RED SOX vs TWINS GAME II

FOR THE RECORD: At 21-11 (.656), the Red Sox own the best record in the majors.

The Sox 21-11 mark is tied for the 8th-best start in club history through their 1st 32 games, best since going 22-10 (.688) to begin the 2007 campaign.

FRIENDLY FENWAY: The Red Sox have won each of their last 6 home games, their longest winning stretch at Fenway Park since a 9-game run from 7/5-24/11.

• Boston is tied for the 3rd-best home record in the major leagues at 12-5 (.706), trailing the Rangers (11-4, .733) and Tigers (10-4, .714).

26 FOR PAPI: David Ortiz has hit safely in a career-high 26 straight games dating back to 7/2/12 over which he has hit at a .430 clip (40-for-93, 11 2B, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 17 BB) with a .514 OBP and .742 SLG.

• It is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest hit streak by a Red Sox since Manny Ramirez’s 27-gamer from 7/15-8/12/06.

STRIKING RESULTS: Sox hurlers lead the major leagues with 314 strikeouts, including an MLB-best 204 K’s by Boston starters…Sox relievers are 2nd in MLB with 110 strikeouts, trailing only Detroit (112).

• Red Sox pitchers have compiled at least 10 strikeouts 19 times, tops among all major league teams.
• The 19 games with at least 10 K’s is the most by any team through the 1st 32 games of a season…The Red Sox previous mark through 32 contests was 9 in 1986, 2001, and 2009.
• Boston pitchers are on pace for 96 double-digit strikeout games, which would mark the most all-time…The 2012 Rays set the record with 61.

SOX LOOKING FOR WIN # 19 TONIGHT

FOR THE RECORD: At 18-7 (.720), the Red Sox own the best record in baseball…ATL and TEX are 2nd at 16-9 (.640).

• Boston is off to its best start since beginning the 2002 season with a 18-7 record (was 19-7 after 26 games).
• It is the best start by any team since the 2010 Rays started 18-7 (was 19-7 after 26 games)…The last team with a better start was the 2003 Yankees (20-5).
• A win tonight would be the 19th victory of the year for Boston…It would set a new club record for April wins (prev., 18-8 in both 1998 and 2003. 

TWO FOR FIVE?: With the win tonight, Red Sox starter Jon Lester would improve to 5-0, matching Clay Buchholz (5-0) and TB’s Matt Moore atop MLB leaders.

• Lester and Buchholz would become just the 2nd Red Sox teammates since 1921 to each win 5 or more games without a loss in the same month…Ellis Kinder (6-0) and Mel Parnell (6-0) did it in August 1949. 

ROSTER MOVE: The Red Sox today activated RHP Joel Hanrahan from the 15-day DL…To make room on the 25-man roster, RHP Daniel Bard was optioned to Double-A Portland after Sunday’s win against Houston.

WE ARE IN NEED OF RED SOX TICKETS AND RAFFLE ITEMS

We are looking for donations of Red Sox tickets as well as sports memorabilia for this worthwhile cause.

The foundation annually gives two $1500 scholarships to a high school senior athlete. One is selected at Brockton High and the other at West Bridgewater High.

For those of you that knew Chuckie, you know how much he gave back to the South Shore community.

Please donate if you can ! I am available to pick up any item that you care to donate.

Please email me : Kevin@Bostonsportsdesk.com, call 508-989-7128 or email the foundation directly !

KEVIN HARRIMAN
PUBLISHER

Let’s Hit the Links!
4TH ANNUAL
CHUCKIE T.
GOLF TOURNAMENT
MAY 16, 2013

All profits benefit the Chuckie Tartaglia Scholarship Foundation

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RED SOX NOTEBOOK: ATHLETCS

WEEKLY HONORS: Andrew Bailey and Mike Napoli were today named the American League Co-Players of the Week for the period ending 4/21…It marks just the 3rd time a pair of Red Sox have shared a weekly honor, joining Mike Lowell and David Ortiz (week ending 8/26/07) along with Pedro Martinez and Trot Nixon (week ending 7/7/02). 

