Jack Brady takes over in Boston

[Swami077]

February 24, 1990
The Boston Red Sox hired Jack Brady as President of Baseball Operations. Current General Manager Lou Gorman, 61 years old, has suggested internally that he plans to retire from the game of baseball once his contract expires after the 1991 season. He will work alongside the 40 year old Brady at the head of the baseball operations department.

With Spring Training games set to begin on Monday, it is expected that the roster is largely intact. However, Brady wouldn’t rule out making some changes based on review of the free agent pool, as well as players available through trade.

“I’m extremely excited to join an organization with such tradition as the Boston Red Sox. Coming off of an 83 win season last year, I think there’s a lot more that this group can accomplish. And I look forward to working with Lou and [team manager] Joe Morgan to maximize the potential.”

The Red Sox have not won a World Series since 1918, a period that spans 72 years. They come into the 1990 season projected to have the highest payroll in the league at approximately $20 million.

Acting team owner, John Harrington, noted that he expects Brady to fit seamlessly into the organization. “We feel that bringing in Jack to work with Lou is the right decision at this time to form a bridge to the next era of Red Sox baseball.”

[Swami077]

February 26, 1990
The Red Sox, coming off of an 83 win season and third place finish in the AL East, have a lot to be excited about for the future. They have a new President of Baseball Operations, Jack Brady, who promises to move the organization forward into the next generation.

Brady inherits a farm system that is ranked among the best in baseball. According to BNN rankings, the Red Sox system ranks 6th in the league, anchored by consensus top 5 prospect, 3B Jeff Bagwell. The Red Sox system is loaded with four top 50 ranked prospects. The Red Sox are particularly stacked with infield prospects. With Bagwell, SS John Valentin, 1B Mo Vaughn, 3B Scott Cooper, and 2B Tim Naehring all expected to reach the majors by next season, the future of Boston’s infield is on the horizon. The number of strong infield prospects may also allow the team to trade from its strength in an effort to improve the roster during the season.



The Los Angeles Dodgers rank as the top farm system in the league with two prospects ranked in the top 5; consensus #1 overall, catcher Mike Piazza, and 18 year old pitcher Pedro Martinez. The Dodgers are followed by the Braves, Indians, Rangers and Blue Jays.



With Spring Training set to begin today, Boston finalized its initial spring roster. The non-roster invitees were headlined by 1B Mo Vaughn and OF Phil Plantier. The remaining invitees are as follows:
Pitchers Steven Bast, Matt Crouch, Steve Curry, Jeff Gray, Eric Hetzel, Joe Johnson, John Leister, Josias Manzanillo, and Mike Rochford
Catchers John Marzano and Gary Tremblay
Infielders Billy Jo Robidoux, Jim Pankovits, Angel Gonzalez, and Tim Naehring
Outfielders Jeff Stone, Rick Lancellotti, and Scott Wade

The Red Sox have been rumored to be active reviewing the current free agent list as they attempt to add to their organizational depth. It’s unclear is any signings are imminent or if there will be any additional invites to spring training.


Despite only being in town for a couple of days at this point, Brady has already overhauled the team’s training staff. The organization has come to terms with Dr. Dustin Scaggs, who is known for his training regimens for pitchers. “The success of everyone baseball team extends far beyond what happens on the field. We are excited to add Dr. Scaggs and his team to our organization, as we continue to seek out ways to enhance the health of our players,” said Brady.

[Swami077]

March 5, 1990
The Red Sox finally picked up their first win of the spring in yesterday’s 7-5 win over the Minnesota Twins at City of Palms Park. Despite the 1-6 record thus far, there are some things to feel good about. The pitchers who project to open the season in the bullpen for the Major League club have been largely outstanding. The collection of Wes Gardner, Greg Harris, Dennis Lamp, Rob Murphy, Jeff Reardon and Lee Smith have combined to allow just 3 runs on 8 hits over 15 innings. If this continues, the bullpen could be a major strength of the 1990 season. Additionally, the coaching staff can’t say enough good things about 26 year old right handed pitcher Jeff Gray, whose only previous Major League experience was with Cincinnati in 1988. The comments to date have suggested that Gray has a real chance to make the Opening Day roster.

While staff ace Roger Clemens had an impressive first turn in a brief start against the California Angels, the other starting pitchers have not fared nearly as well. Tom Bolton labored through just one inning in his first start, and John Dopson surrendered 8 runs in the second inning of his second start. Fortunately, the staff has four more weeks to right themselves before Opening Day.

Overall, the offense has struggled to find its footing in the early going, but a major bright spot has been Mike Greenwell. He has opened the spring red hot, going 7-for-13 (a .538 average) with 3 home runs.

On the injury front, the Red Sox received a couple of scares this week. Early in the week, left handed reliever Rob Murphy complained of soreness in his pitching hand. It wasn’t thought to be a long term issue, and after taking a couple of days off, he returned to the mound on Saturday with a perfect inning, while striking out the side.

Outfielder Kevin Romine pulled up lame while running the bases late in a loss to the Orioles on Thursday. He underwent tests which revealed a mild intercostal strain. Romine is expected to return to game action during the upcoming week. The Orioles did not fare as well with injury news this week, as CF Brady Anderson was lost for at least 6 weeks due to a fractured thumb suffered when he was hit by a pitch.

An interesting storyline to follow this spring is the 40 year old Bill Buckner’s return to the Red Sox. His spring has not started how he would have liked, as he is 0-9 with 7 strikeouts thus far. However, he does have a Major League contract and will be given an opportunity to make the Opening Day roster, unless Mo Vaughn is deemed to be ready to start the season as the everyday first baseman.

On Tuesday February 28th, the Red Sox signed 5 pitchers to minor league deals; 25 year old Blaine Beatty, 18 year old Joel Adamson, 21 year old Cecil Pettiford, 18 year old Matt Whisenant, and 25 year old Steve Woide. Beatty immediately joined the Red Sox in Fort Myers as a non-roster Spring Training invite.

[Swami077]

March 12, 1990
The Red Sox went 2-4 in the past week to run their record in Spring Training games to 3-10. However, management has to feel much better about where the team stands today than it did a week ago. The starting pitching was much improved in this trip through the rotation, highlighted by a dominant 4 inning performance from Roger Clemens against the Indians. Mike Boddicker and Tom Bolton each delivered strong outings as well. This, coupled with continued success from the bullpen, allows for great optimism for the pitching staff.

The offense did not fare nearly as well this week, which was particularly apparent in a loss to the Chicago White Sox. Manager Joe Morgan started his projected Opening Day lineup, and the team responded with just 4 hits on the day.

Outfielder Phil Plantier remained hot this week to run his spring average to .400 with 2 home runs. Despite being just 21 years of age and having no at bats above A-ball under his belt, he has shown very well this spring. While still a longshot to make the Opening Day roster, he is at least giving management something to ponder.

