TheKilo

Dougie shows why Tek going on the DL will suck terribly.

I disagree with the second play. It took a perfect throw, and there were two outs in the inning. Plus, he was actually safe. Not Hale's fault the ump blew the call.

Raise your hands if you thought JJ was going to give the team 5.2 Innings of 3 run ball. Anyone?

Lowretta.

Coco should have bunted.

Lowell and Loretta are f***ing slow.

Couple of dink hits, but I'm still not loving the JJ era.

Wonderful start.

Jason Johnson (3-10, 3.65 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (7-7, 3.82 ERA) David Ortiz is building a strong case for the American League MVP award. The slugger will try to help the Boston Red Sox maintain their slim AL East lead when they host the Cleveland Guardians in the second game of a four-game set on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Ortiz hit a three-run, walkoff home run in the ninth inning off new Guardians closer Fausto Carmona to give the Red Sox a 9-8 win in Monday's series opener. "The whole inning we're just thinking, let's just get David to the plate," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. The Dominican Republic native became the first player to hit three walkoff homers in a season since Barry Bonds did it in 2003. He has also hit two game-winning, walkoff singles this season. "The guy had to make a pitch at the time or get the bases loaded and having a hitter like Manny (Ramirez) coming up," Ortiz said. "I just go out there with the same approach that I always go. See a pitch and hit it." Ortiz added a solo shot in the third inning and went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. His 37 homers and 105 RBIs on the season both lead the majors. Thirteen of the homers have come in the seventh inning or later - also the most in baseball. Ortiz hit .300 with 47 homers and led the majors with 148 RBIs last season, but finished second to the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez in the MVP race. The Red Sox (63-41) held on to first place in the division thanks to Monday's victory, but are only one game ahead of the Yankees. New York opens a three-game set with the third-place Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia (7-7, 3.82 ERA) will try to stop Ortiz and a personal three-game losing streak on Tuesday. The left-hander held the Detroit Tigers scoreless through his five innings on Wednesday but wound up allowing four runs in seven total innings of work in the 4-1 loss. "I was ahead on a lot of guys that I didn't finish off," Sabathia said. "I don't know if they did a good job working the count or if I did a bad job putting them away." Sabathia hopes to reverse his fortune against a Red Sox team that he has not defeated since Aug. 29, 2001. He is 1-3 with a 5.13 ERA in five career starts against Boston. The 6-foot-7, 290 pound southpaw has held Ortiz to three hits - one homer - in 15 at-bats. Ramirez has fared better, going 8-for-14 (.571) with four homers off Sabathia. The Red Sox will counter with former Indian Jason Johnson (3-10, 6.35), who looks to snap a six-game losing streak. He is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA in two starts for the Red Sox since they acquired him from the Guardians for future considerations on June 21. He has a 7.34 ERA during his six-game skid and has not won since May 28. Johnson is 0-4 with a 5.97 ERA, surrendering 12 homers in 12 games - 10 starts - against Cleveland. Boston plans to recall the right-hander from Class-A Wilmington to make an emergency start after Tuesday's scheduled starter Kyle Snyder earned the win pitching long relief for a struggling David Wells on Monday. The call up is a short-term solution for a Red Sox team hit with injuries to the rotation. Tim Wakefield (stress fracture in rib cage), Matt Clement (right shoulder strain) and Lenny DiNardo (neck strain) are on the disabled list. Boston suffered another injury blow when Jason Varitek left Monday's game in the second inning after twisting his left knee running the bases. The catcher's status is uncertain. "Tek fought me on it a little bit," said Francona. "I'm just trying to be cautious." Varitek, the Red Sox captain, was playing in his 1,000th career game - all with Boston - in the win. He is batting .243 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs this season. AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service

No one's gonna make a thread?

That nyyfans thread is HILARIOUS. Snyder was excellent tonight, but Papi's the story.

There will be hiccups.

Hiccups in the field aside, I think we're all going to really enjoy watching WMP develop.

WMP!!!

Fark.

Wells looks like he can get the curve over for strikes. (Knock wood) Like I said in the other thread, a David Wells at 80-85% is better than any pitcher that could have been had at the deadline.

Very true. He's quietly putting up monster numbers this year though. 1.049 OPS? 29 HRs? 84 RBIs? Yes please.

Manny Ramirez is a good hitter and is having an excellent year.

At least he's in the lineup.

I'd really like a win today. Snyder/Sabathia doesn't look good.

Wilson's decent. I dunno if it's a significant improvement though. And I agree on Lidle.

I can understand this line of thinking, but other than Abreu I'm not sold on how those players will be a significant upgrade. Lidle's inconsistent, Wilson doesn't really have a position right now.

OT, anyone think the Dodgers, not the Yankees, were the big winners at the dealine this year?

Oh noes we mite miss the plyofs!!1 Out of curiosity, what moves would you have done? Theo can't just snap his fingers and make deals happen. I don't like the fact that the big acquisition was Brian Corey, but I also like he didn't make a panic move. Why does he have to make a move? I think David Wells at 80-85% is better than any pitcher available at the deadline, and now with Trot going down hopefully we see WMP get more playing time. I think this team is fine for where they are right now. They need to tread water until Wakefield gets back and then make their stretch run. This team is in good shape. Really, it is.

'06 WMP = '05 Youkilis