Sox-Appeal Should Be On Death Row

Sox-Appeal debuted tonight. The guy was a freaking retired figure skater. Is this the best of male Red Sox fans we had to offer??

A figure skater?

The girls were pretty, we got to see Tina Cervasio and her husband, Hazel Mae and my girl, Kathryn Tappen did the set up. They also
showed that geeky guy from the promo saying he “wanted to meet hot chics”. You know why couldn’t they have used him instead of Garrett the figure skater? At least that would have been funny. I still can’t get over they used a freaking figure skater. I knew someone who was a figure skater, was in the Olympics, but SHE looked good in sequins.

All in all the show sucked balls. Way to go NESN. Orsillo and Remy did a better job mocking it during production that the show actually was. I think the only other time I may watch it is for the geeky guy who wants to meet hot chics. Other than that STAY AWAY from Sox-Appeal.

I hope Double L, Dr. Chuck, TV Boy or who ever the hell is responsible for that DEBACLE saw how bad this is and yanks it before it even gets to air again.

Just think they kept TC and Eck on ice for 30 minutes so they could air that crap before they did the game recap.

Get it? On ice.

Sox Piece Together A Win

 

With the aid of a four run 7th inning and a pieced together pitching performance the Boston Red Sox held off the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 tonight at Fenway Park.

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the 7th the Sox would bring ten men to the plate as they scored four runs against a shaky Baltimore bullpen to grab a 5-3 lead. Julio Lugo would lead of with a walk; Dustin Pedroia would single to center and chase reliever Paul Shuey from the game. New pitcher John Parrish was greeted by a David Ortiz double high off the wall in left centerfield to score Lugo and put runners at second and third with no one out. Manny Ramirez would be intentionally walked to load the bases for Kevin Youkilis. Chad Bradford came in to pitch to Youkilis who would double in two runs to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. Mike Lowell grounded out for the first out as runners were held at second and third. Jason Varitek singled to score Ramirez and move Youk to third and it was 5-3. Coco Crisp was intentionally walked to load the bases. Wily Mo Pena would fly out and Lugo grounded out to end the inning.

The Orioles drew first blood in this game when for the second night in a row they would get a first inning solo HR this one from Nick Markakis with two out off of Julian Tavares who was making a spot start in place of the recently departed Kason Gabbard.

The O’s would up their lead in the second when they would get a pair of two out runs off of Tavares. Jay Gibbons would single, Chris Gomez doubled him home and then a Brian Roberts double scored Gomez for a 3-0 lead.

The Sox got a run off of Oriole starter Steve Trachsel in the third. Crisp would lead off with a walk, Pena fouled out, Lugo
got yet another infield hit and Crisp would go to third on a throwing error by Miguel Tejada. Pedroia then hit a sacrifice fly to
score Crisp and cut the lead to 3-1.

The O’s after not being able to score off of relievers Kyle Snyder and Javier Lopez got a solo homerun by Tejada in the 8th off of Hideki Okajima to cut the lead to 5-4.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon came on in the 9th and was able to protect the one run lead, with new acquisition Eric Gagne warming, as he set the O’s down in order the last two on strikeouts and sealed the 5-4 Red Sox win.

THKC & Beasts of the East Tonight Starting At 7 PM ET

 

Bloggers Anthony of the Oriole Post, Jason of My Baseball Bias and I produce two hour long baseball shows every week called, “The Hits Keep Coming” and “Beasts of the East – An in-depth look at the AL EAST” on Blog Talk Radio and MVN Radio.

Please join us at 7PM Eastern Time (6PM Central/ 5PM Mountain/ 4PM Western/Pacific) as we chat, analyze and comment about the world of Major League Baseball.

*******************************

DETAILS FOR “THE HITS KEEP COMING”

Show Time: Every Wednesday from 7-8 PM ET

If you’d like to call in, the phone number is (718) 664-6564 or you can send us an instant message if you use AOL IM at hitskeepcoming20.

Join us at: http://blogtalkradio.com/oriolepost or http://mvn.com/radio/ at 7PM Eastern Time.

*******************************

DETAILS FOR “BEASTS OF THE EAST”

Show Time: Every Wednesday from 8-9 PM ET

Get the latest AL EAST NEWS tonight @ 8:00 PM EST with our weekly internet radio show called “Beasts of the East – An AL EAST Radio Show” on Blog Talk Radio.

Join us at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beastsoftheeast or http://mvn.com/radio/ at 8PM Eastern Time.

If you’d like to call in, the phone number is (646) 478-5017 or you can send us an instant message if you use AOL IM at aleastshow.