As we approach the midway point of the spring, some roster battles have begun to take shape. Dana Kiecker entered with the inside track on the 5th starter role to open the season, though Eric Hetzel and Josias Manzanillo were said to be in the running as well. After a rocky start to the spring, Kiecker delivered a strong performance in his most recent outing. Greatly working in his favor is that no other candidates have emerged to challenge them thus far.

Jeff Reardon was signed this winter, and has been expected to take over the closer role from incumbent Lee Smith. Both have pitched well thus far. However, Smith has been said to be less than pleased with the addition of Reardon to the staff. Though unlikely that the team would make any moves in the short term, this could be a situation that bears watching.

President of Baseball Operations, Jack Brady, has suggested that the Red Sox are likely to carry 12 pitchers on the Opening Day roster. Barring any shakeups with the roster, six of the bullpen spots were already locked in at the beginning of the spring. Jeff Gray has put a stranglehold on the final spot, as he is yet to surrender a run over his five appearances to date.

During Saturday’s off day, the team reassigned pitchers Steven Bast and Matt Crouch to minor league camp. Both had struggled during their game appearances thus far, and now will have a chance to continue to work on their craft against lesser competition.

Around the League
Taking a look around Spring Training, the Phillies’ John Kruk is on fire, leading all players this spring with a .586 batting average (17 hits in 29 at bats). Meanwhile, Lee Stevens of the California Angels leads all hitters with 5 home runs. He opened the spring with 4 in his first 5 games, but has since cooled. The 22 year old third baseman is battling to make the Opening Day roster.

The Atlanta Braves traded 33 year old SP Charlie Leibrandt to San Francisco in exchange for 31 year old SS Jose Uribe. The Braves had a great deal of starting pitching depth and a gaping hole at shortstop, so the Giants pounced on the opportunity to add a dependable veteran starter.

The Dodgers agreed to a 6 year/$14.7 million extension with catcher Mike Scioscia. Scioscia hit .250 with 10 home runs as the team’s starting catcher in 1989. The 31 year old is now under contract with the Dodgers through the 1996 season. Some around the league felt this was a curious move for the Dodgers given that the top prospect in baseball, Mike Piazza, is a catcher in their minor league system.

In other extension news, the Houston Astros locked up 2B Bill Doran with a six year extension that will pay him a little over $1 million per season.

A major injury occurred with Cincinnati this week, as dominant reliever Rob Dibble tore the meniscus in his knee and will miss several months. In a best case scenario, the Reds hope to be able to have their “nasty boy” back sometime in August. It is unclear if the Reds are now in the market to add a bullpen arm.

Lastly, there is great concern in Chicago over the health of ace Greg Maddux. He was forced to leave his start yesterday after throwing just 12 pitches with what appeared to be an arm injury. The Cubs expect to have an update on his injury early this week.

[Swami077]

March 19, 1990
Another rough week in the record department for the Boston Red Sox. They went 2-5 and now sit at 5-15 with the worst spring record in all of Major League Baseball. The continued struggles can be traced to the lack of success from the starting rotation. Of most concern, projected #3 starter, Tom Bolton, struggled yet again, allowing 8 runs and was unable to make it through two innings against the Orioles. Roger Clemens and Mike Boddicker continued to pitch well and will be the unquestioned leaders of the rotation. Clemens pitched 6 no hit innings in his start this week against the Angels.

Due to the concerns regarding the rotation, President of Baseball Operations, Jack Brady, has been rumored to be exploring the trade market for a veteran starter. Among the names being most prominently discussed has been Seattle starter Scott Bankhead. A deal is not considered to be close at this time, but the front office seems to be active and already looking to upgrade the club.

In possibly related news, newly acquired pitcher Blaine Beatty is being given an opportunity to start today’s game against the Seattle Mariners. He has pitched very well since joining camp, allowing just 1 run in 7.2 innings across 4 relief appearances. His sole Major League experience was in 2 appearances (1 start) with the Mets last year. He likely remains a long shot to break camp with the team, but it is at least notable that he is being given a starting opportunity. After surrendering 6 runs before recording an out yesterday against the Twins, pitcher Steve Curry was reassigned to minor league camp.

Both of the Red Sox’ wins this week came courtesy of Tim Naehring, who had a walkoff hit against the Angels, and a game winning double in the 8th inning against the A’s two days later. Star third baseman Wade Boggs showed some signs of life at the plate this week, going 5-for-10 in his last two games with a double and a triple. He had started the spring 2-for-21.

In an interesting roster battle, incumbent closer Lee Smith has outpitched new addition Jeff Reardon to this point. Manager Joe Morgan had suggested he would consider spring results when determining how to structure his bullpen. Smith has allowed just two hits and has struck out 8 over 6 innings.

Around the League
Texas Rangers outfielder Jack Dougherty tore the cover off the ball this week, as he is now 9 for his last 11 to run his spring average to .579.

The Cubs dodged a huge bullet this week when they announced that Greg Maddux’s injury was related to his neck and not his shoulder. Testing determined that he did not have any structural damage and would not need to miss any significant time.

[Swami077]

March 26, 1990
Another week, another outstanding start for Roger Clemens. However, the week saw very few other highlights. The pitching was shaky, at best, in a 1-5 week. This was punctuated by a 16-6 loss to the Blue Jays yesterday in which Eric Hetzel and Josias Manzanillo combined to allow 13 runs over 5 innings. Both pitchers were reassigned to minor league camp this morning after sporting spring ERAs in the teens. A potential bright spot was in Blaine Beatty’s start last Monday against Seattle. He did surrender a 3 run homer to Ken Griffey Jr, but was otherwise solid in an encouraging 5 inning effort.

The bullpen had another decent week overall, despite showing a few chinks in the armor. None was more concerning than Jeff Reardon’s appearance against the White Sox on Saturday. He allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while retiring just 1 batter. At this stage, it would appear that Lee Smith will likely open the season as the team’s closer. Smith has had a dominant spring, with 8 consecutive scoreless appearances while allowing just 2 hits.

Despite the struggles this spring, the organization is excited to break camp and head north to open the season next week in Detroit. “We are looking forward to getting going and having the games count. This spring has shown everyone the areas that we need to improve upon, and our players and coaches continue to work very hard,” said Jack Brady. When asked if there would be any changes to the Major League roster before Opening Day, Brady wouldn’t rule anything out but said that he didn’t anticipate any. In recent days, it was rumored that Brady had been talking with Indians’ general manager Hank Peters about potentially acquiring a starting pitcher.

With four games remaining in the spring schedule, it is expected that manager Joe Morgan will manage many of these remaining games as dress rehearsals for the start of the regular season. Clemens is expected to get the ball today in an abbreviated final tune up for Opening Day. One of the only remaining roster battles is at first base. 40 year old Bill Buckner was signed in the offseason as a veteran bridge until Mo Vaughn is deemed ready to take over on a full time basis. Vaughn has had a solid but unspectactular spring, hitting .256 with 3 home runs to this point. However, Buckner has really struggled to the tune of a .116 batting average. He did have two hits, including his first home run, in yesterday’s game. A strong final week from Buckner could make this an easy decision for the front office and allow Vaughn some additional seasoning in the minors.

