Red Sox drop six straight; Delcarmen still struggling

If the Boston Red Sox didn't clinch a playoff spot early Wednesday morning, the whole state of Massachusetts would in a a full out panic attack, red alert, freak out mode.

With the official bid into October, Terry Francona decided to rest all of the starters with the exception of David Ortiz and Alex Gonzelez, with Tim Wakefield on the mound.

You could argue Casey Kotchman, Rocco Baldelli, and Jed Lowrie, but Lowrie hasn't been really the starting shortstop and he ended playing third base with Gonzalez at short.

Pretty much it was a starting lineup you'd see in spring training. 

The Toronto Blue Jays and Roy Halladay had fun kicking them around in a 12-0 shutout victory. Halladay went the distance and allowed only three hits, two walks, and had six strikeouts.

Wakefield went for only three innings and gave up five runs on seven hits, two being home runs, two walks, and two strikeouts.

It may indeed be over for the 43-year-old knuckleballer.

Six relievers followed with only two being as interest in Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima.

Delcarmen still hasn't figured it out as he pitched an inning and allowed two runs off three hits (one home run) in the sixth.

Okajima pitched in the eighth and also gave up a home run.

Will their pitching magically go away once the plane touches ground in California next week? The Sox can only hope so especially with Delcarmen and his inconsistencies month by month this season.

Party like it's 2009; Red Sox clinch AL Wild Card!!!

Maybe this was the kind of change the Boston Red Sox were searching for as far as a celebration.

It's not exactly the way they were hoping to do it, but it's finally official...the Red Sox are the American League Wild Card Champions and will face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS.

The Angels took down the Texas Rangers 5-2 in the early morning hours to eliminate them from playoff contention.

Now with that out of the way, Boston can focus on more important things such as prepping for the post-season. It's going to be an interesting ride.

Left photo: A drenched Junichi Tazawa being interview by reporters after the Red Sox clinched the AL Wild Card early Wednesday morning (boston.com).

Comeback comes up short; Buchholz battered; Red Sox drop five straight

Is this a cause for concern?

Up until the bottom of the eighth inning, the Red Sox offense looked dead and finally started to click, but it proved to be too late as the Toronto Blue Jays held on to beat Boston 8-7.

Kevin Youkilis struck out looking to end the threat with Jacoby Ellsbury on second and Joey Gathright (who pinch run for Victor Martinez) on first.

Starting pitcher Clay Buchholz gave up a season high five home runs (two of them to Adam Lind as he belted three) and seven runs in five innings pitched. Hopefully this is something Red Sox Nation will never see ever again this season.

Jon Lester was roughed up in his last start before taking a line drive off his leg. Now it's Buchholz who's in line to be the third starter in for post-season.

Should we be concerned at all? The Sox have now dropped five straight and have to deal with Roy Halladay Wednesday night to avoid the sweep. 

Boston can still win the Wild Card if the Texas Rangers lose, but it's definitely not the same. Since it's a West Coast game, we won't know until 1AM, which means no celebration with the fans and this leaves reporters in a crunch for their deadline stories.

What would you choose?

Magic Number dwindles to 1; Red Sox can clinch tonight with Buchholz on the mound

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim answered some prayers Monday night, despite the Boston Red Sox dropping an 11-5 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays in seven innings.

The Angels shutout the Texas Rangers 11-0 so Boston magic number to clinch the Wild Card is at one. Either a Red Sox win or Rangers lose will seal the deal, but of course it'd be better if Boston would just win.

They have the right guy in Clay Buchholz who gets the start on the mound at Fenway Park as he'll face Ricky Romero.

The scheduled start time is at 7:10 p.m.

How much is too much? Boston pro sports sites uncovered

The World Wide Web is making it more and more difficult for Boston sports fans.

With the official launch of ESPN Boston last week, there's now another top notch media outlet to choose from for Boston sports news.

The prime list includes:

Boston.com - The Boston Globe's online home

NESN.com - New England Sports Network primarily Red Sox/Bruins

WEEI.com - Radio network website

ESPN Boston - ESPN's city outlet

Sorry Boston Herald you didn't make the cut.

Boston Sports Media Watch is another great site that pretty much takes content from all of the sites listed above and and more and generates links to every days' tops stories so you don't have to go onto every single website separately and search.

So the question is, which is the best site for Boston sports news?

ESPN Boston already stole away two Globies in New England Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss and Boston.com staffer Chris Forsberg who was recruited for multimedia purposes.

Who is the next big ticket person to be wooed to the world wide leader in sports?

Some people don't think it's fair that ESPN is starting to outsource to city coverage because it's stealing away from other sites.

It'll be interesting to see if regular Boston.com readers start visiting ESPN Boston just because of Reiss and Forsberg.

But what about WEEI and NESN? Some web sites are good for certain content, be it blogs, video, live updates, box scores, chats, breaking news, etc.

Will some sites be written off completely?

This forever changing media industry is becoming too much to keep up with and someone is going to have to die off. Not everyone can win.

Boston.com's Chris Forsberg takes job at ESPN Boston

With Peter Abraham almost aboard as the newest member of The Boston Globe, there is indeed another departure as predicted.

But no, it's not Adam Kilgore that I guessed on a couple of weeks ago.

Boston.com multimedia guru Chris Forsberg is saying goodbye on Wednesday and heading to work for ESPN Boston.

Forsberg, a graduate of Northeastern, interned at the Globe from 1999-2003 before joining the Boston.com staff in 2006.

The Auburn native wrote on his Twitter page about his lasts at the Globe including his last Patriots game with them, last high school football game, and final Extra Points blog entry.

Forsberg's a Jack-of-all-trades as he's covered pretty much everything starting with high school sports. His hard work eventually led him towards the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins coverage.

A lot of his talents originated on the high school sports blog where he shot video highlights of games and got on camera interviews with players.

He later launched live blogs using Cover It Live software and took it to a whole other level with Boston sports coverage.

