The 2005 Red Sox and Beyond

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Red Sox Head Into Spring Training With High Hopes

The Red Sox head into this Spring Training, just as they did last Spring Training, coming off the heels of an emotional World Series trip, and if all goes well, and the offseason moves that GM John Monahan made pan out as he expects them to, they could go into next Spring Training coming off yet another World Series title.

General Manager John Monahan made a point of addressing the teams most apparent and obvious hole from last season, and that was the starting pitching. He acquired young, promising ace starter Felix Hernandez from the Seattle Mariners, in a deal that also brought RF Ichiro Suzuki and SS Yuniesky Betancourt to the Red Sox, for fan favorite Kevin Youkilis, 2 prospects, and Matt Clement and Keith Foulke. John had this to say about the deal "We know that Felix didn't have a good season last season, but he is very young and very promising. The ERA can be misleading as well, his DICE was a solid 4.37 compared to his ERA of 6.57. Whenever you have an opportunity to acquire a starter as good and as young as someone like Felix, you have to go for it." He also resigned the teams most reliable starter from last year, when he was healthy, Wade Miller. Miller had a 3.93 ERA when he went down with an injury last season and didn't pitch again until the playoffs. He was only 1-3 in the post season, but pitched very well in the World Series to the tune of a 3.10 ERA and winning the World Series clinching game. The team also announced its decision to switch young, talented reliever Jon Papelbon to the rotation for this season. The team's rotation this season will consist of Ben Sheets, Curt Schilling, Felix Hernandez, Wade Miller, and Jon Papelbon. The rotation appears to be much improved from last season and if everyone stays healthy it could be one of the better rotations in the AL, if not all of MLB.

The team also addressed the black hole that was right field from last year. In the same trade that got them Felix, they acquired star outfielder and ideal leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro will drastically improve the outfield defense and gives the Red Sox an even greater presence at the top of the order. He should prove to be a good fit in Fenway, as his slap hitting tendencies will play well with the Green Monster out in left field.

The team will go into Spring Training with the lineup and pitching aligned as follows:

#1 Ichiro Suzuki (RF)
#2 Johnny Damon (CF)
#3 David Ortiz (DH)
#4 Manny Ramirez (LF)
#5 Kevin Millar (1B)
#6 Hanley Ramirez (2B)
#7 Jason Varitek (C)
#8 Yuniesky Betancourt (SS)
#9 Bill Mueller (3B)

SP#1 Ben Sheets
SP#2 Felix Hernandez
SP#3 Curt Schilling
SP#4 Wade Miller
SP#5 Jon Papelbon

CL Brian Fuentes
SU Chad Bradford
SR Manny Delcarmen
SR John Parrish
MR Geremi Gonzalez
LR David Wells

The lineup looks solid from top to bottom. Ichiro and Damon should be great table setters for the big hitters in the middle, that are David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Kevin Millar, and Hanley Ramirez, and even the bottom 3 hitters are extremely dangerous, with Varitek hitting 26 homers and driving in over 100 runs last season and Bill Mueller hitting .330 despite injuries and Betancourt hitting .330+ at AA last season.

The rotation, as detailed above, appears to be much improved. You can never be sure what Fenway will do to a pitchers stats or feeling on the mound though.

The bullpen is largely unchanged from last season, however, if anything it has gotten worse because of the loss of Foulke and the moving of Papelbon to the rotation.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Wow. Typical of the Yankees though.

Yeah, I'd say they signed probably about 13 people total over the offseason.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

AL Preview

AL EAST:

Projected standings based on Projected W-L:

1st - Boston Red Sox (92-70)
2nd - New York Yankees (87-75)
3rd - Toronto Blue Jays (83-79)
4th - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (80-82)
5th - Baltimore Orioles (68-94)


This division is much better and deeper than last year. It still has the defending World Champion Red Sox in it, however, and they appear to be the early favorites in this division. Any team in this division, besides perhaps the Orioles, could come out of this division and win the division or the Wild Card.


AL CENTRAL:

Projected standings based on Projected W-L:

1st - Cleveland Indians (94-68)
2nd - Minnesota Twins (92-70)
3rd - Detroit Tigers (80-82)
4th - Chicago White Sox (75-87)
5th - Kansas City Royals (58-104)

Last season the Indians were a major disappointment and the Tigers ended up coming out of the Central. Look for the Indians to rectify their disappointing season last year and come out smoking this season. They'll get a dog fight from the Twins, however, and the Tigers could put up a fight again as well. Early money is on the Indians to come out here.


AL WEST:

Projected standings based on Projected W-L:

1st - Los Angeles Angels (91-71)
2nd - Oakland A's (84-78)
2nd - Texas Rangers (84-78)
4th - Seattle Mariners (67-95)

The Angels, A's, and Rangers all have realistic shots at this division. Last season the Rangers came out and won the division as a surprise team, but the Angels are much improved, with the bat of Jeff Bagwell to protect Vlad, and it won't be as easy for a surprise team to emerge.

