Big Papi Slapped With Lawsuit

new_steiner_logo-copy.gifNo, it’s not what you think. David Ortiz was hit with a lawsuit by Steiner’s Sports Marketing due to a breach of contract.

“Ortiz has constantly remained substantially below the amount of memorabilia items required to be signed under the agreement.”

Big Papi’s contract called for him to autograph 13,000 items, appear at events and remain exclusive to Steiner Sports. According to the lawsuit, they are claiming that Ortiz violated his contract by signing items for at least 4 other companies. Steiner Sports is asking for $1 million dollars plus interest. They also want to know how much money he made from the other 4 companies.

Red Sox News & Notes – 7/20

What the heck is going on with the beloved? They had 11 hits last night, all singles, and still lost the game. They even outhit the wrong Sox, 11-6. The loss last night dropped the Red Sox to 3-5 on the homestand and more importantly, allowed the Skanks to remain at 7 games out of first place in the AL East. Dice-K had a lot of trouble with his location as he walked 6 batters while allowing 2 hits, both by everyone’s not so favorite catcher, A.J. Pierzynski. Our “leadoff” hitter, J.D. Drew missed the game last night because his hammy was bothering him and we all got to see our favorite bench player, Wily “Pedro Cerrano” Mo Peña play rightfield last night. I am happy to report no miscues by Wily Mo in right field. Hopefully, the Red Sox move him before the trade deadline. I think right now the biggest problem lies in the batting order. If Drew is healthy, this is the lineup I’d put out there.

  1. Coco Crisp – CF
  2. Kevin Youkilis – 1B
  3. David Ortiz – DH
  4. Manny Ramirez – LF
  5. J.D. Drew – RF
  6. Mike Lowell – 3B
  7. Jason Varitek – C
  8. Dustin Pedroia – 2B
  9. Julio Lugo – SS

When Youk was batting second, he was a on-base machine. Yes Lugo and Pedroia are hot right now where they are hitting in the current lineup, so you leave Lugo in the same spot.. Pedroia will hit whether he’s batting 2nd or 8th. Worst case is that if Drew is slumping like he is, slide him down to the 6th hole, and move Lowell up a spot. Anyways, that’s enough of my ranting. Let’s take a look at the headlines from the Boston area and Chicago media about the game and other happenings from last night’s game.

Red Sox can’t plug up leaks. [Boston Globe]

A victory worth the wait. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Stranded in quicksand: Sox sinking as lost chances mount. [Boston Herald]

White Sox trade winds dying down. [Chicago Tribune]

Frustration. [Hartford Courant]

Guillen: ‘I don’t see any trades right now’ [Chicago Sun-Times]

Sox continue to sputter. [Pro Jo]

Dye’s approach: ‘Whatever happens, happens’ . [Chicago Sun-Times]

Walk on wild side for Matsuzaka. [Boston Globe]

Lugo: Let’s not panic. [Boston Herald]

Drew Troubled By Hamstring. [Hartford Courant]

Drew’s stock continues to plummet. [Pro Jo]

From Fall Classic to a classic fall. [Boston Globe]

Personality is in their blood. [Boston Herald]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Sun-Times websites.

Friday’s Fast Walk Around the AL & NL West

Brian Fuentes won’t come off the DL for the Rockies until Monday at the earliest.

The Rangers finally placed Akinori Otsuka on the DL with forearm tendinitis.

Padres pitcher Justin Germano has no hard feelings against the Phillies.

J.J Putz is a key part of the Mariner’s resurgence.

The Giants sent Patrick Mitsch back to Triple-A Fresno to make room for Jonathan Sanchez.

The A’s ownership group was awarded an MLS franchise and will revive the old San Jose Earthquakes nickname.

Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley doesn’t mind throwing a lot of pitches.

Angels starter Bartolo Colon told Ervin Santana to use his demotion as fuel to get himself back to Anaheim.

The Diamondbacks and Eric Byrnes ended their contract negotiations.

The National Lampoon Sports Minute (Or So)

Written by Steve Hofstetter, Adam Hofstetter, Cody Marley, Ryan Murphy, Rich Ragains, Elliot Steingart, and Chris Strait

In Nashville, DUI charges against former Titan QB Steve McNair have been dropped. Much like all the Titans passes.

The Carolina Panthers have signed Philippe Gardent, a former member of the French national bobsled team. Which is perfect in case the Panthers win it all, because Hell would have frozen over.

French long jumper Salim Sdiri was accidentally hit with a javelin at an athletics meet in Rome. Hey, hole in one!

In baseball, David Wells has been suspended seven games for arguing with an umpire. We’re just happy Wells didn’t eat him.

The New York Mets have designated 48-year-old infielder Julio Franco for assignment. To Shady Pines retirement home.

The Phillies became the first team in pro sports team to lose 10,000 games. Don’t worry Raider fans, you’ve still got the only team to lose by 10,000 points.

Longtime major league umpire Shag Crawford has died at the age of 90. Dozens of managers assembled to kick dirt on his coffin.

Astros manager Phil Garner has said he’s willing to use voodoo to get into the head of Cubs’ right-hander Carlos Zambrano. Why bother? All Michael Barrett needed was his right fist.

Last weekend at the WNBA All-Star game, Nike donated $25,000 worth of merchandise to kids in DC. That’s right – three pairs of shoes!

And NBA top pick Greg Oden will miss the next 3 weeks. Not because he’s getting his tonsils removed, but because he’s already fouled out.