WINNING THE FIRST: The Red Sox today begin a 3-game series with the Oakland A’s at Fenway Park…The Sox have won all 6 of their series-opening contests this season…It’s the 1st time they’ve done that since 1994 when they also won their 1st 6 series openers.

• According to STATS, the only time the Red Sox have won their 1st game of their 1st 7 series of a season was in 1917.

BACK TO 25: After last night’s game, the Red Sox returned RHP Allen Webster to Triple-A Pawtucket…Webster had served as the Sox 26th man on the roster for yesterday’s doubleheader and made his major league debut with a start in the night cap vs. KC…He did not factor in the decision, tossing 6.0 innings of 3-run ball (2 ER) with 5 strikeouts.

CENTER OF ATTENTION: Jacoby Ellsbury has hit safely in a season-high 11 straight games, going 15-for-49 (.306) with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 2 RBI, 11 runs scored, and 4 stolen bases in that time.

• The 11-game hit streak is the longest single-season stretch for a Red Sox batter in 2013 and is the longest active streak in the AL.

RED SOX NOTEBOOK

BOSTON STRONG: The special “Boston” home white jerseys the Red Sox are wearing today will be signed and auction off with proceeds going to The One Fund Boston, helping the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

SIX STRAIGHT: The Sox have won a season-high 6 straight games, the 2nd-longest win streak in the AL this season and the longest active stretch in the circuit.

• The 6-game win streak is Boston’s longest since a 6-gamer from 4/23-28/2012…The club’s last longer stretch was a 9-game run from 6/3-12/2011.

SOLID CLAY: Today’s starter Clay Buchholz leads the AL (2nd in ML) with a 0.41 ERA (1 ER/22.0 IP) and is 4th in the league with a .149 opponent AVG (11-for-74).

• Buchholz has tossed 15.0 scoreless innings over his last 2 starts and is riding an 18.0-inning scoreless streak overall, the longest active stretch in the AL and 2nd-longest scoreless streak in the AL overall this year (CLE’s Justin Masterson, 19.0 IP from 4/2-12).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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RED SOX CANCEL OPEN HOUSE

TOMORROW’S OPEN HOUSE AT FENWAY PARK POSTPONED

BOSTON, MA – In light of the tragic events that befell our community yesterday, the Boston Red Sox will postpone tomorrow’s Open House at Fenway Park. The free event was to provide an opportunity during school vacation week for families and children to wander the concourses, see displays, and stroll on the warning track. It will be rescheduled for later this season.

“We all personally feel the grief of the horrifying tragedy that struck our community on Patriot’s Day,” said Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino. “Our hearts are with our fellow Bostonians and visitors from around the world who were here for one of Boston’s most spectacular and time-honored events. In the coming days, we will join with others to find ways to show the victims of this heartless, cowardly act our sincere support, and to demonstrate to all, our community’s unity, strength, and resilience.

“Fan safety has been and will continue to be of paramount importance. The club’s security personnel will continue to work vigorously with Major League Baseball security, and federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities to maintain and reinforce the high level of security already in place at Fenway Park.”

The Red Sox begin a 10-game homestand at Fenway Park this Friday, April 19, at 7:10 p.m., against the Kansas City Royals.

RED SOX NOTES…..BALTIMORE GAME 3

SERIES TALK: Boston took 2 of 3 games in both New York and Toronto to open the season, the 1st time the club has won back-to-back series to begin a campaign since 2006.

• The Sox last started a season with 3 straight series victories in 1952…Overall, the club last won at least 3 consecutive sets with 5 in a row from 6/12-27/12.

A 10-K RECORD: Red Sox pitchers fanned a season-high 14 batters last night and have combined to strike out at least 10 in each of the club’s last 5 games.

• The 5-game stretch matches the longest double-digit strikeout streak in club history for the 3rd time, 1st since 2001.
• It also ties the longest double-digit strikeout streak for any club in AL history, last accomplished by the White Sox from 9/24-28/11 (54 total SO).