AL Playoff Teams based on Proj. Standings:

AL East Champions - Boston Red Sox
AL Central Champions - Cleveland Indians
AL West Champions - Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card - Minnesota Twins

[rockiesfan4ever]

Im lucky if I signed 13 people over 13 years LOL. Should be fun reading yours

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

NL Preview

NL EAST:

Projected standings based on Projected W-L:

1st - Philadelphia Phillies (95-67)
2nd - Washington Nationals (92-70)
3rd - Florida Marlins (89-73)
4th - Atlanta Braves (86-76)
4th - New York Mets (86-76)

This division should be incredibly competitive, with the top two dogs in the division being the Nationals and Phillies. Keep an eye on the Mets, though, the acquisitions of Miguel Cabrera and Julio Lugo this offseason will give them an even better and more dominant offense that should be able to carry them to the postseason.


NL CENTRAL:

Projected standings based on Projected W-L:

1st - St. Louis Cardinals (95-67)
2nd - Pittsburgh Pirates (86-76)
3rd - Houston Astros (84-78)
4th - Chicago Cubs (79-83)
5th - Cincinnati Reds (49-113)
6th - Milwaukee Brewers (48-112)

This is an intriguing division, in that it houses one of the best teams in the NL and two of the worst teams in all of baseball. The Pirates are much improved from last season and could be primed for their first playoff trip since Barry Bonds played LF for them.


NL WEST:

Projected standings based on Projected W-L:

1st - Arizona Diamondbacks (88-74)
2nd - San Fransisco Giants (82-80)
3rd - Colorado Rockies (81-81)
3rd - San Diego Padres (81-81)
5th - Los Angeles Dodgers (75-87)

This division is just as open as the NL East. The Diamondbacks are the clear favorites, but all the other teams in the division will be contenders and will give them a run for their money.

NL Playoff Teams Based on Proj. Standings

NL East - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card - Washington Nationals

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

BTW, for those of you that have been reading, instead of doing month-by-month like I did last season I'm going to do 1 or 2 series at a time with short little writeups about each game and then a monthly review, with standings and league leaders and what not, after each month.

[rockiesfan4ever]

Cool.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Pitching and Batting Stats from Last Season

Batting Stats:

Player Name	Team	AB	H	HR	RBI	Avg	OBP	SLG	SB	CS
Damon, Johnny	BOS	696	213	22	116	.306	.371	.496	32	22
Suzuki, Ichiro	BOS	682	227	6	100	.333	.376	.447	34	13
Millar, Kevin	BOS	614	187	22	115	.305	.378	.487	1	0
Varitek, Jason	BOS	599	153	26	104	.255	.330	.454	0	3
Ortiz, David	BOS	584	173	38	134	.296	.391	.570	0	1
Ramirez, Hanley	BOS	500	140	13	76	.280	.341	.458	38	7
Ramirez, Manny	BOS	442	146	29	105	.330	.428	.613	2	1
Mueller, Bill	BOS	385	127	12	64	.330	.411	.494	2	1
Payton, Jay	BOS	275	78	5	36	.284	.324	.396	8	0
Renteria, Edgar	BOS	271	75	7	34	.277	.355	.417	6	7
Kapler, Gabe	BOS	185	46	2	24	.249	.310	.351	2	4
Olerud, John	BOS	160	37	1	19	.231	.367	.319	1	1
Betancourt, Yuniesky	BOS	79	19	3	10	.241	.299	.405	1	1

Pitching Stats:

Player Name	Team	Starts	W	L	ERA	IP	K	SV	CG	OBA
Sheets, Ben	BOS	26	11	12	4.88	179.0	172	0	4	.266
Hernandez, Felix	BOS	29	8	11	6.57	160.1	152	0	0	.300
Wells, David	BOS	17	9	8	5.53	158.0	82	3	2	.308
Schilling, Curt	BOS	15	7	3	4.53	107.1	101	0	2	.262
Parrish, John	BOS	0	6	5	6.50	99.2	95	1	0	.251
Miller, Wade	BOS	14	6	4	3.93	91.2	78	0	0	.231
Papelbon, Jonathan	BOS	2	8	6	4.68	84.2	70	3	0	.234
Bradford, Chad	BOS	3	6	2	3.73	79.2	55	0	0	.264
Gonzalez, Geremi	BOS	5	4	2	3.43	60.1	34	1	0	.218
Delcarmen, Manny	BOS	5	2	1	3.58	55.1	37	1	0	.265
Fuentes, Brian	BOS	1	5	5	5.63	54.1	61	15	0	.278

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

AL/NL Major Award Winners

Vladimir Guerrero, picture above, was named the American League Most Valuable player for the second year in a row. Guerrero helped to keep the Angels in contention all season, the Rangers came out on top in the end however, by hitting .352 with 43 homers and 133 RBI's, along with career highs in OBP and OPS at .434 and 1.080 respectively.

His NL MVP-mate is Albert Pujols, who led his team to a 98-64 record for 2005. This is Albert's first MVP and he earned it by winning the NL Triple Crown and leading the league in homers, 51, batting average, .339, and RBI's, 147.

The AL Cy Young went to Indians ace CC Sabathia. Who earned it by posting a 16-7 record and leading the AL in K's, with 187, and ERA, with 3.30. The award is Sabathia's first and he won it at the tender age of 24.