[Swami077]

March 30, 1990
The Red Sox’ final few games offered some reason for optimism and allowed the team to wrap up the spring schedule on a bit of an upswing. Roger Clemens fired 5 shutout innings in his final tune up before Opening Day. Tom Bolton, who had struggled for much of the spring, had an encouraging outing yesterday. Though he ran into trouble in the 4th inning, he pitched very well otherwise, as he struck out 7 in 5 innings. Several veterans, including Wade Boggs, Dwight Evans and Tony Pena, hit their first home run of the spring in this final week.

In less encouraging news, Blaine Beatty was exposed in yesterday’s game. Beatty lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing 8 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. He finished the spring having walked 12 batters in 14.1 innings. He had entered the conversation as a potential fifth starter, but the lack of command may be giving the team pause.

After wrapping up the spring at 8-22, the worst record in baseball, The Red Sox will spend the weekend determining their Opening Day roster. All eyes will be on Mo Vaughn’s status to see where he ends up. He hit .255 with 3 home runs during Spring Training, but he also struck out 17 times in his 54 plate appearances. Another interesting case is 23 year old infielder Tim Naehring. He was considered likely to open the season in Pawtucket, but he had a very strong spring which culminated in a two home run effort yesterday in the final game. It is likely that the organization would prefer he receive regular at bats in the minors with Marty Barrett, Jody Reed and Wade Boggs locked into infield positions at the Major League level.

Lastly, Phil Plantier will certainly spend at least the majority of the 1990 season in minors, but the 21 year old put together an outstanding spring training. He hit .359 with 2 home runs and an OPS of 1.058. His performance turned lots of heads in the organization and may have expedited his path to the majors.

Around the League
The New York Yankees and California Angels finished Spring Training tied for the best record at 20-10. Both teams had players emerge at the top of the statistical categories as well. Dave Winfield of the Yankees led all of baseball with a .481 batting average across his 52 at bats. Lee Stevens of California led with 8 home runs, while also adding 8 doubles and 2 triples. His .396 batting average and the copious extra base hits was one of the real breakout stories of the spring.

[Swami077]

April 1, 1990
The Red Sox made a trade yesterday to help shore up their starting rotation. The team traded for St. Louis Cardinals starter Bob Tewksbury. Tewksbury, 29, is from nearby Concord, NH and grew up a Red Sox fan. He spent most of last season at Triple A, but the Red Sox are familiar with Tewksbury from his time with the rival New York Yankees. In total, he has 46 appearances in the majors with 34 starts. He’s compiled a 11-13 record with 89 strikeouts over 215 career innings pitched.

In return, the Cardinals received 21 year old RHP prospect Paul Quantrill. Quantrill had been ranked as the organization’s 4th best prospect and #51 overall after a strong debut season in 1989.

In another roster move, the Red Sox designated outfielder Danny Heep for assignment. Heep was expected to serve as a reserve outfielder in Boston this season, but the team elected to keep 12 pitchers on the Opening Day roster. He had a respectable spring, hitting .282 over 39 at bats, but ultimately lost the 4th outfielder job to Kevin Romine. The organization attempted to option Heep to AAA Pawtucket, but Heep refused the assignment.

With those two roster moves, the Red Sox have finalized their Opening Day roster.

Starting Rotation
Roger Clemens (27 years old) – 1989 stats: 35 starts, 17-11, 3.13 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 230 Ks
Mike Boddicker (32) – 34 starts, 15-11, 4.00 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 145 Ks
John Dopson (28) – 28 starts, 12-8, 3.99 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 95 Ks
Bob Tewksbury (29) – 4 starts, 1-0, 3.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 17 Ks
Tom Bolton (26) – 4 starts, 0-4, 8.31 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 9 Ks

Bullpen
Lee Smith (32) – 64 app, 6-1, 25 SV, 3.57 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 96 Ks
Jeff Reardon (34) – 65 app, 5-4, 31 SV, 4.07 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 46 Ks
Greg Harris (34) – 59 app, 4-4, 1 SV, 3.31 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 76 Ks
Rob Murphy (29) – 74 app, 5-7, 9 SV, 2.74 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 107 Ks
Dennis Lamp (37) – 42 app, 4-2, 2 SV, 2.32, ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 61 Ks
Jeff Gray (26) - none
Wes Gardner (28) – 22 app, 3-7, 0 SV, 5.97 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 81 Ks

Catchers
Tony Pena (32) – 424 ABs, .259 avg, 4 HR, 37 RBI
Rich Gedman (30) – 260 ABs, .212 avg, 4 HR, 16 RBI

Infielders
Carlos Quintana (24) – 77 ABs, .208 avg, 0 HR, 6 RBI
Bill Buckner (40) – 176 ABs, .216 avg, 1 HR, 16 RBI
Marty Barrett (31) – 336 ABs, .256 avg, 1 HR, 27 RBI
Jody Reed (27) – 524 ABs, .288 avg, 3 HR, 40 RBI
Wade Boggs (31) – 621 ABs, .330 avg, 3 HR, 54 RBI
Randy Kutcher (29) – 160 ABs, .225 avg, 2 HR, 18 RBI
Luis Rivera (26) – 323 ABs, .257 avg, 5 HR, 29 RBI

Outfielders
Mike Greenwell (26) – 578 ABs, .308 avg, 14 HR, 95 RBI
Ellis Burks (25) – 399 ABs, .303 avg, 12 HR, 61 RBI
Dwight Evans (38) – 520 ABs, .285 avg, 20 HR, 100 RBI
Kevin Romine (28) – 274 ABs, .274 avg, 1 HR, 23 RBI

Notably absent from the roster are any of the young offensive prospects that were fighting for a roster spot. The team elected to go with veterans like Bill Buckner and Randy Kutcher rather than any of the young players like Mo Vaughn and Tim Naehring. After spending a bit of extra time in the minors early in the season, those players are still expected to make their Major League debut in 1990.

[Swami077]

April 2, 1990
Opening Day has finally arrived! The Red Sox open the season today at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Manager Joe Morgan has posted the lineup card in the clubhouse and the Opening Day lineup will look like this against Tigers’ starter Jack Morris.
1 - Marty Barrett (2B)
2 - Wade Boggs (3B)
3 - Mike Greenwell (LF)
4 - Ellis Burks (CF)
5 - Dwight Evans (DH)
6 - Carlos Quintana (RF)
7 - Bill Buckner (1B)
8 - Tony Pena (C)
9 - Jody Reed (SS)


Tiger Stadium on Opening Day

The BNN released their preseason predictions this morning, and have projected the Red Sox as one of the league’s worst teams. “We know what everyone thinks of our chances at this point, and there’s a lot of guys in that clubhouse very anxious to prove everyone wrong,” commented Morgan. See below for the full projections.



