Author Archives: ianbethune

Albany Devils 3, Connecticut Whale 1

Cromwell, CT, October 3, 2012 – The Albany Devils defeated the Connecticut Whale, 3-1, Wednesday night at Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, CT, in the Whale’s AHL preseason opener.

CT Whale Brandon Burlon, Harri Pesonen and Darcy Zajac scored for Albany, and J.T. Miller had the lone Connecticut goal. The Devils outshot the Whale, 34-19.

The game remained scoreless until there were only 42.7 seconds remaining in the first period, when the Devils scored a power-play goal. The goal came during a seven-minute Albany power play, created when the Whale’s Brent Henley repeatedly punched the Devils’ J.S. Berube, who did not respond.

During the man advantage, Burlon fired a shot from the left-wing boards that went through a Zajac screen and eluded Connecticut starting goaltender Jason Missiaen.

The power play carried over into the second period, and Albany struck again at 2:57 of the second, on a goal by Pesonen. Pesonen got his stick free in front of the Whale goal and deflected a right-point shot by Roman Hrabarenka past Missiaen.

The Devils made it a 3-0 lead at 6:52, with Zajac jamming the puck past Missiaen off of a goalmouth scramble.

The Whale finally got on the board on a five-on-three power play at 16:08, as Miller took a pass from Sean Collins and one-timed the puck past Albany’s Maxime Clermont.

The win in net went to Jeff Frazee, who stopped all 10 shots he faced before giving way to Clermont at the 10:48 mark of the second period. Clermont stopped seven of eight shots. The Whale also changed goaltenders at 10:48 of the second, with Bryan Hince (no goals on 12 shots) replacing Missiaen, who made 16 saves in absorbing the loss.

The Whale are back in preseason action Thursday night, traveling to Worcester to meet the Sharks, at the College of the Holy Cross’ Hart Center. Faceoff is 7:00 PM. The Whale’s only other home preseason game is this Sunday, October 7, as they and the Sharks rematch at the Koeppel Community Sports Center on the campus of Trinity College. That game faces off at 2:00 PM.

To continue reading, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Albany Devils 3 at Connecticut Whale 1
Wednesday, October 3, 2012 – Champions Skating Center

Albany 1 2 0 – 3
Connecticut 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Albany, Burlon 1 (Hrabarenka, Wiseman), 19:17 (PP). Penalties-Haczyk Alb (checking to the head), 3:48; Henley Ct (roughing), 7:06; Gelinas Alb (cross-checking), 10:49; Kelly Alb (fighting), 14:50; Delisle Ct (fighting), 14:50; Henley Ct (instigating, fighting, misconduct – instigating, game misconduct – aggressor), 16:47.

2nd Period-2, Albany, Pesonen 1 (Hrabarenka, Sestito), 2:57 (PP). 3, Albany, Zajac 2 (Berube, Carrier), 6:52. 4, Connecticut, Miller 2 (Collins, Piche), 16:08 (PP). Penalties-Zajac Alb (fighting), 7:20; Haley Ct (fighting), 7:20; Burlon Alb (interference), 14:51; Wohlberg Alb (hooking), 15:14.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Hoeffel Alb (holding), 4:07; Yogan Ct (interference), 10:36; Baier Alb (hooking), 17:18.

Shots on Goal-Albany 9-13-12-34. Connecticut 8-4-7-19.
Power Play Opportunities-Albany 2 / 4; Connecticut 1 / 6.
Goalies-Albany, Frazee 3-0-0 (10 shots-10 saves); Clermont 0-0-0 (8 shots-7 saves). Connecticut, Missiaen 0-1-0 (19 shots-16 saves); Hince — (12 shots-12 saves).
A-0
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Luke Galvin (2), Brent Colby (7).

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“Tess” is More

Tessier Eager to Start New Season

By Bob Crawford

One of the more consistent presences in the Whale lineup the last two seasons has been that of Kelsey Tessier.

CT Whale A guy who has had to work for everything he’s gotten over his two-year pro career, while playing on AHL contracts, Tessier has proven himself to be a dependable defensive centerman, a guy who bears down hard on faceoffs and burns to be counted on to neutralize the opposition’s most dangerous players.

