Boston Red Sox 2013 Start

[AlpineSK]

Originally Posted by rpriske

I'll admit that I didn't like the Lincecum deal (unless it was followed by an extension), but this deal looks great!

I tried to get Jacob Turner for my Blue Jays but it hasn't worked out so far.

The only thing that really stung for me on the Lincecum deal was giving up Barnes. I felt Lincecum was an upgrade over Buchholz, and giving up Gomes freed up some salary room. Lavarnway was a AAA player this year and Workman... meh..

An extension might still be in the works.. I am going to TRY but I'm not optimistic. With Wilson on my roster, I dont plan on resigning Hanrahan, with Bradley and Victorino I am going to let Ellsbury go, and with the Bogaerts first base experiment going well I am going to let Napoli go as well, figuring all 3 should be comp eligible.

As for the second deal, I love it too. Turner will spend most of the rest of this year in AAA. He is with the big league team because Dubront had a 2 week injury, so I have a spot in the rotation vacant and I can give him a start. He makes $1 million this year, and has a team option for $1 million for next year that I plan on exercising.

[Perceptor]

I definitely love the 2nd deal Too bad about Lincecum though. Hopefully, his injury might mean you can sign him at a lesser price.

[AlpineSK]

July 24, 2013

Lester Gets 17th Win, Stops Sox Slide

With back to back wins against Tampa Bay which included ace Jon Lester's Major League leading 17th win, the Red Sox have increased their lead back up to 5.5 games over the second place Toronto Blue Jays.

Manager John Gibbons has done a great job with the help of former Red Sox Bench Coach Demarlo Hale in building off of what John Farrell started. Starters RA Dickey (12-6) and Mark Buehrle (9-4) have proven to be a strong 1-2 punch, and Jose Batista, Adam Lind, and Jose Reyes have led the way for the team's offense.

The Blue Jays also made a deal to strengthen their team on Wednesday afternoon when they sent a Minor League pitching prospect to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder John Mayberry Jr. Mayberry Jr. was hitting .260 with the Phillies with 15 HR and 50 RBIs. He will take over for the platoon in left field of Grady Sizemore and Rajai Davis.

[AlpineSK]

August 7, 2013

Lester Latest Injury for Red Sox

What started out as a precautionary removal for John Lester has turned into a stint on the DL. The 17-5 ace of the Boston Red Sox will require surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching shoulder.

"It's a huge blow to the team, but we want to make sure Jon is okay." John Farrell told the press, adding, "We hope to have him back for the playoffs, but it is going to be tight."

Downtime for Lester will be around two months. Jacob Turner who was up for one more start with the big league club will take Lester's spot in the rotation.

The Red Sox are barely clinging to the lead in the AL East. Once 10 games, they are now just two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. Luckily though, they are 8 games secured in a playoff spot.

[AlpineSK]

August 11, 2012

Phillies Snap Strasburg Winning Streak

A 17-0 start. Unheard of in modern baseball, but Stephen Strasburg was able to pull it off. The much talked about streak came to an end Sunday afternoon in Washington as the Phillies beat the Nationals 7-5.

In a losing effort, Strasburg went 7 innings giving up 9 hits and striking out 7.

"He's pitched well this season and he will keep pitching well," Manager Davey Johnson said, "He handled all of the media attention extremely well. You would never expect this kind of poise out of a 25 year old kid."

"We have high expectations for this season. The Nationals wagon is heading for the playoffs," Strasburg said in a post game interview, "Come hop on, we're happy to have you."

[AlpineSK]

August 14, 2013

Dempster Pitches Masterpiece

"We needed this game, and I wanted to deliver." Ryan Dempster wore a big smile when he walked into the press room after his complete game 6-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Sox had lost the first game of the 3 game set in Toronto, and really needed this one.

Dempster struck out 10, walked 4, and gave up just 2 hits. A myriad of Red Sox hitters contributed to the team's six runs, the biggest hit of all being Jarrod Saltalamacchia's 2 run home run in the 5th inning off of J.A. Happ.

Dempster improved his record to 11-8. Happ dropped to 7-4.

The rubber game of this 3 game set is tomorrow, with rookie Jacob Turner (2-2) going up against Brandon Morrow (8-8).

[AlpineSK]

August 15, 2013

Blue Jays Take 2 of 3 from Red Sox

It took 11 innings, but the Blue Jays were able to squeak out the 3-2 victory over the Red Sox.

Despite a brilliant performance by rookie starter Jacob Turner who went 8 innings giving up 3 hits and striking out 8, Andrew Bailey gave up a 2 out single in the bottom of the 11th that scored Emilio Bonifacio.

The Red Sox still hold a 1 game lead over the Blue Jays in the AL East.