For more of the Sports Minute (Or So), visit minuteorso.com

White Sox Get Outhit, Still Win 4-2

Tarp on the field

After an 1 hour and 56 minute rain delay, baseball was finally played at Fenway Park and the end result wasn’t a pretty one for the Red Sox. The Chicago White Sox took advantage of six walks by Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka and got some timely hitting from A.J. Pierzynski in a 4-2 win over the Red Sox. The loss was the third straight for the Red Sox. Pierzynski had 3 hits and 3 RBI while Dustin Pedroia led the way with 3 hits again for the Red Sox.

Dice-K had a rough 1st inning. After getting the first two outs of the inning, Dice-K’s control suddenly was lost. He issued walks to both Jim Thome and Paul Konerko. Pierzynski brought home Thome from second with his first single of the night, giving the White Stockings a 1-0 lead. Dice-K got Jermaine Dye to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

The local nine tried to put something together in their half of the 1st. Coco Crisp flew out to right and Pedroia followed with the first of his 3 singles. Vazquez then got David Ortiz to strikeout swinging. Manny followed that with a single of his own moving Pedroia over to third base. Kevin Youkilis was unable to bring him home as he flew out to left ending the threat.

Lugo safe at plateBoston took the lead in the 2nd inning. Mike Lowell led off the inning with a single off Vazquez and went to second on a Jason Varitek single. Vazquez then got Wily Mo Peña to ground into a fielder’s choice with Tek retired at second base. Julio Lugo then grounded into a fielder’s choice of his own, with Wily Mo out at second base and Lowell scoring, tying the game at 1. Coco then reached on an infield single with Lugo moving to second base. Pedroia brought home Lugo with his second single of the night, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Pedroia got caught in a rundown as the throw home was cutoff. Crisp was alert and started towards home but Juan Uribe threw home and they got Crisp in a pickle and he was tagged out by Pierzynski before he could get back to third base.

Meanwhile, Dice-K had settled into a groove on the mound. He cruised through the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings as he only allowed a walk to Dye in the 4th inning. He had 4 strikeouts in those three innings.

Dice-K after giving up two runsDice-K’s wildness returned in the 6th inning. He walked the first three batters of the inning he faced, Tadahito Iguchi, Thome and Konerko, to load up the bases for Pierzynski. Pierzynski brought in Iguchi and Thome with a 2-run single, giving the wrong Sox a 3-2 lead. Pierzynski’s single chased Dice-K from the game as Manny Delcarmen came in for him. Delcarmen got the first batter he faced, Dye, out on a strikeout. Rob Mackowiak then followed with a single loading up the bases. Konerko probably would have scored if he wasn’t held at third as Wily Mo’s throw got past Varitek but Delcarmen was backing him up. Delcarmen then got Fields to ground into a fielder’s choice as Konerko was retired at home. Delcarmen got Uribe to fly out to end the inning. Delcarmen has not allowed his last 9 batters inherited to score.

Dice-K went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs, 2 hits, 6 walks and he struck out 6.

Vazquez cruised through the Red Sox lineup in the 5th and 6th innings. He only allowed a walk to Wily Mo in the 5th inning while getting five outs on fly balls. Javier Lopez pitched the 7th inning for the Red Sox and worked a 1-2-3 inning.

Boston threatened in their half of the 7th inning. After Vazquez had gotten Crisp for the first out of the inning, he allowed a single to Pedroia. Pedroia’s single chased Vazquez from the game. The lefty Matt Thornton came in to face Big Papi. Big Papi hit a single to center with Pedroia moving to second. Ozzie Guillen then went to his bullpen again, bringing in Ryan Bukvich to face Manny. Manny absolutely crushed a ball to centerfield. Unfortunately, it was to the deepest part of the ballpark and the wrong Sox have a speedy centerfielder in Jerry Owens who caught the ball for the second out of the inning. Bukvich then got Youk to strikeout swinging to end the inning.

Hideki Okajima came in to pitch the 8th inning for the Red Sox. He was rudely greeted by Konerko who took him deep for a homerun and 4-2 White Sox lead. The homerun was only the second Okajima has allowed all season. The first was by John Buck of the Royals on Okie’s first pitch of his MLB career. Pierzynski followed with his third hit of the night. Okajima then settled down. He got Dye to fly out to Wily Mo in right and Mackowiak to ground into a fielder’s choice. Okajima ended the 8th inning with a strikeout of Josh Fields.

In the 8th and 9th inning, the Red Sox could only manage a hit by Lowell in the 8th inning as Bukvich and the White Sox closer, Bobby Jenks shut down the Red Sox and sent them to their third straight loss at the Fens.

The Red Sox now pin their hopes on getting out of this funk onto the right arm of their ace Josh Beckett. Beckett will take the hill tomorrow trying to join the Indians’ C.C. Sabbathia as the only 13-game winners in MLB.

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Tonight’s Red Sox Game

Tonight’s game will start at 8:55.

From the release: “Based on that current forecast, the Red Sox anticipate that tonightÂ’s game with the Chicago White Sox will be played but will not begin until at least 8:15 p.m.”

Per the Red Sox:

The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) as of 6:30 p.m. in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for rain showers to move out shortly to be followed by a period of relatively dry conditions.

Based on that current forecast, the start of tonight’s game with the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park will be delayed. No starting time has been set.

The Red Sox will do everything possible to make certain tonight’s game is played. However, the Red Sox would like to alert our fans to the current forecast and the possibility of further delays this evening.

He’s Getting Closer

Barry Bonds has moved even closer to Hank Aaron’s record of 755 homeruns today as he went 3 for 3, with 2 homeruns and 6 RBI. He had been mired in a 0 for 21 slump. With his two homeruns, he now stands at 753 as they head to Milwaukee for three games before returning to San Francisco next week.

Barry Bonds 752

Barry Bonds 753