ALCS Game 3: Rays @ BoSox
By
Game 2 went from barn burner to bullpen duel faster than you could say “he had cancer,” but this afternoon’s pitching matchup suggests we might be in for a one sided affair. Jon Lester was a sterling 11-1, 2.49 at home this year, and posted a sub-1.00 ERA in three starts against the Don’t Call Me Devil Rays. His counterpart, Matt Garza, went 4-6, 4.53 on the road, and took it on the chin against the Red Averages, posting a 4.50 ERA in 4 starts.
First pitch is at 4:37 (what is with these obscure start times?), you can catch the game on TBS. Frank Caliendo will call the game as John Madden and George W. Bush. Enjoy.
Tampa Bay
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. BJ Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Willy Aybar, DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Rocco Baldelli, RF
9. Jason Barlett, SS
- Matt Garza, P (11-9, 3.70)
Boston
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. JD Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mark Kotsay, 1B
8. All-Star Catcher Jason Varitek, C
9. Alex Cora wins games, SS
- Jon Lester, P (16-6, 3.21)
8. All-Star Catcher Jason Varitek, C
Prepare for some high comedy…
Wif da knuckleballer, that is.
Nevermind, I’m an idiot. I thought Wakefield was pitching.
/puts self in corner
Talk about shocker here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/.....id=3641566
Oh jeez….That’s absolutely awful.
Holy shit. RIP.
“Problems getting an ambulance and working defibrillator appear to have contributed to the problem.”
“As for a cause, some Russian blogs are reporting it was due to a completely accidental elbow to the chest from Jagr, who is Cherepanov’s teammate for Omsk. Jagr was heard screaming for Alexei to wake up.”
Wow, just wow.
I’m no Rangers fan but that is aboslutley horrible.
My prayers and condolences are with his family.
And the Rangers have to play tonight, too…
Wow, Phil Hughes is turning into CMW.
He always has been, the beauty of Phil was that he was a dominant groundball pitcher who could get K’s(kind of like Halladay).
The key for Garza is to throw his secondary pitches for strikes and not be predictable with the fastball.
isnt that the key for like every pitcher ever? haha
Remember when David Ortiz used to be good?
Heh, you should check out SoSH, they are roasting this dude.
He just looks off balance on every swing right now.
Damn, there goes Hughes’ 0.00 ERA.
I know, what ya gonna do.
At least he has a 10-2 GB-FB ratio in today’s game.
Best pitcher in the game….. :/
Well, I think I understand the TBS logic here. Right now, Jon Lester is the only pitcher in Major League Baseball on the mound. So by default, he is, right now, the best pitcher in baseball. In a few minutes, Matt Garza will be the best pitcher in baseball.
Ooooohhhhhh. That makes sense.
Wait, no. No, it doesn’t.
That’s the only plausible explanation.
So when Varitek is at the plate, will he be the best hitter in baseball? Or will the game of baseball cease to exist when he is hitting so that he can never be referred to as the best hitter in baseball?
Nope. You’re right. When Varitek is up, he’s the best hitter in the game right now.
AAWWWWW… Marquez comes in…
Why take out Hughes after 5 innings and 79 pitches?
Considering that Scherzer threw 94 pitches today and Hughes threw more pitches in his last start than this one, yea I was a little bit surprise.
Wouldn’t be a MLB October without a Derek Jeter reference!
A double on that…. ew
Come on Garza, you gotta blow Varitek away here.
…and I mean, literally. Throw him a live grenade.
Wack bitch.
You gotta get Cora out here.
Is that Rocco Baldelli or Owen Wilson?
t3h bEst!
C’mon Bossman. Teach sick boy that you guys ain’t no stinkin’ Angels.
There we go.
Boss Man Jr in the mothafuckin house bitches.
To quote the great John Davidson: OOOOOOOOOOH BABY!!!
I just figured out what “Detras…en orbita la pelota” means.
Yes Sir?
Ace!111!111111!!!ciento once!!
I love the Upton brothers and so do my keeper team.
Who’s a better fantasy player? Ellsbury or Upton?
Oh that’s not even close. All Ellsbury is good for is steals. Upton gives you steals, homers, RBIs, everything really. When he was 2B eligible, Upton was one of the best fantasy players you could find.