THREE IN A ROW: Daniel Nava has gone deep in a career-high 3 straight games, including a deciding 3-run shot in the 7th inning Monday and a go-ahead solo homer in the 6th last night…He is the 1st Red Sox to homer in 3 straight games since David Ortiz, 6/17-20/12…Adrian Gonzalez was the last Red Sox to homer in 4 straight, 5/10-14/11.

• Nava is the 1st Red Sox switch-hitter to hit a home run in 3 consecutive team games since Jose Offerman in 3 straight from 5/5-8/01.
• He is the 1st Red Sox to homer in the 1st 2 home games of a season since David Ortiz in 2006 (1st 3).
• Nava is the 1st Red Sox with go-ahead home runs in the 6th inning or later on consecutive days since Johnny Damon on 7/25-26/05.
• He has 5 HR in his last 9 games beginning on 9/30/12.

BASEBALL IS BACK…………

BY KEVIN FLANAGAN

BSD CORRESPONDENT

The only thing I dislike about the baseball season’s home opener is the day after opening day.  No baseball.  It is a tradition brought about by years of trying to play a summertime sport in a northeast climate during the first week of April.

So as the temperatures soar into the mid 70’s we are left to bask in the joy of an improbable start for the local 9 and to look forward to what is hopefully a rebirth of baseball in Boston.

Were you one of the many who had sworn off the Red Sox, classified them as no good frauds and swore that you won’t get fooled again?  Based on the buzz on sports radio and the early season ratings on NESN it looks like just when you thought you had made it out they sucked you right back in.

Let’s face it most of us were born with baseball in our blood.  For decades it was a rite of passage to shake off the calamities of the year before (need I mention the names Bucky “Bleeping” Dent, Bill Buckner and Aaron Boone?) and return the following year with hope restored and slates wiped clean.

Although my kids think that a championship every couple years from the Sox, Bruins, Celtics or Patriots are a birth right; my father went to his grave never seeing his beloved ballclub win it all.

Baseball is part of our lives.  It is the beacon in the distance on a cold February morning when the truck departs Fenway for Florida.  It is the sight and sounds of summer on a Sunday in March watching a bunch of guys wearing uniform numbers in the 60’s and 70’s during a meaningless Grapefruit League game on NESN.  It is our companion on a warm June afternoon sitting on the deck sipping an ice cold beer.

Baseball is transcendent.  It has the ability to reach back in time and bring us back to a place where we were young and life was simple.  I swear there I times when I am lying in my pool listening to a game on a Saturday afternoon and I can see my dad sitting in a lawn chair watching his little 13 inch black and white TV with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

For the past 18 months baseball was not fun.  Everything we liked about the Red Sox was gone, replaced by a group of petulant, entitled millionaires who cared more about their tee times on their off day instead of their next start.

Whether it is right or wrong this fanbase feels that the Red Sox represents a small piece of who we are and nobody wants to see the face of an a-hole staring back at them when they look in the mirror.

When Daniel Nava hit that home run in the 7^th inning against Baltimore on Monday it was as if I saw an old friend for the first time in years.  The kid that went from washing uniforms for his college team and for whom the Red Sox paid $1 for his rights (true story, look it up) rounded the bases like he was walking on air and the dugout exploded to greet him.  Win, lose or draw that is the type of team I want representing me.

I won’t pretend to tell you what this team will do this year except to say I like their chances.  I don’t know about you but it feels like I’ve got my team back again.  I can’t wait for the first Saturday in the pool so I can enjoy it with my dad.

RED SOX NOTEBOOK: YANKEES IN THE BRONX

GOING FOR 2:  With a win tonight the Red Sox would begin the season 2-0 for the 1st time since 1999 when Boston won its 1st 5 contests, with all of those coming on the road.

The Sox are looking to open the season with 2 straight wins against the Yankees for the 1st time since 1973 (won 1st 4 tilts of season vs. NYY, with 1st 3 at home).