Congrats and the best of luck to him. The Globe is losing a very talented guy. But with Forsberg departing, now this leaves another question mark. Abraham is coming in, but as far as it's been reported he's only covering the Red Sox. Who's going to replace the multimedia part?

It's a never ending cycle.

Thank you Tampa Bay; Red Sox magic number down to 2 thanks to Rays rally over Rangers

Despite being swept by the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox lowered its magic number down to two to clinch the AL Wild Card.

The Tampa Bay Rays rallied back from a 5-0 deficit and scored three runs in the eighth inning and four in the ninth to beat the Texas Rangers 7-6 in Arlington.

It'll take a combined Red Sox victory and Rangers loss to clinch in a day.

Texas travels to Anaheim to face the Angels Monday night while Boston hosts the Toronto Blue Jays.

It's not time to panic Red Sox fans; Yankees clinch AL East

It was a slap in the face to the Boston Red Sox today at Yankees Stadium, but it's not over.

After missing out on the playoffs a year ago, the New York Yankees clinched the American League East in a 4-2 win over the Red Sox.

Boston is stuck on three games to clinch the AL Wild Card.

This is the first time the Yankees have won 100 games since 2004 where they finished at 101-61.

In 2003 they had the same record and 2002 New York was 103-58.

Let's recap what happened to the Yankees in the playoffs from 2002-2004.

2002: Eliminated in ALDS in four games to Anaheim Angels (World Series champions).

2003: Lost WS in six games to Arizona Diamondbacks.

2004: Lost in ALCS in seven games to Red Sox (WS champions).

Let them celebrate. Boston has seven more games at friendly Fenway Park to get the job done. It's not the end of the world, but of course the Sox didn't want to be the team to lose for it to be official.

With the loss, the season series ends up tied 9-9 after Boston jumped out to a dominating 8-0 run.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 25)

The Boston Red Sox did a little damage this week, but not as much as one would have expected.

After completing the three-game sweep over the Baltimore Orioles, the Sox fought off the Kansas City Royals and split their four-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

The magic number clinch the American League Wild Card lowered to three and has been stuck there since Thursday.

Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz were both brilliant in their outings as they earned their 16th and seventh wins respectively on the season.

On Friday night against the New York Yankees Jon Lester got drilled in the right leg and suffered from a contusion in his right quad, but is expected to be OK.

Daisuke Matsuzaka is looking even more impressive each time he starts. Despite taking the loss Saturday, he was dazzled going 7 innings allowing 6 hits, 1 run, 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He was out pitched by CC Sabathia who allowed no runs and and one hit in also seven innings pitched.

The Red Sox look to avoid a three-game sweep in the Bronx and also want to avoid having the Yankees clinch the AL East in front of them. Paul Byrd is on the mound Boston as he'll take on Andy Pettitte for New York.

Sunday September 20 - Saturday September 26

Weekly record: 3-4

Overall record: 91-63

AL East standing: 2nd, 7.5 behind New York

AL Wild Card standing: 1st, 6.0 ahead of Texas

Runs scored: 43

Opponents' runs scored: 37

Home runs: 7; David Ortiz (3), Jason Bay (2), Jacoby Ellsbury (1), Victor Martinez (1)

Games left: 8

Weeks left: 1

Lester listed day-to-day; Magic number stuck on 3

It was one scary scene Friday night in the Bronx for Red Sox fans.

Jon Lester, who is projected to be the Game 1 starter in the playoffs was drilled in the right leg in the third inning off a 

Melky Cabrera line drive.

He hit the ground. Screaming in pain. It was every Sox fans worst nightmare coming true in a manner of seconds.

But x-rays turned up negative and the left-handed ace is listed day-to-day with a contusion on his right quad.

The Yankees won 9-5 and lowered their magic number to win the American League East to three games.

Boston picked up no ground as the Texas Rangers also won its game 8-3 over the Tampa Bay Rays so the magic number remains at three to clinch the AL Wild Card.

It's not time to panic, that could have played out a lot worse and Lester is lucky it wasn't his knee cap that got smashed up. There are nine more games left in the regular season so still plenty of time to give him some rest, if needed, and have him playoff ready more likely in Anaheim.

Update: The Boston Globe's Adam Kilgore posted on the Extra Bases blog that Lester is 'doing pretty well' as he showed up to the clubhouse this morning with a nice bruise where he got drilled.

He is scheduled to start on Thursday against the Cleveland Indians and Terry Francona is optimistic he'll be ready.

9-year-old Yankees fan forced to wear T-shirt inside out at school

Nathan Johns was forced to wear his Yankees shirt inside out. Photo from The Post-Standard

Now this is just plain wrong, Red Sox fan or not.

On Syracuse.com the Post-Standard's official website, its featured story is about 9-year-old student Nathan Johns who was forced to turn his CC Sabathia Yankees T-shirt inside out by his fourth grade teacher, Peter Addabbo, who is a diehard Red Sox fan.

Johns thought he was kidding, but that wasn't the case at all. He was instructed to wear the shirt like that until dismissal. 

During lunch he was picked up by the fifth graders because his shirt was inside out.

"It was such a horrible day," Johns said. "I don't ever want anything like that to happen again."

Who can blame him? I couldn't even imagine.

Way to go Addabbo for poorly representing Red Sox fans and for flat out not thinking.

Red Sox magic number down to 3 with win over Kansas City

Is it time to be really excited yet?

Clay Buchholz went 6 and 2/3 innings and allowed no runs, five hits, and eight strikeouts as the Boston Red Sox split a four-game seres with the Kansas City Royals with a 10-3 win Thursday night.

The combination of a Red Sox win and Texas Rangers loss to the Oakland Athletics drops the magic number to clinch the American League Wild Card to three games.

Boston travels to New York to take on the Yankees for three games in the Bronx and the Rangers will host the Tampa Bay Rays Friday-Sunday.

The Sox playoff starting rotation is really starting to take form with the trio of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Buchholz.

Best 1-2-3 punch ever? It just might be.

