Impossible Dream???

[bigpapi]

May 4,5,6 v California Angels (13-14)

May 4-Jim Lonborg pitched a complete game 1 hit shutout, striking out 3, and Boomer Scott and Tony C. went back to back as Boston blanked the Angels 3-0. (20-11)
W-Jim Lonborg (5-2) L-Clyde Wright (4-2)

May 5-Luis Tiant pitched the 2nd straight complete game shutout, allowing 2 hits and striking out 8, and backup C Jim French went 2-2 with 2 RBI as Boston shutout the Angels 7-0. (21-11)
W-Luis Tiant (6-0) L-Steve Blass (2-4)

May 6-Boomer Scott hit a solo HR and Jim French had 2 RBI for the 2nd straight day as Boston completed the sweep, beating the Angels 4-3. (22-11)
W-Jose Santiago (2-3) L-Catfish Hunter (1-4) S-Sparky Lyle (8)

May 7,8,9 v New York Yankees (19-14)

May 7-Frank Howard and Lou Clinton each drove in a pair of runs, and Mel Stottlemyre pitched into the 8th inning as the Yanks beat the Sox 5-4. (22-12)
W-Mel Stottlemyre (4-4) L-Rollie Fingers (1-2) S-Jack Aker (4)

May 8-Rico Petrocelli hit a 2 run HR and Dennis Bennett pitched into the 7th inning allowing just 1 earned run as Boston beat New York 4-2. (23-12)
W-Dennis Bennett (2-1) L-Jack Kralik (2-3) S-Sparky Lyle (9)

May 9-Jim Lonborg lowered his AL leading ERA to 1.60, throwing 7 1/3 innings, and allowing no earned runs, and Joe Foy had 2 RBI as Boston took 2 of 3 from New York, winning 4-2. (24-12)
W-Jim Lonborg (6-2) L-Al Downing (3-2) S-Sparky Lyle (10)

Around the MLB:

Big injury news for Boston as Don Money blew out his ACL rounding 2nd base and will miss the rest of the season. Tony Conigliaro is also out for the next 2-3 weeks with a bad heel. Because of these injuries, it forced us to make a deal to help strengthen our bench. We send minor league OF Jim Dwyer to Washington in exchange for 1B Dick Nen. Nen has some pop in his bat and can play 1B in a pinch.

The big news around baseball though is the play of the Seattle Pilots. They sit at 22-12 1.5 games out of first and P Don Cardwell threw a perfect game against the Kansas City Royals. Boxscore below:

Kansas City Royals at Seattle Pilots
May 9, 1969

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
        Royals (KCR) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0    0  0  2
        Pilots (SEP) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 x    2  2  0

KANSAS CITY          ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
S. Reid (CF)          3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .254
J. Hernandez (3B)     3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .364
R. Garr (LF)          3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .240
T. McCraw (1B)        3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .233
J. Vidal (RF)         3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .212
V. Roznovsky (C)      3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .205
E. Gabusi (2B)        3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .175
D. Adams (SS)         3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .205
J. Hannan (P)         2  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
 R. Allen (P)         1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .241
TOTALS               27  0  0  0  0  0  2  0


     KANSAS CITY   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       J. Hannan  8.0  2  6  2  2  2  1 118  10.01
          TOTALS  8.0  2  6  2  2  2  1 118

SEATTLE              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
A. Phillips (CF)      3  1  1  1  1  1  0  0    .218
W. Parker (1B)        4  1  0  1  1  1  0  0    .326
R. Clemente (RF)      2  0  2  0  0  0  1  0    .314
C. Yastrzemski (LF)   2  0  2  0  0  0  0  0    .318
C. Smith (3B)         3  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .250
M. Ryan (C)           3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .231
S. Jackson (SS)       3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .216
H. Lanier (2B)        3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .324
D. Cardwell (P)       2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               25  2  6  2  2  2  1  0

   HR:  W. Parker (5), A. Phillips (5)
   GIDP:  C. Smith
   CS:  R. Clemente

         SEATTLE   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     D. Cardwell  9.0  0  0  0  0  0  2  82   1.42
          TOTALS  9.0  0  0  0  0  0  2  82

     WP: D. Cardwell (1-1)
     LP: J. Hannan (0-6)

     Temperature: 59F
     Wind: 2 MPH (in from right)
     Attendance: 18,000
     Time: 2:04

In other trade news we cut salary by sending disappointing Ted Davidson to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for P Bill Short. Neither is anything special, but Short is making the league minimum and Davidson was making $180,000. Short 6-9 3.72 in AAA ball last year.

Up next for Boston is 3 in Oakland against the A's followed by a 3 game set in Chicago against the White Sox.