The NL Cy Young goes to Tim Hudson, of the Atlanta Braves. Hudson went only 13-6, but had an ERA of 2.75 with 183 strikeouts and a BAA of just .211.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Boston Red Sox (0-0) @ Toronto Blue Jays (0-0)

Game 1: Ben Sheets (0-0, 0.00) @ Roy Halladay (0-0, 0.00)
Game 2: Felix Hernandez (0-0, 0.00) @ Dave Bush (0-0, 0.00)
Game 3: Curt Schilling (0-0, 0.00) @ Scott Schoeneweis (0-0, 0.00)

Game 1:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 0 0 3 5 0 2 0 0   10 14  1
     Blue Jays (TOR) 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0    5  9  0

Offense was running on all cylinders in this game as everyone in the starting lineup had a hit and only Jason Varitek and Bill Mueller didn't score at least one run. Sheets pitched a solid game and the bullpen was solid, besides Delcarmen. For the Jays Doc Halladay pitched uncharacteristically bad and the bullpen didn't fare much better. They at least scored enough runs to be able to win, they just didn't pitch well enough.

Player of the Game: Hanley Ramirez (BOS) 2-4 BB R HR 4RBI SB

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        6  1  0  1  0  0  0  1    .143
J. Damon (CF)         2  1  2  1  0  1  0  0    .667
D. Ortiz (DH)         3  2  2  2  1  3  1  0    .500
M. Ramirez (LF)       5  1  0  2  1  1  3  0    .167
K. Millar (1B)        4  2  1  2  0  0  2  0    .500
H. Ramirez (2B)       4  2  1  1  1  4  0  1    .500
J. Varitek (C)        4  2  1  0  0  0  0  0    .500
B. Mueller (3B)       3  1  1  0  0  1  0  0    .333
Y. Betancourt (SS)    4  2  0  1  0  0  0  0    .500
TOTALS               35 14  8 10  3 10  6  2

   2B:  K. Millar (1)
   HR:  D. Ortiz (1), M. Ramirez (1), H. Ramirez (1)
   HBP:  Y. Betancourt
   GIDP:  B. Mueller, Y. Betancourt
   CS:  J. Damon, H. Ramirez

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       B. Sheets  7.0  5  1  2  4  4  6 100   4.50
      J. Parrish  0.2  0  0  0  0  0  1   9   0.00
    M. Delcarmen  0.1  3  0  0  1  1  1  16  27.00
        D. Wells  0.2  1  1  0  0  0  2  18   0.00
      B. Fuentes  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  0   4   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  9  2  2  5  5 10 147

TORONTO              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
O. Hudson (2B)        4  0  1  0  0  0  2  0    .000
F. Catalanotto (LF)   5  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .000
V. Wells (CF)         4  1  0  1  0  0  0  0    .400
D. Ross (C)           4  2  0  1  0  0  1  0    .400
P. Nevin (1B)         4  2  0  1  1  2  1  0    .500
C. Koskie (3B)        4  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .250
E. Hinske (DH)        4  3  0  1  1  3  0  0    .750
J. Jones (RF)         3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .000
G. Gross (SS)         4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .000
TOTALS               36  9  2  5  2  5 10  0

   2B:  E. Hinske 2 (2)
   HR:  P. Nevin (1), E. Hinske (1)
   GIDP:  D. Ross

         TORONTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     R. Halladay  4.1  9  2  2  6  6  3  74  10.13
       J. Towers  2.0  5  1  1  4  4  1  39  18.00
        S. Downs  2.2  0  5  0  0  0  2  63   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0 14  8  3 10 10  6 176

     WP: B. Sheets (1-0)
     LP: R. Halladay (0-1)

Game 2:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Red Sox (BOS) 1 5 1 2 1 0 0 4 2   16 18  2
     Blue Jays (TOR) 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 2 0    8 13  2

Offense poured it on again. Everyone reached base at least once and Millar was the only one without a hit and everyone but Damon drove in at least one run. Felix pitched well through the first 3 innings but things started to fall apart a bit after that, he still managed to log his first win as a Red Sox though. Blue Jays pitched horrendously again, but again hit well enough to win the game. Unfortunately for the Red Sox Hanley Ramirez got hurt in this game and will be out for about 20 days.

Player of the Game: David Ortiz (BOS) 4-6 2R 3RBI

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        5  2  1  3  0  1  0  1    .250
J. Damon (CF)         5  3  1  3  0  0  2  0    .625
D. Ortiz (DH)         6  4  0  2  0  3  0  0    .600
M. Ramirez (LF)       5  1  1  1  0  1  0  0    .182
K. Millar (1B)        3  0  1  1  0  1  0  0    .286
H. Ramirez (2B)       4  2  1  2  0  1  0  0    .500
J. Varitek (C)        5  3  0  2  0  2  0  0    .556
B. Mueller (3B)       5  1  0  0  0  3  0  0    .250
Y. Betancourt (SS)    5  2  0  2  0  1  2  0    .444
TOTALS               43 18  5 16  0 13  4  1