Sean Casey reminisces about brawls, pizza, and quadzilla legs in Royals-Red Sox game

The Sean Casey and Don Orsillo team definitely rates as one of the best with the absence of Jerry Remy. It seems like every game everyone tuning in finds out something new about 'The Mayor' and it always springs during the most random times in the broadcast.

In the top half of the eighth inning during Thursday night's game against Kansas City Casey started going off tangents about fights.

Casey admitted he was always the first guy to part of a benches clearing brawl and talked about how he thought he broke a rib when he was thrown to the ground when he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds. 

He reminisced about the 'Coco Crisp vs. Tampa Bay Rays brawl' that occurred last season when he played on the Red Sox and made fun of himself for being fined $2,000. Casey was trying to back up Crisp, but that didn't go over well and somehow got slapped with the fine that "wasn't even worth it."

Casey asked Orsillo where he'd be during a brawl. Orsillo pretty much said he wouldn't be a part of it and then somehow eating pizza was inserted into the conversation. Should we be surprised? I think not.

Somehow threats to the Kansas City announcer came next in the conversation as Orsillo said he could totally take him on. The camera guy got a good shot of the KC guy as he was hiding behind his computer screen. 

Wrong move at the wrong time.

Not too much later with Kyle Farnsworth on the mound for the Royals and still throwing 100 mph, Casey referred him to having 'quadzilla legs and tree trunks.'

What happened next? Well thanks to Casey's ramblings that continued into the bottom half of the inning, the Royals started to rally as they were losing 6-0.

Alex Gordon hit into a 3-6-1 (Casey Kotchman-Alex Gonzalez-Takashi Saito) double play to end the threat not before putting up three runs on the board and making it a save situation for Boston.

After he stopped his comical musings, the Red Sox scored four more runs for a 10-3 lead and got some breathing room back.

A curving trend? A coincidence? I think not.

But as redsoxgirl46 said on her Twitter page: "best. broadcast. ever. #redsox."

Josh Beckett stops the Royals as magic number lowers to 5 to clinch Wild Card

He was Mr. Stoppage Wednesday night and it came at a good time.

Josh Beckett pitched six innings and allowed 2 runs on 12 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts for his 16th win of the season as the Boston Red Sox lowered its magic number to five to clinch the American League Wild Card in a 9-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. 

The Texas Rangers edged the Oakland Athletics 9-8 and the New York Yankees were also 3-2 winners over the Los Angeles Angels in an afternoon game so Boston remains six back in the A.L. East.

At this point in time, it's almost prominent that the Yankees will win the division for the first time since 2006. They have already secured a playoff spot and their magic number to officially win the division is also at five.

It was scary for a while for Boston as the Royals took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Luke Hochevar picked the fifth inning to fall apart and the Red Sox scored six times to grab a 6-2 advantage. 

David Ortiz sealed the deal in the top of the ninth when he blasted his 25th home run of the season, a three-run shot off Carlos Rosa, as the Red Sox went onto win their 90th game.

Hideki Okajima, Billy Wagner, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched three innings of hitless and shutout ball, which is always a good sign from the bullpen.

Red Sox magic number drops to 6 courtesy of Texas bowing to Oakland

The Boston Red Sox got lucky last night.

Not in the win column, but in the magic number one as the Oakland Athletics beat up on the Texas Rangers Tuesday night, 9-1. So with that, the number drops to six with 12 games remaining. 

In the American League East standings, Boston lost a game to the New York Yankees who were 6-5 winners over the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees are back to a six game lead just like that.

It was no surprise that Zack Greinke would dominate. Paul Byrd gave up all five runs in the first inning and pitched flawlessly afterward. If that wasn't the case, it could have been a scoreless ballame untl the top half of the eighth when the Red Sox finally got on the board. 

Kansas City may be second to last in the AL Central, but they've had a decent month with a current 13-7 record. They swept the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox. Probably should have mentioned this before the series started.

However the Angels took three out of four earlier in the month. 

How important are these next two games? Pretty vital. With a New York series lurking at the end of the week, Boston has to come in not being swept by the Royals. 

Lets see what Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz can do on the mound these next two nights.

This is no time for experiments Terry Francona

(Front left) Manny Delcarmen and Daniel Bard

Monday night was a perfect example of "shoulda, coulda, woulda" for the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox had a commanding lead, blew it, couldn't rally, blew it some more, and eventually lost to the Kansas City Royals.

The New York Yankees bowed to the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, which means the Sox could have gained a game in the American League East and also lowered its magic number to clinch the Wild Card to six.

But that didn't happen.

Terry Francona opted to go to the struggling Manny Delcarmen to relieve starter Tim Wakefield and everything fell apart. 

Why does Francona do this?

He did it with John Smoltz. It took eight starts and five losses later for him to realize that this wasn't going to work out.

He also did it with Brad Penny. But Penny's situation wasn't as tragic at the beginning, however by August 21, in a 20-11 loss to the Yankees where he lasted only four innings while giving up eight runs on 10 hits, that was the breaking point.

Francona latest, "I know he'll turn things around" pitcher is Delcarmen and coming at the worst possible time.

There's no question Delcarmen blew it, but another guy who hasn't been his lights-out self is Daniel Bard.

In his last three outings, Bard has given up 5 hits, 3 runs, and 2 walks in 2 2/3 innings and 2 strikeouts.

He took the loss Monday night, but also claimed the win against the Angels last Wednesday in which Bard gave up the typing run in the top of the ninth to send it to a bottom half.

Funny how things work out in baseball.

Tonight the Sox have to face Zack Greinke who is 3-0 in his last five outings and has only salvaged three runs. Paul Byrd goes to the mound for Boston.

Not exactly what Red Sox fans want to see and tonight could become a make or break for the remainder of the series.

Wakefield = done; Red Sox bullpen blows lead

After tonight's performance, it appears this could or may be the last start for Tim Wakefield.

The Boston Red Sox blew a 6-0 lead at one point and in the bottom half of the fifth and sixth innings Wakefield and the bullpen exploded allowing nine runs as the Kansas City Royals rallied big time to defeat the visitors 11-9 at Kauffman Stadium.

