check it out. pretty sweet.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070907&content_id=2194889&vkey=news_bos&fext=. jsp&c_id=bos

[It's still not decided, I think, whether or not this game will be played today because of the rain. I'll throw up the OT nevertheless, just in case...]

Starting Pitchers

Baltimore: Hayden Penn (0-3), 13.76 ERA, 2.53 WHIP.        
Boston: Devern Hansack (0-1), 5.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP.        

Starting Lineups

Baltimore:

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
   
2. Corey Patterson, CF
   
3. Melvin Mora, 3B
   
4. Miguel Tejada, DH
   
5. Fernando Tatis, LF
   
6. Chris Gomez, 1B
   
7. David Newhan, RF
   
8. Brandon Fahey, SS
   
9. Raul Chavez, C

1. Trot Nixon, RF
   
2. Loretta 4
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
5. Jason Varitek, C
   
6. Hinske, LF
   
7. Wily Mo Pena, RF
   
8. Gabe Kapler, CF
   
9. Alex Cora, SS

• Hayden Penn's 2.5+ WHIP is impressively bad. I bet the Oriole fans are like Ron Burgundy when Baxter ate a whole wheel of cheese - they're not even mad because it's so amazing.
  
• That's it for the OT's this year. The activity in them has been very fun to both behold and be a part of. Thanks all around. Let's hope next season brings more August-October OT-enthusiasm.

Starting Pitchers

Baltimore: Adam Loewen (6-6), 5.30 ERA, 1.54 WHIP.      
Boston: Tim Wakefield (7-11), 4.63 ERA, 1.34 WHIP.      

Starting Lineups

Baltimore:

1. Chris Gomez, 2B
   
2. Melvin Mora, 3B
   
3. Nick Markakis, RF
   
4. Miguel Tejada, SS
   
5. Jay Gibbons, DH
   
6. Ramon Hernandez, C
   
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
   
8. David Newhan, CF
   
9. Jeff Fiorentino, LF

1. Dustin Pedroia, SS
   
2. Mark Loretta, 2B
   
3. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
4. Manny Ramirez, DH
   
5. Wily Mo Pena, CF
   
6. Trot Nixon, RF
   
7. Doug Mirabelli, C
   
8. Gabe Kapler, LF
   
9. Carlos Pena, 1B

• Manny hath returned. He'll DH, giving Papi a day off.
  
• Papelbon had a successful pitching session today and should thus be prepared for a productive offseason.

Starting Pitchers

Baltimore: Erik Bedard (15-10), 3.67 ERA, 1.33 WHIP.        
Boston: Julian Tavarez (4-4), 4.52 ERA, 1.53 WHIP.      

Starting Lineups

Baltimore:

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
   
2. Melvin Mora, 3B
   
3. Nick Markakis, RF
   
4. Miguel Tejada, SS
   
5. Jay Gibbons, DH
   
6. Ramon Hernandez, C
   
7. Corey Patterson, CF
   
8. Kevin Millar, 1B
   
9. David Newhan, LF

1. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
   
2. Mark Loretta, 2B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Wily Mo Pena, CF
   
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
6. Jason Varitek, C
   
7. Trot Nixon, RF
   
8. Gabe Kapler, LF
   
9. Dustin Pedroia, SS

• Got Manny? No. No we don't.
  
• Papelbon is on the road to recovery. He will possibly face some hitters tomorrow after throwing on flat ground today.
  
• Abe Lincoln has had arthroscopic surgery. Apparently some rather severe damage was found. He might be wicked awesome next season now that it's fixed. Or not.
  
• Extra Bases has next year's shedule summarized here. The season begins April 2nd at Kansas City and the home opener is April 10th against Seattle. We'll face the D-Backs, Braves, Rockies, Padres and Giants in interleague play.
  

Starting Pitchers

Tampa Bay: Jason Hammel (0-4), 7.01 ERA, 1.76 WHIP.              
Boston: Curt Schilling (14-7), 4.07 ERA, 1.21 WHIP.      