Tessier isn’t exactly a hockey version of a “good-field, no-hit” guy in baseball, though, as his five points in the Whale’s nine playoff games last spring was third-best on the team, and he got to the 30-point mark in the regular season, with 12 goals and 18 assists in 75 games.

“I’m getting stronger, older, so hopefully I bring a little more offense,” Tessier said recently about his approach to this season. “Defense, I know I’m really good at that, so I’d just like to bring a little bit more offense to the team.”

Tessier’s strong playoff performance helped spark the Whale to a first-round sweep of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and to push the eventual-champion Norfolk Admirals hard in the second round. Throughout his Junior hockey career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Tessier always picked up his production in the postseason, and he is hoping he can carry his consistency from last year’s playoffs into this season

“My past stats, I’ve been a playoff guy, and that’s what I wanted to bring last year, and just bring a little bit more experience in it,” Tessier said. “And that’s why I can’t wait for this year also. That’s what we play for, is playoffs and to win championships. Definitely that’s one of the things I emphasize my game on, and just try to build that up throughout the year and keep it up during the playoffs.”

Tessier, a fourth-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2008, was a free agent coming out of the QMJHL, and has become a fixture in Hartford since signing with the then-Hartford Wolf Pack prior to training camp in 2010. The Whale renewed Tessier’s AHL deal prior to last year, and the two sides re-upped again this August, with Tessier confident that Connecticut is a good place for him.

To continue reading, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

“They’ve (the Whale) been giving me the opportunity and I’ve been playing a lot, so I think it’s a great fit,” Tessier said. “And with the (NHL) lockout, it was tough to find a spot anywhere else, so I’m happy to be back here and have my chance again.”

Tessier came into pro hockey as a guy who emphasized two-way play. He has picked up many little nuances, though, during the last two years that have allowed him to take his all-around game to a new level.

“Now you’re playing against men and it’s a whole different league (from Junior),” Tessier said. “It’s just those small things on the ice that you just pick up my last two years, and can’t wait to start the third year. Just being on the defensive side (of the puck) or all the tricks around the boards or the corner and knowing where the empty spots (on the ice) are. So I’m just excited to start all over and keep going here.”

Another area in which Tessier, even though he is still a very young player at 22, may have to carry more of a burden this year is leadership. The Whale still have several solid veteran players at their disposal, like Kris Newbury, Chad Kolarik, Brandon Segal, Sean Collins and Micheal Haley, just to name a few, but are not likely to see last year’s captain, Wade Redden, for the duration of the lockout.

“We’ve got some great leaders anyway,” Tessier said. “I’m going to do my part. I’m not going to be that main guy, but I’ll definitely show up at the right spot and if they really need me I’ll be there. We’re going to miss Redds (Redden) because he’s been such a role model for the young guys and such a great guy in general, but I’m going to have to pick it up, and other people are going to have to pick it up, to fill in that spot because it’s going to be a tough one to fill in.”

On the other side of the lockout coin, everyone in the AHL will be under more scrutiny as long as the NHL is not playing, and that could be a real positive for a guy like Tessier, who is looking to raise his profile from an AHL-contracted player to a guy who is in the running for an NHL spot.

“With the lockout, for sure everyone’s going to be watching the American Hockey League,” Tessier said. “So game in game out I’ve got to be consistent and play my game, and make sure I take every game like it’s the last one I’m going to play.

“I’m just going to fight for a spot here, and make my name again every year, and just make sure that I come out on top.”

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Final 2012 Red Sox Travesty

Daisuke Matsuzaka (L), Hiroki Kuroda (R)

After falling in extra innings last night, the Boston Red Sox will look to put a wrench in the AL East celebration plans of the New York Yankees tonight in their final game of their miserable 2012 season.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Yankees television market, you can catch the game on YES. If you don’t live in either market you are in luck as well as ESPN will coverage of the game (outside of Red Sox and Yankees televison markets). You can also watch the game online at WatchESPN. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Daisuke Matsuzaka makes what should be his final start in what also should be skipper Bobby Valentine’s last game as manager. In his 10 starts this season, Matsuzaka is 1-6 with a 7.68 ERA. He has not faced the Yankees this season and is 3-3 with a 5.52 ERA in 10 career starts. Five of those starts have come in the Bronx where he is 1-2 with a 5.34 ERA.

