Dale, Jr To Change Numbers

It’s a done deal. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will not be driving in the the #8 car for Rick Hendrick Motorsports.

“We’ve been working hard to secure the No. 8 for Dale Jr.’s car number next season,” Hendrick GM Marshall Carlson said. “Obviously, he has a tremendous history with that number, and we know how important it is to his fans. Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach a point where the terms made sense, and now we have to move forward with other options.”

So what does this mean for you Little E fans out there. Little E has expressed an interest in using the #81 next season, a number he has used in the Busch Series before. Or maybe just maybe, he will use the #6.7

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No Walkoff Magic For Manny; Reyes Holds Off Sox For 6-5 Win

 

All season long, most of Daisuke Matsuzaka’s starts have had their ups and downs. Today was one of those days as the Devil Rays got to him for six runs early and then they held off the Red Sox for a 6-5 victory. Andy Sonnanstine did a good job of shutting down the Red Sox until the 7th and the D’Rays bullpen did give up 2 runs but got the job done. The win for the Devil Rays was their first at Fenway Park this season.

The Red Sox had a chance to get two walkoff wins in a row off of Al Reyes in the 9th inning. Last night’s hero, Coco Crisp, started off the inning with a perfectly placed bunt that Akinori Iwamura had no chance on. Had he gotten it, odds are Coco would have been safe at first. Julio Lugo then had an 11-pitch battle with Reyes that Lugo would win as he laced a double into the gap that scored Coco. Lugo’s RBI double cut the lead to one at 6-5. Dustin Pedroia then tried to bunt Lugo to third but fouled it off and then the Sox took off the bunt sign. Pedroia would end up striking out on a fastball up and away. Kevin Youkilis worked the count to 3-0 but Reyes rebounded to strikeout Youk. Reyes then had to face David Ortiz and he ended up walking Big Papi to set the stage for Manny Ramirez. Reyes quickly got ahead of Manny 0-2 but then Manny fouled off a few pitches. Reyes then threw a fastball up-and-in that Manny swung and missed to end the game.

Dice-K came out of the gate and had his struggles early as he started the game allowing a single to his countrymen, Iwamura. Carl Crawford followed him with a single that moved Iwamura to third. With B.J. Upton at the plate, Crawford stole second just beating the throw from Jason Varitek. Dice-K got Upton to strikeout swinging for the first out. Carlos Peña then grounded out to Youk at first with Iwamura scoring from third to give the D’Rays a 1-0 lead. Dice-K got out of the inning as he got Delmon Young to ground out to Lugo at short.

The 3rd inning for the D’Rays would turn out to hurt Dice-K and the Sox the most. Iwamura continued his hot hitting with a single to start the inning. Crawford then dropped down a bunt that Dice-K had no play on, putting runners at first and second. Upton then worked a walk to load up the bases for Peña. Peña did his job as he crushed a double to left scoring Iwamura and Crawford for a 3-0 D’Rays lead. Young followed that with an infield single scoring Upton and moving Peña to third. Brendan Harris then laid down a safety squeeze bunt that scored Peña from third to make it 5-0 D’Rays. Dice-K did settle down as he got Jonny Gomes and Dioner Navarro out to end the inning.

Dice-K’s counterpart, Sonnanstine was in complete control early on as the Red Sox continued their struggles against pitchers they haven’t seen. In the first 5 innings, Sonnanstine only allowed two hits, one to Mike Lowell in the 2nd and one to Varitek in the 5th.

CocoThe D’Rays got another run in the 6th inning off of Matsuzaka. Harris led off with a triple just over the glove off Coco off the wall in center. Dice-K got Gomes to strikeout for the first out of the inning. Navarro followed that with a sacrifice fly that scored Harris giving the D’Rays a 6-0 lead. Dice-K’s 101st and final pitch of the game would result in a ground out by Ben Zobrist.

Dice-K went 6 innings, allowing 8 hits, 6 runs, 3 walks and he struck out 5. Even though he allowed 6 runs, his ERA is still pretty good at 3.79.