Justin Upton’s actuallysupposed to have a higher ceiling than BJl, but he was rushed.
For some reason I like BJ more that Justin. Better athlete, and has the slightly better plate disipline. He can play on my team anyday.
Picking between the Brothers Upton is like picked between the two chicks in the picture at the top of the post, there’s no loser.
I’ll take the ugly one.
Gee, thanks. =P.
Nah, Justin Upton will soon challenge Hanley Ramirez as the best player in Major League Baseball by 2012.
Even in a down year like Upton had, it’s not close
If only we could find a way to trade for J-Up….
Muwahahahaha
Did Buck Martinez really just say, “We forget that the Rays won the AL East”?
I don’t forget that the Rays won the AL East. I know it’s tough to get over the Red Sox blinders, but it’s really easy to remember what happened 12 days ago.
This is the postseason. It’s a whole new motherfu**er. Experience gets you over the Rays.
Oooh again!
Longoria is the man.
Booya.
Lester looks a little a sick don’t ya think.
Life’s a bitch when the Angels aren’t chasing everything a foot off the plate, huh?
Jon Lester: http://img321.imageshack.us/im.....ned2qm.jpg
i love how quiet fenway gets…
Heh, Mr. Lester wants to cry.
This is great, first Beckett got his ass haded to him, Lester is gettin spanked, just two more pitchers left to get some royal treatment.
shut the sox down, garza. don’t let them off the mat…
Wonder what kind of injury the Sox will leak to the press to try to excuse this performance.
Now Garza, you better do your part.
inflammation of the cancer
Hah. Too funny.
That’s a little over the line, considering ‘inflammation of cancer’ could actually be a somewhat accurate description of it coming out of remission.
Well, over the line for more sensitive people, I guess.
craig sager continues to outdo himself with the jackets
Yo I was looking at some #’s today and if you thought Mauer’s K-B ratio was good, I was looking at Pujols and I was blown away. The dude had a 104-54 BB’s-K’s ratio this season. Fucking sick.
Hence why he is a first ballot HOF right now.
And Mauer is on his way.
Best pure hitter in the game.
the one is still cant believe is dimaggio in 1941. slugs .650 and strike out 13 times!!!
Til this day, there’s arguements who was the MVP that year between Joe D and Ted Williams who all he did was hit .405 that year.
Pedroia is sick.
A typical Pedroia hit in Fenway.
I think we should all know by now you don’t count out the Sox at Fenway.
Agree to a point, but this is a different Sox team than in the past as well. No Manny, a juiceless Papi, no Mike Lowell, Varitek is getting ab’s. (but he can handle that staff!! Just look at how he handled Lester on that moon shot by Upton).
If I told you back in May that Ortiz would be hurt and be a non factor, Manny traded, Beckett hurt and gives you nothing and Varitek would be an automatic out would you say they would be in the playoffs?
This is a resilient group here that just wins. These aren’t your fathers Red Sox who would fade at the first sight of adversity.
Manny Ramirez gave them an 138-OPS+ and 43-XBH in the first half of the season. David Ortiz, despite missing the month of May, produced an 125-OPS+ and 54-XBH. Josh Beckett did not give them nothing, just because he was not in his 2007 form does not mean he was not a vital part of the Red Sox winning the A.L. Wild Card.
But their pitching is what put them in the playoffs. Their pitching has now put them in a 5-0 hole. Is the game over? No, but it’s not the same group of mashers they have had in the past.
Varitek is getting ab’s.
Heh, I love how him just recording Plate Appearances is a detriment to a Major League club. Like seriously, it pleases me greatly.
When was the last time David Ortiz pulled a Fastball that was 93-MPH or faster?
I had a dream the Yankees had traded Cano, Kennedy and Betances for BJ Upton, who then hit a go-ahead homerun in a 2-1 win on Opening Day.
big poopey
big crapi
is it me or will the Sox look at this as an excuse to go after Adrian Gonzalez?
It’s you. Still have Lowell for a few more years at 3rd with Youk at 1st. Lars Anderson will probably take over 1st once Lowell’s gone with Youk moving to 3rd.
Forgot about Lars. My bad. I just want Adrian Gonzalez in pinstripes so bad i get paranoid.
lol
To do what, DH?
No.
better!