Starting Lineups

Tampa Bay:

1. Rocco Baldelli, CF
   
2. Delmon Young, RF
   
3. Carl Crawford, LF
   
4. Greg Norton, 1B
   
5. Ty Wigginton, 2B
   
6. Kevin Witt, DH
   
7. B.J. Upton, 3B
   
8. Shawn Riggans, C
   
9. Ben Zobrist, SS

1. Kevin Youkilis, LF
   
2. Mark Loretta, 2B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Trot Nixon, RF
   
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
6. Jason Varitek, C
   
7. Wily Mo Pena, CF
   
8. Eric Hinske, 1B
   
9. Alex Cora, SS

• Still no Manny...
  
• Gonzo out for personal reasons.

Starting Pitchers

Boston: Tim Wakefield (7-10), 4.50 ERA, 1.34 WHIP.
Toronto: Shaun Marcum (2-4), 5.51 ERA, 1.73 WHIP.

Starting Lineups

None posted yet

Notes

• Some people have apparently gone way overboard in their reactions to Gordon Edes' controversial article about Manny Ramirez. Edes understandably doesn't like it, and barks back.
  
• Jon Lester has successfully completed his first cycle of chemotherapy and is now resting at home in Seattle.
  
• Toronto would move into second place in the AL East with a win today.
  
• Coco's finger surgery is scheduled for tomorrow.
  
• Wake has a 9.72 ERA in his two starts since returning from the DL.

Starting Pitchers

Boston: Kyle Snyder (4-4), 6.28 ERA, 1.71 WHIP.
Toronto: Gustavo Chacin (8-3), 4.87 ERA, 1.44 WHIP.

Starting Lineups

Boston:

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
   
2. Mark Loretta, 1B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Kevin Youkilis, LF
   
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
6. Jason Varitek, C
   
7. Wily Mo Peña, RF
   
8. Gabe Kapler, CF
   
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

1. Reed Johnson, RF
   
2. Frank Catalonotto, LF
   
3. Vernon Wells, CF
   
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
   
5. Bengie Molina, C
   
6. Adam Lind, DH
   
7. Aaron Hill, SS
   
8. John Hattig, 3B
   
9. Russ Adams, 2B

• Chacin has a perfect record (3-0) this season vs the Sawx. He also has a perfume named after him.
  
• Last time he faced the Blue Jays, the Judge got the win after seven shutout innings.

Starting Pitchers

Boston: Devern Hansack (0-0), 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP.
Toronto: A.J. Burnett (8-8), 3.97 ERA, 1.32 WHIP.  

Starting Lineups

Boston:

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
   
2. Kevin Youkilis, LF
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
5. Trot Nixon, RF
   
6. Jason Varitek, C
   
7. Wily Mo Peña, CF
   
8. Eric Hinske, 1B
   
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

1. Alex Rios, RF
   
2. Frank Catalonotto, LF
   
3. Vernon Wells, CF
   
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
   
5. Troy Glaus, 3B
   
6. Gregg Zaun, C
   
7. Aaron Hill, SS
   
8. Adam Lind, DH
   
9. Russ Adams, 2B

• Devern Hansack? Really? Ok...

Starting Pitchers

Boston: Julian Tavarez (3-4), 4.89 ERA, 1.59 WHIP.
Toronto: Ted Lilly (14-12), 4.44 ERA, 1.44 WHIP.

Starting Lineups

Boston:

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
   
2. Mark Loretta, 1B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Kevin Youkilis, LF
   
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
6. Wily Mo Peña, RF
   
7. Doug Mirabelli, C
   
8. Gabe Kapler, CF
   
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

1. Reed Johnson, LF
   
2. Frank Catalonotto, DH
   
3. Vernon Wells, CF
   
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
   
5. Troy Glaus, 3B
   
6. Alex Rios, RF
   
7. Bengie Molina,C
   
8. Aaron Hill, 2B
   
9. Russ Adams, SS

• Crisp is most likely done for the season. He is scheduled to have surgery on his injured finger on Monday.

Starting Pitchers

Minnesota: Johan Santana (18-5), 2.77 ERA, .98 WHIP.
Boston: Josh Beckett (15-10), 5.02 ERA, 1.32 WHIP.