Wakefield struggled to get in five full innings, but left with a 8-5 lead. That's when everything decided to fall apart. 

Manny Delcarmen came on in relief and continued his slumping September. He pitched only 2/3 of an inning and allowed four runs on three hits, a walk, and a strikeout.

Daniel Bard took the loss (2-2) as he came on to pitch in the sixth and allowed two more runs on two hits and a walk.

Billy Wagner was touched for a run as well in the seventh and Michael Bowden was the only Sox pitcher of the night to not salvage anything as he retired the side in the eighth.

Typically when a team scores nine runs, you'd think it'd be a lock for a 'W,' but that definitely wasn't the case.

Boston needs to regroup itself and think about the rest of the series.

Tuesday night will be the toughest of them all as they face potential Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke.

Red Sox set to take on Kansas City Royals

Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield returns to the mound tonight to face former Red Sox pitcher Lenny Dinardo at 8 p.m. Eastern Time in Kansas City.

Wakefield is coming off lower back and left leg injuries, but is hoping to make a positive impact. Jeff Seidel of MLB.com reported that he'll more than likely have offseason surgery to remove a loose bone fragment, which is causing him discomfort.

Dinardo is making his third big league start in 2009. He has an 0-1 record with a 5.23 earned run average against the Detroit Tigers. He's allowed 6 runs, 16 hits, and 4 walks, and has 6 strikeouts.

Looking ahead probable starters:

Tuesday: Paul Byrd vs. Zack Greinke

Wednesday: Josh Beckett vs. Luke HoHochevar

Thursday: Clay Buchholz vs. Dusty Hughes

Red Sox sweep Orioles; Rangers drop to Angels; Magic Number = 7

Daisuke Matsuzaka went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits, a walk, and had five strikeouts as the Boston Red Sox powered by the Baltimore Orioles, 9-3 at Camden Yards Sunday afternoon.

Boston's offense had no trouble producing runs with a 14-hit attack. The only Sox starter without a hit was J.D. Drew who went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Jason Bay (35) and Jacoby Ellsbury (8) went deep with solo shots in the fourth and seventh innings.

With the win and the Los Angeles Angels beating the Texas Rangers 10-5, the Red Sox's magic number to claim the American League Wild Card dropped to seven with 14 games left to play in the regular season.

But there's still a possibility to win the A.L. East.

The New York Yankees currently have a 5.5 game lead (and are trailing 7-0 to the Seattle Mariners). If they lose it'll drop to 5. Boston travels to the Bronx later this week for its final three-game series against the Yanks.

But does it really matter? Of course it's nice to win the division, but wouldn't the Sox rather play the Angels then the Detroit Tigers/Minnesota Twins in the post-season?

Boston's dominance is like no other against Los Angeles and the numbers are clear.

2004 vs. Angels ALDS 3-0

2007 vs. Angels ALDS 3-0

2008 vs. Angels ALDS 3-1

Totals vs. Angels in post-season 9-1

Let the Yankees play the Tigers/Twins, it's not the end of the world. It's about being baseball smart.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 24)

What happened this week? The Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays, took two out of three to the Los Angeles Angels, and now are preparing to sweep the Baltimore Orioles.

The Sox broke what was left of the Rays. They are officially no longer a threat.

The Angels wanted to strangle the umpire crew during Wednesday night's game, a game that will dwindle in their minds especially once the two teams meet face to face once again in the playoffs (it's almost a guarantee). 

Nick Green walked in the tying run and Alex Gonzalez drove in the winning run as the Sox came from behind again to win in dramatic fashion.

The next night, Josh Beckett pitched a no-decision and Billy Wagner took his first loss in a Boston uniform.

The Red Sox are looking pretty deadly right now with the exception of Manny Delcarmen not following suit on the pitching staff.

Jon Lester (twice), Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz were all winners for the starters.

Yes, Dice-K won (6 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts) and will be tested Sunday afternoon in his second start back since being on the disabled list for 80% of the season.

The magic number to win the Wild Card is down to nine, which means either a Red Sox win or a Texas Rangers loss will lower it.

Sunday September 13 - Saturday September 19

Weekly record: 6-1

Overall record: 88-59

AL East standing: 2nd, 6.0 games behind New York

AL Wild Card standing: 1st, 7.0 games ahead of Texas

Runs scored: 37

Opponents' runs scored: 20

Home runs: 9; Jason Bay (3), Dustin Pedroia (1), David Ortiz (1), Jacoby Ellsbury (1), Josh Reddick (1), J.D. Drew (1), Brian Anderson (1)

Games left: 15

Week left: 2

Manny Delcarmen has some major pitching issues at the worst time

If tonight wasn't proof then I don't know what is.

Manny Delcarmen came into the bottom of the ninth inning in an 11-3 ball game at Camden Yards and began his outing allowing back-to-back home runs to Ty Wigginton and Felix Pie.

He then walked the next two batters he faced and was thereafter pulled by Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

There were still no outs in the inning.

Ramon Ramirez was summoned and cleaned up Delcarmen's mess as the Red Sox eventually won it, 11-5.

MLB.com Red Sox beat writer Ian M Browne posted Delcarmen's month by month ERA's on Twitter and the numbers aren't pretty.

April - 0.00 ERA

May - 3.00 ERA

June - 4.00 ERA

July - 4.66 ERA

Aug. - 5.25 ERA

Sept.- 6.75 ERA (before Saturday's game)

His overall ERA is 3.74.

For some reason Delcarmen is going backwards from the rest of the Red Sox pitching staff who all seem to be finally clicking at the right time.

Will his current performance kick him off the post-season roster? Should Sox fans we worried about this?

He has a lot to prove with only two weeks left of the regular season. Boston has plenty of relievers, but losing Delcarmen would be a blow to the bullpen.

No more SOX & Dawgs? Top Red Sox website shut down (for now)

So this is what happens when I go out and cover high school football.

I come home, punch in all of my stats, write my game recap, and just before I get ready to get some shut eye, I check my Twitter page and find this...

soxanddawgs: sorry lets try this again...