In finalizing Opening Day rosters across the league, there were a few players placed on waivers who may be of interest to the Red Sox, including rumored trade target Scott Bankhead of the Seattle Mariners. Starters Orel Hershiser and Pascual Perez were designated for assignment by the Dodgers and Yankees, respectively. Neither pitcher is likely to garner significant interest given the remaining salaries owed over their current contracts.

There were also two significant injuries diagnosed over the weekend. The Philadelphia Phillies announced that they have lost their closer Roger McDowell for the season with a fractured elbow. In Minnesota, first baseman Kent Hrbek will miss approximately 5 weeks with an ankle sprain.

[Swami077]

April 9, 1990
The season got off to an exciting start on Opening Day in Detroit. A 15 inning marathon at Tiger Stadium ended in a 2-1 win for the Red Sox. After taking two out of three in Detroit, the Red Sox went home for their home opener. The series started very poorly with two blow out losses to open the series. Sloppy defense punctuated the two days with 6 errors leading to 8 unearned runs. After two taxing days for the bullpen, Roger Clemens provided a strong 6 innings on Sunday to give the relievers some much needed rest. Boston salvaged the final game of the series 3-1 and wraps up opening week at 3-3.

Next up is a rematch with the Tigers in a 3 game series at Fenway Park starting tonight. Then, after an off day, the Milwaukee Brewers come to town for a 4 game series to finish up this long early season homestand.

Early this past week, the team claimed RHPs Scott Bankhead off waivers from Seattle, and Kevin Ritz off waivers from Detroit. The Red Sox still have 5 days to decide where to assign them within the organization. Bankhead went 14-6 and posted a 3.34 ERA with the Mariners last season. Ritz made 12 starts for the Tigers in 1989 and went 4-6 with a 4.38 ERA. Both will likely see action in the Majors this season. In other news, outfielder Danny Heep cleared waivers and after attempts to trade him were unsuccessful, Heep was released by the Red Sox.

Around the League
The St. Louis Cardinals acquired Kirk Gibson from the Dodgers in exchange for RHP Bryn Smith. This is the second starting pitcher that the Cardinals have traded away after dealing Bob Tewksbury to Boston last week as well.

Texas Rangers’ Rafael Palmeiro named AL Player of the Week batting .636 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. Philadelphia’s Von Hayes took home the NL award by hitting .458 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI.

Week in Review

Opening Day produced a thriller at Tiger Stadium. Roger Clemens and Jack Morris each allowed one run in 8 stellar innings, but neither was around to see how this one finished up. Mike Greenwell doubled to score Marty Barrett in the 15th inning which broke a 1-1 tie and finally give the Red Sox a 2-1 victory. Lee Smith made quick work of the Tigers in the bottom of the 15th to earn his first save.


After an off day following an Opening Day marathon, Boston and Detroit were back in action on Wednesday with Mike Boddicker taking the ball against Frank Tanana. The Red Sox ran their record to 2-0 behind 5 strong innings from Boddicker and a dominant effort by the bullpen. Boston jumped out to a 2-0 lead through 2 innings and the Red Sox pitching staff would never relinquish that lead.


The Red Sox were going for a series sweep in Detroit in the third and final game at Tiger Stadium. However, Steve Searcy was outstanding for the Tigers, as he fired 8+ innings allowing just 1 run. John Dopson took the loss for the Red Sox, as he allowed 7 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings, but was able to limit the damage to just 3 runs. The top of the order did much of the damage for Detroit, as Lloyd Moseby and Lou Whitaker combined to go 5-for-8 in the game. The Red Sox now head home for Opening Day at Fenway tomorrow against Chicago.

[Swami077]

Bob Tewksbury made his Red Sox debut in their home opener against the Chicago White Sox. It was a debut to forget. Tewksbury allowed 7 runs (3 earned) and couldn't get out of the third inning. Chicago scored 4 unearned runs in the first innings, following an error by SS Jody Reed. Boston committed 3 errors in an overall sloppy effort. Former Red Sox Carlton Fisk killed his old team, going 5-for-6 out of the clean up spot in a 12-6 win. Dwight Evans and Mike Greenwell homered for Boston.


For the second straight game, Carlton Fisk terrorized his old team. This time, the big blow was his three run home run in the 3rd inning to give Chicago a 5-0 lead, en route to an 11-0 win. The Red Sox again made 3 errors in the game, giving them 6 over the first two games of this series. Melido Perez was spectacular for the White Sox. He carried a no hitter into the 6th inning until Tony Pena broke it up with an infield single. Perez would surrender just one more hit in a complete game two hit shutout.


In desperate need of a strong start to save the bullpen, Roger Clemens delivered. He pitched six scoreless innings, striking out five. Mike Greenwell had three hits and Wade Boggs went 2-for-3 in the 3-1 Boston victory. Rich Gedman added his first home run of the season in the second inning. Lee Smith continued his early season domination, retiring the White Sox in order in the ninth to record his third save.

[Swami077]

April 16, 1990
The vibe around the Red Sox clubhouse feels much differently today than it did just a few days ago. The team started the week by being swept at home by the Detroit Tigers, and pitched very poorly throughout the series. They surrendered runs in the top of 1st inning of each game, and trailed for the entirety of all 3 games. A weekend visit from the Milwaukee Brewers, who had lost 4 out of their last 5, proved to be just what the doctor ordered.

They were shut down by Teddy Higuera in the first game of the series on Friday night, but mounted a rally in the 9th inning to tie the game. Then, Mike Greenwell played the role of hero with a walk off single in the 12th. After splitting the next two games of the series, the teams played another thriller today. Kevin Ritz, making his Red Sox debut, battled Chris Bosio, and the teams entered the bottom of the 8th in a scoreless tie. Randy Kutcher singled to drive in Kevin Romine with the game’s lone run in a 1-0 Boston victory on Patriots Day.

Boston now takes its 6-7 record on the road for a trip to Chicago and Milwaukee in the coming week. While poor starting pitching has garnered most of the headlines for the team thus far, the offense has scuffled as well. Regular starters Dwight Evans, Marty Barrett and Bill Buckner all sport sub-.200 batting averages at this stage. In an effort to spark the team, Manager Joe Morgan shuffled his lineup late this week by moving Jody Reed into the leadoff spot while flipping Barrett into the 9 hole. The move paid immediate dividends as Reed went 3-4 on Saturday in his first game leading off.

Despite the overall offensive struggles, outfielder Mike Greenwell has opened the season red hot. After an outstanding spring, his success has continued into the early part of the regular season. He has opened the season batting .455 through his first 55 at bats.