Starting Lineups

Minnesota:

1. Luis Castillo, 2B
2. Nick Punto, 3B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Justin Morneau, 1B
6. Torii Hunter, CF
7. Rondell White, LF
8. Jason Tyner, DH
9. Jason Bartlett, SS

Boston:

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
2. Mark Loretta, 1B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Mike Lowell, 3B
5. Trot Nixon, RF
6. Jason Varitek, C
7. Carlos Pena, LF
8. Gabe Kapler, CF
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

Notes

• At the beginning of the season, a September battle between Beckett and Santana would have seemed very exciting. Now the Sox are out of playoff contention and Beckett has kinda sucked, so...
• Crisp is out of the lineup because he's having his finger checked by a specialist
• The other Pena will get a start in the outfield. He's never played there at the major league level before.
• Papi's 50th home run ball will be auctioned off to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Plaza de la Salud Hospital de Ni?os in the Dominican.

I have to post this rather early today, so I couldn't find any confirmed lineups.

Starting Pitchers

Minnesota: Boof Bonser (5-5), 4.52 ERA, 1.35 WHIP.
Boston: Curt Schilling (14-7), 4.13 ERA, 1.20 WHIP.

Starting Lineups

If someone else could fill them in later, or post them in a comment, that would be great.

Notes

• Boof Bonser is a fantastic name. Just fantastic.
  
• The Twins are going for five straight wins against the sawx.
  
• Last time Schill faced the Twins was in the epic duel between him and Santana back in June where they both went eight innings and only gave up one run each.
  
• Devern Hansack, whom I've never heard of before, has been called up from Portland. To make room, Abe Alvarez went on the DL.
  
• Rudy Seanez has brought his Carniv?l de Suckfesto to the west coast. He contributed to the insane Dodgers comeback the other night by giving up Nomaaah's game winning home run.

With less than two weeks of the season remaining, and our postseason chances really only still alive in the mad mad world of statistics, I thought it would be interesting to look back at some of the community projections we did in the offseason and see how right or wrong we were. That was a very long sentence. Anyhow, here we go. The first numbers are the projections and the ones after the slash are the actual numbers through last night's game.

Alex Gonzalez

BA : .263/.253
OBP: .316/.298
SLG: .397/.392
HR : 12/9
RBI: 66/46
R  : 69/45
FP%: .979/.986

We seem to have been pretty spot on about Gonzo. Low BA and OBP, excellent defense. The RBI and run totals are a lot lower than we would have thought but at least part of this can be attributable to Gonzo's knee injury and the time he missed as a result of it.

Kevin Youkilis

BA : .281/.285
OBP: .396/.385
SLG: .419/.435
HR : 13/13
RBI: 78/72
R  : 81/97
FP%: .985/.995 (at first, .927 at third)

This is uncanny. The BA and OBP are virtually spot on, the SLG is very close, the HR are exactly right, the RBI are only off by 6. We missed the runs by quite a lot, but that can surely be explained by the fact that we weren't counting on Youk batting leadoff virtually the entire season. Considering that this was Youk's first full season in the majors, we didn't have a lot to go on. That makes this even more incredible. Well done, projectors. Well done indeed.

Alex Cora

AVG: .255/.244
OBP: .309/.322
HR : 7/1
RBI: 56/17
R  : 71/30
SB : 9/6
FP%: .979/.975 (roughly)

This projection was made way back when we thought Cora might be our starting 2B or at least platooning with someone, so the HR/RBI/R totals are obviously way off. As for the BA/OBP, Cora exceeded expectations with his plate discipline. I hope we keep Cora as an infield backup for next season, it will be hard to find someone equally consistent.

Keith Foulke

W/L = 6-5/3-1
ERA = 3.07/4.73
SV  = 39/0
IP  = 84/45.2
WHIP= 1.13/1.23

Yeah, ehm... we missed this one. We thought Foulke would be OK, he was atrocious. We thought he would be our closer yet again, but we found a substitute that turned out to be roughly six million times as good. Oh, and by the way, Keith Foulke made $7,750,000 this year. Good times all around.

