Boston Red Sox News & Notes – 9/9

Boston Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia, right, is welcomed home by Kevin Youkilis, left, after hitting a home run off Baltimore Orioles' David Hernandez in the third inning of a baseball game at Boston's Fenway Park, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. The home run was the second of the game for Pedroia. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Fenway Park is apparently where the homers are as the Boston Red Sox hit six of them in their 10-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles last night.

Dustin Pedroia started the homer brigade with a two-run homer and later added a solo shot. Kevin Youkilis added a solo home run as did Alex Gonzalez and David Ortiz. J.D. Drew made sure the game was out of reach with a three-run homer in the third inning.

The story of the night was the home runs for the Red Sox but it easily could have been the pitching performance of Clay Buchholz. We’ve seen Buchholz be given large leads before this season only to blow them and be taken out before the end of the 5th.

Last night, he made sure that didn’t happen as he brought his “A” game. He had good location and command of his fastball and as has been the case as of late, his changeup was nasty. He only allowed three hits over the course of seven innings with a walk and five strikeouts. Buchholz was never in any real trouble during the game.

For the most part his success last night stemmed from being able to get ahead in the count and making his pitches. Also to note, Victor Martinez caught him and the pair has really worked great together. Buchholz is still young but he’s showing the growth and maturity that will make him a future big league ace.

Right now, he is clearly the number three starter should the Red Sox make the playoffs.

Speaking of playoffs,  the Red Sox lead in the wild card standings is two games over the Texas Rangers. They also lead the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays by 8.5 games. The Red Sox are nine games behind the New York Yankees and any chances of a division crown would take a total collapse from their rivals to the south. A proposition that’s unlikely to happen.

After a dismal performance his last time out, Paul Byrd looks to recapture the success he had in 2009 Fenway Park debut. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. EDT.

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Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 9/9

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

UConn Football links

Coach Edsall On UNC And Other Things [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Jeff Hathaway Addresses Blue/White Out And A Signal To Seats [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Video View: Zach Frazer With Desmond Conner [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Big East Week 2 power rankings [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Ultra quick update [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

Tuesday notes: No. 19 Tar Heels on deck [Ramblings from The Runway]

Switch to defense works for Williams [Connecticut Post]

UConn football notebook: Witten honored [Connecticut Post]

Orlovsky demoted to No. 3 quarterback [Connecticut Post]

UConn Makes Adjustments In Punt Protection [Hartford Courant]

Cullen Blocking Out Heels’ Stomping [Hartford Courant]

Williams makes a fast impression [New Haven Register]

UConn’s offense runs back to its roots [New Haven Register]

UConn wary of Tar Heels special teams [Waterbury Republican-American]

Huskies Punter Cullen In Spotlight With Tar Heels Coming To Town [New London Day]

Facing UNC So Early In Schedule A Risky Proposition For UConn [New London Day]

North Carolina-Connecticut Preview [Football news from a chick™]

UConn to use tailback tandem in place of Brown [AP via Newsday]

Connecticut vs. North Carolina [CBSSports.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Limited Number of Tickets Available for Women’s Basketball National Championship Dinner [UConnHuskies.com]

Ex-UConn star Montgomery still learning [Waterbury Republican-American]

Other UConn related links

Hathaway to Connecticut: Quit being A$$holes [TheUConnBlog.com]

Division of Athletics Announces Husky Honor [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Volleyball: Double-Double by Kirk Propels Volleyball over Harvard [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball: Five Huskies Ranked on Summer League Top Prospect Lists [UConnHuskies.com]