[AlpineSK]

September 1, 2013

Major League Standings

AL East

Red Sox 78-59 Magic # 20
Blue Jays 72-65 6 GB
Yankees 62-73 15 GB
Rays 60-74 16.5 GB
Orioles 58-76 18.5 GB

AL Central

Tigers 83-53 Magic # 19
Royals 74-61 8.5 GB
White Sox 72-63 10.5 GB
Indians 60-75 22.5 GB
Twins 55-80 27.5 GB

AL West

Mariners 78-57 Magic # 13
Angels 63-72 15 GB
Athletics 61-74 17 GB
Rangers 59-76 19 GB
Astros 49-86 29 GB

Wild Card Teams:
Royals, White Sox. Blue Jays are 1 Game Back.

NL East

Nationals 81-54 Magic # 16
Braves 69-66 12 GB
Mets 65-70 16 GB
Phillies 64-72 17.5 GB
Marlins 59-76 22 GB

NL Central

Reds 83-53 Magic # 16
Brewers 71-64 11.5 GB
Pirates 67-68 15.5 GB
Cubs 65-70 17.5 GB
Cardinals 62-73 20.5 GB

NL West

Dodgers 76-59 Magic # 28
Diamondbacks 75-59 0.5 GB
Giants 71-64 5 GB
Rockies 72-65 5 GB
Padres 64-71 12 GB

NL Wild Card:
Diamondbacks; 3 way tie: Gaints, Brewers, Rockies. Braves are 2 games back.

[AlpineSK]

September 1, 2013

Team Statistics Released

LINEUP:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF - .266; 11 HR; 51 RBI; 29 SB
2. Jackie Bradley Jr LF - .270; 7 HR; 46 RBI; August Rookie of the Month
3. Dustin Pedroia 2B - .336; 18 HR; 100 RBI; Leads MLB in AVG
4. Mike Napoli 1B - .291; 25 HR; 81 RBI
5. Will Middlebrooks 3B - .271; 20 HR; 71 RBI
6. Shane Victorino RF - .269; 6 HR; 27 RBI
7. David Ortiz DH - .228; 13 HR; 44 RBI
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C - .256; 14 HR; 47 RBI
9. Jose Iglesias SS - .241; 3 HR; 39 RBI; 14 SB; 9 SH

BENCH:

C David Ross - .218; 1 HR; 9 RBI in 33 Games
1B Mitch Moreland - .331; 13 HR; 56 RBI in 71 Games
IF Cesar Izturis - .288; 0 HR; 8 RBI in 40 Games
OF Mike Carp - .252; 20 HR; 68 RBI in 120 Games

ROTATION:

1. Ryan Dempster - 12-9; 3.61 ERA; 163 K's; 4 CG; 1 SHO
2. Ricky Nolasco - 7-12; 3.39 ERA; 140 K's 1 CG; 1 SHO; 1-3 with Red Sox
3. Felix Doubront - 9-6; 3.50 ERA; 138 K's; 3 CG
4. Jacob Turner - 3-3; 5.03 ERA; 30 K's; 1 CG in 7 Starts
5. John Kacley - 8-6; 5.26 ERA; 77 K's; 3 CG; 2 SHO

BULLPEN:

LR Franklin Morales - 5-7; 4.00 ERA; 0 SV; 68 K's in 32 Games
MR Andrew Bailey - 2-3; 2.15 ERA; 2 SV; 55 K's in 38 Games
MR Koji Uehara - 1-2; 5.12 ERA; 0 SV; 47 K's in 39 Games
MR Joe Thatcher - 2-2; 1.95 ERA; 0 SV; 37 K's in 37 Games
SU Junichi Tazawa - 2-4; 2.40 ERA; 1 SV; 61 K's in 44 Games
SU Brian Wilson - 1-0; 0.92 ERA; 7 SV; 40 K's in 28 Games
CL Joel Hanrahan - 5-4; 2.84 ERA; 17 SV; 60 K's in 37 Games

DISABLED LIST:

SP Jon Lester - 17-5; 4.46 ERA; 146 K's; 2 CG; 2 SHO Back in 3 Weeks
SP Tim Lincecum - 9-4; 4.29 ERA; 147 K's; 2-1 with Red Sox; Back in 3 Weeks

[AlpineSK]

September 1, 2013

September Call Ups Add to Sox Roster

Some teams like to bring up a stable of young studs to populate their Major League roster. That is not the case for the Red Sox, at least not yet.

As of the September 1st roster expansion date, Boston holds a 6 game lead over the 2nd place Toronto Blue Jays. With a Magic Number of 18, anything is still possible this year, and it does not appear that GM Scott Kier is willing to take a risk on the unknown quite yet.

The Sox added a list of names that are already familiar to their roster this season. All of their call ups have already spent time in the Majors in 2013:

SP Rubby De La Rosa - 0-0 in 1 Start. He was injured in the first inning of his only start this year, and recently came off the disabled list.