This ain't no fun, as any country star would put it. Minnesota up 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth. This, by the way, is the last of the late open threads in a while. I just had a major exam and my life should be back on track again now that it's over. So look forward to some healthily early open threads in the future ;)

How about that David Murphy, huh?! He looks about 35 years old, but he's playing like the enthusiastic rookie he is. Since he was called up on September 1st, as part of the roster expansion, he has been playing some lovely baseball in his limited appearances. .250/.294/.500/.794 in 12 games and 16 at-bats is a very sold batting line for a player making his first major league appearances. Obviously, the sample size is way too small for it to be possible to draw any conclusions from it. Still, his at-bats look good and he appears to be just as good at pulling pitches as he was reported to be. In Pawtucket this year, he was batting .267/.355/.447/.802 before the callup. Very mediocre BA, but an excellent OBP and a solid center fielder-type OPS.

With Murphy's strong showing so far, I'm reminded of the sarcastic "This team is going to be great - in 2008" slogan, which is beginning to seem more and more true in a good way. The top tier of the farm system seems almost as loaded now as it was before this season. Scrappy Pedroia, Old Man Murphy, No Nickname Ellsbury and Patience Kottaras (DieHard got a Q&A with Kottaras that can be found here) are all projected to become very solid major leaguers. All's well on the pitching front too with Buchholz, Bowden, Cox, Martinez, Bard and Masterson.

What is my point, you ask? I don't really have one. I just felt like reiterating that we have a very strong farm system, considering the anticlimactic season that never wants to end. I never thought it possible to be as completely unthrilled about taking 3 out of 4 in Yankee stadium as I was this weekend. We need to keep reminding ourselves of the bright future to avoid resorting to heavy drug use and random acts of violence to take our minds off this season. Come to think of it, that might be my point.

[Side note: Did you watch Family Guy last night? They mocked McCarver. Just as I thought that show couldn't get any better, they pull of a thing like that ;)]

here's the OT for the second game. on time!

i couldn't find the lineups anywhere in a format easy to copy, so you'll have to get them from mlb.com's gameday or some other source.

i did it again! this is way too late. i'm going to go ahead and blame it on that today is election day here in sweden, so i'm distracted ;)

this is for today's second game. if a fellow blogadmin sees this and is able to update it with lineups and pitchers or really anything coherent at all, please do so.

this is very late. i'm not at home, so i was hoping someone else would throw one up. i'll throw one up for the second game now too since i don't know if i'll be able to do it later.

Lineups and Pitchers

Boston:

1. K. Youkilis, LF
   
2. M. Loretta, 1B
   
3. D. Ortiz, DH
   
4. W. Pena, CF
   
5. M. Lowell, 3B
   
6. J. Varitek, C
   
7. T. Nixon, RF
   
8. D. Pedroia, 2B
   
9. A. Gonzalez, SS
   

Baltimore:

1. B. Roberts, 2B
   
2. M. Mora, 3B
   
3. N. Markakis, RF
   
4. M. Tejada, SS
   
5. R. Hernandez, C
   
6. K. Millar, DH
   
7. D. Newhan, CF
   
8. C. Gomez, 1B
   
9. J. Fiorentino, LF
   

Notes

• Manny is basically ruled out for the Yankee series.
• In the master draft of next year's schedule, the Yankee games will be much better distributed than this year. There will be at least one series every month except July, which is a vast improvement.

Lineups and Pitchers

Red Sox

1. Kevin Youkilis, LF
   
2. Mark Loretta, 1B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Wily Mo Pena, RF
   
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
6. Gabe Kapler, CF
   
7. Doug Mirabelli, C
   
8. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
   
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS
   

Orioles

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
   
2. Melvin Mora, 3B
   
3. Nick Markakis, RF
   
4. Miguel Tejada, SS
   
5. Ramon Hernandez, C
   
6. Kevin Millar, DH
   
7. David Newhan, CF
   
8. Chris Gomez, 1B
   
9. Jeff Fiorentino, LF
   

Notes

• Manny being out has shifted things around a bit... Marky-Mark plays first, among other things.
• Schill will miss his scheduled start against the Yankees on Saturday. He wasn't ready to throw a simulated game yesterday, which means he won't be ready in time to make his start.