The local nine finally figured out Sonnanstine in the 7th inning. After Sonnanstine got the first two outs of the inning, Lowell reached on an infield single. Varitek followed that with a 2-run home run just to the left of Pesky’s pole, cutting the lead to 6-2. Sonnanstine ended his afternoon by walking Coco. D’Rays skipper Joe Maddon went to the bullpen for Gary Glover and Lugo greeted him with a double into the gap that scored Coco, making it 6-3. Glover would get out of the inning as he got Pedroia to fly out for the 3rd out.

Julian Tavarez and Mike Timlin pitched the 7th, 8th and 9th innings. Between the two, they allowed 1 hit, 2 walks and struck out 3.

Facing Dan Wheeler in the bottom half of the 8th inning, Youk lined out for the first out. Wheeler then walked Big Papi. Manny followed that with a double that was about a foot from being a home run above the 379′ sign in center. The double scored Big Papi and made it 6-4 D’Rays. J.D. Drew then laced a shot down the line but it was right at Peña for the second out. Lowell then worked a walk but Wheeler got Varitek to ground out to first for the final out of the inning.

The good news for the Sox was that the Yankees lost to the Orioles 6-3 in 10 innings, keeping the lead at 5 games in the AL East. The Red Sox are off tomorrow as they get ready to play the AL West leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States of North America for 4 games in 3 days. Josh Beckett will take the ball in the first game against Ervin Santana. The Red Sox haven’t announced their starter for game 2 yet but rumors are it will be Clay Buchholz. John Lackey will be on the hill for the Angels. This series is another huge series for the boys from the Fens.

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We All Knew He Was Loco

Jose es loco

Former Boston Red Sox infielder and major league all-star Jose Offerman went absolutely bat shit crazy in an independent Atlantic League game last night in Bridgeport CT. Offerman, playing for the Long Island Ducks, was hit by a pitch in the calf in his Jose Offermansecond at bat of the night and charged the mound wildly swinging his bat. According to Bridgeport Bluefish manager Tommy John, “He took at least two, maybe even three [swings].”

Offerman, who had homered in his first at bat, charged the mound and hit Bluefish pitcher Matt Beech on the hand and catcher John Nathans on the back of the head. Beech broke is right middle finger and Nathans suffered a concussion.

The game was delayed 20 minutes after the melee and when order was restored Offerman, Beech and John were all ejected. Offerman was greeted in the clubhouse by Bridgeport police who arrested and charged him with two counts of second degree assault. He was released on $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on August 23rd.

Bluefish CEO Mary-Jane Foster, called the Atlantic League office and requesed that Offerman be suspended for life. He has also been officially nominated for Carl Everett’s Crazy Hall of Fame.

Offerman, who played for Bridgeport in 2003, batted .273 during his 15 seasons in the majors. He last played in the majors in 2005 with Philadelphia and the New York Mets. He was an All-Star in 1995 with the Dodgers and 1999 with Boston.

Red Sox News & Notes – 8/15

 

Mike Lowell and Coco CrispThe midsummer’s night brought us the return of Jon Lester to the Fenway Park mound and he was greeted by a long standing ovation. After the ovation, a pitcher’s duel broke out between Lester and Devil Ray’s starter Scott Kazmir. Kazmir would actually leave the game with a lead and it would stay 1-0 until the 9th inning when Mike Lowell hit a home run over the Green Monster seats. Jason Varitek would follow that with a ground rule double and then come around to score on a Coco Crisp walkoff single. That set off a massive celebration at Fenway. Lester was magnificent in his return to the Fens as he went 7 innings, allowing only 1 run and 2 hits. Even Eric Gagné pitched well in a pressure situation, striking out the side in the 9th while giving up 1 hit. The win over the D’Rays and the loss by the Yankees puts the lead in the AL East at 5 games. The Red Sox will have a quick turnaround as they play at 1:05 PM this afternoon. But before they do, let’s take a look at the headlines and happenings from the Boston and Tampa area media in today’s papers.