Ian Bethune, founder and blogger of SOX & Dawgs, shutdown his website today. I'm not sure at exactly what time, but I do know that his announcement on Twitter was around 11 p.m. Friday night.

He's left his readers with a 12-paragraph explanation of why he's decided to do this.

"I've always been someone who has given 110% on no matter what I do in life. So when I realized I could no longer offer that, I decided this was the best step to take right now. I'd rather not do anything at all then give you something half ass when you expect more of me.

Believe me this decision didn't come easily. I've gone back in forth in my head all day.But in the end, I knew when I wrote down that I couldn't give the 110% on everything that it was time to think about things. It's eating me up inside right now. But I'm strong and will figure this out."

SOX & Dawgs draws almost 2,000 hits a day and is ranked No. 2 on RedSox100.com behind Surviving Grady. That's just insane.

I just talked to Ian via Twitter Friday morning thanking him for fixing my Peter Abraham story that I also posted on his site. The links didn't copy over and Ian decided to re-do them for me.

I just wanted to express my sadness throughout the Red Sox blogging community and publicly thank Ian for linking my website countless times, letting me be a guest blogger, and also helping me design a new page header on my site and some basic HTML.

No one is sure at this time if this is permanent or temporary, but I wish him the best and hope he'll be back soon.

Fenway West also posted on its site about the shocking news.

Peter Abraham recruited by The Boston Globe to cover Red Sox

New Bedford, Mass. native and New York Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham is leaving his post at The Journal News after nearly 10 years and taking on every Boston sports journalists dream, being the newest recruit at The Boston Globe covering the Boston Red Sox.

Abraham announced the news on The LoHud Yankees Blog around 7 p.m. Thursday night and said that it was not an easy decision for him.

From his blog:

"But it wasn't an easy call. I have literally not slept for 48 hours pondering this decision. The Journal News has treated me better than I had any right to expect and tried very hard to convince me to stay. I also really, really love covering the Yankees."

Abraham will not only write about the Sox in print, but also blog on Boston.com. At The Journal News he covered the Yankees and New York Mets. Prior to that, he was the beat writer for UConn basketball for The Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin for 13 seasons.

The UMass-Amherst graduate got his first gig part-time at The Standard Times covering high school sports back in the day.

That is actually very interesting, a Mass. native who loves covering the Yankees and will now be covering his hometown team. What will readers think of this?

And if Abraham is coming aboard, does this mean someone else is leaving?

Amalie Benjamin? Adam Kilgore?

Certainly it can't be Nick Cafardo or Tony Massarotti.

My bet is Adam Kilgore because I doubt they are creating another new position unless things are being shift around because of the latest departure in Mike Reiss. 

I guess we will see within the next two weeks.

It's been quite the changing of the guard over the last year and a half at the Globe. Here are all of the big moves since April of 2008:

Boston Celtics

Peter May - takes buyout guest appearances for Yahoo! Sports and Globe

Marc J. Spears - leaves Denver Post goes to Globe; leaves Globe goes to Yahoo! Sports

Columnists

Jackie MacMullan - takes buyout goes to ESPN.com, guest Globe correspondent 

Tony Massarotti - leaves Boston Herald goes to Boston Globe/Boston.com

Boston.com/bloggers

Chad Finn - promoted from copy editor to Boston.com blogger

Editors

Ken Fratus - (asst. sports editor) takes buyout goes to ESPN in Bristol, Conn.

Reid Laymance - (senior asst. sports editor) takes buyout goes to St. Louis Post Dispatch

Boston Red Sox

Gordon Edes - leaves Globe goes to Yahoo! Sports

Amalie Benjamin - promoted to beat writer

Adam Kilgore - leaves Washington Post goes to Globe

New England Patriots

Mike Reiss - leaves Globe goes to ESPNBoston.com

That's what happens when you intern during all of this, you actually remember it all unfolding in front of your eyes and continue to cover it afterwards.

Editor's note: This post is also on Sox & Dawgs.

Shortstops save the day for the Red Sox

Jed Lowrie.

Nick Green.

Alex Gonzalez.

When is the last time that three consecutive shortstops fueled a winning rally for the Boston Red Sox if ever for a Major League team?

Well it happened last night in Boston's 9-8 comeback win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Lowrie drove a single down to the third base line that Chone Figgins saved from being the game winning hit. This loaded the bases.

Green fought back from an 0-2 count and drew a walk, to tie the game that sent the Angels bench into a flipping frenzy, literally. Ball four should have been strike three, which would have ended the game, but for some reason the Sox got the good news.

Then came Gonzalez, who Boston picked up for his glove, not offense. Gonzo blooped the game winning hit that dropped right in front of Juan Rivera and it was officially celebration time.

Not only is everything falling into place for the Red Sox, but there's also some crazy luck being involved. 

Either luck or the umpiring crew being biased according to Mike Scioscia.

"What was the count - 3 and 4, to Green?" said Scioscia to the media as he felt Green struck out twice on a check swing and then ball four.

Angels closer Brian Fuentes blamed the umps for being too "timid" and "scared" to go against the Fenway crowd.

"Especially here and other places, they seem timid to make calls," said Fuentes. "I've heard it from other guys that come in here and say that. That's either because it's a mistake or they're scared."

I know Fuentes was livid at this point, but I think he went too far about the umps being "scared." I've watched enough of home games and there have been plenty of times that calls have went in both teams favor.

That aside, Josh Beckett takes the hill to face Ervin Santana in the final game of the series and it should be a very interesting ball game.

The Angels need the win even more, but the Red Sox would love to sweep them.

College newspapers: The Diamondback covers President Obama visit at Univ. of Maryland

The Diamondback, the University of Maryland's student-run newspaper had extensive coverage starting around 6:20 a.m. this morning as President Barack Obama was scheduled to speak at the Comcast Center about Health Care.

Diamondback reporter Richard Abdill was one of those up bright and early at 4 a.m. standing in line outside of the building to grab the best seat in the house. At that time there were approximately 35 people, only the calm before the storm.