   2B:  J. Varitek 2 (2), D. Ortiz (1), B. Mueller (1), Y. Betancourt 2 (2), M. Ramirez (1), H. Ramirez (1)
   3B:  H. Ramirez (1)
   HBP:  K. Millar
   GIDP:  J. Varitek, D. Ortiz, M. Ramirez

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
    F. Hernandez  5.0  8  2  3  5  5  3 121   9.00
     G. Gonzalez  1.1  2  1  0  1  1  0  22   6.75
        D. Wells  0.2  0  0  0  0  0  0   8   0.00
    M. Delcarmen  0.2  3  0  1  2  2  0  21  27.00
      J. Parrish  1.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  23   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0 13  3  4  8  8  4 195

TORONTO              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
O. Hudson (2B)        4  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .111
F. Catalanotto (LF)   4  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .000
V. Wells (CF)         4  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .333
D. Ross (C)           5  2  0  2  1  2  1  0    .400
P. Nevin (1B)         5  4  0  1  1  2  0  0    .667
C. Koskie (3B)        4  1  0  1  1  1  0  0    .250
E. Hinske (DH)        5  2  0  1  0  0  0  0    .556
J. Jones (RF)         5  1  0  1  1  2  1  0    .125
G. Gross (SS)         5  1  0  0  0  0  2  0    .111
TOTALS               41 13  3  8  4  7  4  0

   2B:  O. Hudson (1), E. Hinske (3)
   HR:  D. Ross (1), P. Nevin (2), C. Koskie (1), J. Jones (1)
   HBP:  C. Koskie
   GIDP:  V. Wells

         TORONTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
         D. Bush  2.0  5  2  0  6  6  1  47  27.00
       J. Towers  2.0  4  2  0  3  3  0  37  15.75
        V. Chulk  1.1  2  0  0  1  1  1  30   6.75
        S. Downs  2.1  4  1  0  4  4  1  49   7.20
      M. Batista  1.1  3  0  0  2  2  1  22  13.50
          TOTALS  9.0 18  5  0 16 16  4 185

     WP: F. Hernandez (1-0)
     LP: D. Bush (0-1)

Game 3:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Red Sox (BOS) 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1    5 14  2
     Blue Jays (TOR) 1 2 2 0 2 4 1 0 x   12 16  0

Reversal of roles in this game. Schilling, Wells, and Gonzalez all got smacked around pretty badly, Delcarmen gave up a run as well. The only pitcher who pitched effectively was John Parrish. The offense was solid but the pitching was too poor for the offense to overcome it this time. Schoeneweis didn't pitch particularly well either but his offense did well enough to bail him out.

Player of the Game: Vernon Wells (TOR) 3-4 2R 3RBI

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        4  1  1  0  0  0  0  0    .250
J. Damon (CF)         5  4  0  2  0  1  1  0    .692
D. Ortiz (DH)         4  1  1  0  0  0  0  0    .500
M. Ramirez (LF)       5  2  0  0  0  1  1  0    .250
K. Millar (1B)        5  1  0  1  0  1  0  0    .250
J. Varitek (C)        5  2  0  1  0  0  0  0    .500
B. Mueller (3B)       4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .167
Y. Betancourt (SS)    4  2  0  0  0  1  0  0    .462
E. Renteria (2B)      4  1  0  1  0  1  0  0    .250
TOTALS               40 14  2  5  0  5  3  0

   2B:  J. Varitek (3), E. Renteria (1), M. Ramirez (2), K. Millar (2)
   GIDP:  K. Millar

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
    C. Schilling  2.1  9  0  3  5  5  2  57  19.29
        D. Wells  2.1  2  0  0  2  2  0  23   4.91
     G. Gonzalez  0.1  3  3  0  4  3  0  32  21.60
    M. Delcarmen  2.0  1  0  1  1  1  3  30  12.00
      J. Parrish  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  2  14   0.00
          TOTALS  8.0 16  3  4 12 11  7 156

TORONTO              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
O. Hudson (2B)        5  2  0  3  0  0  1  0    .214
F. Catalanotto (LF)   4  1  1  1  0  1  1  0    .071
V. Wells (CF)         4  3  0  2  0  3  1  0    .462
D. Ross (C)           4  2  0  1  1  3  0  0    .429
P. Nevin (1B)         4  2  1  0  0  0  2  0    .615
C. Koskie (3B)        4  1  0  0  0  2  1  0    .250
E. Hinske (DH)        4  1  0  1  1  1  1  0    .462
J. Jones (RF)         4  2  0  2  1  1  0  0    .250
G. Gross (SS)         3  2  1  2  1  1  0  0    .250
TOTALS               36 16  3 12  4 12  7  0

   2B:  D. Ross (1), V. Wells (1)
   HR:  D. Ross (2), J. Jones (2), G. Gross (1), E. Hinske (2)
   GIDP:  D. Ross, C. Koskie 2, G. Gross

         TORONTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
  S. Schoeneweis  5.2  8  2  0  4  4  2  92   6.35
      M. Batista  2.1  3  0  0  0  0  0  33   4.91
        S. Downs  1.0  3  0  0  1  1  1  23   7.50
          TOTALS  9.0 14  2  0  5  5  3 148

     WP: S. Schoeneweis (1-0)
     LP: C. Schilling (0-1)

