Game 17: @NYY

When I can, I will try to preview the games. Tonight's matchup is Josh Beckett vs. Mike Mussina, as Boston attempts to earn the split of the two-game set before heading home to Fenway tomorrow.
Boston has struggled their last few times through Yankee Stadium, losing their last 4 and scoring no more than 3 runs during that stretch.
With last night's run-fest, and both teams going deep into their bullpens, tonight is going to come down to the starters and the back end of the pen. If Mussina can't go deep tonight, the Yankees are in trouble. And if the Sox can't get at least 6 from Beckett, they're also going to have it rough. Papelbon and Okajima are available if need be, but the middle relief is a little thin after last night.
More later......

OK, the lineups:

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Sean Casey, 1B
9. Julio Lugo, SS

Josh Beckett, SP

Yankees

1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jason Giambi, 1B
6. Jorge Posada, DH
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Melky Cabrera, CF
9. Chad Moeller, C

Mike Mussina, SP

so again, Coco sits. and again, Ortiz is hitting 3rd. i hate to say this, but if his slump lasts any longer, Terry might have to drop him in the order. right now Youk and Drew have hot bats, and maybe the overall performance of the lineup(especially Manny) would improve with someone else batting 3rd for a while. of course, Manny is on a tear anyway....not sure how much longer we can all wait for David to break out. but we miss seeing the big guy trotting the bases.....


OK, here we go....and i get the YES network. the old guy who does the stadium's play by play does the intro. and it sounds like he is an inebriated stroke patient.
according to michael kay, its the last season in yankee stadium??? holy shit?!?!? really?!?!?!?

Top 1- Ellsbury gets plunked. Payback for A-rod last night? who knows. next pitch, Ells swipes 2nd. he is 12/12 career stolen bases now. Pedroia lines into a double play, as Ells was almost to 3rd when it was caught. and now Michael Kay is whining about Ortiz and Manny talking to the umps. and Tizzle flies to center....the woes continue....

Bottom 1- Beckett cruises. and YES actually praises him through the 1st inning.

Top 2- *yawn* solo shot by Manny to lead it off. so where is Theo? he should be picking up that team option any day now. couple ground outs, a single by Tek.
BOS1, NYY0

Bottom 2- ok, so i just learned that the drunken stroke patient they use is Bob Shepherd. and now Becks gets back to work. gets A-rod to pop up. now YES is bashing how arrogant Becks was as a young Marlins pitcher. but Leiter sticks up for him. Ellsbury shows his range and catches a deep fly by Giambi in the gap. posada grounds out. Beckett looks good. we need to get Mussina outta there early tonight.
BOS1, NYY0

Top 3- Lugo K's. hits Ellsbury(again). Ellsbury then swipes 2nd(again), the throw skips into CF and he takes 3rd. the kid can MOVE. a single by Pedroia plates Ellsbury. 2-0 Sox. Mussina is at 50 pitches already. not looking good for the Yanks. Ortiz grounds into a FC. so he is on 1st as Manny comes up. suddenly the strike zone gets wide for Manny. Mussina goes inside....Manny does some more yardwork......4-0 Sox. Youk follows with a single. another single by Drew. YES network is wondering where the Yankees bullpen action is....RBI single by Tek after a long AB, and Moose is now at 75 pitches. and Albaladejo is up in the pen. Casey flies out.
BOS5, NYY0

Bottom 3- Melky Cabrera gets a single down the 3rd base line. but manny cuts it off nicely to hold him to a single. moeller grounds out to 3B. cabrera moves to 2nd. the Yankee pen is still active, so maybe Moose is done. after Manny's 2nd HR, Al Leiter spent a few minutes trying to tell us that Moose still has good stuff. someone must have replaced his live feed in his monitor with a highlight reel from 1999.....and Beckett gets Damon looking with a man on 2nd.
BOS5, NYY0

TOP 4- the commercials for Procede(some men's hair care product) are absolutely comical. the guy looks like a cross between the average bleacher creature and Ben Stiller....good times....and to start the 4th. Alabadejo, Mussina is finished for tonight. Lugo welcomes him with a single. and promptly gets thrown out by a mile and a half stealing 2nd. Ells grounds to 2nd(without getting HBP this time). and Pedroia flies out to deep right.
BOS5, NYY0

BOTTOM 4- Jeter grounds to Lugo. Abreu lines a single to RF. A-rod with a seeing eye single. man on 1st and 2nd. 1 out. most trouble Josh has seen all night. Beckeet embarrasses Giambi on the K. 2 out. and gets Posada looking. Beckett gets out of the jam. through 4 innings, he has thrown 50 pitches. another strong performance.
BOS5, NYY0