They really don’t have any needs besides bullpen, catcher and SP which everyone needs.
They have Lowell locked up for 3 more yrs at big dough so it would be tough to see them making a run at anything that puts Youkliss at 3b.
Ortiz looks awful right now.
That wrist is really effecting Ortiz. He has to be hurt. He hasn’t had a solid swing all year from what I’ve seen.
Unless, you make a bad mistake on a pitch, he’s gonna have alot difficulty hitting right now.
I’ve seen a lot of middle of the plate mistakes that he can only take to the warning track. He has to be really hurt.
Not sure. When he’s hurt, he definitely lets people know. He said recently he’s healthy, and before the playoffs he said he wasn’t going to get anything to hit, almost trying to excuse his future (now current) suckiness.
Jon Lester: not Matt Garza.
How much is Varitek costing himself with this crappy post season at the plate? Though I can see Omar Minaya overpaying for grit.
How much is Varitek costing himself with this crappy
post[three] season at the plate?Fixed.
Im lookin at some stats right about now between Joe D and Mantle, and you know what, Mantle was probably better than Joe D.
Mantle OPS+ is higher than Joe D, and had the better OPB% and had more TB’s.
Take away the knee injury and the drinking and it probably wouldn’t even be close.
Mantle was always the third-best of the ‘big 4′ Yankees (Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle)
Well they always put him last behind those guys. Usually you here people say Joe D was better than Mantle.
But lookin at the stats kinda tells a different story.
Just to show you how great Mantle was, his 57 season was better than his season in 56 when he won the Triple Crown.
I don’t even think it’s all that close. Mantle was one of the best position players EVER. As in, top ten of all time (and Bill James would agree). Joe D. probably misses the top 20.
Not a bad place to be #4
J.D. Drew had one great month, what “remarkable season”? Nancy didn’t even slug .450 in any other month.
Not to mention his defense in RF was one of the worst in the AL.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/bl.....mlb,113898
Hah.
what’s up with the quack quack t-shirt?
love the smile on his face 2
Varitek’s bat is sooo slow.
I clocked it at 1.67 Molinas, but that was with the wind at Varitek’s back, so the data is skewed.
$5 says you started and finished that sentence before his bat even got thru the zone.
They’re booing! Alert the President! They’re horrible people and we should never stop talking about this!
Whoah… My bad… Forgot we only do that stuff when Yankees fans boo.
i’d boo varitek too
at what point do his “tangibles” start to count?
Oh wow, ALex Cora is comically useless.
BJ is fucking sick. He’s truly a 5 tool player.
Dammit Upton. Lucky you’re winning by 5.
BJ what the fuck were you doing.
Where are the intangilbes, UPTON????!!!! Upton needs to speak to his role model, Jeter.
hopefully that play will not be called “the turning point” by peter gammons tonight
But it is the turning point. From Boston losing to Tampa playing great baseball, to Boston losing even when Tampa makes mistakes.
Fun Fact: All but one team in the A.L. East will have an African-American player in Center Field in the next two years. Guess who that team is…
http://www.nomaas.org/images/jimcrow.jpg
Wait, was that an actual factual person with a “Go Jim Crow” sign? Or was that photoshopped in?
To tell you the truth, I think it was photo-shopped, but I wouldn’t put it past a Boston fan. I mean come on, its not like there will be anyone offended within 100-miles…
Yeah, i agree with that, hyperbolized as it may be, BUT do you really think that the security would let someone get through the gate with that? Or if they did, once someone saw it, it would have to be taken down, right?
Although the picture could have been taken before it was taken down….
But I’m still clinging to hope for decency and saying it’s photoshopped
It has a “nomaas.org” tag. It’s photoshopped.
Oh come on guys, it’s obviously photoshopped.
Fuckin bastards. That’s why NY will ever be better than them.
so are the rays slowing the game down or speeding it up? i hate buck martinez
Youkilis is some fielder.
Because he converted an out on a base-running gaffe by B.J. Upton?
No, as in “Kevin Youkilis? Who the fuck is that? Oh, nobody, you know, Youkilis is some fielder”
I’ll give Upton a break, hey besides he’s doing something that his fellow former teammate in HS isn’t doing, hitting in the clutch.
Remember those days when people will debate who was better Varitek or Posada. Well guess who won.
