VA Sox Fan

BLUE JAYS (39-38) Reyes, SS Bautista, RF Encarnacion, 1B DeRosa, DH Cabrera, LF Arencibia, C Davis, CF Izturis, 3B Bonifacio, 2B Pitching: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (1-0, 2.18). Game time: 7:10 p.m. TV/radio: NESN / WEEI Red Sox vs. Wang: Ortiz 16-37, Gomes 4-25, Pedroia 5-18, Victorino 2-6, Ellsbury 1-4, Drew 0-3, Napoli 0-2, Saltalamacchia 0-1. Blue Jays vs. Lester: Bautista 11-50, Arencibia 7-35, Cabrera 9-33, Encarnacion 5-30, Davis 6-27, Lind 3-29, Izturis 7-24, Rasmus 3-15, DeRosa 2-11, Bonifacio 1-8, Reyes 1-6. Stat of the Day: The Red Sox start the day with a 3.5-game lead in the AL East. It's their largest lead in the division since June 29, 2009. Notes: The Sox are coming off a two-game sweep of the Rockies. The Jays have won 12 of 14 to get back over .500 after a 10-21 start ... The Sox are 5-4 against Toronto this season ... Lester was 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA in his first nine starts. He is 1-4 with a 7.30 ERA in seven starts since. Lester is 2-0, 2.05 in three starts against the Jays this season. Over 22 innings, he has allowed only five earned runs. Lester is 13-7, 3.61 in 25 career starts against the Jays ... Wang was 54-20 with a 3.79 ERA for the Yankees from 2005-08. Foot and shoulder injuries changed the course of his career from there. He is 8-12 with a 5.83 ERA in 36 major league games since 2009. Wang is 6-6, 4.98 in 16 career appearances against the Sox, the last coming in 2009 ... Ellsbury has an extra-base hit in five consecutive games and has hit safely in 21 of the last 24 games. He is 13 of 30 in the last seven games ... Victorino was 5 for 9 in the Rockies series ... Napoli is 7 of 12 with two doubles, two homers, and 20 RBIs with the bases loaded this season.

RED SOX (47-33) Ellsbury CF Victorino RF Pedroia 2B Ortiz DH Carp 1B Nava LF Saltalamacchia C Drew SS Iglesias 3B Pitching: LHP Jon Lester (7-4, 4.57).