The Red Sox have not started a season with 2 straight road wins against the Yankees since 1935 (won the 1^st 2)…They also did it in 1917 (1st 2) and 1912 (1st 3). With a victory, Boston would be the 1st visiting team to beat the Yankees in New York in the 1st 2 games of a season since the Brewers in 1979 (won 1st 2).

OPENING DAY WIN: The Red Sox topped the Yankees 8-2 on Monday to improve to 55-57-1 all-time on Opening Day (excluding 2nd game of twin bills in 1903, 1948 and 1982). Boston has now won 4 of its last 6 Opening Day contests and snapped a 2-game OD losing streak.

The Sox improved to 32-40-1 all-time in the 73 times they have started on the road…2013 marked the 3^rd straight year Boston opened the season away from home and it won it’s opener on the road for the 1^st time since 2008 against the A’s in Tokyo.

Sox batters combined for 13 hits and 8 walks in the win, both their most on Opening Day since 2002 (13 H, 13 BB in 12-11 loss to Toronto).

The Red Sox win on Monday snapped the teams 8-game losing streak that ended the 2012 season.

STARTING WITH THE YANKS: 2013 marks just the 3^rd time the Red Sox and Yankees have opened against each other over the last 21 seasons beginning in 1993, but the 3rd Sox/Yanks opener in the last 9 years (also 2005, 9-2 L in NY and 2010, 9-7 W in BOS).

The Red Sox have now taken 7 of their last 9 Opening Day contests vs. NYY since 1964 and are 12-16-1 in 29 season-opening games vs. the Yanks  overall.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOJI: Koji Uehara is celebrating his 38th birthday today. Uehara, who tossed a perfect frame in his Sox debut on Monday, is riding a career-high, 15-game scoreless streak (12.2 IP) dating back to 9/1/12…He has yielded just 2 hits and 1 walk while recording 19 K’s in that time.

NEW SOX: There are 8 players on the Opening Day roster (32%) that entered the season having never before played a major league game for the Red Sox: Jackie Bradley Jr., Mike Carp, Ryan Dempster, Jonny Gomes, Joel Hanrahan, Mike Napoli, Koji Uehara, and Shane Victorino…6 of the 8 made their Sox debut Monday with the exception of Dempster (starting tomorrow night) and Carp.

FIRST TIMERS: 7 Red Sox (28%) were on an Opening Day roster for the 1st time in their careers: Jackie Bradley Jr., Pedro Ciriaco, Jose Iglesias, Will Middlebrooks, Clayton Mortensen, Daniel Nava, and Junichi Tazawa. The Sox had 3 players new to an OD roster last year.

OPEN RETURNS: In addition to Dustin Pedroia, the only other active Red Sox who had previous Opening Day starts for the club entering the season were Jacoby Ellsbury (5, 2008-12) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2, 2011-12), both of whom also started Monday.

THE KIDS: All 10 players on the Red Sox Opening Day starting lineup were 32 years old or younger, the 1st time that’s happened for the Sox since 2003. With Jackie Bradley Jr. (22 yrs. old, start in LF), Jose Iglesias (23, SS), and Will Middlebrooks (24, 3B), the Sox had 3 Opening Day starters age 24 or younger for just the 2nd time in the last 25 seasons beginning in 1984…It also happened in 2008 when Dustin Pedroia (2B), Brandon Moss (RF), and Jacoby Ellsbury (CF) were all in the Opening Day lineup at age 24.

With both Bradley Jr. and Iglesias in the lineup, the Sox started 2 players age 23 or younger on Opening Day for the 1st time since 1982 (Glenn Hoffman and Reid Nichols) and just the 2nd time since 1976.

JBJ ON OPENING DAY: Making his major league debut with a start in left field on Monday, Jackie Bradley Jr. finished with 3 walks, 2 runs, and an RBI in 5 plate appearances..Since RBI became an official stat in 1920, Bradley Jr was the 1st player with at least 3 walks, an RBI, and a run scored in his big league

OPENING DAY IN THE BRONX….