Ooh Ooh Ooh! Varitek right?
He did catch 4 no hitters!!!
Ellsbury doing his best Melky impression.
So is lil’ Dusty the successor of the C?
What do you guys think about a reasonable trade for delmon young? Obviously he has major character issues but hes only 23 and has a mountain of talent. His OPS+ was a decent 100 this year.. just a shot in the dark im wondering what the higher baseball minds that occupy this realm think.
The key here is “reasonable.” Assuming Delmon is available, it’ll take a haul to land him. I don’t think the Yanks would be players in those negotiations. The conversation would have to start in the neighborhood of Phil Hughes, right?
Hell no. Delmon Young isn’t even better than Matt Kemp. Young stock has fallen considerably.
I don’t think I’d be comfortable with the type of package the Yanks would have to surrender to get Delmon so I guess I’m against any potential trade, but I think you’re a little too down on Delmon. Next season will be his age 23 season. He clearly hasn’t broken through on the MLB level yet, but he hasn’t been THAT bad. He’s still a 23 year old MLB outfielder, a former number 1 pick at that, with a ton of talent.
but doesn’t it tells ya something that he got traded last offseason and now the twins might wanna trade him this offseason. That raises some eyebrows.
Yeah, that’s a fair point. Has there been anything in the media concerning the reason(s) Minnesota has soured on Delmon? I thought they were saying all season how he’d turned a corner, personality-wise, and was impressing Twins brass.
definitely raises eyebrows and you gotta trust your FO to do the due diligence into what kind of person he is but its not very often this situation arises. Maybe being in a lockerroom with vets like jeter posada and mo could change his attitude, basically im sayin its worth a look,
well I dunno bc its obvious the twins dont want him so they dont have as much leverage i mean would you do ipk? is he comparable to garza? The idea of a potential 23 yr old stud Rf intrigues me
I think IPK’s stock has dropped considerably below Garza’s stock circa the ‘07-’08 offseason. My quick, gut feeling reaction is that I’d do IPK for Delmon. Am I crazy?
Actually, I take back my indecision. I’d trade IPK for Delmon Young.
I think I’d do it too and if minny wanted more maybe a george kontos, and thats about it.
You are going to see a ton of teams come calling about IPK this off season.
Thinking his value is so low they can get him for a bag of balls. Thinking there was a reason his value was so high a yr ago.
So, then, would you trade IPK for Delmon Young, or no?
How about this, would you consider a trade with Cano for Elijah Dukes?
theres a very small list of poeople id trade robbie for and no elijah dukes is not on the list.
He’s a better hitter than Delmon young.
Dukes posted a pretty good 126 OPS+, and also had a .386 OPB%. Also his slugging % was at a solid .478.
Look at the minor league numbers, though. Delmon was a monster in the minors, he was much better than Dukes. I think Dukes has a ton of potential, I just think it’s a little early to declare that Dukes is/will be a better hitter than Delmon Young. Young’s also been more durable (it’s a weak argument, but the point stands… Dukes has missed much more time due to injury than Young).
PS: And Elijah Dukes is batshit-crazy. You dead, dawg.
I’m not as big a Cano fan as many RAB commenters are, but I don’t think I make that trade. Dukes has had some major personality/maturity issues, is only a year younger than Cano, Cano’s performed at a higher level than Dukes, and Cano plays 2b.
actually two years younger.
Yeah my bad, 1 year 8 months. I just saw that Dukes will turn 25 next season and Cano will play the entire season as a 26 year old.
Dukes??
Was that serious?
Cano is a middle infield all star.
I hope that was a joke.
Assuming you meant to respond to Ivan’s original question and not my response.
I wasn’t all serious of trading Cano for Dukes.
Besides, if Im gonna trade Cano, I rather trade him for Dukes than Delmon Young.
Plus, barring something pretty good, I would Keep Cano.
Ortiz is looks absolutely lost.
now pitching for the red sox: eddie izzard
Please don’t insult Eddie, he’s amazing.
agreed
“Who is this guy Matt Garza?”!?!?!?
“He’s shown flashes of pitching well!”!?!?!?!?!?
“Nothing special”!?!?!?!?!
Seriously! You would think that they would at least have these guys ask someone who watches games!!!!
