Jennifer R. Richmond's Boston Red Sox fan blog

Colon was definitely back on track last night.  But before I get to him, I have a riddle for you:How do you go into the 9th with a five run lead and still get the save?  You have Timlin pitch.  Yesterday my father suggested to me that Timlin be Papelbon's set-up man after Okajima blew Tuesday's game.  I would've asked him if he was crazy, but thanks to #50's performance last night, now I don't have to.  He proved the idea was insane.  The man sucks and doesn't belong any where near a mound.  By the by, last night's inning put the old man's ERA back up over 6.  Way to go Mikey!But now back to the star of the night.  No, it wasn't Varitek, who's three run shot over the green monster gave the Red Sox the comfortable lead they had going in

Continue reading "Colon Gets 150th Career Win"

Manny and JD went back to back in the 5th to put the Red Sox on top and potentially hand Beckett his 7th win.  But then Okajima took over the mound.As I said back on June 3rd when Okie blew that save against the Orioles, he's not the same pitcher we loved last season.  For some reason the lefty just can't handle the O's.  And since the Sox face them 11 more times this season, that ain't good.  Just look at his record against them.Back on May 14th the Sox were playing the O's at Camden Yards.  Jon Lester left the game at the end of the 6th with the lead and potentially the win.  Then Okie took over and gave up a grand slam to Jay Payton to give the O's a 3 run lead the Sox wouldn't be able to beat.Then on June 2nd, again at Camden Yards and again with a 1-run l

Continue reading "Okie Blows Another One"

Colon was not the Colon Red Sox Nation was used to seeing last night.  He was bad, and I mean absolutely awful, right from the start.  See, after two men reached in the top of the first, Beltre chopped the ball back to Colon, and what should've been an easy double play to end the inning, turned into an error that allowed a man to score.  Colon caught the ball and threw to 2nd, but there was evidently some confusion between Pedroia and Lugo as to who was supposed to be covering the bag.  So there was no one there and a ball that should've been caught, ended up in the outfield.  Although Colon managed to get the next two batters out, another man scored and the inning ended with the Mariners ahead 2 runs - both unearned.The 2nd was much better for Colon as he had a 1,2,3, inning.  Then in the bottom half of the same inning the Sox had an opportunity to come back when they loaded the bases with two outs.  But as is unfortunately way too common for the Sox, the guy who stepped to the plate struck out to end the inning and leave three men on.  But I don't think that's what caused the Sox to throw in the towel.  I think it was the two errors in the 3rd.Ichiro stepped to the plate and for the first time in a

Continue reading "Three Errors and Done"

After watching both of Coco Crisp's steals in the 6th and 8th innings of last night's Red Sox/Rays game, I still think Coco was in the wrong.
But before I get to Coco's steal in the 8th, let's look at the steal that started the whole fight. There were 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th. Ellsbury was at the plate. And on a pitch-out, Coco stole 2nd base. Unfortunately Rays short stop Jason Bartlett blocked the bag with his knee. So while Coco was safe, he injured his left thumb on the slide when his hand made contact with Bartlett's knee. (It's now bandaged and we'll have to wait and see how bad the injury is.)
Bartlett should not have been blocking 2nd that way. He's a short stop, not a catcher and this is 2nd base, not home plate. Yes, he should have been straddling the bag, but not at the knees. He should've been straddling with his feet. But he wasn't, Coco was pissed and he let Bartlett know it. So, since this is baseball and Coco was hurt, of course it's time for payback.

Continue reading "Coco Was in the Wrong"

Last night Wakefield was on the cusp of getting another game in the win column.  He'd done everything he needed to through seven innings and while the Red Sox bats weren't loud enough to slam the door on the O's, they'd done enough damage to give the Sox a lead.  So Wake left the game with Okie scheduled for the 8th and Papelbon for the 9th.  But Papelbon would never see the 9th, thanks to his set-up man.There's no question this year's Okajima isn't the same pitcher we saw last year.  While his ERA has somehow stayed well-below 1, his performances tell another story.  Of the 24 games in which he's pitched this season, he's allowed at least one man to reach base in 17 of them.  That's not a good ratio.  But in all those previous games Okie's only allowed a

Continue reading "It's All Bad"

And his name is Jacoby Ellsbury.Okay, so the rookie doesn't sit behind a steering wheel tearing up a race track.  But the speed with which he tears up the baseball diamond, he might as well have a pair of wheels under him.  The 25 year-old can usually be found running around the outfield making spectacular catches to keep the Red Sox in the win column.  But when he's not playing center field, right field, or left field, the kid swings a great bat.So far this season, Ellsbury's had 176 at bats.  Of those 176, 51 have been hits and 27 have been walks, which means his on base percentage is a healthy .389.  But it's not these stats that have Red Sox Nation begging for more Ellsbury, it's the number of stolen bases he's got.  After just 52 games the Oregon nat

Continue reading "There's a New Speed Racer in Town"

