Here’s a press release from the Boston Red Sox on the health status of minor league outfielder Ryan Westmoreland:
BOSTON, MA—The Red Sox announced that minor league outfielder Ryan Westmoreland was released from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital on Saturday, April 24. General Manager Theo Epstein made the announcement.
Westmoreland will continue to undergo physical and occupational therapy as an outpatient at Spaulding. He has been making steady progress and is in great spirits.
The Red Sox once again express sincere appreciation to the fans and the media for the support and privacy given to the Westmoreland family during this difficult recovery process.
While I was writing this morning’s news and notes for the Boston Red Sox, I suggested the Red Sox needed to make a move in the bullpen after using all but Ramon Ramirez. I did say why not give a chance to Alan Embree or Joe Nelson and then went on to say maybe they could call up a starter from Pawtucket.
Well it turns out the Red Sox are going the calling up a starter way as the local Boston media reports that Fabio Castro will be brought up from Pawtucket. He’ll take the place of Scott Atchison, who still has an option left on his contract.
Castro, a lefty, has made three starts for the PawSox and is 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10 innings. He’s made 30 big league appearances with one start for the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies. His last appearance in the big leagues came in 2007 with the Phillies.
In those 30 appearances, Castro is 0-1 with a 3.30 ERA. He was the scheduled starter for the PawSox tonight.
399 pitches, 25 runs and 34 hits. That’s what the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays combined for in a 13-12 win by the Red Sox on Monday night at Rogers Centre.
The Red Sox got a run in the first and it stayed that way until the third inning. They added four in the top of the third that staked starter Josh Beckett to a 5-0 lead. Now normally when Beckett has a 5-0 lead, he’s lights out. But that wasn’t the case this time around.
By the end of the third inning, the Red Sox found themselves trailing 6-5 after Beckett lost the command of his pitches. He was leaving pitches up in the zone or his pitches would trail back into the heart of the plate and the Blue Jays took advantage of it.
The game was turned over to the bullpens in the fourth inning and it really didn’t get much better from there as both bullpens showed their ineptitude (with the exeception of Manny Delcarmen, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon on the Red Sox side of things and Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg on the Blue Jays side). The combination of Scott Atchison, Scott Schoeneweis and Hideki Okajima gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk
To me though, the MVP of last night’s game wasn’t the Red Sox offense but rather Delcarmen. He needed just 24 pitches to get through two innings to settle the bullpen out (Okajima replaced him and didn’t record an out). There had been concerns about Delcarmen’s velocity but it has improved and it looks as though he’s back.
In his last five outings (6 1/3 innings), he hasn’t allowed a run or a hit although he has issued four walks. But with the way things were going last night, Delcarmen was the bright spot.
Beckett’s 2010 numbers are almost identical to his start last season and it turned out okay for him. But as the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays continue to win, the Red Sox need all of their starting pitchers to get going. On paper going into the season, they looked to have one of the best starting rotations but in reality it’s far from it. That’s why that hype is overrated.
Something does need to be done with bullpen. Alan Embree stated yesterday that if he isn’t called up by Friday, he’ll leave the organization. Atchison and Schoeneweis haven’t pitched well. Yes Tim Wakefield, probably the most consistent starter, is in the bullpen now but he probably can’t help out down there until Friday (Red Sox are on Thursday when he could first pitch).
So why not call up Embree and Joe Nelson and see if they can breathe new life into the bullpen. They’d have to release Schoeneweis but Atchison has an option left. Yes they’ll have to make a move when Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his 2010 debut but does it matter right now.
The bullpen is already overworked and with the exception of Ramon Ramirez, all of them were used last night. They could even call up one of the starters from Pawtucket to give them some middle relief should Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester falter.
We’ll be back later with the lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and afternoon links but for now, enjoy the overnight links from the local Boston media.
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.
Boston Red Sox @ Toronto Blue Jays 7:10 p.m Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON SP: Josh Beckett vs Dana Eveland TV:NESN Plus, MLB.tv Radio:Red Sox Radio Network
From this point forward unless the demand picks up or it’s requested, I won’t be doing the Gameday Open Threads for Red Sox home games. During the previous threads when the Red Sox are at home, you can hear the crickets coming from your computer screen.