Marty Barrett was forced to leave today’s game after a collision at 2nd base with Milwaukee’s Glenn Braggs. The team’s medical staff is still examining him as of this writing and the specifics of his injury are unknown.

To make room for Kevin Ritz on the Major League roster, the Red Sox optioned RHP John Dopson to AAA Pawtucket. Prior to the demotion, Dopson had started two games for Boston, taking the loss in both. The other pitcher added to the organization this week, Scott Bankhead, was assigned to Pawtucket.

Around the League
On Saturday, Detroit Tigers pitcher Frank Tanana earned his 200th career victory in a 21-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles. In other Tigers news, SS Alan Trammell was named the AL Player of the Week today. Red Sox fans had an up close view of Trammell’s damage earlier this week at Fenway. For the week, Trammell went 15-for-28 with 2 home runs. The National League Player of the Week was Andy Van Slyke of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who went 10-for-22 with 2 home runs.

The Oakland Athletics announced that ace Dave Stewart would be lost for the season. He has a torn elbow ligament and will undergo Tommy John surgery. This is a huge blow to the World Series favorite Athletics. They are likely to be in the market to acquire a starting pitcher prior to the trade deadline. Oakland also may have lost All-Star closer Dennis Eckersley. Eckersley was removed from Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury, and the team has not yet updated his condition.

In other injury news, New York Mets placed starter Frank Viola on the 15 day disabled list with a strained muscle in his back. California’s Bert Blyleven is expected to miss up to six weeks with a rotator cuff strain.

The New York Yankees signed former Cy Young award winner Orel Hershiser to a minor league contract. Hershiser had been released by the Dodgers earlier this week.

Down on the Farm
New Britain’s 25 year old first baseman Mike Twardoski was named Eastern League Player of Week. His season is off to an outstanding start, as he went 10-for-22 with a home run in the season’s opening week.

In less positive organizational news, the Single A Winter Haven Red Sox were no hit this week by Andy Reich of the St. Lucie Mets.

Week in Review

Mike Boddicker was obliterated by the Tigers in his second outing against Detroit in less than a week. He surrendered 8 earned runs and lasted just 2.1 innings, putting Boston in a hole that they never even threatened to climb out of in an eventual 9-2 loss. Alan Trammell and Torey Lovullo each homered for Detroit, while Mike Greenwell remained hot for the Red Sox by going 3-for-4 in the losing effort.


Alan Trammell homered for the second straight day, amongst his 4 hits in support of Tigers' starter Steve Searcy. Catcher Mike Heath went 4-for-4 and reached base in all six of his plate appearances in a 10-5 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. 3 more hits for Mike Greenwell raised his average to .457 on the young season. Boston will look to salvage the final game of the series tomorrow.


Boston wrapped up a very poorly pitched series at home against the Tigers with a 6-2 loss. Today, it was Bob Tewksbury's turn and he promptly surrendered 4 runs in the first inning. To his credit, the Red Sox needed a deep outing from him to rest their taxed bullpen and he gutted through 7 innings. The Red Sox did mount a rally in the 8th inning. They loaded the bases with two outs and brought Randy Kutcher to the dish representing the tying run, but he struck out against Mike Henneman to end the threat.

[Swami077]

The Red Sox earned a much needed win this evening against the Milwaukee Brewers, and it came in exhilarating fashion. Fittingly, Mike Greenwell notched his 4th hit of the ballgame with the bases loaded to walk the Sox off with a 3-2 win in the 12th inning. Trailing 2-0 entering the 9th inning and having been shut down by Teddy Higuera to that point, Boston loaded the bases with no outs and Carlos Quintana tied the game with a two run single. The Red Sox would leave the bases loaded to send the game to extras.


Boston put together its most complete game of the season to this point. Roger Clemens pitched 6 strong innings, allowing one run and striking out six. Jody Reed and Wade Boggs had 3 hits apiece to pace the offense in a 7-2 win over the struggling Milwaukee Brewers. Manager Joe Morgan shuffled his lineup, moving Reed to the leadoff spot and dropping Marty Barrett into the 9 hole. Mike Greenwell had come into this game 15-23 in his last 5 games, but went 0-4 today.


After dropping the first two games of the series, Milwaukee got the win on Sunday at Fenway Park, 7-3. Jaime Navarro tossed a complete game for the Brewers, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits. Interestingly, he did not strike out a single Red Sox hitter. Glenn Braggs knocked Mike Boddicker out of the game with a lead off home run in the 7th inning that stretched Milwaukee's lead to 5-0. The teams will square off in the series finale tomorrow.


In the traditional 11am start in Boston for Patriots Day, the home team won a thriller over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, 1-0. In a scoreless game with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th inning, Kevin Romine singled off of Chris Bosio. He stole 2nd and went to 3rd when the throw went into center field. Randy Kutcher, who had entered the game when Marty Barrett was forced to leave with an injury, drove in Romine to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Closer Lee Smith made sure the lead stood up, earning his 4th save. Kevin Ritz made his Red Sox debut with 6.1 scoreless innings.


11am Patriots Day Tradition

[Swami077]

April 23, 1990
It was a very rough week for the Boston Red Sox. They were 0-5 on their brief road trip which saw them get swept in two games in Chicago against the White Sox, and the lose three straight in Milwaukee. Friday night’s game was rained out, and the teams played a doubleheader on Saturday. Boston figured to set up nicely with their top two pitchers slated to start the doubleheader. Mike Boddicker and Roger Clemens both pitched well in their starts, but the Red Sox dropped both games in extra innings. The first game saw closer Lee Smith surrender a game tying home run to Rob Deer in the 9th inning for his first blown save of the season.

On this road trip, it was the offense that was unable to come through and looked downright anemic. In 5 games on this trip, they managed to score just 9 total runs. While the Red Sox have an off day back in Boston today, rumors are swirling that the team could promote 1B Mo Vaughn. Vaughn has gotten off to a strong start at AAA Pawtucket, hitting .367 with 2 home runs through 13 games. Many expect an announcement to be made sometime today.

At the start of the road trip, Boston placed 2B Marty Barrett on the 15 day disabled list with a neck injury. He’s not expected to be ready to return when first eligible, but should not miss significant time with the injury. In a corresponding move, Boston called up infielder Tim Naehring. The organization’s 5th ranked prospect figures to mostly serve as the team’s everyday shortstop, with Jody Reed shifting over to 2B while Barrett is on the mend. Naehring had an RBI single in his Major League debut at Comiskey Park early last week.

Around the League
In a dominant performance, Seattle’s Erik Hanson struck out 15 Twins in a two hit complete game.

42 year old Texas starting pitcher, Charlie Hough, announced this week that he would retire at season’s end. Hough has been in the majors since 1970, compiling a 175-157 record with a 3.59 ERA.

Toronto 1B Fred McGriff was named AL Player of the Week with 6 home runs and 12 RBI during the week. He is up to 10 home runs on the season to lead the league by a wide margin. The NL Player of the Week was a awarded to Lance Johnson of the Cincinnati Reds, who compiled a .625 batting average during the week.

