Classy side of the Sox-Yankees rivalry

by James B. Terry

There is much hate between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox and it has always been well documented.

But one Yankee fan showed recently that fans of both sides can put aside their differences in a big way.

Throwback Thursday: Jason Varitek turns around Red Sox 2004 season

by Michael Husson

One of the most iconic events in Red Sox history happened exactly ten years ago today. The image of Jason Varitek smothering Alex Rodriguez is burned into the memories of lifelong Red Sox and Yankees fans everywhere. But what Tek did that day was much more then initiate a scrum of one of baseballs most hated players. He turned around the entire season. 

Jon Lester appears in Jordan Brand’s “RE2PECT” tribute

by James B. Terry

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester appeared in a tribute video made by Jordan Brand in honor of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who has announced that he is retiring at the end of the 2014 season.

Opinion: The Red Sox lack stability within organization

by James B. Terry

The Boston Red Sox are ten games out of first place in the American League East and are currently in last place.

Those facts are ones that all Red Sox fans didn’t expect to be true at any point during the 2014 season, but when you look at how this franchise is trending as an organization, it really shouldn’t shock anybody across baseball.

Bogaerts an afterthought for Rookie of the Year despite productive play

by James B. Terry

Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts entered the season as one of the favorites to win the American League Rookie of the Year, but now finds himself in the back of a large pack which includes a number of deserving rookies.

Series Preview: Yankees at Red Sox

The Matchup
New York Yankees (11-8) at Boston Red Sox (9-11)

Dates
Tuesday, April 22nd (7:10)
Wednesday, April 23rd (7:00)
Thursday, April 24th (7:10)

Calling out Danny Ainge to reload, not rebuild

by James B. Terry

The Boston Celtics have won more 17 NBA Championships, that’s more than any other team in the history of the league.  But it’s hard for people to remember how great a franchise they are when they’ve only raised one banner in the last 28 years.

Red Sox right to not play blame game, fans should do the same

by James B. Terry

During last night’s 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees, a brown-ish substance was spotted on the hand of Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda, leaving many to question what it was and the legality of the substance.

Series Preview: Red Sox at Yankees

The Matchup
Boston Red Sox (4-5) at New York Yankees (4-5)

Dates
Thursday, April 10th (7:05)
Friday, April 11th (7:05)
Saturday, April 12th (1:05)
Sunday, April 13th (8:00)

Ellsbury joins oddly successful group of players

by James B. Terry

Although the news of him signing with the Yankees shocked the baseball world last night, Jacoby Ellsbury isn’t the first player to put on pinstripes after a stint in with the Red Sox.

Ellsbury’s contract will be the third largest for any outfielder in MLB history. (Photo: Boston.com)

While I feel like Ellsbury is very overpaid and barely worth $5 million a year let alone the $20 million he’ll be getting on average from the Yankees, I am leaving my personal thoughts on the contract out of this piece.  This marks the third highest contract ever handed out to an outfielder and that alone should speak to how much he’s getting overpaid, he’s an above average outfielder, no better, no worse.

But a number of these players have had greater or equal success after switching over and the list includes some of the greatest players in baseball history.  Say what you want about Ellsbury, but when players switch over from Boston to New York, it’s normally ended very well historically for that player, unless your name is Kevin Youkilis, his time in New York didn’t really work out.  And Darnell McDonald too, but nobody really cares about him.

Red Ruffing, pitcher
Boston (1924-1930), New York (1930-1945)
Ruffing wasn’t a success in his seven years as a Red Sox.  While in Boston, his record was 39-96 on the mound and his ERA was very close to five.  He twice led the American League in losses.  The Red Sox traded Ruffing to the Yankees in the middle of the 1930 season for Cedric Durst, who was a lifetime .244 hitter and was in the final year of his career.

