Okay, I’ve got one final Manny being Manny video in anticipation of his return to Fenway Park to face his former club the Boston Red Sox tonight at Fenway Park.
This one from NESN contains all of Manny’s moments as a member of the Red Sox.
Enjoy or don’t. Your choice.
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In another classic Manny being Manny moment, Manny Ramirez “pets” Julian Tavarez while they are both sitting in the Boston Red Sox dugout. What’s even better is the fact that Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy lose it in the NESN booth.
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With Manny Ramirez making his return to Fenway Park for the first time since his trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s time to take a look at some of the Manny being Manny moments.
Here’s a video from what I’m assuming is a Japanese SportsCenter of some of Manny’s lowlights and highlights as a member of the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians.
With Darius Smith deciding to transfer, Jim Calhoun and the UConn Huskies men’s basketball program had another scholarship to offer for next season. They had a kid from Germany named Niels Giffey in for an official visit the past two days and now it looks like he’ll be coming to Storrs for next season.
It seems as though the whole NCAA violations didn’t hurt UConn as according to David Borges of the New Haven Register and Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant, Giffey, a 6’6″ forward, has given Calhoun an oral commitment for next season.
Here’s what Giffey had to say about his choice in UConn courtesy of Borges:
“I’m really excited to come to UConn,” said Giffey, who speaks fluent English. “I knew that UConn has a great basketball history. Coach Calhoun is a Hall of Fame coach, they’ve had Ray Allen and plenty of great wings. I like that fact. It’s a good team, a great coaching staff. I really felt comfortable.”
Giffey joins Roscoe Smith, Shabazz Napier, Tyler Oleander, Jeremy Lamb and Michael Bradley in the UConn’s 2010 recruiting class.
On the eve of the return of Manny Ramirez to Boston, the Boston Red Sox took care of business on the field last night garnering a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Excluding a two-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins in mid-May, it was the first three or four-game sweep of a team since the Red Sox swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the beginning of May.
It was a big win for the Red Sox as both the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays lost last night. This means the Red Sox are now two games out of first place and out of the wild card spot. What’s funny about all of this is that the Red Sox have the third best record in all of MLB and yet sit in third place in the AL East.
While John Lackey won his third straight decision, it wasn’t really pretty. He labored through his start getting into some deep counts but like he’s done all season long, he gave the Red Sox a chance to win. He didn’t help himself at all after Stephen Drew lined a ball off of his foot and then he threw it away for an error. Drew eventually came around to score on a Chris Young double.
Even with the rough start by Lackey, he joins Clay Buchholz (9) and Jon Lester (8) as the only trio of starters in baseball to win at least eight games.
Offensively, the Red Sox are rolling right now.
David Ortiz continues to show the power as he added a two-run homer last night and has six-game hitting streak. Dustin Pedroia increased his hitting streak to seven games while Marco Scutaro continues to do an admirable job at the top of the lineup. Scutaro had two hits and three RBIs last night.
And Daniel Nava continues to reward Terry Francona and the Red Sox after his callup to the big club. Nava added three hits to the cause last night with an RBI as his average is at .444 in his brief time with the Red Sox.
It will be interesting to see the type of reaction that Manny gets in his return to Fenway Park. Will the Fenway faithful boo him or will he get cheers? I think it’ll be a mixed bag myself. I also expect it’ll be a media circus there today and you have to wonder if Manny will speak to the Boston media before the game.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, any news and links from the day but for now, enjoy the overnight links.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Sox complete sweep [Boston Globe]
Lackey has won his team over [Boston Globe]
Ramirez stories come out of left field [Boston Globe]
Another hot month? [Boston Globe]
Upton enjoyed an upturn during his visit [Boston Globe]
Reddick still seen as not quite ready [Boston Globe]
This time, ‘baseball guy’ gets to enjoy the pitch [Boston Globe]
Recap: Red Sox 8, Diamondbacks 5 [Boston Herald]
Dominant theme for John Lackey: He wins [Boston Herald]
Manny Delcarmen makes his pitch count [Boston Herald]
David Ortiz: Give Manny Ramirez due [Boston Herald]
He’s always been out in left field [Boston Herald]
Daniel Nava settles into left [Boston Herald]
Bracing for Manny [Clubhouse Insider]
Red Sox complete sweep of D’Backs, 8-5 [CSN New England]
Love him or hate him, Manny’s coming back [CSN New England]
Dice-K progressing [ESPN Boston]
Pedroia: Two funny stories on Manny [ESPN Boston]
Nelson declines minor-league assignment [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox win then turn their focus on Celtics [ESPN Boston]
Will you cheer or boo Manny tonight? [Extra Bases]
Closing time: Red Sox 8, Diamondbacks 5 [Full Count]
Nava’s spark hasn’t faded [Full Count]
Manny in perspective: How a former teammate views the slugger [Lou Merloni – WEEI.com]
Terry Francona, David Ortiz Fondly Recall Manny Ramirez’ Heyday in Boston [NESN.com]
John Lackey Still Getting Job Done, Iffy Numbers Aside [NESN.com]
Manny Ramirez’s Red Sox Lowlights: Manny Traded to Dodgers [NESN.com]
Manny Ramirez’s Red Sox Highlights: Manny Named World Series MVP [NESN.com]
Big Papi offers to settle Jay-Z suit [NY Post]
Sox find killer instinct, sweep Arizona [Providence Journal]
Dice-K making strong progress [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Nava stays hot with 3 hits [Providence Journal]
Torre also to make his Fenway return [Providence Journal]
Cheers or boos for Manny? Players have their own take [Providence Journal]
Dice-K throws 40-pitch side session [RedSox.com]
Torre also returns to Fenway Park [RedSox.com]
Papi looks forward to seeing Manny again [RedSox.com]
Manny makes his return to Fenway Park [RedSox.com]
Manny being Manny: A closer look [RedSox.com]
Three-team AL East race tight as ever [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy papers, you can head over to the Arizona Republic and Arizona Daily Star websites.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
UConn Football links
Dan Davis On Kendall Reyes [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
DC was busy answering questions yet again in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
Other UConn related links
Field Hockey: Field Hockey Finalizes 2010 Schedule [UConnHuskies.com]
Women’s Lacrosse: Connecticut Lacrosse Alum to Play Oversees [UConnHuskies.com]
Men’s Ice Hockey: Husky Hockey Releases 2010-11 Schedule [UConnHuskies.com]
Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings are after the jump.