[bigpapi]

May 10,11,12 at Oakland Athletics (22-11)

May 10-Ron Hunt went 3-3 with 2 RBI and Mike Andrews hit a solo HR as Boston blanked the A's 3-0. (24-12)
W-Luis Tiant (7-0) L-Jim Maloney (1-2) S-Sparky Lyle (11)

May 11-Ken Harrelson hit a 3 run HR and Rick Monday hit a solo shot as the A's beat up on the Sox 7-1. (24-13)
W-Blue Moon Odom (4-0) L-Jose Santiago (2-4)

May 12-Dave Morehead pitched 8 innings of 2 run ball, striking out 5 as the A's took two of three from Boston, winning 3-2. (24-14)
W-Dave Morehead (3-0) L-Steve Carlton (0-2) S-Pete Mikkelsen (5)

May 13,14,15 at Chicago White Sox (20-16)

May 13-Ted Simmons hit a 9th inning grand slam off closer Dennis Higgins, giving Boston a 5-3 win over the White Sox. (25-14)
W-Larry Maxie (1-0) L-Dennis Higgins (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (12)

May 14-George Scott hit a grand slam and drove in all 5 Boston runs as the Red Sox beat the White 5-4. (26-14)
W-Rollie Fingers (2-2) L-Roger Nelson (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (13)

May 15-Wilbur Wood pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball as the White Sox avoided the sweep, beating Boston 3-1. (26-15)
W-Wilbur Wood (4-3) L-Luis Tiant (7-1) S-Bob Locker (2)

Around the MLB:

Cleveland sends P Gary Bell IF Dalton Jones
Philadephia sends OF Johnny Callison

Big news here as Callison is an all star OF. He was hitting .327 9-23 for the Phillies this year. Bell has struggled for a while now, going 5-30 for the Indians since the start of the 1967 season. Jones was acquired in the Rocky Colavito trade with the Sox and missed most of last year with an injury. He was hitting .346 2-17 this year. The edge has to go to the Indians as Callison is in his prime.

Next for the Sox is 3 in Baltimore against the Orioles followed by 3 at home against the Oakland A's.

[bigpapi]

May 16,17,18 at Baltimore Orioles (23-16)

May 16-George Scott had 2 hits and 3 RBI, and Rico Petrocelli hit a solo HR as the Sox beat the Orioles 6-5. (28-15)
W-Rollie Fingers (3-2) L-Dave Leonhard (1-1) S-Sparky Lyle (14)

May 17-Reggie Smith homered twice, driving in 6 runs, and Rico Petrocelli had 2 hits and 2 RBI as Boston scored 6 in the 9th to beat up on Baltimore 11-6. (29-15)
W-Larry Maxie (2-0) L-Dave McNally (0-2)

May 18-Wally Bunker pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball and Boog Powell homered and drove in 2 as the Orioles avoided the sweep, beating Boston 4-1. (29-16)
W-Wally Bunker (5-2) L-Steve Carlton (0-3) S-Fred Beene (5)

May 19,20,21 v Oakland A's (27-15)

May 19-Chuck Dobson pitched a complete game shutout, allowing 5 hits while walking nobody and striking out 7 as the A's blanked the Red Sox 3-0. (29-17)
W-Chuck Dobson (3-3) L-Jim Lonborg (6-3)

May 20-Mike Andrews hit a 3 run HR in the 7th inning, giving Boston a lead and a 5-3 win. (30-17)
W-Luis Tiant (8-1) L-Maloney (1-4) S-Sparky Lyle (15)

May 21-Mike Andrews drove in Ted Simmons with an RBI double in the bottom of the 9th giving the Sox a 5-4 win. Reggie Smith homered twice in the win. (31-17)
W-Jose Santiago (3-4) L-Pete Mikkelsen (0-1)

Around the MLB:

The Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-2 behind Jonah Stickles complete game. The big news here though is that win ended the Royals 33 game losing streak, improving their overall record to 3-46. They currently have a team BA of .231 and a team ERA of 8.43. The one veteran pitcher they brought in to provide stability, Jim Hannan, is currently 0-8 10.40. Will they win 10 games this year? Wait and see.

Up next for the Sox is a home and home series with the New York Yankees, the first 3 in Fenway, the second three in the Bronx.

[bigpapi]

May 23,24,25 v New York Yankees (28-20)

May 23-Frank Fernandez hit a solo HR and Al Downing pitched a complete game, allowing just 1 run and striking out 7 in a 2-1 Yankee win. (31-18)
W-Al Downing (5-3) L-Steve Carlton (0-4)

May 24-Mickey Mantle hit a solo HR and Me Stottlemyre pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball as New York beat Boston again, today 3-1. (31-19)
W-Mel Stottlemyre (7-5) L-Jim Lonborg (6-4) S-Jack Aker (9)

May 25-Max Alvis, Frank Howard and Roy White each homered as the Yankees finished off the sweep, beating Boston 5-3. (31-20)
W-Jack Aker (1-0) L-Rollie Fingers (3-3)

May 28,29,30 at New York Yankees (31-20)

