0.
TOP OF THE SECOND
Ken Griffey Jr. struck out. <--->
Frank Thomas struck out. <--->
Juan Gonzalez singled through the left side. <--1>
Juan Gonzalez went for an extra base and reached second. <-2->
Ivan Rodriguez singled to left field. <3-1>
Will Clark pinch hit for Randy Johnson. <3-1>
Will Clark popped up to the first baseman in foul ground. <3-1>
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the second, trails 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Brad Radke came in to pitch for the American League. <--->
Luis Gonzalez homered to left-center. <--->
Gregg Jefferies grounded to the pitcher. <--->
Craig Biggio struck out. <--->
Moises Alou pinch hit for Jose Rijo. <--->
Moises Alou singled to left. <--1>
Derek Jeter popped up to the second baseman. <--1>
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the second, leads 2 to 0.
TOP OF THE THIRD
Tom Glavine came in to pitch for the National League. <--->
Barry Bonds grounded to short. <--->
Roberto Alomar struck out. <--->
Alex Rodriguez struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the third, trails 2 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Chipper Jones grounded to short. <--->
Bernie Williams lined out to short. <--->
Mike Piazza lined out to right field. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the third, leads 2 to 0.
TOP OF THE FOURTH
Jim Thome homered over the center field fence. <--->
Ken Griffey Jr. popped up to second. <--->
Frank Thomas singled to center. <--1>
Juan Gonzalez reached first on a throwing error by the third baseman. <-21>
Ivan Rodriguez lined out to center. <-21>
Wil Cordero pinch hit for Brad Radke. <-21>
Wil Cordero struck out. <-21>
1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, trails 2 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Roger Clemens came in to pitch for the American League. <--->
Sammy Sosa grounded to the shortstop. <--->
Luis Gonzalez lined out to third. <--->
Gregg Jefferies struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, leads 2 to 1.
TOP OF THE FIFTH
Barry Bonds grounded to second. <--->
Roberto Alomar hit an infield single to first base. <--1>
Alex Rodriguez grounded to the second baseman. <-2->
Jim Thome struck out. <-2->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, trails 2 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Craig Biggio popped up to the third baseman in foul ground. <--->
Johnny Damon pinch hit for Tom Glavine. <--->
Johnny Damon lined out to left. <--->
Derek Jeter struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, leads 2 to 1.
TOP OF THE SIXTH
Greg Maddux came in to pitch for the National League. <--->
Ken Griffey Jr. grounded to third. <--->
Frank Thomas flied out to left. <--->
Juan Gonzalez struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, trails 2 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Chipper Jones singled to left. <--1>
Bernie Williams walked. <-21>
Mike Piazza popped up to the first baseman in foul ground. <-21>
Sammy Sosa grounded to first base, forcing the runner at second. <3-1>
Luis Gonzalez flied out to right. <3-1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, leads 2 to 1.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Troy O'Leary came in to play Left Field. <--->
Ivan Rodriguez grounded to third. <--->
Todd Helton pinch hit for Roger Clemens. <--->
Todd Helton struck out. <--->
Barry Bonds walked. <--1>
Barry Bonds stole second. <-2->
Roberto Alomar singled to left. <3-1>
Alex Rodriguez grounded to third. <3-->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, trails 2 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Rich Garces came in to pitch for the American League. <--->
Gregg Jefferies walked. <--1>
Craig Biggio hit an infield single to first base. <-21>
Javy Lopez pinch hit for Greg Maddux. <-21>
Javy Lopez grounded to third. <32->
Wally Joyner pinch hit for Derek Jeter. <32->
Wally Joyner doubled to right-center for two RBIs. <-2->
J.J. Putz came in to pitch for the American League. <-2->
Chipper Jones struck out. <-2->
Bernie Williams flied out to left. <-2->
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, leads 4 to 1.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Kerry Ligtenberg came in to pitch for the National League. <--->
Miguel Tejada came in to play Shortstop. <--->
Jim Thome struck out. <--->
Ken Griffey Jr. walked. <--1>
Frank Thomas struck out. <--1>
Juan Gonzalez grounded to third. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, trails 4 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Mike Piazza lined out to the shortstop. <--->
Sammy Sosa struck out. <--->
Troy O'Leary flied out to left. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, leads 4 to 1.
TOP OF THE NINTH
Trevor Hoffman came in to pitch for the National League. <--->
Ivan Rodriguez singled to left field. <--1>
Dave Nilsson pinch hit for J.J. Putz. <--1>
Dave Nilsson popped up to second. <--1>
Barry Bonds walked. <-21>
Roberto Alomar grounded to short for a double play (6-4-3). <-2->
NATIONAL LEAGUE WIN: 4-1
Cincinnati Reds SP Jose Rijo wins MVP, going two innings and giving up just three hits, while striking out five of the six batters he got out.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
A good time to take a look at the standings, perhaps?
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OldYankFan
A good time to take a look at the standings, perhaps?
Patience my friend ;). Been busy lately with school so I've been doing what I can when I can. Standings are coming right up though.