He would spend the next fifteen seasons as a member of the New York Yankees and became one of the games best pitchers over those years.  In pinstripes, Ruffing went 231-124, made six All-Star games and finished in the top five of the MVP balloting twice, which even back then was impressive for a pitcher.  He was also a key member of six World Series winning teams in New York.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1967.

Waite Hoyt, pitcher
Boston (1919-1920), New York (1921-1930)
Hoyt is another Hall of Fame player who found success both personally and as a team when he became a Yankee.  After going 10-12 in two years as a Red Sox, Hoyt was a 19 game winner is his first season in pinstripes and only got better.  He led the American League in wins while playing for the Yankees in 1927, a team that is called the greatest in baseball history by a number of experts.  He was on three World Series winning teams while in the Bronx and elected into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

Wade Boggs, third base
Boston (1982-1992), New York (1993-1997)
Boggs was actually a very good Red Sox and his Hall of Fame plaque features him in a Boston hat.  All five of his batting championships came during his tenure in Boston and he only hit below .320 twice as a Red Sox.  One of those two seasons was his final in Boston though when he slumped all the way down below .260 and the Red Sox seemed happy to let him walk.

When he signed with the Yankees over the Dodgers, Boggs career got back on track and he hit .313 during his five years in pinstripes.  Boggs made four All-Star games during that time and won two Gold Glove awards.  He was also able to win his lone World Series ring with New York in 1996.

Babe Ruth, pitcher/outfield
Boston (1914-1919), New York (1920-1934)
Like Boggs, Ruth was a very good player while a Red Sox, but his tenure with the Yankees is why he is known as one of the greatest players to ever play the sport.

The story of Ruth switching over is well known and the Red Sox, who were the winnigest team from the first World Series to that point, didn’t win a World Series title for 86 years while the Yankees won their first of a record 27 World Series titles just three years after acquiring Ruth from the Red Sox.  He was a 12 time home run champion while also posting a 94-46 record on the mound.

Johnny Damon, outfield
Boston (2002-2005), New York (2006-2009)
People who called Damon a traitor really bothered me.  After the 2001 season he left Oakland for the highest bidder and that’s how he wound up in Boston, his move from the Athletics to the Red Sox was dramatized in the movie Moneyball.  So why would it shock people that he went for the highest bidder when he became a free agent after the 2005 season, he had already shown he had no loyalty to a team.

Damon was almost equally successful with both New York and Boston. (photo: Zimbo)

He played four years with each team and his numbers are actually so similar to each other in his tenures with each team that it’s scary.  His batting average over the years with each club are within ten points of each other, stolen bases are just four apart, the on base percentages are exactly identical and he played only 25 games less with the Yankees while winning one World Series title with each team.  The only real stat difference is his total triples were doubled over his time is Boston while he hit 20 more home runs as a Yankee, which made his slugging percentages almost equal in the end, with a slight edge going to his time in the Bronx.

Roger Clemens, pitcher
Boston (1984-1996), New York (1999-2003, 2007)
The Rocket was good as a member of the Red Sox, in fact, he was scary good and was the best pitcher in baseball for a long stretch of his time in Boston.  Steroids aside, I personally believe he is the greatest pitcher to ever play the game.  The problem was, over his last four years as a Red Sox, Clemens went just 40-39 and showed signs of aging so the team was perfectly fine not paying him when he demanded a large sum of money once his contact ran out.

Clemens throwing a bat at Mike Piazza during the 2000 World Series will always be the first image that comes to mind when I think of him. (Photo: blogspot)

Then the drugs kicked in and he won the Cy Young each of the next two seasons, although those were with Toronto as he didn’t actually go straight from Boston to New York, the Blue Jays helped him get to the Bronx via trade.  As a Red Sox, Clemens won the Cy Young award three times and was MVP in 1986.  He only won one of his record seven Cy Young awards with New York, but his winning percentage was actually a little higher with the Yankees.  He was also able to get both of his World Series rings in pinstripes as a member of the 1999 and 2000 championship teams.