Hiroki Kuroda looks to help the Yankees clinch the AL East in his 33rd start of the season. In his previous 32 starts, Kuroda is 15-11 with a 3.34 ERA. He’s made four starts against the Red Sox this season and is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. Kuroda has made five career starts against the visiting nine and is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you’re on the home page.

Here are today’s lineups:

69-92		94-67
1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Derek Jeter	SS
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Ichiro Suzuki	LF
3. Daniel Nava	LF	3. Alex Rodriguez	3B
4. Cody Ross	RF	4. Robinson Cano	2B
5. James Loney	1B	5. Nick Swisher	RF
6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	6. Mark Teixeira	1B
7. Ryan Lavarnway	DH	7. Curtis Granderson	CF
8. Pedro Ciriaco	3B	8. Raul Ibanez	DH
9. Jose Iglesias	SS	9. Russell Martin	C
Daisuke Matsuzaka	SP	Hiroki Kuroda	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees batter/pitcher matchups

NOTES:

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

The real reason why fans aren’t Triple Crown-obsessed [boston herald]

Cherington won’t say Valentine is lame duck [rob bradford – weei.com]

Red Sox beef up front office by hiring scouting director who signed Mike Trout [clubhouse insider]

Bobby V: “I had every opportunity to succeed — and didn’t” [clubhouse insider]

Fitting end to Matsuzaka’s time with Sox [csn new england]

Report: Red Sox to fire Valentine [csn new england]

Tonight marks a likely farewell to Dice-K [espn boston]

W2W4: Sox can play ultimate spoiler [espn boston]

Video: State of the Nation [espn boston]

Podcast: Bobby V on Michael Kay show [espn boston]

Matsuzaka a fitting choice to end this season [extra bases]

Scout that helped lead Daisuke Matsuzaka to Red Sox reflects on pitcher’s career in Boston [full count]

As season winds down, Bobby Valentine jabs at Red Sox medical secrecy [full count]

Bobby Valentine says Red Sox coaches undermined him, talks John Farrell in final Big Show appearance [full count]

Right to the end, everything is wrong for Red Sox [tony massarotti – boston globe]

Westborough Furniture-Maker Finds Way to Get David Ortiz’s Presence Into New Yankee Stadium After Jersey Removed [nesn.com]

Jon Lester Already Looking Forward to Bouncing Back in 2013 With Help From LL Cool J [nesn.com]

Robinson Cano Leads Torrid Yankees Lineup as Red Sox’ New Regulars Look to Cap Off Season With Victory [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Says Members of Coaching Staff Weren’t Loyal to Him, Felt Undermined at Times [nesn.com]

Red Sox’ Managerial Plans, Jacoby Ellsbury’s Future Will Be Among Top Offseason Storylines [don orsillo – nesn.com]

Valentine says he was undermined by his coaches [projo sox blog]

Dice-K to toe rubber in Sox’s final game [redsox.com]

Bobby V: I had every opportunity to succeed [alex speier – weei.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credits: getty images, getty images

2012 Blogpoll Top 25 – Week 5

Here is the BlogPoll Top 25 for week five in college football. If you’re curious to see how I voted, you can check my 2012 BlogPoll top 25 week 5 ballot. You can also checkout the weekly analysis of the BlogPoll Top 25.