This week’s guest lineup –

SHOW OUTLINE AND TOPICS –

I. INTRO

II. STANDINGS OVERVIEW

III. TOP NEWS STORIES OF THIS WEEK –

  • Trade Deadline Special
  • Hall of Fame Induction Special

IV. TEAM REPORTS AND A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD

Please come and join us this evening!

Wednesday’s Half Marathon Around the NL

Tom Glavine will have to wait for career victory #300.

Mark Teixeira’s dreams come true as he gets to play with childhood idol.

Shane Victorino and Michael Bourn were placed on the DL in Philadelphia.

The Nationals honor Washington Senators great Walter Johnson.

Scott Olsen manages to not fall apart after a tough loss.

Rickie Weeks heads to the minors to work on his swing.

La Russa switches things up.

Kerry Wood was looking good in Double-A outing. That totally rhymed.

Shortstop Alex Gonzalez returns to the Reds.

Xavier Nady leaves with a strained hammy.

Mark Loretta is happy to stay in Houston, but curious what it would be like to play for a contender.

The Padres have released Jose Cruz Jr.

Brad Penny misses out on joining Big Z as an NL 14-game winner.

Brandon Webb is pretty awesome.

Hostility fills Dodger stadium as Bonds goes hitless.

Rodrigo Lopez will land on the DL with a torn flexor tendon in his right arm.

No Support For Beckett, As Sox Lose 5-3

 

 

 

For the second straight start Josh Beckett got very little help from his friends as the Red Sox dropped a 5-3 decision to the Orioles at Fenway Park. The O’s jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first when All-Star Brian Roberts homered leading off the game.

Baltimore increased its lead to 4-0 in the third when they hung three runs on the scoreboard. With one out Jay Payton singled to right center, Roberts then doubled to drive in his second run of the game and make it 2-0. Roberts stole third, Corey Patterson walked and stole second and after Nick Markakis struck out Kevin Millar drove
home two runs with a single and it was 4-0 O’s.

The Sox got two runs back in the home half when Dustin Pedroia walked with two out and David Ortiz followed with a two run homerun to right and it was 4-2.

The O’s added a single run off of Beckett in the sixth. With one out Miguel Tejada got an infield single, Aubrey Huff singled to right and Tejada would score when Ramon Hernandez would double off the wall in left to make it 5-2.

The Sox would add a run in the eight off of the Baltimore bullpen when Ortiz led off the inning with a solo homer his second of the game and the 18th of the year to cut the lead to 5-3.

The Sox had the tying runs on in the ninth on a Coco Crisp single and an Eric Hinske walk but Jamie Walker closed the door for the save as the Sox couldn’t push any runs across the plate.

The Sox only managed four hits on the night and Ortiz had three of them two were homeruns, Ortiz also had a first inning single. Crisp had the ninth inning single.

Garnett Deal Final

 

10-time NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett is officially a Boston Celtic. Garnett was introduced at an evening press conference at TD BankNorth Garden to the Boston media. Present along with Garnett were Celtics captain Paul Pierce, the recently acquired Ray Allen, director of basketball operations Danny Ainge, head coach Glen “Doc” Rivers and Celtics ownership.

Garnett was acquired for five players, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliffe plus 2 first round draft picks. It was the largest trade for any one player in NBA history.

The three players were almost giddy in their excitement at the prospect of getting to play together. Garnett and Pierce played in a High School All-Star game in the mid 90’s and Allen and Garnett are from the same general area in South Carolina and played against each other regularly.

Next up for Danny Ainge is to add some other players to bring the roster up to the league minimum of twelve players. Expect him to look for some more veteran players as free agents to fill in the gaps. His immediate need is for a second point guard to play in place of Rajon Rondo.

It is an exciting time for Celtics fans. The team is relevant once again. With this deal the Celtics are considered one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference along with Cleveland and Detroit. The last time the Celtics were in the Eastern Conference Finals was in 2002 when they lost to New Jersey in six games.

The once proud franchise has won the most titles in NBA history, owning 16 NBA championships having won 11 in thirteen years between 1957 and 1969. That streak also includes 8-in-a-row from 1959-66. They last won a NBA Championship in 1986 when Larry Bird, Kevin McHale (who traded Garnett to Boston), Robert Parish and Ainge all wore Celtic green.

Gagne Comes To Boston

 

With Brendan Donnelly on the DL, Mike Timlin sitting with a sore shoulder and no place to put Kason Gabbard once Curt Schilling returns Boston Red Sox Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein pulled the trigger on a deal with the Texas Rangers to get some solid right hand relief help. The Sox have acquired closer Eric Gagne for Gabbard, outfield prospect David Murphy and outfield prospect Angel Beltre.

