Destination Red Sox Nation – 5/12

Destination Red Sox Nation

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

pawtucket red sox Pawtucket Red Sox

Aaron Bates and Dusty Brown had home runs in the PawSox 5-1 win over the Gwinnett Braves.

Homers, Mills are keys to victory [Providence Journal]

PawSox Journal: Cameron fares well, then treats team well [Providence Journal]

Mills Slams Door On Braves [OurSports Central]

Gwinnett Braves @ Pawtucket Red Sox 5.11.10 box score [MiLB.com]

Pawtucket 2010 Roster

Pawtucket Red Sox stats

International League standings

Pawtucket Red Sox website

Portland Sea Dogs Portland Sea Dogs:

Jose Iglesias had five RBIs in the Sea Dogs 7-2 win over the Binghamton Mets.

Sea Dogs pitch in to help a pitcher [Portland Press Herald]

Hadlock Headlines [Central Maine Sports Blog]

Iglesias Powers Sea Dogs to 7-2 Win [OurSports Central]

Binghamton Mets @ Portland Sea Dogs 5.11.10 box score [MiLB.com]

Portland 2010 Roster

Portland Sea Dogs stats

Eastern League Standings

Portland Sea Dogs website

salem red sox Salem Red Sox:

 

The Frederick Keys scored three in the 9th to beat Salem 4-1.

Blunders, hits in the 9th lead to fourth straight loss [Roanoke Times]

Late Runs Spur Keys Past Red Sox, 4-1 [OurSports Central]

Salem Red Sox Announce 30 Day Plan To Rebuild Box Office [OurSports Central]

Frederick Keys @ Salem Red Sox 5.11.10 box score [MiLB.com]

Salem 2010 Roster

Salem Red Sox stats

Carolina League standings

Salem Red Sox official blog

Salem Red Sox website

greenville drive Greenville Drive:

The Drive were off on Tuesday night.

Greenville 2010 Roster

Greenvillle Drive stats

South Atlantic League standings

Greenville Drive website

lowell spinners Lowell Spinners:

The Lowell Spinners will begin their season in late June after the MLB Draft.

Lowell Spinners 2009 Roster

Lowell Spinners stats

NY-Penn League Standings

Lowell Spinners Blog

Spinners website

gulf coast red sox Gulf Coast League Red Sox

The GCL Red Sox will begin their season in late June after the MLB Draft.

GCL Red Sox 2009 Roster

GCL Red Sox 2009 stats

Gulf Coast League Final 2009 Standings

Gulf Coast Red Sox website

Josh Beckett & Jacoby Ellsbury Charity Wine Event

SOX & Dawgs photo

On Tuesday afternoon, I had the pleasure of attending an event promoting the new Josh Beckett and Jacoby Ellsbury wines, Chardon-K and ZinfandEllsbury. The event was put on by Charity Hops Sports Marketing and Charity Wines.

The event, held at in the Foundation Room at the House of Blues, was emceed by NESN’s Heidi Watney with Jacoby Ellsbury and his girlfriend Kelsey Hawkins in attendance.

Unfortunately due to the injury Beckett suffered on Monday afternoon in batting practice, he wasn’t able to attend. Jason Oberle, who is the executive director of the Josh Beckett Foundation, read a statement from Beckett.

Use the read more button down to the right to see the rest of the post.

All of the charities represented by the two players spoke and at the end of the speaker from the Navajo Relief Fund presented Ellsbury with a gift. After that Ellsbury answered a few questions.

After that Oberle spoke about what the Josh Beckett Foundation has done for Children’s Hospital Boston.

And of course I had to ask a question to Ellsbury.

I must say that I’ve picked on Watney more than once on this blog and probably not in a good way. I will say that after meeting her at the event, she is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

me with Heidi Watney - SOX & Dawgs photo

Many thanks to Brett Rudy of Charity Hop for inviting me to the event. And if you want to order the wines, head over to the Charity Wines website.