.136/.156/.227/.383 is not a stellar batting line. One might even say that a batting line that contains an OBP that is under the Mendoza Line is downright godawful. In 15 games and 44 at-bats, that is what Dusty's been able to put together so far. So I was pondering for myself a couple of days ago whether or not we should be a little bit worried about this.

But then came the game against Kansas City and Hudson. 2-4 with a home run. His first two at-bats were absolutely stellar, too. Lots of pitches, fouling off what he didn't like, taking all the stuff that was outside the zone. Those two at-bats embodied everything that I, and I suspect a lot of the rest of you, expect from Pedroia. Not the home run, of course, but the grinding. Working for a hit. Before that game, he had looked kind of lost at the plate. Swinging at some bad stuff and swinging early in the at-bats. Against KC the other day, he looked like what we want him to look like.

The obvious question then becomes whether the KC game was a result of Dusty settling down and improving or if it was because he had no trouble seeing Luke Hudson's pitches. There's no way to answer that question, especially since Dusty didn't play the following game.

Since no definitive conclusions can be drawn from anything else, I figured that an interesting way to see if we should maybe be a little concerned is to check out the numbers posted by a bunch of other 2B in their first season. I limited my selection to players who are solid (not all of them very solid) on defense and have a nice OBP but not a lot of power, since I consider that to be what we hope Dusty becomes. If someone's hoping for him to become the next Hank Aaron, let me know and I'll revise my selection ;)

Mark Loretta, 50 AB in the 1995 season: .260/.327/.380/.707
Luis Castillo, 164 AB in the 1996 season: .262/.320/.305/.625
Jamey Carroll, 71 AB in the 2002 season: .310/.347/.507/.854
Marcus Giles, 244 AB in the 2001 season: .262/.338/.430/.768
Mark Grudzielanek, 269 AB in the 1995 season: .245/.300/.316/.616

Those are some very solid numbers from the start. All of them, except for Carroll, had poor batting averages. However, they made up for it by drawing a lot of walks. That's one of the major points of concern regarding Pedroia, in my opinion. He's drawn one walk so far. One in 44 at-bats. This year in Pawtucket, he drew 48 walks in 423 at-bats. That's (very) roughly one walk every ten at-bats. That's a big difference from one walk in 44 at-bats. What's the reason for this? Is Pedroia nervous? Quite possibly. I would definitely not blame im if he was. When he sees a borderline strike coming, he might be a lot more likely to swing at it on the big league level rather than in AAA. It could simply be a question of getting comfortable and settling down. Another obvious cause could be that pitchers simply challenge him with strikes all the time. If that was the case, though, his batting average should be a lot higher considering he's a solid hitter. Also, if you look at the other second basemen's stats above, all of them drew walks at a rate at least twice as high as Dusty. The cause could be either one of these, or a different one altogether. Since I'm not inside Dusty's head, I can't answer with any authority.

I am a little concerned. Not greatly, but somewhat. There's 20+ games left, though, so Dusty has time to improve and show that the KC game wasn't just a fluke. If his numbers at the end of the season are about what they are right now, assuming that he gets at least 30-40 more AB's, I'll upgrade my level of concern a notch or two.

I would love to hear the thoughts of the rest of you guys on this topic. Am I being Henny Penny or are you a bit worried too?

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City: Luke Hudson (7-5), ERA 5.21 ERA, 1.52 WHIP.
Boston: Josh Beckett (14-10), 5.11 ERA, 1.31 WHIP.

Starting Lineups

Kansas City:

1. David DeJesus, LF
   
2. Esteban German, 3B
   
3. Mark Grudzielanek, 2B
   
4. Mike Sweeney, DH
   
5. Shane Costa, RF
   
6. Ryan Shealy, 1B
   
7. Paul Bako, C
   
8. Joey Gathright, CF
   
9. Andres Blanco, SS

1. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
   
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
   
5. Trot Nixon, RF
   
6. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
7. Coco Crisp, CF
   
8. Doug Mirabelli, C
   
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

• In his quest to destroy everything holy, Barry Lamar Bonds earlier this evening hit career home run number 731 off... Boomer Wells.