Lester and Lowell shine in feel-good walkoff win [Boston Globe]

Rays Can’t Hold Lead In 9th [Tampa Tribune]

Rally caps work for Sox: Lester’s effort not for naught [Boston Herald]

A perfect setup – for failure [St. Petersburg Times]

Lowell Comes Through For Lester With Homer In 9th [Hartford Courant]

Better late than never for Red Sox [Pro Jo]

Rays Facing Deadline To Sign Top Pick Price [Tampa Tribune]

Tavarez a fan of Lester [Boston Herald]

Talks with top pick Price coming down to final day [St. Petersburg Times]

In time, knuckleballer could leave greats in his wake [Boston Globe]

Now, Set Up For Cheers [Hartford Courant]

Lester, like it or not, is somebody special [Pro Jo]

Gagné throws it into reverse [Boston Globe]

Sox choose Varitek’s defense [Pro Jo]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune websites.

Wednesday’s Half Marathon Around the NL

NLNLThe Astros plan a big send off for Craig Biggio at the end of the season.

Tim Hudson is having a Cy Young-esqe season for the Braves.

Ben Sheets should return to the Brewers rotation in 2 weeks.

Juan Encarnacion won’t go on the disabled list for the Cardinals.

Aramis Ramirez returned to the Cubs despite his wrist not being 100%.

Tony Clark has helped the Diamondbacks have one of the better pinch-hitting corps in the NL.

The Dodgers placed Nomar Garciaparra on the 15 day DL.

Rajai Davis was surprised to be on the bench to start Tuesday’s Giants game.

Marlins catcher Matt Treanor has no problems sacrificing his body behind the plate.

Mets skipper Willie Randolph has fond memories of Phil Rizzuto.

Mike Bascik will be the “swing man” in the Nationals bullpen.

Brian Giles has played well since returning to the Padres lineup.

The Phillies may go with J.D Durbin instead of Adam Eaton on Friday.

Masumi Kawata was designated for assignment by the Pirates.

Alex Gonzalez left the Reds again for a family emergency.

The Rockies activated Brian Fuentes from the 15 day DL.

132 Early Showers

That’s right. Bobby Cox broke John McGraw’s record of 131 ejections with his 132nd ejection of his career. Cox was ejected by home plate umpire Ted Barrett for arguing balls and strikes.

Congratulations on the record!

Lowell Homer, Crisp Walkoff Single Wins It For Sox

 

Mike Lowell hit a solo home run in the 9th inning and Coco Crisp hit a walkoff single scoring Jason Varitek to lead the Red Sox to a much needed 2-1 victory. The runs in the 9th off of Tampa Bay closer Al Reyes overshadowed great pitching performances from both Sox starter Jon Lester and Rays starter Scott Kazmir. The walkoff win was the first for the Sox since the Mother’s Day Massacre.

It was an emotional night as Lester returned to the mound for the first time at Fenway since last season. As he made his way out of the bullpen after warming up, he received a standing ovation all the way back to the dugout. He got another standing ovation as he made his way from the dugout to the mound to make his warmup pitches. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was too much adrenaline but Lester started out the game by walking Akinori Iwamura. After that he settled down and retired the next 9 Devil Rays he faced.

In the first against Kazmir, the Red Sox had probably their best chance to score. After Julio Lugo led off with an out, Dustin Pedroia laced a 1-out double high off the Green Monster. David Ortiz then flew to center but it was deep enough to move Pedroia to third. Manny Ramirez then worked a walk but Kazmir would get Lowell to strikeout.

Kazmir cruised through the 2nd inning, striking out the side with a walk to Varitek mixed in there. In the 3rd inning, Kazmir issued a 2-out walk to Big Papi. Manny followed that with a single to right but committed a baserunning blunder when he was thrown out at second trying to stretch his single into a double. Another costly running miscue by Manny.

Carl Crawford led off the 4th with a double to left for the Rays first hit of the game. Then B.J. Upton singled moving Crawford to third. Crawford would come around to score on a Carlos Peña sacrifice fly. Lester would get out of the inning as he would get Delmon Young to ground into a fielder’s choice and Brendan Harris to fly out.