May 28-A six run 8th inning, capped by RBI doubles by Rico Petrocelli and George Scott gave Boston a 6-4 win over the Yankees. (32-20)
W-Larry Maxie (3-0) L-Jim Bouton (9-1) S-Sparky Lyle (16)

May 29-Joe Pepitone hit a grand slam off Rollie Fingers in the 8th inning, and Steve Whitaker drove in the winning run in the 9th with an RBI single as New York beat Boston 7-6. (32-21)
W-Jack Aker (2-0) L-Joe Moeller (4-3)

May 30-4 straight RBI singles by the Red Sox in the top of the 9th inning, gave the Sox 2 of 3 in New York, winning 4-1. (33-21)
W-Larry Maxie (4-0) L-Fritz Peterson (3-5) S-Sparky Lyle (17)

Around the MLB:
Washington sends P Jerry Cram C Del Bates
Montreal sends RF Mike Shannon CF Efrain Pellecier P Bill Laxton 2B Bobby Fenwick
Edge Washington now as Shannon is the best player in this deal, but Cram could become a solid reliever.

St. Louis sends LF Ike Blessitt 3B Terry Hughes
Montreal sends OF Mickey Stanley
Edge St. Louis here, I don't understand this one as Stanley was the Expos only real offensive threat, hitting .290 10-29 so far.

Finishing up May and into June for the Sox is a 3 game set at home against the Washington Senators followed by 3 at home against the White Sox. During this time, we'll have end of the month stats, league standings and the 1969 draft!

[bigpapi]

Complete Team Pitching Stats Through May 31-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Maxie, Larry              BOS    0 1.000     1    1   1   0   0    0    0    0   0    1    0 2.000 1.000
Bennett, Dennis           BOS    5  .556     9    5   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .556  .556
Alou, Jesus               BOS   33  .360   100   36   5   0   0    3    9    0   0   10   11  .410  .396
Petrocelli, Rico          BOS   55  .327   208   68   7   1   8   27   40    0   0   30   34  .486  .408
Conigliaro, Tony          BOS   37  .324   145   47  10   1  10   15   32    0   0   34   37  .614  .387
Lewis, Allan              BOS   36  .310   113   35  11   0   2    6   14    6   7   15   13  .460  .345
Carlton, Steve            BOS    6  .300    10    3   0   0   0    1    2    0   0    0    0  .300  .364
Hunt, Ron                 BOS   39  .297   148   44   5   0   0   14   13    5   3   14   10  .331  .361
Foy, Joe                  BOS   33  .293    58   17   1   2   0    5    7    2   2    8    3  .379  .359
Money, Don                BOS   30  .270   115   31   2   2   1   10   25    0   0   15   16  .348  .331
Berry, Ken                BOS   40  .269   108   29   3   1   1   12   12    0   0   14   10  .343  .342
Smith, Reggie             BOS   54  .257   214   55   4   1  13   32   34    7   5   39   30  .467  .357
Santiago, Jose            BOS    3  .250     8    2   0   0   0    0    2    0   0    1    0  .250  .250
Scott, George             BOS   55  .246   224   55   5   1  12   17   50    0   0   32   38  .438  .300
Simmons, Ted              BOS   46  .235   162   38   5   0   2   18   12    0   0   15   25  .302  .311
Andrews, Mike             BOS   35  .229   140   32   6   0   3   20   18    0   0   18   14  .336  .327
Tiant, Luis               BOS   13  .188    32    6   0   0   0    3    5    0   0    2    4  .188  .257
French, Jim               BOS   10  .185    27    5   2   1   0    9    3    0   0    4    4  .333  .389
Lonborg, Jim              BOS   13  .160    25    4   0   0   0    3    9    0   0    2    2  .160  .250
Stange, Lee               BOS    7  .133    15    2   0   0   0    2    5    0   0    4    1  .133  .235
Lee, Bill                 BOS    8  .111    18    2   1   0   0    2    7    0   0    2    2  .167  .200
Moeller, Joe              BOS    6  .067    15    1   0   0   0    1   10    0   0    0    0  .067  .125
Nen, Dick                 BOS    3  .000     3    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Gibson, Russ              BOS    1  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Fingers, Rollie           BOS    0  .000     1    0   0   0   0    1    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .500
Short, Bill               BOS    1  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    2    0   0    0    0  .000  .000

Complete Team Pitching Stats Through May 31-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Moeller, Joe              BOS   57.1  2.04   16   6   4   3   0   40   15  8.48
Tiant, Luis               BOS  100.0  2.07   13  13   9   1   0   72   25  7.65
Short, Bill               BOS    8.2  2.08    2   1   0   0   0    5    4 13.50
Lonborg, Jim              BOS   94.1  2.10   13  13   6   4   0   65   19  9.16
Lyle, Sparky              BOS   20.1  2.21   21   0   0   1  17   10    4  7.52
Bennett, Dennis           BOS   32.0  2.81    5   5   2   1   0   21   11  9.84
Carlton, Steve            BOS   44.0  2.86    9   6   0   4   0   30   19 10.23
Maxie, Larry              BOS   11.0  3.27    8   0   4   0   0   10    6 10.64
Fingers, Rollie           BOS   27.2  3.58   22   0   3   3   0   18   10 12.69
Stange, Lee               BOS   47.2  3.59    7   7   4   1   0   31   12 10.57
Lee, Bill                 BOS   52.1  4.30    8   8   3   1   0   22   16 11.18
Santiago, Jose            BOS   38.0  4.50   17   3   3   4   0   22   10 11.13
Stephenson, Jerry         BOS   10.0  9.00    8   0   0   0   1    9    6 17.10

Up next are League Standings!