Abdill chronicled what happened throughout the early morning hours up until 9:20ish on the newspaper's online blog.

It's actually an interesting read, filled with false alarms, real and barbaric pictures, short stories, and funny puns.

One photo I kind of didn't understand the cutline for...

A horrified student allows this reporter to take her picture while she does her homework in the line. This reporter does not think the girl believed he was actually from the newspaper.

I'm not sure where he got "horrified" from because it looks to me she is casually doing her homework and not even paying attention to Abdill. But the last part of the sentence is kind of funny.

The Diamonback's Twitter page then took over with live tweeting of the event.

All in all, it was pretty well done, including some memorable tweets:

If President Obama arrived late would anyone care (he did arrive late).

A protester was escorted off the premises.

A heckler who was finally removed while being booed and having stuff thrown at him.

A girl yelling out, "I love you Obama!".

Here's the article that was written by Anna Isaacs of the visit and speech.

College newspaper (worsts): In the Arizona State University State Press

Arizona State University's daily newspaper, The State Press, posted an article celebrating the 400th anniversary of the telescope on Wednesday.

Its original Twitter post read: "ASU students were star struck Tuesday on the 400th anniversary of the telescope," so I decided to check it out.

The headline was catchy, "Star struck; Stargazers get 'perspective' on universe at West campus event."

The article itself was well written and thorough, but two details struck me.

First off, what I discovered initially....what is up with this photo?

It looks like...

• Students looking into the telescope at blazing speed.
• Students made up of gasses like the planets in our solar system.
• The photographer (Scott Stuk) was 'Stuk' on not knowing how to focus properly.
• ASU is haunted.
• The students are figments of our imagination.
• Students? I don't see no students?
• Crazy photoshop skills.

What I found next was probably student quotes at their worst. Here is what one student said about being able to see Jupiter.

"I think it will be very cool to see Jupiter, to see some place we can't live, but it's bigger than us."

But it's bigger than us? That's a very interesting observation. I'm surprised that the writer didn't just omit the last part of that sentence unless it was a goal of hers to humiliate the freshman?

By the way, the student is a Life sciences major if that helps at all.

Congratulations freshman Life sciences major, you have no clue how to speak in constructive sentences. Way to represent ASU.

Is it time to be excited yet in Boston?

It's still mid September, but as each day comes and goes, the Boston Red Sox are inching close and closer to claiming the American League Wild Card.

The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers again Tuesday night and are slowly starting to fade away, now five and a half games back.

After spending what seems like 80 percent of the season on the disabled list, Daisuke Matsuzaka came back in a big way against the Los Angeles Angels as he went six innings and allowed no runs on three hits, three walks, and five strikeouts.

This is the Dice-K that the Sox have been waiting for all season long and if he can continue this trend of pitching along with the recent lights out dominance of starters Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, and close Jonathan Papelbon, Boston might be one of the scariest clubs to face come next month.

Buchholz isn't proven yet in the post-season so he is still a little bit iffy, however Beckett, Lester, and Matsuzaka know the ropes and know how to handle them.

If Boston wins the wild card they'll more than likely face the Angels once again in October while the New York Yankees will take on the Detroit Tigers, who is currently leading its division by four games over the Minnesota Twins.

And with recent history, the Red Sox want to face Los Angeles (2004, 2007, 2008).

The pitching is finally starting to glue itself together. 

Maybe it's because of the fall chill in the air? 

Maybe their bodies are just synchronized to perform better at this time? 

Whatever is it, it's working, it's exciting, and October can't get here any quicker.

It's almost "Soxtober" time.

Check out Tony Massarotti's take on this as well.

From 'Reiss's Pieces' to 'Extra Points'

With the official launch of ESPNBoston.com Monday, Boston.com had to come up with another name to replace "Reiss's Pieces" the New England Patriots blog, which was named after former Pats beat writer, Mike Reiss, who now covers the team for the new ESPN site.

They could have taken the easy way out and just called it, "Patriots blog," just like "Celtics blog" and "Bruins blog," but they decided not to go that route. 

So what did they end up coming up with?

"Extra Points"

That's not bad, but it's kind of similar to "Extra Bases" the Boston Red Sox blog.

Anyways it's almost kind of depressing that's it's not called "Reiss's Pieces" anymore. That was definitely the best blog name ever created on the site and it's too bad that ESPN Boston can't incorporate Reiss's new blog, to have the same name.

It appears that ESPN's style is just having the reporter's name. How boring. Why not amp it up a bit? It's not a huge deal, but "catchiness" never hurt anyone.

Good luck to Mr. Reiss and to Mr. Christopher L. Gasper who appears to be the main Patriots' beat reporter as noted off to the side of the blog:

"Christopher L. Gasper and the rest of the Globe and Boston.com sports team provide regular updates –and a behind-the-scenes look– on the daily happenings of the Patriots."

Welcome back Tampa Bay 'Devil' Rays; good-bye Rays of sunshine

It's official Boston Red Sox fans, no more Tampa Bay Rays.

How amazing is that to type right now?

No more Tropicana Field.

No more loud annoying cowbells.

No more Evan Longoria.

No more bandwagon, arrogant Rays fans.

No...more...Tampa...Bay...Rays...for the remainder...of the 2009 season.

Just let it sink in for a little bit longer.

The Red Sox officially destroyed all hope that was left on that team by completing the three-game, two-day sweep in classic style. The sweep tied the season series at nine games a piece.

Pitching dominated and flourished with Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, and Jon Lester, the trio that'll more than likely be the big three in October (but lets not jump ahead of ourselves).

Here is what they all did:

Beckett's pitching line: 5 innings pitched (rain shortened), 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, Won 15-6 record

Buchholz's pitching line: 7 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, no decision

Lester's pitching line: 8.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts, W 13-7

Boston's pitching staff allowed two runs in the series as the bullpen has been flawless. The dominance needs to continued as the Los Angeles Angels come to town next.

