May 6, 1991
The Red Sox find themselves with a lackluster 11-13 record, but with no one having pulled away in the AL East, Boston is just 3 games out of first place. They have an off day today before starting a 9 game homestand against the Twins, Rangers and White Sox.
In an effort to shore up the bullpen, the Red Sox added lefthander Paul Assenmacher in a trade with the Cubs. Assenmacher figures to factor prominently in high leverage situations and in the late innings. To make room for him on the roster, the Red Sox optioned disappointing pitcher Chris Bosio to AAA Pawtucket. Bosio pitched 11.1 innings for the Red Sox, posting an abysmal 15.09 ERA after allowing 19 earned runs on 27 hits and 7 walks. He had already lost his rotation spot, as Pat Hentgen is expected to take his turn in the rotation later this week.
The trade came immediately following a bullpen meltdown in Minnesota which has Jeff Reardon serving a 4 game suspension for losing his cool and throwing at Darryl Strawberry after giving up a home run. He has one more game to serve and is expected to be available for Wednesday’s game against the Twins in Boston. The umpiring crew figures to be on high alert for this series following last week’s incident.
22 year old rookie outfielder Phil Plantier has broken out in a big way. He leads the American League in home runs with 8, and his outfield assist yesterday in Chicago ended the game to preserve Boston’s 1-0 win over the White Sox. It also preserved the win for Roger Clemens, who pitched a complete game shutout. After getting off to a rocky start to the season, Clemens has settled down and has looked like his old self over his last few starts.
New Britain’s 19 year old outfielder Greg Blosser was named Eastern League player of the week today. In the last week, he’s hit .444 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI. He’s one of the youngest players at the AA level in all of baseball, and yet is hitting a very impressive .383 so far this season.
Around the League
The Blue Jays were hit hard by the injury bug in this past week. They lost starting pitcher Dave Stieb for the next 3 months due to a partially torn labrum in his shoulder. In addition, center fielder Brett Butler suffered a strained oblique and will be out at least 6 weeks. Currently tied for first place in the AL East, the Blue Jays will hope to withstand the losses and maintain their current pace.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Frank Thomas earned AL player of the week honors. The White Sox slugger went 9-for-18 with 2 home runs last week. In the National League, Pittsburgh’s Andy Van Slyke took home the honors by going 10-for-22 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI.
Week in Review
Roger Clemens finally earned his first win of the season by shutting down the Twins over 7 innings of work tonight at the Metrodome. He allowed 1 run on 5 hits and tallied 5 strikeouts. Twins starter Kevin Tapani took the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season. In the 5-3 victory, the Red Sox took the lead for good with 4 runs in the 5th inning. The inning was jumpstarted by a leadoff bunt single by Rex Hudler. It was one of Boston's 8 hits in the game, 3 of which came courtest of Wade Boggs who finished 3-for-5. Carlos Quintana drove in two runs in the game, and his RBI single in the 4th inning erased Minnesota's early 1-0 lead. Steve Farr earned his second save of the season, strengthening his grip on the closer role.
The Red Sox bullpen suffered a complete meltdown in Minnesota tonight. In a game marred by a bench clearing brawl, the Twins scored 9 times in the bottom of the 8th inning to erase a 6-3 deficit, and they were able to close out a 12-8 win. Rob Murphy and Dennis Lamp's struggles continued. Murphy allowed two lefties to reach base to start the inning before Lamp imploded by allowing 6 hits and retiring just one batter. Jeff Reardon entered and promptly surrendered a 3 run home run to Kent Hrbek to put the game out of reach. When he hit Darryl Strawberry with the very next pitch, there was little doubt of the intent and it was clear that Reardon's frustrations had boiled over. Strawberry charged the mound, inciting a bench clearing brawl. Both players were ejected and are expected to face additional league discipline. The Red Sox wasted a two home run game by Phil Plantier, who now has 7 long balls on the season.