Results for Week 5

#	School	Points/blog	SD	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide (76)	24.81	0.68	—
2	Oregon Ducks (3)	23.24	1.84	—
3	Florida St. Seminoles (1)	22.01	2.82	—
4	LSU Tigers	20.62	2.84	—
5	Georgia Bulldogs (1)	20.55	2.22	—
6	Kansas St. Wildcats (2)	19.21	2.68	—
7	South Carolina Gamecocks	18.79	2.14	—
8	West Virginia Mountaineers	17.79	3.23	2
9	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1)	16.79	3.00	—
10	Texas Longhorns	15.71	2.79	2
11	Florida Gators	15.55	3.28	—
12	Ohio St. Buckeyes	12.75	4.12	2
13	Oregon St. Beavers (1)	10.72	4.68	6
14	USC Trojans	9.99	5.30	-1
15	TCU Horned Frogs	9.89	4.45	—
16	Clemson Tigers	9.68	4.62	—
17	Oklahoma Sooners	8.13	4.77	—
18	Stanford Cardinal	7.55	4.29	-10
19	Louisville Cardinals	7.46	3.56	-1
20	Northwestern Wildcats	5.07	4.25	2
21	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	4.74	3.76	—
22	Nebraska Cornhuskers	4.24	3.11	2
23	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	3.01	2.93	—
24	UCLA Bruins	2.60	3.63	4
25	Ohio Bobcats	2.11	3.47	—
Others Receiving Votes: Cincinnati Bearcats \| Texas Tech Red Raiders \| Washington Huskies \| Louisiana Tech Bulldogs \| Texas A&M Aggies \| Michigan Wolverines \| Boise St. Broncos \| Baylor Bears \| Arizona St. Sun Devils \| Michigan St. Spartans \| Miami Hurricanes \| Oklahoma St. Cowboys \| Iowa St. Cyclones \| Virginia Tech Hokies \| Western Kentucky Hilltoppers \| Tennessee Volunteers \| Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders \| Utah State Aggies \| Purdue Boilermakers \| Troy Trojans \| Washington St. Cougars \| Ball St. Cardinals \| Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners \| Tulsa Golden Hurricane \| Nevada Wolf Pack \| Duke Blue Devils
Updated: Oct 2, 2012 9:01 AM EDT

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Rankings 2012

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Tom Brady named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

Here’s the release from the New England Patriots announcing that Tom Brady has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 21st time in his career:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that Tom Brady has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week by the National Football league for his performance in the Patriots’ 52-28 victory over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday. It is the 21st time in his career that Brady has received the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor to tie Denver’s Peyton Manning for the most Player of the Week awards earned by a player since the accolade was instituted in 1984. Brady earned three Player of the Week Awards in 2011.

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates after defeating the Buffalo Bills after their NFL game at Ralph Wilson Stadium on September 30, 2012 in Orchard Park, New York. Brady completed 22 of 36 passes for 340 yards against the Bills, including three touchdown passes. Brady also scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. After falling behind, 21-7, midway through the third quarter, Brady led the Patriots to six straight second half touchdowns and 45 total second half points, including a 31-point fourth quarter to earn the 52-28 victory. It was Brady’s third straight 300-yard game and the 48th of his career. Brady needs one more 300-yard game to tie Hall of Famer Warren Moon for seventh place all-time. Brady threw a touchdown pass in his 36th straight game to tie Brett Favre for the third longest streak all-time, behind Johnny Unitas (47) and Drew Brees (47).

The Patriots earned six Player of the Week honors in 2011. Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week following the first two games of the season at Miami on Sept. 12, vs. San Diego on Sept. 18 and for his Week 16 performance vs. Miami on Dec. 24. Andre Carter was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week following the win at the Jets on Nov. 13,

Julian Edelman was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week following the win vs. Kansas City on Nov. 21, and Rob Gronkowski was named AFC Offensive Player of the week following the win at Washington on Dec. 11.

Brady also was honored as AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November and December/January last season.

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photo credit: getty images

Red Sox News & Notes – 10/3

NY Daily News and NY Post sports covers for October 3, 2012

The Boston Red Sox had the perfect chance to make things interesting in the AL East last night.

A 3-1 lead over the New York Yankees in the 9th inning with the Baltimore Orioles having already won their game. They had their closer Andrew Bailey on the mound.

But two batters in, the game was tied at 3-3 after Bailey gave up a leadoff single to Curtis Granderson and then a two-run pinch-hit home run by Raul Ibanez. It didn’t stop there though as Bailey loaded up the bases after retiring Ichiro Suzuki for the first out.

Hopefully former Red Sox skipper in a day or two Bobby Valentine went to the bullpen and pulled his closer for Mark Melancon. As Red Sox fans on Twitter gasped at the call, Melancon proved them all wrong by retiring Mark Teixeira on short fly ball to center and then got Robinson Cano to ground out to end the inning and prolong the game.