We Own The East

by Michael Husson

We did it. And by we I mean the Red Sox did the unthinkable. Last night marked the Red Sox 94th win of the season just one year after they finished 69-93. Now the Red Sox have clinched the AL East, going worst to first. The first time they have done so since 2007 and the first time they made the playoffs since 2009.

Jon Lester continued his dominance last night in the 6-3 win and a fitting Koji Uehara save to mark the final out. With just seven more games left to play the Red Sox can start to wind it down and sit players but will they? The smart move would be to do so but with 100 wins in reach why not? The need to win 6 of the 7 is a tough challenge but as they’ve showed us this season, they are up for any challenge.

Koji Uehara clinches AL East for Red Sox on Friday night. (Photo: Yahoo Sports)

Going forward who the Red Sox will play is a big question mark. The Yankees, Orioles, Rays, Rangers and Indians all have a shot at making the wild card spot. Of these teams the team most likely to be the Sox easiest opponent is the Yankees or the Indians. They went 13-6 against New York and 6-1 against Cleveland, respectively.

Adding to the rivalry, playing the Yankees would make for a great story but sometimes fate doesn’t work in favor of things like this. The return of Terry Francona for October baseball at Fenway would also be a very good storyline.

The pitching depth of the Sox is great and something that many teams will fear in the postseason. The Sox have a great opportunity here and with a team like this, anything is possible. Why not us?

Big Papi backs ARod; Don’t sleep on the Yankees just yet

by James B. Terry

Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz had some strong words today as he disapproved of a teammates actions while backing a player on his team’s biggest rival.

After Red Sox starting pitcher Ryan Dempster hit Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez with a pitch on Sunday night the benches cleared and much controversy followed as New York was able to rally behind that one play and come out victorious.  Since then, the Yankees have not lost and that is not sitting well with Ortiz.

David Ortiz has been the Red Sox best offensive player in 2013. (Photo: Google)

“We’ve got Tampa [Bay] right on our heels and that pitch woke up a monster,” Ortiz told USA TODAY sports.  He also added “I didn’t like [Dempster hitting Rodriguz].  I don’t think it was the right thing to do.”   With Baltimore still between the Rays and Yankees, this has started to look more like a four team race for the division crown than ever.

The Yankees schedule really benefits their quest to contend for an American League East title this season.  With such a high number of divisional contests remaining, New York can put matters into their own hands and ensure the teams ahead of them are losing game by winning on their own.  They only have three series left against teams outside of the division, and all of those match-ups are against last place teams (vs. Chicago White Sox, vs. San Francisco and at Houston to end the season).  As they begin to hit their stride at the right time everything is falling into place around them.

Soriano has been a force for the Yankees since the trade deadline. (Photo: Google)

While the schedule looks to favor them, the offense is really coming into their own right now thanks to the acquisition of outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who has been on a tear since coming over from the Cubs, hitting nine home runs and driving in 28 RBIs in just 25 games.  Alex Rodriguez also gives a boost to the middle of the order, as he is hitting .296 with an impressive .387 on-base percentage since making his return.  Adding both players to the heart of the order has really helped taken a lot of pressure off second baseman Robinson Cano.  Cano has seen his batting average rise to .310 on the year in August, he was hitting just .293 at the end of July.

With seven games still remaining between the Yankees and Red Sox in 2013 those will surely be important games as New York shows no sign of giving up on the season.  Just like Sunday Night, all eyes of the baseball word will be watching these two teams square off as two huge installments of this historic rivalry are about to get underway in September.

 

Morning coffee quick hits

by Michael Husson

Just a little something to start your day, here are some headlines from this weekend in case you missed it:

Red Sox

Red Sox dropped 2 of 3 games this weekend to the rival Yankees in a must win home series before a long road trip.

Ryan Dempster let tempers flare in the rubber match when he hit A-Rod after throwing at him four consecutive times. Could have it been something the Yankees were looking for?