NCAA College Football Polls – Week 1

AP Top 25 USA Today Poll
RK TEAM REC PTS RK TEAM REC PTS
1 Florida (56) 1-0 1493 1 Florida (56) 1-0 1472
2 Texas (2) 1-0 1424 2 Texas (2) 1-0 1407
3 USC 1-0 1355 3 USC (1) 1-0 1352
4 Alabama (2) 1-0 1331 4 Alabama 1-0 1299
5 Oklahoma State 1-0 1201 5 Penn State 1-0 1145
6 Mississippi 1-0 1095 6 Oklahoma State 1-0 1114
7 Penn State 1-0 1082 7 Ohio State 1-0 1106
8 Ohio State 1-0 985 8 Mississippi 1-0 1006
9 Brigham Young 1-0 984 9 LSU 1-0 977
10 California 1-0 971 10 California 1-0 935
11 LSU 1-0 890 11 Boise State 1-0 803
12 Boise State 1-0 882 12 Brigham Young 1-0 755
13 Oklahoma 0-1 782 13 Georgia Tech 1-0 685
14 Virginia Tech 0-1 652 14 Oklahoma 0-1 682
15 Georgia Tech 1-0 630 15 Virginia Tech 0-1 633
16 TCU 0-0 523 16 TCU 0-0 543
17 Utah 1-0 404 17 Utah 1-0 503
18 Notre Dame 1-0 383 18 Nebraska 1-0 360
19 North Carolina 1-0 338 19 North Carolina 1-0 358
20 Miami (FL) 1-0 315 20 Notre Dame 1-0 335
21 Georgia 0-1 294 21 Georgia 0-1 304
22 Nebraska 1-0 266 22 Miami (FL) 1-0 276
23 Cincinnati 1-0 248 23 Cincinnati 1-0 187
24 Kansas 1-0 196 24 Oregon State 1-0 169
25 Missouri 1-0 126 25 Kansas 1-0 139
Dropped from rankings: Oregon 16, Florida State 18, Iowa 22 Dropped from rankings: Oregon 14, Florida State 19, Iowa 21
Others receiving votes: Oregon State 113, Michigan State 83, Pittsburgh 82, Texas Tech 53, Oregon 47, Clemson 40, FLORIDA ST 39, West Virginia 32, Tennessee 30, Iowa 24, Michigan 18, UCLA 18, Baylor 17, Boston College 14, Arizona 12, East Carolina 6, Air Force 4, Auburn 4, Colorado State 4, Arkansas 3, South Carolina 3, South Florida 1, Southern Miss 1, Tulsa 1, Houston 1, Others receiving votes: Michigan State 133, Missouri 97, Iowa 70, Florida State 62, Texas Tech 53, Oregon 50, Pittsburgh 26, Clemson 24, South Carolina 23, Tennessee 21, WEST VIRGINIA 13, Auburn 13, South Florida 12, Kentucky 8, Arizona 5, Michigan 4, Northwestern 4, Boston College 3, Arkansas 2, Baylor 2, UCLA 2, Tulsa 1, Colorado State 1, Minnesota 1

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 9/8

Athletics Red Sox Baseball

After tough end to their seven game road trip, the Boston Red Sox return home to Fenway Park for an 8-game, ten day homestand. Tonight they will host the Baltimore Orioles in the first of a brief two-game set.

The game tonight will start at 7:10 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Orioles television market, you can catch the game on MASN. And if the television isn’t your cup of tea, you can catch the game on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.

Clay Buchholz starts for the Red Sox tonight and has made ten starts. On the season, he is 4-3 with a 4.40 ERA and has been growing up right in front of our eyes. He has made 4 appearances and 3 starts against Baltimore since no-hitting the Orioles on Sept. 1, 2007. He’s made one start against them this season and gave up seven runs in four innings. Overall in his career against the Orioles, he is 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA.

David Hernandez is on the bump for Dave Trembley and he’s made fifteen appearances (four starts) and has a record of 4-6 with a 5.45 ERA. He’s made two starts against the Red Sox this season and is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA. His one win against them snapped an 11-game losing streak at Fenway Park for the Orioles.

A look ahead [Extra Bases]

Dice-K throws side session [Extra Bases]

Pregame nuggets: Dice-K, Lowrie, Wake [Extra Bases]

Dead Battery [Projo Sox Blog]

Tuesday Very Quickie: No DP’s Turned [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox Can Draw Inspiration From Lance Armstrong [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]

Red Sox Have Strength Up the Middle of the Field [NESN.com]

With 60 Steals, Jacoby Ellsbury Joins Elite Group of Swipe Artists [NESN.com]

Baltimore Orioles56-81

Red Sox logo79-58

1. Brian Roberts 2B 1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF
2. Felix Pie CF 2. Dustin Pedroia 2B
3. Nolan Reimold LF 3. Victor Martinez C
4. Nick Markakis RF 4. Kevin Youkilis 3B
5. Melvin Mora 3B 5. David Ortiz DH
6. Matt Wieters C 6. Jason Bay LF
7. Luke Scott DH 7. J.D. Drew RF
8. Ty Wigginton 1B 8. Casey Kotchman 1B
9. Cesar Izturis SS 9. Alex Gonzalez SS
David Hernandez SP Clay Buchholz SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:

Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox batter/pitcher matchups

Witten Named Big East Defensive Player of the Week

The first weekend of college football is over and the Big East Conference handed out it’s weekly football awards.