The Sox had a chance to take the lead in the 11th with their former 2004 World Series hero on the mound for the Yankees in Derek Lowe.

James Loney led off with a single but was retired on a fielder’s choice by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty went to second on a wild pitch before Ryan Lavarnway struck out. Then Pedro Ciriaco, the Yankees killer all season long, was shown some respect as he was intentionally walked so the Yanks could face the light-hitting Jose Iglesias.

Instead of pinch-hitting for Iglesias with Scott Podsednik, Mike Aviles or even Danny Valencia, Valentine stuck with Iglesias who ended up grounding into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.

What I don’t get is why didn’t Valentine pinch-hit for Iglesias. At the very least if you pinch-hit with Pods, you could force the Yanks to go to a lefty. Many Sox fans questioned the lack of a move by Valentine, including myself. And it was Rob Bradford of WEEI.com who came up with the most likely and probably funniest answer.

Because Iglesias never got to two strikes RT @soxanddawgs why not pinch hit Aviles?

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) October 3, 2012

The Yankees would eventually go on to win the game in the 12th after Andrew Miller ran into trouble after getting the first two outs of the inning.

He walked Francisco Cervelli who hadn’t played in 25 games and then walked Granderson. Then Ibanez played hero again with a single to left that scored Cervelli.

The win for the Yankees allowed them to maintain their one-game lead over the Orioles. But a Red Sox win tonight and Orioles win tonight would set up a one-game playoff on Thursday to determine the AL East winner. The reason this would happen besides the Red Sox and Orioles winning tonight is the fact that the two teams tied the regular season series at 9-9.

I really really hope that this happens tonight for at the very least, I DO NOT WANT TO WATCH THE YANKEES CELEBRATE.

Oh and if you want to watch an even more interesting game tonight, be sure to tune into the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics game at 3:35 p.m. The A’s came into the series needing a sweep of the Rangers to win the AL West crown. They’ve won the first two games so tonight’s game between them is for the division crown.

We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take a look at the overnight links from the media.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Pedroia shows the way [boston herald]

Lester promises to overcome lost year [boston herald]

Lowest low nears end [boston herald]

Ells back in lineup [boston herald]

Time for Bobby to go [boston herald]

Lester on his season: ‘I’m glad it’s over’ [rob bradford – weei.com]

Ibanez does Sox in twice as Yanks win in extras, 4-3 [csn new england]

Bailey’s forgettable season continues with blown save [csn new england]

Loretta weighs in on Lowell, Ausmus [espn boston]

Would Sox target Yankees’ Blakeley? [espn boston]

Valentine defends handling of Ellsbury [espn boston]

Pedey, Papi want to work with Iglesias [espn boston]

Rapid Reaction: Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 [espn boston]

Bailey: ‘I went out there and blew it’ [espn boston]

Jon Lester relieved to put grim season behind him [espn boston]

Red Sox coverage in today’s Globe [extra bases]

Andrew Bailey: ‘This game is what’s going to push me forward to next year’ [full count]

The scout that helped lead Daisuke Matsuzaka to Red Sox reflects on the pitcher’s career in Boston [full count]

Red Sox Cautious With Wrist Injuries to Will Middlebrooks, Daniel Nava After Carl Crawford Woes [nesn.com]

Daisuke Masuzaka May Need to Overcome Physical, Mental Hurdles to Fully Come Back From Tommy John Surgery [nesn.com]

Dustin Pedroia Playing With Broken Finger, Solidifying Role as Leader in Clubhouse (Video) [nesn.com]

Cody Ross Recognized With Red Sox 10th Player of the Year Award (Video) [nesn.com]

Yankees Spoil Red Sox’ Chance at Playing Spoiler, Ensure That Boston Will Finish Last in Division [nesn.com]

Valentine Hurt After Reading Text Message on Bike [new york times]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the ESPN New York, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and The Journal News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, NYY Stadium Insider.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 10/3

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

From Buffalo To Piscataway: A Few Words From UConn Offensive Coordinator George DeLeone [desmond conner – hartford courant]