Will Middlebrooks hit his first home run since being called up from Pawtucket on Sunday.

Patriots

The Patriots took a nice 25-21 win this past Friday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Co-hosts Mike Husson and Colin Dailey attended the game.

Tom Brady started the game after potential injury rumors which were put to rest today. He hooked up with his receivers for 11-12 passing and one touchdown to Danny Amendola.

This week the Pats will look to get ready against the New York Giants for their third pre-season game.

Bruins

I took at look at Bruins who could make their olympic rosters yesterday.

Milan Lucic talks about Tyler Seguin’s off the ice mishaps.

Celtics

Celtics give up on Fab Melo experiment, trade the Center to Memphis for small forward Donte Greene.

Ryan Dempster puts emotion before team; needs to go

by James B. Terry

Around this time last year, the Boston Red Sox sent millions of dollars worth of players to the Los Angeles Dodgers, clearing up cap space and allowing the team to speed up a rebuilding process.  Ryan Dempster was only player who benefited from this, by winding up with most of the money that was once going to Josh Beckett.

While Beckett is the only player from that trade not playing well for the red hot Los Angeles Dodgers, Dempster has been very unproductive in his first year as a Red Sox.

I’ve been easier on Dempster than some, stating that the former closer would be better fit in the bullpen seeing as he filled a strong bullpen role for three years with the Cubs in the middle of his career.  This all changed tonight, Dempster not only should be taken out of the starting rotation, but he should be removed from the roster.  He no longer deserves to represent the Boston Red Sox.

Ryan Dempster making a huge mistake in the second inning. (Photo: Google)

When Alex Rodriguez dug into the batters box during the second inning, Boson had everything going for them.  Dempster stranded a runner on third in the opening frame and then the Red Sox put two runs on the board in their first trip to the plate, then everything changed.  Dempster let emotion get the best of them, he forgot that there was a rather important game going on in front of him and he did what many baseball fans have wanted to see for weeks, Alex Rodriguez get hit by a pitch.

Tempers flared, Yankee skipper Joe Girardi was thrown out of the game and before you knew it the Yankees had tied the game at two.  An inning later, Rodriguez drove in a run to take the lead.

Boston has been on a bad skid that seems rare in 2013.  They went 4-6 on a ten game road trip which included two series against teams with sub .500 records.  They had lost two straight series and a loss tonight would make it three in a row, when a home series should have been just what they needed to turn their luck around.

The Red Sox crowd did not help, reacting to Dempster’s actions like they had just witnessed a man stop time.  They were too caught up in the moment to realize what he had just done, and that gave the Yankees a reason to fight.  Having Girardi back his controversial slugger ensured the rest of the team did the same, even if Girardi got thrown out in the process.  And the Yankees were smart as CC Sabathia did not retaliate once, even though Red Sox hitters may have been fearing a ball in the ear for the rest of the night.

ARod rounding the bases after his 6th inning home run. (Photo: Newsday)

Slowly the Red Sox swung momentum back onto their side as they continued their success against Sabathia until Rodriguez found himself facing Dempster once again.  This time with New York down by three runs but Dempster couldn’t handle the situation he was in.  All eyes on this matchup due to what happened in the first inning, and Rodriguez put one over the fence for a home run, his second run batted in on the night and once again the Yankees rallied behind their third baseman and before you knew it, Dempster was leaving the game before he could complete six full innings and things were looking down for the Red Sox.

Boston went down and Alex Rodriguez was named Player of the Game by the Sunday Night Baseball crew after his night began with Red Sox “Nation” mocking him after getting hit by a pitch.

This could be a huge loss for the team as they have now lost three straight series, all to teams they were expected to handle heading into them.  Now they travel out west to face the struggling Giants but once again it may not come easy as they’ll go all the way out west with no days rest, which is always hard on any team good or bad.

I feel like this game could be looked on as the tilting point of the season.  Now that winning the division means so much more than just getting a wild card, things could get rough as Tampa Bay continues to nip at Boston’s heels.  The Rays were walk off winners once again against the Blue Jays today to pull within one game.