[bigpapi]

American League:

[bigpapi]

National League:

[bigpapi]

1969 Amateur Draft

1-Kansas City (OF) Dwight Evans
2-Montreal (P) Bert Blyleven
3-San Diego (OF) Dave Winfield
4-Seattle (OF) Cesar Cedeno
5-New York NL (OF) Dave Parker
6-Washington (P) Dick Ruthven
7-Cleveland (3B) Buddy Bell
8-Chicago AL (3B) Bill Madlock
9-Chicago NL (P) Dan Spillner
10-Oakland (OF) Mitchell Page
11-St. Louis (C) John Stearns
12-Los Angeles (P) Mike Cosgrove
13-Pittsburgh (C) Ed Ott
14-California (P) Andy Hassler
15-Atlanta (P) Jimmy Freeman
16-Detroit (OF) Billy Baldwin
17-New York AL (P) Ken Kravec
18-Minnesota (P) Tom Johnson
19-San Fransisco (1B) Wayne Cage
20-Houston (P) Doug Konieczny
21-Cincinnati (1B) Dan Driessen
22-Boston (P) Mike Flanagan (49/87)-17-6 in H.S. including a 227/54 K/BB ratio in 276.1 IP covering 34 games/33 starts.
23-Baltimore (P) Dennis Leonard
24-Philadelphia (P) Mike Wallace

Other Sox Picks:

2nd Round (46th overall) C-Jim Sundberg (55/77)-.381/.504/.540 4-31 as a senior and hit .342 13-95 in 140 games in H.S. Allowed just 1 runner to steal against him throughout his high school career and that came as a Freshman.

3rd Round (70th overall) RP-Rich Gossage (51/76)-Real excited about "Goose" as he was known in H.S. falling to us in the 3rd round. 2.01 ERA throughout H.S., to go with a 130/37 K/BB ratio. He started 16 games, but also saved 20 in 22 chances and projects to a closer style pitcher.

4th Round (94th overall) SP Eddie Solomon (47/72)-Went 6-2 with a 0.91 ERA his last 2 years of H.S. 121/36 K/BB ratio in 162.1 IP covering 29 games 27 starts.

5th Round (118th overall) OF Herb Washington (48/62)-Hit .402/.500/.539 as a senior with 13 steals in 15 attempts. Projects to nothing more than a 5th outfielder really, with excellent speed, stealing 44 bases in 59 attempts.

[bigpapi]

May 31,June 1,2 v Washington Senators (27-28)

May 31-Luis Tiant pitched a complete game shutout, allowing 3 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4, and he also added a 2 run single as Boston blanked the Senators 6-0. (34-21)
W-Luis Tiant (9-1) L-Carl Morton (5-7)

June 1-Rico Petrocelli and Allan Lewis each hit solo HR's and Bill Lee pitched 7 innings allowing just 1 unearned run as the Sox beat Washington 4-1. (35-21)
W-Bill Lee (4-1) L-Joe Sparma (5-5) S-Sparky Lyle (18)

June 2-Boomer Scott homered twice and drove in 4 runs, and Reggie Smith added a HR and 4 RBI as Boston swept the Senators, winning 11-7. (36-21)
W-Jose Santiago (4-4) L-Dave Baldwin (0-1)

June 6,7,8 v Chicago White Sox (32-25)

June 6-Jim Lonborg pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing 6 hits and no runs while walking 1 and striking out 4 as Boston blanked the White Sox 2-0. (37-21)
W-Jim Lonborg (7-4) L-Wilbur Wood (5-5) S-Sparky Lyle (19)

June 7-Reggie Smith homered and drove in 5, and Tony C. added a pair of RBI as the Red Sox beat the White 10-6. (38-21)
W-Luis Tiant (10-1) L-Roger Nelson (0-4)

June 8-Chicago avoided the sweep, as Cotton Nash hit a 3 run HR, overcoming Tony Conigliaro's pair of HR's and 3 RBI in a 5-3 Chicago win. (38-22)
W-Tommy John (8-6) L-Rollie Fingers (3-4) S-Dennis Higgins (10)

Around the MLB:

Atlanta sends OF Mike Lum
San Diego sends 1B Gail Hopkins
I really like this deal for San Diego. Hopkins will help Atlanta immediately, but Lum could be a long term solution in left for the Padres.