Lindsey Witten of UConn celebrates after a late fourth-quarter sack of Ohio QB Theo Scott for a 12-yard loss to help secure a 23-16 victory. - (JOHN WOIKE / HARTFORD COURANT / September 5, 2009)UConn Huskies defensive end Lindsey Witten was the named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week after UConn’s 23-16 win over the Ohio University Bobcats.

Witten had five tackles and three sacks, including one for a safety. Witten is one of 30 preseason candidates for the 2009 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award.

UConn running back Jordan Todman was also honored by the Big East.

He was named to the Big East Honor Roll for his performance in the win. He carried the ball twenty-five times for a career-high of 157 yards and added a touchdown.

Boston Red Sox News & Notes – 9/8

Mark Kotsay is tagged out at the plate by Boston catcher Jason Varitek as he tried to score from first base on a Carlos Quentin double in the third inning. Plate umpire Mark Carlson makes the call. (Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)

Before we kick off the post here, I just want to take a quick moment to give a shout out to my father. Today is his 60th birthday. So Happy Birthday dad, hope today is a great one for you.

Twelve days ago at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox were finishing up taking 3-of-4 from the Chicago White Sox. Yesterday afternoon, the White Sox returned the favor by taking 3-of-4 from the Red Sox.

Luckily and unluckily for the Red Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays lost two games. The problem is that those two games were to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox lead over the Rays in the wild card is 7.5 games while the Red Sox trail the Yankees by nine games in the AL East standings. The Red Sox lead over the Texas Rangers in the wild card is 2.5 games.

Fifteen of the Red Sox’ remaining twenty-five games will be played at Fenway Park, a place where they have gone 45-21. They are three games below .500 on the road at 34-37. Their final road trip of the season has them playing three games in Baltimore, four games in Kansas City and three games in New York.

For the first time in what seems like ages, Josh Beckett threw the ball well. He had one bad inning in the third but other than that his fastball command returned. He did have a little trouble with his breaking ball but ultimately worked around that due to the his fastball command. It was also the first time in a while that Beckett didn’t give up any home runs.

Unfortunately for Beckett, the Red Sox offense couldn’t take advantage of Mark Buehrle when he gave them the opportunity. They had the bases loaded in the 5th inning but Buehrle got Victor Martinez to fly out to center.

The Red Sox also made a couple of more callups after the game last night. With the Pawtucket Red Sox ending their season, the Red Sox have recalled Jed Lowrie and catcher Dusty Brown.

Hopefully home cooking is just what the Red Sox need as they prepare for the stretch run. Clay Buchholz will be on the mound tonight against the Baltimore Orioles in a brief 2-game set.. He is two years removed from his no-hitter against the Orioles (something I’m sure we’ll hear a few hundred times during the telecast).

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Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 9/8

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

UConn Football links

Uh-ohs [TheUConnBlog.com]

Weekly BIG EAST Football Coaches’ Teleconference Archive Now Available [BigEast.org]

Big East Week 1 review/Week 2 preview [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Other UConn related links

Women’s Soccer: Ruutu Scores Two As Huskies Cruise To 3-1 Victory Over CCSU [UConnHuskies.com]

Field Hockey Sweeps BIG EAST Honors for Second Straight Week [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Soccer: Early goals propel UConn past CCSU [The Daily Campus]

Destination Red Sox Nation – 9/8

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.

While the season has ended for three of their minor league affiliates (Pawtucket, Portland, GCL Red Sox), the Red Sox have three teams that will be competing for championships in their respective leagues. The Salem Red Sox (Carolina League),  Greenville Drive (South Atlantic League) and Lowell Spinners (NY-Penn League).

The Salem Red Sox and Greenville Drive will both start their playoff series tomorrow while the Spinners will start tonight.

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