Player of the Series: Johnny Damon (BOS) (9-13) .692BA 6R 2RBI .750OBP .769SLG% 1.519OPS


Next up we've got the Orioles in Camden Yards and then our opening homestand against the Blue Jays and Yankees.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Houston and Milwaukee Complete Trade

In a somewhat surprising move for the contending Astros, they dealt sparkplug Willy Taveras, 3B/1B Mike Lamb, and Dan Wheeler to the division rival Brewers for reliever Derrick Turnbow. Taveras led the NL in stolen bags last season, his rookie year, but has struggled to start this season, batting only .167 through 5 games. Turnbow finished in the top 5 in saves in the NL last year, with 41, and has yet to allow a hit this season in 3.1 innings pitched. Wheeler essentially replaces Turnbow in the bullpen and Lamb adds a decent bat to the Brewers lineup.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Baltimore Completes Deal for Overbay

The Brewers and Orioles completed a 6 player deal that will send 1B Lyle Overbay to the Orioles, along with recently acquired Mike Lamb, in exchange for OF Jay Gibbons, OF Raul Mondesi, C Geronimo Gil, and P Brooks Bentz. Lamb had played in only 3 games for Milwaukee, after being acquired from the Astros, and has hit only .200 in those games, Overbay adds a decent middle of the order presence to the Orioles lineup, something they had been lacking. Gibbons is a solid offensive player with good, if not great, defense, the other players are essentially throw-ins.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Boston Red Sox (2-1) @ Baltimore Orioles (1-2)

Game 1: Wade Miller (0-0, 0.00) @ Rodrigo Lopez (0-0, 0.00)
Game 2: Jon Papelbon (0-0, 0.00) @ Daniel Cabrera (0-0, 0.00)
Game 3: Ben Sheets (1-0, 5.14) @ Erik Bedard (0-1, 3.00)

Game 1:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 0    9 14  0
       Orioles (BAL) 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0    4 10  2

Our offense continues to roll and we continue to get just enough pitching. Wade pitched a strong game, and showed why we decided to bring him back, turning in a solid 6 innings. The second inning was really the killer inning in this game as we scored 5 runs in the inning on a slew of hits. The Orioles could never get much going, outside of the 3rd, and the offense was pretty anemic most of the game.

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        6  1  0  1  0  0  0  0    .227
J. Damon (CF)         5  1  1  0  0  0  0  0    .556
D. Ortiz (DH)         4  1  2  0  0  0  0  0    .444
M. Ramirez (LF)       6  2  0  1  0  2  2  0    .273
K. Millar (1B)        5  1  0  0  0  0  3  0    .235
J. Varitek (C)        4  1  1  2  0  0  2  0    .444
B. Mueller (3B)       3  2  2  2  0  0  1  0    .267
Y. Betancourt (SS)    5  2  0  2  0  3  0  0    .444
E. Renteria (2B)      5  3  0  1  0  3  1  0    .444
TOTALS               43 14  6  9  0  8  9  0

   2B:  J. Varitek (4), B. Mueller 2 (3), M. Ramirez (3)
   3B:  Y. Betancourt (1)

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       W. Miller  6.0  7  3  1  4  4  5 115   6.00
      J. Parrish  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  13   0.00
    M. Delcarmen  1.1  2  0  0  0  0  0  26   8.31
      B. Fuentes  0.2  1  0  0  0  0  1  17   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0 10  3  1  4  4  7 171

BALTIMORE            ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
B. Roberts (2B)       5  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .235
L. Bigbie (LF)        4  2  1  1  0  0  1  0    .294
L. Overbay (DH)       5  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .429
S. Sosa (RF)          4  1  1  1  0  1  1  0    .176
J. Nelson (1B)        3  1  1  0  0  0  1  0    .200
M. Lamb (3B)          4  1  0  0  0  2  0  0    .211
L. Matos (CF)         4  2  0  1  1  1  0  0    .400
C. Gomez (SS)         3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .308
 R. Palmeiro (P)      1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 E. Rogers (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
E. Whiteside (C)      3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
 B. Surhoff (P)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               37 10  3  4  1  4  7  0

   2B:  L. Matos (1)
   HR:  L. Matos (1)

       BALTIMORE   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
        R. Lopez  2.0  4  2  0  5  2  2  58   9.00
       E. DuBose  1.2  6  1  0  4  4  1  44  21.60
          C. Ray  1.1  2  0  0  0  0  2  25   0.00
      K. Birkins  2.0  0  2  0  0  0  2  31   0.00
       B. Burres  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  2  16   0.00
         B. Ryan  1.0  1  1  0  0  0  0  26   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0 14  6  0  9  6  9 200

     WP: W. Miller (1-0)
     LP: R. Lopez (0-1)

Player of the Game: Edgar Renteria (BOS) 3-5 R 3RBI


Game 2:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0    5  6  2
       Orioles (BAL) 3 0 0 0 5 0 0 3 x   11 17  0

Orioles got the game started with a quick first inning off Jon Papelbon, in his first career start, but he managed to settle down, for the most part, after that until the 5th. The Red Sox tried getting Papelbon through the 5th so he could get the decision, but that was where the wheels came off, and he allowed a walk, 3 hits, and 3 runs in the inning, before surrendering it over to David Wells before recording an out in the inning. The Red Sox had multiple opportunities in the game but did not manage to capitalize on them enough to be able to win the game.