If this game does become a tilting point to the season, you can’t help but look back at what Dempster did in the second inning by making a rival team rally behind a hated superstar who they don’t seem to want any part of.  He needs to go, tomorrow.  Any player who puts his personal emotions before the needs of the team should not be a part of any championship contender.  Even John Lackey, who publicly went after Rodriguez, was able to step up and actually pitch to him.  Ryan Dempster does not deserve to take the mound as a Boston Red Sox ever again for his childish acts tonight.

For more news an opinion pieces on the Red Sox as well as all your favorite Boston area teams, follow Beantown Shakedown on Twitter (@BTSD_Sports) as well as like the show on Facebook.  Hyperlinks will bring you to each page.

Opinion: Today is Lackey’s biggest start of 2013 to date

by James B. Terry

After flying out of the gate, John Lackey’s bounce back season has had a few bumps in the road recently, many of them coming against AL East rivals.  Once 6-5 with a 2.81 ERA, Lackey has struggled in recent weeks as he now stands at 7-10 with an ERA of 3.32.  His monthly earned run average has been rising each of of the last three months and his last start against the Yankees didn’t go so well as he allowed four runs in six innings of work, getting hit with the loss.

Today Lackey faces off with the Yankees once again as he tries to put out the fire that is a current three game losing streak in what is his biggest start of the season.

The heart of the Yankee’s lineup has been on fire lately headlined by newcomer Alfonso Soriano, who has had one of the best four game stretches at the plate in Major League history as he has picked up five home runs and 18 runs batted in.  He’ll be hitting between Robinson Cano, who has been New York’s most consistent player this year and of course Alex Rodriguez, who can’t seem to stay out of the headlines.  Cano is having another All-Star season, hitting .300 right now with 22 home runs and 76 runs batted in.  Since rejoining the lineup recently, Ronriguez has been productive, hitting safely in nine of his ten games while posing a .300 batting average.

These players and the rest of the Yankee lineup torched Boston for 10 runs last night as the Yankees took game one of the weekend series and the ball is now in Lackey’s hands to slow them down.

Just keeping runs off the board may not be enough to make this an effective start for Lackey.  After having two games with the Blue Jays go to extra innings and then only getting four innings out of Doubront last night, there are many pitchers in the bullpen who could benefit from a day off.  Going into the later innings would go a long way for this entire pitching staff, as well as give the Red Sox a shot to win.

The game at Fenway Park won’t be the only game Red Sox fans care about, as Lackey is once again pitching to keep his team in first.  Three days ago, Boston open up a four game lead over Tampa Bay, their biggest lead in months only to see it sit at just one game this afternoon as Tampa Bay begins to heat up again.

After having some choice words earlier in the week, Lackey has put a spotlight on his matchups with Alex Rodriguez today but there is so much more riding on this game.  Once again, the Red Sox are trying to fend off the Tampa Bay Rays as well as cool off their biggest rival in the Yankees, who have suddenly started to play their best baseball of the season.  Add all that with the potential to stop a rare losing streak in 2013 and this has become John Lackey’s biggest start of the year as he is trying to avoid his first personal losing season since 2003.

Today’s Starting Lineups
New York Yankees (63-58)
Brett Gardner – CF
Ichiro Suzuki – RF
Robinson Cano – 2B
Alfonso Soriano – LF
Alex Rodriguez – 3B
Curtis Granderson – DH
Eduardo Nunez – SS
Lyle Overbay – 1B
Chris Stewart – C

Hiroki Kuroda (11-7, 2.33)

Boston Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury – CF
Shane Victorino – RF
Dustin Pedroia – 2B
David Ortiz – DH
Mike Carp -1B
Daniel Nava – LF
Stephen Drew – SS
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – C
Will Middlebrooks – 3B

John Lackey (7-10, 3.32)