For waiving his no trade clause the Sox will pick up all the bonuses in Gagne’s reworked contract worth about $3.6 million dollars. Gagne and his agent, Scott Boras, wanted the bonuses to be reworked because Gagne will not be closing or finishing many games because of the presence of Jonathan Papelbon.

The 32-year-old Gagne, in his 9th major league season, is a three-time all-star and a former Cy Young Award winner while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gagne in his first American League season is 2-0 with 16 saves, 2.16 ERA and 1.05 WHIP for Texas. He is expected to set up Papelbon and close on the occasions when Papelbon isn’t available.
Gagne has three seasons of 45+ saves in his career including seasons of 52 and 55 saves. His career record is 27-21 with 177 saves, 3.20 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.

The 25-year-old Gabbard has just 14 major league appearances since making his debut in June of 2006. This year as a replacement for the injured Curt Schilling he is 4-0 in 7 starts with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

Also in the deal are 25-year-old Triple A outfielder David Murphy. Murphy is currently batting .289 with 9 HRs and 47 RBI for Pawtucket.

Beltre, a 16-year-old prospect from the Dominican, is a left handed hitting outfielder with some power, a strong throwing arm and plays exceptional defense. He signed last year with the Red Sox as an under 17 year old free agent for a reported $600,000 dollars. Beltre participated in extended spring training and then was playing this year in the Dominican Leagues.

Wilson Betemit is now a Yankee

3B – Wilson Betemit

Scott Proctor is gone.

The Dodgers and Yankees have agreed in principle on a trade that would send reliever Scott Proctor to the Dodgers for infielder Wilson Betemit, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.

The Dodgers, who have a 5.61 bullpen ERA since the All-Star break, have been in on a number of trade discussions involving relievers but zeroed in on Proctor over the last 24 hours.

The Yankees view Betemit as another first-base/DH/bench option for this year, and a potential third-base replacement for Alex Rodriguez next year.

Betemit is batting .231 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs this season off the Dodgers’ bench. Proctor is 2-5 with a 3.81 ERA, and his 54 1/3 innings out of the Yankees’ bullpen are tied for fourth-most among AL relievers.

Yankee fans will soon be seeing Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen probably by the weekend.

Now if they can only find a team to take Kyle Farnsworth.

Also… it doesn’t look like the Yankees are very optimistic about acquiring Eric Gagne reports Ken Rosenthal.

Thanks to Steve for the tip.

It’s Deadline Day

According to several sources the Red Sox made another offer to Chicago for OF Jermaine Dye.

The Sox also reportedly have made the best offer to Texas for closer Eric Gagne. Reportedly the Sox are willing to part with Triple A OF David Murphy and P Kason Gabbard.

Both Dye and Gagne have limited no trade clauses and both are concerned about how Boston would deploy them. Dye has a no-trade to four teams including Boston, while Gagne has the Sox listed among 12 teams on his list. Gagne has bonuses based on how many games hefinishes and has already made an additional $1.3 million on top of his $6 million salary. But coming to Boston to set up closer Jonathan Papelbon would give him other opportunities such as playoff and World Series shares and the ability to showcase himself for a big free agency pay out for 2008. Word is Theo and the Trio maybe willing to just pay out Gagne’s $5 million in bonuses in order to lure him to Beantown.

Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe is reporting that the Rangers now may prefer to hold onto Gagne and try to sign him to an extension.

Other teams interested in Gagne are the Brewers and the Yankees, both of whom have quality closers already in place. While the Sox are in competition with the Angels, Diamondbacks and Dodgers for Dye.

A couple of MLB GM’s who have info on the potential deals said the Red Sox would not discuss the possibility of trading Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester or Michael Bowden. They also remained adamant in not trading Clay Buchholtz, Jacoby Ellsbury or Justin Masterson.

The Sox are still working hard to move OF Wily Mo Pena, Pawtucket pitcher Devern Hansack and fifth starter Kason Gabbard has drawn considerable interest as well.

Piniero Traded to Cardinals for PTBNL

RHP Joel Piniero

From Gordo Edes at the Globe:

The Red Sox today traded righthanded pitcher Joel Pineiro and cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later.

Pineiro was 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA in 31 relief appearances with the Red Sox this season before being designated for assignment on July 23. He accepted an optional assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket on July 25.

The “Joel Piniero Experiment” is now “officially” over. Red Sox nation will probably sleep easier tonight.