Starting Pitchers

Kansas City: Odalis Perez (5-7), 6.43 ERA, 1.60 WHIP.
Boston: Kevin Jarvis (0-2), 9.37 ERA, 1.96 WHIP.

Starting Lineups

Kansas City:

1. David DeJesus, LF
   
2. Esteban German, 3B
   
3. Mark Grudzielanek, 2B
   
4. Mike Sweeney, DH
   
5. Emil Brown, RF
   
6. Ryan Shealy, 1B
   
7. John Buck, C
   
8. Angel Berroa, SS
   
9. Joey Gathright, CF

1. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
   
2. Mark Loretta, 2B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
   
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
6. Jason Varitek, C
   
7. Wily Mo Pena, RF
   
8. Coco Crisp, CF
   
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

• Javy Lopez has been released. The FO chose to release him, rather than DFA him, to give him a shot at finding another club for the last weeks of the season.
  
• Both the ChiSox and Twins lost yesterday, meaning we have a nice opportunity to make up some ground with a win.

Lineups and Pitchers

Boston:

1. Coco Crisp, CF
   
2. Mark Loretta, 2B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
   
5. Trot Nixon, RF
   
6. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
7. Jason Varitek, C
   
8. Eric Hinske, 1B
   
9. Alex Cora, SS

Chicago:

1. Ryan Sweeney, CF
   
2. Tadahito Iguchi, 2B
   
3. Jermaine Dye, RF
   
4. Jim Thome, DH
   
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
   
6. A.J. Pierzynski, C
   
7. Joe Crede, 3B
   
8. Scott Podsednik, LF
   
9. Alex Cintron, SS

Notes

• Lester has scheduled a press conference that's expected to start right about now.
  
• Papelbon's injury is not severe. Boston.com explains it like this: "Essentially, Papelbon had a slippage in the shoulder joint because of fatigue in the area. No timetable was announced at this time."
  
• Wake has thrown another simulated game and is expected to return to the rotation next week barring any setbacks.
  
• In his last start, against Toronto, Snyder went seven innings without giving up a run and allowing only two hits and two walks.
  
• Since his no-decision in the marathon 19-inning game between the Soxes right before the All-Star break, Contreras is 2-7 with a 5.71 ERA.
  
• Let's bring out the brooms, shall we?

Hey look, an Open Thread! On time! I apologize for the screwy Open Thread's recently - sometimes late and sometimes completely forgotten. Randy has been tremendously busy with school and I have failed to back him up adequately as I too just returned from summer vacation... It will get better from now on.

Lineups and Pitchers

Boston:

1. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
   
2. Mark Loretta, 2B
   
3. David Ortiz, DH
   
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
   
5. Trot Nixon, RF
   
6. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
7. Coco Crisp 8
   
8. Doug Mirabelli 2
   
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS
   

Chicago:

1. Pablo Ozuna, LF
   
2. Tadahito Iguchi, 2B
   
3. Joe Crede, 3B
   
4. Jim Thome, DH
   
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
   
6. AJ Pierzynski, C
   
7. Brian Anderson, CF
   
8. Juan Uribe, SS
   
9. Ryan Sweeney, RF
   

Notes

• Kottaras hath arrived! He has been sent down to Portland to participate in the AA Eastern League playoffs.
  
• Papi's back! He has undergone a gazillion tests but doctors have found nothing wrong with him.
  
• The lineup is now back to what it was intended to be. Had Tek been catching instead of Belli, all nine regular starters would be on the field.
  
• Still no news on Paps' MRI. It was scheduled for this morning.
  
• Craig Hansen has returned from AAA. He brought tonight's starter, Kason Gabbard, with him on the trip over.

There are four candidates for this year's AL ROY. Who are they? I know you know, but let's still save what little suspense there is for another paragraph or two.

First, is it going to be a pitcher? Yes. Yes it is. There are a number of great Rookie position players this year, but all of them are in the National League. In fact, the top 7 rookies in VORP are all in the NL. (They are: Han-Ram, Dan Uggla, Andre Ethier, Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Barfield, Josh Willingham, Chris Duncan.) The 8th best rookie is an AL player, and it's none other than Nick Markakis of the O's. He's got a solid VORP of 22.4 and a downright great EqA of .295, but that ain't good enough to win the award. Not this year. In the AL, this is the year of the pitcher.