There were a couple of notable injuries suffered across the league in the last few days. The Cleveland Indians lost their closer, Doug Jones, for the next month with a strained abdominal muscle. Tigers’ shortstop Alan Trammell sustained an injury on Saturday in a nasty collision at a base, and it is unclear how much time he will miss. This is a potential major loss for the Tigers, as Trammell had gotten off to an outstanding start this season with a .400 average over his first 70 at bats. Additionally, another player that had gotten off to a strong start, Toronto starting pitcher Todd Stottlemyre, pulled his hamstring last weekend and will miss approximately two months.

Week in Review

The Red Sox ran into an outstanding effort tonight from Jack McDowell, as the White Sox defeated Boston, 4-1. Frank Thomas hit a two run home run off Bob Tewksbury in his first career at bat in the first inning, giving Chicago a lead that they would never surrender. Boston mounted late rallies in the 8th and 9th innings, but each came up short.


For the second straight day, the White Sox defeated the Red Sox 4-1 at Comiskey Park. And for the second straight day, it was due in large part to the work of newly called up Frank Thomas. He went 2-2 with 2 RBI doubles. Tim Naehring got the start at shortstop for Boston and had a debut to remember with an RBI single in the 7th inning. The Red Sox have an off day tomorrow before opening a 3 game weekend series in Milwaukee.


The Red Sox suffered a devastating loss in the first game of a doubleheader at Milwaukee County Stadium this afternoon. The Brewers walked off with the win in the bottom of the 10th when Glenn Braggs scored from 3rd on a passed ball by catcher Tony Pena. Leading 3-1 entering the bottom of the 9th, Manager Joe Morgan elected to remove Mike Boddicker after 97 pitches and turn to Lee Smith to try to close out the game. After walking Greg Vaughn with 1 out, Smith gave up a game tying two run home run to Rob Deer. All of Boston's scoring came on a 3 run home run from Ellis Burks in the 3rd inning. The Red Sox will need to turn the page quickly, with ace Roger Clemens slated to start game two.


For the second time in just a few hours, the Milwaukee Brewers walked off with a win in extra innings against the Boston Red Sox. Dave Parker's sacrifice fly off of Dennis Lamp brought home Paul Molitor with the game winning run. Starters Roger Clemens and Chris Bosio were both sharp in this one with the game heading to extras tied at 2. Boston had tied the game in the 7th when Wade Boggs scored from third base on a balk by Bosio.


The Brewers swept this three game series against the Red Sox with a 3-2 victory today in Milwaukee. Kevin Ritz started for Boston and had his second consecutive strong performance since joining the team. After the Red Sox took a 2-1 lead into the 6th inning, the bullpen could not make that stand up. Greg Harris and Jeff Gray each surrendered a run, and the Red Sox left the bases loaded in the 9th inning to seal their 5th straight loss.

[Swami077]

April 30, 1990
The Red Sox returned home this week for a 9 game homestand against visiting teams from the west coast. While there was a bright spot in a game against the California Angels, it was their only win of the week. The league best Oakland Athletics visited Fenway Park over the weekend and thoroughly manhandled the Red Sox in a 3 game sweep. With the Red Sox at 7-17 on the season, and having lost 10 of their last 11 games, things appear bleak for the summer.

In search of a jolt early last week, the Red Sox promoted highly rated prospect 1B Mo Vaughn from Pawtucket. In a corresponding move, the team released Bill Buckner, who had been struggling and was just 5-for-35 to start the season. With Tim Naehring starting at shortstop, at least while Marty Barrett is out, Boston is getting a glimpse into their future.

Newly acquired starting pitcher Bob Tewksbury continues to struggle with being hittable, as he’s allowed 43 hits in just 22.1 innings. Kevin Ritz, on the other hand, is struggling with his control, allowing 18 BBs in his 14 innings pitched thus far. When Ritz struggled against Oakland on Saturday, manager Joe Morgan turned to Tewksbury to eat some innings in relief. As a result, the team needed to make a roster move to take Tewksbury’s projected Sunday start. Blaine Beatty was recalled from AAA Pawtucket, and outfielder Kevin Romine was optioned to make room on the roster. Beatty pitched adequately, but it remains to be seen if he will be given the opportunity to remain in the majors.

The offensive struggles can’t be pinned solely on any individual players, but veteran All-Stars Wade Boggs and Dwight Evans have both gotten off to poor starts. Evans is hitting just .163, Boggs is not much better at .215. Both players need to heat up if the Red Sox have any hope of digging out of this deep hole.

Around the League
In major injury news, Texas lost SP Kevin Brown for 4 months with a shoulder injury. Brown had gotten off to a rocky start with a 6.38 ERA through his first 5 starts.

The Detroit Tigers updated Alan Trammell’s status, and expects that he will miss at least a month with an intercostal strain.

Earlier today, the Kansas City Royals signed 3B Kevin Seitzer to a 3 year/$4.8 million contract extension through the 1992 season. Seitzer is off to a good start this season, hitting .250 with 3 home runs and 16 RBI.

Minnesota’s Shane Mack was named AL Player of the Week after going 10-for-23 with 4 home runs. For the second straight week, the NL Player of the Week was a awarded to a Cincinnati Red; this time outfielder Eric Davis who hit .400 with 3 home runs during the week.

Week in Review


This 9 game homestand did not get off to the kind of start that the Red Sox hoped for. Bob Tewksbury lasted just 2.2 innings, and allowed 7 earned runs in dropping his record to 0-4. He has now allowed an eye popping 36 hits in his 18 innings pitched so far this season. The California Angels jumped out to a huge early lead and were never threatened, as starter Mark Langston tossed a complete game 4 hitter against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.


Shortstop Dick Schofield hit his first home run of the season, a grand slam in the 4th inning off of Tom Bolton, to give the Angels a lead and they never looked back. Chuck Finley tossed 8 strong innings for California in the 8-4 win. There was a bright spot in this 7th straight loss for the Red Sox, as Tim Naehring who went 3-for-4 out of the 9 spot in the lineup. Conversely, Wade Boggs went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts to lower his average to .205 on the season. With the Red Sox facing lefties in each of the last two games, Mo Vaughn is yet to make a big league start, but he made his Major League debut with a pinch hit appearance in the 9th inning.


The Red Sox finally ended their losing streak tonight with a 9-4 victory over the California Angels at Fenway Park. The struggling Boston offense pounded out 15 hits, 3 each for Wade Boggs and Jody Reed. Young players Tim Naehring and Mo Vaughn also each chipped in with two hits apiece. Roger Clemens didn't have his best stuff in this one, as he threw an inefficient 110 pitches in his 6 innings. He allowed just two runs in running his record to 3-0 on the young season.