Early Evening Red Sox Delight – 5/11

Dana Eveland (L), Daisuke Matsuzaka (R) - AP Photos

After walking their way to victory on Monday night, the Boston Red Sox will take on the Toronto Blue Jays in game two of a three game set at Fenway Park.

Today’s game will start at 7:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Toronto television market, you can catch the game on Rogers Sportsnet. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his third start of the season for Terry Francona tonight. In his two previous starts (1-1, 9.90 ERA), he had one bad inning in each of them and he’ll look to put that in the past. He hasn’t faced the Blue Jays this season or nor did he in 2009. Overall in his career, he is 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in seven starts.

Dana Eveland makes his seventh start of the season for Cito Gastson. In those seven starts, he is 3-1 with a 3.82 ERA. He’s faced the Red Sox once in 2010 in a 13-12 Red Sox win on April 26th. He picked up a no decision after allowing seven earned runs in three innings. He’s made four career starts against the Red Sox and is 0-2 with an 18.24 ERA. He’s made two career starts at the Fens and is 0-2 with a 25.27 ERA (4.2 IP/13 ER).

Keep reading for lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and pregame links.

Toronto Blue Jays19-15

Red Sox logo17-16
1. Fred Lewis LF 1. Marco Scutaro SS
2. Aaron Hill 2B 2. Dustin Pedroia 2B
3. Adam Lind DH 3. J.D. Drew RF
4. Vernon Wells CF 4. Kevin Youkilis 1B
5. Lyle Overbay 1B 5. Mike Lowell DH
6. Alex Gonzalez SS 6. Adrian Beltre 3B
7. Jose Bautista 3B 7. Jason Varitek C
8. John Buck C 8. Bill Hall LF
9. Travis Snider RF 9. Darnell McDonald CF
Dana Eveland SP Daisuke Matsuzaka SP

Here’s the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers in their careers:

Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox batter/pitcher matchups

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

Francona: Back spasms for Beckett, won’t start Friday [Clubhouse Insider]

Ellsbury: ‘I’m getting pretty close’ to returning [CSN New England]

Beckett scratched from Friday start [CSN New England]

Pitching, pitching, pitching [ESPN Boston]

Progress for recovering OFs Cameron, Ellsbury [ESPN Boston]

Beckett to miss Friday start [ESPN Boston]

We’re having a party and you’re invited [Extra Bases]

News and notes: Beckett will miss start [Extra Bases]

How Daniel Bard almost became a Mariner [Full Count]

Beckett likely out for Friday [Full Count]

Beckett [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Red Sox Help Players Develop Healthy Eating Habits [NESN.com]

Will Daisuke Matsuzaka Regain His 18-Win Form From 2008? [NESN.com]

Wines Named for Josh Beckett, Jacoby Ellsbury to Raise Money for Charity [NESN.com]

Red Sox have some flexibility with rotation [Projo Sox Blog]

Josh Beckett to miss his start Friday with lower back issues [Projo Sox Blog]

Despite vertigo issues Monday, J.D. Drew back in the lineup today [Projo Sox Blog]

How the Red Sox can join the chase in the top-heavy AL East [SI.com]

Fantasy Life

Watching sports is a way to escape reality if only for a short time. In those blissful few hours, we get to imagine ourselves pitching a no-hitter, hitting a grand slam, or stealing home in a tie game. We ourselves may not have the strength to arm-wrestle a kitten, but we can appreciate a great throw from the outfield. We may not be able to sprint 60.5 inches, let alone feet, but we applaud when the runner beats the throw to first.

But when the lights are off at the stadium and the tarp is on the field, we are forced to return to our regular lives until the next game starts. At least we were, until the advent of Fantasy Baseball. Now, when our favorite club is idle in reality, we can make up our own team of the best players available. We can bench the guy who got the golden sombrero in the big game yesterday. We can pick up some no-name free agent who hit the walk-off grand slam off an acclaimed closer. We sit in our cubicles while pretending there’s a sign that reads “General Manager” on our door.