As I stated in the opening paragraph, there are basically four candidates for the trophy. Their names are Liriano, Verlander, Weaver and Papelbon. Let me put some stats before you to give you an overview. All important stats step forward! Appappapp... not so fast, "Wins"!

F-Liro: 49.2 VORP, 2.19 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.42 BB/9, 10.74 K/9 (119 IP)
J-Ver: 47.3 VORP, 3.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 2.84 BB/9, 6.11 K/9 (165 IP)
J-Wea: 40.1 VORP, 2.16 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2.25 BB/9, 7.41 K/9 (96 IP)
J-Pap: 38.3 VORP, 0.92 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 1.71 BB/9, 9.88 K/9 (68.3 IP)

(Please take special note of the wicked cool A-Rod-style nicknames I gave them. It's not at all because I don't know how to html-code a table and that the rows would get even more uneven and odd with their names having different number of letters. I promise. It's because nicknames are fun. The extra "o" in Liriano's nickname, you wonder? Just be quiet!)

Anyway, this is where I usually decide where I stand. On this topic, however, I'm not entirely sure what to think. All four of them are excellent candidates in their own right. Liriano has some insane numbers (10.74 K/9?!), but he's been hurt for the stretch run. Should that matter? Verlander has been the best starter on a team with awesome pitching. He's also amassed more than 150 IP. He clearly has the worst ERA and WHIP of the four candidates, though. Weaver has been as good as anyone else, but he was called up late so he only has 96 IP. Still, he has the lowest ERA and WHIP of the three starters. Paps has the lowest ERA, WHIP and BB/9 rate of all four and strikes out almost 10 per nine innings. He is a closer, though, so he only has 68.3 IP. Still, where would the Red Sox be without him? Five more games behind? Even more than that?

I'm gonna take the coward's way out and pose the question to you lads. I fully seriously can't decide.

Who is the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year?

I apologize for this being so late. Anyway, here it is.

Sorry about it being a little bit late. Here's the open thread.

Lineups and Pitchers

Sox

1. Coco Crisp, CF
   
2. Alex Cora, SS
   
3. Mark Loretta, 2B
   
4. Kevin Youkilis, LF
   
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
   
6. Eric Hinske, DH
   
7. Javy Lopez, C
   
8. Carlos Pena, 1B
   
9. David Murphy, RF.

Blue Jays

1. Frank Catalanotto, LF
   
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
   
3. Vernon Wells, CF
   
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
   
5. Alex Rios, RF
   
6. Gregg Zaun, C
   
7. Adam Lind, DH
   
8. John Hattig, 3B
   
9. John McDonald, SS

Notes

• Kevin Jarvis?!
• Pap is scheduled to have an MRI exam of his shoulder on Monday.
• Tek, Trot and Gonzo all start for Pawtucket tonight in their rehab stints.
• David Murphy makes his major league debut.

Papi, Manny, Trot, Tek, Gonzo and Wily Mo are currently down. Schill will miss his next start due to a side strain meaning that for the next pitching rotation we will use one of the five pitchers we started the season with - Beckett. Wake and Clement are down and Boomer has been traded. Lester is, for obvious reasons, not available to fill in. Still, we're only 5.5 games back in the wild card race and have won two in a row, so I suppose we shouldn't give up completely. Our chances of playoff success do seem somehwat limited, though.

So I thought we might have some weekend fun to lighten the mood. As we all know, this team will be great - in 2008. 2007 should be a fun year too. What the team will look like seems up in the air and we will most definitely have a hectic offseason to look forward to. I figured we might get a head start, though, and start the speculation right now. How do you want the team to look? Which five starting pitchers, eight position players, set-up man and closer do you think the Sox should use in 2007? In short, how does your ideal 2007 sox team look like, and how would the FO make it happen? Let's skip the bench and non-closer/set-up relievers, since that's too much of a crapshoot. The DH spot seems kinda safe too.