Los Angeles sends P Lance Clemons
Montreal sends OF Jay Johnstone
Another deal I don't understand from the Expos end. Johnstone is the better player now and will probably be the better player in the future. Maybe they were just concerned about paying him.

Up next for the Sox is 3 on the road against the Senators followed by 3 on the road in the Bronx against the 2nd place Yankees.

[bigpapi]

June 9,10,11 at Washington Senators (28-35)

June 9-Dick Nen hit a pinch hit, 3 run HR, and Reggie Smith added a solo shot as Boston beat Washington 7-4. (39-22)
W-Larry Maxie (5-0) L-Joe Coleman (2-6) S-Sparky Lyle (20)

June 10-Joe Sparma pitched 8 1/3 innings of 2 run ball and 3 different Senators drove in runs in the 3-2 Washington win. (39-23)
W-Joe Sparma (6-6) L-Lee Stange (4-2) S-Bob Allen (6)

June 11-Tony Conigliaro and Joe Foy each hit 2 run homeruns, as Boston took two of three from Washington, winning 5-2. (40-23)
W-Jim Lonborg (8-4) L-Pete Richert (6-9) S-Sparky Lyle (21)

June 12,13,14 at New York Yankees (35-31)

June 12-Bill Lee pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball, striking out 4, and Jesus Alou had 2 hits and an RBI as Boston beat New York 3-2. (41-23)
W-Bill Lee (5-1) L-Fritz Peterson (3-7) S-Sparky Lyle (22)

June 13-Tony Conigliaro hit an RBI double off Jack Aker in the 11th inning, giving Boston a 5-4 win over the Yankees. (42-23)
W-Dennis Bennett (3-1) L-Jack Aker (3-2) S-Sparky Lyle (23)

June 14-Roy White homered and drove in 3 runs, and Jim Bouton won his 11th game of the year, pitching a complete game allowing just 1 run while striking out 8 in the 7-1 New York win. (42-24)
W-Jim Bouton (11-3) L-Lee Stange (4-3)

Around the MLB:
Baltimore sends P Jim Hardin
Cleveland sends P Bill Landis
Edge Cleveland here as Hardin will eventually join the Indian rotation and Landis has pretty much found his niche as a reliever with bad control.

Up next for Boston is an extended homestand with the first 3 games against the Baltimore Orioles followed by 3 against the Washington Senators once more.

[bigpapi]

May 18,19,20 v Washington Senators (29-40)

May 18-Ted Simmons and Boomer Scott hit solo HR's and Lee Stange pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball as Boston beat Washington 4-1. (45-25)
W-Lee Stange (5-3) L-Pete Richer (6-10) S-Sparky Lyle (25)

May 19-Rico Petrocelli hit a grand slam, and Reggie Smith and Joe Foy added 2 run shots as Boston outslugged Washington 8-6. (46-25)
W-Sparky Lyle (1-1) L-Bob Allen (0-1)

May 20-Tony Conigliaro homered twice and drove in 5, and Bo Belinsky put in one of the strangest lines in MLB history: 0.0 IP 0 H 7 R 7 ER 8 BB 0 K, as Boston hammered the Senators 17-6. (47-25)
W-Jose Santiago (5-4) L-Joe Coleman (2-8)

May 21,22,23 v Baltimore Orioles (46-26)

May 21-Bill Lee and Steve Barber pitched dueling shutouts through 9 innings, as Reggie Smith hit a 2 run HR in the bottom of the 10th as Boston beat the Orioles 2-0. (48-25)
W-Rollie Fingers (4-4) L-Fred Beene (0-2)

May 22-Rico Petrocelli and Boomer Scott each hit 2 run HR's and Joe Moeller pitched 8 shutout innings as Boston blanked the Orioles for a 2nd straight day, winning 7-0. (49-25)
W-Joe Moeller (2-1) L-Dave McNally (4-4)

May 23-Jim Palmer pitched a complete game shutout as the Orioles scored 5 times in the 8th inning, breaking a 25 inning scoreless streak against the Sox in a 5-0 win. (49-26)
W-Jim Palmer (12-1) L-Lee Stange (5-4)

Around the MLB:

The Red Sox and OF Reggie Smith have come to terms on a 4 year deal worth a total of $123,600. Smith is hitting .260/.361/.484 17-46 this year, and has a career line of .285/.375/.488 79-236 in 393 games.

Trade News:

Chicago AL sends P Pat Jacquez P Steve Grilli P Rusty Gerhardt
Pittsburgh sends P Bob Veale
Edge Pittsburgh as they acquire 3 pitchers whos peaks are high 70's, low 80's for a 33 year old who is currently 1-6 5.06.

Up next for Boston is the end of the homestand with 3 against Carl Yastrzemski and the Seattle Pilots and then 3 against the Baltimore Orioles.