Hey Alex, STFU! You are universally hated. Wednesday, June 26, 2013 Source: A-Rod wary of Yankees -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Wallace Matthews ESPNNewYork.com NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez believes the New York Yankees do not want him to return this season, and perhaps ever again, a source told ESPNNewYork.com. According to the source, Rodriguez thinks the Yankees are deliberately slowing his return to their active roster in the hope they can have him declared medically unfit to play this season, enabling them to recoup 80 percent of his $28 million salary through insurance. More From ESPNNewYork.com If you want Alex Rodriguez to stop being more trouble than he's worth, you better just grit your teeth until 2017, writes Ian O'Connor. Story "Alex thinks there's something really off about this situation," the source said. "Here we have a doctor declaring him fit to play. You think they would be happy about that." Instead, Rodriguez's tweet Tuesday night -- "Visit from Dr. [bryan] Kelly over the weekend, who gave me the best news -- the green light to play games again!" -- was met with an angry response from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who told ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand, "You know what, when the Yankees want to announce something, [we will]. Alex should just shut the f--- up." According to the source, Rodriguez felt the GM's response was "over the top," and cemented his belief that the Yankees have been looking for ways to rid themselves of the 10-year, $275 million contract they gave him after the 2007 season. "Alex thinks it's all about the insurance," the source said. "How could it not be?" According to the source, Rodriguez believes the Yankees are delaying his return hoping time will run out for him to come back this season, or that Major League Baseball will hand down a lengthy suspension for his alleged involvement with Miami-area anti-aging clinic Biogenesis and its founder, Anthony Bosch, who is suspected of supplying numerous major leaguers with illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Both Cashman and team president Randy Levine strongly denied that the Yankees would prefer A-Rod not return to play this season. "False and false," Cashman said to both theories. "He's not being slowed down or anything. Make no mistake; if Alex Rodriguez is healthy, we want him, and I want him, playing third base for us yesterday. We're clearly a better team with him. We're taking every step in the process, but we can't have him unless he's ready. Period." Added Levine: "Nobody wants to delay him. The sooner he comes back, the better. If he comes back healthy, he'll really help us to be a better team, and that's what this is all about." Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo said in a statement that Rodriguez, Cashman and Levine spoke Wednesday evening. "Alex called Cashman around 5:30 [p.m.], Cashman got Randy Levine on the phone, and they spoke for close to 30 minutes," the statement said. "It was a constructive, healthy conversation. Everybody is on the same page. And we're all going to communicate and work together to get Alex back as quickly as possible. Everyone fully understands the protocol and processes in place. We're all back on track." As to the allegation that the team is delaying in hopes that MLB will sideline A-Rod before the Yankees determine he is ready to return, Cashman said, "We have no knowledge of where the Biogenesis stuff is except for what I read in the papers. Baseball's in charge of this stuff. We're not a part of that process. They're not keeping us in the loop or making us aware of anything. For us, it's business as usual until they tell us otherwise." There is little doubt that Rodriguez's relationship with the team has deteriorated since he signed the new contract following his 2007 MVP season, beginning with his admission that he used steroids while a member of the Texas Rangers. The rift between the Yankees and A-Rod clearly widened last October, when, while mired in a 2-for-25 slump during the playoffs, manager Joe Girardi pinch-hit for him three times and benched him for three games, including two potential elimination games. A-Rod's Place In Pinstripes? Alex Rodriguez is no stranger to controversy, but he's also one of the all-time Yankees. Where does he rank? ESPN NY's Top 50 Yanks Vote In addition, a story emerged that A-Rod had flirted with some women seated behind the Yankees' dugout while the team was in the process of losing Game 1 of the AL Championship Series to the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees never have officially refuted the story, and in fact, several team officials have privately confirmed it. According to the source in A-Rod's camp, prior to Wednesday night, neither Cashman nor Levine had spoken to the player "in months," further fueling Rodriguez's suspicion that the Yankees are looking to rid themselves of him. "Nobody ever talks to him," the source said. "Isn't it odd that the GM isn't keeping in touch with his highest-paid player?" Before their phone conversation Wednesday night, Cashman acknowledged that he and A-Rod had not spoken in more than a month but said that was not unusual with a player rehabbing an injury. "I don't, typically," he said. "Like Kevin Youkilis, if a guy is having surgery, I'll reach out before the surgery. But when guys go down to Tampa, I talk to the trainers. [Derek] Jeter was up here the other day, but I didn't talk to Jeter when he was down in Tampa. I saw [Mark] Teixeira in Trenton, but I didn't talk to him while he was in Tampa. When those guys are doing their rehab, they're in good hands and I'm communicating via the trainers, the doctors and the field staff. I don't reach out to those guys every week or so to ask how they're doing because I'm getting that already." According to Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner and Rodriguez spoke Wednesday morning. "Obviously, Hal is the boss," Cashman said. "He had a conversation with Hal, and so that's good enough for him, I suspect." According to Cashman, Hal was working out in the team weight room when Rodriguez approached him and initiated a conversation. "Hal reiterated -- he did it more professionally maybe than I did -- but he repeated [the importance of] managing from the top down rather than from the bottom up," Cashman said, adding that Steinbrenner had "reminded him about this social media stuff." And while Cashman began his nearly 25-minute media session by saying, "I regret my choice of words to ESPN New York" on Tuesday night, he did not apologize for the emotion behind them. "Hal delivered the same message and [Rodriguez] got the message, I know that," Cashman said. "He had obviously a nice conversation with Hal, according to Hal, and then obviously my message was a different version. But the same nonetheless." Cashman said that what angered him about the tweet was the firestorm it set off in the media after the ESPNNewYork.com story appeared Tuesday night. Rodriguez "While the game's going on [Tuesday] night, the last thing I wanted as general manager of the Yankees watching [Yu] Darvish and [Hiroki] Kuroda hook up in a great battle was to be dealing with something that we didn't create," Cashman said. He also said Rodriguez was aware of team protocols involving medical rehabs and the use of social media. Many Yankees have Twitter accounts and at least two others, Teixeira and Curtis Granderson, have tweeted accounts of their own rehabilitation from injuries. "Whatever Mark was tweeting, it didn't come across my desk," Cashman said. "I know Alex created a Twitter account just two weeks ago, three weeks ago, and I know he has tweeted out he's lifting, feeling good, stuff like that. I never got calls on that. But Kelly is not clearing his rehab. It's just not accurate, that's all, and believe me, with the season that we have had so far, I've got a lot of extra work. Clearly yesterday, with the timing of this, I was like, 'I don't want to deal with this.' It was how I felt about having to deal with something I thought was not necessary." Cashman also said he did not believe Rodriguez's tweet was intended to cause a firestorm. "I think he was putting out information that he was excited about, and not recognizing that everything he says has a direct impact on something else. Do I think he thought that out before he said it? No. But by then, I was dealing with the media calls and then the runaway train started. "Obviously, anything involving Alex becomes bigger news."

Can't believe he's out too! Crazy!

:lol: You're on a roll today mvp!

Kinda different but I see what you're saying. BV was wrong in that case IMO.

Chering-puke sucks!