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I Tivo baseball games.  It's something I've been doing for the past three or four seasons because with 162 games a year, most played every single day between April 1st and September 30th (not including the post season), it's impossible to sit down for 3-4 hours every day and watch the game straight through.  I just don't have the time.  Most people don't.  So, I Tivo.  If I can, I watch the game that night when I get home, but in all likelihood I'll just watch the game the next morning. (That's why my blogs usually happen the day after.)  Normally it's not a problem.  'Course yesterday's game against the Orioles was anything but normal. And the most upsetting thing: what I missed number 500 for.
While Papi and Pedroia were hitting back to back home runs... while Manny was hitting his 500th homer into the bleachers... while Papelbon was recording his 16th save of the season...  where was I?  In a dark theater watching the worst sequel ever made.  Yes, for some reason I picked yesterday afternoon to go see the new Indiana Jones movie.  And believe me, did I make the wrong choice.

Continue reading "Manny Hits 500... And I Missed It"

That's all the Mariners would get in the final game of the series.  And unfortunately, it's all they'd need to win.Wakefield was back on the mound.  But unlike his last two outings, he was awesome.  He pitched eight innings (that's all the Mariners would need to take the win), had eight K's (a season high), and didn't give up a single walk.  He did however give up five hits, one of which was the home run from Yuniesky Betancourt.  Yes, Wakefield was amazing.  Unfortunately the Mariners pitcher, Erik Bedard was better.  Over his seven innings, he also struck out eight, walked three, and gave up just two hits.  But not one of those five men the Sox had on base were able to make it home.  There looked like there might be some hope when JJ

Continue reading "One Run"

Manny's back.  And he proved it last night by planting #499 in the right field bleachers to tie the game in the 6th.  Unfortunately his homer wouldn't help the Red Sox get the win.  Instead it would be just another dramatic moment in a night full of dramatic moments.It all started in the bottom of the fifth when Dice-K took the mound to start his warm-up, only to be pulled before he threw his first pitch due to shoulder fatigue.  Through four innings, the pitcher had only given up four hits and three runs.  He struck out two and for only the second time this season, the Diceman didn't walk anyone.  But in case losing your starting pitcher in the fifth due to injury isn't exciting enough for you, the Sox would lose two more key people later that same inning.Aardsma had come in to pitch, and with two outs and a walk under his belt, that's when things really got interesting.  Ibanez had just taken his first pitch for a ball when Lugo asked the 3rd base umpire, Angel Hernandez, to check the swing.  Things must've gotten heated because Hernandez threw the shortstop out of the game.  Then when Francona came out to retrieve Lugo, and ask why he was being ejected, Francona was ejected as well.  But the drama didn't end there.  In the sixth inning the Sox offense decided to add their two cents.  After Coco struck out, Pedroia chopped the ball to the Mariners shortstop, but he couldn't handle it and the Sox 2nd baseman ended up on first with one out.  Then Papi lined to right and just like that, the Sox finally have something going against Batista.  Then Manny stepped to the plate.  Manny's last homer was on May 12th against the Minnesota Twins, which means that red sign on top of the green monster has been stuck at 498 for the left fielder's last 42 at bats.  But taking that day off on Sunday clearly helped because he took the first pitch he saw from Batista and planted it in the bleachers in right for his #499th career home run.  That home run also tied the game 3-3 which meant the Sox had a chance to win and Dice-K's 8-0 record would remain intact.Unfortunately, as I stated in the title, that homer wouldn't get the Sox the win.   Nope, thanks to my favorite Red Sox relief pitcher, Mike Timlin, the Sox would lose in the bottom of the 9th.  Balentien's infield hit would turn into Seattle's fourth and final run when Lopez drove Timlin's pitch up the 3rd base line for the walk-off win.  So, Timlin not only blew the save, he

Continue reading "Manny Hits #499... To No Avail"

Since this weekend's three game series against the A's was so horrendous thanks to the Red Sox offense, I thought I'd rant about the new rules that were brought up this week to speed up a baseball game.Now I know plenty of people that don't like baseball because it takes too long.  But that's the nature of the sport.  I mean, it wouldn't be called America's National Pass-Time if it wasn't an easy-going game.  So the games are a minute longer than they were last season.  And a whopping 5.5 minutes longer than there were five years ago.  So what?  To quote Kevin Youkilis, "this game is not about time".  It's about intensity.  Fans go to games for a good pitching duel or to see their favorite slugger belt one out of the park.  It's not a race to see if they can get in and out of the ballpark in record time.  If it were, fans wouldn't set up shop in the parking lots to tailgate.  But evidently that doesn't matter.  Commissioner Bud Selig decided it was time to speed things up.  So, he made conference calls to all club managers on Wednesday letting them know that starting as soon as possible, some rules were going to start being enforced.  Those rules are:1)  Umpires will ask batters to approach home plate from the on-deck circle and enter the       batter's box faster.  And if the batter doesn't, he'll get an automatic strike.

Continue reading "The Rules"