[bigpapi]

June 24,25,26 v Seattle Pilots (37-38)

June 24-Bob Moose pitched 8 2/3 innings, allowing just 1 run while striking out 9 as Seattle beat Boston 3-1. (49-27)
W-Bob Moose (2-0) L-Jim Lonborg (8-5) S-Darrold Knowles (7)

June 25-Carl Taylor drove in the go ahead run in the 11th inning off Sparky Lyle, helping Seattle to a 4-3 win. (49-28)
W-Don Secrist (3-4) L-Sparky Lyle (1-2)

June 26-Pinch hitter Tommy Harper drove in the only run of the game with an RBI single in the 10th inning as the Pilots completed the sweep of the Red Sox, winning 1-0. (49-29)
W-Don Secrist (4-4) L-Rollie Fingers (4-5) S-Darrold Knowles (8)

June 27,28,29 v Baltimore Orioles (49-29)

June 27-Reggie Smith drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning, giving Boston a 2-1 win over the Orioles. (50-29)
W-Jim York (1-0) L-Bill Landis (5-1)

June 28-Davey Johnson homered and drove in 4, and Curt Blefary added a HR and 3 RBI as Baltimore spanked Boston 9-3. (50-30)
W-Dave Leonhard (2-1) L-Jim Lonborg (8-6)

June 29-Boomer Scott hit a 3 run HR in the first inning and Rico Petrocelli added a 2 run shot in the 8th as Boston took 2 of 3 from the Orioles, winning 5-3. (51-30)
W-Steve Carlton (1-4) L-Steve Barber (7-8) S-Sparky Lyle (26)

Around the MLB:

During the Boston/Seattle series, the two teams came to terms on a deal. Boston send P Dennis Bennett and P Joe Alexander to the Pilots in exchange for P Jim York and RF (who we then converted to a 1B) Jeff Burroughs. Bennett went 18-5 with the Sox last year, but didn't have a home once Steve Carlton matured, not to mention he was making over $220,000 per year. Burroughs was a 3rd round pick of Seattle this year, after hitting .342 with 41 HR's and driving in 136 RBI's in 144 games in H.S. If he matures, he could be the heir to firstbase in Boston.

Other deals made over the last week:

San Fransisco sends P Mike Bruhert P Richie Maloney
Washington sends OF Mike Shannon
Edge SF as the two pitchers Washington received are for depth and probably will never make it.

Baltimore sends P Dyar Miller
Kansas City sends P Jim Hannan
Edge KC here as Hannan was 1-11 with a 7.34 ERA in 18 starts and has maxxed out talentwise.

Ending June and into July for the Sox is a road trip that starts with 3 in California against the Angels, followed by 3 in Washington to face the Senators.

[bigpapi]

Complete Team Batting Stats Through June 30-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Maxie, Larry              BOS    0 1.000     1    1   1   0   0    0    0    0   0    1    0 2.000 1.000
Gibson, Russ              BOS    2  .400     5    2   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    1    0  .400  .400
Petrocelli, Rico          BOS   81  .329   307  101  10   1  13   40   56    0   0   43   52  .495  .407
Conigliaro, Tony          BOS   64  .316   253   80  13   1  20   28   54    0   0   53   60  .613  .387
Alou, Jesus               BOS   52  .314   172   54   9   0   0    8   13    0   0   15   16  .366  .359
Hunt, Ron                 BOS   53  .295   173   51   6   0   0   18   17    5   3   19   11  .329  .367
Lewis, Allan              BOS   44  .292   144   42  12   0   3    8   19    6   9   18   14  .438  .329
Money, Don                BOS   30  .270   115   31   2   2   1   10   25    0   0   15   16  .348  .331
Berry, Ken                BOS   49  .264   129   34   4   2   1   14   14    0   0   16   15  .349  .336
Smith, Reggie             BOS   77  .257   307   79   7   3  18   45   46   11   6   58   46  .476  .356
Scott, George             BOS   82  .254   327   83   9   1  18   31   79    0   0   45   55  .453  .319
Carlton, Steve            BOS   11  .250    20    5   0   0   0    1    5    0   0    0    0  .250  .286
Simmons, Ted              BOS   72  .244   254   62   9   1   4   28   20    0   0   26   35  .335  .318
Foy, Joe                  BOS   59  .236   144   34   1   4   4   19   22    4   2   21   15  .382  .331
Andrews, Mike             BOS   62  .217   254   55  10   0   3   31   37    0   0   33   18  .291  .306
Santiago, Jose            BOS    5  .214    14    3   0   0   0    1    6    0   0    3    1  .214  .267
French, Jim               BOS   13  .200    30    6   3   1   0    9    3    0   0    4    4  .367  .400
Tiant, Luis               BOS   14  .176    34    6   0   0   0    3    6    0   0    2    4  .176  .243
Moeller, Joe              BOS   11  .154    26    4   0   0   0    1   14    0   0    0    2  .154  .185
Nen, Dick                 BOS   11  .143    14    2   1   0   1    0    2    0   0    2    3  .429  .143
Stange, Lee               BOS   12  .120    25    3   0   0   0    2    8    0   0    4    1  .120  .185
Lonborg, Jim              BOS   17  .114    35    4   0   0   0    4   15    0   0    2    2  .114  .205
Lee, Bill                 BOS   13  .071    28    2   1   0   0    2   14    0   0    2    3  .107  .129
Fingers, Rollie           BOS    0  .000     2    0   0   0   0    1    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .333
Stephenson, Jerry         BOS    0  .000     1    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000