UConn Football: Free RB Martin Hyppolite? [desmond conner – hartford courant]

Redshirt appears likely for Casey Cochran [jim fuller – new haven register]

Rutgers game is extra special for some Huskies [jim fuller – new haven register]

Jersey boys: UConn-Rutgers Tuesday presser [sny.com]

Huskies feeling extra intensity for Rutgers game [ct post]

UConn Faces First Big East Football Opponent In No. 22 Rutgers [hartford courant]

Wrecking Ball: Huskies From Jersey Want To Destroy Rutgers [hartford courant]

QB Casey Cochran likely to be redshirted [new haven register]

Huskies’ Jersey Boys hate Rutgers [new haven register]

UConn needs to pick up a Big East road win if it wants to go bowling [the day]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Faris faces final frontier [carl adamec – sny.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Gay using Olympic cut as motivation this season [ct post]

Jabari Parker to visit Duke, MSU [espn chicago]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. UConn Baseball Holds Strong Ties to its Past [uconnhuskies.com]

Field Hockey. No. 3 Field Hockey Prepares For Game Wednesday at UMass [uconn huskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Tuesday Red Sox Travesty – 10/2

Jon Lester (L), David Phelps (R)

After being spanked last night, the Boston Red Sox look to play spoiler tonight in the second game of a three-game set with the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Yankees television market, you can catch the game on YES. If you don’t live in either market you are in luck as well as the MLB Network will coverage of the game (outside of Red Sox and Yankees televison markets). If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Jon Lester looks to do what Clay Buchholz couldn’t do last night and that’s finish strong in his 33rd and final start of 2012. In his previous 32 starts, Lester is 9-14 with a 4.94 ERA. He’s made four starts against the Yankees this year and is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA. Lester has made 21 career starts against the Evil Empire and is 9-4 with a 4.27 ERA. 12 of those starts have come in the Bronx where he is 7-2 with a 3.70 ERA.

David Phelps takes the start for a struggling Ivan Nova as he looks to help the Yanks clinch the AL East tonight in his 11th start (33rd appearance). In his previous 32 appearances (10 starts), Phelps is 4-4 with a 3.34 ERA. His four career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox have come this season in which he is 1-1 with a 3.44 ERA.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you’re on the home page.

Here are today’s lineups:

69-91		93-67
1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Derek Jeter	SS
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Nick Swisher	RF
3. Daniel Nava	LF	3. Alex Rodriguez	3B
4. Cody Ross	RF	4. Mark Teixeira	1B
5. James Loney	1B	5. Robinson Cano	2B
6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	6. Russell Martin	RF
7. Ryan Lavarnway	DH	7. Curtis Granderson	CF
8. Pedro Ciriaco	3B	8. Eduardo Nunez	DH
9. Jose Iglesias	SS	9. Ichiro Suzuki	LF
Jon Lester	SP	David Phelps	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees batter/pitcher matchups

NOTES:

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Pedroia playing with broken finger [rob bradford – weei.com]

Another accuser comes forward against Fitzpatrick [csn new england]

Red Sox managerial search to start with Farrell [csn new england]

Pedroia: Many reasons why I’m playing with a broken finger [csn new england]

Ellsbury back in lineup after missing last week [csn new england]

Pedroia in lineup despite broken finger [espn boston]

Some Red Sox minor league updates [extra bases]

Pedroia will play against Yankees, despite broken finger [extra bases]

Dustin Pedroia: Jacoby Ellsbury ‘doesn’t have to answer anything’ [full count]

Stats, sorry Sox and Sterling [lee lewis – republican-american]

Report: Orioles Weren’t Happy With Red Sox Lineup on Monday Night [nesn.com]

Alex Rodriguez Is Only Marginally Hotter Than Jose Iglesias With Bat, According to Bill James’ Temperature Gauge [nesn.com]

Dustin Pedroia Working to Set Example for His Younger Teammates by Playing Through Broken Finger [nesn.com]