[Swami077]

The Red Sox welcomed the best team in baseball, the 18-3 Oakland Athletics, to Fenway Park for a 3 game series. It didn't take long for them to flex their muscles. Mark McGwire, who had come into the game scuffling, hit a three run home run over the Green Monster in the first inning off Mike Boddicker to set the tone in a 5-1 win. The Red Sox managed just 4 hits in the game, 2 of which came from Mike Greenwell; including a solo home run in the 8th inning.


Kevin Ritz got the start for Boston and allowed 7 runs (3 earned) over 2.2 innings. He walked 9, balked twice, and threw a wild pitch in a dreadful outing. Manager Jor Morgan took the unusual step to bring on tomorrow's projected starter Bob Tewksbury in an effort to save an overworked bullpen. The Red Sox will now need to re-assess their plans for tomorrow's final game of the series. Stan Javier went 3-3 and reached base 5 times to spark the 10-3 Oakland win.


Mike Moore continued his superb start to the season with a complete game 3 hit shutout to wrap up a weekend sweep for the Athletics at Fenway Park. A pair of 3 run home runs by Jose Canseco and Dave Henderson paced Oakland's offense for a 10-0 win. Jody Reed had 2 of the Red Sox' 3 total hits in the game. After using today's probable starter, Bob Tewksbury, in relief yesterday, the Red Sox called up Blaine Beatty to make a spot start today. He worked through 5 innings, allowing 6 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 6 walks.

[Swami077]

May 3, 1990
With an off day before the Red Sox begin a long west coast road trip, we had an opportunity to sit down with new President of Baseball Operations, Jack Brady, to discuss the state of the organization.

Q: How would you describe the team’s play to this point?
JB: I think to say it’s anything besides disappointing would be disingenuous. We clearly feel we are more talented that what we’ve shown on the field to this point. But it’s obviously still early, and there’s a lot of season left to get this thing turned around. We are working hard to do that.

Q: What have you seen that’s been of the most concern?
JB: Well, when you’re 7-20, there’s no shortage of things to be concerned about. We haven’t pitched well, we haven’t hit well, and there have been too many games where we didn’t play very good defense either. There are a lot of things to correct.

Q: If there’s no turnaround, is there a chance that the Red Sox will be sellers at the trade deadline?
JB: I don’t care for the term “seller”, or “buyer” for that matter. Just like the other 25 teams in the league, we’ll be looking to improve our team throughout each season, throughout each offseason, and that doesn’t change. To more directly answer your question, by no means are we throwing in the towel on this season. Our team is far too talented to accept a lost season. We came into our season expecting to contend for a playoff berth, and that has not changed.

Q: We’ve seen a few young players earn promotions to the majors perhaps a bit earlier than anticipated. What have you seen out of Tim Naehring and Mo Vaughn?
JB: I think they are carrying themselves well as professionals. There are a lot of changes that go on when you’re called up to the big league and finally realize your life long dream. These guys are handling that well and we’ve been excited by their presence in our clubhouse.

Q: Do you expect that Tim will remain in the lineup even after Marty Barrett returns from the injury?
JB: I can’t answer that question at this point. Marty isn’t healthy so setting any kind of expectation would be just throwing a dart at the wall. We don’t know how things will play out.

Q: Are there any other prospects that you think will make their debut before rosters expand in September?
JB: Again, I don’t have a crystal ball, and there are a lot of things that go into those decisions. So we’ll see on that.

[Swami077]

May 7, 1990
Three games into a 12 game road trip, Boston at least heads to Seattle following one of their better wins of the season. A 7-4 win yesterday at Oakland Coliseum against the league best Athletics halted the Red Sox’ slide in which they had lost 15 out of their previous 16 games. At 8-22, Boston sits 9 games behind the division leading Toronto Blue Jays. In today’s BNN power rankings, the Red Sox rank dead last.

On the road ahead, the Red Sox visit the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome for a 3 game series starting tonight. They will try to cool a red hot Ken Griffey Jr. who enters the series riding a 19 game hitting streak. Later this week, they will head back to California for a series against the Angels.

After making a spot start last Sunday, pitcher Blaine Beatty was optioned to AAA Pawtucket and RP Jeff Plympton to called up from AA New Britain. Plympton had been off to an outstanding start, having not allowed a run and striking out 14 over 6.2 innings. The promotion was considered a surprise, given that Plympton had not ever thrown a pitch above AA and hadn’t been one of the players invited to spring training. Plympton pitched well in his first two appearances with Boston this week.

The Red Sox carried 13 pitchers for the majority of the week, but elected to option struggling RP Jeff Gray in favor of outfielder Mickey Pina. Pina had just been named International League player of the month after hitting .329 with 7 home runs in April. Pina may only be a short term answer until Kevin Romine is eligible to be recalled.

Earlier today, the Red Sox announced that they had signed veteran closer Todd Worrell to a minor league contract. Worrell has saved 126 games in his career, all with the St. Louis Cardinals. He’ll report to AAA Pawtucket initially, but is likely to be added to the Major League roster at some point this season.

In AA New Britain, the Red Sox had both the top pitcher and player for the month of April. Pitcher Kevin Morton went 3-0 with 0.34 ERA across his 3 starts in the month. 1B Mike Twardoski batted. 391 over 69 at bats to be named Player of the Month.

Around the League
Toronto’s Fred McGriff was named AL Player of the Month after 11 months with 29 RBI in the season’s opening month. His ride continued into the first week of May as well, as he was also named the most recent player of the week with 5 home runs this week to give him 15 on the season. In the NL, Philadelphia’s Von Hayes was named top player in April by hitting .358 with 7 home runs.

Oakland pitcher Mike Moore is off to a historic start. He has started the season 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA to make him a clear early season frontrunner for the AL Cy Young award. But first things first, Moore was named AL Pitcher of the Month for April. Dwight Gooden of the Mets took home the honors on the NL side after starting the season 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA and 44 strikeouts across 47 innings pitched.

The top rookies for April were named as SP John DeSilva in the American League, and Scott Ruskin in the NL. Detroit’s DeSilva made 5 starts, going 3-0 during the month. Ruskin made his Major League debut, and saved 5 games without allowing a run for the Pirates during April. Unfortunately, he tore his labrum late in the month and will miss at least 3 months.

The most significant injury news this week came out of New York, where it was announced that the Yankees had lost SP Dave Eiland to bone spurs in his elbow. He has undergone surgery to remove them and will miss the remainder of the season.

Week in Review

The Red Sox struggles continued in the opener of a 3 games series against the Seattle Mariners. Starter Tom Bolton allowed 5 runs in the first inning, and 8 runs before being pulled after just 3.1 innings. Mike Greenwell and Dwight Evans both homered for Boston in the 9-5 loss. Staff ace Roger Clemens will look to right the ship tomorrow night.