MISSING PAPI: With David Ortiz beginning the season on the DL (right Achilles tendinopathy), it snaps a stretch of 9 straight seasons in which he was the Red Sox Opening Day starter at designated hitter beginning in 2004.

The last Red Sox player other than Ortiz to start at DH on Opening Day was Jeremy Giambi in 2003 (0-for-4).

LASER SHOW ON OPENING DAY: Dustin Pedroia’s 6 career Opening Day starts for the Red Sox are the most for Boston on the active roster…He is tied with Hobe Ferris and Marty Barrett for the 2nd-most Opening Day starts at 2nd base in club history after Bobby Doerr (13).

Pedroia has hit safely in all 6 Red Sox openers since 2007 (.409, 9-for-22), the longest Opening Day hit streak by a Red Sox since Mo Vaughn hit safely in 7 straight season-opening contests from 1992-98.

OPEN RETURNS: In addition to David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia,the only other current Red Sox with Opening Day starts for the club are Jacoby Ellsbury with (5, 2008-12) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia with 2 (2011-12).

NEW SOX: There are 8 players on the Opening Day roster (32%) that have never before played a major league game for the Red Sox: Jackie Bradley Jr., Mike Carp, Ryan Dempster, Jonny Gomes, Joel Hanrahan, Mike Napoli, Koji Uehara, and Shane Victorino.

FIRST TIMERS: 7 Red Sox (28%) are on an Opening Day roster for the 1st time in their careers: Jackie Bradley Jr., Pedro Ciriaco, Jose Iglesias, Will Middlebrooks, Clayton Mortensen, Daniel Nava, and Junichi Tazawa.

The Sox had 3 players new to an OD roster last year.

THE KIDS: With starts today from Jackie Bradley Jr. (22), Jose Iglesias (23), and Will Middlebrooks (24), the Red Sox will have 3 Opening Day starters age 24 or younger for just the 2nd time in the last 25 seasons beginning in 1984…It also happened in 2008 when Dustin Pedroia (2B), Brandon Moss (RF), and Jacoby Ellsbury (CF) were all in the Opening Day lineup at age 24.

With both Bradley and Iglesias in the lineup, the Sox will start 2 players age 23 or younger on Opening Day for the 1st time since 1982 (Glenn Hoffman and Reid Nichols) and just the 2nd time since 1976.

JBJ ON OPENING DAY: Jackie Bradley Jr. will be the 1st player to make his ML debut for the Sox with a start on Opening Day since Shea Hillenbrand in 2001 (3B) and 1st outfielder to do it for Boston since Brady Anderson in 1988 (CF).

Bradley will be the 1st Red Sox player to debut on Opening Day against the Yankees since Tony Conigliaro in 1964 (CF), also at Yankee Stadium… Prior to Conigliaro, the previous Red Sox outfielder to debut against the Yankees on Opening Day was Ted Williams in New York in 1939.

ROTATION REDUX: Following Jon Lester in the rotation is Clay Buchholz (Wed.), Ryan Dempster (Thur.), Felix Doubront (Fri. at TOR) and John Lackey (Sat. at TOR).

FARRELL AND HIS STAFF: John Farrell is in his 1st season as Red Sox manager, the 46th skipper in club history…He was acquired from Toronto on 10/21/12 and agreed to a 3-year contract through 2015…Farrell guided the Jays in 2011-12 (154-170) after serving as Boston’s pitching coach from 2007-10.

The Sox’ coaches are all new to Boston’s big league staff, with Torey Lovullo as Bench Coach, Greg Colbrunn as Hitting Coach, Juan Nieves as Pitching Coach, Brian Butterfield as 3rd Base Coach, Arnie Beyeler as 1st Base Coach, Victor Rodriguez as Assistant Hitting Coach, and Dana LeVangie as Bullpen Coach.

SPRING RECAP: The Sox finished 17-17-1 (.500) in Grapefruit League action this spring…Sox hurlers led all major  league teams with a 3.94 ERA (135 ER/308.2 IP).