SP Steven Wright - 2-1 in 3 Games and 2 Starts. The 28 year old knuckleballer might not be Tim Wakefield, but he has shown that he has major league stuff.

MR Andrew Miller - 0-0; 9.64 ERA in 4 Games. Miller struggled through April this year and bought a quick ride down to Pawtucket. He went 4-4 with 11 Saves in 48 games with Pawtucket this year.

IF Pedro Ciriaco - .296 Average in 21 Games. After getting hurt and opening the door for veteran Cesar Izturis, Ciriaco hit .342 in Pawtucket in 37 games.

OF Mark Kotsay - .263 Average 1 HR, 14 RBI in 45 Games. Kotsay was acquired from San Diego with Joe Thatcher earlier in the season. His services became obsolete when Shane Victorino came off the DL.

Left off the roster so far was Xander Bogaerts who has shown a lot of promise at 1B. Bogaerts hit .298 at Pawtucket this year with 12 HR and 65 RBI.

[AlpineSK]

September 21, 2013

Red Sox Capitalize, Clinch AL East

The Red Sox came into the very important 3 game series with the Blue Jays ready to play. The loss of starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia earlier in the week was quite a blow, the veteran Boston team knew what they had to do: win.

And that is exactly what they did.

Behind quality pitching performances by Felix Doubront and Ryan Dempster, the Boston Red Sox clinched their first divisional championship since 2009, and can now set their sights on the playoffs.

They were graced with more good news as they found out that ace Jon Lester would be ready to pitch Sunday's game against the Blue Jays. Also, Tim Lincecum is only a couple days away from being ready for a return.

Congratulations to the 2013 AL East divisional champions: The Boston Red Sox.

[Jabez54]

AWESOME ... I do hope this will ring true for this coming September !!!

[AlpineSK]

September 30, 2013

Final Major League Standings

AL East

Red Sox 92-70
Blue Jays 86-76 6 GB
Yankees 83-79 9 GB
Rays 70-92 22 GB
Orioles 70-92 22 GB

AL Central

Tigers 93-69
Royals 84-78 9 GB
White Sox 82-80 11 GB
Indians 75-87 18 GB
Twins 67-95 26 GB

AL West

Mariners 97-65
Rangers 79-82 18 GB
Angels 77-85 20 GB
Athletics 71-91 26 GB
Astros 56-106 41 GB

Wild Card: Blue Jays vs Royals

NL East

Nationals 96-66
Braves 84-78 12 GB
Mets 82-80 14 GB
Phillies 78-84 18 GB
Marlins 71-91 25 GB

NL Central

Reds 98-64
Pirates 83-79 15 GB
Brewers 83-79 15 GB
Cubs 76-86 22 GB
Cardinals 71-91 27 GB

NL West

Dodgers 95-67
Diamondbacks 91-71 4 GB
Rockies 82-80 13 GB
Padres 80-82 15 GB
Giants 78-84 17 GB

Wild Card: Braves vs Diamondbacks

[AlpineSK]

September 30, 2013

Final Team Statistics

C David Ross .216; 2 HR; 10 RBI in 42 Games
C Christian Vazquez .321; 2 HR; 10 RBI in 7 Games
1B Mike Napoli .278; 33 HR; 101 RBI in 124 Games
1B Mitch Moreland .311; 13 HR; 57 RBI in 86 Games
2B Dustin Pedroia .337; 24 HR; 123 RBI in 152 Games
3B Will Middlebrooks .282; 26 HR; 91 RBI in 133 Games
SS Jose Iglesias .252; 4 HR; 48 RBI in 137 Games
IF Cesar Izturis .263; 0 HR; 10 RBI in 56 Games
IF Pedro Ciriaco .253; 0 HR; 3 RBI in 30 Games
OF Jackie Bradley Jr. .264; 8 HR; 51 RBI in 112 Games
OF Jacoby Ellsbury .272; 12 HR; 57 RBI; 34 SB in 153 Games
OF Shane Victorino .259; 6 HR; 31 RBI in 66 Games
OF Mike Carp .244; 20 HR; 73 RBI in 142 Games
OF Mark Kotsay .250; 1 HR; 14 RBI in 53 Games
DH David Ortiz .257; 20 HR; 65 RBI in 108 Games

ON DL:

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia .256; 15 HR; 51 RBI in 123 Games

STARTERS:

1. Jon Lester 17-6; 4.64 ERA; 150 K's in 26 Starts
2. Tim Lincecum 9-5; 4.26 ERA; 150 K's in 20 Starts
3. Ricky Nolasco 8-13; 3.44 ERA; 159 K's in 30 Starts
4. Ryan Dempster 14-10; 3.75 ERA; 183 K's in 31 Starts
5. Felix Doubront 11-6; 3.61 ERA; 156 K's in 28 Starts
6. John Lackey 11-7; 5.33 ERA; 93 K's in 27 Starts
7. Jacob Turner 4-4; 4.44 ERA; 48 K's in 11 Starts
8. Steven Wright 5-1; 3.57 ERA; 19 K's in 5 Starts (2 CG; 1 SHO)

BULLPEN:

LR - Franklin Morales 5-8; 4.36 ERA; 0 SV; 77 K's in 40 Games
MR Andrew Bailey 2-3; 2.11 ERA; 3 SV; 67 K's in 46 Games
MR Koji Uehara 1-2; 5.04 ERA; 1 SV; 53 K's in 46 Games
MR Joe Thatcher 3-3; 2.13 ERA; 0 SV; 47 K's in 49 Games
SU Junichi Tazawa 2-4; 2.18 ERA; 1 SV; 66 K's in 48 Games
SU Brian Wilson 1-2; 1.14 ERA; 10 SV; 54 K's in 39 Games
CL Joel Hanrahan 6-4; 2.68 ERA; 21 SV; 79 K's in 46 Games

[AlpineSK]

September 30, 2013

Red Sox Team Leaders

HITTERS:

G - Jacoby Ellsbury 153
R - Dustin Pedroia 115
H - Dustin Pedroia 213
2B - Dustin Pedroia 59
3B - Jackie Bradley Jr. 5
HR - Mike Napoli 33
RBI - Dustin Pedroia 123
SB - Jacoby Ellsbury 34
AVG - Dustin Pedroia .337

PITCHERS:

G - Junichi Tazawa 52
GS - Ryan Dempster 31
IP - Ryan Dempster 220
W - Jon Lester 17
K - Ryan Dempster 183
CG - Ryan Dempster 4
SHO - John Lackey, Jon Lester 2
SV - Joel Hanrahan 21
ERA - Felix Doubront 3.61

[AlpineSK]

October 7, 2013

Divisional Matchups Set

After the Blue Jays defeated the Royals 2-0, and the Diamondbacks eliminated the Brave 2-1, the Divisional Playoff matchups are set:

AL:

Seattle Mariners vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox

NL:

Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

In the Red Sox seven game series they are expected to send Jon Lester, Ricky Nolasco, and Ryan Dempster to the mound in their first three games.

[AlpineSK]

October 8, 2013

Red Sox Return to Boston Down 2-0, Without Ellsbury

If losing the first two games of the series to Detroit was not enough, Jacob Ellsbury is out for 4 weeks, potentially for the entire playoffs, with a broken foot.

Ellsbury suffered the injury when he fouled a ball off his foot in the sixth inning. John Farrell told reporters, "It is nothing that we could have prevented, so we will just have to deal with it."

Mike Carp will see more playing time as the Red Sox return to Boston for games 3 and 4.

[AlpineSK]

October 17, 2013

It's Over! Red Sox Take Tigers in 6

After losing their first two games of the series, the Red Sox knew their backs were up against the wall, especially without leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury. The team, however, held together and took the next four games from the Tigers mostly behind the bat of rookie Jackie Bradley Jr.

In 6 games through the series, he went 11 for 26 for a .423 average, hitting 5 HR's and knocking in a total of 6 runs. Joined at the blate by stellar performances by Will Middlebrooks (.364; 2 HR; 6 RBI), Mitch Moreland (.353, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and Shane Victorino (.407; 1 HR; 3 RBI) the team was able to complete the comeback two nights ago in Boston.

Now, they prepare for the Blue Jays to come to town.

It took Toronto 7 games to upset the best team in the majors this year as they shutout the Mariners 4-0 in the Wednesday night contest. Brendan Morrow, Sergio Santos, and Steve Delabar combined on the 4 hit shutout.

Toronto won the regular season series between these two teams 11 games to 8. Boston will host the series as the higher seeded team.

[Jabez54]

YES !!!

[AlpineSK]

October 22, 2013

Red Sox Complete Sweep of Blue Jays

Four games, and it's over. The Red Sox are heading to the World Series! The final game in Toronto was a real nail biter with Dustin Pedroia finally finishing it off with a solo HR in the 11th.

After using most of their bullpen, it was up to Felix Doubront to close the game out in the bottom of the 11th and he got the job done.

The biggest hit of the night though came from OF Shane Victorino in the top of the 8th. His two run home run put the Red Sox ahead 4-3. Joel Hanrahan could not keep it together in the 9th giving up a HR to Colby Rasmus with one out to tie the game.

Now the Red Sox will return to Boston and wait to see if the Dodgers can close out the Diamondbacks. Currently, Los Angeles leads the series 3 games to 1.