I know most of the ones who are coming are regulars from Center Field. If you could please spread the word to the others who chatted during the games there, I would deeply appreciate it. I miss the old days like you do in those threads so let’s try to make it as good. Mi casa es su casa.
UConn Huskies head football coach Randy Edsall has released his 2010 post-spring practice depth chart. The Huskies will open the 2010 season at The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 4th against the Michigan Wolverines.
Zach Frazer will open up fall practice as QB1 with Cody Endres as his backup. Jordan Todman will be the featured running back while Michael Smith, Isiah Moore and Kashif Moore will be the top three wide receivers.
A full look at the depth chart after the jump.
2010 University of Connecticut Post-Spring Practice Depth Chart Offense
There had been some unconfirmed rumors out there that UConn Huskies defensive end Lindsey Witten was heading to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Well now those rumors can be put to bed as Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant confirms that Witten is heading to the Steelers, signing as an undrafted rookie free agent.
Witten played in 49 games at UConn and had 126 tackles, 22 sacks and one interception. 11.5 of those sacks came during the 2009 season.
After a 10-game homestand that saw them go 4-6, the Boston Red Sox are heading north of the border to take on Toronto Blue Jays in a 3-game set at Rogers Centre.
Tonight’s game will start at 7:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN Plus in the Red Sox television market. To find your NESN Plus Channel, click here. The game can be seen in the Blue Jays television market on Rogers Sports Net.. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.
Josh Beckett takes the bump looking for his second win of the 2010 season. In his four previous starts, he is 1-0 with a 5.26 ERA. He made two starts against the Blue Jays in 2009 and had no record with a 10.45 ERA. He’s made 12 career starts against the Blue Jays and is 3-5 with a 6.62 ERA. In five starts at Rogers Centre, Beckett is 1-2 with a 7.76 ERA.
Dana Eveland makes his fourth start in a Blue Jays uniform. In his previous three starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA. He’s made three career starts against the Red Sox and is 0-2 with a 17.36 ERA (18 ER/9.1 IP).
Lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, and links after the jump.
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10-9
1. Marco Scutaro
SS
1. Fred Lewis
LF
2. Dustin Pedroia
2B
2. Aaron Hill
2B
3. Kevin Youkilis
1B
3. Adam Lind
DH
4. Mike Lowell
DH
4. Vernon Wells
CF
5. J.D. Drew
RF
5. Lyle Overbay
1B
6. Jason Varitek
C
6. Alex Gonzalez
SS
7. Adrian Beltre
3B
7. Jose Bautista
3B
8. Bill Hall
LF
8. John Buck
C
9. Darnell McDonald
LF
9. Travis Snider
3B
Josh Beckett
SP
Dana Eveland
SP
And here is the how hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
Editor’s note: More links will be added as they become available.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
According to Michael Eisen of Giants.com, UConn Huskies running back Andre Dixon will be heading to the New York Giants rookie mini-camp that will be held this Friday through Sunday. He will be there on a tryout basis.
As a sophomore with the Huskies, Dixon teamed up with former Husky and current Colts running back Donald Brown in the backfield. Dixon finished the 2007 season with 167 carries for 828 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught 24 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown.
The 2008 season was a lost cause for Dixon as he sprained his ankle during the preseason and that paved the way for Brown to be the starter in the backfield. And we all know how that turned out. Dixon was also suspended after being arrested for DUI but was reinstated in time for UConn’s bowl game against Buffalo.
Splitting time with Jordan Todman during the 2009 season, Dixon had 239 carries for 1,093 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had 11 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
We’re still waiting on official word as to where defensive end Lindsey Witten will end up.
BOSTON, MA—The Red Sox announced that minor league outfielder Ryan Westmoreland was released from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital on Saturday, April 24. General Manager Theo Epstein made the announcement.
Well it turns out the Red Sox are going the calling up a starter way as the local Boston media reports that Fabio Castro will be brought up from Pawtucket. He’ll take the place of Scott Atchison, who still has an option left on his contract.
UConn Huskies head football coach Randy Edsall has released his 2010 post-spring practice depth chart. The Huskies will open the 2010 season at The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 4th against the Michigan Wolverines.
There had been some unconfirmed rumors out there that UConn Huskies defensive end Lindsey Witten was heading to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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