TOP 5- and once again, i am reminded that this is Yankee Stadium's final season.......Ortiz chases the 1st pitch, lines out to RF. bidding on the famous buried jersey is already at $30,000. all proceeds to the Jimmy Fund. Manny lines a single to LF. 3-3 so far tonight. WHY IS HIS OPTION NOT PICKED UP YET?!?!?! Youk lines a single to LF....1st and 2nd. 1 out. Michael Kay and John Flaherty don't seem to like each other in the booth. of course, Kay is a tool, so its understandable. Drew rips a gapper all the way to right-center. Manny and Youk score. man on 2nd, 1 out. no one up in the pen. and probably won't be for a while. Tek strikes out. and Casey strikes out looking.
BOS7, NYY0

Bottom 5- "YESterdays"...another sappy piece of shit show put out by the Yanks. Beckett walks Cabrera with 1 out. Damon doubles. 2 on, 2 out. Jeter with a 2 run single. 7-2 Sox. Drew misplays a hit to RF and Jeter scores. 7-3 Sox. A-rod pops out to end the threat.
BOS7 NYY3

Top 6 Sox go quietly with the exception of a Pedroia walk.........
BOS7, NYY3

Bottom 6- Beckett gets them in order in the 6th. nice and easy......
BOS7 NYY3 Farnsworth in for the 7th. and throws behind Manny......both benches warned.....it looked entirely intentional too. manny actually is retired for once. grounded to 2B. Youk gets K'd. and Drew grounds weakly to 1B. and of course, since we are on Al-Yankeezeera, we get to stay in the Stadium for God Bless America, as introduced by that fucking mummy, Bob Shepherd. at least they switched to the Kate Smith version, instead of using that big eared Irish guy...you know...the one here on a work visa?!?!? way to be all-American there G$. Beckett sits them down on 9 pitches and has now retired 7 in a row.
BOS 7, NYY3

Top8-Oki and MDC are up in the pen, so it looks like Beckett is done. another quality start by the ace of the staff. Casey singles to RF with 1 out. Lugo grounds into FC to 2B. Lugo to 2B on a wild pitch, and i am realizing, i can't be this detailed every night. no one is gonna wanna read this crap. hahahaha. Ells pops up to end it. and Becks takes the mound in the 8th.....
BOS7, NYY3

Bottom 8-

playin catchup: Game 16: @NYY

ok, so this game was not available to me on the MLB Extra Innings Package. Therefor, I was forced to suffer through an ESPN2 telecast. Normally, that's not too bad, but I was once again forcefed Joe Morgan. The man who is known for such gems as: "you have to put the ball in play here, that's just good baseball". No, Joe...really? i'm thinking with 2 outs and the bases loaded in a tie game that Tito would sign in to take the K.
anyway, i'm blogging this game almost a whole day late, so suffice it to say I don't remember all of the details of all the garbage Morgan spewed. Let's just say that I do remember yelling at my TV in the 8th and 9th innings as the announcing team decided to massage the sacs of all Yankee players that came to bat, made a pitch, caught a ball, and were even seen on camera.
tonight's game from the Bronx will be on MLB:EI, and even worse, tonight I am expecting the YES feed. That's right Al-Yankeezeera. I have not seen a YES game all year, this should be interesting.

Citizen in Exile:Rooting outside The Nation

Ok, everyone talks of their experiences with the Red Sox, etc, etc. I am going to try to blog as much as possible of the 2008 season. I have DVR, so the only people who can derail me are Fox and their exclusive Saturday broadcasts.
Since this is the first entry, I owe you all a little background. I grew up in N. Central MA from 77-95, and joined the military, where I did my very best to follow the Sox for 12 years. As a kid, I followed some of the great 80s teams, with players like Mike Greenwell, Jim Rice, Roger Clemens(aka Satan), Marty Barrett, and many more. I was one of those kids who was woken up late to watch the final out of Game 6 of the 86 World Series. I watched Macnamara fumble through pitching and defensive changes and lose us the Series, while players were unfairly blamed.
I watched in 2004, nearly every game thanks to Direct TV. i could tell you everything about that team. i had a feeling about them. only to have my hopes DASHED as the Sox lost 3 straight to the Yankees....and then.....yea. we all know. this isn't about me recapping old things. this is me discussing the current Sox, how i go about watching them, and maybe even some of my opinions on roster moves, etc etc etc....ok, like any Sox fan, there will be LOTS of opinions........sooo......enjoy.