Complete Team Pitching Stats Through June 30-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Moeller, Joe              BOS   94.0  2.11   21  11   6   3   0   67   28  9.00
Lonborg, Jim              BOS  124.0  2.25   17  17   8   6   0   86   26  9.15
Tiant, Luis               BOS  106.0  2.46   14  14  10   1   0   80   27  7.98
Lyle, Sparky              BOS   31.2  2.56   33   0   1   2  26   24    6  9.09
Maxie, Larry              BOS   26.1  2.73   19   0   5   1   0   23   11 10.94
Lee, Bill                 BOS   89.1  3.02   13  13   6   1   0   46   22  9.27
Stange, Lee               BOS   81.1  3.54   12  12   5   4   0   55   21 10.73
Carlton, Steve            BOS   74.2  3.62   14  11   1   4   0   60   28 11.81
Santiago, Jose            BOS   54.1  4.14   21   5   5   4   0   41   14 11.43
Fingers, Rollie           BOS   47.2  4.15   37   0   4   6   0   28   16 12.84
York, Jim                 BOS   11.0  4.91    6   0   1   0   0    7    6 13.09
Stephenson, Jerry         BOS   12.1  9.49   10   0   0   0   1    9    6 18.24

[bigpapi]

June 30, July 1,2 at California Angels (42-39)

June 30-The Angels scored 2 runs on 2 Tony Conigliaro errors in the 8th inning and Jimmy Hall homered and drove in 3 as the Angels beat the Sox 5-4. (51-31)
W-Marty Pattin (2-3) L-Rollie Fingers (4-6) S-Steve Kealey (9)

July 1-Rico Petrocelli homered and drove in 5 runs, and Lee Stange scattered 10 hits over 6 innings as the Sox beat the Angels 7-2. (52-31)
W-Lee Stange (6-4) L-Steve Blass (8-7)

July 2-6 Different Sox drove in runs and Jim Lonborg pitched into the 8th inning as Boston took 2 of 3 from the Angels, winning 6-4. (53-31)
W-Jim Lonborg (9-6) L-Catfish Hunter (9-8) S-Sparky Lyle (27)

July 3,4,5 at Washington Senators (34-47)

July 3-George Scott homered and drove in a pair of runs, and Steve Carlton pitched 7 innings, allowing just 1 run as Boston beat the Senators 6-1. (54-31)
W-Steve Carlton (2-4) L-Carl Morton (7-11) S-Rollie Fingers (1)

July 4-Pinch hitter Russ Snyder drove in a pair of runs off struggling Rollie Fingers, giving the Senators a 5-3 win over Boston. (54-32)
W-Eddie Watt (4-1) L-Rollie Fingers (4-7)

July 5-3rd string catcher Russ Gibson hit a solo HR and rookie Don Baylor, called up for today's game, wbent 2-3 with 2 RBI as Boston beat Washington 6-2. (55-32)
W-Joe Moeller (3-1) L-Johnny Podres (0-2)

Around the MLB:
California sends P Mike Proli P Terry Cox
Montreal sends P Ken Tatum
Edge Cali as the two players the Expos received will never be anything other than average.

California sends P Joe Pactwa 1B Jim Spencer
Cleveland sends OF Johnny Callison
Not sure why the Indians would move Callison a month after acquiring him, but Spencer has the chance to be a special player, and I guess the move allows them to move George Foster into the starting lineup.

San Fransisco sends CF Dave Schneck 2B Mike Tyson CF Jorge Roque
Washington sends OF Gates Brown
Edge SF here as Brown gives them another bat that they will need for the playoff push.

Up next is the All Star Festivities!!!