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        5  1  0  1  1  4  1  0    .222
J. Damon (CF)         5  2  0  0  0  0  0  0    .522
D. Ortiz (DH)         4  1  1  0  0  0  1  0    .409
M. Ramirez (LF)       4  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .269
K. Millar (1B)        2  0  2  1  0  0  0  0    .211
J. Varitek (C)        2  0  2  1  0  0  0  0    .400
B. Mueller (3B)       3  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .222
Y. Betancourt (SS)    3  1  0  0  0  1  0  0    .429
E. Renteria (2B)      3  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .333
TOTALS               31  6  7  5  1  5  3  0

   2B:  Y. Betancourt (3), J. Damon (2)
   HR:  I. Suzuki (1)
   GIDP:  B. Mueller

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     J. Papelbon  4.0 10  1  0  7  7  1 108  15.75
        D. Wells  2.0  4  0  0  1  1  0  29   4.76
     G. Gonzalez  1.0  0  1  0  0  0  0  11  13.50
      J. Parrish  0.2  2  1  0  3  1  0  31   1.93
     C. Bradford  0.0  1  0  0  0  0  0   2   0.00
      B. Fuentes  0.1  0  1  0  0  0  1  14   0.00
          TOTALS  8.0 17  4  0 11  9  2 195

BALTIMORE            ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
B. Roberts (2B)       6  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .217
L. Bigbie (LF)        4  1  1  1  0  1  0  0    .286
L. Overbay (DH)       4  2  1  3  0  1  0  0    .455
S. Sosa (RF)          4  3  0  2  0  0  0  0    .286
 B. Surhoff (P)       1  0  0  1  0  0  0  0    .000
J. Nelson (1B)        5  2  0  1  0  2  0  0    .250
M. Lamb (3B)          5  2  0  1  0  2  0  0    .250
L. Matos (CF)         5  3  0  1  0  2  0  0    .450
C. Gomez (SS)         4  2  1  0  0  0  0  0    .353
E. Whiteside (C)      4  1  0  0  0  1  1  0    .125
 R. Palmeiro (P)      0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0    .000
 E. Perez (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               42 17  4 11  0 10  2  0

   2B:  B. Roberts (2), S. Sosa 2 (2), J. Nelson (1)
   GIDP:  E. Whiteside

       BALTIMORE   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      D. Cabrera  3.1  4  5  1  5  5  1 102   4.22
      K. Birkins  0.2  1  1  0  0  0  1  19   0.00
       B. Burres  2.0  1  1  0  0  0  0  27   0.00
          C. Ray  2.0  0  0  0  0  0  0  27   0.00
         B. Ryan  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  17   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  6  7  1  5  5  3 192

     WP: B. Burres (1-0)
     LP: J. Papelbon (0-1)

Player of the Game: Luis Matos (BAL) 3-5 R 2RBI


Game 3:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 1 2 0 0 0 5 0 0    8 11  1
       Orioles (BAL) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0    2  7  1

The Red Sox continue to show the potency of their offense, having not scored fewer than 5 runs in a single game all season, but they also showcased strong pitching in this game. The game remained very close until the 6th inning when Adam Loewen came in, and allowed 5 hits, 5 runs, and a walk, all but securing the victory for the Red Sox. Sheets pitched one of the best games hes pitched since joining the Red Sox last season and has shown what the Red Sox were hoping to get on a consistent basis when they traded for him last season.

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        5  2  0  2  0  1  0  1    .250
J. Damon (CF)         3  0  2  0  0  1  1  0    .462
D. Ortiz (DH)         5  0  0  0  0  1  3  0    .333
M. Ramirez (LF)       5  2  0  1  0  2  1  0    .290
K. Millar (1B)        4  2  0  2  1  1  0  0    .261
 J. Olerud (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
J. Varitek (C)        5  1  0  0  0  1  1  0    .360
B. Mueller (3B)       4  2  0  0  0  1  0  0    .273
Y. Betancourt (SS)    4  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .400
E. Renteria (2B)      3  1  1  2  0  0  1  0    .333
TOTALS               39 11  3  8  1  8  8  1

   2B:  Y. Betancourt (4)
   HR:  K. Millar (1)

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       B. Sheets  7.0  5  3  0  2  2  7 122   3.60
     G. Gonzalez  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  2  20   9.82
     C. Bradford  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  1  10   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  7  3  0  2  2 10 152

BALTIMORE            ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
B. Roberts (2B)       5  1  0  0  0  1  2  0    .214
L. Bigbie (LF)        3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .250
J. Nelson (1B)        4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .208
L. Overbay (DH)       4  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .400
M. Lamb (3B)          4  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .250
N. Markakis (RF)      4  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .500
R. Nivar (CF)         3  1  0  1  0  1  1  0    .333
C. Gomez (SS)         2  1  2  0  0  0  0  0    .368
E. Whiteside (C)      4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .083
TOTALS               33  7  3  2  0  2 10  0