Because of the sweep, the Rays have dropped their last 11 straight and are closing in at the .500 mark, now 72-71 and 19.5 games back in the American League East as they are officially out of playoff contention in the division, but are not in the red yet in the AL Wild Card.

How sweet it is to see the Rays being their old selves once again. You know, before they decided to become a contending team in 2007.

It took until September for it too all go down, literally, but as a Red Sox fan it's the best victory. Sox fans rather see their team play the New York Yankees than the Rays. It's the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, not Red Sox/Rays. And at least fans from both teams know about the past and present of their club. They know baseball and have been fans for years.

Are there Tampa Bay fans who were following the team since its creation in 1998?

Probably one fan and that's it. Sorry to the one fan, but no need to apologize for the rest.

Boston can solely focus on the big prize of a playoff berth and need to keep ahead of the Texas Rangers.  Another team down, another team to go.

Bring it on.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 23)

It was a rain shortened week for the Boston Red Sox who will make up Friday's rainout Sunday afternoon for a day/night doubleheader against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

The Sox offense pounded out eight hits for nine runs in Saturday night's 9-1 six-inning win. Josh Beckett pitched the full outing and gave up four hits, one run, and had four strikeouts for his 15th win of the season.

Kevin Youkilis was the only player to go deep in the game.

Boston made quick work of the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday and Wednesday for a brief two-game stint at Fenway Park and salvaged a game in the Chicago White Six series beforehand.

Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Billy Wagner along with Beckett were all winners this week.

Buchholz and Lester are scheduled to take the mound to face Matt Garza and James Shields to wrap up the series against the Rays.

Sunday September 6 - Saturday September 12

Weekly record: 4-1

Overall record: 82-58

AL East standing: 2nd, 7.5 games behind New York

AL Wild Card standing: 1st, 3.0 games ahead of Texas

Runs scored: 33

Opponents' runs scored: 12

Home runs: 9; Dustin Pedroia (2), Kevin Youkilis (2), Mike Lowell (1), Victor Martinez (1), Alex Gonzalez (1), J.D. Drew (1), David Ortiz (1)

Games left: 22

Weeks left: 3

Don't let the Tampa Bay Rays fool you

The Baltimore Orioles are dead and gone from Beantown and, but now there's a larger task to complete for the next three days.

The Tampa Bay Rays are coming to town for the last time this season, which makes everyone in Red Sox Nation extremely overjoyed.

Now nine and a half games back in the American League Wild Card race, the Rays are the least of Boston's worries to fight off for a playoff spot, but they still need to grab those 'W's' to stay ahead of the Texas Rangers who are very much afloat.

The Rays have died off tremendously since the Red Sox took two of out three on Sept. 3. Since then the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees swept them and they've dropped their last eight. It's easy to say the Rays are hungry for a win.

This series is still huge. Tampa Bay wants to do everything in its power to mess up Boston's chances in the Wild Card race and just because they have been playing poorly doesn't mean it's an easy sweep.

Texas has a three-game set against the Seattle Mariners who are tied with Tampa Bay in the Wild Card.

It's pretty much all about whoever wins and losses on what days so every 'W' counts and Boston and Texas are done playing each other for the season.

There are only 23 games remaining and it might just come down until the final two.

Byrd needs to perform well against Orioles

How important is this start for Paul Byrd Wednesday night for the Boston Red Sox?

If Byrd doesn't perform well, he's gone, simple as that.

During his last outing against the Chicago White Sox on September 4, Byrd only lasted for two and a third of an inning and gave up seven runs on 10 hits in a 12-2 Red Sox loss. 

There's no more time to wait around like with Brad Penny and John Smoltz because now Boston is in pennant race mode and currently leading the American League Wild Card by two games over the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers remain the only threat as Tampa Bay has gone into a complete tailspin, dropping its last seven games (thank you New York Yankees) and are now tied with the Seattle Mariners being eight and a half games out.

On the mound for Baltimore is Jason Berken who comes in with a 4-11 record and 6.07 ERA.

Berken had a no decision in his last outing against the Yankees where he pitched for five and a third innings and allowed one run off eight hits.

The Sox offense ignited Tuesday night for 10 runs with five home runs in the game. Hopefully they saved some of that for Byrd.

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 22)

It was kind of a down power week for the Boston Red Sox who were outscored by opponents and also trying to figure out how to manufacture runs in Chicago. 

The White Sox are doing a number on their counterparts as they have put up 17 unanswered runs in the first two games of this four-game series. 

Boston has only scored three times (two in the first game) and need an answer fast in order to keep ahead in the American League Wild Card Race.

The Red Sox took two out of three from the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this week, which was huge at the time making the Rays chances of securing a playoff spot even slimmer as they sit six games back.

The Baltimore Orioles did the Sox a great favor by beating the Texas Rangers Saturday who are two games back in the WC and Tampa Bay fell again to the Detroit Tigers.

Sunday August 30 - Saturday September 5

Weekly record: 3-3

Overall record: 78-57

AL East standing: 2nd, 8.5 games behind New York

AL Wild Card standing: 1st, 2.0 games ahead of Texas

Runs scored: 29

Opponents' runs scored: 32

Home runs: 5; Jason Bay (2), Rocco Baldelli (1), J.D. Drew (1), Kevin Youkilis (1)

Games left: 27

Weeks left: 4

College newspapers: Trending topics

There are some noticeable trending topics circulating in the world of daily college newspapers.

From fraternity controversy to college themed beer cans, it's all stirring up an outcry.

The Arizona Daily Wildcat has had more stories geared towards its Greek Life than ever during the last week and a half.

It all started with this piece about a possible Pi Phi Probation written by Michelle Monroe that caused a huge uproar in the comments section. 

How bad was it? 

Well it got to the point where they had to pull down the comments completely. Some "commenters" started to threaten the reporter, which is totally uncalled for.

Four days later Monroe wrote another article about two more fraternities, Sigma Pi and Kappa Sigma losing its charter and recognition. 

This caused not as much of a stir in the comments section, but someone called out Monroe saying she had "a personal vendetta to settle against the Greek community."