Game time: 4:05 p.m. TV/Radio: NESN, MLB Network/ WEEI. Red Sox vs. Oswalt: Drew 9-28, Victorino 5-15, Gomes 1-2, Napoli 0-3, Ellsbury 0-1, Pedroia 1-1. Rockies vs. Lackey: Cuddyer 6-21, Torrealba 3-11, Gonzalez 2-8, Helton 3-7, Herrera 1-4. Stat of the Day: If Iglesias did not get a hit in his next 50 at-bats, his batting average would still be .301. Notes: This two-game series comes to an end with two veteran starters facing each other. Lackey and Oswalt have combined for 664 appearances and 295 victories in their careers. ... Oswalt, 35, is making his second start of the season and is facing the Red Sox for the only the second time in his career. He threw 1.1 innings of relief for Texas at Fenway Park last Aug. 8 and allowed four runs. ... Lackey is 3-1, 2.42 in his last seven starts. He has registered a quality start in eight of his 12 starts this season. ... Ortiz is 13 of his last 30 and Drew 6 of his last 17. ... The Sox have a +76 run differential, tied with the Tigers for the best in the American League. ... Only the Cardinals (48-29) and the Pirates (47-30) have a better record than the Sox. ... The Sox have committed six errors in their last two games. ... The Sox are 24-15 at home with wins in five of their last six games and 11 of the last 15. ... The Rockies are 2-8 against the AL East. Today is the last game of Colorado's nine-game road trip. They are 2-6 so far. Streaking on: Cuddyer has hit safely in 22 straight games at 40 of 93 (.370). He is one shy of tying Dante Bichette for the team record. Bichette, who is Colorado's hitting coach, had his streak in 1995. Cuddyer also has reached base safely in 41 consecutive games. ... Iglesias is riding a streak of 27 straight games of reaching base safely.

RED SOX (46-33) Ellsbury CF Victorino RF Pedroia 2B Ortiz DH Napoli 1B Nava LF Saltalamacchia C Drew SS Iglesias 3B Pitching: RHP John Lackey (4-5, 3.03).

:lol:

He was arrested this morning (unknown if for Obstruction or Murder) and the Patriots released him.

I love it! Way to go Cash! :thumbsup: Dan Patrick was just talking about it. He thinks Cashman is in the wrong. I disagree. Obviously he couldn't have said that to any other current player. No one likes A-Rod. Dan's poll question today is "Who should STFU? A-Rod or Cashman?" So far 70% people responded "A-Rod" :lol:

Middlebrooks optioned; Snyder added to bench Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff June 25, 2013 03:30 PM The Red Sox have optioned third baseman Will Middlebrooks to Triple A Pawtucket and purchased the contract of infielder Brandon Snyder. Middlebrooks is hitting .192 this season with a .617 OPS and lost his position to Jose Iglesias after going on the disabled list with a lower back strain in May. He had not played in five of the last six games. The 24-year-old was expected to be a middle-of-the-order hitter for the Sox this season but never got on track. Sitting on the bench in the major leagues was restricting his development. The Sox hope that Middlebrooks can get on track playing every day in the minors. Middlebrooks also has a good relationship with Pawtucket manager Gary DiSarcina, who managed him in rookie ball in 2008. Synder, 26, was the 13th overall pick of the 2005 amateur draft by Baltimore but never developed into a major league regular. He has played 56 games with the Orioles and Rangers in his career, hitting .276. Snyder hit .277 with a .755 OPS in 40 games for Texas last season. The Rangers released him out of spring training and Snyder was signed by the Red Sox. He has hit a modest .267/.338/.470 over 63 games with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs. He has played 40 games at first base and 23 at third. Snyder has started one game at third base in the majors. Most of his experience has come at first base with three starts in right field and one in left. Snyder has hit .212 in Pawtucket this month with a .572 OPS. He has struck out 20 times in his last 66 at-bats. In time, the best option for the Red Sox bench could be Brock Holt, a utility infielder with some speed. Holt has not played for Pawtucket since June 16 because of an oblique injury. He is hitting .271.

Pitching matchups for the Rockies series Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff June 24, 2013 09:45 AM Tuesday: RHP Juan Nicasio (4-3, 4.78) vs. RHP Ryan Dempster (4-8, 4.23), 7:10 p.m., NESN Wednesday: RHP Roy Oswalt (0-1, 7.20) vs. RHP John Lackey (4-5, 3.03), 4:05 p.m., NESN, MLB Network.

Very nice....tool!

My heart is broken. Damn he sucked

DAMMIT!

Way to tag Pedey. Atta boy!!

Nice Pedey & Papi.

Couple of nice plays from him today.

Way to hang on that play Iggy and Napoli.

Nice shot Drew!

And nice catch by Jacoby!

That's hard to do when Doubront pitches whether he is pitching well or not, he works SO slowly.