Here's my entry:

SP Curt Schilling
SP Free Agent Pitcher (Please, Barry, come to Beantown!)
SP Josh Beckett
SP Tim Wakefield
SP Jon Lester (I really hope so, anyhow)

SU Manny Delcarmen
CP Jonathan Papelbon

C  Jason Varitek  
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Mark Loretta
3B Mike Lowell
SS Dustin Pedroia
LF Manny Ramirez
CF Coco Crisp
RF Wily Mo Peña

First, the starting rotation. Matt Clement needs to go. I am sick off him being INeffectively wild. I really don't care at this point if we have to eat a solid chunk of his salary or what we get in return. Ever since the line drive to the head, he's been a pain to watch and I'm tired of it. To take his place, we need to sign a free agent. As I've made clear in numerous other places, i want Barry Zito. Badly. Just look at his career numbers and it should be clear why. As for Jon Lester, him returning to the rotation is obviously a best case scenario. Schill, Beckett and Wake seem like no-brainers to me.

Manny Delcarmen should be our set-up man because of how good he's been when he's on. He has looked dominant at times (and obviously like a little league pitcher at other times). I have more faith in him than I do in Hansen right now. As for Papelbon, I would love to promote him to the starting rotation. If we sign a quality free agent, though, there won't be any need for it next season. He can spend another year dominating the closer position, which is especially good considering we don't have any other reliable relief pitchers at our disposal. Should someone in the rotation go down, Paps will be available to fill in.

As for the position players, I have changed my mind from previous posts on a number of things. First, and it absolutely kills me to write this, I don't think we should re-sign Trot. I think Wily Mo is ready to take over. Since we can't use Trot as a utility outfielder because of his lack of speed, there simply is no room for him. I hate it, but I believe it's the truth. Coco stays, despite much criticism. He needs to have a shot at going through spring training and the first two months of next season before I come close to giving up on him. Should he have the type of numbers next June that he has right now, I will probably advocate for him being traded. As for now, though, he needs another shot and should get it. Now, to the Pedroia conundrum. I think Dusty's too good to be a utility infielder. He needs to get a chance at a starting spot. So, 2B or SS? I think Marky-Mark is an ideal two-hitter. He's very good at putting the ball in play and very rarely strikes out. He doesn't draw a lot of walks either, but he gets a lot of hits. Also, obviously, he's wicked good defensively. Gonzo, too, is an absolute superb defender. I say he's the best shortstop in the league - Yuniesky and his silly name be damned! He has a much lower OBP than Loretta but also a much higher SLG. Their OPS for this season is virtually identical. Gonzo is six years younger than Loretta, so we would presumably get more good years from him if we sign him. However, I think Gonzo will command quite a bit of cash in the offseason considering the solid offensive numbers he's put up (and his defense, primarily, of course). I think Marky-Mark will cost less. It's a very tough decision, but I believe we need to spend all the money we can on pitching next year. I think the fact that Loretta will likely be cheaper tips the scale in his favor. It's a very tough decision, though, and I might change my mind tomorrow.

That's my ideal team. Please leave a comment with your picks. Oh, and feel free to be a tad less comprehensive... this ended up taking a friggin hour to write. :)

According to the statement released by the Lester family, Jon suffers from Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. This is a form of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and thus a form of cancer. I won't try to summarize the disease, the prognosis or the treatment. My medical knowledge is far too limited for me to be able to do that in a credible way. What I can do is provide you with some links to different web sites so that you can easily find information on the condition if you want to read up on it. Here are a bunch.

Cancerbackup (Thanks to britsox)
eMedicine
Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma at Wikipedia
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at Wikipedia

I apologize profusely for resorting to cliché, but this is the type of news that puts things in perspective. Losing streaks, fielding a AAA lineup and a useless bullpen all suddenly seem a lot less important. Again, I'm no medical expert, but I know enough about cancer to have tremendous respect for it in all its ugly shapes and forms.

I'm not by any means a religious man, but I'll nevertheless be saying a prayer for Jon and his family.

God bless, and good luck. Red Sox Nation will keep you in our hearts.