[bigpapi]

1969 Home Run Derby

Hank Aaron beat out Boog Powell 2-1 in "extra innings" of the Home Run Derby, after being tied at the end of the final round. No Red Sox appeared in the derby this season. Complete results below:

1969 Home Run Showdown

FIRST ROUND (10 Outs)

PLAYER                          HOMERS
Willie McCovey (SFG)                10
Hank Aaron (ATL)                    10
Boog Powell (BAL)                    8
Reggie Jackson (OAK)                 8
Jim Ray Hart (STL)                   7
Frank Robinson (BAL)                 4
Johnny Callison (CAL)                4
Davey Johnson (BAL)                  4
Bobby Bonds (SFG)                    2
Willie Mays (SFG)                    2

SECOND ROUND (5 Outs)

PLAYER                          HOMERS
Hank Aaron (ATL)                     4
Boog Powell (BAL)                    4
Reggie Jackson (OAK)                 3
Willie McCovey (SFG)                 2

FINAL ROUND (5 Outs)

PLAYER                          HOMERS
Hank Aaron (ATL)                     4
Boog Powell (BAL)                    4

EXTRA INNINGS (3 outs)

PLAYER                          HOMERS
HANK AARON                           2
Boog Powell                          1

     WINNER: Hank Aaron

1969 All-Star Game

Hank Aaron homered and drove in 3, and Jim Lefevbre hit a solo shot as the National League scored 3 times in the 3rd and 3 more in the 4th off Juan Pizarro in the 7-6 win. Boston players appearing in the game were Jim Lonborg who was named AL starter, going 2 innings, striking out 1, and Joe Moeller who pitched the 9th. Injured Luis Tiant was named to the game, but didn't play. Boxscore below:

National League All Stars at American League All Stars
July 10, 1969

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      All Stars (NL) 0 0 3 3 0 1 0 0 0    7 11  0
      All Stars (AL) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 0    6 12  1

NATIONAL LEAGUE      ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
V. Pinson (CF)        5  3  0  1  0  1  1  0    .335
M. Alou (LF)          5  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .344
H. Aaron (RF)         4  2  1  1  1  3  0  0    .297
W. McCovey (1B)       4  1  1  0  0  0  2  0    .309
J. Torre (C)          4  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .349
J. Hart (3B)          4  1  1  1  0  0  2  0    .323
J. Lefebvre (2B)      5  1  0  1  1  1  0  0    .290
G. Alley (SS)         4  1  0  1  0  1  0  0    .274
 W. Mays (P)          0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .338
 B. Bonds (P)         1  0  0  0  0  1  0  0    .283
 V. Davalillo (P)     1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .308
 A. Otis (P)          1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .309
TOTALS               38 11  5  7  2  7  6  0

   2B:  J. Torre, V. Pinson 2, A. Otis
   HR:  J. Lefebvre, H. Aaron
   GIDP:  J. Lefebvre

                   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     K. Holtzman  2.0  3  0  0  0  0  2  27   2.83
       D. Sutton  1.0  1  1  0  0  0  0  17   1.97
    D. Ellsworth  2.0  3  1  1  2  2  2  41   2.72
        G. Perry  2.0  1  0  0  0  0  2  27   2.34
      G. Jackson  1.0  4  0  0  4  4  1  30   3.00
       F. Norman  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  0  20   4.05
          TOTALS  9.0 12  2  1  6  6  7 162

AMERICAN LEAGUE      ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
Z. Versalles (SS)     5  2  0  1  0  2  2  0    .323
C. Yastrzemski (LF)   5  2  0  1  0  1  0  0    .310
R. Jackson (CF)       5  2  0  1  1  2  2  0    .235
B. Powell (1B)        4  1  1  0  0  0  0  0    .289
F. Robinson (RF)      4  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .291
D. Johnson (2B)       5  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .298
B. Freehan (C)        3  1  1  1  0  0  1  0    .251
B. Robinson (3B)      4  3  0  1  0  1  0  0    .295
 T. Oliva (P)         1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .321
 J. Callison (P)      1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .330
 B. Chance (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .320
 D. Johnson (P)       1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .276
TOTALS               39 12  2  6  1  6  7  0

   2B:  B. Robinson 2, Z. Versalles, C. Yastrzemski, R. Jackson
   HR:  R. Jackson
   HBP:  F. Robinson

                   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      J. Lonborg  2.0  1  1  0  0  0  1  22   2.32
      J. Pizarro  1.1  3  3  1  6  6  0  46   2.93
       J. Bouton  0.2  1  0  0  0  0  0   8   2.45
       J. Palmer  2.0  2  0  1  1  1  2  31   2.69
    T. Burgmeier  2.0  3  0  0  0  0  3  31   2.76
      J. Moeller  1.0  1  1  0  0  0  0  21   2.14
          TOTALS  9.0 11  5  2  7  7  6 159

     WP: G. Perry
     LP: J. Pizarro
     SV: F. Norman

     Temperature: 82F
     Wind: 3 MPH (right to left)
     Attendance: 43,500
     Time: 3:05

Other All-Star Break News:

Boston has signed recently released 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews to a contract that will pay him roughly $80,000, or half of the $160,000 deal he signed. Mathews was hitting .247/.348/.418 5-29 with the San Fransisco Giants before his release. Mathews will replace Dick Nen, who had hit .125 (2-16) on the roster. Nen will go to AAA until rosters expand.

Leading off the 2nd half of the season for Boston is 3 in KC against the Royals followed by 3 in Oakland to face off against the much improved A's