To select a Fantasy Baseball team, some people put in hours of careful research. Others just go with their guts when draft time rolls around. I myself do a little research but mostly go by feel. I only have one rule: I never draft Yankees or Rays and rarely draft Angels. (Ok, maybe that’s three rules.) I don’t draft players from “enemy” teams because it just doesn’t feel right to benefit from their success. As if losing to the Yankees on Saturday night weren’t bad enough, gaining ground in my fantasy league because Teixeira hit three home runs would be like lemon juice in a paper cut.

When drafting, I debate long and hard with myself before selecting a Red Sox player. I hesitate to pick Sox because if they are struggling in “real life” it is like rubbing salt in the wound to have to bench or drop them. Owners of Ortiz and Beckett have a tough decision ahead of them.

 

When your favorite baseball team is not hitting it out of the park in real life, managing your fantasy team is at least a small distraction. And if you’re fortunate enough to be in a league with some friends, a nice round of smack talk can also take your mind off the standings.

Following a sports team is fantasy as it is. Following a Fantasy team is like fantasizing about a fantasy. We can all use a little more fantasy in our lives.

Update for Tuesday, May 11th

There will be no morning posts this morning as I’m heading up to Boston for the Josh Beckett and Jacoby Ellsbury wine tasting thing at the House of Blues. I’ll have a video camera with me so I’ll be taking pictures and hopefully some video to post here when I get to the hotel where I’ll be staying overnight to attend Wednesday’s day game.

I will do my best to get those posts up later in the day with the exception of the Boston Red Sox News & Notes post. So if you want to read more about last night’s Red Sox win, be sure to check the links below.

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

And if you must read the enemy papers, head over to The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Toronto Sun websites.

Red Sox Walk By Blue Jays

Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, second from left, celebrates with teammates, from left, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Beltre and Kevin Youkilis after beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 in a baseball game, Monday, May 10, 2010, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

On a night where John Lackey struggled, it would be up to the offense for the Boston Red Sox to help them to a win. Fortunately for Lackey and the Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow had some control issues.

The Red Sox had just eight hits but it was the six walks by Morrow that helped them to a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in front of 37,332 at a cold and breezy Fenway Park on Monday night.

With the win, the Red Sox move to 17-16 but more importantly they pick up a game on the Blue Jays and are now just 1½ games behind them for third place in the AL East.

It was tough going for Morrow in the second inning. After his team had given him a 4-2 lead in the top half of the 2nd, he lost his control and it came back to haunt him.

Morrow started the inning with a walk to Jeremy Hermida and got a strikeout of Darnell McDonald. He then lost his focus as he walked Jonathan Van Every, Marco Scutaro and then Dustin Pedroia to force in a run to make it 4-3. Victor Martinez then grounded into what should have been an inning-ending double play but Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill’s throw was off target and allowed Scutaro to touch home plate after JVE already had to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead.

A walk to Kevin Youkilis and an RBI single by David Ortiz ended Morrow’s outing after 1 2/3 innings.

Pedroia would make it 7-4 in the bottom of third with a single that scored JVE.

Lackey had a rough go of things. After his team gave him a 2-0 lead in the first, he loaded up the bases on a walk to Lyle Overbay, a double by Alex Gonzalez that went off the top of the Green Monster (it was reviewed and not ruled a home run) and a walk to Jose Bautista. A 2-run ground rule by John Buck, a single by Travis Snider and a single by Fred Lewis gave the Jays a 4-2 lead.

He would later give up a 2-run bomb to Bautista but the bullpen saved his fourth win of the season.

Lackey persevered through six rough innings, allowing the six runs on eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Hideki Okajima, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon shut down the Jays the rest of the way for an inning each with Bard allowing a walk and Papelbon recording a strikeout.

It’s the ninth save of the season and 23rd straight save in the regular season for Papelbon.

Pedroia had two hits and three RBIs while VMart had a hit and two RBIs.

These same two teams will be back at it again tomorrow night as Dana Eveland and (gulp) Daisuke Matsuzaka square off on the bump. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Toronto Blue Jays @ Boston Red Sox 5.10.10 box score