   2B:  L. Overbay (1)
   GIDP:  E. Whiteside

       BALTIMORE   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       E. Bedard  5.0  5  1  1  3  3  6 103   4.09
       A. Loewen  1.2  5  1  0  5  5  1  52   9.64
       B. Burres  0.1  1  0  0  0  0  0   9   0.00
          C. Ray  2.0  0  1  0  0  0  1  31   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0 11  3  1  8  8  8 195

     WP: B. Sheets (2-0)
     LP: E. Bedard (0-2)

Player of the Game: Ben Sheets (BOS) 7IP 5H 3BB 7K 2ER

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I'm looking for a little feedback on my new format. Do you guys like the way I am doing it now, with the series-by-series, game-by-game look? Would you prefer if I only did my teams box score in the game-by-game box scores? Let me know, just want a little feedback.

Thanks in advance.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Toronto Blue Jays (2-4) @ Boston Red Sox (4-2)

Gustavo Chacin (0-0, 0.00) @ Felix Hernandez (1-0, 9.00)
Ted Lilly (0-0, 7.94) @ Curt Schilling (1-1, 9.65)
Roy Halladay (0-1, 7.35) @ Wade Miller (1-0, 6.00)

Game 1:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
     Blue Jays (TOR) 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  4 13  0
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1  5 17  1

This was one helluva game. The Blue Jays scored in their first inning on a two run bomb by David Ross. The Red Sox got one back in the second, by an RBI triple to score Bill Mueller off the bat of Yuniesky Betancourt. The game would go until the 4th inning without much action, when the Red Sox poured on 3 runs by the way of an RBI single by Renteria and a 2 run double by Johnny Damon. The Blue Jays came back with runs in the 5th and 7th to tie it. The Red Sox had the opportunity to end the game in regulation when they had men on the corners in the bottom of the 8th, but could not capitalize. The Red Sox bullpen was sensational and managed to keep the game tied going into the 16th, however they had to go into the rotation and had to bring Curt Schilling in for the final 2 innings. It was in that inning that Jason Varitek came up with two and out and no one on and blasted one into the right field bullpen for the walkoff home run.

TORONTO              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
O. Hudson (2B)        8  2  0  2  0  0  1  0    .235
F. Catalanotto (LF)   6  4  0  1  0  2  1  0    .258
V. Wells (CF)         7  1  0  0  0  0  2  0    .324
D. Ross (C)           7  2  0  1  1  2  0  0    .300
P. Nevin (1B)         6  1  1  0  0  0  3  0    .375
C. Koskie (3B)        7  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .219
E. Hinske (DH)        7  1  0  0  0  0  2  0    .300
J. Jones (RF)         6  2  1  0  0  0  0  0    .233
G. Gross (SS)         4  0  1  0  0  0  2  0    .227
 P. Feliz (P)         1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 R. Mackowiak (P)     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               59 13  3  4  1  4 13  0

   2B:  O. Hudson 2 (3), F. Catalanotto (2)
   3B:  F. Catalanotto (1)
   HR:  D. Ross (3)
   GIDP:  C. Koskie

         TORONTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       G. Chacin  4.0  6  3  0  4  4  2  81   9.00
        V. Chulk  2.0  2  0  0  0  0  2  31   1.93
       D. Romero  1.0  1  1  0  0  0  0  25   0.00
       J. Speier  1.0  2  0  0  0  0  0  13   0.00
        S. Downs  3.0  3  1  0  0  0  0  48   3.97
       J. Frasor  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  1  15   0.00
      M. Batista  3.2  1  2  0  0  0  0  52   2.45
       J. Towers  0.0  1  0  1  1  1  0   2  13.50
          TOTALS 15.2 17  7  1  5  5  5 267

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        8  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .250
J. Damon (CF)         8  2  0  0  0  2  0  0    .412
D. Ortiz (DH)         5  0  2  0  0  0  0  0    .281
M. Ramirez (LF)       8  2  0  0  0  0  0  0    .282
K. Millar (1B)        7  3  1  1  0  0  0  0    .300
J. Varitek (C)        8  3  0  1  1  1  1  0    .364
B. Mueller (3B)       6  1  1  1  0  0  1  0    .250
Y. Betancourt (SS)    6  2  1  1  0  1  1  0    .387
E. Renteria (2B)      4  2  2  1  0  1  1  0    .368
TOTALS               60 17  7  5  1  5  5  0

   2B:  J. Varitek (5), K. Millar (3)
   3B:  Y. Betancourt (2)
   HR:  J. Varitek (1)
   HBP:  D. Ortiz, E. Renteria
   GIDP:  J. Varitek, M. Ramirez, K. Millar
   CS:  Y. Betancourt

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
    F. Hernandez  5.0  5  2  1  3  3  4 107   7.20
     G. Gonzalez  1.1  2  0  0  1  1  2  29   9.00
        D. Wells  0.1  2  0  0  0  0  0   8   4.50
    M. Delcarmen  1.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  18   6.35
     C. Bradford  0.1  0  1  0  0  0  0   7   0.00
      J. Parrish  1.2  1  0  0  0  0  1  24   1.42
      B. Fuentes  4.0  2  0  0  0  0  4  66   0.00
    C. Schilling  2.0  1  0  0  0  0  1  26  10.38
          TOTALS 16.0 13  3  1  4  4 13 285