Adam Greenberg’s Resiliency Impressive to Ex-Teammate Rich Hill, Who Calls Comeback ‘Great Thing for Baseball’ [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Indirectly Calls Jacoby Ellsbury Platoon Player, Defends Decision to Sit Him on Monday [nesn.com]

Compare — except there’s no comparison — these two lineups [projo sox blog]

Matsuzaka to make what likely will be final Red Sox start [projo sox blog]

Ellsbury a platoon player? Valentine explains rationale [projo sox blog]

Pedroia playing through broken finger [projo sox blog]

Lester looks to spoils Yanks’ division title dreams [redsox.com]

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photo credits: getty images, getty images

Red Sox News & Notes – 10/2

NY Post and NY Daily News sports covers for October 2, 2012

Apparently, the season is over for the Boston Red Sox. And with the way things have been going, it looks like it’s been over for a long while now.

They’ve had the perfect chance to play spoiler over the final three weeks of the season. But they haven’t done diddly squat in that department.

Using what amounts to a spring training lineup against one of the most powerful offenses in the league in the New York Yankees, the Red Sox were spanked 10-2. The Yankees win coupled with the Baltimore Orioles loss to the Tampa Bay Rays allowed the Yanks to pull ahead of the O’s by a game in the AL East race with two games to play.

Even with the win, the Rays were eliminated from the AL Wild Card race as the Oakland A’s won. And with that A’s all five teams in the AL Playoffs have been determined (Yankees, Orioles, Tigers, A’s, Rangers). But seeding is still left to be determined.

As I stated above, the Yanks lead the Orioles by one game with two to play. The same goes for the Texas Rangers who lead the A’s by a game with two to play in the AL West. The A’s do control their own destiny as they are playing the Rangers and two more wins gives the A’s the AL West crown. And to complicate matters more, the Orioles and A’s are tied atop the Wild Card standings for home field advantage in the one game playoff slated for Friday.

Clay Buchholz was hoping to finish off his 2012 season with a strong start. It was far from that. By the time all was said and done, Buchholz lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing eight runs on six hits and two walks. Three of the six hits allowed were home runs.

All of the runs allowed and charged to Buchholz came in the second inning when the Yankees sent 13 batters to the plate.

Robinson Cano started it off with a solo home run. Buchholz then struck out Mark Teixeira that was followed by a Nick Swisher single. Curtis Granderson made it 3-0 with a two-run homer and Russell Martin made it 4-0 as he went back-to-back with the Grandyman. Walks to Eric Chavez and Derek Jeter plus a single by Ichiro Suzuki loaded the sacks full Alex Rodriguez who made the second out of the inning with a sac fly.

Cano chased Buchholz from the game with a two-run double to make it 7-0. Then Teixeira greeted an Alfredo Aceves 87 MPH pitch by whacking it out of the park to make it 9-0.

And given the spring training lineup that Bobby Valentine put out there, this one was over. You can’t fault Valentine for the lineup though.

Dustin Pedroia likely broke his finger when he slid into second on Sunday and Jacoby Ellsbury has been bothered a by a lat strain the past few weeks. So right there, you’re taking out two of your better hitters and guys who can get on base.

Che-Husan Lin led the Sox with two hits. Daniel Nava‘s one hit was good for a solo home run. The other run for the visiting nine came on a Jarrod Saltalamacchia sac fly in the seventh.

Hopefully the Red Sox can put forth a little better effort tonight. It’d be nice to see them play spoiler.

And oh by the way, one more loss for the Red Sox clinches last place in the AL East.

We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take a look at the overnight links from the media.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Buchholz, Sox stink [boston herald]

Grand finale a bad joke [boston herald]

Yanks control their own fate [boston herald]

Pedey’s season comes to close [boston herald]

Thumbs-up on Bailey for next year [boston herald]

X-rays reveal Pedroia’s finger broken [rob bradford – weei.com]

David Ortiz insists this offseason won’t resemble his last one [rob bradford – weei.com]

Yanks get 9 in 2nd, blow out Sox, 10-2 [csn new england]

Not the ending Buchholz, or Red Sox, wanted [csn new england]

Pedroia has fractured finger, won’t play final 2 games [csn new england]

Ortiz: 2012 ‘disaster all the way around’ [espn boston]