From the Young out until he would leave the game, Lester retired the final 11 batters he faced. For the game, Lester gave up 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and he struck out 4 on 97 pitches.

With the way Kazmir was pitching, you would’ve figured he’d be back out for the 7th inning but with his pitch count at 95, Joe Maddon elected to go to his bullpen. He summoned Gary Glover and Glover started the inning by walking Varitek. Coco then tried to sacrifice Varitek to second but failed as he pushed his bunt too far and Glover threw out Tek at second. J.D. Drew came in and pinch-hit for Wily Mo Peña. Drew ended up hitting into an inning ending double play and was showered with boos by the fickle Fenway crowd.

Kazmir went 6 innings, giving up 4 hits, 3 walks and he struck out 8 Red Sox hitters.

Manny Delcarmen came into start the 8th for the local nine and he made things very interesting. Jonny Gomes greeted Delcarmen with single and went to second on a Josh Wilson walk. Josh Paul then laid down a bunt sacrificing Gomes and Wilson up a base each. Instead of intentionally walking Iwamura to load up the bases, the Sox decided to pitch to him and the move paid off as he hit a short fly ball to Manny in left. The runners weren’t able to advance. The Sox then decided to take their chances with B.J. Upton so Delcarmen issued an intentional walk to Crawford. After the intentional walk, Terry Francona called for Mike Timlin out of the pen to face Upton. Timlin did his job and rescued Delcarmen and the Sox as he got Upton to strikeout swinging.

Unable to do anything in the bottom of the 8th, the Red Sox brought out Eric Gagné to pitch the 9th inning. He was greeted by a chorus of boos but those boos quickly turned to cheers as he got the first two batters (Peña and Young) to strikeout. Then Brendan Harris hit a double and I think I heard the crowd all say at the sametime “oh no, here we go again!” Well this wouldn’t be the case as Gagné would get Gomes to strikeout looking. Gagné would end up being credited with a win. It was by far his best inning with the Sox so far this season.

The win coupled with the Skanks loss puts the lead back at 5 games in the AL East. The Red Sox have a quick turnaround as tomorrow’s game is at 1:05 PM. Daisuke Matsuzka gets the ball and he will be opposed by Andy Sonnanstine.

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In The Red Zone

In The Red Zone Logo

 

The Patriots are looking forward to the return of safety Rodney Harrison this season after he suffered yet another season ending injury last year.

Acquired in 2003, Harrison has helped the Patriots to their last two super Bowl Titles and has not only become the go-to guy in the Rodney's Super Bowl Picksecondary but a respected team leader in the locker room as well.

Harrison has come a very long way since he torn his ACL, MCL and PCL in a game against Pittsburgh in Week 3 of the 2005 season. This is Harrison’s second season back from that devastating injury.

Last year Harrison broke his shoulder in Week 8 against Indianapolis and returned in Week 16 but missed the playoffs with a knee injury he received on a low block during that game against Tennessee.

Since Harrison’s huge pick of Donovan McNabb in Super Bowl XXXIX, he has missed 19 of the Patriots 32 games. He is hoping that this season he returns as the disruptive defender he is known to be.

If he is healthy he gives the Patriots the ability to do many things defensively because in addition to being able to play multiple positions he can blitz, stop the run and cover passes.

The only people unhappy about Harrison’s return are opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators.

Newest Patriot DBAt the end of last week the Patriots picked up another veteran defensive back when they acquired Dante Wesley from the Bears for an undisclosed draft pick. The pick is believed to be a late round pick. The Pats decided to grab Wesley after losing Chad Scott for the season with a knee injury and Asante Samuel still holding out.

Wesley, a five-year vet, can play both cornerback, safety and special teams he figures to be a good fit.

Belichick with ThomasAdalius Thomas, who the Patriots signed as a free agent, is busy learning the new system and a new position. Having played in Baltimore, mostly at defensive end and outside linebacker, Thomas is learning to play the inside in New England. With the 6 foot 2 inch Thomas inside, Mike Vrabel as been able to return to the outside, which is more natural for him.