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
STANDINGS AND LEADERS
ALL-STAR BREAK
AMERICAN LEAGUE
DIVISIONAL
WILD CARD
BATTING LEADERS
PITCHING LEADERS
NATIONAL LEAGUE
DIVISIONAL
WILD CARD
BATTING LEADERS
PITCHING LEADERS
-
Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )
TEAM UPDATE
ALL-STAR BREAK
HITTING
Code:
Batting Stats AVG/OBP/SLG GP GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS wOBA GIDP RC/27 HBP
B. Larkin .327/.378/.541 85 84 370 74 121 28 6 13 56 30 42 14 7 .394 5 2.77 0
N. Garciaparra .374/.421/.577 89 89 369 67 138 17 5 16 59 25 29 7 1 .431 13 3.26 5
R. White .299/.339/.475 85 82 364 67 109 13 3 15 58 19 66 8 0 .353 10 2.18 3
J. Olerud .327/.420/.523 89 89 333 56 109 25 2 12 74 48 50 0 1 .411 11 2.60 5
B. Boone .242/.312/.408 87 87 331 45 80 16 3 11 55 27 74 1 1 .317 11 1.46 7
B. Bonds .302/.432/.666 86 86 305 86 92 20 2 29 78 67 44 7 4 .458 11 3.17 3
J. Cirillo .286/.360/.407 82 82 297 37 85 15 0 7 39 32 40 2 2 .343 10 1.57 2
T. Nixon .258/.338/.403 81 81 295 48 76 12 2 9 37 35 42 3 0 .330 11 1.50 1
B. Ausmus .260/.314/.370 73 73 262 36 68 11 3 4 30 18 44 0 1 .305 7 1.08 3
J. Oliver .250/.274/.300 16 16 60 5 15 1 1 0 3 2 14 1 0 .257 1 0.19 0
J. Frye .370/.420/.500 12 12 46 5 17 3 0 1 12 3 6 2 0 .406 2 0.36 1
P. Clark .111/.111/.111 11 11 45 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 7 0 1 .100 3 0.02 0
D. Hosey .214/.267/.250 8 8 28 3 6 1 0 0 0 2 7 0 1 .239 0 0.06 0
T. Rodriguez .333/.500/.333 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .405 0 0.01 0
Batting Totals: .297/.366/.479 89 89 3108 529 922 162 27 117 502 309 465 45 20 .369 95 30
The offense has been amazing this season, one of the best in baseball. We've had some guys that struggled at the start of the season really turn it on since the beginning of June. Barry Larkin, for example, is hitting .397/.428/.689 with eight homers and 28 RBI's from June first to July 11th (the current date). Ausmus is another good example, as he's hit .333/.380/.430 in that time frame. I doubt if anyone has been as good as Nomar in that time, however, putting up a line of .407/.461/.653 with eight homers and 27 RBI's.
That being said, Bonds has been our most valuable hitter by far this season. He leads our team in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs, runs, RBI's, and walks, and in most of those categories it's not even remotely close.
PITCHING
Code:
Pitching Stats GP GS REC SV ERA IP H R ER HR BB K DICE WHIP PIT RUNSUP QUAL
B. Radke 20 20 13-3 0 3.38 144.0 149 57 54 18 15 99 3.56 1.14 1981 5.8 11
R. Clemens 20 20 14-3 0 3.25 135.2 121 51 49 13 29 95 3.49 1.11 2212 5.7 14
J. Suppan 18 17 6-8 0 5.47 97.0 114 69 59 10 30 62 3.99 1.48 1563 5.2 5
J. Moyer 15 15 9-6 0 5.10 90.0 92 51 51 12 27 63 4.23 1.32 1430 5.7 8
B. Henry 8 8 5-1 0 3.14 51.2 55 23 18 5 11 28 3.81 1.28 775 6.8 3
B. Rose 9 9 5-2 0 5.33 50.2 59 30 30 10 15 28 5.35 1.46 827 8.2 4
B. Shouse 31 0 0-1 2 3.45 44.1 49 17 17 5 18 25 4.56 1.51 726
S. Belinda 28 0 0-1 2 3.43 42.0 34 19 16 3 17 36 3.43 1.21 730
H. Slocumb 35 0 3-0 0 4.08 39.2 41 20 18 2 24 30 3.96 1.64 748
R. Garces 32 0 2-1 23 1.01 35.2 27 5 4 0 10 43 1.43 1.04 583
M. Stanton 29 0 2-1 1 5.67 33.1 40 21 21 5 10 22 4.53 1.50 565
M. Maddux 18 0 1-2 0 7.20 25.0 36 25 20 5 8 15 5.36 1.76 465
Pitching Totals: 89 89 60-29 28 4.07 789.0 817 388 357 88 214 546 3.88 1.31 12605 6.0 45
A slightly different story with the pitching, however. Although our top two of Clemens and Radke have been very good, and Garces has been dominant in the closers role, the rest of the pitching staff has struggled badly, to the point where we acquired Langston to help stabilize the starting five. Suppan has been pulled from the rotation, Moyer has an ERA over 5.00 (in spite of winning nine games), and although Butch Henry has been a solid #5, there's a reason he's #5 and he's only made eight starts this season.
One thing I'd just like to point out, though, is how completely dominant Clemens has been since the beginning of June. In seven starts from June 1st he's 6-0 with an ERA of just 1.79, while getting six runs of support per game in those seven starts.