I thought Chip Caray was just another broadcaster who is a Red Sox homer. Now I see he’s just a jackass of a broadcaster who exaggerates every routine play in a game.
He’s both.
“look at him glide!”
…and catch a routine fly ball
Every time I see Paul Byrd pitch, I saw to myself, why doesn’t he get crush more often.
keep going in there paul byrd
another diverse crowd at the fens
Is Richie McDonald doing the shoulder-shuffle to “God Bless America”?
I love it when the sox lose.
That’s some bad karma right there, hoss. What say we wait until they actually lose the game?
Ok. Commence celebration.
Anyone hear about the Tony Gonzalez being put on the trading block? Apparently my Jints offered a sixth-rounder, but the Chiefs countered with a second and a fifth-round pick.
Yeah I thought I heard that Gonzalez actually requested that the Chiefs look into trading him to the Giants, no?
Wow, hadn’t heard that tidbit. When is the deadline, Tuesday?
I may totally be overstating what happened, for all I know he “expressed interest” in the Giants or something. I know I heard or read something to that effect though. I don’t know when the deadline is.
I pretty sure it is tomorrow. I personally hope they do get him. Did you here about Romo getting hurt? He hurt is pinkie finger and he’s out for 4 weeks.
i am totally against anything fucking with my boy brandon jacobs getting goal line touches.
Dude, think of our Goaline Offense with a Tony Gonzalez on this team. That would be epic.
The Chiefs should take the Giants offer since hes been a good soldier for them and they are going no place fast. He’s got a new bad QB every week there.
Herm Edwards is a terrible coach.
My roommate just said “Stop complaining Varitek, you’re not going to get hit.” And he is a Red Sox fan.
Should have taken Garza out the minute he walked Varitek.
JP’s a killer.
MVP-esque GIDP.
yess dusty clutch
come on, beat the shit out of Byrd.
no matter what happens in this game, that’s the play espn will show. grit throws to grit for the gritty out
What a Gritty, Gutty, tough, dirty, do what ever it takes, put ya body on the line, giving up ya body play by varitek.
rocco socko
Wow what a moment for badelli.
at least they have the patriots. oh, wait…
Nice.
LOL. Good one.
Brian Cashman is teh stupid for not acquiring Paul Byrd!111!!1!
Rocco Baldelli and Brett Gardner for the Yankees’ Center Field spot in 2009!
FUCK YES, pride of rhode island baby
random sidenote baldelli and will blackmon of the packers went to highschool together
Normally a blow out like this, the game becomes quite boring, but since it’s the sox getting their asses kicked, it’s totally an exception.
i love going to sox websites when theyre getting housed, they are suuuuch whiny bitches I love it.
I use to love hearing met fans on WFAN after a bad loss, but check out WEEI and it’s even more entertaining hering Boston fans whine and bitch.
Wakefield is going to need to be on his game. When was the last time he pitched? Prob 3 weeks.
I think this is the first time in my life that I actually think the Rays might be able to beat the sux in a playoff, OMG! go Rays! On another note, ummmm, why cant the Yankees have cheerleaders like that at our games?!
Just go to a Jets game. Girl on the left works for the Jets doing the in-game promotions, etc.
Big Papi = small hustle.
Mike Ditka: “I learned the definition of a premodonna. A premodonna can stick his hand in a bucket of water and leave a hole.”
What the fuck?
Prima donna
Carlos Pena just putting more daggers in the chest.
FYI The Sox got blown out of the building at home in Game 3 in 2004. Don’t count them out.
This ain’t 2004.
ik this is random but looking through the free agents lists for 09. I saw Mark Prior still age 27. Would signing for a four year 4 million dollar deal make any sense? He could make a nice reclamation project?
To quote Ivan, “this ain’t 2004.”
From what I’ve heard Prior, sadly, is a lost cause. Anyone know anything different?
More like this ain’t 2003 with Prior.
Yeah, just wanted to steal your line since you just said it. Although if you want to get technical, 2004 would work since at that point he’s already been injured so if he were a FA he could have been a reclamation project. Come on, work with me here.
Lester’s a bust. Maybe they can package him with Lowrie and Kars Anderson for Peavey.
Rays win!
Woot woot.
Why are the three games in Boston not being played on consecutive days?
because john lester survived cancer