Thomas, who had 28 sacks in the last 3 seasons to lead all of the NFL’s linebackers, is adapting well to life inside he had 3 tackles against Tampa Bay in last weeks pre-season opener.

When most football players take a vacation they go to places like Europe or the Caribbean but you’d most likely find Patriots TE Kyle Brady at a Civil War battlefield. His dad, John a former member of the famed 82ndAirborne, instilled in Kyle a love of history.

severe case of Abe Lincoln man-loveThe 6 foot 6 inch 280 pound Brady, is soft spoken and introspective. But he is like a little kid when you ask him about the Civil War.

“It really is a fascinating period of history,” Brady said. “There were so many events – political, social, the military. It’s a really fascinating thing. It can be a little bit of an escape from our daily grind.”

Since his father got him hooked, Kyle has visited most of the major battlefield’s in the eastern theatre and hopes to go to more in Tennessee and near his home in Jacksonville FL.

“These are places of terrible carnage, and what actually happened there when you think about it is amazing,” Brady said. “But at the same time many have been restored, with statues and monuments and the old equipment. When you’re there you can sense what happened. You can just feel the history.”

 

Time’s A Ticking

2007 MLB DraftWith the MLB deadline for signing draft picks tomorrow (Wednesday) at midnight ET. let’s take a look at the first round picks and whether or not they have been signed a contract.

Overall Team Player Position School State Signed
1 TB David Price lhp Vanderbilt TN Yes
2 KC Mike Moustakas 3b Chatsworth (Calif.) HS CA No
3 CHC Josh Vitters 3b Cypress (Calif.) HS CA No
4 PIT Daniel Moskos lhp Clemson SC Yes
5 BAL Matt Wieters c Georgia Tech GA No
6 WAS Ross Detwiler lhp Missouri State MO Yes
7 MIL Matt LaPorta 1b Florida FL Yes
8 COL Casey Weathers rhp Vanderbilt TN Yes
9 ARI Jarrod Parker rhp Norwell HS, Ossian, Ind. IN Yes
10 SF Madison Bumgarner lhp South Caldwell HS, Hudson, N.C. NC Yes
11 SEA Phillippe Aumont rhp Ecole Du Versant, Gatineau, Que. QC Yes
12 FLA Matt Dominguez 3b Chatsworth (Calif.) HS CA Yes
13 CLE Beau Mills 1b/3b Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) ID Yes
14 ATL Jason Heyward of Henry County HS, McDonough, Ga. GA Yes
15 CIN Devin Mesoraco c Punxsutawney (Pa.) HS PA Yes
16 TOR Kevin Ahrens 3b Memorial HS, Houston TX Yes
17 TEX Blake Beavan rhp Irving (Texas) HS TX Yes
18 STL Pete Kozma ss Owasso (Okla.) HS OK Yes
19 PHI Joe Savery lhp Rice TX Yes
20 LAD Chris Withrow rhp Midland (Texas) Christian HS TX Yes
21 TOR J.P. Arencibia c/1b Tennessee TN Yes
22 SF Tim Alderson rhp Horizon HS, Scottsdale, Ariz. AZ Yes
23 SD Nick Schmidt lhp Arkansas AR Yes
24 TEX Michael Main rhp/of Deland (Fla.) HS FL Yes
25 CWS Aaron Poreda lhp San Francisco CA Yes
26 OAK James Simmons rhp UC Riverside CA Yes
27 DET Rick Porcello rhp Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J. NJ Yes
28 MIN Ben Revere of Lexington (Ky.) Catholic HS KY Yes
29 SF Wendell Fairley of George County-Lucedale (Miss.) HS MS Yes
30 NYY Andrew Brackman rhp North Carolina State NC Yes

If a player isn’t signed by tomorrow’s deadline, the team holding his rights loses said rights and the player will go back to school or head to college and then is eligible to be drafted if he will be a college junior this year. The team losing a player’s rights will be compensated in next year’s draft with a compensatory draft pick.