     WP: C. Schilling (1-1)
     LP: J. Towers (0-2)

Player of the Game: The Red Sox bullpen 11IP ER 9K 8H BB


Game 2:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
     Blue Jays (TOR) 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0    5  5  0
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0    1  6  0

The Red Sox failed to score 4+ runs for the first time all season in this game. Schilling was in a good grove early in the game, including carrying a no hitter into the 5th, but it fell apart some in the 5th when he allowed a 3 run homer to Jacque Jones, and got out of the inning with 2 men in scoring position. He was a little shaky after that and allowed 2 more runs in the 7th, before being pulled immediately after the runs scored. The Red Sox only narrowly avoided being shutout on a homer by Edgar Renteria.

TORONTO              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
O. Hudson (2B)        4  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .211
F. Catalanotto (LF)   5  2  0  1  0  0  1  0    .278
V. Wells (CF)         4  1  0  1  1  2  2  0    .316
D. Ross (C)           4  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .294
P. Nevin (1B)         3  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .343
C. Koskie (3B)        2  0  2  1  0  0  1  0    .206
E. Hinske (DH)        4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .265
J. Jones (RF)         3  1  1  1  1  3  1  0    .242
R. Adams (SS)         2  0  2  0  0  0  0  1    .000
TOTALS               31  5  7  5  2  5  8  1

   2B:  D. Ross (2), F. Catalanotto (3)
   HR:  V. Wells (2), J. Jones (3)
   GIDP:  F. Catalanotto

         TORONTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
        T. Lilly  7.2  6  1  1  1  1  4 129   4.05
       D. Romero  1.1  0  2  0  0  0  2  30   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  6  3  1  1  1  6 159

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        3  2  1  0  0  0  0  0    .279
J. Damon (CF)         4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .395
D. Ortiz (DH)         3  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .257
M. Ramirez (LF)       3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .262
K. Millar (1B)        4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .265
J. Varitek (C)        4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .351
B. Mueller (3B)       4  1  0  0  0  0  2  0    .250
Y. Betancourt (SS)    4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .343
E. Renteria (2B)      3  1  0  1  1  1  1  0    .364
TOTALS               32  6  3  1  1  1  6  0

   HR:  E. Renteria (1)

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
    C. Schilling  6.2  5  5  2  5  5  7 130   8.18
    M. Delcarmen  1.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  18   5.14
      J. Parrish  1.0  0  2  0  0  0  0  24   1.23
          TOTALS  9.0  5  7  2  5  5  8 172

     WP: T. Lilly (1-0)
     LP: C. Schilling (1-2)

Player of the Game: Ted Lilly (TOR) 7.2IP 6H BB ER 4K


Game 3:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
     Blue Jays (TOR) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0    1  3  0
       Red Sox (BOS) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 x    2  7  0

Another great game. The Red Sox got on the board in the second and third, on a homer by Manny Ramirez and an RBI single by Ichiro Suzuki, for their only two runs of the game. They had the shutout going into the 7th until the Jays scored when Phil Nevin blasted a homer off of Wade Miller.

TORONTO              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
O. Hudson (2B)        4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .190
F. Catalanotto (LF)   4  2  0  0  0  0  0  0    .300
V. Wells (CF)         4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .286
D. Ross (C)           3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .270
P. Nevin (1B)         3  1  0  1  1  1  1  0    .342
C. Koskie (3B)        2  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .194
E. Hinske (DH)        3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .243
J. Jones (RF)         3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .222
R. Adams (SS)         3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               29  3  1  1  1  1  6  0

   2B:  F. Catalanotto (4)
   HR:  P. Nevin (3)
   GIDP:  D. Ross

         TORONTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     R. Halladay  8.0  7  0  1  2  2  1 107   4.22
          TOTALS  8.0  7  0  1  2  2  1 107

BOSTON               ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
I. Suzuki (RF)        4  1  0  0  0  1  0  0    .277
J. Damon (CF)         3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .366
D. Ortiz (DH)         3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .237
M. Ramirez (LF)       3  2  0  1  1  1  0  0    .289
K. Millar (1B)        3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .243
J. Varitek (C)        3  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .350
B. Mueller (3B)       3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .229
Y. Betancourt (SS)    3  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .342
E. Renteria (2B)      3  2  0  1  0  0  0  0    .400
 D. Pedroia (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               28  7  0  2  1  2  1  0

   2B:  E. Renteria (2), M. Ramirez (4)
   HR:  M. Ramirez (2)
   GIDP:  B. Mueller, I. Suzuki

          BOSTON   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       W. Miller  7.0  2  1  1  1  1  5 114   3.46
      J. Parrish  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  14   1.08
      B. Fuentes  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  0  18   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  3  1  1  1  1  6 146

     WP: W. Miller (2-0)
     LP: R. Halladay (0-2)
     SV: B. Fuentes (1)

Player of the Game: Wade Miller (BOS) 7IP 2H BB ER 5K