Brian Holman was in complete control from the first pitch in a 4-0 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Holman did not surrender a hit until a Carlos Quintana single in the 5th inning. The Red Sox managed just 3 hits in the game in support of Roger Clemens. Clemens struggled throughout this one, walking 4 and allowing 9 hits in his 6 innings of work. The Red Sox will try to salvage the final game of the series tomorrow before a long west coast road trip.


For the second straight day, the Red Sox were shut out and managed just 3 total hits. Mike Boddicker pitched well, but was no match for Randy Johnson this day. Johnson allowed just 2 hits through 7 innings, while striking out 7. Carlos Quintana is starting to break out of his early season slump, as he had 2 of the 3 Boston hits.

[Swami077]

The Red Sox opened a 12 game road trip with a 3 game series in Oakland against the Athletics. Early season Cy Young award frontrunner Mike Moore ran his record to 6-0 with 7.2 innings of two run ball. Bob Tewksbury pitched well for 4 innings, but ran into trouble in the 5th giving up 3 home runs in the inning (Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco and Dave Henderson). The Red Sox bullpen was a bright spot, with Jeff Plympton and Greg Harris allowing no hits and striking out 5 A's in 3 innings.


Oakland improved their league best record to 22-6 with a 4-1 win over the Red Sox this afternoon at Oakland Coliseum. Bob Welch moved to 5-0 with 7.1 strong innings. The lone blemish came on a solo home run by catcher Tony Pena in the 7th inning. Kevin Ritz allowed 3 runs on just 4 hits in 5 innings, but again struggled with his control as he walked 7 and hit 2 batters. The Red Sox actually out hit the A's 7 to 6, but again came up short on the scoreboard. Wade Boggs went 3-for-4 to raise his average to .215 as a sign that he may be breaking out of his early season doldrums.


Boston (losers of 15 out of their last 16 games), defeated the Oakland A's 7-4 behind a strong outing by starter Tom Bolton this afternoon. Bolton earned his first win of the season with 6 innings, allowing 3 runs to a potent A's lineup. Mike Greenwell went 4-for-5 with a home run, and Carlos Quintana added a solo homer as well. Manager Joe Morgan made a bold decision to bring closer Lee Smith into the 7th inning to get through the middle of the order, which left Jeff Reardon to work the 9th and earn his first save of the season.

[Swami077]

May 14, 1990
The Red Sox have continued to struggle during their west coast swing. After being competitive but ultimately being swept in Seattle, they headed to California to take on the Angels. They continued to play more competitive baseball in a game one loss, and then received a masterful pitching performance in the second game from Roger Clemens in a 5 hit shutout. The final game of the series was a 7-0 defeat which sent Boston to Kansas City feeling as they have for much of the season; disappointed.


Roger Clemens dealing against the Angels on Saturday night

The Red Sox sent Marty Barrett to AAA Pawtucket to rehab from the neck injury that’s had him on the disabled list since April 17. He has started 5 games at 2B while on rehab and is 0-for-21 thus far. Surely, the Red Sox would like to see him start to hit before having him rejoin the Major League club.

Boston did run into a couple of new injuries this week as well. Outfielder Ellis Burks had to leave the game on Friday night with an elbow injury. While the injury is not expected to be a long term concern, he did sit out the remaining games in California. He is expected to be available to serve as a designated hitter in Kansas City this week. Shortstop Tim Naehring left Saturday’s game after tweaking his hamstring while running the bases. He sat out yesterday’s game as a precaution, and the Red Sox have indicated that he will be back in the lineup as the series opens tonight in Kansas City.

After his struggles continued against the Mariners, pitcher Bob Tewksbury (0-6) was optioned to AAA Pawtucket when he will work on his mechanics. Boston gave up Paul Quantrill, one of its top prospects, to acquire Tewksbury prior to the season, so the Red Sox clearly have high hopes for him. It’s uncertain how long the team plans for him to spend in the minors. John Dopson was recalled in a corresponding move and is expected to take Tewksbury’s place in the rotation. After struggling early on in Boston, Dopson was 4-0 and posted a 2.52 ERA across 4 starts with Pawtucket.

In other starting pitching news, Boston skipped Kevin Ritz’s turn in the rotation this weekend in California. Ritz has really struggled with his control, and it is uncertain how many more opportunities the Red Sox will give him to find his command.

Down on the farm, 23 year old Lynchburg pitcher Howard Landry fired a complete game, 1 hit shutout against the Salem Buccaneers. For the season, Landry is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA. Catcher John Marzano for AAA Pawtucket was named the Player of the Week in the International League. Marzano went 8-for-16 with 2 home runs during the week.

Around the League
The American League Player of the Week was awarded to Randy Milligan of the Baltimore Orioles. Milligan went 11-for-23 with 4 home runs. The Chicago Cubs’ Mark Grace was named the National League Player of the Week after hitting .593 with 9 RBI during the week.

There were two 20+ game hitting streaks snapped this week, as Ken Griffey Jr. posted a hitting streak of 21 games before going hitless in a game against Boston this week. And in the National League, Dave Magadan of the New York Mets posted a 20 game hitting streak before going 0-3 against the Dodgers this weekend. For the season, Magadan is hitting .427 thus far.

In other news, there was a major brawl at Riverfront Stadium on Saturday. After Chris Sabo hit a grand slam for the Reds, the Cubs’ Chris Lutz hit Mariano Duncan with the very next pitch. Duncan charged the mound and the benches emptied. Duncan and Lutz were each suspended for 4 games as a result of the brawl.

Week In Review

It was a classic pitcher's duel between two elite pitchers tonight at the Kingdome. Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson matched each other with both pitching into the 9th inning, allowing just 2 runs. Seattle walked off with the win in the 10th inning when Edgar Martinez drove in Brian Giles with the game winning run for a 3-2 win. Carlos Quintana had two of Boston's 6 hits and also an outfield assist in the 6th inning when he cut down, when he cut down the the go ahead run at home. Ken Griffey Jr. extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a single in the 6th inning.


For the second straight day, the Red Sox intentionally walked Ken Griffey Jr. in the 10th inning with first base open. And for the second straight day, Edgar Martinez made them pay for it. Martinez hit a walk off 3 run homer off Dennis Lamp with 2 outs in the 10th to give Seattle a 7-4 win. The Mariners jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Mike Boddicker, but the Red Sox rallied with 3 runs in the 8th inning to tie the game. Wade Boggs went 2-4 with 2 doubles to raise his average to .222 on the season for Boston.


Seattle finished off a three game sweep of the Red Sox with an 11-7 win at the Kingdome. Keith Comstock got the start to Seattle in a bullpen game, and the Red Sox jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the 4th inning when the Mariners exploded off of Boston starter Bob Tewksbury. It was a grand slam by Tino Martinez (his first of two home runs in the game) that got Seattle back in the game. They would knock Tewksbury out of the game in the 4th inning with 7 runs to take the lead. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-3 to snap his 21 game hitting streak.