Unnecessary? Maybe it's Monroe's beat for all we know. The point, some people need to chill out.

Today, there was an article with a more positive vibe talking about the demand of fraternities and an easier way to form your own chapter.

The Miami Hurricane posted an article written by Lila Albizu on Tuesday about Pi Kappa Alpha being under investigation for an unregistered party that occurred.

Another controversy being tossed around is Anheuser-Busch releasing "Fan Cans" that has colleges and universities schools colors decorated all over the can. 

Arizona State's State Press Online, LSU's The Daily Reveille, and Southern Methodist University's The Daily Campus were some school's who wrote stories covering this topic.

In a nutshell, the "Fan Cans" are being pulled from shelves because people believe it's going to promote underage drinking. Now this is a whole other story within itself.

What'll be the next popular topic of interest? I'm sure it'll be happening again throughout the school year.

Heidi Watney interviews Bob Kaufman of Bob's Furniture; Orsillo ranked 12th chattiest

During Thursday night's Red Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays, NESN field reporter Heidi Watney had an interview segment with Bob Kaufman of Bob's Discount Furniture to promote his brand new story that opened in Woburn.

All week during inning breaks there were Bob's Furniture commercials with the infamous cheerleaders cheering "5 days left!!, 4 days left!! 3 days left!!" etc. played at least five times or more with clear directions of where his new store was opening.

The ironic thing was is that it was geared more towards the New England Patriots, not the Red Sox.

But honestly Heidi, was there no one else to interview on the Red Sox or Rays for a segment? Later she did a "Twisted but True" promotion about "Chattiest Announcers" in which NESN's Don Orsillo was ranked 12th.

Definitely not one of Heidi's best nights. 

At Bob's though, we get it, your new store is open in Woburn. You can just go to the store to eat all of the ice cream, cookies, and coffee you want without buying a thing. 

Can these commercials please stop? I thought it would have been over by now, but nope, while writing this post guess what came on?

Cheerleaders: "Today's the day! Today's the day!"

Will there be another commercial tomorrow night chanting, "Go there now! Go there now!"?

UPDATE

There was indeed another commercial Friday night with the cheerleaders chanting, "Woburn! Woburn! Woburn!"

I should have known better.

If you suck in Boston, you rock in the NL

Wednesday night, Brad Penny made his pitching debut with the San Francisco Giants who took on the National League East leading Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

What happened is almost a mystery.

Penny threw eight shutout innings and allowed five hits, one walk, and had two strikeouts as the surging Giants won 4-0.

Let me get this straight, Penny went eight innings? And gave up no runs? And issued one walk?

From July 4 - Aug. 21 in Boston Penny average 5.4 innings per start, had an earned run average of 6.98, and allowed a .313 opponent batting average in 39 innings to go along with a 2-7 record.

He also allowed 15 walks in 49 innings and seven home runs.

Penny left Boston with a 7-8 record, 5.61 ERA, 131.2 IP, 17 HR, 42 walks, and 89 strikeouts.

Then there was John Smoltz, Theo Epstein's project that died the very first day he took the mound in Washington DC to face the Nationals.

Smoltz was an epic fail as he posted a 2-5 record with a 8.33 ERA in eight starts. He allowed 37 runs in 40 innings, gave up eight home runs, and had nine walks.

After the Sox designated him for assignment, he was picked up by the NL Central leading St. Louis Cardinals and made his debut on August 28 against, you guessed it, the Washington Nationals.

Here was Smoltz' pitching line:

6.0 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 6 SO

His next start is Thursday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. 

And how could anyone forget Julio Lugo, Epstein's biggest bust sign of the 2006 offseason? 

Lugo is also with the Cardinals and doing amazingly well. During his final days in Boston he wasn't horrific at the plate as he had a .284 BA in 37 games, but with the Cardinals Lugo is hitting .302 with 26 hits in 29 games, has scored 15 times and has hit seven doubles and three triples.

We all know Boston is a tough place to play baseball and it's never pretty if it doesn't work out, but when all else fails, just sign on with a National League club. With Boston on your resume you can't possibly lose and being a reject in Beantown means you'll be a superstar anywhere else in the other weaker league.

Tampa Bay wears out its pen; big deal for rest of series?

Last night the Tampa Bay Rays used a total of eight pitchers (seven relievers) in its 8-4 loss last night to the Boston Red Sox.

The Rays took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but the Red Sox tied it up quickly in the top of the second, then put up three more runs on the board in the fourth.

Andy Sonnanstine lasted only four innings while giving up eight hits (two home runs), five runs (three earned), and four walks.

That's musical pitchers commenced on the mound.

Only Randy Choate lasted over an inning, going 1 2/3 and had two strikeouts.

The others used in the game were Brian Shouse (0.2 innings), Lance Cormier (0.2), former Sox pitcher Chad Bradford (0.1), Choate (1.2), Dan Wheeler (0.2), Grant Balfour (0.2), and J.P. Howell (0.1).

Though MLB rosters have expanded to 40, how crazy was it for Joe Maddon to make a pitching change every two batters and will it effect the rest of the series?

Josh Beckett takes the mound tonight for Boston as he'll face pitching foe Matt Garza. Whenever Garza's name comes up it's also one of those kind of games.

College newspapers: The Diamondback (U of Maryland) cares about peoples' lives

This is exactly what should be going up immediately on all college newspaper websites...news that effects students lives, literally.

The Diamondback, the University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper, posted up on its Twitter page and online homepage about an armed robber that hit a local liquor store, which abuts the University View apartments.

One downfall of the story, it wasn't exactly "Breaking News" when it was originally went up. The robbery happened on Monday night and it wasn't posted until Tuesday night. Of course I don't believe The Diamondback would have access to a police blotter in its office so really who knows how long it takes to find these things out.

According to the police report, a man with a shotgun entered Number 1 Liquors at around 11:15 p.m. and demanded all of the money from an employee. He then took off in a silver Toyota Corolla.

He was described as a 6 foot 3 black male weighing approximately 190 pounds and looked to be in his 20s.

We only hope that individual isn't a UM student.