If you would like to listen to any of the Red Sox minor league affiliates’ games, MiLB.com offers them for free.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Reddick still seen as not quite ready [Boston Globe]
Pawtucket Red Sox
Dusty Brown’s walk-off single in the 11th gave the PawSox a 1-0 win over the Columbus Clippers.
PawSox Journal: Newcomer Shealy will have DH role [Providence Journal]
Brown wins it with hit in 11th [Providence Journal]
PawSox Clip Columbus 1-0 in 11 Innings [OurSports Central]
Columbus Clippers @ Pawtucket Red Sox 6.17.10 box score [MiLB.com]
International League standings
The Erie SeaWolves took advantage of three Sea Dogs errors to win 5-1.
Erie’s pitcher stumps Dogs [Portland Press Herald]
Hadlock Headlines [Central Maine Sports Blog]
Sea Dogs Offense Eerily Quiet in 5-1 Loss [OurSports Central]
Sea Dogs to Host “Picnic in the Park” on July 24th [OurSports Central]
Erie SeaWolves @ Portland Sea Dogs 6.17.10 box score [MiLB.com]
Salem Red Sox:
Peter Hissey’s RBI single in the 8th was the difference in Salem’s 3-2 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
Huntzinger grounds down Rocks [Roanoke Times]
Salem Sweeps Wilmington with 3-2 Thursday Victory [OurSportsCentral]
Wilmington Blue Rocks @ Salem Red Sox 6.17.10 box score [MiLB.com]
The Drive were shutout by the Hickory Crawdads 4-0.
Drive Outhit Crawdads, but Lose 4-0 [OurSports Central]
Greenville Drive @ Hickory Crawdads 6.17.10 box score [MiLB.com]
South Atlantic League standings
Lowell Spinners:
The Lowell Spinners begin their season tonight on the road against Vermont.
Mendez gets Spinners started [Lowell Sun]
Gulf Coast League Red Sox
The GCL Red Sox will begin their season on June 23rd.
Friday, June 18th @ 7:10 PM
Carlos Monasterios, RHP (3-1, 2.98) vs Felix Doubront, LHP (MLB Debut)
TV: NESN, MLB Network in select areas, MLB.tv
Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio
Saturday, June 19th @ 4:10 PM
Vicente Padilla, RHP (1-1, 6.65) vs Tim Wakefield, RHP (2-5, 5.42)
TV: FOX
Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio
Sunday, June 20th @ 8:05 PM
Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (6-4, 3.10) vs Clay Buchholz, RHP (9-4, 2.67)
TV: ESPN
Radio: Red Sox Radio Network, MLB Game Day Audio
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Arizona Diamondbacks @ Boston Red Sox |
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Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 6/17 [SOX & Dawgs]
The Boston Red Sox haven’t swept a team since the beginning of May and that’s exactly what they’ll be looking for against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Fenway Park.
Tonight’s game will start at 6:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Diamondbacks television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports Arizona. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.
John Lackey is hoping to build off his last start in his 14th start of the season for the Red Sox. In his previous 13 starts, he is 7-3 with a 4.54 ERA. Lackey has faced the Diamondbacks just once in his career. That start for Lackey was a member of the Angels in 2009 where he picked up a no decision after throwing seven shutout innings.
Dan Haren will be making his 15th start of the season for the Diamondbacks. In his previous 14 starts, Haren is 7-4 with a 4.61 ERA. He’s made six career starts against the Red Sox and is 2-3 with a 2.65 ERA. Haren has made four career starts at Fenway Park and is 1-3 with a 3.18 ERA.
Keep reading for lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and pregame links.
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| 1. Kelly Johnson | 2B | 1. Marco Scutaro | SS |
| 2. Stephen Drew | SS | 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 3. Justin Upton | RF | 3. David Ortiz | DH |
| 4. Miguel Montero | C | 4. Kevin Youkilis | 1B |
| 5. Chris Young | CF | 5. Victor Martinez | C |
| 6. Adam LaRoche | 1B | 6. J.D. Drew | RF |
| 7. Mark Reynolds | 3B | 7. Adrian Beltre | 3B |
| 8. Gerardo Parra | LF | 8. Daniel Nava | LF |
| 9. Rusty Ryal | DH | 9. Darnell McDonald | CF |
| Dan Haren | SP | John Lackey | SP |
Here’s the hitters have fared against this evening’s starting pitchers in their careers:
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Manny by the numbers [ESPN Boston]
The Manny Match Game: 24 on No. 24 [ESPN Boston]
Is Daniel Bard pitching too much? [Extra Bases]
Family ties seem to inspire Drew [Extra Bases]
Going to the game tonight? Read this [Extra Bases]
Matsuzaka takes a step forward [Extra Bases]
The Red Sox’ almost catcher of the future [Full Count]
Fenway Tops List of Ballparks More Worthy of 2012 All-Star Game [NESN.com]
Top 10 Manny Ramirez Quotes [NESN.com]
Five Excuses Manny Ramirez Could Use to Avoid Playing the Red Sox [NESN.com]
Sox sign Ryan Shealy [SoxProspects.com]
39-28